Jodi spent the evening on the internet searching airports while her husband, Matt, in England was doing the same. She was in the internet café and all the stations were filled with people trying to make other plans.

She came up to the solarium and said all hotels are full, trains are full, buses are full. What we didn’t realize was that this had been going on since Thursday and we had been completely oblivious. They had nowhere to go. That’s when the seriousness of the whole thing hit me. Up till then I was joking, “Oh, you’ll have an adventure!”

I decided I’d better check Delta flights. I had my computer with me – the solarium is a ‘hotspot’. As far as I could tell there were no updates. I tried to check in and typed in all info but a message came that it couldn’t go through and to check in at the airport.

My first thought was that I had spent all that time at 60 cents a minute and I didn’t get anywhere. But when I logged off there was no screen telling me how much I had spent. Later we got a letter under our door saying phone lines and internet lines were open so people could make arrangements.
Well, I emailed home that as far as I could tell our flight was on.

I went up to the Windjammer for coffee late afternoon and overheard some folks who were from the same UK Air Force base as Jodi. They were talking about how their flights were going to be later tomorrow – but no worry.

Friday evening was our last meal together because we would be leaving the ship at different times tomorrow and would not see each other in the morning. We all ate together in main dining every night. It was nice. I really enjoyed everyone being together and main dining is not as rushed and noisy as foraging for food at the buffet. It was a great time to visit with family and for 2nd cousins to get to know each other.

After dinner we gave hugs all around because once we dispersed for the evening we wouldn’t be together again. I offered to take the kids to the solarium to swim while Jodi finished packing.

Before I went down to get the kids, Lorinda stopped by our room and said their flight was canceled because of volcanic ash in Northern Europe. The UK, where Jodi’s husband is stationed, was one of 8 countries on a list that airports were closed. Italy was not on the list. Yeah! For us. Sad for them. Aub and I were flying to JFK.

Friday:  The first I heard -
It was an all day sail. The last day of our Greek Island cruise was a kind of let down. We were due to be in port Saturday morning in Venice, Italy, to fly out of Marco Polo Airport at noon.

We slept in, had breakfast late, just did our own thing. Aubrey, my 14 year old granddaughter, found her friends. I finished my book and got it back to the ships library. Lorinda, my sister-in-law, and I did a dessert review. She would get 3 desserts and 2 plates, then we would split them and taste each one and critique them. Then we got 3 more. Out of 6, two were my favorites. She only liked one.

Aub took a ballroom dancing class and learned the rumba. Kyle, 10, my grand nephew, watched Ice Carving. Ashley, 6, my grand niece, went to the kids program and Jodi, my niece and Lorinda’s daughter, started to gather and pack the kids things and read.

In the afternoon I went to the purser’s desk to get a print out of our ship credit (Aub and I each had $100 on board credit for booking with our travel agent). We had $37.28 left, most of which we used on the internet. While waiting at the desk I noticed on the TV that a volcano had erupted in Iceland. Hmmm; this will be an interesting tidbit to bring to dinner tonight.

Se part 2 of the Vacation in Venice here.

Today we went to Dunn’s River Falls. If you have never been there, you need to go. You can climb the waterfall from the beach all the way to the top. Because were staying in Negril, we had to leave early (early for vacation), at 7:45. We then had to drive for three hours, which wasn’t bad because there was a guide who pointed out a lot of information about Jamaica.

Once we finally got to the Falls, we had to join a group. This is the third time I’d been to Dunn’s River Falls, but the first time I had to climb with a group. I wasn’t to happy. I really enjoy taking my time and exploring the waterfall, but for some reason, we weren’t allowed to go by ourselves. The guide moved so fast, that it really felt like he cared more about getting the most groups through as possible, than making sure we enjoyed it. He kept pulling us forward (about 30 people in the group), and people kept tripping and falling because he didn’t give anyone time to test their footing. Then when you fell or took to much time, he started yelling at you and splashing you.

