Last minute Fathers’s Day gift idea? Three hour Manhattan skyline cruise + belly dancer show for $25

by Scott Carmichael on

Managed to finally run out of ideas what to get your dad for Father’s day? If he’s the kind of guy who already has all the latest gadgets, and doesn’t mind getting out of the house for a bit of entertainment, consider this deal from kgb deals.

For $25, you get a three hour Manhattan Skyline cruise, catered Italian lunch, Middle Eastern music by DJ Derajja, Belly dancing show by Layla Isis and a cash bar. The cruise normally costs $50, but kgb deals is selling it for $25. Boarding starts June 20 at 1:30, and the cruise departs at 2pm.

Of course, this deal is also perfect for tourists currently in New York – and even though I can’t guarantee the catered lunch will be a high quality dining experience, the skyline is always amazing.

[Image from Getty Images]

Cruise line worker accused of using inside information to burglarize passengers homes

by Scott Carmichael on

A vacation planner for Royal Caribbean has been arrested and charged with breaking in to the homes of 20 South Florida cruise line passengers.

Bethsaida Sandoval allegedly used the internal computer systems at Royal Caribbean to pick passengers who were on a ship, and determine which homes to burglarize. She then passed the information on to her husband.

The two would then check the homes for alarm systems, and break in, stealing jewelry, flat screen TV’s, sports memorabilia, video games, handbags and “pretty much anything that was small enough to put in pillow cases”.

Sandoval has a history of crime, and chances are she won’t be out in public committing any new crimes for a couple of years.

There is not much you can do to protect yourself against inside jobs like this, but it doesn’t hurt to start with some basic protection like an alarm system. Another option is to provide the address of a mail box to the cruise line instead of your home address.

Travel Trends: Caribbean is most popular cruise destination, but niche markets growing fast

by Gadling Staff on

For the first nine years of the 21st Century, the Caribbean Islands have been the most popular cruise destination for travelers from around the world, according to figures provided by the Cruise Lines International Association.

Each year since 2000, about one-third of people who cruised chose to do so in the Caribbean. However, from a high of 42% in 2002, the number of travelers dropped to 32% in 2009, suggesting that the Caribbean may no longer have the appeal it once did.

Significant increases in nights spent aboard a cruise ship by travelers were recorded in those choosing the Mediterranean as a cruise destination. In 2000, the Mediterranean represented 12% of the cruise market. In 2009, it was chosen by 16% of travelers.

Niche markets growing fast
The largest gain, however, was reported in small ship cruises to Antarctica. In 2000, the destination was chosen by less than 1% of all cruisers. By 2009, Antarctica saw a 23% gain in cruise travelers — though the total number of cruisers to Antarctica remained at less than 3% of all cruisers.Such a significant growth in Antarctica as a destination reinforces comments by Larry Dressler, executive director of the Niche Cruise Marketing Alliance, who says the number of beds available to those interested in a small ship experience has grown from 200,000 in 2005 to about 500,000 by the end of 2010.

“It’s really hard to pinpoint the exact number of people who take advantage of small ship cruises or niche cruises, because of the unique experience of this type of travel,” said Dressler. “A number of opportunities are on freighters and ships not necessarily known as a cruise ship, and keeping track of who is going where in that realm is nearly impossible.”

A small ship is identified as carrying fewer than 500 passengers — some as few as only a couple of dozen. Simply because of the size of the ships, guests should not expect a large quantity of onboard facilities found on some of the better-known “mega ships.” There is usually one dining facility, limited shopping, few casinos, and minimal onboard entertainment. That’s okay, though, because, “The destination has to be the focus of small ship cruising,” said Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor-in-chief of CruiseCritic.com, pointing out that places like the Galapagos Islands and Antarctica can only be seen via a small ship.

CLIA reports the overall growth rate of cruising from 1990 – 2008 at 7.2%. The nights spent aboard a cruise ship by all travelers grew from 53.8 million in 2000 to 96.2 in 2009.

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Source data: Cruise Line International Association

See more Travel Trends.

Cruise art seller, Park West, accused of fraud

by Tom Johansmeyer on

It looks like Royal Caribbean just dodged a bullet. The cruise line announced last month that it wasn’t going to renew its contract with art auction provider Park West – and the timing couldn’t be better. Passengers who have purchased pieces from Park West are coming out of the woodwork with accusations that Park West was peddling “fake, forged and overpriced work and using phony appraisals and certificates of authenticity,” according to USA Today.

One passenger, Marti Szosta, picked up 21 pieces from Park West while on Royal Caribbean cruises from 2005 to 2007 – some of the art market‘s hottest years – and dropped $48,000 in the process. “I was sick, I could hardly breathe” she was quoted as saying when she learned of the value of her art investment.

Says USA Today:

Szostak tells the news outlet she worked three jobs to pay for the art and then decided to sell, only to be told by art dealers that the art was largely worthless. She says experts told her signatures on limited-edition prints by Dalí she had bought at the auctions were forged.

Several buyers are now suing Park West, which faces charges of racketeering, fraud and violating consumer protection laws. Albert Scaglione, Park West’s founder, denies the allegations and says, “We have never done anything wrong.”

Summer travel: how not to sizzle your skin

by Laurel Miller on

The good folks at CNN have released a helpful guide and accompanying photo gallery horror show of solar ray-blasted epidermis. In “5 ways to avoid getting deep-fried,” you’ll find dermatologist’s tips to protect your sun from UVA/UVB damage, skin cancer detection links, and entertaining anecdotes of CNN reporters’ worst sunburns/precursors to melanoma.

I love the sun as much as most holiday-makers, but years of basting myself in baby oil, combined with the onset of crow’s feet in my early twenties and my mother’s own ongoing struggle with basal and squamous cell carcinomas have turned me into the Queen of Sunscreen. While my friends still mock me, and a former farmers market employer once remarked, “I can always tell when you’ve been hugging my dog, because he smells like sunscreen!” I feel vindicated because at 41, I look a good ten years younger, and have yet to develop my first pre-cancerous lesion. I get an annual screening at my dermatologist, and religiously apply a minimum of SPF 30 UVA/UVB sunblock over all exposed body parts (please remember the back of your neck, hands, ears, and knees, and tops of your feet).

Gadling has a more detailed explanation of what the heck all this SPF stuff means, and a guide to choosing sunglasses that do more than just look hip. I also wear, and heartily endorse (unpaid, of course) the sun protective clothing by ExOfficio, and sun protective hats by Outdoor Research. Sounds wacky, but these items are constructed with UPF (ultraviolet protection factor) textiles that, while not a substitute for sunblock, provide a great dual-defense system. They’re also attractive, and incredibly versatile and travel-friendly. Don’t hide from the sun this holiday weekend; just take precautions, have fun, and think of all the money you’ll save by not requiring reconstructive surgery and Botox.

(Image credit: Flickr/Saspotato)