May 15, 2008
At last! A company that will book your shore excursions for less than you'd pay to a cruise line -- and it will be a better tour
"Should I buy my shore excursions in advance?" "From the cruise line?" "Or should I take my chances once at the port?" "What if the ship docks at a pier far from town?"
On our Sunday radio show (noon to 2pm, streaming live on www.wor710.com), Pauline and I receive more calls about cruise ship shore excursions than on any other topic. To all of them we loudly respond: No! Don't buy these overpriced tours from the cruise line. These canned and artificial experiences! Don't squeeze into a 45-passenger bus. Wander on your own. Enjoy the authentic aspects of the ports you visit.
But though this advice is politely received by our callers, it's obvious that they would still like to tour with a guide, and possibly as part of a small group.
Today, help arrived, in the form of a website called ShoreTrips (www.shoretrips.com), administered from a small town in Wisconsin. Its founders, former travel agents, have apparently toured all the major ports in the Caribbean, Mexico and Europe, interviewed scores of local tour companies, and made arrangements with the best of them to handle the shore excursions of the clients of ShoreTrips for prices that average 50% of what the cruise lines charge. And the tours in question usually run with 4 to 8 persons, far fewer than the depressing groups of 45, squeezed into a giant motor coach, and operated by the cruise lines.
We'll be interviewing the principals of ShoreTrips on this Sunday's broadcast (I spoke with a junior employee when I phoned ShoreTrips late this afternoon), and will obtain far more detailed information to appear in a later blog post. But a glance at the website is encouraging. It asserts that ShoreTrips looks for unusual, unique, memorable tour experiences, and not for the canned sights of the standard cruise ship-sponsored tours.
Stay tuned.
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On our Sunday radio show (noon to 2pm, streaming live on www.wor710.com), Pauline and I receive more calls about cruise ship shore excursions than on any other topic. To all of them we loudly respond: No! Don't buy these overpriced tours from the cruise line. These canned and artificial experiences! Don't squeeze into a 45-passenger bus. Wander on your own. Enjoy the authentic aspects of the ports you visit.
But though this advice is politely received by our callers, it's obvious that they would still like to tour with a guide, and possibly as part of a small group.
Today, help arrived, in the form of a website called ShoreTrips (www.shoretrips.com), administered from a small town in Wisconsin. Its founders, former travel agents, have apparently toured all the major ports in the Caribbean, Mexico and Europe, interviewed scores of local tour companies, and made arrangements with the best of them to handle the shore excursions of the clients of ShoreTrips for prices that average 50% of what the cruise lines charge. And the tours in question usually run with 4 to 8 persons, far fewer than the depressing groups of 45, squeezed into a giant motor coach, and operated by the cruise lines.
We'll be interviewing the principals of ShoreTrips on this Sunday's broadcast (I spoke with a junior employee when I phoned ShoreTrips late this afternoon), and will obtain far more detailed information to appear in a later blog post. But a glance at the website is encouraging. It asserts that ShoreTrips looks for unusual, unique, memorable tour experiences, and not for the canned sights of the standard cruise ship-sponsored tours.
Stay tuned.
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Labels: cruise, tour companies
Thomas Cook swears it will forego commissions on changing your dollars into pounds if you bring a voucher to their London offices
Here's an oddity that may possibly save you 5% on your next visit to London (hey, every little bit helps!).
If you'll go to Visit London's special offers section (www.visitlondon.com/offers/currency/) you'll see a deal from Thomas Cook. If you download the PDF file, print it, and take it with you when you exchange your currency at any Thomas Cook store, and you'll receive a better rate.
A small item in one of those free daily newspapers tipped me off to this savings, and though I can't guarantee it will work, I'd be surprised if a company with the reputation of Thomas Cook weren't sincere. If the voucher is honored, it'll mean you'll save the 5% in exchange fees that you would otherwise pay to every other exchange desk, kiosk, or bank in London, or the 3% you'd pay for using an ATM machine.
There are 10 Thomas Cook offices in London: at Marble Arch, Great Russell Street, Hammersmith, Wembley, Old Brompton Road, St. James's, Victoria Place, London Wall, Wimbledon, and Islington.
Thomas Cook also claims that when you change your currency with Thomas Cook, you'll receive a special offers booklet offering such savings as two-for-one admission to the Tower of London, which would alone save you at least £15.
A note to Garry, one of our London readers: can you check this out? In exchange, I'll send you a free copy of Pauline Frommer's London.
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If you'll go to Visit London's special offers section (www.visitlondon.com/offers/currency/) you'll see a deal from Thomas Cook. If you download the PDF file, print it, and take it with you when you exchange your currency at any Thomas Cook store, and you'll receive a better rate.
A small item in one of those free daily newspapers tipped me off to this savings, and though I can't guarantee it will work, I'd be surprised if a company with the reputation of Thomas Cook weren't sincere. If the voucher is honored, it'll mean you'll save the 5% in exchange fees that you would otherwise pay to every other exchange desk, kiosk, or bank in London, or the 3% you'd pay for using an ATM machine.
There are 10 Thomas Cook offices in London: at Marble Arch, Great Russell Street, Hammersmith, Wembley, Old Brompton Road, St. James's, Victoria Place, London Wall, Wimbledon, and Islington.
Thomas Cook also claims that when you change your currency with Thomas Cook, you'll receive a special offers booklet offering such savings as two-for-one admission to the Tower of London, which would alone save you at least £15.
A note to Garry, one of our London readers: can you check this out? In exchange, I'll send you a free copy of Pauline Frommer's London.
Write and read comments about this post.
The manner in which some companies continue to do travel business in Myanmar is simply incomprehensible
I was sickened, literally sickened, to read statements in the travel trade press of various American travel companies, about their continuing involvement in running tours or cruises to Myanmar. One of them, an outfit called Explore Asia, was quoted in Travel Agent Magazine (May 6, 2008) as having given assurances to would-be visitors of the safety of continuing to travel in Myanmar, following the disastrous cyclone that hit there on May 2:
"Nancy, a partner in Explore Asia", wrote Travel Agent Magazine, "notes her company has confirmation from its land operators that, with some modifications in the affected areas, travel to and around Myanmar remains safe... Travel agents will want to redirect their customers around the affected areas. Hotels and tourist destinations upcountry are operating normally".
In other words, travelers should continue to flaunt world public opinion and continue to travel like happy-go-lucky tourists to suffering Myanmar.
Another group of sensitive journalists, our friends at World Hum, have recently, in effect, applauded the U.S. operators of river cruiseboats in Myanmar for making their vessels available for relief efforts. And they have implied that this aid is a positive benefit of the earlier refusal to boycott travel to Myanmar.
After all, if these riverboats had never been sent to Myanmar for American tourists to use, they would not now be available for relief efforts!
These grotesque justifications of tourism to Myanmar deserve to be condemned by every individual. The democratic opposition in Myanmar has repeatedly pleaded for an end to tourist visits there, arguing that touristic expenditures simply maintain the military junta in power. If anything, we should redouble our efforts to condemn the thuggish generals of Myanmar, stop the flow of dollars there through tourism, and eventually rescue its poor, starving people.
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"Nancy, a partner in Explore Asia", wrote Travel Agent Magazine, "notes her company has confirmation from its land operators that, with some modifications in the affected areas, travel to and around Myanmar remains safe... Travel agents will want to redirect their customers around the affected areas. Hotels and tourist destinations upcountry are operating normally".
In other words, travelers should continue to flaunt world public opinion and continue to travel like happy-go-lucky tourists to suffering Myanmar.
Another group of sensitive journalists, our friends at World Hum, have recently, in effect, applauded the U.S. operators of river cruiseboats in Myanmar for making their vessels available for relief efforts. And they have implied that this aid is a positive benefit of the earlier refusal to boycott travel to Myanmar.
After all, if these riverboats had never been sent to Myanmar for American tourists to use, they would not now be available for relief efforts!
These grotesque justifications of tourism to Myanmar deserve to be condemned by every individual. The democratic opposition in Myanmar has repeatedly pleaded for an end to tourist visits there, arguing that touristic expenditures simply maintain the military junta in power. If anything, we should redouble our efforts to condemn the thuggish generals of Myanmar, stop the flow of dollars there through tourism, and eventually rescue its poor, starving people.
