AirTran helps this travel writer put the “fun” back in flying

by McLean Robbins on

Flying is not usually a fun experience, and, as a travel writer, I often dread the drudgery of airport security, limited fast food options and cramped middle seats. But sometimes, you’re surprised. After a marathon security line at Baltimore-Washington International airport and a trudge down to the end of Terminal D, I heard peppy music, which I thought was emanating from the rum bar a few gates down. I’d noticed the balloons at the check-in gate and spotted more ahead. As I rounded the corner, I spotted it. A full steel drum band, massive dance troupe, and cameras everywhere.

Had I accidentally wandered into a Make a Wish Foundation flight? (This had happened once before.) No – it was AirTran’s first flight to Bermuda, and I was apparently on it.

Passengers excitedly milled around the gate area and curious patrons strolled down from other flights to see what was going on. A large table was set up with complimentary bagged sandwiches, chips, soft drinks and cookies emblazoned with the AirTran logo. Employees in Bermuda shorts offered literature about the island, and the native Bermudian dance troupe, flown in for the occasion, performed a routine before boarding the plane in full regalia. Luckily the flight was only about half full and they were able to fit their four-foot tall hats in the overhead bins …

As we boarded the plane, each passenger was given a gift bag with a pink Bermuda tee shirt, literature about the island, and other AirTran swag. Passengers chatted excitedly, flight attendants were more friendly than usual, and behind me, a pilot told another passenger that he’d arranged to take this flight solely so he could say he was aboard the inaugural route. As we disembarked and headed towards customs, a group of flight attendants said the same thing.

When we landed, the city’s fire trucks greeted the plane with a “water gun salute,” essentially hosing us down from either side. The whole flight clapped.

And it reminded me as I typed this on the GoGo WiFi at 39,000 feet – this is why I’m a travel writer. Because sometimes, getting to the destination can be as fun as the destination itself.

The following nonstop flights between Baltimore/Washington and Bermuda will be available beginning April 7, 2011, through October 24, 2011:

Nonstop Service Between Baltimore/Washington and Bermuda

From To Flight Departs Arrives Frequency
Baltimore/Washington Bermuda 1811 12:55 p.m. 4:15 p.m. Daily
Bermuda Baltimore/Washington 1812 5:05 p.m. 6:40 p.m. Daily

Note: Subject to Government Approval

The following nonstop flights between Atlanta and Bermuda will be available beginning May 26, 2011, through September 6, 2011:

Nonstop Service Between Atlanta and Bermuda

From To Flight Departs Arrives Frequency
Atlanta Bermuda 1815 10:20 a.m. 2:20 p.m. Daily
Bermuda Atlanta 1816 3:10 p.m. 5:20 p.m. Daily

Ten offbeat travel tips to “beautify” your experience

by McLean Robbins on

Debbi Kickham, former editor at Robb Report and a 25 year industry veteran, boasts hundreds of thousands of airline miles to her name. While we’re not big on books simply because they have big name behind them, we have to admit – we’re intrigued by some of her offbeat travel tips.

Kickham offers ten of her favorite travel tips – including some that we never would have thought of (where do you even buy Rollerblade wheels?). Check them out:

  • Bring a hot-water bottle. One of Debbi’s interviewees confessed to bringing a hot-water bottle, which she filled on the plane, in order to stay warm and cozy while sailing through the skies.
  • Replace your luggage wheels with Rollerblade wheels. A flight attendant gave Debbi this extraordinary tip. She says this technique, which takes about five minutes, will have your luggage practically rolling itself.
  • Stash a rolling pin in your checked luggage. That’s right – the same rolling pin used to make pastry. One road warrior takes a rolling pin so she can roll out the kinks in her legs.

