Vegas Has You Covered

Iberostar Beach Reconstruction Riviera Maya

Once again the Riviera Maya shines as the beach restoration continues. These photos taken the week of February 1, 2010, show a wonderfully restored beach in front of the all inclusive Iberostar Tucan/Quetzal. This Iberostar is near the Playacar resort area of Playa Del Carmen south of the Cancun airport. I'm so glad the beauty of this area's beaches is back for the spring and summer travelers.

Online Social Media

I enjoy my computer. Where else can I visit travel expos, research luxury resorts, and FACEBOOK. Now I have a "business" reason to spend time networking on FB. Today we launched Cowboy Way Travel's page on Facebook.com

Our office is excited with the possibilities of online social media. Providing useful information to our clients has always been a priority. Now we can do it with a few mouse clicks.

Cowboy Way Travel wants you to help us keep each other informed with the latest news from the places you go. Let me know if you found a fabulous new restaurant, club or some off the wall adventure you what others to know about.

Help us with your photos and stories. FB is all about personal contact so post up those fun times. You can email me your news and I'll post it for you. Remember PG only (somethings are better kept private).

Can't wait to see what you send me!

Fabulous Values at Karisma Resorts

Combine one of the most spectacular destinations(Riviera Maya) in the world with a desire to provide the most unique vacation experience, and you have arrived at one of the Gourmet Inclusive resorts by Karisma. The Gourmet Inclusive commences with a refreshing towel and a welcome glass of champagne as you arrive. Gourmet Inclusive is a hospitality innovation which creates an unrushed environment whose goal is togetherness for couples and families.

Services and amenities at these 5 Star resorts include swim-up rooms, infinity ledge personal pools, beach beds, 24 hour in suite dining, beachfront sky massages and so much more. My personal favorite is the beach butler concept. YOUR butler comes to your shaded, plush beach bed with spritzes of Evian water, sunscreen, a new magazine and a beverage of your choice! Why would you ever go home?! Think of these resorts as 5 star food and service with no bill when you leave.

El Dorado Resorts has thought of everything. You can have a private candlelit dinner on the beach, sample artisans' Tequilas off the frozen bar top, and enjoy a chocolate fountain at breakfast. For a truly unique experience they will prepare you a private beach bed to sleep seaside.

To make these sweet options even sweeter, Karisma is offering unlimited $40 upgrade. Upgrade your room as many times as you wish for $40 per upgrade. Every time you upgrade you receive wonderful extras such as a couples massage and beach dining.

During our recent trip to the El Doradao Royale we saw several weddings. Each bride has a personal wedding coordinator that works with her before her arrival to the resort. Every detail is perfect. The new "All About the Bride" promotions allows the bride to earn a free wedding and resort credit.

I just completed my Gourmet Inclusive specialist program with Karisma. So if you want to have unforgetable vacation memories just contact me!

My Great, Great, Great Grand something

I have always been fascinated with history. Maybe that's why I love to travel, to learn about places and people that have come before me. Last weekend I was introduced to a whole new addiction or should I say obsessive compulsion, Ancestry.com. I can't stop looking at the multitude of history that keeps unveiling it's self for me. I have learned about Captain John Floyd during the Revolutionary War, John Rowland of the Jamestown, Virginia, settlers and supposedly European Royalty ( way, way, way back in time). And a couple of unsavory characters thrown in to keep us humble.

I must not be alone in my quest. Many American families can trace at least part of their ancestry to Great Britain and at some point come to the question "how can I find my family heritage. Companies like Ancestral Scotland have information on finding your heritage. There are even suggested itineraries for the various clans. Mine is clan Bruce. These trips are well thought out to include places that played key roles in the clans past as well as fun for the whole family.

On the 25th and 26th July 2009 Edinburgh will witness one of the largest clan gatherings in history. Holyrood Park will host a magnificent Highland Games and Scottish Festival over the two days, then on the Saturday evening Clan members will parade up the historic Royal Mile and take their seats on the castle esplanade for a spectacular Clan Pageant The Gathering 2009 is going to amazing time to visit the British Isles.

This year airfare to Europe is a great buy and accommodations are available. Time to visit the "cousins".

Have Fun, Play with Carnival's Fish

Carnival Cruise Line just came out with one of the coolest concepts that I am thrilled to share with you. If you are near one of these locations, I suggest you go check it out soon! Details in an excerpt from the latest press release…
“Carnival Cruise Lines is introducing huge interactive computer-animated aquariums in six different U.S. cities this week, including Baltimore, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York and Washington D.C. The aquariums, which are located in vacant storefront spaces in high traffic pedestrian areas, are designed to engage passersby in a fun, spontaneous and highly entertaining interactive experience courtesy of the world’s most popular cruise line.











The Carnival-branded aquariums were created using computer vision technology, flash animation and mobile gaming software. They feature a variety of highly-stylized fish and plant life. Consumers can interact with the aquariums both via motion reactivity and mobile phone interactivity. As pedestrians walk by, the vibrant undersea universe reacts with plant life swaying, water and bubbles moving and fish darting around in response to the human motion.
Signage invites passersby to dial a number on their cell phones to create their own, personalized fish. By making various sounds into their phones, consumers can customize their fish and then, using their keypad, swim them around the tank. By steering the fish to food, the custom creatures continue to morph in shape and size and do a variety of other fun and surprising things.



The aquariums also feature a mechanism that enables people to come back later and, using the same cell phone, retrieve their customized fish. Once finished with the interaction, consumers receive a text message inviting them to visit carnival.com/funville for additional fun activities and information.”

The interactive aquariums will be in place in each city through the end of April. Exact locations by city are listed below:

Baltimore – 111 S. Calvert St.
Dallas – 1933 Elm St.
Houston – 312 Main St.
Los Angeles – 7901 Melrose Ave.
New York – 100 Park Ave.
Washington D.C. – 908 F St. NW

Photos By: Ryan Habbyshaw

Funjet Vacations 2009 Product Launch

Last night I attended the 2009 Product launch for Funjet Vacations in Grand Prairie Tx. You know the trade show drill; sign in, shake hands, pickup stuff, schmooze, etc. This time I felt different, I felt important. As I entered the building I was greeted by my Funjet Rep Pam. She's great at fixing little and not so little problems that happen to my clients during vacations. Next I'm greeted by Greg Ludwig one of the important people with Funjet. Greg was my host during the Las Vegas Ultimate give away. (see my very first post). Cowboy Way Travel is a Rising Star member of Funjet's 500 Club so I received my very special VIP button and ribbon.

As I work my way through the crowd I see many familiar faces both agents from past trips and hotel and tour reps. It amazes me when people you only see once or twice a year recognize me. I try to stay in contact with my preferred hotel people but we don't always get face to face time. The most important thing I can do for my clients is having good business relationships with these reps.

Funjet has some amazing new technology for agents. Here is a link from my website that you can book 24/7 with my special pricing; http://www.funjet.com/index.asp?plCode=45504992 Wow I'm open 24 hours a day! Many of the best resorts are giving very generous upgrades for little or no extra money. E-brochures are the wave of the future http://www.funjetbrochure.com/. This is one of the new ways travel is going green. More about this in the future.

In coming weeks you will be seeing guest columns from my resort friends. We are going to have all of the inside scoop on cool! Oh Yeah!