Sep 21, 2007
A last-minute reprieve for Windjammer Barefoot Cruises? Let's hope!
A phone call made this afternoon to reservations at Windjammer Barefoot Cruises was answered by "Carl," who immediately announced that the company's Legacy will be sailing on Saturday and the Yankee Clipper on Sunday. The Polynesia is laid up for repairs. Does this mean that Windjammer has -- at least temporarily -- overcome its problems? Let's all hope so. And let's all encourage our friends to continue watching the situation and supporting that unique cruiseline that has brought such memorable trips to so many people.
Write and read comments about this post.
Write and read comments about this post.
Labels: cruise
Go to the web and you'll get discounts of up to 70 per cent on travel gear and clothing
Next time you're in the market for travel gear or specialty travel clothing, don't buy retail. Whether it's an Eagle Creek backpack or Swiss Army rolling bag, travel pants with zip-off legs and hidden pockets, or a performance button-down shirt that offers SPF 50 sun protection and built-in bug repellant, you can get it at big savings from a travel specialty discounter.
The king of the discount catalogs is Sierra Trading Post (www.sierratradingpost.com), which sells outdoors gear and travel apparel from major labels such as Ex Officio and Columbia Sportswear for anywhere from 35 to 70 percent off the retail price. Sometimes the product may be last year's model, or be available in limited range of colors, but these savings more than make up for being slightly out of style.
Other travel specialty catalogs? In the "outlet" section of REI (www.rei.com/outlet), the popular camping and travel co-operative, all items are at least 60 percent; there's also a nifty list of items under $20 (the virtual version of the "impulse buy" rack at a checkout counter).
And finally, the website of Travel Smith (www.travelsmith.com), known for its own brand of high-quality travel clothing, offers up to 75 percent off items in both the "Clearance" and "Weekly Specials" sections. Or you can get discounts (usually of 20 to 50 percent) on a range of gadgets and clothes among the "Web Specials" at Magellan's (www.magellans.com) -- select "Final Clearance" for the deepest cuts, up to 75 per cent.
Write and read comments about this post.
The king of the discount catalogs is Sierra Trading Post (www.sierratradingpost.com), which sells outdoors gear and travel apparel from major labels such as Ex Officio and Columbia Sportswear for anywhere from 35 to 70 percent off the retail price. Sometimes the product may be last year's model, or be available in limited range of colors, but these savings more than make up for being slightly out of style.
Other travel specialty catalogs? In the "outlet" section of REI (www.rei.com/outlet), the popular camping and travel co-operative, all items are at least 60 percent; there's also a nifty list of items under $20 (the virtual version of the "impulse buy" rack at a checkout counter).
And finally, the website of Travel Smith (www.travelsmith.com), known for its own brand of high-quality travel clothing, offers up to 75 percent off items in both the "Clearance" and "Weekly Specials" sections. Or you can get discounts (usually of 20 to 50 percent) on a range of gadgets and clothes among the "Web Specials" at Magellan's (www.magellans.com) -- select "Final Clearance" for the deepest cuts, up to 75 per cent.
Write and read comments about this post.
This site is an ultra-valuable introduction to glorious small hotels of the Costa Maya
Let's say you love Mexico but you hate the overdeveloped Mexican resorts. Let's assume you're yearning for a Mexican beach vacation but without the crowds. Let's suggest that Mexico's island of Cancún is fairly close to your own home city, enjoying a low airfare, but that you're dismayed by the thought of all that commercialism, of those endless ranks of motionless tourists sacked out on canvas chairs.
What do you do? You opt to vacation on the "Mayan Riviera" south of Cancún (but reached by flying to Cancún) in a charming, small Mexican hotel operated by a Mexican family. Or in an equally tiny Mexican villa perched on its own beach. And you find that low-cost lodging with your name on it by consulting a Mexican website called www.locogringo.com. It's a world's wonder.
LocoGringo is an indispensable array of low-cost houses, bungalows, casitas, small hotels and resorts -- more than a hundred of them -- located up and down the sugar-soft sands of Mexico's Caribbean coast (the Riviera Maya) just south of Cancún. Most are low-cost and human-sized, and so beautifully illustrated in color photos that you will have a good idea of what you're renting. Spend a few minutes at the site and you'll end up scheduling a trip to a beachside area of Mexico that hasn't yet been ruined by the excesses of tourism.
Write and read comments about this post.
What do you do? You opt to vacation on the "Mayan Riviera" south of Cancún (but reached by flying to Cancún) in a charming, small Mexican hotel operated by a Mexican family. Or in an equally tiny Mexican villa perched on its own beach. And you find that low-cost lodging with your name on it by consulting a Mexican website called www.locogringo.com. It's a world's wonder.
LocoGringo is an indispensable array of low-cost houses, bungalows, casitas, small hotels and resorts -- more than a hundred of them -- located up and down the sugar-soft sands of Mexico's Caribbean coast (the Riviera Maya) just south of Cancún. Most are low-cost and human-sized, and so beautifully illustrated in color photos that you will have a good idea of what you're renting. Spend a few minutes at the site and you'll end up scheduling a trip to a beachside area of Mexico that hasn't yet been ruined by the excesses of tourism.
Write and read comments about this post.
