TEENS
LEARN AT LOEW'S
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Loews Hotels has
introduced one- and two-night
Teen Learning Vacation
packages that provide truly
unique experiences at several
locations in the U.S. At
the Loews Coronado Bay in San
Diego, your teen can hang ten
with private surfing lessons,
get a custom surf board and two
spa treatments while the family
stays two nights in an executive
suite. In Nashville, your
budding country singer will go
wild over a song-writing session
with an award-winning
songwriter, get a voucher for an
acoustic guitar, one hour guitar
lesson, attend a performance at
the famed Bluebird Cafe while
the family stays one night at the Loews Vanderbilt
Hotel. Other packages
include a look inside Wall
Street with a stay at the Loews Regency in
New York, a golf based
experience at the Loews Lake Las
Vegas Resort and a culinary arts
program at the Loews Miami Beach
on South Beach.

Let
your teen explore with Loews!
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PALM
COAST PLEASURE
Ginn Hammock
Beach,
a 1/2 hour south of St. Augustine and 1
1/2 hours from Orlando, is offering one
bedroom suites for only $199/night
through December 24. This
family-friendly beachfront resort opened
in 2004 and showcases 18 holes of golf,
kids club for ages 4-13 along with teen activities,
six-acre water and swim park with lazy
river, waterslide and zero entry pool
(and an adult only pool), tennis, spa
and gym. Accommodations are
available in 1-4
bedroom suites as well as oceanfront
guestrooms. Suites include full
size kitchens, washer/dryer, living room
and balcony.
Escape
to Florida! Photo Credit:
Hammock Beach
SUMMER
SAVINGS AT WILLIAMSBURG
Your family will receive
a $200 resort credit to
use for meals, golf, spa
or other resort
recreation this summer
in historic
Williamsburg, VA.
Stay four nights at the
Woodlands Hotel and
Suites and your $600
(plus tax) package also
includes daily breakfast
and length-of-stay
admission to Colonial
Williamsburg's Historic
Area (including
Revolutionary City where
history comes alive with
a different event each
day of the week, museums
and
The Story of the
Patriot film).
You also receive 50% off
Colonial Evening
programs, a wonderful
array of events that may
include storytelling,
plays, historical
reenactments, dance and
more. This
terrific package is
available for Sunday or
Monday arrivals only
through August 28.

Let history come
alive this summer!
HOLIDAYS
WITH RCCL
Get into the holiday spirit this winter
with Royal Caribbean. The
cruise line is offering up to a $200
shipboard credit per cabin on select
Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Year's
sailings in the Bahamas, Caribbean,
Panama Canal, Mediterranean, South
America and South Pacific! Choose
from a variety of ships and dates.

