May 20, 2011

All-Inclusive Cruise Ships

Vacationing is a pastime that is enjoyed by many.  While vacations are nice, needed, and important, they can become costly. This cost is often associated with additional expenses such as food, beverages, and entertainment.  If you are interested in vacationing aboard a cruise ship, but you are worried about the cost, you don’t necessarily have to be.  

All-inclusive cruise ships are cruise ships where just about everything is included.  The cost of your drinks, food, and entertainment are often taken care of.  If you are wondering whether or not you should book reservations aboard a traditional cruise ship or an all-inclusive cruise ship, you are not alone.  A large number of travelers wonder the same thing.

When it comes in all-inclusive cruise ships, there are a number of advantages and disadvantages. To determine whether you could benefit from an all-inclusive cruise ship, you are encouraged to weigh both the advantages and disadvantages. After you have considered both, you are encouraged to make a decision.  If the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, then an all-inclusive cruise ship may be just what you need and vice versa. 

The biggest advantage of all-inclusive cruise ships is that most of your needs are taken care of.  As previously mentioned, most all-inclusive cruises cover food, drinks, and entertainment. You may also be granted exclusive admittance into movie theaters and video arcades. 

To many, having foods, drinks, and entertainment provided free of charge sounds too good to be true.  In some cases, it may be. While many of your food and drinks are included in an all-inclusive package, not all are.  It is possible that you may be required to pay for your alcoholic beverages. There are some cruise ships where alcohol beverages are included in the package, but on others they are not.

When it comes to food, your food at a sit-down restaurant may be provided free of charge, but your snacks are typically not covered. This often includes snacks or small meals purchased at onboard specialty shops and vending machines. If your snacks and small meals are not covered, you can prevent the extra expenses by eating a large meal. You may also be able to save money by bringing your own snacks onboard, if the cruise ship allows it.

As mentioned above, entertainment is often included in an all-inclusive cruise ship package.  As with food and drinks, the entertainment is often limited.  It is likely that you will gain free admission into a dance or ball, but you will not be able to gamble free of charge.  If you are interested in gambling aboard the ship’s casino, you will have to come up with your own funds.

When it comes to the cost of an all-inclusive cruise, there are many travelers who get confused.  The cost of an all-inclusive cruise may seem high, but it is often that way to cover the cruise line’s expenses.  For many individuals, the cost of an all-inclusive cruise is a great value.  To determine whether or not you will save money aboard an all-inclusive cruise, you need to estimate your cost of food, drinks, and entertainment aboard also a traditional cruise.

 By examining each and comparing them to what you want and need out of your cruise, you can easily determine which cruise ship vacation package is right for you.

May 17, 2011

When Is The Best Time To Be At Disneyland?

When you are planning your Disneyland vacation,
you should note that some days are better than,
others at the park. The days that you choose to be
there will depend greatly on whether you are more
interested in attractions or entertainment – or both.

For instance, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and
Thursdays are the days when you will have shorter
lines for the attractions, because there will be fewer
people there. On the other hand, the entertainment
on those nights cannot compare to the entertainment
that is offered on the weekends. If entertainment is
important, plan your visit to Disneyland for the
weekend.

If you will be at Disneyland for several days, however,
plan to ride the attractions on Tuesday, Wednesday
and Thursday, and then enjoy the entertainment, as
well as the other things the park has to offer on the
other days. If you are visiting during the off-season,
you should note that entertainment usually isn’t
offered on weekdays. Also remember that the park
really fills up as the day wears on, so try to ride the
attractions in the morning if possible!

Where Are The Disneyland Characters?

A Disneyland vacation would not be complete
without the Characters that we all know and love so
well. Often, however, people leave Disneyland
disappointed – simply because they never found
their favorite character. The key to finding the
characters you love is in knowing where to look for
them in the first place.

Start with the Character Breakfast. Here, you will
probably see Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow
White, Mary Poppins, Jasmine, Ariel, Minnie and
Mickey Mouse, and many others. If you miss your
favorites at the breakfast, don’t despair – simply go
find them! Many characters will be on hand, right
inside the gates, to greet you as you arrive in the
morning as well.

Start from Toon Town where all of the Disney
characters live. Visit their homes to see if you can
catch a glimpse of them. Go early while they may still
be at home! Be sure to visit Goofy’s Kitchen as well,
since many characters pop in and out of it throughout the
day. If you’ve been through Toon Town, and you still
haven’t seen your favorite character, your next stop
should be Fantasyland. The different characters can be
located telling stories throughout Fantasyland.