The news about Windjammer Barefoot Cruises is probably (I stress the word "probably") bad
I have no hard information. I'm making an educated guess. But everything points to a gloomy outcome, the possible demise of Windjammer.
As recently as three weeks ago, the people answering phones at Windjammer headquarters would speak to callers, expressing confidence that an injection of new capital might soon occur. Or they said that all three ships were, somehow, operating.
Earlier this week, they admitted that sailings of the Yankee Clipper and Polynesia scheduled for September 16 had been cancelled, but that the Legacy was "still consistently sailing from Costa Rica" and that passengers on the two cancelled sailings were being offered berths on the Legacy.
Then yesterday, they stopped answering. Although phones are still being picked up, the telephone reservationists are virtually mute. Ask them what's happening and they refer you to an administrative number for Windjammer. Call that number, and they refer you to Shannon, the marketing manager. I left my number for Shannon to call on two successive occasions over two days, and no call has been received from her.
It's always sad to report the probable demise of a travel company like Windjammer Barefoot Cruises. Its role in travel was unique, and passengers will never forget their time aboard one of these splendid vintage sailing ships. Walking barefoot on the decks. Having Bloody Marys for breakfast. Hearing "Amazing Grace" on the loudspeakers as sails were unfurled. Helping to unfurl those sails. Diving into Caribbean waters. Going ashore at tiny coastal villages.
I'm hoping for a last-minute solution. But things don't look right.
Write and read comments about this post.
As recently as three weeks ago, the people answering phones at Windjammer headquarters would speak to callers, expressing confidence that an injection of new capital might soon occur. Or they said that all three ships were, somehow, operating.
Earlier this week, they admitted that sailings of the Yankee Clipper and Polynesia scheduled for September 16 had been cancelled, but that the Legacy was "still consistently sailing from Costa Rica" and that passengers on the two cancelled sailings were being offered berths on the Legacy.
Then yesterday, they stopped answering. Although phones are still being picked up, the telephone reservationists are virtually mute. Ask them what's happening and they refer you to an administrative number for Windjammer. Call that number, and they refer you to Shannon, the marketing manager. I left my number for Shannon to call on two successive occasions over two days, and no call has been received from her.
It's always sad to report the probable demise of a travel company like Windjammer Barefoot Cruises. Its role in travel was unique, and passengers will never forget their time aboard one of these splendid vintage sailing ships. Walking barefoot on the decks. Having Bloody Marys for breakfast. Hearing "Amazing Grace" on the loudspeakers as sails were unfurled. Helping to unfurl those sails. Diving into Caribbean waters. Going ashore at tiny coastal villages.
I'm hoping for a last-minute solution. But things don't look right.
Write and read comments about this post.
Labels: cruise
Sep 20, 2007
The newest remedy for sea-sickness aboard cruiseships is just plain ginger
We have none other than the respected British medical journal Lancet to cite for the claim that ginger -- just plain ginger -- is an effective remedy for sea sickness. In a controlled experiment recently described (and headlined in an August issue of The New York Times), subjects were given a) ginger, b) various anti-motion-sickness medications (Antivert, Bonine or Dramamine), or c) a placebo. The persons receiving ginger did the best in terms of avoiding dizziness or nausea.
The same results have been noted by researchers in several other medical and scientific institutions. And presumably, taking ginger does not set off the drowsiness that anti-motion-sickness medications often create.
According to most of the literature, ginger for controlling sea sickness can be taken either raw, or powdered in pill form, or as tea. It can even be ingested via a glass or two of ginger ale (!), provided only that real ginger is used in the beverage. And if you think I'm making this up, go to Google and insert the words "ginger and sea sickness."
Write and read comments about this post.
The same results have been noted by researchers in several other medical and scientific institutions. And presumably, taking ginger does not set off the drowsiness that anti-motion-sickness medications often create.
According to most of the literature, ginger for controlling sea sickness can be taken either raw, or powdered in pill form, or as tea. It can even be ingested via a glass or two of ginger ale (!), provided only that real ginger is used in the beverage. And if you think I'm making this up, go to Google and insert the words "ginger and sea sickness."
Write and read comments about this post.
More tactics for overcoming the high prices of London
On the continent of Europe, prices are high but manageable. The American tourist will often discover that they are no worse than the rates of America's priciest cities: New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C.
The tabs in England are a different matter altogether -- they're positively depressing (which means, considerably higher than on the continent). A friend of mine, traveling with his partner and her parents, decided to rent an apartment in London after figuring out that a week in a flat for the four of them would cost about half of what two double rooms would have been at a Premier Inn (a reliably inexpensive, but bland, hotel chain).
He found a high-quality, extremely-comfortable and well-furnished "flat" (apartment) through VRBO.com (www.vrbo.com), though Rentalo (www.rentalo.com) and Coach House London (www.chslondon.com) also provided good leads. What's more, the apartment came with a free laundry room, one and ½ baths, a perfect location in the center of London half a block from a Tube (subway) station, and a full kitchen. This last feature, he found, was the key to avoiding pricey restaurant bills. They ate about half their dinners at home -- either take-out or home-cooked after a relatively inexpensive trip to a nearby grocery store.
