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With the surge of interest in spas and spa practices like massage, facials, saunas, and acupuncture among landlubbers, it’s no wonder that more cruise lines are starting to incorporate spa services into their normal on-deck beauty amenities. The addition of spa services means that travelers can take a luxury cruise to a far-flung location like Bali without losing the comforts of home, and the refreshing services of their local spa.

Crystal Cruise lines is a chief in spa vacations within the luxury cruise dispatch experience. On timber the gemstone Symphony, the 5,000 straight foot gemstone Spa and store offers beauty, vigor and spa services. The Symphony’s spa adheres to the principles of feng shui and offers ocean views throughout its gathering and gym. Guests can take from aerobic, yoga or Pilates classes, open weights, and private training. gemstone Symphony also offers a specially-tailored food for those who want to keep a exclusive diet during their cruise vacation.

Spa vacations have also been incorporated into cruising post with Silversea Cruises and renown Cruises. The renown Millennium skin an AquaSpa SM aboard the ship, with a 25,000-square-foot service with 16 therapy rooms and a vigor center with panoramic views.Services existing at the spa enter manicures, facials, and massages. At the vigor center, guests can take a vigor class and hire a private trainer.

We have had a lot of fun during the first portion of this article and hopefully you feel as though you have a firm grasp on the topic.

Silversea Cruises’ spa vacations are run by the prominent Mandara Spa, which offers a comprehensive list of fitness, beauty and spa treatments on all Silversea cruise ships. Guests can take from an extraordinary spa menu incorporating exotic, classic and cutting-edge fitness and beauty programs. In this way, passengers get a risk to explore different sorts of spa amenities while they explore the exotic ports of call on their itineraries.

Knowing the ins and outs of this topic will help you to fully understand the importance of this entire subject. http://www.health-spa-vacation-resort.com/

Valipat Munpan is The Webmaster Of The Long Term Lifestyle Change Health
Spa Vacation Benefits For Healthier - Quickly and Easily! www.health-spa-vacation-resort.com/

Yacht Management is a relatively new branch to the Yachting Industry. It has emerged through the ongoing popularity of sailing vacations, or chartering. Boat owners are opting out for the opportunity of placing their yacht in a charter fleet.

Yacht Management alleviates many of the activities that support the operations of a yacht. The responsibilities that are associated with the care of your yacht are made as pleasurable as possible, and less of a hassle. The role of yacht management is to bridge the gap between recreational and professional yachting. A “newbie”, intending to relieve their stress would benefit greatly from this. Yacht Management can make the difference of keeping a dream from becoming a nightmare.

Yacht Management & Chartering

Yacht Management is crucial when it comes to chartering a boat. Generating income with a boat isn’t easy, but in almost all cases, success depends on treating a vessel as a business. Yes, of course a boat owner will attach only recreational purposes to their boat. This is normal, most of time that is the intention. Purchasing Yachts and immediately placing them into a charter program is a growing trend, though. According to many boat owners, one of the easiest ways to slip into chartering is to get the help of a yacht management company. The Catamaran Company has a division dedicated to these kinds of services.

These services include listing the vessel with yacht brokers nationwide or internationally, so the yacht owner does not have to spend their time on advertising and marketing. The most sophisticated services take care of everything from booking the yacht, collecting payments and coordinating maintenance and repairs. In return, the management company collects a percentage of the charter income. The boat owner collects on the larger percentage of course. The Catamaran Company client profits are in the higher side of the spectrum, when considering industry standards.

Allowing, a firm take care of the management of your boat will help you offset some of the costs of buying and maintaining a boat. One of yacht managements many functions are to protect the buyer’s investment. A team of professionals will have a greater chance of prolonging the life of the investment.

Typical Catamaran Company Maintenance Services

The Catamaran Company is dedicated to making every aspect of boat ownership and use pleasurable for you, your family and your guests. Our service department can help preserve and even enhance the long-term value of one of your most important investments. We will make sure that your yacht is ready to go whenever you are.. and all in top operational condition!

Typical services include:

• Complete Yacht Services

• Varnish & Bright Work

• System inspection on a regular basis with a written report of findings & recommendations to owner

• Administer an applicable Preventative Maintenance program

• Scheduled systems operation to ensure the preventative maintenance program is effective

• Structural repairs

• Fiberglass

• Engine Overhauling, re-powering

• Hardware & hand-hold restoration or replacement

Yacht Deliveries – Satellite Tracking

The Catamaran Company can help you arrange a delivery anywhere in the world. We have partnered with industry specialists who have excellent credentials in safely delivering your yacht to a number of international destinations.

