Travel Discounters Blog

Using our credit card miles to purchase our airline tickets, we’re off on our travels again. This time to cruise the Panama Canal and Caribbean, with stops in Aruba; Cartagena, Columbia; Panama City and Costa Rica. Since we live in California we chose the itinerary that starts in Fort Lauderdale and ends in Los Angeles so that we have a short flight home, saving us some time and money. With Princess Cruises we are able to bring our own wine on board, for a corkage fee, and that’s important to us. Some cruise lines will not allow you to bring wine but we have found that they rarely check and if found they will return it to you at the end of the cruise. Also on Princess, as opposed to our last cruise, there are several laundry rooms available and that can save you money over sending it out. These are a few things to look for when you book that cruise on a budget.
Our first stop is Aruba where, unfortunately, we will have only half a day to see the attractions. In my next post I will talk about our adventures on this happy island. Until then,

Safe Journeys,
Jim & Emily

Planning to take advantage of all those great travel deals and vacation packages to Hawaii? To help you out, here’s a list of the best beaches in Hawaii and what they are best known for.

Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, Southeast Oahu
snorkeling & diving for beginners, swimming

Kailua Beach Park, East Oahu
swimming, wind surfing

Lanikai Beach, East Oahu
swimming, snorkeling

Kaanapali Beach, West Maui
swimming (when calm), snorkeling at Black Rock; cliff diving ceremony at sunset

Kapalua Bay Beach, Northwest Maui
swimming, snorkeling (good for kids)

Ho’okipa Beach, North Shore Maui
surfing best

Wailea Beach, Southwest Maui
swim & relax

Fleming Beach Park, West Maui
swimming

Hapuna Beach State Park, Kohala Coast (Kona), Big Island
swimming, bodysurfing; magnificent sunset

Kaunaoa Beach, Kohala Coast (Kona), Big Island
swimming, snorkeling, bodyboarding

Hanalei Bay, North Shore Kauai
surfing & boogie boarding good, swimming fair

Poipu Beach Park, South Shore Kauai
snorkeling, swimming, boogie boarding, surfing, a natural ocean wading pool

Hulopoe Beach, Southern Lanai
snorkeling, swimming, rich marine life, large tide pools, some spinner dolphins

For snorkeling info, go to http://www.hawaiisnorkelingguide.com

Well don’t wait too long as these deals and best choices for summer will not last.
Log back on to www.traveldiscounters.com for the best choices in affordable travel deals.

Safe journeys!
Emily & Jim

As our vacation continues it’s off from our families in Connecticut to our next destination, New York, for dinner and a Broadway show. After a 90 minute drive we begin our first adventure, trying to find a place to park. The rates do vary at different lots so it it’s a good idea to look around, if you have the patience. The parking lots will take coupons for parking from competitors so check on line to see what deals you can find, it saved us some money. It was an interesting walk to the Brooks Atkinson Theatre where we saw the Tony award winner, Memphis. After we had dinner at the Glass House Tavern on 47th St between 7th & 8th Ave. Great service and good food, with a very good wine selection, made the dinner very enjoyable. After dinner it was a pleasant evening walk back to the car for our drive back to Connecticut and two days later it’s grab our plane tickets and travel back to JFK for our flight home. More travel adventures to come.

Safe Journeys,
Jim & Emily

In these modern times of air travel, with security, delays and no food service on board the plane, one of the most aggravating is paying for that checked bag on a budget. With that in mind, more people are carrying on all the free bags they can to avoid paying the extra $50 or more and when they get on board there is often not enough room left in the over head bins. Many airlines are adding more room to their existing planes and the builders of new planes are incorporating larger bins into the design. In the mean time we can all help by showing a little consideration. Make sure that bag you bring on board is not bigger than the allowed size and realize that with the limited space we all need to be a little more patient with each other and cooperate to make for a less hassle filled travel experience. We are all in this together.

Safe Journeys,
Jim & Emily

Budget Family Vacations 2012

Money Magazine is betting their money on these 5 affordable destinations: Riviera Maya, Mexico; Phoenix, Arizona; Washington DC; Warsaw, Poland; and San Diego, California. Average cost for 2 adults is under $1500 for domestic vacation package and under $2500 for international vacation package. Most deals allow kids under 17 free if staying in the same room.

For an almost stress free summer vacation, I’d opt for a cruise. Most cruise lines allow 3rd and 4th passenger in the same cabin to cut cost. Except for MSC Cruise Lines, all other cruise lines will charge the same cruise fare for children (6 months – 17 yrs.). For MSC, Kids 11 and under sail FREE. Check MSC for details. Otherwise, CARNIVAL would be most affordable with kids (about 1/3 of the passengers will be under 17). DISNEY is currently offering good cruise deals for US Military and Florida residents.

Best time to book your summer vacation is right about now. Remember, package deals in general save you time and money. And don’t forget to read our blog on ‘best time to buy tickets’ for the best deals.

