Evelyn Kanter's Blog
Posted by Evelyn Kanter
Airline travel is getting more and more frustrating, and could get worse.
Long lines at security check-points. Passengers who try to stuff everything but the kitchen sink into the overheads. Full planes with no legroom. Nothing but peanuts and soda for a five-hour flight, or the guy in the next seat chowing down on greasy fried chicken from the airport fast food court of nothing healthy to eat.
Now they want to allow in-flight cell phone use? No way.
No way do I want to be imprisoned for two, three, five or 14 hours, overhearing endless descriptions of what the cabin attendant is wearing or who was a jerk at the meeting just completed or what you made for dinner last night.
I hear enough of that on the streets and busses and airport waiting rooms where I live and where I travel.
The thought of having to suffer through a cacaphony of cell phone coversations mid-air is enough to make me rip up my frequent flyer mileage program membership cards.
And you agree with me. A survey by the International Airline Passengers' Association (IAPA) asked some 3,000 frequent flyers around the world -- road warriors -- what they thought .
The overwhelming conclusion -- 88% said allowing passengers to use mobile phones onboard will be "a source of great irritation". That's a nice way of saying annoying.
The survey was in response to a proposal by the UK communications regulator, which could see UK- registered aircraft allow in-flight cellphone use. The proposal was developed with other EU countries and would will cover all European airspace.
Cellphones, no. But, most survey respondents felt texting or emails would be okay. Just 9% felt all mobile usage should be allowed, even within clearly defined time periods.
What do you think?
Posted by Evelyn Kanter
Some people take a gondola ride around a hotel in Las Vegas and make believe they've been to Venice.Others play video games and make believe they are Indiana Jones or Lara Krofft.
I'm all in favor of it, but only if it whets your appetite for the real thing. This game just might, since it includes more than 8,000 real photographs of the real place you are visiting, the beautiful Isle of Capri.
The video game is called "AnaCapri: The Dream", promises an travel adventure combining fantasy and history, for $19.99, about the same price as that make believe gondala ride in Vegas, but much less than a round-trip flight to Italy, .
The game puts you in the role of an expert in ancient civilizations, beckoned to the villate of AnaCapri on the beautiful island of Capri to search for an ancient artifact once believed lost to the ages.
The trail of clues in this virtual, game world is comprised of more than 8,000 of the real island of Capri and its historical village. You play with a company of colorful characters drawn from the island's past and present. The pictures and the characters will immerse you in the history and beauty of this real -- yet unreal -- place.
Find the Black Obsidian Disk, which possess untold power and a malevolent past, and uncover its secrets before it's too late! Encounter real villagers and historical figures who once lived on the island! Explore the Grotto of Ferns, Walkway of the Forts, Marina Piccola, Palazzo a Mare, Red Beard's Castle, the Phoenician Staircase! All without leaving your armchair.
The adventure travel video game is from Got Game Entertainment.
Or, you could go on a real adventure to this real place. Start by looking for flights to Italy.
Posted by Evelyn Kanter
The Queen Mary Shipwreck Terror Fest is looking to hire more than 400 hundred monsters to work in seven terrifying mazes aboard the ship, which is permanently docked in Long Beach, California.
Talented makeup artists are also needed to make the monsters look ghoulishly good, and Shipwreck attendant positions are available as well. This is most definitely adventure travel -- and you'll get paid, too.
Current wages for monsters, attendants and makeup artists are as follow: Shipwreck monsters, $9.00/hr, Shipwreck attendants, $8.00/hr, makeup artists, $15.00/hr. Audition dates for monsters and attendants are September 18, 19, 25 and 26 at 6:00 p.m.
Makeup artists need only apply on September 19 and 26 at 7:00 p.m. Be sure to bring a portfolio of your work to the auditions. Everybody applying for a terrifying Halloween job on the Queen Mary must bring proof of employment eligibility, including a Social Security card and a valid photo ID.
And, you must be at least 18 years of age and able to work from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. (later on some nights) on all of these scary dates: October 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 13, 19, 20, 21, 27, 28, 30, and Halloween Night the 31st.
The maiden voyage of the venerable Art Deco Cunard queen was in 1936, and this year is the 40th anniversary of her 1967 final voyage and arrival at her permanent home in Long Beach, California. The grander Queen Mary 2 is now sailing under the same Cunard flag.
If you aren't being a monster, you can sleep over in this unusual on-the-water hotel, enjoy a meal in one of three award-winning restaurants, or take a historical, informational, and paranormal tours. Is the Queen Mary haunted? Find out on Halloween.
