Travel news

How Disney, Universal and SeaWorld turned old attractions into new rides

By Dewayne Bevil

Feb 13, 2020

Norwegian Cruise Line backed down a bit from a policy arising from the coronavirus outbreak, saying that crew members who hold a passport from China, Hong Kong or Macao can now board its ships if they have not been to those places in at least 30 days.

Nothing says “America” like excess, and nothing says “excess” like Las Vegas, and nothing says “Las Vegas” like the all-you-can-eat buffet. By the transitive property, that makes the AYCE buffet the most American thing imaginable. We sifted through a heap of them to help you decide where to do your patriotic duty.

The continent already has many of the world’s lightning hot spots, with storms that can be extremely destructive and, sometimes, deadly. This month, for example, a conservation group reported that four rare mountain gorillas had been electrocuted by lightning in Mgahinga National Park, Uganda. In a calamitous episode in 2011, a lightning strike on an elementary school in the same country killed 20 children and injured nearly 100. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/10/climate/lightning-africa-climate-change.html

About 60 scientists and technicians are on board for two months at a time, taking detailed measurements of the ice and snow, ocean, atmosphere and the organisms small and large that exist in the central Arctic. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/climate/mosiac-mission-arctic-climate-change-photos.html

Since December 2017, the number of Airbnb and Homeaway listings in and around Lake Placid has grown from 555 entire places to 684, according to AirDNA, a short-term rental data provider. As conversions continue, officials are struggling with a contentious question that also echoes in many Atlantic beach towns and on the shores of Lake Tahoe: How do resorts balance neighborhood concerns against the economic benefit of tourists who stay in short-term rentals?

Nearly 80 years after the first casino blinked to life along the stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard now known as the Strip, the re-illumination of Las Vegas is nearly complete.

The embassy said its alert was a response to an increase in sex attacks “against young U.S. citizen visitors and students throughout Spain.” It cited data from Spain’s interior ministry, noting that the embassy in Madrid had dealt with six reported cases of sex attacks in January, which followed from 34 such reports last year. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/05/world/europe/us-spain-sexual-assault.html

Here are some new resorts, trips and attractions that offer seasonal refreshment at home and abroad for travelers of all stripes.

A day trip or weekend jaunt to Venice on Florida's Gulf Coast provides opportunities for relaxing in a warm mineral spring, going shark tooth hunting on the beach and kayaking into the sunset, complete with friendly dolphins.

By Patrick Connolly

Feb 6, 2020

Modern scientists knew that ambergris could be found within the bodies of sperm whales, but they weren’t sure about those pieces of jetsam found by beachcombers. But in a study published Wednesday in Biology Letters, researchers have extracted sperm whale DNA from washed-up ambergris, which could contribute a new understanding about the enigmatic substance and the endangered creatures that make it. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/04/science/ambergris-sperm-whales-dna.html

The recent introduction of multiresort passes have pushed more skiers to more places, making once-sleepy mountains more crowded. Resorts that are within driving distance of major metropolitan areas, in particular, are coping with powder day throngs not seen before. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/28/travel/ikon-epic-skiing-crowds.html

In the days and weeks before the Democratic presidential primary’s first contest in Iowa, some Iowans have been sheltering in their homes and not picking up the phone to avoid the furious campaigning of this year’s competitive race. They’re ready for this thing to be over.

Wildfires that burned for weeks consumed half of the island — more than 800 square miles. Two people were killed, dozens of homes were destroyed, and wilderness parks were turned to cinders, littering the landscape with animal corpses. In a bush land once teeming with the activity of insects, birds, reptiles and mammals, there is only silence, and the scent of rot. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/04/world/australia/kangaroo-island-fire.html

Anguilla is the landlord for internet addresses that end in “.ai” — a suddenly valuable slice of online real estate. Every time a .ai name is registered or renewed — by AI startups, or by speculators hoping to resell the names to those startups, big companies or investors — the island collects a $50-a-year fee, which goes mostly to the government treasury. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/03/business/custom-urls.html

The standard wisdom about travel insurance: It covers what has happened to you, not what might happen to you.

Airbnb is giving a few people a chance to spend a two-month sabbatical in the Bahamas in an attempt to boost the Caribbean island damaged last year by Hurricane Dorian.

Atari, the arcade game company that ushered in the gaming revolution in the 1980s, is opening eight video game-themed hotels across the United States, including ones in Las Vegas and Phoenix.

Travel providers now use artificial intelligence software to re-price their offerings, sometimes dozens of times a day, to maximize revenue. For business and leisure travelers, the result is a variation of the cat-and-mouse game, where travel companies are almost always the cat. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/27/business/cheap-airfare.html

If you look on Instagram, the momcation, a vacation for tired mothers designed specifically to give them a break from spouses and children, is on the rise: The hashtag #momcation appears in more than 52,000 posts. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/28/travel/momcations-its-a-thing.html