|
September 2005
back to updates
menu
|
|
10.
 This is Kaleel Sakakeeny with
your XM GO TRAVEL update
So, your hundreds of miles at sea and you receive the dreaded news that
a family member or dear friend has passed away or has taken seriously
ill.
It should be easy you think to arrange transfer from the ship to the
shore, and from there catch the next flight home.
Not so fast
Passengers are taken off a ship that’s at sea only in medical
emergencies, and that means unless you, the passenger are in critical
condition.
In most other cases, it really is a matter of determining where the next
port of call is and from there, the crucial flight home
Travel insurance with trip interruption coverage can be invaluable here,
but in all cases, work with the cruise ships guest services
representative who will arrange flights from the next port.
And remember, if something affects your cruise experience negatively
like a broken toilet or other cabin related problems your first call
should be to the cabin steward, and then the purser.
You may well be entitled to compensation
download
audio (1.16 MB)
|
|
9.
This is Kaleel Sakakeeny with
your XM GO TRAVEL update
It’ s a new sport, a high tech spin on the old fashioned treasure hunt,
and it’s called Geocaching.
The “cache” (cache) is a hidden treasure, but you can’t find it without
a GPS or Global Positioning Satellite device.
The caches are on mountain tops, hillsides, along kayaking water ways or
off main highways.
Ours were in Vermont. The Weathersfield Inn, one of the few places
offering a Geocaching weekend, set us up with equipment an orientation,
and map.
With our trusty GPS we found one cache, missed the second…and were
hooked on the sport.
Caches are simple treasures like toy soldiers or colored marbles in a
plastic container or Geocaching box.
Some are easy to find, and some require day long hikes…but all are fun,
and great exercise.
Interested in Geocaching? check out ,
www.geocaching.com
And for the Geocaching weekend at the classy Weathersfield go to
www.weathersfieldinn.com
download audio (1.15 MB)
|
|
8.
This is Kaleel Sakakeeny with your XM GO TRAVEL update:
Travel has gone to the dogs…and cats!
The Travel Industry tells us that 14 per cent of Americans travel with
their pets…that’s 36 million households!
And You can bet the industry is barking up the revenue tree
Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide (www.starwoodhotels.com)
has its Love That Dog (LTD) program which provides specially designed
bedding, food and water bowls, and temporary I.D. tags at, yes,
check-in.
Westins, a division of Starwood, are providing doggie robes and
turn-down treats on you pet’s bed.
And The Four Seasons (www.fourseasonshotel.com)
has A Pets for all Seasons package, with culinary specialties like Rin
Tare Tare and salmon cuisine for cats.
If the strawberries and whipped cream go right to your pet’s
mid-section, the hotel offers after meal dog walking.
It seems guests who come with their pets… become repeat customers and
that has the bean counters purring
For Pet Travel information, it’s ,
www.bringyourpet.com
download audio (1.17 MB)
|
|
7.
This is Kaleel Sakakeeny with
your XM GO TRAVEL update:
In this euro inflated world, savvy travelers are heading for euro immune
destinations like Canada, where the greenback is worth a healthy buck
and a quarter
Prince Edward Island on Canada’ east coast, is the smallest of the
Atlantic Maritimes, but rich in culture and traditions.
It’s a quiet. gentle island, all about the sea and the land.
There are no billboards or traffic jams.
There are farmers’ markets, terrific lobster suppers, unspoiled sea
coast and emerald, rolling hills.
The island’s small so golfers can do more than one course in a day.
And river or sea kayaking gets you up close and personal to bald eagles
and osprey
Certainly, anyone who’s ever read Anne of Green Gables will be at home
in Anne’s house. This is where the freckled faced heroine is from
Getting to Prince Edward Island is as hassle free as their web site:
www.peiplay.com
download audio
(1.17 MB)
|
|
6.
This is Kaleel Sakakeeny with
your GO TRAVEL update:
Not so long ago, physically
challenged travelers had few to no choices when it came to getting out
and seeing the world.
Today, blind skiers, quadriplegic mountaineers, and wheelchair
safari-goers are part of a growing group of disabled travelers for whom
travel is right…not a “luxury.”
These “challenged travelers” are old, young and everything in-between.
The National Sports center for the Disabled has 18,000 + clients , and
they’re hearing or sight impaired, might have ms or another debilitating
physical challenge.
The center arranges 2-10 day “activities like, white water river
rafting, horseback riding, and mountain climbing
They say their goal is to “improve lives through travel from “the child
with cerebral palsy who rides a horse for the first time to the teenager
with an amputation whose dream is to snowboard.
