Mar 6, 2008
7 additional important recent travel developments
7. The increase in bargain-priced re-positioning cruises. As more and more cruiseships alternate between the Caribbean (winter) and European waters (spring and summer), and need to move between one area and the other (re-positioning), there's been a tremendous rise in the number of cruises costing as little as $60 a day. Go to VacationsToGo.com (www.vacationstogo.com) for the most clearly-identified listing of re-positioning cruises.
8. The emergence of the European river cruise. Cruises along the Rhine and the Danube, in particular, are soaring in popularity and increasing in frequency. For an unusually relaxing, and very different form of vacationing, you might consider one.
9. The emergence of medical and dental tourism. Urged on by a new book entitled Patients Beyond Borders by Josef Woodman, many thousands of medically-uninsured Americans are now seeking low-cost medical or dental care abroad, in clinics and hospitals accredited by the same organizations which accredit clinics and hospitals in the U.S.
10. The almost universal need for a passport. As directed by the Department of Homeland Security, it is now necessary to possess a passport if you plan to fly anywhere in the world -- even simply within the Western Hemisphere. Get one.
11. The come-back of Priceline.com. By first using a website called BiddingForTravel.com (www.biddingfortravel.com), which tells you how other travelers have succeeded in using the opaque Priceline, an increasing number of savvy travelers have had success with Priceline. Some, who regard Priceline as unsuitable for air travel, are making use of it for hotel rooms.
12. The increasing regard for Amtrak. At last, serious efforts are afoot in Congress to place Amtrak on a firm financial footing; and ridership on the national train system is increasing each year.
13. The emergence of hidden hotel fees. To their discredit, hotel executives have greatly increased their use of this improper tactic -- like charging $15-a-day "resort fees" for beach towels which remained in your room. Never make a booking without demanding to know whether hidden fees will increase your bill.
14. The startling increase in zany Las Vegas weddings. Your minister is disguised as Elvis Presley. Another rises eerily from a coffin. The wedding march is to the melody of "Viva Las Vegas". For a reason I will never understand, increasing numbers of couples are opting to be married in a weird Las Vegas wedding chapel -- and that, too, is a major recent development in travel.
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8. The emergence of the European river cruise. Cruises along the Rhine and the Danube, in particular, are soaring in popularity and increasing in frequency. For an unusually relaxing, and very different form of vacationing, you might consider one.
9. The emergence of medical and dental tourism. Urged on by a new book entitled Patients Beyond Borders by Josef Woodman, many thousands of medically-uninsured Americans are now seeking low-cost medical or dental care abroad, in clinics and hospitals accredited by the same organizations which accredit clinics and hospitals in the U.S.
10. The almost universal need for a passport. As directed by the Department of Homeland Security, it is now necessary to possess a passport if you plan to fly anywhere in the world -- even simply within the Western Hemisphere. Get one.
11. The come-back of Priceline.com. By first using a website called BiddingForTravel.com (www.biddingfortravel.com), which tells you how other travelers have succeeded in using the opaque Priceline, an increasing number of savvy travelers have had success with Priceline. Some, who regard Priceline as unsuitable for air travel, are making use of it for hotel rooms.
12. The increasing regard for Amtrak. At last, serious efforts are afoot in Congress to place Amtrak on a firm financial footing; and ridership on the national train system is increasing each year.
13. The emergence of hidden hotel fees. To their discredit, hotel executives have greatly increased their use of this improper tactic -- like charging $15-a-day "resort fees" for beach towels which remained in your room. Never make a booking without demanding to know whether hidden fees will increase your bill.
14. The startling increase in zany Las Vegas weddings. Your minister is disguised as Elvis Presley. Another rises eerily from a coffin. The wedding march is to the melody of "Viva Las Vegas". For a reason I will never understand, increasing numbers of couples are opting to be married in a weird Las Vegas wedding chapel -- and that, too, is a major recent development in travel.
Write and read comments about this post.
Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
