When you enjoy all that the Big Apple has to offer from the comfort of a luxurious yacht, you’ll create wonderful memories and great photo opportunities. Your prom night will be a topic of conversation among you and your friends for years. You passed your high school years with a core group of friends that you laughed, cried, studied and partied with it’s only natural that you want to commemorate the end of those days and toast new beginnings in style.

Of course, romance is an essential element in any good prom night. The right yachts have terrific dance floors, talented DJs and beautiful outdoor decks. Whether you want to dance the night away with that special someone or hold hands under the stars as New York’s landmarks drift past, the evening will unfold exactly as you wish.

Trust Marco Polo Cruises when you want to plan a different and much-talked-about prom night. We are attentive to all of your needs and work to design a cruise that will fit within your budget. We do everything in our power to create enjoyable, comfortable and safe cruises that offer gorgeous views of New York Harbor, Chelsea Piers, the Statue of Liberty and other hallmark New York historical spots.

Browse our Web site to find out all you need to know about how Marco Polo Cruises can ensure that your prom night is all that you ever wanted it to be. Contact us at 1-212-691-6693 if you require additional assistance.

Bid a Fond Farewell to Your High School Days with an All-Inclusive Prom Night Cruise is a post from: Odise Villa Travel Leisure Site

As an adult, I have continued to vacation to Florida with my own family and our friends. We go to a condo every spring for two weeks and we love it. I never tire of Florida vacations because they are absolutely beautiful. I love walking with my daughters along the water and playing football with my sons along the beach. My absolute favorite thing to do each year on vacation, however, is spend a day fishing on a charter boat.

My childhood dream has been coming true each year for the past twenty years. In fact, I think I have been fishing on a deep sea charter boat nearly thirty times since I first dreamed about doing it. I have been on the charter boat with my father, my father-in-law, my wife, our children and several of my closest friends at different times in the past twenty years. I just cannot get enough of fishing on the charter boat in what seems like the middle of a huge ocean.

If you’re looking to vacation to Florida any time soon, then I suggest you make your way to the Gulf of Mexico and get yourself on a charter boat fishing excursion as soon as possible. You’ll absolutely love the feeling of spending a day at sea and of catching the biggest fish you can possibly catch. A charter boat fishing experience is truly one of the best parts of a Florida vacation, so don’t go without taking at least a day for this.

Do a little research and see what kinds of fishing charter boats are available in the area you will be visiting. Look for great deals by taking a large group with you or by going on an off day. Charter fishing is a great hobby to develop, so make plans to experience charter fishing for the first time.

Experience A Charter Boat is a post from: Odise Villa Travel Leisure Site

Most people get their first taste of private jet flying by chartering a flight. Businesses, celebrities, and private individuals and families all peruse this service. You can too and the following list features some of the companies willing and able to provide this type of service for you:

Clay Lacy Aviation

Jet Aviation

Key Air

Million Air

Regal Aviation

TAG Aviation

The Air Group

This list is by no means exhaustive. For additional detailed information, please visit www.corporateflyer.net/PJCO.htm for all the top names.

There are also companies that will sell you fractional ownership in a private jet. What this means is that you can co-own part of an aircraft and fly it or a similar jet as needed. For details about how this works, visit the following companies web sites for information:

CitationShares

Flexjet

Flight Options

Netjets

Finally, there are several companies whose expressed business is to help you broker a flight. The better companies maintain extensive databases containing information about all the available jets that can be chartered. Some of the top companies include:

Air Royale

Bluestarjets

L&L International

Marquis Jets

Sentient

Your first flight is nearer than you think. Charter a jet today and take off to the destination of your choice!

Corporate Jets: Taking Flight! is a post from: Odise Villa Travel Leisure Site

Las Cuevas de Camuy National Park

This national Park features on of the largest cave systems in the world. visitors will walk into parts of the caves and explore a small part of the system. The surrounding areas feature some nature settings that make for very good views.

La Parguera, Bioluminescence Bay

Another very unique place to visit on the island. this bay has micro organisms on the water that when disturbed they “light up” and produce a beautiful display on the water. this phenomenon happens on various places around the world, but in Puerto Rico is the only place that is guaranteed for it to happen every night.