  • Pack a pool thermometer. Want to swim at your destination’s pool? What if it’s too cold? One travel writer “checks in and checks out the pool” the minute she arrives. If the temperature is too cold, they ask management to raise it to about 80 degrees, so they can swim comfortably.
  • Jumprope in your room – without the jumprope. This is Debbi’s age-old technique, which she has used everywhere from Walla Walla to Bora Bora. When she wants to exercise, a gym isn’t available, and she wants to do aerobics, she simply goes through the motions.
  • Carry on your own air purifier. A cruise-ship professional confessed that she wears a personal air filter on the plane, to make the atmosphere more healthy.
  • Ice your face. If you really want moisturizer and serums to sink into your skin, take the advice of one travel editor: ice your face for a few minutes first. Her dermatologist gave her this great advice!
  • Bring a blow-up ball. One fitness enthusiast who travels frequently always packs a blow-up ball so she can do more effective stomach crunches.
  • Add Vitamin C powder to your water. Want a more effective beauty product? Add Vitamin C powder to water, to make a terrific tonic. Or add it to your moisturizer, to get better results and an antioxidant blast.
  • Bring your own salad dressing to restaurants. Why bother with fattening dressings around the world, when you want to watch your weight?

What do you think? Do you think these tips are great or should some be left at home?

Useful foreign phrases, Part 1: how to say, “I’m just looking” in 10 languages

by Laurel Miller on

I’ve frequently pimped Lonely Planet’s Phrasebooks on this site, but I swear I don’t get kickbacks from the company. It’s just that I’m a big believer in not being a). A Tourist (although, let’s face it, if I’m not at home, I am indeed A Tourist) and b). helpless.

Even if you’re the biggest xenophobe on earth–which would make foreign travel a really weird and pointless pastime you might want to reconsider– it’s hard to dispute the importance of knowing how ask “Where’s the bathroom?” in certain urgent circumstances.

It’s with such experiences in mind that I came up with this fun little series. There are a handful of phrases I’ve cultivated in various languages that have served me well, in situations both good and bad. Not only are they inscribed on the dog-eared inner covers of my trusty Phrasebooks; they’re etched into my mind, so I can summon them at will. Whether you need to ward off annoying vendors, personal humiliation, potential suitors, or would-be attackers, it pays to be prepared and know what to say, when. Since things like “Yes, No, Thank you, Please, Hello,” etc. are generally not too challenging, for the purposes of this series, I’ll leave them out. That doesn’t mean they’re not very important to learn, however.

This week’s lesson: “I’m just looking.” Invaluable for politely but firmly stating your desire to see with your eyes, not your wallet. It may not stop persistent hawkers from trying to close a deal, but at least you’re showing respect by speaking in their native tongue (or an approximation thereof). And who knows? If you change your mind, that alone may help you score a better bargain.

P.S. I don’t claim to be polylingual: I’m compiling phrases based on past experience or research. If I offend anyone’s native tongue, please provide a correction in the “Comments” section. Be nice!

1. Spanish: Solo estoy mirando.

2. Italian: Sto solo guardando.

3. French: Je regarde.

[Photo credit: Flickr user Gerry Balding]4. German: Nur schauen.

5. Czech: Jen se dívám.

6. Portuguese: Estou só a olhar.

Many languages, especially those spoken in Asia and the Middle East, use written characters. Transliteration will vary, depending upon the guidebook/translator, which is why the spelling or phonetics below may be different from other sources. Since these languages are largely tonal (and may require accents or characters not available on a Western computer), look at this way: odds are you’re going to mangle the pronunciation anyway, so just do your best! It’s the thought that counts.

7. Chinese (Cantonese): Tái haa.

8. Japanese: Watashi ga mite iru dakedesu (here’s to Japan getting back on its feet and attracting travelers soon!) To make a Red Cross donation, click here.

9. Vietnamese: Tôi chỉ xem thôi.

14. Moroccan Arabic: Ghir kanshuf.

What’s the most useful phrase you’ve ever learned in a foreign language? How has it helped your travels? We want to hear from you!

