Author Archives: Cheryl Rosen

There are 416 articles by Cheryl Rosen published on this site.


Spirit Airlines Enters Chapter 11

Las Vegas, United States - October 15, 2024: Spirit Airlines Airbus A320neo airplane at Las Vegas Airport in the United States.

 

After failing to merge with Frontier Airlines and then blocked from merging with JetBlue by the Department of Justice, Spirit Airlines this week  ended up in bankruptcy. But the airline says travelers shouldn’t worry; “you can continue to book and fly now, and in the future.”

The biggest US budget airline filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition after losing more than $2.5 billion since 2020 and facing debt of more than $1 billion in 2025 and 2026.

Spirit’s 90 daily flights from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Miami International Airport will continue as usual, the company said, and travelers “can [continue] to book and fly without interruption and can use all tickets credits and loyalty points as normal.”

The company’s 21,000 employees and all their vendors also will continue to receive regular paychecks.

In an open letter to customers, Spirit said, “We expect to complete this process in the first quarter of 2025 and emerge even better positioned to deliver the best value in the sky. Other airlines that are operating successfully today have undertaken a similar process. For more information about our financial restructuring, please visit www.SpiritGoForward.com. We’re grateful you continue to choose Spirit for your travel needs. As we head into the holiday season and beyond, we look forward to welcoming you on board again soon.”

“I am pleased we have reached an agreement with a supermajority of both our loyalty and convertible bondholders on a comprehensive recapitalization of the company, which is a strong vote of confidence in Spirit and our long-term plan,” said Spirit president and CEO Ted Christie said in a statement. A new $350 million equity investment from bondholders plus $300 million in other financing “will materially strengthen our balance sheet and position Spirit for the future.”

I love a good idea for growing your travel business—and this week I came across two. I was doing what I like to do best, talking to smart travel advisors, this time at the Signature annual conference in Las Vegas. I’m working on a story about what advisors are planning to do differently in 2025, so I’ve been asking attendees here what they’re up to.

I’ll include a few of those stories in a future column. But the one I heard from Amy Westerman and Dave Hoffman, of The Curated Travel Collection, was so good it deserves a story all its own. And the tips on growing your Facebook ranking made me want to marry AI guru Kha Ly so I could have his tech support 24 x 7.

Like all the best stories, Amy and Dave’s begins in a bar, where Amy got to chatting and “swapping stories” with another customer, as travel advisors are wont to do Read the rest of this entry »

Bar car on Belomond’s The Britannic Explorer. Photo: Belmond

 

 

There’s an interesting new luxury option in the UK next summer, as Belmond rolls out its newest sleeper train, The Britannic Explorer.

Debuting in July 2025, the train offers fine British gastronomy, an onboard wellness suite and exclusive access to unique sites as they ride the rails on a leisurely journey through the British countryside. Its 18 cabins include three Grand Suites and 15 Suites.

The train’s “elegant interiors with unmistakable British charm” are being designed by London-based Albion Nord, while its menu is being created by Chef Simon Rogan, whose restaurants (including L’Enclume) hold eight Michelin stars and two Michelin Green stars. The afternoon tea, lunch and dinner menus will highlight seasonal, sustainable ingredients, sourced locally to showcase Britain’s diverse regions.

The Britannic Explorer will depart London, offering three different three-night journeys through Cornwall, The Lake District and Wales. Optional guided excursions in each destination include a private tour and dinner at Hauser & Wirth Somerset and on-site restaurant Da Costa, guided hikes through Wales, wild swimming in the Lake district and a visit to Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens in Cornwall. In the evening, passengers can mingle in the train’s botanically-inspired Bar.

Guests also can combine routes, pairing The Cornwall or Lake District routes, which run from Friday to Monday, with a Wales trip from Monday to Thursday. And Belmond’s boutique hotel, The Cadogan, just 20 minutes from London’s Victoria station, can offer a seamless pre- or post-rail stay. For those traveling through the Cotswolds on the Lake District route, the Britannic Explorer offers an exclusive stop at the Michelin two-star manor house hotel and restaurant, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, A Belmond Hotel, Oxfordshire.

