Furor Over Norwegian Cruise Line's New Beverage Policy
Posted on 07/11/2016, 9:00 PM
A new beverage policy adopted by Norwegian Cruise Line has kicked up a storm on the internet. Numerous fans and passengers have expressed outrage via social media over a rule banning people from bringing any outside beverages—including a single bottle of water—aboard the company's ships. It has become common practice among cruisers to bring along extra cases of bottled water or soda for drinkin...
Airline to Serve Draft Beer Mid-Flight
Posted on 07/11/2016, 8:00 AM
Dutch airline KLM will soon begin offering draft beers during flights. The company partnered with Heineken to create a "beer tap trolley" that keeps kegs chilled and properly pressurized for up to eight hours and at 36,000 feet. A normal keg would dispense pints full of foam at that altitude, but the new design uses air pressure instead of the usual carbon dioxide so that the beer comes out just...
Three Countries Issue US Travel Warnings
Posted on 07/11/2016, 7:45 AM
Three countries have issued warnings urging their citizens to exercise caution while traveling in the United States, following a series of police shootings of black Americans and sometimes violent protests in response. The Middle Eastern nations of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates recommend avoiding crowds to stay safe; the Bahamas advises young black males to "exercise extreme caution . . ...
English Village Becomes Tourist Attraction, Doesn't Know Why
Posted on 07/10/2016, 9:00 PM
People who live in the English village of Kidlington—population: 14,000; claim to fame: none to speak of—report that busloads of Asian tourists have been pouring into their town on Thursdays, strolling the streets and snapping photos. Here's the weird part: nobody in Kidlington knows why. When locals have asked the visitors for an explanation, the language barrier has kept them from getting muc...
Alaska's Bearcam Is Back
Posted on 07/07/2016, 8:30 PM
For the fourth summer in a row, Explore.org's highly popular and completely riveting Bearcam is up and running again. If you haven't had the pleasure, that's a live feed from several HD cameras set up around Katmai National Park in Alaska, where hundreds of bears gather this time of year to catch salmon swimming upstream. Among the things you might see: showdowns for the best fishing spots at Br...
Study: Taking Photos Enhances Experiences
Posted on 07/07/2016, 8:00 PM
When you're at a museum or landmark where your fellow travelers are snapping photos incessantly, do you ever think those shutterbugs are missing out because they're experiencing the Louvre or Grand Canyon through a small screen instead of at first hand? Turns out science sides with the selfie snappers. A recent study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (pdf) found in an experi...
Eight Airlines Granted Tentative Approval for Flights to Havana
Posted on 07/07/2016, 7:30 PM
Seems like there's a fresh piece of Cuba-related travel news every day. The latest: eight US airlines have received tentative approval from the Department of Transportation to operate direct flights to Havana. The flights could start taking off as early as September—when they do, they'll be the first commercial US flights to Cuba's capital city in more than 50 years. Here are the winning airlin...
Airbnb Already Established—and Booming—in Cuba
Posted on 07/07/2016, 9:00 AM
As American hotel companies make their first forays into the Cuban market after a nearly 60-year absence, they're finding that Airbnb is already firmly established on the island. It's usually the other way around—with hotels entrenched and the home-sharing site as the upstart. But ever since President Obama began easing travel restrictions to Cuba in December 2014, hotels have had to deal with ...
Turkey's Tourism Woes
Posted on 07/07/2016, 8:30 AM
The number of American travelers visiting Turkey dropped by more than 20% in the first five months of 2016 compared to last year, following terrorist attacks in Ankara last fall and Istanbul in January. And those figures don't even cover the period after the latest attack, which took place on June 28 at Istanbul Ataturk Airport and killed more than 40 people. The country's hotels have reported ...
Bill to Tighten Airport Security and Speed Up Lines Gets the Go-Ahead
Posted on 07/07/2016, 8:00 AM
A bipartisan aviation bill designed to heighten airport security measures while shortening security lines was approved by the transportation committees in both houses of Congress on Wednesday. The bill would also require airlines to give you a refund for fees for checked bags when luggage is lost or delayed 12 hours or more on domestic flights or 15 hours or more on international flights. Pro...
