Which cruise ships are the least crowded? 

If you’re looking for a cruise with fewer people and more personal attention, there are a few things to consider. Smaller ships will have fewer total passengers, but they also tend to have fewer activities and amenities. So, choose a smaller vessel if you are searching for a more intimate experience. Another option is to book a cruise during the shoulder season or off-peak months. You’ll find lower prices and thinner crowds, but you’ll also need to be prepared for cooler weather in some destinations. Finally, consider cruises that sail to less popular itineraries. First-time cruisers often overlook these, but they can offer a more authentically local experience. Whatever your preferences, doing a little research can help you find the ideal cruise ship for your vacation needs. 

With so many cruise lines to choose from, it is challenging to know which one is right for you. One crucial factor to consider is the size of the ship. Large ships are often more crowded and have less personal space, while smaller ships offer a more intimate experience. If you seek a less crowded cruise, here are a few cruise lines to consider:

– Windstar Cruises has a fleet of smaller ships that carry between 148 and 310 passengers. This intimate setting means you’ll never feel like just another face in the crowd.

– Oceania Cruises also has a small fleet of mid-sized ships that carry between 684 and 1,250 passengers. These ships offer a wide range of amenities and activities but still maintain a feeling of exclusivity.

– Regent Seven Seas Cruises has just four ships in its fleet, carrying between 490 and 710 passengers each. This luxurious cruise line offers an all-inclusive experience, so you can relax and enjoy your holiday without worry.

Choosing the right cruise line is essential, so you’re sure to find one perfect with many available options.

What time of year are cruise ships least crowded? 

One of the best things about taking a cruise is that there are usually plenty of opportunities to enjoy peace. On the other hand, this can also be one of the challenges of cruising, as it can be difficult to find a time when the ship is not too crowded. If you wonder when are cruise ships the least crowded, we are here to help. Most cruise lines’ busiest times are during school holidays and summer vacations. December and January are typically quieter, as well as February and March. April and May tend to be busier due to spring break. Still, the shoulder months of November and October can also be occupied due to the popularity of cruises to Thanksgiving and Christmas markets. Therefore, when planning a cruise, it is best to avoid these peak times if you aim for a more relaxed experience. Instead, consider cruising during the off-season when fewer people are on board. 

What itineraries are better to choose to avoid crowded voyages? 

There are a few factors to consider when trying to avoid crowds on a cruise ship:

1. Know that large ships are more likely to have more people, so cruise ships under 1000 passengers are your best bet.
2. Cruises during busy times like summer and holidays will likely be more crowded.
3. Itineraries with port stops in popular destinations will draw bigger crowds.

To avoid these three things, look for cruises with the following itineraries: the Caribbean Sea in the fall, around the Hawaiian Islands, along the Alaskan coast, through the Panama Canal, or in New England/Canada during the fall. These itineraries will have fewer crowds and provide a more intimate cruising experience.

The final thoughts 

Whether looking to avoid the crowds and save on your cruise, consider booking a trip during less popular times of the year, choosing a smaller ship, or selecting an off-the-beaten-path itinerary. No matter what time of year you decide to sail, be sure to visit our website for the best deals on cruises from all the top cruise lines. We have something for everyone, so don’t wait – start planning your dream vacation today. Thanks for staying with The Cruise Web!

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Hidden timeshare payments your developer prefers to avoid telling you

1. Maintenance fees for timeshares

By signing a timeshare contract, an individual becomes obligated to pay timeshare maintenance fees monthly or yearly, depending on the resort or timeshare brand. The truth is that these fees are not fixed – expenses might go high once a timeshare engages in extra repairs. The average timeshare maintenance fees are around $600. Keep in mind that you risk receiving foreclosure on a timeshare once you don’t pay these expenses on time.

2. Real estate fees

Once individuals purchase a timeshare, they face the same real estate fees as buying a house. They typically include an appraisal fee, an assessment fee, a transfer fee, etc. Some resorts can even collect fees that will be hidden until you are engaged in the buying process. They have the potential to increase the final timeshare price significantly. Moreover, other extra fees appear once you decide to sell a timeshare. Don’t think once you sell your ownership; you are now free from paying back fees that you might possess within a timeshare.

