I have never had a job for more than three years. I've never really worked in a chosen profession for much longer than that. I think that if you add up all the time I've spent as a “writer” and/or “editor” at various jobs I've been in my current profession for near four and a half years. I've been in the travel industry for a bit over three years. If you count my time as a freelancer while living in Romania, it's closer to four.
I made becoming a writer a top priority for me. Realizing I was on a path to being a librarian for the rest of my life I purposely took myself off that path and put myself on a path to being a writer, and ultimately a travel writer. It was not easy. It did not happen overnight. There were times when I didn't know how I was going to make it happen. But I did it.
Now after all that work of getting myself to where I am now, I'm considering making another change. And I'm very conflicted about it.
Am I doing the right thing? Is this just part of a pattern of never staying at one job for too long (though not all the jobs ended by my choice!)? Is the risk I’d be taking worth it?
I am thinking about becoming a travel agent.
I believe I could be good at it, or at least parts of the job. I believe I would enjoy doing it, or at least certain pieces of the job. Is the fact that I know already I might not be good at, or enjoy certain parts of the job an indication that I shouldn’t do it.
There are certain parts of being a writer that I don’t like.
But here’s the thing. I don't know if I was born to be a travel agent, while I do know I was born to be a writer.
Of course, just because I'm thinking about becoming a travel agent doesn't mean I plan to give up writing. I want to continue working on my fiction, and continue to work as a travel writer part time. It’s just that I don’t want to do the journalist thing full time anymore.
I also like the ideas of working for myself, and helping people find the right cruise (or land vacation).
What I don’t like is the idea of being a salesperson, and I especially don’t like the thought of having people come to me to complain when they didn’t have a good vacation – which is absolutely a job requirement!
So, I’m conflicted. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if the risk is worth it when there is a definite possibility of failure.
So that’s the question really? Is fear a good enough reason to not take a risk? You tell me!
Sounds crazy, right! But it's real. Japanese carrier All Nippon Airway is introducing women-only bathrooms on most of its planes, for all international flights. According to the air line, the new loos are in response to passenger requests -- from female passengers.
One women's only bathroom will be designated at the back of the plane. It will display a pink version of the universal symbol for women's bathrooms -- you know what I mean, the stick like figure in a skirt. If this bathroom is in use, women are free to use any other toilet that is open.
However, men may only use the women's only bathroom:
1.) When required for safety reasons -- I've been trying to think of a saftey reason that would require a man to use a bathroom, but haven't been able to come up with one yet...
2.) When a male passenger is not feeling well -- well, doesn't that defeat part of the purpose! Part of the reason to use a women's only bathroom is that when a man is having "stomach" issues, it usually (I said usually) smells worse than when women have the same problem.
3.) When there are very few female passengers and the women-only designation has been lifted for the flight -- can you imagine the overhead announcement. "Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen. As there are actually very few of you ladies onboard today, we'll be lifting our women's only bathroom rule. Gentlemen, please feel free to use the lavatory with the pink women on it."
So what do you think?
Personally, I think it sounds great! I can't tell you how many times I've gone to the bathroom, realized I forgot to put my shoes back on before I left my seat and ended up with sticky socks! I try very hard not to think about what's making my socks sticky!!
And like I said before, we all know guys' crap smells worse than women's, right??
A flight comparison Web site in the UK, Skyscanner, polled its visitors about what they thought of the idea. Interestingly, the concept divided the opinion of respondents almost in half.
The poll asked whether travelers agreed with All Nippon Airway's move? 46% of voters agreed with it, and said all airlines should do the same. 51% isapproved of the idea.
Hmm, you think that division is a divsion by sex. Most women perhaps agreeing and most men disagreeing?
In its press release announcing the results of this study, Skycanner said "With fewer toilets to choose from when flying, men may have to queue for longer on flights that offer women-ony WCs."
Want to go to Spain for two months? Want to go and have someone else pay for your housing? Are you a retired or former teacher and can you do it a month from now?
The Spanish government is seeking retired teachers for an English language education project that gives qualifed applicants the change to teach English for two months in 12 different schools throughout north central Spain.
Done in collaboration with a company called Vaughan Systems, this program follows a succesful pilot program. The program recruits native English speakers to enhance the English-learning process of pre-schoolers and early elementary school students. For anyone who's been to Spain you'll that as a rule they don't speak English very well over there. That's because its never been stressed in their schools and they dub all English-language movies in Spanish. This new program targets the youngest students to get them started early.
Volunteers will help as teaching assistants giving kids the opportunity to practice their English, particularly their speaking skills.
The program runs from April 12 to June 12 and seeks retired school teachers with previous experience. The studen age groups range between 3 and 12 and classroom size between 25 and 35. Spaces are limited.
In exchange for their volunteer work, the project covers housing in a single or shared apartment in the town where the school is located, insurance for the duration of the program and transfers from Madrid.
Positions are available in various locations throughout the Castile-Leon area in Segovia, Zamora, Burgos, Leon, Palencia, Soria, Valladolid and Salamanca.
Vaughan Systems, the partner company, is the largest language training firm in Spain. Every year the company brings some 1,500 volunteers to Spain (not necessarily teachers, just native English speakers of all ages) for a locally-famous adult English-learning program called VaughanTown. The program is a six-day conversation program that pairs native English speakers with Spanish people to help them learn to speak English better.
In 2006 the program was called Englishtown and I did it for a week. You can read an article I wrote about here.
If you're interested in participating in VaughTown go to http://www.vaugantown.com/. If you're a retired teacher and interested in the two-month program send your resume and a cover letter to project coordinator Mayte Ziga at mziga@vaughantown.com.
For the past two years I have been a member of an organization called the North American Travel Journalists Association. Each year I have entered their annual writing competition, in the categories for travel trade writing.
