As the Magic Kingdom starts opening more and more of the New Fantasyland portion of the park, one huge standout is the “Be Our Guest” restaurant which offers both quick service and table dining service in a setting modeled after the Beast’s castle from the movie “Beauty and the Beast.” Read more...

The following is an excerpt from Roger’s travel journal. He went to Rio de Janeiro in 2006.

The thing about traveling in a great group of people is that it takes forever to get moving. Planning for an early morning start meant that we finally got rolling out of here at about 11:30. About two hours after the plan. One of the things about being in a hostel is that when you find people to gang around with, it can take a while to get us all ready to do the same thing. Once we finally got out and ready to go, we took a bus to Corcovado and instead of the tram, the five of us split with a private driver. He took us to a couple lookout spots on the way up. (Corcovado is in an urban forest – a remnant of the rainforest that was around Rio years ago and some of which is still there to the north and south of the city). The views were stunning, you could see everything and the planes which were landing in the local airport (jet planes, mind you) are just about at eye level. It’s a little nuts. After we got to the base of Corcovado, you have two options. Stairs (which give you more opportunity to pay ridiculously expensive prices for cheap looking souvenirs) or the elevator. I was all about the stairs, all about being the fit, healthy me that I’ve always wanted to be. About half way up the stairs, I changed my mind, but it was too late to stop. Before long, I was at the top, with the same view that Jesus has. Read more...

The Celebrity Reflection hits the seas this week on its inaugural passenger voyages. It does a short schedule in Europe before crossing the Atlantic down to Florida in December. New features on Celebrity’s latest and greatest include art classes on the Lawn Club from Art Center South Florida, the addition of Aqua Class suites and a unique to Celebrity spa which includes a hammam, sensory showers and an infrared sauna. Guests can even book their own private cabana space on the lawn with the addition of the Alcoves. Read more...

Azamara Club Cruises is a small ship, upscale cruise line that has consistently been a winner when it comes to on board experience and service, and every year the product just seems to get stronger. In 2011, the two ship line changed its focus to a more inclusive atmosphere with more overnights and longer times in port, as well as including your gratuities and wine at dinner on every voyage. For 2013, Azamara Club Cruises is introducing three new key enhancements which will make any cruise a truly “Azamazing” adventure. Read more...

With every new ship, there’s always something brand new to cruising. And Carnival’s latest ships, this is no exception. Starting with the Carnival Magic and continuing on to the Breeze and the Sunshine over the next few months, Carnival is introducing the Sportsquare area – which is exactly what it sounds like. Read more...

One of the pleasures of finding yourself in a place that you know nothing about is that, every so often you’ll find out something special that your guide book never clued you in on. When I was in Southern Nicaragua, this happened to me. San Juan del Sur barely registers a page in the Lonely Planet Central America guide book, but it was my favorite spot on my vacation – and nowhere do they mention the turtles. Read more...

Not every all-inclusive resort features fun in the sun. Sometimes, its more fun to be out in the snow, on a pair of skis. With the only upscale European ski all-inclusive options available today, Club Med offers a number of Alpine options in the fall and winter that give people of all ages the chance to ski like an Olympic champion. Read more...

The Norwegian Breakaway is getting ready to set sail out of New York City in the Spring of 2013, and like other Norwegian Cruise Line ships, the Breakaway will not disappoint when it comes to entertainment. With all the different options onboard, including Second City comedy, Cirque du Soleil, an authentic blues bar, dueling piano bars, and two different Broadway shows on every sailing, this truly will be an entertainment district. Read more...

One of the questions that comes up most often with guests is whether or not a Passport is required on their vacation. The truth is that it’s needed more often than it is not. In the last few years, the US government decided that Passports would be required for all international travel… and then they backed away from that a little bit. The rules are a little confusing, but here’s a synopsis of the rules for US Citizens as we understand it. Keep in mind that the latest rules about what’s required for international travel are available on the US State Department website, http://travel.state.gov, and on the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative website, http://www.getyouhome.gov. Read more...

Royal Caribbean is in the process of making every single ship as attractive as the latest and greatest to come fresh out of the shipyard. The Grandeur of the Seas, one of the older and smaller of the large fleet of ships just went through a pretty major revitalization this year, adding some amazing new features including some Cirque du Soleil type theatrics in the Centrum area of the ship. Read more...