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The Life is Better Traveling Team

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Did you know WHERE the origins of Halloween came from?

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I absolutely LOVE Halloween. It is the one time of year that everyone comes out onto the neighborhood streets and actually talks to each other. Everyone dresses up in various costumes and says “trick or treat!” But where did this neighborhood gathering tradition begin?

According to the HistoryChannel.com, Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1.

November 1^st marked the end of summer and the harvest. Which meant the beginning of the dark, cold winter. 2,000 years ago this time of year was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.

Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes.

Throughout the years the traditions that once brought hope for a future, turned into gatherings and celebrations. In the United States, Halloween wasn’t widely accepted as the idea of witches and goblins were banned in many of the Northern states. It wasn’t until the late-1800’s when talk about it being a holiday to gather neighborhoods together to get to know each other better really took off.

Come the turn of the century with the hay day of parties for everything, people were encouraged to have Halloween parties not just for adults but for children. Having sweets, treats, and a lot of fun and games. The wearing of costumes has transcended into today’s Halloween but instead of old day of giving out fortunes we give out treats.

Deicing the Plane… how it works.

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We have had a mild winter up until last week when the temperatures plummeted to single digits. Even with this mild winter if you have been flying you will see those trucks out on the runway with the big arms spraying down the airplanes. It reminds me of a car wash but for airplanes. So, what is the purpose of spraying chemicals onto the planes before takeoff?

In the mid 1990’s there were several aircraft incidents where the cause of the crash was due to too much ice build up on the airplane. When this happens, it will disrupt the airflow over the airplane which prevents the airplane from “lifting” off the runway. Since pilots and the crew can’t know how much ice has accumulated on the airplane while standing by or taxing, it had caused major issues. As with everything over the years with the National Transportation Safety Board or NTSB, their investigations help increase the understanding and awareness of how to fix the problem.

Something so simple as applying chemicals that not only help take off ice buildup on an airplane but will also help delay reformation of ice for a certain amount of time, was brilliant. The term “deicing the plane” was now something airports used every day during the winter seasons. Denver International airport was the first airport to have the “fixed pedestal mounted booms” where they could extend up to 90 feet into the air. However, being fixed they weren’t able to get all parts of the airplane allowing ice to build-up where the spray couldn’t reach.

Many airports today use a better approach to making sure that all parts of the plane are being “deiced.” Truck-mounted booms allow crew members to get closer to the airplane. They now have figured out how to adjust the fluid mixtures based on the outside temperature to maximize the amount of fluid that the airplane receives. In one of my readings I found out that some airports, like the Pittsburgh International airport, are reclaiming spent deicing fluid. Since 1995 Pittsburgh International Airport has recycled more than 200 million gallons of spend fluid. That’s amazing!

So if you are flying this winter expect that you will wait in line for your plane to be deiced. I can’t say for sure how long you will wait in line, but the deicing process takes on average 12 minutes. It may seem like an inconvenience to sit there while the plane is getting sprayed down but remember, it helps the pilots get you off the ground safely.

2018 Magellan Award Winner

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Life is Better Traveling is proud to be 1 of 2 travel agencies in the U.S. to have received a Magellan award for their excellence in the travel industry.

What is a Magellan Award?

The Magellan Awards honor outstanding design, marketing and services in a broad range of industry segments including Hospitality, Travel Destinations, Cruise Lines, Online Travel Services, Airlines and Airports, Travel Agents and Agencies, Tour Operators and Ground Transportation.

With entries from across the U.S. and around the world, the Magellan Award winners represent the best in the travel industry and salute the outstanding travel professionals behind it all.

Who awards Magellan Awards?

Travel Weekly. Travel Weekly is the most influential provider of news, research, opinion and analysis to the North American travel trade marketplace. It reaches a broad industry audience in print, online and with face-to-face events throughout the year. Travel Weekly is a division of Secaucus, New Jersey based Northstar Travel Media, the largest travel business-to-business travel publisher in the world.

How are Magellan Awards judged?

The Magellan Awards are judged and overseen by a one-of-a-kind panel of top travel professionals representing the best names and most accomplished leaders from the industry. In determining winners, entries do not compete with one another, instead they are judged against a standard of excellence based on the long experience of Travel Weekly.

What does this mean for Life is Better Traveling?

“Magellan winners are those in the industry who communicate travel’s promise, through words, images and design, in ways that ring true and stand out,” said Arnie Weissmann, editor in chief of Travel Weekly. “They create the environments and craft the messages that spark travelers’ imaginations.”

At Life is Better Traveling we promise to provide the same great service you have always received. Many of the accolades we have received this year are mainly in part due to our amazing clients like yourself. We want to thank you for being a loyal client and thank you for making use who we are today.

