NEW LOGO and TRAVEL WEBSITE!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm proud to present my new logo and website! I always liked the tan, antique look of the old maps and globes. For Dare 2 Explore I borrowed a little from the look and feel of the Indiana Jones movies. (Now I have the Indy theme in my head!)

Travel is all about what parts of the world you want to explore and what adventures you want to have!

I have created a new website that allows me to personalize and create my own brand while still linking to my booking engine. Please visit and let me know what you think: WWW.D2ETRAVEL.COM Contact me if I can help with any of your travel needs. Let's plan your next adventure together!

The Cruise Ship Shuffle!

Carnival Cruise Lines will replace the 2,056-passenger Carnival Fantasy with the 2,758-passenger Carnival Triumph in New Orleans in 2009, increasing its capacity in the Big Easy by 34 percent. Carnival operates the only year-round cruise program from New Orleans.

In addition to providing an exciting new “Fun Ship” cruise option from New Orleans, Carnival Triumph will also introduce new seven-day eastern and exotic western Caribbean schedules to complement the line’s four- and five-day cruises to Mexico.

The Carnival Triumph’s Western Caribbean voyages will visit Belize City; Isla Roatan, Honduras; Cozumel. Eastern Caribbean voyages will dock at Key West, FL, and Freeport and Nassau in the Bahamas.

The 102,000-ton Carnival Triumph features a 14,500-square-foot spa, a jogging track, ship-wide Wi-Fi access and cell phone service, a duty-free shopping mall, and three restaurants, including twin two-level main dining rooms with extensive menus and wine lists and a 1,200-seat casual eatery with full breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets and a 24-hour pizzeria. Also featured are 18 themed lounges and bars, plus a golf program with professional instruction. Family-friendly amenities include “Camp Carnival” for youngsters, “Circle C” for 12- to 14-year olds, and “Club O2” for older teens.

This is great news! Not mentioned in the article is that the Triumph has an additional category of balcony rooms! And the Fantasy will be moving to Mobile giving that port a bigger and better ship especially since the Fantasy will be undergoing the "Evolutions of Fun" upgrade this fall. Look for these changes in November 2009!

Smart Gas!

Are you buying Regular gas? Premium gas? or 'Smart Gas'?

IF YOU ARE A 'SMART BUSINESS PERSON'- YOU WILL USE 'SMART GAS'

With the cost of gasoline at $4, you need to set up a plan to survive. Let's assume your little Mercedes gets 20 miles per gallon. If you traveled 100 miles, you would need 5 gallons of gas. At $4 per gallon, your total cost would be $20.

If you turned that 100 mile drive into a business trip, those miles become tax deductible business miles.

The US government now allows you to write off - 58.5 cents per business mile. If you travel 100 business miles, your deduction is $58.50.

If you are in a 40% tax bracket, the tax savings you would receive would be ($58.50 x40%) = $23.40. (paid for 'Smart Gas').

The only way you can get this business mileage deduction is by owning your own traditional business or easily starting your own home based business (HBB).

Our business sense tells us that with your next 5 to 7 tank fulls of gas you are going to be spending $500. So it makes perfect business sense to start your own HBB and have your business paid for with your next 5 to 7 tank fulls of gas.

After that - you are running on 'Smart Gas,' at no cost!

***PLEASE talk to a Tax Professional about the deductions available to you ***

Oil Mishap Forces Carnival Fantasy To Move

The residual effects of a Mississippi River oil spill July 23 are still reverberating. Carnival Fantasy is being forced to withdraw from its normal New Orleans homeport, instead operating its four- and five-day Western Caribbean program from Mobile, AL. Carnival is saying that the move will stick through September 1. The 2,056-passenger Carnival Fantasy will conduct six cruises out of Mobile before dry docking for 28 days to receive "Evolutions of Fun" upgrades.
The move is dire for the Port of New Orleans, which will lose nine total cruises and $315,000 in dockage, wharf and parking fees, said the port's CEO, Gary LaGrange. This is in addition to the money the city stands to lose from passengers in New Orleans both pre- and post-cruise.

Don't worry folks I believe that the Fantasy will be back in New Orleans after her upgrade!

CONVENTION UPDATE

Hello everybody! I think I'm recovered from the convention now and ready to share some great memories with you.

The opening ceremonies of the 2008 YTB International Convention were simply breath taking! It started with everybody on their feet as Ron Head sang the National Anthem acappella! Ron has a beautiful voice and I know I wasn't the only one who had goose bumps. And as he sang a majestic, trained American bald eagle flew over the crowd!

Then the screens and the veil over Lady Liberty were illuminated with clips of great American leaders such as John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King and others as they spoke so many memorable quotes.

Then a spotlight came on the stage and there was a piano and a Ray Charles impersonator! The crowd went wild again as "Ray" began to sing America! And this guy was good! He had the voice and the mannerisms down pat. Then a young lady from the home office (I think her name is Kari) came out and joined Ray in a duet. She has a beautiful voice too and at this point I was just overwhelmed with patriotism!

And just when you thought it couldn't get any better the stage lights came on and there was a 300 person choir in red, white and blue robes! Then the choir, Kari, Ray Charles, 18,000 people and me started singing America and I don't think there was a dry eye in the whole place!

OH! And then the veil dropped on the nearly life-size Statue of Liberty and it was just an awesome, emotional, heart touching event. They even had fireworks going off inside the dome and for a moment you felt like you were there in New York looking at the real thing. The detail was amazing and her torch was really just like a beacon!

I wish you could have been there. But now you can watch the opening ceremonies! Enjoy it and let me know what you think.

OFF TO CONVENTION!

Hello Everybody! The 2008 YTB Convention is this week in St. Louis! Wednesday and Thursday is classroom training. Tips for selling more travel, vendor training and business building. Friday and Saturday are the General Sessions with blockbuster announcements, awards and recognition!

The opening ceremonies on Friday will be spectacular as a nearly life-size Statue of Liberty is unveiled with fireworks and a 300 person choir singing patriotic songs! Getting goosebumps already! You can find out more about Lady Liberty HERE.

Well folks it is almost time for me to head out the door but I will be back on Sunday and look for a huge blog update on Monday! In the meantime you can still book travel 24/7 on my WEBSITE and by the way it will be even better next week since a newly improved website is scheduled to be unveiled at convention! I love this company!

Update on Carnival Fantasy in New Orleans

Fantasy to End Current Voyage in Mobile; Next Voyage Also Departs From Mobile Fri Aug 01 2008, by TravelTrade Staff Due to the ongoing issue on the Mississippi River, the current voyage of the 2,056-passenger Carnival Fantasy will end in Mobile, AL on Monday, Aug. 4, instead of its regular homeport of New Orleans. Disembarking guests will be provided complimentary motorcoach transportation back to the Port of New Orleans or the New Orleans airport.
Carnival Fantasy's next five-day cruise, set to depart on Monday, Aug. 4, will also depart from Mobile. Carnival will provide complimentary motorcoach transportation from New Orleans' Erato Street cruise terminal to Mobile.
All guests for the next voyage are instructed to proceed to the Port of New Orleans to board a motorcoach to Mobile, because at the end of the cruise, the Fantasy is expected to return to New Orleans. The only exception would be individuals who are being dropped off without leaving a car and prefer to proceed on their own to Mobile.