Living Well

How do cruises work? When you get to a port of call can I leave the ship and do my own thing and just be back by the time it leaves. For example: if the ship arrives in Costa Maya at 8am and isn’t scheduled to depart until 6pm can I explore Costa Maya until close to 6? Thanks!!!

Cruises are awesome. I think they are cheaper then most of the all-inclusives. ( if your not a big drinker ) Sounds like you are looking for an adventure. Getting to stop at a different Island every day is the best part about cruises. Check out the two best places on the interent….
www.vacationstogo.com ( to book a cheap cruise )
and
www.cruisecritic.com ( to find out what to do at each port )

Hi.

I am going on a cruise with my family on December of 09′ to the caribbean. I am very exciting because I am 16 and can’t wait. We are going with a lot of my aunt’s husbands friends, especially with this one boy, but that’s another story.

I was wondering if you could tell me anything and everything about cruises?

Like,

How late you are allowed to walk around the ship

What time you get up in the morning

How long you stay on the locations you are going

etc.

Many of your questions depend on which cruiseline, the number of days, and the locations the ship is going to. So, here’s a pretty general idea of what you can expect. You can (and should) check the cruise website for more detailed information as well as check the itinerary for your particular cruise.

You usually get a card that is like your "bank" card which is what you pay for all the things on the cruise with. Make sure that you have enough on the card to cover your cruise expenses (which shouldn’t be too much since you are under age) like drinks, gambling, internet use, etc. "Beverages" are free, but that usually doesn’t include alcohol or soda. Also, be sure to have money left over on the card for the various tips to the staff (waiters, maids, etc.) It’s not "mandatory" but it is pretty much expected. Tips are PER DAY that you are on the cruise. Remember, these people leave their families for 6-9 months at a time to pamper your spoiled butt.

For dinner, you are usually encouraged to dress in "semi-formal" attire. You don’t have to wear a prom dress, but you definitely shouldn’t show up in jeans and sneakers. There is usually a "Captain’s Dinner" which is fancier than the rest of the dinners. So when you’re packing your bikini, booty shorts and flip flops, be sure to throw in some nice skirts or dress pants.

Most cruise ships have a casino and some sort of dance club that are open pretty late. However, since you are under 21 (hell, you’re under 18) you may have a curfew while on ship unless accompanied by an adult (they sometimes even require the adult to be 25+)

When you reach the port of wherever you’re going (usually early mornings) the captain, or another crew member will make an announcement. They may announce it the evening before at dinner what time you should be arriving. They don’t "wake you up" so, you’re free to get up whenever you feel like it. But remember, you didn’t pay that much money to sleep in your state room the whole time. In order to get your money’s worth, it’s best to wake up early so you can do as much exploring as you can, since you will most likely only be there for one day (which isn’t even a full day, since the ship is likely to leave port in the evening for the next destination.)

Have fun.

The panama canal connects 2 oceans right? shouldn’t the worlds oceans be leveled with each other? why does the panama canal have to raise and lower boats to get to the other side?

Because the canal is not one continuous canal. There are actuually a couple of lakes between the two oceans that the canals connect with, Lake Gatun being the largest. Those lakes are above sea level thus the need to raise and lower ships via locks along the canal zone. It would have been much more difficult to cut a channel below sea level all the way across Panama.

Here is a map of the canal zone: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Panama_Canal_Rough_Diagram.png

I work at a storage facility, and many or our customers have boats are fitted with an I/O (In/Out drive unit). Many of those customers want their boats stored with the lower, exposed, unit down; often this position leaves the bottom of the drive mere inches away from the floor, making the boat difficult to move when necessary. We’re divided on why the unit is supposed to be left down, as no answer seems to make sense.

For all of the earlier mentioned reasons plus the rubber bellows is relaxed instead of stretched and not exposed to the weather if stored outside. I’m sure its a nuisance for you but I for one will only store in a location where the service people agree to let me place it, lower the drive and remove the battery. I put a big sign on the tongue that says battery must be installed and drive raised before moving boat.

How to break rapid share time and download more files?
after downloading file i become not allowed to download again unless i wait for along time
is there solution to this ?

