My wife and I have had dealings with art auctions at sea. It is a fun exciting time on board ship but we are not pleased with the end experience. We will be advising any and all to beware of any at sea art auctions.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Victims of Sea Art Auctions Speak Up!
It appears certain powers to be have "ordered" me to take down the post and link about Park West Gallary. I guess bad press means no press.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Save Money at Little Known Spas Mexican Riviera
My wife took a cruise on Royal Caribbean to the Mexican Riviera last October and came across to really great spas that were just too inexpensive to pass up.
Mazatlan
She and several of her traveling companions decided to check them both out while in port.
While in Mazatlan, Mexico they took taxies to the Aroma Spa. It is actually a massage school started by the world famous spa consultant Knute Berry.
The Aroma Spa is located at 320 Mariano Escobedo in Mazatlan about a block and a half west of Machado Square.
The place is a bit rustic compared to USA standards, but you are in Mexico go with it!
Most of the massage practitioners are female, although there are some males. Depending on the time of year you are there you can expect to pay from $15 – 25 US for an hour to an hour and half massage. I am a retired Licensed Massage Therapist and I can tell you these are amazing prices! You could easily pay from $80 – 125 US for the same service!
My wife and most of her friends went for an hour and a half massage and paid around $20 apiece. Not bad for walking in unannounced.
They have something called a twenty-finger massage that sounds interesting. Two practitioners work on you at the same time. It’s supposed to be very relaxing.
Check them out at http://www.aromaspa.ws/ I see they are running a special through December 1, 2009 and are giving away a free 30 minute massage! Looks like you have to email them for a certificate! Wish we were headed back there during that time instead of January 2010. I would add that on to the hour and half massage I already plan on getting! Yes I do love massages!
Travel tips here:
* Do pay cash and avoid credit card processing fees
* Do leave a decent tip as that’s how they make a little extra money
Puerto Vallarta
While in Puerto Vallarta my wife and a couple of friends were told to try out the Venus Sunshine Spa located in the marina close to the lighthouse.
Venus Sunshine Spa is probably more of what folks from the USA would be accustomed to. The prices are a bit more mainly because this is an actual spa and not a spa school.
You will be more in the old town portion which will get you away from all the tourist locations and vendors. In our book that’s very nice.
Expect to spend around $40-45 each for about an hour and 15 minute massage. This is still a great bargain based on US prices. Enjoy yourself and tell other cruisers about these great spots to relax and save some money!
She and several of her traveling companions decided to check them both out while in port.
While in Mazatlan, Mexico they took taxies to the Aroma Spa. It is actually a massage school started by the world famous spa consultant Knute Berry.
The Aroma Spa is located at 320 Mariano Escobedo in Mazatlan about a block and a half west of Machado Square.
The place is a bit rustic compared to USA standards, but you are in Mexico go with it!
Most of the massage practitioners are female, although there are some males. Depending on the time of year you are there you can expect to pay from $15 – 25 US for an hour to an hour and half massage. I am a retired Licensed Massage Therapist and I can tell you these are amazing prices! You could easily pay from $80 – 125 US for the same service!
My wife and most of her friends went for an hour and a half massage and paid around $20 apiece. Not bad for walking in unannounced.
They have something called a twenty-finger massage that sounds interesting. Two practitioners work on you at the same time. It’s supposed to be very relaxing.
Check them out at http://www.aromaspa.ws/ I see they are running a special through December 1, 2009 and are giving away a free 30 minute massage! Looks like you have to email them for a certificate! Wish we were headed back there during that time instead of January 2010. I would add that on to the hour and half massage I already plan on getting! Yes I do love massages!
Travel tips here:
* Do pay cash and avoid credit card processing fees
* Do leave a decent tip as that’s how they make a little extra money
While in Puerto Vallarta my wife and a couple of friends were told to try out the Venus Sunshine Spa located in the marina close to the lighthouse.
Venus Sunshine Spa is probably more of what folks from the USA would be accustomed to. The prices are a bit more mainly because this is an actual spa and not a spa school.
You will be more in the old town portion which will get you away from all the tourist locations and vendors. In our book that’s very nice.
