Hong Kong is one of the most internationally recognized cities in the world. The region is full of history and is one of the most exciting cities to tour in China. The people in this city are totally unique in everything ranging from food to lifestyle. It is distinctly Cantonese with a British influence.

Hong Kong was under the control of China until 1841. At that time it became a British colony and was formally ceded to Britain in 1860 after the defeat of China in the Second Opium War. Hong Kong was then surrendered by the British to the Japanese during World War II and was given the dubious honor of becoming the first colony that the British ever lost to an invading country.

After the conclusion of World War II and ultimate defeat of the Japanese, Britain resumed control of the city. Since it was a free trade market environment, there was a large jump in the economic growth and due to this Hong Kong is now known as the fourth largest financial center in the world.

Hong Kong Skyline

Hong Kong enjoys the diversity of four distinctly different seasons. Spring and autumn are considered to be the best times of the year to visit with typhoons occurring primarily between June and September. If you should decide to visit during the winter, you should be advised that most restaurants continue to use air conditioning just to continue to refresh and circulate the air.

There are several festivals throughout the year for your enjoyment. Chinese New Year occurs in late January or early February. Although many tourists would like to visit during this time, it is less than optimum because a large number of facilities close down for this particular holiday. A popular festival to attend is the Tuen Ng festival. It is held in memory of a national hero from the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history. Wonderful rice dumplings with pork filling are the treat for this festival. Dragon boat races are held and are great fun to all that attend. The Hong Kong Arts Festival is held in February and March and is a month long event of international performances of various natures.

Tram at Victoria Peak

Hong Kong is simply an experience never to be forgotten. Your visit to Hong Kong should include a visit to the prestigious Victoria Peak for a panoramic view of the entire city. An especially beautiful site and photo opportunity is the view of the city aglow at night from the top of the peak or the Peak Tower. There are several choices to ascend the peak, depending upon the height you wish to reach and the method of transport. Along with a museum and some shopping, the Peak Tower offers many choices of food and varies widely from ever present continental to the exceptional local fares.

A novel way to get out and about to experience Hong Kong is to take the double decker tram ride. The trams route goes past many of the more popular tourist stops and is a very convenient way to get around. A tram ride on the Peak Tram is one of a kind and the view is spectacular to describe. The entire city is visible to you and the photo opportunities are non-stop.

The Hong Kong Museum of Art has displays of both traditional as well as contemporary art pieces. If you have children, a wonderful museum for them is the Hong Kong Science Museum. There are optical illusions and math puzzles to challenge all ages. The museum underwent an extensive renovation in 2008 and early 2009.

Hong Kong is not all about bright lights and big city, however. There is a little known area just off Lantau Island where the Chinese White Dolphins live. They are actually pink and not white and live in the wild. They are currently listed on the endangered species list as there are only approximately 100-200 of them remaining. To see them playing in their natural environment is well worth the visit.

As you can see, Hong Kong has something for everyone, grown up or child. There are cultural sights, museums and plenty of nature to satisfy anyone’s touring appetite.

Once upon a time, you could only find 10 to 14 day cruises in Europe. Not so long ago, the majority of the cruisers were North Americans who had at least two weeks of vacation each year.

Recently however,  the major players in the cruise industry had a revelation. If they viagra to market seven day cruises, they just might get passengers who will do more than one cruise per year, or possibly more passengers from other countries. Europeans and even South Americans have finally begun to show a deeper interest in the European market for cruising.  In response to this increased demand, many of the major cruise lines have established a wonderful selection of European cruises with some unique itineraries to pick from for both 2010 and 2011.

Disney Cruise Lines has finally broken from their long-time tradition of strictly Bahamian and Caribbean itineraries. They will be foregoing their customary summer Caribbean circuit and sailing the Disney Magic in summer 2010 with an itinerary from Dover to Barcelona. Several other cruise lines have added additional European sailings this year as well.  In early fall, Celebrity will be sailing the Constellation from Barcelona . Princess Cruises will be sailing again from Dover and Southhampton, Holland America from Rotterdam and Dover.  Royal Caribbean will be dividing their focus between the Baltic Region, sailing out of both Stockholm and Oslo along with their more traditional Mediterranean sailings out of Rome, Venice and Malaga.

For 2011, the hotbed for European cruises is Barcelona. Spain Three of the newest and largest ships will be sailing from this port. NCL will be sailing their newest ship, the Epic for seven day and longer cruises. Not to be outdone, Royal Caribbean is sending to Barcelona the Liberty of the Seas, the second largest cruise ship (currently) in the world, after Oasis of the Seas. Banking on the increased demand as well as the stiff competition from NCL and Royal Caribbean, Carnival Cruise Lines will be sailing the Carnival Magic from Barcelona after a several year hiatus from the region. With the combined capacity of these three ships, there will be more than 12,000 new berths sailing just from Barcelona.

