What is already the top domestic airline by some indicators (Of Course that’s Southwest)

appears to be out looking for a bigger portion of the air travel industry. They have just announced that they are making an offer of at least $113 million for Frontier Airlines of Denver Colorado which is currently in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Republic Airways already has made an offer for the company but it looks like Southwest is in a much better financial position to take on the ailing Frontier Airlines which has operated in bankruptcy since April of last year.

 

Southwest has recently indicated that “We are in this to win” and if they are able to buy Frontier then all of the Airbus jets will be replaced with Southwest’s preferred plane the Boeing 737 and there appears a good chance that most of the current employees will be retained after the planned acquisition. The move by Southwest would put them into a position to gain a share of the market that they don’t presently serve on the eastern seaboard and beef up their competition with United Airlines which currently handles about half of the Denver traffic. If Southwest is able to pull this move off they will become the largest of the US based air carriers and we could soon be seeing a lot of changes as low cost no frills flying begins to dominate the industry.

 

Carnival Cruises is dropping prices on several of their cruises itineraries over the next few months and this means that cruising is getting more affordable every day. If you are looking for an excellent vacation deal on a ship such as the Carnival Glory or the Sensation we did a little checking on line and found prices as low as $60.00 per day are available on several dates to several different destinations. Be sure to check the prices on the four day excursions to Catalina Island and Ensenada Mexico. You can find last minute prices as low as $55.00. The 7 day itineraries in the western Caribbean can be as low as $65.00 if you book now for travel later in the year.

 

Carnival plans to be able to visit the Mahogany Bay Cruise Complex at Roatan Honduras starting in the fall of this year. The cruise complex will open a new retail center in a couple of months and in the first year of operation Carnival Cruise Line expects to make around one hundred cruise ship calls to the Isle Roatan. 

 

Be sure to watch for the debut of the huge new carnival Dream. It will be the largest ship in the Carnival fleet at 130,000 tons and will have a capacity of 3652 passengers. The ship won’t be the largest one in service but it will be the largest and newest for Carnival Cruises. It will make a maiden voyage on September 21 of this fall and then sail to New York in mid October. It should start service to the Caribbean by the end of the year.  

 

Trading houses with another family who would like to visit the area where your home is located is a great new vacation concept. It’s a wonderful way for you to enjoy free accommodations in a new area and not have to worry about spending a pile of money on hotel rooms which is usually the most expensive part of your vacation. If this idea should happen to pique your interest, I would suggest that you take a look into the forums at the websites that specialize in home exchanges for vacationers. This trend is becoming more popular every day now and there are several world wide organizations that specialize in vacation exchanges and have very large memberships.

                                                                                                             

Trading homes is really a simple way to plan a vacation. Various persons will describe this activity as vacation home swaps, house swap holidays and house trading. It is possible to trade places with families in another city or in another country. Normally you will pay the bills that come due while you are there and furnish all the food for your family. Some times it may be possible to trade the use of an automobile and you are expected to keep the house neat and clean. You will have to post a picture of your home online and get enough information from the perspective trader so that you are completely comfortable with the persons you plan to trade with. Open communication with the prospective traders is a necessity.   You need to explain exactly where the house is located and what is expected of the in coming vacationers.

 

Is home swapping for you?

 

You must be absolutely sure that you are comfortable opening up your home to strangers. If this seems a reasonable option for you then you should think about staying in a private home instead of a hotel or motel. You will have lot more privacy, you will be able to cook while there and because there will be no charge for your accommodations you’ll be able to take a longer holiday or maybe even add on another holiday later on. One draw back to consider is that you will have longer preparation time. You will need to join an organization that specializes in house swapping and start working on the swap at least 3 months before you plan to leave. 