In 2008 I submitted two articles and I won First Place for the article I submitted in the Tips & Advice for the Trade category. I won a three-night stay at Mohegan Sun, with food credits. It was great fun!
This year, I again submitted two articles, both in the general Trade category. Two days ago I found out that I "won" a Merit Award (basically honorable) mention for one of the articles.
Of course, I'm conflicted about the win.
In 2008, I truly won. This year (being 2009) I only got honorable mention. Yes, that's still a high honor. There were two First Place winners and two Merit Award winners, and I'm sure there were more entrants than than, so my article was still picked as one of the best out of a larger field. So I should be pleased.
And I am. It's another notch on my travel publishing belt, another bullet point on my resume.
But I'm not going to lie and say I don't care that didn't First Place. Of course I care. I'd much rather have won First Place (and a prize).
We had a lovely time in Ireland, some good weather, did some interesting sightseeing, including a side trip to Newgrange, several hours at the Guinness Brewery and a visit to the Dublin Jewish Irish Museum.
However, there were two aspects of our trip that stand out as not so great. One was our hotel -- The Regency Airport hotel, which was perfectly satisfactory for a place to sleep but was definitely what we paid for.
First of all, based on the description on the Air Lingus Vacation Web site, I thought it was closer to central Dublin that it was. We had to take a bus about 15 to 20 minutes each way to get to/from the hotel and central Dublin. It ended up being fine, especially as we noticed two Romanian supermarkets from the bus, which we ended up visiting and my husband got lots of Romanian supplies he can't get in the States.
So I wouldn't even be mentioning the hotel if it weren't for what happened when we first checked in.
We got to the hotel around 9:30 in the morning. After our five hour flight I felt like I needed to wash my face and change my clothes so when given a choice to pay 20 Euros for early check-in, I jumped at the chance.
We were given room keys and went up to the room.
First off, the key cards we were given didn't unlock the door. So I had to go back downstairs and get new cards. Then we get in the room and low and behold its freezing in the room, there's not hot water and to top it off, there's no electricity to any of the outlets.
So again, I go downstairs to the reception desk. The woman is, of course, shocked at my pronouncement of no electricity and promises immediate action. I go back upstairs.
And we wait.
In the meantime, I wash my face with cold water and my husband lies on the couch in the sunlight, which does warm him up, which is good because he's come to Ireland with a head cold.
And we wait.
So I go back downstairs. Excuse me, we still haven't got electricity. Again, I'm promised someone will be up immediately.
Thankfully, a guy knocked on the door shortly after and within five minutes he'd reset the fuse in the hallway and our electricity was back. He also informed us that heat at the hotel is on a timer and would come back on in the late afternoon.
[Can I mention he was very cute, especially with the Irish accent -- my favorite accent in the world!]
So, if you're going to Dublin and you're looking to save a little money, then the Regency Airport hotel is an ok choice, but be prepared for very basic amenities!
However the worst part of our Ireland trip, and this is TOTALLY my fault, was an Irish singing and dancing dinner show we attended. I wanted to do something in Dublin with Irish music. We went to a couple of pubs and they always had on regular radio or sports on the TV, and I really thought it would be a shame to come to Ireland and not get any traditional music in. So I asked at the hotel what a good option was and was referred to a Irish singing and dancing dinner show at The Arlington Hotel in central Dublin. It was very expensive, but I figured it was worth it if we got to hear Irish music and see some dancing.
I should have known better.
It was terrible -- and I do mean terrible! The food was horrible. There was very little selection and what we chose had no taste. I got a plain salmon dish because the sauce had prawns in it (which I don't eat). It tasted only of salt and butter -- and that's because I put salt and butter on it because it had no taste!
The music, which was three old guys singing traditional Irish favorites, was mediocre. The dancing was horrendous. Two young Irish men, two young Irish women, who probably flunked out of step dancing class trying to mix traditional Irish step dancing with something more rock and roll. Ugh!
And this lovely evening's cost? $127. Probably the most I've ever spent on dinner, and probably one of the worst dinners I've ever had.
DO NOT do this if you go to Dublin. Next time we go we'll ask around for which pubs offer good Irish music in the evenings for free, 'cause we were told later that lots of them do good music after dinner with no additional cost.
I haven't been as spot on as I'd like regarding all the resolutions I made this year. I haven't been blogging as much as I'm supposed to or exercising as much. But today I leave for what (according to my resolutions list) will be the first of at least vacations of three nights or longer.
We're off to Ireland!
We'd been thinking about somewhere to go back in December and Aer Lingus had offered this fantastic sale but we waited too long and when we finally decided we'd go for it, it was too late. But who's Aer Lingus trying to kid -- February in Ireland isn't exactly the most happening time to go.
We waited, and Aer Lingus brought the sale back. Roundtrip airfare and four nights in a 3-star hotel. Granted the hotel's more than five minutes away from the center (hoping for no more than a 20-minute walk) and it is going to be cold and rainy, but come one, we're going to be in Ireland!
My husband can't wait for the beer; I can't wait for the music and sexy accents.
I'm also thrilled to finally be able to share my favorite country with my husband. For those of you who know me, you may remember that he wasn't allowed off our our honeymoon cruise at any of the Irish ports. So now he's finally setting foot on the Emerald Isle and I get to share it with him.
We're even gonna spend a day in Belfast, which I haven't seen since I was 21. That's a long time ago...
I'll let you know if my favorite country is still my favorite when we come back.
There was one other nice thing that came out of my trip to Anguilla. I took a really great photograph of a tree lizard.
I know that sounds pretty lame, but I felt like I had taken a great nature shot that could rival most any nature photo you've ever seen of a lizard.
