The recent cold snap in the east changed the itinerary for cruise ship passengers who were literally left out in the cold.

No worries on board ice-bound cruise ship

A cruise ship carrying nearly 400 people has been stuck in thick ice in the St. Lawrence River in Eastern Canada for over a day, but passengers are nonetheless having a “festive” time, the company that owns the vessel said Tuesday.

The ship, CTMA-Vacancier, chartered by a group traveling from Montreal to the Gaspe Peninsula for a cross-country skiing trip to celebrate the 475th anniversary of the region’s settlement, is now inching through the heavy ice, said Leonard Arsenault, a spokesman for MTMA Group.

He said the 300 passengers, along with a crew of nearly 100, were in no danger and that there was plenty of food on board.

But the cruise ship passengers were not the only ones stuck in the ice. The cold also trapped airline passengers in one of those stories that leaves you wondering if it is about time for those often talked about passenger’s rights.

Stunned by the day’s travel news — no really, stunned

Passengers on an AirTran flight from Columbus, Ohio, to Orlando were stuck in transit for 12 hours yesterday — many of them on a grounded plane. Flight 373 to Orlando had been scheduled to take off from Columbus, Ohio, at 8 a.m. But an overnight snow storm reportedly turned the parked plane into a popsicle. Ground crews used three truckloads of deicing fluid in a futile attempt to thaw the frozen plane. “We had no water, no air, they couldn’t turn the engine on,” one traveler said. The passengers were let off the aircraft for lunch, and AirTran offered them free roundtrip tickets for the trouble.

Speaking of dirty tricks, research has picked out one New York hotel as the dirtiest in the country. By the way, if you think bed bugs are bad… don’t look under the bed.

Behold The Nastiest, Foulest Hotel In America

Is this the dirtiest, foulest hotel in America? The voters on TripAdvisor.com think so, and the rating doesn’t seem to have come as a shock to the management of the hotel — the manager told NY1, “because they are a one star hotel, they have one star standards of cleanliness.” Well, ew.

What sort of crimes against hygeine are we talking about here? Well, according to the comments on TripAdviser, prepare yourself for “mice, roaches, Bed Bugs and crack heads all living at this Hell Hole! The hotel itself smells and is filthy from the disgusting bedspread to the filthy bathroom.” And there are also “outlets that hang out of walls” and “Built up hair clogged shower drains.” All this for only $122 a night.

Other stories I found interesting:

• 2009 Worldnomads.com Travel Podcast Scholarship
• How Well Do You Know the Middle East?
• London Pedestrian Routemap
• How to Move to Paris with No Money
• Win $50,000 Towards Your Dream Photography Assignment!
• Across the ocean in a pedal-powered submarine
• Win the best job in the world

The Germans choose modesty over security.

Germany rejects full-body scanners at airports

Germany says it will not introduce much-criticized new full-body scanners at its airports even if their use is approved by the European Union. Interior Ministry spokesman Gabriele Hermani said on Friday that “we won’t join in with this nonsense.” The scanners � which produce an outline of passengers’ bodies beneath their clothes � have been tested at airports in Britain and the Netherlands but are opposed in much of Europe.

Add 27 more places to see to your list.

UNESCO adds 27 new sites World Heritage List

UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee added a whopping 27 new sites to its World Heritage List at its 32nd session this week, including French fortifications, a Hindu temple and a butterfly biosphere.

Nineteen cultural sites and eight natural sites were inscribed, said the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization panel, meeting in this oldest of Canadian cities.
The total number of World Heritage sites now reaches 878 sites in 145 countries, it said.

As many Americans plan for their next vacation they are packing their hiking boots rather than their dancing shoes.

TripAdvisor Releases Travel Trends for 2009

TripAdvisor®, the world’s largest travel community, has announced the results of its annual travel trends survey of more than 3,000 U.S. travelers. The primary trends identified are that travelers appear to be going lean and green by visiting national parks, hiking, and engaging in adventure activities. A greater amount of Americans said they will be environmentally conscious in their travel decisions in 2009, and more plan to visit eco-friendly hotels in the coming year.