May 16, 2011

Tips for Planning a Disneyland Vacation

For many people, planning a Disneyland Vacation
is part of the fun of the vacation itself! For others,
however, it can be a headache. Before you start
planning your vacation, determine whether or not you
are really up to planning the trip yourself or not.

If you don’t want to plan your own trip, you have
several options. Of course, you can have a travel
agent make all of the arrangements for you, but for
the best Disneyland experience, you might be better
off using the Disney Vacation Planning Services.
Either way, you can have every single aspect of your
trip planned for you. Once you get there, all you will
need to do is follow your Itinerary.

If you prefer the fun involved in planning your
Disneyland vacation yourself, there are some things
that you absolutely must not leave out of the planning
stage. Before you can decide what you will be doing at
Disneyland, you must determine which dates you will
be there. The parks offer different things at different
types of the year, with many different themes and
entertainment to choose from.

Once you know when you will be at Disneyland, the
next step is to figure out what you will be doing each
day that you are there. Once you’ve set up your travel
arrangements and your hotel reservations, there are a
few more things you must consider.

Food is one thing you might want to arrange in
advance. Disneyland is a very popular place, and
having reservations at some of the more popular
restaurants is recommended. These reservations can
be made well in advance – before you ever leave home.

When planning which attractions at Disneyland you
want to visit, use a map of Disneyland as a guide.
This will make it easier to schedule time for
attractions that are near each other. You want to see
and do as much as possible, so as much walking or
travel time as you can.

Keep your budget in mind. Often, by making
arrangements through travel agents or through the
Disneyland Vacation Planning Services, you will be
able to get better deals – which can save you money.
Look for these deals, and save as much money as
you can on your hotel and food. If you have small
children with you, keep their priorities in mind – they
have less interest in where they will sleep and the
food that they will eat, and more interest in what they
will see and do!

May 15, 2011

The Disneyland Hotel

For the ultimate Disneyland vacation, you should
definitely stay at the Disneyland Resort Hotel. With
990 rooms in three high rise towers, this is the
original Disney Hotel, located in Downtown Disney.
If you want to truly experience all that Disneyland
has to offer, you must stay at the Disneyland Resort
Hotel.

The guest rooms in the Disneyland Hotel are
astounding. Offering standard rooms and suites,
each room has either a king size bed or two queen
size beds, room service, phones with voicemail, irons,
ironing boards, refrigerators, hairdryers, make up
mirrors, and safes. Cribs and roll away beds are
available, as well as smoking and non-smoking rooms.
The rooms are even sprinkled with Pixie Dust! For
families, the suites are highly recommended. Suites
contain one, two, or three bedrooms, and have all
of the amenities of a standard room as well.

The Concierge service at the Disneyland Hotel
cannot be topped. Concierge service entitles you to
priority check-in, admission to an exclusive lounge,
a continental breakfast, an evening wine and cheese
reception. Nightly turn-down service is included, as
well as DVD players and complimentary movies.
You will also have an unlimited supply of bottled
water and soft drinks. The Concierge serves to
make your vacation as enjoyable and trouble-free
as possible.

Disney touches are everywhere, and this is the
closest you can actually come to living in Never Land.
The swimming pool even has a Never Land theme,
and there are several cove pools and a sandy beach.
The hotel also features a children’s playground, a
volleyball court, and Koi fish ponds. The recreational
area encompasses a 5000 square foot area inspired
by Peter Pan. There are many scenic waterfalls,
tropical foliage, and mysterious caves on the property.
There is even a Team Mickey work out room full of
state-of-the-art gym equipment.

At the Disneyland Hotel, you will feel like your
Disney experience has truly already started as soon
as you walk in the door. This is where the famous
Goofy’s Kitchen is located, as well as The Captain’s
Galley, The Coffee House, Crocs Bits ‘n’ Bites,
Granville’s Steak House, Hook’s Pointe, The Wine
Cellar, and The Lost Bar.

When you stay at the Disneyland Hotel, your
vacation continues even after a day of sight seeing
and attractions in the park. In fact, your Disneyland
vacation begins each and every morning when you
wake up in the Magic Kingdom that the Disneyland
Hotel represents.