I submitted it for critique on some photo Web site, got lots of great comments and the photo was selected for inclusion in the site's annual published photo book. Well, it was selected along with about 1,000 others and really the published photo book is the site trying to make money by selling the books to the photographers whose photos are included -- but I still think it's pretty cool. Come on, tell me this isn't a nice picture!
The second Caribbean island I ever visited was Anguilla. I went as part of a travel agent FAM trip -- I was the only non travel agent in the group (other than the PR folks leading the trip).
The FAM (which is short for familiarization) was billed as the ultimate luxury trip, including a stay at a luxury resort, with fantastic meals and all sorts of high-end experiences. I believe they even valued the trip at $20,000 per person, or something like that. Basically the kind of FAM that sounds like a dream come true. I practically begged my editor to let me go when I received my invitation. I wish I hadn't.
My first impression of Anguilla was... blah. It's not a particularly attractive island from the interior. Lots of scraggly brush areas, kind of brownish, and really not much to see. There are no rolling hills, no stretches of green. But then, no one is coming to Anguilla for the interior of the island. They're coming for the beaches. And the beaches are beautiful. White sand beaches, turquoise water -- very pretty.
We stayed at a well-known resort called Cap Jaluca. It's a luxury property that has attracted the likes of Paris Hilton. Accommodations are spread throughout several villa buildings, each building having two to four "rooms."
The group of us were distributed among the varying room categories. One agent and I were given villa rooms. My villa room included: a full-size kitchen, dining room, living room, bedroom, balcony, small enclosed patio (which I could never get to because the door wouldn't open), bathroom, changing room, and private pool with large patio. It was enormous, well at least for just one person it was pretty big.
I found being in that "room" very lonely. There was too much space for one person to occupy and so it always felt empty in there. I did however take advantage of my private, enclosed pool to go skinny dipping a couple of times as I had not brought a bathing suit with me. I enjoyed that, but wished my husband could've been with me.
The resort was OK in my mind, but doesn't really offer anything to do beyond relaxing on the beach. There are only two restaurants, a small gym and a tiny spa, though to be fair they usually do massages in your room or on the patio's outside the rooms. We were all given a half an hour massage (part of the luxury aspect of the FAM). I traded my massage for a spa pedicure, which was very well done and lasted quite a while. All the agents told me they loved their massages.
My favorite aspect of Cap Jaluca -- the golf carts that all guests are allowed to drive around. I definitely had fun putting pedal to the metal on those things and seeing how fast I could take the curves with them. I don't think they ever went faster than 10 or 15 miles per hour, no matter how hard I pressed the pedals.
There are also two boutiques at the resort, with everything way overpriced. And they had two small library rooms with computers with free Internet.
We only ate at one of the resort's two restaurants. They do have a very nice beach barbecue, which normally costs $75 per person -- a bit pricey for what you get, if you ask me.
Actually, everything on Anguilla is pricey. Even the most moderately priced resorts were still at least $200 a night. In those rooms, you usually get a kitchenette, so I suppose you could save money by doing some light cooking.
There are no all-inclusives on Anguilla. Some of the resort's included breakfast, some did not. Some included Internet, some did not. One of the more moderate resorts offered free laundry.
But really what Anguilla seemed to offer were the four- and five-star resorts. One, CuisinArt Resort & Spa has the nicest spa I have ever seen in my life!!
The other accommodation option on Anguilla are the exclusive villa resorts. each with a small number of extravagant villas that fit four to 12 guests. These villas typically cost $12,000 and up per night.
But these are dream villas -- multiple bedrooms; private theater rooms; activities rooms with billiards, ping pong and more; gyms; meditation areas; gorgeous dining rooms; private pools and private beaches; multiple Jacuzzis; and more. We saw one amazing villa that Beyonce and Jay-Z have vacationed in -- they were that nice!
These places were the only properties I saw that I could imagine coming back to Anguilla for -- not that I'll ever be able to afford them. But if I could, I can imagine that it's very nice to come with a large group of friends or extended family and spend a week or more there.
We saw other nice resort properties, but all are so expensive and include nothing but the room. Somehow it always just seemed so extravagant to me and I could find no value in any of it. But then I don't make a lot of money so maybe someone who is making half a million dollars a year sees it differently. Certainly to the travel agents I was with, these properties represented significant income for them if they could sell them to their affluent clients.
We had some nice meals on Anguilla as well. Most of the restaurants say they offer the best fine dining and some of them did offer very good meals, but my favorite meal was actually at a private restaurant off property. Truly delicious food.
Overall I did not enjoy my stay on Anguilla. The luxury FAM I had been expecting was really mostly time spent going from property to property for tours in the hot sun. The only luxury we experienced were the resort we stayed at, the meals we ate, one half-hour spa treatment and a half-day speed boat tour of the island, which included a stop at a restaurant on a secluded cove. The restaurant is owned by a local character whose name escapes me now. Guests have two choices - crayfish or chicken, there is no vegetarian option. I don't know if the drinks were included in the $75 price tag or not. I guess the food was good -- all of us who had chicken thought the meal was okay, but those who had the crayfish really liked it. The best part of the time there was wading in the light waves on the small beach and talking to the owner who really is a character.
I was also lonely most of the time on this trip. I don't know if it was something going on in my life at that moment, or if it really was the trip or the island itself, but even though I talked to the others and socialized, I felt extremely lonely the whole time.
I think it was partly because the island is sooo expensive and I couldn't even begin to relate to the kind of people who must come there. I probably felt out of place a lot. And it was exhausting going from one resort to another all day long.
I doubt I'll ever go back to Anguilla again. Unless I win mega-millions and decide to rent a villa there someday there is nothing on that island for me. I leave it to Beyonce and Jay-Z, may they enjoy it to their heart's content.
Two blog entries ago I mentioned that it was in the Bahamas that I first truly realized the possibility of going on Walkabout. And I said I would blog a little more about the concept.