Either upgrade or just wait for a few minutes if u dont wanna pay

Just wait for like 1-3 mins

I just got back from vacation, while we were there got suck in to bought a time share is it good thing or we just make a bad decision

Depends, how much and what you maintenance fees are. Usually it is a lot cheaper on the resale market. Find out what your right of recession is for the state you bought in.

In California it is 7 days from the day you signed the contract OR 7 days from when they send you the Public report, whichever is longer.

I rescinded after receiving the report and they are trying to say it I was past the rescinding period even though it is stated right on the Ca. Dept of Real estate form and had to get my lawyer involved.

I am 14 years old and I am a good skier. I have been skiing since I have been 4 and I ski about 50-60 times a year. I ski at a small mountain in NY and I am interested in getting sponsored. Any ideas or comapnys I should consider?

David makes a great point: Are you skiing freestyle or racing? It matters because there are different routes to take.

If you are a racer, the best way (and almost the only way) to get a sponsor is to enter races and win. At 14, your chances of getting a sponsor are slim, but if you race and can put up good times in lower division races you can try out for an Open in a couple of seasons, or enter the US Ski Team Development Program. Once you start placing well at major events the sponsors will call you. Also, if you are in any program of the US Ski Team a lot of doors open for massive discounts and free stuff, but not paying sponsorships. Since you live in NY you should look into the Empire State Games for Slalom and GS.
http://www.empirestategames.org/winter/skis.htm

If you are a Freestyler, well, the how-to works a bit differently. The LAST thing to do is send in a home-made movie to a company and hope to get a response. Ski and Board companies get THOUSANDS of videos a year and most don’t even get watched. You have really two ways to approach getting a sponsor, but going down both of these roads is usually the best bet.

First…Compete. Enter freestyle comps that have good coverage, either print media or TV (or both.) One such competition not too far from NY is the Vermont Open at Stratton. I’m not 100% sure they ran this in 2009 because I can’t find any info on it, but it used to be a pretty big deal. There was an Open at Mt. Snow last year as well. If you dig around on the various Freeskiing sites (like newschoolers.com) you can get updates and info about events. Enter…ski like mad..and place well.

Second…Market yourself to the right people. Start small. See if the owner of your local shop will front your entry fees in turn for wearing his logo on your helmet. That’s the guy to show your video too. He might be impressed enough to give you $100 and some free gear. He also knows the product reps for various companies. These are the dudes who come around to the shops and run the demo days. Those guys can’t get you a sponsorship, but they know the cats in the marketing departments at the companies. If they see your skills then they can help hook you up with the people who decide who gets the sponsorships. I used to work at those same kinds of demos and if someone approached me with a video or I saw their run we took their info and passed it right on to the marketing guys.

You can also sign up on a webpage like http://www.loopd.com and get updates on who is looking for sponsors. It’s usually small or new companies, but everyone has to start somewhere. A lot of these places want exposure, so they’ll hand out free gear as long as you use it. Friends of mine are sponsored by SnoGel. They get free SnoGel and make videos for the company of them using the product. That’s a baseline sponsorship and to be honest, that’s what a lot of the sponsorships are. The guys who get paid by the companies are pros. They’ve won a bunch of comps and got lots of exposure in mags. They’ve invented tricks and laid down first descents. This is their job and they represent about 10% of all the sponsored athletes in the snowsports world.

Start collecting smaller sponsors and build a resume. Get some exposure by starting a website after you get some sponsors and either win a bunch of comps or start skiing really crazy stuff in the backcountry. Hiring a pro photographer and hitting some killer terrain in the Adirondacks might not be a bad idea once the snow gets deep and the avalanche probability goes down. Get those pix into the magazines. Getting some pro shots of you in the terrain park will help too. Your buddy’s point-and-shoot camera won’t do the trick.

Good Luck.

I am 14 years old and I am a good skier. I have been skiing since I have been 4 and I ski about 50-60 times a year. I ski at a small mountain in NY and I am interested in getting sponsored. Any ideas or comapnys I should consider?

