What’s on the horizon for cruise lines. The importance of travel insurance. And perhaps an end to over-tourism. I listened in on a pair of travel webinars on Thursday, trying to glean some words of wisdom from people smarter than I am. I came away with some pretty interesting observations for my now regular FUTURE OF TRAVEL blog series. The second webinar of the day was put on by my friends at TravMedia (full disclosure, I’m on the advisory board for their IMM USA yearly event) and featured a number of top names, including Los Angeles Times Travel Editor Catharine Read more
cruising
SOMEWHERE IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN: It’s formal night on the luxurious Cunard Queen Mary 2 and the British pub on board is packed with men in tuxedos and dark suits and women in elegant ball gowns. Instead of nodding quietly to a tinkling piano, however, this crowd of mostly middle-aged cruise enthusiasts are listening to a British musician blaze a loud, searing solo on his electric guitar as he plays Pink Floyd’s “The Wall.” Their hands rise above their heads in unison, clapping fiercely as they join guitarist Paul Garthwaite in belting out the song’s famous lines, “We don’t need Read more
It’s easy to forget how lucky we are in Toronto. I live a few miles north of Lake Ontario and often weeks go by without my seeing one of the world’s largest lakes. And then I get down there on a perfect night in late spring and admire the light on the water and the brilliant white sailboats bobbing along and the feeling of sun on my face, and I look at the shoreline and say to myself, “I wish I owned a place right over there.” That’s probably not going to happen, and I’m probably never going to own Read more
MIAMI – A suite with almost 3,000 square feet of interior space. 493 chandeliers. And two original Picasso drawings. And if you asked for a partridge in a pear tree they’d probably get that for you, too. I had the chance recently to tour the Regent Seven Seas Explorer ship. It’s billed as “the most luxurious ship ever built,” and I’m in no position to dispute it. I’ve only been on a handful of cruises, but if there’s a more elegant, refined and beautiful ship on one of the world’s oceans I can’t imagine it. They also have introduced a Read more
I wrote yesterday that it was a great day to book a flight. Then came news of more great travel deals this morning. On top of what I mentioned yesterday (see below for details), I got a note this morning to say that SATA/Azores Airlines is offering 25% off all flights from Canada to Portugal as a Boxing Day special. The airlines’ web site says the deal is for any route between Canada and Portugal operated by Azores Airlines and SATA Air Açores but does not include interlines/codeshares with other carriers. The sale runs from now until Jan. 4, 2017, Read more
