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Another Cruise Line Extinguishes Smoking on Stateroom Balconies, and Good Riddance

By Jason Cochran

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...

The Truth is Out: Airline Mergers Do Indeed Result in Higher Prices

By Jason Cochran

Posted on 08/14/2013, 11:45 AM

If you weren't sure where to come down on the airline merger debate, a position is becoming clearer. Yesterday the Department of Justice put its own foot down on the union of American Airlines and U.S. Airways. The DOJ hasn't blocked an airline merger since 2001, but something broke. It has had enough. This may be why: The AP's Scott Mayerowitz reports that airfares have gone up, even when ad...

Spots Have Just Opened Up on Pauline Frommer's October Tour to Taiwan

By Pauline Frommer

Posted on 08/12/2013, 5:00 PM

I haven't written much about the tour I'm leading to Taiwan here at Frommers.com because we wanted to travel with a small group (a maximum of 15) and the tour filled up quite quickly, several months ago. But you know what they say about the best laid plans.... I just learned 15 minutes ago that a member of the tour has fallen ill. So he, and the three family members he was supposed to travel ...

The Meanest Roads in America: More Public Highways Bleeding Tourists with Cashless Tolls

By Jason Cochran

Posted on 08/12/2013, 4:15 PM

They're the meanest roads in America.If you haven't taken a road trip vacation in the last few years, you're in for a rude shock. More states are implementing what's called "cashless tolls," which require vehicles to carry transponders that roadside sensors debit with the price of tolls. While cashless tolls have sped up traffic on many commuter routes, some states have unwisely and uncharitably ad...

Way To Stay Classy, Ryanair! Wait Until You Hear What's In The Airline's Training Manuals

By Pauline Frommer

Posted on 08/11/2013, 12:15 AM

The same airline that once declared it would install pay toilets (that didn't happen), has been instructing its flight attendants to avoid making change for passengers when they buy a snack from the onboard trolley (that did happen). According to the UK's Daily Mail newspaper, Ryanair flight attendants were given a manual on how to boost revenues during flights. In a copy obtained by the new...

Whether to Buy a "Chip-and-Pin" Credit Card for Your Next European Trip, Is an Increasingly-Hard Decision to Make

By Arthur Frommer

Posted on 08/10/2013, 11:45 AM

A European credit card employing modern "chip and pin" technology, is clearly superior to the old-fashioned "magnetic stripe" credit cards issued to Americans. But is it worth the time and expense to equip yourself with a "chip and pin" card for your next trip to Europe? That's a hotly-disputed question. My own one-time experience in buying a "chip and pin" card was not a good...

Here's a Fast Stab at Choosing the Five Best Bargain Vacations for the Immediate Months Ahead. Have We Missed Any?

By Arthur Frommer

Posted on 08/09/2013, 1:30 PM

Although their prices may vary from month to month, five packaged holidays remain so uniformly cheap in all months as to provide the basis for an impulse vacation--a sudden decision to take advantage of an eye-opening bargain. Here are our choice of five vacation opportunities that cause you to suddenly go on vacation: (1) Mediterranean cruises on Norwegian Cruise Line and MSC Cruises...

Looking Ahead to Fall Travel: Places To Head and Strategies for Saving Money

By Pauline Frommer

Posted on 08/08/2013, 2:00 PM

Forget what your kindergarten teacher taught you, at least where travel is concerned. There aren’t four seasons, there are three: high season, low season and the period we’re about to enter, shoulder season, which combines reasonable costs with sunny skies. Actually, scratch that. There are even fewer seasons now, according to search engine Hipmunk.com’s CEO Adam Goldstein. “The airlines thin...

Americans traveling within Russia must now be aware of new laws that criminalize "pro-gay propaganda"--and threaten them with imprisonment or worse

By Arthur Frommer

Posted on 08/02/2013, 1:45 PM

Although it has received only spotty mention in the press, the recent enactment by Russia of legislation limiting free speech, seems important to me--and of especial relevance to travel and tourism. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed both laws last month, and already a group of Dutch film-makers traveling within Russia (to make a film about sexual orientation in that country) have b...

Gambling for Freebies: What You Need to Know If Your Vacation Will Include Time at a Casino

By Pauline Frommer

Posted on 08/01/2013, 9:30 PM

Gamblers are a superstitious lot. They know that only a rube counts his money at the table, walks in the main door of a casino or whistles as he cranks the one-armed bandit. But even the most hardened cardsharp will tell you it takes little luck to finagle freebies from casinos. Having a plan can help, though. “What people don’t understand is that they’re going to have to do more than go in a...

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