3. Travel fees

Most timeshare owners aren’t going to pay for plane tickets for you to reach a vacation home, and this is where extra fees on a timeshare occur. If you want to spend long-awaited holidays in the resort within a timeshare you have already spent thousands of dollars, you will have to pay to travel there. The ugly truth is that you might not even use your timeshare year after year once you can’t afford to travel.

4. Property taxes

Typically, other taxes that many timeshare owners might not even guess about are taxes. Once you become an owner of a timeshare property, you become liable for paying annual property taxes that you can’t give up. And in some cases, a timeshare developer won’t even know about them – now, you are in a trap of paying property taxes, apart from the fees you know about.

5. Utility costs

You are mistaken if you think utility costs are already included in timeshare maintenance fees. Every timeshare owner is liable for paying all the utility costs for the determined time of staying in a resort. This makes a timeshare not as advantageous a deal as it might seem to you before.

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What is Enterprise Resource Planning?

An ERP system is associated with a platform that provides database centralization, business operation automation, and streamlining core processes within a company. Once all the data is centralized, your employees are now free from the responsibility to manage day-to-day business activities that can significantly affect the overall business performance. 

Most ERP software includes the following features – inventory management, industrial production, customer relationship management in accounting, and analytical and reporting tools for human resources. 

There are on-premises and cloud-based ERP solutions. In cloud ERP, a company pays a third-party vendor for necessary resources and system deployment, maintenance, and upgrading. This solution is highly customizable and scalable. On the other hand, on-premises ERP takes place on its servers while an IT staff is responsible for software management.

What are businesses likely to select ERP over other systems?

Cloud-based manufacturing ERP software was widely used for a manufacturing sphere, although multiple other modern industries can leverage this software. Businesses engaged in education, real estate, health care, government, retail and wholesale can consider deploying ERP software. This system allows businesses to run their infrastructures more efficiently and integrate all the basic business processes.

It might be a working strategy if you doubt whether cloud-based ERP software for small businesses is suitable enough. Cloud ERP stands for lower IT costs since it is on a monthly subscription that can reduce any upfront costs. However, other kinds of Enterprise Resource Planning systems and apps are relatively expensive, so small to medium-sized businesses can’t afford to deploy this software solution.

It is worth mentioning that customizable cloud-based ERP software suits particular business cases. For instance, if your IT team spends too much time dealing with non-manual tasks or a company works with multiple suppliers from different regions, or you want to have fast and easy access to data to make decisions quickly, or you can’t monitor an inventory level every day or your workers cannot communicate and share data across a company or you don’t have access to information when you are outside of an office or headquarter, etc. If any of the previous clauses are all about your current business situation, then ERP seems like your best bet. Nonetheless, unless you don’t opt for cloud-based ERP software for professional services, be ready to spend significant amounts of money.

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What is a non-running car?

A non-running car is usually a car that does not run or is unsafe to drive. Car malfunction requires auto shipping services to move across a country or interstate. Many vehicles become inoperable via collision damage, but some cars are non-running since they are being worked to restore previous serviceability.

Whether you need to ship a non-running vehicle, some auto transport companies won’t ship a car that does not run at all, while others agree to deliver such a car for an additional fee. In most cases, the cost to ship non-running vehicle is the average price for car shipping plus an extra payment at $50-200. Anyway, the exact cost for shipping depends on some factors, like the distance, route, type of car, etc.

Tips on how to ship a non-running car

Remember that non-running cars cannot be driven onto the car carrier. This way, your auto transport company should offer an alternative best way to ship a non-running car. It can vary depending on the type of carrier that you choose to ship your inoperable car – open or enclosed auto transport. If you decide to use an open carrier, your vehicle will be loaded on a carrier using a winch while the car is pulled up on the carrier by the attached chain. At the same time, enclosed auto shipping requires using a liftgate to load a non-running car. Another benefit of enclosed shipping compared to open one is more protection from a range of external factors. 

Here are some helpful tips on how to ship a non-running car.

1.     Hire the trusty car shipping company

It is essential to apply to a professional team that can handle shipping a non-running car. The drivers should be experienced and equipped enough to load and unload vehicles that do not run.

2.     Notify a shipping company about the vehicle’s condition

Don’t forget to tell your carrier that your car is not running, and explain why. It allows a company to stock up with all the necessary equipment and prevents you from any added payments or delays.

3.     Book car shipping in advance

Some seasons are peak for auto transportation, so booking ahead of time is key. It allows a carrier and you to prepare for car shipping properly.