Yacht owners can now log into our special satellite system to chart the position of their yacht anywhere in the world. The system is powerful - it allows you to zoom in on the boat via special illustrative charts. Not only does this give you piece of mind knowing exactly where your yacht is in the delivery stage, but its fun.

The system functions through two main components: they are the terminal, and satellites. The terminal is the only physical element that is needed to install on the boat. It contains modern GPS and sophisticated software to achieve bi-directional communication with Inmarsat geostationary satellites.

The satellites work through the Inmarsat Network (International Maritime Satellite). This system offers world-wide coverage excluding the world’s remote regions like the North and South Poles. The four geostationary satellites are located on top of the Ecuador at around 35,500 kilometers.

If you would like to view a short clip on the delivery of a Lagoon 44 go to

http://www.catamarans.com/catamaranco/video/lp_44_Delivery.asp?bhcp=1

Private Management in British Virgin Islands, Tortola

The British Virgin Islands and the Island of Tortola exists in one of the most beautiful, quite and well preserved natural environments rivaling just about anyplace in the world to visit. Over the course of the last few years this area has proved to be one of the most fertile grounds anywhere in the world relative to the generation of income for the charter industry.

In order for these services to be optimal quality control must be implemented. Control in the quality of service must be handled by both owners and customers in the preparation of each charter as well as understanding and maintaining the yachts in our care and custody.

For more details please visit http://www.catamarans.com/

Different people have different definitions of cruising. To some, it means traveling across oceans into foreign countries for years, maybe circumnavigating the globe. To others, it means touring waters close to home over a summer.

I don’t think it much matters what the time frame or geographical scope is. Cruising, I believe, is a state of mind. No, I’m not talking about listening to Jimmy Buffet music while sucking on a rum drink in the cockpit. That can be fun, and it might be part of the lifestyle, but it’s not cruising all by itself.

For me, cruising is fundamentally about self-sufficiency. All water vessels are islands when you come right down to it. Everything that a boat and its crew need to survive and operate must be on board. Water, fuel, electricity, food, clothes, hardware–all self contained, whether for a weekend or a decade. The knowledge needed to get from point A to point B–coastal or open water navigation, understanding weather patterns, how to anchor safely, etc.–is necessary. And if a crisis arises, the crew must be prepared to deal with it on their own.

Self-sufficiency touches every aspect of a cruising lifestyle. Getting food, keeping tanks filled, making electricity–those are some of the more obvious elements. Self-sufficiency is required in some other, perhaps not quite so evident, areas. Being on a fixed (or no) income can be a real challenge if you want to stay on the water as long as possible–creative spending and income production may be called for, and that calls for self-sufficiency. Health maintenance is extremely important, and this requires a higher degree of self-sufficiency than required when tied to land.

I think one of the key areas where self-sufficiency is called for is inside one’s own head. Boredom is certainly encountered out there–a well-known adage is that cruising is hundreds of hours of non-activity punctuated here and there by minutes of terror. What to do with those hundreds of hours? A self-sufficient cruiser finds pathways through the boredom.

Humility is a big part of cruising. No matter how much preparation is done or how much seafaring knowledge the skipper and crew have, it isn’t wise to get complacent. Nature hates hubris. She has a way of kicking us in the butt the moment we think we’ve got it all under control, and a small fluke can cascade into a major emergency in the blink of an eye.

Prudence, the third component of a cruising state of mind, springs from humility. A lot adventure yarns I’ve heard from cruisers, the ones that keep listeners riveted while the storyteller talks about a harrowing experience that he or she passed through before getting safely to harbor, are founded on bad judgement. In almost every case where I or another listener asked probing questions, it turned out that the boat was flaunting statistics–making passages in the wrong season or against the prevailing winds. There was always a “good” reason for being on the water against the odds–I am amazed at how often the reason is that some friend or family member is flying in to the destination on a certain date, and the boat had to be there by then. Why would a skipper be so imprudent? Why risk putting the boat and crew in a dicey situation for a reason like that? It happens a lot.