Expect to spend around $40-45 each for about an hour and 15 minute massage. This is still a great bargain based on US prices. Enjoy yourself and tell other cruisers about these great spots to relax and save some money!
Friday, August 7, 2009
Three of Seattle’s Undiscovered Gems
Seattle, Washington is truly a Metropolitan city. It has it all from its bustling seaport, business, entertainment, shopping and many recreational opportunities to its outstanding scenery.
When I mention gems some of you may be thinking diamonds, emeralds and rubies! What I’m actually referring to are the undiscovered places you may not hear about unless you live in Seattle.
First off if you are going to be staying a one night or a few you must check out a gem of place called the Cedarbrook Center just outside of Seattle near the airport in an area called SeaTac. Cedarbrook is the former Washington Mutual Leadership Center which is now open to the public http://www.cedarbrookcenter.com/ . It was built as a premium training facility. It has a main lobby with a theatre style conference room at one end on the main floor. On the lower level is a beautiful floor to ceiling stone fireplace with a bar and billiards table to one side. There is an excellent restaurant on this floor that also serves a complimentary full buffet style breakfast with omelet chefs and wait staff.
The guestrooms are large and well done. The guestroom buildings each have a common area with a kitchenette, sitting area with big screen TV. The refrigerator is stocked each evening with free soft drinks, juices, yogurts, fruits and sandwiches.
The Cedarbrook Center offers complimentary shuttle service to and from the airport as well as downtown Seattle.
The service and staff are excellent and make your stay memorable. They want you to enjoy yourself and come back. We left a tip for our waitress at breakfast and as we were walking back to our room the dining room host discreetly informed us that Cedarbrook was a non-tipping facility and quietly handed our money back! The rates for this amazing facility were very reasonable!
If you enjoy incredible spices and curries that are fresh and even hard to find then you need to checkout a gem called World Spice just off of Pike Street. http://www.worldspice.com/home/home.shtml
They carry a large selection of pure spice, mixed spices and curries, leaf teas and some incredible peppers! They are located directly across the street from the Pikes Place Public Market, which by the way is a fantastic place to shop. http://www.pikeplacemarket.org/frameset.asp?flash=true
Across the street from World Spice and along side of the Pikes Place Public Market is a little Mexican Restaurant called El Puerco Lloron. This little gem of place is true authentic Mexican cooking! They only have about ten items to choose from but they are all nice portions under $7.25. http://www.elpuercolloron.com/
For all of you coffee lovers remember the original Starbucks is right in this area too.
Enjoy Seattle!
When I mention gems some of you may be thinking diamonds, emeralds and rubies! What I’m actually referring to are the undiscovered places you may not hear about unless you live in Seattle.
First off if you are going to be staying a one night or a few you must check out a gem of place called the Cedarbrook Center just outside of Seattle near the airport in an area called SeaTac. Cedarbrook is the former Washington Mutual Leadership Center which is now open to the public http://www.cedarbrookcenter.com/ . It was built as a premium training facility. It has a main lobby with a theatre style conference room at one end on the main floor. On the lower level is a beautiful floor to ceiling stone fireplace with a bar and billiards table to one side. There is an excellent restaurant on this floor that also serves a complimentary full buffet style breakfast with omelet chefs and wait staff.
The guestrooms are large and well done. The guestroom buildings each have a common area with a kitchenette, sitting area with big screen TV. The refrigerator is stocked each evening with free soft drinks, juices, yogurts, fruits and sandwiches.
The Cedarbrook Center offers complimentary shuttle service to and from the airport as well as downtown Seattle.
The service and staff are excellent and make your stay memorable. They want you to enjoy yourself and come back. We left a tip for our waitress at breakfast and as we were walking back to our room the dining room host discreetly informed us that Cedarbrook was a non-tipping facility and quietly handed our money back! The rates for this amazing facility were very reasonable!
