Caution: Don’t Always Trust Online Travel Websites!
I have to share this article with you because when I read it, I thought everyone should know about this. It’s a crappy situation to be in, but what’s worse is that I hear about this happening a lot! It’s about a couple who booked online, only to face unconfirmed flights because their tickets were not issued! Unbelievable, I know. But the thing is, this isn’t the first time I’ve heard of this happening. Check out the full story here:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/05/17/bc-flightcancelled.html
It’s true: beware of online travel sites that promise amazing cheap prices! You could be paying double in the long run, and deal with so many headaches in the process.
What Should I Look For?
If you do not see the “IATA” symbol on the travel website, stay away! “IATA” is the International Air Transport Authority, and if you’re booking on a website that is not a member of IATA, they can’t ticket your reservation. You don’t want to be caught in a position where a 3rd party company could be issuing your ticket – or worse off, not even issuing it at all and you dealing with the consequences when you check in for your supposed flight!
What’s this about Price Changes?
Another thing that could happen is, you want to book a flight, and you go through the whole booking process. You get to the final page, and now you get a message saying your price has changed! Why does this happen? Prices are never guaranteed until your ticket is actually issued. Meaning, the price can change at the very last minute. The online travel sites lure you in with the lower prices, but the clincher is, that price likely is not available!
How Can I Avoid This From Happening?
Simple. If you book online, make sure the company you’re booking through is a member of IATA. Also, ensure that you will be on top of your reservation from beginning to end, and that also means reconfirming your flights 72 hours prior to your departure. Or, better yet, you can always book through a travel agent. Our job is to be here for you and take care of your trip from start to finish, and you don’t have to worry about any hassles at all.
I’m not trying to use this as a plug to use a travel agent, but more as an awareness to just be careful when you think you’re getting an amazing deal online. Use your gut instincts: if you think a price is too good to be true, it probably is.
Traveling Green: What Does it Mean?
Do you like to travel green? Do you look for hotels that are "green" friendly? Do you offset your carbon emissions for flights? Traveling green is becoming more important to travelers around the world. If you’re not sure exactly what this trend entails, here are some ways to think green when planning your next vacation.
What Exactly Are Green Hotels?
Green hotels are properties that are following environmentally friendly procedures to help save water, energy and to reduce waste. This is why you’ll see the signs in your hotel room to hang your towels once you’ve used them, to show that you’ll use them again, and also why there’s the water saving shower head in the bathtub, to name a few ideas. When looking for green hotels, they will prominently display their green status in their property description. For example, the Wyndham hotels have a separate website for their green intentions, at www.wyndhamgreen.com.
What Does It Mean To Offset Carbon Emissions?
When we take a flight, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere and this contributes to climate change. Airlines such as Air Canada have a note as you’re booking a flight stating that you can offset your carbon emissions. Basically, one can calculate the cost of their share of the emissions created by their flight and purchase corresponding offsets. For example, a round-trip flight from Vancouver to Toronto will equal 0.7 total emissions (tonnes of CO2 per flight), resulting in an offset cost of $11.20CAD. It’s really not a lot once you look at it that way!
Traveling green is as easy as taking the above steps, and also being considerate to the earth while on vacation, such as taking public transportation, trying to take as direct a flight as possible, eating organic foods while dining out, using reusable water bottles, and of course, keeping our Earth beautiful by not littering!
What are your thoughts on traveling green? Is it something that you try to do, or is it a concern to you? We’d love to hear your comments and thoughts. Leave a message here, or visit our fan page on Facebook under Bill & Maria’s – The Traveling Agent.
F.I.T. Travel – A Vacation FIT for Your Unique Needs!
If you were to check your favorite search engine online such as Google or Yahoo for the term F.I.T. travel, believe it or not the results may vary.
In a travel agent’s perspective, this means opportunity for the vacationer that is searching for a more unique holiday experience that goes above and beyond the average all-inclusive package or pre-designed vacation tour!
No denying F.I.T. can be a term that stands for so many things. However, allow me to explain to you what it means to me as a travel agent!
F + I + T = Fully Independent Tours!
Fully Independent Tours are like a buffet, and our vacation suppliers allow us to pick and choose the travel components that will best meet our vacation client’s needs.
Let’s look at an example of an African Jungle Tour. You want to take a Safari tour in South Africa, however, you don’t want to be a part of a prepackaged tour that departs on a specific date, has a set itinerary, and a group too large for that intimate experience.
Plus add the fact that you want the wild safari experience, but at the end of the day, you want to relax and sleep in a luxurious resort style hotel, not a tent.
What we do after listening to you, is approach one of our Adventure Tour suppliers that provide all the vacation components that you’re wanting, and they help us piece them all together to make your African Safari the way you like.
