Travel TidBits

TGIF. Here's something fun for Friday; a collection of travel tidbits that caught my eye this week.

Spirit Airlines Greases their Wheels Spirit Airlines is no stranger to controversial ads (like their MILF ad 'meaning' = Many Islands Low Fares), and now they're at it again with their "oil on our beaches" campaign [image above]. What do you think of these ads? From an advertising point of view, you can't deny they are timely and relevant. See all the ads on Spirit's homepage.

Starbucks Free Wifi People who love--and expect--free wifi rejoice! As of July 1st, all Starbucks locations in the US will offer free wireless internet. My thoughts on the subject: Dear Starbucks, thank you for making this great and monumental addition to the service in US stores on Canada Day. Couldn't you have waited for July 4th? You're killing us here up in the North.

Go High in the Singapore Sky If you're afraid of heights, don't look! I cannot contain myself, this pool is so cool! No pun intended. Commanding Singapore's skyline and spanning over 3 Towers atop the Marina Bay Sands Casino and Resort is SkyPark, an outdoor wonderland. For approximately $16 you can hang out 200m above ground and swim the backstroke for 150m end to end.

Get your Guac On I love guac, but a guac show? Holy cow, sign me up. Indulge and learn how to master guacamole next time you're in Dallas. Every evening at the Ritz-Carlton, the lobby lights dim and the hotel’s own “Guacamologist” enters the scene to whip-up some guacamole and present mini-margaritas to adult lobby guests. Again, sign me up.

Harry Potter World Quidditch fans unite, hang out with Harry and the gang at Universal Orlando. Last friday the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened its doors to JK Rowling fans...and I thought Universal's Miami Vice show was cool, wow, things have changed.

Peep Hole Curtain I didn't think you could spy on someone looking the 'wrong way' into a peep hole, but maybe you can with spy gear? As a precaution, the Marriott West Conchohoken (in a suberb of Philadelphia), isn't taking any chances offering a peep hole security curtain.

--- Get more travel tips and updates like this by subscribing to RSS or email. ---

[photo credit spirit airlines, metro news uk]

More Aloha Coming Right Up!

[trip style = beach + sun]

Editor's Note {Jan 5, 2011}: See update in grey below.

Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air has done it again - they've stolen my heart, taken me to where sun and sand abound, and kept money in my pocket with their low fares!  Does it get any better than this? Well maybe if Allegiant were Emirates and I always flew first class. But I digress...

{Aug 8 Update - Alaska Air recently announced they'll fly to Honolulu from Bellingham. Details here.}

Mahalo Allegiant for Announcing Service to Hawaii Recently the discount airline announced the purchase of six Boeing 757s that they plan to use for service to Hawaii. According to the press release, "Allegiant is acquiring this fleet with the express purpose of serving Hawaii, a major leisure destination that it cannot serve with its existing MD-80 fleet. Allegiant Air expects to launch service to Hawaii once appropriate regulatory requirements have been met."  Allegiant plans to have two of the six planes in service by the fourth quarter of 2010, and rumor has it that Bellingham, WA and Stockton, CA will be the first two departure points for service to Hawaii.

Why Bellingham? According to the Vancouver Sun, Bellingham's airport is currently undergoing a $29-million runway and terminal overhaul to handle 757 planes (seating: 220 people). The upgrades are slated for completion this fall, and at that time runway upgrades are going to close down the airport for three weeks.  How convenient.  Here's another interesting fact: 55% of Bellingham's ridership is Canadian.

My Prediction No details have been released about routes, start dates or schedule, but I suspect that Allegiant's Hawaii service will be 1 - 3 times/week, direct (from Bellingham at least), and will fly into Oahu.  Stay tuned for more info!

When the service is likely to start: I read a few articles (one posted as recently as Jan 5, 2011) nothing that Allegiant would be beginning its service from Bellingham to Hawaii in mid-2011, but dismissed it given the bad seasonal timing (ie - flying to a hot destination during summer). But since it's January 2011 and there's been no announcement, the summer is the next best bet.

The destination: When I flew to Long Beach, CA with Allegiant in December, I asked the check-in agent about the pending Hawaii route. They confirmed it was happening (but didn't say when), and also mentioned they thought it would be going to Maui versus Honolulu. If this is true, it would be smart given that Alaska already flies from Bellingham to Honolulu.

--- Get more travel tips and updates like this by subscribing to RSS or email. ---

Related Content How to Avoid Extras with Allegiant Air Snowbirds Rejoice :: WestJet Flies Non-Stop to Kauai High/Low :: Booking a Vacation in Maui

[Image by Allegiant Air]

Royal Caribbean + DreamWorks = Smart

[trip style = cruising] As if a rock-climbing wall, flowrider surf-simulators, zip line and aqua theatre weren't enough, Royal Caribbean has to go and partner with DreamWorks Animation to offer themed activities on their upcoming mega-ship: Allure of the Seas.  They had me at hello--I mean--flowrider.