In all, the four of them paid a total of £1,276 ($2,552) for a 9-night rental, which works out to £141.78 ($284) per night -- the equivalent of paying £70.89 or $142 per two people in a standard double room. The comparable price was that of the Premier Travel Inn Southwark (www.premiertravelinn.com) which, for the time period when they wanted the booking (July high season), was charging £125 ($250) per night for a double room. (For this autumn, Premier Inn charges around £95-£99 -- but apartment rates will have dropped as well.) In addition to the convenience of a kitchen and free laundry and such in the apartment, their total, meal-included expenses were at least 50% less -- and they found that even cheaper apartments were available.
If you're a group of three or four traveling together, consider an apartment rental in London.
Write and read comments about this post.
The tabs in England are a different matter altogether -- they're positively depressing (which means, considerably higher than on the continent). A friend of mine, traveling with his partner and her parents, decided to rent an apartment in London after figuring out that a week in a flat for the four of them would cost about half of what two double rooms would have been at a Premier Inn (a reliably inexpensive, but bland, hotel chain).
He found a high-quality, extremely-comfortable and well-furnished "flat" (apartment) through VRBO.com (www.vrbo.com), though Rentalo (www.rentalo.com) and Coach House London (www.chslondon.com) also provided good leads. What's more, the apartment came with a free laundry room, one and ½ baths, a perfect location in the center of London half a block from a Tube (subway) station, and a full kitchen. This last feature, he found, was the key to avoiding pricey restaurant bills. They ate about half their dinners at home -- either take-out or home-cooked after a relatively inexpensive trip to a nearby grocery store.
In all, the four of them paid a total of £1,276 ($2,552) for a 9-night rental, which works out to £141.78 ($284) per night -- the equivalent of paying £70.89 or $142 per two people in a standard double room. The comparable price was that of the Premier Travel Inn Southwark (www.premiertravelinn.com) which, for the time period when they wanted the booking (July high season), was charging £125 ($250) per night for a double room. (For this autumn, Premier Inn charges around £95-£99 -- but apartment rates will have dropped as well.) In addition to the convenience of a kitchen and free laundry and such in the apartment, their total, meal-included expenses were at least 50% less -- and they found that even cheaper apartments were available.
If you're a group of three or four traveling together, consider an apartment rental in London.
Write and read comments about this post.
Labels: accommodations, london
Take a day out of your vacation to help rebuild New Orleans
It's been two years since Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma devastated the Crescent City, and while the tourist areas are mostly up and running again -- historic districts such as the French Quarter were built on the highest ground and therefore suffered the least damage -- New Orleans is still struggling to rebuild its less-visited residential areas and its infrastructure. So many visitors have expressed a desire to lend a hand that the Convention and Visitors Bureau now helps connect them with the organizations that so desperately need the manpower.
Go to www.neworleanscvb.com and click on "Voluntourism" on the left-hand menu bar. You'll get links to Volunteer Louisiana (www.volunteerlouisiana.gov), a site created by the Governor's office to help affected communities along the Gulf Coast, and to a downloadable PDF listing more than a half-dozen charities that welcome volunteers to help various rebuilding projects in New Orleans, even if it's just for a day.
So long as you don't mind rolling up your sleeves and getting a little sweaty, you can pick up a hammer to help Habitat for Humanity construct the Musician's Village in the Upper 9th Ward, pitch in to restore city parks and playgrounds, or gut ruined houses so the owners can begin to rebuild their homes and their lives. If hard labor isn't your thing, donations are just as much appreciated.
Write and read comments about this post.
Go to www.neworleanscvb.com and click on "Voluntourism" on the left-hand menu bar. You'll get links to Volunteer Louisiana (www.volunteerlouisiana.gov), a site created by the Governor's office to help affected communities along the Gulf Coast, and to a downloadable PDF listing more than a half-dozen charities that welcome volunteers to help various rebuilding projects in New Orleans, even if it's just for a day.
So long as you don't mind rolling up your sleeves and getting a little sweaty, you can pick up a hammer to help Habitat for Humanity construct the Musician's Village in the Upper 9th Ward, pitch in to restore city parks and playgrounds, or gut ruined houses so the owners can begin to rebuild their homes and their lives. If hard labor isn't your thing, donations are just as much appreciated.
Write and read comments about this post.
Labels: new orleans
Tour operators are scrambling to create their own "affordable" Costa Rica
Three or so years ago, when the Chicago-based Caravan Tours created a ten-day, $995 tour of Costa Rica (not including airfare there and back), it attracted so many bookings that it is today the largest single source of tourists to that Central American nation. $995 was the key, the catchy, bargain-level figure that distinguished its tours from most others. Caravan, which has always been known for its somewhat pricey tours of Europe, was suddenly launched as a operator of no fewer than ten, quite frugal, eight-to-ten day tours of Central America, Mexico, and parts of the American southwest, each one of them selling for $995 -- never for a dollar less or more. (tel. 1-800/CARAVAN; www.caravantours.com).
It's clear that other big tour operators are frantically scrambling to match Caravan's success in Costa Rica. In its seven-day "Affordable Costa Rica" for operation from April through October of 2008, Gate 1 Travel (www.gate1travel.com) will be charging exactly $899 including round-trip airfare from Miami to San Jose, Costa Rica, and fully escorted motorcoach arrangements spending two nights in San Jose, two nights in Arenal, and two nights in Monteverde, with breakfast daily as well. En garde, Caravan!