The ocean and the weather can be dangerous, perhaps fatal, and if you have a good grip on that fact, it can’t help but make you take pause. We can never be absolutely certain that a passage will be trouble-free, but we can stack the deck on our favor by knowing the best times for travel in a particular part of the globe, making sure that crucial boat systems are in good working order, and watch schedules and other crew responsibilities are designed to avoid fatigue. Discipline is needed too–the discipline to stay in port even though it means missing a planned rendezvous down the line, the discipline to include worst-case scenarios when making passage decisions. Prudence helps us make plans deliberately and with discipline, so that the odds will be on our side.

Self-sufficiency, humility, and prudence–these, for me, are the three characteristics that make a cruiser. Everything stems from these: How you prepare, how you plan your itinerary, how you meet challenges once you are on the water. And it doesn’t matter where or for how long you go. As far as I’m concerned, whether you are a permanent resident in the world’s largest small village or an occasional visitor, if you are striving for self-sufficiency, taking a humble approach, and exercise prudence in your approach to the lifestyle, you are a cruiser.

Trish Lambert (http://www.trishlambert.com) has been a cruising sailor for over twenty years and a first mate three times, with three different skippers and three very different cruising styles. She knows first hand what makes cruising successful, and what she has to share may surprise you! Whether you are a skipper or first mate, a singlehander or part of a cruising couple, sail boater or power boater, Trish can help make your cruising dream a reality.

© 2006, All Rights Reserved

From weekend workshops to full-service culinary academies, men and women are drawn to cooking lessons. Now you can incorporate your love for cooking with your dreams of high seas adventure because more and more cruise ships are offering cooking-related events onboard.

Originally attributed to small cruise ships that needed an incentive to gain bookings, cooking cruises have grown over the years and are now found aboard large vessels. One of the most recent announcements is from Holland America. Working in conjunction with Food & Wine magazine, Holland America’s Culinary Arts Center will offer demonstrations and seminars from world-renowned chefs, wine experts, cookbook authors and more.

A fleet-wide enhancement, the Culinary Arts Center will be retrofit onto all 13 existing ships and will also be incorporated into the upcoming 14th ship due to launch in summer 2008. Each Culinary Arts Center will include theater-style seating, state-of-the-art show kitchen, plasma screens that allow every participant to see, a display counter for easy viewing and space for guests to participate in preparing some of the dishes. Upgrades to all Holland America’s ships will be complete by summer 2006 allowing each ship to include Culinary Arts Center activities during each cruise.

One small cruise company offers tours featuring chefs from the world-famous Le Cordon Bleu. As you cruise the Baltic Ocean or the Mediterranean Sea, you can enjoy studying under talented instructors. Other small ships sail to Greece, Turkey and other worldwide destinations offering cooking classes based on each region visited.

Over 60 top chefs are slated to appear during the next 12 months on Holland America’s ships including Nick Stellino, chef and host of Nick Stellino’s Family Kitchen V; Jacques Torres, chocolatier, pastry chef and cookbook author; Aaron Sanchez, chef and owner of Paladar, New York City; Michelle Bernstein, owner and chef of MB restaurant in Cancun; Neal Gallagher, chef of Oceana (and voted Best New Chef of 2003); Charles Dale, founder of Aspen’s Renaissance, Range and Rustique restaurants, and the list goes on.

Food preparation, wine tasting, cooking classes, seminars, book signings, question-and-answer sessions and market tours in port are just a few of the activities passengers on various ships can look forward to.

When booking a cooking cruise, look for themes such as grilling, desserts, healthy entrees, Italian, Mexican, etc. In addition, also ask about group discounts. Holland’s Culinary Group Program offers special fares for groups of 25 or more, a cabin for a guest chef, two one-hour demonstration sessions, a complimentary wine tasting or cocktail party and a color group photo.

Most cooking cruises allow you to eat what has been prepared, so you can literally taste the fruits of your labor. However, samples may not be enough for an entire meal. If the cooking tour you book is aboard a smaller ship rather than a large vessel with onboard restaurants, you might be wise to ask if a meal will be served prior to booking your reservation.

Whether you opt for an intimate-sized ship with only a few hundred passengers and a defined itinerary or a large vessel capable of sailing the world, cooking cruises are fun, entertaining and exciting for every member of the family. Ask your travel agent for the details on cooking cruises available in the destinations you want to sail.