[Photo credit: Flickr user wanderer_by_trade]


Travel welcomes multi-generational groups with open, engaging arms

by Chris Owen on

Mom, Dad and the kids like to travel. They like theme parks, resorts and cruises. They like to bring along the grandparents too. It’s nice for the kids to have quality time with the grandparents. It’s even better if the grandparents are buying. Multi-generational travel (3G) is hot and sellers of travel are going after it with every engaging tool they can find.

Many couples in the U.S. work more, make less and struggle with mortgages and bills. In a new, more realistic U.S. economic system that doesn’t allow them to live on maxed-out credit cards, something has got to give. Money they don’t have. Time they have but they give it up to answering emails at night. On the weekends they reach out or engage in other activities to help shore up their employment security in uncertain times.

Heather Scott from babyzone.com says “multigenerational travel experiences are becoming more and more common, especially now as many families struggle to take time out of both parents’ work schedules to spend not just with their children, but with grandparents and other family members.”

Grandma and Grandpa, on the other hand, have both time and money. They can go on vacation just about any time and have the money to pay for the whole group. (Remember, this is the greedy generation that caused this mess.) They also are more physically fit, able to do more and will probably live longer than the grandparents of yesteryear.

Multi-generational Travel is increasing and it’s a good match for grand parents that don’t see enough of the grandkids anyway and Mom and Dad who otherwise wouldn’t be going on vacation at all. Parents like that price tag and like having the Grandparents along for built-in babysitters too.

Theme parks, all-inclusive resorts and cruise lines are courting the 3G market like never before. Mommy-bloggers get front row seats to everything Disney and other theme-park operators have to offer. They know Mom’s opinion, as direct caretaker of the kids, weighs heavy on the vacation decision-making regardless of who is paying. They want Mom on their side and promote their brands to her on Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets with gusto.

Cruise lines too are going after the 3G bunch with increased interest. The cruise industry evolving and settling in to more detailed individual branding. At first it was “Go on a cruise” as the industry worked to swing vacationers from land-based vacations. Not long ago it was “Go on OUR cruise” Right now it’s “Go on OUR cruise and bring your family” as lines are target families of all shapes and sizes, going after their business in some unique ways.

Starting out 2011 with an engaging bang, Carnival Cruise Lines became official confetti sponsor for New York’s Times Square New Years celebration. In that defining event, the line dropped a ton of confetti on the crowd at midnight and social engagement became a huge part of what they do.

Much of that confetti came from visitors to Times Square who stopped by the line’s “wishing wall”. There, they hand-wrote their hopes and dreams for 2011 on red, white and blue slips of paper included in the drop onto party-goers. It doesn’t get a whole lot more engaging than that.

Not that social efforts are something new to Carnival, John Heald’s Blog written by the lines highly-visible senior cruise director dates back to 2007, draws thousands of fans daily and provides the cruise line with a non-corporate voice to deliver their message.

They are not the only ones either. Princess Cruises thoughtfully entered the social arena with their Twitter #FollowMeAtSea trips where travel bloggers and writers were sponsored for an actual cruise to share with followers on Twitter and Facebook. I was on the last one, a 12-day cruise tour through Alaska last June that travelers still ask about today.

Princess has evolved their efforts now to include their 50 Essential Experiences: The Travel Bucket List blog. The weekly posts that will run for a year are written by their own destination experts about some place that Princess sails to. The deeply personal posts as well as background on their writers are resonating with readers who spread the unique content to like-minded friends via Twitter and Facebook.

Royal Caribbean International too is engaging potential 3D travelers in another unique way.

Called the “Ocean Views” film project, Hollywood’s James Brolin, Jenny McCarthy and a boat load of stars recently wrapped up shooting a series of original short films as Hollywood goes to sea on board Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas.

McCarthy’s film is called “The Allure of Love” and tells the story of two friends and their plan to get two exes back together.

Brolin directs and stars in “Royal Reunion,” a short film about a multi-generational family voyage on Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas.

The cruise line hopes the series attracts a variety of audiences, including those who may not have otherwise shown interest in taking a cruise vacation.

