Thursday, March 26, 2009

Too Small Cruise Cabins?

How small is TOO small?????

I read this great article on USA Today, and thought it would be an interesting post....

Today's debate: How small is too small for a cruise ship cabin?

Norwegian Cruise Line created quite a stir this week with the announcement that it's next ship, the Norwegian Epic, would have some interior cabins that take up just 100 square feet.
Just how small is 100 square feet? Consider that even some of the balconies on existing NCL ships are bigger. And even the smallest cabins on most other mass-market cruises ships have at least 35% to 50% more space.
NCL's new budget acommodations, dubbed The Studios, will be clustered around a communal living area on the 4,200-passenger Norwegian Epic called the Living Room, giving passengers who book the cabins a bit more room to spread out. Still, it's going to be a tight squeeze.

NCL executives say the maximum-two-person Studios, which the line is designing with a stylish, modern vibe, are aimed at a younger crowd looking for a fun, low-cost way to cruise. There will be 128 of the cabins in all.

Cruise Loggers, what do you think about the idea of super-small cabins for the budget traveler? With the economy tumbling and consumers looking for ways to save on travel, is this a concept that comes at the perfect time? Or is 100 square feet -- the equivalent of a 10 foot by 10 foot space -- just too small to work for a cruiser no matter how low the price?

Tell me your opinion!!!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

What is really happening in Mexico? The REAL Story...

Thank you to Gogo WorldWide Vacations for this great info! Dated 3-24-09

We wanted to provide a full overview with respect to the recent update to the US state department alert regarding travel to Mexico There is a ton of misinformation out there, and it is very important that we work to educate you on what the real deal is. GOGO has been working with the Federal and local government to create tools that will help you to provide up- to-date, truthful information to respond to questions you may be receiving.

1. The State Department Alert is NOT NEW. It is only an update to an alert that was published over 12 months ago, and is simply to educate consumers on issues they should be informed on. The State Department has travel alerts published regarding travel to hundreds of countries in any given moment, and they can all be found on the State department website.
· “The US government issued an update to an existing Travel Alert. It has NOT issued a Travel Warning. The difference is significant and as Leslie Bassett, Business Representative of the U.S. Embassy in Mexico “…the alert does not intend in any way to discard Mexico as a tourist destination...”

2. What is the short answer on "What is happening in Mexico? "
NOTHING in the destinations we sell. Basically, the issue is associated to drug cartels and the extra pressure being placed on them by Mexican President Calderon. The areas that are affected are cities on the U.S./Mexico border, as that is the point of entry for drugs coming into the U.S. – these border towns include Ciudad Juarez, Tijuana, and Nuevo Laredo. None of the issues are regarding the resort areas, which are safe and sound as you will see from information supplied further on in this email. The areas in questions are not resort areas, we don’t sell any product there, and they are literally THOUSANDS of miles away from the areas we do sell.
See the map below:


3. Want to see feedback from spokespersons in the industry? Here is a great article written by Pauline Frommer..... http://travel.msn.com/Guides/article.aspx?cp-documentid=878358

4. A different perspective - Feedback on Bill O’Reilly’s recent commentary on TV: http://www.latinbusinesschronicle.com/app/article.aspx?id=3189

5. Want to see real time, real customer feedback? We have consumer testimonials from customers that were interviewed in various resort destinations LAST WEEK!

6. For additional information and to keep updated, please go to http://www.mexico-update.com/ . There is a further enhanced map to the one above, where it shows mileage distances between all resort destinations. Just move your mouse over the map and the information will pop up. There is also information on anything being seen in the news, and the website is updated daily. Perfectly fine to send out to customers as well.

7. Your help is needed! The concern regarding travel to Mexico has been increased by the amount of misinformation that is out there. Please help spread the word on what is really happening and forward this information to anyone who has questions. We need to ensure that correct information is out there.

THIS IS HOW VISITORS ARE ENJOYING CANCUN TODAY.

Testimonial 3 (US Consul in Merida and US Visitors) URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_tPnygd-Ts

Testimonial 7 (US Consul in Merida: difference between Travel Warning and Travel Alert)URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldpeNlfrZak

Testimonial 1 (US visitor)URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_gJY5sbr88

Testimonial 2 (US visitors: couple) URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV0gxBQ0V1g

Testimonial 8 (US meeting planner)URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_baXLzdEaBM

From the Puerto Vallarta CVB: "We want to share with you the Testimonial Video of the Spring Breakers in Puerto Vallarta filmed this week"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=398XtV2O4WM

Travelers in Playa del Carmen:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJNDzaV0CzQ&feature=channel_page

https://webmail.libgotravel.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.whatisreallyhappeninginmexico.com/ -Various testimonials from all different Mexico Destiations of visitors there this week and last week.