Cruise lines do things in more than their usually fine style during the holiday season. Many spend thousands of dollars transforming their ships into Yuletide fun palaces, with huge Christmas trees, menorahs, mistletoe, garlands, wreaths, ornate sleighs, handcrafted ornaments and gingerbread villages. Princess Cruises' ships even feature a magical snowfall several times a day in the atriums and sport Christmas trees on their masts! And that's just for starters. Then there are the carol concerts, choirs, holiday shows, films and gala dinners, along with Christian and Jewish services. On some ships, Santa pops in with presents for every passenger.
Time with loved ones
Cruise vacationers reap all the benefits of holiday cheer without the hassles of cleaning house, preparing meals and hosting visitors. These tasks are relegated to the ship's staff, allowing passengers to spend quality time with loved ones. Isn't that what the holidays are all about?
There is something for everyone on a holiday cruise. Whether traveling independently, with their spouse or as part of a large, multi-generational group, guests will find innovative facilities, amenities and services aboard today's cruise ships. Passenger-pleasing amenities include elegant public rooms, balcony staterooms, gourmet and casual dining options, live nightly entertainment, state-of-the-art spas and fitness centers, casinos, video arcades and more. There's plenty to do , everything from exercise classes to golf instruction, art auctions to cooking demonstrations, enrichment lectures to computer learning workshops.
This holiday season, Princess passengers can compete in a gingerbread house building contest and make personalized photo ornaments. Families can have fun decorating Christmas cookies or listening to a reading of 'The Night Before Christmas' by the captain or cruise director.
Holiday adventure
Holiday voyages are designed to offer an escape from holiday stresses while allowing guests to focus on authentic pleasures like making new friends and discovering new places. Princess' 16-ship fleet will be celebrating the holidays around the globe with Christmas and New Year's cruises in the Caribbean, Mexico, the Panama Canal, Australia, Asia, South America, Hawaii and the South Pacific.
Another benefit of cruising during the holiday season is the opportunity to visit other lands and witness their holiday traditions. For example, on Grand Cayman, people decorate their yards using white sand for snow, and Christmas trees, decorations and displays can be seen throughout the island. In Tahiti, people weave palm fronds into garlands and add sparkling lights to decorate their homes. In Mexico, Christmas is one of the biggest fiestas of the year; you might be fortunate enough to witness a local posada, a re-creation of Mary (on donkey) and Joseph searching for a "room at the inn."
Holiday cruises provide travelers with a chance to thoroughly revel in the holidays, leaving the hassles of everyday life behind. Best of all, there's a joyful energy on board that will captivate everyone from grandparents to toddlers.
Happy holidays and bon voyage!
When looking for some great fun at your next Halloween party or masquerade ball, and yes, they are still around; you can have the hottest pirate costumes fit to walk the plank on the high seas. When looking at pirate costumes, you will find pirate hats and pirate swords, pirate mustache, pirate eye patches, but also the right pirate costume just for you. Halloween is not only October 31, where kids go door to door, make Jack-o'-lanterns and pumpkin carvings, but it is also Samhain, a Celtic Holiday, All Hallow's Day, and All Saints Day.
Many may think that they are too old to play dress up or cannot find the right costume in the right size, but that is where the world has not changed, only now you can find the costume you are looking for online. Buying online, you will find the convenience of knowing what costume will fit without ever having to step into a dressing room. Just imagine dressing up as the scandalous Jack Sparrow, or as a female version in a women's pirate captain costume. Halloween Costumes are meant to be fun, so why not a Sexy Pirate Costume.
Piracy has been around since men first sailed the seas, and is still around today. The pirates we think of range from swashbuckling heroes to actual historical ones like Barbarossa, Blackbeard, Redbeard, Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and William Kidd. There were both male and female pirates and they would all pillage and plunder to their hearts desire. The word pirate inspires by its meaning alone, "attempt, experience", basically "to find luck on the sea".
Piracy in the Caribbean has sparked not only the minds of young children but fictional writers, and movies as well. The infamous Jolly Roger flag and Edward England's flag have been under the spotlight of history and Hollywood as well. Piracy reigned in the Caribbean from 1560 to the 1760s and still today, yet this was when Piracy was at an all time high. It sparked interest because of conflicts between England, Spain, the Dutch, and France. Most of the pirates of that time were of English or Dutch Origin.
Halloween, and the costumes surrounding it, gives not only children but also adults as well to be something else even if only for a few hours. It's striking that many believe that America was the first to don Halloween costumes but masquerades and masks have been around for centuries. Halloween is also celebrated in other countries as well, including Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales.
Dressing up in a sexy Halloween costume gives you a chance to attract the opposite sex in a hot and appealing way to say trick or treat, whether you decide to hide yourself behind a mask or not. It is a time-honored tradition to celebrate a festive holiday. Halloween does not have to be scary, horrifying, or only about haunted houses. It is simply a way to dress up in theatrical costumes and have fun. Why not go as that sexy pirate and steal the heart of the one you love.
Autumn is the perfect time of the year to throw away your ordinary wardrobe and go to costume parties wearing the latest Halloween fashions. Therefore, why not have some fun while you are getting candy and other sweets wearing a risqu? pirate costume.
Both Anita Dunham-potter & Susan G West are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Anita Dunham-potter has sinced written about articles on various topics from Dental Practice, Cruises and Travel and Leisure. Anita Dunham-Potter is a Pittsburgh-based travel journalist specializing in cruise travel. Anita is a weekly travel columnist for