Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Cruise Ports Unite in Marketing Alliance
By Linda Tancs
In a bid for attention among the better known (and used) ports of the Mediterranean and Baltic, fifteen European ports have united to market their appeal to cruise travelers. Calling themselves the Atlantic Alliance, the fifteen members of this cooperative are: Hamburg, Bremerhaven, IJmuiden, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Cherbourg, Saint-Malo, Brest, Nantes, La Rochelle, Bordeaux, Santander, Vigo and Lisbon. More West European ports are expected to join in the future.
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Cheap Flights to Germany
By Linda Tancs
Hamburg, anyone? Air Berlin offers a one-way ticket to Hamburg (via Dusseldorf) from JFK for $338, including all taxes and fees–a rare find these days. Flights within Germany start at 29 euros. Find out more at www.airberlin.com.
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Airlines Shuffle in Response to Rising Costs
By Linda Tancs
It’s been no secret that the airlines are feeling the pain of rising fuel costs. Now, in a move attributed to those costs, Delta has announced a buy-out package for a whopping 30,000 employees. U.S. carriers aren’t the only ones reeling from expenses, however. Alitalia has a deal in the works to combine with Air France-KLM. The billion dollar deal is being hailed by Alitalia’s board as a means to achieve higher critical mass and create synergies that cannot be otherwise accomplished through traditional alliances, particularly in this cyclical downturn worsened by rising fuel costs. Of course, tour and cruise operators have likewise responded to fuel costs by raising or implementing surcharges on customers. And, as any visit to the gas pump shows, the end is nowhere in sight.
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Oh, Canada!
By Linda Tancs
Canada’s motto is “from sea to sea.” And that’s no exaggeration for this country covering the Atlantic in the east, the Pacific in the west, and the Arctic in the north. Explore this vast expanse at www.travelrificradio.com.
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St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations Abound
By Linda Tancs
More than just a holy day, the feast of St. Patrick is celebrated with song, parades and, of course, lots of comfort food. Whether or not you’ve made it to the festivities in or around locales like Dublin, Galway, Belfast or Cork (or anywhere else in the world), you can virtually be there in the online community of Second Life. Or watch the movie at www.discoverireland.com. Either way, as the Irish say, céad míle fáilte!
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The Syrup is Flowing in Ottowa
By Linda Tancs
If it’s March, it must be Maple Syrup Month. That’s right, the sap is flowing in Ottowa, so go grab a bucket and indulge your sweet tooth. Get ready to wander through acres of maples. You can “maple-ize” anything–even beer. Check out www.ottowatourism.ca for the month’s festivities.
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A Little Napa in the Holy Land
By Linda Tancs
Perhaps fueled by Western oenophiles, Israel’s fledgling wine industry is enjoying a surge in interest. And why not, considering that its subtropical climate of hot days and cool nights lends itself quite nicely to the art of winemaking. Although the epicenter of winemaking would be the Judean Hills, wineries can be found from the Golan to the Mediterranean coast. So take a break from the turf and surf and enjoy a wine tasting in a nice cool cellar or lounge. Your taste buds will surely be thankful.
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Passport Cards Offer Convenience for Travelers
By Linda Tancs
Marketed as a less expensive and more portable form of passport book, the passport card gives U.S. travelers returning from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean a wallet-sized form of entry at seaports and land borders to meet the requirements of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. The card does not, however, replace the need for a passport when traveling by air. Like a traditional passport, the card is expected to have anti-counterfeiting features. Each card will also have an embedded radio frequency chip linking non-personal information to a secure government database at border stations. Applications for the card commenced on February 1, 2008 and delivery is expected in the spring. You can apply at any passport application facility. Find the one nearest you at http://travel.state.gov.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it on sites such as StumbleUpon, vote for it on Digg, or bookmark it on del.icio.us. Thanks for your support! Travelrific® was featured as Blog of the Day on NJ.com!
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Best Travel Deals Just a Click Away
By Linda Tancs
Want that in-the-know ability that your travel agent has? Well, at least with respect to airfares, you can get it with Yapta. Yapta is your online 24/7 travel consultant, offering a watch service for airfares on several major carriers. And you can enter your confirmation number to watch that fare that you booked two weeks earlier. If the price drops, you’ll be notified. Then, of course, you’ll be notifying the carrier about that refund for the difference. You know, the one they’d never tell you about unless you asked. Yapta requires a download of their software (for free), available in Explorer and Firefox versions. Visit them at www.yapta.com.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it on sites such as StumbleUpon, vote for it on Digg, or bookmark it on del.icio.us. Thanks for your support! Travelrific® was featured as Blog of the Day on NJ.com!
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New Era in Flight Sharing
By Linda Tancs
Okay, Virgin really needs to stop pioneering everything or else we’ll need to rename the blog Virgin Travelrific. In his latest endeavor, Branson has unveiled Virgin Charter, a flight charter company offering a less pricey alternative to private flying–those selections being plane ownership (yes, that could get expensive), timesharing (you might lose control over your selections), or jet cards (you prepay for miles you expect to fly). So if you’re looking to fly 20 or so of your closest friends to the pistes in Aspen, VC will find you the charter that puts the smallest dent in your wallet. You could even bid on an empty leg and get a bargain. Check it out at www.virgincharter.com.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it on sites such as StumbleUpon, vote for it on Digg, or bookmark it on del.icio.us. Thanks for your support! Travelrific® was featured as Blog of the Day on NJ.com!
Travelrific® Travel Journal 