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Labels: bad states
May 14, 2008
The Caribbean and coastal Mexico have become the least expensive destinations for a comfortable vacation this summer
I've been spending some time looking at the various air-and-land packages to Mexico and the Caribbean in July and August -- and they are dramatic. The cheapest, high-quality, destinations for Americans today are in those tropical areas. If you haven't yet made your summer plans, you might now want to scan the offerings of Vacation Travel Mart of Miami (www.vacmart.com) and the similar site of CheapCaribbean.com (www.cheapcaribbean.com). You might also want to go to Apple Vacations (www.applevacations.com) for more examples.
It has taken some time for increases in the cost of fuel to be fully incorporated into the summer packages. Until recently, they weren't prominently featured in advertised prices, but suddenly cropped up in the form of independent fuel surcharges when you booked the package. Now they're in the basic price, which has therefore gone up by about $150 per person over the levels that were advertised about a month or two ago.
But even with those increases, the cost of a Caribbean vacation this summer remains one of the great bargains. Going simply to Vacation Travel Mart, a seven-night stay at La Romana on the south coast of the Dominican Republic, at the attractive, beachfront, Oasis Canoa Beach Hotel, including round-trip air from Miami, lodgings for the full week, all three meals a day (supplemented by a late-night snack for a total of four meals daily), unlimited drinks and beverages, sea sports and entertainment, comes to $924 per person, with children staying and eating for free. Add about $100 for flights from most other cities.
That $924 is less than what you'd pay for round-trip airfare alone to most of Europe in the months of July and August this year. The Caribbean has become dramatically cheaper for the vacationer who simply wants a comfortable week or two weeks of relaxation this summer. Bear in mind that most of the packages described in websites like that of Vacation Travel Mart or Cheap Caribbean are all-inclusive, covering every one of your basic expenses.
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It has taken some time for increases in the cost of fuel to be fully incorporated into the summer packages. Until recently, they weren't prominently featured in advertised prices, but suddenly cropped up in the form of independent fuel surcharges when you booked the package. Now they're in the basic price, which has therefore gone up by about $150 per person over the levels that were advertised about a month or two ago.
But even with those increases, the cost of a Caribbean vacation this summer remains one of the great bargains. Going simply to Vacation Travel Mart, a seven-night stay at La Romana on the south coast of the Dominican Republic, at the attractive, beachfront, Oasis Canoa Beach Hotel, including round-trip air from Miami, lodgings for the full week, all three meals a day (supplemented by a late-night snack for a total of four meals daily), unlimited drinks and beverages, sea sports and entertainment, comes to $924 per person, with children staying and eating for free. Add about $100 for flights from most other cities.
That $924 is less than what you'd pay for round-trip airfare alone to most of Europe in the months of July and August this year. The Caribbean has become dramatically cheaper for the vacationer who simply wants a comfortable week or two weeks of relaxation this summer. Bear in mind that most of the packages described in websites like that of Vacation Travel Mart or Cheap Caribbean are all-inclusive, covering every one of your basic expenses.
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Tanzania is a grand place for an African safari, but at a cost substantially over the price of a safari in Kenya
A number of readers have questioned my seeming preference for Kenya over Tanzania as a place for wildlife safaris, and I should respond. I am well aware that the wildlife-viewing opportunities in Tanzania are the full equal of those in Kenya. But it is only the safari industry of Kenya that has attempted to price their vacations at an economical level, permitting mid-income people to enjoy this superb travel adventure. As best I know, you cannot hope to enjoy even a one-week safari in Tanzania, including airfare from the U.S., for the $2,500 price that many tour operators now offer for a weeklong safari in Kenya (and some recently went down to $1,999).
That being said, Tanzania is a peaceful place with excellent safari opportunities, and many Americans may prefer to substitute it for Kenya in light of the touchy political situation in Kenya. But these are Americans able to afford the higher cost of a Tanzanian safari.
Two readers from Calumet, Michigan, Bob and Deloris Langseth, have written me about their very positive reactions to Tanzania, and I feel obligated to share their arguments with you:
That being said, Tanzania is a peaceful place with excellent safari opportunities, and many Americans may prefer to substitute it for Kenya in light of the touchy political situation in Kenya. But these are Americans able to afford the higher cost of a Tanzanian safari.
Two readers from Calumet, Michigan, Bob and Deloris Langseth, have written me about their very positive reactions to Tanzania, and I feel obligated to share their arguments with you:
We have been to Tanzania on 9 occasions since 1992. It is one of the few countries in Africa that has never had a civil war ... You do not need to land at Nairobi. Go instead to the Mt. Kilimanjaro International Airport in Arusha, via KLM. Kilimanjaro is in Tanzania and my wife climbed it at age 72 in 2004. The Ngorogoro Crater -- one of the wonders of the world -- has all of the big 5 animals, is a 4-hour drive from Arusha, and a gateway to the Serengeti. On the way you have Tarangire National Park which has the largest herd of elephants in any of the parks, and Lake Manyara with its vast flocks of flamingos... We have been beautifully served by the Menno Travel Agency in Minneapolis (800/635-2032) and/or by Safari Makers Ltd. out of Arusha, Tanzania... We went to the Serengeti in 2007 for our 50th wedding anniversary. The park rangers stated that more than 2 million wildebeest and zebras make the migration. We estimate we saw over a half million animals, along with 23 lions (5 were in one tree) as well as a cheetah and leopard... We love Tanzania and want to share this good news of a peaceful country and fabulous game parks.Write and read comments about this post.
Labels: kenya, safari, tanzania
Among the dividends of LasVegasAdvisor are listings of the best values in Sin City
I earlier wrote about the popular website called TravelWorm, which specializes in revealing reduced-price hotel rooms in all the major U.S. resort locations, but does that best for Las Vegas. Among its competitors is LasVegasAdvisor (www.lasvegasadvisor.com), which also reveals hotel discounts but is just as well known for its up-to-date descriptions of the city's best non-hotel values. These are utterly factual but tremendously amusing, too, and trying them out is a practice far more entertaining, in my view, than spending time at the gaming tables. Here are the 10 current champions:
1) 99¢ for a shrimp cocktail at the Golden Gate casino.
2) $6.95 for a complete steak dinner at Ellis Island: a 10-oz. sirloin with salad, green beans, choice of potato, and fresh, microbrewed beer.
3) A $1.49 breakfast special at the four "Wild" Station casinos (Wild Wild West, Wildfire, Gold Rush, and Magic Star): two eggs with sausages, hash browns, and toast).
4) $100 in "free play" for signing up at the Hoosiers players club, including free entrance to the raunchy Bobby Slayton comedy show.
5) $10.95 for steak dinner at the Gold Coast casino: a 16-oz. T-bone with five sides and a glass of beer.
6) Reduced-price, $10.95 admission to the Magic Show at Greek Isles.
7) $13.95 to $24.95 for an all-you-can-eat buffet at the Mirage casino in center Strip: the best and highest quality buffet in all the city, says LasVegasAdvisor.
8) Reduced-price, $19.95 admission to the Comedy Stop at the Tropicana (note by A.F.: whose parent company recently filed in Chapter XI bankruptcy).
9) The entertainment viewable from the Fontana Bar of the Bellagio Hotel, where purchase of a $6 drink entitles you to sit at that bar all evening.
10) $9.99 for the Prime Rib special at Mr. Lucky's Coffee Shop in the Hard Rock Hotel, where you can order additional slices of beef for as long as you can finish them.
Who said that Las Vegas was just about gambling?
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1) 99¢ for a shrimp cocktail at the Golden Gate casino.
2) $6.95 for a complete steak dinner at Ellis Island: a 10-oz. sirloin with salad, green beans, choice of potato, and fresh, microbrewed beer.
3) A $1.49 breakfast special at the four "Wild" Station casinos (Wild Wild West, Wildfire, Gold Rush, and Magic Star): two eggs with sausages, hash browns, and toast).
4) $100 in "free play" for signing up at the Hoosiers players club, including free entrance to the raunchy Bobby Slayton comedy show.
5) $10.95 for steak dinner at the Gold Coast casino: a 16-oz. T-bone with five sides and a glass of beer.
6) Reduced-price, $10.95 admission to the Magic Show at Greek Isles.
7) $13.95 to $24.95 for an all-you-can-eat buffet at the Mirage casino in center Strip: the best and highest quality buffet in all the city, says LasVegasAdvisor.
8) Reduced-price, $19.95 admission to the Comedy Stop at the Tropicana (note by A.F.: whose parent company recently filed in Chapter XI bankruptcy).
9) The entertainment viewable from the Fontana Bar of the Bellagio Hotel, where purchase of a $6 drink entitles you to sit at that bar all evening.