Walkabout is an Aboriginal concept. Most sources say it was a rite of passage for adolescent boys who went out into the desert for a certain period of time. During their time in the desert they follow their tribe's songlines through the desert, seeking their own strengths and weaknesses. I've also read in some places that older men also occassionally went, or go, on Walkabout when they feel an urge to do so.
I first heard about the concept of Walkabout on an episode of Babylon 5 where the station's doctor leaves his job and home and goes on Walkabout in an area of the space station that is considered dangerous. He is seeking himself, literally, and resolves to stay on Walkabout until he meets himself. He walks and walks until eventually he does meet himself, and even fights himself. Afterwards he has had an epiphany about who he is and what he wants out of life. He returns to his daily life, more fulfilled.
Though the Babylon 5 episode takes the Walkabout concept completely literally (the doctor literally meets another version of himself), on a symbolic level, when someone goes on Walkabout they are seeking themselves. Who they are, what their strengths are, what their weaknesses are, what they are capable of during hardship, when they must throw in their cards... and you stay on Walkabout until you meet yourself.
That concept has stayed with me since I first saw the Babylon 5 episode. The idea of leaving everything behind and setting out into the desert, the wild open world, and just walking until I met myself resonated with me.
Then when I first began planning my travel abroad, the idea of going on Walkabout began to insinuate itself into my thoughts. Once I realized that leaving for six or nine or even 12 months wasn't actually that much different than leaving for three months, in terms of job searching when I came back, going on Walkabout began to seem possible.
It wasn't long before I began referring to my upcoming journey as my Walkabout. I was going out into the big, scary world, without my usual support structure, and I was going to meet myself -- whoever that was.
It was terrifying really. Not just the thought of going out into the world alone and facing who knows what, but also the thought of meeting myself. What if I didn't like who I met? What if I was weak and incapable of being on my own? What if I failed altogether and didn't discover anything about myself? What if I came home exactly the same as when I left?
It would take a book to explore what I learned about myself on Walkabout, but learn I did. I believe I learned more about myself in the nine months I spent traveling than in the 30-something years prior. It wasn't an easy process. It wasn't pain-free, but it was totally worth it.
Have you ever thought about picking up and leaving? Would you ever consider going on Walkabout, walking until you met yourself?
Before going to Antigua I'd only been to two islands in the Caribbean - the Bahamas and Anguilla. I thought I'd reminisce a little about those trips before I tell you about Antigua. Maybe doing this will help get my Antigua thoughts in order.
I've been to the Bahamas twice. Once for a three-night stay back in spring of 2003 and then again as a port of call on an NCL cruise last year.
Visiting the Bahamas on a cruise doesn't really give you a taste of the island because for the most part all anyone does is touristy stuff. On our stop in Nassau, my husband and I went to Atlantis. Of course it just happened to be a cold, rainy day and so we didn't get to partake in any of the watery fun, but we walked through their small aquariums and ate lunch and had a generally nice afternoon. But I wouldn't say that we were actually in the Bahamas or experienced the Bahamas that day.
I did get a little feel for what the island was actually like in 2003 when I went there by myself. I had gone for two reasons -- 1.) I needed to get away from a bad time in my life and 2.) I wanted to prove to myself that I could travel alone.
I stayed at an all-inclusive on what I think must have been Paradise Island. It was a budget all-inclusive. I don't remember it as being very nice, thought it wasn't a dive either. I remember that I didn't like eating in the dining room because I was alone and at that point in my life I was not comfortable eating alone in front of other people. So the only place I could really get food was the poolside cafe, which had light food and I think I must have had chicken fingers for lunch and dinner at least half my stay there.
I had some good experiences there and proved to myself that I could do things I never knew I could. For instance, I walked from the resort to Nassau. That's a pretty long walk, requiring going over this very large bridge that bridges the distance between Nassau and Paradise Island. I remember that the walk there didn't feel too bad. I don't remember too much about what I did in Nassau though I'm pretty sure I went to a pirate museum.
When it was time for me to come back I was tired and was not thrilled about the long walk home. I remember going to look for a taxi, but the forwardness of some of the younger taxi drivers did intimidate me a little and when I asked how much it would cost, I did not have enough money. One of the drivers told me about the Jitney buses, which cost much less and are how the locals get around.
I won't lie. I was scared to try the local system, but I really didn't want to walk and for once in my life I didn't want fear to stop me from doing something. I can't remember whether I found a Jitney in town or flagged one down, though I think I remember starting to walk and getting into a Jitney outside of the town.
I do remember that the Jitney was only able to take me as far as the bridge and then I had to walk over the bridge. Thankfully, the resort I was staying at was pretty close to the bridge on the Paradise side.
I also remember that I was the only white person in the bus, that the driver had me sit up front with him and that we talked about me and where I was from and him and his life. But the thing that stands out most for me on that ride was that he was eating some local fruit, a berry/orange type of thing, and that he offered me one. Now I don't usually like fruite and I've read that eating local fruit is sort of like drinking local water. It could make you sick. But in that moment I wanted to be worldly. I wanted to be like all those people I've read about who are able to insert themselves into a "strange"world and adapt to it. So I took one of his fruits and ate it. It wasn't my cup of tea, but it wasn't terrible and I was able to finish it, smile and say thank you. I think he really appreciated that. Appreciated that I didn't just reject his offer, a taste of his local culture. And I was proud of myself for doing it.
Another stand out moment on that trip, was going to swim with dolphins. Funnily enough the actually swimming with dolphins wasn't the most amazing part -- although it is pretty awesome getting a kiss from a dolphin! I was the only person who wasn't with someone on the excursion, and people did look at me a bit oddly, or at least I thought they did. I remember sitting on the dock waiting for the boat to arrive that would take us to the dolphin center. I remember the sun beating down on my shoulders and sitting there apart from everyone and thinking "Wow, I'm by myself. I'm doing all of this by myself and it's really not so bad."
