Johanna has some amazing pictures of the Radiance of the Seas. This is the ship the Girlfriends scrapbook cruise is gong on in May 2010. She is an amazing photographer and makes it look so easy!!
click on the title to see her pics
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Girlfriends Scrapbook Cruise sneak peak
Here's some great pictures of the Radiance of the Seas Johanna took when we toured the ship last month Girlfriends Cruise ship pictures
Monday, October 26, 2009
scrapbook and Mixed Media cruise date changes
So we have a few changes
The cruise with Vicki Boutin, is going to be later in the year.
Also, the Mixed Media cruise with Lauren Ferguson, will most likely be in September instead of February, so you have plenty of time to save, do monthly payments and, we have more sponsors lined up, great!!
Visit their websites for some inspiration. Vicki at http://vickiboutin.typepad.com/ and Lauren at http://www.everythingaltered.com/
The cruise with Vicki Boutin, is going to be later in the year.
Also, the Mixed Media cruise with Lauren Ferguson, will most likely be in September instead of February, so you have plenty of time to save, do monthly payments and, we have more sponsors lined up, great!!
Visit their websites for some inspiration. Vicki at http://vickiboutin.typepad.com/ and Lauren at http://www.everythingaltered.com/
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Upcoming Cruises
Well, I really have let the blog world down haven't I. It's not that I haven't had anything to say, just trying to prioritize and sadly this was down low on the list.
News!! Lots of cruises,
Vicki Boutin's Winter Escape on the Monarch of the Seas out of Port Canaveral on a 4 night Bahamas scrapbook cruise on February 8th, 2010
Lauren Ferguson's Mixed Media cruise on the Carnival Inspiration out of Tampa on a 5 night cruise on February 27th, 2010
Jen Starr's Bermuda cruise on Explorer of the Seas out of New Jersey on a 5 night Bermuda scrapbook cruise on May 10th, 2010
Johanna, Leah and Donna, the Girlfriends! Girlfriends scrapbook and crop cruise on the Radiance of the Seas out of San Diego on a 5 night Baja Mexico cruise on May 3rd, 2010
Jen Starr and Tracie Hudson on the Norwegian Gem Greek Isles scrapbook cruise out of Venice, Italy on a 7 night cruise June 5th, 2010
There will be more to come. Visit the "Upcoming Cruises" for info on each cruise. You will also soon be able to join us on Facebook and Twitter.
News!! Lots of cruises,
Vicki Boutin's Winter Escape on the Monarch of the Seas out of Port Canaveral on a 4 night Bahamas scrapbook cruise on February 8th, 2010
Lauren Ferguson's Mixed Media cruise on the Carnival Inspiration out of Tampa on a 5 night cruise on February 27th, 2010
Jen Starr's Bermuda cruise on Explorer of the Seas out of New Jersey on a 5 night Bermuda scrapbook cruise on May 10th, 2010
Johanna, Leah and Donna, the Girlfriends! Girlfriends scrapbook and crop cruise on the Radiance of the Seas out of San Diego on a 5 night Baja Mexico cruise on May 3rd, 2010
Jen Starr and Tracie Hudson on the Norwegian Gem Greek Isles scrapbook cruise out of Venice, Italy on a 7 night cruise June 5th, 2010
There will be more to come. Visit the "Upcoming Cruises" for info on each cruise. You will also soon be able to join us on Facebook and Twitter.
Friday, July 24, 2009
New way to fly!
I read this on a travel agent forum. It's well written, he has a good sense of humor and quite funny in parts and just outrageous in other parts, it's amazing what some company owners will do to make a buck!
By Blake
The airlines are getting very desperate ... charging more and more for
things that used to be free.
Qantas recently announced plans to start selling exit row seats on its
trans-Pacific flights for about $130 extra per seat -- $8.70 per hour for a
Sydney to Los Angeles flight.
Hey, if the plane is burning or sinking, you are sure to get out first.
In addition to the safety factor, the extra leg room alone, on a fifteen
hour flight, is well worth the additional 2 cents a mile. You also get to sit
with other "able bodied" -- not too old and not too young -- who are
willing to pay, and avoid being squished in between crying babies and overweight
gargancho space squatters oozing onto your seat.