10) $9.99 for the Prime Rib special at Mr. Lucky's Coffee Shop in the Hard Rock Hotel, where you can order additional slices of beef for as long as you can finish them.
Who said that Las Vegas was just about gambling?
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May 13, 2008
Rentalo.com has now entered the hotly-contested Orlando market, poking fun at the high cost of hotels and praising vacation homes instead
Things are heating up in the vacation-home-vs.-hotel controversy for Orlando, Florida (Disney World and friends), with newcomer Rentalo.com (www.retalo.com) issuing a press release in which it first tells about $385 hotel rooms and then describes more spacious vacation homes for as little as $99 a night. Here's the opening part of their unusually combative salvo:
Disney World's Grand Floridian resort costs $385 per night, plus 12% tax, and even their "value" resorts are $82 per night. Granted, they allow the whole family to cram into one room, but why would anyone want to do that?Write and read comments about this post.
On the Rentalo website, families can find a three-bedroom condo for $99, a five-bedroom house for $125 per night. And a house with a kitchen means savings on meals, as well. In addition, Rentalo's SmartSearch feature means travelers can easily find a property that suits their needs. Some of the houses available this summer include:
Villa Magic Orlando for $120 per night
This four-bedroom, three-bath house in Eastern Kissimmee is in a gated community, just off the main highway to Disney World. It has a screened-in pool, air conditioning, smoke detectors throughout, a fire extinguisher and emergency lighting, as well as a fully-equipped laundry room and kitchen. It is large enough that two families can share it. From June 1 to August 31, the house costs $120 per night, with a four-night minimum.
Windsor Hills Apartment for $99 a night
One bedroom has a king-size bed, the other has two full-size beds and there's a sleeper sofa in the living room of this ground floor apartment in the Windsor Hills Resort. It's only two miles from Disney World and is a short walk or drive to shops, restaurants and a supermarket. Windsor Hills has 24-hour security, a clubhouse, community pool with a water slide, kids' playground, tennis and an internet café. The apartment features a screened lanai. It costs $99 per night, plus tax, from May 23 to September 1, with a seven-night minimum.
Labels: accommodations, orlando
If you're a fan of casino-resorts and leisure destinations -- then TravelWorm is for you
TravelWorm has been around for more than 15 years, seeking out the most simple-minded of travel bargains: hotel discounts, in sun belt cities of the resort variety. Its current offer of $34 a night per room at the Sahara Hotel in Vegas is about $3 less than any other offer I've been able to find on the internet. Its $37 per room offer at Vegas' Stratosphere Hotel is $1 and $2 less than most others. If you're planning a trip to any of the resort cities listed above, you'd do well to go to www.travelworm.com, which also lists various meal discounts and other bonuses (free spa visits, for instance) at the hotels whose bargains they tout.
All in all, it's a pretty impressive website that has obviously grown unusually popular and mighty, enabling its managers to pressure big reductions from the hotels they feature. I believe you can book directly on the web, but you can also phone TravelWorm at tel. 888/700-8342.
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All in all, it's a pretty impressive website that has obviously grown unusually popular and mighty, enabling its managers to pressure big reductions from the hotels they feature. I believe you can book directly on the web, but you can also phone TravelWorm at tel. 888/700-8342.
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Labels: accommodations, las vegas, websites
Would you believe a price of $499 per person for a Mediterranean cruise of seven days, round-trip from Barcelona? Hint: it's on a ship of NCL
I recently called Norwegian Cruise Line a "hungry" company, and more proof of that has come from an announcement by White Travel Service (tel. 860/233-2648; www.whitetravel.com) that they will be making cabins available on the October 20 and November 2 sailings from Barcelona of the 2,400-passenger Norwegian Gem, an almost brand-new ship, for as little as $499 per person -- which is surely an unprecedented low price for the popular Mediterranean. On the same ship's November 9 sailing, they will be charging only $10 more -- $509. In each instance, the cruise is seven nights in duration.
Now some of this comes about because of dates. Most Americans will not want to be away over Election Day (which is on November 4 this year). And the other two sailings are scheduled at a time when the weather can be chilly in the Mediterranean (in fact, most cruise lines don't sail that late in the year in European waters).
But it's also a fact that Norwegian Cruise Line has been a hard-luck company this past year, suffering losses while other comparable lines were racking up profits. Recently, a private equity firm has made a large investment in NCL, and ships are being massively improved and altered. Other giant new ships are presently in construction for NCL.
But NCL's sale of cabins at such cut-rates, through a Connecticut cruise discounter, is nevertheless telling -- and good news for cruise bargain-hunters.
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Now some of this comes about because of dates. Most Americans will not want to be away over Election Day (which is on November 4 this year). And the other two sailings are scheduled at a time when the weather can be chilly in the Mediterranean (in fact, most cruise lines don't sail that late in the year in European waters).
But it's also a fact that Norwegian Cruise Line has been a hard-luck company this past year, suffering losses while other comparable lines were racking up profits. Recently, a private equity firm has made a large investment in NCL, and ships are being massively improved and altered. Other giant new ships are presently in construction for NCL.
But NCL's sale of cabins at such cut-rates, through a Connecticut cruise discounter, is nevertheless telling -- and good news for cruise bargain-hunters.
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May 12, 2008
Late November and early December: 14-night re-positioning cruises from Europe to the Caribbean that include airfare
A re-positioning cruise -- moving a ship from one continent to another, when seasons change -- is among the great bargains of travel. Because they spend many days simply at sea, such cruises are not entirely popular and are therefore priced at sacrificial rates to fill their cabins. But they are not always as cheap as might first appear, because they sometimes require the outlay of a high airfare to reach the port of embarkation or to fly home from the port of disembarkation.
That's why a recent shift of policy on the part of Online Vacation Center (tel. 800/329-9002; www.onlinevacationcenter.com) is so important . O.V.C. is now including round-trip airfare to and from your home city in the total price of the cruise, providing only that you leave from, and return to, either Miami, New York, Newark or Washington, D.C. Thus, on a re-positioning cruise that starts in Spain and ends in San Juan, it will fly you -- at no extra charge -- to Spain, and later home from San Juan.
And this policy prevails on the high-quality ships of Celebrity Cruises, an cruise line with top amenities and food.
On November 28, 2008, O.V.C. will fly you to Barcelona to board the Celebrity Summit for a 14-night cruise to other ports in Spain, Portugal, and the Canary Islands, then crossing the south Atlantic to St. Maarten, and ending in San Juan, from which you'll be flown home free. The total cost for a balcony-equipped outside cabin: $1,859 per person, including the round-trip air and all airport-to-hotel transfers.
On December 4, 2008, it will fly you to Rome to board the Celebrity Galaxy for a 14-night cruise through the Mediterranean to Morocco, then to the Canary Islands, and then across the south Atlantic to the British Virgin Islands and San Juan, from which you'll be flown home. The total cost for an ocean-view cabin will be $1,569 per person, including round-trip air and all airport-to-hotel transfers. (That's slightly more than $100 a day, including air, which is almost cheaper than living at home).
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That's why a recent shift of policy on the part of Online Vacation Center (tel. 800/329-9002; www.onlinevacationcenter.com) is so important . O.V.C. is now including round-trip airfare to and from your home city in the total price of the cruise, providing only that you leave from, and return to, either Miami, New York, Newark or Washington, D.C. Thus, on a re-positioning cruise that starts in Spain and ends in San Juan, it will fly you -- at no extra charge -- to Spain, and later home from San Juan.
And this policy prevails on the high-quality ships of Celebrity Cruises, an cruise line with top amenities and food.
On November 28, 2008, O.V.C. will fly you to Barcelona to board the Celebrity Summit for a 14-night cruise to other ports in Spain, Portugal, and the Canary Islands, then crossing the south Atlantic to St. Maarten, and ending in San Juan, from which you'll be flown home free. The total cost for a balcony-equipped outside cabin: $1,859 per person, including the round-trip air and all airport-to-hotel transfers.
On December 4, 2008, it will fly you to Rome to board the Celebrity Galaxy for a 14-night cruise through the Mediterranean to Morocco, then to the Canary Islands, and then across the south Atlantic to the British Virgin Islands and San Juan, from which you'll be flown home. The total cost for an ocean-view cabin will be $1,569 per person, including round-trip air and all airport-to-hotel transfers. (That's slightly more than $100 a day, including air, which is almost cheaper than living at home).
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Would you pay $725 for round-trip rail to Leeds, England, an outdoor performance of Shakespeare, and dinner in the train on the return trip?
