-
More on Asiana and escalators
I stand corrected; my colleague, Mary at SITA World Tours, tells me that she saw California news programs hailing the crew on the flight. My guru, Joe Sharkey, at the NYTimes also mentions two crew members helping out heroically.
Sometimes East coasters get different news from West coasters so I guess we need to read on line what the California papers are saying. But the fact remains that Asiana crew allowed passengers to carry of their luggage on the inflatable exits while others were still trapped?…
-
How to Make Your Birthday Trip-Gift Fantastic
Some ideas to make a Birthday Trip-Gift last a long time.
For your sense of confidence, take a trip that has a little sizzle: a boat on the Ganges? an elephant ride in Northern Thailand? a walk through a Dowry Market in Pushkar? a visit to a poignant museum about apartheid?
For introspection: travel solo but in a group. You will learn new dynamics away from friends and away from home. You will also concentrate on yourself for a change.
For health: swear off all sugars and alcohol during the trip.…
-
Icky Cruising? New regulations!
New cruise regulations are here. Below is a post from 2013 in which we were helping you decide if a cruise is for you. It is time to edit this post with 2020 cruise health precautions. Firstly you should know that cruises are ‘regulated’ by an international organization of which a US organizationn is one of 9 members. However, most cruise lines are not licensed in the US, so regulations apply because they dock here or because CLIA has been so effective.…
-
Working Women and travel
This dilemma came up at a meeting of professional women in New York last week. Here are the five main reasons professional women have no travel friends.
We are too busy working to take time to develop close friends.
We use non office time for our families and our health (ie gym classes)
We forget how to talk about non-business topics and/or relax into friendly banter.
We do not belong to the day time activities, non-working counterparts use for networking.
We make last minute vacation decisions to fit work leaving no time to locate a travel pal.…
-
5 Tips to Make Any Trip Better
Please join me for a fun evening on women and travel through the Transition Network Group of Professional Women on May 16 in New York City.
Phyllis Stoller will talk about what the new woman traveler wants, with tips on how to make your own trips special.
5 Tips to Make Any Trip Better
1-Connect with local people by bringing a photo of your family to share.
2-Bring something that has universal meaning: say a Breast Cancer Survivor Hat
3-Find a source for an honest picture of your destionation: this might be a woman’s federation who push for reform.…
-
Tour Operator Bankruptcy
What an awful thing to happen to people: they are booked and paid up and the tour company goes bankrupt. If paid by credit card, and not stranded overseas, most people get their $$ back.
I have just booked a trip with my husband’s college and the college requires payment by personal check. So how do I protect my money?
Some travel insurance policies do protect against bankruptcy. But here is what consumers do not know: they do not cover all tour companies and airlines.…
-
How to Save $1500 on Our Argentina Journey
Here are the best things that can happen with a room share:
-new friend
-shared the savings on the single supplement
-great gossip about everyone elseHere are the worst things that can happen with a room share:
-one of you loses the key
-both of you like to keep the hotel amenities
-both of you forgot the safe combinationSeriously, everyone saves money, and traveling with our group of women means from breakfast through dinner, we are together. A room share does not mean you are tied by the hip.…
-
Airline Prices Have Fallen: it is Taxes which are the Culprit
Many travelers do not know that airline prices have fallen over the years. It is taxes which are the culprit for high prices. Today I got an email from a airline ticket consolidaror, giving out deals from Los Angeles.
Here is the shocker:
LAX to Europe was around $265, taxes were $650. So it is the taxes which are the big piece. Sites selling airline tickets are now required to add the taxes to the amount you see before you click.… -
What Travel Insurers Do Not Tell You About Terrorism
They do not necessarily fly you home if there is a terrorist act in your destination, if your itinerary can skip the one area. Read the small print please!
They do not tell you what to do if the act is before you leave and the US State Dept has not issued a warning yet. Learn the difference between a warning and an advisory and the other vague language used by officials.
So how do you decide if you should go ahead with your trip?…
-
Why is a Compliment from Arthur Frommer Important?
What does it mean when a travel icon like Arthur Frommer compliments your company?
It means literally The World, especially if unsolicited and permanently on the web. Those of us who have been in the travel business for eons, need a way to differentiate ourselves from the upstart internet tour companies. The ways to show we are for real are to include a compliment from an authority like Mr. Frommer. It is also significant to be accepted into a selective industry membership like IATAN and to have the right to sell travel insurance.…
