Missing In Action and not in a good way :-(

I must have the worst luck with computers. Approximately one year ago, my HP of 3 years died a long and hard death – it gave me ample time and signs to get the clue, but I ignored them. Then, my asus netbook committed suicide while I was on study abroad last summer – it literally jumped off a chair by itself. I was unable to recover its data *cries a river*. And now, the Dell that my boyfriend lent me, decides that it doesn’t want to turn on (the battery won’t charge). I must’ve looked into a broken monitor and now is cursed with 7 years of bad luck with computers.

So to update my loyal readers, all three of you (if I’ve counted the subscriptions currently), I haven’t been able to post as often as I want due to my lack of access to a computer. I’m currently bumming a use off of the computer at work, looking over my shoulder every minute so no-one catches me. I really can’t work like this….

Hopefully I’ll get a computer soon… I sent my Asus in for repair, we’ll see how quickly I get it back. I’m also tempted to buy a Mac but…. my pocket is a bit shallow at the moment.

Stay tuned! I promise to have new posts soon. I’ve had to hand-write everything in the interim.

❤

Steph

 

Recap: January’s Travel News

January has been quite an eventful month in travel-related news, to say the least. How else to start off a new year?

Of course, I can’t recap the month’s travel news without mentioning the elephant in the room: the Costa Concordia tragedy. If you have not heard about the capsized cruiseship off the coast of Italy by now, I’m a little worried for you; That means you’ve literally been living under a rock without any communication and news whatsoever. Even weeks after the incident there are constant headlines about the ship. Like the historic Titanic, I won’t be surprised if Hollywood makes a motion picture about the whole thing. I must say, the captain’s claims and alibis make for an ‘interesting’ plot. But fun and jokes aside, my heart goes out to all those affected by the disaster.

Next up, “D.O.T.’s regulations for full fare advertising”. This has been a very hot topic for me. I’m an advocate for consumer protection! For those of you who did not read my previous post or are not up-to-date with travel regulations, the Department of Transportation (as of Jan. 26^th) requires airlines to advertise full fares (i.e. base fare plus taxes & fees). Before, if you subscribed to certain airlines to receive ‘sale’ emails, you would receive emails stating “Roundtrip from A to B for $27*” and then, when you go to the website and price out the trip, you end with a trip costing hundreds of dollars. Now, airlines must advertise from the get-go how much the flight will cost.

Of course, those regulations did not sit well with a few airlines. One in particular issuing emails with the subject heading: “Warning: New government regulations require us to HIDE taxes in fares”. What BULLSH!T. You can still see the breakdown of the fare before you purchase it, so naturally there won’t be hidden taxes.  It’s only a catch to get consumers to vote against it.

“Obama announces plan to ease U.S. visa policies in efforts to increase U.S. Tourism”. China and Brazil are at the front of the line to receive benefits of this plan. Now, this is not an invitation to discuss politics, this is just my opinion: I think this is definitely a positive move. If you’ve never had to apply for a visa to visit another country, lucky you. It’s a nerve wracking experience. Imagine spending hundreds to thousands of dollars to apply, to then be denied. Just the fear of being denied is enough to deter visitors from applying to visit the U.S.  With China’s and Brazil’s economies improving, easing travel restrictions is a competitive edge over other destinations that are already marketing to these countries.

Last but certainly not least, “Universal Orlando announces new renovations and additions to their parks”. I’m a huge fan of the Universal parks, so this announcement left me doing my happy dance. New features coming in 2012 are:

• “Hollywood Drive-In Mini Golf” – CityWalk
• “New Blue Man Group Show” – CityWalk
• Despicable Me Minion Mayhem 3-D ride experience! – Universal Studios
• Universal’s Cinematic Spectacular–100 Years of Movie Memories – Universal Studios
• The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man – New & Improved! @ Universal Studios

That’s about everything that stands out in my mind for ‘top news’. If I’ve left out something that you think I should read up on, just let me know. I’m open to comments 🙂