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Side Trip

Briefs and news of note for the traveler.

By Times staff, wires
Published March 18, 2007

SEND YOUR CRUISING TIPS

We are looking for veteran cruisers who have advice for someone thinking of venturing out on the high seas for the first time.

For instance, do you have suggestions on what kind of room to book or what to bring like cameras! to avoid paying high prices on board? How about information on shore excursions, formal nights or itineraries?

Please e-mail your advice for novice cruisers to features@sptimes.com (put CRUISING in the subject line) by March 29. You can mail your suggestions to Janet K. Keeler, St. Petersburg Times, Newsfeatures, 490 First Ave. S, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.

Your helpful hints may be included in Latitudes' cruise issue on April 15.

Track your flights on the Web

When winter storms struck the Midwest and East Coast in February, savvy fliers didn't turn just to the airlines for help. Thousands went to privately run Web sites to check on delays and to track the flight paths of the first jets to escape the snowbound airports. Here are a few sites that were helpful:

www.flightaware.com

The site is easy to use if you have some specific information, such as the name of an airport or airline and a flight number. The maps are easy to read and decipher. Expect a harder time if you don't know the flight number. By registering on the site for free, you can examine the on-time performance of a flight each day for a month.

www.flightview.com

This site generally works the same way as FlightAware, but its maps are not as large or easy to read. Even without a flight number, visitors can track flights between cities and can use a service that provides a constantly updated map depicting a plane's flight path.

www.flightexplorer.com

Flight Explorer offers a succinct graph that explains departure and arrival delays at any domestic airport. The site also offers users the ability to track flights in 3-D.

www.flightstats.com

This site provides a wealth of data for those interested in historical information about on-time performance. You can even learn which flights between two cities have the fewest delays. FlightStats also provides gate numbers for flights, but it is always a good idea to confirm that information with airlines, because it can change.

Russian show at Beau Rivage

Beau Rivage Resort and Casino's new high-energy production show, Imaginaya (Russian for "imagine"), continues through June 24 in the newly renovated 1,550-seat Beau Rivage Theatre in Biloxi, Miss.

The 75-minute show, the first to take center stage since the theater completed its transformation earlier this year, features 52 Russian performers.

Matinee tickets start at $9.95, evening performances at $19.95. For tickets, call toll-free 1-888-566-7469. Go to www.beaurivage.com for more information.

Best budget beds

The top hostels in the world, from a hostelworld.com poll of 500,000 hostel users:

1. Jetpak City Hostel, Berlin

2. Hostel of the Sun, Naples, Italy

3. La Chimba, Santiago, Chile

4. Mamas Hostel, Krakow, Poland

5. Wombats City Hostel (the Lounge), Vienna

6. Friendly Fun Franks Backpackers Hostel, Riga, Latvia

7. EastSeven Berlin Hostel, Berlin

8. Argonaut Backpackers, Riga

9. Oasis Backpackers Hostel, Granada, Spain

10. Oki Doki Hostel, Warsaw

Disney is puttin' on the ritz

Breaking from the tradition of developing most of its own resorts, Walt Disney World announced this month that it is partnering with the high-end Four Seasons chain, home to a Mobil-rated five-star resort in Palm Beach, on a new project that will incorporate everything from golf to luxury homes.

The rooms are likely to go for several hundred dollars a night.

Construction on the resort could begin this year, with the opening slated for 2010. While details about the property, including the number of rooms, are still to be finalized, Disney officials noted that the 900-acre project in Lake Buena Vista's Walt Disney World Resort will incorporate much more than a hotel. On tap: an "18-hole championship golf course, single- and multifamily vacation homes and fractional ownership vacation homes," according to a news release.

[Last modified March 15, 2007, 10:26:53]