Trump Las Vegas hotel offers a “paws massage package” for you and your pooch

by McLean Robbins on





Sure, traveling with your pet is nothing new – but what about heading to the spa with your favorite four-legged friends? Trump Las Vegas, one of the first Las Vegas hotels to
welcome pets, is now offering a guests a Paws Massage Package, which includes a 30-minute rubdown for guests and a 30-minute massage for your pooch. The $150 package is performed in the comfort of your own suite.

Misty, star of Marley & Me, was one of the first to recieve the service. The pooch gave it four paws up, or so we’re told.

The hotel goes out of its way to be pet-friendly, equipping rooms amenities including a plush dog bed, gourmet treats, a water bowl and fresh bottled water. The hotel will also donate a portion of the $200 cleaning fee for every dog that stays at the property to the Nevada SPCA No-Kill Animal Sanctuary.

While we’re not sure our own pup is going to be the best companion for a rubdown, (he’s a bit vocal about his tummy rubs) we’d love to hear your thoughts about this service – is it something you want to try?

Qatar Airways expands into Montreal; reaches 100th destination milestone

by McLean Robbins on

Qatar Airways will become the first Gulf area airline to serve Canada when it expands into Montreal with service on June 29. The non-stop journey from the airline’s hub in Doha to Montreal‘s Pierre Elliot Trudeau International Airport will be a total flying time of 13 hrs 20 minutes and will be offered three times weekly, on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

Montreal will become the airline’s fourth North American destination, currently operates daily flights to New York, Washington and Houston.

Qatar is home to more than 3,000 Canadian citizens and two Canadian university satellite campuses, The College of the North Atlantic and the University of Calgary.

Canadian nationals arriving in Qatar may enter the country without prior visa arrangements. Passengers with Qatar as their end destination may enter by obtaining a visa on arrival.

The Boeing 777 on the Montreal route has a two-class operation, offering 42 seats in Business in a spacious 2–2–2 cabin layout, with a seat pitch of 78 inches that is already the envy of competitor airlines as the seats stretch into lie-flat beds, a key demand of the corporate traveller.

In Economy, the Boeing 777 offers 217 seats in a 3–3–3 configuration with a pitch of up to 34-inch, which is among the most generous of any international airline flying wide-body aircraft on long-haul routes.

On March 6, Qatar Airways adds Stuttgart to its global network, followed on April 6 with new flights to the historic Syrian city of Aleppo – the airline’s milestone 100th destination. Flights to Shiraz, Qatar Airways’ third gateway in Iran begin on June 5, followed 10 days later on June 15 by scheduled services to Venice, the carrier’s third destination in Italy.

[Flickr via Deanster1983]

Nat Geo brings national parks maps to iPhone and iPad

by Kraig Becker on

National Geographic has launched a new iPhone and iPad app that is sure to please travelers visiting America’s national parks. The app offers detailed maps of 15 parks, providing information on places to camp, trails to hike, locations of shops and visitors center, and other points of interests.

The program is apply named National Park Maps HD and it comes preloaded with digital versions of Nat Geo’s excellent Trails Illustrated Maps. The parks that are included are amongst the most popular and beautiful in the entire national park system, attracting millions of visitors on a yearly basis.

Upon launching the app you’ll be presented with a map of the U.S. with a photo representing each of the parks. Simply tap on the park you would like to explore and a detaied map will appear with an overview of the region. Double tapping the screen will allow you to zoom in even closer, showing you all the roads, campsites, and various other points of interest. And if the default maps don’t have the detail you need, HD versions of each of the maps are also available to download inside the app, bringing the zoom levels up even further.

National Parks Maps HD also offers the ability to use your device’s built in assisted GPS to triangulate your location and there is even an in-app compass to help you find your way. You’ll also find an option to place virtual pins on the map to mark your own favorite places and the built in search function allows you to locate anything you’re looking for in the park. The amount of information at your fingertips is fantastic and a real benefit for travelers.

