The American Cruise Lines fleet is growing again: Less than a week after announcing it had purchased four former American Queen Voyages ships, American Cruise Lines has revealed that it’s building two additional ships.
21.03.2024 - 04:15 / nytimes.com
First the cartel cut its teeth with drug trafficking. Then avocados, real estate and construction companies. Now, a Mexican criminal group known for its brutality is moving in on seniors and their timeshares.
The operation is relatively simple. Cartel employees posing as sales representatives call up timeshare owners, offering to buy their investments back for generous sums. They then demand upfront fees for anything from listing advertisements to paying government fines. The representatives persuade their victims to wire large amounts of money to Mexico — sometimes as much as hundreds of thousands of dollars — and then they disappear.
The scheme has netted the cartel, Jalisco New Generation, hundreds of millions of dollars over the past decade, according to U.S. officials who were not authorized to speak publicly, via dozens of call centers in Mexico that relentlessly target American and Canadian timeshare owners. They even bribe employees at Mexican resorts to leak guest information, the U.S. officials say.
The scam represents the latest evolution of the Jalisco New Generation, which is entrenched in both illegal and legal sectors of the economy. With little more than a phone and a convincing script, cartel employees are victimizing people across multiple countries.
And even those employees are vulnerable to the cartel’s ruthlessness.
Last May, the remains of eight young Mexicans who worked at a call center owned by the cartel were discovered in dozens of plastic bags in a ravine on the outskirts of Guadalajara, a city in Jalisco state.
The cartel typically preys on older, retired people who want to leave as much money as they can to their family by selling off assets. Several victims interviewed by The New York Times said the money they had lost to scammers exceeded the value of their initial investment in timeshares in Jamaica, California and Mexico.
The American Cruise Lines fleet is growing again: Less than a week after announcing it had purchased four former American Queen Voyages ships, American Cruise Lines has revealed that it’s building two additional ships.
Holland America Line is celebrating a pair of sustainable seafood certifications—one from the Marine Stewardship Council, and the other from the Aquaculture Stewardship Council.
How do you love a bike?
With more than 300 sunny days per year, daytime temps that rarely dip below 65, and an armada of resorts, Phoenix, Arizona is a great getaway for any group gathering that prioritizes pool time, day drinking, and a few rounds of golf. But the city's appeal goes deeper: The area's natural beauty inspired designers and artists like Frank Lloyd Wright, Maxfield Parrish, and Paolo Soleri. And despite its enormous growth (the metro area topped 5 million last year), the increasingly diverse city still retains a frontier spirit: Newcomers are reinventing everything from its food scene to its art circuit, making Phoenix one of America's best under-the-radar destinations.
Tenor Jonathan Tetelman, a Castro, Chile native, stars as Ruggero in The Metropolitan Opera’s La Rondine, streaming Live in HD to cinemas around the world on Saturday, April 20th at 12:55pm ET.
California residents have a new option for a weekend getaway to Las Vegas. This week, discount airline Avelo launched a new route from LA’s Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR) to Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport (LAS). In celebration of the new route, the airline is offering introductory one-way fares for $57. The new flight route begins next month on May 3 just in time for Memorial Day holiday weekend and the summer travel season.
Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States, today announced that, as part of a planned succession process, its Board of Directors has appointed Fred Dixon as the company’s new President & Chief Executive Officer, effective July 15, 2024.
Fred Dixon is going to be the president and CEO of Brand USA, America’s destination marketing organization, starting July 15. Brand USA made the announcement on Wednesday. Dixon is the CEO and president of NYC Tourism + Conventions.
Having guided extensively in the American West for the past 15 years, Andrew Roberts knows his national parks. He can pinpoint the best trails in Yellowstone and the prettiest vistas in Zion, and he's fluent in the logistics of getting visitors into and out of the parks. He also knows how difficult it can be to find the right lodging. Campgrounds inside the parks have amazing access, but they tend to be filled with RVs, noisy generators, and crowds, not to mention the fact that park campsites and lodges can easily book up a year in advance or have limited availability.
The 400-suite adults-only resort in Cancun offers a relaxing and engaging escape with an approachable atmosphere that caters to the next generation of all-inclusive travelers.
March has come and gone, and personally, I'm not sad to see it go. If you're a fan of winter (and perhaps a snowy winter vacation), you might be on the other side of the table, but I long all winter for the flowers of spring and the heat of summer.
First invented in 1965 on Washington’s Bainbridge Island, pickleball has morphed from a casual backyard sport to a global sensation that’s taking the world by storm—and in the mid-2020s, this beloved activity is gearing up to become more popular than ever. While the sport has been popping up at world-class resorts all across the United States, courts have extended to some of the east coast’s most cosmopolitan cities as well, with the New York-based CityPickle leading the charge. Established in the summer of 2021, this lavish lifestyle brand made waves by opening Long Island City’s first indoor pickleball club, with multiple seasonal popups spanning from Brooklyn down to Philadelphia.