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.