Travel Tonic

Bringing you what’s new in travel for January 27th 2010 through January 29th 2010:

• Cruise news: Norwegian offers studios for singles – JD Rinne recently posted this on This Just In… Newsweek’s Travel Blog:Norwegian Cruise Line announced this month that it will be offering studio cabins on its ship Epic. The exciting news: The studios are priced with solo travelers in mind.
• Readers’ Choice: Favorite and least favorite airlines? – Budget Travel recently posted this on This Just In… Newsweek’s Travel Blog:We’re giving you the floor! We recognize that our readers are true experts, so we want to hear your thoughts on all sorts of travel topics.
• Wackiness on the waves – AmyS_travel recently posted this over on the Bing Travel Blog:When I was little, my idea of cruises was shaped by the TV series “The Love Boat”: I saw cruise trips as happy but staid experiences, where you had quite a bit of sedate fun but did little out of the ordinary. To put it mildly, I was wrong.
• Belize: Answers to your vacation FAQs – Sean O’Neill recently posted this on This Just In… Newsweek’s Travel Blog:
  

  (Courtesy ashled2/myBudgetTravel)
• LaptopFriendlyCafes Finds Great Wi-Fi Spots Worldwide – Lifehacker’s Kevin Purdy just posted this article:
  

  Not every coffee shop is friendly to laptop toters these days. Then again, some are absolutely great to set up inside. LaptopFriendlyCafes.com lists more than 300 places around the globe that have plugs, Wi-Fi, 3G, and, oh yes, coffee. …

  Read the rest at Lifehacker

• Norwegian Cruise Lines Reaches Out to Single Travelers – Smarter Travel has posted some info about norwegian cruise line: Norwegian Cruise Line’s new Norwegian Epic includes 128 studios designed for single occupancy. But are these small cabins worth the price tag?Head over to www.smartertravel.com to read the whole article.
• London: Best places for afternoon tea – Alex Robinson recently posted this on This Just In… Newsweek’s Travel Blog:
  
  [+] Enlarge photo

  The scrumptious raspberry macaroon at Claridge’s Hotel, an Art Deco jewel in London (Courtesy vancouvergirl/myBudgetTravel)

  The top traditional places downtown for afternoon tea are Browns (brownshotel.com) which won the Tea Guild’s award for the best tea in the capital in 2009 and the Dorchester (thedorchester.com). Both are expensive at around $50, and whilst you don���t have to dress up to the nines, they are conservative establishments where people talk in hushed tones.

  Personally, I’d opt for somewhere cheaper, younger and less stuffy. Go to Bloomsbury (a neighborhood near the British Museum, made famous by the Virginia Woolf and her literary set) and drop into Bea’s (beasofbloomsbury.com), which offer sumptuous cakes and tea in a little café for around $12. And whilst it’s a 40-minute subway trip from the city center near the Canary Wharf financial district, the Mudchute Kitchen (mudchutekitchen.org) has generous farmhouse teas with a strong brew and cream cakes, on a 32-acre urban farm, also for around $12. It’s cozy spot, and kids are welcome as well.

• Find a Cheaper Car Rental Rate Away From the Airport – Christopher Elliott of Tribune Media Services posted this over on Frommer’s : You can save over half off the price on your next car rental if you skip the airport agencies, but this won’t always lower your total cost. Here’s why.
• New Taxes, Fees, and Charges for Travel in 2010 – Smarter Travel has posted some info about rental charges: Tourist taxes, extra car rental charges, and airline fees for travelers departing out of Britain are just a few of the new costs you can expect to encounter this year.Head over to www.smartertravel.com to read the whole article.
• Ithaca, N.Y.: A travel deal for teachers – Sean O’Neill recently posted this on This Just In… Newsweek’s Travel Blog:Why aren’t more travel deals aimed at teachers? Leading by example is the small town of Ithaca. From Feb. 12-21, Ithaca is holding its fourth annual Winter Recess, with deals offered explicitly for educators and their families.
• Landmarks at 30,000 feet – RobinD_travel recently posted this over on the Bing Travel Blog:The next time your jet is soaring through the lower stratosphere, grab a window seat and take the opportunity to enjoy a short lesson in U.S. history, geology and geography.