 

The cost of belonging to one of these house swapping organizations is minimal and problems are relatively few. As usual the more information you have the better off you will be. You can research home trading on the internet by checking on vacation home swapping, vacation home trades, or home exchanges. You may be able to find a guide book that will help you with the details and you should spend a little time at the forums for the home swapping sites. You’ll find most of the interest in home swaps will be in areas that are considered hot tourist destinations and some of the larger cities. I have seen reports of some families who have swapped homes more than twenty times to various places throughout the world and have had no trouble with the arrangements. So now is the  time to talk it over with your family and decide if house swapping will fit into your vacation plans. You may find that your future has more vacations in it than you ever thought was possible.

 

A back yard campout can be a lot of fun for the whole family and it won’t cost you much at all. You’ll have the opportunity to mix, mingle and interact with family members and not be stuck in front of the TV all night. Just make sure the TV doesn’t come along on the campout with you.

You can put up a tent or pop up camper in the back yard and it won’t cost you anything for an overnight permit. Not only will you have a cheap campsite for the night but you’ll have a chance to check out all the camping gear before you head out for a longer camping trip with the family. You can do your cooking on a bar-b-q grill or on the camp stove. To make things easier why not make up a couple of picnic dishes ahead of time and then not have to do as much cooking in the back yard.

If you have younger children they always enjoy getting involved in a treasure hunt. This will keep them occupied for quite a while and if everyone is focused on something similar it will be easier to watch over them. What to look for? Kids always like to look for bugs. Be sure to warn them about any dangerous bugs that might show up in your area. Ask them to hunt for birds or animals in the yard and make a list of what they see.

Do you remember playing hide-and-seek when you were a kid? That was always a lot of fun and took up lots of time. Tag is another simple game that uses up a bunch of energy and has a lot of variations.

If the kids are a little older and there is more than one family involved they might be interested in baseball or soccer. If you have basketball nets then the kids can burn up a lot of energy on the courts. Many families will spend some time around the table with their favorite board games and this will usually help to bring everyone together for a little conversation. How about these games? monopoly, Parcheesi or checkers. Those games will keep them occupied for quite a long time.

You’ll have the option of using nice clean bathrooms in your own home and there will be plenty of other resources close at hand if you need them. Later in the evening you could consider taking everybody out to the local ice cream shop with help from all of the money you were able to save by staying closer to home.

Be sure to take a look at the Family Vacation Planner for lots of other great vacation ideas that will save you money and make your summer a lot more fun. We have many getaway suggestions at http://www.discounttraveltoday.com and you’ll enjoy our vacation videos of hiking in the desert Southwest and cruising the Mexican Riviera. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jere_Moline

Roatan Island can be found about 30 miles off the coast of Honduras and is approximately 33 miles long and 4 miles wide. The main airport is located in Coxen Hole right on the shores of Roatan Island which is situated in the Gulf of Honduras. Coxen Hole is the most poulace city on the island and a major port which serves several cruise lines( including Carnival Cruises), and freight companies.  In Coxen Hole you will find the local mercado, ship docks, ferry terminal, banks small shops and hotels, the post office and various government offices.  Unfortunately Coxen Hole is not safe  in the evening and the US Embassy there has issued a travel advisory asking travelers to not venture out on foot in Coxen Hole after dark.

   Roatan is surrounded be the worlds’s second largest coral reef and as a result they are able to offer unparalleled scuba diving. There are many scuba outfitters there who offer lessons and certification. Roatan has long been known as a scuba destination and attracted people from all over the world who are interested in Scuba diving. The coral comes very close to the surface and divers are able to see lots of fish and coral formations.  Divers will be amazed at the numerous large starfish and they are instucted to keep an eye out for Caribbean spotted lobster hiding in the coral.  Tunnels, ledges and volcanic mazes extend far into the coral walls forming caverns and cathedrals

 

Over a period of hundreds of years, possession of the island has alternated between Spain, England and various pirates, buccaneers, and privateers. Originally the first inhabitants of the Island (The Payas) were enslaved by the Spanish and were then relocated. In spite of the turbulent history this is a beautiful island with gorgeous beaches, stunning views and of course don’t forget the most beautiful coral reefs in the world. Despite the political issues in Honduras the busines of tourism on Roatan continues pretty much as usual.  Roatan is a true Caribbean treasure, appealing to vacationers, divers, part-time residents, retirees, and others. 

