A Cautionary Tale on the Importance of Cultural Sensitivity for Travelers
Posted on 06/17/2015, 5:15 PM
On June 12, two Canadian families, one Dutch family and a British family, exhaled. Several weeks earlier their 20-something aged children had gone to Malaysia, climbed Mount Kinabalu and in, celebration of getting to the top, took nude selfies which they then posted on social media. What could have been merely a self-indulgent act became a criminal one when an earthquake hit the mountain, kil...
Recent Events in Egypt and Turkey Have Created Two Totally Different Conditions for Visiting These Countries
Posted on 06/13/2015, 10:45 PM
The safety of international travel is a continuing concern, and some travelers are avid readers of the vacation warnings from our State Department and the foreign offices of Great Britain and Australia. But the headlines in our newspapers may provide advice that is just as valid. In fact, recent publicized events in the Middle East and Turkey provide guidance that is, per...
The Airline Industry's Call for Smaller Carry-Ons Will Hit You in the Wallet
Posted on 06/11/2015, 10:45 AM
The International Air Transport Association, an industry group comprised of commercial airlines, has decided it's time to come up with a global standard for what size a carry-on item should be. And that size isn't large: 7.5 inches deep by 21.5 inches long by 13.5 inches wide. Those measurements, which would be voluntary for airlines to adopt, are smaller than what many U.S. airlines allow...
The Attacks on Airbnb Have Now Gone Well Beyond Decent Bounds, Spreading Exaggerations About Airbnb's Alleged Creation of a Housing Shortage
Posted on 06/03/2015, 8:45 PM
It's open season on Airbnb.com. Scarcely a week goes by that you do not read attacks in the travel press claiming that the popular apartment-sharing service is causing shortages of housing for permanent residents of cities. You read of various scoundrels operating illegal hotels of 50 and more units that they rent through Airbnb.com. You react to emotional portrayals of drunken touris...
Safety First: What Parents Need To Know Before They Send Their Kids Off to Summer Camp
Posted on 06/01/2015, 12:15 PM
Earlier this year, my 12-year-old daughter was studying the concept of utopia in her history class and having trouble grasping what the word meant. I told her to think of her summer camp, and a big smile spread across her face. Bingo! But though summer camp, whether it be sleep away camp or day camp, is near synonymous with carefree, fun-filled days, it’s important for parents to know that n...
Beware the Hotel Room Pizza Delivery Scam! They Could Steal Your Credit Card Info
Posted on 05/31/2015, 10:45 PM
You just arrived in town after a hellish 10-hour battle with the U.S. airlines. You're worn out, you're hungry, and all you want is an easy bite to eat before bed. Good fortune! There's a flyer for pizza delivery under the door of your hotel room! You call the number and give them your credit card information. Mistake. You've just given a fraudster your credit card number. They never show up....
To Me, the Harry Potter Exhibits at Universal Studios in Orlando are a Massive Disappointment, a Serving of Boredom Concocted by Show Business Executives Whose Only Talent is Building Roller Coasters
Posted on 05/28/2015, 9:00 PM
It comes as no surprise that Orlando, Florida, is currently visited by more tourists than New York City--62 million in 2014 as opposed to 56 million at the Big Apple. But the reason for the greater popularity of Orlando is, to me, a shocker: it is supposedly the astonishing draw of the Harry Potter exhibits at Universal Studios in Orlando that has caused Orlando to pull ahead. ...
The Failure of Congress to Properly Fund Amtrak Was the Clear Cause of Last Month's Derailment, and Condemns Our Rail System to Second-Class Status
Posted on 05/22/2015, 11:30 AM
Countless articles have discussed the recent tragic derailment of an Amtrak train outside of Philadelphia, and the consequent deaths of eight passengers and severe injuries to many more. Countless reasons have been cited for Amtrak’s failure to prevent its trains from traveling at high speed around curves, and countless theories have been voiced as to why adequate safety measures we...
Two Travel Destinations—Egypt and Myanmar—To Which I Will Not Be Going in the Weeks Ahead
Posted on 05/21/2015, 12:30 PM
To boycott a travel destination for political reasons is always a difficult decision to make, with arguments that can cited both pro and con. But to boycott a country because you fear for your safety there, is an easier step to take. That latter reason is why I’m no longer considering a trip to Egypt, and I have somewhat different and more arguable reasons for passing up a trip to...
The Latest Travel News about Smartwatches, Hotel Apps, Airfares to Asia and Cuba, Low-Priced European River Cruises, and Healthy Vacations. Whew!
Posted on 05/14/2015, 2:15 PM
One of CroisiEurope's recently refurbished vessels in Lyon, France In the vast outpouring of comment about Apple's new Apple Watch (a computer in the size and form of a wristwatch), surprisingly little has been devoted to the device's usefulness in travel. Maybe that's because there's scarcely any travel function the smartwatch performs that isn't already done by a cell phone (tells you...
