Arthur Frommer (1929–2024)
Posted on 11/18/2024, 4:15 PM
It is with deep sadness that I announce my father, Arthur Frommer, founder of the Frommer's guidebooks and Frommers.com, passed away today at the age of 95, at home and surrounded by loved ones. Throughout his remarkable life, Arthur Frommer democratized travel, showing average Americans how anyone can afford to travel widely and better understand the world. He published the revolutionary Europe on...
What the Spirit Airlines Bankruptcy Means for Travelers
Posted on 11/18/2024, 4:00 PM
No-frills carrier Spirit Airlines has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the company has announced. As NBC News reports, Spirit has had a rough few years, characterized by growing debt, quarterly losses, and a failed merger with JetBlue. The bankruptcy filing doesn't mean, however, that the company is going kaput (turns out the Monopoly board game is a very poor teacher of economics). ...
Another Cruise Port Votes to Restrict Visitors: How Passenger Limits Are Shaping Cruising
Posted on 11/07/2024, 4:30 PM
Lost in the threshing machine of more momentous news headlines this week was the outcome of a referendum in Bar Harbor, Maine, that portends deepening complications for cruise passengers.The port of Bar Harbor is used by the major cruise lines as the landing point for excursions to glorious Acadia National Park. On Tuesday, Bar Harbor residents voted to reaffirm a cap on the number of daily cruise ...
Moo Deng Dupes: U.S. Zoos Where You Can See Pygmy Hippos
Posted on 10/29/2024, 6:00 PM
To see the young pygmy hippo–turned–internet sensation Moo Deng (pictured above) in real life, you'd need to travel to Thailand, where the charismatic star resides at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in the east coast province of Chonburi. According to news reports, New Yorker and Moo Deng superfan Molly Swindall has made the pilgrimage twice in recent weeks, spending thousands of dollars and dozens of hours ...
Recent Art Vandalism Makes Visiting Museums Tougher for Travelers
Posted on 10/18/2024, 8:00 AM
London's iconic National Gallery, which receives some 3 million visits a year, has announced new security measures that will require more advance planning from travelers—and other museums are tightening their policies, too. On October 17, the Gallery said that visitors will no longer be permitted to carry liquids with them during visits. "Since July 2022, the National Gallery alone has been the ...
Disney's New Lightning Lane Premier Pass: How to Access It for Less Money
Posted on 10/16/2024, 2:45 PM
Ever since the pandemic, one of the biggest annoyances at Disney theme parks has been the monetization of lines for rides. A few years ago, Disney invented a way to trick customers into paying extra for something that was previously bestowed for free as a mark of Disney's fabled quality. The standard lines, the ones most of us grew up waiting in for rides, have been systematically and intentional...
Can You Really Fly with a Gun in the USA? Or Bring a Toy Gun on an Airplane? We Hate to Tell You...
Posted on 10/10/2024, 1:45 PM
In the first 9 months of 2024, the Transportation Security Administration intercepted more than 5,000 firearms at airport security checkpoints across the United States, the federal agency has reported. That means TSA agents discover a firearm among a passenger's carry-on belongings about 18 times a day. And get this: The weapon is loaded, according to the TSA, more than 93% of the time. Perhaps...
Is "Skiplagging" Illegal? And Does the Controversial Airfare Hack Even Save Money?
Posted on 10/08/2024, 12:30 PM
The controversial airfare trick known as "skiplagging" will soon go on trial in federal court. The purportedly money-saving hack involves booking a flight with a connection, but then getting off the plane in the layover city and not continuing on to the final destination on the trip itinerary. So, for instance, if you wanted a cheap flight from Boston to Dallas but the best price you could find w...
Discounts for Disney Due to Softer Bookings: See the Current Sales
Posted on 10/04/2024, 4:15 PM
Everyone knows a Disney parks vacation costs a lot. Disney was once a byword for whimsy and quality, but it seems like in our era, "expensive" has replaced "magic" as the single adjective most people use to describe an audience with Mickey Mouse.But ever since the initial rush of post-pandemic travel, bookings for Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California have been noticeably weaker...
Exclusive: TSA Chief Reveals Huge Changes for Faster Airport Security—And Some Are Already in Place
Posted on 10/01/2024, 9:00 AM
With no fanfare, and with little public comment, one of the most dreaded aspects of air travel got faster, less intrusive, and far more pleasant. I’m talking about airport security, believe it or not. And it’s about to improve even more in the very near future. (No joke.) Last weekend, I welcomed David Pekoske, the Administrator of the United States' Transportation Security Administration (TSA), ...