I will never go with a group up the falls again, and I don’t recommend it unless you are too scared to try it by yourself.

After we left, we went to The Ruins in Ocho Rios for lunch.

It is a buffet, so of course I had all the Jerk chicken and pork I wanted. There was also a little three piece combo playing some music.

When we left The Ruins, the guide took us to a small straw market where they had already told someone we were coming and that person took us to their stall and made us look at their stuff instead of wandering around to see what everyone had. I have been to these markets before, but haven’t been treated like I was here and by the guide that took us (I have also never been with a guide before this trip either). We then wen to the Taj Mahal duty free shops. Nobody on the bus was really interested in shopping and they just stayed in the bus (we were waiting for others in the group to finish swimming with the dolphins), but my wife and I went out just to walk around and to stop hearing people complain on the bus.

We finally got home around 7 that night. That made for a long day.

I really was disappointed in my trip this time to Dunn’s River Falls, I like doing it by myself, and this was not fun.

I asked her to write some information on what to do when you are stuck in Venice. Here is a little about it.

Does Venice have a beach? Venice is a maze of canals but there is no apparent beach. We were stuck in Venice on our way home from a Greek Island cruise. The ash from Iceland’s active volcano in April 2010, extended our stay in Venice 5 days. The first day there were no available rooms (little did the hotels know that travelers with reservations could not get to their destinations). The only place we could find a room that first night was Hotel Helvetia on Lido Island. Viola! Lido is the location of Venice’s beach! We walked up Gran Viale from our hotel to the public beach on the Gulf of Venice.

April is a little too cool for me to swim, the water and 70 degree air not being warmed by the sun yet. A couple had camped overnight on the beach and the woman was swimming. Someone recently told me that years ago they were on that beach and it was filthy. But it is clean and inviting, now. The wide sand beach is very flat, gradually spreading out into the water giving the appearance of gradual depth. The surf was calm under overcast morning skies. We wanted to stay longer but had to hurry back for our transportation back to Venice.

• Carlton Grand Canal Hotel in Venice -140E a day
• Hotel Helvetia on Lido-85E
• Venice-Lido is 15 minute public waterbus ride from Venice

Add Beach Bum Paradise to your feed to see the next few stories from Venice and the Greek Islands.

The page links to VRBO.com, but the listing has changed, here is the right page for the Aloha Island Coffee guest house.

What a view.

However, they have some rules that you won’t find in many places. No children under 12 at all. children up to age 25 must be accompanied by an adult. That’s pretty strict, but that’s the rules. They obviously are trying to create a relaxing atmosphere, and realize that not everyone finds small children relaxing. They are also concerned about the pool being so close to the house that it would be a safety hazard for small children.

I definitely want to try go to this place. My wife said that Jamaica was great, but she really wants to go to Hawaii, and I think I’ve already found the place to go.

Here are some more posts about Hawaii:

• Top 10 Beaches in America 2009
• Inexpensive and Cheap Vacations
• The World’s Sexiest and Most Beautiful Beaches of 2008

These listing are based on the Tripadvisor reviews from people who actually stayed at the hotels. I’ve included some of the reviews for you.

Heritage Marina Hotel, San Francisco, CA

“…when I stood in the shower and felt water drip on my head. From the shower head? No, from a crack in the ceiling where water was pouring out from the shower above. In the duration of staying there, one of my teammates almost got in a fight with a hooker, we were nearly accosted by a pimp, referred to as Wood Grain, and met a lovely group of heroin addicts at the continental breakfast.”

“…I found a small bed bug in my bed and noticed some bites on my arm. Little did I know just how many times I had I been bitten until I returned to Beijing. I eventually needed to go to the emergency Room two days after my return because I had been bitten over 100 times!!!”

