About Zak's Travel

Travel has become something of an obsession for me. It started innocently enough with a weeklong adventure to Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, and Los Angeles in April 1998 with 3 friends from College. On my first real vacation as an adult, I saw how much fun seeing new places could be. I also saw how expensive it is to travel and this is why I haven't seen more of the world than I have.

The next big trip departed on June 20, 1999. It was a 7 day Western Caribbean cruise on the Funship Carnival Paradise. This trip exceeded every single expectation we had. 8 friends cruised to Cozumel, Mexico, Grand Cayman Island, and Ochos Rios, Jamaica. This trip also started an addiction to cruising among most of our crew of 8.

Since our last cruise was so incredible, it made next year's vacation "Cruise 2K" a no brainer. We set sail on the Funship Carnival Triumph on May 27, 2000 on a 7 day Eastern Caribbean cruise to San Juan, Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and St. Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands. The cruise was another smashing success! By now, word of these cruises was starting to spread.

In July 2000, I noticed a special deal on cabins on the brand new Carnival Victory leaving on 2 day cruises to nowhere out of New York City. I quickly collected 2 people from work and another friend of theirs and drove up to New York, New York to board the Funship Carnival Victory on her 3rd day of service. 2 Days was not long enough, but it allowed me to get a preview of what would become my favorite ship afloat.

When I polled the group about possible vacation destinations, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that not only was a cruise the only option, but the group had grown to 10. We boarded the Funship Carnival Victory on March 18, 2001 and sailed to the Western Caribbean once more. Cozumel, Mexico was just as I remembered it and remains my favorite port in the Caribbean. The cruise was another success!

When I disembarked from the Carnival Victory I was sure that we would not be sailing as a group in 2002. How wrong I was. The core group of cruisers settled on the brand new Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines Adventure of the Seas. We picked a March 10, 2002 departure date and sent out invites to other friends who might like to join us. What a response we got. Our group of 10 grew to 23. On March 9, 2002 13 of us flew down to San Juan, Puerto Rico to prepare to board the Adventure of the Seas for a Southern Caribbean cruise. We visited, Aruba, Curacao, St. Martin, and St. Thomas and when we returned home, I had a bunch of new friends in the world.

Next up was a short family cruise. I sailed with my Parents and my younger Brother on June 6, 2002 on a 4 day Western Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Imagination. We stopped in Key West, Florida and Cozumel, Mexico and had a fabulous time on this short getaway.

After 6 cruises in just 3 years, I felt that I needed to see more of the world than islands in the Caribbean can offer. That is when I decided that I needed to see Europe. I booked a 16 day tour of Europe with Contiki Tours, a tour company that specializes in travel for 18-35 year olds. My European Encounter tour ran from September 1, 2003 until September 18, 2003. I finally got my passport stamped!

My Contki tour was absolutely incredible! I met some really great people and saw some really great sights. You can find out all about the trip by reading my Contiki Travelogue.

Since I had such a great time on a Contiki Tour, I decided that I needed to book another one. I've added a few days in London at the start of the trip then I go to Berlin, Germany to start the Eastern Road tour. After the tour ends, I'm heading to Dublin, Ireland for a short stop before I finally head home.

My Eastern Road tour was so great that I was 100% sure I'd take another Contiki tour. I'm now scheduled to travel to Australia for the Contiki Reefs and Rainforests tour starting on April 6, 2006 in Cairns, QLD, Australia. The tour runs until April 21, 2006 where I'll hop off the coach in Sydney, NSW, Australia and spend the next 9 days visiting with friends from my first 2 Contiki tours. I can't wait!