Daily travel deal – 7 day Bermuda cruise from New York for $540

by Scott Carmichael on

What better way to kick off Spring than a 7 day round trip cruise from New York to Bermuda? You’ll sail on board the Norwegian Dawn, and get to enjoy all the amenities on this ship.

Spend your time in one of the three pools, or enjoy a bite to eat in one of the 12 different restaurants or nine bars

Or how about losing some of that buffet weight in the fitness center? At night, you can be entertained in the Broadway theater or trying your luck in the casino.

This 7 day cruise starts at just $539, depending on the room level you select. To make the deal even better, you are even eligible for a shipboard credit ($25 for in inside room, up to $250 for the largest rooms). And if that isn’t enough, if you are an AFL/CIO union member, you may even be eligible for an even lower rate!

Remember, these cruises include all your meals, so for just over $75 you get a room and all your meals and entertainment, and because the cruise leaves from New York, residents of that area won’t have to invest anything extra in flying to a port.

The ship spends 3 days in Bermuda, which should leave you with plenty of time to enjoy the island, and because your “hotel” is parked in the port, you only have to unpack and pack once.

The price quoted is a “from” price, and depends on your date of departure, availability and room category. Quoted prices do not include taxes or additional fees.

Cruising not your cup of tea? Check out our other top travel deals!

Learn Norwegian in an hour

by Jerry Guo on

Misleading headline? Well, I just came upon a wonderfully detailed post arguing that Norwegian is the easiest language for English-speakers, to learn. This followed up on an equally fresh post from last week in which the poster explained why Persian/Farsi (two languages for which the CIA is desperately looking for translators) happen to be easier to learn than most people think.

Anyways, back to Norwegian. The guy’s basic points are:

  • It’s a Germanic language
  • But with simpler grammar than other Germanic language
  • And a word order that more closely mirrors English

You’ll have to read the original post for the many examples. After an hour of this stuff, you’ll probably feel like you have a rudimentary grasp of Norwegian! Great way to introduce a language.

It’s Important to Type the Name of Your Desintation Correctly

by Martha Edwards on

I recently came across this story about three Norwegian tourists who planned a trip to Rhodes in Greece, only to end up in the French town of Rodez instead. They booked their trip through the Internet, you see, and made a mistake when typing the destination. Despite efforts of Rodez locals to make their stay pleasant, the confused tourists promptly returned to Norway.

But while Rodez probably doesn’t have beaches, at least it’s still in Europe — I think the mistake could have been much more profound. They could’ve ended up in Rhode Island, or maybe even Greece, New York. Imagine the shock if they had booked a trip to Paris, France and ended up in Paris, Ontario? I’m sure the Canadian town is lovely but it’s not exactly a bustling metropolis. Or say you wanted to visit family in Memphis, TN, and ended up in Memphis, Egypt?

The point it, there are wayyyy to many similarly-named places in the world. Consider this fair warning an be careful the next time you book a trip online.

Word for the Travel Wise (10/04/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

After checking out the Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center the other day it feels like a given to provide you with this nugget of Norwegian knowledge.

Today’s word is a Norwegian word used in Norway:

hjemkomst – ( pronounced yem-komst) homecoming

Norwegian is a Germanic language spoken by some 4.6 million people in Norway. It is closely related to Swedish and Danish. There are two form of Norwegian; book language or Bokmål and new-Norwegian or Nynorsk. To learn Norwegian online go to Wiki for background details; then head off to Omniglot for a brief look at the alphabet and pronunciation guide. The link here provides you with a number of web resources for learning the language of Norway. Their list includes, Web TV, audio, colleges, etc. BBC Quick Fix has some of the basics with audio. Pimsleur Language CD’s are great if you have the extra cash to spend, otherwise pick up the Lonely Planet phrasebook before you take off.

Past Norwegian words: hoytid / selskap

Word for the Travel Wise (08/25/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

This September 29-October 15 festival lovers can sing to a fine Norwegian tune or any tune they so desire (so long as the crowd doesn’t have to suffer) during the Ultima Contemporary Music Festival in Olso. This year’s festival will focus on Japanese music. It will feature more than 50 Japanese artists, dancers, musicians and composers to showcase varied presentations of the performing arts in Japan today. Sounds pretty unique and worth checking out.

Today’s word is a Norwegian word used in Norway:

hoytid / selskap – festival

I included both of these because both came up in my English to Norwegian translation request on TriTrans.

Norwegian is a Germanic language spoken by some 4.6 million people in Norway. It is closely related to Swedish and Danish. There are two form of Norwegian; book language or Bokmål and new-Norwegian or Nynorsk. To learn Norwegian online go to Wiki for background details; then head off to Omniglot for a brief look at the alphabet and pronunciation guide. The link here provides you with a number of web resources for learning the language of Norway. Their list includes, Web TV, audio, colleges, etc. BBC Quick Fix has some of the basics with audio. Pimsleur Language CD’s are great if you have the extra cash to spend, otherwise pick up the Lonely Planet phrasebook before you take off.