If you think the best part about a cruise is life on the ship, a cruise to nowhere may be exactly what the doctor ordered. Cruises to nowhere let you enjoy life on the ship without the extra hassle of entering into any ports. With the size cruise ships are today, you could easily fill your days with activities on the ship and many cruise lines are catering to this type of customer.

Cruises to Nowhere are often cheaper because you don’t have to pay any docking or port fees, which can get quite expensive if your ship docks in numerous ports. They’re also cheaper because they’re shorter, no more than two or three days, so you don’t get sick of being on the ship even though that’s exactly what you signed up for!

I’ve never gone on a cruise to nowhere and I’m not entirely convinced I’d enjoy them, as I get bored quickly with things, but sometimes you need a getaway and you can’t really beat the deals you get on these types of cruises. I recently found a “Cruise to Nowhere” on Norwegian Cruise Line on the Norwegian Pearl starting at $149 for a quick two night cruise to Great Stirrup Cay. On that particular cruise you do go “somewhere” but with only a day in Bermuda it’s more cruise than land.

What makes these deals even better is that they count as sailings towards your cruise loyalty rewards program. Need a few more sailings before you get to the next tier in the Carnival Past Guest loyalty program? Hit up a cruise to nowhere.

Not a bad deal if you want a quick getaway on the cheap and have the cruise bug!

(Photo: mascardo1)

From October 1st through November 14th, 2010, Epcot is having their International Food & Wine Festival. It’s the fifteenth time they’ll be doing it and every year it seems to get a huge turnout. The best part is that there is no extra charge, you get in with your regular Epcot admission. The event consists of various marketplaces feating all manner of food and drink spread out around the World Showcase. Here’s how 2009 was described:

This year’s International Food and Wine Festival will play host to seminars, tasting events and sumptuous dinners overseen by top Disney Chefs as well as renowned guest Chefs. Over the course of the Festival, there will be 1200 beer and wine seminars scheduled with complimentary samples. Chefs scheduled to appear are Warren Brown, Cat Cora, Todd English, Gale Gand, Robert Irvine, Art Smith, Andrew Zimmern and more.

There is also plenty of live music during the festival with their “Eat to the Beat” concert series. The 2010 lineup is already up and features a whole litany of bands from Kool & The Gang to Sugar Ray to Air Supply to Jon Secada. Performances will be at the America Gardens theater.

Also special for 2010, the debut of two new countries to the festival – Belgium and South Korea. Belgium will feature Steamed Mussels with Roasted Garlic Cream and a Baguette while South Korea will have “Bo Ssam” Lettuce Wraps with Roast Pork and kimchee slaw. This adds to the already huge list of marketplaces which include twenty-seven announced marketplaces (some are cities and others are themed). Menu items range from $3 – $7 each.

For more information, check out the Disney Food Blog’s writeup of the 2010 Epcot Festival details. A big thank you to them because if I hadn’t read about the 2009 festival on their blog, I would’ve never known about it!

This post is part of the Disney Blog Carnival. Head over there to see more great posts like this.

She’s the little girl in the pink, Alex is in the stroller over Smee’s shoulder. He was from Montreal, she was from Long Island in New York. The would later meet while working at the same hotel in Boca Raton, FL.

How cool is that!?

The post is part of the Fifth DisMarks.com Disney Blog Carnival; click on the link for more great Disney articles.

I changed the search to “First class” and was amazed that JetBlue had a first class ticket for only $195. Then I thought to myself… I don’t think JetBlue had a first class cabin. They only have economy seats and nice ones at that, with extra leg room and a DirecTV. JetBlue also has free Wi-Fi, which makes them a pretty good choice if you want a lot of first class perks while flying economy.

Here’s a sample result from my search:

Notice it says “first class” up top but “Economy cabin” in light gray once you expand the results? There’s a little “econ” next to the duration but it’s not emphasized. It’s a little sneaky because once you find out the price, airline, takeoff/landing times, and the duration… how many think to check the seat class after they’ve already set the filter?

Finally, if JetBlue doesn’t call it first class, I don’t think Bing should put it in the first class results.

If I was one of the legacy carriers with an actual first class cabin, I’d be annoyed. If I wasn’t as careful and booked a first class result, only to discover it was a really nice coach seat, I’d be angry (but not too angry, they aren’t charging you first class prices).

I wonder how many people have fallen victim to this.

Hopefully you enjoy these (or are at least entertained and educated) as well!

• Most airport food is your standard mix of McDonalds, TGI Fridays, Panda Express, or some version of those types of places. Jaunted lists their top five airports for food but the list is peppered with chain places like Chick-fil-A and Five Guys.
• Do you know what the state fish of Hawaii is? humuhumunukunukuapua’a. Congratulations, now say it!
• It’s always important to incorporate a little bit of exercise in your travels, even if you end up hiking a ton!
• I love to volunteer and volunteering abroad is something I’ve contemplated in the past. If you thought about it too, check out this quick post by Lisa at Volunteering Vagabond on why volunteering is a great way to discover a new country. She’s currently in Thailand volunteering through the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project.

Have a great weekend!