And GAP Adventures, of Toronto (www.gapadventures.com), will be offering a 16-day, escorted tour of Costa Rica for $950 per person, plus $250 in local payments, and plus round-trip airfare to San Jose. Here, in typical GAP Adventures fashion, your transportation will be by "public bus, tractor, van, boat or horseback," lodging will be in simple hotels or inns for 13 nights and in a multi-share cabin for 2 nights, each weekly group will consist of no more than 15 persons, and the trip will truly be an authentic adventure experience. To Costa Rica, surging in the world of travel, prices are low and you now have no excuse for failing to make the trip.
Write and read comments about this post.
It's clear that other big tour operators are frantically scrambling to match Caravan's success in Costa Rica. In its seven-day "Affordable Costa Rica" for operation from April through October of 2008, Gate 1 Travel (www.gate1travel.com) will be charging exactly $899 including round-trip airfare from Miami to San Jose, Costa Rica, and fully escorted motorcoach arrangements spending two nights in San Jose, two nights in Arenal, and two nights in Monteverde, with breakfast daily as well. En garde, Caravan!
And GAP Adventures, of Toronto (www.gapadventures.com), will be offering a 16-day, escorted tour of Costa Rica for $950 per person, plus $250 in local payments, and plus round-trip airfare to San Jose. Here, in typical GAP Adventures fashion, your transportation will be by "public bus, tractor, van, boat or horseback," lodging will be in simple hotels or inns for 13 nights and in a multi-share cabin for 2 nights, each weekly group will consist of no more than 15 persons, and the trip will truly be an authentic adventure experience. To Costa Rica, surging in the world of travel, prices are low and you now have no excuse for failing to make the trip.
Write and read comments about this post.
Labels: costa rica, tour companies
Sep 19, 2007
Would you believe there's a website that lets you pack a tent and sleep for free across the country?
FreeCampgrounds.com (www.freecampgrounds.com) is a community-based bulletin board listing more than 1,700 places where you can camp for free across the country (though it is definitely strongest out West). Now obviously, unless you're an avid outdoors person or driving a campervan, this may not be your kind of full-time travel tactic. But interspersing motel stays with a night or two spent camping can be an excellent way to save money on a long road trip.
Since the site is designed with an RV crowd in mind, many of its entries are for friendly, customer-seeking stores that allow overnight parking in their lots, from Wal-Mart and camping suppliers to truck stops such as the Flying J. But it also has a healthy listing of state parks, Bureau of Land Management parks, and other outdoorsy camping spots, making it an excellent tool for anyone willing to throw a tent in their car's trunk in order to take advantage of a nearby opportunity for a free night's sleep.
Any member can post a listing of a free place to spend the night, providing details on whether the free spot is an official policy or merely tolerated at the destination, the nearest town, the level of noise, a rating of how scenic it is (the parking lots fare poorly on this one), a list of any amenities offered (mostly restrooms and RV hookups for water, electric, and dumping stations), as well as helpful comments by other users.
Write and read comments about this post.
Since the site is designed with an RV crowd in mind, many of its entries are for friendly, customer-seeking stores that allow overnight parking in their lots, from Wal-Mart and camping suppliers to truck stops such as the Flying J. But it also has a healthy listing of state parks, Bureau of Land Management parks, and other outdoorsy camping spots, making it an excellent tool for anyone willing to throw a tent in their car's trunk in order to take advantage of a nearby opportunity for a free night's sleep.
Any member can post a listing of a free place to spend the night, providing details on whether the free spot is an official policy or merely tolerated at the destination, the nearest town, the level of noise, a rating of how scenic it is (the parking lots fare poorly on this one), a list of any amenities offered (mostly restrooms and RV hookups for water, electric, and dumping stations), as well as helpful comments by other users.
Write and read comments about this post.
Fly/drive Ireland (in winter) for only $499 is again available to each of two persons traveling together, for bookings until September 28
No sooner had I announced (yesterday) that all the big tour operators to Ireland were offering their $499 fly/drive package in winter only to each of four persons traveling together, than one of them -- Dooley Vacations -- broke from the pack, to the great benefit of all of us. This afternoon, Dooley (the tour operating arm of the 50-year-old Dooley Car Rental firm of Ireland) announced that for bookings received up until September 28, it will offer a one-week fly/drive program in winter (December through February) to each of as few as two persons traveling together. This is big travel news, because the opportunity is a remarkable one at a price everyone can afford.
In a phone call I placed to Dooley's bitter competitor, Sceptre Tours, later this afternoon, I was advised that Sceptre's website tomorrow (Thursday) will announce that they are matching Dooley's rates and conditions. And I am willing to bet that Brian Moore International (the other big operator to Ireland) will do the same.
The program is called "Ireland Coast to Coast", and is available at the $499 price not simply from New York, but from Boston, Washington, D.C. (Dulles), and Chicago, as well. It will cost $549 from Orlando and $659 from Los Angeles/San Francisco. The period of for actually visiting Ireland will be December through February, but bookings must be made by September 28 at the latest.