On the morning of Wednesday, July 9 -- and only on that date -- a train of the Orient Express company will leave London St. Pancras Station on a 2½ hour trip to Leeds, a mid-sized British city about 170 miles to the northwest of London. Passengers will be served brunch en route. Once in Leeds, they will see an outdoor performance of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, and will then get dinner in the train on the return trip to London.
For this they will pay a starting price of £345 ($725) per person. Since the British pound now costs at least $2.10 after five-percent commissions to money-changers are factored in, £345 equals $725.
Now assume that you are the editor of a Sunday newspaper travel section in the United States. Would you run an article on this one-time, one-date travel opportunity? Why would you? How many of your readers would give a second's attention to a July 9 trip to Leeds for $725 per person? Would even one such reader be a potential buyer of an afternoon in Leeds, and dinner on a train, for $725? Would any of your readers consider flying to England for such a dubious reward? Even for readers already in London, how many would consider paying $725 per person for afternoon at the theater -- in Leeds? One person? Two? Or none?
Yet this, dear readers, was the announcement made on page two of the May 11, 2008 edition of the New York Times Sunday travel section. It occupies the number one position in the weekly review of travel developments that appears at the very opening of that newspaper's travel discussion. I have not altered a single fact in a notice headlined "Shakespeare in England, in Luxury," and you can also read the actual notice in the online edition the Times.
What sort of foolish day-dreamer would consider this one-time travel opportunity, to Leeds, no less, as worthy of appearing in a serious U.S. newspaper? How much relevance does such a notice have to the travel plans of the newspaper's readers? Again: to how many persons would such a notice be of interest? One person? Two?
The New York Times travel section has now plumbed such depths of absurdity that I, for one, have concluded that this senselessness can't be accidental. The decision to sprinkle the pages of a travel section with references to sky-high travel offerings can only have come about from a directive from on high to do so. It must be part of an effort to attract advertising from the producers of luxury goods, unaffordable to most of us, from swank companies that want their ads to appear in a congenial environment. In writing as they do, I am now convinced that the travel writers and junior travel editors of the New York Times are attempting to execute a policy consciously set down by the Times.
Only people obeying orders could have run an article about a one-time opportunity, on July 9, to take a train back and forth to Leeds, there to see a show, for $725 per person. Either I am right, or travel journalism has gone haywire.
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For this they will pay a starting price of £345 ($725) per person. Since the British pound now costs at least $2.10 after five-percent commissions to money-changers are factored in, £345 equals $725.
Now assume that you are the editor of a Sunday newspaper travel section in the United States. Would you run an article on this one-time, one-date travel opportunity? Why would you? How many of your readers would give a second's attention to a July 9 trip to Leeds for $725 per person? Would even one such reader be a potential buyer of an afternoon in Leeds, and dinner on a train, for $725? Would any of your readers consider flying to England for such a dubious reward? Even for readers already in London, how many would consider paying $725 per person for afternoon at the theater -- in Leeds? One person? Two? Or none?
Yet this, dear readers, was the announcement made on page two of the May 11, 2008 edition of the New York Times Sunday travel section. It occupies the number one position in the weekly review of travel developments that appears at the very opening of that newspaper's travel discussion. I have not altered a single fact in a notice headlined "Shakespeare in England, in Luxury," and you can also read the actual notice in the online edition the Times.
What sort of foolish day-dreamer would consider this one-time travel opportunity, to Leeds, no less, as worthy of appearing in a serious U.S. newspaper? How much relevance does such a notice have to the travel plans of the newspaper's readers? Again: to how many persons would such a notice be of interest? One person? Two?
The New York Times travel section has now plumbed such depths of absurdity that I, for one, have concluded that this senselessness can't be accidental. The decision to sprinkle the pages of a travel section with references to sky-high travel offerings can only have come about from a directive from on high to do so. It must be part of an effort to attract advertising from the producers of luxury goods, unaffordable to most of us, from swank companies that want their ads to appear in a congenial environment. In writing as they do, I am now convinced that the travel writers and junior travel editors of the New York Times are attempting to execute a policy consciously set down by the Times.
Only people obeying orders could have run an article about a one-time opportunity, on July 9, to take a train back and forth to Leeds, there to see a show, for $725 per person. Either I am right, or travel journalism has gone haywire.
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Labels: england, new york times
The world's hungriest cruise company would seem to be Norwegian Cruise Line: Their bargains are unbeatable
It's one of the world's few cruise lines to recently report several quarters of losses rather than large profits. For whatever reason (and many of its problems stem from an ill-fated positioning of three ships in the Hawaiian Islands), Norwegian Cruise Line hasn't done well in recent years. Now, with additional financing from a "private equity" group, it is frantically building new and giant ships and refurbishing old ones. But until the public becomes sensitive to its many comfortable improvements, it appears that NCL is doing more than its fair share of discounting.
Go to www.americasvacationcenter.com, click on "deals," and then go to the section listing discounted prices for Norwegian Cruise Line. Starting in late September and through most of November, 7-night sailings of the Caribbean from New York, Miami and Philadelphia, and 7 night-sailings of the Mexican Pacific coast, almost invariably start at $499 and $599 per person for inside cabins. Go to the Mediterranean during the same period of time (late September through most of November) and you'll find that seven-night sailings of the Mediterranean are available for $669 and $699 per person. Given all the recent fuel-related increases in the cruising world, the fact that one-week Caribbean sailings for as little as $499 per person (that's with five meals a day) and $599 are still available on Norwegian Cruise Line (up to $699 in the Mediterranean) is quite remarkable and shows that NCL is fighting hard for business.
Americas Vacation Center can also be reached by phone, tel. 888/420-1035.
Now perform the same exercise using www.vacationstogo.com. Go to any Norwegian Cruise Line ship sailing the tropics in October and November. The great majority of those departures are available at discounts of as much as 60%. Go to Norwegian Cruise Line sailings in the Mediterranean during the same period, and you'll find discounts of 50%, 56% and even 67% -- breathtaking reductions.
Here's a travel phenomenon that can result in low-priced vacations of high quality.
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Go to www.americasvacationcenter.com, click on "deals," and then go to the section listing discounted prices for Norwegian Cruise Line. Starting in late September and through most of November, 7-night sailings of the Caribbean from New York, Miami and Philadelphia, and 7 night-sailings of the Mexican Pacific coast, almost invariably start at $499 and $599 per person for inside cabins. Go to the Mediterranean during the same period of time (late September through most of November) and you'll find that seven-night sailings of the Mediterranean are available for $669 and $699 per person. Given all the recent fuel-related increases in the cruising world, the fact that one-week Caribbean sailings for as little as $499 per person (that's with five meals a day) and $599 are still available on Norwegian Cruise Line (up to $699 in the Mediterranean) is quite remarkable and shows that NCL is fighting hard for business.
Americas Vacation Center can also be reached by phone, tel. 888/420-1035.
Now perform the same exercise using www.vacationstogo.com. Go to any Norwegian Cruise Line ship sailing the tropics in October and November. The great majority of those departures are available at discounts of as much as 60%. Go to Norwegian Cruise Line sailings in the Mediterranean during the same period, and you'll find discounts of 50%, 56% and even 67% -- breathtaking reductions.
Here's a travel phenomenon that can result in low-priced vacations of high quality.
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May 9, 2008
Along with the monuments to achievements, we should also go to sobering exhibits of humankind's failures
Most travelers have a vague desire to visit the world's most famous museums of art: the Louvre in Paris, the National Gallery in London, the Kunsthistorisches in Vienna, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Prado in Madrid, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Uffizi in Florence, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the various elements of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. To these should now be added museums of conscience, places that commemorate acts of inhumanity, that tell of our failures over the centuries to create a better world. It is only recently that the travel industry has awakened to this latter group of unsettling exhibits that should figure prominently in an individual's development and growth.
The museums of conscience are generally felt to be six in number:
Goree Island in Senegal, site of "Slave House," where as many as 25 million African slaves were shackled and herded into boats and sent to continents far away. Millions of them died in the course of the voyage.
Manzanar National Historic Site in California, where 110,000 Japanese-Americans, all of them full citizens, were interned from 1942-45.
The Leper Colony on the Kalaupapa Peninsula on the island of Molokai, Hawaii. To an almost impenetrable area flanked by steep cliffs of rock, thousands of persons suffering leprosy were forcibly sent and simply abandoned in conditions of famine, exposure and other hardships. Because leprosy (Hansen's Disease) is now under control, the colony can today be toured, led by the few remaining residents who once suffered from that disease and have opted to stay on.