Safe Journeys!
Emily & Jim

ALASKA REVISITED

New twist for seasoned visitors to Alaska – wilderness immersion.

WILDLIFE AND GLACIER CRUISES OR GLACIER HIKING & KAYAKING from Alaska Heritage Tours Kenai Fjords.

PHOTOGRAPHY SAFARI by Alaska Sea Adventures.

WILDLIFE VIEWING by Arctic Treks
1) Polar Bear viewing out of Kaktovik on Barter Island or
2) Caribou viewing camp in the Gates of the Arctic National Park

ADVENTURE LODGE – 1 week, 3 upscale lodges by Within The Wild. Includes Redoubt Bay Lodge, Tutka Bay Lodge, and Winterlake Lodge. Includes 1 or more of the following adventures: bear viewing, trekking, yoga, wilderness spa, cooking school, helicopter transfer to wilderness activities.

QUALITY ADVENTURE WITHOUT THE COST by Arctic Grayling Outfitters.

NORTHERN & CENTRAL ALASKA – check out Northern Alaska Tour Co.

Too many choices? The opt for the tried and true CAMP DENALI in DENALI NATIONAL PARK.

Also recommended by the Travel Industry:
Bering Sea CrabFishery
Aleutian Ballad
Denali ATV for a glimpse of the rugged Interior Alaska

Finally, you have to get there, so return to www.traveldiscounters.com for your tried and true best airfare, hotel, cruise & vacation package deals.

Safe Journeys,
Emily & Jim

On our way to Connecticut and it’s a pleasant drive through upstate New York and to the town of Danbury where we can drop off the rental car. Emily’s sister picks us up and we travel to her place in the beautiful little town of Brookfield. Looking through a local travel guide we discover that just a short drive away, in Hartford, is the house where Mark Twain lived most of his adult life. Having just read The Autobiography of Mark Twain where this house is mentioned prominently by the author and being a Mark Twain fan all my life it is a real treat to tour his former home. Seeing the places that he mentions in the book in person is a thrill for me, although the alarm system that he had many a battle with is gone, I would have liked to have seen this nemesis of his. On our way back to Brookfield we Californians get a taste of New England weather when a rain storm renders visibility to almost zero but we make it back safely. Some time with family and then we will meet up with others in New York city for more adventures.

Safe Journeys’
Jim & Emily

What is the Aurora Borealis? Simply put, it is a natural phenomenon caused by the collision of charged particles from the sun with the atoms in the upper atmosphere. It can be seen (obviously) in the northern hemisphere including Fairbanks, Alaska; Churchill, Canada; Tromso, Norway & Reykjavik, Iceland. It is at their most dazzling from December to March when nights are longest and the sky darkest.

Before you book your flight or vacation package from www.traveldiscounters.com, it might be a good idea to first forecast the Northern Lights to find out when the sun is active and more importantly when it will interact with earth (resulting in aurora). Here are 2 useful sites:

• www.spaceweather.com This has images and information on the sun’s activity & current auroral oval (a map of the world that shows location and strength of aurora activity).

• www.gedds.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast This site has an excellent advance forecasting feature allowing you to nail down your exact travel.

Safe Journeys!
Emily & Jim

As we travel down Main St looking for a place to eat dinner we find that there are a lot of choices. With a recommendation from our hosts at the Main St B&B we decided on Italian food at Nicolettas Italian Café. Even though it’s the off season for tourists it is still full but we get seated right away. I like the menu for its varied selection and variety. I love sausage so I have the chicken sausage and Emily the clams and linguini. We enjoyed the food and I would definitely recommend the restaurant for that alone but dinner out wouldn’t be complete for us without a good wine and they had a very good, if not extensive wine list to choose from.
After a good night sleep and the before mentioned delicious breakfast we decided to take one more look around town before we left. There was a small farmers market going on and we wondered through there and did a little more shopping. I picked up a great picture of Willie Mays making one of his patented catches as a gift. Time to leave, so we head out for Connecticut and some new surprises.

Safe Journeys,
Jim & Emily

AMERICAN AIRLINES FILES FOR BANCRUPTCY – now what????

American Airlines files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. What this means …….

If you have a flight already booked with American, there should be no flight disruptions for the immediate future. There may be some minor changes like different airline or modified route, or restructured mileage program. It should be business as usual until they emerge from Chapter 11.

In the event they go into Chapter 7 (liquidation), how do you get a refund?

If you used a credit card, call your cc company. According to the terms of the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA), you should get your money back. Otherwise, you will have to wait a long, long time after the court liquidates their assets and you may not even get anything back.

Worried about losing your frequent flyer miles? I wouldn’t worry too much.

What will happen is that they will probably be forced to re-organize, but if their problems persist and become insurmountable, they will have to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, at which point the AAdvantage program will more than likely be sold to another airline.

Safe Journeys!
Emily & Jim