Sunday, January 30, 2011

CRUISE ... CRUISES ... CRUISING

CRUISECRUISESCRUISING
Cruising the Caribbean
Caribbean Travel Adventures/Blog/Cruises
Now it’s FUN TIME
Cruises are a great vacation, they are All-Inclusive.  A Cruise is an experience to never forget. Cruising allows you to visit many different destinations and go on many exciting tours.
A cruise allows you to relax and have time together one moment and then go on a great adventure the next.
 On a Cruise will you be bored !!! , find nothing to do !!!, NO WAY !!!.
Whether you book a cruise thru us or direct with the cruise line there is a commission built into the price of the cruise, also any car, hotel, destination or tour you book has a commission built into the price.  It does not cost you any extra to use an agent. As a travel agent I take pride in personal service, will cover the details for you and will take the time to ensure you have a great, worry free vacation.

Visit the Cruise and Destination video pages on the web site, see what you are missing on a cruise!!

Let’s start with the Ship.
On board activities , depending on the Cruise Line, include:
·         Full Fitness Center
·         Full Service Spas, with saunas and therapy pools
·         Ice Skating
·         Rock Wall Climbing
·         Zip Line
·         Casinos
·         Pools and Hot Tubs
·         9 Hole Golf
·         The Water Slide
And this only names a few of the many activities that are available on the ship.
 If you are on Carnival and board early head for the Shore Excursion Desk and ask for the “Behind The Fun” tour.  You will get a tour of the inner parts of the ship, the bridge, galley, crew areas, etc. Note the tour is limited to 16 people, get in line ASAP. This is fun to do. The Cruise Director on the each ship decides whether to have this tour we are told.
In the evening choose from the main show, most are pretty good, to dancing to one of the bands in one of the lounges. The band on Carnival Miracle is great. We also like the band on Carnival Dream.
Caribbean Travel Adventures has all the current sales and promotions and incentives. We also receive specials that are not published on the cruise sites.

Food, Food and More Food
The Dining options are endless. Choose from the Dining Rooms or the Buffets.  Eat at one of the specialty delis on deck. For Breakfast go thru the buffet where you can have an omelet made to order. Stop on deck at one of the delis for lunch and have a sandwich made to order.  There are food  choices to satisfy every appetite on all the ships. Try the specialty Steakhouse or a specialty Italian restaurant. The reservation only specialty restaurants do have a surcharge.
Carnival has open dining, if you select this for your dining time, you are free to dine at your leisure otherwise choose from early (6 pm ) or late dining at 8:15 pm.  Some of the other Cruise Lines also have open dining. We prefer to not to be on a set dining time. Check the menu posted at the dining room and decides if you want to eat in the dining room or the buffet. The dinner buffet has most of the same courses.

Shore Excursions, Fun…Fun…Fun
Where do you want to go, what do you want to do and see. Try something new !!!
We enjoy the ship board activities but really look forward to the off ship excursions. We do not book excursions exclusively with the ship. There are tour operators that offer great tours at reasonable prices and usually in smaller groups and  also offer private touring. We  look at the time the ship departs and the time the tour returns, this includes ship tours, and decide  if we chance returning in time. We have never had a problem, but we are also careful on timing.  We always carry our passports and a credit card just in case. Always look for reviews on a tour operator and decide for yourself. Trip Advisor has reviews on almost everything.
The following tour operators have been reliable for us on our trips plus we have many more, just tell us where you want to go. (Caribbean Travel Adventures will book these excursions for you, PLEASE CALL TO BOOK ). For this writing we are only including the Western and Eastern Caribbean. The Southern Caribbean is not covered on this writing. We will cover Puerto Rico on a separate blog.

Shore Trips

Island Marketing Ltd.

Coral Breeze Tours,  Belize. 

Bodden  Tours, Roatan.  Do a Bodden Tour on Roatan. This is the best way to see the  island. You will not be disappointed. Ask your guide to stop at
a local place for lunch. Try the Iguana !!!   

CostaMaya Tours                                                         

Explore Belize Caves does all kinds of tours 

Stanley Submarine on Roatan, Deep dives to 2500 feet !!! 
If you are planning on snorkeling or diving check on the condition or the reef before you book. The hurricanes have really damaged the reef at several locations.
A Caribbean Cruise will include the following ports (not all on the same cruise)…
Key West                           Jamaica                                  
Cozumel                            Tortola
Costa Maya                       St. Maarten
Belize                                St. Thomas
Grand Cayman                  Bahamas
Colon, Panama                  Limon, Costa Rica 
Where do you want to go, what  do  you want to do, what do you want to see. The choice is yours.  We apply these questions to our own trips and then decide what cruise to take.
A quick note on gratuities. The cruise lines automatically add tips.  If for instance you are eating in the buffet and not the dining room, go to the purser’s desk and ask that the tips for the dining staff be removed. On a back to back cruise we went to the dining room twice. Give your room Stewart the difference in a cash tip, they deserve it.   For drinks a tip of 15% is automatically added each time you order.

During the winter months, or anytime of year, the Norovirus or some call it the stomach flu is prevalent. That many people in a "small" space and a virusr spreads quickly. Take hand sanitizer and use plenty of it. Do not touch your face without washing your hands. The virus is spread from surfaces you touch and also through food and water.

 Caribbean Travel Adventures can book all your travel arrangements for you and save you a lot of time and trouble. We will take care of all the details for you.  Call us at 1-866-802-2292 or Email us at mailto:caribta@hotmail.com or you can go to MTravel, our CRUISE booking link and book your own trip. If you do not see the cruise line you want, call us, not all are on the booking links. We deal with over 25 Cruise Lines worldwide, from Carnival and Royal Caribbean to chartering a private yacht(power and sail) 

We can book the following speciality cruises for you ... Costa, Crystal, Alizes, Oceania, Regent, Seabourn, Silversea, Windstar, Paul Gaugiun, Sea Dream, and Viking River Cruises. Plus several private yachts. Fantastic cuisine, excellent service and usually all alcoholic drinks, shore excursions and water sports are included in the price.

We specialize in Caribbean Travel, Cruises, Destinations, All-Inclusive’s, Tours and Vacation Packages.
The web site has several videos on cruises, travel  resources, other links and current sales and promotions.

HAVE FUN, Tom and Karen

If you have an update, would like to add information or feel there are errors on the page,
Please email us at caribta@hotmail.com