The Circus

Gregory DeVictor asked:


Slot machines are the most popular form of casino entertainment, both at land-based casinos and on Internet gambling sites. Microgaming, the major software provider for the online gambling industry, has launched over 200 slot machine games over the past decade.. Each of these slots has its own unique theme, ranging from game parks to high society to the supernatural. This article, the second in a series of two, summarizes nine of Microgaming’s 3-reel and 5-reel slots games that have American themes, including Bars & Stripes, Flying Circus, Golden Goose Totem Treasure, Little Chief Big Cash, Mardi Gras Fever, Moonshine, The Grand Circus, The Osbournes, and Vinyl Countdown.

Bars & Stripes is a 5-reel, 25 pay-line video slot that has a patriotic American theme. There is plenty of red, white, and blue. The colorful graphics include the Statue of Liberty, hot dogs, apple pie, cookies, and a mouthwatering Thanksgiving turkey. Bars & Stripes accepts coins from $0.01 to $1.00, and the maximum number of coins that you can bet per spin is 250. The maximum jackpot is 50,000 coins.

The circus has come to town!  Flying Circus is a 5-reel, 20 pay-line video slot about the Big Top. Flying Circus is where you will meet the dapper Ringmaster (who is Wild and substitutes for all other symbols) and Coco the Clown (who activates the Free Spins Bonus Game). Play your slots right and you could win a possible $100,000 with the Free Spins Bonus Game.

Golden Goose Totem Treasure is a 5-reel, 20 pay-line video slot machine all about red Indians and squaws. Golden Goose Totem Treasure has 4 bonus games, including Golden Egg, Golden Reels, Money or the Egg, and Pick a Card. Three or more Wild Squaw symbols on the pay-line create winning combinations. Three symbols pay out $40, four symbols pay out $1,000, and all five Wild Squaw symbols pay out $12,000.

Little Chief Big Cash is a 5-reel, 25 payline video slot that has a Native American theme. It was released in January, 2008. Little Chief Big Cash accepts coins from $0.01 to $0.50, and the maximum number of coins that you can bet per spin is 500. The maximum jackpot is 6,000 coins.

Mardi Gras Fever is a 5-reel, 20 payline video slot that has a New Orleans Mardi Gras theme. It was released in February, 2008. Mardi Gras Fever accepts coins from $0.01 to $0.50, and the maximum number of coins that you can bet per spin is 200. The maximum jackpot is 2,000 coins.

Moonshine is a very popular 5-reel, 25 payline video slot that has a hillbilly theme. Moonshine is where you will encounter a gun-crazy granny, the county sheriff, and a shed full of moonshine. Moonshine accepts coins from $0.01 to $1.00, and the maximum number of coins that you can bet per spin is 125. The maximum jackpot is 8,000 coins.

The Grand Circus is a 5-reel, 20 payline video slot that has a circus theme. It was released in August, 2007. The Grand Circus accepts coins from $0.01 to $1.00, and the maximum number of coins that you can bet per spin is 200. The maximum jackpot is 1,000 coins.

The Osbournes 5-reel, 20 payline video slot based on the award-winning television show. It was released in September, 2007. The Osbournes accepts coins from $0.01 to $0.50, and the maximum number of coins that you can bet per spin is 200. The maximum jackpot is 15,000 coins.

Vinyl Countdown is a 5-reel, 9 pay-line video slot with a 50’s rock ‘n’ roll theme. Vinyl Countdown is a nostalgic world of downtown diners, wingtip shoes, banana splits, milkshakes, and jukeboxes. Two or more Vinyl Countdown symbols on the pay-line create winning combinations. Two symbols pay out $5, three symbols pay out $50, four symbols pay out $500, and all five Vinyl Countdown symbols pay out $1,000.

So there you have it, nine 3-reel and 5-reel Microgaming slot machines that have American themes. Whether you play slots online or at a land-based casino, remember to gamble only with the money you can afford to lose. Decide beforehand how much you wish to spend, and don’t exceed your spending limit should you lose. Finally, have fun and quit while you are ahead.



ENRIQUE

Christine Harrell asked:


Carnivals are one of the most popular fundraising events that schools hold. The difference between a “blah” carnival and a wildly successful one is often a matter of proper organization. Winning events involve more than setting up a couple of inflatable rentals and ordering pizza. Marketing and recruiting in particular are critical if you want the carnival to meet your fundraising goals.

Creating the Plan:



Carnivals involve a lot people and activity, so it’s easy for everyone to get confused about their roles. It is important to have a clear strategy so that everyone involved knows what to do.

Start by creating committees that are responsible for different events and duties. A large event can easily have half a dozen or more separate groups of people, each focusing on a particular part of the carnival. Separate teams would handle food, facilities, ticket sales, advertising, recruiting volunteers, and so on. There also needs to be a coordinating committee that oversees all the others.

Come up with a unifying theme for the event. A theme makes the event more fun and can make planning easier. Popular themes could be 50s Sock Hop, Alien Invasion, Renaissance Fair, and lots of others. Before committing to the date, check out what other activities are planned in the community. You’d **** to end up competing against a popular city festival or, worse yet, another school.

