posted by admin on Jul 6
Uniworld - Leading The World In International River Cruises
It is a name that is guaranteed to stand out among the rest. This popular river cruise line is well known for offering its guests only the utmost in quality river programs, as well as unsurpassed elegance that is rated among the very best. If you would like to take your family or that special someone on an unforgettable international river cruise, you can be assured that no matter which itinerary you choose, it will be one that is remembered for a long time to come.
New York Cruises - Best Ships & Itineraries of 2008 - 2009
Over one million people sailed from New York’s three ports (Manhattan, Brooklyn and Cape Liberty, Bayonne, NJ) in 2007, according to the New York City Economic Development Corporation, and that number is expected to increase in 2008. Since 9/11 the number of ships and passengers increased to the point that additional berthing facilities were opened in…
Cruising Reunions
Cruising Reunions by Dr. Earl R. Smith II Over the last couple of decades, as Executive Director of Nautical Options, I have arranged a wide variety of events on cruise ships. Many participants have experienced the wonders of cruising for the first time when we organized their friends and family reunion at sea. Often it had been held at a resort or some family members house. We helped them take it to sea . In almost every case the reunion, once taken to sea, remains at sea year after year. There are a whole raft of reasons why this seems to be the case. Here are just a few: 1. Ease of organization: Reunions typically depend upon one or two individuals who bear the burden of organizing and coordinating the schedules of widely dispersed family members. Even if the reunion is held at a resort, the coordination of air and ground transportation can be daunting at particular times of the year. Then there is the issue of arranging menus, meeting rooms and having the resort accommodate the scheduling needs of the group. Cruse based events are comparatively simple to organize ” particularly if you employ one of the companies like Nautical Options which specializes in them 2. Cost: Two things quickly become apparent after you have decided to take a family reunion to sea. The first is how much less expensive the event is. If you go through an organization which specializes in such events and can access the best rates, the cost of a cruise based reunion will be somewhere between 60 and 70% of the cost of the same event on land. The second thing you will notice is that a cruise based event is, by and large, a one line cost. By that I mean a single payment buys the cabin, all you can eat and unlimited, high quality food (watch out for the midnight chocolate buffet!) and all the distractions and entertainment that one could wish for. For the most part individual travelers will end up paying for their drinks, shore excursions, gambling losses and purchases in the many ports of call. 3. Onboard Entertainment: Cruise ships provide a wide range of on board activities. Every evening there is a Broadway-class show in the main lounge. In addition there are always musicians in the various smaller venues. Each day all sorts of organized activities are on offer. These range from dance classes and wine tastings to trivia games, art auctions, bingo, lectures on the next port of call and a myriad of others. In short, there is never a shortage of things for members of your group to do while onboard. 4. Meeting Rooms: This is where a company which specializes in organizing crews based events can really shine. At Nautical Options we handle all the arrangements for the meeting rooms as well as the arrangements for catering, entertainment and special events. We have managed birthday parties complete with cakes, karaoke competitions, special lectures and a whole range of other activities. 5. Ports of call: A cruise ship is a resort hotel that changes location every night. Each morning you wake up in a different place than where you went to sleep. Some mornings you wake up to a day at sea and the wonderful experience of enjoying the ship. On others you wake up in a new port of call and to all the amazing options that are available. Cruise lines organize a wide range of shore excursions in every port. All of the vendors are carefully screened and the shore excursions are carefully reviewed. In other words, you don t have to worry the cruise line has already done the worrying for you. In each port your group will disperse ” some on shore excursions, some just heading for the beach and others looking for bargains that are always available in the shops. Dinner becomes a wonderful sharing of experiences and a chance to wear that new shirt or goofy hat that you just could not pass up. 6. Having fun and building memories: Memories that live on and on: over the years I ve noticed one thing above all else. There s something about the experience of having a reunion on a cruise ship that keeps the memories alive year after year. I have had clients tell me that five or six years into a series of reunion cruises they still reminisce about the first ones. Other groups post their pictures on the internet and share them with friends and family. Cruising is an amazing experience by itself ” but, with your friends and family members, a reunion makes memories that endure. IMPORTANT - Publication/Reprint Terms - You have permission to publish this article electronically in free-only publications such as a website or an ezine as long as the bylines are included. - You are not allowed to use this article for commercial purposes. The article should only be reprinted in a publicly accessible website and not in a members-only commercial site. - You are not allowed to post/reprint this article in any sites/publications that contains or supports hate, violence, porn and warez or any indecent and illegal sites/publications. - You are not allowed to use this article in UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email) or SPAM. This article MUST be distributed in an opt-in email list only. - If you distribute this article in an ezine or newsletter, we ask that you send a copy of the newsletter or ezine that contains the article to drsmith[at]lngvw.com (replace [at] with @) - If you post this article in a website/forum/blog, ALL links MUST be set to hyperlinks and we ask that you send a copy of the URL where the article is posted to drsmith[at]lngvw.com (replace [at] with @) - We request that you ask permission from the author if you want to publish this article in print. The role of iSnare.com is only to distribute this article as part of its Article Distribution feature (http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php ). iSnare.com does NOT own this article, please respect the author’s copyright and this publication/reprint terms. If you do not agree to any of these terms, please do not reprint or publish this article.
About the Author: Dr. Smith is Executive Director of Nautical Options. You can contact Dr. Smith at drsmith@lngvw.com to arrange a free consultation.
