Rough Seas for the cruise industry

BARGAIN Basement PRICES for a 3 night Cruise from $199 plus free upgrades! 

I went on a Cruise to The Seychelles and enjoyed the Le Meridien Fisherman Cove Hotel. The lush tropical gardens and stunning white sandy beaches were peaceful, so far from the rest of the world.
Today, there is news about a Carnival owned cruise ship adrift in the Indian Ocean on the same route my ship took to the Seychelles.  I’m not sure I want to go on another cruise, though I did take advantage of the lower air fares after 9/11. United Airlines is offering a lot of miles for cruises and you don’t even have to fly. I’d rather take my chances on a ship than fly.

There is no good news for Cruise Lines:

1. On Jan 2012 The Costa Concordia capsized near the Tuscan coast where 25 people drowned.
2. A crew member was rescued after jumping off Galveston Carnival cruise ship on the 25th Feb into the Gulf of Mexico.
3. 22  Carnival Splendor Cruise passengers were robbed at gunpoint while on a nature tour shore excursion, near the port in Puerto Vallarta.
4. On 2/27/2012 a CCL ship is adrift near The Seychelles after a fire in the generator room left the vessel without  power. 1,000+passengers are waiting  aboard the ship, for tugboats that may take 2 days to get to them and the fear is that the Somali pirates may get there before the Tugs do.
5. 3 different boats had ill people in the last couple of months. 86 people were ill in a Norovirus outbreak on The Ruby Princess Caribbean cruise from Florida and another ship had 455 sick with gastrointestinal illness. Norovirus’ symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramping. Journalist Gene Sloan cites a report of a man getting kicked off a Carnival ship in Roatan, Honduras because he was sick.

If this does not put you off sailing, they are advertising up to $400 cash back & upgrades through Carnivals Leap Year sale. You get cash back on US cruises but the most cash that you get back is per state room on Transatlantic and European 12 day cruises. Another offer for a  "Fun Ship" vacation is to  Book now and sail for less than $70 per day. Free food and  WiFi is enticing?
Perhaps now is the time to cruise because they may not stay in business at this rate? The world's largest cruise operator is facing a wave of law suits from the victims' families. I can't believe that the captain of ship got himself off the ship before rescuing his passengers on Carnivals Costa Concordia. He is under investigation, accused of multiple manslaughter and abandoning ship before the evacuation of more than 4,200 passengers and crew.

Through United Airlines Mileage Plus program, you can earn thousands of miles to use on future flights. In some cases, you can even earn "double miles", or twice the amount of miles you would earn otherwise, but you can not redeem miles for a cruise.

Bon Voyage !

Colorado or Caribbean on Sale

I flew into Col Springs from Kansas City, Mo on Frontier Airlines. Frontier is expanding its services offered at the Colorado Springs Airport. Flights will now be offered to Phoenix, Seattle, Portland, Ore., and Los Angeles.

Radisson guests can take advantage of the 24-hour complimentary airport shuttle, so I returned the rental car and took the Radisson bus to spend the last night at the hotel located at the foot of Pikes Peak, America's mountain. For the rate of only $70.00 USD, the Radisson Hotel Colorado Springs Airport has convenient access off I-25 or Highway 24,  from the Radisson Hotel, it’s easy to get to area businesses and ski resorts, I felt very safe because there are several military installations nearby. Seeing men in uniforms makes me feel that they can deal with everything from snow storms to defending our country. Colorado ….. or if you don’t like the cold you can get a great rate at the Caribbean Radisson Blu Resort, Marina & Spa St Martin.

Save 25% with Radisson Hotels 3-DAY SALE ( Sale Ends Feb 16) , Save 25% on your stay when you book select hotels at Radisson.com, and stay on select dates through February 29, 2012. The promotion code is LMD25OFF Country Inns are included and some of their rates are as low as$60 per night, including breakfast. And remember you earn 2,000 bonus Gold Points® for every online booking.

Another low cost hotel chain is Holiday Inn, now offering double Points for stays via Priority Club Rewards loyalty program, you can Redeem points anywhere and Points never expire.   Till April 30^th , you can earn double points for every qualifying stay, starting with your second stay. That means, you’ll earn extra points at IHG hotels, including Indigo, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn® and Holiday Inn Express hotels worldwide.

Their Best Flexible Rate lets you stay for as many nights as you want, on any date you please, with the best rate available. You can get up to 20% discount if you book the Advance Purchase Rate at least 14 days in advance of arrival at IHG hotels.

I prefer the best Flexible rate because the advance payment is non-refundable. Once a reservation is confirmed, your credit card will be charged between time of booking and day of arrival for the total amount shown, regardless of whether or not the reservation is used.