I think that was one of the most important moments in my life. Although the trip was a lonely one in some ways, realizing I could be by myself in a new place, that I could get around on my own, and feel relatively comfortable was monumental. This was the first time I had ever truly traveled by myself in a totally new and different environment.
It was on this trip that I made a decision that changed the rest of my life. It was while sitting by the pool on my last day, writing in my journal that I decided to leave everything I knew, everything that was familiar to me behind.
I was going to go on walkabout (see my next blog entry for more on this concept). I was going to find myself. And while I had been considering doing this for some time until that moment I had been thinking I would be gone for only three months. But after proving to myself that I could travel alone, and realizing on a practical level that being gone for three months was really the same as being gone six or nine or 12 months, in terms of job hunting and all that, I decided right then and there that I was going to go away for longer. I'm not sure if I settled on a year right then and there, but I did decide my walkabout would be longer than three months.
Though I don't think there's really that much to see and do in the Bahamas, other than real touristy stuff, the Bahamas will always hold a special place for me because in one very major way, my first trip there changed my life.
As I posted last week, I recently was away on vacation in Antigua. We made the plans back in June and bought our tickets, using frequent flier miles, on Delta at that time. We had booked non-stop fights between New York's JFK airport and Antigua, and were scheduled to leave on Wednesday, Nov. 25 (the day before Thanksgiving).
The Sunday before hand, on a whim, I decided to check our itinerary to make sure our seats were assigned and see if the times had changed at all. I log in and at the top in red letters it says that one or more pieces of our itinerary have been changed. As I look down to see what the new times are I notice something pretty amazing -- the only flight listed is my flight coming back from Antigua to New York. There is NO flight to Antigua.
Well, suffice it to say, I flew into a tizzy. How could they not alert me to the fact that they'd canceled our flight down to Antigua!! I immediately get on the phone to call Delta. Three hours later I'm still listening to elevator music and the message telling me they're experiencing higher than normal call volume. Let me say that again -- THREE HOURS LATER.
During that time, I do some online searches to see what my options might be. Delta has NO flights to Antigua on the day we're supposed to leave or the day before or the day after. Nor, do they have flights to other Caribbean islands (just in case we could maybe switch our resort). American Airlines has a couple of flights with seats left. United has one flight. There are no other available flights within that three-day period.
Then, I screw up. I have my phone on speaker phone so that I don't have to keep it to my ear for three hours. When I suddenly think I hear a real voice get on the line, I mistakenly hit the button to turn the phone off instead of just turning speaker phone off. I'm ready to start crying at this point. I'm ready to spend a couple thousand dollars to get us tickets to Antigua. But everyone is telling me Delta will put us on another flight so I should wait. Of course, I still have to get through to Delta!
The second time I call Delta I skip the 800 number and call the actual area code number. Within five minutes I'm talking to an actual person. She tells me that the earliest she can get me on a Delta flight is the 27th. I tell her, okay, put me on another carrier. At first she wants to put me on an American flight that leaves from JFK, flies to Puerto Rico where we'd have to wait 6 or 7 hours(!!!) before flying to Antigua and arriving late at night. Screw that! I tell her I want to be put on the American flight that leaves from Newark, flies to Miami, where it leaves less than 2 hours later and gets us to Antigua only 2 hours later than we were originally scheduled to arrive.
She looks it up, says she can do it and books it for us.
Ok, that's taken care of. I await my e-mail confirmation from Delta. When I get it I look at it to make sure everything is in order. Wait - the date of departure says Nov. 24, the day before we were supposed to depart.
I call Delta back (again using the area code number and not the 800 number). I get a different sales rep. I tell her what happened. She looks up the American flights and says, American doesn't have any seats on the flights departing on the 25th. Well, why didn't the other sales rep tell me this? The lady I'm talking to tells me she can put me on the Puerto Rico flight if I want. No, I don't want. I'd rather fly down a day early. Thankfully, I'm able to get the resort (St. James's Club & Villas) to let us come down a day early for a minimal fee.
In the end I suppose we should say thank you to Delta since we got to go down to Antigua a day early, and even avoided the day before Thanksgiving airline rush. But we were lucky we had the flexibility to do that. A lot of people wouldn't have. And it doesn't change the fact that Delta never even bothered to tell us the flight had been canceled.
When I got back from my vacation I sent them an e-mail with my complaint and was told their records showed they had tried to call and e-mail me way back on Oct. 8.
Unless their idea of trying to call is ringing once then hanging up, or getting voice mail and not leaving a message, there is no way they tried to call. I'd have noticed a message saying my flight had been canceled. And as for e-mail, I got the original itinerary via e-mail, I got the new itinerary via e-mail, I get all their advertisement e-mails and frequent flier monthly reports but I never got an e-mail telling me my flight had been canceled.
They can tell me their records tell them they contacted me until dooms day, they are lying. They made no effort to contact me -- and I'm an Elite flyer with Delta.
And to top it all off, when we got back one of our suitcases was soaked in fish juice! Don't even ask me how that happened. Luckily enough everything inside was okay, but the suitcase had to be thrown out. I included this incident in my e-mailed complaint. They didn't even mention it in their response.
I told them loud and clearly that they had lost me as a loyal customer. Given any choice at all, I will avoid Delta. I used to like them, now they definitely top my Worst Airlines list.
Delta doesn't care about its customers. They continue to make this very clear. Because of their size they know people usually won't have a choice and will have to fly them, so they put no effort into customer service, no effort into customer care.
Let me say here quickly, I do not mean the flight attendents who, as with any airline, can be either really good or not so good. I mean Delta Air Lines, the company, considers its customers to be worthless, as worthless as the bags they casually toss into the cargo hold of its planes.