Gary Franklin, Belmond’s Vice President of Trains and Cruises, said the train will further enhance Belmond’s global portfolio of market-leading luxury rail experiences. The Britannic Explorer offers something truly unique; an opportunity to discover the rugged Cornish coastline to Snowdonia’s untamed National Park and the vast expanses of the Lake District like never before.”

Belmond’s fleet of luxury trains also includes the British Pullman in England and the Royal Scotsman in Scotland.

A three-night itinerary, including excursions, meals, wine and alcoholic beverages on board the Britannic Explorer starts at £11,000 based on a double cabin. For more information or to book, visit the web page here.

MSC’ing It For the First Time

I’ve never met a cruise I didn’t like. On a yacht that holds 35 or a megaship with 6,000, shaking across the Drake to Antarctica or drifting through the Caribbean, I’m happy to eat chicken and salad if the pickings are slim, or sit by the pool with a book if there’s nothing to do. As long as there’s sea air, a balcony and a cup of coffee, I’m in.

I was fine with ignoring the mixed reviews I’ve heard and read about MSC, which range from five-star raves to absolute pans, from both travel advisors I trust and posts on social media. I wanted to give MSC a try and see for myself. So we booked a quick five-night Caribbean trip out of Port Canaveral and brought along a couple of friends for a long weekend in the sun.

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Viking Adds Two New Nile River Ships

Viking Osiris on the Nile River. Photo: Viking

 

 

Viking this week placed a bet on the Middle East, officially naming two new river ships, the Viking Hathor and the Viking Sobek, in Luxor, Egypt.

Following its cost-conscious tradition, Viking repurposed the design of the existing Viking Aton and Viking Osiris, following the pattern exactly in these two new ships. All four vessels will carry a maximum of  82 guests in 41 staterooms, on a 12-day Pharaohs & Pyramids itinerary.

Despite troubles in the Middle East, the neutral Egypt expects about 15.3 million tourists in 2024, up 5% over 2023, according to Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy. And it’s a fascinating destination for tourists. Just this week, an Egyptian-American mission unearthed a 4,000-year-old tomb near the Temple of Hatshepsut on the West Bank of the Nile in Luxor.

Viking’s itinerary begins with three nights in Cairo and a flight to Luxor before the eight-day roundtrip cruise on the Nile, including visits to the tomb of Nefertari in the Valley of the Queens and the tomb of Tutankhamen in the Valley of the Kings, plus excursions to the Temple of Khnum in Esna, the Dendera Temple complex in Qena, the temples at Abu Simbel and the High Dam in Aswan, and a village elementary school.

Guests can add Pre and Post Extensions, such as a five-day British Collections of Ancient Egypt extension that begins in London, where guests will visit the British Museum’s Egyptian Collection before it opens to the general public, and then the collection of Egyptian antiquities in the home and personal museum of Sir John Soane.

Viking plans to add four more ships—growing its Nile fleet to 10 altogether—over the next two years. Viking Amun and Viking Thoth will debut in 2025, and Viking Sekhmet and Viking Ptah in 2026.

(Of course, we know there are two sides to every story. This is the “con” side. For the many reasons some travel advisors do choose to sell air, see “Earning an Extra $50K: Travel Advisors Who Sell Air Say It’s Worth the Effort | Travel Research Online.”)

Liability issues. Time wasted. Late night calls. And the new DOT ruling about refunds that takes effect this week just adds one more reason to the litany of why many travel advisors hate to sell airline tickets.

“Selling air? Don’t.” That’s the succinct advice from Rich Greenway, owner of Greenway Travel Group-Dream Vacations. And he is not alone. Read the rest of this entry »

Larnaca, Cyprus - July 16, 2023: Close-up of british airways plane mid-flight, showcasing airline branding on a sunny day

 

British Airways has canceled all 103 of its scheduled trips between London Gatwick and New York JFK from December 12, 2024, to March 25, 2025, citing delays in the delivery of Trent 1000 engines from Rolls-Royce. Other routes also are being affected, including flights to Kuala Lumpur, where service is being suspended until April of next year.

