Australian Winter 2009 3rd year of epublication
John Pond’s Cruise & Travel Magazine • cruisepond Ship Reviews & more. Airlines, Hotels, Resorts, Restaurants. FREE John Pond CRUISE & TRAVEL - AUSTRALIA’S FIRST & No.#1 INDEPENDENT CONSUMER WEB CRUISE MAGAZINE a TransAm P/L Production. Famil Club DB.
Sent to over 74,000 Meeting Planners & Business Professionals
throughout Australasia plus our Travel/Cruise Lovers database each issue - Not responsible for errors or omissions. Assistant Ed. Sandra Tiltman.
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2009 ISSUES
Australian Summer-2009 Third year of e-publication
BEVERLEY HILL RIDE on a 40-minute narrated tour of art, architecture, historical and renowned areas of the City, including Rodeo Drive.
YEAR-ROUND TOURS EVERY SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. US SUMMER SEASON TOURS TUESDAY-SUNDAY, July 7-Aug. 31
Aston Waikiki Beach Tower Celebrates 25 Years of Style and Elegance A Gift for Every Guest, including a Surprise US$2,500 Neiman Marcus Shopping Spree. To celebrate 25 years of providing luxurious, island-style experiences for its guests, the Aston Waikiki Beach Tower will be showering its guests with gifts, including a US$2,500 shopping spree at luxury retailer, Neiman Marcus for one lucky guest.
The guest will be surprised at check-in. To qualify, the guest must stay at the condominium resort during its celebratory months of October and November 2009.
If no. 1 isn’t your lucky number, perhaps 25 is. Every 25th registered guest will receive a custom Martin & MacArthur Hawaiian Koa wood platter valued at more than US$500. CONT. BELOW
From the Editor
Buy Cruise Passenger Magazine. Published 4 times a year from your newsagents or subscribe.
Invitations to hotels and special events BELOW
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PHOTO GALLERY
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HOTEL REVIEWS
Australian Summer-2009 Third year of e-publication
Handlery San Francisco
CRUISE SHIPS
ICCA
he 2008 Cruise Industry Statistics
The number of Australians taking a cruise holiday surged by 26 per cent last year to reach a record 330,949 passengers,
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NO CRUISE NEWS?
John Pond’s Cruise and Travel Web Magazine will be in a new format with virtually no cruise news. This is because I am proud to be associated with Cruise Passenger Magazine and Cruises.com.au website as their News Editor. Cruise Passenger Magazine is a quality quarterly and the cruise website is updated daily with the latest information on cruising.
As part of a fabulous team that includes Fergus Stoddardt Publisher, Sally Macmillan Editor CPMagazine and Lisa Smyth, Junior editor, we bring you the latest cruising information on a daily basis.
As News Editor, I search out all the latest news that I think will be of interest.
I will therefore devote this site to other forms of travel and vacation information.
Please visit our cruise website regularly and sign up for our free weekly newsletter and thanks for your support over the last three years.
FOR THE LATEST CRUISE NEWS
Cruise Passenger
With fresh articles and the latest
cruise news, Cruises.com.au will provide you with all the ins and outs of the cruising world. Browse through stunning cruise destinations, cruise ships and their features before you book your next cruise vacation.
I hope you will visit our sites regularly,
John Pond
Editor, Cruise & Travel Web mag.
News Editor, Cruise Passenger Magazine and Cruises.com.au
MSC Poesia Launch Famil Club Events Radisson Hotel Melbourne
Holland America Line Food A Look at Paris Qantas A380 Arrives at Mascot
During the celebration, no one goes home empty-handed. Upon check-in, each traveling party (one gift per room) will be presented with an exclusive, handcrafted, Martin & MacArthur Koa wood wine stopper and corkscrew set.
The Aston Waikiki Beach Tower is one of Waikiki’s most exclusive condominium resorts offering upscale elegance with an emphasis on personalized service. It is one of the most highly rated properties in Honolulu on TripAdvisor.com and was recently honored as an Expedia Insider Select hotel for a second consecutive year. This hidden treasure offers spacious one- and two-bedroom suites that range in size from approximately 1,050 to 1,200 square feet, over double the size of the average hotel room. Each suite includes contemporary island-style furnishings, a full gourmet kitchen, washer and dryer and a private lanai with sweeping ocean views. In addition, the resort features twice-daily housekeeping service, nightly turndown service, complimentary valet parking, 24-hour hotel staff and personalized concierge service.
