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There has never been a better time to hit the high seas for a cruise vacation. An estimated 18.4 million passengers will be cruising the world’s waters in 2010 in search of a remarkable vacation.According to Cruise Market Watch, the worldwide cruise capacity is up almost 7 percent in 2010, as cruise lines add new ships to boost their lines. And with the additional space, some cruise lines are offering value pricing so the new space and the existing spaces are booked.

There are plenty of short-range cruises available for a quick getaway:

• A three-night cruise to the Bahamas for just $199. You’ll see Miami, Fla., Nassau and Norwegian Private Island.
• Or maybe you would like a five-night cruise to the Western Caribbean, starting in Miami and traveling to Ocho Rios and the Grand Cayman – all for $359 per adult passenger.
• Or for $489 per adult passenger, go the other direction toward the Eastern Caribbean for a seven-night cruise to Miami, Samana, St. Thomas, Tortola and Great Stirrup Cay.
• Or, if you want to start on the West Coast, consider a seven-day cruise from Los Angeles, Calif., to Mexico. For $499 per adult passenger, you can enjoy stops in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas and then back to Los Angeles.

These cruises offer just a taste of the quick-trips available from U.S. ports of call. There are plenty of other ventures on both sides of the coast to experience. But with cruising so hot this year, this may be the time to try a trip that’s a bit more alluring – someplace off the Caribbean track.

• How about a seven-night cruise to Australia and New Zealand for just $759 per adult passenger. You start in Sydney, Australia, and will continue on to Noumea and Isle of Pines, both islands making up New Caledonia.
• Starting for around $1,000 per person, you can take a 12-day cruise to Latin America and see sites you’ve only heard about in an atlas. The trip starts in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and includes Montevideo, Urugyay; Falkland Islands; a sail by Cape Horn, a stop in Ushuaia, Argentina; a cruising tour of Romanche & Alemania glaciers and the Cockburn & Beagle Channels; a stop in Punta Arenas; passage through the Strait of Magellan; a cruise through the Amalia Glacier Canal and passage through the Darwin Channel Chilean Fjords. The trip concludes in Santiago, Chile.
• Want to go the Far East? How about a five-night cruise of Asia, starting at $1,045 a person. You will start in Hong Kong, China; travel on to Sanya, China; and then head onto Hue and Hanoi, Vietnam; before ending back up in Hong Kong.
• Got dreams of seeing the South Pacific? Consider the $1,595 10-day South Pacific cruise. It will take you to places most people only read about: Tahiti, Rangiroa and Bora Bora – all in French Polynesian.
• Ever dreamed of seeing the Grecian Isles? What better way than on a seven-night European-Mediterranean cruise for just $659 a person. The adventure starts in Venice and onto Bari, Italy. From there, the ship sails on to the Greek isles of Katakolon, Santorini, Mykonos and Rhodes. Last stop is Dubrovnik, a hugely popular tourist city on the Adriatic Sea.
• Want to get off the high seas? Consider a $999 per person, four-day cruise of the Avalon Waterways. You will start your river cruise in Vienna and follow on to Melk-Dürnstein in Austria; Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia; and finish the tour in Budapest, Hungary.
• For a trip you’ll never forget, spend 10 days exploring Egypt and the treasures of the Nile. Start by spending three days in Cairo, exploring the Kingdom of the Pharaohs, King Tutankhamen’s treasures, the Sphinx and the Great Pyramids of Giza. From there, you will fly to Aswan where you will embark on a four-night cruise of the Nile River where you can experience temples dedicated to crocodiles and falcon gods and the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens where 62 royal tombs have been unearthed, leaving many untouched. Conclude your adventure with a visit to Karnak, ancient Egypt’s greatest city. You will wind up back in Cairo in time to take in an evening of modern entertainment or rest up for the flight home the next day. The cost for all this is $2,211 per passenger.

Now that you have an idea of the tame and the more adventurous offerings, you need to take these into consideration when selecting your cruise:

• Is it an all-adult trip, or will you have to worry about little children? Older children will enjoy some of the historical sites more than their younger counterparts.
• Does vacation time allow for a 12-day cruise? Or might a four-night quick getaway suffice for this year’s getaway?
• Is one of these trips on you bucket list? If so, start there. The others will have to wait.

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Cruise vacations are one of the most exciting and fun vacations you and your family will ever have. Planning your cruise vacation is the key to making the most of the cruise experience.There are countless ways that you could pack for your special cruise vacation. One that’s favored by men is: Wait until the last minute, throw some things together, and anything you forget you either don’t need or you can buy.

The real purpose of a cruise is jollification and merry making in the middle of the ocean on a floating mansion. A cruise vacation is an ecstatic vacation taken on a cruise ship.

There are three categories of cruise lines to choose from: Luxury Cruise Lines, Premium Cruise Lines and Mainstream Cruise Lines. All of which have different types of ships to consider. Within the three categories of cruise lines are the following types of cruise ships: mega cruise ships, large cruise ships, small cruise ships, adventure cruise ships, sailing ships, river cruise boats and yachts.

