Arthur Frommer's Blog, page 43

More Air-Included, Two-Week Repositioning Cruises Are Being Announced -- Including One for Just $1,599

The latest is aboard Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Seas , a 13-night trans-Atlantic voyage that originates in Malaga and ends in San Juan, Puerto Rico, departing from Malaga on November 7, 2011. The package includes not simply the two-week sailing, but round-trip air transportation from either Miami or New York-JFK to Malaga and from San Juan back home.

[image error] Photo Caption: Architecture in Malaga, Spain. Wanderlust07/Frommers.com Community

Plus: a four-star hotel overnight in Malaga just prior to the cruise, as well as transfers from airport to hotel and hotel to port and from port to airport in Malaga and from port to airport in San Juan. The total price: $1,599 per person in inside cabins, plus $139 in air and ship taxes.

That's about the lowest I've seen for arrangements so comprehensive, and you can learn more at Travel Themes And Dreams (tel. 877/870-7447; www.travelthemesanddreams.com )

Thieves With Scanners May Post a Danger to Travelers Using New RFID Technology

Although U.S. banks (with some small exceptions) have steadfastly refused to create chip-and-PIN credit cards of the sort that have become nearly universal in Europe, some have begun to create cards with an embedded computer chip (Radio Frequency Identification technology-- known as RFID chips) that enables the card to be used not by being swiped through a channel that reads their magnetic strips but simply passed within an inch or so of a scanning device. Although the user is sometimes told that they have been given such a card, occasionally the bank simply produces the new technology without informing its customers.

I'm told that security experts believe the new cards create especial dangers for travelers. Because, in crowded airport or railway station situations in which a thief can stand within a foot of your pants pocket or purse in which the card is kept, the thief can use an electronic-reading-device that captures the name and number on your card.

How to protect against that happening? You can wrap your credit card in tinfoil, or buy a special, lead-lined wallet in which to keep the credit cards (do a Google search for "RFID" to find offers for such wallets). But I'm turning to our readers for even better safeguards. Have any of you been given such a card? And have you also been told how to protect the information on it from electronic thieves?

Diametrically Opposed Views of the Same Hotel Has Become A Defining Characteristic of Trip Advisor

I was recently curious about a large and long-established resort hotel known as the Melia Varadero on Varadero Beach in Cuba, and so I went to TripAdvisor to see how the Canadian public (the majority of its clientele) were reacting to it. What a problem I encountered! Dozens of people liked it and dozens of people hated it.

One former guest writes. "This was a great experience, nice food, ... beautiful beach and clean hotel."

But another says, "I have never seen such a filthy dining room. They clearly NEVER cleaned the floors, and the staff could not give a rip. Probably because they get paid $30 a month. The food was horrible, too".

Another guest praises every aspect of the hotel, "It was just unforgettable. At the end of our vacation we didn't want to leave this awesome place."

But another finds it atrocious: "I'm a sales manager in TUI [a giant European travel conglomerate], please don't choose this hotel. Hotel is dirty with ugly small beach with stones on both sides…Rooms were dirty, mold was everywhere.".

Still another guest disagreed: "It is a very clean hotel, smells like it has just been cleaned….The food was amazing".

How do you reach a conclusion among reviews like those? In all, on the day I went to Trip Advisor, there were 461 reviews claiming the Melia Varadero was "Excellent" or "Very good," and 126 reviews claiming the Melia Varadero was "Poor" or "Terrible." But how many of the "excellent" or "very good" people were knowledgeable and well-traveled persons, and how many were innocents (or friends of the management)? How many of the "Poor" and "Terrible" people were disgruntled blame-finders, and how many were judicious, talented, travelers? Should more credence be given to an executive in the travel world (the man from TUI), or to a young person experiencing their very first visit to the tropics?

You know my opinion. I will continue to rely on the judgments of well-traveled, experienced, highly-thought-of journalists. I will continue to believe that TripAdvisor carries the seeds of its own destruction. And I will continue to be absolutely befuddled by the opposing views found in most of that website's analyses.

A Dignified Cruiseship Will Soon be Making 12-Night Winter Cruises to the Caribbean From the New York Area

Although most of the recent attention has gone to the floating amusement parks -- the Oasis of the Seas , the Allure of the Seas , the Norwegian Epic -- the real breakthrough in ship design occurred nearly three years ago with the introduction of the 3,000-passenger Celebrity Solstice . It was the product of a graceful new ship design meant to carry a large number of passengers but in an unusually spacious and traditional cruiseship setting. On the Solstice, there were no lines or crowds, no bowling alleys or giant water chutes, no carnival-like attractions. It was a dignified cruiseship, and it received favorable reviews and considerable customer loyalty.