You'll receive round-trip air to Dublin or Shannon, a week's use of a standard shift car with unlimited mileage, and six nights of hotel accommodations (in three Irish cities) with breakfast daily. Go to www.dooleyvacations.com for further details.
But bear in mind, again, that you must book by September 28. And you really should consider doing so. To enjoy a weeklong winter vacation in Ireland for only $499 is the kind of travel bargain that, nowadays, occurs all too infrequently (and should be seized when the opportunity arises).
Write and read comments about this post.
Labels: deals, ireland, tour companies
There's good news ($399 round-trip to Rome) and worrisome news (Windjammer) to report
Breaking news: Eurofly has just extended the date for booking its fall/winter (November through March) round-trip airfare of $399 round-trip between New York and Rome until October 7. That includes fuel surcharge. Flights leave on Fridays and Sundays and will, quite obviously, never again be as cheap as this. Go to www.euroflyusa.com to book.
Disquieting news: I today phoned the reservations number for Windjammer Barefoot Cruises (tel. 800/327-2600) and was told by a cautious reservationist that although its ship the Legacy was "sailing consistently" from Costa Rica, its two other ships the Yankee Clipper and the Polynesia had not sailed this past weekend. Financial officers and others from Windjammer were currently working on the situation, he added, but was not able to say anything more. I asked that he pass on a message to Shannon, the line's marketing officer, asking her to phone me when she returned from lunch, and the reservationist promised to convey the request.
Obviously, I'm worried about Windjammer, though I'm delighted about Eurofly.
Write and read comments about this post.
Disquieting news: I today phoned the reservations number for Windjammer Barefoot Cruises (tel. 800/327-2600) and was told by a cautious reservationist that although its ship the Legacy was "sailing consistently" from Costa Rica, its two other ships the Yankee Clipper and the Polynesia had not sailed this past weekend. Financial officers and others from Windjammer were currently working on the situation, he added, but was not able to say anything more. I asked that he pass on a message to Shannon, the line's marketing officer, asking her to phone me when she returned from lunch, and the reservationist promised to convey the request.
Obviously, I'm worried about Windjammer, though I'm delighted about Eurofly.
Write and read comments about this post.
An Australian firm makes it possible to go on a hip group tour almost anywhere in the world -- and at low cost, too
If you like the idea of a guide to plan and lead your trips to exotic locales but would sooner die than take a big bus tour, Australia-based budget tour operator Intrepid Travel (www.intrepidtravel.com) may be the answer. It's inexpensive, and it meets the needs of an independent, socially conscious traveler.
Bargains abound. This fall, a 15-day "Unforgettable India" trip -- including visits to Delhi, the Taj Mahal, and ancient temples, boating on the Ganges, and a search for tigers in Panna National Park -- starts at $757 plus airfare. A week of exploring Croatia from Dubrovnik to Split via the islands, beaches, and Roman ruins of the Dalmatian Coast costs $798 plus airfare.
Intrepid's groups are small (usually limited to 8-12 people). Instead of giant tour buses, participants take local transport (trains, local buses, ferries, bicycles, elephants, etc.). Instead of chain hotels, they stay in guesthouses, B&Bs, or even hammocks slung on the village chieftain's porch. Instead of rubber-chicken dinners in the tour group room at a restaurant, they feast on street food and elbow in with the locals at down-home eateries.
Recently, some friends comparing tours to Japan picked Intrepid when they realized that, while most tours offered a visit to a Buddhist monastery, the Intrepid tour actually spent the night in one and the participants took meals with the monks.
Of course, there are downsides. Intrepid sells land-only tours; you're on your own for finding airfare. Various local fees often tack $100 to $200 onto the quoted tour price, and on some trips not all meals are covered (though you'll need, at most, an extra $200 or so). Popular itineraries might be offered every week or two; more obscure or adventurous ones might depart on only a handful of dates each year.
If you prefer hotel minibars, air-conditioned buses, and menus with English translations, Intrepid is not for you. But if rafting the Mekong, trekking the jungle, and sleeping in huts sounds like your ideal Asian vacation, go quick to www.intrepidtravel.com.
Write and read comments about this post.
Labels: tour companies
Attention, well-off students! There's a new cruiseship for your college studies, claiming to offer the equivalent of an education
For 24 years prior to last May, the University of Pittsburgh operated a "Semester at Sea" program on board the 25,000-ton, 600-passenger Universe Explorer, carrying students around the world on sailings that promised them credits towards their eventual graduation. The partnership came to a troubled end in 2005 over disagreements between Pitt and the institute that ran the program. The program is now run through the University of Virginia.
But you can't suppress an attractive, leisure-time substitution for classroom learning. Aided, apparently, by financial help from Royal Caribbean Cruises, a new ship -- the 29,000-ton Oceanic II, with 398 cabins -- began operating a similar program this September called "The Scholar Ship" (a worse name can't be conceived) to transport students onto the high seas on two four-month-long sailings per year costing $20,000 per student per four-month period. English-language classroom instruction aboard is supplemented by the educational value of making group shore excursions at the many ports where the ship will stop.
As promised by the chief sponsor of the cruise program, which is Macquarie University of Australia (also in the sponsoring consortium are universities in Morocco, China, Ghana, Monterrey (Mexico), and Berkeley (California), the multi-national students will receive an unspecified number of academic credits for each semester they go cruising. It's too late to book the current semester (the ship has already departed its port of embarkation in Athens), but openings for the semester starting in January are presumably still open. You'll have all the information you need by going to www.thescholarship.com.
