smarter traveler Page 64

On the Sunday, September 12th, 2021 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, the DOT is investigating a number of airlines who didn't provide refunds in a timely manner, or misled travelers into thinking they couldn't get a refund for their ticket. Southwest announces no booze on their planes until at least next year, and we talk about the last term changes brought to travel by the events of September 11, 2001. In our Smarter Traveler segment, we remind you of some of the resources available to help you prepare for your next COVID-era trip. Canada opened its borders to US travelers a month ago. Road Reporter Chris Galloway has been in Canada with a group of travelers for the last week, and will repeat with another group next week. He checks in to tell us about getting into Canada, and just as importantly, getting back into the states. Gwen Duncan has an update on cruising. What are cruisers buying and when are they going out of the oceans and rivers of the world again? What are the restrictions cruisers need to know about?

On the Sunday, September 5th, 2021 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, Maui has joined Oahu in creating a program which insures travelers who enter restaurants, and other indoor venues, have proof of vaccination, either through a unique program on your phone or by presenting a vaccination card. The Queen Mary, which has been enjoying retirement in Long Beach for the past 50 or so years, may be done as a tourist attraction. Plus, United Airlines has made a major concession on ticket credits. The price of a cruise is often way more than what you paid before you boarded. The cruise lines have set up a gauntlet of ways to extract money from you. We'll talk about some of them and perhaps you can make your own plan to cut the cruise lines profits next time you sail. Mark says the travel industry has experienced an upswing in "I thought things would be better so I booked, but now I want to cancel at the last minute and not be charged anything" calls. He has some strong words for travelers who aren't big on taking responsibility for their decisions. In our final segment, we put on our entertainment hats as Tom interviews MARC D'ANTONIO who is featured in the DISCOVERY+ show, "SHOCK DOCS – ALIEN INVASION: HUDSON VALLEY" (which began streaming on Monday, August 16th).

On the Sunday, August 29th, 2021 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, Hawaii is considering a return to lock down after COVID spikes in the state, a Delta flight crew goes the extra mile to give a small boost to some Afghan children, and Venice is going to charge admission in an effort to control the number of tourist who descend on their city. Our Smarter Traveler segment updates you on a special fare on the Capitol Corridor trains to San Francisco, San Jose and points in-between for the Labor Day Holiday Weekend; plus we alert you to a possible issue with cloth face masks on planes. We have two baseball-related travel stories this week: We’ll talk to a local Sacramento man, Bill George, about his visit to the Field of Dreams baseball game in Iowa last week; and we interview sports writer Ron Clements about his new book, A Sports Fan’s Guide to Route 66.

On the Sunday, August 22nd, 2021 edition of The Travel Guys… In the Travel News, the Canadian and Mexican borders remain closed. But wait, it’s only the BORDER that’s closed, you can still get into Mexico and Canada by air. What the heck? And you’ll be masking up on planes and trains until January of next year. If you have to pre-test for COVID before traveling, there are a few really important things you should know. Also, here is an age-old simple credit card rip-off at some tourist hotels, known as the “pizza scam.” We explain what it is, how it works and how you can avoid it. Road Reporter Clayton Whitehead was recently traveling in Upper Michigan and also visited Mackinac Island. He has a report on how people in rural areas are reacting to the new COVID up tick, and talks about Mackinac, one of his favorite destinations. Clayton closes with a tribute to a traveling friend. Finally, we have an update on the rental car situation. Is it getting better, worse? Is it time to plan your trip around price/availability of a rental car?