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Saturday, September 27, 2014
Travelore News: Puerto Vallarta 100% Opperational After Odie
Travelore Tips: Simple Self-Defense Skills Women (And Men) Should Know When Traveling
Personal
safety experts share tips that can help protect stressed out travelers
Traveling can frazzle your brain.
Between trying to remember if you locked up the house or put your ID back into
your wallet, thinking about personal safety in airport parking lots is the last
thing on most women’s minds. However, poorly lit parking garages, arms full of
luggage, confusing parking signs, forgetting where you parked and keys buried
in the bottom of an overflowing purse can make women easy targets for
predators. To help women stay safe while traveling, Krav Maga Worldwide,
the industry leader in self-defense and fitness, has put together a list of
personal safety tips to keep in mind when at the airport, train station or in
an unfamiliar city.
1.
Stay aware of your surroundings by scanning your
environment. No matter how busy you are, do not allow your mind to wander. It
might seem important in the moment to be making a to-do list in your head, but
if you are worrying about what you need to do when you get home you might not
notice someone following you to your vehicle, reading your email over your
shoulder or sliding a hand into your purse.
2.
Park in well lit areas. If you are
renting a car while traveling, when you park avoid spots next to
vans, trucks with camper shells, or cars with tinted windows. You want to keep
your car and yourself as visible to as many people as possible and as such you
should also avoid parking next to tall shrubs or plants that could block views
of your vehicle.
3.
Don't wear your purse so that the strap crosses
your body. Wearing a purse strap across your body makes you more connected to
your bag. If someone tries to steal your purse, you will be pulled with the
strap. You can become unbalanced and put into a vulnerable position or you
could end up in a physical altercation with the assailant. If your purse is
draped on one shoulder you can easily let go of it.
4.
Dress casually and comfortably. During
transit is not the time to make a fashion statement. It is better
to leave the high heels and flashy statement making pieces at home or in your
luggage until you arrive at your destination. Jeans and sneakers will help you
blend in and if needed enable you to make a quick getaway. Also, avoid wearing
large and expensive looking jewelry that can draw additional attention to you.
5.
Always keep one arm and hand free of luggage and
other gear. Many people travel with multiple bags, purses, lap top cases and
other paraphernalia. But, if your arms and hands are tied up with bags you have
no means of defending yourself from an attacker. Luggage that can stack
together securely and be pulled by one handle is a safer choice than wearing
and carrying numerous bags on your person.
About Krav Maga Worldwide
Founded in 1997 to promote Krav Maga throughout the
United States and around the world, Krav Maga Worldwide trains and certifies
instructors and licenses over 150 authorized Krav Maga Worldwide training
centers in the United States, Canada, Japan, Mexico, South America, and Europe,
as well as over 800 law enforcement agencies and military units. Krav Maga
offers the highest caliber of instruction to thousands of people, supporting
the company’s core commitment to improving and saving lives. Krav Maga
Worldwide continues to develop, promote and implement self-defense and fitness
programs. For additional information, visit: www.kravmaga.com.Follow us on Twitter: @TraveloreReport
Royal Caribbean Offering Five-Day 'Wow' Sale Starting Saturday September 27, Up to $200 On Board Credit Over And Above Current best Rates
Beat the holiday rush and enjoy greater savings and value by booking a Royal Caribbean International vacation now. And with the cruise line’s new five-day WOW Sale, there’s no better time to book a Royal Caribbean vacation in destinations around the world and receive onboard credits up to $200 per stateroom; reserve a stateroom with a 50 percent-reduced deposit; and combine with other offers to celebrate with more WOWs on an unforgettable vacation.
For all new individual and named group bookings made in the U.S. and Canada with required deposit from Sept. 27 through Oct. 1, 2014, guests can receive $50 onboard credit per stateroom for five-night and shorter itineraries, $100 onboard credit per stateroom for six- to nine-night itineraries, and $200 onboard credit per stateroom for 10-night and longer itineraries. Additionally, vacationers can reserve a stateroom with a 50 percent reduced deposit – as low as $50 per guest. The WOW sale applies for all open Royal Caribbean International sailings, based on availability, except aboard Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas. For more information, please visitwww.RoyalCaribbean.com/DealsandMore.
“This is the best time to plan a multigenerational family vacation and couple’s getaway aboard some of the world’s most innovative cruise ships,” said Carol Schuster, senior vice president of Marketing, Royal Caribbean International. “Vacationers have choices of nearly every Royal Caribbean ship sailing around the world, plus additional offers to deliver greater value and savings wherever they choose to go. Throughout, our friendly and engaging staff and crew members will deliver the WOW to every guest to help make memories that will last a lifetime.”
