Holiday Travel Tips on Hallmark Home & Family with Carolyn Scott-Hamilton

Travel expert, Carolyn Scott-Hamilton, shares her tips about the best family-friendly, cruise, and adventurous destinations for your next vacation. And, find out how to earn points and holiday on a budget.
Let nutritionist, chef, healthy travel expert, and "The Healthy Voyager" host Carolyn Scott-Hamilton take you away to the HealthyVoyager.com, Facebook.com/HealthyVoyager, @HealthyVoyager.
Her tips include:
Carolyn's Top Cruise Vacation Destinations for the Holidays
Disney Cruises - It's the holidays and you can't beat a holiday themed cruise by Disney! Great for families who want to get away from the cold but still want the feel of the holiday season, Disney is the perfect option. Sun, surf and Santa! Check out the Very Merry Time Cruises.
Royal Caribbean - Sick of cruising the Caribbean or Mexico? Head to the south to chase summer! While it's winter in the states, its summer in the southern hemisphere and Royal Caribbean offers the cheapest cruises to the South Pacific.
SeaDream - More intimate yachts - romantic - SeaDream Yacht Club has achieved the industry's highest accolades for its two twin, casually elegant mega-yachts, SeaDream I and SeaDream II. With a maximum of only 112 guests and a 95-person award-winning crew, "It's yachting, not cruising," defines not only the size of the vessels, but the onboard lifestyle. SeaDream Yacht Club provides a fully inclusive yachting experience visiting small harbors and ports around the world, many inaccessible by larger ships, on seven to 15-day voyages. The SeaDream Yacht Club crew is passionate about delivering highly personalized and anticipatory service.
What People Should Look for in a Good Cruise
Choose the right cruise line that caters to your needs - Seniors, families, fitness, foodies, nightlife, "edu-tainment", etc.
Itinerary - depending on budget, you can find a cruise that will hit up a variety of dream destinations so choose where you want to visit and narrow down based on your criteria.
Size matters - the larger the ship, the more amenities (and yes, the larger the cost). Look for ships that have what you want and you may find a smaller ship fits your needs and budget better than one with extra bells and whistles. Plus a larger ship means more people so if you aren't a fan of crowds, go smaller.
Don't be afraid to ask and poll your community - if you have special needs such as dietary restrictions, wheelchair access, etc, looking for cruise lines that accommodate your needs best is a great way to go. Be sure to check user reviews on review sites to get a good glimpse of other cruisers' experiences.
How to Find Them on the Cheap
• Book early for new ships, Europe and river cruises.
• Book earlier than you think necessary.
• Be flexible on dates - last minute deals are abundant.
• You'll find the best deals in the Caribbean, on older ships and during shoulder season.
Benefit from value-adds.
• Cruise as close to home as possible to save on the "getting there" costs such as airfare, car rental, hotel, etc.
• Go for value rather than price.
• Book as a group - the more people in your travel party, the cheaper the cost. Look for group rates to help cut costs.
• Repositioning cruises -- one-way, end-of-season sailings when cruise ships move from one cruising region to another -- can also be great bargains. They tend to have low nightly rates, more unusual itineraries and lots of sea days.
• While travel agencies are under strict guidance from the cruise lines as to what kinds of deals and value-adds they can offer, a travel agent can still help you save on a cruise.
For more Healthy Voyager on the Web:
Healthy Voyager Site: HealthyVoyager.com Carolyn's Site: CarolynScottHamilton.com
UA-cam channel: / thehealthyvoyager
Facebook: / healthyvoyager
Twitter: / healthyvoyager
Google+: plus.google.com/1116157800803...
Pinterest: / healthyvoyager
LinkedIn: / healthyvoyager
Foursquare: foursquare.com/healthyvoyager
Tumblr: / healthyvoyager
Huffington Post: www.huffingtonpost.com/carolyn...
Examiner: www.examiner.com/healthy-trave...