—I have to say this is my favorite type of vacation. Since I am in hotels over one hundred nights a year, when I go on vacation, I like to unpack once but keep moving. And that is exactly what a cruise ship does. My brothers and I try to take at least one cruise a year (although lately I have done some for my job, too). Living in Texas in the winter we have been able to go on cruises pretty reasonably since we don’t have to fly and can book last minute. There are some great deals to be had if you book in the last 45-60 days. And we have learned a lot along the way. To me, an inside cabin is the least desirable. Some people say you don’t spend that much time in your room, which is true. But I hate the closed in feeling in an inside cabin. A balcony, of course, is great but for the price, a room with a window is fine. You get a good view and don’t have that closed in feeling. I have never done a port hole but I suppose it would be better than an inside cabin. I have done a lot of research on the internet and there are many good sites but my two “musts” are booking last minute on “Vacations To Go” for great deals and don’t forget to check “Cruise Critic.com.” There is invaluable information on that site about ports you will be visiting, as well as cheaper but safe things you can do to avoid those expensive shore excursions. One thing we have learned, especially on Caribbean cruises, is to skip city tours and go by taxi. If you use the taxis at the terminal they have to have a special license to be able to come into the terminal area and therefore are very safe. They may negotiate a fare but when you get in the terminal, go to the information booth and ask what a “city tour” will run. If you have read your ship bulletin and checked cruise critic you should know the sites you want to see. Then go talk to the driver. Never get in the taxi until you have negotiated your fare. And, the taxis have the same rate for 1-4 people. So….we find a couple on ship who wants to share a taxi with us. That way we split the cost and & there is always safety in numbers. On our last cruise we stopped at five ports. Every city tour ran $60-65 on the ship. In a taxi it was $40 which ended up costing us $10 each plus a small tip. At the end of the cruise we had spent $65 each on all five city tours total. One time in South America, we went to see the penguins in a national park in the region. The ship wanted $130 each. We went with another couple and we paid $25 each plus a $5 tip each for a total of $30! But, I can’t stress enough how important it is to do your homework. You don’t want your vacation ruined because you didn’t do your homework Next up: An indescribable Western Lake
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