Write and read comments about this post.
But you can't suppress an attractive, leisure-time substitution for classroom learning. Aided, apparently, by financial help from Royal Caribbean Cruises, a new ship -- the 29,000-ton Oceanic II, with 398 cabins -- began operating a similar program this September called "The Scholar Ship" (a worse name can't be conceived) to transport students onto the high seas on two four-month-long sailings per year costing $20,000 per student per four-month period. English-language classroom instruction aboard is supplemented by the educational value of making group shore excursions at the many ports where the ship will stop.
As promised by the chief sponsor of the cruise program, which is Macquarie University of Australia (also in the sponsoring consortium are universities in Morocco, China, Ghana, Monterrey (Mexico), and Berkeley (California), the multi-national students will receive an unspecified number of academic credits for each semester they go cruising. It's too late to book the current semester (the ship has already departed its port of embarkation in Athens), but openings for the semester starting in January are presumably still open. You'll have all the information you need by going to www.thescholarship.com.
Write and read comments about this post.
Sep 18, 2007
As the value of the Chinese yuan inches upward, so does the price of a tour to China; get there fast
The Chinese currency has increased in value by 8.8% in the last year; wages in China are inching up also. It's obvious that tour operators to China are having difficulty in maintaining their bargain-level rates. The price leader, China Focus (www.chinafocustravel.com), now charges $999 for its famous ten-night, air-inclusive, "Historic China" tour on only two remaining departure dates in 2007 -- November 30 and December 7 -- and only three dates in 2008 (January 7 and 21 and December 5), and only if you pay for the tour by personal check or money order, not by credit card. It has also reduced the length of the stay in China, in 2008, by one night. For most dates on its classic introductory tour of China, the price in 2008 from San Francisco will now be $1,299 to $1,499 per person -- still a tremendous value, considering that round-trip air transportation to China is included -- but no longer the jaw-dropping $999 that attracted so much attention in the past.
Since China is committed to a slow, upward, revaluation of its currency, tour prices to China can only increase in the months ahead. If you haven't yet made your first trip to this important and rewarding destination, you should speed preparations; it will never again be as cheap. You'll find excellent arrangements, and good prices for what you get, from China Focus, Champion Holidays (www.china-discovery.com), China Spree (www.chinaspree.com), Ritz Tours (www.ritztours.com), Pacific Delight Tours (www.pacificdelighttours.com), and numerous other companies. It's even possible for the most versatile of tourists to travel independently to China, simply buying an airfare and picking up accommodations on the spot.
Write and read comments about this post.
Since China is committed to a slow, upward, revaluation of its currency, tour prices to China can only increase in the months ahead. If you haven't yet made your first trip to this important and rewarding destination, you should speed preparations; it will never again be as cheap. You'll find excellent arrangements, and good prices for what you get, from China Focus, Champion Holidays (www.china-discovery.com), China Spree (www.chinaspree.com), Ritz Tours (www.ritztours.com), Pacific Delight Tours (www.pacificdelighttours.com), and numerous other companies. It's even possible for the most versatile of tourists to travel independently to China, simply buying an airfare and picking up accommodations on the spot.
Write and read comments about this post.
In a wholly unscientific price-test, US Airways leads the pack to Las Vegas
Airfare sales to Las Vegas -- they make your eyes cloud over, they addle the brain. They are so frequent and confusing, that they discourage decisions. And yet in a recent comparison of prices for a hypothetical round-trip flight and three nights at the low-cost Circus Circus Hotel off the Strip, departing on December 9 in the midst of the pre-Christmas lull, it appears that US Airways (and not Southwest Airlines, as you'd expect) is the consistent price leader:
Write and read comments about this post.
- US Airways: $200 from Chicago, $141 from Denver, $130 from Los Angeles, $161 from San Francisco.
- Southwest: $279 from Chicago, $219 from Denver or San Francisco.
- Funjet (a tour operator): $210 from Chicago, $169 from Denver, $189 from San Francisco.
- United Airlines: $204 from Chicago, $184 from Denver, $204 from Los Angeles, $244 from San Francisco.
Write and read comments about this post.
Ireland for $499 is now a distant dream, but Ireland for $699 is again for real in the autumn and winter
The time has now expired for booking that one-week fly/drive package to Ireland costing $499 per person that Sceptre Tours recently renewed for a short time (see our earlier blog on the subject). And Sceptre Tours has replaced that travel wonder with a somewhat similar (you stay in one hotel throughout the week, instead of wandering guesthouse-to-guesthouse) program costing $499 per person, but only if you are four persons traveling together and each paying the $499. We'll be describing Sceptre's new formula in a later post; it is of utility only to families (two parents, two kids, traveling together). But the low-cost baton has now been picked up by the cost-conscious Irish specialist, Brian Moore International Tours (tel. 800/982-2299; www.bmit.com). And although Brian and his elves won't be charging $499, they will ask only $699 per person for each of two persons traveling together, for a classic Irish fly/drive of the sort that so many Americans have thrilled to in the past.
