Confessions of...A Mall Santa

Oil spills. Ash clouds. Plus, every hotel guest's worst nightmare: bedbugs! It would be easy to cast 2010 as "The Year of Freaking Out." Facing such panic-inducing travel hazards, many of us had to fight the urge to follow the lead of former flight attendant Steven Slater by jumping on an inflatable emergency slide and racing home to hide in bed. Not so fast. We could just as easily call 2010 "The Year of Industry Revival." In reinventions worthy of Cher, two of the industry's longest-running acts—theme parks and cruises—became hip again. In Orlando, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened in June, and families queued up for a little levitation. Meanwhile, the December 1 launch of the world's largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas, was a high note for the cruise industry. Through it all, Budget Travel was there for you, covering these and other hot topics, including vacation-rental bans, a victory for fliers' rights, and the news that TripAdvisor was in the hot seat. Here are the most memorable stories of 2010. Royal Caribbean launches world's biggest cruise ship&#8230again On December 1 Royal Caribbean launched the world's largest cruise ship, the Allure of the Seas. The behemoth is only 50 millimeters longer than the previous titleholder (and sister ship), Oasis of the Seas, which debuted last year. It sleeps 5,400 people, weighs 225,282 tons, and is one and a half times the size of the Queen Mary 2, the ship that held the "world's largest" title prior to the Oasis. The supersizing of cruise ships is a trend that Budget Travel has been following (see our Mega-Cruise Smackdown, which pits the Oasis against the Norwegian Epic, another heavyweight). But is bigger better? It's definitely not more affordable—today's mega ships often lead to mega bills (the typical passenger spends hundreds of dollars more onboard than on other ships). To its credit, Royal Caribbean has included many freebies in its ticket price, from surprising activities (free zip lines!) to over-the-top extras (free synchronized swimming shows!) on both the Allure and the Oasis. The company's focus on customer satisfaction must be a key reason why BT readers' picked it as their favorite cruise line in our Readers' Choice Awards. Airline fees just keep rising Airlines would make you pay for using their seat belts if they could. For years, they've been adding dollar signs to services that used to be free. But this year, carriers took à la carte pricing to the extreme. Spirit Airlines started levying from $20 to $45 each way for the privilege of carrying luggage on a flight. (Thankfully, other airlines haven't copied Spirit's move, partly because of the public shaming the company was given by U.S. Senator (and Extra Mile Award winner), Chuck Schumer. Most gallingly of all, Irish carrier Ryanair insisted it is serious in its plans to eventually charge £1 or €1 to use a lavatory mid-flight. Overall, U.S. airlines soaked passengers for $3.9 billion in surcharges during the first half of the year alone. The nickel-and-diming will continue in 2011—unless travelers revolt. Tarmac delays lead to a victory for fliers' rights This spring, the U.S. Department of Transportation began enforcing its new requirement that U.S. airlines return their planes to the terminal after three hours on the tarmac or face fines of up to $27,500 a passenger. In more welcome news, travelers bumped from planes can now be compensated up to $1,300 for the inconvenience. BT readers cheered these regulations, which have been effective so far. Between May and October, there were only a dozen tarmac delays of more than three hours (compare that to the 546 tarmac delays during the same period in 2009). This decrease is a victory for flyersrights.org, a nonprofit organization devoted to empowering air travelers and one that Budget Travel recently honored in its "6th Annual Extra Mile Awards." Flight attendant freaks out, becomes a folk hero It was working class meltdown of such mythic proportions it could have been the subject of a Bruce Springsteen anthem. Upset at the rudeness of a passenger, JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater called it quits, activated the emergency slide, grabbed a couple of beers from the galley, and slid down the chute. He became a household name, but he didn't escape scot-free: He just barely escaped jail by agreeing to undergo counseling and substance-abuse treatment and pay $10,000 in restitution to his former employer. On a positive note, Slater's cathartic escape cast a spotlight on flight attendants nationwide who feel that they are unfair victims of passenger "air rage." Many Budget Travel readers have voiced support for flight attendants facing down anger mismanagement. The message? Steven Slater is guilty, but maybe we fliers are too. Merger mania: Airlines rush to the altar Mergers were all the rage in 2010 as airlines rushed to cut competition and fill vacant seats. United and Continental tied up, becoming the world's largest airline, and Southwest Airlines announced it would buy AirTran. These nuptials come on the heels of Delta's acquiring Northwest two years ago. Next to wed? American