Feisty Tourist

I’ve recently begun following The Backpackers, a blog published via the Sydney Morning Herald.  It’s definitely good for a giggle.  For example, check out the most recent posts:

The Bug: This entry addresses how to spot those bitten by the travel bug.  It’s quite charming.

Meet locals, get laid: This entry talks about CouchSurfing, “a worldwide network for making connections between travelers and the local communities they visit.”  Apparently for the singletons out there, it’s a good way to… hm… meet a mate.

The Heathrow Spread: Here the blogger talks about visiting the UK and how “it’s usually only the diet conscious among us who manage to return from there without adding a few pounds to our personal carry-on.”

On my way in to work this morning, I was listening to NPR as usual when I heard a report about libel tourism.  Apparently people who want to sue someone for libel are doing some serious forum shopping, primarily focusing their attention on getting into court in England or Wales.  Those jurisdictions offer fewer defenses than, say, the United States, so the plaintiffs are more likely to win (or at least bully the defendants into a favorable settlement).  This year senators Aarlen Spector and Joe Lieberman proposed a Free Speech Protection Act of 2008, a companion to a House bill introduced by Rep. Pete King (NY) and co-sponsored by Rep. Anthony Weiner (NY).

The bill would bar U.S. courts from enforcing libel judgments issued in foreign courts against U.S. residents, if the speech would not be libelous under American law. The bill would also permit American authors and publishers to countersue if the material is protected by the First Amendment. If a jury found that a foreign suit was part of a scheme to suppress free speech rights, it could award treble damages. -Wiki

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Jeld-Wen Door and Window Company restores the doors and windows in one lighthouse each year.  This year North Carolina’s own Bodie Island Lighthouse is up for consideration.  Please take a minute to visit their website and vote.

Image by Moatway via IgoUgo.

The airline industry has been griping a lot lately about how they’re losing money.  If you’ve flown on  US Air flight in the past couple years, you know they sell advertising space on their tray tables.  Today Delta launches a new way to collect revenue - advertisements on boarding passes.  That’s right - when you check in online and print your boarding pass, you’ll be using your ink to print out a bunch of ads.  The good news:  it’s not fully implemented yet, there’s a box to check to avoid printing the ads (but you’ll still see them on your computer screen), and only some other airlines (Continental, United, Northwest, and US Air) are getting on this bandwagon.  Get the full story at the Wall Street Journal.

As I’m still fairly fresh off the Splendour of the Seas (see my review here), my travel tip this Tuesday relates to those of you planning your own Royal Caribbean cruise.  If you like wine, check out their Wine and Dine program.  They have three levels of wines - gold, platinum, and diamond.  Each package offers a variety of sparkling, white, and red wines with the options depending on which package you choose.  You can sign up for 5, 7, 10, and 12 bottle packages ranging from $129.95 to $378.35.  Although it might seem expensive at first, the packages do provide a bit of a discount over ordering bottle by bottle.  Check out woof22’s savings analysis.

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I always figured the “safest” seats on an airplane were in the overwing section or maybe that there were no safest seats.  About a year ago, Popular Mechanics conducted a study and found that the safest seats are in the rear of the plane.  Considering the teeny number of fatal jet crashes in the U.S. in recent years, do you think it’s worth the hassle to select a seat further back?  I’m thinking it’s not.

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On Monday, a cruise ship got stuck on a sandbar at low tide near Haines, Alaska.  According to an Alaskan news station, there was some damage to the ship.  Considering this is the fifth incident involving Cruise West ships in Alaska in a year, I think I’d skip that particular line.  Check out photos at iReport.

This Tuesday, my travel tip is to reach Timothy O’Neil-Dunne’s 10 tips for surviving the coming air travel crash.  He has some good tips for preparing for the impending contraction of the industry.  My favorite tips: 

1. Book early.
2. Don’t book your hotel until you’ve booked your airfare.

Thanks to Timothy for doing my job for me this week. 

OUR GROUP: My husband and I are in our late 20s.  We traveled with another couple our age and my mother and aunt (50-60).  This was the third cruise for Mr. and Mrs. Feisty, second for our friends, and first for my mom and aunt.  Our past cruises were in the Caribbean on Carnival Destiny and Carnival Valor.  We loved those cruises – fair to good food, excellent service, and fun ports.  Everyone in our group ordinarily does land vacations and has done many, including in Europe.

THE RUMOR:  “You’ll love RCI!  It’s so much better than Carnival.  Carnival is full of drunken partiers and has terrible food and mediocre service.  RCI has much nicer people and great food and service.”

THE TRUTH:  I was delighted to find drunken partiers on RCI’s Splendour since I hadn’t found them on either our Carnival cruises.  (The “drunken partiers” were charming and a lot of fun, so this is definitely a point in RCI’s favor over Carnival.)  We were, however, very disappointed with the food and service on Splendour, which was severely lacking in comparison to our Carnival cruises.

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Cats cats, everywhere, cats!  If you didn’t like cats, you might say Europe is INFESTED with them.  I, however, love them and was happy to see them.  The only problem is that some of them are really sad because they’re strays or feral and not taken care of.  I wish I’d thought to take cat food with me!  If I’d had more time, I would’ve found a grocery store and bought some.  Anyway, here are some pics, and then I’ll tell you where I’ve spotted them.

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