Pretty soon, airlines will be charging for the privilege of getting any
seat at all. There have been recurring reports that two European airlines have
asked the airline manufacturers to come up with a plane with no seats --
all the better to stuff more people in.
They would have straps and harnesses on the walls. Michael Ryan, head of
Ryanair, one of Europe's biggest airlines -- which carried 5.84 million
passengers in June -- said recently,"This makes the idea of standing for an hour
or so on an airplane a workable one." Ryan said that many people stand for
over an hour on a train, so it should be no problem on an airplane.
Ryan has also been going back and forth about the idea of asking passengers
to pay one euro (around a dollar) to use the toilet. The logic: Ryan said
he could remove two toilets and put in extra seats. Furthermore, asking
passengers to pay would encourage them to use the toilets at the airports, or
hold it until they land.
Ryan even said he'd favor of a "fat tax" on overweight passengers.
Asian copy-cats are jumping on the standing room only bandwagon. Wang
Zhenghua, president of China's low-cost Spring Airlines, said he would like to
offer bar-stool type seating to pack more people onto its airplanes.
"For a lower price, passengers should be able to get on a plane like
catching a bus, with no seat, no luggage consignment, no food, no water...[it
will be] very convenient."
What could possibility be next? Why not go the whole way? Airlines could
start selling aisle seats for $50 and window seats for $40.
>From here the premiums multiply, seats in the front of the plane (you can
get off faster) could easily go for $20 extra, and seats at least two rows
away from the galley or flushing toilets would be an extra $15. Overhead
bins could go for $10 per bag.
Seats in an adult's only section -- over 30, guaranteed to be away from
screaming babies and babbling teens -- could easily fetch a $50 premium. And a
singles only section might fetch a cover charge of $25.
Airlines could hold some seats back for on-board auctions for already
seated travelers who wanted to move in the most desperate way -- body odor,
excessive talking, smelly food, or large-sized row mates.
Better yet. Why not take pre-boarding to a whole new level with
computer match making, so you could see in advance who you are going to be
seated next to... and the bidding could start on eBay.
By Blake
The airlines are getting very desperate ... charging more and more for
things that used to be free.
Qantas recently announced plans to start selling exit row seats on its
trans-Pacific flights for about $130 extra per seat -- $8.70 per hour for a
Sydney to Los Angeles flight.
Hey, if the plane is burning or sinking, you are sure to get out first.
In addition to the safety factor, the extra leg room alone, on a fifteen
hour flight, is well worth the additional 2 cents a mile. You also get to sit
with other "able bodied" -- not too old and not too young -- who are
willing to pay, and avoid being squished in between crying babies and overweight
gargancho space squatters oozing onto your seat.
Pretty soon, airlines will be charging for the privilege of getting any
seat at all. There have been recurring reports that two European airlines have
asked the airline manufacturers to come up with a plane with no seats --
all the better to stuff more people in.
They would have straps and harnesses on the walls. Michael Ryan, head of
Ryanair, one of Europe's biggest airlines -- which carried 5.84 million
passengers in June -- said recently,"This makes the idea of standing for an hour
or so on an airplane a workable one." Ryan said that many people stand for
over an hour on a train, so it should be no problem on an airplane.
Ryan has also been going back and forth about the idea of asking passengers
to pay one euro (around a dollar) to use the toilet. The logic: Ryan said
he could remove two toilets and put in extra seats. Furthermore, asking
passengers to pay would encourage them to use the toilets at the airports, or
hold it until they land.
Ryan even said he'd favor of a "fat tax" on overweight passengers.
Asian copy-cats are jumping on the standing room only bandwagon. Wang
Zhenghua, president of China's low-cost Spring Airlines, said he would like to
offer bar-stool type seating to pack more people onto its airplanes.
"For a lower price, passengers should be able to get on a plane like
catching a bus, with no seat, no luggage consignment, no food, no water...[it
will be] very convenient."
What could possibility be next? Why not go the whole way? Airlines could
start selling aisle seats for $50 and window seats for $40.
>From here the premiums multiply, seats in the front of the plane (you can
get off faster) could easily go for $20 extra, and seats at least two rows
away from the galley or flushing toilets would be an extra $15. Overhead
bins could go for $10 per bag.
