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Tuesday, November 20, 2012

How to Plan a Multi-Generational Cruise for your Family

by Anne Supsic

Published on the Viator Travel Blog on November 12, 2012

Multi-generational travel is quite the buzz word in tourism these days, but it’s really just a fancy term for getting the whole extended family together for a trip. That’s not to say that this is easy though. Planning our 12-person, 3-generation cruise to Bermuda was one of the most difficult projects I’ve ever undertaken (and I was a Project Manager for 25 years!). But the results exceeded every expectation.

Here are eight tips for enjoying a multi-generational trip of your own:

1. Start your planning early



You can easily spend an entire year preparing for a trip like this. By starting early, you allow plenty of time to work through all the issues and assess the level of commitment from your family. In our case, everyone was enthusiastic from the start, but we still had to deal with different travel styles, school and work schedules, and various personal concerns (including fear of flying). Do not underestimate the work required – an extended family trip entails a Herculean planning effort that will often feel as if you are herding cats.

2. Choose your destination wisely


At the dock in Bermuda. 
Photo credit: Lorraine Carey

There are lots of good travel destinations suitable for large family groups from island getaways to Disney World. We considered them all but finally settled on a cruise to Bermuda.The island of Bermuda had an immediate appeal for us with its low-key family-oriented character and its location close to our eastern seaboard.

Cruising offered some obvious advantages: plenty of activities for everyone and no worries about planning meals for our tribe of twelve. Plus in our case, we were able to avoid air travel since our cruise departed from Cape Liberty, New Jersey about 100 miles from our home. But other, more lasting, benefits only became apparent after we were onboard the ship.

3. Obtain commitments and get your documents in order




Obtain commitments and get your documents.
 Photo credit: Frank Supsic




















Once you have chosen a destination, you need to focus on three goals: selecting a date, getting a total commitment from each family member, and obtaining all required documents for everyone. Be sure to solicit feedback when you set your date – you will need to consider school calendars, work schedules, and personal preferences.

If you are traveling outside the country, a top priority will be making sure that everyone has a passport. This effort alone took us almost six months. As an additional safeguard, we stored all the documents in our home–didn’t want anyone showing up on departure day sans passport!

Another important consideration is whether your group includes minor children traveling without both their parents–a common occurrence in today’s ‘modern families.’ When one parent takes a minor child out of the country, it is a good idea to obtain a notarized Letter of Parental Consent from the missing parent. Sample Letters of Parental Consent are available online at websites such as Single Parent Travel. In addition, if the child’s last name is different from the last name of the parent with whom they are traveling, you must bring the child’s birth certificate (to prove the link between parent and child via legal documentation).

Note that a Consent Letter signed by both parents and a Medical Authorization are also recommended for grandparents taking a minor child out of the country.

And don’t forget to purchase Trip Insurance. We bought our trip insurance through the cruise line to ensure that if one family member had an emergency, we could cancel the trip for the whole gang. As part of gaining commitment, it is critical that you explain to your family that trip insurance only covers true emergencies–no last minute take backs allowed!

4. Keep up the enthusiasm



Land of the 'Onions' viewed from Gibbs Lighthouse.
Photo credit: Ben Corbin




















During the long months before your trip, you can keep up the enthusiasm by sharing tidbits of trip information with your family. Prior to our cruise, we sent ‘Cruise Countdown’ emails to our crew, preparing them by discussing topics such as shipboard amenities (e.g. three swimming pools and a rock climbing wall) and interesting facts about Bermuda, like the islanders referring to themselves as ‘Onions.’

Another idea is to give the little ones trip-oriented gifts for birthdays or holidays. Snorkeling equipment and laminated fish identification cards were perfect for our soon-to-be beach bums. But the best pre-trip present, for any age group, is a travel journal. Not only does journaling develop writing skills but it helps you to capture your impressions and relive your experiences creating the most cherished souvenir of all.