Vacationers can combine the special five-day WOW Sale with additional concurrent offers for even greater value on a Royal Caribbean vacation. All offers exclude Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas and additional restrictions may apply.
•Holiday Cruise Deal: For all new individual and named group bookings made aboard three- to eight-night Bahamas and Caribbean itineraries, sailing Dec. 15 through 31, 2014, the second guest receives 50 percent off with the first guest at full fare.
•Three Ways to Save: For all new individual and named group bookings made aboard itineraries sailing on or after Oct. 15, 2014, vacationers have a choice of the savings to enhance their Royal Caribbean vacation: enjoy 50 percent off for the second guest with the first guest at full fare, or free cruise fare for the third and fourth guests in the same stateroom, or save up to $1,500 per balcony and suite-category stateroom when purchasing air travel through Royal Caribbean’s ChoiceAir. This offer also excludes itineraries sailing from Dec. 15 through 31, 2014.
Royal Caribbean International is an award-winning global cruise brand with a 45-year legacy of innovation and introducing industry “firsts” never before seen at sea. The cruise line features an expansive and unmatched array of features and amenities only found on Royal Caribbean including, jaw-dropping, Broadway-style entertainment and industry-acclaimed programming that appeals to families and adventurous vacationers alike. Owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE/OSE: RCL), the cruise line sails 21 of the world’s most innovative cruise ships to the most popular destinations in Bermuda and the Caribbean, Europe, Alaska, South America, the Far East, and Australia and New Zealand. World renowned for its friendly and engaging Gold Anchor Service, delivered by every staff and crew member, Royal Caribbean has been voted “Best Cruise Line Overall” for 11 consecutive years in the Travel Weekly Readers Choice Awards.
For additional information or to make reservations, vacationers should call their travel agent; visit RoyalCaribbean.com; or call (800) ROYAL-CARIBBEAN. Follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/RoyalCaribbean or on Twitter @RoyalCaribbean.
Travelore Report, Monthly In Print Since 1971: DESTINATION REPORT: The Samana Peninsula Of The Do...
Travelore Report, Monthly In Print Since 1971: DESTINATION REPORT: The Samana Peninsula Of The Do...: Christopher Columbus landed in the Dominican Republic in 1492 and it became the site of the first European settlement in the Americas ...
Friday, September 26, 2014
The Highest U.S. Domestic Airfare Is $8,000, Comes With Shrimp And Privacy
An American Airlines aircraft flying over the mountains. Those passengers willing to pay an $8,000 fare are getting quite a ride. American Airlines
For $8,000, American Airlines treats select Los Angeles passengers to private berths, three-course meals boasting shrimp scampi and even vented compartments that can house socialites’ chihuahuas.
The costliest U.S. domestic fare is a bet that some fliers will pay for the ultimate in pampering from New York to Los Angeles and San Francisco. The 10 first-class seats on each of the Airbus Group NV A321 jets dedicated to those trips are the only ones offered on any route within the U.S.
Picture a front cabin where the aisle is flanked by just one berth on either side, in the space usually given over to three-abreast rows. Nosy neighbors can’t shoulder surf. The water is cucumber-infused, the wines billed as award winners. Noise-canceling headphones muffle a six-hour trip. The biggest question after an investment of almost $2 billion of planes and millions more in upgrades is whether the experiment will work.
“There certainly is a risk in doing this,” said Henry Harteveldt, founder of travel advisory firm Atmosphere Research Group. “If this proves to be profitable only on the New York to L.A. run and neutral or losing money on San Francisco, who knows if the profits from L.A. will be enough to sustain it?”
The 17 Airbus jets, dubbed A321Ts for “transcontinental,” are alone in flying within the U.S. with three cabins, for first, business and coach. United Airlines went to a two-class setup on cross-country routes in 2013. Delta Air Lines Inc. already had just two cabins on its aircraft.
‘Tremendous Sum’
“Eight-thousand dollars is a tremendous sum of money,” said Jay Sorensen, president of aviation consultant IdeaWorksCompany in Shorewood, Wisconsin. “If they are publishing that, then they are getting it. At this point, they have a very rare and meaningful distinction."
Chief Executive Officer Doug Parker and his top lieutenants initially were skeptical of the A321T, the brainchild of former CEO Tom Horton and Virasb Vahidi, his chief marketing officer. Fort Worth, Texas-based American had the plan in the works when Parker moved over from running US Airways as the companies merged in December.
A321T flights began in January, and President Scott Kirby said the service generated an enthusiastic response at an investor conference near Los Angeles this week.
“I bet I had at least six to eight people seek me out at the conference to tell me how great the transcon product was,” Kirby told analysts yesterday at an Imperial Capital event in New York. “It’s a huge hit with our customers and doing well.”