Recruit Vendors and Volunteers:

Some schools provide their own carnival food while others get refreshments from a third-party vendor. When it comes to games and activities, rental agencies are the best way to go.

Inflatable rentals are an inexpensive way to add exciting and entertaining diversions for the guests. Adults and kids alike have fun with inflatable rentals and they are much safer than some other carnival activities. There are lots of options from traditional inflatable slides to sumo wrestling and human bowling. After all, what’s a carnival without games?

Don’t forget to recruit plenty of volunteers. A good rule of thumb is to get twice the number of people you think you’ll need. You can expect at least a quarter of them to be no-shows and you’d much rather have too many than too few.

Think About Next Year:

School fund raisers aren’t a one-time thing and it is never too early to start planning for the next one. Soon after you’ve held your carnival, evaluate the event from numerous angles. What went right? What went wrong and how can you prevent the same problems? What food didn’t seem popular and which of the inflatable rentals had the most activity?

One of the most important and yet most overlooked steps in event planning is expressing thanks. Make sure to show your gratitude to the volunteers, sponsors, and donors or you will find them reluctant to help in the future. They are the backbone of your fund raiser, so be sure to let them know that.



RUDY

Edward Donoghue asked:


Blue Ocean Strategy allows innovative startups to identify uncontested market spaces and render their competition irrelevant.

The principle behind Blue Ocean Strategy is that all markets can be divided into red oceans and blue oceans.

Red oceans are characterized by consensus - a consensus as to who the customer is, who the vendors are, and what the product being sold is.

Consequently, in such a market, selling to the same customers, buying from the same suppliers, making the same thing, there is intense competition and thinner and thinner profit margins.





Seek Uncontested Market Space

Blue Ocean Strategy seeks to escape that. Blue Ocean Strategy seeks to direct ventures towards uncontested market space. Market niches where ventures are positioned so uniquely that competition is rendered irrelevant.

But how? How are these market niches to be recognized?



Value Innovation

To do that requires “Value Innovation.” Value innovation is recognizing the values and desires behind the spending choices people make, and then restructuring enterprise resources to provide a superior alternative that is still consistent with those values.

For example, when the theatrical circus, Cirque Du Soleil, began the circus industry was moribund. Rather than just putting together another circus, the founders of Cirque Du Soleil tried to understand the overall value system of people who go out for the evening.

Why do they choose the theater or the movies, as opposed to the circus?

The founders of Cirque Du Soleil found that people viewed the circus as low-brow, juvenile, even crude. The traditional three rings of the circus were a distraction, even annoying.

Also, they were increasingly uncomfortable with the use of animals - more sensitive to the possible abuse behind the entertainment.



Eliminate Elements Which People Do Not Value

So in putting together Cirque Du Soleil, the founders eliminated the three rings, presented the entertainment within a more sophisticated theatrical narrative, and got rid of the animals.

By combining the most valued elements of the theater and the circus, and eliminating the negatives of both, the founders of Cirque Du Soleil were able to create a superior alternative. An alternative which neither circus nor theater can directly contend with.



Identify Untapped Demand

Understanding noncustomers and underutilized customers often releases untapped demand. Often, obstacles to purchase can be easily removed.

In Asia, shopping malls and large department stores have recognized that although  woman constitute an enormous revenue source, there is still enormous unused demand.

Women spend a certain portion of their time with men. And men **** to shop.

To address this, many establishments have built “husband rooms” – rooms with video games, TV, and alcohol, where women can drop off their husbands and boyfriends while they shop.

Given the necessity of identifying uncontested market spaces - where competitors are rendered irrelevant - we see that in order to do this, we must pursue value innovation - recognizing the value system behinds people’s market choices structuring enterprise resources into a superior, innovative alternative.

But how? What metric do we use to build these superior, innovations?

Blue Ocean Strategy gives us this metric.

This metric lets us recognize how other enterprises are positioned, and to identify overlooked niches.



Position Yourself Along the Emotional-Commodity Axis

For example, products are generally seen as either having an emotional appeal or of being merely commodities. By shifting a product’s position along this emotional-commodity metric, we often find the uncontested market space we’re looking for.

As an example, investment advise has traditionally had a heavy emotional element, heavily based on a personal relationship and trust between the client and the broker. However, enterprises like Charles Schwab and Vanguard Mutual funds, by shifting their offerings more towards the commodity end - offering low-cost, no-frills service - have acquired a huge customer base, people uninterested in the traditional niceties of investment management companies.



Focus on Buyers, Users, or Influencers

Another metric is customer type. Customers can be divided into buyers, users, and influencers. By switching focus from one customer type to another, competitors can often be completely outflanked.

When the financial information vendor, Bloomberg, started, most financial information systems providers focused on buyers. These buyers - purchasing agents in IT departments - tended to value low price and standardized easily maintained machines.

Bloomberg, however, recognized that the users - the traders - were people with high disposable income but little time. 

He added features to allow them to do online shopping during downtime on the trading floor. He also added features for easy financial calculations - features most IT purchasing agents were oblivious to.