If you enjoy incredible spices and curries that are fresh and even hard to find then you need to checkout a gem called World Spice just off of Pike Street. http://www.worldspice.com/home/home.shtml
They carry a large selection of pure spice, mixed spices and curries, leaf teas and some incredible peppers! They are located directly across the street from the Pikes Place Public Market, which by the way is a fantastic place to shop. http://www.pikeplacemarket.org/frameset.asp?flash=true
Across the street from World Spice and along side of the Pikes Place Public Market is a little Mexican Restaurant called El Puerco Lloron. This little gem of place is true authentic Mexican cooking! They only have about ten items to choose from but they are all nice portions under $7.25. http://www.elpuercolloron.com/
For all of you coffee lovers remember the original Starbucks is right in this area too.
Enjoy Seattle!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Vacation to Hawaii
Even though the Hawaiian Islands are part of the United States they are absolutely an exotic location to vacation. The culture is fantastic as is the weather and diverse landscape!
We escorted a group of 54 people to Hawaii. We flew from Ohio to Honolulu. Now at this time we had been using a third party travel company to arrange our group travel for us. They are out of NJ and will remain nameless. First class ground transportation was supposed to have been arranged for our group to take a short trip from the airport to the Marriott on Waikiki Beach. All we can say is never use a bus service by a person named Aunt Hattie! Seems our “used-to-be” travel company went on the cheap with our ground transportation. If you held your fingers near the window you could almost feel the AC in these vintage 1960’s buses. We ended up putting one of our suitcases on the ground for a step at the hotel because the hydraulics’ didn’t work and they couldn’t lower the bus closer to the ground.
Remember this blog is not all fluff. If we come across something you should be aware of we will mention it.
OK enough of that! The Marriott Resort at Waikiki was beautiful. The beach was spectacular as was our view of Diamond Head. Several of our group made the trek up Diamond Head the next morning.
We found there was a free concert at the open air bar every Sunday evening by locally famous Martin Pahinui and his band playing traditional Hawaiian slack key guitar, lap steel guitar and singing traditional Hawaiian songs. Very nice!
Waikiki is a vibrant and beautiful area. The prices are a bit spendy but that goes with the area. If you are a bit hungry or are just looking for small gifts to take home you will want to stop in the ABC stores. They are located everywhere. ABC’s carry inexpensive sandwiches and drinks along with basic needs like sunscreen, Hawaiian shirts and other gifts at better than gift store prices.
We did discover the International Market Place on Kalakaua Ave. This is a large open air market within walking distance of the hotel. There are many different vendors to choose from here. We also stumbled across a small open air breakfast buffet that was really great. Lots of fresh fruits, melons and regular buffet items. All you can eat for only $5. Our point being don’t be afraid to explore and ask the locals where they go.
From here we took a short ride to the cruise docks and boarded the Norwegian Cruise Line ship Pride of America.
NCL started the whole Free Style Dining experience for cruise ships. One tip I would pass on to you is: once you get settled in take a tour of all the restaurants and choose any that you want to have reservations in. Make your reservations the first or the second day in advance as the premium dining times do fill up. Just a tip to get you a head of the game.
Taking a cruise line, like NCL, is really the best way to see the Hawaiian Islands. All of your meals and lodging are already paid for. You don’t have to pay for inter-island transportation or any other extras, except maybe any shore excursions you want to indulge in. We took a couple excursions, but on two of the islands a group of us rented a van and shared the cost and driving and toured on our own. It was great!
Points to remember:
If you learn just two words in Hawaiian, learn these. They are two of the most important words in the Hawaiian language. Aloha and mahalo pronounced ah loh hah and mah hah loh.
The other thing you will see often is the unique wave. With your palm facing inward point your thumb up while curling your middle three fingers toward your palm and extending your pinky. Now flex your hand at the wrist up and down. That's it you have it!
You can view pictures of some of the sites we visited in Hawaii by clicking the link Hawaii Pictures to the left.
If you have interest in vacationing to the fabulous Hawaiian Islands please contact us at travel@sandtravel.com or visit our website at http://www.sandtravel.com/
Sally & Norm
We escorted a group of 54 people to Hawaii. We flew from Ohio to Honolulu. Now at this time we had been using a third party travel company to arrange our group travel for us. They are out of NJ and will remain nameless. First class ground transportation was supposed to have been arranged for our group to take a short trip from the airport to the Marriott on Waikiki Beach. All we can say is never use a bus service by a person named Aunt Hattie! Seems our “used-to-be” travel company went on the cheap with our ground transportation. If you held your fingers near the window you could almost feel the AC in these vintage 1960’s buses. We ended up putting one of our suitcases on the ground for a step at the hotel because the hydraulics’ didn’t work and they couldn’t lower the bus closer to the ground.