Deposit, when to put it down.

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When to Put Down that Deposit on Your Next Cruise

The best cruise prices come when you book in advance! This is especially true when you book 12 to 24 months in advance. I recently sat down with a business development manager of a huge cruise line, which I am not going to name, but our agency does sell their cruises. We talked about the newest promotions coming out and I told her that I felt like her company always had promotions going on and I asked if they were finding a decrease in overall cruise sales. She informed me that their sales have been better than ever because of their promotions. She explained that many years ago, the business model for cruise lines was to have “fire sales” close to departure dates to fill cabins. You would be able to get the best deals IF you waited until the last minute.

That was a big risk for cruise lines because if people couldn’t take last minute vacations, those cabins would remain unfilled. About two years ago, a new CEO came into the company and wanted to get rid of the “fire sales.” Instead, they wanted to put into place the “incentive” for people to book early. The earlier they book, the more they save because every so many months, we are going to increase the pricing slightly.

Not only will they increase the pricing slightly, but they will put out promotions that are combinable with each other. For example, if you wanted to take an Alaskan Cruise with a cruise tour, you can take advantage of the buy one get one 50% off on the cruise and the $250 off the cruise tour portion. If there is a flash sale of an onboard credit or beverage package, you can stack promotions on top of each other. The best part is that if you put down a deposit 12 to 18 months prior to the cruise departure date, you are getting the better value for your cruise than the person who booked last minute.

This all sounds good and made sense to me, but I really wanted to see the numbers for myself. I pulled a couple of reservations that our agency made last year and the clients were sailing this year. I looked at the promotions they were under and the current promotions available. When I recreated their bookings, the clients would be paying at least a $100/person more if they booked this month compared to what they booked last year! That is if their cabin category was still available. One group we had booked, that entire cabin category was sold out. It was good that they booked the cabins they wanted when they did!

If you are thinking about taking a cruise next year, especially if it is an Alaskan cruise, I would recommend that you call our agency today. We can help you determine which itinerary will be best for you, and make sure that you get the cabin category you want. Most deposits for cruise lines are fully refundable up until 90 days prior to departure for a 7-night cruise, so put down the deposit just to secure your space.

Check Me Out!

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I was recently honored to be chosen as a contributor for the Pittsburgh Moms Blog℠ in Pittsburgh, PA. I am able to talk about all things mommy related, but I really wanted to stick to my experiences as a Travel Agent Mom. I help plan so many amazing vacations for families, but the moms are the ones that confide in me about anxieties they have taking their kids on vacation. Whether they have an anxiety about a long car ride, if the resort will have enough to keep them occupied, dining options, or flying with kids, I am always there to listen and give advice. My favorite advice to give is from personal experiences, so I have decided to dedicate my posts with Pittsburgh Moms Blog℠ to my personal experiences of traveling with kids.

Take a look at my first article on How to Keep Your Sanity when Flying with Kids….CLICK HERE

New at Disney

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What’s new at Walt Disney World ?

This is going to be a great year to take a Walt Disney World Vacation and I am excited to tell you why! January through March, guests can enjoy Disney After Hours at the Magic Kingdom®. This is a great time to take advantage of little to no wait times for over 25 rides and attractions. For adults or adults with teenagers who stay up late into the night, this is a great opportunity to take advantage of some family bonding time. The Magic Kingdom® is usually open until 2am and to keep you going through the night, snacks and bottled beverages are provided. This event is an extra ticketed event, so be prepared to pay around $149 per person.

For the last four years Disney has been hinting at a whole new land in the Animal Kingdom® theme park and we have all seen the renderings, but it looks like it is finally to go open this summer. Pandora – The World of Avatar will have several new attractions including Na’vi River Journey. This ride puts you into a canoe like boat that takes you down a river with the exotic glowing plants and interesting creatures. If you are looking for more of a thrill, then try Avatar Flight of the Passage which will allow you to experience flying with banshees.

Even though the new Star Wars themed land at Hollywood Studios isn’t open yet, that doesn’t mean Disney isn’t taking advantage of adding in new characters from the latest Star Wars Movie. Advanced Weapons Research or AWR are now part of a new scene in the “Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away” show. There are also new props from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story movie at the Star Wars Launch Bay, and new footage of the behind the scenes of the movie. I was going to talk about this in my next newsletter but I am too excited so I am going to share it now!! Are you ready, this is so exciting?!? If you are a Star Wars super fan, there is now a 7-hour guided tour led by a Star Wars “all-in the know” tour guide!! This tour includes front of the line access to Star Tours, an in-depth tour of the new Launch Bay, Jedi training (ages 4 -12), Star Wars themed menu items from the Backlot Express, and to end it all off, prime seating with sweets and specialty beverages for the Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular Dessert Party. The number of people on the tour is limited so I highly recommend making reservations in advance.