The list of parks included in the app are Acadia, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Glacier/Waterton, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Great Smoky Mountains, Mount Rainier, Olympic, Rocky Mountain, Sequoia/Kings Canyon, Shenandoah, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Zion. If you were to buy each of those maps in paper form, it would cost over $300.

The National Park Maps HD app is available now for $4.99. The universal app is a one time download that will work on both your iPhone and iPad. If you’re planning a trip to one of the above parks in the near future, this would make an excellent travel companion for sure.

Celebrity Cruises new app welcomes a new generation of passenger

by Chris Owen on

Celebrity Cruises new app is more than just another little program you an use to kill time. In a natural evolution of their programming, Celebrity Cruises has added its first app and mobile web site.Celebrity is a cruise line that has fully embraced technology, rolling top-shelf brands into their onboard experience. More importantly, with this roll-out of Celebrity Cruises new app the line opens the door and welcomes a new generation of cruise passenger.

Now, iPhone users have the opportunity to download the free, new app from the Celebrity web site or from the Apple store. Other apps have been available from third-party sources for quite some time. This is the first official app from Celebrity and there are some big differences in Celebrity Cruises new app vs. the third-party apps available right now.

Users of Celebrity Cruises new app will have a wealth of functionality allowing them to view the destinations Celebrity visits, check out onboard activities including iLearn and language courses offered in the Celebrity iLounge and more.

Technology can be a big part of the Celebrity experience. Prior to boarding, guests can go online to explore a number of activities and packages available on their sailing. On board, a Celebrity iLounge is a popular gathering place that includes an Internet cafe equipped with 26 workstations. As an Authorized Apple Reseller, there is also a retail area where guests can try out and buy various Apple products and accessories plus an “enrichment center” that will offer classes on the iLife suite of programs and other general topics.

Celebrity Cruises new app welcomes a new generation of passenger in many ways. One of the best parts of Celebrity Cruises new app is having the ability to see menus, wine lists and even walking tours of a ship’s art collection, a Celebrity Cruises first.

Guests can use iPhone, Android and BlackBerry devices with Celebrity Cruises new app to search for a Celebrity cruise and itineraries, obtain destination information, view details about each ship, connect with Celebrity’s social media sites, e-mail itineraries of interest to Celebrity’s Customer Service team, or contact Customer Service ‘live’ at any point during the experience.

Did you catch that last line?

“... or contact Customer Service ‘live’ at any point during the experience.”

That’s huge.
That’s engaging.
This is a cruise line that “gets it”.

Standard operating procedure for cruise line customer service:

Call on phone/work through problem/call back if you don’t like the result until you find someone who will tell you what you want to hear/Addressed problem but not feeling very good about it.

Glimpse at what might be coming:

“... or contact Customer Service ‘live’ at any point during the experience.”

Celebrity Cruises new app is definitely a step in the right direction.

Celebrity Cruises new app is just one use of available Apple technology. The cruise line already uses the iPad for its menus and wine list in its Qsine specialty restaurant, which debuted this year on the Equinox, and its ships are home to “Celebrity iLounges,” equipped with MacBook workstations. Guests on board can take courses and get tips on Mac and iPod use.

“We knew our guests would relish yet another opportunity to capitalize on the latest technology in an entertaining, enriching way,” says Celebrity’s senior vice president of Hotel Operations, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo.

Celebrity Cruises photo


Photo of the Day – Matryoshka dolls

by Jeremy Kressmann on

For travelers, Russia is a country that is at once fascinating and baffling. An oft-cited metaphor for Russia’s many charms and mysteries is the Matryoshka doll, a typical wooden figurine pictured in today’s photo. At first glance, the Matryoshka appears to be a single doll, but when opened, reveals a series of ever-smaller figures inside. Adding to the mystery of today’s photo, taken by Flickr user Christian Carollo Photography, is the fact the photo wasn’t taken in Russia at all – the shot is actually from Philadelphia.

Have any great travel photos you’ve taken recently? Why not add them to our Gadling group on Flickr? We might just pick one of yours as our Photo of the Day.