Safety is Currently the Major Issue Affecting Travel to Numerous Overseas Destinations. Here's How We Come Out on That Issue, for Several Countries
Posted on 08/29/2013, 1:00 PM
Is it safe? That's the most frequent question put to travel advisers as they are asked to plan an international trip. Is it safe to travel to Israel or Jordan, to Turkey or India? Is it safe to travel to Mexico, to Nicaragua or Bali? And the answer can sometimes change in a day, as terrorists or drug lords create havoc in a particular part of the world. So the response to that ...
Offended by Political TV in Your Hotel Lobby? Your Hotel Manager Chose The Channel
Posted on 08/29/2013, 1:00 PM
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 comfortable. Good hospitality is all about making someone feel at home. Yet the instant you walk into many hotels, the jagged tones of discord are thrust in your face. Given the fevered level of partisan rhetoric politi...
Offended by Political TV in Your Hotel Lobby? Your Hotel Manager Chose The Channel
Posted on 08/29/2013, 1:00 PM
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 comfortable. Good hospitality is all about making someone feel at home. Yet the instant you walk into many hotels, the jagged tones of discord are thrust in your face. Given the fevered level of partisan rhetoric politi...
New Kiosks Cut Border Control Waits By a Third, But Your Airport Must Ask for Them
Posted on 08/28/2013, 4:30 PM
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 33%. The technology is called Automated Passport Control, or APC, and it's the latest effort of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to use technology to cut paperwork and frustration. O'Hare is the first American airpo...
Brooklyn's New, Ultra-Gourmet Dining Scene: Pauline Frommer Reviews Three Hot Spots
Posted on 08/27/2013, 8:45 AM
The dish felt like a dare. “Fried pigs blood with [unpronounceable Scandinavian] berry,” the waiter said placing a small slab of wood with a fried ball in front of me. And then he gave me a second look and a grin, as if to say, “So, are you really going to eat that?” Welcome to the extreme foodie Brooklyn restaurant scene, one that many diners think is currently eclipsing Manhattan’s. In just...
Though None of it Made the Headlines, There was News Last Week of Some Importance to Travel
Posted on 08/26/2013, 2:30 PM
Last week was a fairly busy time in travel, though none of the developments was well covered in the press. Here's our attempt to bring you up-to-date. First, one of the largest of the airfare search engines, Expedia, acquired--for all intents and purposes--that other large search engine called Travelocity. Though Travelocity will technically remain a separate entity, it will permi...
What’s the Best Vacation For Your “Stage of Life”? How Age Can—and Should—Affect Your Travel Plans
Posted on 08/25/2013, 10:15 AM
“Man is by nature a social animal”, wrote Aristotle. And though he wasn’t commenting on vacations, his observation certainly applies: who one travels with can be as important to the success of a trip as where one goes. Certain types of travel, as well as certain destinations, attract wildly different demographics, after all. Head to spring break-central, Panama City, Florida in March or Apri...
At an Almost Unbelievable Rate of 64 Rupees to the U.S. Dollar, India Has Become the Bargain Destination of the Decade
Posted on 08/21/2013, 12:15 PM
India--to begin with--was always an inexpensive place in which to travel, even when a U.S. Dollar bought you only 40 Rupees. When that currency then weakened to a level of 55 Rupees to the dollar about a year ago, its hotels, restaurants and tours became so cheap as to cause me to write a frenzied blog about the phenomenon, an excitable outpouring of words about the ultra-low cost of ...
3 Sneaky Ways To Save Money on Lodgings When You Hit the Road
Posted on 08/21/2013, 10:00 AM
Sometimes you have to get creative, and perhaps even bend the rules, when looking to save money on travel. That’s particularly the case for lodgings, as hotel rates have increased a good 5% this year over last (and they were creeping upwards already in 2012). Here are some devious strategies you might try. Look for a Newbie: It takes a while for a new hotel to get the word out that it’s open ...
Another Cruise Line Extinguishes Smoking on Stateroom Balconies, and Good Riddance
Posted on 08/15/2013, 1:45 PM
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 because it's not very "Disney" (Walt himself was rarely seen without an unfiltered Lucky Strike in his hand) but because it's dangerous and rude. Every cruise ship's lifeboat drill contains a captain's warning not to tos...
