Winter Travel Ideas

Are you thinking of enjoying a cruise vacation this winter? Steve Stern has sailed on more than 750 ships so it is a fair assessment to call him an authority on cruise vacations. Whether you are planning to sail the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, the South Seas, Alaska, Southeast Asia, or the waterways of Europe, Stern’s guide to the cruise vacation, 2012 edition is a comprehensive guide, with details on all aspects of cruise ship travel. Updated annually, this edition lists descriptive information for all major cruise ships including each vessel’s history, vital statistics, appearance, itineraries, price range, and sport, dining, and medical facilities. Stern evaluates every detail using a star ranking as well as ratings in eleven specific categories. More than two hundred photographs of ships, decks, and interiors are included, along with actual ship menus and daily activity programs for each featured cruise line. This guide can assist you in selection the ship best suited to your taste, advises you on how to prepare for your cruise, and explains what to expect once you are onboard. Stern discusses every major port of call worldwide, listing details on attractions, beaches, hotels, restaurants, shopping, sports, and other recreation. He also includes guidelines on how to make the most of any eight-hour stay in port. People who’ve never cruised before or those who have but find themselves faced with a confusing onslaught of new ships need to know a great deal, and this book will go a long way in providing it.








The Muskoka Lakes Public Library in Port Carling has added other new travel books to the collection including Birnhaum’s Walt Disney World: expert advice from the inside source which includes up-to-date information on prices, changes, and new attractions for 2012, Frommer’s Italy, Fodor’s Caribbean. If you are planning on staying closer to home then Canada’s national parks and National Geographic guide to the national parks of Canada are worthwhile options.

A big thank you goes out to the Cranberry Festival which once again awarded money to the Muskoka Lakes Public Library Bala branch to add to the collection of books available for check out.

The Christmas season is fast approaching and the library has plenty of resources to help you to enjoy it—from entertaining ideas to gift making ideas, in books as well as current magazines which are chock full of great ideas. The Muskoka Lakes Public Library will be closed December 24, 25, 26, 27, 31, and January 1, 2 with regular operating hours for all other dates.