BA said it cannot be sure the engines will be delivered as scheduled and does not want to inconvenience travelers at the last minute. “We’re disappointed that we’ve had to make further changes to our schedule as we continue to experience delays to the delivery of engines and parts from Rolls-Royce – particularly in relation to the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines fitted to our 787 aircraft,” it said in a statement.

BA normally flies one flight a day from Gatwick and eight from Heathrow. Passengers also can fly direct from New York to London on Air France, Delta, KLM, Virgin Atlantic, Jet Blue or Norse Atlantic.

Adding insult to injury, the British flag carrier also today announced that it will end its traditional three-course dining experience in business class, scrapping some appetizers and cutting the number of options for mains and desserts.

On departures after 9 pm, BA will offer customers a “goodnight” that no longer includes an appetizer and a set dessert rather than a choice, as well as paninis, soup and salads as the main course.

In addition, a new and lighter brunch menu will be served on flights departing between 8:30 and 11:29 pm.

Even in an AI world, competition for really smart, knowledgeable and experienced travel advisors is stiffer than ever—not just among high-end customers but apparently among host agencies as well. At its annual conference last week, Avoya Travel Network announced upgrades to the commissions it will be paying its independent advisors (IAs)—and a $5,000 sign-on bonus to newcomers bringing in a book of business of their own.

Avoya traditionally has paid its advisors 30% of the commission on bookings obtained through its Avoya Live lead program, or 80% on bookings of their personal customers. Last year, it began testing an Elite 100 program that raised commissions with preferred suppliers to 100% on bookings of personal clients. Read the rest of this entry »

Fall is the best season for travel writers, filled with events featuring travel advisors and suppliers offering up great ideas for the new year. I’ve been to a few in the past couple of weeks, in person and online, at beautiful resorts and high-end Manhattan restaurants, with hurricanes blowing or bright fall colors shining in the sunshine. Here’s some of what I learned.

The simplest to attend was Rita Perez’s insightful “Prep for Wave Week” podcast, offering up insider tips on running a travel business. I listened to two.

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Hotel Strike Spreads in Boston and Seattle

A rear view of people with placards and posters on stike

 

With two cities hit by hotel worker walkouts this week, many travel advisors and meeting planners are holding their breath and praying for a settlement before their clients are affected.

In Boston, the nearly 700 employees of the Omni Parker House and Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport began a strike that will last until their demands are met, according to UNITE HERE Local 26. They join more than 600 workers already on strike at the Hilton Boston Park Plaza and Hilton Boston Logan Airport.

Workers from other properties may join the strike at any time and for any duration, the union said, and strikers will staff picket lines outside the hotel entrances 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Seattle also is dealing with striking workers, but only until October 19, at the Hilton Hotel Seattle Airport and Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Centre.

Meeting planners whose groups are headed to the affected properties “need to be in immediate touch with the GMs and CSMs of the hotels in which their meetings are contracted AFTER they check their contracts carefully to determine whether hotel worker strikes are covered under force majeure or other clauses,” meetings industry consultant Joan Eisenstodt told TRO. “Determine how the hotel will be staffed and if those attending and servicing your meetings (AV companies and other workers who may service your meeting or the hotel) will cross picket lines. Take nothing for granted.”

Across the country, more than 5,000 hotel workers are on strike at Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, and Omni hotels, including front desk agents, housekeepers, bellhops and doormen, cooks and servers and bartenders. They are demanding higher wages and complaining their workloads have gotten out of hand due to Covid-era staff cuts.

Hotel strikes also continue in Honolulu, New Haven, Providence, San Diego, and San Francisco. The union is urging travelers not to eat, meet, or sleep at any hotel that is on strike.

Unite Here represents workers in hotels, casinos, and airports across the United States and Canada.

Jet aircraft landing at Cancún, Mexico 3D rendering illustration. Arrival in the city with the glass airport terminal and reflection of the plane. Travel, business, tourism and transport concept.

 

With lots of new attractions about to open and a boom in tourists carrying electronic devices, Mexico has done away with what is arguably its most unpopular policy, a tax on bringing more than one computer or tablet into Cancun.

“After almost a month of talks,” Governor Mara Lezama Espinosa posted on Facebook on Friday, Mexico will “eliminate the charge for bringing more than one computer or electronic tablets into your personal luggage, within the #Cancun International Airport, with the support of Mexican Customs” (https://fb.watch/vcWouT4KBJ/).