In other RCCL news, the
cruise line recently revealed more details
about the neighborhood concept on the new Oasis of the Seas scheduled to sail in
late 2009. The Boardwalk is inspired
by seaside piers of yesterday and will feature an AquaTheater,
the largest fresh water pool found at
sea. The pool can be used by
guests and also for spectacular water
shows (much like the ice skating rinks
on current ships). The Oasis will
also feature the first carousel at sea,
loft suite cabins, two rock climbing
walls and the first zip line at sea
suspended nine decks above the
Boardwalk. This megaship will have
16 decks, carry more than 5,400
passengers and feature seven distinct
themed areas including Central Park and
the Royal Promenade. She will home
port in Ft. Lauderdale.
Getaway for the
holiday!
GET FIT
AT SEA
Princess Cruises offers you a
chance to get your heart pumping with a
fleetwide release of the Wii Fit balance
games. Cruise staff recently
completed training by Nintendo to
operate this fun video program.
Compete against other families in a
variety of battles on the huge 300 square foot Movies Under
the Stars poolside screens (on available
ships)! Youth and teen centers will also offer
younger cruisers the opportunity to
participate in Wii Fit activities
throughout their vacation.
Passengers of all ages can enjoy playing
games such as tennis, golf, soccer,
ski-jump, hula hoop, yoga and more.
Other Wii games are also featured aboard
all Princess cruises.
Get fit at sea with Wii!
NCL GOES
2.0
Norwegian Cruise Lines recently
announced a series of upgrades to their
fleet in an effort to enhance their
service and amenities across the board.
Upgrades include an extra $50 million
spent on food, upgraded bedding, towels,
bathrobes and bath ameni
ties as well as
an expanded room service menu.
Also available are NCL-U educational
programs (from mojito mixing to digital
photography labs) and upgraded pool
services (drink flags for your deck
chair, more tranquil music, cold towels
and Evian spritzes!). The kids
club has also expanded its hours from
9:00am-10:30pm on port and sea days and
babysitting is available until 1:30pm.
In 2010, NCL will roll out a pair of new
state-of the-art ships which will each
sail with 4,200 passengers, These
new F3 ships will feature really
innovativeaccommodations
with curved walls to maximize space.
Get pampered on NCL!
TROPICAL
DREAMING
The popular
Dreams Resort chain is
expanding in the Caribbean and Mexico.
Dreams Palm Beach Punta Cana will open
in December 2008 following a $24 million
enhancement of the existing Sunscape
Punta Cana. The resort will
feature 500 deluxe guests rooms and 40
suites with new bedding, flat screen TV
and MP3 docking stations. The
Explorers Club (ages 3-12) will feature
a new pool and a brand new teen club
will be added! Also in December, Sunscape Casa del Mar will become Dreams
La Romana.
In Mexico, Sunscape Puerto
Adventuras will be transformed into
Dreams Puerto Adventuras in November
2008. And two new resorts
will open in Puerto Vallarta (October
2008) and Huatulco (November 2008).
Dreams Resorts, which caters to
Americans and their vacation needs, provides luxury services
and accommodations for families and
couples. Through December 19, kids
stay, play at eat free! The Family
Traveler was recently designated as a
Master Agent with Dreams, Secrets and
Sunscape Resorts.

Call to book a
dreamy getaway today!
GRAND
PALLADIUM DEBUT
Fiesta Hotels will soon debut two new and
deluxe all-inclusive res
orts
in Jamaica. The Grand Palladium
Jamaica Resort and Spa and sister
resort the Grand Palladium Lady
Hamilton Resort and Spa will offer
all junior suites, a total of 10
restaurants (7 are a la carte), sports bar, 5
pools (with children's area, adult only
area and 8 jacuzzis), kids club for ages
4-12, casino and more. The resorts
are located only 35 minutes from the
Montego Bay airport in a new area for
hotels called Lucea. Apple
Vacations is offering an terrific opening special
for 4 night stays from August 1-October
31. Call us for pricing from your
city!
Enjoy a tropical
getaway
to Jamaica! Photo
Credit: Fiesta Hotels
FAMILY FUN
AT SANDY LANE
Through October 31, the prestigious
Sandy Lane resort in Barbados is
offering a special Fa
mily Fun
package. You can receive a second
room at half off for up to 3 children
age 16 and under as well as unlimited
children's programming, one family lunch
and a gift on arrival. Rates also
include breakfast daily, executive
airport transfers and unlimited
non-motorized water sports. Sandy
Lane offers a variety of spacious rooms
and suites (112 total). The
smallest is 779 square feet! Enjoy
great golf, tennis, spa, beach, pools,
several dining options and a variety of
kids programming. The Treehouse
Club is for ages 3-12, but the resort
also features a baby and toddler play
area and a teen gathering spot.
Enjoy a world class reef system, natural
caves, rocky cliffs with blowholes,
miles of sugarcane fields and remote
scenic beaches on the island of
Barbados.
Get away to Sandy Lane!
Photo Credit: Sandy Lane
EQUAL
EXCHANGE IN LONDON
WELCOME
TO SHANGRI-LA
Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts,
the leading Asia-based luxury hotel
group, is offering a Value Vacation
package for families. Your
rate includes late check-out until
3:00pm, free breakfast and buffet dinner
daily, $20 recreation credit, free use
of non-motorized watersports and
unlimited laundry. Shangri-La has
over 52 hotels and resorts mainly
throughout Asia, but also in Australia,
the U.S. (Chicago, Las Vegas, Miami and
New York), Canada, Europe and more.