Seats in an adult's only section -- over 30, guaranteed to be away from
screaming babies and babbling teens -- could easily fetch a $50 premium. And a
singles only section might fetch a cover charge of $25.
Airlines could hold some seats back for on-board auctions for already
seated travelers who wanted to move in the most desperate way -- body odor,
excessive talking, smelly food, or large-sized row mates.
Better yet. Why not take pre-boarding to a whole new level with
computer match making, so you could see in advance who you are going to be
seated next to... and the bidding could start on eBay.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Is your travel booking protected?
This is part of an article I read from the American Society of Travel Agents
It may not seem like such a big deal, but when you consider the fact that your deposits, fully paid trip or part paid, may not be covered, you could lose all your money, along with the trip you booked!!
Whether you book through us (I do hope so!), online or another agency, if you are booking a cruise for example, with one of the major companies (Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Princess, Crystal etc), you want to make sure your cruise portion (not any event fee as that is separate to the actual cruise booking) is paid directly to the cruise line via the booking agent, not direct to them! If you pay say $1500 and your credit card statement says "ABC Travel" not "Princess Cruise Line" for example, if that small agency goes under, you could very likely lose all that money. By making sure the agency pays your booking directly to the cruise line, you have a lot more security.
Also, if an agency is licensed, for example, we have a California license and pay into a security fund which is a protection fund for Californians, you are protected. If the agency is not licensed, you are on your own! License numbers are listed on websites and any marketing ads as a rule. So if you don't see any numbers such as CST #22085607-40, then that agency CANNOT sell to anyone located in California. This applies to other States such as Florida, Washington and several others, but California and Florida are the most strict on this licensing.
So do some homework before you throw away your hard earned money, it's hard enough to come by and you want to make sure you are protected.
Feel free to email me if you want more information.
ASTA is telling agents to be observant of suppliers and tour companies who may not be unable to meet short-term financial obligations. ASTA also urges agents to review consumer travel insurance products to understand coverage in the event of supplier default.
“With today's economic challenges and particularly the reduced availability of credit, some suppliers and tour companies may be unable to meet short-term financial obligations," ASTA said "That includes making deposits and final payments to hotels and other travel suppliers. These difficulties may be only temporary if the supplier is otherwise healthy, but extra care is required to protect agency clients in these economic conditions.
This article also made me think of agencies themselves. With the above issues, economy and credit availability issues, you need to be aware of who you book with. I, thankfully, can tell you I have all my registration and licenses required to sell travel in California and Florida, along with several other States that require licensing. But there are many travel agencies that are not licensed and still selling to the public.It may not seem like such a big deal, but when you consider the fact that your deposits, fully paid trip or part paid, may not be covered, you could lose all your money, along with the trip you booked!!
Whether you book through us (I do hope so!), online or another agency, if you are booking a cruise for example, with one of the major companies (Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Princess, Crystal etc), you want to make sure your cruise portion (not any event fee as that is separate to the actual cruise booking) is paid directly to the cruise line via the booking agent, not direct to them! If you pay say $1500 and your credit card statement says "ABC Travel" not "Princess Cruise Line" for example, if that small agency goes under, you could very likely lose all that money. By making sure the agency pays your booking directly to the cruise line, you have a lot more security.
Also, if an agency is licensed, for example, we have a California license and pay into a security fund which is a protection fund for Californians, you are protected. If the agency is not licensed, you are on your own! License numbers are listed on websites and any marketing ads as a rule. So if you don't see any numbers such as CST #22085607-40, then that agency CANNOT sell to anyone located in California. This applies to other States such as Florida, Washington and several others, but California and Florida are the most strict on this licensing.
So do some homework before you throw away your hard earned money, it's hard enough to come by and you want to make sure you are protected.
Feel free to email me if you want more information.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Travel to Mexico
Some good news for those already booked and planning travel to Mexico soon.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has downgraded its previous “Travel Alert” regarding travel to Mexico to a “Travel Health Precaution for Mexico.” All cruises will resume their regular sailings.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has downgraded its previous “Travel Alert” regarding travel to Mexico to a “Travel Health Precaution for Mexico.” All cruises will resume their regular sailings.
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