Honeymoons Are The Gift We Give Ourselves
Your honeymoon is the special private romantic getaway for you and your new spouse to celebrate your marriage and begin your new lives together.
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Best Cruises and Travel Now LLC
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Why I love being a Professional Travel Advisor
I am lovingly called a "Travel Diva" and someone who brings "Travel Joy" to others.
Read More...Last Minute Deals -- Are They Worth It?
Contrary to popular belief, many cruises, resorts and land tours are selling out. If you wait for a Last Minute Deal you might be very disappointed. Best advice: Book early, get the early saver fare, buy travel insurance and pick the trip that gives you the best value -- that is the one that is your best match. My job is to matchmake you to your perfect trip!
Read More...Lovely Old San Juan, Johnny Rockets and Senior Frogs on Royal Caribbean, Navigator of the Seas
Beautiful Spanish Colonial architecture, dancing waiters at Senior Frogs and Johnny Rockets, my daughter Hilary up on the Main Stage with the Band!!!
Read More...Navigator of the Seas, Day Five on St Kitts
Lush St Kitts, scenic railroad, black sand beaches, horseback ride at Caribola Beach, a green monkey riding a donkey, yes it's true, ice acrobatics and dancing under the stars!
Read More...Delicious Specialty Dining at Chops Grille on Navigator of the Seas
Beautiful St Maarten, the great duty free shopping, the amazing Orient Beach, pigging out at the specialty restaurant, Chops Grille, great comraderie with the friendly passengers onboard
Read More...Day Three on the Navigator of the Seas
Rollerblading, ice skating, mini-golf on deck, oh my! The International Belly Flop contest, beginners French Class, 70s Disco Party with the Village People Look a likes.
Our Cruise, Navigator of the Seas, Day Two
Our first day at sea, international parade on the Royal Promenade, meeting Captain Tommy, dancing to 80s music in the Dungeon
Read More...Join me on my cruise on Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas
Join us for Day One of the Cruise
Read More...Cruises for Singles and Solo Travelers
So many people shy away from traveling solo and they shouldn't. Travel is a wonderful way to meet people, experience and learn new things about yourself and the world. I summarize the Top 10 cruises for solos and offer my opinion.
Read More...Congress and the Cruise Industry Work on Continued Cruise Safety after the Costa Concordia Disaster
I am attaching a link to a very comprehensive article publishsed by Travel Weekly, a respected publication for travel agents. I will first summarize it, then let you know my thoughts on it. I also want to hear your thoughts. Cruise lines are doing safety and emergency response audits. CLIA, one of the professional organizations I belong to, is calling the International Maritime Organization to set global standards. The Congress will hold hearings and meetings about it. This is a worldwide concern. The Concordia was carrying 3200 passengers and 1,000 crew. There were 26 ...Read More...How Safe Are Cruise Ships?
While the sinking of the Costa Concordia is very sad and shocking, we feel that cruises are a relaxing, fun, romantic, family bonding vacation that is also a very SAFE way to travel. We expect that cruise prices will drop even further and that cruise safety protocols will be reviewed and upgraded where necessary.
Read More...Christian Tours of Israel, the Holy Land
After one year of using iContact I just learned today that I can post my eblasts onto LinkedIn and to my blog. Here's the most recent eblast about wonderful Christian Heritage Tours of Israel. It is a life-changing experience. Great for families, groups, singles, Church Groups (tremendous cost savings) so call me: 203- 221-3171 or 888-499-7245.
Shalom -- Hello, Goodbye and Peace!
L'Chaim -- To life!
Here's the link:
http://www.icontact-archive.com/NT27B03v7Oil-OoG2TJg33SaAC9Msv0r
Read More...Why Family and Friends Reunion Groups are Great! Join an existing one or have us create one for you!!!
Right now we have three family/friend reunion groups that are open to the public: Bob and Ellen’s group to the Bermuda from NY on the Celebrity Summit, Judith’s group to the Bahamas from Orlando on Royal Caribbean Majesty of the Seas and Robin’s group to the Southern Caribbean from Miami on the Norwegian Dawn. And everyone can join in on the amazing savings and amenities of those groups, or we can create one for you! A group consists of 8 cabins on an oceanliner; 5 cabins on a river or small luxury ship; usually 10 passengers at an all inclusive resort and usually 15 passengers on a land tour. With a group, we get our clients even lower pricing, amenities such as free upgrades, onboard credit, free specialty dining and free spa treatments, plus one person goes free or the value of that free passenger gets shared among the others. You can take advantage of these group trips by calling me at Best Cruises and Travel Now: 203-221-3171, toll free at: 888-499-7245 or email me at: egreenwald@cruiseplanners.com
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Specialty Dining on Cruise Ships
Just returned from a one week Caribbean cruise. In the elevator during the early part of the trip, I overhead two middle-aged ladies chatting about dining on board. The gist of the conversation was about the alternative restaurant options on board. One comment that struck me was “You should not have to pay for your meals on a ship”. But thinking about this conversation, it became apparent that the comment was not really correct. You don’t HAVE to pay for dining on any ship as each cruise line offers included dining in the main dining rooms, buffets and snack venues. On the other hand, optional restaurants have limited seating, upgraded menus and more interesting venues. The cost, usually presented as a “cover charge”, runs from about $10 to $25.
