ITS NOT ALL ABOUT THE HIGH SEAS Part Two ……

Last time I talked about how more and more people are doing a land based extension along with their cruise. As I mentioned, New York is so popular as a lot of cruise lines now sail from there but what about other cities than you can add on with a little cheap internal flight.

The most popular of these at the moment is Las Vegas. It is now so easy to twin a quick 4 or 5 night stay in Las Vegas before joining the cruise ship in Los Angeles or further a field in New Orleans or Florida. American Airlines, Delta and many other US airlines offer numerous direct flights every day for fantastic prices. The  main place to stay is obviously on the world famous Las Vegas strip. Each of the hotels are based on different themes or places and you literally spend your time walking around them and taking in the sights and sounds.

Las Vegas is not a very relaxing trip. You are constantly on the go, walking around, catching the mono rail to save your sore feet and literally squeezing in as much sightseeing as you possibly can squeeze in. If you are visiting there for the first time below are my Top Five things to do:

1. Make sure to visit Fremont Visit:  This is a street in Downtown Las Vegas where the original Casino’s from the Brat Pack era are located. Elvis was a frequent visitor and in 1964 he filmed the nighttime scenes from Viva Las Vegas here. Now there is a 12.5 million LED screen roof along the street to preserve it and a zip line that sits 10 stories above the pedestrian area. Light shows are every hour from 6pm to 1am and you will spend a fantastic evening there soaking up the history of old las Vegas

2. Hotel Hopping : During the Day and night times you will find yourself literally hopping from one hotel to another. They are all based on different themes and you can expect to enjoy Gondola rides at the Venetian, stroll through ancient Egypt at the Luxor or ride a roller coaster through the streets of New York.

3. Bellagio Fountains : The dancing fountains at the Bellagio Hotel were made really famous by the closing scenes in the popular Oceans Eleven film. They are mesmerising and thousands of people gather every day to watch the water dancing away to classical music. The show is on every 30 minutes from 3-8 pm daily and every 15 minutes from 8pm to midnight. More than a thousand fountains dance and the display spans more than 1,000 feet soaring as high as 460 feet in the air.

4. Get the perfect view of the strip from the top of the Eiffel Tower, well the one at the Paris hotel anyway:  The viewing deck of the Eiffel Tower is open daily from 10 am to 0100 am. Tickets start at $16 per person but there are loads of offers and discounts there locally including 2 for 1 so there is no excuse not to see the strip from the observation deck located 46 stories above the crowds. It will give you the perfect 360 degrees view of Las Vegas and beyond.

(Video from Paris Las Vegas website)

5. Find your hidden Treasure: The main strip can be a frenzied scene and the heat – wow – don’t forget Las Vegas is located in a desert and the heat around 3-5 pm can be over whelming. We found a real diamond of a place in the Wynn Hotel. We stumbled across it by pure accident trying to find the toilets. It is a superb little bar called Parasol Down. There are a small amount of tables so it can sometimes be hard to get seated and you may have a wait – but OMG it is worth it. You get to taste the most AMAZING cocktails whilst looking out at a 40 foot waterfall. There is no sign of casinos. no ding ding ding of people winning $$$ and you are literally relaxing in paradise. It is open from 11am – 2am daily and you can also purchase some light bites. I had the most beautiful Kiwi cocktail and although the drinks are pricey at around $14 a drink – they are worth it.

That is just a taste of things you can do in your time in Las Vegas and if you can squeeze a few days there either before of after your cruise you will not regret it.

Danielle x