Articles

Jason Cochran

Article / Passportable

5-Day Sailings on the Disney Magic Marked Down to $125/night in November

Thanks go to our friends at MouseSavers.com, who published this hot deal for Disney Cruise Line. Normally, excursions on the line are premium-priced, well over $200 a day, and rarely…

Article / Passportable

AARP Members Get 10% Off and Free Wi-Fi at Motel 6

It's not much, but it's something. Motel 6 announced today a partnership with AARP. Now the group's 37 million members will be entitled to a discount of 10%, plus free Wi-Fi, which…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Offended by Political TV in Your Hotel Lobby? Your Hotel Manager Chose The Channel

Hotel companies spend millions of dollars creating warm-and-fuzzy feelings about their brands and crafting the sensation that a stay there will make customers feel welcome and…

Article / Passportable

Economizing, Six Flags in New Jersey To Create World's Tallest Drop Out of an Existing Ride

Six Flags has blazed an admirable path. Many observers were concerned that the amusement park chain would have a hard time getting back on top after emerging from bankruptcy,…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

New Kiosks Cut Border Control Waits By a Third, But Your Airport Must Ask for Them

In June, Chicago's O'Hare installed 32 kiosks that scan documents for incoming passengers. Right away, despite the fact summer travel was at its peak, wait times were chopped by…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Another Cruise Line Extinguishes Smoking on Stateroom Balconies, and Good Riddance

USA Today reports that Disney is the latest cruise line to ban smoking on its stateroom balconies, joining Celebrity, Princess, Oceania, and Crystal.I'm all for the ban. Not…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The Truth is Out: Airline Mergers Do Indeed Result in Higher Prices

If you weren't sure where to come down on the airline merger debate, a position is becoming clearer. Yesterday the Department of Justice put its own foot down on the union of…

Article / Passportable

Town in Namibia Confounds Tourists By Changing Its Name to Something You Won't Believe

A few months, ago, a small fishing town on the extremely isolated Atlantic coast in southern Namibia spent $100,000 in local dollars to erect a huge Hollywood-style sign on the…

Article / Passportable

Time to See Africa? Wildlife Experts Warn Elephants Will Be Gone in 15 Years

A disturbing report today in Britain's Metro newspaper: The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has calculated that an elephant is poached every 15 minutes in Africa.With 36,000 dead…

Article / Passportable

Carriers Large and Small Going Slower to Save on Fuel Costs

It'll take you longer to get there now.Ryanair has instructed its pilots to stick to a 600mph speed limit, which will save the carrier on fuel costs but also make trips take…

Article / Passportable

Universal Orlando Announces Harry Potter Festival Event for January: Tickets on Sale Aug. 22

Universal Orlando has announced a three-day "Celebration of Harry Potter" fan event for January 24 to 26. Details are sketchy, but ticketholders are promised a few perks, including a…

Article / Passportable

Everything's Coming Up Rosen in Orlando: Now There's a Fifth Rosen Hotel on International Drive

The Quality Inn International has long been one of the most reliable budget properties off International Drive in Orlando. Harris Rosen bought it back in 1974, and using it as a…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The Meanest Roads in America: More Public Highways Bleeding Tourists with Cashless Tolls

They're the meanest roads in America.If you haven't taken a road trip vacation in the last few years, you're in for a rude shock. More states are implementing what's called "cashless…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

JFK to LAX for $83? It's Happening This Week as JetBlue Sells Unsold Seats for Dirt Cheap

Clever JetBlue! It's using this week's oppressive heat dome to move some of its unsold inventory — and we love it! The airline says that as long as the heat wave lasts and…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

What is a Transatlantic Crossing on the Queen Mary 2 Like? Our Readers' Questions Answered

Last week, I took what many consider the voyage of a lifetime: a transatlantic crossing on an ocean liner. There's only one ship left on the seas that was specifically designed to…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The Queen Mary 2 Makes Her 200th Crossing, and Frommer's is Aboard: Post Your Questions and Requests

Over the next week, the world's only ocean liner, Cunard's Queen Mary 2, will be making her 200th transatlantic crossing. And Frommers.com will be aboard, fact-finding for our…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

London Attractions Are Tricking Tourists into Paying More for Tickets Than They Have To

Some of the biggest attractions in London have adopted a new trick. They post high admission prices, and beside the price, they now put a little asterisk. Most people don't pay…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Fly to London for $787, Including Taxes, Thanks to British Airways' Astounding Fare Sale

If you were hoping to go to London, now's the time to leap and make the booking. Prices just don't get this good.To promote the introduction of its new 787 Dreamliner aircraft,…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Some Airlines Let You Bring Your Belongings But Not Take Them Back Home: Carry-On Rules are Erratically Enforced

I have just returned from an international trip. As you can probably imagine of a travel journalist, I have my packing down to a science. I take my standard amount every time. On my…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Royal Caribbean Now Offers 110 Percent Price Guarantee if You Find Cheaper Airfare Elsewhere

Buying your airline tickets to meet the start of a cruise has always been a bit of a losing proposition. Booking through the cruise line is often the only way to ensure that if your…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

While We're Discussing Fee-Free Cards, Here's One That Charges No ATM Fees

Arthur Frommer recently let you know about the United Plus Explorer card, which waives the foreign transaction fee the way the famous Capital One suite of cards does. That card (in…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Confused About Navigating the Airport? One of Them Will Take $80 to Guide You Through It

More and more, airlines stand to make a lot more money when airports do their jobs inefficiently. Last month, I told you about how one airline at JFK was raking in fees for instant…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

While You Were Out, Your Hotel Covered Your Bathroom Mirror with an Advertisement: Okay or Not?

Tonight, Instagram user @ZachHonig tweeted this image of his hotel room at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites in downtown Los Angeles. It seems that while he was out, the…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Orlando Goes Over the Top: SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Also Break the $90 Barrier with Ticket Prices

We just got a dispatch from Florida, where SeaWorld Orlando confirms it has joined Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando in hiking ticket prices past the $90 mark.SeaWorld…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

A Preview of Kennedy Space Center's Awesome $100 Million Home for Space Shuttle Atlantis, Opening June 29

On June 29, the most lavish of America's four final homes for the former space shuttle orbiters will open. The Atlantis will admit visitors on the very grounds where it launched 33…