In addition to traveling the world, Madeline and I roam the internet looking for news, information and deals to help us travel smarter and safer. In our Traveling the Internet series, we share some of the most interesting and helpful stops we’ve taken.
When travelling internationally, check ahead
We travel a lot internationally. Before I book airline tickets or anything else, I always check the U.S. State Department’s website first to make sure where we want to go is safe. The website has changed for the better and grades regions within a country and lets you know what you might expect.
Visit Country Information at travel.state.gov
Another good resource is the Department of Homeland Security. They have helpful information for traveling overseas. And useful tips, too!
Visit Travel Overseas at dhs.gov
Find reasonably priced wine
Madeline and I love wine. We particularly love going to regions where wine is made. Pilgrimages to Argentina, California, Chile, France and Italy are almost a religious experience. Have you seen Sideways with Paul Giamatti? A struggling writer and wine enthusiast takes his engaged friend on a trip through wine country for a last single-guy bonding experience.
I was thinking of this movie when I read a Food & Wine article about reasonably priced wine. When we were in Mendoza, Argentina, and Santiago, Chile, recently, we went on a few wine tours. These marvelous wines were not at all expensive. Of course, if you buy the same wines in the United States, there are transportation, warehousing and retail price increases. This article clarified a few things.
Speaking of wine, here is another article about wines you can always trust; some are part of the Sideways storyline.
50 Affordable Wines You Can Always Trust
Have you traveled anywhere by train? Luxury train travel is coming back!
Madeline has always wanted to take a train trip to see the sights at a more leisurely pace. We discussed trains in the United States, but the one we wanted crosses the Rockies overnight so there was nothing to see. We talked about the Orient Express in Asia, but it’s very expensive and doesn’t go long distance anymore. Then I stumbled on this article from the Telegraph. It seems luxury train travel is coming back, but you need to be selective.
Welcome to the New Age of the Luxury Train
Five new ships redefining cruises
We’ve been on a few luxury cruises. We really enjoyed the Paul Gaugin in French Polynesia. We also loved the Silversea cruise to the Galapagos. And we’re going on an Antarctica cruise with Silversea in 2019. Luxury cruises seem to be going to more and more destinations every year. This article from U.S. News gave me some insights on cruises I’ve never heard of before.
How 5 Cruise Lines Are Redefining the All-Inclusive Experience
Here’s another article about luxury cruising from the Telegraph.
The Cruise Line that is Redefining Luxury Travel
Privacy when you fly
Madeline and I fly Delta a lot. We know that some of our flying data is available to the flight attendants, pursers, etc. They regularly greeted us as Million Milers and other names that suggest they know our records and preferences.
The airlines have this data, but they didn’t regularly acknowledge it to passengers. Now, we get requests for our meal selection on a flight. When we take the flight, the purser or flight attendant acknowledges that Ms. Kay has the chicken entrée tonight or something to that effect.
Hotels have been doing this for years. They gather data about our preferences and know what we are likely to request or enjoy before we ask.
Since I’m an IT guy, I immediately think of this data as something that is within the airline’s customer relationship management (CRM) system.
The idea of the CRM is to maintain data about customer interactions through the customer lifecycle. I don’t have any problems with the airlines collecting data that they use to learn our travel preferences. Like any form of private data, I would like them to keep the information to themselves and not sell it to others.
The collection of this type of data could be a very good thing or it could turn into something darker. Think what Facebook is doing with your data.
Now Airbus is talking a lot about their connected cabin concept. What are your thoughts on this topic?
Airbus’ Connected Cabin Concept Is Materializing with First Round of Partnerships