If you had been to WDW in 2016 you may have been surprised that Hollywood Studio® was half the park it used to be. Don’t worry, all good changes are on their way with new and exciting rides and attractions. They also have recently opened PizzeRizzo, a two-story eatery that serves fresh salads and personal sized pizzas. If you have always been a big fan of Rizzo, like myself, then this is must stop quick service restaurant. A quick note, all quick-service dining plans have removed the dessert from the meal. In return they have added an extra snack to the plan so now everyone on the plan will receive 2 snacks per night of stay.

The Muppets are jumping theme parks! They will still be in Hollywood Studios® entertaining people with their quirky MuppetsVision®, but they now have their own show that plays several times a day in the Magic Kingdom® in front of the Hall of Presidents. Get ready for Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and The Great Gonzo in “The Muppets Presents…Great Moments in American History” where they put their spin on the what they believe were the greatest moments in history. This is a live show so you never know what is going to happen.

Epcot is the theme park to go to for their festivals. They host the Food and Wine Festival and the Flower and Garden Festival to name a few. This winter for the first time, Epcot will be hosting the Festival of the Arts which combines visual, culinary, and performing arts all in one place. For six weeks only, you can take art classes, watch Broadway Style singing shows, and feast on delicious creations that, of course in Disney style, look too good to eat! They are only running these special exhibits for six weeks and on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday’s only.

MagicBands are now part of your everyday wardrobe when you are at Walt Disney World, and I still truly believe have revolutionized the efficiency of how Disney can handle so many people. I am surprised in the last 4 years that Disney hasn’t redesigned the MagicBand to make it sleeker looking, and easy to wear, but wait they have! They have redesigned the look a bit so that it is more flat to your wrist and a bit wider. You will still have all the amazing benefits that the MagicBand had in the past, but now with a cool design.

Walt Disney World has so many changes coming up that I just want to help book everyone an amazing family Disney vacation. Make sure to contact me to book your next Disney vacation because you never know what new changes are coming or have been made!!

P.S. Call me this year to plan your AMAZING Disney vacation. I always recommend to start planning your Walt Disney World vacation 8 to 12 months in advance so we can start planning everything out for you.

How do you measure priceless service?

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Have you ever considered a service you received “priceless”?

My husband and I needed to buy new sneakers for our upcoming Disney vacation because when you take a Disney vacation you walk, on average, 12 miles per day. Since the last time we had purchased sneakers was five years ago, I figured they wouldn’t last 12 miles per day, so off to the sneaker store we went. Now when you take a vacation, taking the right pair of shoes is something that we actually take time deciding on. Do you take flats, flip-flops, sandals, sneakers, dress shoes, the decision seems endless! However, when you take a Disney vacation, sneakers are must and preferably sneakers that aren’t five years old.

I am all about supporting local businesses so we headed over to our local Fleet Feet store, which does have several stores through the east coast, but I believe are individually owned. We walked in and we were instantly greeted by one of their employees Abbey, who I have actually worked with on some pairing with our Magical Racecations agency, but none the less, greeted us with a huge smile. We told her we were there for sneakers and she had asked if we were ever measured. We looked at each other in confusion and said, “I don’t think so.” She explained to us the process that they go through in measuring our feet and from our measurements they can provide the best selection of sneakers. I honestly didn’t know there could be process for measuring your feet to find the best fit, but I only had to try on 3 pairs of sneakers before finding the perfect ones for me. At another big brand shoe store I had tried on 10 plus pairs and didn’t find one pair that I even liked!

When we checked out our bill for our sneakers it was more than what we would have paid at the big brand store, but the service was worth the extra money. So what does this have to do with travel? Well, just like the millions of pairs of sneakers out there, there are millions of choices when it comes to travel so how do you know what is the right fit for you? This is where a travel consultant can act as your “travel measurer” to help you find the right destination, hotel, resort, or cruise for you. How do I do it? I have a series of questions that I like to ask every person who contacts me about an upcoming vacation that they want to take. My first question is always “Why do you want to go to that destination?” This may sound a bit standoffish, but most people tell me that they saw it in a magazine or on the travel channel and thought it would be nice. Yes, it is absolutely nice but when you take a vacation, believe it or not, you have goals or objectives that you want to accomplish on that vacation. My job is to get a better understanding of those goals and objectives and find the perfect fit so you can meet most, if not all them on that vacation.

So if you are nervous about using a travel consultant in planning your next vacations, consider me as your “travel measurer” so that you have don’t have to research 10 different sites where you may or may not find the perfect fit. Call me so I can find your perfect fit for you!

I love this travel gadget! Find out why….

