If you’ve been following the announcements about Royal Caribbean’s new ships, you’ve heard about their next generation ships, called Royal Caribbean Genesis. There will be two sister ships, and they don’t have names yet. Well, they have finally announced some cool things about what will be on them! So far, it sounds pretty cool, and I’d love to see it!

The ship will have 7 neighborhoods, and they have announced that the first neighborhood is Central Park.

Central Park will be a very lush area in the center of the ship and will have seasonal flower gardens, serene pathways, and more. It sounds really pretty, and I can’t wait to hear about the rest of the neighborhoods.

These ships will be the largest in the world once they are built, and will be 16 decks high. It will launch towards the end of 2009, so we still have a while to wait until we can go on it - but I’m sure we’ll hear a lot more about the ship before that!

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Since we were just talking about Universal Studios yesterday (even though that was Hollywood and this is Orlando) I thought this would be a perfect time to mention a new roller coaster that was just announced for Universal Studios Orlando! It’s called the Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit and looks really cool! It is going to have a lot of loops, twists, turns, and will even go out into CityWalk…so it goes outside the theme park!

It’s going to open next spring. This is one of many attractions that are currently being worked on in Universal Studios Orlando. I must admit, I’m really looking forward to going next year once all of these new rides and attractions open up.

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By now you’ve most likely heard about the fire at the Monte Carlo on the Las Vegas Strip on Friday morning. They were very lucky in that it was fully contained in a short time, and that most of the damage was on the outside of the building.

The bad news is that while they originally thought they could at least open up the casino that night, they found that the fire officials won’t let them reopen until the exterior facade has either been removed or secured. Basically, they are worried about pieces falling down onto the ground and potentially hurting someone. So, until this is taken care of, the entire casino must stay closed.

On a good note, this past Friday and Saturday customers were allowed to go to their rooms to get their belongings. Unfortunately, they must now stay at other hotels!

Hopefully they will be able to get everything fixed quickly so they can reopen. I’m sure a lot of people can’t wait until they do so!

They still don’t know what caused the fire, but will be looking into it.

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Last night (Sunday January 13th) if you were in NYC, you might have seen something that happened for the first and only time…ever.The Cunard’s 3 “Queens” - Queen Elizabeth 2, Queen Mary 2, and Queen Victoria all met up in New York Harbor. This is the first and only time that 3 of Cunard’s ships have ever been at the same place at the same time. There was a celebration including fireworks as all three ships passed the Statue of Liberty.

The Cunard Victoria was only launched a year ago, while the Queen Mary 2 launched in March 2003, and the Queen Elizabeth 2 launched in September 1967, and will be retired later this year to become a floating hotel in Dubai.

While it may not sound incredible, it took over 2 years of planning to get all 3 ships to meet like that! It would have been an incredible sight to see, and not something that will be done again anytime soon.

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The Palazzo is the newest Hotel/Casino on the strip, and is having it’s Grand Opening the weekend of January 17th-19th. This hotel is adjacent to the Venetian, and is also owned by the same company.Every room is a suite, and from looking at the pictures on their website, they look incredible! You will have many choices of what type of suite you would like to stay in, ranging from luxury suites, fortuna suites, and even concierge suites.  Of course, note that this is obviously a luxury hotel…so if you’re looking for a budget vacation, stay somewhere else, but be sure to visit!
If you’re looking for some good food, there will be plenty of new restaurants for you to enjoy with 14 different restaurants to choose from at opening. Wolfgang Puck and Emeril Lagasse will each have restaurants here, as well as a French steakhouse, sushi, and even a Grand Lux Cafe.

If you’re looking for entertainment, starting in April they will be showing “Jersey Boys”, a show currently on Broadway that tells the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. I saw this in NYC, and thought it was great!

If you’re looking to shop, this will also be a great place to go. They will have around 60 different shops including a Barney New York, the first on the Las Vegas Strip. Even better, their stores will be connected to The Grand Canal Shoppes of the Venetian, which also has some really nice stores. So you will be able to shop 2 hotels worth of stores at once.

So for those that love Las Vegas, and enjoy going to all of the hotels, casinos, restaurants, and shows on the Las Vegas Strip, be prepared to check out one more!

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If you love to travel, or are planning your next trip, you might be interested in going to a travel show. A travel show has hundreds of different vendors, all trying to convince you that their location is a great place to visit. Some of the vendors are from a specific company, while others are from a state or country tourism board.Either way, it’s a great way to find out more about different destinations, or scope out where you might want to travel in the upcoming year. You’ll get the chance to talk to people who really know the destinations, and ask them any questions you have. How often do you have the chance to do that?
Even more exciting, is that their are often speakers who will come do 1-hour seminars, and you can listen for free (of course you pay to get in…but the seminars are free once you are inside). Last year at the New York Travel Show, I saw Arthur Frommer and Rick Steves, both who did great hour long seminars!

Both Boston and New York each have a travel show coming up. Here are their websites:

• The Boston Globe Travel Show - February 22nd - 24th at the Seaport World Trade Center.
• The New York Times Travel Show - February 29th - March 2nd at the Jacob Javits Convention Center.

If you are at all interested in travel, I really recommend going if you get the chance. I’ve been to the NY Times Travel Show for the past 4 years, and have had a great time each year. I’ve learned a lot about different destinations, and can’t wait to go this year!

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The Disney-MGM Studios name is no more.  If you go down to Walt Disney World, you will find that as of today, January 7th, 2008, the parks new name is Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  So don’t be worried when you’re looking into planning your trip, and can’t find MGM Studios anywhere!  It’s still there, but now with a brand new name, and brand new signs to go with it.

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Flying anytime soon? Well, here is something new to think about when packing your luggage…how many lithium batteries do you have with you?Starting just a few days ago - January 1st, 2008, you can no longer pack loose lithium batteries in your checked luggage. You can only have them in your checked luggage if they are in the electronics that they power - such as digital cameras, laptops, or cell phones.

As far as carry-on luggage, you are allowed to bring only 2 spare rechargeable lithium batteries, and they must be in plastic bags.

Read the whole article from the Department of Transportation.

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Starting in February, you’ll be able to ride a new monorail at Disneyland! The latest monorail, which is called the Mark VII was delivered, and will soon be put on the tracks. It’s the same speed and will have the same capacity as the previous version, but does have a few differences.

Some of the seats will be placed differently so you can face the windows and see Downtown Disney and the Disneyland Hotel as you are passing them. They also look really different as well.

Here is an article about it, including a picture of the new monorail. Personally, I love the new look!

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After reading this article on ABC’s website, you might want to reconsider your summer plans if they involve driving a long distance.  The article mentions that while we don’t know what the gas prices will be like this summer, there is a “strong possibility” that it could be $4.00 a gallon for gas. 

I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t sound very promising to me!  If I’m not happy about paying ~$2.50 a gallon, I don’t want to imagine how unhappy I would be paying ~$4.00 a gallon. 

So, if you are starting to think about your summer vacation now, why not consider booking an airline ticket, or a cruise - now, before the prices rise?  Cruises and airline tickets are still pretty inexpensive.  It might be a good idea…or consider vacationing closer to home!

Who knows if it will happen?  Hopefully it won’t, but this way you can be prepared!

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