The Galapagos made the news this week with Celebrity’s Xpedition ship getting its hand slapped for unauthorized lobster. Really, this is a thing down there! The Galapagos Islands are one of the most pristine places on earth where you can still visit, and whose environment the government of Ecuador fiercely protects. We expect the luxury 99 passenger yacht that Celebrity Cruises operates to be back fully on track shortly, but there are some other more intimate options worth considering as well, including the very small group cruises that adventure travel company G Adventures offers. Read more...

The writing is on the wall, room service is doomed! What used to be considered a luxury is fast becoming a tool for the lazy. Average food at best, delivered to the hotel room – lukewarm, and just a depressing reminder that of all the amazing food options that fill any city, the best that this hotel has to offer is a not so great Caesar salad attached to a dried out and overpriced hamburger. And with the foodie revolution offering options for different flavors everywhere, some hotels are doing what’s right – quietly killing off room service – just like the Midtown New York Hilton is doing this year. This is news today, because one of the largest four star hotels in New York has decided that there’s just no need for it. Read more...

Haven’t planned a summer vacation yet? Sometimes the best deals happen by making plans at the last minute. In fact, the next few weeks feature some of the best buys of the year for vacations! We’ve found three surprising locations where the deals are good, but act fast because the sale season for these destinations can be surprisingly short. Read more...

Relaxation. It’s one of the key words that travelers use when they describe an ocean cruise. Norwegian Cruise Line’s spa experience really focus on providing guests a relaxing experience and the Norwegian Breakaway offers a gorgeous, relaxing Mandara Spa experience that’s fantastic for body and soul. The Breakway’s spa is a step forward for cruise vacations, with an enormous two deck footprint aboard ship, and offering some firsts to spas at sea, guaranteed to provide benefits to both body and soul. Read more...

Summer may be coming, but this morning we’ve got the holidays on the brain. Christmas is always a magical time of year, and its a holiday that truly comes alive in Europe, especially at the Christmas Markets in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. And there are lots of great ways that travelers can catch the Christmas spirit all across the continent this December. Read more...

Summer’s quickly approaching and that’s the season to see Alaska. So many Alaska tours jump off from Seattle on their way to Alaska which is a destination unto itself. So a lot of people spend an extra day in the Pacific Northwest, and with so much to see and do, we thought we’d help narrow down the options to the very best that the city has to offer. Read more...

Fun in the sun and sea is something that we love here at the office. We dream about getting away on a daily basis… after all, selling vacations all day can do that to a guy. With the weather finally turning warmer, our mind has turned to the beach – and specifically finding the best beaches for a Caribbean vacation. We’ve found five beaches that we think are just outstanding and help make the perfect Caribbean getaway. Read more...

When I was a little girl, I wanted to grow up to be a writer. Mission accomplished. When Marce Branniff was a youngster, her goal was to travel the world. Exactly what she is doing.

The two of us met on an Alaskan cruise aboard the Wilderness Explorer. I was writing about my adventure and Marce was the ship captain. Read more...

We’ve been featuring the travel snapshots of the agents who work in our office. After all, we can talk about a destination til we’re blue in the face, but sometimes its just easier to share what we’ve experienced in pictures. Our travel consultant, Veronica, just got back stateside after an extended stay in Greece, and she fell in love with the country – and after seeing her pictures, its not hard to see why. Read more...

The woman next to me described it as climbing into a gigantic clothes dryer and slamming the door shut. She had a point.

In fact, visitors have been known to balk when it came time to scrunch into the space-capsule-looking gadget. Some prospective riders have turned and walked away when faced with the claustrophobic prospect. So why do it? Read more...