It also gave birth to three other similar ships built to the same specifications and all known as being in the Solstice Class. The latest and last of those ships has just been launched -- it's called the Celebrity Silhouette -- and has begun operating various sailings in European waters. But on November 6, it will begin sailing from the New York area on a continuous series of 12-night cruises to and from the Caribbean. The ship will leave the in Bayonne, New Jersey's Cape Liberty and sail southwards for three days simply at sea, stop at four different Caribbean ports, and then return to Bayonne by spending three more days simply at sea heading north back to the Big Apple.

It's an interesting experiment. For the first time, residents of the east coast will have a tropical sailing available to them in a dignified ship (the Queen Mary 2 also leaves from the New York area but goes primarily trans-Atlantic). Prior to now, the same area has been serviced by ships that were totally unremarkable. Now, without having to board an airplane to get to Florida or Puerto Rico, residents of the northeast can simply drive to an embarkation port and board a thoroughly impressive ship designed for adults in love with the sea and uninterested in carnival-like attractions. They will relax on a ship that actually has a sizable library!

The prices will also be decent ones. Currently, such cruise discounters as Vacations To Go ( www.vacationstogo.com ) are listing minimum prices on a number of the 12-night sailings of the Silhouette this coming fall and winter in the range of about $100 a day for inside cabins and about $135 a day for balcony cabins.

It will be interesting to see whether Celebrity attracts a sufficient number of people to make a success out of the peaceful Silhouette, but I have a feeling it will.

Iceland Express Has Numerous Dates in September for a $649 Round-Trip Between New York and London

If you're anxious to fly to that tabloid-crazed capital of the British Isles, but have been put off by cost, then turn to the website of Iceland Express ( www.icelandexpress.com ). Its easy-to-understand booking calendar is showing rates (including all fees and taxes) of only $649 between New York-Newark and London-Gatwick (via a stop in Reykjavik both ways) in September. That's a sharp drop in price from the $853 that the upstart Icelandic airline has been charging in August. Both prices are way below what the standard airlines are charging (even Aer Lingus charges around $950, Newark to London -- via Dublin -- in September).

XL Airways of France ( www.xlairways.com ) is your other safety valve. Though its seats are mainly sold to residents of France, for roundtrips that begin westbound from Paris to New York, its English-language website is still showing seats available for both August and September, at roundtrip prices that include all taxes, fees, and fuel surcharge, and that amount to $988 in August and early September and only $722 starting September 12.

Those Who Spend $62,950 for a 21-Day Trip Around the World Provide Ample Evidence They Can Pay Higher Taxes

First it was Columbia University, now it is New York University. The alumni association of NYU has just announced a 21-day "Around the World by Private Jet" tour leaving Orlando on November 1 by private jet. Since NYU has simply copied an earlier promotion offered by the alumni association of Columbia University, it must be assumed that similar alumni groups all over the nation have discovered that their highest-income alumni are fully capable of paying such extraordinary amounts for vacation travel. And since a part of the extraordinary fee will go to the academic institution itself, they have discovered a potent money-raising tool.

I want to protest. There are times when spending wildly excessive amounts on travel is positively immoral. In their private jet designed and configured to seat only 78 travelers, accompanied (as the literature points out) "by a dedicated physician and expedition chef," these privileged travelers will touch down in places where the population lives precariously in conditions of abject poverty. They will gaze upon human suffering from the sumptuous quarters of the world's most expensive hotels, and dine in splendor three times a day. And many of them, undoubtedly, will argue that the U.S. federal government should not restore their taxes to the levels of several years ago. Poor little rich boys and girls!

Sixty-two thousand nine hundred fifty dollars times 78 persons comes to nearly $5 million. Although the literature marketing the tour makes vague reference to several philanthropic contributions that the tour operator claims it will make to charitable institutions, never once is the amount of such contributions specified and one can only assume the most token sums.

I plan to lodge an emphatic protest with the NYU Alumni Association, of which I am a member. I plan to send a similar protest to the several unthinking professors who will be accompanying the group and (presumably) earning a free trip. They bring shame to their profession. I would hope that the organizers of this group outing will also supply the names of the 78 participants to their fellow fund-raisers, so that the latter can press each participant to make an independent $50,000 per person contribution to an NYU scholarship fund. If they can pay $62,950 for a jolly three-week escapade, they can make a $50,000 contribution to NYU.

