Companion Sails & Stays Free

Now that we're in the peak of the slow season, it's a great time for the budget-conscious traveler to go bargain hunting. The Flamingo Bay Resort and the Port Lucaya Resort & Yacht Club are currently offering a companion-free promotion; for only $169.98, you and a friend can get away to the Bahamas for 3 days & 2 nights without having to beat the crowds or fight for a spot on the beach. Also of note, we've done away with the coach package, meaning that meals are once again automatically included on your round trip cruise to and from Grand Bahama.

If you've never visited the island but are curious about the experience, now is the best time to sample everything it has to offer without breaking the bank.

Monday, Monday

Just to let you know - the Ritz at Taino Beach Resort is currently offering a 3rd night free promotion. The Marlin, the resort's newest facility, features beautiful studio rooms with kitchenettes, and personal jacuzzis - neat! Having been to the property myself not too long ago the property definitely leaves you with the impression of luxury with all the comforts of home.

Travel Insurance

Travel insurance tends to be an oft-overlooked addition to any vacation package. In my experience over the years as a vacation specialist, I've even had people go so far as to laugh and call it a scam. "Why would I want to pay more money to protect me from something that isn't going to happen to me?" is the usual attitude.

Just this past week, we had a gentleman on vacation in Grand Bahama who suffered a devastating stroke. He had to be emergency evacuated from the island via helicopter and placed in intensive care. We're happy to say that he's doing fine and expected to make a full recovery.

The same service for anyone else who has an accident while on vacation would run an estimated thirty-thousand dollars. The gentleman paid only 7.3% of the cost of his trip, and was reimbursed for all other related expenses. 7.3% of the cost of your trip for the peace of mind the service buys is trivial. It also covers so much more than emergency medical conditions; It protects your travel (whether the trip is canceled or interrupted), baggage loss/delay and personal effects, and travel accidents.

The moral of the story is, everyone always thinks "it can't happen to me", until it does.

Snorkeling in the Bahamas

If you plan on doing any snorkeling in the Bahamas, it pays to take a guided snorkel tour rather than just setting out on your own, especially in Grand Bahama as the best reefs are located off-shore. Home to white-sand beaches and crystal clear waters, Grand Bahama Island offers vacationers the opportunity to experience beautiful underwater vistas, but only if you know where to go. Pat & Diane are one of Grand Bahama's most reputable dive and snorkel operators, located conveniently next door to the Port Lucaya Yacht Club in Port Lucaya. Pat and Diane employ the best local guides in order to show you the treasures of this underwater paradise. The snorkel tours offered are suitable for novices and experienced snorkelers alike - just make sure that you take an underwater camera, to capture those memories!

For more details, visit their site at http://www.snorkelingbahamas.com - or ask when you sail onboard Discovery Sun.

In addition to snorkeling, the island is also host to fantastic bonefishing, diving, parasailing, and just about any other watersport you can imagine. Truly an ocean lover's dream.

Widgets

As part of our ongoing efforts to improve the Discovery Cruise Line website, we're currently investigating the use of widgets. For those of you unfamiliar, widgets act as client-side plugins which operate through your internet browser or right on your desktop as handy little tools. Some of the proposed ideas include Google maps of Grand Bahama Island, or a weather plugin to check the daily and extended forecasts.

If there's any other utility or functionality you'd like to see added to the website, drop us a line and let us know. Odds are there's a widget out there designed for just such a purpose!

Flamingo Bay 3rd Night Free

For the remainder of July and August the Flamingo Bay Yacht Club & Marina is offering travelers a 3rd night free when you book a Bahamas Vacation Package through Discovery. Located steps from beautiful Taino Beach and just a short ferry ride away from the Port Lucaya Marketplace and Isle of Capri Casino, the Flamingo Bay offers vacationers the convenience of having all the island's amenities right at your fingertips, all for an unbelievably low price.

Domain Change

The Sheraton at Our Lucaya and the Westin at Our Lucaya have extended their early booking promotions until the end of August. If luxurious beachfront hotels, fine dining, casino action and spas (at a price that can't be beat) sounds like type of vacation then look no further than either the Sheraton or Westin resorts.

In other news, DiscoveryCruise.com is scheduled to change domains to DiscoveryCruiseLine.com this September. Although a seemingly easy task, a lot of effort and preparation have gone into making the transition as smooth as possible. As always, if you have any suggestions for the new site (design changes, additions, etc.) feel free to drop us a line, and we'd be more than happy to take it into consideration!