Lost Horizon awaits, with laundry!
Photo: Shangri-La Resorts
FLY FREE
TO ITALY
Air One, Italy's first
independently owned airline, is offerin
g
a FREE companion airfare (plus tax).
Just buy one round-trip ticket from
Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles
or San Francisco to Bari, Lamenzia Terme,
Milan, Naples, Palermo or Rome for
travel from July
10-November 23. Boston and Chicago
fares start at $999/person in coach and
$3,999 in business class. Other
cities are $1,111/person in coach and
$4,399 in business class. The flights
from Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San
Francisco actually include code shares with
United Airlines. At the end of the
month, Air One begins
its first transatlantic service to the
US with the only nonstop service from
Boston and Chicago to Milan.
Call us today for a great Italian getaway!
NEW
NON-STOP AIR SERVICE/AIRLINE NEWS
Air One-see above.
American-Will begin daily service
from Miami to Antigua and Miami to
Grenada on November 20.
Hawaiian Airlines-Added service from Oakland to Honolulu
(left vacated by Aloha Airlines).
Spirit Airways-Began service
from Ft. Lauderdale to Trinidad and
Tobago.
TRAVEL
TIP
Please check with your
airline's website or The Family Traveler
before flying for the most up-to-date
information about baggage allowances,
extra charges, baggage size limitations
and other recent changes to airline
travel. The policies are changing
pretty rapidly and most rules are based
on when you purchased your ticket vs.
when you are traveling. You
may consider shipping your bags in
advance especially for oversized or
overweight items. For packing tips
to lighten your load, check out
www.smartpacking.com.
TRAVEL
REVIEW
Lauren and her family recently
returned from Club Med Punta
Cana. Like many
families that we have sent to
this family friendly resort, we
really enjoyed our stay. Club Med is a
great experience f
or families
looking for a congenial
environment where staff and
guests easily mingle. It
also has one of the
best kids clubs in the travel
business available from age 4
months-17. The new pool
and playground area of the Baby
and Petit Club is awesome (and
well shaded).
Club Med also offers a fun array
of recreational activities; so
you can be as active or relaxed
as you please. Try the
circus trapeze, test out your archery
skills from summer camp or take out a kayak
for an invigorating workout on
the sea.
Or enjoy a relaxing day on their
peaceful beach or lagoon pool.
Buffet meals offer an array of
fresh food choices for all with
theme nights for each dinner.
Lauren really enjoyed working
off the delicious chocolate
bread at the fitness
classes in a beachfront hut while
daughter Anna appreciated the
variety of activities
and fun staff
in the teen club (The Ramp). Club Med
Punta Cana is currently updating
all of their rooms with a
new zen feel and recently added
new two bedroom suites that are
oceanfront and include special
concierge services.
Connecting rooms are also now
available. All rooms have
at least a separate bedroom,
living area with two day beds
and bathroom with separate
toilet. Club Med also
offers an excursion desk, nice
shop, reasonably priced internet
access (wireless in the lobby or
four terminals in a room
behind), great photography
services, 24 hour medical care
and only a five minute drive
from the airport! Overall
our family can't wait for our
next Club Med experience...

FAVORITE DESTINATIONS
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Botswana
is
one of the top
safari destinations
in Africa thanks to
plenty of wide open
spaces. More
than 80% of the
country's population
of 1.7 million
people live in a
s cattering of towns
and large villages
leaving plenty of
room for animals
(and tourists) to
roam the countryside
unhindered.
This Southern African country has some
of the largest
remaining herds of wildlife
in Africa! The
country's low-volume policy for tourism also helps
protect its natural assets and provides you with a
variety of luxury and deluxe safari camp and lodge
experiences. Botswana is a landlocked
country dominated by
the Kalahari Desert
in the south and
west. The
northeast is
characterized by
gently rolling
tablelands
interspersed with
granite kopjes
or hills, formed of
giant rocks balanced
upon one another.
In the northwest,
the Okavango (the
world's largest
inland delta) forms
a network of swamps
and lagoons.
In addition, Chobe
National Park offers
7,000 square miles
of
swamp-and-grasslands
wilderness on the
floodplains of the
Chobe River and is
one of the finest
parks in Africa
where you will see a
variety of animals
and birds.
Experience a safari
in Botswana! Call
us today for more
details. For more
details about the
islands, visit
www.botswana-tourism.gov.bw/index_f.html.
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“Experience the
World One Trip at a Time”