reefman

i booked a trip in nov for this coming october, MIA-MNL using star alliance miles(i realize the original post dealt with upgrades which i haven't tried using overseas). i visited the star alliance website, found flights, called US AIRWAYS/dividend miles program(my primary US airline and star alliance member)and after about 15 minutes on the phone with a us airways rep, i redeemed 120,000 miles for a buisness class ticket. luftansa(A380), mia to frankfurt and singapore airlines(A380)frankfurt to singapore then on to manila(B777). the return, same airlines, route and aircraft. no issues whatsoever and the flights were wide open(almost all seats were available for my selection in buisness class including those on the singapore airline segments and were booked in those 15 minutes). never directly spoke with anyone from luftansa or singapore air. efficent and hassel free, i thought,,,,,,,,, reefman key largo

eric, i couldn't agree more! i'm the snorkeler(i had already burned a cylinder and decided to get back in the water when the oceanics showed up)(frink charter) in question, captured in the terrific dennis liberson photo(while on scuba). an identical reaction from another oceanic occurred 2 days later while snorkeling with a pod of dolphins. i plan on purchasing a pair of black cressis prior to our next excursion to the southern red sea,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,phil reefman key largo

thought everyone might enjoy this photo of me snorkeling with oceanic whitetips(3) @ elphinstone reef in the red sea. the trip aboard the mv hurricane was terrific(simply the best itinerary). to say the whitetips we encountered were bold and curious is an understatement! the shark in the picture was kicked with my cressi's 3 times before he wandered off! 3 days later, while snorkeling with a pod of dolphins @ daedelus island, i again had to push another whitetip away with my fins!! this behavior was not encountered by any of our group while on scuba(yes, i was the only one foolish enough to return to the water and snorkel after my dive!!). we were told that many of the southern red sea liveaboards are now banning snorkeling due to the aggressive behavior of the oceanic whitetips(a female snorkeler was bitten a few weeks prior to our trip)!! many thanxs to stephen frink, our trip leader, and dennis liberson for the fantastic photo!! http://stephenfrink.blogspot.com/2008/07/yum-yum-yellow.html phil key largo