Check out the deals!

Woo hoo! You can't believe the deals that are out there now... I just booked a 3 night cruise for 2 leaving tomorrow for under $400. The last minute deals are back. It is now officially less expensive to go on a cruise than it is to stay home and go to the grocery store. Not to mention that you get daily maid service, a new port everyday, entertainment and much more for the same price as buying groceries.

Pictures that make me smile

I Just love this one!

Okay, I admit sometimes I do have a warped sense of humor. As I was going through some pictures this morning, I came upon one of my favorites taken in Hanoi in January of this year. Admit it, it made you smile too! Locating a phone line must be a trick!

Cruise & News Update

In today's economy the prospect of booking a vacation might seem like quite an indulgence when everyone is preaching sacrifice! But getting away from the television and the doom and gloom might just be the ticket to give you a different outlook. Whatever is going to happen will, whether you sit home and worry about it or not -- it won't change the outcome. The wheels for this downturn in the economy were set in motion long ago. So, know that you have protected yourself as best as you could, you diversified your investments and ride the roller coaster-it will get better.

The Grand Turks Cruise Center reopened on October 8, 2008 with the arrival of Carnival' s Destiny. This was the first call back at the Turks & Caicos port after it was hit by Hurricane Ike on September 6, 2008.

On October 10, Carnival Corporation announced that it will drop the fuel supplements for 2010 cruises booked on or after October 31, 2008. Don't get too excited though, in lieu of fuel supplements they will be raising ticket prices for all 2010 cruises on it's Carnival, Costa, Cunard, Holland America, Princess and Seabourn brand cruises. I do applaud them for actually coming out and admitting that they need to raise prices instead of trying to masquerade the extra charges as a fuel supplement. Isn't the cost of fuel part of their cost of doing business??

In keeping with their quest to live up to the "international" part of their name, Royal Caribbean International has announced that they will reposition the Brillance of the Seas to Dubai for the first quarter of 2010. The Brillance of the Seas will be sailing 7 night itineraries from Dubai from January through April of 2010. Royal Caribbean repositioned ships to Southeast Asia and the Pacific rim in January of this year.

Okay, that's my two cents worth for now...talk to you soon!

Disney Announcements

I just finished attending a Disney live web cast from Aquavit Restaurant in NYC. The Big Announcement is that Disney Cruise Lines will add 12 night Northern Europe itineraries for the 2010 Season. Disney will spend 5 months a year in Europe. In addition to the Northern European sailings in the Baltic, they will be adding new Mediterranean itineraries to include ports in Malta, Tunis and Corsica. Reservations for these exciting new itineraries will open for sale on October 14, 2008! In other Disney news, you will now be able to spend your Birthday at a Disney Theme Park for free! Exciting updates and announcements for Disney fans. Sign up at DisneyParks.com!

"CLICK ON PHOTOS FOR CLOSE UP"

Juneau

CLICK ON PHOTOS FOR CLOSE-UP

We arrived in Juneau for a full day of activities. First we were off to a Salmon Brunch. We were treated to fresh, hot off the grill Silver Coho Salmon - it was sooooo good! The highlight of my trip was yet to come. I am an animal lover and I could spend days at a time at Sea World watching the whales. Although it was not Orca season, it was still humpback season. We had pre-arranged a whale watching trip with Orca Enterprises. We were lucky enough to have the internationally renowned Captain Larry Dupler, Sean and naturalist, Dirk as our crew. Their knowledge of the environment and wildlife was amazing. Before we knew it, Dirk tapped me on the shoulder and said get that camera ready there are 2 bald eagles coming up.

Next were Stellar Sea Lions and then on to the main event, the humpback whales. They are able to identify the whales by the coloring on their bellies.