Sisters & Siblings The Allure of the Seas follows in the footsteps of its older and almost identical 'twin' sis, the Oasis of the Seas, a 5400-passenger behemoth and the biggest cruise ship to ever set sail. The Oasis has been sailing since November, 2009. The Allure of the Seas sets sail in December 2010, and will journey to East and Western Caribbean out of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Dreamworking Royal Caribbean's recently-announced partnership with DreamWorks is intelligent on multiple levels: 1) likely taking market share away from Disney cruises 2) enticing kids to hang out with their favorite animated characters 3) equally enticing to parents, knowing their kids will be engaged day and night 4) good time to announce the partnership [Shrek--highest grossing animated feature of all time--is hot and in theaters right now] 5) providing an experience that partially mimics Disneyland's with shows, activities, parades, photo opps (no rides, yet lots of non-animated activities for parents with babysitting provided!)

Allure of the Seas Video

The Skinny Royal Caribbean's partnership with DreamWorks will debut with the Allure of the Seas, but quickly advance into the ranks of some of their other ships: Oasis, Freedom and Liberty. The partnership will extend into the following areas of cruise life: character meals, parades and photo opportunities, 3-D theater for DreamWorks movies and one-of-a-kind aqua theater and ice shows. I'm pretty sure this partnership---3-D movies, aqua theatre and ice shows---will appeal to the kid in all of us.

In on the Action If you want to get in on the action and pre-book an Allure of the Seas getaway in the Eastern or Western Caribbean, you can do so here. Prices aren't that bad, in fact, they start in the low-mid $700s/person for an interior room.

Additional Videos Kung Fu Panda

Getting Your Vacation On Donkey-Style

Madagascar Penguins in the Bridge

Alex the Lion in the Gym

Related Post Crusin' with the Fam

[photos by Nick Hobgood and rccl/dreamworks]

The Gnome vs the Negotiator

[news flash] The Gnome and Negotiator are going head-to-head!

I'm surprised it took this long, but on Monday of this week, Travelocity added "top secret hotels" to its suite of travel booking products in a move to directly compete with 'blind-booking' travel giants Priceline and Hotwire.

Expedia, Travelocity, Hotwire and Priceline are constantly ranked within the top 10 travel 'agency' websites and always jockeying for the top position.   With this in mind, it  makes sense that Travelocity would attempt to take market share away from two of its biggest competitors, offering a similar service.

I'm sure Travelocity plans on beefing up this service, but at present, you can only book 'top secret hotels' in 34 US cities (expanded from 18 earlier this week) and 3 Canadian cities--and this doesn't even include Vancouver, a city basking in the Olympic spotlight.

In the past I've written about how to determine what hotel you're going to get when you book with Priceline and Hotwire via BetterBidding.com**. Although I like the element of surprise, I also like the logic behind Better Bidding's ability to predict your hotel 99% of the time.  Unless Travelcity is using the same back-end as Priceline and Hotwire, because of the infancy of Travelocity's top secret hotel service, I won't be able to guesstimate what hotel I'll get with accuracy.

Moral of the story a) understand why travelocity is trying to compete with priceline and hotwire b) for now, would prefer to stick with sites who have been perfecting the blind-booking business model for 10+ years unless travelocity has significantly better savings or some other incentive to switch c) i love using betterbidding.com to figure out my hotel; can't do that with travelocity's new service because it is too young

How Travelocity's 'Top Secret Hotels' Works - search hotels rates already discounted up to 45% - choose a date and location - browse hotels that fit search criteria showing price and star-rating - book what works for you - hotel’s name and details provided after payment is given

*Traveolcity notes that their 'top secret hotels' are backed by their guarantee, which could be in the consumer's advantage in the event of a dispute.  Earlier this year, I booked an airport hotel in Milan via Hotwire.  Although the hotel was only two miles from the airport in a straight line, the roads from the hotel to the airport were convoluted, resulting in 20+ mins of travel time.  This is not acceptable for an airport hotel, and when I disputed the matter with Hotwire, they would not change my booking.

**Note that BetterBidding.com is working on demystifying results for Travelocity's Top-Secret Hotels just like it does for Hotwire and Priceline.

Kiss Me I'm Irish :: St. Patty's Day

The Irish are nuts for St. Patrick's Day, a national holiday and 5-day festival. Thankfully, they were kind enough to share the March 17th celebrations with countries like Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina partaking in the fun.

St. Patrick's Day Traditions You don't need to travel to Ireland to share in the modern-day celebrations; although, I imagine it would be fantastic to see the Irish celebrate this national holiday on home turf. Either way, here are some ways to bring St. Patty to you and yours: - watch a parade (many cities have annual parades) - wear green - decorate with shamrocks (see significance below) - drink beer (Guinness of course) - eat or make pub food - visit your local Irish Pub - eat green pancakes (at least that's what my mom made me when I was little)

Facts - st patrick was a christian missionary and recognized as patron saint of Ireland - celebrated in Ireland since before 1600s - official public holiday in Ireland - believed to have morphed into a one-day 'break' in the middle of lent (hence the eating and drinking) - why celebrate on Mar 17? that is the day St. Patrick passed - the shamrock's association with St. Patrick: apparently, he used it to demonstrate the Holy Trinity - celebrations now mostly used to showcase Ireland and its traditions vs religious roots