Saturday 2 November 2013

SomeI Interesting Travel Abbreviations

Newsletter - Nov.  2013
Vol. 2,  Issue #6

        Travel & Cruise News and Items of Interest
               A Newsletter from Rosswin Travel, Courtenay, Vancouver Island, BC
                       Business Opportunity: http://rosswintravelthecomoxvalley.blogspot.ca
                       A Pictorial View of the Comox Valley Blog:  http://bit.ly/XPqzmz

 The M.V. Francis Barkley
Contents
October Notes 
Some interesting Travel Abbreviations
International Phonetic Alphabet 
Artist of the Month
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October Notes

Another month is over and the older I get the faster the time goes. Now that November is here we can expect to see the Christmas decorations being displayed in the store windows,    Talking about Christmas have you thought of taking a River Boat cruise to celebrate the Christmas holidays in Europe. Check out your favourite river boat cruise company and see the wonderful holiday cruise's that they offer. 

Earlier this month we went to Port Alberni, BC, and took the M.V. Frances Barkley, a work boat, from Port Alberni to Bamfield and spent what was a beautiful calm day,  seeing the scenery, a couple of bears, seal lions but no whales sorry to say. Also stopped at several settlements along the coast to deliver supplies and pick up or discharge passenger’s.  
The Francis Barkley was built in 1958 Stavangr, Norway and was first named the M. S. Rennesoy  and later renamed the M. S. Hidle. She is able to carry up to 200 passengers and 100 tons of Cargo. Specifications for the Frances Barkley are an overall length of 128 feet, a beam of 24 feet and a draft of 9.5 feet. She is powered by a 400 horse power 8 cylinder Bergen Diesel which turns at 450 r.p.m. and provides a service speed of 11 knots burning 18 gallons of diesel per hour.. The story of how the ship came to be called the Frances Barkley and arrive in Port Alberni in 1990 is quite interesting as is the story of Frances Barkley, a young English women who married Capt. William Charles Barkley in 1786.  Check out the following websites.
http://www.abcbookworld.com/view_author.php?id=3313
http://www.ladyrosemarine.com (see section on the M.V. Frances Barkley)

We were at a Travel Show in Vancouver last week, put on by Vacation.com called “Take the Lead”. There were about 200 or more travel agents attending and we were treated like dignitaries. Good training, a good selection of suppliers and the snacks and meal (BC Salmon) were delicious. This show was held in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver. Along with the training we also had Comedian/Motivational Speaker Judy Croon entertain us. A Thank You to Vacation.com and the sponsors for a great day.  

Don’t forget to book your 2014 cruises if you are thinking of taking a cruise next year, Some cabin catagories on some of the ships are already fully booked but they might be able to put you on a guarantee, which means that you will be placed in a cabin of their choice, not yours. At least you would have a good chance of a booking on the ship, and you might even get an upgrade.

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Some Pictures of our trip to Bamfield, BC
 Homes on one of our stops

 Cargo being unloaded on dock

 Eagles Nest in tree

 Bamfield Inn, once a lovely old home 


 Post Office building at Kildonan
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Some interesting Travel Abbreviations

ABC tour. A playful term for a guided tour that crams in too many historical monuments. The “ABC” stands for “another bloody church.”
back to back ticketing. A strategy used to reduce the cost of a round trip involving no Saturday stay when the cost of two excursions is less than the cost of one unrestricted fare. For example, if a traveler wants to fly from New York to Denver on Monday and return Thursday, he would purchase two excursions, one from New York to Denver beginning on the Monday and the other from Denver to New York departing on the Thursday. The traveler then uses only the outbound portion of each excursion. The itinerary can be designed in such a way that the return portions of each excursion can be used on another trip. A technically illegal practice discouraged by the airlines. Also called "nested excursions."