It was wonderful to see that our crew has great respect and admiration for these amazing creatures even though they do this trip everyday in the season. Captain Larry also has been vice-president of the Marine Education and Research of South East Alaska, a non-profit whale support group based in Juneau. He has been recognized for his work dealing with rescue and rehab, naturalist and whale watching operator training and has been a guest speaker in the Humpbacks' winter home of Maui. I have been to Maui many times but have never seen the amazing show put on for us by the humpbacks on this trip. My finger could not press the shutter fast enough-maybe I should have taken those photography lessons I never got around to this past winter. I just prayed that I got a few good shots out it--I had to watch this beatiful ballet in front of me and not worry about the pictures. I didn't want to miss this as it unfolded--it was the most amazing, entertaining spectacle I could have hoped for. There were three whales just frolicking in front of us. They were playing and breaching and splashing. It was the most wonderful experience - to be able to witness these amazing creatures in their natural habitat, enjoying themselves. I wonder if they have any idea at how amazing a show they put on. It was as if they knew there was a boat full of travel agents there and they were going to give us a show for us to bring back to our clients--it certainly was the best memory I brought home with me.

Captain Larry and Dirk advised us that we were seeing a once in a lifetime show - we were watching and since I have been to Maui many times and had never seen anything close-I knew that this was a very true statement--I will never forget this amazing afternoon-it is a memory I will have forever-the reason that I travel every chance I can.

Alaska

I just returned from out National Conference which was of course, held on a cruise ship. This year we sailed to Alaska for an intense week of immersion in everything Alaska. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting this beautiful area and will definitely go back for more. We started our cruise from Vancouver and experienced one of the smoothest embarkations I have ever had. The staff was smiling, friendly and efficient.

As I tell my clients, if you are going to Alaska you must have a balcony cabin. (I do practice what I preach, although since I started out in a balcony cabin I won't go back.) Even though I spent most of my inside passage time in seminars and classes, having the view from your balcony is not to be missed. Watching dolphins, whales and eagles fly by was a jaw dropping experience!

Our first port was Ketchikan where we visited the Totem Pole Park, watched salmon swim upstream and toured the town. A town rich in native Alaskan history, it was interesting to learn of the stories told by each totem. You could take a floatplane to Misty Fjords, walk along the infamous Creek Street, watch a lumberjack show or glide above the rainforest on a zipline. A great intro to our 49th state which will celebrate it's 50th anniversary in 2009.

Our next day was viewing Hubbard Glacier. As we started up the fjord toward the largest calving glacier on the North American continent, it was a foggy, eerily quiet ride through icebergs ranging from pristine to dirt covered. The glaciers were shrouded in fog until we got closer and right on queue the fog lifted and the skies brightened just in time for an amazing show. It sounded like great claps of thunder as chunks of the glacier cascaded into the water. It was an absolutely amazing sight. And once again I must emphasize the reason you must have a balcony--both sides were given equal time for great views and pictures. And then it was time to glide back down the fjords through water that was as still as glass.

Beijing Then & Now

I have been watching the Summer Olympics in absolute awe. I was last in Beijing in 1992! I can't believe what I see each morning on the Today Show and other programs. The major mode of transportation back then was the bicycle and the oxcart!! Really, I'm not kidding. There were so few cars on the road and thousands of bicycles.
We rode around in a shuttle bus-there were six of us. Three couples from the US who never met before until we joined our tour guide outside of immigration and customs in Beijing at the airport. We were taken to the Great Wall Sheraton, one of the few high rises at the time given time to freshen up and then off to dinner.
We met the next morning to visit the Forbidden City and then Tiananmen Square. When one of the group asked our guide where exactly on the surrounding street the famous student in front of the tank standoff occurred, she looked at him and straight faced said she didn't know what he was talking about! I should mention that she was married to a journalist and they lived in an apartment in Beijing. We stopped for lunch at an approved restaurant, no deviating to the at the time largest Mc Donald's or KFC. When my husband got up to use the restroom the guide went running after him followed him to the men's room door and waited until he came out and followed him back to the table. We were allowed to shop at the government stores. There were 2 types of currency then also- the yuan-the peoples money and the renminbi-tourist money. As a tourist, you weren't supposed to have the yuan. At the end of the day, we were being dropped off at the hotel we saw a night market being set up-we were told in no uncertain terms that we were not to leave our hotel rooms. Oh those were the magic words, so we walked down the stairs and out the door to the wonders of the night market....I have to go through pictures to see if I can scan a street scene-I had the video camera but no digital camera back then!

