QE2, sailing vessel fail inspections

Two older ships, Cunard’s flagship Queen Elizabeth 2 and Windjammer Barefoot Cruises’ Legacy, failed recent sanitary inspections by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Older ships typically score lower on the tests, but most ships pass.

In an inspection Jan. 3 at Port Everglades in Florida, the QE2, which was launched in 1969, scored 85 -- just below the 86 cutoff for passing.

The QE2 also failed in 2000 and 1997. A perfect score, which just a handful of ships earns, is 100.

Cunard President and Chief Executive Pamela Conover called the 85 score “completely unacceptable” and said her company would correct the problems on the ship.

Windjammer’s Legacy logged an 82 in its Dec. 21 inspection in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The four-masted vessel, built in 1959, also failed in 2000, 1999, 1998 and 1997. The line is addressing the problems raised in the inspection and has petitioned to have its score raised, a spokeswoman said.

The inspection scores are posted on www.cdc.gov/travel. (Click on “green sheets” under “Cruise Ships and Air Travel.”)

A room with a view of the creative mind

A hotel suite equipped with floor-to-ceiling chalkboard, seating cushions on the floor, art supplies, yo-yos, a Lava Lamp Wall and a wine rack and crayons in the bathroom -- among many other additions -- has opened at Embassy Suites Hotel New York City in downtown Manhattan.

The two-room “Creativity Suite” cost $60,000 to put together. It is filled with colors (notably red) and items that Embassy Suites thinks may stimulate the inventive instincts of designers, advertising executives and other traveling professionals.

The New York suite opened to previews in December. Two other suites are expected to open in March at the Embassy Suites Hotel Los Angeles Airport South and the Embassy Suites Hotel Chicago Downtown Lakefront.

Guests can request the suite by contacting the hotel directly. It will be comped, based on availability and with feedback from the customer. The New York hotel’s phone is (212) 945-0100. (Ask for the sales department.)

No free ride for car renters who earn miles

The era of free frequent-flier miles for renting a car may be over, as more competitors study whether to follow Hertz’s recent move to assess a surcharge.

Last fall, Hertz began charging 50 cents a day, up to a maximum of $2 per rental, for most renters who want to collect more frequent-flier miles.

The fee is not assessed for American Airlines’ program, which instead grants one mile for every $2 spent instead of the one mile for $1 that other programs allow, said Richard Broome, a Hertz spokesman.

A similar move is “definitely on the drawing board” for Avis and Budget, said Susan McGowan, spokeswoman for Cendant Car Rental Group, although no date had been set as of the Travel section’s deadline Tuesday.

Thrifty and Dollar also were studying Hertz’s action on miles.

DEAL OF THE WEEK

Four-wheeling

in Mojave Desert

A daylong back-country tour of California’s Mojave Desert is being offered by the California Assn. of Four Wheel Drive Clubs on Feb. 1. The cost is $55 per SUV or other four-wheel-drive vehicle. The price includes the services of a volunteer guide, continental breakfast and lunch for one person; for each extra person, add $10. Sign up by calling (909) 887-3960. For more information, see www.cal4wheel.com.

FREE FOR THE ASKING

Oxnard fruit

and flowers

The “Oxnard Produce & Flower Guide” lists more than a dozen farm stands and nurseries in the California coastal city that sell everything from strawberries to carnations, depending on the season. (800) 269-6273.

-- Compiled by

Jane Engle