5. Provide transportation



Riding in luxury in our executive van.
Photo credit: Frank Supsic




















You can minimize the risk of late arrivals (and save yourself some major stress) by providing all transportation. The best way to simplify the transport issue is to contact a limousine service. Have all family members meet at one location and then proceed to your departure point (i.e. airport or cruise port) in one vehicle.

For our trip to the pier in New Jersey, I arranged for an executive van to transport all of us in style. Everyone gathered at our home well ahead of time (with a home cooked breakfast providing an added incentive). Some even arrived the night before to get a jump on the festivities. Then on the morning of our departure, we all climbed into the van for the ride to the ship. This was a practical solution, and a fun way to kick off our adventure.

6. Balance your time



Taking the challenge of the ship's rock climbing wall.
Photo credit: Frank Supsic




















The secret to a successful multi-generational trip is finding a balance between individual and group time. You don’t want to suffocate your family members with constant togetherness; it’s important to give each person some room to breathe. One of the many advantages of cruising was that our group had the run of the ship with a remarkable array of activities for every taste from miniature golf to ice skating or ping pong. However, it’s also a good idea to build in some time together. In our case, we had reserved seating in the Main Dining Room each night so we could enjoy one family meal together every day. This was a real treat and gave everybody a chance to exchange stories and catch up on the day’s happenings.

To provide a basic structure for the trip, I created a one-page ‘Bermuda Schedule’ that I distributed to everyone. This simple schedule outlined the key events for each day, such as when we would dock in Bermuda, details on prearranged excursions, and a reminder to be back on board by 3:30 p.m. on the day the ship sailed for home! The schedule also included our 6:00 p.m. family dinner time and a list of each family’s cabin numbers.

7. Find the perfect excursions



Idyllic beaches of Bermuda's South Shore.
Photo credit: Lorraine Carey




















We thought Bermuda was an ideal location for a family group because this small island is easy to get around and yet offers plenty of activities for every age and interest. Of course the beaches are the primary draw, but the younger set can also explore an underground cave, check out historical reenactments in St George, or roam around an old British fort. Active types may want to hike the Bermuda Railway Trail or spend an afternoon on the golf course, while the more sedate can browse through the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art or wander the beautiful Botanical Gardens.

For our two days in Bermuda, we scheduled a snorkeling outing as our one group activity, and we also gave each family the option of one excursion on their own. Two of our couples opted for horseback riding along the beach while the rest of us rented a minivan for an island tour. Later that day, we all ended up on the South Island beaches reveling in the talcum-soft pink sand and the crystalline blue waters.

8. Relax and enjoy


Relax and enjoy!
Photo credit: Sarah Pereira




















The reward for all your hard work will be having your whole family gathered around you. For me, standing together on the deck of that ship for the first time (feeling relieved and amazed that everyone was there) will always rank near the top of my ‘great moments in life’ list. And that was just the beginning. The best thing about a multi-generational family adventure is the opportunity for day-after-day togetherness (without the distractions of hectic schedules and handheld electronics). Like us, your utmost joy will probably be simply watching your family enjoying each other.

We could never have predicted how much our family would love being on a ship. There is something magical about being surrounded by nothing but the endless rippling sea. Our greatest pleasures were the simplest ones. Eating dinner together each night was a delight, and the hot tub became a favorite after-dinner hangout. The helipad served as our very own ‘stargazing central’ – a perfect spot at the bow of the ship where aspiring astronomers and ardent romantics could witness a starry, starry night (with no competing man-made lighting).

Our family voyage was not a perfect trip – toilets overflowed and choppy water thwarted our plans for snorkeling over a shipwreck. But it was a perfect family experience. My husband and I have traveled all over the world, and this was our best trip ever.

