While I was away, Delta began offering 2,500 bonus miles on its Shuttle offering.  Register here.

Well, almost.  I’m actually here at the Miami D Con Admirals Club.  Mrs. MJ on Travel and I wrapped up a 7-night Eastern Caribbean cruise aboard Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas this morning.  Liberty is a wonderful ship and I highly recommend her.

This week, I will post a full review of our cruise, both the good and the bad.  Hint: it’s almost all great, not just good.  Seriously, we had a fabulous trip that is all too soon coming to an end.  I’ll be posting this week, and in the meantime, thanks for reading.

But I am on vacation.  Vacation really started this afternoon around 3PM.  Tomorrow afternoon, Mrs. MJ on Travel and I fly down to Miami, and Saturday we board Liberty of the Seas for a 7-night cruise.  Just so happens that Dan Webb of Things in the Sky will be on board as well.  You’ll see a guest post from me on his blog this week, and at least a post or two from me here on MJ on Travel as opportunities arise.

No matter what, when vacation is over, you will see a review of the Conrad Miami, Liberty of the Seas, and flights on American Airlines.  I am looking forward to it!  An you can also follow me on Twitter.com if you wish.

Have a fantastic holiday weekend, and come back to read about vacation!

Departing soon from an airport near you…. the “Puffer” machine.  TSA’s $36 million effort to detect explosives by blowing a little air on you is coming to an end.  Read the details here.

These machines are being replaced by full body scanners that are likely to be more useful.  Some of the alphabet groups have privacy concerns, but I can’t help but think that TSA has taken at least a token effort in distorting certain images that might be depicted if you know what I mean.

I experienced my first visit with the scanner not too long ago at BWI.  The worst thing about it was standing there with my arms in the air like a dancer.

Just got an email from Delta alerting me to new lower walk-up fares for Delta Shuttle flights.  New fares are $129 each way for New York to Boston and $169 from New York to DC.  Book your flights here.

I recently completed a 3-night business related stay at the Hilton Garden Inn (HGI) Atlanta Downtown (HHonors Category 4).  The hotel is a new construction in downtown Atlanta near Centennial Olympic Park and convenient to several downtown attractions including CNN and is MARTA accessible.  I picked the hotel based on its proximity to my worksite in Atlanta and its participation in Hilton’s latest HHonors promotion which I’ve posted about.

Check Out

I was greeted warmly by the front desk attendant, and asked if I wanted to use the form of payment I’d provided when making my reservation.  I did, and within seconds I was on my way to my 9th floor room.  No muss, no fuss.

The Room

My 9th floor “Evolution Room” was perfect for a 3-day business trip.  The room included a King bed, a reasonably comfortable chair with footstool, large plasma TV, and well-lit desk.  The room provided a view of Atlanta’s Midtown area.  Complimentary internet access was available with either a wired or wireless connection.  It’s nice to have the wired option for those who work for the kind of employer that views wireless access as something akin to launching a space shuttle.  Fortunately, I am now able to use wireless with my work computer, and the connection reliability and speed were flawless.  The bath was large enough, with adequate lighting and a teriffic shower.

Hotel Facilities

The fitness center was well-equipped and I was the only user during my 5:30am visits.  There’s an outdoor pool as well as a video arcade co-located with the fitness center.  I saw a guest laundry on the same level.  I made use of the hotel’s valet laundry service during my stay.  They did a nice job on the clothes but I had to go down to the front desk to get them.  Unsure if they would have eventually been delivered to my room or not.

Dining Options

The hotel itself contains a great restaurant, Atlanta’s first Legal Sea Foods.  Legal operates a lobby oyster bar as well as full-service rooftop restaurant and bar with spectacular views of the city.  Prices are ok, but if you are a wine drinker, I recommend going for one of the half bottles on the list as they are usually a better deal than buying by the glass.

If something a little more land-based is your thing, I recommend Stats which is across the street from the hotel.  Stats offers good food, lots of cold beer, and more TV screens than you can count.  Another favorite of mine just down the street from Stats, is The Wine Loft.  The Wine Loft has a vibe I like along with food and wine I love.  Best of all, they participate in Rewards Network, so you’ll collect some extra miles while you drink and dine.

Check Out

Nothing unusual about checking out.  My bill was correct, and checking out via the in-room TV system went off without a hitch.