“In today’s ever-changing digital landscape, it’s important to recognize that consumers are getting their information from a variety of channels,” said Betsy O’Rourke, SVP Marketing, Royal Caribbean International.

The two films debut today on Allure of the Seas followed by a release to the general public via Royal Caribbean’s website and YouTube channel at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. Later, the line will host Jenny McCarthy(@jennymccarthy) along with Justin Baldoni (@justinbaldoni), Amy Yasbeck (@amyyasbeck4real) and Scott Elrod (@scott_elrod) to discuss the films and their experiences onboard Allure of the Seas. Join the party by following #OceanViews on Twitter and follow host @RoyalCaribbean.

Flickr photo by JPott

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Travel agents: The dinosaur you just might need

by Chris Owen on


A long time ago, in a travel world far away, you needed a printed ticket to get on an airplane and you probably got it from a travel agent. Now you buy online and there is no ticket, just a number. Not all that long ago, you needed special printed travel documents to go on a extended land or cruise vacation and you picked them up at your travel agent’s office. Now you don’t need those either and you probably don’t visit your travel agent’s office very often, if you even have one. Then, traveling meant being prepared with a trip to the library, book store and travel agency office for information . Now we click our way to expert status without leaving home.

We can easily book most travel options without a travel agent. That’s a fact. The big question though is: Should we?

These days about the only place you’ll find an airline ticket is on American Idol when when hopefuls get sent along to Hollywood. Travel agents still issue them but now it is mostly as a courtesy to clients too busy to do it on their own or as part of a package. Today, we can select the airline we want, when we want to fly and even a seat assignment, all online. Other types of travel as well, from land vacations to cruises, have been made available to click-and-book.

Where travel agents have the most visible value is being there for travelers when something goes wrong. But that does not happen all that much so those who are comfortable with the click-and-book method accept the risk.

More commonly, travel agents can offer great value that travelers could not get on their own.

That value may translate to lower prices, complementary upgrades, bonus amenities when traveling and other good things down the line, after booking. That “after booking” part is the unknown, difficult-to-measure factor that eludes many travelers.

Odds are up-front pricing on many elements of a travel purchase will be the similar or the same from one source or agent to another. Even compared to the service provider, be that an airline, car rental agency, tour company or cruise line, pricing is similar.

Or so it seems.

That similarity in price may be misleading and causes those with even a minimal online booking comfort level to think or say “What do I need this middleman for? I can do this myself.”

True, today we can do it ourselves. Do we save money? In the long run, probably not. Anything we can find online, travel agents can find too. They can also monitor pricing, economic, social or weather-related concerns that might affect your travel.

The big advantage of a travel agent today is very much like it was years ago, it just comes in different forms.

Your good travel agent will have all the information you need to make the most of your vacation. That may be as simple as sending along links to critical websites, basic but required literature on destinations or merely making sure all the T’s are crossed and the I’s dotted.

More importantly, your travel agent considers the act of booking the beginning of the transaction, not the end like the result of click-to-book methods. Once you have paid, you are done with the click-to-book way. Now all you have to do is make it to the airport on time for that flight and that is the end of it.

In today’s world, prices, availability and even the nature of travel are changing at a rapid pace. Websites update pricing and availability but offer little or no hope of passing new benefits available after the sale along to travelers. Click-to-book methods are pretty much done with you after payment is made.

Travel agents work on building or maintaining an ongoing business relationship with you and are easily accessible. Try emailing, tweeting or calling your click-to-book website.

Should your plans change, should you have questions or should you want to know more about where you are traveling and how you are getting there, your agent is just a phone call, email or tweet away.

A travel agent is “your friend” in the travel business. They are your friend who knows what is going on in the travel industry. They can put that information together with their knowledge of you for a winning combination that will reap huge rewards in the long run.

Need to book a quick business flight and be done with it? Click-to-book. Doing any actual traveling where memories, experiences, sights and sounds might be important? See a travel agent.

Flickr photo by Ivan Walsh

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