The Arctic's Most Remote Cruise Destination Gets Less Remote
Posted on 08/07/2018, 8:45 PM
Polar expedition cruises—the industry term for active voyages in remote, icy waters—are a big trend at sea right now. They appeal to contemporary travelers' taste for unique adventures, while climate change has made routes in the Arctic and Antarctica passable for longer stretches of the year (a development it's impossible not to feel ambivalent about to say the least).Even the famously faraway Nor...
The 'Mamma Mia!' Sequel is a Lie: That's Not Greece!
Posted on 08/02/2018, 4:30 PM
You may remember—or perhaps you studied it in your Great Achievements of World Cinema class—that the first Mamma Mia! movie was set in Greece. Based on the hit Broadway musical, the film was famously, dazzlingly Greek, so Greek it made Zorba look shy. Meryl Streep's American character has decamped there to run a preposterously picturesque cliffside inn, where old flames hover and neighborhood teens...
Partially Underwater Artwork Welcomes Snorkelers in the Maldives
Posted on 08/01/2018, 11:30 PM
The world's first semi-submerged sculpture park is now open for snorkel-equipped art lovers off the coast of the Maldives in the southern Indian Ocean.Dubbed Coralarium, the over-/underwater project was dreamed up by British artist Jason deCaires Taylor, who, according to Smithsonian magazine, has worked on similar installations off coasts in Grenada, Mexico, and the Canary Islands. Those were all ...
Former High-Security Prison in Tennessee Opens to Visitors
Posted on 07/30/2018, 2:00 PM
Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary was not a spot often visited for just one day. This former maximum-security prison held dangerous criminals with sentences exceeding 200 years. The penitentiary in Petros, Tennessee, about 40 miles west of Knoxville, has been closed since 2009, but last Saturday it opened to the public as a tourist attraction, giving outsiders access to this rustic lockup like nev...
American Airlines to Allow Carry-On for Basic Economy
Posted on 07/25/2018, 8:00 PM
American Airlines passengers who buy basic economy tickets will each be allowed to bring a carry-on bag aboard flights, starting September 5.The news was announced by American executives this week during the carrier's second-quarter earnings call with reporters.Up to now, the luggage allowance for basic economy—American's cheapest, no-frills fare, which was introduced last year—has been just one pe...
Ticket Prices Go Up at Kennedy Space Center in Florida
Posted on 07/25/2018, 12:30 PM
The price of admission has gone up at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. It will now cost you $57 ($47 for kids ages 3–11) to see NASA artifacts and memorabilia such as the space shuttle Atlantis, a moon rock, spacesuits, rockets, and more. That's a $7 increase from the previous cost. While the price might sound astronomical by museum standards, wouldn't that be appropriate, given...
U.S. Airports with the Most and Least Secure Wi-Fi
Posted on 07/20/2018, 7:45 PM
You already know that airport Wi-Fi can be maddeningly slow. Did you know it also could be leaving you vulnerable to hackers?That's the conclusion reached by a new study (which you can download here) from cybersecurity company Coronet. Analyzing data from the devices of more than 250,000 passengers who had traveled through the 45 busiest airports in the United States over a five-month period, resea...
Barcelona Unveils Website for Finding Legal Apartment Rentals
Posted on 07/18/2018, 4:45 PM
Barcelona has been cracking down on illegal apartment rentals lately.The Spanish city has closed about 2,000 of them for operating without a license, and slapped Airbnb with a fine of €600,000 (US$700,000) for allowing listings for unlicensed apartments on its website.The company has since agreed to ban illegal rentals in Barcelona—though it has yet to pay the fine.Airbnb's move hasn't kept illegal...
You Can Now Go Glamping on NYC's Governors Island
Posted on 07/18/2018, 12:45 AM
A secluded campground has opened in New York City. There are no typos in the preceding sentence. A grouping of 37 tents can now be found on Governors Island, a 172-acre piece of land floating between Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. Once an Army and Coast Guard outpost, the redeveloped isle is partly a national monument and partly a setting for concerts, art exhibits, and other events open to the publ...
Nuts! Southwest Airlines Stops Serving Them on Flights
Posted on 07/10/2018, 5:30 PM
If you were on Family Feud and Steve Harvey asked you to name a snack served on an airplane, it's a cinch that peanuts would be on the board, probably as the number-one answer. Which is odd because peanuts aren't served on the planes of major airlines anymore, with only one or two exceptions. Delta is one—though according to Travel Weekly, that airline will "refrain from serving peanuts on a specif...