The Workhouse in Southwell, Notts, Great Britain, constructed in 1842 as a model for many other such institutions, in which unfortunate people were imprisoned in circumstances of great hardship, simply because they were poor. The operation of such "poorhouses" reached a peak in Victorian times, when Britain was colonizing the world.
The Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., our American equivalent of Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, describing the extermination of millions of Jews by Nazi Germany in World War II.
The Tenement Museum in downtown Manhattan (the Lower East Side), re-creating the horrendous conditions to which immigrants to the U.S. were often subjected from 1863 to 1932.
Usually on our trips abroad, we visit monuments (museums) to the rich and famous. Visits to museums of conscience are a healthy counter-balance.
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The museums of conscience are generally felt to be six in number:
Goree Island in Senegal, site of "Slave House," where as many as 25 million African slaves were shackled and herded into boats and sent to continents far away. Millions of them died in the course of the voyage.
Manzanar National Historic Site in California, where 110,000 Japanese-Americans, all of them full citizens, were interned from 1942-45.
The Leper Colony on the Kalaupapa Peninsula on the island of Molokai, Hawaii. To an almost impenetrable area flanked by steep cliffs of rock, thousands of persons suffering leprosy were forcibly sent and simply abandoned in conditions of famine, exposure and other hardships. Because leprosy (Hansen's Disease) is now under control, the colony can today be toured, led by the few remaining residents who once suffered from that disease and have opted to stay on.
The Workhouse in Southwell, Notts, Great Britain, constructed in 1842 as a model for many other such institutions, in which unfortunate people were imprisoned in circumstances of great hardship, simply because they were poor. The operation of such "poorhouses" reached a peak in Victorian times, when Britain was colonizing the world.
The Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., our American equivalent of Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, describing the extermination of millions of Jews by Nazi Germany in World War II.
The Tenement Museum in downtown Manhattan (the Lower East Side), re-creating the horrendous conditions to which immigrants to the U.S. were often subjected from 1863 to 1932.
Usually on our trips abroad, we visit monuments (museums) to the rich and famous. Visits to museums of conscience are a healthy counter-balance.
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Labels: museums
Here are my daughter Pauline's 10 top budget destinations for summer 2008
My daughter Pauline has just published her list of the world's most attractive, budget-priced destinations, and it contains a number of places that aren't well known, even among the most avid travelers. With her permission, I am summarizing them below in greatly condensed form you can see the entire list here).
1. Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, home of the Bathhouse in Berkeley Springs State Park, where you can soak in thermal waters and then receive a Swedish massage for a total of $40. All other recreations are similarly cheap, as are lodgings.
2. Boundary Waters Canoe area of northern Minnesota. For canoeing close to 1,300 miles of navigable waters, outfitters will rent you a canoe and supply you with food for the trip, for extremely reasonable sums.
3. The midcoast of Maine (Rockland, Maine), where you'll find the superb Farnsworth Museum (Andrew Wyeth, Louise Nevelson), many small galleries and restaurants, Windjammer cruises, and low-cost mom-and-pop motels. All of which makes it a fine jumping-off point for such pricier places as Kennebunkport, Bar Harbor, and the area near Acadia national park.
4. The Wisconsin Dells. "Waterpark capital of the world," charging $30 to $35 a day for most waterparks. There's fishing, golfing and rock-climbing, and (with some effort at ferreting them out) reasonably-priced motels for as little as $40 a night.
5. The Oregon coast, spectacular in its vistas, with wine areas further inland. Go, especially, to the little town of Yachats (where I've vacationed), with its excellent, reasonably-priced restaurants.
6. The Dominican Republic (you know about this one).
7. Newfoundland, Canada. Puffin colonies and caribou herds, whales, bird-watching, hiking, excellent camping facilities. Gros Morne National Park here is a World Heritage site.
8. The Mayan Riviera, just south of Cancún on the Caribbean coast of Mexico. Fast-developing, its hotel-resorts challenge those of the Dominican Republic as the world's least expensive. White sand beaches and Mayan ruins are the lure.
9. Peru. Cusco is a favorite jumping-off point, as is elegant Arequipa. Wonderfully low-priced.
10. Bulgaria. Europe's budget champion, with its Black Sea beaches and well-preserved medieval villages.
Pauline's brand-new travel guides, now numbering 12 titles, and eventually to be a series of at least 24, are in all major bookstores, and I urge you to scan their pages. Once you do, I'm sure you'll choose the Pauline Frommer's Guides for your next trip. Two of the books (on New York City and London) were recently named best travel guides of the year by a prestigious group of travel journalists.
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1. Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, home of the Bathhouse in Berkeley Springs State Park, where you can soak in thermal waters and then receive a Swedish massage for a total of $40. All other recreations are similarly cheap, as are lodgings.
2. Boundary Waters Canoe area of northern Minnesota. For canoeing close to 1,300 miles of navigable waters, outfitters will rent you a canoe and supply you with food for the trip, for extremely reasonable sums.
3. The midcoast of Maine (Rockland, Maine), where you'll find the superb Farnsworth Museum (Andrew Wyeth, Louise Nevelson), many small galleries and restaurants, Windjammer cruises, and low-cost mom-and-pop motels. All of which makes it a fine jumping-off point for such pricier places as Kennebunkport, Bar Harbor, and the area near Acadia national park.
4. The Wisconsin Dells. "Waterpark capital of the world," charging $30 to $35 a day for most waterparks. There's fishing, golfing and rock-climbing, and (with some effort at ferreting them out) reasonably-priced motels for as little as $40 a night.
5. The Oregon coast, spectacular in its vistas, with wine areas further inland. Go, especially, to the little town of Yachats (where I've vacationed), with its excellent, reasonably-priced restaurants.
6. The Dominican Republic (you know about this one).
7. Newfoundland, Canada. Puffin colonies and caribou herds, whales, bird-watching, hiking, excellent camping facilities. Gros Morne National Park here is a World Heritage site.
8. The Mayan Riviera, just south of Cancún on the Caribbean coast of Mexico. Fast-developing, its hotel-resorts challenge those of the Dominican Republic as the world's least expensive. White sand beaches and Mayan ruins are the lure.
9. Peru. Cusco is a favorite jumping-off point, as is elegant Arequipa. Wonderfully low-priced.
10. Bulgaria. Europe's budget champion, with its Black Sea beaches and well-preserved medieval villages.
Pauline's brand-new travel guides, now numbering 12 titles, and eventually to be a series of at least 24, are in all major bookstores, and I urge you to scan their pages. Once you do, I'm sure you'll choose the Pauline Frommer's Guides for your next trip. Two of the books (on New York City and London) were recently named best travel guides of the year by a prestigious group of travel journalists.
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More about the sharp decline in tourism to Las Vegas, and the resulting rise in discounts at all sorts of hotels, casinos, and restaurants
To get a current picture of the tourism situation in Las Vegas, you can go to my own favorite website on Sin City: Las Vegas Advisor (www.lasvegasadvisor.com). It's published by a friend (we sharply disagree about everything dealing with Vegas) named Anthony Curtis, who first came here as a professional gambler but then turned to travel journalism when nearly every casino barred him from playing at their tables (he won too consistently).
Las Vegas Advisor is mainly known for its current listing of bargains on its main menu page (left-hand column, down a bit) called "Today's Hot Deals," in which it describes hotel offers from $33 a room and up, and air-and-land packages costing as little as $283. But my favorite feature is its blog by Jean Scott called Frugal Vegas in which she currently draws attention to the wholesale price-cutting by Vegas casinos in the face of declining business:
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Las Vegas Advisor is mainly known for its current listing of bargains on its main menu page (left-hand column, down a bit) called "Today's Hot Deals," in which it describes hotel offers from $33 a room and up, and air-and-land packages costing as little as $283. But my favorite feature is its blog by Jean Scott called Frugal Vegas in which she currently draws attention to the wholesale price-cutting by Vegas casinos in the face of declining business:
Hotel prices are coming down all over the place, even at the top resorts. We recently received an e-mail room offer from the Palms for $49, including free admission to the Ghost Bar or Rain, 20% off spa services, and $25 in free slot play. True, it was for a few specific dates, but it is an example of how players who search diligently can find all sorts of bargains, not just on rooms but on food and shows.Unhappily, Ms. Scott also points out that the financially troubled casinos are cutting back on their food quality and the copious servings of their buffets, citing a report she recently received from a reader:
The cutbacks that I am seeing just in the past year are astounding. I live next door to a guy who is a manager at U. S. Foods, which delivers virtually everything casinos use in their food and beverage departments. They are the primary vendor to 70% of the hotels here in Las Vegas. He says their business is down 20%. First, the cuts came from the small bars and taverns that closed their kitchens due to the smoking ordinance. Then, the vast majority of taverns that still serve food have seen their business shrink to a fraction of what they had been doing.It's a buyer's market out there, and an opportunity for crazed gambling addicts to cut the hotel-and-meal costs of their visits to this mindless place.