Remember this blog is not all fluff. If we come across something you should be aware of we will mention it.
OK enough of that! The Marriott Resort at Waikiki was beautiful. The beach was spectacular as was our view of Diamond Head. Several of our group made the trek up Diamond Head the next morning.
We found there was a free concert at the open air bar every Sunday evening by locally famous Martin Pahinui and his band playing traditional Hawaiian slack key guitar, lap steel guitar and singing traditional Hawaiian songs. Very nice!
We did discover the International Market Place on Kalakaua Ave. This is a large open air market within walking distance of the hotel. There are many different vendors to choose from here. We also stumbled across a small open air breakfast buffet that was really great. Lots of fresh fruits, melons and regular buffet items. All you can eat for only $5. Our point being don’t be afraid to explore and ask the locals where they go.
From here we took a short ride to the cruise docks and boarded the Norwegian Cruise Line ship Pride of America.
NCL started the whole Free Style Dining experience for cruise ships. One tip I would pass on to you is: once you get settled in take a tour of all the restaurants and choose any that you want to have reservations in. Make your reservations the first or the second day in advance as the premium dining times do fill up. Just a tip to get you a head of the game.
Taking a cruise line, like NCL, is really the best way to see the Hawaiian Islands. All of your meals and lodging are already paid for. You don’t have to pay for inter-island transportation or any other extras, except maybe any shore excursions you want to indulge in. We took a couple excursions, but on two of the islands a group of us rented a van and shared the cost and driving and toured on our own. It was great!
Points to remember:
If you learn just two words in Hawaiian, learn these. They are two of the most important words in the Hawaiian language. Aloha and mahalo pronounced ah loh hah and mah hah loh.
The other thing you will see often is the unique wave. With your palm facing inward point your thumb up while curling your middle three fingers toward your palm and extending your pinky. Now flex your hand at the wrist up and down. That's it you have it!
You can view pictures of some of the sites we visited in Hawaii by clicking the link Hawaii Pictures to the left.
If you have interest in vacationing to the fabulous Hawaiian Islands please contact us at travel@sandtravel.com or visit our website at http://www.sandtravel.com/
Sally & Norm
Friday, July 10, 2009
Bermuda as a Destination
Thinking about traveling to Bermuda? Here are a few tips, highlights and pictures from a group we escorted there.
Bermuda is a unique culture blended with a proper English tradition and dynamic lively African natives, American and Spanish Caribbean people.
If you are fortunate you will catch a performance by a local Gombey dance troupe. They are unique to the culture. Dressed in colorful hand made customs and until recently having no written form to pass along their dance and music it was taught to very young children to carry on the tradition. For more information on the Gombey dancers you can easily Google them.
Tips on transportation: if you come by cruise ship one of the best deals is to purchase from the excursion desk a two day transportation pass. We spent $20 apiece and were able to ride the pink public buses all over the islands as well as take the water ferries. It is by far the best way to get around the island. Do bear in mind since Bermuda was under British authority they drive on the non-American side of the rode. So you Americans traveling think of it like looking in a mirror. Your bus stops are on the opposite side of the road than you would normally think and the buses travel in the other direction! There are no sidewalks to speak of so don’t be surprised when you see a road crew member turn sideways and flatten against a wall to let a bus go by.
Another tip while traveling about, don’t just walk up to a Bermudian and ask a straight forward question. Make pleasantry’s first. As an example, don’t walk and ask, “Is this the bus that goes back to the cruise ship?” You may get ignored or you may get a lesson in Bermudian culture such as a come back, “Isn’t the sky blue today, isn’t it a beautiful day today?” Once you ask or answer that and are pleasant then ask away.