4.     Prepare your vehicle for shipping

One more important thing – don’t forget to prepare your car for transportation. Secure all loose parts on the vehicle, and remove any valuable items inside the car.

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Let’s deal with this problem together so that your photos look good both in small format and with large format printing, even with your lack of experience.

Quality is above all!

Let’s touch on image quality first, which is key to printing photographs. It is more challenging to get a frankly lousy picture because even the most straightforward phone will have a magic camera that will reach ten or more megapixels. Thus, we are doing a little better than in the days of our parents, when cameras were of questionable capabilities.

 1) Determining the number of DPI photos

This term refers to the dots we see in a photograph when printed. Their value should not be lower than 150 units. Otherwise, the image will be very blurry, and the pixels of the picture will be visible. That is, it will be grainy.

However, we cannot always get such a figure to enlarge a photo since easily. The DPI value often cannot exceed 72 units on social networks. If this is the case for you, then don’t worry. Try following our tips further to increase photo resolution.

 2) Enlarge image for print format

You must open this photo on your computer or laptop and then use the editor the manufacturer suggested you use, which opens automatically. If you want to make sure you get it right, use Photoshop.

However, the easiest step is to adjust the DPI value of the photo and save it that way. Here’s an example search path:

 • find “Tools” in the picture menu;

 • button “Adjust size”;

 • click on “inches” for width and height and “pixels/inch” for resolution;

 • uncheck the “Resample Image” indicator;

 • set the resolution value to 300 pixels/inch;

 • now it’s time to save the file;

 3) Enlarge the image to the maximum possible format to avoid losing quality.

4) Try to cheat when typing

You need to print the resulting image and then scan what you get to do this. This way, you can enhance photo resolution at the expense of the scanner resolution.

 5) Shoot Right

To get a good result and change the resolution of the picture, you need to shoot right away with a good camera in the correct format. RAW is great, but JPEG can be tricky. At a minimum, you will need to tune your camera for maximum quality all the time.

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Pitch perfect

The key feature of the home is the single pitch roof design with a ‘lift’ in the center that breaks the skyline while assisting in the heating and cooling of the double volume section of the dwelling. To reach the 2.7m roof overhang on the front of the house that covers the 6m glass facade, the pitch of the roof had to slope towards the back of the house. The entire roof pitch consists of Inverted Box Rib sheeting with a deep, broad flute design that offers excellent drainage and optimum weight- bearing capabilities. This design has also increased the volume of the central living space, while the upstairs rooms are considerably smaller. ‘With the facade being mainly glass it also really brings the outdoors in and we absolutely love the 180o views,’ says Janine.

Solar  Sense

By following the sun’s Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone with the required roof overhang design, the sun penetrates the house almost entirely in winter and provides full shade in the summer. Concrete slabs in the house have been over-designed to absorb the solar energy and heat up the house in winter. It’s been proven that a dense material such as mass concrete can store and radiate heat energy for up to three hours – so when the sun sets at 6 pm in the winter, the 250mm-thick concrete slabs in the house continue radiating heat up until at night.

Water cooler

For additional cooling purposes, a rain tank was installed at the back of the house with a solar panel-driven pump inside it that pumps a small amount of water onto the lower pitch of the roof and, with the aid of the IBR sheeting, causes evaporative cooling; this is especially well suited to climates where the air is hot and humidity is low and allows ‘free’ cooling of the house in summer while also doubling as a garden drip irrigation system from the roof.

Underfloor heating

An underfloor water heating system runs through the house and consists of 300m of 1/4inch piping that was laid prior to casting the top layers of flooring. A portion of this piping was installed inside the solar geyser, picking up the heat as it flows through the geyser’s pressure vessel; a 20W pump pumps the water through the system to heat the entire house.

Obstacles

The main obstacle in building this house was choosing the right materials for construction and making sure everything was as eco-friendly as possible. All in all, 12 tonnes of structural steel were used. ‘Steel is recyclable as opposed to cement which is rather harmful to the environment when one considers the manufacturing process,’ Steve explains. Mentis grating, also steel, was used as balustrading throughout the house. ‘This is generally used as flooring in manufacturing plants, but turned sideways it functions as visually pleasing balustrading which is, most importantly, also childproof,’ adds Steve.

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1. Get Familiar with Your Circuits

Your consumer unit (it is also known as the fuse board) contains several different circuits. A fuse or circuit breaker protects each course. It is necessary to ensure that every separate channel is labelled correctly and clearly.