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May 8, 2008
Though a number of travel commentators are currently touting the low-cost pleasures of South Africa, the mathematics just don't add up
Three years ago, the U.S. dollar bought 6 South African rand. Today, the dollar buys 7.5 South African rand. One of the few foreign currencies to actually weaken against the U.S. dollar, the rand has fallen by 25%, and prices for hotels, meals, and sightseeing are all refreshingly inexpensive both in Cape Town and in the wildlife-filled national parks in easy reach of that city. As a consequence, all sorts of newspaper travel sections are touting the desirability of travel to South Africa, especially to its glittering seaside resort capital of Cape Town. The Wall Street Journal is the latest to chime in, touting all sorts of attractions of South Africa.
But the problem is airfare. Go to all the consolidators, aggregators, and airline sites, and you'll rarely find a round-trip ticket for less than $1,700 between the U.S. and Cape Town or Johannesburg. With such an initial bite at your finances, all the savings in subsequent costs can't manage to keep the total outlay to reasonable levels. Though it pains me to say it, South Africa just isn't a feasible destination for cost-conscious American vacationers flying there from the United States.
But how about a visit to Cape Town as an "add on" to a stay in London? Maybe. Using www.cheapflights.co.uk, a leading British search engine, you can occasionally find a round-trip London to Cape Town flight for £399 ($800), though most flights are listed for $900 and $1,000. If you're going to be in London anyway, you might want to consider this interesting trip.
But generally speaking, South Africa isn't currently a budget destination. It is, instead, another casualty of the sharp increase in fuel costs that has so greatly raised the cost of flying to destinations far away.
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But the problem is airfare. Go to all the consolidators, aggregators, and airline sites, and you'll rarely find a round-trip ticket for less than $1,700 between the U.S. and Cape Town or Johannesburg. With such an initial bite at your finances, all the savings in subsequent costs can't manage to keep the total outlay to reasonable levels. Though it pains me to say it, South Africa just isn't a feasible destination for cost-conscious American vacationers flying there from the United States.
But how about a visit to Cape Town as an "add on" to a stay in London? Maybe. Using www.cheapflights.co.uk, a leading British search engine, you can occasionally find a round-trip London to Cape Town flight for £399 ($800), though most flights are listed for $900 and $1,000. If you're going to be in London anyway, you might want to consider this interesting trip.
But generally speaking, South Africa isn't currently a budget destination. It is, instead, another casualty of the sharp increase in fuel costs that has so greatly raised the cost of flying to destinations far away.
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Labels: money, south africa
Airfares to Hawaii have taken a big hit from a) the bankruptcy of ATA and Aloha Airlines, and b) the increased cost of fuel; here's how to cope
The probability that the disappearance (through bankruptcy) of ATA and Aloha Airlines would cause airfares to Hawaii to rise sharply, has been confirmed. Catharine Hamm, travel editor of the Los Angeles Times, has performed a useful service by making test bookings on Los Angeles-to-Hawaii flights for scattered summer and autumn dates, and has found a general increase of at least $100 round-trip. Summer round-trip fares, which recently ran around $700, are now about $800. And to make things worse, Delta Airlines has just announced a $110 round-trip fuel surcharge on flights to Hawaii, bringing some summer prices up to $910, round-trip between Los Angeles and Honolulu.
Although off-season (autumn) fares are considerably better and occasionally drop to as low as $425 (to which the $110 fuel surcharge must still be added), it's important to stress the word "occasionally." It's important to experiment with different dates to find economical off-season fares to Hawaii, although the September prices are usually far below those of July and August. The lesson of all this is to postpone your Hawaii vacation, if possible, until September-November, when the total round-trip cost (airfare plus fuel surcharge) can often be as little as $535 and occasionally $425 (plus fuel surcharge).
The other smart alternative, as Ms. Hamm points out, is to buy an air-and-land package to Hawaii rather than airfare alone. Pleasant Holidays, the major tour operator to Hawaii from the West Coast, is still charging only $500 or thereabouts for round-trip airfare from Los Angeles and five nights of hotel accommodations in Oahu or Kauai (Maui costs $25 more). But here, too, you'll need to anticipate a $110 fuel surcharge.
The sharp rise in the cost of oil (which hit $120 a barrel yesterday) is having a heavily adverse impact on travel. You can minimize the effect of that hit by traveling off-season (autumn to Hawaii), being flexible in your schedule (experimenting with different dates as you scan the airfares), or by purchasing package arrangements.
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Although off-season (autumn) fares are considerably better and occasionally drop to as low as $425 (to which the $110 fuel surcharge must still be added), it's important to stress the word "occasionally." It's important to experiment with different dates to find economical off-season fares to Hawaii, although the September prices are usually far below those of July and August. The lesson of all this is to postpone your Hawaii vacation, if possible, until September-November, when the total round-trip cost (airfare plus fuel surcharge) can often be as little as $535 and occasionally $425 (plus fuel surcharge).
The other smart alternative, as Ms. Hamm points out, is to buy an air-and-land package to Hawaii rather than airfare alone. Pleasant Holidays, the major tour operator to Hawaii from the West Coast, is still charging only $500 or thereabouts for round-trip airfare from Los Angeles and five nights of hotel accommodations in Oahu or Kauai (Maui costs $25 more). But here, too, you'll need to anticipate a $110 fuel surcharge.
The sharp rise in the cost of oil (which hit $120 a barrel yesterday) is having a heavily adverse impact on travel. You can minimize the effect of that hit by traveling off-season (autumn to Hawaii), being flexible in your schedule (experimenting with different dates as you scan the airfares), or by purchasing package arrangements.
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Labels: airlines, deals, hawaii
Calling all couples! You can honeymoon at nearly any Club Med in June at 50% off
Here's a sign of how badly the current economic slowdown has affected resorts in the Caribbean. Club Med has just announced that from now until June 22, they will accommodate couples (honeymooners or just-plain-couples) at nearly any Club Med in the western hemisphere (or south Pacific), for stays of two weeks, at 50% off. Specifically, two will stay for the price of one, May 9 to June 22, at the Club Meds at Ixtapa (Pacific coast of Mexico); Punta Cana (Dominican Republic); Cancún (Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico); La Caravelle (Guadeloupe, French West Indies); Columbus Isle (Bahamas); Buccaneer's Creek (Martinique, French West Indies); Bora Bora (Tahitian Islands, French Polynesia); Sandpiper (east coast of Florida, USA); and Turkoise (Turks and Caicos Islands).
That considerable bargain is called the "Two-Week Couple's Special" and can be booked at www.clubmed.us or by phoning tel. 800/CLUBMED.
If you know a couple planning a honeymoon in June, you might alert them to this excellent opportunity, which will result in an ultra-cheap but high quality resort stay of two weeks' duration.
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That considerable bargain is called the "Two-Week Couple's Special" and can be booked at www.clubmed.us or by phoning tel. 800/CLUBMED.
If you know a couple planning a honeymoon in June, you might alert them to this excellent opportunity, which will result in an ultra-cheap but high quality resort stay of two weeks' duration.
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May 7, 2008
The rest of the media have at last confirmed our own assertion that Las Vegas is suffering badly -- and discounting
It took them quite a while to do so. But they finally have the message. Nearly three full weeks since my daughter and I first announced that tourism to Las Vegas was seriously down (listen to the April 20 podcast of our radio show at www.wor710.com, and then read my blog post of April 30), the mainstream media has finally confirmed what we reported. In a long article in the business section of its May 6 edition, the New York Times belatedly announced that Americans have cut back heavily on their single most destructive habit, gambling at games of choice in the famous Sin City.
One enormous casino company -- Tropicana Entertainment -- has filed bankruptcy. Everywhere, would-be, new, casino-hotels are being halted in mid-construction. Other projects are being cancelled for failure to obtain the necessary bank financing. Hotel occupancy is down by several percentage points, and hotels are furiously discounting, offering free coupons and vouchers to lure innocents to the tables.
