We review as we travel… destinations, lodging, cruises, resorts, you name it.
Kids are snorkeling in the turquoise clear water while parents catch some rays. There’s a beach volleyball game in full swing and a barbeque going. Bahamian music is playing and the Bahama Mamas are flowing.
The last time I was here — more than 15 years ago — we were vacationing in Orlando and came over to watch a Space Shuttle launch. Ironically. A launch is scheduled — a night launch — for next week, we’re told, though that can change.
Norwegian Cruise Lines must be doing something right. Despite the bad economy, this ship is full — 2873 passengers with 500 children under 18 on board.There are 1108 crew members to take care of us, says Prem Kainikkara, the hotel director who oversees them all. They are from more than 50 countries and many speak three languages.
For a weekend retreat away from the bustling city of San Francisco, Squaw Valley was the perfect destination. The ski mountain is close enough to the city, about a three-hour drive, to wake up early and make it from the city to the mountain still in time for a full day of skiing, and some après skiing fun.
Welcome aboard the Norwegian Gem, the ship that sails from New York to Florida every Saturday. It may be chilly, but cruisers are sipping Sail Away special cocktails and lining up for barbeque on deck as music plays. The kids are eyeing the hot tubs longingly (maybe in a day or two when we reach Florida!).
I can’t think of a better place than The Sweet Life for the bottom of a family mountain like Snowmass, by far the largest of Aspen’s four mountains and family-central with the year-old Treehouse Adventure Center that is ski school central for young kids. Jen Hayes opened her second The Sweet life (the first is in Telluride) in Snowmass’s new Base Village and it’s not only perfect for this mountain but for this economy.
“The whole idea is to educate the public about the environment so they get out and love it and want to protect it,” he says. Kids as young as seven can join one of these gentle tours. “If you can walk you can do this tour,” Carter says, but he adds if you have younger kids you can call and arrange a special tour.
We have moved over to the new base area at Snowmass, the largest of Aspen’s four mountains and the one known as the family mountain (though my 17 year-old discovered plenty of extreme terrain too). There is a vertical drop of over 4,400 feet and 3,132 acres of terrain — attracting more skiers than Aspen’s three other mountains combined.
Yes, like every other resort in the country, business is down in America’s most famous ski town. The mountains aren’t crowded and you don’t seem to see as many flashy ski outfits either. It’s easier to get dinner reservations or a table when you want one.
It’s lunch time at Beaver Creek Resort’s main mountain restaurant Spruce Saddle Lodge and the place is packed with families. You wouldn’t know there is a recession going on — until you start talking to people, like I did, table hopping