Think in Terms of Product Line Rather Than Product

A corollary of Blue Ocean Strategy is to improve marketing efficiency and drastically reduce cost structure by thinking in terms of product line rather than product.

Doing so, marketing efforts are not wasted because of the failure of a particular offering.

For example, when Fred Weiss started his web site AllMath.com, a site devoted to math puzzles and exorcises, he met with limited success. He went on to start AllWords.com, which also had limited success. However, he struck it big when he started AllLottery.com, a provider of nationwide lottery data, partially due to the branding of the word “All.”

Another example is Black and Decker, the power tool company. Faced with increasing competition and unable to anticipate whether the market would demand electric drills or electric hammers etc. from year to year, they instead built a “meta” tool. A power tool platform which could easily be extended as an electric hammer or electric drill or any one of their tool line.

This meta-product approach, with its standardized parts and flexibility, gave Black and Decker a cost structure far superior to their competitors.

 



STANLEY

William Lund asked:


The ship from our best cruise prices experiment is in good shape and obviously well maintained.  As is usual on a ship there were people cleaning constantly.  In reading these boards I was actually expecting a much “gaudier” décor than we found.  It is lively and colorful, but all in all I think it works. The traffic patterns were all good and we found it easy to get around.

Demographics – There are very few children on board this week.  They did have Halloween activities for them, but we seldom saw most of them.  In general, this was a much older group than I was expecting with a great many seniors and it did appear to us that most of the passengers were in the 40 – 60 age range.

Our stateroom was fantastic and so was the cabin steward.

Best cruise prices or not, I do not think we have ever had a better cabin steward than Wayan!! He not only put up with all our decorating and antics, (we had a few Cruise Critic party’s) he was happy to help with the pranks and to join in the fun.  Our stateroom was always immaculate and we never had a request that was not fulfilled immediately.

 We loved this stateroom. Again, aft cabins are not for everyone and in fact, one member of our group said he never used his balcony because it was too noisy. I have read differences in opinion on the configuration of the aft wrap cabins on the spirit class ship because it is really cut into a living area, the bathroom/dressing area and the bedroom.  We found this to be a great configuration and enjoyed it immensely. The mattresses rival the ones on HAL and I hope Carnival gets on the stick and makes the change on Princess too.  They were very comfortable. You wouldn’t know it was a cheap cruise by the stateroom we had.

The food on the ship was hit-and-miss

Cruise Ship Food – This is probably the single most subjective area on reviews of a cruise.  As with every cruise, we found some things we loved and some things that were just awful.  We enjoyed the Nouveau Supper Club and will be going for the second time tonight. The dining room was really a hit and miss affair. Some wonderful dishes (the lobster was as good as any I have ever had at sea) and some not so good ones (most of the beef dishes.)

I will state right here and now that I am in the very small percentage of people that did not like the chocolate melting cake, again personal preferences.  The Buffet was identical and limited every morning for breakfast. (We were never up early enough to make it to the dining room)  The lunch was varied and had some good things and some not so great but again it is easy to pick and choose at a buffet.  We liked the pizza and the hamburgers and the pasta.  We enjoyed having soft serve ice cream available.

We found the service less than ideal

Service and Staff – This is where we hit the real problem areas. We never saw the CD out and around on deck.  He was at some games and some trivia etc, but as far as meeting and greeting passengers, none of us saw him.  Our waiter was arrogant and uninterested although his assistant was wonderful.  On Halloween, the CD said in an announcement if you didn’t bring a costume just grab a sheet or make something up.  So one couple in our group did just that. They fashioned togas, the gentleman’s shoulder was bare but the wife’s was not.  The Maitre De refused to allow him in the dining room. What was up with that??  When all was said and done, the only people that we felt deserved extra tips were our steward and assistant and the dining room assistant.  That has never happened to us before.

The best cruise prices but not the best communication

Communication – The order and some of the hours of the itinerary was changed.  Apparently some people got flyers about this at embarkation, but most did not.  No general announcement was made and the only place we ever saw it in writing was the reservation for shore excursion form. How simple would it have been to include a piece of paper with the first capers??  Also, I can actually read my own capers, I found it annoying that the CD read the whole thing over the loudspeaker each day.

We didn’t go to the entertainment.  We did have a ball at the Piano Bar with Steve, and I saw the question about whether he would still be here in January, I will be there tonight and get an answer. If I see the CD I will ask him too, but I am not holding out much hope.

Embarkation was a mess, but it was people being humans.

Embarkation was a mess, but that was a fluke.  It would, however, have been much smoother if so many passengers had not insisted on bringing their luggage on board with them and completely clogging the passageways to the gangway while waiting for their zones to be called.  The flip side of that, we got our luggage much quicker than expected, I am not sure they had much to deliver.

The cruise in general…

I don’t remember reading a few things that surprised me on these boards so I will mention them here.  We had two sign and sail cards with different numbers on the same credit card.  Every charge that my husband made was on his folio on the TV and also on my folio so it looked like it was charged twice.  This caused many passengers to crowd the pursers desk for an explanation the first couple of days.  Also, the pursers desk does allow a check to be cashed for $5.50 / $100.00.  So if you wanted $400.00 it would cost you $22.00. Not the best cruise prices.