Days Inn Eureka/Six Flags, Eureka, MI

“All kinds of nastiness smeared on walls; All species of dried substances on the carpets – some of it dried body fluids! A stench that would make a homeless guy who hadn`t washed in a decade GAG! … If you have a mother-in-law you HATE, then buy her a weeks stay at this [--]!

“Should of stayed in the car. So dirty I used a couple of tissues over my hand to touch light switches, faucets, clock radio, remote… Slept in regular clothes, didn’t bother to bring in suitcases. Didn’t want them touching the floor. Used a blanket from car on top of the bed to sleep on,was sure to remove the bedspread (yuck!) and place blanket on top of the sheets and then threw it out later. We left at 4 in the morning just to get out of the place.”

Tropicana Resort Hotel, Virginia Beach, VA

“Dirty, smelly, noisy,,, it’s got it all…If you’ve ever been to a spring break hotel where alcohol, puke, and BO are the primary smells you’ll have an idea as to what to expect here.”

“A member of the staff is a peeping tom! When we checked in, the Manager offered us a free upgrade to the “Honeymoon Suite”. It was a set up. The “Honeymoon Suite” had a vacant room next door that was “under construction”. I was undressed to get into my swimsuit and heard breathing. I felt someone staring at me. I looked under the big gap under the adjoining room door. I saw eyes looking back at me!”

Super 8 Virginia Beach/At the Ocean, Virginia Beach, VA

“The room smelled, the sheets looked used, even though the bed had been made, the carpet was disgusting, and I used the bathroom wastebasket to smash an enormous cockroach that was climbing the wall when I woke up.”

“Here is the progression of our stay: Check in, go to room, leave room, go to front desk, get money back, find the Sea Gull Motel across the street. Yeah..it was that bad.”

Quality Inn, Stroudsburg, PA

“One comforter had BLOOD stains….the other had “fluid” stains of some sort. We examined the mattresses and found them to be pretty new. My husband went to wash his face and dry it–only to find pubic hair in the towel!!”

“I will tell you that when we found a used rubber in the corner of the room that was it .”

New York Inn, New York City, NY

“This was a place that the neighborhood residents tried to have shut down for years. It was a hangout for crack users, cheap hookers, and scum of every kind.”

“The problem with thin walls is the [prostitute] issue, I could hear people having sex all night long. Kind of funny, but if I was with a spouse, this would have really creeped her out.”

Parisian Hotel & Suites, Miami Beach, FL

“The carpet made my feet black. The rooms set up looked worse than a poor single college guys dorm room… The towels were small and thin scraggly things you’d probably use to wash your car with… The place was over run with … people who were constantly yelling and screaming, making noise, banging on doors, running up and down the hall ways at all hours of the night. Some were even hanging out in the hall ways sitting on the floor.”

“Old, shower didn’t work right, dirty, bed was old and dippy, sink 6 inches into the mattress. Only five channels on the tv, one sports, one spanish.”

Capistrano Seaside Inn, Capistrano Beach, CA

“The first thing we were hit with was the smell — musty with an underlying odor of pet urine. (We found pet stains in the corner a few minutes later.) … The bathroom was disgusting — black mold/mildew in the shower, sink and toilet and ratty old towels that looked as if they’d been there for years. The same was true with the bedding, except they had other unknown stains and were threadbare. The carpet was so dirty we couldn’t determine the color and the thought of walking on it barefoot was out of the question.”

“This place is a total dump! Filthy, filthy, filthy! I will be reporting this place to the Department of Health and every other agency I can think of. Not to code either, no emergency exit plan posted on the door. Grime built up on towel racks, door, wall.”

Desert Lodge, Palm Springs, CA

“The temp. was around 112 that day, and the air conditioning did not work. I am surprised that motels of this nature can even remain in business.”

“If you have an enemy, buy them a room here. If you want to show your in-laws that you don’t like or care about them, have them stay here. If you want to see what it feels like to live in hell, stay here for one night.”