Boo!
Posted by Evelyn Kanter
It's two years since Hurricane Katrina and then Rita slammed their fury into the Gulf Coast, breaking levees and wiping out people's homes and lives.
Tourism is almost back to normal in the New Orleans French Quarter, and casinos are busy again in Biloxi. The Port of New Orleans is coming back, too. Carnival Cruise Lines operates the 2,056 passenger Fantasy from New Orleans on a year-round schedule of four-day and five-day Caribbean cruises, and plans to add another "Fun Ship" soon.
The cruises visit Cozumel, wrecked by Hurricane Wilma, just atter Katrina and Rita. It took a year for the port to be able to welcome cruise ships again. Cozumel depends on tourism. As a fourth-generation Cozumel native told me, 'without tourists, nobody has work here'. Tour Mayan ruins and the crocodile pit at Punta Sur Ecological Park, enjoy a sunset.
Last week, Hurricane Dean wiped out Costa Maya, Mexico's fastest growing destination and cruise port. It could be a year before cruise ships can return, including the Carnival Fantasy. Costa Maya also depends on tourism. Hotels are open, beaches cleaned up. Visit and help the economy recover.
A 7.9 earthquake hit Ica, Peru on August 15 killed hundreds and destroyed the homes and businesses of thousands. Although the loss of life and property is terrible, the area is picking up the pieces. Less than two weeks after the quake, Ica is welcoming 300 attendees to a conference on agriculture at the Hotel las Dumas. Tourism is the #3 industry in Peru. So go. Visit the nearby city of Nasca and its world-famous and mysterious Nasca Lines, which were not damaged in the earthquake.
Visiting a region hard-hit by disaster, whether it is a hurricane or an earthquake, is one of the best ways to help its people get back to normal.
Posted by Evelyn Kanter
First of all, do as I say, not as I do, because what I do is pack too much. Every time. For decades. Doesn't matter whether it is a cruise to the Caribbean or a ski trip to Chile -- both of which have been on my travel calendar this year. Evelyn the Professional Traveller, who knows better, still packs like a beginner.
Once upon a time I travelled through Europe with a backpack and a smile. That was then. This is now, and I overpack, and the weight of the bag sometimes prevents me from smiling.
The number one rule is that bags get heavier each day. Must be the dirt and sweat that gets into what you wear as you travel, making bags heavier.
Number two rule is that, besides heavier, even if you don't buy anything en route, you cannot fit everything back into the duffel or suitcase in the same way you did yesterday. Must be the dirt and sweat that gets into your clothes, making those t-shirts and sweaters thicker, along with heavier.
I know the rules -- I write about the rules -- but I ignore them. Silly me, because after years of ignoring my own advice, I have back problems from schlepping and lifting onto trains and airplane overheads and into car trunks and off airport baggage carousels.
So, never mind the advice I give you that I ignore myself. Here is advice that I do not ignore --
Keep a travel toiletry bag packed and ready to go. That minimizes the chaotic time just before a trip when you are grabbing things like toothpaste, shaving cream, hair mousse and a nail clipper from wherever you keep them in the bathroom. And maybe forgetting something important.
I keep spares of everything, ready to go, in a travel kit. Ditto mascara and lipstick., which is not something you guys have to worry about. Or, maybe I'm wrong about that, too.
When I return from a trip, I replace anything that needs to be replaced, on the theory that I'll remember when I get home that I ran out of tooth flossing string or Motrin during the trip, but will have completely forgotten by the time I'm packing for the next trip.
Obsessive me -- the same one who packs too many t-shirts in the summer and too many fleeces in the winter -- has a second travel kit already packed with anything and everything I might need for a medical emergency, including band-aids, antisceptic towelettes, dramamine for seasickness, Rolaids or Tums for late night dinners and morning afters, and aloe vera for too much sun (the SPF 30 is in the other toiletry kit).
Since my pre-packed toiletry kit already contains teeny tiny bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body lotion, those get removed and left behind on the bedroom dresser if I am headed for a spiffy hotel or resort where I know I will like -- and perhaps abscond with -- the teeny tiny bottles they provide.
I also have a pre-packed bag -- size and shape and see-through-ness that makes the TSA security mavens smile, or at least not growl -- that contains a toothbrush and paste for those fuzzy-making overnight flights, plus teeny tiny headphones, eyemask and ear plugs.
What are your packing secrets? Or packing disasters?
