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MiamiHerald.com: Travel

• The techy traveler
  Holiday gift picks for road-ready gear.
• Fun ship atmosphere has passengers tickled pink
  A splendid addition to the Carnival fleet comes with friendly staff, plenty of entertainment and, get this, good food.
• Dining: A sea-faring dine-around of Florida's piers
  Florida piers offer miles of restaurants, cafés and food stands -- from Pensacola to Lake Worth, from rustic and simple to slick and top-shelf. So grab your fork and sunglasses (binoculars if you've got 'em) for this on-the-water dine-around.
• Travel Troubleshooter
  Advocate Christopher Elliott reviews problems, reveals solutions
• Share...
  <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/382/story/49381.html">Travel tales</a>, <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/382/story/49354.html">Photos</a> and <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/382/story/49368.html">Student stories</a><br/>
• Postcards From the U.S.A.
  Marjie Lambert visits North Carolina
• South Florida flyers' guide
  Direct flights make escapes a breeze
• For Writers
  If you want to be a travel writer, here's where to start.
• For PR Pros
  Contact us with your travel news
• Tourism Offices
  Going somewhere? Get tourist information for your destination.
• Online Booking Guide
  How to book online -- and get the best savings!
• Travel Tools
  Handy links for traveler information.
• Packing Light
  With airline fees going sky-high, packing light pays.
• Miami's smart new hotels
  So what'll it be? The place with the six infinity-edge swimming pools or the one with the bathroom chandelier that doubles as a shower head? The resort where beach butlers roam the premises with champagne carts or the hotel where no guest even on the most scorching of days is far from a chilled facial towel?
• Mammoth: No 'cheap date' -- but manageable
  You used to be a cheap date, a weekend fling who didn't care that my budget was tight and my wallet thin. In the old days, you would welcome me with open arms, even if I showed up on your doorstep with a brown bag lunch and blue jeans sticking out of my ski boots.
• Best buys for high tech travelers
  The economy may be lagging, but portable electronic gadgets keep surging ahead, with technological breakthroughs that make last year's models look practically archaic. Compact digital cameras can shoot faster, sharper and with cooler-than-ever tricks -- such as making facial blemishes and wrinkles vanish or zipping between a huge range of focal lengths, from wide angle to super zoom. Wireless headsets provide stronger, more static-free reception, with fewer disconnects and easier pairing with cell...
• Bag the belt, grab the snacks: Tips for holiday flying
  Flying this holiday season? Here's what you need to know: Many airlines charge for each checked bag. Check with yours to find out about fees.
• There's a delicious new vibe in Old San Juan
  While Old San Juan is known for its muscular forts and somnolent cobbled plazas, few visitors arrive expecting to find a clutch of gourmet restaurants shoehorned in among the historic 16th century facades. But, hidden inside one of America's oldest urban quarters, streets that once played host to cutlass-brandishing pirates are now the domain of knife-wielding chefs.
• Inauguration 2009: Getting to, and around D.C.
  Millions of people are expected to inundate Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, to see Barack Obama stand on the steps of the U.S. Capitol and swear to "faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States.'' If you plan to be one of them, here's a guide to help ease your travels.
• For classic sips and proper style, these British bars know best
  London is a tippler's town to be sure. Have a drink and dumplings early at China Tang in Mayfair. Move right along with your evening at The East Room in Shoreditch. And, finally, by all means, if you can manage to talk your way in to the private Quo Vadis Club in Soho -- well, don't pass up an invitation.
• Double-billed and no refund in sight
  Q: I'm having a problem with a long-overdue refund for an online booking. I don't know what to do. I recently bought three airline tickets from Miami to Johannesburg through Travelocity. The trouble started soon after I made my purchase. A Travelocity representative phoned me to say that the price of my ticket had gone up overnight, and that he needed my permission to charge more on my credit card.
• Window shopping in New York
  NEW YORK: WINDOW SHOPPING Seeing the wildly inventive window displays of Midtown department stores is as much a part of Christmas as sitting on Santa's lap and asking for a pony -- or a healthy portfolio. The iconic retailers recently unveiled their themed vignettes behind glass. Here are six that get the sugarplum fairies dancing.
• Where to grab a good bite at the airport
  If you're dreading the next time you're forced to grab a meal at an airport, take heart. Foodandwine.com is recommending eateries at 10 U.S. airports, including MIA where the Cubano pork sandwich at La Carreta in Terminal D got the thumbs up. The others:
• Carnival fourth-quarter profit rises 4 percent
  Carnival, the world's largest cruise operator, reported a better-than-expected 4 percent increase in fourth-quarter earnings Thursday, but lowered its 2009 outlook as consumers put off booking vacations for next year.
• What's new aboard all those new ships
  The economy may be sailing slowly these days, but that hasn't stopped South Florida's cruise lines, which are introducing a half-dozen new ships here this fall.
• No tux? No problem
  Casual-dress men, take heart: When you sail the seven seas, you can now leave that tux at home. Instead of a ''formal'' night, Carnival Cruise Lines now offers a ''cruise elegant'' evening. Other lines offer casual-dining alternatives for those who don't want to change out of their shorts. Still other lines have tossed the dress-up concept into the ocean.
• Simply elegant aboard line's next big star
  Celebrity's new ship, Solstice, is as simple, and as sophisticated, as walking barefoot in the park. Literally. One of the hallmarks of the first in Celebrity's new series of ships is a broad carpet of genuine grass, developed over a half-dozen years to withstand the salt and wind that go with sea voyages. And while it may seem like a gimmick -- will vacationers able to pay premium prices this year really hang out in the grass? -- the Lawn Club, as it's been dubbed, is a tangible symbol of the kind...
• Fun ship atmosphere has passengers tickled pink
  Marie Gable, a Fort Lauderdale retiree, has sailed on nearly every cruise line. Carnival, she says, is her favorite. ''It's more fun,'' she said, sailing recently on Carnival's new 113,000-plus ton superliner, Carnival Splendor. ``I like the food, and they seem to get a younger group of people. The ships are gaudy, and I love gaudy.''
• New ship puts new twist on Dutch treat