Cruise Holiday Tips For Your Christmas New Year Vacation

This article is written exclusively for Melbourne Ahoy by best selling travel author Ben Better. Check out his latest book “Secret Cruise Tips For The First Time Cruiser: Your Key To An Enjoyable And Stress Free Cruise Holiday” now available on Amazon.

Cruise Ahoy !

With the Christmas and New Year festive period upon us, it also the time for many to take a break and have a well earned holiday.  And top amongst vacation plans for many is a cruise holiday!

With the stressful and busy lives that many of us lead these days, it is not surprising that cruise holidays are the fastest growing section of the travel industry. After all, the ticket price is typically inclusive of ALMOST everything – notable exceptions include alcohol, spa treatments, professional photos, guided on-shore tours, etc.

The First Time Cruiser

Have you booked your first ever cruise holiday during the festive and new year holidays?

Are you feeling just a tad uncertain about how to make sure that your cruise holiday is smooth sailing (pardon the pun!) ?

If yes, then here are some quick tips to help you have an enjoyable and stress free cruise holiday.

Getting ready for theme parties

All cruise ships will have a few theme nights – e.g. Mexican, Caribbean, Bath Robe, Formal black tie, etc. – in the itinerary. These parties are always a blast when you are dressed appropriately as it helps to make you feel more involved.

So do give the cruise line a call to find out what are the themes beforehand so you can prepare your costume. Theme nights are always great fun and even more so when you dress up in costume. You will be pleasantly amazed as to how much effort some seasoned cruisers go into their custom-made outfits!

.............

To read on, continue on to the blog post on the Melbourne Ahoy website - Cruise Holiday Tips For Your Christmas New Year Vacation

Things to do and see in Melbourne .. Updated !

New or on vacation to Melbourne ? Bored of the regular tourist haunts and want to check out something different ?

I just updated my off-the-beaten-track guide to Melbourne's best alternative attractions / things to do and see. 

Check it out here ! ... http://www.squidoo.com/10-things-to-do-in-melbourne-australia

School holidays and the child care issue

It's school holiday time again ! For the next 2 weeks, most primary and secondary (high) school students will be enjoying the spring break vacation.

Personally, I quite enjoy the school holidays myself. A lot of parents take time off work and whisk the family away on a short holiday. For me that means a leisurely drive to / from work (with much less cars on the road for a change) and less stress at work with lots of people away !

But if you have young children and with both parents working full-time, finding someone to look after your children can be a BIG challenge. This is a common problem in Melbourne (and Australia in general) so make sure you don't get caught out !

A common option is to leave the children with the grandparents but for new migrants to Melbourne, the family support network unfortunately may not be there though. And with finances possibly being stretched by the relocation and settling down, taking extended work leave might be out too.

So here are some quick tips and lessons that I learned through real experience:

• Some schools offer on-site holiday care programs. Spots tend to be limited as preference so enquire wide and early.
• There are some organisations that specialise in providing vacation care. Again these programs are very popular. Start doing your planning at least a month before the holiday starts!
• While this may come as a surprise to international immigrants, it is also quite common to see parents bring their children to their place of work - especially if it is in an office environment !
• This may not be possible for everyone, but getting permission to work from home on some days can help reduce the number of leave days you have to take. 

Hope you found this blog post particularly useful and I'll leave you with one final important reminder - PLAN EARLY !!  

P.S. If you have other ideas or tips, please comment and share ! :-)