Disney has added a honeymoon registry to its suite of online services. As with other similar services, Disney’s Honeymoon Registry to register for vacations that friends and family can contribute money towards in lieu of tangible wedding gifts. The registry includes vacations at Disney resorts and on Disney cruises.

And another one bites the dust. Or should be say, another one bites the trans-fat free pastries, buns, cheeses and dessert icings. Those are the food items Carnival Cruises plans to take trans-fat free in 2007. The cruise line already removed trans-fats from its other menu items beginning in 2005.

Carnival Leads the Cruise Industry in Trans Fat Free Cuisine

No more trans-fats aboard Crystal Cruises, effectively immediately. The luxury cruise line announced the ban today, saying its chefs have removed all trans-fats from their kitchens. Instead, alternatives like pumpkin seed, walnut seed, corn and olive oils are being used in everything from French fries to salad dressings.

Sidestep - our illustrious parent company - just rolled out its brand spankin’ new 2007 Cruise Planner, which you can just think of as a one-stop travel shop for cruises to and through destinations around the world.

You’ll also find a whole section devoted to the latest cruise deals.

And one more thing - if you find your cruise vacation by searching Sidestep, you won’t have to pay the $19.95 processing fee usually associated with booking.

The deadline for new passport rules is fast approaching - the hammer drops on Jan. 23, 2007. Even if you’re not planning on leaving the country in the next few months, having a passport just makes good sense. Just so you have all the relevant passport information you need at your fingertips in one happy little post, behold the TravelPost.com Insider’s tutorial on passport procurement:

Step 1: Cut a hole in the box.

Step 2: Read Passport Rules in a Nutshell on the TravelPost.com Insider

Step 3: Read the TravelPost.com Insider’s How to Get a Passport

Step 4: Get yourself to an official Passport Application Location and get started.

Confused about the new passport rules taking effect later this month? Here’s the bottom line, excerpted from MSNBC.com columnist Rob Lovitt’s Passport Rules Get More Confusing:

Barring additional changes, it breaks down like this: If you’re planning on visiting Mexico or the Caribbean and traveling by air, you will need a passport to get back into the U.S. beginning January 23. If you’re traveling by land or sea, however, you can go without until at least 2008. In other words, if you’re cruising to Cozumel, bon voyage; if you’re flying to Barbados without a passport, you may experience a few bumps on the flight back home.

If you’ve been thinking about taking a cruise this year, now might be the best time to find a good deal, according to Consumer Reports story Cruise Lines Cut Prices to Boost Business.

Cruise sales have been slow this winter - according to the story, the new passport rules and unseasonably warm winter weather have been the culprits, but I think there’s an added component - the dreaded norovirus, which has struck at least two major cruise ships in the last month or two.

Bargain prices certainly won’t last, so this is a sooner rather than later sort of trend to take advantage of. Cruise lines aren’t the only ones offering the deals. Travelocity’s Cruise Super Sale boasts discounts and onboard credits on every cruise line in its inventory through Feb. 15, 2007.

Another cruise ship has been plagued by an outbreak of norovirus, the AP reports in Nearly 400 Sick on World’s Largest Cruise Ship. During last month’s highly publicized outbreak, we offered up travelers’ health tips in Sick on Vacation? In light of the latest onslaught of viral stomach flu, I thought it might be a good time to remind readers about simple ways they can protect themselves against illness while on vacation.

The people have spoken. At least 6,800 of them have. That’s the number of respondants in J.D. Power’s 2006 Independent Travel Web Site Satisfaction Study, released today. The report ranks 8 major online travel sites according to customer satisfaction in six areas: competitiveness of price, ease of booking, usefulness of information on the web site, availability of booking options/travel packages, appearance/design of web site and ease of navigation. And, the winners are (drumroll, please):

2006 Independent Travel Web Site Satisfaction Study

Instead of kicking off your holiday shopping with a visit to the local mall, you might want to head to the nearest post office instead and start filling out your passport application. On January 23, 2007, the Department of Homeland Security will begin requiring all people enterting the U.S. to show passports - even U.S. citizens and those visiting from Canada, Bermuda and Mexico.

Want more info on how to get your passport? Check out the TravelPost.com Insider’s How to Get a Passport.