|
Contact us at rtvip@traveltruth.com
JOIN RICHARD TUREN ON HIS PERSONALLY ESCORTED SIGNATURE CRUISE IN 2011 TO 'THE PLAYGROUNDS OF SOUTH AMERICA" 
February 16 - March 2, 2011 aboard the 700 Guest Regent Seven Seas Mariner sailing from Buenos Aires to Rio De Janeiro for 11-Nights.
2-1 Pricing, Plus an additional $4,000 off, plus Free Air, Plus shore excursions, drinks, and gratuities included.
For details and financial's please e-mail us at rturen@traveltruth.com
ANGELA'S CANYON RANCH SPA GETAWAY 0CTOBER 21-25, 2010. 
Give yourself the gift of wellness" by joining Angela Turen, at her 16th annual long weekend (Thursday through Monday) at the famed Canyon Ranch Spa in Tucson, Arizona.
Call 800-445-7979 for details and special group savings. Angela has been named "World's Top Spa Specialist" by the Editors of Conde Nast Traveler Magazine for the past five years.
Last traveltruth Update August 27, 2010
WHO CRUISES AND WHERE DO THEY GO?
CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) is the PR arm of the industry in the United States. Earlier this month they released their 2009 Report on the economic impact of North American Cruising. We've read the report, so you don't have to, and thought you might be interested in some of the major conclusions:
- CLIA Member lines boarded 13.4 million cruisers last year.
- 8.9 million sailed from US ports.
- 59% of the total boarded their ship in Florida
- Average capacity utilization was 104.6%
- As a result of discounting, revenue fell by 11.4%
- 70% of all worldwide cruisers are American
THE CAR RENTAL FLEET THAT DOESN'T STINK
The majority of us who feel that smoking is a purely suicidal act, have put up with dirty socks, old peat moss smells imbedded in the upholstery of cars we rented from the major firms.
Now, the Avis Budget Group (Avis and Budget Rent Car) have decided enough is enough. On October 1st last year, the firm announced that its entire fleet was going "smoke-free". This policy change is the result of repeated requests from Avis and Budget customers over the years.
What is interesting about this is the enforcement methodology. How do you know, for sure, if someone has been smoking ion a vehicle they are returning?
Avis has a vehicle return inspection process that checks for smoking residue and odors. If the inspection clearly indicates smoking has occurred, the driver is assessed an immediate $250 "cleaning charge" on top of the rental bill. Taking a car that has smoke odors, and cleaning it in such a way that they disappear, is a costly, time-consuming process that requires removing the car from the fleet for a short period of time.
RARE CHRISTMAS/NEW YEARS SPACE ON SOME OF THE WORLD'S BEST ADVENTURE TOURS
The World's Top-Rated Adventure Touring Company has just notified us that they have limited space available over the Holidays this year. Here are the trips and dates:
Dec. 20 - 28 - The Galapagos Islands Family Adventure for adults and children 8 +.
Dec. 20 - 28 - A Family Adventure in New Zealand with active sports for adults and children 12 +.
Dec. 24 - Jan. 3 - Walking Vietnam
Dec. 27 - Jan. 6 - Biking Vietnam
Dec. 29 - Jan 6 - Biking New Zealand
Each of these is a highly recommended Upscale experience.
AVOIDING BEING BUMPED OR LOOSING BAGS
Not everyone flying these days is an experienced, shrug it off, road warrior. Flyers have real concerns about being bumped or having their bags lost or delayed. Here are a few recommendations to avoid both scenarios:
- The feeder airlines of the larger airlines are cancellation prone and they also have the highest rates of lost luggage. These airlines include Comair, and American Eagle.
- JetBlue cancels fewer flights then virtually any airline. Southwest is a close second.
- The first flight out in the morning is always a better bet then a flight that has to arrive at the airport from "somewhere." It is tough waking up and getting to the airport for a 5:30 or 6:00 am. departure but the comfort of seeing that aircraft resting at the gate, ready to go, is compensation enough for a few less hours of sleep. The savvy flyers never fly mid-day if they have options.
- Connecting airports vary tremendously in terms of their ability to handle close connections. Currently, London is a tough airport for close connections. Frankfurt can be. Amsterdam, Zurich, and Copenhagen have excellent connection records. Air France transfers at Charles De Gaul le are better then they were two years ago, but a two and a half hour connection time is still advised.
