Travel Snippets and More

Turtles Delay Flights at JFK

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:33:00 +0000

It seems Diamondback terrapins are very common to Jamaica Bay which borders JFK airport.

And it seems that this time of the year, every year, some of those terrapins make their way onto the runways at this New York City airport.

This year, though, the 'invasion' was so large that they actually contributed to delays of up to 1 1/2 hours.

Can you imagine being a passenger anxious to get somewhere and finding out your flight is being delayed by turtles???

For more on the story

Antarctica - Cruise Only

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:46:00 +0000

If you want to see Antarctica on a cruise only basis, better hurry.

Cruise lines like Holland America and Princess have offered South American itineraries that sail, for a few days, in Antarctica.

But in April, an amendment was passed by member countries of the 50 year old Antarctic Treaty. It was agreed that ships carrying more than 500 passengers should not be allowed in Antarctica.

So if you hope to see Antarctica from the deck of one of the larger cruising ships, then you better make your reservation soon. I just checked and Holland America has at least one sailing in December of this year and Princess has one in January of next year. Who knows what will be after that.

Need an agent to answer your questions and to work with you on your booking? Email Ellen at Sea4Sail.com

Airlines Dealing With Obese Passengers

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:12:00 +0000

United Airlines has joined the growing list of airlines that require 'passengers of size' to purchase a second seat.

United's new policy reads: " For the comfort and well-being of all customers aboard United flights, we have aligned with other major airlines' seating policies regarding passengers of size.

This includes passengers who are:
unable to fit into a single seat in the ticketed cabin
unable to properly buckle the seat belt using a single seat belt extender
and/or
unable to put the seat's armrests down when seated

If there are unused seats on the United flight, the passenger meeting these criteria will be given a seat next to an empty one. If the flight is full, the customer either must purchase an upgrade to a cabin with available seats or change the ticket to the next available flight and purchase an additional, second seat. The price of the second seat will be the same as paid for the original seat and there will be no rebooking or change of flight fees charged.

If there passenger cannot purchase a second seat and there are no empty ones, the passenger will not be permitted to board and their fare will be refunded with no penalty.

Cheyenne Woods Graced Local Golf Course

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:41:00 +0000

Cheyenne Woods, who is Tiger Wood's niece, was playing at Locust Hill Country Club in Pittsford, New York. She had been competing in the Wegmans LPGA tournament before missing the cut.

Locust Hill is about 20 minutes from my house. The LPGA tournament is, obviously, a very major golfing event held here every year.

Wegmans, one of the major sponsors, is our local, home grown chain of supermarkets. And I use the term supermarket loosely. Their premier store in Pittsford is a local tourist attraction. (Even Cher was taken there when she did a local concert.) Shopping at the Pittsford store of Wegmans is a shopping 'event'.

I wonder if Cheyenne was taken there and given the VIP tour? Wegman's sells a large variety of items but I think even they don't sell ladies golf clubs.

New TSA Rules

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:05:00 +0000

New TSA (Transportation Security Administration) rules began being phased in on May 15th.

They require all airlines operating within the U.S. to collect the full name, date of birth and gender of each passenger. Allegedly, the new rules were put in place to help prevent the problem of misidentifying passengers with those who have similar names and are on the 'terrorist watch list'.

It may take a few months for all of the airlines to be able to integrate this information into their systems. Once that is accomplished, this new rule will apply to all airlines that fly into, out of, or over the U.S.

Review: Views From The Left Seat

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:36:00 +0000

I subscribe to this blog and was SO glad to read a new post.

The author is a commercial airline pilot and the posts are from his perspective. They are well written and sprinkled with his excellent, and interesting, photographs.

I think this blog should be on the Subscribe list of anyone who flies. Take a look. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Views From The Left Seat

How to save money at motels

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 15:46:00 +0000

I recently found out one way to save money at a motel. At least at a motel in the Marriott chain.

We drove up to a Fairfield Inn and I approached the desk to check out the rate. Normal rate was $139. AAA and AARP rate was $132. I really wasn't happy with the price but the weather, which had prompted us to stop in the first place, was lousy.

I went outside to my husband, who was waiting in the car, and told him the rate. I then came back in and asked 'Is that really the best you can do?".

The desk clerk asked me if I was a 'senior'. Since I over 60, I said 'Yes'. She could give me the 'senior rate' of $118!!

