Kabala Teatro Colombia Travel Tips

Posts Tagged ‘Vacation’

Most of the newer ships offer wheelchair assessable state rooms and can provide dining room seating arrangements to avoid stairs and raised areas. Just be sure your travel agent notifies the cruise line of your wheelchair usage and any other special needs prior to sailing when making your cruise vacation reservations. Cruise travelers with physical challenges should check with the onboard tour office to ensure that all pre-reserve tours can accommodate their needs.

Cruise travel may be the ideal vacation for an individual using a wheelchair, since it provides the opportunity to visit a number of destinations in a relatively short time. A cruise vacation provides effortless travel between locations without the inconvenience of packing and unpacking. You’ll appreciate the choice of experiencing the ship’s destinations or relaxing and enjoying the comfort of being pampered at a “resort at sea.”

Is important that if one of your party uses a wheelchair you want to ask the following questions:
* How many wheelchair accessible cabins on the cruise ship?
* Are the doors to the rooms and elevators wide enough to accommodate a regular wheelchair?
* Can I get my wheelchair out on deck and into the public rooms during my cruise vacation?
* Will I be able to access the dining areas?

In some ports of call, where the ship must anchor, access via wheelchair may not be possible.

Ships generally stock a limited number of wheelchairs but please be aware they must be pre-reserved at the time of your booking.

Due to S.O.L.A.S. (Safety of Live At Sea) Regulations, physically challenged passengers must have partial mobility, and a traveling companion who can assist them, should an emergency arise.

You’ll find that the newer, larger cruise ships have been built with the goal of full-accessibility. A new ship will have wider corridors, more spacious cabins, more, and larger, elevators and ramps where needed. In addition, the designated “accessible” cabins on newer ships are outfitted with many of the following features that will make your cruise vacation a more comfortable experience:

* Stateroom and cabin doorways wide enough for wheelchairs (at least 30″)
* Stateroom dimensions and floor space for maneuverability and bathroom dimensions adequate for maneuvering
* No “lips” or sills into bathrooms
* Sink positioned so wheelchair can roll under it
* Roll-in shower wit a fold-down stool in shower with detachable showerhead
* Bathroom walls with handrails
* Raised toilet seat, at least 17″ inches high
* Pull-down clothing racks
* Light switches at wheelchair level
* Adjustable mirror above sink
* Portable telephone
* Blinking lights in staterooms for the hearing challenged

In some ports, ships must anchor offshore due to size of the port or because of extreme weather (if the weather is too extreme they won’t stop at that port at all). They “tender” guests to shore with small boats that may not be accessible to guests in wheelchairs. You’ll want to check with the shore excursions department to determine which shore excursions are most suitable for you. In some destinations, particularly those outside of the United States, you will not always find accessible transportation and facilities.

Some of the Princess cruise line ships have hoists by the pool so a physically challenged passengers can enjoy the pool. Some of Holland American ships have the ability to tender wheelchairs into ports where they do not dock. Ask your travel agent to inquire with those lines to find the ship that is suitable for you.
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Backpack in hand, you are ready to head to Europe for some fun and sun. Here is some advice for backpackers from someone who has done it multiple times and made the mistakes.

Advice For Backpackers Going To Europe

In my personal opinion, spending a few weeks or months backpacking in Europe should be a mandatory task for every person. Admittedly, it can’t really be called a task since you will love every minute of it. Having backpacked Europe more times than I can count, here are some of the lessons I learned which can help you.

The first piece of advice is to limit the number of things you take. Europe is not located on a far away planet. If you can buy it here, you can buy it there. This includes items such as soap, socks, toothpaste, disposable digital cameras and guidebooks. I guarantee that you will take too much junk with you. Don’t. One or two pairs of shoes, shorts, one pair of slacks [to get into museums and churches] and a couple shirts is all you need. If you need anything else, you can just buy it there.

There is a lot to see and do in Europe, so most people want to maximize their time. One way to do this is to travel and sleep at the same time. Yes, I am talking about the night trains. When moving from one location to another, try to take the latest train and sleep during the trip. You only have a set amount of time. Taking this approach will keep you from wasting valuable daylight hours on the road.

One of the key pieces of advice I can offer you is to use your common sense. If you wouldn’t walk down that alley or into that establishment at home, why the heck are you going to do it in Europe? Europe is very safe and the people are friendly. That being said, every location has its rough spots. Avoid them. Particularly in the Eastern European countries. Trust me on this one!

To maximize your experience, it is best to get off the beaten path. When you visit a city, spend at least a day in a town outside of the city limits. You will discover the real nature of the country. Tourists are fewer, so people tend to be interested in talking with you. There are always a group of older men sitting in a café. Join them and you will be laughing for hours. I did this in Austria and ended up speaking a week in a little village called Halstatt. One of the best times I ever had.
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What is so unique about a luxury motor yacht charter? The list goes on and on, but the most poignant trait may be it is the only vacation you will ever take where you get both the control of calling all the shots and the pampering of an all inclusive vacation package. Whether you choose a motor boat or sailboat charter you will be on the trip of a lifetime. Hire a crew to make your vacation even more carefree and you’ll never travel any other way again.

Destinations of the Sea

A typical vacation for you may have been to some pretty exciting or peaceful destinations. Chances are you booked your flight and hotel online or through a travel agent then anxiously awaited your vacation. You fly to a specific airport then perhaps rent a car to use public transportation. Next you see all the sites within a day’s drive of your hotel, hope your flight home and it all becomes a distant memory as you try desperately to recuperate from your adventure.

When travelling aboard a luxury motor yacht charter the experience is entirely different. First and foremost you are not limited by geography and you don’t have to worry about booking a hotel for each city you visit. Your luxury suite travels with you along with your personal chef and butler. On top of that, all of your closest friends and family can come along.

Luxury yacht vacation packages that also include a flight to the departing port can range from weekend trips around the Caribbean Islands and the Bahamas to week long travels to the Mediterranean sea. Generally the Caribbean is reached via Miami and European Islands and those in the Mediterranean are reached by a number of different departure cities. The all inclusive trip is yours for the designing. You choose where you will stop and how long you will stay. There are no other passengers to accommodate other than those you have invited so the choice is yours.
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Ask someone to picture their perfect vacation, and you will usually get an answer that involves the words sun, sand and water. The perfect way to relax is to get far away from your daily routine and relax in the warm sun. If this sounds like the vacation for you, what you need is a Caribbean cruise.

If you truly want to experience the feeling of living on a boat, or, if you are looking for a cost-efficient way to see the Caribbean, you’ll find this aboard a mid-size cruise ship. Mid-size ships offer most of the luxuries of a large ship, but for a more economical price.

If you are nervous at the thought of sailing on the ocean, or, if you want to be pampered, a large cruise ship should be your choice. These ships contain their own swimming pools, spas, restaurants, dance floors, and much more.

No matter which size of cruise ship you choose, you will be sure to have the time of your life! No cruise would be complete without a few stops along the way, and your cruise ship would be stopping at some of the beautiful islands in the Caribbean ocean. You can shop for local hand-made crafts, explore the islands, or go sailing or snorkeling in the tropical waters. Some islands will host a feast or traditional performance – something you don’t want to miss!
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