Articles

Trends & Hacks

Article / Money and Fees

Before You Travel: 4 Crazy Rules You Need to Know

The travel industry loves to 'forget' important facts about its products. Here are the top clauses your company may not disclose -- and what you need to know about them.

Article / Cruise

A Year of Cruising: The Good, The Bad, and the Cheesy

In the spirit of offering both praise and constructive criticism, here's ten cents about nine great and not-so-great cruise moments on six sailings from the past year.

Article / Cruise

Mississippi Riverboat Cruising Isn't Dead, but It Sure Ain't Healthy

For the first time since the early 19th century, there are no river ships offering full-service overnight cruises on the Mississippi -- and no one is jumping in to fill the void.

Article / Money and Fees

Travel Troubleshooter: Now That's a Change Fee!

The tickets our reader buys for a vacation to Tanzania are refundable with a change fee, but she doesn't know the fee is a quarter of the cost. Is she going to lose thousands of…

Article / Money and Fees

Spring Broke: 6 Secrets for Traveling Free

Free isn't just a legitimate goal for your next trip. It might be a realistic one, too. How do you travel without paying?

Article / Money and Fees

Travel Troubleshooter: Right State, Wrong Ramada

Our reader accidentally reserves a nonrefundable room in the wrong city. Now his hotel wants to keep the money. Can he get a refund? Or is he stuck with a room he can't use?

Article / Miscellaneous

Travel Writing 101: What is Good Travel Writing?

There are as many kinds of writing as there are authors, but what type is best for you? As a writer, you should think about what your objectives might be before you touch fingers to…

Article / Money and Fees

Pick a Card, But Not Any Card: How to Choose the Best Hotel Credit Cards

If your credit card just gives you credit, you're missing out. Hotel credit cards can get you free nights and flights in pretty much any destination you choose. Find the one that's…

Article / Money and Fees

Airfare Absurdity: 6 Tips for Navigating the New World of Airline Tickets

Airlines break out their fares in confusing ways because it makes prices look lower. Here are a few tips for seeing your way around surprise fees.

Article / Money and Fees

Deal or No Deal? 6 Secrets for Spotting a Bargain

All across the travel industry, people who thought they were getting deals are discovering that they aren't. But how do you know? Here are a few tips.

Article / Cruise

What Does it Really Cost to Take a Cruise?

The cruise lines are coming up with more and more ways for you to spend your money once on board. Here's what you'll really spend for that bargain cruise of your dreams.

Article / Money and Fees

Travel Troubleshooter: Forced to Buy Another Ticket

Our reader is forced to buy a one-way ticket because Expedia made an error. Now it wants him to work for his refund. Can it do that?

Article / Air Travel

Is London Finally Becoming Affordable?

London has been scarily expensive for the past few years. Is it now time that Americans reclaimed the right to visit and smile when the bill arrives?

Article / Money and Fees

Posting Power: 7 Tips for Blogging Your Way to a Better Trip

Had a problem with your last trip? Fire up your PC and post something online -- you just might change the travel industry.

Article / Money and Fees

Travel Troubleshooter: Is My Insurance Claim Lost in Translation?

Our reader falls ill on a trip to China, and files a travel insurance claim. Three months later, there's no sign of the money. Is there anything left to do?

Article / Cruise

Travel Q&A: Here's What the Experts Think About Cruising Alaska

If you can spare the dough, now's the time to go and explore Southeast Alaska's gorgeous fjords, glaciers, and forests. Here's what a handful of experts say about what to book, when to…

Article / Miscellaneous

Roll Models: Post-Fee Luggage You've Gotta Have

It's been almost a year since American Airlines started charging passengers for their first checked bag, a move that every other legacy airline quickly followed. It's taken almost that…

Article / Hotels

5 Adrenaline Rushes in the Snowy Pocono Mountains

The Poconos' charms are many and varied. And during these long, cold months, snow bunnies looking for a weekend getaway will find a seriously wintry destination, with an average low…

Article / Hotels

Rockies Report: Cheap Slopes for Cheapskates

Heli-skiing in Kootenay, family packages in steamboat, last-minute discounts for Vail and Keystone, plus much much more.

Article / Air Travel

Greenwich Mean Time: Beating the Jet Lag Blues

Good old Greenwich Mean Time can be mean, all right, if you crisscross timelines and travel a lot. But what's a tired world traveler to do?

Article / Car, Bus, Rail

Travel Troubleshooter: My Valet Got a Parking Ticket. Now What?

Our reader's rental car gets a ticket when she leaves it with the hotel valet. She wants the ticket refunded, but the hotel is stringing her along. Is she stuck?

Article / Packing & Luggage

How to Navigate Airport Security Without Losing Your Liquids -- Or Your Mind

With airlines charging for checked baggage, more travelers are carrying luggage on board. To learn how to speed up the line, we turned to a TSA expert for advice.

Article / Cruise

A Big Ship Veteran Tries Something Smaller and Fancier

The Mariner is a perfect mid-size ship with huge staterooms and all-inclusive fares, so the higher per person rates for a Regent cruise can make it more than worthwhile on the right…

Article / Cruise

The Most Romantic Cruises: A Valentine's Primer

Only a handful of cruises is categorically, subjectively, and unquestionably romantic, and these five choices are the best of the best, veritable floating love machines, and Harlequin…

Article / Money and Fees

Travel Troubleshooter: Is My Cruise Refund Really Sunk?

When our reader cancels the credit card he used with Princess Cruises, he complicates his refund. After hours on the phone and promises of a check, he's no closer to getting his money.…