It's Deal Season! These Cruises Are Less than $100 a night—Plus Some Summer Booking Promotions
Posted on 07/10/2014, 2:00 PM
The Grand Princess. Credit: Princess Cruises Every month, we ask our friends at AllThingsCruise.com to tell us about the best bargains in cruises at the moment. Here's what they suggested, where to book them, and what, in the opinion of the sellers, makes each one a steal. We're heading into one of cruising's big bargain seasons in the Caribbean. Even though hurricanes only come alo...
Vacation Savings That Will Float Your Boat: How to Find a Boat Rental Anywhere
Posted on 07/10/2014, 1:00 PM
The internet is all wet. And that’s a good thing. In the last 2 years, or so, a number of companies have brought digital order to the fractured world of boat rentals, allowing would-be sailors to rent all sorts of vessels easily, and more important, more cheaply than before. One of the forums where seafarers are finding savings is GetMyBoat.com, a platform that connects vacationers with those r...
Its Hotels Already Full to Bursting, New York May be Unable to Further Increase its Tourism Unless Residents are Able to Rent Out Their Apartments to Transient Visitors
Posted on 07/09/2014, 11:45 PM
"Manhattan skyline from the roof of my Airbnb rental" by Flickr user Adriel Hampton Fifty-five million guests in 2014. That's the current end-of-year projection for tourism to the Big Apple, a figure that is five million more than was predicted for 2017 by its former mayor three years ago. New York is now the world's touristic capital, a city whose hotels enjoy an a...
Its Hotels Already Full to Bursting, New York May be Unable to Further Increase Its Tourism Unless Residents are Able to Rent Out Their Apartments to Transient Visitors
Posted on 07/09/2014, 10:30 PM
Fifty-five million guests in 2014. That's the current end-of-year projection for tourism to the Big Apple, a figure that is five million more than was predicted for 2017 by its former mayor three years ago. New York is now the world's touristic capital, a city whose hotels enjoy an average occupancy of 85% and an average room rate--highest in the nation--of $266 per night . Ma...
Don't Look Now, But I'm Again Venting My Spleen About the Harry Potter Theme Parks in Orlando
Posted on 07/04/2014, 4:45 AM
On a recent visit to Orlando, Florida, I finally went to the much-publicized, much-acclaimed Harry Potter exhibit at Universal Studios' "Islands of Adventure", and was much-dismayed by what I saw. To me, this mini-themepark of its own was 90% shops and stores, and only 10% exhibits and rides using the Harry Potter theme. And the main exhibit, a violent ride (almost like a horizontal roller...
Heading to the Beach? Park Yourself Under a Shady Palm Tree with One of These Three Engrossing, New Travel Memoirs and Histories
Posted on 07/01/2014, 5:30 PM
Sometimes the only thing more delightful than lying on a beach and reading a book is, well, lying on a beach and reading a book about travel. This summer, happily, a slew of enlightening, moving and just plain funny travel memoirs have been released to accompany vacationers on their trips. Here are a few of the most notable: The Interior Circuit: A Mexico City Chronicle by Francisco Goldman ...
When Traveling by Air, You Can Do Yourself a World of Good by Performing Certain Exercises Either in Your Seat or at the Back of the Plane
Posted on 06/27/2014, 4:30 PM
One of the joys of my life is an exercise class I take twice a week, at which people my age engage in rhythmic stretching, light weight-lifting, balancing, leg strengthening, and aerobics. And though each movement proceeds at a moderate pace, they leave you stimulated and healthy at the end of 45 minutes doing them continuously. But what does this have to do with travel? Our in...
"Road Scholar" is Operating the Same Praiseworthy Trips That its Predecessor, "Elderhostel", Had Offered for Nearly 40 Years
Posted on 06/27/2014, 11:00 AM
Although it widely publicized and explained its change of name several years ago, when it went from "Elderhostel" to "Road Scholar", the resulting organization is not always fully understood by the people it serves. So I'm attempting to describe what it does in today's blog "Elderhostel" was a more easily-interpreted name: it referred to a travel organization and program designed f...
When Travel Vendors Demand Your Home Address, Do You Have to Give it?
Posted on 06/26/2014, 5:00 PM
How much do they have the right to know about you? Because I travel so much, I use a post office box. It's a simple security trick that I recommend to everyone who travels. First, it'll hold your mail for you. But just as important, if you use a P.O. box for your primary address then it's much harder for crooks you meet on the road to realize you're not home and burgle you. It'...
Foreign River Cruises Are the Big Travel Hit of 2014, But Whether They're For You is an Open Question
Posted on 06/20/2014, 6:45 PM
River cruises are the big success of the current travel season: as amazing as it may seem, no fewer than 53 new river cruiseships will be joining an already-large number this year and in early 2015. One company--Viking--will alone be adding some 24 spectacular and luxurious "longboats" to its fleet. And so heavy are advance bookings for these 130-passenger vessels that rarely will you find...