blackout dates, blackout periods. Dates on which tickets or certain fares are not available. Blackout dates usually coincide with holidays and peak travel seasons.
checkpoint bag. A briefcase or other carry-on item of luggage that has been designed to allow laptop computers to pass through security checkpoints and x-ray machines without having to be removed from the bag.
circle trip minimum. The lowest allowable fare for a circle trip, which cannot be less than any round trip fare between any two cities on the itinerary.
conditional fare. A fare that guarantees passage on the next available flight if the flight for which the ticket was purchased is full.
denied boarding compensation. Payment given passengers who've been bumped from a flight, cruise, or land-tour. May be a free trip, money, or accommodations.
electronic ticketing. A computerized system used by airlines in which no physical ticket or boarding pass is generated.
fare break point. The destination where a given fare ends. Example: The fare break point for a passenger flying from Washington DC to Kansas City via Cleveland is Kansas City.
feeder airline. An air carrier that services a local market and "feeds" traffic to the national and international carriers.
gateway city. 1. A city that serves as a departure or arrival point for international flights. 2. A city that serves as an airline's entry or departure point to or from a country.
guarantee. 1. n. An assurance that a product or service will be provided at an agreed-upon time and/or meet stated specifications, often with a promise that the purchaser will be reimbursed if the product or service fails to meet the guarantee. 2. v. To answer for a product or service meeting agreed-upon conditions. 3. v. To pay for a guarantee of product or service performance.
hub-and-spoke. adj. A system many airlines have adopted to maximize the amount of time their planes spend in the air, thus making money for them. They designate certain cities as hubs, schedule many flights to them, and offer connecting flights from the hubs to smaller cities, which can be served by smaller aircraft.
International Date Line. 180 degrees of longitude. The date is different on either side of this imaginary line located in the Pacific Ocean.
repositioning. The act of moving a vessel, such as a cruise ship, from one area to another, usually at a specific time of year, to maximize efficiency of use. See also positioning.
seat mile. One airline seat flown one mile; a metric used to measure performance standards, for example, revenue or expenses per available seat mile. In Europe, usually expressed as "seat kilometer." See also available seat miles.
tender. A small boat used to supply a larger vessel. A boat used to ferry passengers between a cruise ship and the shore.
through passenger. Any passenger who is not disembarking at a particular stop.
vacation hangover. The letdown or exhaustion that follows a holiday trip.
wait list, waitlist. 1. n. A roster of names of those wishing passage on a full flight or other trip, usually honored in order in case of cancellations. 2. n. A group of people waiting for cancellations. 3. v. To place someone on such a list.

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International Phonetic Alphabet 

Did you often wonder about the alphabet the travel agents use??
The International Civil Aviation Organization's alphabet is an international phonetic alphabet used by pilots, air traffic controllers and customer service agents in the airline industry including the travel agents.
In the world of aviation, there is a different way of learning your ABC's. The ICAO Alphabet is not only used by the military, but also by airline employees. It is a great way to make sure you are understood (since a B, P, T, and V sound hauntingly similar when spoken), and an appropriate introduction to airline lingo.

  • A - Alpha
  • B - Bravo
  • C - Charlie
  • D - Delta
  • E - Echo
  • F - Foxtrot
  • G - Golf
  • H - Hotel
  • I - India
  • J - Juliet
  • K - Kilo
  • L - Lima
  • M - Mike
  • N - November
  • O - Oscar
  • P - Papa
  • Q - Quebec
  • R - Romeo
  • S - Sierra
  • T - Tango
  • U - Uniform
  • V - Victor
  • W - Whiskey
  • X - X-ray
  • Y - Yankee
  • Z - Zulu
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Artist of the Month

Debbie Salmon
Debbie Salmon graduated from Kwantlen College with a diploma in Graphic & Communications, and has taken fine art lessons at the University of Concordia, Montreal, as well as privately. She began her art career at a textile company in Burnaby where she made logos and drew caricatures to be silkscreened on t-shirts, caps and jackets and sometimes sports bags. Three years later, Debbie accepted a job as a creative ad designer at one of the large newspaper chains in Vancouver. She enjoys the creative work and seeking new ideas to make ads look special but her true passion is to sketch and paint. Debbie also freelanced her skills by drawing illustrations which she sold to a high quality clothing company in Gastown to be silkscreened on their clothing. Her artistic talent became known at an early age; her mother still has the picture that Debbie’s kindergarten teacher was most impressed with. Debbie Salmon has lived in the Comox Valley since 1992. She has painted in oils and acrylics for over twenty-five years and is diverse in both subject and media. She focuses her energy on what is most important to her – inner peace – through her paintings and in everyday life. Her subjects are carefully chosen: she looks for both a challenge and inspiration. She says she never stops learning, just as in life itself. “Art and life is a masterpiece”.
 Seascape
Artist's Comments: Chrome Island is just off the southern tip of Denman Island in Georgia Strait, and about a mile east of Vancouver Island near Deep Bay.

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I will be glad of any comments or corrections or if you wish  to  see something that is of interest to you please let me know. Thanks, Rhoda

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Rosswin Travel,  
1 250-338-6334 / 1 866-517-2113
e-mail: rosswin@shaw.ca
420 Harmston Ave, Courtenay, BC, V9N 2X2
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