Arecibo radar observatory

In the north par of Puerto Rico you can visit the famous radio telescope, the largest of this kind of the world. Its large receptor plate it’s larger than 12 football fields, used to spot signals from planets and in the SETI research for extraterestrial life. Inside the Observatory there are science related exibitions of different subjects to watch.

Mayaguez Zoo

Mayaguez is home to the only public zoo in the island. The zoo 2 main animal selections are the African Forest and the African Savannah. Also it features a Beautiful bird sanctuary.

Ponce Art Museum

The Ponce Art Museum has the largest art collection of the Caribbean between pictures and sculptures. Its collection have many European works such as works by Velasquez, Rubens and Rodin, and others.

5 Nice Places to Visit in Puerto Rico is a post from: Odise Villa Travel Leisure Site

Things to do before travel day:

1) Pack your bags. Make sure all your packing is done at least the night before and that you have all your bags in one central location for easy and complete loading into your car or taxi.
2) Have all your travel paperwork organized and in one central location.
3) Make a checklist of all the things you want to check to secure your home before you leave and walk through your home checking off each item. Do this at least an hour before you leave your house. Do this and you will never worry if you left your stove on or any of the other little nagging worries you might have while on your travel.
4) Be sure your pets are taken care of. Make any kennel reservations well in advance of your trip to be sure you have a reserved spot at a kennel you trust.
5) Call the AIRPORT and airline the day before to see how early the recommend you should arrive for a smooth, stress free check in. If they tell you to arrive three hours early and you arrive just 30 minutes early, you will probably feel great stresses about missing your flight. Also ask if there are any parking restrictions you should be aware of. Ever since 9/11, when we have a heightened threat level there may be car searches before you can park.
6) If you are just taking carry on luggage, many airlines let you pre check in right on the internet 24 hours before your flight. That means that you can get and print out boarding passes right from your home. And when you get to the airport, you can go right to the gate and your boarding area without getting into the long check in line. If you have to check baggage, you will not have this option available to you. But if not, it is a great time and stress saver.

Travel day:

7) Leave home in plenty of time to anticipate busy traffic or accident situations. If it is an hour trip to get to the airport, you may want to leave an extra half hour early just in case there are road problems.
If you are checking in bags, be prepared to wait in line. If it is a busy time of day at the airport and you are traveling with a popular airline, there could be a significant line. Don’t worry about how long the line is. As long as you arrive when the airport recommended, you will have plenty of time to make it to the front of the line and get checked in. It may look impossible but it will happen so just relax and be patient.
9) Make sure that any carry on baggage really is carry on. Otherwise you may get stopped at the gate and have your bag taken away to be stowed with the regular luggage. It will delay and stress you. And it will delay everyone else.
10) When boarding the plane, find your seat and stow your carry on baggage quickly. And then sit down and stay out of the way. There are lots of people trying to do the same thing and we’ve all encountered the folks who block the aisle for a long time fussing about something or other while a harried line of boarders is forced to wait. You don’t want to be one of those people. So just get your business done quickly and efficiently and sit down. You’ll have plenty of time to get up once the plane is in the air.
11) If you have to change planes, it can be a real challenge, especially in the larger airports. If you know the gate you will have to go to, ask the flight attendant for advice to reach that gate quickly. In some airports – like Atlanta – a Delta connection can be a huge adventure taking 30 minutes to get from one gate to another. If you know in advance how you have to get to your next airplane, it will be much less chaotic when you get off the first plane. And a much more relaxing walk (or run) to your next gate.
12) When the plane lands, patiently wait your turn. Whether you push or just wait, you usually won’t get off the plane any quicker. People tend to let the folks in the rows before them get up and go in a pretty orderly fashion. Trying to rush it will only get your blood pressure up and will not be looked upon favorably by your fellow travelers.
13) If you just have carry on baggage, you have successfully completed a pretty stress free flight.
14) But if you have carry on luggage, there is one more step – waiting for the luggage. Just pick a place around the conveyor belt and wait. Expect your bag to be the very last one to come out and be pleasantly surprised when it comes out early.

