What Is Wave Season? Everything Cruisers Need to Know

As Europe shivers in the cold, its residents are dreaming of sunny getaways and foreign adventures. Not only dreaming but booking their 2025 breaks in record numbers, according to the travel industry.

A week on from the outbreak of devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, it might be tempting to think it must be all over by now. But almost daily warnings of high winds show the worst is not over for LA’s residents.

Being the biggest of the bunch doesn't necessarily come without its challenges — especially when it comes to reputation in the luxury hotel orbit.

Booking a Caribbean or Mexican getaway just got cheaper. Frontier Airlines recently announced a special promotion that drops the number of miles for a one-way flight to international destinations from the United States to only 100 miles, whereas it usually is 15,000 miles. Best of all, the discounted mile redemptions also extend to select domestic routes, with one-way flights available at 2,500 miles versus the regular 10,000 miles.  The promotion runs through January 24, 2025, giving travelers extra time to plan the ultimate vacation to the Caribbean or Mexico. Travelers can book the deal on Frontier’s website.  Frontier offers service to a variety of Caribbean destinations including:

If you’re looking to help the thousands of people affected by the fires in Southern California, your unused miles could help. 

Southwest Airlines’ planned expansion to Europe is quickly becoming a reality.  The Dallas, TX-based carrier recently shared with Travel + Leisure that it has officially signed a joint commercial agreement with Icelandair to begin flights between the two airlines starting in February 2025. The inaugural Icelandair flights will take off from Baltimore, MD (BWI) airport to Reykjavik, Iceland, although a specific launch day within February has not been disclosed.  Once in Iceland, travelers can connect to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Dublin, Paris, Prague, and other destinations throughout Europe within Icelandair’s route network.

It's officially wave season, which means some of the industry's best cruise deals for 2025 are now on sale. This is the best time of year for cruise lovers who are looking to score major savings on every type of voyage possible—river, ocean, yacht, or expedition. Whether you're a seasoned sailor or novice passenger, there's a deal and destination out there for you.

The cause of the fatal plane crash in South Korea last month is still to be determined, but it thrust into the spotlight a subject little understood by the general public: how airplanes are maintained.

Until fairly recently, Mexico City’s most in-demand hotels were found in one of two areas: moneyed Polanco or along the skyscraper-lined Reforma Avenue. But over the last few years, a number of small, independent properties have emerged in the trendier (and expat-heavy) boroughs of Condesa and neighboring Roma, many of them moving into the graceful old buildings that characterize this verdant pocket of the sprawling capital. The most appealing hotels in this new crop tend to favor low-key charm over unbridled luxury but in a part of town that’s notably serious about design, they fit right in. Here, three of the newest standouts.

JetBlue is already looking forward to warm weather days by adding a handful of new cities to its network, both within the U.S. and internationally.

There are currently more than 100,000 people in Los Angeles who have been displaced by the ongoing wildfires. As Travel + Leisure shares hotels and vacation rentals with significantly reduced rates for Angelenos who are evacuating or have lost their homes, the question becomes: How much will insurance actually cover for short- or long-term hotel stays? Put another way, how significant do hotel discounts need to be in order to not cost displaced Angelenos money out of their own pockets?

It just got easier to be a VIP at 30,000 feet. Frontier Airlines recently announced new benefits for members of its loyalty program, including a fast-track offer that helps travelers achieve Elite Platinum status with as little as 20,000 points.  The Denver-based carrier described the updates as «major enhancements» for their loyalty members, which will now include free advanced seat upgrades in both Premium seating, and UpFront seating. Frontier recently unveiled a First Class concept, and shared that it would also become available for complimentary upgrades later this year, according to the company’s release. Frequent flyers in the loyalty program will notices upgrades that clear 12 hours in advance of departure for Platinum members, and 4 hours in advance for Gold members.