TopDawg Travel

Archive for the ‘Family travel’ Category

At the end of May I got to go to Los Cabos for 4 days.  It was a wonderful working vacation for me.  I saw some beautiful properties that I genuinely enjoyed.  I met many warm and genuine people and had some great food (though maybe too much red snapper).  I stayed in a lovely casita at the Marqus Los Cabos, which included a plunge pool and amenity breakfasts every morning while watching the sun come up and listening to the ocean roaring right outside my patio door. 

I sailed on the New Zealand version of the America’s Cup Yacht Race boat.  Had a wonderful swedish massage at the Esperanza Spa  from Ulma.  Looked a horse in the eye and declined the ride.  Walked along the beach and had a good “wetting down” from a stray wave.  Experienced a cooking class with a Michelin-starred chef.  Drank such a great margarita (Las Ventanas al Paraiso’s  ”Welcoming Margarita”) that I was inspired to go to Bed Bath and Beyond when I returned to Seattle and purchase a soda siphon in order to make them myself.  And I might add, while not as perfect as Las Ventana’s Welcoming Margaritas, mine were plenty yummy. 

Without a doubt one of the best meals (and there were many delightful meals from many hotels and restaurants, but this one stood out in my memory) while there was at One and Only Parmilla.  We took a tour of the villa accommodations there at One andOnly Parmilla, then a golf cart ride to the restaurant, Agua Restaurant.  Our hosts included the One and OnlyParmilla, Cecilia Aragon-Bryant (Director of Public Relations),  the Los Cabos Visitor and Convention Bureau and Terramar Destinations, who provided our guide, Rico, for the evening.  The menu included a canape, 4 course dinner and dessert, provided by the Executive Chef, Larbi Dahrouch. 

The Thursday night Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo also stands out as a superb event to enjoy with the only cost being that of the delightful art one might feel inclined to purchase.  Our guide, Rico, led us up and down the hilly streets, and in and out of galleries too numerous to mention.  Wine, canapes, a delicious vanilla liqueur, margaritas all accompanied us on our rounds of the galleries.  See my Thursday Night Art Walk article at National Romance Travel Examiner for a more complete description.

I would go to Los Cabos again immediately if I could.  I fell in love with the place, the people, the food and the ambiance.  i really would like to stay at Las Ventanas al Paraiso or One and Only Parmilla each at least for a week!  Oh yes, the trip I went on was sponsored by the Los Cabos Visitor and Convention Bureau.  I appreciated everything they did to help me understand that the novel H1N1 virus was not in residence in Los Cabos!

I wrote several articles about this lovely trip in my National Romance Travel Examiner column  at Examiner.com.  Here are some of the links, I hope you read and enjoy them:

Sailing with the Cabo Adventures America’s Cup Yacht Race experience

Marquis Los Cabos – a resort for all senses

Marquis Los Cabos casita 704

An invitation to romance at Las Ventanas al Paraiso part 1

Las Ventanas – part 2 – more than a resort

There are more but that is for another posting……

Carnival Cruise Lines has some incredible ships and programs for family travel.

An example of the Carnival program is on the Carnival Conquest. This ship has an expanded Camp Carnival and O2 Teen Program. The kids’ facilites is over 4200 square feet and has all modern entertainment and a children’s pool. Even their meal menus are designed for the age category – everything from hot dogs, chicken nuggets, pizza, macaroni & cheese, hamburgers and more. There are several new programs targeted to age groups and interests. The Edu-Seas program has a variety of fun activities that are also educational. The staff have experience and education in child-care so the kids enjoy their counselor and group.

In general the children’s programs on Carnival are exceptional no matter which ship you choose to cruise on.  Here’s a little I have learned about Carnival and their family-friendly programs:

CAMP CARNIVAL:  Carnival has broken the children’s program into 3 categories: Toddlers (age 2-5 years old) with age- appropriate activites – from finger painting to cartoon time, arts and crafts to puppet shows (good news for parents: Toddlers do not have to be potty-trained to be a part of the program- just supply the youth staff with diapers and toiletries for your child);

Juniors (age 6-8 years old) will have activities like Spin Art, dodgeball, volcano making as well as themed activities like prize bingo, water colors, jewelry making, foosball, air hockey and more;

Intermediates (ages 9-11 years old) play dodgeball, and pool parties to video games and scavenger hunts, making new friends and forging bonds with others their age.

For the Intermediates and Juniors there is an “evening After Hours” services from 10PM to 12AM and after 12AM they join the younger cruisers for a Slumber Party service until 3AM.Parents can have a “date night” or quiet time just for the two of them.

CIRCLE “C”:  For the 12-14 year olds there is the Circle C program. This is where children ages 12-14 can cruise, chill, and connect to others: Cool activities, awesome facilities and lots of new friends to add to their text-mail lists. Activities include games(video arcade, air hockey, foosball, karaoke), created and supervised by friendly, experienced staff. There are dance parties & outdoor movies, and they can even have an evening of dancing at the shipboard dance club. On some ships there are special shore excursions for kids to experience and explore exciting destinations.

CLUB O2: Teens, ages 15-17,  make new friends, hang together to watch movies, listen to music, play video games or join karaoke jam sessions.  On some cruises there are even teen-only shore excursions. They can play basketball or volleyball, ping-pong or participate in high energy dance and pool parties.  There is the Club O2′s dedicated lounge area onboard. This is a hot spot with cool colors, comfy seating, video monitors, and a state-of-the-art dance floor.  Teens can enjoy Coca-Cola products and other non-alcoholic specialty drinks as they watch movies, play video games and participate in this activity driven club.

And all this equals a great time for Mom and Dad, grandparents or friends. When the children have fun, the family has fun! (That is a Carnival Motto!)

If you found this interesting you might also want to read about the NCL Pearl with all the fun things to do on board there.