Overall – We have enjoyed ourselves.  Our group from cruise critics, many of whom have sailed together before had a ball with all our goings on and antics.  Would I cruise Carnival again?  Yes, if this group decided that that would be next years cruise.  I would pick a different line for my husband and myself because we did find some of the things that we value most in cruising to be lacking.



JOSUE

Bayrd Macrae asked:


When the galloping thoroughbreds speed by at 40 miles per hour, you won’t be able to recognize the horses you’ve spent your free bets on, but you’ll be able to make out the bright colored silks of the jockeys. Those silk colors sailing in the wind will tell you if you’ll make or break it.

The Royal Silks

The sea of vibrant silks adds to the pomp and pageantry of horse racing. Without those colors, punters, horse trainers and owners, and judges won’t be able to distinguish the riders and horses, and the race won’t be thrilling at all. For punters, it would be like betting blind with their free bets.

The tradition of using colorful jerseys for horse racing is a throwback to the times of Roman chariot racing when charioteers donned colorful capes to be easily spotted or identified by the spectators. For horse racing, it was later in the 17th century when more horses signed up for the races that the English Jockey Club demanded horse owners and jockeys to submit their colors.

Since that time, the racing silks continued to color the tracks and fly at tantalizing speeds. The English Jockey Club chiefs can track the jockeys and their mounts, and you can easily spot your jockeys on the horses you’ve chanced your free bets and horse racing tips on.

Silks Everywhere

Horse racing enthusiasts who live for the action at the racetracks outside the UK and USA - South Africa, Ireland, Australia, Singapore, and Dubai (just to mention a few) - can tell from a distance which jockey got the better horses, and they can start handicapping the jockeys and horses. They know more information beyond the silks - the jockeys’ weights and track records.

The jockeys, many of them have cut their teeth on the tough horse racing courses, made it to top with record victories. They are easily identified in their orange, purple, red, blue, pink, and color combo shirts and head gear; and they sure look stylish in their colorful get-up.

The jockeys are ranked according to the top 10 in money and are wooed to ride the elite of horses in the fat purse races. For just two to three minutes on the tracks, fortunes rise and fall, and many free bets have made it to the big time, while jockeys made themselves richer by risking their lives and limbs in each race.

Silks, sleek horses, thundering hooves, and free bets - together they make horse racing an exciting spectator sport. That is if you know how to make sense of the different types of bets to make a killing at the races.

The Adrenalin Pumping Races

When the horses are sweating at the starting gates, ready to fly down the track, the smoldering excitement only breaks loose when the horses are released from the gates. The sudden rush of horses, thundering hooves, and the roar of the crowd drown the silent prayers of punters hoping to make their day.

Wagers hang in the balance during the horse race, be it bets to lay, to place, to show, exacta, quiniela, or perfecta. It’s the thought of winning that makes the sports a thrilling favorite. And unless you know what all the bets mean, you’ll never make heads or tails of what makes real money in horse racing.

But for the love and excitement of the game, more people are hurrying to the booking offices and online tipster sites to get tips, free bets, and other horse racing freebies. Indeed, the carnival that is horse racing is here to stay.



IAN

Sanjog asked:


The streets of Goa come alive in their most robust form. Every nook and corner of Goa comes alive with music, graceful dances, street plays, competitions and parties. Fireworks and colourful parades catch everyone’s attention. Fortune tellers, musical orchestras and fancy dress competitions draw thousands of people. Be a part of Goa Carnival, one of the most eagerly awaited parties of the year, and celebrate the best moments of your life. Celebrated for three days in the month of February, this grand Carnival is a popular attraction in Goa besides its famed and lively beaches, monolithic churches, artistic temples and fabulous flora and fauna.

History

The word ‘carnival’ is derived from the Latin ‘Carne’ meaning meat, and ‘Vale’ meaning good-bye. This grand occasion, introduced by the Portuguese in the 18th century, was celebrated when the legendary king ‘Momo’ took over the state and the streets come alive with music and color.

Celebration And Prime Attractions

Goa Carnival is celebrated with rich ethnic colors and traditions. Long processions of floats and decorated conventional and enriching troupes are carried out.Men and women wear fancy dresses and masks while singing traditional songs. Plan a Goa tour and see people perform on the roads and various programmes are organized by the Government and the Tourism Industry of Goa. People perform various western dance forms, street plays, mock battles etc.

Almost all the Goa tour packages offer the opportunity to experience this grand festival. Initially it was enjoyed in a rustic and rowdy way. People used to throw flour, eggs, oranges, lemons, mud, sand-filled gloves and dirty water on the passer-bys. Besides, plaster-of-Paris, eggs, wax lemons, corncobs and beans were used in the battleground and other competitions. But the Carnival today is celebrated in comparatively more refined way.



CASEY

Fred Tutwiler asked:


Most people who book a cruise for the first time (92%) will make their selection based on when they can go and how long they can stay. The second most important factor will be how much it costs. Everything else is dependant on those two items. In 2006, there were 112 different cruise ships operating out of U.S ports transporting about 10 million passengers on some 4,500 cruises. 70% of those 10 million people went to destinations in the Caribbean, and four cruise lines (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and Celebrity- The Big Four) accounted for about 3/4 of passengers.

