Our Vacation Adventures

Singapore Airlines To Offer First ‘All Business Class’ Flights From United States

Singapore Airlines recently announced that they’ll launch the first ever “all business class” flights from New York and Los Angeles to Singapore.

In order to do so, Singapore Airlines is converting five Airbus A340-500’s to accommodate 100 passengers. The new seats are 30 inches wide and convert into a flat bed, so passengers can catch a catnap while in the skies. All seats have access to an aisle, making movement around the cabin more convenient. These seats are already installed in Singapore Airlines A380 and B777-300ER fleet.

The upgrade of these planes will cause some minor disruption to service. To make the necessary
changes, there will be minor changes to their flight schedules. The existing daily Los Angeles to Singapore non-stop flight will not operate on Tuesdays between mid-May and late-June. There will be no change to New York service frequency.

Travelers that wish to fly economy class are advised to book an existing one stop flight.

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Aquatica Waterpark Is Now Open

March 1 was opening day for Aquatica, the newest waterpark located in Orlando, Florida.

The park is owned by Anheuser Bush.

A whimsical and distinctive water park, Aquatica definitely has the SeaWorld vibe. Designed with bold colors and featuring lively calypso music in the background, this fun-filled, water-inspired park boasts all the right ingredients for a successful day-trip destination.

From rivers that float guests through aquamarine delights of colorful fish, to another that races through rolling rapids, there is something for everyone at SeaWorld’s Aquatica. Slides that twirl and spray offer hours of refreshment to older kids, while spouted play areas offer tiny tots a cooling retreat from the sun. Two enclosed tube slides send brave ones through a lively lagoon filled with friendly black and white Commerson’s dolphins, creating a tropical adventure under the sea.

For more information, please visit Aquatica By Sea World.

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‘The Dark Knight’ Coaster At Six Flags

Six Flags is going all out on the new ‘The Dark Knight’ Coaster.

The ride will cost $7.5 million to complete, and is based on the characters in “The Dark Knight” movie.

“The design and construction of this ride will combine the excitement of The Dark Knight movie with the thrill of a roller coaster — merging the two worlds into one unforgettable experience for our guests,” said Mike Antinoro, Six Flags Executive Vice President of Entertainment and
Marketing. “The Dark Knight film is a powerful follow-up to Batman Begins and we expect The Dark Knight Coaster to be a can’t miss event for all audiences this summer as well.”

“We’re excited to partner with Six Flags to deliver an experience for Batman fans like never before,” said Karen McTier, Executive Vice President of Domestic Licensing and Worldwide Marketing, Warner Bros. Consumer Products. “The Dark Knight Coaster will give fans a firsthand experience, immersing them with the sights, sounds and thrills of crime fighting in Gotham City.”

Sounds like a lot of fun. The opening of “The Dark Knight Coaster” will be perfectly timed to coincide with the debut of The Dark Knight, which opens on July 18th. 2008. The ride will be featured at three parks this spring, Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ; Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, IL; and Six Flags New England in Agawam, MA.

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Nickelodeon Family Cruise With Royal Caribbean - New In 2008

Nickelodeon and Royal Caribbean have recently announced the addition of the first ever Caribbean Cruise with all your kids favorites characters from the popular TV network.

The cruise departs from Miami, Florida for a seven day excursion on August 10-17, 2008. The cruise will visit four exotic Western Caribbean destinations including: Cozumel, Mexico; George Town, Grand Cayman; Ocho Rios, Jamaica; and a special stop at Royal Caribbean’s private beach destination, Labadee, which will be Nickelodeon-themed.

This will be aboard the Royal Caribbean’s “Freedom Of The Sea” cruise ship - one of the largest in their fleet with a capacity for 4,000 passengers.

“For the past few years, we’ve been witnessing the coming of age of Nickelodeon families and have been expanding our brand and business to meet their growing entertainment, recreational and vacation needs — from hotels, to theatrical shows, to theme parks,” said Cyma Zarghami,
President, Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group. “Taking to the seas with our first- ever family cruise with Royal Caribbean was the natural next step for us. Combined with the ground-breaking of our first Marriott Hotel and the opening of the biggest indoor theme park in the country at the Mall of America, Nickelodeon will be offering more family experiences this year
than ever before.”