Roy Witman is Vice-President of Cruise Vacation Center based in Yonkers, New York. Visit them online today at www.cruisevacationcenter.com for the best deals on
Alaska cruises and
Hawaii cruises. You’ll find their service exceptional and their attention to detail second to none.

So what is a Tall Ship really? Well, I really had a hard time finding that out. If a boat is capable of traveling on the open seas, then it’s generally accepted as a ship. It seems that a Tall Ship needs to have at least two masts. Tall Ships are traditionally rigged sailing vessels that have more than 30-ft. (9.14 m) waterline length. I think that is pretty close to all the defining characteristics.

Over the years, many tall ships from all over the world have visited Victoria. I believe that this is the first time the Tall Ship Festival has been held in Victoria. On Thursday June 23, 2005 approximately 30 Tall Ships started gathering near the entrances to Esquimalt Harbour and Victoria Harbour. I thought I would get an early start to avoid any anticipated crowds. My target was the Victoria Breakwater protecting the Inner Harbour. My grandaughter and I went about an hour and a half early to find that that thousands of people had the idea long before me. I managed to find a parking spot and worked my way out on to the breakwater.

There was an endless stream of people along the half-mile stretch of breakwater that extends into the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the end was covered with Tall Ship fans. Soon the boats started sailing toward the breakwater.

The show continued until around 1:00 PM when the first ship entered the Victoria Inner Harbour. The Pacific Swift, a Victoria based Tall Ship was the first. The two largest ships, the Russian vessel Pallada and the Mexican vessel Cuauhtemoc had to wait until the evening high tides to enter because of their large draft.

Victoria’s Inner Harbour was teeming with interesting activity as Sea Planes tried to maintain their commercial schedules, Harbour Ferries scooted around, the Coho Ferry tried to leave on time, kayakers everywhere, all manner of pleasure craft coming and going - and all the while, more than 30 Tall Ships docking. The Victoria harbour master, who was orchestrating all this traffic must have had rock solid nerves.

I did not attend the first full day of the Festival, but heard it did have some big hick-ups. The large crowds that attended created huge line- ups everywhere. The organizers addressed the issues and Saturday, when Linda and I attended, went a lot better. The lines were long in the morning but shrunk in the afternoon. There was a lot to see and do. The biggest line-ups were to see the Pallada and the Cuauhtemoc.

We were standing in line to see the Cuauhtemoc when someone called out to say that they were looking for 30 people to visit the Zodiac. The Zodiac was the 3rd largest vessel and due to the low tide, it was a bit hidden. We walked down and were the first people to go on the Zodiac. It was a beautiful and built for the people who became wealthy in manufacturing. The Zodiac was designed to epitomize the speed and grace of the historic North American fishing schooners and was modeled on the Blue Nose (made famous on the Canadian dime).

The line for the Cuauhtemoc had shrunk some, so we joined it. It moved along reasonably well, but it did take an hour to get to the 2nd largest vessel in the Festival.

The Cuauhtemoc is a training tall ship for the Mexican Navy. It was built in Bilbao, Spain July 29, 1982.The Cuauhtemoc is known as the “Ambassador and Gentleman of the Seas”. Generations of officers have trained on it and it has sailed approximately 400,000 miles so far. It is huge, 90 meters in length, 12 meters wide, with 23 sails. It can move at 9 knots under sail and 17 knots under power.

The 23 sails are supported by a tremendous amount of rigging. The wire cables all are covered with soft material (made from frayed rope) to prevent the cables from tearing the sails in the wind. The sailors call it saggy wrinkles.

Someone asked me why you needed to board the vessels as you can see most of the ship from the street above. The features throughout the ship are truly amazing as demonstrated by the immaculately finished wood shown below. There are lots of displays, rigging, brass, wood and interesting equipment on the ship.

The staff on the ship was decked out in traditional navy whites and all were very friendly and accommodating. Most were young men and trainees.
The Cuauhtemoc - Linda with three of the finest.

In addition to the sites on shore, the harbour was full of activity and the many perches on the ship offered a great view of the harbour activity.

Ron Kirstein is the owner of a Canadian Travel & Tourism Web
site (since 1995). Ron has traveled the length and breadth
of Vancouver Island BC Canada in search of
adventures; see http://tourismmall.victoria.bc.ca/travelmagazine

Everyone has their favorite Caribbean Island but if you don’t know, cruising the Cayman Islands is a highlight of a Caribbean Cruise. The three islands hold many attractions some that are unique to these islands. The world’s only commercial Green Sea Turtle farm is located here and is an interesting tour. Other attractions include the National Museum, Queen Elizabeth II Botanical Park and Garden, Bird Sanctuaries, Nature trails and Wetlands Preserves. And, of course, for those who can’t live without it, shopping is abundant without the hassle of street vendors (prohibited by law).