Rarefied Market
A round-trip fare to Los Angeles tonight from New York’s Kennedy airport in first class was offered on American’s website yesterday for about $7,400. Some recent tickets topped $8,000. Either would be an expense-account stretch for a typical corporate flier. The A321T’s routes let American tap a niche that includes entertainers, investors and lawyers willing to pay for exclusivity.
Privacy and extra workspace in the first-class berths attracted Matthew Bennett, who used frequent-flier miles to book one way on an A321T.
“The difference between business and first-class is akin to the difference between economy and business,” said Bennett, who is based in Monterey, California, and publishes “First Class Flyer,” an advice newsletter on redeeming loyalty awards and elite upgrades. “It’s pretty darn significant.”
So is the cost difference. At yesterday’s prices, buying that New York-Los Angeles round trip for tonight in business class would have run about $5,200. (A reservation with a month’s notice would pare the bill to about $3,200).
Filet, Gnocchi
For those springing for first class, the seats are 27.4 inches (70 centimeters) wide, compared with 19 in business and 17.7 in coach. Three-course meals — don’t like shrimp? Try the beef filet or butternut squash gnocchi — are included. The heartiest coach entrée: a $9.99 chicken Cobb sandwich.
American offers 13 daily Kennedy departures to Los Angeles, and five to San Francisco. Most aren’t redeyes, so the first- class pillows, bedding and lie-flat seats are more a convenience for napping than a full night’s rest. To wake up, passengers can sip an espresso or cappuccino, and refresh with hand lotion, lip balm and toothpaste in the amenity kit.
First-class pets are cosseted as well.
The two berths at the front bulkhead each have a space with a vented door to hold a kennel or carrying case for takeoff and landing. It’s known as the “Paris Hilton compartment,” for the celebrity who often flies with her dogs, Atmosphere’s Harteveldt said. Los Angeles-based Miller PR, which represents Hilton, didn’t return messages.
Reclaiming Glory
Parker is positioning the premium service as part of a bid to return American to its role as an industry innovator in the 1970s and 1980s, when it introduced the AAdvantage loyalty program and the hub-and-spoke route system.
“It’s a really unique market in the country connecting the two largest corporate travel centers,” Chief Marketing Officer Andrew Nocella said in an interview. “It’s ultra-important to probably every airline. It’s particularly important to American, which has a real strong legacy presence there.”
American configured the whole plane to cater to high-fare fliers. With 102 seats, the A321T has barely half as many as A321s flown by other airlines. First and business class account for 29 percent of the total, more than twice the share as on the Delta and United jets flying the same trips. Another 36 seats boast extra legroom, for a fee. There are 36 in coach.
Keeping Track
Even as Delta and United parent United Continental Holdings Inc. say they aren’t considering adding a cross-country first class, the American competitors may be paying attention.
“Once somebody disrupts a market with a product of that quality, the others are going to want to analyze it and see if they want to follow suit,” said John Beauvais, president- corporate brands for Flight Centre USA and Latin America, a division of Brisbane, Australia-based Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd. “They certainly are not ignoring it.”
For American, a first-class cabin can act as a lure to regain corporate contracts lost during the carrier’s two-year bankruptcy and merger negotiations. With the A321T, business travelers can guarantee themselves same level of service across the U.S. and onto other American flights to Europe, Asia or Latin America.
Offering the only first-class seats on domestic routes sets American apart, said Hubert Horan, a Phoenix-based airline consultant who as a Northwest Airlines executive helped create that carrier’s Pacific route system in the 1990s.
“If you’re trying to send a message to the high end of the market,” Horan said, “this is the way to send a message.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Mary Schlangenstein in Dallas at maryc.s@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ed Dufner at edufner@bloomberg.net Molly Schuetz
Follow us on Twitter: @TraveloreReport
5 Free Things To See And Do In Edinburgh
Contributed by Paul Kelbie, AP
This undated photo provided by Visit Scotland shows Arthur's Seat, a dormant volcano which sits 251 meters (825 feet) above sea level, offering a unique vantage point. As the highest point in the 640-acre (260-hectare) Royal Park adjacent to Holyrood Palace, it also offers a chance to explore the remains of a 2,000-year-old hill fort. (AP Photo/Visit Scotland)
Scotland has made headlines lately with voters rejecting independence and choosing instead to remain part of the United Kingdom. Visitors will naturally be curious about the centuries of history that led to Scotland's distinct culture. And a visit to the country's capital, Edinburgh, with its historic 16th century tenements and grandiose 19th century town houses, is a tale of two cities in one.
More than 600 years of history seep from every pore of Edinburgh's volcanic foundations. Tales of genius and enlightenment are mingled with those of body-snatchers, witches and revolutionaries.
