Seabourn 60% Sale: Book February 9–16, 2009

If you've been dragging your feet booking your next Seabourn cruise, you may want to consider signing on the dotting line next week when the cruise line offers savings of up to 60 percent on a variety of 7- and 14-night 2009 sailings. Per person cruise fares start at $2,840.

The following itineraries are included in this promotion:

Seabourn Pride
March 18 Portugal Passage I—Fort Lauderdale to Lisbon 13 days
March 31 Grand Mediterranean—Lisbon to Athens (Piraeus) 14 days
April 14 Mediterranean Panorama—Athens (Piraeus) to Lisbon 14 days
May 12 Grand Harbors of Europe—Dover to Copenhagen 11 days
June 13 Norwegian Fjords—Round Trip Copenhagen 9 days
June 22 Scandinavia & Russia—Round Trip Copenhagen 12 days

Seabourn Spirit
June 20 or July 11 Italian Idyll—Venice to Rome (Civitavecchia) 7 days

Seabourn Legend
Apr 16 Iberian Spring—Lisbon to Barcelona 10 days
June 20 Cote d’ Azur & Spanish Isles—Monte Carlo to Barcelona 7 days
June 27 The Yachtsman’s Riviera—Barcelona to Monte Carlo 7 days
July 11 Sardinia, Corsica & Cote d’Azur—Rome (Civitavecchia) to Monte Carlo 7 days

Seabourn Odyssey
July 18 Aegean Odyssey—Istanbul to Athens (Piraeus) 7 days
July 25 Greece & Dalmatian Delights—Athens (Piraeus) to Venice 7 days

To learn more about the above-mentioned discounts, contact your travel agent or Seabourn at 1-800-929-9391. In order to snag the discount, you must book between February 9 and 16.

Photo courtesy of Seabourn.

Windstar to Sail the Canary Islands in November 2009

There is one silver lining to our current economic crisis: Cruise lines are starting to think more creatively and are offering deep discounts (Oceania Cruises), complimentary shore excursions (Regent Seven Seas), and new itineraries to entice all of us to book another vacation...soon.

Windstar Cruises just announced two new seven-night Canary Islands voyages that are sure to pique some interest with fans of the line who were getting bored with the repeating itineraries in the Caribbean, Costa Rica, and the Mediterranean.

Ten years ago, Windstar offered a similar adventure in this region. On November 14, 2009, and again on November 21,2009, Windstar's 148-passenger Wind Spirit motor-sail-yacht will call upon the following ports:

• Lisbon, Portugal
• At Sea
• Casablanca, Morocco
• At Sea
• Agadir, Morocco
• Lanzarote, Spain
• Las Palmas, Spain
• Santa Cruz De Tenerife, Spain

Double occupancy per person cruise fares start at $1,999.

These two voyages are expected to sell out so call your travel agent or Windstar (1-800-258-7245) for more information or to book a cruise.

Casablanca's Mosque Hassan II is pictured above. Photo courtesy of iStockphoto.

Jodhpur, Blue City

Next day we left Jaisalmer in the early morning and reached our next destination Jodhpur in the afternoon. We stayed for 1 night in this place. We could not not spend more time here due to the schedule we had sketched. Another extra half day would have really helped. (Click on the images for bigger view)

Once a major trade center of the 16th century A.D. it is now the second largest city of Rajasthan. While the graceful palaces, forts and temples strewn throughout the city bring alive the historic grandeur, exquisite handicrafts, folk dances music and the brightly attired people lend a romantic aura to the city. The jumble of wide winding streets are flanked with pavement stalls. It is also referred as the Blue City due to the indigo tinge of the whitewashed houses around the Mehrangarh Fort.

The major attractions in the city are given below:

Mehrangarh Fort

Mehrangarh Fort was built in 15th century by the Rathore Rajputs when they shifted their capital from nearby Mandore to Jodhpur. The architecture is such that, one can not separate the fort from bluff-colored sandstone hill on which it is constructed. Past the gates, the fort-palace takes one's breath away.

Situated on a steep hill, Mehrangarh Fort is one of the largest forts in India. To enter the fort, seven gates have to be crossed. The fort encloses many palaces, which are known for their intricate carvings and sprawling courtyards.

Jaswant Thada

The Jaswant Thada, is located on the long road that takes one to the fort. It is the traditional cremation ground of the rulers of Jodhpur.

Umaid Bhawan Palace

We reached this place at 6 p.m and the gates were closed for us. The snap here is from my friend. If one wishes to visit this place be here before 5 p.m. After 5 p.m the gates are closed for visitors and they are allowed nowhere near the gates.

From Jodhpur we traveled to Ranakpur, the temple town of Rajasthan.

Distance: Jodhpur ---> Ranakpur 180 kms

P.S: December is the month when lot of tourists land in Rajasthan. So if you really want all the arrangements to be done properly this has to be done before October end.