Frontier Airlines says that they will be ending eight of their 21 daily flights from KCI this spring. According to a report from AP, the airline will end or reduce service to Milwaukee, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Aspen. The CEO of Republic Airways Holdings Inc. wnted to make Frontier Airlines more like lower-cost rivals Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Travel Co to try to make Frontier more profitable because it has not been doing well since they bought the airline in 2009.   He now says he's going to sell Frontier, “So they can focus on their core business providing regional air services for major carriers like Delta , United US Airways and AA. You can fly Fly to 70+ cities in US, Mexico & Costa Rica watching DirectTV .    Frontier has 3 ELITE  levels of EarlyReturns® Frequent flyer membership benefits. Summit level is the highest and you need 25,000 Frontier flight miles flown in one calendar year (January through December) or 30 Frontier flight segments flown.

I was able to find out about cool Colorado après ski places thanks to Audi teaming up with the U.S. Ski Team! You can find out more about ski resorts in America via FourSquare’s new campaign with celebrity Skiers like Vonn and Andrew Weibrecht with tips from their Olympic experience. You can see where they are and hang out with them for après ski!

Love at first bite at this Hotel

If you want your kids to join you on a special trip where you can get in some Spa + romantic time, the place to go is The Renaissance Orlando, SeaWorld hotel.

I love ♡the Néu lotus Spa! I was sooo …relaxed and energized after a massage and facial that I could enjoy quality time with my other half.  ♥♥ it’s love at first bite this February for culinary couples as the Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld introduces its Valentine's weekend travel experience featuring a cooking class of savory seductions.

The Hotel is located, across from SeaWorld Orlando and near Aquatica, Discovery Cove, Walt Disney World, and Universal Studios. They have a  free shuttle service back and forth to the park, so you don’t even need to rent a car, but if you do they have a Hertz rental car desk. Parking costs $21 dollars a day, but guests driving a hybrid car get Complimentary valet parking .

Elite Gold and Platinum Marriott Rewards members get free internet, but Valentines day is a good time to take a break from work and indulge ….

Foodies can enjoy its "Love at First Bite" package that lets lovebirds literally, eat their hearts out. Based on a one-night-stay Friday, February 10^th or Saturday, February 11^th the package costs $269 per couple and includes:

Room with breakfast and a group cooking class from 6:00 p.m. – in the R Kitchen with Champagne/wine pairings. Children enjoy the Shamu Game Room and theirs always Concierge-arranged babysitting.

I’ve always found long lines at Orlando airport but hopefully it will improve now that Children 12 and under don’t have to remove their shoes anymore so,  that is speeding up the line for all of us. CLEAR  ME  is a great way to speed thru the airport, also the new Pilot fast track TSA program started last year called,"PreCheck", they announced plans to broadly expand the airport trusted-traveler program this year to more than two dozen large U.S. airports.
This means that pre-vetted frequent flyers and members of other Department of Homeland Security trusted-traveler programs from removing shoes, laptops, jackets and belts during airport security screening.

♡♡☸ڿڰۣ--ڰڿڰۣ from @elitePro :-) ♥♥♥ Have a great νaℓєитinє’ѕ ∂αу ❤

New Elite Starwood Hotels benefit

I like to stay at luxury branded hotels like the Luxury Collection, W®, Le Méridien, and Westin, but if I want to be sure to get a quick, free breakfast in the Club lounge, I can always count on the Sheraton brand to be true to their brand by offering the same benefits at all Sheratons. The other Starwood brands need more research time invested in discovering their benefits. –`

Not all Westin hotel have a Club lounge. For example; the Westin Austin at the Domain, does not have a Club lounge yet the Westin Chicago does.

Starwood Hotels have a New benefit for members! Starting March 1 you have more Elite Platinum and Gold Welcome Gift options. Free Breakfast, drinks , points or other amenities.

I like receiving the Elite Platinum 500 welcome amenity points at the top category hotels and am not sure why St. Regis, W and Luxury Collection now will only receive 250 bonus Starpoints® per eligible stay at St. Regis®, Luxury Collection®, W®, Le Méridien®, Westin® and Sheraton® and 125 Starpoints per stay at AloftSM, ElementSM and Four Points® by Sheraton.

However, … I do like the new free Beverage and breakfast. Cheers. Sit back and relax with your favorite cocktail in the hotel’s restaurant or bar.

Thanks SPG for adding continental breakfast as one of our welcome gift choices. Now we can choose from continental breakfast, bonus Starpoints® or local amenities.