The Old Town, dominated by the imposing medieval battlements of Edinburgh Castle, runs downhill along the Royal Mile stretching from the castle to the Queen's official Scottish residence of Holyrood Palace.
Exploring the narrow lanes and footpaths between some of the world's tallest 16th- and 17th-century merchants' houses feels like a return to the days of Daniel Defoe, the 18th-century author of Robinson Crusoe and English spy, or the 19th-century murderers Burke and Hare.
In contrast, the neoclassical New Town area built between 1767 and 1890 is a masterpiece of city planning, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a monument to the Age of Enlightenment which put Edinburgh at the heart of intellectual and scientific accomplishments
MUSEUMS
Edinburgh is full of free museums within a short walk of each other, including the National Museum of Scotland and its vast array of artifacts from across the world.
Nearby the Edinburgh Writers Museum celebrates the lives of famous Scots writers such as Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson while the Museum of Childhood, Museum of Edinburgh and The People's Story provide an informative and entertaining history of the city and its people.
For those with a slightly more macabre interest, the Police Information Center and its museum of crime contains a business-card holder made from skin of infamous body-snatcher William Burke.
ART GALLERIES
In addition to numerous museums, Edinburgh is also home to several free art galleries, including the Scottish National Gallery in the middle of the city; the National Portrait Gallery and the Scottish Gallery of Modern Art.
Old Masters sit alongside the work of some of the world's leading Impressionists and Post-Impressionists in addition to temporary exhibitions, which create a smorgasbord of culture for art lovers.
GO FOR A WALK
Edinburgh is ideal to explore independently but for those who prefer a guide there are a couple of operators, such as Sandeman's Free Walking Tour and Edinburgh Free Walking Tours, which take visitors along the Royal Mile.
Typical routes take in the views of Edinburgh Castle and St. Giles Cathedral, which has over 200 memorials to notable Scots, and the historic Grassmarket and Cowgate areas.
No walk would be complete without a visit to Greyfriars Kirkyard and the statue of Greyfriar's Bobby at the corner of Candlemaker's Row, celebrating one of Edinburgh's most famous tales about the tiny 19th-century skye terrier who spent 14 years guarding the grave of his owner.
ARTHUR'S SEAT
For the more energetic, Arthur's Seat, a dormant volcano which sits 251 meters (825 feet) above sea level, offers a unique vantage point. No other city in the world has an extinct volcano in its limits and as the highest point in the 640-acre (260-hectare) Royal Park adjacent to Holyrood Palace, it also offers a chance to explore the remains of a 2,000-year-old hill fort.
SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT
At the foot of the Royal Mile, in the shadow of Arthur's Seat, is the award-winning building of the Scottish Parliament. Designed by Catalonian architect Enric Miralles, it has been hailed as both a modern architectural marvel and an over-priced blot on the landscape. You can make up your own mind with a free guided tour and access to a permanent exhibition about the Parliament or even sit in on the debates and watch democracy in action.
“What’s New in London” December 2014
The year may be coming to a close, but there is plenty of time to book a trip to London this December to enjoy unique exhibitions and events while staying at new hotel properties.
Among the unique offerings are “Small Stories: At Home in a Dolls’ House” at the Victoria & Albert Museum of Childhood opening December 13that takes you on a journey of the history of each home and the dolls who lived there.
History buffs will appreciate “The First World War in the Air” at the Royal Air Force Museum in North London. The Museum site has a rich history and played an important role in the early development of British aviation. See how pilots, ground crews and even factory workers come together at this birthplace of aerial power.
Theater season is in full swing with new productions of beloved children’s classics including “The Wind in the Willows” opening December 2 at the Vaudeville Theater; “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” at the Royal Opera House beginning December 6; and “The Little Match Girl” at Sadler’s Wells on December 13. Also highly anticipated is the Young Vic’s production of “Golem” -- a stunning blend of original animation with entrancing music and live performance exploring the theme of what happens when mankind and machines become inextricably intertwined.
Don’t miss the Mayor of London’s New Year’s Eve Fireworks Display. This year 100,000 tickets will be available to the public atwww.london.gov.uk/nye.
London offers a wide variety of accommodations. New hotels include The Beaumont Hotel, the first of noted restaurateurs Jeremy King and Chris Corbin and M by Montcalm, one of two new hotels from the Montcalm Group. The 200-room hotel is part of a 23-story tower development which fuses large scale art, sculpture and architecture in a futuristic tower.
Additional information about all these attractions opening in December is below. For more on what’s new in London, go to visitlondon.com. You can also follow the London & Partners Media and Public Relations team for more London news at @London_PR.
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