Aboard the ship, children will get to take part in Nickelodeon themed activities such as live game shows with green slime and visits with Dora the Explorer and Spongebob Squarepants.

To find out more about this Nickelodeon themed cruise, please visit Nick family Cruise.

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Air Canada Offering New Non-Stop To The United States

Air Canada recently announced that they were adding some new non-stop flights to America.

Here are the recently announced non-stop flight additions:

- Washington D.C. (Reagan National)-Ottawa - starting May 1, 2008, twice daily, year-round non-stop service between Ottawa and Washington’s Reagan National Airport. Operated by Air Canada’s regional affiliate Jazz using 50-seat Bombardier regional jet aircraft, this will be the fastest way between downtown Washington D.C. and Canada’s capital city. Flights will depart Washington D.C. at 9:00 a.m. and 8:15 pm.; flights depart Ottawa at 6:50 a.m. and 6:10 p.m.

- Austin, TX-Toronto - starting May 1, 2008, daily, year-round non-stop service using a 75-seat Bombardier CRJ-705 Jazz regional jet aircraft, featuring both Executive and Economy class and personal audio-video entertainment at every seat. This will be the only daily, non-stop service between the two cities and further expands Air Canada’s position as the leading carrier serving the most destinations in Texas to Canada. AC8114 will depart Austin at 4:15p.m. and arrive in Toronto at 8:25p.m; with the return flight AC8115 departing Toronto at 1:20 p.m. and arriving in Austin at 3:40p.m. Flights are timed to provide convenient connections in Toronto to and from Ottawa and Montreal, as well as London Heathrow.

- Richmond, VA-Toronto - starting May 1, 2008, twice daily, year-round non-stop service using a 37-seat, Jazz Dash 8 aircraft. This will be the only non-stop service between the two cities and the only international route out of Richmond. Flights will depart Richmond at 11:10 a.m. and 7:25 pm.; and depart Toronto at 8:40am and 4:50 p.m. Flights are timed to provide convenient connections in Toronto to and from cities across Canada, as well as London Heathrow, Frankfurt and Zurich.

-Chicago, IL-Calgary - starting May 15, 2008, daily, year-round non-stop service using a 93-seat Air Canada Embraer E190 aircraft. Featuring Executive and Economy Class, it is the only flight on this route offering a personal on-demand audio-video entertainment system at every seat. AC581 will depart Chicago at 1:15 p.m. and arrive in Calgary at 3:57 p.m.; with the return flight AC580 departing Calgary at 8:30 a.m. and arriving in Chicago at 12:48 p.m. This new service offers convenient connections to destinations in Alberta and British Columbia.

Look for these new non-stop International flights coming soon!

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Richard Branson - Space Tourism ‘No Longer A Dream’

One guy that really isn’t afraid of taking chances is Sir Richard Branson. The visionary recently announced that his company is going to offer trips into outer space on the SpaceShipTwo, and its mothership the WhiteKnightTwo. Both of these ships are nearing completion.

Sir Richard Branson with a scale model of the White Knight II.

“It is quite clear from every astronaut that I’ve ever spoken to that seeing the planet from out there helps one to wake up to the importance of protecting the Earth.”

But he said the spaceships would also be able to launch small payloads and satellites at a low cost.

“This system offers tremendous potential to researchers who will be able to fly experiments much more often than before,” he said.

The ships will be launched from a pad in New Mexico that has yet to be built. The trip lasts around 2 1/2 hours and will carry passengers 62 miles above sea level to the point in the atmospheres where space technically begins.

Their spacecraft will then return to earth without completing a revolution of the planet.

More than 150 people have already signed up for the space adventure and are paying around $200,000 US for the trip.

What are your thoughts on Space travel? Is it something you would like to do?

