Regal Regent, Cunning Cunard

Seasoned travelers know the name Zagat, which is a rating service and annual survey that for years has given its thumbs-up or thumbs-down to hotels, restaurants and entertainment from major cities. The theory behind the Zagat Survey is that if you're accustomed to a certain lifestyle in New York or Chicago, when you travel to Houston or Seattle you'll want to stay in similar style, and dine in a similar fashion to your normal preferences. Sort of a "points" or "star" rating, it gives people a solid, professional recommendation for such choices. Today, Zagat enters the world of cruising, for the first time comparing lines against one another based on size, class, price, etc. There are some interesting results. Cunard came in at the top of the large cruise lines (with elegant ships such as the Queen Mary II), followed closely by Celebrity and Disney Cruises. In the mid-size category, which is where you find most of the luxury lines, the top dog is Regent Seven Seas (formerly Radisson Seven Seas), then Crystal and the Yachts of Seabourn.

That brings up an interesting topic - how much does a cruise really cost? I have thousands of clients who sail on the standard brands: Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Princess, Holland America and others, but the emphasis on these lines continues to be "How can we generate even more onboard revenue, once we get the passengers on the ship?" That's great for cruise line execs and stockholders, but if you're trying to budget your vacation before leaving home, best of luck with that. Royal Caribbean's new Oasis of the Seas has more spending venues than anything preceding it, and at some point the sheer volume of pay-as-you-go extras will overwhelm people. It has already spawned huge growth in the "all-inclusive" hotel/resort market on various islands, which continues to grow each year. But some people, like me, just love to cruise! So what's the answer? Maybe those people should consider lines like Regent which have a larger price tag up-front, but once onboard you are not hacked up by fees and add-ons. Regent just extended their FREE SHORE EXCURSION program into 2010 (but you have to book soon to qualify). That's not a misprint - unlimited shore excursions free. On an Alaska cruise, that could save you $1000 per person. Regent used to be very formal, but that's been relaxed to where formal wear is no longer required. If you like wines or spirits during your cruise, while other cruise lines crush you with bar prices, Regent includes them. And soft drinks. And bottled water. Even the mini-bar in your suite is replenished daily, all free. You have wireless internet access anywhere on the ship. Room service is complimentary 24-hours a day, in all categories. And while other lines hit you with gratuities at the end of the cruise, Regent just thanks you and says "See you next time." Gratuities are already built into your price. Some cruise lines will pack you into cabins as small as 118 square feet, but the smallest cabin in Regent's fleet is 252 sq. feet, and that's not even counting the additional 49 sq. ft. balcony! My clients who have tried Regent have stayed there, cruising over and over again in different parts of the world but staying with the brand. Once you experience true luxury, it's hard to go back to anything less, and the surprising thing is you can get it for the same price or less than you'd wind up paying on a standard brand. If you think you're ready to upgrade your vacation, call me or email me today.

At what age should you retire?

For me, it'll probably be 102, though if I have trouble getting out of bed at 97 or 98 I may just throw in the towel. According to the Des Moines Register, maybe 72 is a good age for truck drivers to consider climbing down. Phillip Mathews, 73, whose logging truck is equipped with a tall boom-arm to facilitate loading, recently left a jobsite, and was on his way home after an arduous day's work. However, Mr. Matthews forgot to lower the arm after finishing a job, and once he started driving the boom proceeded to snap power lines on utility poles, for the next 12 miles until motorists were finally able to get his attention. If you've ever been to rural Iowa you know that 12 miles of power lines probably affected as many as 3 people.

This from the Dayton Ohio Daily Register: For its Halloween gala, the Kings Island amusement park near Cincinnati set up an exhibit, featuring skeletons dressed to resemble dead celebrities, including Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Ted Kennedy, Ed McMahon, TV salesman Billy Mays, Sonny Bono (his skeleton in front of a tree) and Ted Williams (his skeleton in front of a freezer). Following a WLWT-TV preview of the exhibit, the park quickly canceled it, with a spokesman declaring, "We were not intending to be distasteful."
Yowza....I have to wonder what they would have done if they had INTENDED to be distasteful!

Is that bigamy? Or big of you?

In Ogden, Utah last month, 30-year-old Adam Manning went to the emergency room at the McKay-Dee Hospital, accompanying his pregnant girlfriend as she was going into labor. Nice guy, right? Be there for her. Show support through her ordeal. According to witnesses, as a nurse attended to the girlfriend, Mr. Manning began flirting with her, complimenting the nurse's looks and even giving her a neck rub as she tried to assist the young mom-to-be. Manning then allegedly made a couple of lewd comments and actually groped the nurse, who called for security. He was eventually arrested and taken to jail, missing the birth of his 1st child. Let's all just hope it's his LAST child. We already have enough Adam Mannings on the Planet