Ms. Bernier-Toth stated, while the impact of the individual storm can vary widely, we found that there will be hurricanes and at least some of them will have a significant impact on US citizens living in the affected region or visiting it as tourists or travelers. Our motto is: “Plan for the worst and hope for the best”.

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ New conductors are at the controls of Southern California’s Metrolink commuter trains.
Crews from Amtrak are taking over train operations Saturday in one of a series of moves the rail agency has made in the wake of a crash in 2008 that killed 25 people.
The Southern California Regional Rail Authority had previously [...]

There’s something irredeemably exotic – dare I say, totally tropical about Barbados…

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) _ A mysterious fire in a sprawling market next to a police-occupied slum has reduced stalls and inventory to ashes.
Kingston’s Coronation Market has been gutted in the early Friday blaze. It is next to the bullet-pocked complex of Tivoli Gardens, where Jamaican security forces have conducted a slum raid that left scores [...]

With almost two-thirds of Europe’s flights grounded, cancellations and postponements were popping up across the entertainment landscape on Saturday as Icelandic scientists warned that volcanic activity had increased and showed no sign of abating.

Tourists from the United States made up the largest proportion of air arrivals during the fourth quarter of 2009. The total count of American visitors edged down 1 percent to 33,152.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico_An American Airlines jet made a safe emergency landing Monday in the Turks and Caicos Islands after the crew noticed an unusual smell inside the cabin, local authorities said.
The Boeing 737-800, carrying 109 people, was roughly halfway through its flight from Miami to the Caribbean island of St. Lucia when it landed [...]

Carnival in the Caribbean? Happy Lunar New Year in Hong Kong? Here are some travel tips for anyone looking to get away for awhile

HAVANA _ Cuba is unsure it will attend the Central American and Caribbean Games in Puerto Rico, unhappy with visa restrictions and other regulations.
In a statement Friday published in the state-run newspaper Granma, officials of the Cuban Olympic Committee said none of the responses from Puerto Rican sports authorities and games officials had met their [...]

Royal Caribbean President and CEO Adam Goldstein said the decision to continue with scheduled stops in Labadee was an easy one. The site sustained no damage, and he said the Haitian government welcomed the ship. The country reaps a fixed cost per passenger, plus annual fees and the cash tourists spend on local goods at a marketplace where artisans and artists sell trinkets and crafts

TEMPE, Arizona: US Airways is raising baggage fees by $5 each way, per bag.
The higher fees are the same as those set in recent days by Delta, Continental, and United.
US Airways said on Friday it will charge $25 each way for the first bag, and $35 for a second bag. The increase takes effect for [...]

The story of Abdulmutallab, a staunch Muslim who was schooled in Britain and other places and the son of a wealthy Nigerian banker and politician, is not the kind of story Nigerians say their nation needs at this critical time.

Jamaica has increased security at its two main airports following a Christmas Day bombing attempt on a U.S. airliner.

Police in the Bahamas say a 13-year-old fatally stabbed an adult cousin after they argued over use of a computer

Whatever the winter destination of choice, you will probably be staying in a hotel, or renting a car. With a little research good deals can be obtained for luxury hotels. At ski resorts, beach resorts and popular destinations, good deals on room rates are more likely on weekdays than weekends.

CARIBBEAN: 9 killed in fire on Greek-owned cargo ship off Venezuela’s Caribbean coast; 5 injured
CARACAS, Venezuela _ A Venezuelan navy official says a fire on a Greek-owned cargo ship in the Caribbean has killed nine crew members and injured five.
Adm. Carlos Maximo Aniasi Turchio tells Venezuelan state television that six of the dead crew [...]