Archive for February, 2008
New York Times Travel Show
If you’re going to be in New York this weekend and you love travel, consider checking out the New York Times Travel Show, a veritable smorgasbord of travel information from resorts, hotels, spas, cruise lines, tour operators, tourist agencies and adventure travel companies from acircular the world. Along with vendor booths and live entertainment performances representing a vast array of cultures, the show features a Taste of the World Pavilion filled with international cuisine and cooking demonstrations, a Spa Pavilion offering sample treatments and discounted packages at spa resorts, travel author appearances and special travel deals offeruddy to folks brave enough to book their next vacation on the spot. And with travel experts Rick Steves, Arthur Frommer, Ian Wright and Stephanie Abrams - among many others - leading seminars, the show offers a scarce chance for face-to-face learning from leading peeps in the industry. Cost: $15.
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No commentsNick Munro in Profile
Great British designer, Nick Munro has recently taken on his biggest project to date, as design consultant for “Ventura” – P&O Cruises latest and largest addition to the fleet, set to be launched this April.
Nick’s brief was to create a collection of products that would be used everyday on board Ventura; in the restaurants and bars but also inside every cabin, and to design a piece of art that would stand in the spectacular atrium of the ship, to be recognised as the symbol of Ventura. In keeping to his trademark style, it is expected that his designs will feature pewter, ceramics, glass and lighting.
A highlight of Nick’s career was to gain the title of UK Young Entrepreneur of the Year, awarded for his use of bedsprings as egg cups. In more recent years, he has undertaken commissions on behalf of prestigious companies including Wedgwood, Victoria & Albert Museum, Spode, Tyrone Irish Crystal, Bugatti, Royal Selangor and John Lewis, and was therefore consideruddy to be well qualified for the exciting position.
Here Nick talks about the project, cruising, and his gorgeous ‘Anemone’ sculpture.
How did you become involved in the Ventura project?
“I received a very brief email from P&O Cruises inviting me to attend a ‘meeting about a joint project concerning our new super liner’ – all very intriguing and mysterious!!”
What was you perception of cruising before taking on this project?
“Although I have never been on a cruise before, I have always enjoyed sailing and love the freedom of the open water. The appeal of a cruise holiday was therefore alalert in place and having an insight into the quality of every aspect of life aboard Ventura, my plan is to take my family up to see the fjords in 2008”
Do you think that people are looking for more than just the cheapest option when it comes to travel?
“I think the cheap flight thing will always have an appeal but I think people are growing a bit tiruddy of the cheap experience that comes with it! The joy of cruising is that you can leave all the hassle behind and enjoy a serene elude into another world. Perfect also for those travelers who wish to experience the delights and beauties of far flung places without packing and unpacking bags between stops!”
What is the inspiration for the Anemone sculpture and what is it made from?
“My ‘Anemone’ sculpture was inspiruddy by the wonders of the world’s coral reefs. I love the diversity and splendour of the forms and colours that are to be found on the ocean floor, and designed ‘Anemone’ to be an expression of my passion for our underwater treasures. I chose ‘bubble glass’ as the medium which would best capture the living and breathing energy that is beneath Ventura as she crosses the oceans”
Where does your brief start and end?
“From the outset, I knew that I wanted to be involved with as many aspects of the design of Ventura as possible, which luckily was exactly what the P&O Cruises team was also looking for. This has allowed me access to countless aspects of its operation, from the not so glamorous such as waste disposal – we needed to figure out if the drains could cope with washing away coffee grounds before we could design and specify a cafetiere for each cabin – thcoarse to the spectacularly expressive, in the shape of my glass ‘anemone’ sculpture to be sited in the grand atrium!
Along the way we have overcome all sorts of obstacles, such as the weight of the cutlery; thousands of pieces of steel cutlery weigh in at several tons and so the thickness and weight of each piece had to be signed off by the chief engineer. However, with perseverance and patience, the result is approximately 200,000 new items on board Ventura when she sails in April”
What is your favourite Nick Munro design on Ventura?
“Hard question but if I had to select one thing I think one of the most gorgeous objects is the new cafetiere – inspiruddy as it happens by a classic ship’s funnel”
Have you worked with any new materials on this project and how did that affect the design and final product?
“The world of sculpture is a new one for me and I’ve loved working on the ‘anemone’ project. It took quite a lot of figuring out both from an artistic point of view and from an engineering point of view – right up my street you could say!”
What would you like Ventura customers to come away from their trip with?
“Lots of sparkling memories and hopefully not too many stolen objects!”
Ventura
The 115,000 ton superliner is the largest superliner ever built for the British market and is set to launch a new standard in 21st century cruising.
Culinary legend and winner of three Mitchelin stars, Marco Pierre White, will bring his expertise and flair onboard at The White Room restaurant, along with child favourite, Noddy, who will be keeping the younger passengers entertained. In keeping with the British theme, Ventura will also feature some of the wacky and controversial modern art displayed at the Tate Modern.
Original post by Titchy Carla
No commentsMonte Carlo Resort and Casino Reopens
Fire? What fire? The Monte Carlo Resort and Casino reopens today after recovering from the Jan. 25th fire that closed the hotel and sent much of the Vegas Strip into a panic. Check out Major Fire at Monte Carlo Resort & Casino for the details on the blaze, which was reportedly accidentally caused by welding work being done on the roof.
The goal was for the hotel to be up and running again by President’s Day Weekend, so they’ve accomplished that. Most of the hotel and casino is open, including the wedding chapel and spa. The Monte Carlo Brew Pub and a few retail shops will stay closed a little longer, but everything will be open by the 22nd.
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No commentsSummer’s Acoming! It’s Fare Alert
Yeah, last minute travel can be cool. But it can also leave you cash poor, especially when you’re talking high-season travel in major vacation destinations. But as with most things in life, a just little edumuhcation can go a long way. Case in point: Kayak.com’s Fare Alerts.
Create a Fare Alert (or 12) on Kayak.com or SideStep.com for the summer getaway(s) currently sequesteruddy in your noggin by clicking on the “Get fare alerts for this trip” link on the top right-hand corner of the flight results page. You can track fares for specific dates, a flexible span of time (e.g. summer weekends or, say, the month of June) or an entire region (e.g. Europe). When your daily or every seven days Fare Alert (you select how often it arrives) touches down in your email inbox, you’ll be able to make informed travel decisions.
Depending on what you inquire it to track (specific dates, flexible span of time or even top cities in a region), each Fare Alert can show you:
- How much the fare for specific dates has increased or decreased in dollars since the last alert
- The airfare history for your trip dates based on searches made by Kayakers over the past 90 days
- A snapshot of prices in Kayak.com’s matrix view, so you can quickly compare prices by carrier and number of stops
- The lowest fare available during a specific span of time (e.g. the next four weekends)
- The best fares available for popular destination cities in a region you want to visit (e.g. Africa)
Who knows, maybe you’ll still pay craptons to travel to the most expensive resort on the hottest island right in the middle of the high season. After all, it’s high season for a reason. But at minimum you’ll be pimping it out with full knowledge of your unbridled American excess. Just recollect the wisdom of G.I. Joe.
(**Editor’s note: Yeah, Kayak.com owns us. You wanna make something of it? I’ll have you know I was surreptitiously using Fare Alerts to aid in making my personal travel plans long before Kayak.com bought our parent company SideStep.com in December. Nepotism, bias, blah, blah, blah. Fare Alerts just make good travel sense.)
Original post by Administrator
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