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Editor’s Note — TRO wants to remind its Travelgram readers the articles presented here are meant to assist you in remaining informed and prepared to discuss travel news of the day with clients.
Destinations
An Expert Guide to Madrid
With dazzling light and bright blue skies for much of the year, Madrid would be an energising city even without the world-class museums and the buzzing nightlife. The centre is smartening itself up, too, with new boutiques, delis, cafés and gastrobars opening every…
— Telegraph (London)
Travel That Changes You: My 8 Best Adventures of 2018
I’ve never had a bucket list. I’m not interested in ticking boxes on a list, like chores. I’d rather just savor some moments, both as they are happening and years afterward. Those magical moments can be as dramatic as climbing one of the Seven Summits…
— Forbes
Tours and Activities
The Best Day Skiing Ever? A Wine-Tasting Tour of the Italian Slopes
“Are you ready for skiing and drinking?” Our personal sommelier, Hubert Kastlunger, poses the magic rhetorical question with a wide smile, clicking neatly into his bindings as the afternoon sun sparkles across the coral-coloured peaks of Europe’s most striking mountain range, the…
— Telegraph (London)
Winter Solstice 2018: Why This Year is Extra Special
For six months now, the days have grown shorter and the nights have grown longer in the Northern Hemisphere -- but that's about to reverse itself. Winter solstice, the shortest day of 2018, is Friday, December 21. The solstice this year will be extra special…
— CNN
Cruise
5 Cruise Ships for People With Excuses
I will admit it. Cruising might not be for everyone. It pains me to even write those words. I can’t imagine why anyone would not want to go on a cruise, but I will concede that point. However, there are some excuses I’ve heard as to why some people refuse to cruise. And I’m here today to refute those…
— Cruise Fever
Cuba's Tourism Inched up in 2018 on Cruise Ship Arrivals
Tourism to Cuba inched up to a new record this year, government officials said on Thursday, although the gain was largely due to greater arrivals on cruise ships, which analysts say contribute less than regular travelers to the island nation's…
— US News
Transportation
Hawaiian Airlines to Add No-Frills Basic Economy Tickets in 2019
Add Hawaiian Airlines to the growing list of airlines adding basic economy fares, cheaper tickets with several restrictions. The Honolulu-based carrier said it plans to introduce "main cabin basic'' fares in the second half of 2019. "This will offer our guests greater…
— USA Today
Gatwick Drones: Can I Get Compensation?
Passengers whose travel plans continue to be disrupted at Gatwick after the runway was closed for 36 hours are facing extra costs from rearranged flights, car parking and hotels. Although the circumstances that caused the…
— BBC News
Lodging
Grand Hotels: What Makes Them Grand?
At ten p.m. on Saturday night, SEEN is packed. The restaurant atop the Tivoli Avenida Liberdade hotel in downtown Lisbon is noisy with diners dressed to the nines and talking animatedly while feasting on Wagyu beef and sushi. Outside the floor to ceiling…
— Forbes
Family of Woman Slain During Costa Rica Vacation Sues Airbnb, Resort Owners
The Riverview family of a woman slain during a vacation in Costa Rica is suing Airbnb and the owners of the resort where she rented a room with her sister-in-law during the November trip. In a civil lawsuit filed in Hillsborough County courts on…
— Tampa Bay Times
Other and Odd
Most Bizarre Airline Incidents of 2018
The skies were a lot less friendly in 2018, with a number of weird or violent altercations — including fist fights over flatulence and peeing on a fellow passenger’s seat — reported by almost every airline. In a survey of airplane crew…
— Fox Travel News
T+L Editors Share Their Travel Resolutions for 2019
Maybe there's a destination you're dying to cross of your list, or a special person in your life you'd love to go exploring with. Or maybe you've been meaning to get better at planning ahead, packing smarter, or becoming a deal-savvy booker.…
— Travel+Leisure
Today in History
Pan Am Flight 103
On December 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 exploded en route from London to New York in Scotland airspace. All 243 passengers and 16 crew members were killed, as well as 11 of the residents of the town of Lockerbie under the explosion. The attack was believed to be perpetrated as an assault against the United States…
— Travel Research Online
Agent Perspectives
Susanna 350, Pop-Up Shakespeare, Peter Pan and the Rothschild’s Treasury
by Paull Tickner
Friday December 21, 2018
I’m rounding  off a busy year with a selection of imagination stretching bright ideas that I’m already including in customised UK tours. The lead story flags up a significant anniversary which many Methodist churches will be celebrating, and which some enterprising travel agents have already spotted as the starting point for an imaginatively themed UK Methodist Heritage tour. The stories continue with a pop-up Elizabethan theatre in York, Peter Pan in Dumfries, Scotland and a Harry Potter/Roald Dahl combination that will appeal to families and people like me who like me who are also fans!
News of direct flights from London Heathrow to Newquay in Cornwall makes access to Doc Martin, Poldark, Arthurian legends and other important literary anniversaries a great deal easier—and those of you…
— Travel Research Online
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Deck Plans
Cunard Commemorates 75th D-Day Anniversary
To commemorate  the 75th anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy, Cunard is partnering again with The Greatest Generations Foundation to pay tribute to six heroes of World War II onboard flagship Queen Mary 2. Thematic onboard programming will allow guests to hear first-hand accounts from WWII veterans as they share their experiences of battle during the Transatlantic Crossing.…
— Travel Research Online
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Mike's Morning Missives
I Like To Win
 This is a three-day week. It is the period between two highly recognized holidays…Christmas and New Years. It is perhaps the ideal week to sit back, draw a deep breath and take inventory while mentally preparing for another 12-months of ups, downs, smiles and tears.
Allow me to wish you a belated Merry Christmas if the shoe fits. If the shoe does not fit, I hope you enjoyed December in whatever way you chose to celebrate the season.
I would like to take this quiet week to remind you of a fundamental truth that I have been sharing with travel professionals since I entered the fray in…
— Travel Research Online
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