Bermuda is famous for its pink sand beaches. They really are pink! We rode the pink public buses to Elbow beach and spent a great afternoon exploring and walking. From there we hopped on and off the bus making our way back toward our cruise ship dock. We explored different bays and villages. We stopped at out of the way shops and had lunch overlooking a beautiful bay while sipping a local favorite rum drink called a Dark-n-Stormy! It consists of 2 oz of Gosling’s Black Seal rum and 4 oz of Ginger beer. Very refreshing!
Taxes are high in Bermuda. We found from conversations with locals that many of them will do major shopping on the U.S. mainland in order to save on taxes. Since we ate most of our meals onboard our Royal Caribbean cruise ship we were little affected by this.
You must be a Bermudian to own a car on the islands. There are no car rentals. You can however brave the roads on a rented Moped. The main reason for this is the limited road infrastructure.
Bermuda has no natural source of fresh drinking water. You will notice while traveling around the island beautiful well kept homes of all sizes with curious looking roofs. A very unique feature of Bermuda roofs has been their role in water supply. Water is collected on roofs where wedge shaped limestone glides are formed into sloping gutters. These divert rain water into larger gutters that lead into cisterns in the foundation. It is a fairly simple and ingenious system. Now they also convert seawater into drinkable water.
We escorted a group of 60 people on this cruise and all in all we had a great time on Bermuda. We would return again.
We have posted the Bermuda slideshow to the left. We have also posted a utube link so you may watch short video clips of Gombey Dancers in action. Click on each frame and its video will play for you.
If you are interested in booking travel to Bermuda you can find more information at www.sandtravel.com
Bermuda is a unique culture blended with a proper English tradition and dynamic lively African natives, American and Spanish Caribbean people.
If you are fortunate you will catch a performance by a local Gombey dance troupe. They are unique to the culture. Dressed in colorful hand made customs and until recently having no written form to pass along their dance and music it was taught to very young children to carry on the tradition. For more information on the Gombey dancers you can easily Google them.
Tips on transportation: if you come by cruise ship one of the best deals is to purchase from the excursion desk a two day transportation pass. We spent $20 apiece and were able to ride the pink public buses all over the islands as well as take the water ferries. It is by far the best way to get around the island. Do bear in mind since Bermuda was under British authority they drive on the non-American side of the rode. So you Americans traveling think of it like looking in a mirror. Your bus stops are on the opposite side of the road than you would normally think and the buses travel in the other direction! There are no sidewalks to speak of so don’t be surprised when you see a road crew member turn sideways and flatten against a wall to let a bus go by.
Another tip while traveling about, don’t just walk up to a Bermudian and ask a straight forward question. Make pleasantry’s first. As an example, don’t walk and ask, “Is this the bus that goes back to the cruise ship?” You may get ignored or you may get a lesson in Bermudian culture such as a come back, “Isn’t the sky blue today, isn’t it a beautiful day today?” Once you ask or answer that and are pleasant then ask away.
Bermuda is famous for its pink sand beaches. They really are pink! We rode the pink public buses to Elbow beach and spent a great afternoon exploring and walking. From there we hopped on and off the bus making our way back toward our cruise ship dock. We explored different bays and villages. We stopped at out of the way shops and had lunch overlooking a beautiful bay while sipping a local favorite rum drink called a Dark-n-Stormy! It consists of 2 oz of Gosling’s Black Seal rum and 4 oz of Ginger beer. Very refreshing!
Taxes are high in Bermuda. We found from conversations with locals that many of them will do major shopping on the U.S. mainland in order to save on taxes. Since we ate most of our meals onboard our Royal Caribbean cruise ship we were little affected by this.
You must be a Bermudian to own a car on the islands. There are no car rentals. You can however brave the roads on a rented Moped. The main reason for this is the limited road infrastructure.
Bermuda has no natural source of fresh drinking water. You will notice while traveling around the island beautiful well kept homes of all sizes with curious looking roofs. A very unique feature of Bermuda roofs has been their role in water supply. Water is collected on roofs where wedge shaped limestone glides are formed into sloping gutters. These divert rain water into larger gutters that lead into cisterns in the foundation. It is a fairly simple and ingenious system. Now they also convert seawater into drinkable water.
