Air Canada wins vote for Best In-Flight Services

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16: Those of you who have travelled through Newark on your Continental flights may have noticed it has started rebranding with the United Airlines logos. Phase two of the rebranding is set to begin in the first quarter of 2012. That will include using a single reservations system and the rebranding of all Continental areas with the new United look.

The rebranding will be rolled out at most of the major hubs in the first quarter of 2102 as the Continental brand will cease to exist after the merger.

Cruise from Bermuda

C Travel is offering several opportunities to board a cruise ship in Bermuda next year and sail away. The first one is a 10-night trip to Barcelona with stops in Morrocco and Madeira with rates starting at $1,152, The Oceania Cruise leaves Bermuda on March 22.

Other departure dates and lines include April 3 (Silver Cloud, $3,499 14-day to Monte Carlo), April 5 (Holland America’s Ms Ryndam $1,950 11-night to Europe), August 4 and 18 (Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas $964/$914 7-night to Caribbean/New Jersey).

Is it stealing?

On Cruisecritic.com there was a very wildly debated topic on whether or not it’s stealing to take all the little soaps and lotions, slippers, towels, robes, etc from your room at the end of the cruise?

One person found out that if they used the slippers, they were replaced and the cruise line threw the old ones away (he wants a pair of slippers someone else’s foot has been in?). So they kept taking the new slippers every day to give away as gifts to friends.

That to me would be stealing. Taking home the pair you’ve used all week is not stealing.

Same with the toiletries — if I’ve cracked the seal and used it, I don’t feel bad taking it (but even then I generally leave it behind), but I’m not going to scoop up all the unopened products just to take home with me.

I’d be interested in hearing where you draw the line… e-mail me at [email protected].

American Airlines

This month American Airlines has stopped many third party sites from keeping track of their air miles programme AAdvantage.

It’s been a bit inconvenient as I track all my mileage programmes through Awardwallet.com.

They’ve created a browser extension that will at least let me be able to look at my points through their site.

Best for business?

Air Canada has been voted by the readers of Business Traveler as offering the Best In-Flight Services in North America and the Best North American Airline for International Travel, the fourth consecutive year it has won these awards.

Earlier this month, Air Canada was honoured by another business travel magazine when Global Traveler named Air Canada the Best Airline in North America.

Hilton

Hilton is having a December Sale in which rooms are discounted up to 33 per cent. You have to book by January 1 and stay by January 8 at participating hotels and resorts.

You’ll also get 1,000 bonus Hilton HHonors points for any stay that is at least two nights. The shortened URL for this is http://bit.ly/vMq1L7.

Delta/Wyndham

The airline and hotel are partnering to offer up to 3,000 bonus SkyMiles for joining Wyndham’s rewards programme. Wyndham has 11 hotel brands including Ramada, Days Inn, Howard Johnson, Travelodge, Super 8 and Microtel, in which you can earn points for stays. For every two stays you will get 1,000 extra miles for up to 3,000 bonus points. The tiny URL for this promo is http://bit.ly/vYXBsi.