Contemplating Taking a Cruise? Here are Some Myths and Facts.

Written by Susan Dunn, author of "How to Get to Present on a Cruise"


“A cruise has been proven to be good for your health,” announcesrepparttar captain onrepparttar 134169 RCI atrepparttar 134170 end ofrepparttar 134171 cruise.” I am nodding my happy and relaxed head in agreement.

Many of us who take cruises think that’s true. I haven’t been able to find any documentation, but ocean passage has long been consideredrepparttar 134172 traditional cure for anything from heartbreak to consumption.

There’s something about staring at repparttar 134173 ocean, and being rocked to sleep at night (barely noticeable with today’s stabilizers, but it’s happening), andrepparttar 134174 xtreme quietude ofrepparttar 134175 well-chosen inside cabin. If you’ve never cruised, you’ve probably heard lots of rumors. Here are some myths about cruising, andrepparttar 134176 facts. 1. It's too expensive. How about 4 days from Galveston torepparttar 134177 Caribbean for $299? And because it's a package, you can budget. Included inrepparttar 134178 base price are all meals, your room, and all activities on board, and you can calculaterepparttar 134179 tips (and to me,repparttar 134180 recommended gratuity is at least half what they should get). It is NOT cheap to drink and gamble (that's how they make their money - doh) and expenditures on shore excursion and personal services such as massages can mount. You can find cheaper shore excursions negotiating yourself withrepparttar 134181 cab drivers who linerepparttar 134182 ports waiting to offer you a better deal. There are also “serendipities” such as massages for $20 an hour on a Russian River Cruise (Uniworld). Cheapest rates BTW are betweenrepparttar 134183 end of August and up to Christmas, but also many “last minute” deals. Get your passport ready so you can take dvantage of these specials. 2. Takes too long. Cruises come in all lengths, frm 2 days (the Cruise to Nowhere) to months. 3. They don't go anywhere I'd want to go.

That's hard to believe. According to ACLI, cruises visit 1,800 ports worldwide and go practically everywhere accessible by water. The Caribbean, Bahamas, Alaska, Bermuda, Europe, Hawaii, Tahiti,repparttar 134184 Orient and more. And don’t forgetrepparttar 134185 River cruises –repparttar 134186 Volga,repparttar 134187 Danube,repparttar 134188 Mississippi… 4. I'm not free duringrepparttar 134189 month of ____. Cruises go out allrepparttar 134190 time! The Caribbean is wonderful year ‘round, but some locations have restrictions. According torepparttar 134191 Cruise Line International Association (CLIA), you can only cruise Alaska between May and September; to Europe between April and November; to Bermuda between April and October;repparttar 134192 Panama Canal, between September and April.

Don't miss local specialties such asrepparttar 134193 famous White Nights in Russia - end of summer. 5. It's too risky because of hurricanes. Official Hurricane Season is June 1 – November 31st. That’s halfrepparttar 134194 year. The CLIA states that “ships are equipped with state-of-the-art weather equipment that keepsrepparttar 134195 crew fully aware of a storm’s position and if there’s any danger, they simply change course.” Personally, I cruised during Isabel, and it was safer than being anywhere on land inrepparttar 134196 vicinity. We changed course and outran it.

New Jersey Resident Wins $500 National Sweepstakes

Written by Katie Glaser


December 17, 2003, Virginia Beach, Va. – RoomSaver.com (www.RoomSaver.com) is pleased to announcerepparttar winner of their second national Visitor Sweepstakes drawing. Ms. Laurie Couri of East Rutherford, New Jersey isrepparttar 134168 recipient of a $500 cash prize from RoomSaver.com.

“I am thrilled to have won this sweepstakes,” said Couri. “I have passed along your Web site to my family and friends forrepparttar 134169 information and services your site can provide. My family will be using your site inrepparttar 134170 future, as we are inrepparttar 134171 beginning stages of planning a trip to Orlando.” Couri, who is shopping for hotel discounts, enteredrepparttar 134172 sweepstakes during a recent visit to RoomSaver.com.

RoomSaver.com has held one previous Visitor Sweepstakes contest, which was launched in June 2003. The most recent sweepstakes ran through November, a time period when site visitors were given unlimited entry opportunities. A random drawing was held on November 26, during which Laurie Couri’s name was chosen.

RoomSaver.com createdrepparttar 134173 Visitor Sweepstakes as an added value for users ofrepparttar 134174 Web site. The contest was designed not only to drive traffic to RoomSaver.com, but also to give potential visitors an incentive to visitrepparttar 134175 site, and a reward for doing so.

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