Thus, you will be able to isolate the appropriate circuit anytime when you need to do this. Read more about mains supply and consumer units to get more detailed information on this topic.

2. Power Failure

In case a fuse blows, or a circuit breaker trips, the indicator on the consumer unit will show that the circuit is overloaded. It is special protection for circuits. This will help you avoid using too many appliances at the same time. As a result, you will manage to prevent many negative consequences (like severe damage or a fire) from happening.

Before resetting the circuit breaker or changing the fuse, the number of appliances on the circuit must be reduced.

If the RCD (Residual Current Device) trips out and won’t reset, it will display a fault. In this case, all appliances have to be unplugged. If machines are not connected via a plug, they can be switched off. Are all devices disconnected, but you can’t reset RCD, and a fault with the circuit is indicated on it?

So, it is better to contact a professional electrician in this case. Is it possible to reset RCD? This means that the fault is with one of the appliances. When RCD is off, reconnect one at a time and then the RCD has to be reset. The process should be repeated, and it is necessary to start when the RCD is off. Does the RCD trip after it is connected to an appliance? Therefore, the device has a fault, and you need to have it repaired professionally.

3. Emergency Light

It is recommended to have a good quality torch that you can use in case of a power cut happens. Put it in the place that you can easily access even in the dark. Fortunately, there is a lot of right plugin torches, available today. They can switch themselves. So, you can use such a light when the power goes off.

4. Safety Rules for Work with Electricity

Are you going to start to work with electricity? So, the first thing that you should do is to make sure that the power is off. The energy at the consumer unit should be turned off. Also, it is necessary to take out the fuse or switch off the circuit breaker. Acting in such a way, you will manage to isolate the circuit concerned. If you deal with the appliances that plugin, then the plug should be removed from the wall socket first.

When changing a lamp, make sure that the light switch that is intended for a fixed light is off.

When changing table lights make sure that the appliance is unplugged.

5. Correct Fuses and Lamps

New plugs often come with a standard 13 amp fuse. Nevertheless, this may need to be changed for suiting the appliance it is used for. Get familiar with the information about the device and find the appropriate fuse for it. Selecting the right lamps for light fitting is essential. Provide a light fitting with a label that shows the maximum allowable wattage for the lamp. Remember that the maximum should never be exceeded. It should be noted that the heat that is provided by a 100-watt bulb can cause a fire risk on a lower rated fitting.

6. Lamps and Saving Energy

Would you like to reduce your electricity bills? In this case, you will need to consider individual low energy lamps. It is important to say that due to their numerous competitive advantages the modern energy saving lamps have left older style incandescent bulbs behind the scene. So you can use them in your house. Also, when purchasing a new appliance such as a fridge or freezer, it is expedient to give a preference to an energy efficient model.

7. Follow the Rules

It is better not to start electrical work if you are not 100% sure that you can cope with it quickly. Just be aware of the fact that according to law the specific electrical tasks have to be performed by an approved contractor or notified to the Local Authority Building Control beforehand and then inspected and certified. More detailed information about it you may find by reading more about the Electrical Regulations.

8. Plugs, Adaptors and Extension Leads

If you are trying to disconnect a plugged-in appliance your socket has to be switched off first. Also, never pull the plug out by its flex. Acting in such a way, you can create the connections inside the plug. It is too dangerous to plug one adaptor into another. Doing this you can cause a fire. Make sure you unwind an extension reel thoroughly before start using it. It is important to know that coiled flexes and cables provide heat that can melt the flex.

9. Electrical Repairs

Never use damaged sockets. If you have noticed that your switch or a device is broken, you should have it replaced as soon as possible. If you are not sure that you can cope with this task, then it will be better to make use of the services provided by a qualified electrician.

10. Outdoor Safety

Are you going to use a power drill outside?  Before starting work, you should ensure that you have protected the appliance via an RCD (Residual Current Device).

So, if any fault occurs, this will isolate the power supply. Also, such protection reduces the risk of electric shock. It is better not to use power tools outside if the weather is wet or it is raining. It makes sense to purchase extension leads, which are specially intended for outdoor use and provided with an integrated RCD and a waterproof socket.

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Divide overcrowded irises, top up your mulch, deadhead spent flowers and sow seeds of winter-flowering annuals. 