One of the most famous natural attractions in Grand Cayman Island is Stingray City. This is an area in the ocean not far from the northern tip of Grand Cayman where tourists can get up close to hundreds of friendly stingrays. Stingray City will be one of the organized tours from the cruise ships visiting Grand Cayman as a port of call. There will also be tours available from local operators in Georgetown where the cruise ships dock. The cruise organized tours will almost always be the more expensive option but you will save a lot of shore time.

Scuba divers can book specialized dives at Stingray City through one of the many diver operators in Grand Cayman. The scuba diving at Stingray City is at a deeper section away from the tourist crowds who are usually brought to a very shallow area. Certified scuba divers and even snorkelers are recommended to take the dive trip option with the dive shops to experience Stingray City with fewer crowds. For non-divers, the sandbars here are shallow enough to stand and feed the stingrays.

It is believed that many years ago, sailors visiting the area while cleaning their catch threw fish remains overboard and soon noticed the stingrays coming into the cove for the free food. These particular stingrays became conditioned over the years to humans and the food handouts unlike stingrays elsewhere in the Caribbean.

The stingrays here are friendly enough that people could touch them and local guides have been known to even hold them. The guides will warn everyone that even though these stingrays appear to be quite friendly, they should still be regarded as wild animals so it is never recommended to touch them by their razor sharp tails or abuse them in any manner. It is possible to feed them with the squid parts provided on site. The mouths of the stingrays are located underneath their bodies and people are instructed to hold the food in their palms flat facing up. With their keen sense of smell, the stingrays will hover towards and over the food to collect their snacks.

The guides, a devilish lot, usually target in on the squeamish of all the passengers. As soon as those passengers are in the water they throw food around the hapless folks to attract the stingrays to that area. So seem brave and you won’t get picked on.

Although Stingray City can be crowded at times due to its popularity, it does offer a very unique experience to see these wonderful sea creatures up close. Stingrays are usually very shy animals and will swim away from scuba divers and snorkelers but not at Stingray City in Grand Cayman.

This is a tour that all members of your family can enjoy, you, your children even the grandparents. It is easy to get on and off the boat and the water is only about chest deep, depending on your height. Life jackets are available for all. I highly recommend this outing but book early as word has gotten around and this is a very popular excursion.

Visit Mary Hanna’s websites at: WebMarketingReviews CruiseTravel and Cruise Reviews.

A Caribbean cruise can be a wonderful experience. Exotic ports of call. warm tropical weather. But, there are a few packing tips to keep in mind.

Even though the weather is expected to be warm (preferably hot!) you will want to have something to wear for the potentially cool evenings. Even the air-conditioned dining rooms and lounges aboard your cruise ship can feel too cool for your “summer” attire. Tip one for your Caribbean cruise (as with all cruises) be prepared for the unexpected.

Many travelers will want to get a whole new wardrobe of fantastic cruise wear for your vacation because they have “nothing to wear”. Relax, you will likely have everything you need right in your closet. Of course, that new killer outfit of cruise wear may simply be a necessity!

As with most cruises, comfortable walking shoes are a must. The magnificent cruise ships can be deceiving in size. And of course most of the shore excursions require some walking. Another important packing tip is: don’t buy brand new walking shoes for your cruise. Make sure that your walking shoes are well broken in and comfortable.

Beach and pool attire is acceptable in most of the open air areas of the ship on your Caribbean cruise. For daytime dining rooms and lounges you may require shorts and tops. Shoes and sandals are usually required except in the pool and deck areas mainly for health and safety.

For the formal evenings, you will require special attire. Ladies will want an evening or party gown, a pant suit or two, or a pair of black silky “cocktail” type pants matched with a couple of tops. The latter can take up less packing space and are virtually wrinkle free. They also quite often have an expandable waste (another tip for the marvellous cuisine you’ll experience!).Men usually require a dark suit or jacket with tie, or a tuxedo. It’s always best to check the specific requirements for your cruise ship in advance. For those of you who would rather not pack formal cruise wear, many cruise ships have rentals available. You should however plan for this well in advance. And of course, there are usually restaurants where casual attire is always welcome.

