In Wake of Cuba Ban, Norwegian Cruise Line Slashing Prices to Bahamas
Posted on 06/09/2019, 8:00 PM
On the day that the Trump Administration abruptly banned all sailings to Cuba last week, some 800,000 travelers were left holding cruise reservations to the island nation for the coming months, according to the Cruise Lines International Association, an industry trade group. The cruise lines quickly issued cancellation and change policies, followed as rapidly by pretty remarkable deals to fill no...
London Airport Soon to Let You Keep Liquids and Laptops in Carry-Ons
Posted on 06/08/2019, 3:30 AM
If all goes as planned, travelers at London's Heathrow Airport will soon get to keep liquids and laptops in carry-on bags while passing through security checkpoints. The airport announced that it can make that change thanks to new 3D scanners equipped with high-tech CT technology to provide a clearer-than-ever picture of what, exactly, you've got in your hand luggage—no removal of makeup-packed Zip...
This Harbor Is a Refuge for Burning Man Artwork—Without Burning Man Crowds
Posted on 06/06/2019, 2:00 PM
The nine-day Burning Man festival, held in the depths of summer in a remote area of Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, earns mixed reviews. Founders describe it as “a temporary metropolis dedicated to community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance.” But others, such as former attendee and writer Soren Bowie, remember it differently. “I went seeking a Utopian enclave … Instead I found misguided, f...
Here Are the Major Cruise Lines' Policies on Cuba Cancellations
Posted on 06/05/2019, 2:00 PM
Tens of thousands of people are holding tickets for cruises to Cuba that, in a snap of a finger, the Trump Administration has said they now can't use.Here are the cruise companies' current policies—verbatim—on what to do if you have booked a Cuba-bound cruise with them. Norwegian Cruise Line As you know, yesterday the United States government announced new and immediate travel restrictions to ...
You Can Now Stay at a French Castle That Hosted Mozart and Voltaire
Posted on 06/04/2019, 8:00 AM
Some of the biggest stars in 18th-century European culture—including Mozart as well as Age of Enlightenment thinkers Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Denis Diderot—spent time at the estate of Baron Jacques Pineau de Viennay in the castle-packed Loire Valley southwest of Paris. Now you can stay there, too. Following a meticulous renovation, the baron's summer residence has been reopened as the H...
Our Travel Podcasts: Summer, Star Wars, Safety, Scams
Posted on 06/03/2019, 2:00 PM
Each week, Frommer's brings you two fresh podcasts stuffed with travel tips, news, and inspiration. Recordings are made from our weekly call-in show on WABC-770AM in New York and our nationally syndicated radio program. With Memorial Day behind us, the summer travel season has begun—and we've got a lot of news you need to know before you hit the road. First, hosts Pauline Frommer and Jason Coc...
A Bizarre Guitar-Shaped Hotel Rises in South Florida
Posted on 05/30/2019, 8:30 AM
Music lovers can soon live out any rock-and-roll accommodation fantasies they may have as the world’s first Guitar Hotel—a 450-foot-tall guitar-shaped building with luxury guest rooms—nears completion. The massive Guitar Hotel is part of a $1.5-billion expansion plan at the 15-year-old Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, which was previously most famous as the place wh...
L.A.'s Museum of Contemporary Art Getting Rid of Admission Fees
Posted on 05/22/2019, 4:45 PM
Pretty soon, it won't cost you a penny to visit the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles. The institution announced it is reducing its $15 general admission fee to $0, a move made possible by a $10 million donation from the president of MOCA's board of trustees, Carolyn Clark Powers. You'll still have to pay for special exhibits, however. Speaking to the New York Times, museum director ...
McEmbassy? Every Austrian McDonald’s Now Offering Travel Help for Americans
Posted on 05/17/2019, 11:00 AM
Thanks to a unique and, for those concerned about commerce meddling in government, somewhat unsettling partnership between McDonald's Austria and the U.S. Embassy in Vienna, all 194 of the fast food chain's outposts across Austria are now offering travel help for visiting Americans who need it. According to the embassy's announcement on Facebook, U.S. citizens who "find themselves in distress" whil...
See Cool Gadgets and Test Your Espionage Skills at D.C.’s New Spy Museum
Posted on 05/16/2019, 8:00 PM
The new and improved International Spy Museum, which opened May 12 in Washington, D.C., claims to house “the world’s largest public display of authentic spy tools and gadgets.” Among the clever gizmos lining the walls: a shoe with a hidden microphone, a silver dollar concealing a tiny suicide syringe, a KGB lipstick pistol, and a bunch of other contraptions worthy of James Bond or at least Maxwell...
