Once onboard your cruise vessel, there are activities 24 hours a day. Modern cruise ships boast state-of-the-art 700 plus seat theatres for quality shows and entertainment, all included in cruise price. There is unique entertainment in theatre every evening of cruise. Most ships also have a number of themed bars, lounges, and discos with live entertainment that are open into early morning hours. Alcoholic beverages and soft drinks are seldom included in cruise price. Most ships also provide a casino that is open while ship is in international waters.

If night life isn’t your style, you can enjoy onboard pool, spa, library, fitness center, and other amenities. Many cruises now offer instructional classes on a variety of topics during day. If you have children on cruise, there are usually play areas and programs geared to different age groups.

Did we forget about cruise destination itself? Cruises typically stop at a different port of call each day or every other day, depending upon distances and sailing time between points of interest. You may stay aboard ship all day or disembark at any stop. You are free to explore each destination on your own as long as you return to ship by designated time.

Also cruise lines offer a variety of shore excursions at additional cost. These adventures are geared toward unique features of destination. For example, Caribbean cruises offer snorkeling, diving or beach excursions while Alaskan cruises offer helicopter tours or dogsled trips. For less adventuresome, normally there are bus tours or supervised shopping excursions in local port. Everything, including meal stops, is prearranged. All you need to do is find correct line onshore and an experienced guide handles rest of your tour.

With all these great services available at a reasonable cost, why not take a cruise vacation?

We have been making a point of visiting local attractions and participating in events in our city for years. We have toured around our city by boat and by double decker bus. Both tours offered something different but both were highly enjoyable. We have also visited local museums when special exhibits are on display. Not only did we learn about our country's history but we also learned a lot more about world. We regularly attend festivals that are taking place here. Some of festivals have us trying out new wines, some have us viewing millions of tulips and others have us up on our feet dancing to music of a live band. And do you know what? We are having an absolute blast.

With all this touring around, we have also grown to love our city even more. We have always been proud to call it our home and we love telling people all about it. But now that we have spent some serious time exploring it firsthand, we have seen what it has to offer. We have found new activities that we didn't even know existed here and we have become well informed of history of our city. As a result of this we even decided to create a website giving tourists and residents information about this great city that we call home.

So, we ask you again. What are you doing this weekend? Why not take some time to explore your surroundings? Have a great time and enjoy!