PowerPoint Info Overload
August 10, 2008
Yesterday was the deadline for the kids to complete their summer reports on Barcelona, Malaga, Madeira, the Canary Islands, St. Maarten and San Juan. Those are all the destinations we’ll be visiting on our upcoming Trans-Atlantic Cruise. Since the kids will be missing two weeks of school for the trip, I required them to complete an extensive research project on the history, culture, and attractions of each destination. They put together the reports in the PowerPoint application, which also required them to learn specialized functions in that program like animation schemes and slide transitions.
Last night, Mr. Papa held a contest to see who put together the best presentation. The kids were judged on quality of research, knowledge of material, presentation skills, and utilization of the effects in the PowerPoint application. Both of the kids clearly demonstrated that they had learned a great deal about the history and culture of the destinations that we will be visiting. Clearly when we visit these interesting destinations they will have greater appreciation for what they are seeing and experiencing. However, they both need to learn to do a presentation without reading directly off the slide. Mr. Papa was so impressed with the presentations, that instead of awarding a single first place prize, he gave them both a cash award to spend on the trip.
After their presentations, it was time to get down to serious business: What are we going to actually do while in Barcelona and in our different cruise ports. We’ll be spending three days in Barcelona prior to the cruise. The city has so much to offer that is hardly enough time to fit in everything. The current weak Dollar against the Euro also presents some budgeting challenges. We also plan to avoid public transportation, which leaves us with some challenging walking distances if we want to try to get in everything that we want to see. Once we begin the cruise, we have to balance our desire to see some of the attractions with our desire not to over spend and also relax. With a family of four, a cruise excursion can cost over $400 for a day of sight seeing.
My job last night was to follow up the kids presentation with prices and schedules. Once everyone saw the prices it was clear to all that we are going to have to pick and choose our attractions and excursions carefully, focusing on our highest priorities and cutting less desirable options.
I still have a collection of travel videos that I’ve found on YouTube for everyone to watch. We also need to view the Celebrity Cruise tour options and see if they have some particularly affordable options that allow us to see some of our top attractions.
Next Cruise Booked
March 15, 2008
Well, on Friday we put our names down on the Celebrity cruise on the Summit from Barcelona to San Juan. The 14 day cruise includes stops in the Canary Islands, Maderia and St.Maartaan. It should be a fantastic cruise. I have heard wonderful things about the seasoned cruisers that choose the transatlantic cruises, so I am very much looking forward to meeting people on the cruise.
We have requested the Family Veranda cabin on the Summit, but right now it is only available as a guarantee. That means that we could be “upgraded” to a Sky Suite, Celebrity Suite or Penthouse suite, but those classes of suite either don’t hold 4 people or are most likely sold out. We are hoping that our travel agent can get us locked into a room now since we are 4 passengers. We are pretty much guaranteed a family veranda with a large aft balcony, sliding divider door, and 271 sq ft room and 224 sq ft balcony. However, the idea of not being locked into a particular room makes us a bit apprehensive. We really hoping that our Travel Agent will be able to work some magic and get us an assigned room.
Now, our next thing to do is figure out when to fly into Barcelona and where to stay. Hotels in Barcelona are extremely expensive and most of them do not have quadruple rooms (sleep four). That means that we will be paying about triple what we would pay for a comparable room in the USA. For example, I can get a room for 4 in Anaheim for the dance competition at the Motel 6 for under $70 a night. A comparable room in Barcelona would have to be two connecting rooms for around $210 a night. Consequently, I have been searching alternative accommodations. I went to vrbo.com, where they have apartments for rent. Some of these rentals are a bit off the beaten path, but still near attractions. They run about $160 a night for four, but include a full kitchen and a bit more privacy than a hotel. The only drawback is that some require a three night stay.
We also have to book our flights. If we use Cruise Air through the cruise line, the cost is around $1100 from Tucson. If we book independently, we are looking at prices closer to $750. We will probably go that way since we not only have control of which flights we take, but also the day we travel.
That brings us to our last dilemma, when to fly into Barcelona. The cruise leave on November 29th, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. That means that we can fly in any time during the previous week without increasing the amount of school the kids miss. I am leaning towards flying in on Tuesday, arriving Wednesday and spending three days in Barcelona in a “Flat”. Steve is not sure he wants to take the extra day of vacation since he usually takes 3 weeks of vacation around Christmas. That would mean flying on Thanksgiving (Thursday) and would only mean one day in Barcelona. After purchasing a great guide book on Barcelona, I am leaning towards the longer stay, as I truly believe that Barcelona is one of the great cities of the world and worth a three day stay.
More as the trip plans develop…
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