Scott Laird

Sneak Peek: The Westin Puntacana Resort & Club's Renovation

The lobby at The Westin Puntacana Resort & Club is so gorgeous, you could just spend your vacation time there. With high ceilings, polished stonework and an ever-present sea breeze that’s aided by ceiling fans, this newly refreshed space is only a…

Cruise Ship Etiquette: How to Politely Get Around Assigned Seating

You’ve just boarded a cruise, found the dining room on the first night, and been escorted to your table with your dining companions. The moment of truth has arrived: Will your assigned table be to your liking? A good number of cruise lines today…

These Over-the-Top Cruise Ship Suites Are Like Having Your Own Penthouse at Sea

All the space you can dream of. Amenities on tap. Personalized service. These are the benefits of booking some of the largest and most sumptuous cruise ship suites. The details vary by cruise line and ship (read on to find out which suite has a…

The Best Cruise Line for Each Zodiac Sign

Cruise lines are great characters - each with their own personality and presence in a traveler's story. Some are playful, some sophisticated, and some a bit naughty. Cruise lines spend time cultivating these personalities as part of their brand, to…

An Expert's Guide to Booking the Perfect Alaska Cruise in 2023

Alaska has been a popular cruise destination for decades, and the industry has continued a trajectory of growth. Each summer season there seems to be another cruise line sailing Alaskan waters, while the longtime incumbents are relentless in their…

Hotel Review: Lotte New York Palace

The Lotte New York Palace is a hotel that tells a proverbial tale of two cities. There are two New Yorks in this tale, separated by a hundred years, both in periods when the city’s love of wealth was at its peak. Some palace hotels, particularly in…

Why a Luxury Hotel is Your Best Bet in Paris

Like any big city, Paris has a dizzyingly wide range of hotel options, starting at the very basic and topping out somewhere in the stratosphere. Many visitors to the city seek to maximize their time on the ground and often say they don’t need…

It Might Be Time to Stop ‘Traveling Like a Local’

Among travelers, there is a curious paradox: everybody wants to travel, but nobody, it seems, wants to be a tourist. I t’s an affliction as old as modern tourism. The 1908 E.M. Forster novel A Room With a View deftly skewers contemporary views of…

What to Do When You Miss Your Cruise Departure

Missed the boat? Here’s what to do next. It’s a nightmare that cruise passengers hope never to experience—arriving at the pier late to watch their cruise ship sail off on their vacation without them onboard. But all may not be lost in that situation.…

This Is the Best Way to See 10 Popular Destinations

Want to see the best these destinations have to offer? Get out on the water! Sometimes the best way to see a destination is to leave it–for a nearby body of water. Whether it’s floating under bridges admiring the architecture of Chicago or seeing…

2023 Travel Guide to Hawai'i

The Aloha State remains a perenially popular travel destination, particularly as the last of the COVID-19 related travel restrictions finally melted away in 2022. Tourism has surged back to Hawai'i, even though it faces many of the same supply chain…

The Dreaded, Most Annoying Sales Presentation You’ll Ever Sit Through: Are Timeshares Actually Worth It?

Timeshares can get a bad reputation, but is there a benefit to investing in one? Anybody who has traveled long enough will inevitably hear about timeshares—either they’ll be approached with a solicitation to attend a sales presentation, or they’ll…

Top 2023 Destinations for Every Zodiac Sign

What's Your Sign? Using the Zodiac To Choose Your Destination One needn't actually ride in a Zodiac to harness the power of their astrology chart to pick a destination that best suits them in 2023. With some of the top attributes of your sun sign as…

What To Consider When Booking an Alaska Cruise

Shopping for Alaska cruises can often lead to analysis paralysis, with so many different options on offer. Most big ship cruises follow a similar routing, with most calling at Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway at a minimum, but that’s where the…

15 Amazing Beach Resorts To Escape To This Winter

Ad Microsoft Ad Microsoft Ad Microsoft Slide 1 of 16: As the winter weather sets in across much of the U.S., many travelers seek out beach escapes as an antidote to their inevitable cabin fever. Whether blisteringly tropical or cozily temperate, many…

15 Amazing Beach Resorts To Escape To This Winter

As the winter weather sets in across much of the U.S., many travelers seek out beach escapes as an antidote to their inevitable cabin fever. Whether blisteringly tropical or cozily temperate, many year-round beach resorts are a draw for travelers…

Hotel Review: Hilton Hotel Tahiti

Hilton Hotel Tahiti is perhaps the best-situated resort on the island of Tahiti. Front and center are views of the neighboring island of Moorea, while the port of Papeete — the territorial capital of French Polynesia — sits just adjacent to the…

The Beverly Hills Hotel Still Rules Hollywood at 110 Years Old

The Beverly Hills Hotel is something of a maverick. It seems strange to say that about a hotel that’s 110 years old this year, but there are few other hotels in the Los Angeles basin—or the world—that match the famous pink palace for being as…

What to Do When Your Hotel Room Is Unacceptable

Here are some tips for when and how to deal with subpar accommodations. T ravel long enough, and you’ll eventually come across a hotel room that doesn’t meet your needs. Either it’s not clean, or it’s noisy, or some of the room’s safety features…

The Best Time to Cruise Alaska

The best time to cruise Alaska is in May or June, at the beginning of the cruise season. Alaska’s cruise season has always been short, peaking quickly at the height of the summer months and then done by early fall. But as the destination has grown in…