Now I know.... In the future, I'll be sure to ask for a 'senior rate'.

Kettle Creek, Potter County, PA

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 14:52:00 +0000

My husband is a fly-fisherman. A while back he picked up a book entitled, something like, 'The best 100 trout streams in the U.S.'. He seems to have, now, made it his mission in life to fish as many of them as possible.

This is turning out to be less difficult than he originally thought as a significant number of them are just a few hours from our house, in central Pennsylvania.

Near the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania, just west and south of PA Rt 6 (which runs along the northern part of the state), are loads of trout steams, many of them Class A. We decided to take a week and spend it in the area.

After my husband narrowed down the possible locations to use as a base, it was now my job to find accommodations. And did I get lucky!

I found Kettle Creek Adventures. Run by a lovely couple, Dave and Brenda, Kettle Creek Adventures offers accommodations in their beautiful home. Located just across the road from Kettle Creek, their new, huge, lodge-in-the-woods offers both B&B and self-contained accommodations. We opted for the B&B and had our own room, private bath and were treated, each morning, to a fantastic custom made breakfast.

From their wrap around deck we were able to watch wildlife in the evenings and mornings, and Dave, a licensed guide, gave us directions to great fishing hotspots.

As readers of this site know, we typically do not go back to the same place twice. We made an exception here and are returning to Kettle Creek Adventures next year.

Review: Cape May, New Jersey

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 11:28:00 +0000

Just returned from our second visit to Cape May, New Jersey. The last time we went was October, 2007. It was just my husband and I at that time and the purpose was to do some bird watching. Cape May is on the Atlantic migratory bird flyway. Cape May Point State Park is a great place to watch for the birds of prey. There is a wooden overlook with benches and lots of spotters to help you identify the birds that are seen.

That September we had a mix of weather, everything from chilly to an 80 degree day. It was a very nice place to visit so we decided to take our grandchildren there this past week, just as they finished school.

Being June, the motel prices are a lot higher than they are in October. Not only that, the base room price covers only two people in the room. Over two, the additional charges ranged from about $15 pp to $22 pp. I finally found a place to stay in the area I wanted (all the way at the end of Beach Avenue) and we had to send in the cost of one night for a non-refundable deposit.

Well, I don't know if it was because it was just the third week in June or the weather, but lots of motels had vacancies. If I was to come again at this time, I think I would come without a res and try to negotiate a better rate at one of the many places with a Vacancy sign up.

As for the weather, it certainly was not what I would have expected for mid-June. We had very cool weather and even pouring rain (fortunately on the day we were leaving anyway).

In spite of that, our 7 and 9 year old grandchildren had a great time. We hiked at the state park and we managed to grab an afternoon with some brief sunshine for them to play in the surf.

We ate dinner at Lucky Bones, which was very good. To keep the restaurant check in line, they offer a lot of sandwiches. We also ate at Mangia, Mangia. The food was excellent, the service was lousy and the bill was high. There are lots of pizza places. Charlie's Place on Beach Avenue offers a reasonably priced menu.

Lots of restaurants open for breakfast and lunch but not for dinner. And lots of restaurants just not open. We were wondering if it was still too early in the season. We even saw an ice cream place still closed.

I highly recommend Cape May as a family destination. Just keep in mind that Cape May, like any seashore community in the summer, can also be an expensive destination.

Costa Rica Entrance Fee

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:49:00 +0000

Contrary to the information I had for an earlier post, Costa Rica has not implemented the plan that would have added a flat fee of $15 to all air tickets.

I don't have information, though, as to whether or not it did drop the 3% hotel tax. If anyone has any information on that, please let me know.

Free e-guides

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:45:00 +0000

I found a site offering some neat, and FREE, e-guides. They open in a .pdf file and you can then print them off to take with you.

http://www.traveleguides.com/

Clever Use of Color

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 12:54:00 +0000

If you've got the time, take a look at the Orange Country website.

I love the orange county web design. I think it’s neat how orange, the name of the county, is used throughout the site.

Just thought this was a pretty good way to 'remind' people of the name of the county they are looking at.

