What’s Up with These Hourslong Check-in Lines at Las Vegas Hotels?
Posted on 08/22/2024, 4:45 PM
"Hotel check in wait times are out of control in Las Vegas," social media influencer VegasStarfish argues in a recent posting. The video evidence accompanying the claim certainly makes a convincing case, showing nightmarish check-in lines, with hundreds of guests clogging hotel lobbies at properties owned by Caesars Entertainment. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Je...
Florida Is Trying to Ram Development of State Parks, "Skirting the Legal Process"
Posted on 08/21/2024, 6:00 PM
Floridians are sounding a red alert after the state unexpectedly revealed its intent to allow rapid development at nine of Florida's nature reserves, sidestepping the usual process that allows for public participation."This appears to be something that has been planned in secret, and it doesn’t appear to have involved the hundreds, if not thousands, of people who are volunteers in the parks, the ci...
Mpox Is Now a Global Health Emergency. Should Travelers Worry?
Posted on 08/14/2024, 4:45 PM
On Aug. 14, the World Health Organization (WHO) formally declared mpox, previously known as monkeypox, a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). PHEIC declarations are often used to formally open global government channels to coordinate efforts to combat the spread of a disease. Currently, only three diseases merit the dire PHEIC-level warning: Covid-19, cholera, and now mpox. Ea...
Disney Is About to Gut Magic Kingdom, Fans Are Furious, and You Don't Have Much Time
Posted on 08/12/2024, 5:15 PM
We've had plenty of warning signs that the current management of the Disney brand doesn't understand or appreciate their roles as stewards of priceless Americana. For the last few years, the current decision makers at Disney have been carrying on as if they're running a shopping mall and not a national treasure. Obsessed with floating other divisions of the Walt Disney Company instead of tending...
U.S. Forbids Airlines from Charging Families to Sit Together
Posted on 08/01/2024, 2:15 PM
There's been another big win for consumers at the U.S. airports. On Thursday, the Department of Transportation (DOT) announced that it has proposed a rule that forbids commercial airlines from charging families extra to be seated together. As American families know all too well, the biggest airlines have shamelessly converted the protection of your children into a profit center, slapping parents...
These Are the Safest Caribbean Countries Right Now, According to the U.S. Government
Posted on 07/30/2024, 4:00 PM
This post, originally published Feb. 2, 2024, has been updated with new information. Earlier this year, the U.S. State Department issued alarming travel warnings for Jamaica and the Bahamas, citing rising crime levels in both countries as reasons for tourists to beware. On the State Department's 4-level travel advisory scale, Jamaica was bumped up to level 3, which stands for "Reconsider Trave...
Southwest Airlines to End Open Seating, So Why Fly It At All? There's Still One Reason
Posted on 07/25/2024, 6:00 PM
Social media is so infected with liars and bad actors that we can't trust it even to tell us the sky is blue anymore. But the minute Southwest Airlines announced that, after some 50 years, the carrier will do away with its open seating system, the online reaction seemed to repeat a certain point that rings true. You might hear it said that open seating was the best thing about flying Southwest. ...
DOT Secretary Forcefully Reminds U.S. Airline Passengers of Their New Refund Rights
Posted on 07/23/2024, 7:30 PM
Some airlines are still struggling to reboot their service in the wake of last weekend's cataclysmic CloudStrike software shutdown. On Monday, Delta Air Lines was still limping its way back to the runways. The airline announced it had to cancel another 800 departures on the first workday of the week, bringing the total of scrapped flights to more than 5,000 since Friday. It what must be the first...
Rome Jubilee in 2025 Means Tons of Construction in 2024: What Travelers Need to Know
Posted on 07/22/2024, 7:45 AM
Sorry, travelers, but getting that perfect shot of the Pantheon may require a return trip to Rome. (The photo above was taken earlier this month.) As we all know, Rome wasn’t built in a day. But as any recent visitor can attest, it sure looks like the city is being rebuilt—all day, every day. There are a staggering 3,200 public construction projects currently underway across the Eternal City, inc...
Airlines Are Shrinking Carry-On Sizes, Forcing Travelers to Pay Checked Bag Fees
Posted on 07/19/2024, 11:30 AM
Your carry-on hand baggage may not be small enough anymore. A new furor is unfolding in the skies as airlines are caught drastically reducing the maximum permitted size of carry-on bags on commercial flights. Unnoticed by many casual travelers, the volume of an allowed carry-on bag on some popular airlines has been cut as much as 55% since 2018, the BBC reports. The worst offender so far, accor...