The important fact is that none of the below-mentioned flowers have anxiety-reducing effects. So their scents cannot help you sleep you well as top 10 magnesium supplements, for example, can do. 

Pot up with passion 

Make romance the theme for containers  this month with floral combinations of  purple, lavender, pink and red:

• Surround lavender-colored Summer Snapdragon ( Angelonia ) and dwarf pink Pentas with mounds of pink petunia and lavender-colored sea plakkies ( Scaevola ), and edge this with trailing pink Baby’s breath ( Gypsophila ), Alyssum and catmint.

• Fill any spaces with mauve Cupflowers ( Nierembergia ) and bush violets ( Browallia ).

• A pink and violet combination is attractive with a pink patio rose and Hebe ‘Pretty n Pink’, together with Heliotrope ‘Plum Pie’ and Vinca ‘Grape’.

• Let violet verbena and mini petunia ( Calibrachoa ) trail over edges, and fill any spaces with pink Twinspur ( Diasci a).

• Surround  Phormium rubrum ‘Nana’ and a red patio rose with  Salvia ‘Black and Blue’, fill in with purple bedding Salvia and red Dianthus, and edge with trailing purple Lobelia and red verbena.

• Include your kitchen garden in this color scheme with pots of strawberries, red mini tomatoes and chilies, ruby lettuce, thyme, and purple basil.

• Fill pots on patios with fragrant Mexican orange blossom ( Choisya ternata ), lavender,  Liliums ,  Nicotiana  and scented geraniums.

All-season color 

• Cannas, Cape honeysuckle ( Tecoma capensis ), echinacea ( Coneflower ), dahlias, day lilies,  Gaura , hibiscus,  Rudbeckia , verbena, and  Watsonias  will ensure a colorful late summer garden.

• Crocosmias ( Montbretia)  in yellow, orange and red are very accommodating and will grow in most positions, even shade; Berg hyacinths ( Galtonias)  with their tall spikes of pendant white bells add an elegant statement when planted in groups in borders and the pineapple flower (Eucomis), with its curious ‘topknot’, makes a strong statement.

• Plant indigenous mauve ribbon bush ( Hypoestes aristata), pink  Orthosiphon

labiatus, Plectranthus species and  Hemizygia obermeyerae for autumn color.

• Feed, water and mulch autumn-flowering  Camellia Sasanqua.

• Make first sowing of sweet peas from the middle of the month: soak seeds overnight and plant in an open, sunny position in well-composted soil for fragrance and color from late winter to spring.

• Towards the end of the month, sow the seed of calendula, cineraria, cornflower, delphinium, foxglove, Lupin, nemesia, pansy, poppy, primula, snapdragon, stock and viola in prepared seedling trays. Plant the seedlings at the end of March for winter color.

General maintenance 

• Don’t rush to remove leaves damaged by hailstorms, as this help protect new growth from sunburn. Gather and destroy damaged and fallen fruit – but do not add to the compost heap, as the decaying fruit will encourage fruit flies to breed.

• Dahlias will continue to flower generously in autumn if regularly deadheaded and given a fortnightly foliar feed.

• Divide overcrowded clumps of irises and replant in freshly composted soil. The top of the rhizome of the bearded iris should be planted at soil level, while Louisiana iris rhizomes are covered with soil.

• Remove weeds before they seed and pour boiling water over weeds growing between paving stones or bricks.

• Give your citrus trees an application of 3:1:5 (26) to encourage fruiting then water well as far as the drip line of the branches after fertilizing.

• Spread mulch after a good rain or watering to reduce evaporation and to retain moisture in the soil. Add compost to sandy soils to help retain moisture.

• Keep your garden looking at its best by regularly mowing lawns, clipping edges and filling gaps in borders with colorful annuals.

Plant now

Sassy Salvias Their long-lasting, fiery color makes Red Salvias (Salvia splendens) appealing as a summer bedding plant, but it’s the ease with which they grow and minimal maintenance required, that makes them a must. Despite the name, they’re actually available in various colors, including burgundy, lavender, purple, salmon, white and even red and white. Salvias enjoy plenty of direct suns but fare well in dappled shade and flower through summer into autumn if regularly deadheaded.

Every year the World Wetlands Day is a reminder of the importance of preserving and protecting wetlands for future generations.  Create a mini wetland area wherever water pools in your garden, so contributing to a  wildlife-friendly environment.

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