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Travel News to Use
Ship out and shape up
Cruise holidays needn’t be the sloth and sin fests they’re often made
out to be. When the Royal Caribbean Cruises Rhapsody of the Seas
pulls into Singapore in December, seafarers who like to stay in shape
while on vacation can take heart that the cruise ship – the largest to
sail Asia – boasts extensive exercise facilities and programs that’ll
allow them to stick to their exercise routines while on board.
Break out a sweat at The
ShipShape® Fitness
Centre where you can sign yourself up for
yoga, pilates,
spinning and kickboxing sessions. Or work off the day’s excesses with
a jog around the deck, or a lap, or 10, in one of the ship’s two
pools.
The piece de resistance of the entire outfit, however, is the ship’s
spectacular rock climbing wall, which is unique to Royal Caribbean
Cruise ships. Standing proud at 200 feet above sea level and 30 feet
above deck, the wall offers breathtaking views of the open seas and a
great workout for novice or experienced climbers. Even rock climbing
virgins can score some action; instructors are available for
one-on-one beginner climbing sessions.
And because you’re not at fat camp but on holiday, leisure activities
are to be found at every corner of the ship’s eight themed bars and
clubs, restaurants, casino and outdoor shopping atrium.
The Rhapsody of the Seas will offer a selection of six cruises
- lasting two to five nights each – to destinations such as Kuala
Lumpur, Penang, Langkawi and Phuket from December through February.
For more information, visit
www.royalcaribbean.com.
Excess baggage
We don’t mean to put a damper on your holidays, but before you jet
off for your long awaited year-end jaunt, consider this: according to
the Association of European Airlines (AEA), an average of 10
passengers per flight in Europe lost their bags in the summer months
of April and June. And the biggest perpetrator of misplaced baggage?
British Airways, according to the AEA. In the second quarter of this
year, the association reports that BA mislaid 28 bags for every 1000
passengers and 300,000 bags never saw light of day on the luggage
carousel.
While there’s little you can do to circumvent bad baggage luck, you
can make sure that when your luggage is lying in a dingy room over the
Atlantic, it at least has your name (and forwarding details) on it.
[see Fine Finds]
Flight plan
Nepal and
all its natural wonders and spiritual sights, long a favorite with
adventurers and trekkers, are now a direct flight away from
Singapore.
SilkAir launched its Singapore-Kathmandu service on October 30 and the
airline now flies to the country’s capital three times a week on
Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Fine Finds
Because illegible scribbles, tattered tags and the language
barrier can stand between you and your lost luggage, why take the
chance? Attach one of these handy tags to your bag and should they
ever go missing, anyone who finds your stray bag will be able to
locate wherever you are, 24 hours a day. How it works: Each
globalbagtag is imprinted with a unique serial number and the
globalbagtag website address. Before you travel, log on to the website
to update luggage details, your travel itinerary and contact
information in a secure database – anyone who finds your bag will thus
have all the information he needs to reunite you with your belongings.
A pack of two tags and a year’s subscription to the service costs
US$20. (www.globalbagtags.com)
+ Chan Hse May
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