Travel News to Use

The Jakarta Post | Wed, 01/23/2008 4:22 PM | This Way Out

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

Comments (0) | Post comment

A | A | A |