Travelwise

Mistakes to avoid on your summer family vacation

5 free things

What you can do for free in Houston

Summer is nearly year-round in Southeast Texas so it should be no surprise that the free stuff to see and ...

Summer Vacationland USA

Free-wheeling ways

A 300-mile bike trip? On these trails, no sweat

NEVADA

Vegas gets back in game with new projects

The city that makes its name on gambling has been dealt some bad cards in recent years. High unemployment,...

Baseball road trip

Quintessential journey: Louisville to Cooperstown

America is full of baseball pilgrimages and road trips. Fenway Park in Boston turned 100 this year. Wrigley...

The travel troubleshooter

Insurance didn’t cover my cruise

My condolences on your loss. In a perfect world, Princess would refund your cruise, no questions asked. But...

California: Golden Gate turns 75

Today’s the big day

Cruise notes

Oceania’s Riviera launched in Barcelona

Also: News of other new ships, the fate of the Love Boat, a new dock in London, and more.

Cruises

Steam boating returns to the Mississippi River

The old-fashioned American Queen brings river cruising back to the mighty Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee r...

Kids on board

Parents are splurging to take children into the wild on small ships

Cruises

Floating through Europe on a modern riverboat

Twenty years after my last European riverboat ride — on the Elbe of eastern Germany — I was b...

CRUISE INDUSTRY

Norwegian Getaway latest in series of new cruise ships set to sail from Miami

A parade of new ships is set to sail from Miami, with the latest to be announced Tuesday.

Cruises

On Disney Fantasy, it’s a kids’ world

The tone for a cruise on the Disney Fantasy is set when guests step into the atrium, a three-deck Art Nouve...

Cruise ship rescues Cubans at sea

The world’s largest cruise ship rescued 23 people from a small boat on the way to Mexico Wednesday.

Florida Keys

Pedal and paddle trips growing in popularity

Mark Terrill led a couple on bicycles down a narrow road lined by perfectly manicured trees, flowers and s...

South Florida

Get to know your hometown

On these tours, you’ll learn about the world without leaving South Florida

Staycations

New South Florida hotels range from earthy to ultra-luxe

A few brand new hotels and a whole lot of major renovation projects hit the market in South Florida over th...

Florida

Ironic inspiration for Gulf Coast vacation: BP ads

If you’ve turned on a TV lately, chances are you’ve seen ads for the Gulf Coast featuring be...

Travelwise

Getting to Orlando without a car

Stand-up paddleboarding

A new way to tour Florida waterways

Quick trips

Florida’s Gulf Coast has its own Amish community

Quick Trips

Savannah’s women rescued its history

Historic sites would be gone now were it not for the efforts of seven indomitable women.

Quick trips

Hunting for hex signs in Pennsylvania Dutch country

I wanted to see distelfinks. But they were hard to find.

Quick trips

Titanic trail leads through Manhattan

Look closely around the doomed ocean liner’s destination and you’ll find ghosts of the Titanic.

Quick trips

Louisiana’s Lake Charles: A gumbo of food and fun

A mosquito is chewing on my ankle as I watch the mayor of Lake Charles, Randy Roach, play washboard with a...

Kentucky

The new old Louisville starts to hum

First came the art galleries. Then the boutiques. Then the food and drink (craft and farm-to-table, thank ...

Colorado

‘Hunger Games’ theory: Could Capitol be Denver?

The Mile High City sure bears a likeness to the power center of Panem, ‘built in a place once called...

Quick trips

In Austin, Texas, forget the music — cue the food!

Austin has grown beyond music and BBQ to embrace sushi, food trucks and farm-to-table menus.

Mexico

Cancun: Spring break on despite tourist unease

Tinkling drinks in hand, New Yorkers Lauren Levy and Jacob Schum settle onto lounge chairs a few feet from...

Mexico

Baja bound? Party down in safe, happy La Paz

As traffic stalled along the palm-lined street, we peered from our taxi and spied the cause. A little para...

Chile

Valparaiso

In praise of seedy seaside towns

Quick Trips

Puerto Rico: An exotic family vacation without leaving U.S.

Quik trips: Belize

In pursuit of an encounter with whale sharks

I saw my first whale shark off Isla Holbox, Mexico, near Cancun, where the Caribbean Sea meets the Gulf of ...

Nicaragua with kids

An inexpensive and surprising destination for family-friendly adventure travel

Quick trips: Mexico

In Merida, every weekend is a holiday

A man in a white tank top, black drawstring shorts and flip flops drags a beat-up bike from the front room...

The travel troubleshooter

Insurance didn’t cover my cruise

My condolences on your loss. In a perfect world, Princess would refund your cruise, no questions asked. But...

The travel troubleshooter

Insurance wasn’t required — how about a refund?

It sounds as if Budget pulled a fast one on your wife. The employee’s statements contradict the comp...

The travel troubleshooter

Hey, that’s not my chipped windshield

Windshield damage from a pebble isn’t always visible when you return a vehicle, and a car rental com...

The travel troubleshooter

Waited a year for a ticket refund

Southwest should have written you a check in the right amount when you couldn’t board. But that ...

The travel troubleshooter

Caught in code-share mix-up

You’re right — that’s some travel nightmare! Bahamasair should have gotten your ticket...

The travel troubleshooter

A one-night penalty that stuck

If you canceled your room 24 hours before your arrival, then you shouldn’t have been charged the one...

The travel troubleshooter

Where’s the ticket refund I was promised?

Air France should have refunded your ticket promptly. When a flight is canceled — no matter what the...

A look back at the top 10 scenes from the final half of the TV season

MINNEAPOLIS - Watch enough television and your mind can feel like it's dissolving into liquid cheese. Thank...

New South Florida hotels range from earthy to ultra-luxe

MIAMI - This year's crop of new and improved hotels in South Florida runs the spectrum from eco- and budget...

New Transformers ride at Universal puts you in the movies' world

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - The 10-foot-tall, red-blue-and-silver Transformer Optimus Prime stomps his way thr...

Old California and good grub in San Juan Capistrano

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. - What an appealing slice-of-life California town, an easy day trip by car or t...

Portland, Ore., is a smaller, cleaner, wetter alternative

PORTLAND, Ore. - The Portland Hop. I know, it sounds like a dance craze in 1937. But really, it's what you ...

Florida Keys: Pedal and paddle trips growing in popularity

ISLAMORADA, Fla. - Mark Terrill led a couple on bicycles down a narrow road lined by perfectly manicured tr...

Dog-friendly Del Mar a relaxing getaway outside of race season

DEL MAR, Calif. - The coastal town is quiet and peaceful when the horses aren't running. Stay at L'Auberge ...