What does "last verified" mean?
Every data-driven page on Travel Vient displays a "last verified" date. This is the date the record was last re-checked against the primary source and confirmed consistent with current published policy. Verifying a record does not, by itself, change the page's modification date: a "last verified" stamp only means a check happened, not that anything changed.
"Updated" dates on this site move for a different, narrower reason: they mark a real, logged change to the page's content or a published value, not a routine re-check. If a verification pass finds nothing has changed, the verification date moves but the page's modification date does not, and no page is re-announced as changed when it is not. When a source changes and we catch it, both dates move together: we correct the data, log the change, and update the page.
How is airline data sourced?
Airline carry-on dimensions, personal item sizes, checked bag fees, weight limits, and basic economy restrictions are sourced directly from each airline's official baggage policy page. We maintain a structured dataset of 80 carriers in airlines.json, and every record includes a sourceUrl pointing to the official page we verified against. Records verified from August 2026 onward also store the exact sentence we read the figure in, so a number can be checked against the page it came from rather than taken on trust. We re-fetch a sample of those pages on every deploy to confirm the quoted text is still there.
Every published value links back to the official source. When the official page reports a value that differs from our data or is unclear, we cross-reference against industry aggregators (NerdWallet, The Points Guy, Simple Flying, Upgraded Points, or similar) as a sanity check before updating. When the official page is temporarily unreachable, we do not substitute an aggregator number: we keep the value we last confirmed against the official source and mark it for a manual re-check, or, for a figure we have never confirmed, we show "Not published" rather than publish an unverified number. Aggregator consensus is only the primary source for figures that have no official equivalent (for example, third-party review scores). High-priority and recently changed records are spot-checked by hand. When an airline changes its baggage policy (fee increases, dimension changes, new fare class restrictions), the change is picked up on that airline's next scheduled re-check, and the lastVerified date moves with it.
On-time performance and cancellation statistics cited in comparison pages come from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), accessed through TranStats, and from third-party analyses by outlets like the Wall Street Journal, Cirium, and NerdWallet. We cite the specific time period when referencing any statistic.
How is cruise data sourced?
Cruise line data covers 13 cruise lines (Carnival Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, Cunard, Disney Cruise Line, Holland America Line, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Princess Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Royal Caribbean International, Viking, and Virgin Voyages) with fleet details, ship classes, homeports, dress code policies, and cabin specifications for 97 ships.
Cabin square footage is sourced from CruiseDeckPlans.com and cross-referenced with the official cruise line stateroom pages where available. When official and third-party sources disagree, we use the official source and note the discrepancy. When cabin size data is unavailable or unverifiable, we display "Not published" rather than estimating.
Dress code policies are verified against each cruise line's official website. We link to the source page on every dress code detail page.
Ship specifications (gross tonnage, length, passenger capacity, year launched) come from the cruise line's official fleet pages and are cross-referenced with maritime databases.
How is airport and cruise port data sourced?
Airport data covers 112 airports with terminal counts, airline presence, minimum connection times, and ground transport options. Minimum connection times are the OAG airport-standard figures airlines file, read through ExpertFlyer (see how the connection time calculator works). Terminal and ground transport details come from each airport's official website or the local transit operator.
Cruise port data covers 15+ ports with terminal locations, parking rates, nearby airports, and cruise line assignments. Parking rates and transport costs are verified against port authority websites and updated seasonally, since rates change more frequently than other data points.
How does the connection time calculator work?
The big number in the connection time calculator is the official minimum connection time for your connection type, and nothing else. It comes from the OAG minimum connection time data that airlines file, read through ExpertFlyer. When you say you are flying one airline both ways and that airline files its own same-airline minimums, the number switches to that airline's figure.
We used to add our own padding into that number. We stopped, because most of the padding was not sourced, and we no longer show customs, security or bag-recheck wait estimates. Instead, next to the minimum we show a comfortable time: the minimum plus 30 minutes, or the minimum plus 60 minutes when the connection clears customs or, where the airport's own page says so, goes through security again after a terminal change. That rule is our guidance, not an airline or airport figure. A connection between the two numbers is legal but tight.
The longer margin applies whenever you clear entry. That covers every international arrival connecting to a domestic flight, and international transfers at airports where transit does not stay airside. We assume transit clears entry unless the border agency or the airport says it stays airside, as Canada's border agency does for Free Flow transit at Vancouver and Montreal.
How are packing lists built?
