Travel Maven Blog ...... David Molyneaux posts from TheTravelMavens.com

Bidding for travel bargains at SATW

If you like to travel and bid for bargains, the annual auction by the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) is a fun two-fer.

This year's auction is up, online, with bidding until 10 p.m. MDT on Friday, November 20.

Top items range from cruises on the Royal Clipper from Barbados and on Maine Windjammer's Stephen Taber, to a Germany getaway with roundtrip tickets on Air Berlin and four nights for two persons at hotels in Berlin and Dresden.

At SatwAuction, you will find deals on goods, hotels, resort and vacation packages in the U.S., Canada and abroad. Values of donated items range from $50 to $3,962.

Honors for Texas, Maine, Oregon, Virginia, Florida

Efforts to restore and conserve five important natural and historic sites in Virginia, Florida, Texas, Oregon and Maine are honored this year with Phoenix Awards from the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW).

The annual awards, given since 1969, are to recognize individuals or organizations actively involved in conservation, preservation, beautification and anti-pollution campaigns that further the growth and appeal of North American travel destinations.

Here's a list of the five Phoenix Award winners and why they won. Thanks to Rich Grant of VisitDenver for providing the list of award winners.

Cruise passengers bob in the Atlantic

News from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean: Passengers on a trans-Atlantic cruise aboard the SeaDream II jumped overboard for a dip last week.

The 56-passenger cruise ship, one of two luxury vessels owned by SeaDream Yacht Club, was on a route from Spain to Puerto Rico.

Passengers said they wanted to swim, said SeaDream II’s Captain Terje Willasen.

 "At dawn on Thursday October 15, I knew that this was the day. The seas were as still as a pond,” said Willsen.

At latitude 26 degrees, 28 minutes, longitude 39 degrees 40 minutes, 958 nautical miles from the Azores and 1541 nautical miles from San Juan, a group of passengers slipped into the ocean from the ship’s special stern Marina and bobbed about in the sea, before continuing their journey to San Juan.

SeaDream calls its two small ships mega yachts. Information from SeaDream.com

Culinary excellence on Celebrity Equinox

One of this year’s sleekest new cruise ships stakes its reputation on style and food.

Celebrity Equinox, second of five new ships planned by Celebrity Cruises, poses the question: Can a big ship provide service and dining that is equal to a vacation on land?

So far, the answer is yes. Reviews have been solidly positive for the Celebrity Solstice, which debuted last year, and its twin sister, Celebrity Equinox, which began cruising in Europe late July and will be in the Caribbean out of South Florida this winter.

Both ships sport a sophisticated contemporary design, fine art collections, and a group of specialty restaurants that have drawn raves from critics and passengers. 

See: Cruising on the Celebrity Equinox at TheTravelMavens.com

Above, mother and daughter from Surrey, England, snuggle in a tented nook on the Celebrity Equinox. 

National Geographic Traveler tops in travel

Newspapers, magazines, Web sites, blogs, writers and photographers win awards in annual Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition

National Geographic Traveler wins two gold awards -- for its magazine and its Web site -- in the 2009 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition.

Among other winners announced today in Guadalajara, Mexico, sister magazine, National Geographic Adventure, takes top honors in photography and adventure writing. For the third year in a row, the Los Angeles Times earned the gold for the best Newspaper Travel Section among those with circulation above 350,000. The Boston Globe led all publications with the highest total of five awards, three silver and two bronze.

Travel Journalist of the Year is Joe Ray, a globetrotting freelance writer-photographer who is a regular correspondent for the Boston Globe. Judges cited his skill and efficiency in portraying the adventure of travel.

Bob Howells, a freelance writer cited for his focus on nature-oriented travel, wins the silver award as runner up. 

The bronze goes to Dave G. Houser, a freelance writer-photographer lauded for exceptional storytelling and reporting. Houser's work appears on TheTravelMavens.com web site.  

The annual awards ceremony is one of my favorite moments of the year, as I love to give away money -- this year more than $20,000 to North America's best travel journalists.

Judges comments and all the winners