If you have a choice, send Delta a message -- I am the reason you exist and if you won't treat me with the respect and service that I deserve, then I will take my business elsewhere.
As some of you may have noticed, I haven't been blogging lately. There are several reasons for this. The best reason, which only accounts for 9 days of absence, was a long-awaited vacation to Antigua. I'll have much more to say on our trip later, but for today I thought I'd share a little video of what the waves were like our last few days there. Impressive, especially for the Caribbean (there was even a small group of surfers who took their boards out), but because of the rough sea we couldn't go in the water or enjoy the kayaking or pedal boats. But they were fun to walk around in, though afterward we had sand all over everything!
Any time I’ve been on a Carnival cruise ship I’ve always felt like I’ve stepped into someone’s schizophrenic dream of multiple personalities. I’m truly curious to know if some psychologist has ever tried to analyze Joe Farcus, the man who has designed the interiors of virtually all, if not all, of Carnival’s ships, based solely on his interior designs. And though the new Carnival Dream is actually the most subdued I’ve ever seen – FOR A CARNIVAL SHIP – I still had that strange feeling as I moved from room to room that this ship just doesn’t know who it is.
I’ll give you a perfect example of what I mean. In the middle of any large cruise ship, you’ll find the elevator banks. On either side of the elevators are two stairwells. On the Dream, if you use the stairs on one side (I don’t remember which was aft and which was forward), you’ll find artwork at each landing that is surreal, storybook-like or fantastical. There was no rhyme or reason to the art, each was distinctly different from the others. OK, fine, there’s a theme there. BUT, if you then switch to the other staircase, the artwork is 20s- or 30s-era slightly cartoonish Hollywood-esque paintings. Similar images, though not the same, line every cabin corridor. Separately, I liked the two themes, but together they just don’t make any sense. There is no way for me to relate them to each other, and so I’m left feeling like two different people, with widely different tastes, chose the ship’s décor. I can’t help it I find it confusing.
And that feeling pretty much sticks with me any time I move through a Carnival ship, there’s just no way to make sense of the interior designs.
With that said, the Dream is the most staid of the three Carnival ships I’ve sailed on. There is glitz, glimmer and burnished metal, it really wouldn’t be Carnival without it, but there’s less of it. And I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. I spoke to several travel agents for an article who said pretty much the same thing. They were surprised by the ship, that it wasn’t as over the top as Carnival ships usually are. Pleasantly surprised. Of course, as with any Carnival ship, there are lots of places to get a drink (they’re not known as booze cruises for nothing) and lots of activities to partake in. It is a Fun Ship, after all. One of the coolest things on the ship is the new water park, the largest on any cruise ship. Of course I barely got to see it as it was rainy and cold during my few hours on board the ship. But the water park has lots of water slides, splash zones, spray toys and the longest corkscrew water slide at sea. I wonder who will use it the most? Kids or adults?
One of the things I liked the most on the Dream was a new breakdance troupe that the cruise line has brought aboard, both for onstage entertainment, and as a roving troupe in the evenings teaching people basic breakdance moves. I gotta say, watching a drunk 40-something white guy trying to break dance is pretty funny!
Carnival Cruise Line's newest, and largest, ship the Carnival Dream made its US debut yesterday in New York City. In a laid-back ceremony designed to be fun, since Carnival is the "fun ship" cruise line, guests were treated to a performance of hip-hop acrobatic troupe "Fun Force" and entertained by Carnival's blogging senior cruise director John Heald. Finally, ship godmother Marcia Gay Harden swung an official Yankee bat, signed by A-Rod himself, at a larger-than-life champagne replica, thereby christening The Carnival Dream.
I like to play a game called "I have all the money in the world." The game goes like this. I get a catalog in the mail, maybe for clothing or jewelry. Or for kids' educational toys, or for just about anything. I settle myself comfortably on my couch and begin to flip through the catalog picking out the things I would buy if money were not object.
I'm not sure why I enjoy the game so much. I mean I'm not a window shopper. I hate going to stores if I'm not going to buy anything, but somehow doing it with catalogs doesn't bother me. I find it fun to pick out things I would buy if I lived another life.
As a general rule I don't play the same game with travel because that does get me down. Pretending I have the money to take a two-week Caribbean cruise is a lot more depressing than pretending I have the money to buy a pair of earrings.
But recently I got an e-mail advertising a trip that is kinda fun to think about "what if." Maybe because its a bit over-the-top in price with very little value attached that I know I probably wouldn't do it even if I did have all the money in the world.
It's a two-day Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Halloween trip to Ashford Castle in Ireland.
Although the 13th century castle has nothing to do with Harry Potter or wizardry, it's fairy-tale feel, secret rooms, hidden alcoves and mystical setting easily conjure up the fantastical world of Harry Potter, creating a perfect Halloween destination.
The special 2-night Hogwarts Halloween program includes:
Day One: * A visit to the hiding place of Dingle, Ashford Castle's resident owl * Afternoon chamber of Witchcraft & Wizardry (I'm not sure what that means exactly) * Kid's dinner in the Dungeon * George V Table d'Hote dinner for adults * Harry Potter movie evening
Day Two: * Isle of Innisfree passage to Inchagoill Island via boat * Hidden garden treasure hunt * Kids' dinner in the Dungeon * George V Table d'Hote dinner for adults * Harry Potter movie evening
The two-night package is priced at approximately $690 per night for two adults and two children (under the age of 12) sharing a deluxe queen room. See what I mean by a bit over-the-top in terms of expense! Of course, I think I would feel like I was in a fairy tale if I ever got to stay there.
Just in case you want to know more about Ashford Castle, you can visit its Website at www.ashford.ie.
