An Alluring Secret!

No, you haven't just stumbled onto a TMZ link, and you won't find salacious celebrity gossip on The Capn's blog. Sorry to disappoint. I just wanted to mention one of the best-kept travel secrets out there. Last year, Royal Caribbean brought a new mega-ship to market, the gigantic Oasis of the Seas. It was built and billed as "an experience" more than a cruise, and the reviews were loud and raving. Seems just about everyone loved Oasis of the Seas, and even though pricing was substantially higher than their other ships, customers couldn't get in line fast enough, and rates went through the roof. Guess what - they're still there! However, what has not been forefront in the press to this point is that Oasis has a new sister entering service this December, the Allure of the Seas. She's an exact duplicate of Oasis, taking everything great about her and moving it to the next level -- actually improving upon the original from all reports. Here's the rub. Oasis has the name recognition and the advertising history (including "live" appearances on board from some of the top National TV morning shows), to continue to command premium pricing. Yet the Allure is going to be all that and a bag of chips, but currently is pricing hundreds of dollars less than her big brother Oasis on some dates. What that means to you is it's BARGAIN TIME! You can currently book yourself on what will be the newest ship in the world, for much less than a ship that's been out for more than a year. The Allure is coming out the first week of December 2010, but if you want a deal you need to call and book now. I'll be happy to discuss it with you - just email or call me directly.

Prioritize!

PITTSBURGH (AP wire story) - Pittsburgh police are searching for a butterfingered robber, who got away with cigarettes and at least a little bit of money. Police said the man robbed the Uni-Mart in Pittsburgh's Troy Hill section about 11:30 p.m. Sunday night. The man wore a ski mask and ball cap, and pointed a handgun at a clerk who gave him all the money in the register - a total of $66. The man then shouted "Gimme some cigarettes" and the clerk quickly handed him a fistful, which turned out to be 7 packs. Detectives reviewed surveillance video Monday, and said the man was so intent on collecting the smokes he wasn't paying attention to the cash, dropping bills here and there. After he fled the scene, the store clerk and a customer who had been in the store at the time of the robbery picked up the loot that was left behind. $65 worth to be exact. The thief was so intent on getting his cigarettes he had dropped all but $1 of the stolen bounty from the cash drawer. Authorities did not hint at any immediate arrests in the robbery, saying it would be unlikely to track the missing $1 bill as part of a "spending spree". The rest of the evidence against the perpetrator? Well, it's probably gone up in smoke.

I said PRIORITIZE!

Police in Ocala, Florida are searching for a burglar who stole a box of cookies from a discount store. Police said the thief could clearly be seen on-camera taking a box of Oreo Cakesters from the Dollar General store. The cookies have a suggested retail value at $2.50. Surveillance footage shows the man actually breaking a glass door to get into the store, only to take the box of sweet treats and nothing else. According to the Ocala Star-Banner, the same store was targeted by a burglar matching the same description last February. In that incident, he made off with a box of Little Debbie Iced Oatmeal Cakes.

Your Tax Dollars At Work:
Part MMMDCXXXVIII

An attorney in Miami could not visit her client at a South Florida detention center last week, because of the undergarment she was wearing. The attorney said her under-wire bra set off a metal detector at the Miami Federal Detention Center, and guards would not let the woman in because she would set off the prison alarms. According to The Miami Herald, the attorney did the only thing she could think of, as she had a pressing need to get a deposition for an upcoming court case with her client. She excused herself to the ladies' restroom, where she removed the offending undergarment. She then got back in line for the metal detector to enter the detention center. This time, the super-efficient guards refused to let her inside because of a long-standing directive from prison officials: "All female visitors must be wearing a bra." Apparently her objections were overruled, and she left the facility without ever coming abreast of her client for the deposition.