There are several cruise lines that make ports of call on Roatan and as long as the situation doesn’t deteriorate and become dangerous for tourists they will continue to make calls there as they closely monitor the political situation.

For current news of the political situation in Honduras and any changes in the scheduling of stops by the cruise lines such as Carnival Cruises Stop in to www.discounttraveltoday.com

 

Political unrest and tension continue in Honduras as many citizens continue to block the return of President Zeleya.   If the situation should suddenly change in that country the State Department will immediately issue advisories to alert travelers who may be in Central America.

 

Reports out of Honduras recently have indicated that President Zeleya may have attempted to make changes to the constitution and has been trying to make changes to the term limits set up for persons occupying the office of president. The judicial branch of the government voted to remove President Zeleya from office and the military was asked to escort him out of the country. Many citizens felt that such action supported the constitution of the country and would help to stop President Zeleya’s efforts to move the country to the left.

 

Government officials in the US maintain that Zeleya was elected by the people in a democratic election and should be allowed to serve out his presidency. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has said that the US supports a peaceful, constitutional and lasting resolution of the division within Honduras. 

 

Travelers are being advised to exercise extreme caution while traveling in that country and to observe the curfew that has been put into effect this past week by the government.

There are no significant changes to note for the island of Roatan and Carnival Cruises continues to make port calls on the island

Reports out of Europe and the Mediterranean are that Carnival Cruises has been successfully conducting trial runs of the Carnival Dream over the last few days as they prepare for the September debut of the largest vessel in their line up. The Dream will be operating a series of Mediterranean cruises before it sails to New York for eight day cruises in November of this year. The ship will begin service in the Caribbean from Port Canavarel after December 12. 

 

Soon you’ll be able to cruise with the largest cruise line in the world for as little as $43.00 a day if you cruise out of the ports on the West Coast of the United States. Carnival Cruises has announced the best deals ever from Los Angeles and San Diego. This coming January there will be sailings form the West Coast with three and four day itineraries that will be as low as $149.00 for a four cay cruise. Watch the announcements this winter as various cruise lines go head to head to stay competitive as the economy gets tighter and vacations budgets dwindle.

 

Although the Situation in Honduras has not stabilized, Carnival Cruise Lines has not announced plans to stop making port calls at the island of Roatan. There doesn’t seem to be any reported incidents of unrest on the island which is located along one of the world’s

largest barrier reefs. Carnival officials are in constant communication with their contacts on the island for up to date information and will make appropriate decisions if the situation should change. 

 

The U.S. State Department has not issued any warnings for the Cruise ship ports of call at Roatan. There have been isolated incidents in a couple of places on the island which may not have had any thing to do with the political unrest so visitors have been warned not to walk the beaches at night and to avoid Coxen Hole on Roatan.

Book mark this page so you can stay current with the situation in Roatan Honduras.  We will report any new developments that may effect the ports of call on the island. 

 

 

The country of Honduras may not be the safest of the Central American countries to visit. There are just not enough properly trained personnel to handle investigations and prosecute those who commit crimes in Honduras. There are very few police who speak English and although there are special tourist units in several central tourist destinations the coverage is limited and the numbers are small. It has been reported that there are occasional armed robberies against cars and vans transporting tourists from the airport to local hotels. 

 

The crime rate is lower at the major tourist destinations within the country and the Islands of Copan and Roatan are not as dangerous as parts of the mainland. However travelers are advised to use caution especially when walking on beaches at night.

 

Carnival Cruises makes calls at Roatan a couple of times each week and at present there are no plans to stop making those port calls. Carnival Cruises maintanes close contact with individuals on the island and are monitoring the situation closely. It should be noted that Coxen Hole on Roatan should be avoided after dark.  

 

For continued updates on the changing situation book mark this site and stay informed with our coverage.