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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, May 20, 2007

Sail the seas with The Mouse

Advertiser Staff

Disney Cruise Line, which has had considerable success with family-oriented cruises, will expand its line by two ships: Disney Magic and Disney Wonder, coming on line in 2011 and 2012, respectively. The ships are under construction now and itineraries have not yet been announced, but Disney, which had previously concentrated on 3- 4- and 7-night Caribbean cruises, has been making more forays east and west, with Mediterranean and West Coast ventures. The new ships will resemble the rest of the Disney fleet, which are a modern interpretation of the classic ocean liners of the 1930s, done up in Mickey Mouse black, white, red and yellow. The line specializes in "immersive" Disney experiences — as though you'd gone to sea in Disneyland.

LUGGAGE

LET SOMEONE ELSE SCHLEPP BAGS

Most would agree that the worst part of any trip is dealing with luggage: wrangling it in and out of cars, hefting it up and down stairs, keeping track of it, waiting for it to come banging down the luggage carousel. A company called Luggage Concierge takes this hassle out of your trip by picking up your bags at your home and delivering them to whatever site you specify via UPS, and it offers insurance to assure that your bags are protected. The service isn't inexpensive: sending a single, 55-pound average-size upright bag from here to San Francisco would cost $117.55 one-way.

NEW ORLEANS

BIG EASY IS BACK, ZAGAT REPORTS

Zagat Survey has released its first New Orleans guidebook since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in August 2005. The 2007 Best of New Orleans survey includes a total of 531 locations (including 390 restaurants, 94 night spots, 29 tourist attractions and 18 hotels) was is based on the shared experienced of 3,637 visitors.

Most of the city's major restaurants are back in business, including Antoine's, Bayona, Brennan's, Brightsen's, Cafe du Monde, Commander's Palace, Emeril's, Galatoire's, K-Paul and NOLA. Surveyors gave top food rankings, in this order, to August, Brigtsen's, Bayona, Stella!, Alberta, Cufee, La Provence, Mosca's, Vizard's on the Avenue and Jacques-Imo's.

TOP 10

ARTSY CITIES

The top mid-sized cities — 100,000 to 499,999 — for art, from AmericanStyle magazine (with 2006 ranking in parentheses):

1. Pittsburgh (3)

2. Albuquerque (2)

3. Las Vegas (18)

4. Scottsdale, Ariz. (4)

5. Atlanta (8)

6. New Orleans (5)

7. Honolulu*

8. Miami (11)

9. Tucson, Ariz.*

10. Savannah, Ga. (6)

*Not in top 25 in 2006

— Chicago Tribune