Cheap Cruising

We’ve got our first cheap travel contest underway. The rules are simple. Subscribe to the Cheap Travel newsletter(on the sidebar) and you’re automatically entered to win a copy of Rick Steve’s Europe Through the Back Door, the 2009 edition.I won’t spam you. I won’t sell your email addresses to anyone. You can expect a email newsletter about three times a month. The winner will be drawn at random and you must be 18 to enter. The contest runs from now until September, 30 2008.  

Bank of America customers can take advantage of a free museum visit throughout the United States.  All you need to do is flash your Bank of America credit or debit card during any of the designated free weekends from now until April. BA customers have access to 70 museums in 28 markets across the United States. You can also sign up for email or text to remind you the weekends. . Check out this list of fabu museums. Most of of them are already vacation must stops.

2008 Bank of America Museums On Us™
Participating Museums

ARIZONA
Arizona Science Center

CALIFORNIA
California Center for the Arts Escondido
The California Museum
Crocker Art Museum
de Young Museum
Discovery Science Center
Explorit Science Center
Laguna Beach Museum of Art
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
Mingei International Museum
Museum of African Diaspora
Museum of Latin American Art
Palm Springs Art Museum
Riverside Art Museum
San Jose Museum of Art
Birch Aquarium at Scripps
Tech Museum of Innovation
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

CONNECTICUT
Mashantucket Pequot Museum
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art

DELAWARE
Delaware Art Museum
Delaware Museum of Natural History
Winterthur Museum & Country Estate

FLORIDA
Miami Art Museum
Miami Children’s Museum
Miami Science Museum
The Morikami Museum
Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), North Miami
Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale
Museum of Discovery & Science
South Florida Science Museum

GEORGIA
Atlanta Botanical Garden
Atlanta History Center
Fernbank Museum of Natural History

ILLINOIS
The Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago History Museum
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

MAINE
The Farnsworth Art Museum

MASSACHUSETTS
Danforth Museum of Art
DeCordova Museum & Sculpture Park
Harvard Museum of Natural History
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

MARYLAND
The American Visionary Art Museum
The Flag House and Star Spangled Banner Museum
Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture

MICHIGAN
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
The Detroit Zoo
Henry Ford Museum

NEW JERSEY
Liberty Science Center
Montclair Art Museum
The Newark Museum

NEW YORK
Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium
International Center of Photography
The Jewish Museum
The Metropolitan Museum of Art(pictured above)
New York Hall of Science

NORTH CAROLINA
Levine Museum of the New South
Mint Museum of Art
Mint Museum of Craft and Design

PENNSYLVANIA
National Constitution Center
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA)
Philadelphia Museum of Art

RHODE ISLAND
Museum of Work and Culture
Providence Children’s Museum
The RISD Museum

TEXAS
Dallas Museum of Art
Fort Worth Museum of Science & History
Houston Museum of Natural Science
Museum of Nature & Science, Dallas
San Jacinto Museum of History

WASHINGTON
Museum of History & Industry
Tacoma Art Museum
The Wing Luke Museum

Bank of America, Museums, Travel, Vacation, Budget, Frual

Destination weddings are usually cheaper than traditional stay-at-home affairs.  They are also a lot less hassle.  Here are some options that could save you money and a headache.

You could get a wedding for free.
Some resorts give you a wedding if you agree to stay for a certain number of days in a certain class of room.  Sandals gives a free wedding to couples who stay 6 nights or longer in the Concierge category. The wedding includes a personal wedding consultant, marriage license, a wedding cake, boutonniere and bouquet, dinner for a couple and sparkling wine and hors d’oeuvres for four.

I checked out rates for a March stay at the Sandals Royal Bahamian in a Honeymoon Ocenview Concierge Room goes for $3,722.64. Not bad when you consider the average US wedding budget is $14,250 and the average spent is $28,800.

Viva Las Vegas
Vegas is such a historic destination for people that want a quickie wedding that’s it become a bit of a joke. Don’t sleep on all that this city can provide. There are a couple of thing in you favor when you consider Vegas. First, most major cities usually have pretty good deal on flights to the gaming capitol.

