While You Were Out, Your Hotel Covered Your Bathroom Mirror with an Advertisement: Okay or Not?
Posted on 06/10/2013, 10:45 PM
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 management let themselves inside and did this: Yes, that's an ad. And yes, it's stuck directly to the mirror in the most private area of this private room: the bathroom. L.A. is currently hosting E3, the Electron...
Some Rather Spectacular Bargains Have Opened Up in Month-of-July Sailings of the Mediterranean
Posted on 06/10/2013, 12:15 PM
In an earlier blog, I predicted that all the big cruiselines sailing in the Mediterranean would slash their prices for departures in July, once we got closer in to the month of July. That is exactly what has happened. If you will go to VacationsToGo.com, clicking on the Mediterranean, designating Celebrity Cruises as the line you wish to follow, and 8-to-13-night cruises in July, you will...
When an Overseas Merchant Offers to Convert Your Credit Card Bill Into U.S. Dollars, Say No
Posted on 06/09/2013, 5:45 PM
It's known as "Dynamic Currency Conversion", but it should be called "Dynamic Currency Cheating". You encounter the shady offer in a Paris restaurant, a London hotel, a Tokyo department store--any number of overseas situations. You've just made a purchase of a meal, a hotel room, a jacket or a pair of shoes, for which you present your credit card in payment. And the local sales clerk or ...
Orlando Goes Over the Top: SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Also Break the $90 Barrier with Ticket Prices
Posted on 06/07/2013, 11:45 AM
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 Orlando's single-day admission is now $92 adult, $84 children (ages 3 to 9), plus tax. Busch Gardens Tampa has also raised prices, but it still shy of the $90 threshhold: $89 adult, $81 children aged 3 to 9. The park...
Wilson Wu Has Done it Again: $999 for a Combination of Beijing and Shanghai, Including Round-Trip Trans-Pacific Airfare
Posted on 06/07/2013, 11:30 AM
In a recent discussion, we expressed our surprise at the latest move by Wilson Wu, the wonder-boy of travel to China. About a week ago, he completely re-did his website (www.chinaspree.com) to announce wide-open flights to Beijing in November through February for only $888, including round-trip air to Beijing from San Francisco, Los Angeles or Houston, and six nights with full breakfast d...
Plan Ahead or Do It On the Spot: The Conundrum of Modern Vacations
Posted on 06/05/2013, 11:30 AM
United Airlines caused a stir two days ago when it announced that travelers could now “subscribe” to its fees. Pay one lump sum in advance—$349, so that’s one big lump sum actually!—and you’ll be able to carry on your luggage “free” for the next year. Oh, wait, no, that amount was just for one bag checked. If you need to check two bags, the fee goes up to $399. To guarantee a seat in “economy ...
The Re-Appearance of China Spree's $888 One-Weeker to Beijing (Including Round-Trip Airfare!) May Indicate that China Air and China Irself Have Plenty of Unsold Capacity for Autumn and Winter. China, Anyone?
Posted on 06/05/2013, 10:15 AM
To my utter amazement, China Spree has today replaced its former China specials with an entirely new list of spectacular fall/winter bargains (such as $888 for a week in Beijing, including airfare), all of which are wide open for booking for the coming fall/winter months (they used to be shown as largely sold-out). If you haven't yet chosen a fall/winter vacation, you might very well rush...
Italian State-Run Museums Now Free to Everyone Under the Age of 18
Posted on 06/04/2013, 10:00 PM
My thanks to Frommer's author Donald Strachan (who's currently hard at work on a new Frommer's guidebook) for spotting this one. Until now, non-European Union teens and children had to pay entrance fees at state-run museums. That changed on May 28th with a ministerial decree that these museums would now be open to all young people, no matter their nationality. Bravo! Of course, not all the ...
A Preview of Kennedy Space Center's Awesome $100 Million Home for Space Shuttle Atlantis, Opening June 29
Posted on 06/04/2013, 9:30 AM
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 successful missions over its lifetime. I was given a special preview of the 90,000-square-foot Atlantis Orbiter Home — and it's gorgeous. Some aspects of the permanent display are still under wraps, but the core of...
A Preview of Kennedy Space Center's Awesome $100 Million Home for Space Shuttle Atlantis, Opening June 29
Posted on 06/04/2013, 9:30 AM
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 successful missions over its lifetime. I was given a special preview of the 90,000-square-foot Atlantis Orbiter Home — and it's gorgeous. Some aspects of the permanent display are still under wraps, but the core of...
