Friday, December 11, 2009
New Years Eve @ The Plazzo Las Vegas
For more information call Supreme Clientele Travel @ (866)782-9838
Disney Introduces Family-Friendly Port Adventures
In 2010, Disney Cruise Line will offer family-friendly shore excursions in the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the Caribbean and the Bahamas. All Port Adventures are designed to entertain both children and adults. Added touches include more scheduled breaks, complimentary snacks and beverages, and port journals for kids. While every port of call will offer Port Adventures for families, many tours integrate separate activities for children and adults. While kids are engaged in age-appropriate activities supervised by youth counselors from the ship, parents can explore cultural sites and points of interest in greater depth. For the 2010 European season, each itinerary will include at least one tour that features Disney characters and storytelling to help bring local culture and customs to life. Itineraries also will showcase cultural experiences in intimate, upscale settings during Signature Collection tours. For example, in St. Petersburg, Russia, the Catherine Palace provides the setting for a Royal Ball. The estate served as Russia’s imperial family summer residence for more than 200 years, but on this Port Adventure it will be the stage for a gala hosted by Disney princesses such as Cinderella, Snow White and Belle. Arriving by horse-drawn carriages, the princesses and their princes will entertain guests in the gilded Grand Ballroom.
At many ports of call during the 2010 European season, at least one Port Adventure will bring youth counselors from the Disney Magic ashore to join the tour and direct special activities for children. While kids are enjoying “mini adventures” designed for them, adults on the tour continue on with a more in-depth exploration of the destination. During a tour of Florence, for example, families experience city highlights together then divide into separate groups. Children spend about an hour creating a traditional Italian fresco painting and parents are free to explore the Palazzo Vecchio.
Signature Collection tours are customized for guests seeking deluxe experiences ashore in intimate, upscale settings. In Florence, the Tuscan Cooking School and Wine Tasting takes guests on a northern Italian culinary journey. A Tuscan farmhouse is the venue for learning how to create Tuscan cuisine. An Italian chef provides one-on-one instruction and guides the hands-on participation. For more information, call Supreme Clientele Travel @ (866)782-9838
Disney to Introduce New Stage Show Aboard Ships
Disney Cruise Line in spring 2010 will premiere “Villains Tonight!,” a musical show about the malevolent world of Disney villains. The revue-style show will debut during the March 27 voyage on the Disney Magic and early 2011 on the new Disney Dream. “Villains Tonight!” is the first full-scale musical production dedicated to the Disney villains. Disney Cruise Line assembled a creative team headlined by the Tony-nominated Broadway writing team of Hunter Bell and Jeff Bowen. They are joined by director Allison Narver, choreographer Karma Camp and musical director Ben Cohn. For more information, call Supreme Clientele Travel @ (866)782-9838
New Zoetry Casa del Mar Los Cabos Opens in Mexico
AMResorts, provider of resort sales, marketing and brand management services, unveiled the third Zoëtry Wellness & Spa Resort and the brand’s second property in Mexico, Zoëtry Casa del Mar Los Cabos. A member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, Zoëtry Casa del Mar is the first property on the Mexican Pacific Coast under the Zoëtry Wellness & Spa Resorts brand. Boasting 42 beachfront suites overlooking the Sea of Cortez, the hacienda-style resort embraces the region’s architecture. Set on a privileged location, Zoëtry Casa del Mar provides guests with sunset views over the Sea of Cortez. The resort’s design showcases arches, cobbled courtyards, tiled fountains, tropical gardens and authentic Mexican architecture. The large oceanview suites offer marble bathrooms with a Jacuzzi and Bvlgari bath amenities, separate sitting rooms, plush bedding, bathrobes and slippers, private teak furnished terraces and more. Zoëtry Casa del Mar also brings the Zoëtry Wellness & Spa Resorts’ signature Endless Privileges vacation concept to a new destination. The program treats guest to daily breakfast, lunch and dinner gourmet dining options with an assortment of organic food and beverage selections; complimentary cocktails and specialty beverages from a variety of domestic and international premium brands; daily afternoon tea time featuring live plant tea infusions; no check-in or check-out time; 24-hour private, in-room dining; access to all restaurants, facilities and services at Dreams Los Cabos Suites Golf Resort & Spa, located next door; maid service three times each day; complimentary beach bag; daily fresh bottle of champagne and basket of fruit; welcome bottle of tequila; complimentary unlimited worldwide calls; complimentary 24-hour laundry service; a 20-minute massage per guest; and access to sauna, steam room and Jacuzzi.