The rest of the evenings usually call for a more dress casual attire. Sport shirts and trousers for men and more casual dresses, pantsuits, or skirt/slacks/blouses for women are the norm.

When planning your Caribbean cruise as with most travel, an important packing tip is to keep your medications with you in your carry-on luggage. You may not receive your checked luggage for a few hours after boarding the ship. There is also the remote possibility (as with any travel) that your luggage may get lost or misplaced.

Because your luggage may be late in arriving, another packing tip is to include a change of attire in your carry-on luggage. You may wish to get into something more relaxing. (This also gives you two outfits in case - just in case mind you - that your luggage does get misplaced.)

Make sure to pack your binoculars and camera with extra film or digital memory and of course, don’t forget your sunscreen! If you should happen to forget the odd item, the shops on board will usually have what you need. Now… sit back and relax! You’re all ready to go.

Brian A Schmidt is the author and web publisher of a1-discount-cruises.com your #1 source for cruise information, discounts and great deals! Visit http://www.a1-discount-cruises.com to book your fabulous cruise vacation! For more interesting articles visit our Article Map pages. If you have any questions regarding the choosing of your cruise line etc. drop us an email info@a1-discount-cruises.com using the subject line questions.

The amenities available on a cruise ship are as important as the places visited during the journey. A cruise liner is often synonymous with the luxuries it offers. The increasing number of passengers on a luxury cruise liner is an indication of the success of the discount offers given by ravel agents. Discount luxury cruises have made a permanent appearance on the budget traveler’s list. Almost all cruise line operators offer discounts to attract more passengers. Today, discount luxury cruises are the catchword for budget minded travelers.

Luxury cruises range from a few hours to several days. Some cruise voyages last for several months, and discounts give much more flexibility to the average traveler’s plans and budget. A cruise is an all-inclusive package, usually including taxes, surcharges and airport fees, handling fees and port charges. Proper care should be taken while choosing a discount luxury to make sure that the above-mentioned charges are included in the cruise rate.

Rates depend on the cruise length and the ports to be visited. Special rates are sometimes applicable to persons traveling alone. Single person booking a double occupancy cabin may be charged 200% more. As a general rule, discount luxury cruises are best enjoyed in large groups. Certain age groups, such as below 12, are given special discounts. Discounts are also extended to senior citizens and members of certain clubs or associations. Ask around, and always compare prices and amenities before taking the final plunge and booking yourself a cabin on a discount luxury cruise liner.

“If you build it, they will come.”

That advice, which prompted an Iowa farmer in the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams” to plow over his corn field and build a baseball diamond, has become the mantra of many high-tech startups promoting electronic commerce on the Internet. And the cruise travel industry has also embraced this “shop by computer” concept.

Indeed the Internet can be a wonderful source of information to help you plan an exciting holiday, obtaining ship and stateroom descriptions, itineraries, tips on sites to see, passport and visa requirements, shore excursion, shopping, weather and local interest information,but is it the right place to book your dream vacation?

Cruise lines are investing over US$15 billion to build at least 50 new ships in the first half of this decade in addition to the over 300 vessels already in service. Each of these ships offer different amenities with unique ambiance and often this kind of information can only be understood and communicated by face to face discussions with a cruise expert to avoid turning a terrific vacation into a mediocre experience.

There is a common misconception that because something is offered for sale on the Internet, it will be an exceptional or a major saving for the consumer. More often than not however it is the ease of completing a transaction that is the major benefit for certain types of travel.

Do not assume that pricing on the Internet will automatically be the lowest. Often local agencies will have agreements with the cruiselines that allow them to offer exceptional “not to be advertised” specials.

Sometimes there are “residents specials” which are applicable only to residents of a particular country, state or province. Most cruise lines offer price protection to the consumer should the fare for your category of stateroom be reduced. A good agent will watch for reductions and ensure you receive the adjustment. Using an electronic service may not provide the same protection or make available specific specials applicable to your requirements.

Arrangements unique to your vacation such as special dietary requirements, handling disabilities, and providing meet and greet services, may be overlooked booking on-line and there may be no way to get answers your very specific questions.

On the other hand booking your frequent flyer points travel directly with the airlines or even obtaining a air ticket can be a simple process with little risk if you are dealing directly with the airline’s booking engine. Above all make sure about who you are giving your credit card to.

