• Use curbside check-in -- When it's available, check your bags curbside, take your tickets and boarding pass and walk right onto the plane. On flights that are seriously overbooked, you may be asked to check in again at the gate. Listen for announcements.
• Get to the airport early -- Major airports have come a long way in recent years, and most are now like shopping malls with a lot of things to do and plenty of nice restaurants. There are even fully appointed business centers in major airports with computer hookups, fax machines, copiers and more. Get to the airport early, check in and enjoy a nice meal or get some work done. At some airports you can even get a massage. The upgrades at airports are one of the biggest benefits to travelers in recent years. Take advantage of them.

Imagine your credit card suddenly giving you a 35-percent discount on everything you buy. You could stay at the Four Seasons, enjoy center stage seats at "Phantom of the Opera," and dine in five-star restaurants.

Too good to be true? Not in Toronto, where even the shopping is 35 to 40 percent off.

Thanks to a strong U.S. dollar and an "open skies" agreement between the U.S. and Canada, visiting the Great White North has never been easier or more affordable.

Toronto is an ideal weekend destination. Only New York and London offer more theater seats. Many of the new Broadway shows play in Toronto before they open in New York and London.

Toronto is home of the Four Seasons hotel chain. There are a dozen other world-class hotels, as well, including the Royal York and the Delta Chelsea.

With its clean and fast subway system and extensive network of underground walkways, Toronto is friendly to visitors. Once you're downtown, getting around is easy on foot, by taxi or subway. Even in winter, you can travel in comfort. Most of downtown is connected by a series of underground tunnels that let you go from your hotel to the shopping district without ever stepping outside.

A trip to Toronto is not complete without a tour of the CN Tower, which is the tallest free-standing structure in North America. On a clear day you can see Niagara Falls and Buffalo, N.Y., from the observation deck.

The Tower is close to Toronto's downtown business district and within walking distance of many major hotels, as well as the Toronto Convention Center, Harbor-front, and the Skydome (home to the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team and the Toronto Raptors NBA team).

Safe streets, a full repertoire of theater, dozens of unique restaurants, shops, and museums all contribute to the making of a memorable weekend. You may just save enough money to come back again soon.

For more information about Toronto, contact the travel professionals at Carlson Wagonlit Travel.

The increasingly popular wilderness lodge experience offered by Princess Cruises and Tours in Alaska has prompted the company to expand its Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge.

Princess Tours has acquired an adjacent 72-room lodge, located on a five-acre parcel near the entrance to Denali National Park, and will incorporate these added rooms into the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge for the 2000 summer season.

An overnight stay at Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge is part of the Princess cruisetour program through the interior of Alaska. Located just one mile from Denali National Park, the most popular national park in Alaska, the lodge overlooks the Nenana River and is situated in a park-like setting. It offers vacationers convenient access to tours of Denali National Park, where visitors can view its famous wildlife and the awesome Mt. McKinley, the highest peak in North America.

From the lodge guests can also choose from a variety of optional tours such as horseback riding, flightseeing, river rafting and hiking.

The Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge was the first Princess Tours Alaskan wilderness lodge. Originally built in 1987 and renovated in 1996, the expanded lodge will open in 2000 with 353 rooms, three restaurants, a gift shop, hot tubs and The Music of Denali dinner theater.

Princess also owns and operates the Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge, the Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge and the Fairbanks Princess Hotel.

The Berkeley, an elegant five-star hotel in the heart of London, has created a weekend break for business travelers in need of pampering.

With its prime location near the renowned shops of Knightsbridge, the hotel's "Therapy Break" provides all the accoutrements necessary for an invigorating (and highly therapeutic) weekend.

Within its new, state-of-the-art health club and spa, an assortment of Christian Dior spa treatments, available in Europe only at The Berkeley, are guaranteed to soothe and rejuvenate.

Available Fridays through Sundays throughout 1999, The Berkeley's Therapy Break package includes a healthy breakfast; two spa treatments; complimentary use of the hotel's Spa; a Knightsbridge shopping map; and tax. Package prices begin at about $600 per person for a two-night stay, based on double occupancy.

The Berkeley Health Club and Spa offers the city's only rooftop swimming pool. For those who would like to enjoy some more traditional countryside pursuits, The Berkeley can arrange such activities as golf lessons at The Knightsbridge Golf School, horseback riding at Hyde Park Riding School and boating on the Serpentine River.