Exotic Vacations

Through the Looking Glass: Crew On Board Cruise Ships

You see a glass with water that is only at half of the capacity it can hold. Do you see it as half empty or half full? Some would say that those that see it as half full are optimistic and those that see it as half empty view things from a more pessimistic perspective. However, it is just one glass of water that can be viewed in two different ways. When encountering crewmembers, do you see them as they are in their specific work function or do you see them as a person as well outside of their job?

Full post…

A listener to the weekly radio program on travel presented by my daughter and myself weighed in this past weekend with a serious complaint. She and her husband had booked a 101-day around-the-world cruise on a glamorous ship, for which they paid $80,000 . They made the booking through a cruise discounter that I had highly recommended in earlier broadcasts. When they sat down for dinner the first night of the cruise, they discovered that the couple sitting alongside had paid $55,000 for the same cruise in identical accommodations — i.e., about $275 per person per day.

And she was furious that the company recommended by me had failed to get the lower price for herself and her husband. She blamed me. Full post…

This summer National Express has introduced a flat rate £9 fare across the whole of Britain – the cheapest nationwide travel deal currently available.

National Express is boycotting hidden extras with the £9 one way deal. They guarantee customers that the price advertised is the price they pay – with no booking fee or “hidden extras” like luggage charges or postage. The only stipulations are that travel is booked 14 days in advance and airport and event routes are excluded.

Customers can travel to over 900 destinations across England, Scotland and Wales for £9 one way, while over 60’s make the journey for as low as £4.50 thanks to their concessionary discount.

One of the longest coach journeys that can be made is Exeter to Edinburgh. It breaks dow

Full post…

Are there any anti-consumer lengths to which Spirit Airlines won’t go? The airline, whose president referred scathingly to his own passengers in a leaked e-mail of some years ago, and that also instituted a $20 to $35 fee for bringing a carry-on into its flights, has now taken the next step: a fee of $5, starting November 1, for boarding passes printed by the person staffing the Spirit airport check-in desk. And to make sure that fewer people will be able to avoid that charge, it’s putting into effect a $1 fee for printing out your boarding pass at a Spirit Airlines kiosk. Older Americans, who don’t have or use a computer at home, will be especially affected by these new nuisance fees. Full post…

QANTAS and Jetstar have cancelled all flights to and from Christchurch as the Chilean volcanic ash cloud continues to frustrate air travellers.

Jetstar has also cancelled all flights in and out of Wellington until at least midday, with Qantas cancelling all flights to and from the city until 2pm.

Air New Zealand flights are continuing to operate as normal.

Jetstar has dismissed suggestions it cancelled flights for financial reasons as “absurd”.

Forsyth Barr aviation analyst Rob Mercer was earlier reported as saying Australian airlines chose not to fly in and out of New Zealand during the past two weeks for financial reasons, not because of the safety risks posed by ash clouds from Chile’s Mt Puyehue Cordon Caulle volcano.

He said Qantas’ international operations would lose $200 million this year.

“The decisions not to fly are easier if you are running at a loss, than they are if you are running at a profit.

Full post…