7 Days; 7 Travel Stories

1. Abolition of 12 Day Rule Riles European Tour Operators

European Tour Operators asked EU officials in Brussels to repeal a new law that regulates the amount of rest professional coach drivers are forced to take. Introduced last April, the new legislation imposes a compulsory 24 hour rest every six days. Previously, drivers could take their rest at the beginning of one week and at the end of the following week, giving them up to twelve consecutive days on the road.

According to the tour operators, abolition of the Twelve Day Rule has proved to be highly damaging, making the operation of tourism unacceptably complicated and more expensive for all parties involved. To that end, tour companies have had to re-plan itineraries, pay for extra relief drivers, and have forced drivers to take rest time away from home. About two million foreigners take a bus tour in Europe each year. ETN

2. Airent Behavior

One thing is certain: In 2008, US Domestic carriers will continue to push the limits on what passengers are willing to pay for. What travelers might not realize is that the low-cost European carriers have been doing it for years, and their expected entry into the US market could set off a wave of additional fees and charges.

Be prepared to open your wallet.

Checking your bags curbside will cost $2 per bag at some major U.S. airports. Spirit Airlines is among several airlines that charge for checked luggage. Expect to pay $10 each for the first two checked bags or $5 if you pay via the company's Web site. For additional bags, add $100 per. Go over the standard 50-pound weight limit and fees will range from $25 to $150 per bag. Prices for ship-your-luggage-ahead services like Luggage Free and Luggage Forward cost $1.65 to $4.40 per pound each way.

Some carriers, such as SkyBus, now charge $10 to $20 to board the plane before anyone else. If you have carry-on luggage, the additional cost may be worth it to claim overhead space. On Southwest Airlines if you purchase a business select fare, you get to board first in the "A" group.

Earlier this month, United announced that free bag check-in will be limited to one per person. Starting May 5, United will charge passengers with domestic nonrefundable economy tickets $25 to check a second bag. Exempt from the fees are those with Premier status or higher in United’s Mileage Plus program or those with Silver status or higher within the Star Alliance.

There's a good chance you'll be charged for food once onboard, but at least the choices and quality are increasing. Carriers are hiring gourmet chefs to plan and design their menus. For example, Delta has new signature entrees from celebrity chef Todd English that include a roast beef steak Cobb sandwich and grilled Mediterranean shrimp salad. Other carriers offer snack items à la carte. On Spirit flights, water is free, but a soft drink will cost $1 and a bag of chips $4.

Want to watch a movie onboard a flight? While some carriers still show complimentary movies on longer flights, they're diminishing quickly. Most major carriers are installing video-on-demand systems that allow passengers to choose a movie or video to watch on their own seatback monitor for $6 to $10 each. Be sure to bring your own headset to listen, as these will set you back between $2 and $5. http://www.thestreet.com/

3. Just A Cruisin’

A river trip through Europe is the most expensive for cruise passengers with an average per-person cost of $387 a day. Alaska cruises check in at $259 and Caribbean at $159, respectively. The five most popular emerging cruise destinations, according to a recent survey: South America, Australia/New Zealand, China/Asia, European River, and Baltic. The most underrated European Cruise ports: Dubrovnik, British Isles, Malta/Barcelona, Kusadarsi (Turkey)/Istanbul/Israel/Tallinn (Estonia)/Naples/Alexandria. NY Times

4. At the Plaza

New York’s famed Plaza Hotel, which has spent much of its 100-year history packed with guests like the Vanderbilt’s and Frank Lloyd Wright, closed in 2005 to reopen as part hotel and part condominium. The hotel is scheduled to open March 1 while the condos have been finished for months. Buyers have closed on nearly 100 apartments to date. A one-bedroom on the 15th floor recently sold for $5.8 million; a two-bedroom went for $7 million.

Most of the buyers include current and former top execs at Staples, JetBlue, Viacom, and Esprit, along with several Russian billionaires. At present, only a handful of people have moved in. Some are waiting for decorators to customize their apartments for their art collections. Others are staying at their third or fourth – or in some cases eighth or ninth home. And a few more are waiting until the restaurant and gym open this spring. NY Times

Room Shortage: Blame it on supply and demand but hotel prices are skyrocketing. In New York, room rates rose 15.4 percent last year to an average of $320.87 per day. In India, rates are up 48 percent overall and 69 percent in Mumbai. Hong Kong and Shanghai have also seen double-digit increases. Hotel rooms in Dubai rose 24 percent, 30 percent in London and Paris, and between 15 percent and 21 percent in Rome, Toronto and LA. Expect a 5 to 8 percent increase across the US in 08.

5. Online

Introducing http://www.tvtrip.com/, a relatively new travel website launched last May that features videos profiling over 1,000 hotels in key worldwide destinations. Each property can be viewed in approximately one minute, allowing a general view of the inside of the hotel, its surroundings and what the room categories are like.

Enter www.ProfessionalTravelGuide.com's new section offering 150 cruise ship reviews written by travel pros. ProfessionalTravelGuide.com features a travel database including more than 159,000 hotels, 7,000+ destination travel guides; 10,000+ professional hotel reviews; 250,000+ associated high resolution images; streaming videos; real-time health and travel security alerts; international business etiquette; and personalized eGuideBook.

Introducing GotoBus.com, a leading online marketing and ticketing company for bus-related travel. http://www.gotobus.com/ was named "Best of The Web" by the Washington Post

Got game...http://www.golfflyover.com/, provides more than 5,000 golf course flyovers and layout maps. Golfers can search for courses using the course name, by city and state or with a zip code.

6. Old Folks Not At Home

An estimated 23 million retired people intend to travel over a 12-month span, according to 2006 statistics from research firm. Those retirees were expected to spend a combined $34 billion on their next trip -- larger than the amount families said they planned to spend. Statistics from Travelocity show 65% of seniors take trips of one week or more, compared to just 46% of the average traveler.

Travel experts say cruises on lines such as Carnival and Princess are very popular for the 65-and-over crowd and have grown in popularity in recent years. About 57% of Travelocity members 65 and older say they plan to volunteer overseas in 2008, compared to just 48% of average respondents.

These vacations can be centered on everything from building houses in New Orleans to working at a soup kitchen in New York City. Another interesting consideration that seems to go into some retirees’ travel plans is how “green” the trips are. More than 60% of Travelocity members 65 and older say they would be willing to spend an extra $50 or more for eco-friendly destinations. Fox News

7. It Could Happen To You

After being stuck behind the drink cart on an American Airlines flight, Amy and Dan spent about 35 minutes talking and then went their separate ways once the plane landed. Amy lived in Massachusetts; Dan was from Chicago. So their friends encouraged them to use Craigslist’s “Missed Connections” section to find each other. Amy searched and found Dan’s posting. That led to an online correspondence, then a visit by Dan to Boston. Dan used Craigslist one more time to ask Amy to marry him. Boston Globe

Rich’s Weekend Reader is published by AndTyler222 Communications. All rights reserved. Information from various sources and mostly rewritten. andtyler222@verizon.net http://www.itinarod.com/