We escorted a group of 60 people on this cruise and all in all we had a great time on Bermuda. We would return again.
We have posted the Bermuda slideshow to the left. We have also posted a utube link so you may watch short video clips of Gombey Dancers in action. Click on each frame and its video will play for you.
If you are interested in booking travel to Bermuda you can find more information at www.sandtravel.com
Friday, July 3, 2009
Resorts Report Riviera Maya Mexico
A group of us were invited by Apple Vacations on a FAM (familiarization) trip to tour fourteen properties in the Riviera Maya just south of Cancun Mexico.
Apple Vacations and the fabulous Grand Sirenis Resort hosted us for four days. We worked hard but had a great time touring these outstanding properties.
The Riviera Maya is a beautiful and upcoming coastal resort area just south of well known Cancun Mexico. Riviera Maya tends to be more historical and considered by many to be the gateway to the Mayan ruins. Riviera Maya is quiet close to the famous Tulum region.
We found the people to be very friendly and hospitable, granted once you leave the resorts and venture into the tourist areas you will be treated like a tourist. This area tends to be quieter and less touristy. Inside the resorts hospitality is practiced to the highest degree.
We toured several well established resorts and some that were still under construction. This area is really becoming the new vacation hotspot with great beaches!
One of the main differences you will notice between the established and the newer resorts is the vegetation. Very simply put in a resort that has been there for a few years the vegetation has had time to mature and establish its self, while the newer resorts vegetation is still growing. On the other hand the newer resorts are very willing to please and work all that much harder to make sure you have a great experience in order to establish themselves as a place to remember and return to.
All in all we loved this area and recommend our clients travel here as well. One tip we do pass on to our clients is to use a travel agent that utilizes Apple Vacations or other such group. If you ever run into a problem at a resort Apple Vacations has a dedicated staff person at the resort to assist you. Not to mention the all inclusive nature of their vaction packages.
Enjoy the pictures we have posted in Links We Like section named Riviera Maya. Included are pictures of Grand Sirenis, Iberostar Grand, Secrets Carpri, Secrets Moroma, Secrets Silver Sands, RIU Palace and a map of the coast line to orient yourself.
If you find our blog useful please click on the Follow link or feel free to select our Newsletter link to the left of our page. Tell your friends and family about us, too!
Have an amazing day!
Sally & Norm
http://www.sandtravel.com/
Apple Vacations and the fabulous Grand Sirenis Resort hosted us for four days. We worked hard but had a great time touring these outstanding properties.
The Riviera Maya is a beautiful and upcoming coastal resort area just south of well known Cancun Mexico. Riviera Maya tends to be more historical and considered by many to be the gateway to the Mayan ruins. Riviera Maya is quiet close to the famous Tulum region.
We found the people to be very friendly and hospitable, granted once you leave the resorts and venture into the tourist areas you will be treated like a tourist. This area tends to be quieter and less touristy. Inside the resorts hospitality is practiced to the highest degree.
We toured several well established resorts and some that were still under construction. This area is really becoming the new vacation hotspot with great beaches!
One of the main differences you will notice between the established and the newer resorts is the vegetation. Very simply put in a resort that has been there for a few years the vegetation has had time to mature and establish its self, while the newer resorts vegetation is still growing. On the other hand the newer resorts are very willing to please and work all that much harder to make sure you have a great experience in order to establish themselves as a place to remember and return to.
All in all we loved this area and recommend our clients travel here as well. One tip we do pass on to our clients is to use a travel agent that utilizes Apple Vacations or other such group. If you ever run into a problem at a resort Apple Vacations has a dedicated staff person at the resort to assist you. Not to mention the all inclusive nature of their vaction packages.
Enjoy the pictures we have posted in Links We Like section named Riviera Maya. Included are pictures of Grand Sirenis, Iberostar Grand, Secrets Carpri, Secrets Moroma, Secrets Silver Sands, RIU Palace and a map of the coast line to orient yourself.
If you find our blog useful please click on the Follow link or feel free to select our Newsletter link to the left of our page. Tell your friends and family about us, too!