By following these simple steps, you will find that your stress levels from your air travels will be much less. A well planned trip agenda ensures that those little stress points stay little stress points and don’t balloon into a full blown crisis. Try it any you will be amazed how just a small amount of up front planning dramatically improves the enjoyment of your travel.

14 Tips for a Stress Free Flight is a post from: Odise Villa Travel Leisure Site

However dont scrap your childs backpack and run out to buy a sling bag, or briefcase type book bag. Evidence exists that says these are even more harmful than the backpack. So what is a parent to do? Backpacks if made correctly, worn properly not over packed and packed correctly, are fine. A back friendly bag will have wide padded shoulder straps, a padded back, and a waist belt.

This takes care of most of the problems. The straps, on this type of bag, avoid the pinching of the shoulders by narrow unpadded straps on other backpacks. The waist belt and padded bag help to reduce the bouncing of the bag on the back. This reduces repetitive impact injury. Some backpacks even have a chest belt, and side straps to stabilize the load.

This type of backpack is obvious the better choice, because it uses the back and abdominal muscles, the two strongest muscle systems in the body, properly. A heavy backpack, incorrectly worn, can pull the child back, so the child leans forward to compensate for the pull. This can compress and possibly damage the vertebrae, causing back and neck pain.

This leaning forward also tends to cause the child to roll her shoulders inward. This with the forward lean can also compress the lungs and cause problems for asthmatic kids. The best backpacks are made of sturdy material, have padded wide shoulder straps, padded backs, waist and chest belts. These extra belts help to put some of the weight bearing on the legs and hips. You have the right backpack, now you have to make sure your child knows how to use it properly.

First teach her how to pack it properly, heavier items like textbooks should be placed closet to the back, dont over-pack, and dont pack anything you do not need for school, Now see that he lifts it properly, and that he uses both shoulder straps, the waist belt and any additional belts.. Before purchasing a backpack check on line for results of product testing and ratings, by reliable consumer protection groups, of any backpack you are considering.

Be aware that price is not always an indication of quality, nor does lower prices necessarily mean a poor product. You must do your homework. Also look on line for wholesale dealers in backpacks .We found a top brand backpack that has all the proper padding all the belts and a mini frame to help support the load for just a thirty dollars more than the average mid-range back pack.

More important than the price is that you get the right type of backpack, and that your child uses it because the best most expensive ergonomically sound backpack in the world, is worthless if she doesnt follow the backpack safety rules.

Backpack Safety – What Are The Basic Rules is a post from: Odise Villa Travel Leisure Site

Caf Life and Nightlife for the Night Owl
Barcelona is truly a city that never sleeps, particularly during the warm Mediterranean summers. Avoid standing out like a sore thumb by eating dinner when the locals do: after 10 p.m. It is common to see children, grandparents and the family dog gathering at the outdoor cafes at these hours when the day’s work is finished and time for friends and family has commenced. Since Barcelona hosted the Olympics in 1992, the city has been revamped with visitor friendly attractions such as the massive Olympic Village, a string of swanky restaurants, state-of-the-art nightclubs and boutiques along the beach. Most nightclubs do not get going until after 1 a.m. and club-goers typically wander out onto the beach around 5:30 to watch the sunrise over the Mediterranean.

A Modernista Mecca
The architectural wonders of Barcelona will keep even the most novice eye bewildered and intrigued. Antoni Gaudi decorated Barcelona with his treasures of modernism as a painter on a canvas. The grand boulevard of Passeig de Gracia is lined with elaborately adorned Casa Batllo and Casa Mila, both with the most intricate rooftops known to modern architecture. Arguably the most stunning of Gaudi’s work is the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia. Each of the church’s facades are meticulously designed with different themes and styles combining nature with religion and the soaring towers topped with mosaic grapes are built around a conch-like coiled staircase that visitors may choose to take instead of the elevator. Another tribute to Barcelona’s artistic heritage is the Palau da la Musica Catalana. A view of the glass and mosaic inverted chandelier on the ceiling of the theater is alone worth the visit. Daily tours are offered in addition to the regularly held musical performances. Afterward, get lost in the tiny twisting passages of the surrounding historic Gothic Quarter.