If you fall into that broad category, your choices will be fewer, but that doesn’t mean you have to settle for something you don’t want. But simply asking “What’s the best ship (or cruise line)?” is kind of like asking “What’s the best beer?”, or “What’s the prettiest color?” The very things that one cruiser likes about a cruise are the things that other cruisers vigorously dislike. The good news is that whatever you do like, there is somebody out there doing a bang-up job providing it.

Generally speaking, the Big Four specialize in the “more-is-better” approach to cruising, while smaller cruise lines focus on more specific areas, such as 5-star quality, small intimate ships, enrichment, etc. Here are some factors you can consider when choosing your cruise.

Size of the Ship.

Here some general observations one can make regarding the size of the ship.

What the passengers are there for.

The bigger the ship, the greater the attention paid to make sure that the ship-board experience is as unforgettable as possible. This translates into activities, distractions and a festive, socially liberal, fun-and-games atmosphere. If that annoys you, these big ships may rub you the wrong way.

How many people you’ll be traveling with.

The bigger the ship, the more people there will be on it (duh). Generally speaking, families, singles and singles traveling in groups will prefer the non-stop beat of the large ships. On the other hand, if you prefer quiet and don’t like the crush of crowds at poolside or in the dining room, you’ll have much better luck in the smaller ships, especially the ones that hold fewer than 1200 passengers.

The types of ports you will visit.

Big ships go to big ports. Certain ports, such as Roatan, Honduras or Vera Cruz, Mexico, are only available to smaller ships. Sometimes those ports are the very thing that makes the cruise quite special. If the ports of call are at the top of your list of reasons to take a cruise, consider booking passage on smaller ships that have extended itineraries.

Age of the Ship

“Old” is a relative term in the cruise industry, meaning ships that were launched around 1990 or before (15+ years a go). Many of these ships were state-of-the-art at the time and trumpeted the absolute best cruising had to offer. But in the last 15 years, cruise ships have gotten bigger and more extravagant in ways that were unimaginable two decades ago.

Older ships are not bad, just different. Many are less efficiently designed and have more traditional layouts. Some of the extras and amenities that are common on the newer ships, like internet in your cabin, themed alternative dining restaurants, wave pools and ice rinks don’t usually exist on the older ships. Cabins are smaller, critical traffic areas (such as elevator lobbies and disembarkation lines) are congested and shops can be pretty cramped. Some passengers (not all) notice stale odors or complain that the ventilation systems in the cabins are cranky.

On the flip side, many of the older ships have been up-fitted and remolded in the last few years, and so are fine cruising vessels. They are primarily used on the shorter cruises (3-5 days) and generally charge lower fares. Take into the account the value of the cruise experience. Maybe the older ships aren’t as fresh and perfect as the newer ones, but the value they offer – what you get for what you pay - can be outstanding.

Design of the Ship

Whether it’s accomplished with an extreme makeover or during the building stage, cruise ships place a premium on the design. Some are designed for luxury, some for fun, some try to strike a middle ground. Ships are often given “star” ratings similar to those given to hotels. Some ships are 5-star, such as Holland America. Others are 4-star, such as Carnival or Royal Caribbean. Keep in mind, if you want 5-star, take a cruise on a 5-star ship. Don’t take a cruise on a 3- or 4-star ship and then be unhappy because it’s not top quality. A good source available on the internet, is the “Galaxsea.com” Cruise Ratings site (http://www.galaxsea.com/ratings.html).

I also highly recommended the various message boards that populate the internet. Such sites as Cruisecritic.com or Cruisemates.com are an excellent way to see what other people say about the ship and the itinerary you are considering. You can browse the hundreds of posts by people who have been there, and you can ask specific questions of people who take cruising very seriously.

Type of Entertainment

Whether it’s the combo that plays at poolside, the bands that perform in the clubs or the glitzy production numbers that grace the theatres, cruise ships put a lot of thought and a ton of money into presenting entertainment. Pick the right entertainment environment and you’ll spend sun-drenched days in blissful happiness. Pick the wrong one, and you’ll feel like you’re surrounded by a bunch of people scratching their fingernails on a chalkboard.

Entertainment isn’t just about the lounge/club/party scene. It’s also about cooking classes, lectures, watching a movie, wine tasting, the casino, getting your golf swing computer analyzed, karaoke, bingo, “game-show” games or touring the galley. You can get a good feel for the type of entertainment and activities a ship offers by going online and checking out the ships on-board newsletter. It lists EVERYTHING happening on the ship. Each cruise line’s website will have a sample version of their newsletter. If your travel agent is any good at all, they will have copies from a variety of cruises they have taken.

Dining

For many people, a cruise is all about the food. If you’re one of them, you’ll want to learn what your prospective ship has to offer.

Main Dining (aka Formal Dining). All cruise ships have at least one Main Dining venue and many ships have more than one. The main dining room is the embodiment of luxury and service on your ship and they all work hard to offer classy selections. It’s an opportunity to try food and preparation styles that you would never experience otherwise. The main dining rooms will also open for breakfast and lunch. There is no assigned seating for these meals, but you still get great service and the menu selections are very good.

