The Penalty for U.S. Airline Mask Scofflaws Doubles Overnight and Is Now As High as $3,000
Posted on 09/09/2021, 2:00 PM
As of September 10, the penalty will double if you refuse to wear a mask at airports, on airplanes, and on other forms of transportation, according to the Department of Homeland Security. "The new range of penalties will be $500–$1,000 for first offenders and $1,000–$3,000 for second offenders," according to the revised notice on the Transportation Security Administration's advisory page. The ori...
O, Corona! Is Canada Safe or Not? U.S., EU Give Conflicting Answers
Posted on 09/09/2021, 11:00 AM
It has been exactly one month since Canada reopened its southern border to fully vaccinated Americans looking to enjoy a little "nonessential travel," which is what bureaucrats call vacation. But is it safe for U.S. tourists to venture north? The U.S. government isn't so sure. In recent days, both the State Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have raised their threat as...
Puerto Rico’s Splashy New Entertainment Complex Is Corporate but Cool
Posted on 09/02/2021, 9:00 AM
If you're the type of traveler who likes to explore local culture, the idea of a multimillion-dollar, "multisensory," "tech-first" entertainment complex with a corporate sponsor in its name probably makes your blood run cold. But the newly completed Distrito T-Mobile, a dining-and-entertainment venue in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is more than a soulless exercise in branded consumerism. Don't get us ...
Here We Go Again: EU Removes U.S. from Safe Travel List, Recommends Restricting Americans
Posted on 08/30/2021, 11:00 AM
The European Union has removed the United States from its safe list of countries for nonessential travel and is once again recommending that the bloc's 27 member nations impose restrictions on American tourists. The EU's governing body, the European Council, made the decision Monday in response to the continuing surge of Covid-19 cases in the U.S. caused by the Delta variant. According to criter...
Confusion Plagues Las Vegas: A Few Feet Apart, Different Vaccine Requirements
Posted on 08/26/2021, 1:00 PM
Picture this: You walk into a Las Vegas casino and although you’re asked to don a mask (the state has a mask mandate for most public indoor spaces), no other questions are asked. But then you try to enter the casino’s showroom and everything changes. At the door to the theatre, you’re asked to prove you’re vaccinated. In some showrooms, proof of a negative Covid-19 test is accepted, but not in ot...
$25 to Use the Pool?! Airline-Style à la Carte Fees Land at Hotels
Posted on 08/24/2021, 3:00 PM
Airlines have perfected the art of nickel-and-diming customers with extra charges for services and amenities that were once free, from checking a bag to getting an onboard snack. The strategy has proven lucrative, generating tens of billions of dollars in ancillary revenue for airlines, even during 2020, when hardly anybody was flying due to the pandemic. Now the fees-for-every-little-thing ap...
New CDC Warning: Avoid Cruising If You're Pregnant, Older, a Smoker, Overweight, and More
Posted on 08/24/2021, 2:00 PM
Last Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) changed its guidance to reflect growing concern about the advisability of cruising. Previously, the CDC's Travelers' Health page simply warned that unvaccinated passengers should not cruise. Now, the page warns that the agency's advice was "updated to recommend travelers who are at increased risk for severe illness avoid cruis...
Now Some European Countries Won't Accept Vaccination Older Than 270 Days
Posted on 08/23/2021, 12:00 PM
Depending on when they received their vaccination shots, international travelers may find it harder to enter two European countries this fall. Austria and Croatia have each introduced a 270-day maximum validity time limit on vaccinations, reports the Irish Mirror. Other countries may soon follow suit. Travelers attempting to enter Austria or Croatia will no longer be considered fully vaccinated ...
Weird Weather Could Shift Fall Foliage in New England in 2021
Posted on 08/21/2021, 4:00 AM
As we round the midpoint of August, it's time to look ahead to the autumn travel season, and for many, that means leaf peeping in New England. It's a classic fall escape, and one appropriate for this pandemic era because foliage-seekers do the lion's share of their sightseeing out in the open air. But will there be enough to see this year to make a trip worth it? As I do every year at this time...
Ending Daily Hotel Room Cleaning Will "Cost Women of Color Billions," Group Warns
Posted on 08/12/2021, 12:00 PM
Largely overlooked in the nonstop circus of summer news headlines, a crucial workers' organization warned in June that the hotel industry's trend of scaling back daily housekeeping will disproportionately impact a specific population of working Americans. "The end of daily room cleaning would trigger mass job eliminations for hotel housekeepers, [who are] overwhelmingly women of color," according ...