The change is effective immediately.

The tax has been listed on the Mexican government website for some time, apparently in an effort to discourage travelers from bringing in electronic devices and selling them tax-free. But media reports about the tax, which was applied only occasionally and seemingly out of the blue to unsuspecting random travelers, have been calling attention to it—and citing tourists charged $190 to bring in their iPad as well as their computer—for the past few weeks. (Perhaps our own story helped bring attention to the issue; see Bringing a Laptop and an iPad to Mexico Can Cost You Hundreds of Dollars | Travel Research Online!)

“This was an old franchise regulation that no longer aligns with these times of technology, home office, in addition to the key tourism sector who travel to our destination to attend conferences, conventions and professional meetings,” Lezama said. “As a result of various uncomfortable and inconvenient situations detected at customs in the Cancun International Airport which have affected our destination’s image such as not allowing international and domestic tourists, as well as residents, to bring more than one device be it computer, laptop or tablet, we visited the area and reviewed the criteria used to allow tourists through customs and thanks to the support and consideration of the Agencia Nacional de Aduanas de México (National Customs Agency of Mexico), we reviewed the procedure to reactivate the tourists flow through customs and eliminate this criteria.”

Be they husbands and wives, mothers and daughters, or sisters and brothers, more and more travel advisors are finding there’s no better new hire than a member of your very own family. When you need a helping hand or a travel buddy—and when you consider a succession plan—many say home is the best place to start looking.

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CocoCay, the private island owned by Royal Caribbean cruise line.

 

Apparently CocoCay isn’t the only destination that can offer cruisers a perfect day.

Royal Caribbean today announced the latest entry in the high-stakes sweepstakes for amazing private islands—this one in Mexico rather than on a Caribbean island.

Opening in 2027 in Mahahual (Quintana Roo, south of Cozumel), Perfect Day Mexico will add a little Mexican charm to the menu of pools with ocean views, a water park, and restaurants and bars that have proven so popular with Royal Caribbean guests.

Unlike the others, though, its position on land enables it to add a new transportation hub for guests to use to begin shore excursions or find a taxi to local attractions.

“Perfect Day Mexico will be a hallmark destination of Royal Caribbean vacations, bringing new adventures to the western Caribbean for itineraries sailing from the Gulf Coast markets like Texas and Florida,” the company said today in a printed press release that replaced a planned roundtable, likely canceled due to the approaching hurricane in Florida.

The first Perfect Day, at CocoCay, “has been a gamechanger for both our guests and our business,” said Royal Caribbean Group president and CEO Jason Liberty; it has consistently ranked as the line’s number-one destination.

Perfect Day Mexico will join the recently announced Royal Beach Club Cozumel, scheduled to open in 2026

The new Perfect Day will be built in collaboration with the local government and community, Royal Caribbean said, as part of the SEA the Future commitment to deliver responsible destinations that “sustain the planet, energize communities and accelerate innovation.”

Perfect Day at CocoCay in The Bahamas, meanwhile, continues to grow steadily since opening in 2019. It has since added an adults-only Hideaway Beach. Also on tap are the Royal Beach Club Collection in 2025, the Royal Beach Club Paradise Island in The Bahamas and Royal Beach Club Cozumel in 2026; and the reopening of Labadee, Haiti.

More details about Perfect Day Mexico and the vacation brand’s expanding destination lineup will be revealed in the coming months, the company said.

Spirit Talks Bankruptcy

Baltimore, Maryland, USA - 3 May 2024: Tail fin of an Airbus A321 jet (registration N710NK) operated by Spirit Airlines at Baltimore Washington International airport.

 

With no profit to show since Covid, Spirit Airlines is discussing a possible restructuring in preparation for declaring bankruptcy, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Citing “people who are familiar with the matter,” The Journal said Spirit has been talking bankruptcy since its failed merger with JetBlue Airways. The airline is struggling to compete with the big carriers, and was hard-hit when a recall of turbofan engines grounded many of its planes, including many that were supposed to fly to the new airport in Tulum, Mexico. Last month it furloughed 186 pilots.

