Cruising

If you haven't cruised before it is time you did.
It is like having an all inclusive without being stuck in one location.

The food is fantastic. The destinations almost limitless. From the far north of Antartica to the Caribbean.

On board the cruise ship there are activities for all ages from dancing to cooking. There are live shows and movies. There are childrens activities. You name it they have it.

Let me take you on a cruise to the Hawaiian Islands. We board in Honolulu and set sail. You can lounge outside and watch the sun set as you sip on your drink.

We wake up in Maui and take one of the local buses to the other side of the island. Here the beaches are beautiful white sand. There is sailing or motor boat rides or just a leisurely stroll down the streets of Lahaina.

As the day draws to an end we head back to the cruise ship and board taking our souvenirs with us. We stay here for another day. So the next day we head into town and go to the shopping mall. In the evening we set sail and head for the Big Island of Hawaii.

This morning we awake in Kona. A wonderful place to site see. There are excursions on board the ship which will take you on a abus tour of the area. The surrounding area is very lush and green. After the day of visiting the area the ship leaves and heads around to the other side to the city of Hilo.

As we go around the Island we see the volcano flows coming into the ocean. There is a lot of steam and being that it is dark out we see the red glow of the flow. This is really spectacular.
There is an excursion where you can go up to the lava flow and see it in person.

After Hilo we head over to Kaui. Here we have a river cruise booked. This takes us to the inside of the Island. The scenery is breath taking. The girls do a hula for us. We also do a plantation tour and see the banana groves.

We spend two days on Kaui and therefore have time to stroll around in town.

Finally we head back to Honolulu where we disembark and say goodbye. We were fortunate enough to have some extra time in Honolulu. I would suggest that if you haven't been there that you take some extra time to stay and see what there is to see. Pearl harbor was a must see on my list and the Polynesian Centre which really could use two days. One just didn't seem to be enough time to get to everything.

If you require any more information email me or contact me I would be delighted to help you book a cruise to anywhere your dreams want to go.
Johanna
Lacombe@canwest.travel

Maritimes

We went in the spring to the Maritimes flying into Halifax renting a car and driving down through the orchards which were in bloom. We took the ferry from Digby to Saint John New Brunswick. The Ferry was wonderful. They have small theatre aboard and show a movie during the trip. There are games to keep the children occupied also pinball. There is a area for very young children to play. There were areas to watch TV. You could purchase food and souvenirs. It was wonderful. If you were into watching outside you might spot a whale.
We spent the evening in Saint John and viewed the reversing falls. You have to go to the interpretive center to really understand the falls and how they work and why they do what they do. Very interesting. We had to return the following day to the interpretive centre as we were to late in the day when we arrived.

Around noon we took off and headed towards Hopewell Rocks. This is a unique formation in the ocean and if you come at the right time you can walk between them on the ocean floor. Keeping in mind that the tide comes back in and you better make sure you aren't caught at the bottom.

We continued north and stopped at magnetic hill which I would not recommend spending the money on. But if you have children they have a type of amusement park which they would enjoy. We continued on to Confederation Bridge. Which was very surprising. In my mind I thought it would be a straight bridge. But there is a curve in it and it goes quite high. We spent the night in Summerside. In the morning we continued north towards Anne's Land as they called it. This where Anne of Green Gables grew up. We viewed the site and contined East along the shore. We were unfortunate to have rain that day so we didn't really get to go on some of the fabulous walks. We did attempt one between the showers and it was interesting to see the different fauna. The marsh birds etc. We crossed down to Charlottetown which was a very quaint city. We continued on our way to Wood Island where we stayed the night to catch the ferry early the next morning for Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island.

I would not suggest that anyone do the Cape Breton Island tour in one day. We overnited in Baddeck. Great sailing there. Wish we would have had more time I would have done some. They say you can do the Cape Breton Trail in the one day, but I think you miss lots by not stopping often and taking in the sights of the country. It is spectacular. We stayed overnite in Ingonish. They have some nice beaches here.

The next day we headed for Sydney we checked in and then drove over to Fortress of Louisbourg for a few hours. This would have been better to spend the day. As we were short on time we only had a few hours. But make it a stop if you are in the area and get there at a reasonable time so you can wander around and see everything and experience life back in the early days.

We spent the night in Sydney and saw the cruise port. Very impressive.
The following day we headed back towards Halifax along the ocean shores. We spent the evening in Liscomb. We enjoyed the trip and are sure to come back soon. I would highly recommend going to the Maritimes. Even in the spring the colors were varied and flowers everywhere.
We still have to make it to New Foundland as we ran out of time. I will let you know how that goes.
Flights were non stop from Edmonton - Halifax which I think is a bonus.
Call me anytime if you are looking for a trip. I am a travel agent and look forward to helping you make your dreams come true.
Johanna - 403-782-1433