The Bottom Line

I’ll stay again.  This is a new hotel, and it shows.  No scratch marks on the furniture yet.  It’s convenient for my work downtown, close to MARTA, and has a handful of dining options nearby.  If traveling to Atlanta for business or pleasure, and you need to stay in the downtown area, the HGI Atlanta Downtown is worthy of your consideration.

The Treachery of Found Money

I recently posted that United has matched US Airways’ baggage fee increase.  Now you’ll pay $20 dollars to check your first bag at the airport, but receive a $5 dollar discount if you pay the fee online.  Expect other airlines to match as soon as they figure out how to tweak their aged IT systems to handle it.  I haven’t been particularly annoyed by these fees.  One, my elite status on AA means I don’t pay it (when flying AA), and two…I rarely check luggage when traveling on business so I don’t pay it on other airlines either.  But something about this is starting to bug me.  I am afraid that airlines may be heading down a bad path if they continue to over-exploit this new source of “found money.”  If an airline will charge $20 dollars for checking one bag, why not $50?  I know the accountants are convinced they’ve unearthed a gold mine, but I’m not so positive.  That’s not to say that I am opposed to “unbundling” product.  Handled correctly, I think this may be a sensible way for most airlines to price their product.  However, I’ve seen the results of getting addicted to your ideas in the past, and the trend of charging for everything may turn out to be an addiction that bites airlines in the tail section if they get a little too sure of themselves.  Time will tell, and I’ll be watching and blogging about it.

And a Musing or Two

One week from today, Mrs. MJ on Travel and I will board Liberty of the Seas for a 7-night Eastern Caribbean cruise.  We prefer smaller ships, but I admit that I’m looking forward to cruising on the largest ship afloat…at least until December when the behemoth Oasis of the Seas starts sailing.  Our pre-cruise hotel is the Conrad Miami.  I’m looking forward to spending a great evening there.  This will be my first stay at that hotel, and first stay at any Conrad for that matter.  I will write a full review of the experience.   While I’m on vacation, I will attempt to post as I can with a focus on details about the fabulous Liberty of the Seas and other tidbits about our ports of call (St. Maarten, San Juan and Labadee).

This weekend, I will post my review of the Hilton Garden Inn Atlanta Downtown.  It’s a new hotel, which must represent a new concept for Garden Inns.  Quite modern decor, complete with a lobby oyster bar (Legal Seafoods) and rooftop restaurant and helipad no less.

Did you know that American Airlines has entered the age of social media?  Check out AA’s Facebook page.  There’s even a good deal there in celebration of 10,000 Facebook fans.  Check the Discussion Boards.

United Airlines announced today that it will join US Airways in charging customers $5 additional dollars if they do not pre-pay baggage check fees online.  Pre-pay the fee, and it’s still $15 dollars for the first bag.  Wait until you get to the airport and they stick with a $20 dollar fee.  For more details on United’s new baggage fee pricing, click here.

OK, I learned a long time ago to never say never and I’ll put that into practice for this post.  That said, this little tidbit from CNNMoney.com should put to rest any inkling of an idea some have that those annoying little fees to check even one bag are going away anytime soon.  Baggage check fees earned over $1 billion dollars for the airlines last year, and that accounts for only part of the year as the fees were not introduced until well into the year.

I predicted they were here to stay when American’s move to charge for the first checked bag was broadly matched across the industry, and continue to stand by that prediction.  Here’s another one for you.  Southwest will not be able to continue to ignore the revenue stream these fees are generating.  Does that mean Southwest bites the legacy bullet and starts charging for everything under the sun?  No.  But I expect to see some revision to Southwest’s “no baggage fees” policy sometime in the next 12 to 18 months.

In honor of the airline industry’s newfound love of charging you for everything, I’m even creating a new category here at MJ on Travel for easy indexing and searching of our favorite new topic, “Ancillary Revenue.”

American Airlines will announce increased flexibility for AAdvantage members today.  Beginning very soon, members will have the ability to book one-way reward travel.  You can book a one-way award for one-half the usual miles, or combine awards, i.e. book your outbound trip in first class, and your return in coach.  Details will be up shortly on AA.com.  In the meantime, here’s an AP story on the topic.

Details now available on AA.com.