Thanksgiving Travel Delays Top This Week’s News

Two powerful winter storms hammered the West Coast and Midwest on Wednesday, cancelling flights, shutting down highways and bringing a stop to many people’s travel plans on one of the nation’s busiest travel days. Snow & wind caused power outages the Great Lake region and Chicago. Just yesterday alone, nearly 500 flights were cancelled at Denver International Airport yesterday and more than 600 flights were delayed during a historic snowstorm. Many airlines offered travelers vouchers and fee waivers as Denver crews worked hard to keep runways and taxiways open. More than 1100 stranded passengers were provided with blankets, baby formula and other necessary items. Concessions remained open throughout the night. Flights arrived during the night but few left.

Macy’s Parade 2019 cancelled? High winds may force the Macy’s Parade on Thanksgiving Day to ground those famous balloons. The parade may have to march without its iconic, towering balloons with the weather forecast showing gusty winds for New York City. Macy’s has not had to ground balloons since 1971, though there have been a few wind-related mishaps through the years. The latest forecast looks to be right on the edge of the gust limits with winds of 22 miles per hour gusting to 38 miles per hour by noon, when the parade usually ends. winds this strong will be a safety concern for balloon handlers and spectators.

The weather will be monitored by monitoring stations along the parade route and the assistant pilot on each giant balloon carries a wind meter. The heights the balloons fly may be adjusted accordingly.

If the parade balloons are inflated, the year’s lineup includes new additions of Astronaut Snoopy, Green Eggs and Ham and SpongeBob SquarePants and Gary.

Also in New York…New York City will partially shut down streets to make Rockefeller Center more pedestrian friendly this holiday season. This will make it safer for the large crowds that gather around the tree and to watch ice skaters.

Protests in Venice: Following the worst flooding on record, Venetians protested against large cruise ships entering the city. Protesters want to have large cruise ships banned from docking in Venice. Protesters chanted “Venice resist” and called for the resignation of Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro. The flooding brought the city of Venice to its knees and revealed fragility to the world. By 2020, a third of cruise ships are to be diverted away from central Venice. We will share more details as it’s released. You can still take Italy tours 2020 that will visit Venice.

The new NCL Encore had it’s inaugural cruise from Thursday (11/21) to Sunday (11/24). Kicking off the celebration was the ship’s godmother, Kelly Clarkson. After the ceremonial bottle was shattered over the hull, Kelly treated cruisers with a 30 minute concert. Learn more about NCL cruises 2020.

Passports now required for any cruises visiting Martinique. In the past when cruisers were on a closed loop sailing (going in and out of the same port,) a passport was not required – an original birth certificate was accepted along with a valid drivers license. “Passport cards and birth certificates will not be accepted and may result in a denial of boarding for both adults and minors. This policy change impacts sailings beginning from and returning to the U.S. including San Juan, Puerto Rico.

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