Dog in care of Delta airlines found dead in Atlanta

by McLean Robbins on

The dog lost by Delta Airlines over the holiday weekend was found dead on the side of the road Saturday, CBS Atlanta reports.

Our friends at AOL Travel originally reported on the story of an Army family’s dog, a German Shepherd mix named Nala, that had gone missing after escaping from her crate at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The dog and her travel companion, the family’s Beagle, were changing planes en route to Frankfurt, Germany. The other dog has arrived safely.

Nala escaped from her crate and was last seen on Christmas Eve. The airline had been offering a $1,000 reward for the return of the dog and now says it plans to donate that money to a local animal rescue organization.

This story is quite sad, as anyone who has ever lost a family pet will certainly agree. But what is even more strange is how a dog that large could escape without being tracked down immediately. There must be some sort of consequences for the employee in charge of these pets as there is a clear lack of effective security measures that contributed to the escape. While we certainly applaud Delta’s reward efforts, $1,000 is a small consolation for the loss of a beloved pet.

Universal ride that caught fire will be closed for weeks

by Leigh Caldwell on

Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls water ride will be closed for several weeks following a fire at Islands of Adventure on Saturday night.

The Universal Orlando ride will be closed to repair the damage, and to undergo seasonal maintenance, according to Universal. Ripsaw Falls had already been scheduled to be closed for maintenance in a couple of weeks.

About 5:30 Saturday evening, the ride and surrounding Toon Lagoon area were evacuated when clouds of black smoke started billowing from the ride’s roof. Forty firefighters called to the scene had the fire under control in about 30 minutes and completely out in about an hour, officials told the Orlando Sentinel.

No guests were injured in the fire, though a few were evaluated at the theme park’s first aid station.

The rest of the Islands of Adventure theme park remained open during and after the fire.

The exact cause of the blaze is still under investigation.

Disney photo privacy questions raised by new ‘Let the Memories Begin’ campaign

by Leigh Caldwell on

Walt Disney World and Disneyland are inviting guests to share their Disney Parks memories in the form of photos, video and stories submitted to a Disney Web site as part of a 2011 marketing campaign called “Let the Memories Begin.” Videos shot by Disney visitors are being used in TV commercials for the theme parks.

And a key component of the new marketing campaign starts early this year, when Disney will begin projecting images of guests in the park that day on Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World and on It’s A Small World at Disneyland.

So, how will those images be chosen, and what if you don’t want your larger-than-life likeness shown?

Disney says the up to 500 photos used daily will be provided by Disney PhotoPass Photographers, those guys and gals who stop you and ask to take your picture at various scenic locations throughout Disney’s theme parks.

You will be able to opt out and keep your photo out of the nightly show, Disney tells the Orlando Sentinel. That’s a smart move for a company using the images in what is essentially another piece of a marketing campaign.

However, on an individual basis, you should know that photos taken of you inside U.S. theme parks are pretty much fair game. If your image winds up on someone else’s Twitter stream or Flickr account, there’s really nothing you can do.

Some theme parks print a generic “use of likeness” release on the physical ticket you are given; others include it in the terms and conditions you agree to when purchasing tickets online.

But lawyers say that even without some sort of printed photo release, you don’t have much recourse if you want a photo removed from, say, someone else’s Facebook. With thousands of people taking thousands of photos every day, there’s no real expectation of privacy if your face is captured in the crowd.

Langham Hotels to open doors at Chicago’s IBM building

by Melanie Nayer on

One of Chicago’s most iconic buildings is about to get a new tenant.

Oxford Capital Group LLC and Langham Hotels and Resorts said they will develop a luxury hotel in the IBM building in downtown Chicago, directly across the street from the luxury hotel Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago.

The new hotel, to be called Langham Chicago Hotel, is expected to open in 2012 and will occupy floors 2 through 13. There will be around 330 guestrooms and suites ranging from 525 square feet to more than 2,000. Guestrooms will have floor-to-ceiling windows providing views of the Chicago River, Lake Michigan and the Chicago skyline. The Langham Chicago Hotel will also host a 5,000 square-foot ballroom, a 9,000 square-foot restaurant, wine room, indoor pool and fitness center.

To date the Langham is a well-established brand overseas with properties in Asia and Europe, but only two hotels in the United States (Boston and Pasadena). The addition of the new Chicago hotel marks Langham’s efforts to increase their luxury brand to U.S. travelers.

