TRIUMPH FOR CRUISE PASSENGERS

23 MAY 2013: The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), which represents 25 major cruise companies, says member companies will adopt a passenger bill of rights demonstrating the industry's commitment to "the safety, comfort and care of guests in a number of important areas.'' Read more...

CONCORDIA CAPTAIN WILL STAND TRIAL

23 MAY 2013: An Italian judge has ordered the captain of the Costa Concordia to stand trial for manslaughter in the vessel's shipwreck off the coast of Tuscany which killed 32 people. The judge agreed to prosecutors' request that Capt. Francesco Schettino of Italy be tried on charges of manslaughter, causing the shipwreck and abandoning the vessel while many of its 4,200 passengers and crew were still aboard. Read more...

BETTER BUSINESS

23 MAY 2013: Now this is something Ottawa should perhaps consider - and other governments too.   American Samoa plans to take away frequent flier miles from government workers who travel for government business. The miles will be used to help medical patients travel off-island when needed, or help students travel for educational programmes. Read more...

WATCH THOSE CODES

23 MAY 2013:   A couple found themselves way off course after airport codes were mixed up by their airline.  The couple expected  to travel  from Los Angeles to Dakar in Senegal with Turkish Airlines, instead they ended up almost 7,000 miles away in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Read more...

OCEAN BLUES

23 MAY 2013:  Less than two weeks after it launched, Norwegian Breakaway has broken out a new restaurant charge, hiking the cost for its premier specialty restaurant, Ocean Blue, a hefty 40 percent - taking the price from $35 to $49 per person. Read more...

EAT UP

23 MAY 2013:  Food festivals are great opportunities to indulge in the unique culinary cultures of destinations around the globe. However, Cheapflights.ca claim to have discovered that there are food festivals, and then there are food festivals. Read more...

TURNING IT AROUND

23 MAY 2013: American Airlines’ peculiar change to its boarding priorities this week is just another example of legacy carriers failing to understand the most basic of challenges facing their rapidly transitioning industry. Read more...

JUST BAD PRESS

22 MAY 2013:  Carnival Corp who has not had a good time of it over the past year, has lowered its profit forecast for the second half of 2013.  The cruise line, which has had a number of high profile problems since the start of the year, blames the impact of negative publicity which has caused it to lower prices in order to drive demand. Isn't this interesting.  The company blames - not the problems - but the fact that those problems were negatively reported. Read more...

ON THE BEACH

22 MAY 2013:  As many readers know I'm a frequent visitor to Florida, and while in recent years I've spent more time in Ft. Lauderdale and Miami, more recently the St. Petersburg area has been my 'hang out.'  Recently, I stayed for a few days at the Dolphin Beach Resort  on St. Pete Beach and realized why both the area in general, and this resort in particular, have been Canadian favourites for longer than I can remember. Read more...

BLACKOUT

22 MAY 2013: A massive power failure has affected more than eight million people in Thailand's 14 southern provinces, including popular tourist areas such as Koh Samui and Phuket, in one of the country's biggest blackouts in recent memory. Read more...

WHAT WERE THEY THINKING

22 MAY 2013:  Given that the fund was hit $85,115, the sentencing for Panorama Travel and  Tours Ltd., Beata Kucharski and Zbigniew Kucharski who have been convicted on two counts each of failing to maintain trust accounts contrary to the Ontario Travel Industry Act, 2002 is just a little curious. Read more...

FUN COMES AT A COST

22 MAY 2013: Universal Orlando has raised the price of a one-day, single-park ticket to US$92. The price increase, up from $89, went into effect this past weekend. Read more...

BALLOONS COLLIDE

22 MAY 2013:  A hot air balloon collided with another balloon mid-air during a sightseeing tour of volcanic rock formations in Turkey and crashed to the ground on Monday, killing two Brazilian tourists and injuring 23 other people on board. Read more...

LOVING CUBA

22 MAY 2013: Charles and Theresa Vezina live just outside of Montreal, but they consider Cuba their second home. “ We’ve been 108 times “says Theresa “and always stay at a Melia. We fly first class with Air Canada and Air Canada Vacations, AND use the same travel agents. Cathy and Andrea at Voyage LM in St. Bruno, Quebec, are very good.” Read more...