Happy 4th of July

As I won't be in the office tomorrow to update, here's wishing you an early Happy 4th of July. Stay safe, don't re-light the duds, and don't combine (too much) alcohol with fireworks. If anyone has any exciting plans for over the holiday I'd love to hear them.

If you've received our one-day-only sale via e-blast, remember that the promotion has to be booked before midnight on July 4th, and you can travel any time now through August 31st.

4th of July One Day Sale

As a sneak peek to those who read the blog, I'm pleased to announce that on the 4th of July Discovery will be offering a $25 per person discount on the One Day Bahamas Party Cruise, expiring at midnight. The cruise comes with all the trimmings, including breakfast and lunch buffet on the way to Grand Bahama Island, and the seven course gourmet dinner on the return, and the promotion is valid for travel any time now through August 31st.

To book, just visit our special offers page at any hour on the 4th of July, and look for the one day only sale.

To Cruise or to Fly

For travelers wishing to visit Grand Bahama Island, the first step begins with the question, "Do I want to fly or cruise there?" When you're only concerned with getting to the island, it's easy to forget about all the added benefits to cruising instead of flying. Admittedly an airline is faster, but you're stuck in what's likely to be an uncomfortable little chair for the duration on your flight, with few (if any) meals, and if you're lucky an in-flight movie which premiered in theaters two or three years ago.

For less than the cost of a flight, you can instead opt to stretch your legs and enjoy spacious sundecks, a swimming pool, lounges and bars, and a disco. You can play games onboard for prizes or gamble in the casino at various slots and table games, and on the return trip you can enjoy a Las Vegas style show. Instead of a microwaved ambiguous meat or poultry dish, you can enjoy three lavish buffet meals of exceptional variety prepared daily.

Not much of a choice to make, is it?

Flamingo Bay 3rd Night Free

Just a little update, we're now offering the Flamingo Bay Resort at the unprecedented low price of $149.99* per person for a 4 day / 3 night vacation package.

The hotel is located at beautiful Taino Beach, and includes access to the Taino Beach Resort Pool with water-slide, jacuzzi, and swim-up bar. Activities at the resort include beach volleyball and tennis courts, as well as daily activities at the property itself. It makes for the perfect little weekend getaway, at a very affordable price.

Search Engine Optimization

It's an exciting time to be me.

On Monday June 15th I'll be attending Latin Search Engine Strategies expo, with various exhibitions and discussions on optimizing your company's search engine marketing efforts. With any luck we'll pick up a few useful tips and tricks along the way.

Also of note, I'm currently attending a web seminar (webinar, if you're in the know) on Google Analytics, a comprehensive tool for managing your pay-per-click campaign or just monitoring your website's traffic and usage.

Feels like I'm back in school - only a lot more fun :)

Gift Certificates

Not only do Discovery Cruise Line vacations make great trips for yourself, they make great presents for friends and loved ones as well. Virtually any of our Bahamas Party Cruise or Cruise & Stay Vacation Packages can be purchased as a gift and given in the form of certificates to a person of your choosing.

Want to give a relative a Bahamas vacation as a Christmas present, or send away a recent college graduate on a Grand Bahama Island getaway? Imagine their surprise when you present them with certificates for a fully-paid vacation to take at the time of their choosing.

Staying All-Inclusive

There's a certain special feeling you get whenever you stay at an all-inclusive resort. Knowing that you don't have to pay another penny out of pocket if you don't want to lets people really cut loose and enjoy their vacations. You get to eat and drink as much as you want, partake of any inclusive hotel activities at your leisure, and spend your vacation as worry-free as you'd like. Discovery Cruise Line currently offers all-inclusive packages with two resorts on the island.

The Viva Wyndham Resort sits on a beautiful white sand beach, and includes breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, as well as snacks and beverages (both alcoholic and non). Also included are all of the non-motorized watersports (windsurfing, kayaking, sailing, snorkeling, and an introductory dive lesson), as well as daily entertainment and shows staged by the resort's international staff.

The Sheraton at Our Lucaya is a beautiful beachfront resort with all the amenities; the hotel features the Isle of Capri casino right on the property, and is situated right across from the Port Lucaya Marketplace. The all-inclusive stay includes all of your meals and drinks (wine by the glass and well-brand alcohol), as well as the use of the non-motorized watersports. The hotel itself is in a class of its own, and takes tremendous care to cater to its' guests every need. If you're looking for top of the line, look no further than the Sheraton at Our Lucaya.

