Procrasinators, Give the Gift of Travel!

Are you still looking for an unbeatable holiday gift idea for your tired, stressed out and oh so deserving wife or mom? (Yes I did say procrastinators in the title, so that's why I'm talking directly to the guys...but ladies of course you can treat yourself). Send her to Jamaica for the Beaches BFF Weekend January 22-26, 2009.

In addition to the usual all-inclusive Beaches experience, she will receive a $200 spa gift certificate, a sunset sail away catamaran cruise and other goodies designed to make the most of that special bonding time with the girls. For $1,149 per person it is a great deal. That includes just about everything but airfare...and with those prices hovering at the lowest I've seen this year she can be off on this getaway for less than $1,500 pp.
http://www.travimp.com/promo/si8112_pls_btc.html

What better way to show how much you appreciate her hard work this season and all year, than by giving her 4 days in island paradise, with her best girlfriends. Yes this is supposed to be an ultimate fun relaxing getaway, so it's girls only. Wow, no kids, computers, stoves, schedules, I wanna go too!
I visited this property pretty recently and loved it. There are wheelchair accessible rooms and spa treatments. The two-story spa is so tranquil with treatment rooms surrounding a glass courtyard and a wonderful selection of unique island inspired treatments like ortanique body scrubs. If you would like a few of my candid pictures shoot me an e-mail and I'll be glad to send them to you. (I always wonder too if resorts are really going to look like the pictures) In fact the little thumbnail to the right here is a pic I took looking toward the ocean from the lobby of this resort.

Do you really need another reason to take a vacation?

Although this article is a few months old, I thought I'd share it to remind us how important it is to take a vacation and unplug from the daily grind.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/07/business/yourmoney/07shortcuts.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Goodbye Fuel Surcharges!

		The following article from cruisecritic.com sums up the state of fuel surcharges after Carnival's announcement Thursday. If you have questions regarding your specific booking, please call or e-mail me. December 5, 2008
		Update: 10 Cruise Lines to Suspend Fuel Supplement
		Despisers of fuel surcharges, this is your moment. As the price of a barrel of oil continues to fall, Carnival Corp., Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. have all announced plans to eliminate fuel surcharges. Carnival Corp. was the first to announce that it will suspend fuel surcharges for cruises on six of its lines departing on or after December 17, 2008. Carnival Corp.'s lines include Carnival Cruise Lines, Costa Cruises, Cunard Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and Seabourn. Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (consisting of Azamara, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean) have followed suit, both suspending fuel supplements for all voyages departing on or after January 1, 2009. Surcharges were first established in fall 2007, then increased, then increased again as the price of oil skyrocketed. But the barrel fell significantly during summer 2008, prompting lines to announce the demise of surcharges, with most targeting 2010 as the year when surcharge-free cruises would begin again. Most lines also enacted byzantine protocol for refunding fuel surcharges (in the form of onboard credit) if the price per barrel reached a certain value and stayed there for a certain amount of time. For Carnival at least, no one will have to ponder the convoluted refund system anymore. Plain and simple, if you're cruising prior to December 17, you won't be eligible for any fuel surcharge refunds. Cruising after that date? You'll get a refund. Likewise for NCL and RCCL, but the dates are slightly different. If you're cruising before January 1, 2009, you're ineligible for potential surcharge refunds. Cruise any time in 2009, and you'll get a refund. More specifically: Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Effective December 8, if you are paid in full on a cruise that departs on or after January 1, your fuel supplement will be refunded to you in the form of onboard credit. If you have an existing booking for a cruise departing on or after January 1, but have not paid in full, the amount of the fuel supplement will be removed from the final payment total due. All new bookings made on or after December 8, 2008, for cruises departing on January 1, 2009, or beyond will not be assessed a fuel surcharge. For Royal Caribbean and Celebrity cruises taken before January 1, you'll be paying, or have already paid a fuel supplement of between $5 and $10 per person, per day for the first two passengers in a cabin and between $3 and $5 per person, per day for additional passengers in a cabin. For Azamara cruises taken before January 1, you'll be paying, or have already paid a fuel supplement of between $5 and $15 per person, per day for the first two passengers in a cabin and $3 per person, per day for additional passengers in a cabin. Norwegian Cruise Line If passengers are within the "final payment period" on a cruise that departs on or after January 1, a refund will be issued in the form of onboard credit. In other words, if you're paid in full, you'll get shipboard credit in the amount of the fuel surcharge. If your booking is outside of the final payment period for departures on or after January 1, the amount of the fuel supplement will be removed from the final payment total due. For NCL cruises taken before January 1, you'll be paying, or have already paid a fuel supplement of between $7 and $11 per person, per day for the first two passengers in a cabin and between $3 and $5 per person, per day for third and fourth passengers in a cabin. Carnival Corp. If passengers are within the "final payment period" on a cruise that departs on or after December 17, a refund will be issued in the form of onboard credit. The final payment period varies depending on line and when you've booked your cruise; Carnival's standard final payment period begins 75 days before departure date, for instance. If your booking is outside of the final payment period for departures on or after December 17, the amount of the fuel supplement will be removed from the final payment total due. For all Carnival Corp. lines but Seabourn, if you're sailing before December 17, you'll be paying, or have already paid a fuel supplement of between $5 and $9 per person, per day for the first two passengers in a cabin and between $2 and $4 per person, per day for third, fourth and fifth passengers in a cabin. Seabourn's surcharge is between $5 and $15 per person, per day. Want to see what other lines are doing? Check out our At Your Service: Fuel Surcharges. --by Dan Askin, Assistant Editor

A $99 Cruise?

Yep! Norwegian Cruise Lines is offering inside cabins starting at $99pp for the 12/1/08 sailing of the Norwegian Sky. If you can't sail on short notice, prices are still pretty good on that itinerary for a few other dates. Contact me for more information. info@greatscottgetaways.com

I love the Freestyle Cruising dining concept on NCL. I sailed on the Jewel very pregnant and it was awesome not to worry about bringing formal wear for dinner.

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Thank you for reading,

Kenya Scott