Spa treatments are increasingly popular aboard cruise ships.

While spas have been installed on brand-name ships for quite some time now, they have evolved, expanded and become more important to cruisers in general, and particularly in attracting spa-goers to the cruising experience.

Recently cruise lines have realized that the spa experience is not just about getting a massage, but also about surrounding oneself in a cocoon of well-being that extends into one’s home as well.
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On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal will open its own travel agency, WSJ Travel. Reportedly, the new venture will offer trips to about 50 destinations per year, coinciding with the topics of travel articles that will appear in the paper. Itʼs an effort to bring additional revenue into the newspaper.

There are questions yet to be answered, of course.

1. Is it possible for any newspaper to write objectively about something itʼs trying to persuade readers to buy?
2. Does a newspaper really have the behind-the-scenes expertise to be successful in a totally different retail business?
3. If it makes sense to sell travel today, then why not diamonds, power tools, or laptops tomorrow? What business is the company really in?

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Map courtesy of Wikipedia

Even Haiti, the poorest and most beset nation in the western hemisphere, is deeply reliant on travelers in the best of times.

So, we join the many other voices to call upon travelers of every economic status to help Haitians in their time of immediate need. Relief agencies need cash urgently to buy the essential water, food, medicine, shelter and transportation that will save lives.

Please make a contribution today, whether tiny or tremendous. Immediacy is the most important thing. Here are some links to non-profit relief agencies that make giving quick and easy.

Click on a Link to Donate Online:

• The American Red Cross
• The Salvation Army
• United Nations World Food Program
• Doctors Without Borders

Use Text Messaging to Donate by Phone:
(Donation amount will be added to your phone bill)

• Red Cross — Text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10
• Direct Relief — Text “GIVE10″ to 20222 to donate $10
• Yele Haiti’s Earthquake Relief — Text “YELE” to 501501 to donate $5

Whether you are contributing for the first time today, or giving a second or third time, thank you for your compassion and support.

Peg Prideaux, CTC
011810

With good timing, your beach can be this uncrowded.

Low prices can be a double-edged sword, though; the opposite side of the blade being that very low prices can attract customers from a different economic echelon (those who are not the usual customers of your favorite resort). That has the power to change the character of the place.

For instance, if your ideal Caribbean retreat has a low-key, piano-at-sunset atmosphere with a quiet beach catering to those over 50, this year you may find it filled with younger families, louder music, more horseplay, less refined dress for dinner, etc. Nothing wrong with any of this, of course … unless it makes you feel like a third wheel on someone else’s vacation.

Here are three ways to improve your 2010 travel:
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President Obama announces plans for tightening airport security.

Just as the “twelfth man” can help a football team achieve a victorious season, so too can the public help with security. And these days, it’s more and more important that we are watchful as travelers, particularly when we fly.
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