The British Press is Addressing Claims that Hotels Are Bribing Guests to Submit Favorable Reviews to TripAdvisor

Because I am accused of being prejudiced against TripAdvisor, I am writing without comment about a news item, "Hotels bribe guests for online reviews," in the London Daily Mail for July 11, 2011. The article states that guests of the Cove Hotel in Cornwall, are offered 10% off food and drink in the hotel's restaurant, and a "free apartment upgrade" if they post a favorable review about their stay at that hotel. Apparently, the Cove's website states that "the moment your comment goes live on TripAdvisor or either of the Food Guides mentioned [which also print customers' comments], we will activate your card! [granting the gifts]"

The Daily Mail -- a big London newspaper -- goes on to state that the British Office of Fair Trading is planning to investigate.

According to The Daily Mail, all but two of 26 TripAdvisor reviews of the hotel in question have awarded it four or five-star ratings. Comments include "a dream come true," "wow -- what a find," and "a peaceful paradise."

Southwest and AirTran Announce a Surprising Reduction in Fares -- to As Little as $59

In an unexpected turn of events, Southwest Airlines tried to institute an across-the-board, airfare rise of up to $10 just last week (on Friday, to be exact). When most other airlines failed to go along, they withdrew the increase over the weekend and then Monday morning Southwest and its new subsidiary AirTran announced a surprising airfare sale, cutting prices to as little as $59 on short-haul flights.

Durations of the sale, and the deadline for booking, are slightly different on each airline. Southwest's bargain fares must be purchased by end-of-the-day August 1, and are good for flights from August 23 throughout December 14. they are valid for travel every day except Fridays and Sundays, and there are blackouts from September 1 to September 5 and from November 17 to November 29.

Air Tran's bargain fares are valid for travel July 30 to November 16, and are lowest on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. They then rise a bit, but remain fairly low, on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. There are similar blackout dates for the Labor Day weekend and Thanksgiving period.

Hundreds of routes between dozens of cities are affected by the cuts, too many to be shortly summarized. But on both airlines, $59 is now the low one-way fare, and fares rise on Air Tran to a still-spectacular price of $134 one-way between Milwaukee and Cancun.

If you have any desire to travel anywhere in North America within the coming autumn, you really ought to look immediately at the websites of both airlines. This is an important sale offering valuable savings.

Two Associated Press Travel Writers Debate Merits of Loyalty Card Programs

Are frequent flyer miles worth the effort? This isn't the most earth-shattering of all travel questions, but there are distinct viewpoints on that question, both pro and con. Two aviation reporters of the Associated Press -- Scott Meyerowitz and Samantha Bonkamp -- recently debated the issue in a story sent out to newspapers on the A.P. wire, and if you haven't seen that article, you might be interested in some of the points made in it.

Against the decision to pile up frequent flyer miles are the following points made by Bonkamp:

-- It can often be hard for the casual traveler to rack up enough miles for a free flight, and you can't expect to be upgraded just for signing up;

-- The cards whose use earns frequent flyer points are expensive ones: they tend to have higher interest rates than the normal variety, and yearly fees are also higher than for more traditional cards;

-- Miles expire and they take some work to maintain.

In favor of paying attention to frequent flyer possibilities are the following points made by Mayerowitz:

-- Just one round-trip flight between Washington, D.C. and Orlando earns enough miles for subscriptions to either Sports Illustrated or Entertainment Weekly;

-- Many hotel programs are particularly generous to even the lowest-tiered members, giving away mini-bar credits or free Wi-Fi;

-- Many credit cards offer a generous signup bonus, often large enough for a free domestic flight or to top off an account. They often also waive the annual fee for the first year.

So there you have some of the key arguments. Are you convinced?

Save Big Bucks Abroad with a Charles Schwab Checking Account

One of my favorite travel writers is Jason Cochran, the witty, perceptive, highly talented and much-experienced author of travel tips for dealnews (www.dealnews.com), among several other outlets. He recently published advice of top interest on the use of ATM machines abroad. Turns out that the ATM card issued by Charles Schwab outlets charges no transaction fees whatever on use of the card overseas, meaning you will save a bundle of money (fees as high as 3%) by using it. What's more, Charles Schwab imposes no minimum balance requirement on your Schwab checking account, and is thus almost absurdly easy to get and maintain.

Some other banks, Jason points out, "waive the foreign exchange fee for high-deposit customers, like Citibank's Citigold program. But considering there's a $30 monthly fee for that program's users who have deposits of less than $50,000, that option isn't for everyone."