Why you should take a vacation now...

From the New York Times: "Bosses of a publishing firm are trying to work out why no one noticed that one of their employees had been sitting dead at his desk for five days before anyone asked if he was feeling okay. George Turkelbaum, 51, who had been employed as a proof-reader at a New York firm for 30 years, had a heart attack in the open-plan office he shared with 23 other workers.
He quietly passed away on Monday, but nobody notice until Saturday morning when an office cleaner asked why he was working during the weekend.
His boss, Elliot Wachiaski, said: "George was always the first guy in each morning and the last to leave at night, so no one found it unusual that he was in the same position all that time and didn't say anything. He was always absorbed in his work and kept much to himself."
A post mortem examination revealed that he had been dead for five days after suffering a coronary. George was proofreading manuscripts of medical textbooks when he died.
You may want to give your co-workers a nudge occasionally. The moral of the story: Don't work too hard. Nobody notices anyway."

So the next time you think that you can't get away because you have too much work to do, think again....it will still be there after you're gone. Life is not a dress rehearsal, you only get one shot at it, so you should take time to enjoy yourself. You never know when your number's up.

Bayon

Bayon is in Central Angkor and the face towers are an amazing sight. To see the imposing giant faces watching you from every direction it is an impressive sight. The carvings are so vivid with a myriad of different faces and scenes.

What is so impressive about Angkor Wat is that so much of it is still there, it's not just a pile of rocks. There are numerous and massive temples. Of course, it has been restored but it was done so with the original uncovered monuments.

Angkor Wat

Ta Prohm

Built in the late 12th to 13th centuries was left in it's natural state as an example of how most of Angkor looked on its discovery in the 19th Century.

Late Afternoon view of Ankgor Wat

Singapore to Hong Kong Recap of the Trip

I will start this by saying that I try to adhere to the saying "if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all", but I am going to break that guideline today. I have purposely waited a few weeks to put some distance between the writing of my review and the disappointing experience with this cruise. At some point, I will probably be able to look back and laugh at the experience, but not yet. I will try not to be too negative but I will try to share highlights of the experience that I had.

I have been to this part of the world before both through a cruise and by land. First, the tour company Destination Asia, that provided the shore excursions was excellent. We thoroughly enjoyed the tours that were arranged in each port. The guides were prompt, spoke excellent English, were personable, knowledgable and we were extremely happy with each excursion.

When we arrived at the terminal, it was absolute chaos. Okay, I'm thinking, the cruise line hasn't been here in several years, this is a new port for them, I'm cutting them some slack-they're working out the kinks. Unfortunately, this is where the total lack of communication started and just got worse as the next 12 days went on.

Arrival in Cambodia, the highlight of the trip for me, one of the main reasons for booking the cruise. We are anchored outside of Sihanoukville, Cambodia and will tender to the pier. We are off on our 3 day shore excursion, booked since July, 2007, to Angkor Wat. We are loaded on to the tender, 17 of us booked on the cruise line 3 day excursion with luggage, several others on their own overnight excursions with luggage. They fill every seat on the tender. Seas are a little choppy. Maybe they should have made an allowance for the choppiness; the luggage; not knowing where they were going??? We head toward shore and water is pouring over the side of the tender!! The crew is paying no attention, the driver is looking at a picture in his hands, then looking at shore and trying to figure out where he is going. We take another wave sideways, water pouring into the tender again, pick up your luggage, pick up your feet - what is going on!

I yelled what are you doing, you're swamping the boat and the driver is laughing!! Again, for the third time water pours in over the side people in the last 4 rows of the tender are soaked from the water. At this point there is 3-4 inches of water sloshing back and forth in the bottom of the tender. One more swamp and we're in trouble. I watched 2 employees from the shore excursions desk of the ship practically in tears and trembling during this inexcusable disregard for safety. (I did fill out a comment card when I got back on board, and never received a response to my concerns.) We finally made it to shore, I have never been so happy to step foot on land.

The most infuriating part of this was the endless announcements stating that "safety is our number one priority" for the tendering process---maybe they should have practiced what they preached?

Tomorrow-Angkor Wat-An experience worth the tender terror...