Fun Family Travel Vacation

You can enter online to win a grand prize vacation for two to a, Indiana.   The vacation sweepstakes grand prize includes: a 2 night stay in one of the suites at JW Marriott Indianapolis, air travel to Indianapolis, ground travel while you are in Indianapolis, Dinner for two, and tickets to an attraction or event of the winners choice.

Visit http://www.jwindysweeps.com/index.php to enter.

It has been on the headlines repeatedly about how an Italian cruise ship, Costa Concordia, hit rocks off the coast of Italian and resulted 14 death.   The ship is now partially submerged and clean-up is expected to last at least 10 month.    Survivors of the incident are now being offered $14,000 in compensation plus the cost of the loss of their possessions.   Most, if not all, have refused the payout.   Several passengers and crew members have filed lawsuits against Costa Crociere , Italian company that sailed Costa Concordia, and Carnival Cruise Lines, which is based in the United States.

Carnival is already reporting that it net income for the 2012 fiscal year will drop from $175 million to $155 million.

Source:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204740904577193113977266528.html

http://articles.cnn.com/2012-01-27/world/world_europe_italy-cruise-ship_1_cruise-ship-damages-costa-cruises/2?_s=PM:EUROPE

Holland America Line is giving away an Alaskan Cruise vacation for 4. You have until November 30th to enter for a chance to win the seven-day cruise. Like about everything nowadays, this cruise sweepstakes is being done via social media. To enter you must become Holland America fan on Facebook.

The winner on the sweepstakes will be selected in December 2011.

Holland America Line Facebook page

Disney’s California Adventure will have a new attraction that opening this Friday.  The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure is being described as a ride that takes you into the scenes of The Little Mermaid.  

The Little Mermaid is a Disney animated movie that went theaters in 1989 to a generation that fell in love with the movie and its musical soundtrack.   Since that time two additional Little Mermaid movies have been released by Disney that went to theaters.  One was a prequel and the other was a sequel of the original Little Mermaid.

Now the ride gives fans to get a ride in the world of Little Mermaid they have been watching for all these years.

Beginning today, WhereToStay.com, the internet’s oldest Caribbean accommodation guide, has launched a fan-based promotion to help increase traffic to their Facebook page – Caribbean Villas and Hotels.  Fans of Caribbean Villas and Hotels are entered in the giveaway when they hit “like” and submit their email address. The winner will get a 5-night stay at Meads Bay Beach Villa.

Meads Bay Beach Villa is located in Meads Bay, Anguilla in the Caribbean.  Anguilla is located in the Lesser Antilles and is a British territory.  The villa in this this travel sweepstakes is located on the beach.   This is a two bedroom villa that, besides having the beautiful ocean in, also has a beach located on the property.   Travel

Southwest passengers that where aboard the plane that had emergency land in Yuma, Arizona Friday are receiving a refund of their tickets and two free complimentary roundtrip tickets on Southwest airlines.

118 passengers were on the flight that had just left Phoenix, Arizona and was heading to Sacramento, California.  Pressure in the cabin changed and oxygen masks were released for the passengers.  The pilots had to quickly move the plane from 36,000 feet to 11,000 feet because of extreme change in cabin pressure after a hole formed in the fuselage of the plane.  Initial report from the FAA said that there was significant damage to fuselage. 

A flight attendant suffered minor injury that was treated at the scene.  Southwest reported that at least one passenger also received minor injuries.

Snapfish is running a Disney Vacation sweepstakes that ends on February 28^th One winner has the choice of family vacation to Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando or the Disneyland Resort in California.  The vacation for 4 includes air travel, hotels, and park tickets.   You can enter online at : http://promo.snapfish.com/disney/disneymemoriescalendar1.

VisitFlorida.com is conducting a new contest this spring which gives the winner a free vacation with car rental, air fare, and hotel stay to Jacksonville, Florida.   Along with the vacation prizes the winner also gets a brand new car. 

Official Prize Details:

One winner will receive a trip to Florida that includes round trip air transportation for two (2) from the major airport closest to the winner to Jacksonville, Florida and four (4) days rental car usage from VISIT FLORIDA; plus three (3) nights’ accommodations for two (2) at the Radisson Hotel Butler Blvd, two (2) tickets to the Alhambra Theatre & Dining and one 2011 MX-5 Miata Touring from Mazda North American Operations (Sport equipped with standard options).

You can enter the contest by visiting VisitFlorida.com/contest.

Adventures by Disney brings families to exotic places and gives them tours and information that would not be able to get if traveling alone.

In a press release the Adventures by Disney Tour to Egypt was described:

Picture arriving in Cairo and embarking on a privately guided tour of the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities with its extensive trove of mummies and ancient artifacts. Families will then take an unforgettable excursion to Giza for an up-close view of the Great Pyramids and the fascinating Pharaoh’s Boat Museum. And what is a trip to Egypt without a camel-ride past the pyramids.

Journey to Southern Egypt with your fellow travelers and highly trained Adventure Guides on a three-day Nile River cruise and visit the riverside towns of Aswan and Luxor, as well as privately guided tours of temple ruins, including pharaohs Tutankhamen and Ramses VI.

Whether discovering how the ancient Egyptians created papyrus or learning how to write their family’s name in hieroglyphics, there is something for everyone regardless of age on this new itinerary, as well as the additional itineraries available through Adventures by Disney.

Families can choose between a 7 night and 9 night tour of Egypt. According to current pricing on the Adventures by Disney website the price for an adult on 7 night tour is $3,999 – $5,249. For that same tour the cost for a child is 3,599 – $4,739. Obviously a trip like this does not come cheap and would cost a bit for a family. It may mean skipping a few other vacations and saving up before you can take this Adventures by Disney vacation.

The United states State Department has issued a travel alert for US citizens. The State Department is cautioning all US citizens that there may be some backlash from the planned burning of the Quran by a church in Gainesville, Florida. The burning has been cancelled, but the State Department says that Americans should still be on alert.