Second, you can any kind of wedding you want in Vegas at a great price. The town has every kind of wedding from the tacky to traditional.

Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel’s To Remember package is $199. This includes a rose presentation, 12 poses & proofs, candlelit chapel, souvenir wedding scroll, music, wedding coordinator, chapel fee, and courtesy limousine service to and from the Viva Las Vegas wedding chapel. The guest limit is 25 and people you’ll need to tip the officiant and limo driver.

You’ll also need make any cake and dinner arrangements separately.  A Vegas marriage license costs $50

Marry before the Cruise
Cruises are some of the most economical vacations available. Cruise ship weddings are not. In addition to your cruise, on board or destination weddings usually cost more than over $1,000 for a basic wedding. Pre-cruise marriages are the frugal route. This will allow friends and family to participate without breaking their banks. Chapels like Celebrations of Fort Lauderdale Wedding Chapel offer a number of pre-cruise wedding options They have couples only packages starting at $195. The Memories package starts at $350. It includes a wedding for up to 12 guests, a one tier cake, use a silk bouquet, a keepsake certificate and a champagne toast.

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Weddings Vacation Budget Las Vegas

Hippopost is a new free service that lets you upload digital images to send free print postcards.  You upload the image and Hippopost prints and mails the cards for free to residents in the United States and Canada. The cards are mailed from “a globally distributed print network”. You are limited to two a day.   They pay for the service by adding a bit of advertising at the bottom of the card.  To finalize your “order” you choose the type of offer that would most appeal to your recipient. Tare printed on recycled, FSC Certified glossy card stock.

I’ve ordered two test cards to see how long it takes and the quality of the cards I’ll let you know how it goes.

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I have no idea long this is going to last but Jet Blue has a tremendous sale on one way flights.  You can only get the fares on the Jet Blue site and they are only good for one day of travel in one direction. Weird I know but it also could be terribly liberating and fun.   It’s also great if you need to get one somewhere by plane but don’t need take a plane back.  Say if you’re  moving to another city or taking a repositioning cruise.

At this writing, the cheapest flight is Sacramento, CA to Long Beach, CA on September 17, 2008 for $19. It looks like fares change every few hours.

Budget Travel asked Jet blue how long the sale is going to last and they responded with this on their Twitter feed. (I love and airline with a Twitter feed):

“BudTravel, all good things must come to an end, including our current fare sale. Luckily we’ve got a ‘good things’ tree in the back office”

Stumble It!

jet blue cheap travel travel deals savings sacramento long beach

Hostels aren’t just for young people. They’re for any savvy traveler that wants, clean, safe, no frills accommodations.  As with any aspect, of cheap travel the key is research, research, research.

#1
Where do you want to stay?
Determine what part of the city you’d like to stay. When traveling on a budget, being near public transportation is a must. I doubt you have money to splurge on cabs or even van service.  Go to the city’s public transportation site and where the hostel falls.

#2
What’s your price point?
Most hostel booking sites also book budget hotels. That can get a little pricey. Decide what your drop dead price is per night and try and stick with it.

#3
Check out the ratings
Look at several different sites like Hostel Bookers and Hostelz.com and read the reviews. That will give you sense of the atmosphere. Is the hostel noisy? A party hostel? Clean? Travelers from all over the world can help you figure it out.

#4
Figure out what the rate includes
Many hostels only offer dorm like accommodations. Some don’t include towels or linen. Find out what you are paying for. It might be worth a little extra so you don’t have to haul bedsheets all over Europe.

#5
Understand what you are paying for
Hostels are dorm-like accommodations. More than likely you’ll have to walk down the hall to take a shower. Private rooms might not be an option.  You might need to be a member of an organization to book a hostel.  There are fees associated with these organizations but they also offer a number of benefits.  Hostelling International and Youth Hostel Association are two such organizations.

Stumble It!

