July 16, 2023  •   View this email in your browser

Greetings from Connecticut!

On Friday, we flew from Toronto to New York's LaGuardia Airport. My trip review will be published soon. We slid in right between some thunderstorms so we got lucky with just an hour delay. We almost took the same flight yesterday, which I now see was delayed by over four hours. No fun -- especially with little kids. 

Unfortunately, there's terrible weather here today in the Northeast and flood warnings are going off like a pinball machine in my weather alerts. United Airlines (the only airline that emails me their alerts), just extended their travel waiver for today and tomorrow regarding the severe weather on the East Coast for the airports below:  

•    Baltimore, MD (BWI)
•    New York/Newark, NJ (EWR)
•    New York-Kennedy, NY (JFK)
•    New York-LaGuardia, NY (LGA)
•    Philadelphia, PA (PHL)
•    Pittsburgh, PA (PIT)
•    Washington, DC - Dulles (IAD)
•    Washington-National, DC (DCA)

This means if you're flying in, out or through any of these airports you can change your ticket for free without having to pay a fare difference. You might want to consider it since there's already a ton of delays and cancelations. 

I've been busy writing my epic summer trip reports and this week I just added our Princess Cruise review as well as a story about our stay in Rome. They're all below and it's a good thing we're not there now as you will see in today's travel news round-up, they're dealing with a historic heatwave. Crazy times. 

-Trip Report: Los Angeles to Philadelphia on American Airlines
-The Philadelphia Airport Marriott Makes a 10-Hour Layover Easy
-Toronto to Barcelona in Air Canada’s Premium Economy
-Cruise Review: 22 Reasons to Sail on Enchanted Princess
-48 Hours in Rome and Our Stay at the Rose Garden Palace Hotel
-The Taxi App You Need to Download When Traveling In Europe
-12 Things I Learned From Traveling to Europe This Summer

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In this issue:

• Today's Travel Outlook ✈️
• Travel Tips This Week ✅
• Travel Quote of the Day 💬
• Travel Tweet of the Day 
• 12 Things to Know in Travel Today 🌎
• Travel Video of the Day 📺
• and more… 

✈️ Today's Travel Outlook 

As of 11:05am EST, there have been 910 canceled flights to, from or within the United States and 2,408 delayed. Here's a link to the up-to-date stats and a live look at the FAA's National Airspace System Status. Here's what to do during weather delays and flight cancellations.

✈️ Monday

Every Travel Expert's Secret For Avoiding the Chaos of Flight Delays and Cancellations
Thanks to a nasty storm that disrupted the Northeast corridor yesterday, there were 2,009 flights canceled and 8,189 delayed. Those numbers are in the top five for the year and more of the same is expected today. Want to avoid the domino effect altogether, not just today but any time you travel? Here's the secret every travel expert knows.

✈️ Tuesday

40 of Our Favorite Travel Products From Amazon
If you're looking to score a deal, today's the day to do it. Amazon Prime Day is officially here and we've rounded up our favorite products for travelers. Check out all of our top picks here. 

🚧 Wednesday

American Airlines Detains Teenager for Using Hidden City Flight Hack
One money-saving travel hack is to do the old hidden city trick. It's not illegal but it is against airline policy, which one family just learned the hard way. Here's the story and my tips.

 🧳 Thursday

Cruise Review: 22 Reasons to Sail on Enchanted Princess
Cruising is back full throttle. I read this in today's Morning Brew: "After suffering a 15-month pandemic shutdown, the cruise industry has come back even bigger. Next year, 36 million people are expected to vacation at sea, compared to 29.7 million in 2019, according to the Cruise Line International Association." We're four of them and we had such a great time, I just booked us another cruise. Here's my trip report along with plenty of photos and tips.

🏨 Friday

How a VPN Can Save You Hundreds of Dollars on Travel and Keep You Safe When Traveling
Every road warrior and business traveler I know uses a VPN. Here's what it is and why you might want to use one. 

✈️ Saturday

Not Happy With Your Hotel Room? Sometimes the Simplest Solution Can Pay Off – It Did For This Reader
During a recent hotel stay, Micah Engber's room did not live up to expectations. I'm sure you know the feeling. He did this one obvious thing but it was effective and he left a happy customer. Read the story.

📺 Travel Video of the Week

Italian Vigilante Records Thieves and Shows How Easy It is to Be Pickpocketed
If you're a regular reader, you know I’m constantly issuing reminders to stay vigilant when traveling and to protect yourself from pickpockets. I’ve written countless tips on the subject, including one about the time Rick Steves was  pickpocketed in Paris and his advice for preventing it from happening to you. While pickpockets can strike anywhere, Europe is a particular hotspot, especially in the summer months. This video shows how easy it is to get robbed.  

⚡ Travel Product of the Week

Philips One Sonicare Rechargeable Power Travel Toothbrush
If you love the super-duper clean feeling you get from your electric toothbrush at home but don't want to carry your large toothbrush and charger with you, you'll love this compact Philips travel toothbrush. It's battery-operated and gives you a deep clean. Check it out here.

🌎 12 Things to Know in Travel Today

1 Atmospheric river to trigger life-threatening flooding in Northeast
2 Italy, Mediterranean Europe brace for record heat reaching 120 degrees
3 United Airlines agrees to give union pilots big pay raises
4 Thousands evacuated in Canary Island wildfires as Italy braces for hottest ever day
5 Airlines grapple with rise in turbulent passengers
6 Acropolis now: crisis as soaring visitor numbers overwhelm Greek treasure
7 This woman is disgusted at her Amalfi Coast vacation
8 COVID-19 grim reaper still targets seniors in Southern California
9 United Airlines loses pro surfer surfboards
10 Passenger abuses, slaps senior Air India official on Sydney-New Delhi flight
11 Cruise passengers shocked by bloody incident on luxury ship
12  Yesterday's TSA checkpoint numbers

✅ Currency Exchange            ✅ Calendar Countdown

✈️ Miles and Points