When I was a kid, after seeing the movie "Stand by Me," I became obsessed with the '50s and listened almost exclusively to '50s music (at the time CBS 101.1 was the channel of "oldies"). Even though that fad faded quickly for me, I still have a soft spot for lots of things '50s. One of my new favorite eateries is Cheeburger, Cheeburger, which not only has great turkey burgers but features a great '50s era Malt Shop ambiance. So when I got an e-mail a few days ago from Carnival Cruises about their latest theme cruise, my attention was immediately caught. The Malt Shop Memories cruise will bring together a group of musicians from the '50s and '60s to entertain passengers for five days.
In partnership with a company called Sixthman and inspired by Time Life's Malt Shop Memories collection, the five-day cruise sails May 13-17, 2010 onboard the Carnival Inspiration, traveling roundtrip from Tampa, Florida and featuring one stop at Cozumel, Mexico. But what makes this sailing so special is the collection of musicians gathered onboard including Frankie Avalon, Bobby Rydell, Little Anthony & The Imperials, Lesley Gore, The Original Drifters, The Platters and Lou Christie.
In addition to the non-stop music, passengers will get to interact with the musicians and will enjoy other '50s and '60s era activities including sock-hops, beach parties, dance contests and more.
If you want to find out more information about the cruise, including the cost, visit www.MaltShopCruise.com.
I thought I'd pass on a few great travel offers that came across my desk recently. If you've got some time left this year and a little money saved up there really are some great travel deals out there right now.
For instance, want to go on a Caribbean cruise? MSC Cruises is offering last minute deals on select Caribbean cruises with prices starting at $249 per person for a five-night cruise from Ft. Lauderdale. The cruises are aboard the line's new ship, the MSC Poesia.
The $249 cruise departs on either Nov. 5 or Nov. 15 and visits Ocho Rios, Jamaica and Georgetown, Grand Cayman, with two days at sea.
The line is also offering special prices on a few 10-night cruises as well. The "Remarkable Rainforests & The Panama Canal" 10-night cruise features pricing starting at only $599. The cruise departs only on Dec. 10. Stops include Grand Cayman, Columbia, Panama, Costa Rica and Mexico.
Also priced at $599 is the 10-night "Tropical Splendors, European Charm" cruise which visits Puerto Rico, St. Kitts, Barbados, Martinique, St. Maarten and the Bahamas. This cruise also departs on Nov. 30.
One thing that should be noted, these prices do not include the additional fees like government fees and taxes, which could be another hundred or more dollars. To book these cruises you must use a travel agent and you must book and deposit $100 by October 31.
The next offer I came across is more pricey, but in some ways much cooler (at least I think so). It's for a Disney vacation in Orlando -- I know there are more than a few adults out there who think that sounds like fun! For a short time, Disney is offering people a chance to pay for a four-night Walt Disney World Resort package (including room and tickets) but stay for seven nights, OR pay for five nights, stay for seven and get a few extras thrown in like free park tickets.
These offers, called Magic Your Way packages, include accommodations for seven nights and a seven-day Magic Your Way Base ticket, and are available for travel between Nov. 1 - 20, Dec. 10 - 24, and Jan. 3 - March 27, 2010. Bookings must be made by Dec. 20.
As with the MSC Cruises offers, you must book your travel with a travel agent to take advantage of the special pricing.
I love surveys. I don’t know why, but I just find them fascinating. I love being part of surveys and I love reading the results of surveys. I love the statistics, the bullet points, the conclusions that people draw. I love seeing myself in the surveys and comparing myself to others.
So when a press release for a new travel survey came across my e-mail, I just knew I had to compare myself to the results and share the information. The survey was done by a travel agency franchise organization called Travel Leaders. The company has store-front agencies all around the country bearing the Travel Leaders banner. Their new survey revealed the travel behavior of travelers throughout the United States, including the fact that 84% of those polled have already taken at least one leisure trip in 2009 and more than 88% plan on taking at least one leisure trip between now and the end of the year.
Pretty interesting results, considering the country is in one of its worst recessions in decades. But not surprising really. People are not willing to give up their vacations because they need vacations. Most people need to get away from all the stress the recession is causing. And thankfully, most people still have the means to take a leisure trip, even if it’s just one or two nights away from home.
I can happily say I fit into both of the statistics cited above. I have already taken two leisure trips this year and have another planned for November.
Knowing I have that trip ahead of me to look forward to is sometimes the only thing keeping me going forward on a day-to-day basis. That’s how important vacations are. Do you agree?
The survey also showed that 65% of those polled indicated the trip(s) they’ve either taken or are going to take are within the United Statesand further than a bordering state. That’s me again! My first and second leisure trips of the year were several states away. Even though one of the trips was just for one night, the fact that I was far from home provided the escape I needed. Not that I think you need to go several states away to escape. I live in New Jersey and I’m sure a few nights at the Jersey shore would offer a very nice escape! Thirty percent of survey respondents agreed, either having taken or planning a trip within their own state this year.
Only my first two trips of the year fit the non-bordering state statistic. My November trip will be out of the country. A little more than 40% of those surveyed by Travel Leaders also said that at least one of their trips was or will be international.
One statistic that my behavior differs from dramatically is what my average spending on leisure trips in 2009 was/will be. Nearly 75% of those surveyed said they would be spending the same or more (the actual number saying they were spending more, and not just the same, was only 27.3%). Instead, I fit in with the 16% who said they would be spending somewhat less this year.
Here's where, unfortunately, the economy and unemployment have had to impact my leisure trip plans. Not only am I spending less on the trips I do take, I am taking less trips. Last year my husband and I took several weekend trips. This year we’ve only taken two and I do not see how we can afford a third one. But like I said, I’ve got one big trip to look forward to and that’s all that really matters!