Travel Quotes

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:00:00 +0000

I'm a member of Twitter. I found a site called TravelCash that I was curious about. Read a bit and found these quotes some which I found quite interesting and some which gave me a chuckle. Thought I'd pass some along:

Kilometers are shorter than miles. Save gas, take your next trip in kilometers. – George Carlin

If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home. - James Mitchener

Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going. - Paul Theroux

Remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable - Clifton Fadiman

A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it. - John Steinbeck

Review: Celebrity Infinity

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:08:00 +0000

First, I must start off by saying this is not my personal review. It is from a letter written to ITN (I posted a review here: International Travel News), a great newsletter that I subscribe to. The writer took a cruise on Celebrity's Infinity in April, 2008.

The traveler had booked a suite with balcony at a cost of $8,328 per person. To say they were very disappointed is putting it mildly. In a nutshell, the writer described the Infinity as an "outdated and dysfunctional ship".

Their complaints ranged from a broken toilet (that took 4 days to fix), water in their Jacuzzi that was "black and brackish", to a TV that didn't work right and ceiling lights that kept burning out.

They felt their veranda sliding doors looked like they had never been cleaned and the chaise lounge, on their veranda, looked dirty and worn.

And that was just the cabin. The letter continued with complaints about the dining room (both food and service) and the spa (service). And the fact that a letter, with pictures, had been sent to the CEO of Celebrity and the client received no response.

As it usually does when it receives letters like this, ITN sent a copy to Celebrity Cruises and also received no reply.

I've sailed with Celebrity (although many years ago) and the trips were great. I sure hope this ship isn't a sign of deterioration of the line. If anyone has any additional information on this ship or Celebrity, I'd love to know. You can email me or just leave a Comment.

Bargains Galore For Travel To Mexico

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Fri, 29 May 2009 17:42:00 +0000

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has lifted its advisory against non-essential travel south of the border. So if you want to travel cheap, think about a trip to Mexico.

The Mexican government has earmarked $92 million for a public relations campaign to improve the country's image and to get tourists to return.

Occupancy rates in Cancun have dropped to about 50% of what they were a year ago. The beaches are empty and you don't need a reservation at top notch restaurants.

For more on this story

When in Cape Town, Don't Feed the Baboons

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:02:00 +0000

Chacma Baboons are a protected species. About 350 of them live in and around Cape Town. In the past, tourists and tour operators have fed the baboons to be able to get interesting photo ops.

Now the baboons have become aggressive, stealing snacks from people and even breaking into cars. Unfortunately, some of the more aggressive baboons have had to be killed by park rangers.

In hopes of stopping the feeding of the baboons, city authorities will now impose a fine of ZAR1,500 (about $150) PLUS six months in jail on anyone caught feeding the baboons.

JetAmerica: New Low Cost Airline

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Wed, 27 May 2009 17:25:00 +0000

A new low cost airline is getting ready to take off. Planning to start flying in July, JetAmerica will be flying Boeing 737s between Newark Liberty Airport and Toledo, Ohio, South Bend, Indiana, Lansing, Michigan and Melbourne-Vero Beach, Florida.

Fares will run around $69 for one way but very early bookers could snare of the $9 seats that will be available on each flight. There will be a fee to check bags or to have a soft drink.

Technically, JetAmerica will be classified as a public charter since it will sell tickets only on its web site, determine its own flight schedules and also determine what cities it will fly to.

For more information, check out their web site at www.jetamerica.com.

Do Not Fly Into Santiago (Chili) With Any Food

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Mon, 25 May 2009 17:11:00 +0000

Fresh or dried. Sealed or unsealed packages. Makes no difference.

Those of us who have traveled internationally have to fill out Customs forms upon arriving in a new country. One typical question: Are you bringing in any fruit or vegetables? And, I think about fresh food, not the package of dried fruit I have with me, and I check off 'No'.

Well, if you do that on the Chilean customs form, and you have any type of fruits or vegetables with you, you will have lied. In Chili they mean ALL fruits and vegetables.

The Chilean authorities are extremely vigilant about preventing the importation of pests because they export so many agricultural products. Once in a while, a Customs agent might let in a sealed package of nuts but, in general, they are very strict and will confiscate your package of dried fruit, roasted nuts and trail mix.

Take Advantage of Summer Freebies

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Fri, 22 May 2009 17:20:00 +0000

I saw an article in USA Today that I thought was very timely, considering the current state of the economy.

If you are looking for free things to do this summer, check out the article:

Summer travel '09: Freebies across the USA

See what's 'playing' for free in your state!