Where are they located, and how long have they been in business? Can you get references? Are the web transactions secure? Is the currency my currency? How will my documents get to me and are there additional charges that have not been itemized? What happens if I do not receive the tickets?

Now for the good news! As a research tool, the Internet is second to none. Most cruiselines have sites that provide detailed information on their offerings. Carnival Cruise Lines at www.carnival.com offers comprehensive information on their ships, itineraries and even the shore excursions available for each sailing.

Similar sites are available from Princess Cruises at www.princess.com or Royal Caribbean International at www.rccl.com where you can print a custom information brochure in full color if you wish!

The official trade organization of the cruise industry is the Cruise Lines International Association (www.cruising.org). They work in partnership with nearly 21,000 affiliated travel agencies throughout North America to ensure the highest caliber of cruise sales expertise and service for cruise vacationers.

This is a fun place for exploring what cruising is all about and CLIA provides links to all major cruiselines, frequently asked questions, vacation planning information and even a cruise expert locator to find an Accredited Cruise Counsellor near you.

If you would like to create a printed mini-guide to your vacation destination, you may wish to visit www.fodors.com. The creators of the famous travel books allow you to create your own mini-guides to a destination covering transport, lodging, dining, currency, health, and more in a personalized format.

The Columbus World Travel Guide (www.wtgonline.com) is a resource often used by travel agents for complete information on almost any destination in the world. This site will give you history, maps, visa and passport requirements, how to get there, public holidays, political structure, useful addresses, accommodation, business profiles, climate, social profiles and much more.

There are also links to other very useful areas on the Internet such as Mapquest, Yahoo Weather, Traveller’s Health Services, World Tourism Offices, the Government Travel Advisory and Information services as well as links to ship bridge cameras offering live pictures from their vessels.

Having both a computer and travel background, I am excited by the potential of the Internet as a comprehensive research tool. My practical side reminds me that there is no such thing as a “free lunch”. It is not how much you save but what you get for what you pay!

Sid Kaplan has extensive experience in the travel business. He owned and operated a large retail cruise only agency in Canada and his wife has 25 years experience working for major cruise lines. Their website is http://www.cruisevacationsguide.com which offers advice and tips to those look to create memorable cruise vacations.

As you are gearing up for a new boating season, there is some important gear that you need to take with you to help you be prepared for anything. Before you head out to the water, there are some things that are a must to have with you and some tips that you can follow so that you can enjoy your time on the water.

The first tip is to waterproof items. While this might seem like an obvious thing because you are going out on the water after all, many people think that just because they have everything packed in a bag or stored below that it will be safe from the water. This is not always so. For this reason, you should put anything that you don’t want to be wet in a zip lock bag and carry an extra box of zip lock bags in your boat. Label you bags so you can reuse them. For instance, you might have one for your wallet, one for jewelry and one for magazines and books. If you are planning to stop at a restaurant and will need to change clothes, put your clothing in a waterproof bag as well.

Bring along small trash bags and secure them in your boat. You can fill them up easily with snack bags, cans and cups. This helps keep your boat clean and prevents you from accidently dropping something in the water. When you are done with your day on the water, there are typically trashcans close to the docks and ramps where you can dispose of your trash.

Drinks and snacks are essential to keep onboard your boat. Even if you are not a water drinker, you should keep a container or cold water on your boat and drink about 6 oz every hour to avoid dehydration. Even if you are drinking other beverages, nothing keeps you more hydrated with water. Snacks are important to carry you through to your next meal, especially if you decide that you would like to enjoy just one or two more hours on the boat before heading in.

Bring along games, such as cards and board games. If you have a place to go below on your boat, you might want to get out of the sun or the rain for a bit. Keep reading materials down there as well.

It is a good idea to keep a walkie talkie or some sort of emergency gear onboard to call for help if need be. Even if you own a cell phone, if you are in a remote area it might not work. Keep a waterproof map of the area onboard, flashlights, a flair, extra rope, small tool kit and first aid kit. Hopefully you will never need to use any of these things, but you will be prepared if the need arises.

These are just a few suggestions of what you should take with you when boating. If you are out on the water and think of something useful, write it down and put it onboard the boat as soon as you get home so you will be ready for your next trip. The best way to enjoy your time on the water is to be safe and be prepared for anything.