Traveling Barcelona Right Not Your Weekend Visit
It is best to avoid traveling to Spain in August, when most of the locals (and most of Mediterranean Europe) take their vacations. Chances are that the restaurant you wanted to visit will be closed and museums will have extremely curtailed hours. August can also be uncomfortably hot.

Barcelona should be traveled with care and patience. The only disappointment visitors have is the inability to see all of the city’s landmarks and hidden corners in a realistic amount of time.

A Country Within A Country: Travel To Barcelona is a post from: Odise Villa Travel Leisure Site

The fact remains that over 90% of cruise reservations are done through a travel agent, and youre not only at the mercy of their service fees, but also to the prices they charge for a particular cruise and sailing. So why do so many individuals go through this booking avenue, when they know the deals are far better online, and they have access to a computer and the Internet?

The answers simple! The cruise industry believes that customers new and seasoned may not truly understand the cruise ships industry language, or feel comfortable booking online! They put their dependency on many travel professionals to interpret the cruising lingo that is the integral part of the cruise booking process.

However, if you take the time to learn and understand the cruise lines language such as guaranteed staterooms, singles supplement, or run-of-the-ship, you should have no worries booking your next vacation cruise online, and start taking advantage of all the fantastic savings!

Booking Cruise Travel Over The Internet Is Simple and Easier Than You Think!

When youre searching the Internet to find a cruise special, keep in mind that if you go direct to the main cruise lines site, such as Royal Caribbean, Carnival, or Princess, you may end up paying a higher cabin price than the online cruise discounters, even though they may be showing reduced cabin prices on their sites.

In order to get the best discounts, you should source large vacation suppliers such as Travelocity, Expedia, or exclusive cruise booking sites like CruiseDirect.com, which specialize in selling cruises, and offer a unique booking engine that can quickly put together your cruise package in minutes.

Why go through these online cruise specialists, and travel suppliers?

Even though the cruise lines want to deal with you directly, they also need to keep a solid business relationship with their travel agencies that are currently booking a majority of cruises for them though their local offices and online vacation websites.

With online travel suppliers and Internet cruise companys, they deal with the cruise lines a little differently, and they either pre-purchase cabins at a very low discounted price, or theyre large enough to be directly linked to the cruiselines inventory database system. They are also capable of receiving live updated stateroom information daily, and in most cases hourly! With this powerful online system, they can take these updated cabin inventory deals, and pass them directly to the consumer, which offers you the consumer far deeper discounted savings!

What this means to you, is that once you understand what these suppliers are offering, you will have a better chance of reserving your favourite cruise in minutes and take advantage of the incredible discounts that could easily range from 20% – 60%, depending on the seasonality, type of itinerary, and actual cruise ship you book.

Just make sure that before you make any reservations online, that if you have any doubts, or understanding what your booking, contact the customer service departments via their toll-free numbers, or the cruise lines email, and they will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have prior to booking your next cruise vacation.

Best Price Cruises – A Few Simple Steps To Booking Cruise Travel Deals Online is a post from: Odise Villa Travel Leisure Site

Because coastal-cruising boats are not as likely to be caught out in bad weather for extended periods, their construction need not meet offshore standards. Any of the popular mass-produced boats currently on the market should be more than adequate in terms of strength. Because coastal boats do tend to spend a lot of time tied up to docks, you may wish to focus on amenities. A substantial AC shore-power system is usually a critical item and will go a long way toward making your boat as comfortable as your home, allowing you to enjoy microwaves, hair driers, air conditioning, televisions, and other luxuries without installing such impedimenta as generators, huge battery banks, and inverters. Nor do you need big tanks. Capacities of as little as 20 gallons of fuel and 50 of water, given a mid-size boat between 30 and 40 feet, should be adequate in most cases.

Otherwise, what constitutes a well-equipped coastal cruiser varies by location. A boat based in colder, more northern waters will get a lot more use if it has a sheltered cockpit and a good heater on board. Likewise, a boat in the sunny south will need good ventilation and a good bimini to keep its crew happy. The same goes for the sail inventory. If light winds predominate, you will need a big genoa, probably a spinnaker or drifter, and a lightweight main. If your cruising ground sees a lot of heavy air, you’ll need smaller, tougher sails. In all cases, you’ll want a roller-reefing headsail with a sunstrip (so you can leave it bent on when the boat is idle) and a mainsail cover that is easy to put on and remove. The faster you can get under way, the more you will use the boat. Charles J. Doane

Performance cruisers

I’ve already urged you to favor faster boats over slower boats when shopping for a coastal cruiser. Here’s an even more radical suggestion: How about getting a boat that’s really, really fast? For a certain sort of sailor, particularly one who likes to both race and cruise, the temptation to favor speed above all else will be irresistible. If you are one of these, you’ll need to keep a few things in mind.