- The dirty little baggage secret that airlines do not want you to know is that their policies regarding lost luggage vary from airline to airline and from station (airport) to station. Some major airlines, for instance, send lost bags back to baggage claim at the originating airport. No one will find them until an official claim has been made, paperwork has been filled out, and a search authorized. The very best protection for the consumer is to clearly tag each piece of luggage with name and the address of your domicile abroad for the first 72 hours of your stay. Make certain that the hotel phone number is clearly listed.
PEEK AT YOUR HOTEL BEFORE BOOKING
Instead of reading tainted reviews by "Lord Knows Who" on reader feedback sites, you might do far better to look over actual guest photos of various properties and form your own opinion. A good start is www.Oyster.com The site features hotels in major US cities, Hawaii, and the morepopular tourist destinations in the Caribbean.
HOW BAD ARE DOMESTIC HOTEL BOOKINGS?
There are some signs for hope in selected cities. Bookings in New York City, for instance, are on the rise. But this does not make up for the fact that 2009 was the worst year for US hotels (based on occupancy percentages) in four decades.
Think about it, all the hotel industry could manage in 09 was a pitiful 55% occupancy rate, down almost 9% from the previous year. That means that, on average, driving past any hotel, forty-five out of every one hundred rooms were unoccupied on any given night. 
Despite diminished demand, the hotel industry still saw a 3% gain in new rooms, according to Smith Travel Research. More product - less demand. That is why you are seeing the kind of rates for domestic hotel stays that scream "discount."
Corporate Group Business has fallen dramatically. That has led to staff layoffs and that has led to a decline in guest satisfaction scores.
FLYING MEDICATION: EAST VS. WEST
International flyers are receiving some contrary medical advice regarding "directional" medications.  Some travel-specialized physicians feel that Ambien is the best way to "fly" when traveling East. The drug helps foster sleep but doesn;t work much past six hours. For longer flights west that require a full night of sleep, Restoril or Lunestra seem to be preferred as they can work up to eight hours.
CRACKING THE SECRET 'YOUR FLIGHT IS DELAYED" CODE
Travel insiders never rely on information about flight departure times and delays provided by gate agents. Online and telephone reservations will also give you the wrong answer unless you first demonstrate that you are a travel insider. That means you have to throw around the term "FLIFO", which is airline terminology for real, honest, up-to-date "flight information".
If you are delayed at the airport and you want to know why and for how long, there is only one way to get at the truth. Dial airline reservations, the number you have, hopefully, put on speed dial on your cell. Ask reservations to bring up "FLIFO" for your particular flight. Then ask for the specific number that the airline has assigned to your flight. This will usually be different then the flight number.
Let's say the assigned number is 1704. You can then ask for the status of flight 1704. If you don;t get a satisfactory response, hang up and repeat the procedure. If your aircraft is actually sitting on the tarmac in Newark, you can estimate how long you have until your flight will really take off.
There may be some specific information about your flight on the gate agent's computer screen. Ask them to print out a copy of the FLIFO for your flight and see if any of the airline codes below appear.
These are just about all the reasons that a flight would be delayed with the exception that the Jonas Brothers are running late.
ATC air traffic control
ATC FLOW air traffic control flow control
AIR START aircraft engines needed to be air started (from ground equipment)
ATC air traffic control
ATC FLOW air traffic control flow control
AWTG CREW awaiting crew
AWTG FA*S awaiting flight attendants
A/E awaiting equipment A/EQ awaiting equipment A/E F111 awaiting equipment, arriving as flight 111
AWTG HOUGH awaiting Hough (i.e. pushback tow, from its maker)
AWTPUSHCREW awaiting pushback crew
AWTQ awaiting equipment (aircraft)
AWTQ/111 awaiting equipment, arriving as flight 111
AWTQ/111ATC awaiting equipment, arriving as flight 111 and delayed by ATC
BGRM bag room BRDG boarding C/E change of equipment
CAC company arrival control at CEQ change of equipment
CGO LDNG cargo loading
CGRO LDG cargo loading
CTX delay in bag scanning for explosives
LATE THRU late arrival of incoming leg of thru flight
LOADING cargo loading
LT THRU late arrival of incoming leg of thru flight MNTC maintenance
OPNL operational
OPNSVCG operations servicing (i.e. working on) equipment (aircraft)
PSVC passenger services
R.O.N. remain overnight
RMVG PAX having to remove a passenger SABRE computer system problem(s)
SCVG servicing
SVC servicing (cleanup, catering, mechanical) SVCG servicing (cleanup, catering, mechanical) SVCG SEAT servicing (fixing) a seat
V-ASH volcanic ash or VASH volcanic ash
|
Turen On Travel