Lessons from a storm-tossed cruise

For their sixth wedding anniversary, Mark and Melissa Hill looked forward to a four-day Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Ecstasy. ''We get one vacation a year,'' said Mark, a telephone technician from Dallas. ``And this was our first trip alone together since we had kids.''

Royal Caribbean plans to sail from Dubai

Miami-based Royal Caribbean Cruises said Monday that it will expand to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates in 2010 with the deployment of its Brilliance of the Seas cruise ship.

Deals make travel irresistible

''When the going gets tough, the tough get going.'' In a time of economic crisis, when people tend to stay at home, America's tour operators have pulled out every smart tactic of marketing, whittled profit margins to the bone and have announced the most remarkable discounts -- to keep Americans traveling.

Now that oil prices are down, why aren't airfares?

Q. Since oil prices have fallen off recently, why haven't airfares fallen too? A. Fuel makes up about 40 percent of the total budgets of most major airlines. And in the past year, as the price of oil -- and in tandem, the price of jet fuel -- has skyrocketed and surpassed labor as their biggest expense.

Glass artist Dale Chihuly opens museum gallery

In paint-encrusted boots and his trademark eye patch, renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly showed off the colorful, swirling designs that are part of a new $34 million expansion at the museum of the Rhode Island School of Design.

A fall drive through Missouri discovers its scenic mills

Want to buy a mill? This is not just any mill. In a state filled with pretty-as-a-postcard mills, Hodgson Mill, deep in the Ozarks, is billed as the most photographed in Missouri by locals who watch the cars pull off Highway 181, about 20 miles north of the Arkansas border.

Miami International ranks last in on-time departures

Overall, airlines' on-time performance improved in August, but Miami's airport ranked as the worst in on-time departures among the largest airports.

Theme park prices are up, but look for deals

South Florida parents making that end-of-summer dash to the theme parks are in for sticker shock: One-day adult ticket prices have hit $75 -- plus tax.

TRAVEL COMMENTARY

Commentary | Airlines charge for the darnedest things

So, you think you have it bad, what with new, increasingly painful baggage fees almost daily? Second-bag fees, first-bag fees, carry-on fees?

AIR TRAVEL

Unintended security threat: It was just Airborne

A reporter, an airplane, a little cold tablet and lots of guns.