Airlines is a top candidate, having been flirting with JetBlue for some time. The two airlines already sell seats on some of the same flights, in a strategy called code sharing. (American also has set its sights on British Airways and Iberia, with whom it began code sharing this year as well.) As a rule, mergers are bad news for anyone who holds miles in frequent-flier programs but doesn't fly often enough to earn elite status. The reason: Getting a seat upgrade will become much more difficult now on popular routes because there are almost no unfilled seats left. On the plus side, mergers have fortified the airlines financially so they have glided through the economic turbulence of the past few years without going into bankruptcy, unlike during the last recession when multiple airlines ended up in Chapter 11. Stable airlines allow for more consistent service, which is a clear plus for travelers. The biggest travel crisis of 2010? The BP oil spill This year has seen its share of travel crises, from Iceland's volcanic ash disaster in April to the engine fire that left Carnival's cruise ship, Splendor, without power for four days in November. Neither, however, rivals the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which stretched on for months, affecting travelers, hoteliers, and small businesses en masse. Think that these fiascoes prove the importance of travel insurance? Think again. In each case, most travel insurance policies proved useless. Condo rental cancellations spiked during the Gulf oil spill (30 to 50 percent of condos went empty during peak season), but because the beaches remained open, insurers considered the mass cancellations "voluntary"—and voluntary cancellations are seldom covered. Yes, the beaches were relentlessly cleaned, but swimming and boating were often restricted. Victims of the ash cloud and the Carnival Splendor debacles faced similar twists. In both instances the agencies (i.e., the airlines or Carnival) offered some concessions to travelers. Unfortunately, most insurance policies don't let you make a claim when you've already received compensation elsewhere. To be sure, travel insurance has its place, but it pays to be smart about it. Use our Trip Coach column for guidance on when and where it makes sense. Bedbugs spread, appearing in hotels As if travelers didn't have enough to worry about, bedbugs are on the rise. The infamous bloodsuckers are taking a bite out of the Big Apple, and data suggest that they're spreading across the U.S. New York tops the list of infested cities (complaints rose from 537 in 2004 to almost 11,000 at the last count in 2009), followed by Philadelphia, Detroit, Cincinnati, and Chicago. The experience is horrific, leading to red itchy sores by the dozen and hundreds of dollars in eradication fees if you bring them home. Word to the wise: Stay alert no matter how fancy your hotel is (even New York's Waldorf-Astoria stands accused of harboring the pests). Budget Travel's advice: Always put your bags on a luggage rack or the floor—never the bed. When you return home, launder your clothes (including the ones you're wearing!) at a high temperature. (For more tips, see our stories: "They Want to Suck Your Blood" and "Bedbugs: How to Cut Your Risk.") Then: relax. No, really. Bedbugs don't carry communicable diseases, and your chances of encountering them are extremely low. Apartment rentals on the rise—and under fire It may have been the most overblown travel story of the year. This summer, New York City passed a law banning the use of "no-tels"—homes and apartments marketed as short-term rentals without the city's approval (the ban begins May 2011). This news sparked questions about the legality of vacation rentals in other cities, given that travelers this year had booked an estimated half a million nights in such lodgings. It turns out that Paris and San Francisco have ancient ordinances on the books that essentially ban short-term rentals. Yet as Budget Travel recently reported, these laws are largely toothless (see "Are Vacation Rentals Still Legit?"). None of the cities penalize renters. Just as importantly, few, if any, renters will be kicked off their futons in the middle of the night by police raids. Law enforcement is far more focused on catching con artists who turn residential buildings into full-time hotels without proper licensing and honest business practices. As always, you should be cautious in arranging a vacation rental. (See Budget Travel's "6 Tips for Safer Rentals" and "Trip Coach: Vacation Rentals"). Use well-known matchmaking sites to find and book your stay, such as airbnb.com and crashpadder.com. To feel totally in the clear of the law, only seek out lodging that's free, via sites like couchsurfing.org (see our story: "How Rock Bands Save on Lodging"). The Harry Potter Theme Park opens Classic children's stories and Florida theme parks: There's a history here, and quite a good one. So it wasn't a surprise when—at long last, and despite national economic uncertainty—thousands of fans of the J.K. Rowling series (which includes Budget Travel: see our "Travel Guide: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter") flocked to Universal Studios