From the flights and airline of your choice, to the date you want to leave and return, plus the exact tour itinerary that follows with each stop at a luxurious exotic resort hotel where you can unwind with your small intimate group!
How does that sound to you as the perfect vacation? I’m sure you’re dreaming of it right now. Oh, you’re not into safaris and wild animals, okay, no worries, because we can offer you so much more.
F.I.T. Vacations Can Range From All-Inclusive Resorts To Specialty Eco-Tours!
Many of us have been seasoned by the traditional All-Inclusive vacation package, and may think that there are no other options. This is far from the truth, because we have access to so many F.I.T. Suppliers that are willing to put your dream vacation package together, and provide you everything you’re looking for in a unique holiday.
However, there are a couple things you need to know, and the first being that you will have to expect most Independent Tours to be a bit more in cost than standard prepackages. But if you plan your trip in far in advance, the supplier may have access to airline, resort, and tour discounts that can bring this cost down!
Think Bulk Vacation Sales Versus A One Time Specialty Holiday Order…
No question a pre-packaged vacation or tour is going to be less expensive, because it’s sold in volumes to the public. The package price is a set cost, and you will find very little flexibility in these packages.
They have preselected travel components, such as a charter flight, property, and transfers that will pick you up at the airport and return you after your trip. You must fly out on a specific day and select time, and there is no negotiation with the supplier if the resort is only offering one type of room category in the package offered. You may be able to upgrade when you get to your resort property though.
With a F.I.T. Vacation, you will pay more, but you’re paying for quality and flexibility, so if this is important to you, this style of vacation is the way to go! The tour company you go with will take care in selecting the exact individual travel components you want, and then piece them all together for you. So you are pretty much paying for the vacation experience that you want, and always have dreamed of having, and many vacationers are starting to prefer it that way.
Let’s Recap The Benefits Of Traveling On A Fully Independent Tour?
- You can choose the flight date, time, and airline.
- You can select the duration of stay. Unlike prepackaged vacations that normally have 7 or 14 day durations, your F.I.T. vacation can be as long or as short as you like.
- You can select any type of accommodation that fits your style and comfort needs, and you can even combine different hotels, resorts and other properties to make your stay completely unique.
- Tour components such as the example above where you can be a part of an intimate safari tour that spends more time with the animals and with less people on your tour, versus the traditional safari tours that are on a set itinerary.
There’s no question that if you don’t have a set budget, you can create your dream vacation, and many independent vacation suppliers out there today can make this happen.
But also keep in mind that we have access to many other tour suppliers that cater to travelers who enjoy the off-the-beaten path holiday, and can provide you the best of both worlds, and this is a set package, with a la carte offerings. Which means by adding additional vacation components, you can make your vacation unique, but still take advantage of the great semi-packaged savings.
In the end the choice is yours, and you may have so many more options at your fingertips that you might not have been aware of until now!
Cuba Claims Travel Medical Insurance Is Now Mandatory For Travellers!
While I do daily searches on this hot topic, it seems it’s fizzling out pretty fast on the major travel forums and press.
What am I talking about? Well recently Cuba announced that anyone entering their country as a tourist and other means I will not talk about here, it’s now mandatory that you carry travel medical insurance coverage prior to entering Cuba!
Over the past couple of months the Cuban Government issued a list of authorized travel insurance providers, and to my current knowledge, if your insurance company is not on their list, it will not be valid.
What Happens If My Travel Insurance Coverage Is Not On Cuba’s List?
If your preferred travel insurer is not on the list, then you do have the options to purchase any of the white listed insurance companies, or you can opt to purchase medical insurance in the airport the moment you arrive in Cuba. However, we hope to have more information and details on the cost and coverage they will be offering, because at this time it seems to be somewhat vague.
Will This Impact Tourism To Cuba From Confused Or Angry Canadians?
There’s no question that as each Canadian listens to this controversial story, no one really understands the true nature behind it! As a travel professional I have been selling my clients travel medical insurance to all destinations outside Canada, including Cuba, and have always expressed the importance of this coverage when visiting countries outside of Canada.
To my knowledge, I was not aware that Cuba’s medical services were being offered to foreign travellers for free, and in my opinion, I don’t know of any country that would be able to do such a service without losing a ton of money in the process.
The question on my mind and I’m sure on many others throughout the travel industry will be; how is this going to impact tourism to Cuba? My guess is for travellers that love to visit Cuba year after year this is not going to affect them. But for vacationers that are planning to get away next winter may re-think going to Cuba and may select another vacation spot, such as the Dominican, Mexico, and Jamaica to name only a few.