One hopes the trend will continue. The billions spent developing Las Vegas and other casino centers are the most misspent outlays of our economy. Those monies are diverted from urgently needed investments in our infrastructure, in higher education, in health care and low-cost housing. Massive casino gambling teaches our children that something can be had for nothing, that by sitting mindlessly at a green felt table, you can become fabulously rich. And until now, those useless fantasy clubs have risen to breathtaking levels of prosperity because of the fear of our politicians that the casino moguls will crush them with their political contributions if fair taxes are assessed on casino income. One such magnate, Sheldon Adelson, is among the highest contributors to a political party in America today.
Other opinion-molders in the media are also hopelessly obsessed with gambling and enamored of it. One such commentator, the oh-so-righteous William Bennett, was revealed to have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars at the Vegas gaming tables until forcefully kept from further visits there by his wife. He had earned his fortune, ironically enough, by writing best-sellers about the need to live an ethical life.
But most of the money hopelessly squandered in Vegas is from people who can't really afford the loss. This national sickness has impoverished multitudes of people.
What has this to do with travel? Well, many of our readers are enamored of The Strip and enjoy spending countless hours feeding coins into a slot machine. For their benefit, I need to point out that this is your chance. In phoning the Vegas hotels for reservations, bargain. Threaten to hang up unless they cut the rate by 60%. Hang up if they don't. By making enough toll-free calls, you'll eventually snare a bargain, and you can then double your savings by resolving never to gamble once you get there.
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One enormous casino company -- Tropicana Entertainment -- has filed bankruptcy. Everywhere, would-be, new, casino-hotels are being halted in mid-construction. Other projects are being cancelled for failure to obtain the necessary bank financing. Hotel occupancy is down by several percentage points, and hotels are furiously discounting, offering free coupons and vouchers to lure innocents to the tables.
One hopes the trend will continue. The billions spent developing Las Vegas and other casino centers are the most misspent outlays of our economy. Those monies are diverted from urgently needed investments in our infrastructure, in higher education, in health care and low-cost housing. Massive casino gambling teaches our children that something can be had for nothing, that by sitting mindlessly at a green felt table, you can become fabulously rich. And until now, those useless fantasy clubs have risen to breathtaking levels of prosperity because of the fear of our politicians that the casino moguls will crush them with their political contributions if fair taxes are assessed on casino income. One such magnate, Sheldon Adelson, is among the highest contributors to a political party in America today.
Other opinion-molders in the media are also hopelessly obsessed with gambling and enamored of it. One such commentator, the oh-so-righteous William Bennett, was revealed to have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars at the Vegas gaming tables until forcefully kept from further visits there by his wife. He had earned his fortune, ironically enough, by writing best-sellers about the need to live an ethical life.
But most of the money hopelessly squandered in Vegas is from people who can't really afford the loss. This national sickness has impoverished multitudes of people.
What has this to do with travel? Well, many of our readers are enamored of The Strip and enjoy spending countless hours feeding coins into a slot machine. For their benefit, I need to point out that this is your chance. In phoning the Vegas hotels for reservations, bargain. Threaten to hang up unless they cut the rate by 60%. Hang up if they don't. By making enough toll-free calls, you'll eventually snare a bargain, and you can then double your savings by resolving never to gamble once you get there.
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Labels: las vegas
There's an inexpensive hostel in Manhattan with beds available in both dorms and private rooms
Because it's not nearly as well-known as it eventually will be, and doesn't enjoy the marketing advantages of hostels belonging to the worldwide Hostelling International (to which it doesn't belong), the Central Park Hostel (19 W 103rd St; tel. 212/678-0491; www.centralparkhostel.com) is a top bet for your next New York stay. The location is just alongside Central Park, on a fine residential street near the area of Columbia University, and thus near to all sorts of inexpensive eateries, bookstores and other interesting shops. There's a subway stop less than a block away.
It calls itself a "luxury hostel," which simply means its rates are higher than those of the nearby and much larger (and, according to some, better) New York International Hostel. But by the sky-high standards of today's Manhattan, it's still quite a deal to obtain dorm beds here for from $28 to $45 depending on season, or private rooms with shared bathrooms for $89 to $135 depending on season, per room, as you can at the Central Park Hostel (note: credit cards aren't accepted).
An alternative to the Central Park Hostel, much preferred by my daughter Pauline, is Jazz on the Park, which Pauline recommends in the new, revised edition of her Pauline Frommer's New York City guidebook (which has not yet hit the bookstores). She has given me permission to reprint what she says about Jazz on the Park, which is the following:
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It calls itself a "luxury hostel," which simply means its rates are higher than those of the nearby and much larger (and, according to some, better) New York International Hostel. But by the sky-high standards of today's Manhattan, it's still quite a deal to obtain dorm beds here for from $28 to $45 depending on season, or private rooms with shared bathrooms for $89 to $135 depending on season, per room, as you can at the Central Park Hostel (note: credit cards aren't accepted).
An alternative to the Central Park Hostel, much preferred by my daughter Pauline, is Jazz on the Park, which Pauline recommends in the new, revised edition of her Pauline Frommer's New York City guidebook (which has not yet hit the bookstores). She has given me permission to reprint what she says about Jazz on the Park, which is the following:
Jazz on the Park (W 106th St. btwn Manhattan Ave. and
Central Park West; tel. 212/932-1600; www.jazzonthepark.com) is the hipster's hostel, with house music blaring in the art-filled lobby, weekly barbecues in summer ($5), movie and poker nights when the weather's colder, photos of great jazz musicians in the hallways, and a color scheme in the rooms that is taken straight out of the Wizard of Oz. Dorm rooms come with two, three, four, five, or six bunk beds, and the numbers on the beds aren't as prominent as they should be (which can lead to some awkward situations come bedtime). Another problem here are the mattresses, which are so thin in many cases that you can feel every ridge and spring; they do vary by bed, so test-drive a couple when you check in. Those reserving private rooms (with shared bathroom only) may go 1 block uptown to the hostel's second building, again a mural-laden, vibrantly colorful place that is generally clean. The cheapest dorm beds are the 10- or 12-bedders for $30 a night, six- to eight-bed rooms for $32, four-bed rooms for $34 (in Jan and Feb, these prices drop by $10). If you're traveling with a friend, it might make the most sense to share a private room at $65 to $90 a night for two twin beds (without private facilities). Rates cover a bagel and a cup of tea or coffee in the morning.
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Labels: accommodations, new york city
Ever heard of Wizz Air? It will fly you from London to Krakow, Poland, for as little as $88 to $140 round-trip!
Most U.S. tourists traveling to Europe make no use of the continent's cut-rate carriers, mainly because they service cities of primary interest to European vacationers (but also because they are often for short hops of the sort that are far more interesting to traverse by train). But the longer flights of the cut-raters bring you to such interesting destinations, and cost so little, that they have to be considered.
London to Krakow, Poland, on Wizz Air is one such route. Krakow is a compelling sight (and also quite an inexpensive city in which to stay). Go to Cheapflights.co.uk (www.cheapflights.co.uk), click on the Union Jack button for flights of interest to persons leaving from London, and you'll quickly find the flight schedules and prices of Poland's cut-rate carrier, Wizz Air. Through much of the year, Wizz Air charges as little as $140 round-trip between London and Krakow, and occasionally has a "special" bringing the round-trip down to $88 (such a price stays up for a day or two but is quickly sold out).
Krakow, once again, is a hot spot among cheap destinations, and use of these outlandish, cheap carriers is a key to enjoying it (another search engine to try is CheapOair (www.cheapoair.com). Bear in mind that your luggage allowance on Wizz Air will probably be as low as 40 lbs.
A special tip: after you've scanned the results at Cheapflights, go directly to the website of Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com) itself, and click on its specials. There, identified as flights from London's Luton Airport to "Katowice/Cracow" (Katowice is a sister city of Krakow), you will occasionally find Wizz Air prices far below those of other websites, including round-trip fares as low as $88, including all taxes and fees.
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London to Krakow, Poland, on Wizz Air is one such route. Krakow is a compelling sight (and also quite an inexpensive city in which to stay). Go to Cheapflights.co.uk (www.cheapflights.co.uk), click on the Union Jack button for flights of interest to persons leaving from London, and you'll quickly find the flight schedules and prices of Poland's cut-rate carrier, Wizz Air. Through much of the year, Wizz Air charges as little as $140 round-trip between London and Krakow, and occasionally has a "special" bringing the round-trip down to $88 (such a price stays up for a day or two but is quickly sold out).
