Way back in July I reported that American Airlines had a $240 million loss in the 2nd quarter and Delta reported a loss of $168 million in the 2nd quarter, but the CEO of American had told a crowd of corporate travel agents at that time that he expected their airline would return to being an industry leader by the end of the year. Well, we’re getting close to the end of the year and I haven’t heard them crowing about that yet!!
Reading an article in the Dallas Morning News a couple of months ago reminded me that I should blog some information about cruising with kids. That’s an important topic to several families who are cruising over the Christmas holidays, as well as for those who are planning Spring Break and Summer family vacations.
One of the real dilemmas families and travel agents have in planning a vacation is what to do with families of more than 4, especially if they all want to be together. Hotels and cruise lines will not allow more than four to a room, so the last one born has to sleep out in the hall!!! No not really, there are other more practical solutions but they oftentimes cost more money.
We escorted a group last Feb. to the Holy Land, and I’ve looked back over our comments since we returned and noted that I did not really say a whole lot about it, other than that we had a wonderful, memorable experience. One elderly deacon, while meditating at the Garden Tomb, expressed it this way “my life will never be the same”.
The symbiotic nature of cruise lines and airlines is and has been slowly becoming not so cozy as in the early beginnings of both travel industries. The airlines have had a toehold on people getting from point A to point B and beyond for many years, but since the late 70’s have enjoyed the benefit of additional passengers trying to get to cruise ports. Early on in their existence, the cruise lines depended heavily on the airlines getting their guests to the departure ports. What resulted was an arms length but workable, cooperative relationship that made both of them money while providing the guests a seamless vacation.
One of the greatest vacation cities in the world is Las Vegas, Nevada. They literally have something for all ages to enjoy. In recent past, that city and area has been the most popular vacation location that we have sold. Seemingly they reinvent themselves every two to three years.
It is always nice to get affirmation, no matter what you are doing. Coaches and ballplayers appreciate the pats on the back, the preacher feels better when a parishioner enjoys his sermon, the teacher gets pumped up when a parent exclaims how much they appreciate the way their child is being taught this year.
Probably the most family-fun orientated vacation that we enjoy planning is the trip to Disney World. Excitement builds in anticipation of the trip, the kids absolutely love it, the parents endure it, but looking back when they return home they discover, years later, memories of that magical trip to visit Mickey and friends.
Disney has published some “Fun Facts” about Walt Disney World that I thought interesting. We don’t have near the time or space to talk about all of them, but just a few will whet your appetite for planning a vacation while the kids are young. Best time for them is from 6-12 years of age. . .they’ll never forget the experience.
About a month ago we came back from a cruise out of Galveston on the Carnival Magic. We had an energetic group of 130 great folks on the “Rudy Cruise”. I had done a radio show about 6 weeks ago imagining what it would be like on a cruise. Well. . . we don’t have to dream anymore. Here’s a reality presentation based on our experience on the Magic.
Put your imagination to work with me and imagine that you are awakened by the morning sun drifting through your balcony window, encouraging you to stretch and greet the morning. You do that and then the door bell rings and there is your stateroom steward with a tray of sliced and diced fruit, sweet rolls, fresh squeezed orange juice and coffee coming through your door and placing it on the table on the balcony. You relax while watching the gentle waves making a wake as your ship plows through the dark blue Caribbean waters on their way to the beautiful island of Jamaica.
One of the seasonal occurrences that always happens around Fair time is the incessant travel scams that become rampant about this time of year. The Abilene Better Business Bureau had a little heads up notice about that a week or so ago, and I thought I’d alert our readers to some of the travel scams that are out there. It is important to take notice because travel scams cost consumers more than $10 billion annually... that’s a lot of chicken feed!!!
We hope you'll enjoy our new website and will get a lot of use from it. Some of the features we like the most are the Online Booking Tool, the great photos in our Photo Gallery, and of course, our new Travel Blog!