NCL is strategizing their European expansion even further by moving the NCL Jade in 2011. Even as they position the Epic in Barcelona, the NCL Jade will move to Venice for the 2011 season for seven day itineraries.

It is nice to see the cruiseline industry finally starting to make more of a “move outside the box” from their steadfast itineraries. The traditional Caribbean itineraries are nice but have become rather lackluster. Adding some previously unexplored or less explored ports would be a great change of pace as well. The same Eastern Caribbean itineraries of St. Thomas, St. Maarten and either Nassau or a private island are somewhat monotonous after a while. The cruise industry should take advantage of the many regions and countries with overlooked ports for cruising. Many of these are currently called upon by only a couple of the major cruiselines’ ships or just the boutique cruiselines.

As we see the success of the European cruises grow, and the cruiselines become more comfortable with their continued bookings, I am sure that you will start to see more and more cruises with itineraries that visit what were previously considered to be unattainable ports.

Come and take a peek at the newest specials for this week:

7 Day Glacier Northbound from $521 – Don’t miss this fabulous beginning of the Alaska cruising season special. You get all of the great ports with a discounted price on a great ship! What more could you ask for? Here is the itinerary that you will experience: departure port of British Columbia, cruise the Inside Passage, Ketchikan, cruise the Icy Strait, Juneau, Skagway, Hubbard Glacier viewing and finally end your cruise in Seward, Alaska. If you book your cruise in the month of April, you only need to pay 50% of the standard deposit at booking. Also in the month of April, if you book an oceanview or above stateroom, you will receive a complimentary spa treatment! Contact the agent who posted this offer for more details about these bonuses! Don’t miss this extraordinary opportunity to live Alaska as it was meant to be seen! 

Bermuda/Eastern Caribbean 7 Days San Juan / New York - Enjoy wonderful attractions combined with relaxing sea days! You’ll visit sensational St. Thomas, go diving in Antigua, and spend time exploring the pink sands and pastel-colored buildings of the charming island of Bermuda. Starting at only $459!

We’ve had a major overhaul and the designers have done a fabulous job! Once again we used MXI Coders for the work and got a great product. Check out all of the neat new features we have.

Windstar Cruises is joining the many other cruiselines in seeking out the “Romance Cruiser” for 2010 by offering a “Sweetheart Package” for those who book a 2010 sailing and place a deposit between February 1 and February 14, 2010.  Their romantic “Sweetheart Package” is valued at $250 and includes a generous appointment of 50 minutes his and her massage time in the spa, Windspa. The cruiseline also is including a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label champagne chilled to perfection along with a stateroom delivery of chocolate dipped strawberries

The Windstar Sweetheart Package is only for new customers who have not yet made their bookings for their 2010 cruise adventures. The package is not allowed to be combined with other Windstar package offers or select sailing date offers, nor is it combinable with other special bonus shipboard credit programs. Contact your travel professional for more details about this program.

The world of mega cruiseships is about to welcome its newest member into its ranks. Norwegian Cruise Lines will be debuting the Epic, it’s latest arrival in July of this year. The quote “Built it and they will come…”, can be applied to this ship. Everything you can imagine has been thought of and introduced on this ship.

Following the inaugural sailing, the Epic’s itineraries will be in the Caribbean, departing from Miami and alternating an eastern itinerary with a western itinerary. These itineraries are fairly traditional, not a lot of excitement with these choices. Ports of call currently scheduled for the eastern itinerary include Nassau, Bahamas; St. Thomas, USVI and Phillipsburg, St. Maarten. The western itinerary sailing is planning to call at Costa Maya, Mexico; Roatan Bay, Honduras and Cozumel, Mexico. It would be nice to see some of the cruiselines looking at some of the other Caribbean islands and ports for a change of pace.

These Caribbean sailings will continue until April 30, 2011. At that time, the ship will re-position to the Mediterranean for the summer of 2011. The Mediterranean sailings will originate in Barcelona and cruise 3 of Italy’s ports of call before heading to Spain’s Palma, Mallorca port. In October 2011, the ship will again make the trans-Atlantic journey and return to the Caribbean for the winter of 2011/2012.

 This ship is considerably larger the the other ships of NCL and accomodates 4200 passengers at double occupancy. The ship takes the NCL creed of “Freestyle Cruising” to new levels with 20 different dining options available. There is something for everyone, from Italian to steakhouses to Japanese sushi being offered. Entertainment is also taken off the charts with shows by Blue Man Group and the Cirque Dreams and Dinner show.

Whatever you can eat, whatever you can imagine your cabin to be, it will on this ship.

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