• Martha has been looking at some DSLR cameras so she can get back into photography and this post by Gray of SoloFriendly.com shares her travel camera setup. Like her, my general apprehension about DSLRs is that they’re so heavy – like a bowling ball around your neck (that and you’re a target for thieves). In the end it’s a tradeoff.
• Martha and I have been to Kilauea Point on Kauai before but if you haven’t, and find yourself nearby, here’s a good post on why you should go.
• The Finger Lakes Trail looks deceptively simple yet only 20 people thru-hike it each year and fewer than 300 have done it ever. If you have six to seven weeks, why not give it a try?
• Need a place to hide money while you’re traveling? Check out these slick ways to stash cash from Twenty-Something Travel.

Have a great weekend!

(Photo: flydime)

How much is it? Plans start at $120 and get up to $200, depending on how much fun you send them on. It kind of reminds me of this Kia commercial from the Super Bowl:

1. Aniakchak, Alaska – 14 visitors in 2009
2. Cape Krusenstern, Alaska – 1,810
3. Alibates Flint Quarries, Texas – 2,981
4. Ft. Union, New Mexico – 11,070
5. Agate Fossil Beds, Nebraska – 12,694
6. Fossil Butte, Wyoming – 18,693
7. Russell Cave, Alabama – 24,087
8. Booker T. Washington, Virginia – 21,216
9. Hagerman Fossil Beds, Idaho – 27,263
10. Hovenweep, Utah/Colorado – 27,855
11. Aztec Ruins, New Mexico – 38,234
12. Salinas Pueblo Missions, New Mexico – 37,848
13. George Washington Carver, Missouri – 38,899
14. Gila Cliff Dwellings, New Mexico – 43,016
15. Buck Island Reef, U.S. Virgin Islands – 47,341
16. El Morro, New Mexico – 48,245
17. Pipe Spring, Arizona – 49,433
18. Capulin Volcano, New Mexico – 50,935
19. Tonto, Arizona – 60,534
20. Chiricahua, Arizona – 60,851

Three fun factoids jump out at me from the list:

• Aniakchak, Alaska, saw only fourteen visitors in all of 2009,
• Alaska is hard to get to… the two least visited parks are in Alaska,
• Most of the places on that list are in New Mexico and Arizona. Six of the sites are in New Mexico and three are in Arizona.

Of all the places on that list, I think the Aztec Ruins in NM look the most appealing. Park entrance is a mere $5, which is a pittance considering how enormous the site is. It’s a self-guided 700 yard walk through ruins build centuries ago. There’s also a semi-subterranean structure over 40′ in diameter. Pretty cool I think.

Aniakchak is the least visited National Park for a reason, it’s remote and has horrible weather. As you would expect, none of the fourteen visitors in 2009 paid a fee and no one who visits in 2010 will have to pay a penny either. The Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve stretches over half a million acres of wilderness and there is plenty of rafting, hiking, and sport fishing. It’s main claim to fame? An “impressive six-mile wide, 2,500 ft. deep caldera formed during a massive eruption 3,500 years ago.” Sounds cool enough, I’ll let you know if I visit it!

(Photo: quinnanya)

]]> http://wanderlustjourney.com/least-visited-national-monuments-in-the-united-states/feed/ 1 http://wanderlustjourney.com/carnivals-our-first-editors-pick/ http://wanderlustjourney.com/carnivals-our-first-editors-pick/#comments Sat, 08 May 2010 12:52:44 +0000 Jim http://wanderlustjourney.com/?p=1021 Much love to Len Penzo for selecting our post about Carnival Cruises Past Guest Recognition Loyal Program as one of the Best of the Best in Money and Personal Finance! Len was amazed that after a mere 100 sailings (yes, 100), you earned a complimentary voyage of up to 8 days. Len, when we’re both 129, we can cruise together!

We were also included in this week’s Festival of Frugality – Pure Peer Pressure Edition!

]]> http://wanderlustjourney.com/carnivals-our-first-editors-pick/feed/ 0 http://wanderlustjourney.com/airlines-promise-not-to-charge-for-carry-on-bags/ http://wanderlustjourney.com/airlines-promise-not-to-charge-for-carry-on-bags/#comments Mon, 19 Apr 2010 03:55:10 +0000 Jim http://wanderlustjourney.com/?p=909 Ever since Spirit Airlines announced a $45 fee for carry-on luggage a few weeks ago, the travel world has been talking about how the fees have started to get ridiculous. It also seem s a little silly but Senator Charles Schumer, Democrat from New York, contacted American Airlines, Delta Airlines, JetBlue, United Airlines and US Airways and secured promises they would not charge for carry-on bags.

I think it’s a little silly that he went to those lengths but I agree 100% with the bill he introduced that would amend tax laws regarding these types of fees. As it stands now, there are loopholes that let airlines collect certain fees and avoid taxes on them, which seems unfair as they are turning to these fees to generate a profit. The name of this bill? Block Airlines’ Gratuitous Fees Act, a.k.a. the BAG Fees Act.

It would prohibit fees for carry-on bags that meet existing standards for weight and size, and require carriers to make detailed information about the fees available to passengers in advance.

I think these fees are starting to get ridiculous and it’s harder for consumers to make an informed choice when things aren’t uniform. While I don’t see it as the government’s place to regulate them, they do need to protect the consumer.

]]> http://wanderlustjourney.com/airlines-promise-not-to-charge-for-carry-on-bags/feed/ 0