Liz Hough on

By the end of this article you will want a portable charger,

here is why…

If a store has a travel section, you will find me in it. Usually in the luggage section there is a small kiosk of travel gadgets. This is the section where I rummage through what new device or gadget is going to make it easier for me to travel. Some work, and some are complete failures. I always have to share with you the ones that I absolutely love and do make it easier for me to travel. So here is my latest favorite travel gadget find….the portable smart device charger!

If you already have one of these portable charges then you know how much easier your life is when your phone is on its last bar of battery. You plug in your phone and go. Your phone is charging while you are shopping, sitting in the airport, or even on the plane. It is that easy. No more stalking for an outlet at the airport to charge your phone, smart device, or even laptop. Portable chargers are the best thing to have with you no matter where you are traveling to and everyday life.

Most portable chargers are the size of a wallet or a small tube that easily fits into your back pocket or even your smallest purse. Depending on the manufacturer of the charger you can choose from various colors or patterns. The best part of portable charges is that they are compatible with most smart devices because they have a USB port so you can take any charger that has a USB adapter and plug it into the charger and charge your device. Some chargers have enough power to charge your phone to 100% then you will have to recharge it, but some haven enough power to charge a phone and a tablet in one charge.

Even though I said this is my latest travel gadget find, I really bought one last Christmas in the travel section at Marshalls. When I brought it home, my husband rolled his eyes at me and said you really can plug your phone in anywhere we go. Yes, this is true. You can plug your phone in anywhere you go, but you are tied down to where it is plugged in. On our trip in April, I thought to myself that I am going to bring it along, just in case. Sometimes, when my phone is roaming for a long period of time it drains my battery faster than it takes time to charge it. So as we are walking around the Bahamas, I hear that dreaded, Beep, Beep. Yup, my phone only had 10% battery life left so I plugged it into my portable charge, put it in my purse and did some sight-seeing. After an hour, I was up to 80% battery life and the portable charger still had three out of four bars left of battery life. My husband couldn’t believe it. Needless to say, anytime we go to an amusement park, museum, or any day trip my husband asks me if I have the portable charger with us. It really is so convenient and easy to use, and its size makes it so easy to take with you.

So next time you are in the store, check out the travel section and see what gadgets will make your life easier to travel. If you have one you like or love, feel free to email us back and let us know what your favorite ones are so we can share with everyone.

Seaweed Takeover in The Caribbean.

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For the past couple of months there has been a growing issue in the Caribbean, Seaweed! Now anytime we go to the beach we encounter seaweed and don’t really think too much of it. We just walk around it and go on our merry way. But what if there was a wall 10 feet high of seaweed and you couldn’t get around it. The Caribbean is experiencing this mass amount of seaweed called sargassum. It washes up on beaches from Mexico to Barbados, and can sometimes pile up so high that you can’t even get into the sea. This would be a very disappointing vacation if your plans were to lay on the beach and cool off in the clear waters.

So why is there so much of this sargassum this year? There is a lot of speculation that it is from land pollutants getting into the water. These nitrogen based pollutants are what the seaweed thrive on and what makes it grow faster and in larger abundances. Some also believe that it is the warmer climates of the Earth and the shifting of the currents causing more seaweed to come on shore. Could it be a combination of both, sounds like both pollutants and warmer climates are to blame.

A lot of resorts are putting a lot of money and time into clearing the seaweed from their beaches. Mexico plans on spending almost $10 million dollars to help remove it from the beaches. The nation of Tobago has called the seaweed a “natural disaster.” Some resorts are even putting up barriers out in the sea so that the seaweed can’t make it to the beach. They are finding that it is helping keep it at bay but because there is so much of it they still have some overflow. Keeping the seaweed in the sea is a good idea as once it washes up on shore and starts to rot it becomes very stinky and attracted a lot of skin biting insects. This is definitely not good for tourism in the Caribbean!

One of the other great reasons we go to the Caribbean is to go scuba diving or snorkeling in the crystal clear waters. We love to look at the beautiful coral, fish, and turtles but the seaweed is so thick that people are having trouble even doing these activities. It is believed that the rotting seaweed consumes the oxygen levels in the water so the animals are also suffering. This may lead to the animals finding new homes further away from the shore. There are some people who are brave enough to get past the wall of seaweed on the beach and get in the sea. I am sure they want to get their money’s worth, but be aware that you must trek through that same wall of seaweed on your way out.

So if you have a Caribbean vacation planned in the near future I suggest that you may want to find some water sports on the bay side, if available. Also, consider taking tours around the island that don’t involve the water. Make sure your resort has a nice pool or several pools that you can enjoy during your stay. There are still many activities you can enjoy but just be aware of the sargassum.