The National Sports Center is at
www.nscd.org
download
audio (1.17 MB)
|
|
5.
This is Kaleel Sakakeeny with
your XM GO TRAVEL update:
Travel insurance …can you leave home without it?
Before 9/11, maybe but today, probably no.
Travel supplier bankruptcies, hurricanes, the recent London bombings,
are driving alert travelers to purchase travel insurance big time.
But there’s a difference between trip protection coverage available
through tour operators or credit card companies…and
travel insurance
Dan McGinnity is an executive with Travel Guard International (www.travelguard.com)
specializing in travel insurance products. He says that
most travel protection products purchased from a credit card company,
travel agent or tour operator don’t provide the features to protect
against a trip that has to be cancelled or interrupted for medical or
other reasons, including terrorism attacks or industry bankruptcies. And that’s the
crucial difference between Travel Insurance and trip protection
insurance.
Be sure the policy covers medical evacuation and transportation home if
you’re injured or sick on the road.
And the policy must cover trip cancel or interruption because of the
death or illness of the insured or a family member.
But in this “buyer beware” world, alert travelers must read the fine
print of any travel insurance policy.
download audio
(1.18 MB)
|
|
4.
This is Kaleel Sakakeeny with
your XM GO TRAVEL update:
It seems the vanishing American
vacation has become a national epidemic of sorts .
We’re leaving billions of unclaimed vacation time on the table, because
we can’t get away from work!
We value the workaholic mindset so much, Americans are not only
sacrificing vacation time, but our health… and family life.
And there are those who say our obsession with work actually lowers our
productivity
Europeans typically work a 35 hour week and take a month’s vacation
while Americans put in a 50 hour work week… and brag we can’t get away.
However, some u.s. employers are locking the doors at closing time and
insisting worker take their holidays.
They want their employees to go away and get a life outside of work.
And they say, all work and no play can make for an early grave...
Who knows, instead of the yearly bonus, companies may start handing out
kayaks!
download audio (1.16
MB)
|
|
3.
This Kaleel Sakakeeny with your XM GO TRAVEL
Update
Denmark still has a town crier who sings out the time of
day.
And this year the bells in this tiny Scandinavian kingdom
ring in celebration of the 200TH birthday anniversary of Hans
Christian Anderson. He’s Denmark’s favorite son and story teller to the
world. 
This is the oldest monarchy in Europe, and visitors are
attracted to its canals, cobbled streets and upscale cuisine.
The country’s clean, accessible, safe and full of lots of
blond hair and blue eyed people.
And the Danes speak English fluently.
The country is celebrating Anderson’s birthday with
special events, colorful celebrations and true Nordic hospitality
download audio
(1.19 MB) |
|
2.
This is Kaleel Sakakeeny with
your XM GO TRAVEL update
The batter shifted his weight, eyed the in coming fast ball and let rip
with a line drive. A run scored and the small crown went wild
 Welcome to fantasy baseball camp , one of the hottest new trends in the
fast growing field of sports travel
For one week middle-age jocks became professional baseball players at a
Fantasy Baseball Camp.
It’s baseball for wannabes who get a chance to train, practice and play
with some of baseball’s greats…and to fulfill a life long fantasy of
playing ball the way they always dreamed of.
But it’s not for wimps
The fantasy baseball schedules are intense with at least one
competitive, all-out game every day.
The boys of baseball were there to have fun, but they were also there to
win
As Roy Campanella used to say vOnce you put on the uniform, you become a
kid again."
For more on fantasy baseball go to
www.baseballfantasycamps.com
download audio
(1.13 MB)
|
|
1.
This is Kaleel Sakakeeny with
your XM GO TRAVEL update
Since 9/11 family travel has jumped a whopping 18%, and they’re not just
heading for Disney.
Today’s time starved families are looking for travel experiences that
bring them closer as a family, and help them create memories that go
beyond a theme ride or a splash in the pool.
But family travel does require special planning and sensitivity.
In his funny and smart book London for Families, travel expert Larry
Laine says planning the trip together is crucial for successful family
travel.
So what’s the secret Larry?
“The secret is to make sure the family plans the vacation together…that
everyone one gets his or her first choice of the things that they want
to see. That’s so important because that way everyone has something to
look forward to and the rule is, no one can criticize any other family
members choice.”
Above all, Laine says, be flexible and keep your sense of humor. And
remember that a walk in the park with your family is better than any
“must see” attraction.
download audio (1.17 MB)
|
| |
|
When Kaleel
filed stories for