Sky News

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Southwest To Test Satellite Broadband Internet In-Flight

Southwest Airlines recently announced plans to test satellite delivered broadband internet services in on multiple aircraft. They are partnering with Row 44 to provided these services.
They will be testing the system on four different aircraft this summer.

“Southwest Airlines is pleased to announce its partnership with Row 44, and we intend to deliver the highest bandwidth available to commercial airlines in the United States,” said Dave Ridley, Southwest Airlines’ Senior Vice President of Marketing. “Southwest’s selection of satellite technology will offer a more robust experience for more Customers per aircraft versus other solutions available in the marketplace.”

“Southwest is looking for the best solution for our Customers not only for Internet e-mail access, but for additional inflight entertainment as well,” Ridley said. “We look forward to exploring this cutting-edge technology with Row 44 and hope this will keep our Customers productive and entertained inflight.”

This service will provide anyone with a wi-fi enabled laptop or other handheld device a connection to the ‘net. No word on whether this feature will cost passengers extra.

We’ll keep you posted with updates.

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AirTran Has 72 Hour Flight Sale

Airtran recently announced a 72 hour flight sale with some flights starting at $39.00.

These special fares are available for purchase through January 24, 2008, and are good for travel through May 20, 2008. Off-peak fares are valid for travel on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. Peak fares are valid for travel on Monday, Thursday and Friday. Like all AirTran Airways fares, prices included in this sale are available for one-way travel and do not
require a roundtrip purchase or an overnight stay.

All flights require a 10 day advance purchase and are one way. Here are some sample airfares:

Sample Fares: Off-Peak Peak

Atlanta - Charleston $39 $49
Baltimore/Washington (BWI) - Ft. Lauderdale $79 $79
Boston - Akron/Canton $59 $69
Buffalo - Orlando $79 $84
Boston - Newport News/Williamsburg $59 $69
Charleston - New York (LaGuardia) $74 $84
Charlotte - St. Louis $89 $99
Chicago (Midway) - Minneapolis/St. Paul $39 $49
Dayton - Baltimore/Washington (BWI) $49 $54
Daytona Beach - New York (LaGuardia) $79 $89
Denver - Atlanta $109 $129
Detroit - White Plains (Westchester) $89 $99
Ft. Lauderdale - Milwaukee $89 $99
Flint - Las Vegas $104 $104

For more information, please visit AirTran.

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Requirements Change At The Borders

If you’re planning a visit to Canada or Mexico, be aware that beginning on January 31, 2008 the required documentation to enter these countries will change.

Up until now, a traveler only had to present a Driver’s License or State Issued ID to cross the border. In some cases, some border officials even allowed lesser ID’s (such as library cards or work ID’s) to be enough to get into these countries.

Starting on January 31, a person must present a copy of his (or her) birth certificate along with their regular ID to gain entry into Canada and Mexico. A government issued Passport will also work.

Be sure to make a note of this change before you jump in your car for a quick trip.. you will be turned away if you don’t!

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Ski Free At The BALSAMS

Free skiing is included in a new $89/Night package at the BALSAMs.

The BALSAMS Grand Resort Hotel is offering an irresistible rate from January through March of 2008. From Sunday to Thursday, guests will have the opportunity to book the Ski Free Package for only $89 per night. This package includes lodging, breakfast in the dining room, lift tickets to the alpine ski area, and trail passes for cross-country skiing*.

Located on 15,000 private acres in the Great North Woods high in New Hampshire’s majestic White Mountains, The BALSAMS Grand Resort Hotel takes full advantage of its unique geographic location and surrounding wilderness to offer a world class experience to Nordic skiers second to none. Ninety-five kilometers of cross country ski trails — including 77 kilometers of impeccably groomed trails on diverse terrain — and New England’s most dependable snow conditions create the ideal experience for cross country skiers of all ages and abilities.

In addition to Nordic skiing, The BALSAMS is known for its alpine ski area featuring 16 trails and five glades with runs up to one mile long. Families in particular will enjoy that all trails begin at the top of the lift and end at the base lodge, making it easy to reconnect after runs.

To learn more about this offer. Offer at The BALSAMS

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