• Decide where and what you want to do on your wedding cruise. Do you want to see the Alaskan glaciers, or is the sun setting over water in the distant horizon more your style? Are you and your partner active, so you want to include some shore excursions like snorkeling or sight seeing, or would you rather take advantage of the activities on board, like sunning, the casino, and the many restaurants? Is it important for you to have a lot of on board activities like art fairs, ice-skating, water activities, shopping, mini golf, lectures or movies?
• Make sure you have proper documentation. This means passports, marriage license, and medical records if needed.
• Plan on arriving a day early if you are going to get married at the port of call before the ship leaves for the cruise. If there are plane delays, or other unexpected events you will have a cushion of time built in.
• Be aware of any immunizations you need before going to a foreign port of call on your wedding cruise. Your health department or infectious disease doctor can help you with this. Plan ahead, if you require immunizations they may

Proper Equipment

When planning for a boating trip it is incredibly important to prepare your safety equipment properly. This includes but is not limited to a flares, horn, water bailer and lifejackets. A trip plan is also an essential part of safe boating. A trip plan is basically contains information about where you plan to go boating. It should be filed with someone responsible that can take the proper steps should an emergency occur.

Lifejackets

Lifejackets are essential for people of all ages. The misconception largely exists that if a child falls in the water an adult in decent physical condition will be able to save them. This is a very dangerous assumption as it is not always the case. Often a child that falls into the water will go below the surface of the water which means they may be hard to spot. Also, sometimes it is not immediately apparent that a child has fallen into the water. You may not even realize until it is already too late.

Man Overboard

When someone falls overboard it is important to not immediately jump in after them to try to save them. Someone who

Cruise travel agencies sometimes reduce the cost of your ticket by reducing their commissions … Here is how it works – cruise travel agencies get a commission from the cruise line for every ticket they sell. And some cruise travel agencies pass on a part of their commissions to their customers. But this may not happen always – especially if the cruise lines want to prevent a price war and request the cruise agencies not to do so.

In any case, booking through a cruise travel agency might be a good thing to do because in addition to a possible discount that you may be getting on your cruise ticket, cruise agencies might also be able to help you choose a cruise ship that is right for you because they know about the amenities aboard the ships and the on board and on shore activities.

And Here is something that seems to fly in the face of “conventional wisdom” …

A few years ago, it used to be that last minute buyers would most possibly end up with the biggest discounts … but this may not be true anymore.

Booking early – about three

Lefakinis, chairman of Valef Yachts, had an opportunity to visit the now-famous Aristotle Onassis yacht due to a family invitation extended to Spyros Skouras, by the owner. Skouras, chairman of 20th Century Fox, was invited to the yacht, with Winston Churchill and Maria Callas in attendance. This was heady stuff for a young lad, but it also instilled in Lefakinis a love of yachts in general and yachting in particular.

As a result, the Lefakinis love of yachting has led to his stewardship of a yacht chartering business, Valef Yachts.

He fondly relates how Valef Yachts and the Christina O share a joint tradition and history that is remarkable. The “M/Y Christina O” story actually originated in 1943 in Canada. Back then, the ship was known as the frigate Stormont, a convoy escort. Aristotle Onassis bought it in 1954, turning the frigate into the history’s most famous yacht. The Onassis concept for “Christina O” was to convert the vessel into a powerful symbol of his business empire with unique and total elegance.

Onassis’ guests on board “Christina O” were truly the world’s most famous, powerful and influential people of the time, including Sir Winston Churchill,

From the waterway of the passage, one can look upon some of the most magnificent natural scenery to be found such as coastal rainforests, deep blue fjords and tidewater glaciers. Also to be found in the passage are numerous species of wildlife including humpback whales, sea lions and seabirds.
Because of the awe-inspiring beauty of the passage and since many destinations along the Alaska inside passage are only accessible by plane or boat, inside passage cruises have become one of the most popular tourist attractions of the state.

Few people have visited Alaska without experiencing once in a lifetime moments. Towering tidewater glaciers offer natural beauty that usually is only fully appreciated with an up close and personal view that only a cruise through the inland waterways can afford. From this vantage point you will stand in awe of these mighty glaciers that reach several hundred feet in height and enjoy plentiful wildlife viewing such as humpback whales, orcas, sea lions, mountain goats, brown bears and bald eagles. You will also be stricken speechless by the sheer beauty of the inside passage’s botanical gardens, spectacular waterfalls, and the Alaskan sunrise as seen from the cruise ship.

This ship caters to everyone and I mean everyone. Children love the kids programs put on by Camp Carnival where they will entertain your little ones so you can have grown up time alone. After hours babysitting is also available to a small fee until 3am. Teens have their own alcohol and parent free party place called Club O2. The pizzeria is open 24 hours a day and what kid wouldn’t be in heaven with that.

Adults can enjoy a drink and dancing in the Jazz club on the Valor called the Paris Hot Jazz Club. Don’t miss the rotating piano in the Lindy Hop Piano Bar. In fact there is no lack of venues to partake in your favorite beverage or music on board. The Valor has 22 bars and lounges in all. You can dance into the wee hours if that is your choice at the disco. It is called One Small Step Dance Club and plays homage to the first steps made by Neil Armstrong on the surface of the moon.

I was a tad concerned about the reputation Carnival has before I sailed on my first Carnival Cruise ship. I am a

One is to travel on a Bermuda cruise liner during the off-season (when demand is low and supply or occupancy is high), and the other is to travel in a group (by which you can take advantage of what amounts to wholesale discounts). The Bermuda cruise season generally runs from April to October. So cruise liners on this route during the off-season generally offer heavy discounts. However, it is advisable to book these cruises early before the best options are taken.

The group discounts can be had in two ways: either through an organization that provides discounted cruises, or by joining a group of travelers under package tour schemes offered by tour operators. Certain cruise liners offer discounts directly to the travelers. Sometimes your credit card could help you in taking advantage of such discounts, as certain cruise lines offer discounts if you use a specific brand of credit card to pay for the ticket.

A number of luxury cruise liners offer discounted berths during the end of the season. In the beginning of the season you would often find cruise liners to Bermuda fully packed; the possibility of a discount comes more at the end