Many ships now offer alternative restaurants that require reservations and/or a surcharge in which you can choose from restaurants that specialize in French cuisine, seafood, or any number of other themes. There is a $5 - $15 surcharge for each person, but for people that like the choice, it’s well worth the money. This option usually isn’t available on ships built before 1990, because the idea wasn’t popular enough to include the extra space needed.

Alternative Dining. In addition to the main dining room, all ships have a variety of interesting food options. Each has their own version of buffet lines that operate through-out the day, and naturally, some are better than others. New York style delis, pizza and sushi bars, and the always popular poolside grills are but a few of the ideas that are employed. Most ships now also provide coffee shops, bakeries and ice cream counters which usually cost extra. Room service is available 24-hours a day (no charge), with pastries and fruit in the mornings and sandwiches and pizza the rest of the day and night.

Available Services

Child Care and Youth Programs. Cruise lines understand that the people paying the tab need to have a good time if they are going to come back again. And the way that you make sure parents have a good time is to make sure the kids they are traveling with have a good time.

If you are planning a family cruise, you’ll want to travel on a ship that provides the best environment for the youngsters in your group. On the other hand, if you don’t want to have your space invaded by youngsters, you’ll want to stay away from cruise ships that make their youth programs a priority (such as Disney). Programs are set up to provide age appropriate activities and are usually free of charge. There will be an orientation about the youth programs on the first day of your cruise so you can get all the information you need, as well as meet the people who will be overseeing your kids.

Almost all ships provide in-cabin baby-sitting services for an extra fee. When provided, these services require you to pay cash directly to the sitter, rather than place the charge on your ship-board account.

Educational/Enrichment Programs. Alongside the more traditional programs like yoga, nutrition counseling and towel folding, some ships now offer programs on gourmet cooking, wine tasting, art education, digital photography, computers, flower arranging, ceramics and much more. Most are offered at no extra charge. The availability of programs increases the longer the cruise. Shorter cruises usually only have a single day at sea, which is the most popular time to offer these classes. Some cruise lines place as high a premium on enrichment programs as other cruise lines place on partying and fun.

Spa Facilities. Across the board, most ships consider a good spa and gym to be essential. Most cruise lines outsource their spa operation to Steiner Leisure Ltd. of London, England, who operate the spas on over one hundred cruise ships, including all of the spas on Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Disney ships. In all probability, no matter which ship you select, you’ll have a quality menu of options and a good spa.

Gymnasium/Fitness Center. While you can generally count on a consistent level of quality and service in the spas, unfortunately the same can’t always be said of the gyms. Some are absolutely spectacular. Others are little more than a closet with treadmills. The newer ships will have very nice gyms regardless of the cruise line. The older ships, i.e., those built before 1990, may or may not, depending on whether the ship has been recently refit. Exercise equipment usually includes treadmills, stationery bikes, weights and cardio machines and most come staffed with one or two Fitness Directors. Fitness centers usually include men’s and women’s locker rooms, whirlpools, saunas and steam baths.

Internet. Most ships have some kind of internet access, but it is a relatively new technology as far as passenger services go. On the newer ships, there is access all over the ship, even in many cabins. But the older vessels have more limited access. “Internet Cafes” are as common as casinos. Cruise lines are working hard to implement ship-wide wireless internet access and they are definitely getting there. But that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to check your e-mail at poolside. In some cases, wireless access is limited to one or two locations. If you do bring your laptop, finding electrical outlets on the ship can be REALLY hard. Make sure your battery is charged. Laptops and wireless cards can be rented on board.

Cabin Size and Options

There are basically four options for cabins; inside, ocean view, suite or balcony (some ships call it “verandah”).

Inside: The least expensive cabin aboard. The size of cabins can vary greatly from one ship to another. RCCL Sovereign-class ships are ridiculously small (119 square feet), whereas a similarly priced cabin on Carnival is about 50% larger (187 square feet).

Outside: Usually an identical layout to the inside cabins, but has a window or portal. The difference in price between a standard inside cabin and an ocean view cabin ranges from $10 - $40 per night (NOT per cruise) depending on the ship and the time of year. In almost all cases, outside cabins, whether or not they have balconies, are larger, sometimes by as much as 15%. If your outside cabin is on one of the decks that has an exterior deck, you won’t necessarily see much ocean and you’ll have to deal with people walking outside your window all day.

Balcony. Before 1990, balconies were not considered important, and so most ships built during that time either didn’t have any at all or have only a few. For all of the newer ships, i.e. those built after 1995, balconies are plentiful. A balcony will add $20 - $30 per night to the cost of an outside cabin, which usually works out to about twice as much as the cost of an inside cabin. For a 3-day cruise, given the short amount of time you’ll spend in your cabin, a balcony may not be worth double the cost.

Suite. Actually, “suite” is a pretty generous description, since what you’re actually getting is an extra large cabin (about twice the size of your standard cabin and 3 – 4 times the cost). There are some suites that provide separate sleeping quarters and private hot tubs on the balcony but these are very limited and very expensive (5 – 10 times as expensive as an inside cabin). Most suites are a larger, and usually better furnished, version of a standard cabin.

