Carnival reveals plans for unusual new Panama Canal cruises

Clarksville, a historic district of Austin, Texas, has lately emerged as a stylish dining and shopping enclave. Among the area’s most compelling new businesses is La Embajada, a design shop housed in a 1923 Craftsman bungalow. Combining the hospitality and interiors expertise of its founder, Raul Cabra — who has designed tableware for some of Mexico City’s most celebrated restaurants, including Rosetta and Pujol — La Embajada presents a refined, regionally diverse selection of Mexico’s artisanal offerings. A series of small rooms display vintage and contemporary furniture, from stately midcentury armchairs and 1970s glass sconces to a minimalist agave fiber rug by the Oaxaca-based textile artist Trine Ellitsgaard. The house is also an actual residence. Cabra often stays in the bedroom up the creaky stairs, and he’s recently made it available for short-term stays (bookings include a daily basket of baked goods from Austin’s Swedish Hill). Guests can purchase the room’s handmade décor, such as a pair of sleek bedside lamps in milky white onyx, a 1960s La Malinche dresser and a bedspread from a Michoacan manufacturer that once supplied Herman Miller. Downstairs, glassware, candles and gifts fill a section modeled after a typical general store in a small Mexican town. But La Embajada’s heart is its inviting kitchen, where visiting chefs cook elaborate meals and staff prepare ice cream and coffee. In another twist, every bespoke detail — including a hammered copper sink, caramel-colored tiles and waxed pine cabinets — can be custom-ordered for one’s own home.

Fans of upscale cruises are about to have a new option for sailings to the Caribbean and the Panama Canal.

Always wanted to see Antarctica? Holland America Line this week unveiled an unusual new option for getting there.

Southwest Airlines has extended its bookable flight schedule through April 7, 2025.

The thing about Hawaii cruises is that there’s no bad time of year to take one. Thanks to its year-round sunshine and warm weather, Hawaii will be there for you whenever you’re ready to set sail.

Disney Cruise Line is sharing more details about its newest ship, Disney Destiny, including its inaugural sailing date and some itinerary details.

Frontier Airlines unveiled 11 new routes across 15 airports that are scheduled to launch in October and November.

Dozens of global carriers have secured more than 550 orders for Airbus' newest narrowbody plane, the Airbus A321XLR, since its 2019 launch.

The State Department has released new dates for its nationwide Special Passport Acceptance Fairs, continuing to help first-time international travelers score a passport. The new schedule has passport events in Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas, and West Virginia throughout the rest of this month, September, and October. For example, travelers in Atlanta, Georgia can get assistance at the Atlanta Passport Agency on Saturday Aug. 24, from 8 a.m. through 11 a.m., and appointments are required. Travelers from Cincinnati, Ohio can visit the Downtown Main Library on Monday, Aug. 26 from 12 p.m. through 7 p.m. for assistance, and appointments are also required.  Additional events are taking place at local government offices in Bridgewater, New Jersey; Burleson, Texas; Clarksburg, West Virginia; and Minneapolis, Minnesota, among others. A full listing of events is located on the State Department’s website.

“I tell my friends that I'm now midcentury modern,” the New York–based fashion designer Phillip Lim quips about turning 50. “And like the furniture, hopefully better with age.” Joking aside, Lim, who launched his 3.1 Phillip Lim label in 2005 and now sells his signature clean-lined clothing in shops around the world, saw the landmark birthday as a chance to take stock. “I heard somewhere that, with 50, you get a second dawn. I took that to heart.”

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Scarlett Kiaras-Attari, a marketing executive and education content creator who moved to the UK for her studies. It has been edited for length and clarity.

The first thing you'll notice about the Cape Liberty cruise port is the views: Situated on the Hudson River in New Jersey across from New York City, the port has spectacular skyline panoramas of Manhattan and unimpeded views of the Statue of Liberty. In fact, sailing out of Cape Liberty will bring you face-to-face (OK, face-to-toes) with Lady Liberty when you sail through the harbor.