The new package is for departures November 1 to December 13, and from January 1 to February 29, 2008. For $699, you'll receive round-trip air from New York JFK, Boston, Washington/Dulles, or Chicago/O'Hare (LA and San Francisco are $130 more) to Dublin or Shannon, a Hertz car rental for six days with unlimited mileage, a booklet of vouchers for B&B accommodations with private bath and full Irish breakfast for five nights, and all hotel taxes and service charges. And remarkably enough, the high air fuel surcharge is included in the $699 price (which accounts in part for the increase from $499).
A self-drive tour through Ireland from November through February is as full of travel experiences and fun as the summer variety, and the pubs will welcome you with even greater enthusiasm in the fall/winter months. $699 is a top price for what you get.
Write and read comments about this post.
Sep 17, 2007
In this peak of the tropical hurricane season, you can allay your fears by choosing islands with a very low probability of storms
There is no such thing as a Caribbean island which is absolutely, positively, cross-my-heart, "outside the hurricane belt." Even the allegedly-storm-free Curacao has had a couple of hurricanes in the past 100 years; and both Aruba and Bonaire were brushed by the fringes of recent Hurricane Felix (though not seriously damaged by it). But there are islands whose extremely low probability of a hurricane makes them almost totally safe for autumn vacationing. And thus, as we enter the peak of the hurricane season (mid-September), vacationers who want safety from storms will go the ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao), to Venezuela's Margarita, to Trinidad and Tobago, and to St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Or they will fly to that easternmost island of the Caribbean, Barbados (which last had a hurricane 30 years ago). All the places I've named tout themselves as being "outside the hurricane belt."
But how real is the fear that an island which is clearly within the hurricane belt will suffer one at the time of your stay? The odds are very low, surely less than one in a hundred. But because that fear exists among many, September and October are two of the cheapest months for traveling to the tropics. To enjoy excellent weather, a lack of crowds, and low airfares and hotel rates, now is the time to go.
Write and read comments about this post.
But how real is the fear that an island which is clearly within the hurricane belt will suffer one at the time of your stay? The odds are very low, surely less than one in a hundred. But because that fear exists among many, September and October are two of the cheapest months for traveling to the tropics. To enjoy excellent weather, a lack of crowds, and low airfares and hotel rates, now is the time to go.
Write and read comments about this post.
STA Travel has emerged as a power-house of travel for young vacationers
STA (the Student Travel Association) is the consumer of and successor to the now-defunct Council Travel (the former U.S. student travel agency), and it has achieved a size and influence within the travel industry that Council Travel never had. If you're of student age and you haven't recently studied the STA website (www.statravel.com), you really should. It offers travel opportunities at prices of which the older traveler can only dream.
$312 round-trip to London. Buenos Aires lodgings for $11 a night. Australia for $16 a night. One-way domestic fares for $51. The bargains, especially as we enter the autumn, are remarkable, and the site makes it clear that they are reserved for legitimate students who must authenticate their student status before they book. What's more, STA maintains offices in a growing number of locations across the country.
The student is, and should be, a privileged traveler, benefiting from every sort of discount and preference. By constantly consulting the STA site or their offices (whose attendants will tip you off as to the top offers), a student can achieve far-ranging travels at low cost.
Write and read comments about this post.
$312 round-trip to London. Buenos Aires lodgings for $11 a night. Australia for $16 a night. One-way domestic fares for $51. The bargains, especially as we enter the autumn, are remarkable, and the site makes it clear that they are reserved for legitimate students who must authenticate their student status before they book. What's more, STA maintains offices in a growing number of locations across the country.
The student is, and should be, a privileged traveler, benefiting from every sort of discount and preference. By constantly consulting the STA site or their offices (whose attendants will tip you off as to the top offers), a student can achieve far-ranging travels at low cost.
Write and read comments about this post.
I still don't see the utility of those "user-generated" websites
Several weeks ago, in a panel discussion sponsored by Travel Weekly magazine, I appeared with Tim Zagat of the Zagat Travel Guides (whose restaurant recommendations are supplied by the public, not by Mr. Zagat) and Steve Kaufer, the co-founder of Trip Advisor (the nation's leading user-generated site of travel opinions supplied again by the public and not by individual travel journalists). And the discussion soon degenerated into a heated debate between myself, on the one hand, and them, over whether their method of "polling" the public results in better travel recommendations than those supplied by veteran travel journalists.
Subsequent to the debate, I vacationed for a week in Montauk, Long Island. I casually visited several of the leading resorts in that location, and later looked at the discussion of Montauk and its resorts that appears in Trip Advisor. And the views I expressed in the earlier debate are now even more strongly held by me. To put it briefly, I found that Trip Advisor was virtually useless in providing an adequate picture of the resort situation in Montauk.
To begin with, nearly every leading resort received contradictory comments from Trip Advisor's contributors. In some cases, several people had written in that a particular resort was excellent and several other people wrote that the same resort was execrable. Which recommendation to follow? Who was a better judge?