As part of its efforts to enhance the bottom line, Spirit has been cutting flights and making changes to the services it offers. This summer it rolled out a premium “Go Big” fare class that offers a larger seat and early boarding, lifted its checked baggage limit from 40 to 50 pounds, and did away with change and cancelation fees.  Just this week it suspended nonstop service between Cleveland and Orlando, effective Nov. 5.

And still, it reported its 11th consecutive quarterly loss in August.

Church and its monastery located in the Plaza de San Pedro Claver, Cartagena.

 

Breaking into a new country is never easy. Just ask AmaWaterways, which this week announced the delay of its industry-first river cruises in Colombia.

Originally scheduled to launch in November 2024 and then postponed to January 25, the new route down the Magdalena River now is being planned for March 2025.

It’s a complicated thing to work with local communities and officials to develop the infrastructure that will allow luxury excursions to “explore secluded areas rich in biodiversity, opening up parts of Colombia rarely seen by travelers.”

“Our journey here isn’t just about exploration; it’s about forging new paths for our guests while contributing to the growth and development of the region,” said AmaWaterways co-founder and executive vice-president Kristin Karst in a press release announcing the delay. “Economic growth, infrastructure development, and community empowerment are at the heart of what we do in Colombia.”

Exploring the Magdalena River region “was complicated, if not impossible. Our cruises are changing that, offering the seamless experience AmaWaterways is known for, while also providing exclusive access to culturally significant and often inaccessible destinations.”

Ama currently is planning two ships for the route, the 60-passenger AmaMagdalena and the 64-passenger AmaMelodia, which is on schedule for its planned June 2025 launch. They will sail seven-night itineraries between Cartagena and Barranquilla.

When the ships do launch, the plan is to highlight the local culture through tastings of tropical fruit, artisanal chocolate and rum, and Colombian coffee; visits to indigenous communities; and shore excursions to “secluded natural wonders that are often out of reach.”

(Heads up: Of course we know there are two sides to every story. This is the “pro” side. Stay tuned next week for the “con.”)

When your niche is entertainment travel and your clients are ultra-high-net-worth, there’s no option but to sell air, says Ted Bradpiece. And he doesn’t really mind. It’s just another call or two a month he has to take late at night or on the weekend—and it pays as much as many travel advisors earn in a year.

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Prices Heading Up at Disney World

Orlando, FL USA- February 4, 2020: Storm Troopers at the Rise of the Resistance Star Wars ride in Hollywood Studios Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
Storm Troopers at the Rise of the Resistance Star Wars ride in Walt Disney World.

 

As if it doesn’t already cost enough to visit Disney World, this month will usher in a number of price increases at Mickey’s Florida home.

Guests using the Lightning Lane Single Pass system will see the cost of four of the most popular attractions increase by $1-$3 per ride, in two stages, on October 18 and 21.

October 18 will bring the first round of price rises:

  • Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom: $12
  • TRON Lightcycle / Run at Magic Kingdom: $21
  • Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT: $17
  • Avatar Flight of Passage: $17

Those increases will be followed on October 21 to:

  • Seven Dwarfs Mine Train: $14
  • TRON Lightcycle / Run: $22
  • Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind: $19
  • Avatar Flight of Passage: $18

The price for Star Wars Rise of the Resistance remains at $25.

Lightning Lane Passes offer access to rides that are not included in the Lightning Lane Multi Pass (for details see Lightning Lane Pass Guide and FAQ.) The prices are based on dynamic pricing, so costs fluctuate based on expected crowd levels.

Getting into the park will be more expensive as well. Disney World already announced the first price increase in five years for its least expensive ticket, the one-day one-park entry, to $119 from $109, and as much as $200 in peak seasons, effective January 1.

Smart travel advisors know which questions to ask, and who to ask them to. But even smarter ones, it seems, attend the kinds of events that teach you answers to questions you didn’t even know you should be asking.

That’s just the kind of conference that Nexion Travel Network hosted this month in New Orleans. It’s possible that the hurricane winds outside brought people closer together but, honestly, I think it’s just the Nexion ethos that had so many smart travel advisors offering so many great tips at CoNexion 2024. Read the rest of this entry »

GTC President Angie Licea welcomes attendees and chats with Internova’s JD O’Hara

 

New York – Take a deep breath, travel advisors. There’s no escaping a future that includes AI and NDCs—so prepare to embrace it. You’ll be glad you did.