Swimming with Dolphins

Many Caribbean vacation hotspots offer you the chance to swim with the dolphins, and Grand Bahama Island is no exception. If you've never had a chance to swim with these amazing animals, it's definitely something to try at least once. Besides being in a completely different environment than you would with your typical household pet, getting up close with dolphins goes well beyond what you'd normally expect from any other animal; the dolphins are inquisitive and intelligent, and please crowds of all ages daily.

Fore more information, visit the UNEXSO Homepage.

Register to win

One of the tasks I manage here at Discovery Cruises is our Register to Win promotion. Each month we choose a winner to receive a certificate for a free Bahamas Party Cruise. The winner is chosen at random and has their free certificate mailed out to them. If you haven't done so already, registering only takes a few moments and enters you for a chance at a free Bahamas Party Cruise.

What to do in Grand Bahama

For those who plan on visiting the Bahamas, an often-overlooked way to add a little spice to your vacation is through the various island tours and excursions offered through Discovery. These packages cover a wide selection of activities and attractions such as snorkel trips, glass bottom boat tours, swimming with dolphins, kayak tours, or bonfire beach parties all at exceptional prices. It's easy to find the right package to suit anyone's taste and get the most out of your Grand Bahama vacation.

On a side note, do we have any visual basic programmers in the house who might be able to recommend any authoritative texts on the matter?

The Mondays

Looks like the weather is finally clearing up, hope everyone had a great weekend despite the rain. Originally I had planned to make it out to the beach and get some grilling done, but of course it wasn't until I was back in office that the sun decided to make its appearance. Hopefully some of you still have opportunity to make the most of the now-beautiful weather and enjoy some of the local entertainment South Florida has to offer.

Also, I'm pleased to report my passport has finally arrived, and none too soon. The whole process took 15 weeks, so I'd highly recommend getting it over and done with as soon as possible. While you can still travel on Discovery without a passport for now, we'll be requiring one for travel after 2008 along with all the other cruise lines. Essentially by next year a passport is going to be your only means of leaving the country, so the sooner you have yours in-hand, the better.

Pelican Bay at Lucaya

In my personal experience dealing with prospective clients over the phone, most people tend to fall into one of three categories when hunting down a vacation package; they tend to either want the best value for the money, the top of the line offering, or they're not sure what they're looking for at all. In the case of the latter, it often falls to me to do a little detective work to determine the clients' wants and needs, followed by making recommendations based on my own personal experience. This is the part of the job which often yields the most satisfaction. Nothing is more rewarding than having a client call you back after staying at a hotel you personally recommended and telling you how wonderful the experience was.

As such, I'd like to take the time to personally recommend the Pelican Bay hotel to any would-be travelers who are thinking of visiting Grand Bahama but aren't too familiar with the area. The property is best described as a European boutique hotel. It has a very elegant yet cozy feel to it, perfect for a weekend vacation with your sweetheart. Plus, there's the convenience of being right next door to the Port Lucaya Marketplace and the Isle of Capri casino, and right across from the ocean. Being in one of the most popular locations on the island, visitors to the hotel have all of the island's amenities right at their fingertips. The best part is the price; Discovery Cruise Line offers promotional fares almost year-round at the Pelican Bay. Consider giving it a shot the next time you want to get away to the Bahamas for a weekend.

Taking Fluffy to the Bahamas

I was recently asked what the requirements were for bringing pets into the Bahamas. Most passengers assume they can take their animals in and out of the country via cruise with ease, and are surprised when they learn there's a whole host of procedures and regulations to follow. The animals are required to have all their shot paperwork, and must be pre-approved by the Bahamian Department of Agriculture before boarding. They also require tickets (just like their owners), and a kennel to travel in. The kennels are kept in authorized-personnel-only areas of the ship.

Despite the amount of effort required, many passengers still travel with their pets. Though I'm not sure Fluffy gets quite as much out of the vacation as his human counterparts, it does however say a lot for the mentality that pets are "part of the family."

Also of interest today, we're looking at adding a basic search engine to the homepage which visitors can use to search the site for various topics of interest. The idea is to make it as easy as possible for people to find information about Discovery as quickly as possible, and I think a site search would aid greatly in the process. If you have any thoughts on this matter or on other potential website improvements, drop a comment and you'll be sure to get a response.

Free passes for kids to various South Florida / Bahamas attractions

In addition to cruising aboard Discovery, many travelers choose to complement their vacation package by frequenting some the local tourist attractions, both here in South Florida and in the Bahamas. Discovery is now offering families free admission for kids under 6 with the purchase of an adult ticket to some of the most popular attractions.

