KMOX – July 8th. 2006

Open- Can You Hear Me Now?
New technology continues to change our travel and lifestyle experiences. Carnival the worlds largest cruise line has announced that they will install repeater equipment on all 22 of their ships by early 2007 that will allow passengers to use their personal cell phones on board wherever the ships are sailing. International roaming charges will be billed directly to your cell phone account at an average of $3.00 per minute. Expensive but much better than the $12.00 per minute that the ship to shore phone service currently charges to your cabin bill. Verizon announced that they are ending the “Airphone Service” originated by GTE that put credit card phone in most U. S. Airliners. usage has continued to fall and the service has no future. The “On-Board Internet” service developed by Boeing is also experiencing much lower usage than market projections expected. Maybe people on airplanes really do want to get away!

1. Disneyland the world’s favorite theme park is celebrating its 50th. Anniversary with a year long celebration. We will find out what kind of a party Mickey is throwing now that he is getting to be a senior citizen. On the other side of America the Disney World people Have opened a new thrill ride at the Wild Animal Kingdom park called “Adventure Everest”. http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/en_US/home/home?name=HomePage&bhcp=1
   
2. Tom Parsons of www.BestFares.com updates the list of airfare deals available from St. Louis. Go to the Best Fares web site and enter KMOX in the “Story Search” box to see the whole list.
   
3. Jose Catalan joins us to talk about an exciting New Years trip to Tahiti sailing through the South Sea Islands on the cruise ship “Paul Gauguin”. This December departure will be lead by Michael Dixon of The KMOX travel show. XXX…
   http://seasidejourneys.com/cruises-tours.htm
   
4. The Louie List:
   Hotel ratings and travel commentary have been available for decades from AAA, Fodors and others. The internet now provides a forum with unlimited access not only for personal commentary by everyday travelers but massive search and display so that you may readily find out what someone else experienced at the hotel, resort or cruise ship you are thinking of booking. These “Peer Reviews” have become a powerful piece of the leisure travel experience.
   
   A. Choose the hotel you want to book through your normal selection process to make sure it offers the price, location and amenities you are looking for.
   
   B. Look for commentary on your hotel of interest with www.TripAdvisor.com – www.MyTravelGuide.com – or
   www.IGoUGo.com these, plus peer reviews added to Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity let you see what others have experienced.
   
   C. If the reviews favor your selected hotel you probably have a winner. If the disturbing comments outweigh the positives look for an alternate hotel. If the pros and cons are about even fall-back to the AAA Tourbook or other ratings to help you chose. Their inspectors are very thorough and are rating the entire property not just the one room or employee that a complaint may have focused on.
          
   D. After your stay add your own experience to the site of your choice. These comments have become a must see for all hotel management and you are helping yourself and other travelers by getting your honest opinion out there.