The first thing to consider is where you want to go. There are so many fantastic and exotic locations and ports that await you.

Next you’ll have to decide on a cruise line. This is one of the most challenging parts of the process.Cruise lines today offer almost countless choices. There are cruises for every budget and lifestyle. It’s not so hard to figure out what’s right for you, though, if you know how to break down your options.

There are more than 200 cruise ships that you can choose from today. But the one thing that they all have in common is that a little advance planning and “insider” knowledge can help you save time and money on your next cruise.Ready to sign up for a cruise? Before you get out your credit card, check these tricks of the cruise trade.

Booking three to six months in advance will often save you money, and also give the best choice of cabins. The earlier you book, the bigger the discount.

Ask if guarantees are available. This requires that you have a little gambling spirit. Many cruise lines will offer a rate on a particular cabin category instead of an actual stateroom number and in effect guarantee that rate to you.

Cruises are usually most expensive in high season, so if you go earlier or later you can get a cheaper fare. Examples: Alaska cruises are cheaper in April, May and September; Mediterranean cruises in September and October; Caribbean cruises in early fall or in January and February.

It is important to have a good idea of what you want as the range of cruises is enormous. Large vessels in excess of 100,000 tons offer superb family facilities including ice rinks, climbing, basketball and mini golf to name but a few.

Special Fare Eligibility – One of the reasons that savvy cruisers find a knowledgeable cruise specialist and stick with them is the fact that there are many special fare programs that may or not be visible to cruisers doing casual research on the web. These include things like regional fares that are made available to residents of selected states.

You also have to decide on the length of your cruise. A typical choice is a 7-night cruise, but you can take cruises from 3-4 nights to over a month in length, or more. The length of your vacation time available may limit you, but taking a cruise for the first time may also be a consideration.

Think of who you want to take with you on your cruise vacation. There are many different packages offered by cruise lines. There are packages for the whole family and there are packages for single traveler

When you get to your cruise ship, embarkation could be a little chaotic. There will be lines, especially early in the check in process. There will be a lot of stressed out people so just relax and take it in stride. After you have gone through the check in process you will be aboard and your cruise vacations begins.

Now that you know what to look for when booking reservations for a romantic getaway aboard a cruise ship, you can start making preparations. With only a small amount of time and research, you could be sailing the seas in luxury with the one that you love.

Vacationing on a “floating resort” is the experience to be had when traveling on a cruise ship.

An exotic destination to visit is just the beginning of the cruising adventure.

Because hundreds of other individuals are taking the vacation at the same time, opportunities abound for passengers to strike up new friendships.

Cruises are also known for sparking romance between people, so it’s possible to find one’s lifelong significant other when embarking upon a luxury liner.

Touring the various locales is not the only thing on the agenda, as one of the top reasons a person chooses to cruise is simply for the opportunity to eat all the food he or she can handle at one table sitting.

A scrumptious variety of delectable cuisine from all corners of the world accurately characterizes the food offered on board a cruise ship. And, passengers have the choice of opting from a menu of dishes during their designated meal time, or they can sit down at one of the many restaurants located on the ship to enjoy the available specialties.

Cruise ships are famous for their midnight buffets, chock-full of desserts from cakes to pies to tiny French pastries. Detailed ice sculptures depicting all kinds of scenes decorate the food tables, along with flowers and colored napkins to further enhance the midnight eating experience.

Those who are concerned about a possible weight gain from all the food can easily burn off those consumed extra calories, as each cruise ship has its own state of the art gym open to all passengers who are interested in maintaining a workout schedule during their sea vacation.

Eating is not the only focus of a cruise vacation, as there are many other shipboard diversions for adults, children, and families alike to enjoy.

Magic shows, singing acts, plays or musicals, games of bingo or shuffleboard, gambling for the non-adolescent crowd, and swimming in one of the ship’s pools while getting some sun are only some of the things on the list of fun.

Visiting the foreign locations tops off the overall cruising experience.

“Each of the various stops on the itinerary offers something unique for the visitor to do. Everything from snorkeling to swimming with dolphins to whale watching to parasailing are common activities for which cruise passengers sign up to try” said President & CEO Thomas DeSimone from CruiseDealership.com.

One of the best aspects of the cruise vacation is the fact that these floating resorts travel to virtually anywhere a person may wish to travel.

Exploring the Panama Canal, touring various countries in Europe, visiting the Caribbean Islands, traveling to Hawaii, or putting Mexico on one’s vacation agenda is all possible when booking a cruise vacation.

To further sweeten the deal for a passenger, there are themed cruises available.

Traveling on a ship with a Disney environment or signing up for a vacation featuring singles only are two of the unique possibilities for interested cruisers.

Whatever kind of shipboard trip a person chooses to take, the experience is an unforgettable one and worth every penny.