Seven items you should never place loose in a TSA airport security bin
I have seven important items that should never be tossed into a TSA bin loose, where they could be easily stolen or forgotten. TSA (Transportation Security Administration) estimates that between 90,000 to 100,000 items are left behind at security checkpoints every...
Four essential protective smartphone travel photography hacks
Travelers need to video and photograph their hotel room, cruise ship cabin, rental car and luggage when they travel to combat false claims and get the right compensation for lost, stolen or damaged luggage. When most people think of travel photography or even...
The FBI wants cruise crime stats. Then what?
The FBI wants cruise crime stats. Then what? The government wants FBI cruise crime stats. But the system is built so almost no one ever hears them. The FBI has a message for you: As summer vacation season kicks off, cruise passengers who are assaulted, kidnapped, or...
Many times, it is a cashless world when you travel
Increasingly, it's a cashless world. It was several years ago, in Amsterdam, when we entered our first store that only accepted credit cards. They didn't take cash at all; a rubber duck store, of all places. Now, an increasing number of merchants accept only credit...
“Stayin’ Alive” while still managing to take great selfies today
The popularity of selfies for social media continues to grow. "Death by selfie" has killed hundreds due to highly risky behavior too often taken to make the "perfect" selfie for social media. As a professional photographer, I love a good selfie, though for me they are...
Use international phone plans when traveling globally — or suffer bill shock
Cell phones are a part of international travel. There is no reason to face a major hit in your wallet. Travelers United has already warned you how to control roaming data charges. That article has much of the information in this article, but more. Here is some...
Do I still need to take photos of my rental car?
Matt Murray wants to know if he should still take photos of his rental car before he drives it off the lot. The answer is complicated. The question came up when he rented an Audi A4 in Tampa recently. "The car rental company had at least four cameras recording as the...
Why “guaranteed late arrival” isn’t actually guaranteed for you
These days, a credit card guarantee is almost always mandatory. Cancellation usually requires at least a day in advance to avoid a one-night charge. The good news for consumers is that promising payment means the hotel should mean guaranteed late arrival, no matter how late — “should” being the operative word.
Four Sea Bird norovirus outbreak cruises in 2 months until the CDC said “no more”
It took 4 norovirus outbreak cruises on the National Geographic Sea Bird within about 2 months for the CDC to halt the ship's sailings so it could be fully sanitized to make it safe for passengers. In late May, the National Geographic Sea Bird, run by Lindblad...
How to keep what you do in your hotel room private
Airlines, hotels, rental cars, tour operators, cruise lines and others all operate via giant information technology (IT) networks. Each operator has their own network and each operator is plugged into even larger networks that allow passengers to access information about their travels from every corner of the world.