Space Goddess

Barbara King Great Getaways Travel 913-338-2244 barbara@greatgetaways.travel

Dubai to Cape Town Company Regent Seven Seas Cruises Ship Seven Seas Mariner Trip Dates Nov 8 – Dec 3, 2010 Locations Dubai to Cape Town Duration 25 days Info At sea, travelers will enjoy an authentic cultural experience of luxury cruising that is personal, individual, unique… so that guests can explore the places they visit from their own perspective – as a traveler instead of a tourist. Personal, intuitive service. Beauty that is authentic. A true sense of place. Discover The Regent Experience.

Day Date Location Arrive Depart 1 Mon, Nov 08 Dubai   07:00 PM 2 Tue, Nov 09 Fujairah 08:00 AM 08:00 PM 3-4 Wed, Nov 10-Thu, Nov 11 Day-at-Sea     5-6 Fri, Nov 12-Sat, Nov 13 Mumbai (Bombay) 08:00 AM 06:00 PM 7 Sun, Nov 14 Mormugao 09:00 AM 07:00 PM 8 Mon, Nov 15 New Magalore 08:00 AM 06:00 PM 9 Tue, Nov 16 Cochin 08:00 AM 05:00 PM 10-12 Wed, Nov 17-Fri, Nov 19 Day-at-Sea     13-14 Sat, Nov 20-Sun, Nov 21 Mahe 08:00 AM 05:00 AM 14 Sun, Nov 21 Praslin 09:00 AM 06:00 PM 15-16 Mon, Nov 22-Tue, Nov 23 Day-at-Sea     17 Wed, Nov 24 Port Louis 08:00 AM 08:00 PM 18 Thu, Nov 25 Pointe-des-Galets 08:00 AM 11:00 PM 19-21 Fri, Nov 26-Sun, Nov 28 Day-at-Sea     22 Mon, Nov 29 Richards Bay 08:00 AM 11:00 PM 23 Tue, Nov 30 Durban 08:00 AM 04:00 PM 24 Wed, Dec 01 Day-at-Sea     25 Thu, Dec 02 Cape Town 02:00 PM   26 Fri, Dec 03 Cape Town

Cochin Nov, 16 2010 | Virtuoso's Voyager Club Shore Experience DETAILS TO BE ANNOUNCED PLEASE NOTE: All Virtuoso shore events are capacity controlled and require a minimum number of participants to operate. Events are subject to change without notice. Virtuoso events are individually tailored for each date and arrival. Your event could be different than what’s noted here; but it will be designed to be memorable and to bring you a traveler’s view that you will treasure, and would otherwise miss entirely. Final details will be outlined in program letters provided by your Virtuoso host aboard ship. Please note that ground operators and other suppliers are independently owned and operated, and are not controlled by Virtuoso or Virtuoso Discoveries. Your participation in this event serves as your acknowledgment that neither Virtuoso nor Virtuoso Discoveries is responsible for the acts or omissions of these third parties. Onboard Hosts: Michael and Barbara King Exclusives: Onboard Host Welcome Reception One of the Following Options Must be Selected 45-days Prior to Sailing*: Option 1: Special Virtuoso Voyager Club Shore Event, or… Option 2: $175 per person credit toward the purchase of a custom On Site shore excursion or other Virtuoso Preferred Product, or… Option 3: $150 per person onboard credit *Within 45-days the selected option may not be changed. Barbara King Great Getaways Travel 913.338.2244 barbara@greatgetaway.com

Posted via email from Travelingking

New US Passport Laws go into effect June 1, 2009!

http://ow.ly/9GyA

I admit it—-this city girl (okay–suburban girl) has morhped into an adventure-travel afficianado! To be honest, I am a lover of “soft” adventure—where I can soak up the beauty of nature, all types of flora and fauna, as well as being able to sleep “off” of the ground, take a hot shower, and eat yummy food!

I’ve traveled through:  Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia—in the footsteps of Captain Cook; Antarctica; Alaska; Costa Rica; Peru; Ecaudor; the Galapagos; Argentina; Chile; Egypt; China; Indonesia; India; Fiji; the Amazon; Kenya; Tanzania; Botswana; South Africa; Zambia; Zimbabwe (when it was safe); Mauritius; Colorado; Arizona; New Mexico; northern Wisconsin; and southern Missouri (actually slept on the ground on the canoe trip—years ago!). 

