“Who shall….” are two of the most powerful words we speak this time of year and the wonderment, curiosity and awe of it all is one of the many things that makes our faith so powerful. What will the New Year bring to me and you?

One of the joys of life is our ability and interest to travel; to see other places where life is different. Sometimes its to visit friends in another city. Sometimes its to wander among a crowd of people who’s way of life is different from ours. Sometimes its to see the sites and sounds of a place we’d only dreamed of being a part of through books, television and stories from others who had been. And sometimes, its just to get away; to break the routine of life and relax the way our bodies & minds crave.

With dozens of new travel sites appearting every year, its hard to keep track of which ones really deliver. Based on research by a renowned magazine and travel guru, here are some samples revealing recommended websites designed to help you save money, travel smarter and enjoy your journeys more:

-Booking Hotels in the US and Europe: http://www.hotels.com/ (for delivering the best combination of low rates and functionality)
-Currency Conversion: http://www.xe.com/ (for its simple design and easy navigation)
-Rental Cars in the US: http://www.travelocity.com/ (for its various tools allowing you to quickly discern your options, being user friendly, and for its many lower rates as compared to other travel search engines)
-Travel Safety: http://www.travel.state.gov/ (for providing updates on travel warnings and clearances…often information that the tourism boards don’t fully divulge)
-Airport and Flight Information: http://www.faa.gov/ (for providing information about delays that the airlines won’t)
-Searching for Airline Tickets: http://www.kayak.com/ (for making quick work of leading you to websites that offer the lowest prices)
-Jewish Singles Vacations: https://amazingjourneys.net/ (just had to throw this one in. If you’re Jewish and single these are the BEST vacation options for you. They are, in fact, “vacations that could change your life!”)

When Mitchell Berns found out Delta canceled his flight due to weather (which meant no refund) he looked at the forecast and found that the cancellation was based on bad weather that would hit … five hours after his flight was to land.

The renewal of an alliance between two prominent cruise industry over-see-ers illustrates a strong affirmation to that question. The collaberation of these two organizations are set to address, among other key considerations, the priority issues of wastewater managment, ramifications of climate change and destination stewardship. This alliance will work together to:

• increase awareness and provide information and advice regarding ways to minimize the cruise lines’ greenhouse gas footprint.
• implement good practice standards and training tools for shore excursions
• support conservation projects in key cruise destinations
• raise awareness and support for conservation issues
• develop a rapid assessment tool for measuring changes in destinations over time

Creating an environmentally friendly cruise experience is complicated, but this premise has come a long way since the industry’s inception into the luxury travel market. The cruise experience, after all, involves lodging as well as transportation in a self-contained system. All forms of waste–and there a number of different forms ranging from sewage to solids (cans, bottles, etc) and hazardous (i.e. cleaning chemicals)–must be handled differently and follow regulations by the EPA and US Coast Guard.

While most of the major cruise lines comply to far above the minimum requirements, Celebrity cruises is a top notch leader on the seas. In 2002 Celebrity was awarded the top national honor for marine environmental protection given by the US Coast Guard. The cruise line actually hired a position on each of its ships to manage compliance with the international and US environmental regulations. This person is a senior manager with the responsibility to assist, teach and audit all shipboard personnel.

From recycling programs, to data-gathering devices, to awareness of reducing energy and fuel consumption, to a project that is currently under a feasibility evaluation to determine if a “sea water scrubber system” could reduce engine emissions while then being recycled back into the ocean….the cruise industry is laboriously dedicated to sailing the deep blue sea in the green.