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September 2006
Too much to do to go ashore?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s amazing to me how much cruising has changed in the past five to 10 years. With every new ship, there seems to be another reason to stay onboard for entertainment instead of taking the shore excursions.
A Jacuzzi or two and a couple of pools just don’t cut it anymore. Most now have high-end spas and dining and lots of entertainment choices. The Queen Mary 2 has a planatarium. Carnival’s big ships have huge water slides. Celebrity has an “ice bar” with a frozen ice counter. Norwegian Cruise Lines newest ship, the Norwegian Pearl, will have a four-lane bowling alley.
What do you think abour all these attractions? Do you choose your cruise based on the ammenities onboard or on the ports of call? Have you stayed aboard when the ship is docked at a port and had a spa treatment instead?
For some of the newest cruise choices, check out the Special Cruise Section in Sunday’s newspaper and on ajc.com/travel.
Permalink | | Categories: Cruising
Your favorite Florida lodgings?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The travel editor of our sister newspaper, The Palm Beach Post in Florida, lists her favorite inns in Florida .
What do you think? Have you stayed at any of these places?
- Hotel Victor, Miami Beach
- Josephine’s, Seaside
- Marquesa, Key West
- Hotel St. Michel, Coral Gables
- Cabbage Key
- Tarpon Lodge, Pine Island
- Ponte Vedra Inn and Club
- ‘Tween Waters Inn, Captiva Island
- The Delano, Miami Beach
- The National, Miami Beach
Do you have an inn you think should be on the list, and why?
Permalink | Comments (5) | Categories: Hotels we love
Airport security changes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The rules for what you can carry onboard an airplane are changing again, when it comes to gels and liquids. Now you can take them onboard in carryon luggage if you purchased them from “secure airport stores” after you’ve gone through screening checkpoints.
Travelers also can carry lip gloss and toiletries, as long as they’re in 3-ounce sizes and are placed in clear 1-quart size plastic bags for screening. The changes take effect Tuesday morning.
What do you think of the changes? Are they overdue and sensible or do they pose a risk you’d rather not take?
Permalink | Comments (6) | Categories: About the airlines
Fall, ya’ll
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
OK, fall officially arrives on Saturday — Sept. 23 — and on Sunday, Sept. 24, we publish our annual Fall Getaways section in the AJC Travel section.
As I write today (Sept. 21), there’s a noticable feel of fall in the air (so why am I sitting inside the office in my cubicle?). I’m hankering to get out and enjoy the changing of the season — and I will this weekend even though the leaves haven’t begun to change yet. (I’ll be rooting for the Dawgs in Athens on Saturday and I must admit I’m looking forward to seeing Ralphie the Colorado buffalo mascot romp Between the Hedges.)
But I digress. My question to you is: Where are your favorite places to enjoy autumn?
Share your favorite drives, destinations or a special neck of the woods where the fall foliage is particularly spectacular. Maybe you’d like to share your favorite places to stay in the mountains — inns, B&Bs, cabins. whatever. Or your favorite fall festivals.
Come October, you can log onto www.gastateparks.org to check out Leaf Watch 2006, a weekly update from state park rangers on the progress of the changing foliage throughout the state. It’s been a long, hot summer — let’s go outside and PLAY.
Airline security
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The San Francisco-bound plane that had to be diverted to Dallas gave us all pause, especially coming on the five-year anniversary of Sept. 11 and especially because it left from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
Happily, it was a false alarm. The backpack discovered in the cargo hold of the plane belonged to a woman on a previous flight of the airplane, and the Blackberry in the passenger compartment probably was left behind by a traveler who’s frantically looking for it even now.
What still gives me pause, though, is this comment from a Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman, who said the jet was diverted “out of an abundance of caution.”
Do you think the crew was being overly cautious? If you were aboard that flight would you want it diverted or want it to continue on to San Francisco?
Let someone else struggle with bags
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Hyatt Hotels chain has hit upon an idea that will appeal to many travelers: Starting this month at some locations, you’ll be able to check your bag for your airline and get your boarding pass when you check out of your hotel. The bags will be taken to the airport by Baggage Airline Guest Services and put through security. In return, the traveler pays a small fee for the service, $10.
I don’t see much downside to this for the traveler. What do you think? Would you use this service?
The services will be available for passengers on Airtran, American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, Northwest Airlines, Song, Ted, and United Airlines. For now, Hyatt properties in Boston, Dallas, Denver, Miami, Orlando, San Diego, Seattle and Tampa will offer it, with other locations signing on this year and next.
Are you blue?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Labor Day is is my least favorite holiday! It’s always signaled the end of summer and the start of fall. Though I know it’s not the end of long sunny days, it feels that way.
Does anyone else get the blues in September, feel that it’s time to brace yourself for the coming dark and chilly days? What do you do to shake off the malaise?
The last couple of years, to cheer ourselves up, we’ve taken trips. In mid-September, we’re headed to London for a week. I highly recommend travel as a remedy (and in the real dead of winter, a light box helps, too).
