Financial Crisis Brings Cruise Bargains
October 19th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
Plummeting share markets, sagging house values, an uncertain employment market, and other financial factors are causing consumers around the world to snap their wallets and purses shut.
 For those lucky enough to be relatively unaffected by the global financial turmoil, there are some great bargains to be had in the cruise sector.
There have been some recently-announced price reductions on cruises out of Australia and NZ, for late-2008 and early-2009 cruises. Discounts of over 60% are available, as cruise operators slash prices in the wake of significant falls in forward bookings.
For example, the Diamond Princess has a 12-night cruise from Sydney to Auckland departing 12 Dec 2008 for A$949pp per person, including a return flight to Sydney. The normal price is A$2500pp.
Check out this and other offers available at CruiseMart. Their website can be found here
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Thailand Tourism Update
September 25th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
My wife and I have just returned from a week’s holiday in Phuket, Thailand’s most popular island tourist destination.
It was certainly “business-as-usual” for Phuket, with no sign of any protestors or unrest of any kind. Everthing was operating as normal, but there was one big difference - the number of tourists in Phuket in September was down about 30% on the same time last year, following travel cancellations and a drop-off in forward bookings. All of the seminar group bookings from overseas for September were cancelled.
The unrest in Phuket was brief - a group protesters blocked access to Phuket’s airport for 3 days in late August, disrupting the travel plans of thousands. The protest was peaceful, but the widespread international media coverage caused considerable damage to Phuket’s image, and security-conscious travellers were quick to cancel their bookings.
The unfortunate outcome - as is often the case in these situations - is that it is the poorer locals who suffer. The drop in tourist arrivals affects the hotel house-maids, bar and restaurant staff and many other occupations at the lower end of the pay scale. On the bright side, the Thai people seemed extra-grateful for those of us who went ahead with our visit.
It will take time to rebuild the confidence of travellers in Phuket, especially until foreign countries lower their travel warnings for Thailand. But for us, we had a very enjoyable week (our first visit to Thailand). The weather was hot and steamy, the shopping was great (apart from the excess baggage charges on the way home!), and the tourist attractions were uncrowded. We will definitely go back!
travelbug
Holland America Line Upgrades Continue
September 6th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
As part of its ongoing Signature of Excellence program, Holland America Line is doubling the amount to be spent in upgrades and enhancements on five ships: Statendam, Ryndam, Maasdam, Veendam and Rotterdam. Over the next two years, these vessels will undergo dry-docks to create new venues, staterooms and décor. This 18-month, $200m program will begin when Veendam enters an extended docking in the spring, and the last ship is scheduled for completion in late 2010.
The investment will include a new resort pool concept, lanai staterooms, new entertainment and enrichment options and new stateroom décor. The work will add more veranda accommodations, expand the Lido Deck’s pool feature with The Retreat, create a showroom at sea and upgrade staterooms, bathrooms and fixtures.
The most dramatic change will be to the aft portion of the ships, allowing for a Lido Deck spot called The Retreat with a shallow pool area. A new pool bar and pizzeria will be installed, as well as a canopy and wind screens to give additional covered seating for the Lido Restaurant.
All staterooms will receive new décor, carpeting and soft goods. Each ship also will gain 44 to 46 staterooms, 32 with verandas and the rest, inside staterooms. On the four S-class ships, a dozen rooms near the spa will also add verandas and, along with three inside rooms, become spa staterooms with special amenities. On Rotterdam, 23 Veranda Deck staterooms will become spa staterooms.
On the five ships, 46 new lanai accommodations will be created by replacing the windows of 42 rooms on Deck 6 with lanai doors that open onto the walk-around promenade, and adding four staterooms.
Other projects are the addition of a Merabella luxury jewellery shop, the reconfiguration of the casino and piano bars into Mix, a multi-themed area with three separate bars, and the transformation of the main show space into a glamorous nightclub ambiance.
With these works, HAL’s fleet enhancement investments will exceed $525m. Previously, during the first phase of Signature of Excellence, the five ships gained Explorations Cafés, Culinary Arts Centres and expanded Club HAL youth facilities, among other features.
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Thailand Still Open for Tourists
September 4th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
A popular tourist destination for both families and young fun-seekers, Thailand’s recent political turmoil has dented the confidence of travellers.
The dispute which has been simmering for months between the government and the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) broke out into civil unrest over the last two weeks, with protesters closing several airports for two or three days, including the country’s second biggest airport on the tourist island of Phuket.
All airports are operating normally again, although security has been stepped up. While protestors are continuing to occupy the grounds of Government House, an attempt to organise a large-scale strike of union members this week failed to draw much support.
The government is proposing a national referendum to gauge public opinion on the issues in 
dispute, and this may take further heat out of the stand-off.
About 600,000 Australian tourists head to Thailand each year. The Australian government last week upgraded its security warning for Thailand to a “High Degree of Caution”, in response to the unrest and “the high threat of terrorist attack”. It is unlikely that this will be downgraded anytime soon.
Meanwhile the Thai tourist industry, much of which had to be rebuilt after the devastating December 2004 tsunami, will be anxiously waiting to see whether the current unrest puts the industry on the back foot yet again. In the meantime, the welcome mats are still out at hotels and resorts across the country.
Australian Holidays Just Got Cheaper
September 3rd, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
Vacationing in one of the world’s favorite family holiday destinations has got cheaper over the last month, particularly for North American tourists.
The reason? A weakening Aussie dollar, which has slipped by nearly 15% against the US dollar during August 2008. It may take time for this slide to show through in holiday packages which are priced in US or other currencies, but fundamental changes in both the US and Australian economies mean that the A$ depreciation is unlikely to reverse any time soon.
In the meantime, holiday planners can take a new look at both airfares and accommodation options for Australia, with those that are quoted in Australian dollars (such as last-minute hotel room websites like wotif.com) likely to show the quickest improvement.
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Houseboat Holidays Are Fun!
April 12th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
One of my favourite things to do as a family is hire a houseboat and enjoy a few days away in the sheltered estuary waters. The boats don’t exceed 6 knots speed so you don’t need to have a boat licence to hire one. They are easy to drive and the anchorages are well marked on the charts provided.
Most house boats have 2 - 4 bedrooms and 1 - 2 bathrooms including shower and toilet, barbecues, full kitchens, TV’s and DVDs as well. Fish, swim, explore islands, meet other boaties, enjoy the marine life, fabulous scenery, sunsets and sunrises if you are an early riser, or call into shore for a meal and a drink.
On my last houseboat holiday we ran out of bread and groceries and rang up the hire company – they send a boat out on certain days with whatever you need. If you need emergency help they send out a fix-it man too.
Each morning after breakfast we decided where to head for that day that would be sheltered and would motor for an hour or so to get there. That charges up the hot water and the power supply just enough for the TV so that when it was dark each night we could watch a DVD. Later out would come the Scrabble Board or Pictionary or charades and all those wholesome family games that you never get time for at home but everyone thoroughly enjoys once you get going.
When thinking of the costs – you have to remember it is your travel, accommodation, entertainment etc for the whole holiday. It is a stress free holiday, very relaxing and peaceful being out on the water.
If you enjoy space and comfort with all the mod-cons of home then the house boat holiday is a great adventure to enjoy.
Janet
