Sunday Spontaneity Flight 01:02:22
CDC advises against cruise travel, NYC Hotel Week kicks off, and U.S. National Parks announces free dates
Mental health check: How is everyone doing? It’s a new year, and with it comes hope for a better 365 (now 364) days ahead. While some of you might have had holiday celebrations without disruption, there’s a large chance that you were exposed, tested positive, had a close loved one get exposed/test positive, had plans fall through, and/or a flight canceled. But regardless of how your holidays went down, as long as your health is on its way to healing or you’re fully recovered, the good news is that you can put it behind you (and, if you tested positive, your antibodies are doing the good work!).
But now, there are a lot of questions revolving around winter travel. Should you still go on that trip planned for February? Is there a chance your flight will get canceled? Is keeping your plans worth the anxiety? Of course, no one has the answer. There are predictions that the numbers from omicron will peak in the coming weeks, but it’s just that — a prediction. Looping back to your mental health, you’ve got to do what’s best for yourself in those scenarios. If you’ll be worrying about it every day leading up to the trip, consider pushing plans into the spring or summer for your own sanity. Odds are, you’ve done it before, and you can do it again.
We have no idea when the pandemic will be fully behind us, but every variant makes us a bit more resilient, a bit more immune (I’m hoping), and hopefully a bit closer to a disruptive-free life.
Travel News
CDC advises against cruise travel: On Thursday, the CDC announced that cruise travel is now a high-risk activity. This comes after recent news that multiple cruises had outbreaks and 91 ships are currently under investigation by the CDC.
2022 NYC Hotel Week kicks off: If you’re looking to do a winter weekend getaway or staycation in NYC, book now during NYC Hotel Week. You’ll get 22 percent off select NYC hotels for stays from Jan. 4 until Feb. 13. Think the William Vale in Brooklyn, the James Hotel in NoMad, the Pierre Hotel on the UES, the Equinox Hotel in Hudson Yards, and many more (I already have multiple hotels bookmarked). It’s unclear when NYC Hotel Week ends, so it’s best to jump on these deals now.
Fun and/or Interesting Trends
Italy’s upcoming luxury train looks like a rail car-meets-boutique hotel: Renderings of the new Orient Railway La Dolce Vita might change the way you think about rail travel. The Orient Express trains date back over a century and come 2023, the first train in 50 years will hit the tracks in Italy. The interiors pay tribute to the 1960s “La Dolce Vita” period in Italy when there was a boom in the creative arts. This news also strengthens the larger notion that luxury rail travel is making a comeback. So take a peek and mark your calendars for 2023.
U.S. National Parks announces free dates in 2022: With the possibility of new variants continuing to pop up, no one has a clue what summer will hold — which might mean another extremely popular season for U.S. National Parks. If you already know you’d like to hit one or two (or many), there are five days that you’ll be able to enter for free: Jan. 17 (Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.), April 16 (First day of National Park Week), Aug. 4 (Anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act), Sept. 24 (National Public Lands Day), and Nov. 11 (Veterans Day). This is one day less than last year — they are no longer offering free admission on National Park Service Anniversary.
**In light of COVID numbers spiking due to Omicron, we will be skipping this week’s “Things to Do Next Weekend” section.**
I hope you all had the start to 2022 that you were hoping for — and if not, don’t sweat it! We’re living in a world of unpredictability. Remember not to put too much pressure and be kind to yourself. Travel Boldly (& Safely), friends x