Continental Oceanfront Hotel South Beach, Miami Beach, FL

“The chairs in the room were all stained brown, I hope to hell it was from coffee. The carpets were dirty and duct taped where they were torn.”

“…vending machines had signs out of order during the day, to force you to buy out of the restaurant at much higher prices. However once the restaurant closed the signs were taken off the vending machines.”

Those are some nasty places. Have you had an experience with a dirty hotel? Let us know about it in the comments.

In spite of that, this is the best time to plan for a summer vacation. USA Today had an article about booking your 2010 vacation now. They list a few types of vacations and the best time to plan for them.

Book Cruises

There are many fans of cruises, my parents included. They are easy as there is no driving around, and you can have anything from food to floor shows anytime you want.

The tips are book soon if you need special accommodations or want certain dates. If you aren’t that particular, then booking closer to the cruise can help you get some deals.

According to Carolyn Spencer Brown, Editor in Chief at Cruise Critic, “Definitely keep an eye on wave season [January through March] deals, which are more oriented toward offering value than the deepest discounts. You may pay more for a cabin than you would at the veritable last minute, but you might also get free air thrown in, which sort of mitigates the issue.” She recommends to book your summer cruise during January through March.

Book Vacation Rentals

Like cruises, vacation rental availability can depend on where you are going. If you are going to Cape Cod, or the Caribbean you should start trying to book a vacation rental six months before you want to go. I looked at vacation rental houses when we went to Jamaica, and I was very tempted. They aren’t just a hotel room, you can get a full house with all the amenities, which is great if you are traveling with people who aren’t family.

If you are looking to go somewhere that might not be as popular, you can wait until much closer to the time you want to go.

The article from USA Today then goes on to talk about Europe and National Parks, but I going to stop here. Do you have any tips on when to book your vacation?

For example, this Tree House in India;

Wild. That would be a pretty cool place to stay. I’d feel like Tarzan.

How about this one, an underwater lodge in Florida;

Now that is cool. Except for the divers looking in the porthole, I would stay here anytime.

Check out the Unusual Hotels site and tell us if you have stayed anywhere you think should be on their list.

Mazunte, Mexico

Originally known for the turtles coming ashore, and therefor turtle meat and turtle soup, Mexico has since declared Mazunte a reserve, and the area has started to focus on sustainable eco-tourism. So if you are in to saving the planet, but doing it from the comfort of a beach, then this is for you.

Goa, India

Goa, India has a number of beaches. From very well touristed beaches to secluded ones. If you can find a spot for yourself, you could definitely enjoy the view.

Skiathos, Greece

Back to the Mediterranean, to Skiathos, Greece. Skiathos is a small island that is a protected environment, so it will never see much development. That is excellent news for those wanting to head to the beach. It will always be a very natural beach setting.

Ambergris Caye, Belize

Ambergris Caye is the largest island in Belize, which is in the Caribbean. No matter what you like to do, you can find it here. Exploring Mayan ruins, trekking through the jungle, snorkeling and scuba on the second largest coral reef in the world, and of course, swimming in the Caribbean and laying on the beach.

Hawksnest Bay, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands

Hawknest Bay Beach is a National Park Beach. That means no hotels, no restaurants, no resorts no interruptions. Just you and the beach. Maybe some coral formations and forests and rocks to climb, but mostly the beach.

Santa Catarina, Brazil

If you are into surfing, then you definitely want to check out Sanata Catarina, Brazil. Many international surfing championships have been held here, and you can get a piece of the action. Also, Brazilian nightlife, beaches, the southern Atlantic, what else would you want?

Montauk, Long Island, New York

At the end of Long Island, Montauk claims to be one of the best spots in East Hampton. If anyone has watched the new USA Network show Royal Pains, you’ll have seen the Hamptons. However, it stretches the truth a bit, the median income is around $42,000, not millions. Although quite a bit north of many of our other beaches, it does have a warmer climate zone than you would think. Plus, on a clear day you can see Rhode Island.