Photos may not be used without permission.
– Anne Supsic

10 More of the World's Most Fascinating Cemeteries

By Anne Supsic

Published on Bootsnall.com on October 25, 2012

What is this fascination with cemeteries? Is it curiosity about what comes next or a desire to understand those who lived before us? If you suffer from this obsession with the great beyond, you are not alone. Our “affliction” even has a name: taphophilia – which means an interest in cemeteries and gravestone art. I like to believe that we are just thinking ahead – maybe we want to get a jump on that future “meet and greet.” As novelist Dean Koontz wrote, “The dead are merely the countrymen of my future.”

Last year’s article on this subject, 12 of the World’s Most Fascinating Cemeteries, elicited a lot of comments, and many of you offered up your own favorite burial grounds. So this year, I have assembled a second list of dead zones as recommended by BootsNall readers. And the results are…



1.  Merry Cemetery in Sapanta, Romania





The Merry Cemetery sparkles like a colorful garden with distinctive blue crosses decorated with brightly painted pictures representing the life (or sometimes the death) of the deceased. These descriptive crosses create a “picture book” of peasant life depicting scenes such as a man chopping wood, a farmer riding his tractor, a girl leaning over her loom, and a policeman giving one final salute.

First created by Stan Ion Patras in 1935, the crosses stand about 5-feet tall and are often topped with a triangular roof. The crosses feature a painting in the center and a personal epitaph below. The sweet, simple paintings are surrounded by designs in symbolic colors: yellow for fertility, red for passion, green for life, and black for untimely death. However, the dominate color is always blue — the color of hope and freedom, expressing the belief in a better life in the next world. Patras also wrote most of the first-person epitaphs, and the heartfelt words perfectly complement the childlike paintings. His work is still carried on today by a faithful apprentice.

The witty epitaphs can be funny like this one: “Underneath this heavy cross lies my mother-in-law… Try not to wake her up for if she comes back home, she’ll bite my head off.”

Or poignant like this epitaph for a three-year old girl, displayed beneath a painting of her being hit by a car:

“Burn in hell you bloody taxi
That came from Sibiu town
Of all the places in the world
You had to hurtle down
Right by our house, and hit me so
That I was sent to death below
And left my parents full of woe.”

2.  Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.




This cemetery that opened in 1849 was made famous in Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” and the town is filled with references to the “headless one.” Fittingly, Irving is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery near the setting of his most famous creation. Other famous residents include titans of industry like Andrew Carnegie, Walter Chrysler, and William Rockefeller (his supersized monument looks like a bank).

The infamous are here too with Leona Helmsley, the “Queen of Mean,” topping the list. Leona is buried alongside her late husband, Harry, in a $1.4 million mausoleum boasting a stained-glass panorama of the Manhattan skyline. She and Harry built a real estate empire together, and she became known for her arrogance and abrasiveness. According to a former housekeeper, Leona once said, “Only the little people pay taxes.” Leona was proven wrong in 1989 when she was convicted of federal income tax evasion and sentenced to four years in prison. Clearly not much of a people person, Leona left her fortune of $12 million to her dog, an 8-year-old Maltese named Trouble.

Finally for all you Dark Shadows fans, the 1970’s cult classic House of Dark Shadows was filmed here. In fact, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery’s receiving vault (where bodies are stored prior to burial) snagged a starring role as the crypt of Barnabas Collins.


3.  National Cemetery in Havana, Cuba





Also known as Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón this elegant cemetery named for Christopher Columbus contains more than 500 major mausoleums, chapels, and family vaults. In the late 1800’s, Havana was one of the richest cities in the Caribbean, and this grandiose cemetery incited a competition among the wealthy to out-do one another in honoring their dead.

A magnificent triple-arched entranceway called the “Gate of Peace” leads to broad boulevards lined with elaborate marble sculptures and displaying every conceivable architectural style from Italian Renaissance to Egyptian Revival. The highest monument (75 ft.) is the poignant Monumento a los Bomberos dedicated to the 27 firemen who lost their lives in the Great Fire on May 17, 1890 when gunpowder exploded in a warehouse fire.