Sand snatchers shrink Caribbean beaches

Ahh, the Caribbean. Sun, surf. But where’s the sand?

It is disappearing at alarming rates as thieves feed a local construction boom.

Caribbean round grains, favored in creating smooth surfaces for plastering and finishing, are being hauled away by the truckload late at night. On some islands not much bigger than Manhattan, towns and ecologically sensitive areas are now exposed to tidal surges and rough seas.

United Airlines offers door-to-door luggage delivery

United Airlines, which will soon raise checked-bag fees, is giving customers a pricier but convenient alternative: getting their luggage delivered overnight from their home or a FedEx station to their destination. The service, available only within the 48 contiguous U.S. states, costs $149 per bag each way for flights under 1,000 miles and $179 for longer flights.

It used to be that when a restaurant found that a restaurant critic was coming or when a hotel found out that a hotel reviewer would be staying they could make an extra effort to give the best possible experience. One of the changes that the Internet has made is that everyone eating at a restaurant and anyone staying at the hotel might be a critic. With the advent of sites like TripAdvisor.com the power that used to be held by the press is now held by the everyday consumer.

Many or most people who write reviews on travel review sites are honestly intending to help the people that will travel after them. They write honest reviews about real experiences. Granted what they think is dirty you may think is acceptable and what they think is wonderful food you may find uninspiring, but an honest review tells you some valuable information when put in the correct context. A thoughtful well written review is of particular value.

But, as Lord Acton once told us, “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. Stories are starting to come back from hotel and restaurant owners of a darker side of TripAdvisor and other review sites.

We stayed at a wonderful hotel in Santorini called Villa Mathios. Our host was accommodating, gregarious and helpful. He told us stories of guests who he let use his personal computer to check their email. He let them check in before the official check in time. But when they went to leave they asked for a ride to the airport at 6:30 AM. That is not part of the service he provides. He runs a hotel, restaurant and even a travel agency but not a free taxi service. So even though they had had a wonderful stay they threaten to write a bad review of the hotel (and did so when he does not relent).

I love user contributed content, community and social networks. My day job is running online communities for many well known companies. But these sort of dark side of community stories show that there is still value in editorial opinion. There is still value in the opinion of trusted friends or trusted bloggers / podcasters.

There is no truth to the rumor that the way my wife and I figured out the itinerary for our next vacation was that we consulted TripAdvisor’s recent survey to figure out which are the dirtiest cities in Europe. It is true however that both London (#1) and Athens (tied with Rome for #3) which we plan to visit are on that list. To make matter’s worse Athens, since being voted #3, is having a garbage strike.

According to World Hum:

If the survey had been done this week, however, Greece’s capital might have made first place. Garbage collectors have been on strike for days, as part of a nationwide union protest against government pension reforms.

The garbage hills are not quite mountain-sized yet, as they were last year when the city landfill was overflowing. But the rot is stinking up the early spring air and prompting breathless television reports declaring the streets “apocalyptic”, a la Naples. Striking workers are even pelting police with the garbage during demonstrations.

It sort of the ruins the mood when youre out for a $10 (and climbing) fancy coffee at an outdoor cafe.

Sadly, Athens didn’t make any good TripAdvisor lists, i.e. best cuisine or most romantic. The cleanest city was apparently Zurich, though it was also voted one of the most boring. But clean doesn’t always mean boring: London was voted the dirtiest city, but also the city with the best nightlife.

Zurich being the cleanest city I can easily imagine. Those of you who listen to the Amateur Traveler may remember that in episode 100 I talked about going to Zurifast. The huge crowd had scattered garbage, broken bottles etc everywhere by 5 AM. Magically by 10 AM the city was already Swiss clean. Those guys are efficient.