Continental Travel

Weekly News 

Updates                                                         

First Annual

Winnipeg Goldeyes Cruise

Date: January 25/09 – February 01/09
Ship: Carnival Valor

Ports of Call: Nassau, St.Thomas / St. John, St. Maarten

Inside Stateroom
from $1,459
Outside Stateroom
from $1,569
Balcony Stateroom
from $1,729

Hosted by Goldeyes GM, Andrew Collier & wife Carleigh

Prices are per person based on double sharing in Cdn. funds.
Rate includes: Round trip airfare Winnipeg/Miami, Transfers,7 day cruise, Port charges and air taxes, Bon Voyage party in Winnipeg and on-board cocktail party.

Contact our office to book.

 1 800 665 2626   (204) 989 8575

ctg@continentaltrav.com

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Crystal has access to the British Open

 

Crystal Cruises is introducing VIP access to the British Open

and excursions to four of
the world’s finest and most prestigious British Isles courses.
Available during Crystal Symphony’s 12-day sailing roundtrip from London on July 13, the golf excursions offer play at Gleneagles King’s Course, The Royal Belfast Golf Club and other coveted courses. Complementing these tours are two opportunities for golf enthusiasts to attend the British Open at the Royal Birkhead Golf Club in Liverpool. One option provides admittance, while the other extends VIP access to the final round and a hosted event.
The itinerary calls in Edinburgh, Dublin, Liverpool and Belfast, with fares starting at US$4,980 p.p. Golf tours range from US$446 to US$995 p.p.

For more information, visit www.crystalcruises.com.

 

 

Agent suggestions and reminders                   

Diane is thinking of all the over packers when she asked me to remind travelers that both United Airlines and Northwest now have a 1 free bag policy and charge for the 2nd unless you are traveling business or first class.  

 

Silvana wants to remind everyone that Air Canada will have to backtrack on a policy that had banned shipping pets as luggage, the Canadian Transportation Agency ruled on April 4th. The agency said Canada's largest airline will have to rescind a rule banning animals and their kennels weighing less than 70 pounds (31.75 kilograms) from the cargo hold.  As of Wednesday, April 23rd there is no update on the Air Canada website. The airline has until May 5 to make the changes needed to accommodate pets as checked luggage.

Silvana also says don't forget to check that Air Canada has your Aeroplan in your file when you check in at the airport and keep your boarding passes and tickets until you get your statement showing those flights have been credited.

 

 

Lara wants you to know that now is a good time to start planning group departures to the Caribbean and Mexico- especially for those destination weddings!  

Riu's and Iberostars have "Free" wedding packages ... call Lara for more info  (204) 989 8569.

 

 

Charlene provided me with the above information about the first annual Goldeye Cruise and wants Bomber fans to be patient as the 19th annual Blue Bomber Cruise information will be ready soon.

 

 Gillians' Trip Report - continued                      

United Arab Emirates - Part One

After 9 very busy days in the UK, Safya and I were flying onto Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  My eldest daughter, Iona, now lives in the U.A.E. and we were so excited for our first visit.    Iona had lived on a small island  in the Maldives for 6 months working for Kuoni – a holiday company – before she was transferred to Dubai, she was nervous moving to a big city in the the Middle East, a Muslim country, but she had lived for 4 years during her childhood in Pakistan so she was not unfamiliar with a Muslim culture.

She was immediately impressed with how safe she felt in Dubai, women have all the freedom there of men but at the same time are well protected.  The police take it very seriously if women are harassed in any way therefore you can walk anywhere at night comfortably as crime seems to be non existent perhaps because it is dealt with very severely. 

I am often asked about the dress code and I am happy to advise that Dubai and Abu Dhabi are a wonderful mix of Western and Eastern dress but it is advisable to be respectful of their culture by not wearing skimpy clothing.  This means a regular t-shirt instead of a tank top, capri's instead of shorts and just avoid showing too much skin!  When on the private beaches or ladies only beaches you can wear any type of swim wear you like.  One of the Emirates, Sharjah, is the only Emirate with Sharia law and they are more conservative regarding dress and no alcohol is served in any hotels in that Emirate.  Whereas alcohol is not forbidden in the other Emirates but can only be found in the hotels or private homes.