Travelers also have an extensive selection of on- and off-site amenities and activities including four swimming pools; three lighted tennis courts; culinary, photography and wine tasting classes; weekly workshops with an on-site nutrition expert; access to the resort’s private Beach Club with a restaurant, swimming pool and swim-up bar; and discounted greens fees at three area courses include Robert Trent Jones Jr.’s, Cabo Real Golf Course. Guests can also indulge themselves with signature massage therapies, facials and body treatments to relax, pamper and rejuvenate the body, mind and soul at the property’s signature Sueños del Mar Spa. The facilities feature seven indoor cabins and “on the sand” oceanfront palapas. For more information, call Supreme Clientele Travel @ (866)782-9838
Thursday, December 10, 2009
The 10 best ski resorts for people who don't ski
Skiers want nothing but to be on the slopes this time of year. But what if they bring friends or family along who don't ski? Shermans Travel —shermanstravel.com— a publisher of travel deals and destination advice, has come up with a list of 10 of the best ski resorts in the world for nonskiers, from the Alps to New England to the West. They are:
• Austria's Bad Gastein, home to 18 natural hot springs in addition to challenging snow bowls and high-altitude views. Shermans Travel recommendation for value lodging: Haus Hirt Hotel & Spa.
•Megeve, France, where no one hits the slopes before 11 a.m. and lunch can take hours. Local Michelin-rated eateries include Flocons de Sel, La Ferme de Mon Pere, and the hidden Domaine de la Sasse, reached by a 20-minute hike on snowshoes.
SKI GUIDE: Resort profiles, snow conditions, more
• Mont Tremblant, in Quebec, Canada, where skiers love the wide runs and nonskiers love the pedestrian-friendly village with good food and great apres-ski. Value lodging recommendation from Shermans: Chateau Beauvallon.
•Park City, Utah, which has terrain for every skier, and attractions for nonskiers like the Kimball Art Center, shows at the Egyptian Theatre, and the annual film festival at Sundance each January.
• Sierra Nevada — no, not the mountain range in California and Nevada — the one in Spain. Yes, skiing is possible in a sunny, Mediterranean country. For activities off the slope, head to Grenada, an hour from the Pradollano ski village.
• Stowe, Vt., offers New England charm for skiers and nonskiers alike, including 50 restaurants, a half-dozen wellness centers and spas, and for those who are shy of the slopes but don't mind cross-country, the Nordic Center at Trapp Family Lodge, with 90 scenic miles of trails.
• Sun Valley, Idaho, which offers sunny slopes on Mount Baldy for skiers and the Western charm of Ketchum for nonskiers. Pay your respects at the grave of Ernest Hemingway or spend the afternoon at galleries, spas, and boutiques.
• Taos, N.M., with sun and steep slopes for skiers, plus 80 galleries, seven museums, A-list restaurants like Joseph's Table for everyone else. Shermans Travel value recommendation for lodging is the Historic Taos Inn.
•Whistler Blackcomb, where the Peak 2 Peak gondola will take you between the summits of Whistler and Blackcomb whether you're skiing or just sightseeing. Shermans says the village is also known for its rowdy nightlife.
•Zermatt, Switzerland, a fantasyland in the shadow of the Matterhorn, where the streets are lined with glitzy shops and glam clubs but are otherwise quiet, thanks to the ban on gas-powered cars.
Sensitive TSA manual posted on web
The federal government improperly posted an internal guide to its airport passenger screening procedures on the Internet in a way that could offer insight into how to sidestep security.
The document outlines who is exempt from certain additional screening measures, including members of the U.S. armed forces, governors and lieutenant governors, the mayor of Washington, D.C., and their immediate families.
It offers examples of identification documents that screeners accept, including congressional, federal air marshal and CIA ID cards; and it explains that diplomatic pouches and certain foreign dignitaries with law enforcement escorts are not subjected to any screening at all. It said certain methods of verifying identification documents aren't used on all travelers during peak travel crushes.
The Transportation Security Administration, which oversees airport security, said the document is outdated. It was posted in March by TSA on the Federal Business Opportunity site. The posting was improper because sensitive information was not properly protected, TSA spokeswoman Kristin Lee said.
As a result, some websites, using widely available software, were able to uncover the original text of sections that had been blacked out for security reasons. On Sunday, the Wandering Aramean blog pointed out the document in a posting titled "The TSA makes another stupid move."
According to the blog, TSA posted a redacted version of the document but did not delete the sensitive information from the file. Instead of removing the text, the government covered it up with a black box. But the text was still embedded in the document and could be uncovered.
TSA asked that the document be removed from the Federal Business Opportunity site on Dec. 6 after the security lapse was reported in a blog. But copies of the document — with the redacted portions exposed — circulated on the Internet and remain posted on other websites not controlled by the government.
Lee said TSA takes the incident seriously and a review is underway.
Noting that the transportation agency uses multiple layers of security, Lee said, "TSA is confident that screening procedures currently in place remain strong."
The document, marked "sensitive security information," includes instructions on how it should be stored to avoid compromising security: Electronic copies should be password-protected; hard copies should be in separate binders and stored in cabinets or desk drawers; and missing copies should be immediately reported.
The document also describes these screening protocols:
•Individuals with a passport from Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Libya, Syria, Sudan, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Somalia, Iraq, Yemen, or Algeria, should be given additional screening unless there are specific instructions not to.
•Aircraft flight crewmembers in uniform with valid IDs are not subject to liquid, gel, aerosol and footwear restrictions.
•Wheelchair and scooter cushions, disabled people's footwear that can't be removed, prosthetic devices, casts, braces and orthopedic shoes at certain times may be exempt from screening for explosives.