That was the message—or at least the focus of the news—at Global Travel Collection’s Elevate conference in Manhattan last week. In a year when sales are booming, time is short, and good assistants are impossible to find, GTC says it has the answer: A unique AI system it is building in partnership with Microsoft. And on the airline front, both American and Delta promise NDC will make booking air easy and profitable.

“AI is going to support you, it’s not going to take your job,” said GTC product management director Casey Soto—and he should know. He’s spent the past eight months working with Microsoft on his passion project, to develop an artificial intelligence product designed to meet the specific needs of travel advisors, “something that is AI and makes sense for you to use,” he told the crowd on a panel about AI.

To that end, Soto has been “going to every corner of our business looking for information on everything from contracts to contacts,” adding more than 340,000 data points “so you can ask it a question and it will answer in natural language.”

Already, AI systems for travel advisors can take information and generate the next step, such as answering simple questions in a client email, sending out an RFP for a group contract, generating sample white-glove itineraries or sorting through the travel insurance options to highlight the ones that make the most sense. On the corporate side, clients are using AI to ensure travelers are booking in accordance with corporate policies and using preferred suppliers. The goal is always to find efficiencies for the advisor and give you back more time to make human connections with clients.

GTC is rolling out a redesigned travel advisor portal that will include a free six-month trial of atlas.internova.com, “a knowledge base of everything in travel.” You can ask it anything,” from “Who, should I call for IT support?” to “How can I book air without a GDS?”

NDC is coming, “you have no choice”

Addressing the airlines’ new distribution capability (NDC), Delta’s NY managing director Scott Jordan said NDC “is the vehicle that transforms how we sell and service. It’s broader than how we connect, it’s how we evolve the ecosystem.”

Delta is not looking to disrupt the GDSs, “but we need to display a better product so you see it more clearly,” he said. By the end of the year, it will offer an NDC product “not to force people but to offer a choice.” its development is being overseen by Delta’s head of sales support, who is focused on “things to make your job easier.”

NDC “is the future; you have no choice” Peter Vlitas, EVP of Partner Relations at GTC parent Internova Travel Group, said. “We’re going to have to go down this path.” But it will be worth the effort, allowing travel advisors to rebook customers quickly and easily when something goes wrong—and equally important, allowing the airlines to offer unique fares to their top-tier customers, such as Internova.

Sky Princess. Photo courtesy of Princess Cruises.

 

Princess Cruises has taken a step back—or a step forward, depending on how you look at it – when it comes to the price of water bottles onboard. Last week, with no warning, it tripled the price of a 12-pack of water from $7.09 to $24 (10 CAD to 32.40 CAD for Canadian guests).

On social media some lamented the big jump, calling it corporate greed, but others applauded the efforts of Princess and other travel suppliers to cut down on the use of plastics in the industry.

“I hope they are wearing masks because that’s daylight robbery,” said one member of the Prince Cruises Passenger Forum.

“I’m guessing they are trying to make up for some of the waste they are seeing as more and more people get packages that include unlimited water. I see half-finished and almost full bottles. Everywhere on cruise ships now,” explained another.

“They should raise it to $80 a case,” suggested a third.

There are other options for potable water, of course. Water in the cabin – on which Princess now has installed taps – is safe to drink, and guests can bring their own water bottles and fill them. It’s also permissible to bring up to 12 sealed, unopened 12-ounce cans or cartons of water or soda per passenger in your hand luggage.

Still, many guests have appreciated the convenience of pre-ordering water and having it delivered to their stateroom.

Kiss that option goodbye – or pay up for the privilege of polluting the planet and having someone else recycle all those bottles.

(Note: Princess Cruises did not reply to our request for a comment on this story.)

“A travel advisor who doesn’t travel is like a chef who doesn’t eat,” they say—and the same goes for a travel writer. So despite a family of nervous moms and four kids, every August we schlep our kids and grandkids on a family vacation. We love to have the whole clan together, and it’s always revealing to see things through the perspective of first-timers.

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