I’ve sampled many wonderful adventures and now I want to let you know about one of our exceptional partners, Natural Habitat Adventures. NHA knows adventure—from soft to adrelin-flowing! They follow the same philosophy as Great Getaways, which is “Cookie cutter vacations are great if you are a cookie cutter!” We both specialize in experiential travel and both companies are committed to sustainable travel. NHA guides are experienced, well-trained, knowledgeable and professional.

The trips they offer are unique! Let me give you an example: I’ve been to the Galapagos twice and hope to go back again soon. Both times I was on a wonderful expedition ship with great naturalists and guides. What I’ve discovered is that I like “small” and that is what Natural Habitat provides. The yacht they use for the Galapagos holds a maximum of 20 people and they offer something quite special and unusual—you can elect to spend the night in the highlands of Santa Cruz in a safari tent or “tree house” amid an area known for its giant tortoises! Another special offer from NHA is their new land-based Galapagos expedition, in which you stay on 3 different islands, almost unheard of, don’t you think?

This year they’ve added a few new adventures—including the Wild Colorado, Alaska’s Secluded Southeast Coast, Yosemite and the California Coast, and the remarkable San Juan Islands.

Next month I’ll tell you about an exciting opportunity to win a journey to visit the Polar Bear Capital of the World, Churchill, Manitoba, courtesy of NHA, Great Getaways and Lifetime Fitness!

So, if you are an adventurer of any kind, from soft to rugged, contact me today to experience the amazing journeys we create with Natural Habitat Adventures!

I know of so many occupations that develop their own lingo and the travel industry is no exception. Maybe these words, often acronyms, help us communicate within our chosen careers; however, when we inflict this type of communication on the unsuspecting public, we’ve left our good manners behind, and, flaunting our egoes, we open the door to misinterpretation and misunderstanding.

Here are some examples:

Travel Advisor: Do you want a cruise with air?

Customer: Do I need to supply my own oxygen?—or—Aren’t most ships air-conditioned these days?

Travel Advisor—using an airline software program to reserve seats on airplanes: Let’s see here. Okay, you want to fly into San Francisco and return from Los Angeles. I’ll have to enter an ‘arnk’. (pronounced “arrunk”).

Customer thinks–Arnk? Are they dangerous? Do you enter alone?

[An itinerary containing an ARNK (arrival unknown, pronounced 'arunk') segment is one in which the traveler arrives at destination A but departs out of destination B. Since the arrival to destination B is unknown, hence the name arrival unknown. Without an ARNK, the computer software would respond with an error message]

Let’s go back to cruising one more time—Travel Advisor: Do you want an inside stateroom?

Customer: Yes, I want to be inside the ship and not sleep outside.

Last example is the travel advisor who tells you he specializes in F.I.T.s does not specialize in travel for the exercise buffs; rather, he focuses on Foreign Independent Tours (now also referred to as Fully Independent Tours).

I could go on and on but I think you get the point. As Professor Henry Higgins asked, “Why can’t the English learn to speak?”

Bye for now. I’m off to boot my computer and then ace a serve or two.

We are now at Pourquoi Pas Island in Marguerite Bay on the peninsula of Antarctica. We weren’t able to land because of the ice shelf; however, we were able to take a zodiac ride and get up close to the coast. We saw lots of penguins, a squa bird (a predator of penguins) and a leopard seal (also a predator of penguins). The type of penguins we saw today are called Adelie penguins and they feed on krill, a shrimp-like organism. When we see pink snow in a penguin colony it means they’ve been feeding on krill—and it’s not a tribute to Susan Komen breast cancer awareness!

This morning we watched a “rolling” iceberg, an amazing image! Icebergs become shaped like a mushroom because they melt faster in the water than in the air. Eventually, an iceberg becomes heavy and will roll over and find a new balance point. It’s this process that sculpts the unusual shapes we see.

Temperature today is about 30 degrees and very little wind. This morning we were in a snow squall but now the sea is very calm and the sun is trying to  pierce through the clouds.

This afternoon we will move to a different site, more fjord-like,  and hopefully be able to actually set foot on Antarctica.