Krakow, once again, is a hot spot among cheap destinations, and use of these outlandish, cheap carriers is a key to enjoying it (another search engine to try is CheapOair (www.cheapoair.com). Bear in mind that your luggage allowance on Wizz Air will probably be as low as 40 lbs.
A special tip: after you've scanned the results at Cheapflights, go directly to the website of Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com) itself, and click on its specials. There, identified as flights from London's Luton Airport to "Katowice/Cracow" (Katowice is a sister city of Krakow), you will occasionally find Wizz Air prices far below those of other websites, including round-trip fares as low as $88, including all taxes and fees.
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May 6, 2008
The mystery of that second-rate Hawaiian hotel that got such a rave review in Trip Advisor gets murkier and murkier
In its confidential newsletter sent to readers who have registered for it, Beat of Hawaii (www.beatofhawaii.com) has furnished additional details on that extremely questionable Honolulu hotel that was so heavily recommended in Trip Advisor. Turns out that the average rating assigned to the hotel was Three Stars, and that one of the more recent ratings upped the appraisal to Five Stars. Take one look at the inn whose photograph appears in BeatofHawaii.com and you'll instantly see that it doesn't deserve a Five Star rating.
What's more curious, according to Beat of Hawaii is that hardly any of the persons rating this particular hotel had a history of appearing elsewhere on Trip Adviser. This leads Beat of Hawaii to ask: is it possible that the top rating was assigned by a person with a special self-interest in doing so (they don't know whether this is the case, and simply raise the question, as a matter of opinion).
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What's more curious, according to Beat of Hawaii is that hardly any of the persons rating this particular hotel had a history of appearing elsewhere on Trip Adviser. This leads Beat of Hawaii to ask: is it possible that the top rating was assigned by a person with a special self-interest in doing so (they don't know whether this is the case, and simply raise the question, as a matter of opinion).
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Labels: websites
I'm returning to the new mega-website called Ctrip.com because it's gaining in importance
Its deals change every day. And they are mainly for flights from Chinese cities to other Asian locations, like Singapore. A single U.S.-to-China bargain (Chicago to Shanghai) remained up for a few days but has now been taken down (probably because it quickly sold out).
But the website called Ctrip.com (english.ctrip.com) should be watched periodically by every traveler interested in visiting China. It's like the Expedia of China -- that nation's largest airfare and hotel search engine, an immense organization that is now publicly traded and announces giant profits in its periodic filings with the U.S.'s SEC.
Although you can book intra-China flights directly on the website, you cannot yet book international flights in that manner -- you simply learn about them and then phone an 800 number staffed by English-speaking reservationists (tel. 800/820-6666) to make the booking. Go to the main menu page, then scroll down and look at the headlines on the lower right-hand side: "New look, same great Ctrip," "Beijing hotels available for Olympics," "ChinaTravel.net, your China guide and travel community," and "Ctrip DOES book international flights." Click on the last-named headline, then look for the sentence "Check our latest deals by booking here," and click on "here."
And incidentally, even if you don't find a deal between the U.S. and China, you might nevertheless phone the number given to inquire as to what are the current rates for a round-trip flight from the U.S. to China. You might be pleasantly surprised. Currently, Ctrip.com is listing $691 as the round-trip fare between Vancouver and Shanghai.
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But the website called Ctrip.com (english.ctrip.com) should be watched periodically by every traveler interested in visiting China. It's like the Expedia of China -- that nation's largest airfare and hotel search engine, an immense organization that is now publicly traded and announces giant profits in its periodic filings with the U.S.'s SEC.
Although you can book intra-China flights directly on the website, you cannot yet book international flights in that manner -- you simply learn about them and then phone an 800 number staffed by English-speaking reservationists (tel. 800/820-6666) to make the booking. Go to the main menu page, then scroll down and look at the headlines on the lower right-hand side: "New look, same great Ctrip," "Beijing hotels available for Olympics," "ChinaTravel.net, your China guide and travel community," and "Ctrip DOES book international flights." Click on the last-named headline, then look for the sentence "Check our latest deals by booking here," and click on "here."
And incidentally, even if you don't find a deal between the U.S. and China, you might nevertheless phone the number given to inquire as to what are the current rates for a round-trip flight from the U.S. to China. You might be pleasantly surprised. Currently, Ctrip.com is listing $691 as the round-trip fare between Vancouver and Shanghai.
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May 5, 2008
If your summer cruise will stop in St. Petersburg, be sure to look up tour arrangements by DenRus and Red October
You book a cruise of the Baltic, which includes a stop in St. Petersburg, Russia, and immediately you are notified that you will be permitted to disembark onto Russian soil only as part of a cruise ship group using a group visa. Naturally, the cost of a land tour to St. Petersburg operated by the cruise line, under such a group visa, is quite substantial, and I don't even want to frighten you by revealing the cost (try $200-$225 and more, per day).
But it isn't true that you don't have alternatives. Two St. Petersburg tour operators -- DenRus, Ltd., and Red October -- operate independent shore excursions of St. Petersburg for far less money, using group visa arrangements which they obtain from the Russian authorities. On a two-day stay in St. Petersburg, which many cruise lines schedule, the price works out to around $250 for the two days. But DenRus also advertises that as many as six passengers can arrange for the rental of a van, driver and guide for a full-day tour of St. Petersburg for a total of $472, bringing the per-person cost down to about $78 a day. For information, go to www.denrus-us.com or to www.redoctober-us.com; it's a complicated business which requires much advance study and e-mailing, but with these two companies you don't have to apply for your own individual visa, which is a burdensome process.
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But it isn't true that you don't have alternatives. Two St. Petersburg tour operators -- DenRus, Ltd., and Red October -- operate independent shore excursions of St. Petersburg for far less money, using group visa arrangements which they obtain from the Russian authorities. On a two-day stay in St. Petersburg, which many cruise lines schedule, the price works out to around $250 for the two days. But DenRus also advertises that as many as six passengers can arrange for the rental of a van, driver and guide for a full-day tour of St. Petersburg for a total of $472, bringing the per-person cost down to about $78 a day. For information, go to www.denrus-us.com or to www.redoctober-us.com; it's a complicated business which requires much advance study and e-mailing, but with these two companies you don't have to apply for your own individual visa, which is a burdensome process.
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Labels: russia, st. petersburg
To share the cost of shore excursions with other passengers on your cruise, use the "Roll Call" feature of Cruise Critic
A number of readers have been telling us about the use of Cruise Critic (www.cruisecritic.com) to reduce the cost of independent shore excursions made by just 4 to 6 persons. That small group size is seen as desirable because more and more experienced cruisers are unwilling to sightsee with 45 other passengers in the typical, jam-packed sightseeing motorcoach. More and more of them would simply prefer to hire a taxi or van to conduct a more private tour, sharing the cost and thus reducing the price to far below what the cruise-sponsored motorcoach tours cost.
Increasingly, their e-mails tell of a feature on Cruise Critic which enables them to seek out other like-minded would-be tour participants. As I understand it, you first register for the use of message boards; you then use a "Roll-Call" feature limited to the ship (and departure date) on which you're about to cruise. Entering those Roll-Calls and reaching only the other passengers on your cruise, you then list the ports you plan to tour and ask others to indicate whether they'd like to share the costs with you. In this manner, say my correspondents, you quickly round up three, four or five other people, and form a small group. You arrange to meet aboard the ship at a given place and time. And then, arriving at the port, you jointly hire a taxi or make arrangements with larger vehicles to transport your group to the places you wish to see or experience.
I hope I have these details right, and I'd be grateful to hear from other readers who have used the very precise meeting-features of Cruise Critic to get in touch with other prospective passengers.
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Increasingly, their e-mails tell of a feature on Cruise Critic which enables them to seek out other like-minded would-be tour participants. As I understand it, you first register for the use of message boards; you then use a "Roll-Call" feature limited to the ship (and departure date) on which you're about to cruise. Entering those Roll-Calls and reaching only the other passengers on your cruise, you then list the ports you plan to tour and ask others to indicate whether they'd like to share the costs with you. In this manner, say my correspondents, you quickly round up three, four or five other people, and form a small group. You arrange to meet aboard the ship at a given place and time. And then, arriving at the port, you jointly hire a taxi or make arrangements with larger vehicles to transport your group to the places you wish to see or experience.
I hope I have these details right, and I'd be grateful to hear from other readers who have used the very precise meeting-features of Cruise Critic to get in touch with other prospective passengers.
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Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the