But more important, I found that none of the write-ups gave me a word picture, an image, an impression, of the resort of the sort that you obtain from a write-up in a good guidebook written by a trained journalist. Rarely could I tell whether the property was a dignified, attractive, comfortable resort or a raucous, shabby, over-sized motel. Most contributors simply selected a single element -- whether the beds were comfortable, whether the desk clerks were courteous -- on which they relied for their ultimate opinion. Though I could tell that a particular visitor had disliked his/her bed, or had a run-in with staff, I couldn't discern for the life of me whether this resort would be suitable for my own stay. And although Trip Advisor tabulated all the favorable and unfavorable opinions and ranked the resorts (#1, #2, etc.), I found that the rankings were oblivious to price or category, and again had no meaning at all.
So you'll have to forgive me. Though I have an obvious self-interest in touting travel guides, I will continue to use those guides, and not a "user-generated poll of opinions" for my own next vacation choices.
Write and read comments about this post.
Subsequent to the debate, I vacationed for a week in Montauk, Long Island. I casually visited several of the leading resorts in that location, and later looked at the discussion of Montauk and its resorts that appears in Trip Advisor. And the views I expressed in the earlier debate are now even more strongly held by me. To put it briefly, I found that Trip Advisor was virtually useless in providing an adequate picture of the resort situation in Montauk.
To begin with, nearly every leading resort received contradictory comments from Trip Advisor's contributors. In some cases, several people had written in that a particular resort was excellent and several other people wrote that the same resort was execrable. Which recommendation to follow? Who was a better judge?
But more important, I found that none of the write-ups gave me a word picture, an image, an impression, of the resort of the sort that you obtain from a write-up in a good guidebook written by a trained journalist. Rarely could I tell whether the property was a dignified, attractive, comfortable resort or a raucous, shabby, over-sized motel. Most contributors simply selected a single element -- whether the beds were comfortable, whether the desk clerks were courteous -- on which they relied for their ultimate opinion. Though I could tell that a particular visitor had disliked his/her bed, or had a run-in with staff, I couldn't discern for the life of me whether this resort would be suitable for my own stay. And although Trip Advisor tabulated all the favorable and unfavorable opinions and ranked the resorts (#1, #2, etc.), I found that the rankings were oblivious to price or category, and again had no meaning at all.
So you'll have to forgive me. Though I have an obvious self-interest in touting travel guides, I will continue to use those guides, and not a "user-generated poll of opinions" for my own next vacation choices.
Write and read comments about this post.
Labels: websites
Add an $812 airfare to New Zealand to a $64-a-day "Spaceship," and you've got the makings of a fab trip to "Lord of the Rings" country
A few days ago, I wrote about the new "Spaceships" available for rental in New Zealand, enabling as few as two people to enjoy the basic comforts of an RV at a very low price. These are Toyota minivans equipped with bed, pull-out tent, small refrigerator, tiny gas barbecue grill, and built-in DVD player (see this blog post for all the details), renting in the month of November for as little as NZ$89 a day, which amounts to only $64 U.S. dollars a day (i.e., $32 per person per day if two people occupy the minivan). Keep in mind that November is approaching the high season in New Zealand.
I should have pointed out at that time that if you book your airfare from Air New Zealand prior to September 30, you can fly round-trip between the U.S. west coast and New Zealand for as little as $812 in the period from October 28 to December 1. See www.airnewzealand.com for the news. Put airfare and the Toyota camper together ($812 plus $32 a day) and you have a superb, low-cost opportunity to range far and wide on the two main islands of New Zealand in the month of November. It may never again be as cheap as this -- nor as much fun.
Write and read comments about this post.
I should have pointed out at that time that if you book your airfare from Air New Zealand prior to September 30, you can fly round-trip between the U.S. west coast and New Zealand for as little as $812 in the period from October 28 to December 1. See www.airnewzealand.com for the news. Put airfare and the Toyota camper together ($812 plus $32 a day) and you have a superb, low-cost opportunity to range far and wide on the two main islands of New Zealand in the month of November. It may never again be as cheap as this -- nor as much fun.
Write and read comments about this post.
Labels: new zealand
Sep 16, 2007
It's important to know how to approach the new low-cost airlines of Europe
A score of low-cost airlines now crisscross the continent of Europe, enabling you to visit all sorts of remote locations for peanuts -- but they present you with a number of novel challenges. A reader of this blog, "GarryRF," suggest that we bear in mind the following: 1) The baggage allowance on such tightwad firms as Ryanair, Air Berlin, easyJet, and others, may be considerably less than on the airline which flew you trans-Atlantic. Either reduce the weight of your load to begin with, or leave part of your wardrobe in the city from which you're flying. 2) Low-cost airlines keep their prices down by using out-of-the-way airports, like Charleroi for Brussels. Though all such secondary airports have cheap and direct bus service into town, you will frequently be told by airport taxi drivers that you've missed the last bus. Don't believe them. 3) The cheapest airfares on the cut-rate carriers are those you obtain by using the Internet and booking well in advance; prices increase as the departure date approaches. 4) The cheap airlines will "close the Gate" at the advertised time, and no amount of pleading will get you on if you're late. And finally, 5) Once aloft, don't expect more service than you'd get on a bus. Some will sell you coffee and a snack.
But used wisely, these low-cost carriers have opened up a new world of travel opportunities in Europe.
Write and read comments about this post.
But used wisely, these low-cost carriers have opened up a new world of travel opportunities in Europe.
Write and read comments about this post.
Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