When considering cabin options, think about how many people will be sharing it and much time you’ll be using it. The longer the cruise, the more important size and balconies become. Location of the cabin also determines desirability (and cost). For example, lower cabins sometimes pick up engine noise or the sound of the anchor dropping, but they do tend to be more stable in rough seas. Cabins located close to the action near the middle of the ship are convenient, but may also be in high traffic areas which translates into noise in the halllway outside your cabin.

Itinerary

Caribbean cruises are broken down into 3 broad regions – Western Caribbean (Cozumel or Playa del Carmen, Mexico; Grand Cayman; Key West, FL; the Dominican Republic; Jamaica; Belize; or Costa Rica), Eastern Caribbean (Bahamas, St. Thomas, St. John, Puerto Rico, or Turks & Caicos) and Southern Caribbean (Aruba, Martinique, Barbados or St. Thomas).

Western Caribbean cruises tend to include more sea days because the destinations are so far apart and the distance one must travel across the Gulf of Mexico is so long. If you take one of these, make sure you choose a ship you’re going to like because you’ll be spending a lot of time on it.

Eastern and Southern Caribbean cruises usually include more ports of call (the islands are right next to each other) and therefore offer a wider variety of venues. That doesn’t mean you’ll have a wider variety of activities. The basic offerings from port to port will generally be the same type of activity, just different scenery.

Some things you’ll want to consider in addition to where you are going:

How long will you be there? Ships that are in port for only part of a day only allow enough time for one shore excursion and may not leave time for shopping or bar hopping. Ships that stay in port overnight, or at least until midnight allow for more diversity of activities in port.

When do you arrive/leave? This can matter, for example, if you want to do a sunset dinner cruise, but the ship pulls out sundown. Likewise, if you’ve booked a shore excursion on your own that requires a pick-up time at 9:30 am, but your ship doesn’t dock until noon, you’ll lose your money.

How do you get ashore? Sometimes the cruise ships tie up at a pier and you just head down to the gangway and walk ashore. Other times the ship has to anchor away from the dock and deliver people ashore via tenders, which means there will be a bottle neck getting on and off the ship. This can be a major pain, especially if the ship is one of the super liners that has to disgorge 3,000+ passengers. Also, the roughness of the wind and water can hamper tender activities and can even cause the ship to decide to not stay in the port.

In Summary

For many cruisers, you won’t really care about all of these factors. No problema. Just pay attention to the ones that are important to you. Whether you are booking through a travel agent or directly with the cruise line, ask about the issues that are important to you and make sure you check out the online reviews and message boards to get objective info.

HAPPY CRUISING!



DONOVAN

Pushpitha Wijesinghe asked:


Located in the Drake Circus region of Plymouth, City of Plymouth Museum and Art Gallery in England is the biggest and finest museum and art gallery in the city. Built according to typical Edwardian Style, this exceptional English museum and art gallery was built in 1907. This stunning museum was built by the famous Thornely and Rooke.

Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery boasts an extensive collection of fine and decorative arts, natural history together with human history.

The natural history section alone features more than 150,000 specimens. There is also a significant natural history library and archive. Highlights of the natural history collection are relics from Dartmoor, Bronze and Iron Age objects from Mount Batten and post-medieval and medieval discoveries from Plymouth. There are also important artefacts from ancient Egypt, Europe and Middle East.

The arts collection is also equally extensive. It consists of 750 easel paintings, more than 3,000 watercolours and drawings, 5,000 prints and a considerable number of sculptures. A significant amount of art was contributed to the Plymouth Museum by renowned artist William Cotton in 1852. Today it has become popular as the Cottonian Collection. The art gallery also includes a large number of fine works done by local artists such as Robert Lenkiewicz, artists of the Newlyn School and St. Ives group of painters.

The newly opened galleries at Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery are, bringing the World to Plymouth, Ancient Egypt, Uncovered and Plymouth Port and Place. The museum’s collection is on the rise each year due to the donations of generous Plymouthians. This impressive museum and art gallery also purchases important artefacts relating to Plymouth Heritage. Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery continues to preserve and exhibit its vast collection offering enjoyment and awareness to locals as well as international visitors.

Visitors can easily board in at a Plymouth Hotel such as Copthorne Hotel Plymouth and further explore this unique museum and art gallery.



MITCH

Emory Cain asked:


Wakeboarding, the newest cunning twist in water sports

The surface water sport wakeboarding is the mixed systems of water skiing, surfing and snowboarding. Here the rider is tagged behind a cable park or a speeding ship positioned on the wakeboard, riding on the wakes performing tricks. The speeding up of the wakeboard ship relies on the water conditions, size of the wakeboard, rider’s weight and the speed desired by the rider. Riders are also often towed by personal water crafts, closed course cables and all-terrain automobiles. Wakeboards are part surfboards and part water ski. The boards are curved to ease the lift. The wakeboard bindings help the riders to hold their feet to the board.