Country packing lists state entry rules that we verify against official government pages, linked in the Sources section of each page. Plug types on city lists, and plug types and voltage on country lists, are checked against the country records in our plug finder, some of which cite a national utility or tourism board. Trip-type lists are reviewed for consistency with current airport security rules such as TSA 3-1-1 and REAL ID. Climate, seasonal clothing and dress advice is our guidance, not a sourced figure.
Product recommendations in gear guides are based on published specifications, warranty terms, and third-party long-term reviews. We do not accept payment or free products in exchange for placement. Affiliate links are used on some product pages, but they never influence which products are recommended or how they are ranked.
Destinations, travel apps, eSIM providers, and reference data
Destination records check the visa line against the government that sets the rule: the EU's official travel site, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or the destination's own government. A few U.S. city records cite a state or federal minimum-wage page for the tipping note instead. Typical costs are estimates from Budget Your Trip's traveler-reported data, and the other currency and tipping notes are our guidance. Travel app pricing and features come from each app's own pricing page and App Store or Play Store listing. eSIM provider plans are verified against the provider's own pricing pages. Plug type definitions follow IEC standards, and the per-country plug and voltage records are re-checked on the plug and voltage schedule below, some citing a national utility or tourism board.
Comparisons and guides take their headline figures from the data files described above. Other claims on those pages are cited in each page's Sources section, and when no official page publishes a figure, that source can be an industry publication or aggregator.
What do we do when data is uncertain?
We do not guess. When a value cannot be independently verified, we display "Not published" or flag the uncertainty explicitly. This applies to airline fees that vary by route, cabin sizes on recently launched ships without deck plan data, and any statistic we cannot trace to a named source.
When a number genuinely varies (a checked-bag fee that differs online versus at the counter, a pet fee that depends on cabin class, a baggage allowance that splits by region), we leave the numeric field empty and describe the variation in plain prose rather than collapsing it into a single misleading number.
Every comparison page includes per-subcategory winner declarations (e.g., "Winner for carry-on size: Southwest"). When two options are genuinely equivalent, we call it a tie rather than forcing a verdict.
How often is data updated?
Every record is re-checked against its source on a fixed schedule, from every 30 days for the most volatile data to every 365 days for the slowest-changing reference pages. The stalest records are checked first, so a record can sit past its interval for a short while, and any change is reviewed before it goes live.
- Airline baggage fees and dimensions: Re-checked every 30 days.
- eSIM provider pricing: Re-checked every 30 days against each provider's pricing page.
- Cruise ship specs and cabin sizes: Re-checked every 60 days.
- Cruise line policies, dress codes and ports: Re-checked every 60 days.
- Airport data (terminals, MCTs, security programs, parking): Re-checked every 60 days.
- Destination guides and country essentials: Re-checked every 60 to 90 days.
- Travel apps: Re-checked every 60 days against each app's pricing page.
- Comparison pages: Re-checked every 90 days, or when the underlying data changes.
- Packing lists: Re-checked every 180 days.
- Long-form guides: Re-checked every 365 days. Guides are dated snapshots; the figures they quote follow the data files above.
- Plug and voltage reference: Re-checked every 365 days.
Who researches and writes this content?
Travel Vient has two kinds of pages, and one person stands behind both. The data driving the comparison, airport, cruise, packing, and destination pages, every baggage dimension, fee, connection time, and policy, is researched and verified by Caden Sorenson against the airline, cruise line, or government's own published source (connection times against the OAG data airlines file, read through ExpertFlyer), then stored in a structured database that carries a source link and a last-verified date on each figure. Destination typical costs are the exception: they are estimates from Budget Your Trip's traveler-reported data, as described above. The data pages are generated from that verified data and reviewed by Caden. The blog posts are Caden's own writing. The long-form guides are drafted with AI assistance from that verified data and Caden's research notes, then edited and reviewed by Caden against the primary sources before publishing.
Caden is a senior staff engineer with 15+ years of experience building software, and a frequent traveler who has flown most of the airlines covered on this site and sailed on multiple cruise lines in the database. The site is not staffed by a content team, does not accept guest posts, and does not publish press releases as editorial content.
How to report an error
If you find a number that is wrong, a policy that has changed, or a source link that is broken, email hello@vient.org with the page URL and what you think is incorrect. Corrections are typically applied within 48 hours.
Verify before you travel
We re-check every value on the schedule above, but airline, cruise, visa, and fee policies can change without notice, sometimes the day of travel. Travel Vient is not a substitute for the official source. Before booking or traveling, confirm baggage fees, carry-on dimensions, visa requirements, and any other policy that affects your trip directly with the airline, cruise line, embassy, or other authoritative source for your route and dates. We are not liable for losses resulting from outdated or incorrect information on this site.