We flew out of Terminal 3 at Heathrow Airport with Emirates Airlines,.  The whole organization from the ground staff to the crew was wonderful.  They were immaculately dressed and very professional.  The aircraft was fresh and clean and welcoming. We were in economy but the seating was very comfortable and each seat had its own screen with I.C.E.( information, communication and entertainment.) Once seated we were given menus for the meals to follow, the flight left at 8.30am for a 6½ hour flight and we were served two wonderful meals during that time.  On each Emirates flight there will be a minimum of 10 different languages spoken by the crew. (these languages are announced on board).  On our return journey we flew Emirates to London Heathrow and then transferred to Air Canada back to Toronto. The difference between the standards of the two airlines was huge.  Safya was very dismayed by the low standards of Air Canada , both with their personnel and aircraft.

We arrived in Dubai at a perfect time of year, the temperature was in the middle twenties on arrival but 10 days later it had crept up to the low thirties Celsius.  By July the temps go up to the 50s Celsius.

 

My daughter actually lives in the neighbouring Emirate of Ajman, but works in Dubai, it should only be about a thirty minute car journey but there is a very heavy volume of traffic and much patience is required to deal with the constant traffic jams.  I would not recommend anyone to drive there only because of the congestion and they are very aggressive drivers.  You really have to know your way around to deal with it all.  On the other hand they drive on the same side of the road as Canada and the cars are mainly automatic, but if you are driving through the desert it is recommended to have manual as changing gears enables better maneuvering.  Petrol is incredibly cheap as it probably should be in the Middle East!

 

The U.A.E. is made up of 7 Emirates, Abu Dhabi being the capital.   Dubai is now well known for the extensive building going on there which includes but is not limited to; the “7 star” hotel Burj Al Arab (an all suite exclusive property), the building of the palms, the worlds largest indoor ski resort Dubailand theme park (presently under construction), the worlds tallest tower Burj Dubai (almost completed) to name just a little of what is going on there. Each Emirate is ruled by a Sheik, Dubai is Sheik Mohammed Maktoum and he is the vice president of the U.A.E. 

I had this idea that we would have a nice relaxing holiday but in the 10 days we were there we did not stop because there is so much to see and do!  For shopping malls you visit Dubai where you will find the extremely up-market malls  with exclusive designer shops.  There is also the incredible Mall of the Emirates with the worlds largest ski dome attached. We sat and had  coffee watching the skiers and it was amazing how the winter scene looked so authentic.Then in the evenings we would wend our way through the local markets in the old area of Dubai. The shops here, mainly run by Pakistanis, East Indians, Iranians etc., are full of goods from Asia  and it is here that you can bargain very successfully.  The many Asian restaurants have wonderful food and very cheap.  We loved being able to buy freshly blended fruit drinks from the local stalls. 

 

 

One evening we took the Abra (water taxi) across the Creek to the gold souk.  Here you see shop after shop displaying all the gold you can imagine, a much brighter yellow than gold bought in the West as it is purer. You can certainly bargain here but I no longer find it cheap, actually while we were there gold prices hit an all time high worldwide. Just my luck!! My favourite place to wander around in an evening is the outdoor Souk Madinat Jumeirah which is a bazaar like atmosphere full of shops with handicrafts from around the world, surrounded by little cafes, bars and restaurants where you can sit by the water and watch the magnificent Burj Al Arab hotel very subtly change colour.  The evenings are the best time to be out and about, the streets will be full of people until well after midnight.

Next week... beaches, adventures in the desert, driving through the mountains!

Thought for the day...                                     

 

Today I am going to give you two examinations,

one in trigonometry and one in honesty.

I hope you will pass them both,

but if you must fail one,

let it be trigonometry.
-- Madison Sarratt