Resorts in Orlando to see her famous characters and scenes brought to life in rides, shops, and restaurants at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (universalorlando.com/harrypotter), which opened June 18. Praise was high for the park's faithful translation of the Potter series, from its mugs of Butterbeer and Hogwarts school robes to its "robo-coaster" ride Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, which guides riders through a Quidditch game and other lifelike simulations, with the help of a robotic arm. Attendance at the Universal Studios Resort as a whole spiked 36 percent from the same period a year earlier. Such a double-digit gain is unprecedented for a major theme park, says Robert Niles, editor of Theme Park Insider, putting former champ Disney on notice that it's time to up its theme park game. TripAdvisor is called out for dubious reviews TripAdvisor.com, the top site for critiquing hotels, found itself under review this year. Stories came to light of hotel managers attempting to manipulate the site's rankings by hiring people around the world to post fake, positive reviews about properties. (Budget Travel heard similar reports about tour companies attempting the same thing—"Confessions of...a Rome Tour Guide"). TripAdvisor countered that it screens all of its reviews for authenticity, susses out unusual patterns in posting behavior with the help of software, and allows anyone to flag a suspicious review for further scrutiny by moderators. These efforts boosted the site's trust factor. Readers picked TripAdvisor as their favorite site for hotel reviews ("Readers' Choice Awards 2010"). They know to scan many opinions to get the consensus view, and not take any one verdict as gospel. That said, BT's editors continue to keep an eye on the Goliath of review sites. SEE MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL: Vote for the Coolest Small Town in America 10 Scenic Airport Landings Can You Spot the Travel Scam?

1. Sweets spot Not to be confused with chewy coconut macaroons, the light-as-air sandwich cookies at 2-year-old Macaron Café come in a crayon-box assortment of colors and flavors, from dark chocolate to pistachio. Co-owner Cécile Cannone's floral varieties—lavender, poppy, violet, and rose—serve as an edible homage to the French wildflower fields where she spent her childhood summers. 161 W. 36th St., macaroncafe.com, macarons $2.25. 2. Coffee central The folks behind this indie upstart put plenty of thought into their Midtown café's decor, from the chandeliers and floral wallpaper to the large communal table that anchors the seating area. But like all good java joints, at Culture Espresso, below, it's what's in the cup that counts: in this case, espresso from PT's and Intelligentsia, and house-made vanilla-bean syrup. 72 W. 38th St., cultureespresso.com, espresso $2.50. 3. Happy-hour hangout An authentic oasis among the faux-fancy hotel bars and faux-Irish pubs one block west, Jimmy's Corner is a veritable shrine to the history of boxing. The walls are plastered with framed photos of the greats (including shots of owner and pro trainer Jimmy Glenn with Muhammad Ali); the service is just this side of surly; and the mellow crowd welcomes heavy- and lightweights alike. 140 W. 44th St., 212/221-9510, pints from $3. 4. Updated lunch counter Think of it as the urban cousin of a Route 66 diner. At Schnipper's Quality Kitchen, opened in 2009 by brothers Jonathan and Andrew Schnipper, the menu is heavy on all-American favorites like burgers (pictured), fries, and milkshakes. The setting, however, is pure big-city bustle. The restaurant is on the ground floor of the new New York Times building, one of Manhattan's tallest skyscrapers. 620 8th Ave., schnippers.com, burger $5.50. 5. Afternoon activity Leave it to NYC's party-bowling pioneer to create an entertainment complex that embraces the over-the-top spirit of Times Square. The newest location of Bowlmor Lanes, which opened in November in the former New York Times headquarters, has three bars, a nightclub, and 50 lanes, each dedicated to a city-centric theme: Central Park, Chinatown, and the subway, to name a few. 222 W. 44th St., bowlmor.com. 6. Broadway relic The 93-year-old Drama Book Shop, below, is the best kind of New York institution. It started as a simple card table selling play scripts in a theater lobby in 1917 and moved to its current spot in 2001, keeping its no-fuss presentation and single-minded focus on the performing arts. The only sign of changing times is the selection of quirky souvenirs, such as Oscar Wilde action figures, that now shares shelf space with sheet music, librettos, and scripts. 250 W. 40th St., dramabookshop.com. 7. Design deals On nearly every episode of Project Runway, contestants have turned to one source for their supplies: the massive Garment District textiles shop Mood Fabrics. Even sewing novices have good reason to stop in—to play with Swatch, the owner's Boston terrier and the store's in-house model. The personable pup, above, is often in costume and kindly agreed to dress up for our shoot as Times Square's cheekiest icon, the Naked Cowboy. 225 W. 37th St., 3rd Fl., moodfabrics.com, tote $7.