Finally, I thought the key reasons for taking leisure trips in 2009 were pretty interesting. Just over 70% said they needed rest and relaxation, while 48.9% said they needed to get away. It seems to me the two are almost the same, though I guess I always think “get away” before I think simply “rest and relaxation.” Also related to these two answers, were the 25.9% who said they take a leisure trip for the benefit of their mental/physical health. A little over 50% of respondents said they take a leisure trip every year (also true of my husband and me).
Where do you fit into these survey results? Have you taken at least one trip this year? Are you planning a trip for sometime between now and the end of the year? Are you spending more or less?
In his Sept. 7th New York Times column On the Road, Joe Sharkey discusses the airlines' newest method of saying "screw you" to their customers.
Numerous fees for every thing under the sun are no longer enough. Now in an effort to get people off the planes as quickly as possible and then clean the planes even faster, so they can be turned around for another flight, some airlines are prohibiting people from putting anything in the seat pocket in front of them!
In other words, you may not put your paperback book in the seat in front of you. You may not put your pack of tissues, your reading glasses, the magazine you bought at the airport, nothing, nada, zip, zero. Whatever you have with you either goes in your bag under your seat or in the overhead compartment. Screw you if you need them and can't reach them because the seats are too packed together so you can't reach under your seat or there's a bit of turbulence so you may not stand up to get to the overhead bin.
The airline Sharkey experienced this wonderful new rule on was SkyWest, one of the many regional airlines that operates as a subcontractor for some of the large, legacy airlines including United, Delta and Midwest. What's more, the flight attendent who enforced the rule with frigthening efficiency claimed the rule was a safety precaution. Since clearly my pack of tissues and People magazine pose no danger (I can't think of a single circumstance where they might), the "safety" rule is a ruse for some other reason. I can't help but wonder if this flight attendent actually believed she was ensuring the safety of her passengers by enforcing this inane new rule.
Sharkey goes on in his column to say that so far this rule has only been encountered by his readers on regional airlines. He adds that after speaking with the other airlines, they all said that by banning personal belongings in the seat pockets the airline can speed up the cleaning process.
But while this rule so far seems confined to the regional airlines, Sharkey brings up a valid point. Many people who fly regional flights actually booked their tickets with a major carrier, which then subcontracted a route it did not feel warranted one of its own planes to a regional carrier that specializes in the area. These fliers booked a ticket with the major carrier, they paid the major carrier, they expect the rules and regulations that are listed on that major carrier's Web site to prevail. But they don't, nor does the major carrier stick up for its passengers and demand that the regional airlines treat their passengers the way the larger airline would.
I find this hard to believe and once again I'm amazed at how the usual rules don't apply to airlines. If I go to a deli in New York City and order a bagel and that bagel has a piece of glass in it when I bite into it, the deli is responsible for my injury -- even if the deli didn't bake the bagel itself but instead bought the bagel from a bakery. So even though technically they subcontracted the production of their bagels to another company, because I bought the bagel from the deli, they are responsible. How come it's not the same with the airlines?
Is it because airlines offer a service, not a product. Is the company that does the subcontracting not responsible for service provided by the subcontractor it hires?
If I pay Airline A, if they are getting my money, then shouldn't I be subject to their rules? Shouldn't I get all the amenities they offer? Why is it o.k. for them to put a disclaimer in saying, we're not responsible for anything our subcontractors do?
As usual, the airlines leave me with a bitter taste in my mouth, praying for the day when the consumer is finally in a position to say "screw you" back to the airlines.
Several months ago Delta became the first airline to charge for a second checked bag on some (i.e. most) international flights -- a whopping $50. At the time, I e-mailed them to let them know how disgusted I was with their policy and that they were losing my business. I was at the time a Silver member of their frequent flier program. I made the decision to switch my loyalty to another carrier, even though I know there may be times I have no choice but to fly Delta. But whenever I have a choice, I will avoid Delta when I can.
Then last week American Airlines announced that it too will begin charging $50 for a second checked bag on select international flights. I've already sworn off flying American Airlines, as I consider it one of the worst airlines out there. I believe they are the least reliable and have the worst customer service. Any time I am forced to fly American Airlines I cringe and so far, with almost no exceptions, every AA flight has been a disaster. The last time I flew them, my flights into and out of Newark were canceled. Unfortunately, I do still have more than 100,000 frequent flier miles from AA though and do maintain my balance by using an AA credit card, but once I've had the opportunity to use those miles (I'm hoping to use them to go to Africa some day), I plan to continue avoiding American Airlines as well.
Yesterday, US Airways announced that it is both upping the amount it charges for first and second checked bags on domestic flights but will also charge $50 for a second checked bag on international flights.
Also yesterday, Continental Airlines broke my heart when it jumped on the bandwagon of charging $50 for the second checked bag on ALL flights to Europe. I had hoped they would hold out a little longer but alas they are as greedy as the other airlines. It's sad for me because Continental is the airline that I have chosen to give my loyalty to whenever possible. I made that decision because they are the only airline that still offers food onboard for free. But it is getting harder and harder to justify my loyalty to them, especially as they have made the decision to join the Star Alliance, which is headlined by United Airlines (my second least favorite airline after AA).
The thing that kills me is that I truly believe that once this new fee takes hold, which it will as Delta had no trouble with it, airlines are going to start charging for the first checked bag on international flights, as well. And the thing is, they'll all do it, so I can't even give my loyalty to the most flier-friendly airline, because, with just a few exceptions like Southwest (which doesn't fly from my home airport) and JetBlue (with a limited number of flight destinations), there is no such thing as a flier-friendly airline!
So choosing an airline truly has become an act of choosing the lesser of all evils. And there's nothing we can do about it. I can not wait for the day when a real alternative to flying is discovered or invented. Airlines will see just how fast their passengers abandon them then.
Which is your favorite airline, or least favorite airline, and why? What do you think of the baggage fees?