[via Chicago Sun-Times]

Royal Caribbean cracks down on booze smuggling

by Chris Owen on

It wasn’t all that long ago when guests booked on any given cruise line did not have too much trouble bringing a bottle of fine wine, some soft drinks or bottled water on to the ship at embarkation to enjoy in their stateroom. There was no “smuggling” needed and cruise lines, for the most part, allowed it. Today, rules are changing and being strictly enforced.

Cruise lines in general allowed guests to bring on one bottle of fine wine for a special occasion when they boarded the ship. The only caveat being that if consumed in the dining room the line would charge a “corkage fee” for serving it. Bottled water and soft drinks too were allowed. I have checked cases of bottled water with porters at the pier before and they were delivered to our stateroom right along with luggage later in the day. Soft drinks in 12-packs were easy to add to checked luggage too, also with no problem.
Hard liquor, beer, excessive amounts of wine (like in a box) have always been prohibited but common advice was to wrap it securely and put in checked luggage. One could almost bet on it making its way through security and on to the ship. No problem. Still, it was technically smuggling and it might as well have been gasoline. If caught, the cruise line would take it.

Today, we see more reports of cruise lines cracking down on booze smuggling with this recent report by a Royal Caribbean passenger just off Oasis of the Seas saying:

“We gave all our luggage to the porter. All our bags showed up around 2 PM, except for 3 bags that contained alcohol”

“Our cabin steward said if we had Irons (fire hazard) or alcohol in those missing bags, that we needed to go down to level 2 and claim them. We went down and were surprised to see this large room covered with luggage. I’m talking 100’s of bags”

“They greeted us by asking if we had alcohol or irons in the bag. They had 2 different sections of bags, one for the irons and one for the alcohol. After locating our bags, we had to take them to a table to be opened, inspected by security while you rummage through your bag and get out the alcohol that the cruise line somehow determined was in it it. They taped all the items together, marked our room # on it and said it would be returned the last night of the cruise. Our cabin steward did return it around 6 PM on our last night”.

“One in our party had a 4 pack of those small bottles of wine that they confiscated. She thought she had rummaged completely through her bag in front of security, but she missed one bottle so we had that one anyway.”

Moral of the story: Pack junk wine or decoy bottles on top with the good stuff deep down in the luggage? Be more creative, like Ziploc bags of booze taped to your body?

Probably not.Royal Caribbean’s rules are clear: “Guests are not allowed to bring alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages on-board for consumption or any other use.” Try and you’re just rolling the dice as to if your contraband makes it on the ship or not.

Better idea: Budget for liquor and other beverage purchases and have an idea of what you might spend on the sailing then just consider it part of the price OR cruise a line that has a more lenient policy.

Carnival Cruise Line’s policy also prohibits bringing alcoholic beverages on board but says “wine enthusiasts may bring fine wine or champagne on board only during embarkation at the beginning of the cruise” and that guests “may bring a small quantity of nonalcoholic beverages” but quickly points out that “All liquor, excessive quantities of wine and nonalcoholic beverages, to be determined at the discretion of security and/or embarkation personnel, will be confiscated and discarded without compensation.” Princess Cruises also has that exemption for a bottle of wine at embarkation. Other lines have their own policies and they change from time to time so be sure you know for sure what the policy of your line is.

Another part of Royal Caribbean’s policy that is probably overlooked, especially by passengers who drive rather than fly to the port of embarkation:

“Please Note: All guests must comply with TSA guidelines for transporting liquids.”

Uh oh!

That surely means they could confiscate bottles of shampoo, mouthwash, lotions, and other liquids in excess of the 3oz TSA limit. This one has a double whammy of trouble. First, (and probably why they added it) filling a large Listerine bottle with Scotch or an Evian bottle with Vodka is no longer a really security-proof option. Next, will 3oz of your favorite shampoo really be enough for a week? Odds are you can bring many little bottles of shampoo and really creative people will find a way to smuggle booze on to the ship anyway.

Better idea? TSA Compliant Travel Bottles and Kits for Liquids and Gels

Bad idea: The wine rack described as “Turn an A cup in to double Ds AND sport your favorite beverage for yourself and your friends! Better than a Boob Job and Cheaper Too! Not to mention the savings on over priced drinks.“

This is where we hope cruise lines don’t start TSA-style patdown’s any time soon.

Flickr photo by theimpulsive buy