South Florida destinations include:
Butterfly World
Lion Country Safari
Mai-Kai Restaurant
Miami Seaquarium
Parrot Jungle Island

Bahamas destinations include:
Bahamian Getaway Island Tour
Glass Bottom Boat
Fantasia Snorkel Tour
Unexso's Dolphin Close Encounter

If you're looking to make the most of your vacation experience, bundling these various attractions with your Bahamas cruise is a great way to diversify your trip. This offer won't last long, so check it out before it's gone.
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Help us build a better site

If you've come this far, you've probably been through the Discovery Cruise Line website a few times in the process of finding out more about our services, and we'd love to hear your thoughts about the experience. Were there any parts of the site you disliked, whether it be layout, wording, a picture, or whatever? Were there any parts you particularly enjoyed? Things you'd like to see added?

Feel free to post your feedback, and when the next major site overhaul occurs, your input may directly affect the design process!

Got a friend? Take them to the Bahamas with you, for free.

Discovery Cruise Line is now offering a two for one promotion on a 3 day / 2 night stay at the Port Lucaya Resort & Yacht Club in Freeport, Bahamas. Starting from $149.98 for two, this package includes your round trip cruise (coach class) to and from the Bahamas, as well as two nights accommodations at the resort. A $25 per person Bahamian Departure Fee, $10 per person security fee, and hotel taxes additional.

The resort itself is situated right across from the beach, and next door to the Port Lucaya marketplace. For those unfamiliar with the area, Lucaya is one of the best locations for daytime water sports, Casino action, tours, shopping, bars, restaurants, and nightclubs. All that the island has to offer is within a minute's walk of the resort in any direction, all for a price that can't be beat. This promotion won't last long, so grab a friend and make your reservations today!

Bahamas Spring Break All Inclusive Getaway

The Viva Wyndham Fortuna, Grand Bahama's only all-inclusive vacation resort, has opened its doors for Spring Break with a phenomenal new special. For only $99.99* per person / per day, your stay at the hotel includes three meals daily plus snacks, beverages (alcoholic and non), an activities program, kids club, gym, and all non-motorized water sports.

Having been to several of the more popular hotspots in and around South Florida during spring break myself, it goes without saying that vacationing during March and April can get quite expensive. This promotion provides Spring Breakers an affordable opportunity to experience all the fun and excitement of the Bahamas, without the worry of paying for food and drinks as you go, or making sure you're in the right place at the right time to get in on all the fun; the hotel brings everything to your doorstep.

Please note: Spring Break passengers will be required to pay a $100.00 per person security deposit upon check in, redeemable upon completion of their stay (so don't wreck the place).

Bahamas Spring Break

Spring break is almost upon us, and if you've ever been to the Bahamas in late March / early April, you know that the party doesn't stop morning, noon or night. Grand Bahama Island is a favorite vacation hot spot for college kids, South Floridians and out-of-towners alike. As such, travelers can expect a variety of seasonal activities, contests, excursions, parties, and evening entertainment.

During your cruise Discovery will be handing out party beads and blowers via various on board contests and games, and passengers will have access to all the traditional amenities, such as the swimming pool, casino, bars, lounges, and entertainment. Also of note, the legal drinking age in the Bahamas is 18, as well as on board the cruise ship upon entering international waters.

Space is limited, so make your one day Bahamas Party Cruise reservations early!

$50 off on all vacation packages

Discovery Cruise Line is now offering $50 off per couple on all Cruise 'N Stay vacation packages when booked before January 31st, for travel through February 28th. Now that the holidays are over, the coming months offers travelers an unprecedented chance to enjoy the Bahamas at incredible fares.

These prices are unlikely to repeat until after spring break, so if you're thinking about visiting the Bahamas soon, now is the time to do it.

Happy Birthday

Discovery Cruise Line recently updated their website so that passengers wishing to book online can now take advantage of the birthday promotion.

For those of you unaware, Discovery Cruise Line offers a free Bahamas Party Cruise during the month of your birthday when accompanied by another full-fare adult. Previously, passengers had to call in for reservations as they were unable to book the promotion online, but thanks to our wonderfully talented IT department they now have the option.

If you are considering a Bahamas vacation but want to sample the Bahamas before committing to a longer stay, the one day Bahamas party cruise is an excellent way to familiarize yourself with some of the island's amenities.

No passports...yet

Just a quick update, as you may or may not have heard, the United States government has postponed the passport requirement for passengers cruising out of the country until January 1st 2008 (airlines still out of luck however). This works out favorably for passengers still hesitating to make the transition away from their birth certificate.

Regardless, my advice to any and all would-be travelers is to start getting those passport requests underway if you haven't already, as the deadline to it being an absolute requirement for travel in 2008 will be here before you know it.