Fire at Notre Dame in Paris: I can’t let the week go by without mentioning the fire at Notre Dame in Paris. I’m so glad that much of the church was spared. This fire in such a famous landmark brought many people to tears of fond memories of being there or tears of regret for not making it there yet. I loved this post on Andy’s Travel Blog to put it all in perspective.
Avianca LifeMiles Changes Award Chart for U.S. Flights: Avianca made changes to its award chart for flights in the U.S. Some routes went down in miles, and in some cases the fee was reduced from $25 to $10. See this post on TPG. I used Avianca LifeMiles to book tickets on United from Auckland, New Zealand back to Dallas for our trip this summer. I may need to take another look at booking domestic United flights on Avianca since I have some Citi ThankYou points and Capital One points that I can transfer to Avianca LifeMiles.
New Cuba Travel Restrictions?: I’m putting a question mark on this since nobody seems to know exactly how recent political developments will affect upcoming travel to Cuba on flights and on cruises. It’s very complicated. This post by Spin the Globe offers a lot of detail on what’s going on. If you already have plans to travel to Cuba, I wouldn’t panic just yet. But do keep an eye on this developing story.
Cruise Director Minnie Mouse was promoted to Captain Minnie. And she gets to wear pants! See this article. This is the first time ever that Minnie has worn pants, so it’s kind of a big deal. Disney Cruise Line is giving scholarships to females to study at the LJM Maritime Academy in the Bahamas. DCL is also incorporating Captain Minnie into special programming in the kids’ clubs on board. I think this is a great move! And if you were looking forward to seeing Minnie in her more traditional outfits on board DCL, don’t worry. The characters change outfits multiple times a day.
Moxy Chicago Downtown Review: Check out this detailed review of Moxy Chicago Downtown. I laughed my way through this because I almost booked a Moxy in NYC with my kids for this summer. I can’t imagine how awkward it would have been with the provocative art and the F bombs by the ironing board. As it turns out, I am not young enough or hip enough for Moxy. But, they do have cool bunk beds!
Hyatt Improves Best Rate Guarantee Policy: Check out this post from One Mile at a Time. If you find a better rate, you can now get 20% off or 5000 World of Hyatt points. I rarely book hotels with cash, but if you do, this new policy may benefit you.
Have a great weekend!
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
My sister just came back from NYC during spring and she did stay at the Moxy hotel there. Nothing provocative (that she saw), but great location though. Steps away from all the subway lines. Bad experience she had (which was common on TripAdvisor complaints) was that 2 of the 3 elevators were being repaired/out of service during her stay.
The lobby was small and also served as a bar. There were kid centric amenities in the lobby like free bowling, basketball court and pool table.
She was just grateful to have 2 beds in the room, and to be close to all the attractions.
@Lea That’s good to know about the Moxy NYC location. Maybe we will consider it for a future stay after all.