I’m thinking anyone that’s undecided and had Cuba on their list, will be looking at the pro’s and con’s. I would be almost certain any traveller that snubbed or made an effort to rebel against medical coverage this would be a major deciding factor for them.
Let’s Get To The Real Issue At Hand About Travel Insurance!
You see, in my opinion it doesn’t matter to me whether a country such as Cuba issues a mandatory statement to carry medical insurance or not. I have been telling my clients for years that travel medical along with sufficient cancellation & interruption coverage is crucial for anyone travelling outside of their country.
It’s not just about the country you’re visiting! I love to give people true scenarios and occurrences that paint the reality of what could happen at any moment during or after a vacation.
One example I talk about with passion is when a traveller decides to visit a Caribbean Island, and we will use Cuba. Let’s say you made the choice to not purchase a preferred Canadian travel medical policy and decided to go with Cuba’s local coverage.
Now you’re having a great time in Cuba, and then all of a sudden you start feeling extremely sharp pains. You contact the insurance company from the policy you just purchased, and you pray that the person on the other end speaks English. Okay they do speak English and the next step they recommend make arrangements to get you to the nearest Cuban hospital.
After all the tests are done, they claim it’s your appendix and it has serious damage. The hospital provides you medication and sends you on your way.
Let’s fast forward. You were extremely happy that you purchased the Cuban medical coverage, and your tests and medication was covered. Your trip is over and you’re about to board the plane to arrive back into Canada.
Here’s Where The Proper Travel Insurance Coverage Makes A Difference!
You’re sitting on the plane thinking about your close call at the Cuban hospital, and feeling very lucky with your choice. Then all of a sudden, you start getting extremely jolting pains that feel that someone knifed you repeatedly.
At this very moment the pain is so excruciating that you yell for the flight attendant to help you, and at that moment the pain is so bad that you are virtually passing out. Good thing the flight attendant is recognizing your signs, and realizes that you may have experienced a burst appendix.
Having to make a quick decision, the pilots flying the charter flight back to Canada announce that due to the serious nature of the situation, they’re going to have to land in the closest available city, guess where?
You guessed it! These pilots now have to land in the closest city which happens to be the United States. Wow, who would have expected this to happen? Probably no one, yet this is an occurrence that has happened before, and can easily happen again.
The fact that you’re now admitted to a United States hospital changes everything. Does the Cuban medical coverage provide protection anywhere outside your country, more than likely not. Do you now have medical insurance to cover your surgery costs and the days you may need to recover in the U.S. hospital, nope!
With no medical insurance coverage, you will now be responsible for paying full medical costs, less what your province of residence may or may not cover. Less than 30% off the top of my head, and of course there will be restrictions to what is covered.
Let’s say you were in the hospital for 4 days, which includes the surgery. Do the math, because to knowledge some hospitals in the United States charge somewhere between $2000 per day and up, and that doesn’t include the surgery costs. I’m thinking that before you walk out the hospital door, your bill is going to humongous!
The moral of the story here is that no matter if a destination country now requires mandatory medical insurance or not, it’s always in your best interest to find the best coverage that not only will protect you at the destination you’re visiting, but also anywhere in the world, just in case something unexpected happens that’s totally out of your control.
As you can see in my example, you made the smart choice to purchase the Cuban medical coverage, but was it the smartest choice? I leave that up to you to decide.
Remember, we offer the best coverage in the travel industry to date, and guess what? It’s on the Cuban approval list!
Oasis of the Seas – Visits Exotic Ports of Call
These Royal Caribbean Cruise videos on the Oasis of the Seas say it all, so I won’t go into a huge introduction. However, I noticed the videos start at the same time automatically, so I suggest you stop or pause at least one to avoid them playing at the same time. Enjoy!
Oasis of the Seas – In St. Thomas USVI
Oasis of the Seas arrives in St Thomas to the sounds of the Caribbean and the beauty of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Relax on the beach or explore this tropical island destination, which serves as port to the inclusive Oasis of the Seas cruise ship.
Oasis of the Seas – In St. Maarten
It takes a lot of work to prepare for the world’s largest cruise ship, but a chance to visit the tropical beauty and Dutch and French heritages of St. Maarten makes it worth it. Discover what makes this island such a priceless destination.
These are the two ports of call you will be visiting if you decide to join us on our hosted group cruise. Not only will you have an incredible cruising experience onboard the Oasis of the Seas, but these exotic ports of call will amaze you in every way possible. From shopping and cuisine, to culture and the feeling of relaxation as the warm Caribbean breeze and Cool waters will truly sooth your souls.
To find out how you can join us by visiting our contact us page or you can easily Pre-Register here: Hosted Group Cruise Pre-Registration
See you on the inside very soon!