Wiles of wakeboarding

While wakeboarding the rider usually wears a wetsuit and moves towards the wake or drift away from the wake to perform the tricks. Jumps are attempted by striking the wake and jumping into the air. The rider can also take help of the slide bar and ride while keeping the balance. After getting accustomed to the common stuff of skateboarding, the rider can perform the tricks being lofty in the air. On tightening the wakeboard rope the rider achieves speed towards the wake. Gradually, the tightened rope launches the rider at a point up in the air where he tries to perform tricks.

Sizes and shapes of wakeboards alter depending on the rider’s private choices and body weight. The bigger the board, the better it edges and floats. However, larger boards negatively affect the performance of complicated stunts.

Sporty tricks of wakeboarding

Motor boats pull wakeboards across the water and the wakeboarder pops off a large wake behind the ship and performs tricks. He sails sails above water aiming the wakeboard towards the sky.

The riding humanities are also decided by the boards camber or rocker. The rockers favor smoother and faster ride without surface resistance. These cambers and rockers are meant for favoring more air tricks in the wake. While riding, the wakeboarders hold on the towropes which are hooked to the boat. Most of the boards are made with wakeboard fins. Fins are located at the bottom of the boards and help in the betterment of personalizing the ride. The newbies use them to get more stability. The fins also help the wakeboarders in steering actions.

Maneuvers of Wakeboarding

Wakeboarding involves the practice of tricks like every other freestyle sport. Like surfing and snowboarding, the rider has the chance of performing tricks. In wakeboarding, the rider can perform better tricks if he achieves more height. The wakeboarders fly drifting through air in order to perform aerial grabs. They clutch the towrope with one hand and reach back to grab their boards.

Surface tricks

Certain tricks are performed by the rider when he or she is not is not airborne. These tricks include backside butterslide, backside start, bodyslide, perez, potato peeler, surf curve etc.

Spins

The rider takes up the stunt of spin by revolving around like snowboarding. The rider takes up the stunt by revolving 360 degrees. At some examples the writer accelerates the degree of revolution. The numerous common stunts of spins are backside, baller, flatline, frontside etc.

The overwhelming methods of Wakeboarding have introduced artful thrills in the wet ‘o’ wild sports.

Come on in and find out about Wakeboarding! Right now Wakeboardzone.org is a Free Wakeboarder Community Site with Wakeboarding Forums, Articles, Member Profiles, Learning Help texts and Media. Come join the site now and help build the community with your Wakeboard Information and Wakeboarder Questions. This is an fun community with Boarding Content and Boarder Videos being added all the time.

Join Today and get 3 free ebooks about wakeboarding. They cover tips and tricks of wakeboarding and insider information on wakeboarding.

Come visit us right here for your free Wakeboarding EBooks:

Wakeboarding http://wakeboardzone.org



TONY

Kerry Plowright asked:


If you have a large family and you’re on a tight budget, then you may want to take a close look at a one owner Kia Carnival. The Kia Carnival is a people mover in the same vein as the Honda Odyssey, the Chrysler Voyager and the Mazda MPV. However, the Kia Carnival is available at a much more affordable price for the growing family on a tight budget.

The Kia Carnival represents good value for money as, unlike many other Asian people movers, it is powered by a V6 engine while comfortably seating seven people. With the new car price at around $30,000 a good used Kia Carnival will represent true value for money for anyone needing to lug around a growing family on a tight budget. Of course, you will not get the same car as you would with one of the more expensive people movers from Chrysler, Mazda, Honda or Mitsubishi. For example, the ride and handling may not be up to the same standard as the more expensive people movers however this is to be expected from a vehicle that sells for a lot less. This also goes for the finish on the interior. But if your young kids are sitting in the back for long periods, then you may not want anything too fancy on the inside anyway. A bored kid can be quite destructive!

Some of the features available on the Kia Carnival include:

·Dual sliding doors for easy access

·Power steering and power mirrors

·Dual zone air conditioning, and

·Six speaker CD.

Looking for a one owner Kia Carnival

If you are considering buying a good one owner Kia Carnival, then look for one that was built from 2001 onwards. The 2001 models have a far better seating arrangement so anyone in the back will be riding in more comfort. Also, you’ll need to check for cylinder head gasket problems so have the vehicle checked thoroughly before buying. And while you’re at it, check for any problems in manual transmissions for smooth gear changes from third back to second and for autos, check for noise or problems with shifting into gear. Some Kia Carnivals have had to have engines replaced so check this also.

You will also want to check the interior for any damage or excessive wear and tear from passengers riding in the rear, especially damage caused by younger children.

When it comes to driving the Kia Carnival, there are several issues that you need to be aware of. Although powered by a 132 kw V6 engine, the Kia Carnival is relatively slow off the mark and is at its best when cruising along the highway. The turning circle, as should probably be expected from such a bulky car, is quite large and parking in the street may also present some issues.

Overall, if you are in need of a people mover and you do not have a lot of money to spend on one of the Japanese models, then it may well be worth taking a Kia Carnival for a test drive with the whole family. Remember though, you won’t be getting the same car as the more expensive people movers so it’s probably not fair to compare.



WESTON