I never thought I’d “workout” at home and I used to steer clear of anything resembling a gym, fitness center, etc. Well, I finally succumbed to improving my fitness (in order to be able to continue to indulge in Good & Plenty guilt-free!). I had yet to commit to this insane fitness quest while on vacation. In fact, I believed that I’d workout in a hotel fitness center or on-board a ship only when pigs fly! Consider yourself warned that you may spot some flying pigs—yep, there been sitings of Barbara working out in Santiago and aboard the National Geographic Explorer. So, when you see some “bacon-to-be” flying by your window, you’ll now know why!

Finally, today’s factoid: the weather in Antarctica changes very rapidly. In fact, the “sun trying pierce” stuff I just wrote has changed to a small blizzard and back again!

are now at Pourquoi Pas Island in Marguerite Bay on the peninsula of Antarctica. We weren’t able to land because of the

“I should brush up on my Spanish”… leads to the many times in my life I think, “Maybe I’d like to learn to…” or I’m going to study…” or “I’m going to explore…” Just insert one of the following words to complete the sentence: Spanish, French, Chinese, Hebrew, Swahili, the Bible, ancient history, dye wool, bead, Yoga, sewing, tailoring, how to cook Indian food, make silver jewelry, read classic novels. I’m not sure when or if I’ll explore any of the above topics, but it is fun to know that life holds so much interest!

Quick update: we left Ushuaia, Argentina on Thursday evening aboard the National Geographic Explorer and we are headed towards the Antarctic peninsula. We crossed the Drake Passage with their usual rough seas (thank goodness we brought seasickness patches and never got sick!). In the wee hours of this morning we crossed the Antarctic Convergence and are officially in the Antarctic Circle. Weather is brisk, skies are spitting snow, and there is the ever present Antarctic wind. As we approach Antarctica the days are quite long and nights are quite short. For example, the sun rose today at 3:00 AM and will not set until 12:08 AM tomorrow. Tomorrow we’ll reach Marguerite Bay and take our first Zodiac ride to shore! FACTOID FOR TODAY: Antarctica is the windiest of the seven continents.

Apply for a Passport or review the one you have.  Now wasn’t that a great, simple resolution? No food to weigh, clutter to organize, or daily aerobic exercize!

You may recall the fiasco that ensued when people suddenly realized they needed to have a passport to travel to destinations that previously only required a certified birth certificate, etc. Our Senators and Representatives even had appointed staff members whose sole function was to assist you in expediting your passport application through the issuance process. Next, Congress delayed the implementation date of the new law requiring valid US Passports for travel in the Western Hemisphere by auto or ship. Anyone traveling by air has needed a passport for quite some time.

Now Congress and the Department of Homeland Security are at it again. The latter wants the law implemented some time this summer while the former slipped some verbiage into an omnibus spending bill requesting the law not go into effect until June, 2009. Now, add in the reaction of the countries/islands you are planning to visit and you get total confusion. Many small Caribbean countries are unaware of the proposed delays and are currently requiring travelers to carry a valid US Passport. In short, you can get several different “opinions” on whether you’ll need a passport for your travel and the catch is that this is not a multiple choice test.

I can assure you from experience that within the US and in countries abroad I’ve received different answers to what seemed to be simple questions. For example, when flying internationally, how many carryon bags can a person bring? Oh, and what constitutes a carryon bag? Since the suspected bomb assembly scare occurred in London, the Brits have banned travelers from carrying more than one “carryon” (Is a purse a carryon? It depends on the agent checking you through security, the agent checking your boarding pass, etc). Now we are allowed to carry 2 bags in Great Britain. The problem is that sometimes these changes in law don’t filter to the “Powers that be” at airports who actually can keep you from boarding a plane.

I’ve heard people explain that they aren’t planning to leave the US in the foreseeable future. If I could accurately foresee the future, I’d pick next Saturday’s Powerball numbers and retire! Why wait until you’re ready for a vacation outside the US, then find that you need a passport and because of the beaurocratic nightmare of the passport process, you won’t be able to secure one?

Other things to consider for those of you smugly gloating because you already have a passport: When does your passport expire? Most countries require you to carry a passport that is valid for AT LEAST six months after your travel dates. How many blank pages do you have in your passport? Many countries require Visas and that you present a certain number of BLANK Visa pages in your passport.

So, do yourself a favor—get a Passport or renew your Passport today!