Time 2 Cruise

A year ago I wrote a post about how people like to take their own game systems with them on vacation. Does my hotel room or cruise ship cabin tv have the right connections for my gaming system? Have games, will travel. I have several times taken my Xbox - Rockband - up to my cabin for the weekend! But would I take it with me on a plane? As airlines limit checked and carry on luggage it seems that I may have to prioritize my packing. A new version of the Nintendo Wi is more durable and has the games loaded on a hard drive, so users do not have to load game CD's. The Wi has become so popular that some hotels and cruise lines are offering it as an optional upgrade. But will this sway vacationers to one hotel or cruise ship over another? Maybe. For some people, playing the Wi is considered a way of relaxing and recharging. Perhaps another way to exercise and have fun at the same time. And Nintendo isn't hurting from the extra publicity either. So this is a win win situ...

Southwest Airlines posts another profit yet they don't charge for checked luggage. It's no secret that for years they have done what is called hedging when purchasing fuel. If you are not sure what hedging is, its freezing the price by buying forward. So why aren't all the other airlines following Southwest into the land of profit? Some have tried to hedge in the past but for one reason or another they only did it half heartedly and on a small scale. Everyone likes to bag on Southwest Airlines, but when a business model works you can't argue with success. Large corporations are ran by collections of "experts" that get paid a lot of money to run these companies, yet why do most run them into the ground? Ford released numbers recently of a $9 billion loss. I know Ford is not really related to travel, but it is a good example of a company going in the wrong direction. On the flip side, the airline's losses were not as big as expected, but it's a sad stat...

As the 1st quarter numbers are being released with major losses for the airlines, many are predicting that the new fees should help drastically in the coming months. But as these fees add up, many passengers are starting to cry foul. With a fee for checking your bags, paying for soda and snacks, and paying a premium to get certain seats on some airlines, the cost of a flight can quickly add up to way more than expected. Here's the twist though. Not everyone needs or uses everyone of the amenities that are now being charged for. Just about everyone takes bags along on a trip, but is the in flight snack and movie something you can't live without? This way its going be be the few that pay for the many and I for one like the idea if it helps keep the base price of the flight down but don't look for that to happen either. With consolidation, decreases in flights, and the threat of some airlines going bankrupt there will be fewer choices in the future which by supply and d...

The topic of art auctions has always been a touchy one. There is a new article on MSNBC just today calling the art auction gallery "the worst place on the ship". As someone who has been to the auctions, and actually bought a couple of pieces I can't say that I agree with this but I do have to agree that when it comes to auctions at sea that you have to be very careful. It is rare to find what we would call "original" artwork at these auctions. A good auctioneer will explain (in auctioneer speak) just exactly you get which is usually a reproduction in one a handful of formats that while sound fantastic are for the casual person easily explained as expensive posters. As for the pieces that we have bought. We knew what we bought and were happy with the price, but knew that we would not be able to or want to pay what it would cost for the original anyway. Now, our budget was $300 for everything we bought and not thousands of dollars nor did I believe that we...

Could it become a reality in our lifetime? I recently read an article questioning who has rights to Lunar property, and how would one claim it. Is it possible to have a Hotel Hilton on the Sea of Tranquility? As a fan of cruise vacations, this is an interesting topic for me. A flight to the moon would take a decent amount of time, and to make it worth while the craft would be best suited if decked out like a cruise ship rather than an airplane. Who would want to spend the entire trip stuck in a coach class seat? Richard Branson already is working on making a trip to space a reality, so the moon would have to be the next logical step. Even if does happen in our lifetime, there are still more questions than answers. What would it cost, and who could afford to go? What would you do when you got there? The old saying that "getting there is half the fun" would definitely fit in this situation. Maybe I am getting ahead of myself but its fun to dream.

It was just announced recently that the airlines are going to start selling space on tickets printed from home for advertising. Currently, the plans are to let the people choose whether they want the advertisement printed or not. You can bet the option will be short lived especially if they start to gear advertising based on who is printing the ticket. Many people may be skeptical of this, but without much information, its easy to gear advertising based on an i.p. address to a geographical location. So someone in New York does not have to see advertising for California, well unless the ticket is to LAX. Not knowing much about what kind of ads we will see, I am hoping to see coupon type ads which if geared toward shops and restaurants in the destination city could come in handy. It would be nice to see a discount a restaurant near the San Diego Zoo or a free drink at one of the casino's in Vegas. If done right, this could be huge for the airlines involved and if done wrong, ...

On our recent Independence Day vacation in Washington D.C. we did not notice a decrease in the number of people on holiday. With gas over $4 a gallon there were still over 300,000 people that showed up for the fireworks from all over. Many like us were from the west coast and even more were from other countries. I had a chance to talk to a few people that were visiting from as far away as Europe where the cost of fuel to double what it is here in the U.S. right now. But its not just the price of gas that has us Americans hurting in the wallet. Its the value of the dollar as well. Its that deflated dollar that makes the U.S. look like a good destination for foreign travelers. But as the dollar weakens even more and fuel prices continue to rise, what does it mean for everyone? Foreign travelers who's currency is strong against the dollar are not going to feel the pain, but for those of us here, its just going to get more painful. Watching the weekend news I saw a newsflash o...

After spending 5 days in Washington D.C. over the 4th of July there are a lot of things that we would do differently. We had a blast, but even with all the planning that we did, we were not prepared as well as we thought. So here are some useful tips that come from our trip: Months before your trip contact more than one Representative of your state. We contacted only one and his staff dropped the ball. We ended up with empty promises, but he is a politician so I guess it should have been expected. Do one of the tours (we recommend the D.C. Ducks) that goes around the city first. We did the Ducks on our last full day and learned of places that we did not think to visit and tried to fit as many in on our last day before heading to the airport. Check the museums out online that you want to visit. There are so many around D.C. that it is common for a few to be under renovation and closed to the public at any given time. While disappointed that the Smithsonian's Museum of American Histo...