The property has a secluded entrance conveniently located on the main thoroughfare of Waikiki – Kalakaua Avenue. For added privacy, the Aston Waikiki Beach Tower features only four suites per floor, separated into two wings. It is located close to shopping and dining and is directly across from world-famous Waikiki Beach.
About Aston Hotels & Resorts
Aston Hotels & Resorts, formerly ResortQuest Hawaii, operates a diverse range of condominium resorts and hotels with accommodations from hotel rooms and condominium suites, to villas and cottages that suit any lifestyle, taste or budget. Based in Honolulu, the company manages more than 4,300 rooms in 25 properties on the islands of Oahu, Maui, Kauai and Hawaii.
For more information, visit www.aptms.com.au or call toll free 1-300-300-713.
USING YOUR CAMERA FOR BUSINESS & PLEASURE
When travelling around the world on business and pleasure I find it harder and harder to keep track of all my expenses and to remember many of the new and exciting things I have encountered, so I have come up with an easy solution that not only acts as a excellent diary by documenting all my out of pocket expenses, but provides a superb visual record of my journeys.
The answer, thanks to modern technology, is the very pocketable digital cameras. So small that they fit in the palm of your hand, in your shirt pocket or take up no space in a handbag. This new generation of high quality cameras can be purchased for less than US$300 and they offer superb picture quality. The small memory chips, not much larger than a thumbnail can hold up to 4 or 5GB of information but I find anything over 1GB is unnecessary. The memory cards usually supplied with the camera, are usually around 256mb, they are in my opinion inadequate, so keep these in the top drawer and purchase a 1 or 2GB memory card which should cost around US$100 or less.
At the beginning of a journey I photograph every stage: arriving at the airport I will photograph the taxi’s meter, then the check-in counter at the airport as well as any other interesting airport shots (for my own personal use). I photograph meals on the plane and on arrival, signs at the airport to indicate my destination, this might seem like overkill but looking back weeks or months later it gives a thorough record.
Thanks to the wonderful macro capacity of these new cameras you can photograph close-ups down to the size of a postage stamp with automatic focus, so just hold any invoices or bills in your hand and photograph them. Also everything is in sequence, there is not a problem about what was spent where.
On returning home it’s easy to download the information (pictures) from the chip to your home or office computer, I download all onto a file example “Macau trip”, then I make a copy onto a CD or DVD for a cost of under $1 and file that away as a backup.
AVOID BEING SICK ON VACATION * Make sure food is well cooked and very hot (to kill any bacteria present) * Avoid food that may have been left sitting out at unsafe temperatures (i.e. buffets) * Be wary of buying food and drinks from street vendors
*Avoid consuming sauces/condiments that have been left on tables * Don’t eat garnishes (they may have graced many plates!) * Avoid drinking tap water, milk, and stay clear of ice cubes in drinks * Avoid salads/lettuce (washed in water) * Stick to sealed, bottled water or boil or purify it yourself *if you can’t peel fruit - don’t eat it!
NEW IN LAS VEGAS
Think you know Las Vegas? Well you aint seen nothing yet. This December, the largest private development in United States history is set to open. CityCenter is an unprecedented urban metropolis situated on 67-acres on the Las Vegas Strip between the...
John’s Hotel Review • Las Vegas Hotels • Four Seasons
Hotels: My most recent stay in Las Vegas was at the Four Seasons. One of the finest in Las Vegas.
It is the only 5 star hotel in LV without a Casino. Don’t worry there are several within seconds walk. This is luxury and service personified. It’s so great to be able to walk to your room without going through a huge casino. I give this my highest rating. 10/10
Excellent food, excellent accomodation and excellant service.
All without walking miles through casinos to get to your room. I was very sorry to leave.
FOUR SEASONS HOTEL LAS VEGAS
3960 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A. 89119
Telephone: 1 (702) 632-5000
Guest fax: 1 (702) 632-5195 Room reservations: 1 (866) 536-9403
Reservation Fax: 1 (702) 632-5105
Toll-free in U.S.A.: 1 (877) 632-5000
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