Cruises: A Budget Vacation For the Family?

Carnival Cruise Lines has some incredible ships and programs for family travel.

An example of the Carnival program is on the Carnival Conquest. This ship has an expanded Camp Carnival and O2 Teen Program. The kids’ facilites is over 4200 square feet and has all modern entertainment and a children’s pool. Even their meal menus are designed for the age category – everything from hot dogs, chicken nuggets, pizza, macaroni & cheese, hamburgers and more. There are several new programs targeted to age groups and interests. The Edu-Seas program has a variety of fun activities that are also educational. The staff have experience and education in child-care so the kids enjoy their counselor and group.

In general the children’s programs on Carnival are exceptional no matter which ship you choose to cruise on.  Here’s a little I have learned about Carnival and their family-friendly programs:

CAMP CARNIVAL:  Carnival has broken the children’s program into 3 categories: Toddlers (age 2-5 years old) with age- appropriate activites – from finger painting to cartoon time, arts and crafts to puppet shows (good news for parents: Toddlers do not have to be potty-trained to be a part of the program- just supply the youth staff with diapers and toiletries for your child);

Juniors (age 6-8 years old) will have activities like Spin Art, dodgeball, volcano making as well as themed activities like prize bingo, water colors, jewelry making, foosball, air hockey and more;

Intermediates (ages 9-11 years old) play dodgeball, and pool parties to video games and scavenger hunts, making new friends and forging bonds with others their age.

For the Intermediates and Juniors there is an “evening After Hours” services from 10PM to 12AM and after 12AM they join the younger cruisers for a Slumber Party service until 3AM.Parents can have a “date night” or quiet time just for the two of them.

CIRCLE “C”:  For the 12-14 year olds there is the Circle C program. This is where children ages 12-14 can cruise, chill, and connect to others: Cool activities, awesome facilities and lots of new friends to add to their text-mail lists. Activities include games(video arcade, air hockey, foosball, karaoke), created and supervised by friendly, experienced staff. There are dance parties & outdoor movies, and they can even have an evening of dancing at the shipboard dance club. On some ships there are special shore excursions for kids to experience and explore exciting destinations.

CLUB O2: Teens, ages 15-17,  make new friends, hang together to watch movies, listen to music, play video games or join karaoke jam sessions.  On some cruises there are even teen-only shore excursions. They can play basketball or volleyball, ping-pong or participate in high energy dance and pool parties.  There is the Club O2’s dedicated lounge area onboard. This is a hot spot with cool colors, comfy seating, video monitors, and a state-of-the-art dance floor.  Teens can enjoy Coca-Cola products and other non-alcoholic specialty drinks as they watch movies, play video games and participate in this activity driven club.

And all this equals a great time for Mom and Dad, grandparents or friends. When the children have fun, the family has fun! (That is a Carnival Motto!)

If you found this interesting you might also want to read about the NCL Pearl with all the fun things to do on board there.

The Honeymoon: headache, heartache or

How do I love thee, let me count the ways…… (Sonnet 43 – Elizabeth Barrett Browning)

The Honeymoon. 

After all the stress of planning a wedding, perfecting the invitations, securing the dress, the church, the reception facility and the cake, the bridesmaids and groomsmen, the stress of paying for it all, you suddenly realize your forgot about the honeymoon.  Or Ms. Bride, you needed to give your groom something to keep him occupied so he is not looking at how much this is going to cost, so you assign him “the honeymoon”. 

Now that you have a date set and the plans in hand, you realize he has gone underground and surfaces only for tux fittings and the occasional opinion on the flavor of the cake.  So nothing has been done about the honeymoon, at least not to your satisfaction.

A honeymoon specialist, such as myself, can really ease the strain of the honeymoon planning.  After all, this is the one time in your life, this “trip of a lifetime”,  you do not want to leave to chance and hapenstance.  You should not have to be burning the midnight oil on the Internet reseaching and pricing the honeymoon details.  All those details of air, hotel, food, ground transportation, excursions and activities that the perfect honeymoon should encompass can be overwhelming.  This  is too important and too expensive.  Having a travel specialist to help and advise with issues, large or small, that may come up is so important during this busy time.

The advantage a honeymoon travel specialist offers is the expertise to research and locate the experience you are seeking.   This is the time when newlyweds should be making memories and setting the stage for the rest of their lives together.  Some may want to camp on an eco-beach in the US Virgin Islands, others may want to bask on the beach in an all-inclusive resort and receive spa treaments and pampering, while others may want to explore a country or countries that they have never before visited, seeing a new port every day of a cruise. 

Frequently one must compromise what one wants in a honeymoon to fit within their budget.  That too is what a honeymoon specialist can help you accomplish.  It is wonderful to meet with a couple who have thousands of dollars and want only the best for their honeymoon.  But the majority of couples have a budget and a dream and it is my job to match the wishes and desires to the budget available.

My next entry is going to be on a possible solution to the conflict of honeymoon expectations and desires versus honeymoon budget.