Time to Change the Way You Travel?

Plus Other Travel News You Can Use This Month

Looking back, it’s hard to believe how we all traveled in the days before online reservations, GPS navigation and AI-generated trip itineraries. But it’s not only the technology that has changed.

YOU have changed.

In this edition of my FREE monthly travel newsletter:

• Why I Decided to Give Cruising Another Chance.

• Bumpy Start to EES Entry/Exit System in EU.

• Business Class Bummer on Air India.

• One Airline Makes Beer and Wine FREE.

• A FREE airline perk I wasn’t expecting.

My Travel Style: How It Started

My family would load up the car and head for whatever beach town or national park we had decided to visit. We’d check in at a Motel 6 or any decent-looking place that had a ‘no vacancy’ sign. My dad would stop the car to ask a random stranger, “Where’s a good family place to eat?” Usually, we were directed to the nearest greasy spoon.

Once, we pulled into a place that was not a motel, but a hotel where someone came to carry the bags. My dad opened the trunk to reveal the neatly packed cardboard boxes that were our “luggage.” It was the only kind of vacation I knew. Partly because that’s what we could afford and also because everybody else we knew was traveling the same way.

I was 15 years old when I got my first suitcase for a trip to Switzerland as a summer exchange student. The overstuffed bag didn’t have wheels and was too heavy for me to carry by myself.

How My Travel Style Evolved

Over the years, I learned to travel light and do more research. I clipped newspaper articles about interesting hotels and restaurants, writing with paper and a postage stamp to request reservations and waiting weeks for a reply. Of course, there was no longer anything to clip when the internet replaced the newspaper travel section.

Technical innovations have allowed us to ditch the paper maps and read detailed reviews before deciding on the must-see attractions and must-try places to eat. Rolling suitcases made it easier to get around. It was still possible to marvel at famous landmarks without competing for selfies with a legion of would-be influencers.

My Strategy to Beat the Crowds

In recent years my trip planning has revolved around avoiding the crowds. Visiting a destination in the less popular months. Getting up super early to see major attractions before the massive tour groups swarm in. Renting a car to get lost on the roads less traveled. It was fun, but exhausting. Never mind that I’ve always hated to drive and my husband is nearing the age where he’s considered too old to rent a car in some places.

So yes, dear readers, I finally gave up and decided to give cruising another try. No, not one of those gigantic floating skyscrapers filled with casinos, buffet lines and thousands of tourists. As I’ve written before, those monsters bring nothing but over-tourism to ruin some of the world’s most-loved destinations. I wanted to find out if there’s a more responsible alternative:

This video is just a tease for my honest review of a Viking Cruise on the Rhone River in France, coming next month here in the newsletter. Please subscribe so you don’t miss it! The full video will soon be posted on the Terry Anzur YouTube channel and the Strangers in the Living Room travel blog. I’ll have all the pros and cons of cruising on a longship with fewer than 200 passengers.

Spoiler alert: the eight-day cruise was so relaxing that I have plenty of energy left over to share this month’s travel news.

Bumpy Start to EES Entry/Exit System

After many delays, the EES system went into effect on Oct. 12. It is designed to track non-EU passport holders crossing the border of the Schengen area, which includes 29 countries in Europe. The idea is for biometric data to replace passport stamps.

Theoretically it will make it easier to spot people who overstay the 3-month limit for Americans and other non-EU visitors. There is no opt-out like you might see in TSA lines in the US. If you’d rather not fork over your data, they won’t let you in or out.

In practice, travelers are being warned to arrive at the airport up to four hours before their international flight to or from the Schengen countries. It takes time to gather a photo, fingerprints and other data from each passenger. Fortunately those with dual citizenship, like me, can skip the line and go through the automated border control with their biometric EU passport.

I got a first-hand report from my husband, who traveled through Lisbon on his return flight to the US. Extra staff were guiding confused passengers into the proper line, which moved quickly with minimal waiting time. A friendly reminder that you don’t need to fill out a form or pay a fee for the EES. Just bring your passport, your fingers and your face. I’m going to miss those old-fashioned passport stamps.

However, on my connecting flight through Brussels to Slovenia — two countries in Schengen — I passed through an EES checkpoint that wasn’t even being used. The EU says the system won’t be fully operational in all countries until April 2026.

Business Class Bummer on Air India

Imagine paying big bucks to treat yourself to business class only to be greeted wth a note from the airline that your seat is broken! There’s no working tray table and you’ll have to put your plate on your lap. And you’re expected to sign an agreement that you are okay with that!

It’s happening on Air India, according to the nice people at One Mile at a Time. Broken seats are apparently a huge problem for the carrier, which was privatized a few years ago. It’s going to take time to update its fleet of old planes. Whenever I have a broken seat issue on any airline, I try to report it to the flight attendants and mention it when I get those emails asking me to review my flight. I mean, if the seats are broken, what other maintenance issues are they dealing with — that are potentially more serious?

FREE Beer, Wine and Snacks

Last month Air Canada announced it will offer complimentary beer, wine and snacks to all passengers, even in economy. The Points Guy reports that the carrier is responding to competition from some regional Canadian carriers who were already serving free stuff. Enjoy it while you can, eh?

The FREE Perk I Wasn’t Expecting

I’ve come to think of time on an airplane as a chance to disconnect from earthly screens and enjoy a movie or a good book. Well, thanks to Air Baltic and Elon Musk, there’s been another change in my travel style. FREE Starlink wifi was on my flight from Lyon, France to Brussels. Easy to connect to blazing fast internet for no extra charge. Sometimes, time and technology can work in your favor. You’ll even be able to read this newsletter on a plane, so please subscribe. See you next month.