If you are celebrating a special event while on board or just want an excellent dining experience once or twice while cruising, then consider alternative dining for just what it is “alternative and optional”. Or you can blissfully dine 3 to 6 times per day at the free restaurants. But if you have not sampled an alternative restaurant, be careful, you might get hooked! It must be a popular feature because the cruise lines that used to offer only “traditional” first and second seating dining are adding flexible dining options as well as more extensive alternative restaurants to new and existing ships.
Some of my most memorable dining experiences EVER have been at the specialty restaurants on cruise ships. Last year my husband Mark and I had the most wonderful, romantic and "blissful" dining experience (it's way more than a meal, it really is an experience) at the Normandie Restaurant on the Norwegian Sky. Just a few weeks ago my daughter Sami and I loved the Teppanyaki, Japanese steakhouse and hibachi on the Norwegian Epic. My 21 year old was transformed into a young girl when the waitstaff made her an origami animal menagerie. And the Le Bistro French restaurant was a 2 and 1/2 hour delicious theatrical experience that pleased all the senses The service was unbelievable -- we kept meeting the servers throughout the cruise and they were so friendly -- like seeing good, old friends. It really is a special experience and worth it.
I want to hear from you -- what have your Specialty Dining experiences been like?
Read More...Cruise Royalty -- QE-2 and Queen Mary 2
There is only one passenger ship that can rightly claim to be “iconic”. Named after a reigning monarch, the Queen Elizabeth 2 recently retired after 41 years of service with Cunard to start a new life as a floating hotel and conference center in Dubai. Since launch, she has traveled over 6 million nautical miles while sailing to fascinating ports around the world and hosting 2.5 million guests on 1,428 voyages.
Classic ship historians can spend hours recounting stories about this most famous Cunarder. One particularly interesting tidbit is how the ship’s name was decided upon. Without a doubt, the British have a strong sense of tradition and protocol and the naming of the ship in 1967 represented an interesting challenge. The ship was designed by the Cunard team in Liverpool but built at John Brown’s shipyard in Glasgow, Scotland. She was to be named at the launching ceremony by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and also carry her name. But after the launch things became more complicated. Cunard’s chairman, Sir Basil Smallpiece determined after consulting with Royal aides that the ship should be named Queen Elizabeth 2 with the Arabic letter and not the Roman numerals “II”. Why? Because until that time only Royal Navy vessels had carried a reigning monarch’s Roman numeral suffix. And, Her Majesty was also Queen Elizabeth I of Scotland, where the ship was built. Therefore, she was named QE-2 instead of QE-II and went on not only to be the most famous ship in history but the one whose name was misprinted most often.
Tonight the Cruise Royals were in New York, alongside each other, with a celebratory fireworks display above them. What a sight!
Read More...What's Up with Specialty Restaurants on Cruises?
Just returned from a one week Caribbean cruise. In the elevator during the early part of the trip, I overhead two middle-aged ladies chatting about dining on board. The gist of the conversation was about the alternative restaurant options on board. One comment that struck me was “You should not have to pay for your meals on a ship”. But thinking about this conversation, it became apparent that the comment was not really correct. You don’t HAVE to pay for dining on any ship as each cruise line offers included dining in the main dining rooms, buffets and snack venues. On the other hand, optional restaurants have limited seating, upgraded menus and more interesting venues. The cost, usually presented as a “cover charge”, runs from about $10 to $25. If you are celebrating a special event while on board or just want an excellent dining experience once or twice while cruising, then consider alternative dining for just what it is “alternative and optional”. Or you can blissfully dine 3 to 6 times per day at the free restaurants. But if you have not sampled an alternative restaurant, be careful, you might get hooked! It must be a popular feature because the cruise lines that used to offer only “traditional” first and second seating dining are adding flexible dining options as well as more extensive alternative restaurants to new and existing ships.
Read More...You Don't Get the Best Cruise Prices When You Call the Cruise Lines
Do you get the best cruise price when you call the cruise line?
First of all, let's face it, a sales representative at a cruise line gets paid to sell only their company, whether it's the right product for you or not. They will never recommend the competition. That should be enough right there to make you stop and think. But wait, there's more. Special prices? At Best Cruises and Travel Now, an affiliate of Cruise Planners/American Express, we see the eame rates on the computer as the cruise line sales rep. But more importantly, in addiiton, we have access to unique rates such as exclusive group fares that we have set up, regional specials and other special "agent only" rate programs. You won't get any of that from the cruise line sales rep.
The most important part of planning a cruise is not getting the lowest price. The real goal should be to get the right cruise for your personal needs at the best price available. At Best Cruises and Travel Now there is no charge for our basic services as we are compensated by the cruise lines for providing personal service to you. Our specialty is matchmaking you to your perfect vacaction -- whether it be a cruise, all inclusive resort, land tour or air+hotel package. It's the best deal in town. It will be our pleasure and privilege to plan the cruise vacation of a lifetime for you.
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