Arizona Travel Agent
by Tim Larison
Alaska voters will go to the polls on August 22nd to decide if cruise passengers will pay an additional $50 per person state head tax, and also require cruise lines to make some changes in the way they operate in Alaska.
by Tim Larison
According to a recent poll of travel agents by American Express, many of the family friendly U.S. and international destinations continue to hold strong for families this summer.
by Tim Larison
Beginning in 2007 all sailings of the Regent Seven Seas cruise line will include all the liquor you can drink in the cruise price. In an interview with Travel Weekly Christian Sauleau, vice president of operations for Regent, said that the policy would cost the company somewhere between $12 and $16 per person per day, but that the increased cost per day to guests would be less than that. He estimated between $9 and $10 per day. Regent already has a “liquor inclusive” policy on its World Cruises and that has worked well. “Customers always say ‘include the beverage’ because we can meet in the bar and there is a better atmosphere. They don’t have to think about who’s paying and who’s not paying and worry about offering someone a drink,” said Sauleau.
by Tim Larison
Carnival Cruise line recently announced it will outfit its fleet of 22 ships to enable guests with any cell phone service to make and receive calls at sea or send and receive text messages on their phones and hand-held devices. Carnival says their entire fleet will be outfitted with this technology by the 1st quarter 2007. Calls will be charged at international roaming rates, and will be billed directly to the passenger’s cell phone bill.
by Tim Larison
If you travel with medications, it’s a good idea to carry them in their original prescription containers. Recently customs officers at the Palm Beach airport in Florida detained radio host Rush Limbaugh after they discovered medication in his luggage without his name on the bottle. (Apparently, Limbaugh’s doctor prescribed the pills in the doctor’s name for Limbaugh “for privacy purposes.”)
by Tim Larison
Imagine that you’ve been planning a magical Disney cruise for your family for 18 months. Then 6 days before your cruise you are rushed to the hospital for an unexpected surgery, and you are unable to go on the cruise!
by Tim Larison
As a lifetime member of Weight Watchers, I always find it a challenge to avoid gaining weight on a cruise. On my first few cruises I found I would gain 7 to 10 pounds each with each trip! Since then I have done much better, and I offer a few tips below to keep the cruise weight gain in check.
I have sailed on many cruises in recent years but in May 2006 I was to take my family on our greatest adventure yet – a 12 night Carnival Liberty Mediterranean sailing! This was to be a special trip for me – a 50th birthday celebration (I turned 50 on May 19th, the day we got off the cruise and stayed in Rome). With many fabulous and new experiences this was a trip we will all long remember.
One of my first cruise customers back in 2002 came back from her trip telling me how much space her family saved in their stateroom by getting an “over the door” shoe organizer. I have since recommended this to many of my cruise clients, and I have had many positive replies.
Recently I attended a talk by European Travel expert Rick Steves. Rick’s popular “Europe Through the Back Door” book is one of the best selling guides to European travel. Rick is also well known for his series of programs on Public Television. This talk was of special interest to me since me and my family will be visiting Europe for the first time in May 2006! Below I will give some of the highlights of Rick’s talk.