Have an amazing day!
Sally & Norm
http://www.sandtravel.com/
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Only a Six Hour Ride to Baltimore!
We had a fantastic time on the inaugural cruise out of Baltimore aboard the Carnival Pride!
Baltimore is an excellent gateway for this sailing. My wife and I decided to drive in a day early and check out the sites. We toured the inner harbor, rode the Light Rail and watched the excitement of the media as the event unfolded.
The Carnival Pride is really a ship all about art. The theme on board is “Icons of Beauty”. You will find reproductions of famous Renaissance paintings and statues by Raphael, Botticelli and even a reproduction of Michelangelo's David. Pride is also embellished with Renaissance style murals on the walls and ceilings.
The staff on board was great. We were well taken care of and the food was very good. Carnival has worked very hard to overcome the party ship image and has done that in our opinion.
We started out with two days at sea, which I really needed to just unwind and relax. We then stopped in Nassau. A group of us ended up catching a ride on the local bus service to the Royal Bahamian Sandals Resort. As travel agents we were invited to tour their resort and spend the day with them. When you go to Nassau this is a great stay or an excursion from aboard ship. I recommend the swim up bar! Our next day we spent on Freeport where we did some shopping then loaded onto a van and headed to a beautiful beach for the day. On our way back to Baltimore we had dinner at Prides signature supper club David’s. The food and service were great.
Carnival will be sailing year around out of Baltimore to the Bahamas and the Eastern Caribbean.
Since our return we have already put together a meeting with Rick Zimmerman, CEO of KHM Travel, Burt Kramer, Director of KHM Travel, Virgil Lengel, Lakefront Bus Lines and Sally Nyburg, SAND Travel to decide how to best offer ongoing trips out of NE Ohio roundtrip to Baltimore to take these great year round sailings. Sally has over 20 years expertise in group travel.
Just think of it no airfare to buy, no airport hassles, no long lines to stand in. Just a comfortable Lakefront Lines luxury coach to relax on all the way to the cruise dock!
We can offer family reunions, school reunions, vacations, incentives, fund raising trips as well friend’s get-a-ways. For all your travel planning needs visit us at http://www.sandtravels.com/
Baltimore is an excellent gateway for this sailing. My wife and I decided to drive in a day early and check out the sites. We toured the inner harbor, rode the Light Rail and watched the excitement of the media as the event unfolded.
The Carnival Pride is really a ship all about art. The theme on board is “Icons of Beauty”. You will find reproductions of famous Renaissance paintings and statues by Raphael, Botticelli and even a reproduction of Michelangelo's David. Pride is also embellished with Renaissance style murals on the walls and ceilings.
The staff on board was great. We were well taken care of and the food was very good. Carnival has worked very hard to overcome the party ship image and has done that in our opinion.
We started out with two days at sea, which I really needed to just unwind and relax. We then stopped in Nassau. A group of us ended up catching a ride on the local bus service to the Royal Bahamian Sandals Resort. As travel agents we were invited to tour their resort and spend the day with them. When you go to Nassau this is a great stay or an excursion from aboard ship. I recommend the swim up bar! Our next day we spent on Freeport where we did some shopping then loaded onto a van and headed to a beautiful beach for the day. On our way back to Baltimore we had dinner at Prides signature supper club David’s. The food and service were great.
Carnival will be sailing year around out of Baltimore to the Bahamas and the Eastern Caribbean.
Since our return we have already put together a meeting with Rick Zimmerman, CEO of KHM Travel, Burt Kramer, Director of KHM Travel, Virgil Lengel, Lakefront Bus Lines and Sally Nyburg, SAND Travel to decide how to best offer ongoing trips out of NE Ohio roundtrip to Baltimore to take these great year round sailings. Sally has over 20 years expertise in group travel.
Just think of it no airfare to buy, no airport hassles, no long lines to stand in. Just a comfortable Lakefront Lines luxury coach to relax on all the way to the cruise dock!
We can offer family reunions, school reunions, vacations, incentives, fund raising trips as well friend’s get-a-ways. For all your travel planning needs visit us at http://www.sandtravels.com/
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