There’s still time to get in a little summer R&R before the fall sets in. Check out these fall regional specials.

Last Minute Travel features the New Orleans’ Ambassador at rates averaging $61 a night. Located near the Historic French Quarter, the 3 star property offer valet parking for a fee and continental breakfast. In order to get the rate you’ll need to buy in online. The site(maybe it’s the hotel) tacks on a $4.95 a day.

Alaska’s Denali National Park Holiday Special allows you to stay at the resort for two nights for the price of one and provides a $100 Visa debit card.  Denali Bluffs has the lowest rates starting at $120 a night. I’m not sure if you get the $100 card as soon as you pay or if that’s mailed to you.

Las Vegas’s MGM Grand might have the best deal around.  The rate starts at $69 an includes

• A $35 activity credit for dining and entertainment
• 2-for-1 spa pass
• Complimentary in-room continental breakfast for 2
• Upgrade to a Bungalow Suite for only $25 more per night (regularly +$80)

Happy traveling.

travel, cheap travel, frugal travel, labor day, hotels

You must be a member of the $9 fare club to take advantage of these offers to get the best deal. Here are a few of the fares available. There are lots more just in time for Labor Day.

Atlanta To: $9 Fare Club Member Fares Non-Member Fares Dates Available
Fort Lauderdale $9* Each Way $19* Each Way 8/29, 8/30, 8/31, 9/2, 9/3, 9/4, 9/5, 9/6, 9/7, 9/10, 9/11, 9/13

Chicago (O’Hare) To: $9 Fare Club Member Fares Non-Member Fares Dates Available
Fort Lauderdale $9* Each Way $19* Each Way 8/31, 9/6, 9/7, 9/12, 9/23, 9/29, 9/30
Fort Myers $9* Each Way $19* Each Way 8/30, 8/31, 9/4, 9/12, 9/13

Las Vegas To: $9 Fare Club Member Fares Non-Member Fares Dates Available
Detroit $19* Each Way $39* Each Way 9/4, 9/5, 9/6, 9/8, 9/9, 9/10, 9/12, 9/13, 9/15, 9/16, 9/17, 9/20, 9/23, 9/24, 9/26
Fort Lauderdale $19* Each Way $39* Each Way 9/3, 9/4, 9/5, 9/9, 9/13, 9/14, 9/23, 9/26, 9/30

Deal Tip: The $9 joining fee is only a 60-day trial membership after that membership is $39.95 annually.

Help the earth and get free lodging at international organic farms. The World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms helps link workers and farms. Country or regional based WWOOF’s charge a small fee to the farm and volunteers. In return for volunteer help, WWOOF hosts provide food, accommodation and opportunities to learn about organic lifestyles. I checked the for North American and France WWOOF sites their fees start at $20 and $22 USD respectfully.

Organic farms

◊ provide hands-on experience of organic growing and other learning opportunities where possible.

◊ provide clean dry accommodation and adequate food for their volunteers.

Volunteers

◊ need a genuine interest in learning about organic growing, country living or ecologically sound lifestyles.

◊ help their hosts with daily tasks for an agreed number of hours.

I’ve never taken advantage of this opportunity but I’d love to hear from anyone that has.

organic farm organic travel

NCL’s offering a 14-day Caribbean repositioning cruise that starts at $699 per person. The Norwegian Majestic leaves Charlotte on November, 1 2008 and includes stops in Nassau, Bahamas; Oranjestad, Aruba; Willemstad, Curacao; St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands; Samana, Dominican Republic; and Great Stirrup Cay.

Of course $699, isn’t the total price. A decent oceanview, cabin your total will run a little over $1,100:

Guest Totals $1,123.90
Cruise $799.00
Travel Protection $89.00
Fuel Supplement $154.00
Government Taxes and Fees $81.90

Travel definition: A repositioning cruise is one that moves a ship from one port to another and usually doesn’t include very many ports. It’s a great deal for those who want a long cruise with more sea days. Ships usually change ports  when the seasons change. Think November, March and April.

cheap travel travel cruises