The most famous occupant is Doña Amelia, a 23-year-old woman who died giving birth to a stillborn child. Legend has it that she was buried with the child at her feet, but years later when the casket was reopened, the baby was cradled in her mother’s arms. Today Amelia is referred to as “La Milagrosa” (The Miraculous Lady). She is considered a symbol of motherly love, and her gravesite is always strewn with flowers from mothers imploring “La Milagrosa” for help with their children.

4.  Gallipoli Canakkale War Cemeteries on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey




The Battle of Gallipoli, one of the most tragic episodes of WWI, took place between April and December of 1915. The joint British and French campaign was a failed attempt to take the peninsula and open up a supply route to Russia. The fighting resulted in horrific losses: 250,000 Turkish soldiers and another 250,000 from Australia, New Zealand, England, and France.
The battle was a defining moment in Turkish history that led the way for Turkish independence. It was also the first major engagement for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), and April 25th, ANZAC Day, is venerated as a national holiday in both countries.

The battlefield area contains 31 cemeteries, including the sorrowful Lone Pine Memorial, where a single pine still stands commemorating the more than 4,900 Australian and New Zealand soldiers who died without gravesites here. At the time of the battle, the Turkish soldiers had chopped down all the trees except for one solitary pine. Although that tree did not survive the furious hand-to-hand combat, ANZAC soldiers collected pine cones, and descendants of the original lone pine now grow in Australia and New Zealand.
A striking three-tiered tower marks the Turkish 57th Infantry Regiment Memorial. The Turkish troops were out of ammunition and reduced to fighting with only their bayonets when Staff Lieutenant-Colonel Mustafa Kemal (later known as Ataturk) gave this famous command, “I do not order you to attack, I order you to die.” Every soldier in the regiment was either killed or wounded, and none of them survived the war. However, the 57th did halt the ANZAC advance, and to honor them, no 57th Regiment has existed in the Turkish army since.

5.  Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia




A burial ground since 1794, Bonaventure Cemetery is a Southern Gothic fantasy come true with sad angels and odd tombstones surrounded by 250-year-old oak trees draped in Spanish moss. Oscar Wilde called the cemetery “incomparable,” and author John Berendt immortalized it in his book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (also made into a movie by Clint Eastwood). Residents include the famous songwriter Johnny Mercer, who wrote the lyrics for “Moon River,” and 343 Holocaust victims, whose ashes were recovered from a Nazi labor camp in Germany.

One of the loveliest statues is also the saddest. Poor Corinne Elliott Lawton fell in love with the wrong man, someone her father thought was beneath her. She committed suicide the night before her marriage to a more suitable guy (Daddy’s choice) by jumping off a cliff near the cemetery and drowning in the creek below.

This cemetery also has a reputation as one of the most haunted places in America, and the eeriest gravesites belongs to Little Gracie Watson, a 6-year-old girl who died of pneumonia. The life-size image on her grave will break your heart, and it is said that sometimes you can hear Gracie softly sobbing and calling out for her parents. Visitors have been known to leave toys for Gracie, and some say she cries tears of blood if anyone tries to take her presents. Don’t forget to watch out for the pack of ghost dogs that supposedly chase unwanted visitors out of the cemetery – keep an ear out for vicious barking and the sounds of running paws!


6.  Mt. Hope Cemetery in Rochester, N.Y.




Mt. Hope Cemetery is known as one of the most remarkable Victorian cemeteries in America. This peaceful resting place, that blazes with color during autumn, contains 82 mausoleums and 350,000 graves. Trailblazers dominate the list of inhabitants including Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglass, Hartwell Carver M.D. (father of the transcontinental railroad), and little known George Seldon, who claims he invented the automobile.

