More Baggage Fees

STORM CENTRAL

Update on Ike

In the week since Hurricane Ike battered the Turks and Caicos, it has become clear that at least some islands in the popular Caribbean chain received major damage from the storm, then a Category 4. But the situation from island to island varies greatly, as CoGo discovered.

It was just 2 1/2 years ago that Carnival Cruise Lines opened its $50 million cruise terminal on the island of Grand Turk, a facility that is used by several other cruise lines as well. Carnival spokeswoman Jennifer De La Cruz told CoGo that "there was no damage to the pier, and the cruise center sustained minimal damage" and on Thursday the company announced that the terminal would reopen Oct. 8.

The devastation visited on the rest of Grand Turk, however, might complicate those plans . According to the Associated Press, 80 percent of the homes on the island were damaged or destroyed; other media outlets have put the figure at closer to 95 percent, with many of the island's 3,000 residents homeless . Given that, CoGo believes it's unlikely that cruise ships will be returning to Grand Turk in the near term. For the latest updates, however, check the Carnival Web site, http://www.carnival.com.

The news is somewhat better on the island of Providenciales , which is home to some of the Turks and Caicos's largest and most popular hotels, including a large Beaches resort. According to the islands' tourism board ( http://www.turksandcaicostourism.com), the Providenciales airport has reopened, as have some restaurants and hotels. Regarding Beaches Turks & Caicos, spokeswoman Cathy Decker told CoGo that "the resort closed September 3 in the wake of Hurricane Hanna due to heavy debris that was deemed too dangerous to remove while guests, particularly children, were in the house." She said the resort is not scheduled to reopen until Nov. 15. Beaches is offering travelers the option of rescheduling or relocating to one of its other properties. See http://www.beaches.com.

UPRIGHT AND LOCKED

More Baggage Fees

It's getting more and more expensive to fly these days, especially with airlines jacking up the fees on checked luggage. Here are a few updates:

Although Delta still allows passengers one free checked bag, as of Aug. 5 the airline is charging $50 for the second bag (up from $25); additional bags are more expensive, too. AirTran , another first-bag-free carrier, is also upping its second-bag fee (from $20 to $25), starting Sept. 18. The airline's overweight and oversize fees also go up $10 across the board.

In the Department of Caving In to Peer Pressure, Continental will start charging for the first checked bag ($15) starting Oct. 7. All of its other checked-bag fees remain the same.

TREND WATCH

Here We Go A-Wasilla-ing?

Once it was the unlikeliest of traveler destinations, but that was before the tourism fairy sprinkled a little magic dust on the town of Wasilla, Alaska . Since Aug. 29, when Republican Gov. Sarah Palin became Sen. John McCain's vice presidential running mate, the Alaska Travel Industry Association's Web site ( http://www.travelalaska.com) has experienced "a 656 percent increase in click-throughs to the governor's page," according to the association's Amy Cockerham.

It's a little early to say whether Palin's newly minted celebrity will lead to a Wasilla windfall or increased interest in celebrations planned for the 50th anniversary of Alaska's statehood (Jan. 3), especially because the big news broke at the tail end of the summer travel season. But Wasilla's convention and visitors bureau ( http://www.alaskavisit.com) reports "a lot of phone calls coming in from curious Americans," Cockerham said, as well as visitors "making a point of getting their photos taken outside the Wasilla City Hall and in front of a Wasilla sign at the local farmers market."

Still, don't even think about booking an overnight stay in town anytime soon. "Hotels are completely full," she said; as you might expect, most rooms have been snagged by media types. Wasilla has been besieged by journalists from across the United States as well as Australia, the United Kingdom, Japan, "even reporters from al-Jazeera," Cockerham said.

BARGAIN OF THE WEEK

Lufthansa has sale fares from Washington Dulles to Frankfurt, Germany. Price starts at $601 round trip, including $97 taxes. Depart Oct. 27-March 25, and return Nov. 2-April 24; blackout dates Dec. 12-24. Cheapest fares are for midweek travel. Book by Sept. 17. Other airlines are matching. Some flights are operated by United, Lufthansa's codeshare partner. Info: 800-399-5838, http://www.lufthansa.com.

Reporting: Scott Vogel, Christina Talcott

Help feed CoGo. Send travel news, road reports and juicy tattles to:cogo@washpost.com. By fax: 202-912-3609. By mail: CoGo, Washington Post Travel Section, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071.