Lesson number one: You can’t have it all. There is a decided trend among many production-boat builders these days to enlarge a boat’s accommodations at the expense of its performance potential. There are still several boats that favor the performance end of the spectrum, but that almost always means sacrificing accommodation space. The extreme examples here are the smaller coastal trimarans and catamarans on the market. These boats are a total blast to sail and can easily top 10 knots under sail, but the living space and amenities down below are definitely minimal — though multihulls do have lots of deck space to play on. Faster boats (at least when it comes to monohulls) also tend to be deeper boats. This will limit your ability to explore shoal-draft cruising grounds.

Lesson number two: Fast is more expensive. Performance boats are often built of high-tech lightweight materials; their rigs and sail inventories are also more sophisticated. Many now sport retractable bowsprits that facilitate the setting of large asymmetric spinnakers. All this costs money. Such boats also tend to demand more maintenance. If speed is what most thrills you, you’ll need to spend more time fairing the bottom and keeping it clean, overhauling winches, and so on.

Lesson number three: If you want to race as well as cruise, be sure to do some research. Simply getting the fastest boat you can afford may not be the best way to find the best action. Check to see which types of boats are most commonly raced in your area so you can be sure of finding some interesting competition.

Evaluating a coastal cruiser is a post from: Odise Villa Travel Leisure Site

In my preteen years I had an aborted takeoff during a commercial flight and while it didnt scare me at all during the event, when I later found out that it had made the local news I began to see that this was perhaps a bigger deal (it really wasnt but I was a preteen after all). I also began to recognize my own mortality and realized that I am a control freak and dont enjoy the thought of putting my life in the hands of pilots I dont know.

However, Im gradually working my way out of my fears and back into a state of mind that is not afraid. Its taking me a lot of time, but I make progress everyday.

My first technique is to get a large inside picture of a commercial plane (preferably one that Ill be flying in soon) and make it the background image of my computer desktop. This way, every time I get on my computer Im looking toward the front of an airplane as if I am a passenger. Initially this worked so well my pulse would race and my breathing rate went up. Ive now conditioned myself to seeing that image so it no longer bothers me.

I also like to watch internet videos of planes taking off and landing. My favorite videos are those that are taken from inside the plane, looking out the window at the wing; hearing the roar of the engines and seeing the ground fall away beneath the plane as it rises upon takeoff. Sitting in my recliner with headphones on and watching those videos enables me to participate in a takeoff without actually being on the plane. I can condition myself to the sights and sounds I would normally experience.

Ive found several helpful online courses designed to give information to fearful flyers. I use them a lot as I get closer to departure, and Ive bought every book I can find about conquering ones fear of flying. I take them with me, I read them often.

I dont watch news clips or specials about airplane crashes. The media sensationalizes airplane crashes simply because they happen so rarely. That also means they repeat that horrific story over and over, scaring the wits out of unsuspecting people.

There are dozens of helpful statistics about the safety of air travel; The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says your chances of being in a fatal plane crash are anywhere from 1 in 400,000 to 1 in 10 million depending on the airline youre flying. To someone who has a genuine fear of flying those numbers dont mean anything when youre locked in a steel tube with no way of setting foot on the ground until AFTER youve gone through takeoff, landing and turbulence.

I recognize that I need help and am trying to look at air travel from a logical perspective again. Each trip I hope to get a little better. If you are suffering from a similar fear, I encourage you to go through the various online resources available and seek additional professional help if your fears are strong enough and you are unable to get through them on your own. Its ok. We can get through this and learn to enjoy (or at least tolerate) this means of travel in order to take that awesome vacation, see family or fulfill the requirements of a great job.

Conquering My Fear of Flying is a post from: Odise Villa Travel Leisure Site