George Seldon designed an internal combustion engine and was granted a U.S. patent for an automobile in 1895, which allowed him to collect royalties from all American automobile companies (even though George had never gone into production). All went well until Henry Ford arrived on the scene, and Henry refused to pay. The result was a 9-year court battle that dominated headlines all across the country – and provided Henry with lots of free publicity for his Model T. George’s patent was eventually overturned on appeal; however, many believe that his remarkable vision prompted the horseless revolution.


7.  Hanging coffins of Sagada, Philippines




Sagada is located in a remote area roughly six hours north of Manila. For 2,000 years, the people in this area have been placing their dead in coffins that hang from the sheer limestone cliffs. Supported by steel bars, the coffins dot the cliffs like barnacles perched at remarkable heights and often in precarious positions.

The unusual Sagada funerary tradition begins when the coffins are carved from hollowed out logs by either the elderly (in anticipation of their deaths) or by family members. After death, the corpse is smoked for five days (to preserve it), and then it is stuffed into the log coffin, often cracking or even breaking bones in the process. The whole works is then hoisted into position on the cliff face.

The odd hanging position may have been intended to elevate the body as close to heaven as possible. Of course eventually the coffins deteriorate and come crashing down to earth.


8.  Mirogoj Cemetery in Zagreb, Croatia




Mirogoj is considered one of Europe’s most beautiful cemeteries, with graceful arcades, stunning green cupolas, and masterpieces of funereal art. The cemetery is known as the Croatian Pantheon because so many famous Croats are buried here. A distinctive feature of Mirogoj is the total lack of segregation – atheists, Jews, Arabs, and Catholics are all buried side-by-side in a remarkable display of diversity that the living might want to emulate.

One of the most famous inhabitants is Dražen Petrovic, Croatia’s greatest basketball player. He was killed when a truck driver in an oncoming lane fell asleep and rammed into his car. Dražen was only 29-years-old when he died, but he is remembered as the “Croatian Mozart” because he turned basketball into an art form.

The best time to visit this cemetery is on All Saints Day, when the people of Zagreb honor those who have passed away by visiting their final home. At twilight, Mirogoj glows in the light of thousands of candles placed on the graves of loved ones.


9.  Cemetery of San Michele in Venice, Italy




Venetians win top honors for the most unusual funeral processions, with flower-covered caskets traveling by boat to the tiny cemetery island of San Michele. With limited space, bodies only stay a few years before the remains are exhumed and stored in an ossuary – unless of course, you are a famous inhabitant like Igor Stravinsky or Ezra Pound, who have both been honored with permanent residency.

A funeral in Venice usually begins with a mass followed by a somber walk to the waiting barge, where the casket and all the flowers are loaded for one final voyage. Mourners, dressed in black, trail the funeral barge in water taxis as the body makes its way over the waves to the cemetery island.If you come here, be aware that the Cemetery of San Michele is a functioning cemetery, where most of the burials are recent and grieving families far outnumber tourists.


10.  Abney Park Cemetery in Stoke Newington near London




Abney Park is one of the so called “Magnificent Seven” London cemeteries built in the 19th century to alleviate overcrowded burial grounds within the city limits. The park was designed as a unique combination of cemetery and arboretum, with 2,500 varieties of trees and shrubs – all properly labeled and arranged in alphabetical order.

Today, the park is unkempt and overgrown, creating a riotously romantic atmosphere – a real taphophile delight. An 1840 Gothic chapel, the first nondenominational chapel in Europe, lies abandoned after a fire destroyed the interior. The hauntingly beautiful outer shell is surrounded by dilapidated headstones and vine-covered tombs, epitomizing the phrase “dust to dust.”

One of the most moving monuments is the Blitz Memorial, listing the names of the Stoke Newington residents who were killed on October 13, 1940 when a German bomb hit a crowded air raid shelter. Most of the people who had sought safety here were killed, including many Jews, some of whom had escaped from the Nazis.

Photos by: premus, Simply Abbey, zoonabar, laszlo-photo, Redden-McAllister, Gruenemann, The Dilly Lama, Panoramas, Rui Ornelas, Oliver N5