David makes a great point: Are you skiing freestyle or racing? It matters because there are different routes to take.

If you are a racer, the best way (and almost the only way) to get a sponsor is to enter races and win. At 14, your chances of getting a sponsor are slim, but if you race and can put up good times in lower division races you can try out for an Open in a couple of seasons, or enter the US Ski Team Development Program. Once you start placing well at major events the sponsors will call you. Also, if you are in any program of the US Ski Team a lot of doors open for massive discounts and free stuff, but not paying sponsorships. Since you live in NY you should look into the Empire State Games for Slalom and GS.
http://www.empirestategames.org/winter/skis.htm

If you are a Freestyler, well, the how-to works a bit differently. The LAST thing to do is send in a home-made movie to a company and hope to get a response. Ski and Board companies get THOUSANDS of videos a year and most don’t even get watched. You have really two ways to approach getting a sponsor, but going down both of these roads is usually the best bet.

First…Compete. Enter freestyle comps that have good coverage, either print media or TV (or both.) One such competition not too far from NY is the Vermont Open at Stratton. I’m not 100% sure they ran this in 2009 because I can’t find any info on it, but it used to be a pretty big deal. There was an Open at Mt. Snow last year as well. If you dig around on the various Freeskiing sites (like newschoolers.com) you can get updates and info about events. Enter…ski like mad..and place well.

Second…Market yourself to the right people. Start small. See if the owner of your local shop will front your entry fees in turn for wearing his logo on your helmet. That’s the guy to show your video too. He might be impressed enough to give you $100 and some free gear. He also knows the product reps for various companies. These are the dudes who come around to the shops and run the demo days. Those guys can’t get you a sponsorship, but they know the cats in the marketing departments at the companies. If they see your skills then they can help hook you up with the people who decide who gets the sponsorships. I used to work at those same kinds of demos and if someone approached me with a video or I saw their run we took their info and passed it right on to the marketing guys.

You can also sign up on a webpage like http://www.loopd.com and get updates on who is looking for sponsors. It’s usually small or new companies, but everyone has to start somewhere. A lot of these places want exposure, so they’ll hand out free gear as long as you use it. Friends of mine are sponsored by SnoGel. They get free SnoGel and make videos for the company of them using the product. That’s a baseline sponsorship and to be honest, that’s what a lot of the sponsorships are. The guys who get paid by the companies are pros. They’ve won a bunch of comps and got lots of exposure in mags. They’ve invented tricks and laid down first descents. This is their job and they represent about 10% of all the sponsored athletes in the snowsports world.

Start collecting smaller sponsors and build a resume. Get some exposure by starting a website after you get some sponsors and either win a bunch of comps or start skiing really crazy stuff in the backcountry. Hiring a pro photographer and hitting some killer terrain in the Adirondacks might not be a bad idea once the snow gets deep and the avalanche probability goes down. Get those pix into the magazines. Getting some pro shots of you in the terrain park will help too. Your buddy’s point-and-shoot camera won’t do the trick.

Good Luck.

My fiance received a fax in her office about three vacations for the price of one from the "Corporate Travel Department." She works for a rather large company, but I dont believe they have a formal travel department. I, myself, have received similar faxes in the past at my business, but have thrown them away. Considering gas prices this summer, I figure it might be worth looking into. Anyone ever done this? What was your personal experience?

Hello
I would say Scam. I’m a Police Dispatcher in U.K, and we would get loads of them at the Station. The ones we recieved , you had to fax back, at about £1+ ($2) minute for info, or it was a high price phone number to call back.

Regards Fatman

My fiance received a fax in her office about three vacations for the price of one from the "Corporate Travel Department." She works for a rather large company, but I dont believe they have a formal travel department. I, myself, have received similar faxes in the past at my business, but have thrown them away. Considering gas prices this summer, I figure it might be worth looking into. Anyone ever done this? What was your personal experience?

Hello
I would say Scam. I’m a Police Dispatcher in U.K, and we would get loads of them at the Station. The ones we recieved , you had to fax back, at about £1+ ($2) minute for info, or it was a high price phone number to call back.

Regards Fatman