Florida Rt 1 versus I95

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Wed, 20 May 2009 14:42:00 +0000

Let me start by saying how much I dislike driving on I95. But if you coming up the east coast from Florida, one doesn't have much choice. Unless.....

Recently driving north we entered a horrific rain storm as we approached Daytona. It was getting late, and the dark wasn't helping, so we called it a night, hoping next morning would dawn bright and clear.

No such luck. Rain continued the following morning as we got onto I95 and made it all of one exit. Yup, you read that right....we got on one exit and got off the next. Between the heavy rain and the spray kicked up by all the cars and trucks, we, literally, could not see.

So, instead, we headed over to Rt 1 which parallels I95, figuring a slower road and less traffic would work better. And it did. We were amazed at what a pleasant road Rt 1 offered. Yes, we had to slow down for a town or two. But, in general, speed limit was 65 (same as I95), very little traffic (no 18 wheelers) and beautiful countryside.

Definitely our recommendation if you want to get off the interstate between Daytona and Jacksonville.

Don't Leave Home With It!

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Sat, 16 May 2009 14:31:00 +0000

What is 'it'? 'It' is your garage door opener.

Taking a trip? Flying out of your home town airport? Leaving your car in the airport long term parking lot? Leave your garage door opener at home!!!

Think about how much ID you probably have in your car: insurance docs, registration doc, receipts, etc, etc.

Now, suppose your car gets broken into? You have just handed the thief your home address AND a way to get into your house: the garage door opener.

So leave the garage door opener home. And don't leave your home address in your car. Check with your state's DMV but I understand it is OK to black out your home address on your insurance ID card. If not, keep it in your wallet or purse.

Ground Transportation From PBI

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Thu, 14 May 2009 23:41:00 +0000

In the past, whenever I've traveled to West Palm Beach, I've always been picked up at the airport (Palm Beach International). But not this time.

This time I was coming down to Florida to pick up my step-mom's car and drive it north. So no one at the airport to meet us (my step-mom and dad are no longer driving) and no rental car to get.

We had three options for a ride from PBI to the condo: taxi, SuperShuttle, and private shuttle. I figured the taxi for the most expensive. Before leaving home I had called a private shuttle and they wanted $35. I also called SuperShuttle and their rate was $25, but they don't take reservations. OK, we'd give SuperShuttle a try upon arrival.

Fast forward to arrival at PBI and a stop at the Ground Transporation counter. Yes, SuperShuttle was $25 but it would be almost an hour before a shuttle would be there to take us. My husband and I looked at the display board listing taxi fares to area locations. Even though the location we needed was not on the list, looking at nearby localities we figured the taxi would be on the expensive side. But after being up since 4 AM, traveling all day, we looked at each other and decided to spring for a taxi.

The taxi fare? $35...same as the private shuttle. No where near the rate we anticipated based upon the displayed fares. In this case, the taxi turned out to be the right decision.

dot travel?

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Thu, 14 May 2009 15:28:00 +0000

I think most of us are familiar with the URL extensions of .com, .edu, .net, .org and others. And I've known for some time that the travel industry has been campaigning for a dot travel extension.

Guess I must have missed the announcement because it looks like dot travel is, currently, in use. With some restrictions on who can use it, .travel is being used by organizations, associations, and private, governmental and non-governmental agencies in the travel and tourism industry.

Doing some research I turned up the ICANN list of accredited registrars. I have to admit I had no idea there were so many top level domains.

.museum?

Be Sure To Cancel Your Credit Cards Before You Die

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:13:00 +0000

I have no idea if the conversation presented in this post really happened or not. But after some frustrating experiences I've had with banks recently, I have no trouble believing it.

Either way, made for a nice chuckle and good start to my day

Remember to cancel your credit cards before you die!

One Way Now Available With American Airlines AAdvantage Miles

noreply@blogger.com (diane) — Mon, 11 May 2009 19:23:00 +0000

It is now possible to use miles from your American Airlines AAdvantage account to book one way travel. American Airlines is calling them Flex Awards.

The trip can be, literally, a one way trip. Or, it can be a round trip, booked using different mileage levels for each direction. For instance, a flight could be business class in one direction but coach in the other.

In addition, the online booking form has been improved. I'm really excited about the new look, the new options and how easy it is to use.

You can read more detailed information at American Airlines website.