Philipsburg, St. Maarten (see photo 1 of 2)Princess Juliana International Airport is one of the most infamous—and photographed—in the world because its runway starts on a peninsula just hundreds of feet off St. Maarten's shore. "The airport is framed by the beautiful water to the right and front, and the hills that rise in the background," says Captain Bob Raleigh, the Miami chief pilot for American Airlines. He got his start flying fighter aircraft for the U.S. Marine Corps and has been with American since 1986. Landing in St. Maarten stands out to Raleigh not only because it's visually stunning, but because zooming in low over the sand gives passengers a uniquely friendly welcome. "People stand on Maho Beach and wave as you pass over them—very closely and quickly." Mammoth Lakes, Calif. (see a photo)"My favorite approach of all was into Mammoth as a storm darkened the Sierras to the west," remembers Doug Winston, a pilot of 26 years based in Bakersfield, Calif., who has flown private prop planes into this tiny, one-runway airport and is the co-owner of a Cessna Turbo 210. "The contrast of dark clouds and mountain rock with the bright-white snow backlit from the east was mesmerizing—especially since we had started the flight in San Diego over the sunny beach and ocean of southern California," says Winston. "It was like flying to a different planet." Now anyone can experience the thrill of arriving at Mammoth Yosemite Airport in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas; it was opened to commercial planes in 2008. Hong Kong (see photo 1 of 2)Asia's cosmopolitan high-rise jungle won over flight attendant Susan Fogwell, a 14-year veteran who's based in New York and works for a major U.S. airline. "Even as often as I've flown, there's still a sense of the wow factor landing there in a huge 747," says Fogwell, who writes about her flight experiences for the Huffington Post and other publications. "On approach, the plane feels like it's in slow motion over the South China Sea. Looming up ahead is Hong Kong Island, where the skyscrapers are incredibly high, very close, and way too numerous to count." Beaches can be seen to the south, and to the north is Victoria Harbour, which separates Hong Kong and Kowloon islands. "It's almost surreal to see the ferries and boat traffic crisscrossing among such immense congestion," says Fogwell. "Even during the day, the colorful neon lights are on, which has an eerie effect when the city is cloaked in smog—and at night, blazing with lights, Hong Kong is definitely dreamy." Queenstown, New Zealand (see photo 1 of 2)Sydney-based Owen Zupp may be a first officer for Australia's national airline, Qantas, but he doesn't let national pride cloud his admiration for the drama of landing at Queenstown Airport on New Zealand's South Island. "On a clear day, the 7,500-foot peaks of the Remarkables mountain range are reflected in the glassy surface of Lake Wakatipu, and it's easy to see why the area was picked to double as the mythical Middle-earth in The Lord of the Rings," reflects Zupp. "It's undoubtedly one of the most breathtaking areas around which to fly." The sheer number of ways to take to the skies—from aerobatic joy-flights to parachute and heli-ski operations—testifies to his good taste. Jackson, Wyo. (see a photo)Jason Gunter, a corporate pilot of 11 years who has worked for American Eagle Airlines, gets a thrill any time he's assigned to Jackson Hole—whether he lands among the snowy peaks in the height of winter or the green- and yellow-tinged meadows in the summer. "Jackson Hole Airport is at the base of the Tetons, and the airport itself lies within Grand Teton National Park," says Gunter. "The arrival gives you beautiful views of the mountains and is followed by an approach right up the valley, where you get a close-up look at the Snake River." London (see a photo)After a long night flying over the black of the Atlantic, the china clangs in the galley as the crew prepares for the breakfast service. "That's when you smell the coffee and lift the window shade," notes Heather Poole, a flight attendant for a major U.S. carrier and author of