Intelligence officials have warned of prosthetic devices and wheelchairs being used to conceal weapons and other contraband.
"Some of these devices may have been used to exploit a perception that security and law enforcement officers offer disabled or pregnant individuals a more relaxed inspection," said an August 2007 TSA intelligence note marked "for official use only" and obtained by The Associated Press.
Former TSA Administrator Kip Hawley said the document is not something a security agency would want to inadvertently post online, but he said it's not a roadmap for terrorists.
"Hyperventilating that this is a breach of security that's going to endanger the public is flat wrong," Hawley said.
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson, D-Miss., was more concerned.
"Undoubtedly, this raises potential security concerns across our transportation system," Thompson wrote the agency Tuesday in a letter recommending that an independent federal agency be found to review the incident. The chairwoman of the panel's transportation security subcommittee, Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, D-Texas, also signed the letter.
Thompson's Senate counterpart, Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said the episode was "an embarrassing mistake that calls into question the judgment of agency managers. ... That it was incompetently redacted only compounds the error."
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Higher gasoline prices greet Thanksgiving travelers
Thanksgiving travelers will find gasoline prices much higher than last year with little hope for respite heading into the rest of the holiday season, oil and gas analysts say.The national average for a gallon of regular gas was $2.64 on Monday, slightly less than a month ago but up 72 cents a gallon from a year ago, the auto club AAA says.
Oil prices ended the day Monday up 9 cents, closing at $77.56 a barrel, indicating little change ahead for gasoline prices. "It's a fairly stable pricing environment," says Jim Ritterbusch, president of oil trading adviser firm Ritterbusch and Associates.
Thanksgiving travel provides an opportunity to gauge the mood of U.S. consumers, AAA says.
The auto club expects 2% more travelers on roadways this year than last, for a total of 33.2 million people.
The expected increase reflects improved consumer confidence, a rising stock market and growing sense among many consumers that the worst of the global economic crisis is behind us, AAA says.
Last year, Thanksgiving travel tanked 25% from the previous year in the wake of the housing and financial meltdown.
Now, gas prices could emerge as a drag on consumer spending with the nation's unemployment rate hitting 10.2% last month, says Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service.
"When we dipped into the recession, cheaper energy was a silver lining," Kloza says. "That silver lining has disappeared and that will test this recovery."
In the next month, he says, he expects crude oil prices to be twice the level of last year, a situation that rarely occurs. Oil has traded between $76 and $82 a barrel for more than a month. Initially, it was driven higher on expectations of an economic recovery and a weak dollar. Because oil is priced in dollars, a falling dollar drives oil prices up.
Countering those factors are big inventories of gasoline, heating oil, natural gas and diesel fuel in the U.S., Ritterbusch says. "As long as we have unemployment above 10%, that'll keep a lid on rising gas prices or changes in people's driving habits," he adds.
The Energy Information Administration, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, expects higher crude oil prices to drive gas near $3 a gallon during next year's summer driving season. Crude oil prices account for 64% of the cost of gas, the Energy Information Administration says.
YOUR MONEY: State-by-state gasoline averages from AAA
While $2.64 a gallon is a national average, drivers in different areas pay more or less. The EIA said Monday that regular gas is averaging $2.94 a gallon in California and $2.84 a gallon in New York, but $2.43 a gallon in Houston.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Airplane part falls onto front lawn near NYC
An engine tail cone popped off a Delta Air Lines jet shortly after takeoff from New York's Kennedy Airport. It plummeted thousands of feet into a Long Island neighborhood before landing harmlessly on someone's lawn. FAA spokeswoman Arlene Salac said Friday the jet doesn't need the part to fly and passengers on the Tokyo-bound flight weren't in any danger.
Neither the pilots nor people on the ground noticed the mishap when it happened Thursday evening.
The flight continued to its destination. Salac says Delta personnel reported the part missing after the plane landed in Japan.
The 20-pound part measured 4-feet long and 3-feet in diameter. A resident spotted it hours later and called police.
Delta says an investigation is underway.
Soar above Vegas aboard the Cloud Nine Balloon
LAS VEGAS — There's a new way to get high in Las Vegas, and it's perfectly legal.
The recently inaugurated Cloud Nine Balloon is a 20-minute attraction that gives a bird's-eye view of the Las Vegas Strip day and night.
It's not a traditional helium balloon outing, since riders don't float for miles. Cloud Nine remains tethered to the ground at the south end of the Strip near the Mandalay Bay resort.
But about two dozen riders can rise about 500 feet in the air, and the balloon can be reserved for intimate Champagne outings and to elevate wedding and birthday fetes.
Cloud Nine, which opened in October, also offers views of the vast CityCenter complex, which is due to open in December. The cost of a flight is $22.50 for adults in the daytime; $27.50 at sunset and later at night. Flights don't go when the wind is high.
Children 12 and under soar for $17.50 in the day; $22.50 at sunset and later. Kids 4 and under fly free. There is a $5 discount for locals, military and teachers with ID. Information: cloud9vegas.com; 800-585-8688.
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