Sherman's Travel

Looking for a great deal that isn’t only for the weekdays during the summer? Search no further than this new 4-star Myrtle Beach Hotel. Stay at the Aqua Beach Inn during the months of June and August for only $129 per night. For the month of July for only $179 per night that is a 60% discount for all three months. The Aqua Beach Inn is within walking distance to the Myrtle Beach’s famous boardwalk.

THE VALUE: Average price for this hotel during the months of June, July and August average $239 an night, so this deal is saving you $110 per night.

THE CATCH: Blackout dates: June 29-30, July 1-4, and August 30-31

THE DETAILS: Click here to book online with BookIt.

WE’VE GOT MORE: Check out our Myrtle Beach Travel Guide, to find places to eat, things to do and local tips!

We’ve had Atlantic City on our radar all summer since naming it one of our Top 10 Boardwalks. So of course we’re excited to hear that HBO’s new series “Boardwalk Empire” – a fictionalized look at Atlantic City gangster life in the 1920s starring Steve Buscemi (premiering September 19) – is taking over AC September 16-19. The main festivities will be at Caesars Atlantic City with a red carpet screening of the first episode on September 16.

Those who can’t score an invite to the exclusive, star-studded event can still enjoy a taste of the gangster lifestyle all weekend long with special $19.20 prix fixe menus and “Boardwalk Empire”-inspired cocktails at over two dozen Atlantic City restaurants. Bonus: On September 18, the Atlantic City Free Public Library will host a talk by Nelson Johnson, whose book Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City formed the basis of the HBO series (see the library website for a full list of “Boardwalk Empire”-themed events).

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Nothing says summer like a nostalgic stroll on one of America’s Top Ten Boardwalks, and rounding out our list of favorites is Wildwood, New Jersey, which boasts a 35-block stretch of roller coasters, carnival-style games, and classic concession stands serving up funnel cakes and curly fries. One of Wildwoods’ upscale properties, the Port Royal Hotel, has put together a Stay and Play package that includes reduced admission to Morey’s Piers, the massive boardwalk amusement park. Guests staying three or more nights can purchase a multi-day pass for just $55 that grants access to Morey’s Piers the entire length of their stay. This three-day pass costs less than an individual one-day admission ticket. Peak-season rates at this beachfront hotel (through Labor Day) start at $205/night.

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On Friday Royal Caribbean’s latest masterpiece, the Oasis of the Seas, set sail from Finland on its maiden voyage to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The massive ship is five times larger than the Titanic and twenty stories high, which made sailing under a low bridge in Denmark a bit too close for comfort. Even after the smokestacks were lowered, Oasis cleared the Great Belt Fixed Link with less than two feet to spare.

Carrying a $1.5 billion price tag, the new ship is loaded with innovative entertainment options like an outdoor theater featuring acrobatics and high diving acts, a boardwalk, zip line, carousel, and – in the middle of it all – rests a living garden appropriately named “Central Park”.

The ship is expected to arrive in its home port of Port Everglades on Thursday, November 12 and will embark on a series of inaugural voyages before settling in to its routine schedule in the Eastern Caribbean.

For an up-to-date status of ship’s transatlantic journey, visit www.oasisoftheseas.com.

Everyone has been talking about Royal Caribbean’s newest monstrosity of a ship, the Oasis of the Seas, which has catapulted into celebrity-status. With the paparazzi fiending for an inside photo of the Oasis– which launches in December – kid-sister the Allure of the Seas has been living in its icy shadow. (Cue music: “Wind Beneath My Wings”). This ship will soon have its shot in the limelight, because Royal Caribbean just announced that bookings will officially be open to the general public on April 13.

The cruise line also revealed the ship’s inaugural sailing schedule, which includes 42 voyages in the Eastern and Western Caribbean departing from Fort Lauderdale. The Allure will call at St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Nassau, Cozumel, Labadee (the cruise line’s private port in Haiti), and the spanking new port of Falmouth. Located in Northern Jamaica, Falmouth remains relatively untouched by tourism – so far, and is often compared with Colonial Williamsburg for its Georgian-styled plantation homes.

Both ships will hold 5,400 passengers, and span over 16 decks featuring new entertainment complexes like a boardwalk with the first ever carousel at sea, an AquaTheater with acrobatics, water ballet, and high-diving, and a Central Park the length of a football field – for those who need a dose of green trees on the high seas. The Allure’s inaugural season will kick off in December 2010, but in the meantime, keep a close eye out – it might accidentally sail into a photo op next to its A-list sister.