It has just been revealed that the launch of Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection has been pushed back by a further 10 months, to April 2021. It has very little to do with coronavirus, though I'm sure at this point they're quite pleased about the delay, given…
Ritz-Carlton
There's bad news for anyone (like me) who had booked a Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection cruise for early next year -- they were supposed to have their inaugural journey next February, but have just announced a delay of over four months. Ritz-Carlton Yacht…
I just booked my first cruise in over a decade, and I'm really excited! You guys know how obsessed I am with planes. Well, in my pre-teens I was every bit as obsessed with cruise ships. Living in Florida, my parents would take me on a cruise once a year…
For those of you not familiar with Amex Offers, it’s a program available through most Amex cards, where different cards are eligible for different savings and bonus offers. In many cases the offers can be huge, and more than offset the annual fee on…
Gosh, this is just a horrible story. The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong, located on the top 15 floors of Hong Kong's tallest building, is one of the best hotels in the city. Unfortunately a rather gruesome incident occurred there over the weekend. A 42 year…
It looks like Saudi Arabia is dealing with a bit of internal turmoil at the moment, as the country's crown prince has arrested princes and former ministers as part of an anti-corruption drive. While the story is still developing, as of now about 50 people…
With Marriott having taken over Starwood, I've been trying to review as many Marriott-family properties as possible, to get a sense of what we should expect when the loyalty programs are fully integrated. At this point Marriott and Starwood have 30 brands,…
One of my favorite ever uses of Starpoints was for a stay at Al Maha, which is a Starwood Luxury Collection desert resort just a short drive from Dubai. However, the redemption wasn't cheap, even though I booked during a Starwood 35% off award sale.…
Nowadays there are quite a few premium credit cards that offer a Priority Pass membership to cardmembers. At some point that's almost a problem, as I have more Priority Pass cards than I know what to do with. ;) For those of you not familiar with Priority…
The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card is one of the most compelling credit cards out there at the moment. I've written all about the individual benefits in the past, though figured I'd write a consolidated post with the eight reasons you should consider…
I had a ~22 hour layover in Almaty, as I was arriving from Incheon at 4:45PM, and departing the following day to Astana at 2:30PM. Almaty doesn't have that many major hotel chains, so after carefully reviewing the options I decided to book the Ritz-Carlton…
My goal this year has been to review as many new airlines in premium cabins as possible, and I’ve found it to be immensely enjoyable. I’ve tried even more new products than I was hoping to, so several weeks back I shared an additional list of 13 more…
Look, I get some people don't like me, and that's fine. I'm not sure I get why those people keep reading and commenting. If I don't like something and find it to be a negative force in my life, I try not to give it the time of day. Life is too short…
It amazes me how much major hotel chains sometimes miss the mark when it comes to basic customer service. Nowadays it's pretty common for hotels to send you pre-stay emails. It's a great opportunity for them to try and generate additional revenue. By…
Over Labor Day weekend my mom and I spent one night in White Plains, to kick off our five day trip to New York. My mom and I always spend Labor Day Weekend in the area. For a bit of background, my oldest brother passed away at a young age, and his birthday…
As most of you probably know by now, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® Credit Card is offering an incredible sign-up bonus: -- Three complimentary nights at any Tier 1-4 Ritz-Carlton hotel after spending $5,000 within three months -- 10,000 bonus points after…
A couple of days ago I reviewed the Sunset Tower Hotel in West Hollywood. I spend a lot of time in the Los Angeles area, typically at the Andaz West Hollywood, which is sort of my “home” hotel in the city. But I've decided to mix up my hotel stays a…
Despite living in Florida I very rarely visit the Caribbean. Fares from Tampa to San Juan are consistently low, often as low as $69 each way thanks to JetBlue flying between the two cities nonstop. So I finally pulled the trigger and booked a 24-hour…
Lately I’ve adopted a bad habit whereby I only get around to booking hotels for my trips within a few weeks of departure. Even though I had this trip planned ten months in advance, it was mid-February before I started looking at hotels in Hong…
