What a great time to travel overseas. Facing as much as 50% capacity, and further dwindling tourist income, cruise lines, hotels and air carriers worldwide are offering bargain basement prices that are becoming ever-so attractive to even the most budget-minded travelers.
The economic instability has meant a wild ride for the cruise industry that has resulted in some jaw-dropping prices for consumers.

“The pricing wasn’t as low as post-9/11, but it was pretty close,” says Tom Baker of CruiseCenter in Houston.

Here are the trends to watch.

Low fares

When the economy took a turn, cruise lines started lowering fares to lure travelers back, say the experts. “You can cruise for the cheapest prices I’ve ever seen in my life in many cases,” says Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor-in-chief of the popular cruise Web site Cruise Critic.com.

Even better: Brown says in many cases travelers can cruise on newer, more luxurious ships for almost the same fares that used to apply only on older ships. For example, she said she’s seen seven-day Caribbean cruises as low as $249 – but the same cruise on a new ship for just $299.

And how about hotels? Brace yourself. Major hotel chains are offering some of the best deals in years as they try to convince more travelers to visit them. Five-star luxury is on sale for a whole lot less.

At some of the nation’s nicest hotels, it’s the summer of the discount.

“So, now customers can afford to stay in a four-star property or five-star property where they may not have been able to afford that before,” Noreen Henry with travelocity said.

Hotel owners are trying to lure travelers back as they said the economy starts to recover. You’ll find some of the biggest discounts, in big cities, where hotel prices were sky high last summer. According to travelocity, prices this year are often 30-50 percent less than a year ago.

If you need a vacation, summer is on sale at hotels all across the country. Major hotel chains are offering some of the best deals in years as they try to convince more travelers to visit them.

Five-star luxury is on sale for a whole lot less. At some of the nation’s nicest hotels, it’s the summer of the discount.

And, while airlines wing it on reduced airfares , several are offering special deals on international travel. Some with packages unrivaled in many, many years. Continental Airlines, which provides service from Austin, Texas, to San Jose, Costa Rica,  has reduced their airfare to $479 from the previously-listed airfare of $620 round trip in late 2008. However, one possible reason, in addition to the global economic, could be that this is the rainy season in Costa Rica, which usually drives lower airfares and hotel rates.

So, if you’re contemplating an international trip this summer, check out the rates and take advantage of some super buys in hotels, cruises, and airline fares.

For more years than I can count, soccer has been the sports mainstay of   countries everywhere. Well, almost, everywhere. In the U.S., soccer has had a slow, but growing, acceptance while being rivaled from teams throughout the globe. What has brought about this growing popularity of soccer and its U.S. players? American Major League Soccer still a young league by football standards, but its popularity is on the rise. The number of spectators at U.S. soccer games is growing and can reach up to 25,000 per match.Foreign soccer talent has also helped to energize the sport. But do better players necessarily draw in larger crowds? For Americans, soccer is a predominantly European sport.

Franklin Foer is a soccer enthusiast who has written a book about the spread of soccer fandom around the world. He thinks Major League Soccer will eventually increase the popularity of the sport in the United States.

“The longer that our domestic league stays together, the more money that advertisers put into the game, into promoting the game, the more its popularity increases,” Foer said. “I think it’s a game that people are more comfortable with. It used to be something foreign. And, it’s regarded as something pretty American.”

In the U.S., football, basketball and baseball undoubtedly reign supreme amongst sports fans – but it’s impossible to miss the enthusiasm for and growth of soccer in the country.

That’s the opinion of Dr. Danny Jordaan, Chief Executive Officer of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa.

Speaking at the South African Consulate General’s Offices in New York, Dr Jordaan told the president of the US Soccer Federation, Sunil Gulati, US soccer fans have bought 93,300 tickets to date for the World Cup, while the US team will arrive in South Africa for the FIFA Confederations Cup.

“Purists the world over of course call the beautiful game ‘football’, but with American football so entrenched, in the United States it’s ’soccer’ that’s making waves in this sports-mad country,” Jordaan said.

“A startling sign of the popularity of the game and the country’s appetite for a sport which has by far the biggest global appeal, is the fact US soccer fans have already purchased over 93,300 tickets for matches at next June’s World Cup in South Africa.

If the U.S. World Cup team does well, soccer may develop even more of a following in the United States.

Has the sagging global economy dampened your dream of living in a foreign country ? It’s apparently on the mind of many potential expats . But say, for example, you have a spot in mind. Which one is best for you? Without a doubt the decision is tough one, with many international choices available to you, as well as various lifestyles. And what are the factors that would determine your decision to relocate to a new country?  Share your thoughts with our Yourville.com members.

At a time when frozen foods seem to prevail at the market, where have the old homemade recipes gone?  Some people have taken them to their new country and shared them with friends and relatives who have handed them down throughout the years.  Perhaps, you’d like to share a few of your long-forgotten family recipes with the rest of our Yourville members.