Gadling's Galley Gossip column. "Morning light streams into the cabin, you squint as your eyes adjust, and there it is: land." As the aircraft descends, drawing nearer to Heathrow Airport, the view picks up momentum—from green pastures to suburban row houses to the spires, bridges, and landmarks of London gleaming below the clouds. St. George's Parish, Bermuda (see photo 1 of 2)Flight attendant Heather Zorzini recently retired after 31 years and about 20 million miles aboard Air Canada. Looking back, she says her all-time favorite place to land was Bermuda's L.F. Wade International Airport—for the sheer charm of the isolated, unexpected oasis in the Atlantic Ocean. "The island is just as lovely from the air as it is on the ground," says Zorzini. Deep-green seas fade to pale turquoise as they lap at pink beaches, and pastel houses with white limestone roofs come into focus on the surrounding lush hillsides. "It all creates an achingly picturesque vista," she adds. Aspen (see a photo)Most pilots begin perspiring at the thought of landing in snowy Aspen, whose airport requires a rapid, challenging descent at high altitude. But not much fazes David Angotti, who pilots a Cessna Citation X—a seven-person private jet and the fastest civilian aircraft with a max speed of Mach .92. (A typical 747 travels at Mach .85; the Citation X can shave an hour off a transcontinental flight.) "The first time you land in Aspen, it's difficult to believe there's an airport nestled between some of the tallest mountain peaks on the continent," recalls Angotti. "Each time I step off the aircraft and gaze at the towering peaks surrounding the runway at Aspen/Pitkin County Airport, I marvel that this airport is welcome in nature's playground." New York City (see photo 1 of 2)Sue Cragg, a Detroit-based flight attendant for Delta Air Lines, remembers her first descent into New York's LaGuardia Airport. "Around the time when I finished flight attendant training, the FAA said it would soon enforce the rule that no one was allowed in the flight deck below 10,000 feet," Cragg recalls. "But on approach into LaGuardia, the captain called to the back, 'Send the new kid up.' When I entered the flight deck, the sun was setting and the colors of burnt orange and bright red burst in the spring sky. He flew low down the Hudson River past the magnificent cityscape, and the buildings sparkled and reflected the colors as we landed." It still gives her goose bumps after 30 years in the skies. Oranjestad, Aruba (see photo 1 of 2)As the assistant chief pilot of United Airlines' Northeast region, James T. Simons Jr. has circled the gorgeous blues and greens of the Caribbean for 21 years, but he can pick his favorite approach in an instant. "After flying over many other islands en route, Aruba stands out like a beacon among the dark-blue Caribbean waters," says Simons. "Descending over the bay toward Aruba's single runway, it's easy to see what sets the island apart: The dry, seemingly desertlike conditions form a visually stunning contrast where the warm waters meet the land." Planes hover low just above the sparkling sea, hugging the coastline as they zero in for their landing at Aruba International Airport, whose runway begins at the water's edge. More From Budget Travel: • The Scenic Route: 7 Great Coastal Drives • Quiz: Can You Spot the Travel Rip-off? • Vote for America's Coolest Small Towns

Say "travel scam," and the mind immediately conjures images of two-timing merchants and double-jointed pickpockets. But those guys are small potatoes. In recent years, nearly one million Americans have been conned by much more sophisticated and much harder to spot travel scams that dupe suspects before they even leave their living rooms. As technology speeds up, sorting the scams from the bona fide deals has become that much more important—and that much more difficult. Let's see how well you can tell the difference. Launch the quiz to read the scenarios and decide whether each is a legit way to save on travel or just another attempt to scam you out of money. We'll tally up your score at the end and let you know how scam-savvy you really are.