Cruises

Next week I am taking a trip to Venice for four nights and leaving the laptop at home. I’ve not written as many posts in the last few weeks because I have been busy working on a new project called Life in Leeds, and I launched it this week.

Impact of the recession

Since I am away on my holiday, I thought I would open up this post and I would like to know where you are going on holiday, how you have booked your holiday this year and has the recession impacted where you are travelling to.

Normal service will resume on my return.

This post was syndicated from the Travel Rants blog. Signup for the free Travel Newsletter or subscribe to the Travel RSS feed for regular updates like this.

Venice, my life in Leeds and recession impacting holidays

Here’s your chance to win a gift card and impact green travel.

We’re helping to promote the CMI Green and BBMG first ever “Green Traveler Survey.”

Your feedback will help airlines, cruise lines, hotels, tour operators and destinations make their operations and communications greener.

The online survey takes about 10-15 minutes to fill out. Plus, 10 people will receive their choice of a iTunes gift card, a Amazon credit, or a donation to the charity of thier choice.

All of you answers are strictly confidential — none of the information you provide will be used for marketing purposes, nor will you be added to any lists without your optional, express consent at the conclusion of the survey.

Please take a moment now to take the survey. Your feedback will make a huge difference in the future of green travel. Please also send the link to your friends and colleagues, and ask them to complete their survey by June 15th.

originally posted at Go Green Travel Green

Win : Take the Green Travel Survey

This week I had the opportunity to interview John McEwan who is one of the two candidates for the role of chairman ABTA, the Travel association, an association that should be focusing more on the issues that affect travel consumers.

Why is holiday financial protection so confusing and what improvements are needed to make it more understandable for consumers so that we can make a more informed decision if the travel company fails or when booking our holiday?

In an ideal world there should be a common protection system for travel. And part of that would be for a single point of reference for consumers in the event of a business failure – this is a role that ABTA could potentially take on while the CAA continues to administer the business and financial end of the scheme.

What most people want to see is a universal protection scheme that goes beyond the traditional package market. That means a levy on all holiday elements – accommodation and flights. That way we could sweep away the confusion about what is and isn’t protected. Airlines have been against this and that is why the current inadequate system has remained in place.

I agree that it doesn’t do us any favours to have people referred to their credit card companies for refunds. There is a real fear in our industry that credit providers might not want to work with travel companies in the future if they are the ones taking on the risk all the time.

We don’t want the situation where people can’t pay for their travel by credit card, or are asked to pay a big fee for the privilege. This is another reason why sorting out the bonding issue must be a priority.

There are so many ways to book a holiday, and most consumers assume that they have been to a travel agent so it’s a package holiday that they have booked. So you think it’s the role of ABTA to ensure that their members spend time educating the consumer so that there are armed with the full facts before they book the holiday? I personally don’t think this happens.

ABTA certainly has a role when it comes to making sure travellers are fully informed and satisfied with their holiday purchase. Members must abide by a comprehensive Code of Conduct, which governs things such as booking conditions, communication and how complaints are handled as well as complying with relevant UK and EU legislation.

Historically the travel industry has never spoken about the issue of financial protection to consumers, because it was perceived as a negative thing to talk about businesses failing. But in recent months, big companies such as Thomson and Thomas Cook have been highlighting their ATOL bonding and the protection that offers.

Given the millions of holidays taken each year there is a tiny rate of complaint, which proves ABTA members are doing an excellent job on the whole. And the facts show that ABTA’s conduct committee is able to resolve the vast majority of issues to everyone’s satisfaction without the need for legal action.

Air Passenger Duty is a complete joke because there’s no proof that the millions generated is going towards helping the environment so what you think would be the perfect solution for the industry, consumers and the environment?

I don’t think people really have an issue with green taxation per se. The trouble with it is that there is no evidence that the money collected actually goes towards environmental issues. In fact, the Treasury has gone on record as saying it just goes into the general pot.

Nobody likes paying taxes, but consumers would accept it more readily if the money was ring-fenced and everyone could see where it was being spent – whether that was specific green projects or research on things such as cleaner fuels as you suggest.

The planned changes to APD, which will have a detrimental effect to some countries that really rely on tourism, show how the government doesn’t have a joined-up policy when it comes to travel and jobs.

It shows why the industry needs to speak with a united voice. Airlines, operators and agents are all against the way it is levied but the protests are very fragmented. Perhaps the ideal situation would be to link charges to load factors and incentivise airlines to operate cleaner, newer aircraft.

I was not aware that ABTA had ‘elections’ to elect its chairman. It will be a challenge because there’s so much to improve about the travel industry. What do you think are the biggest challenges ahead for the elected chairman?

ABTA current president Justin Fleming is now completing his three-year term in office and the decision has been taken to replace this role with an elected chairman, to increase transparency. So these elections are a historic first for the organisation. We’ve already touched on the major challenges for the chairman – APD and consumer protection are obviously the two hot topics.

ABTA is a very broad church so the new chairman has to embrace the whole of the industry to get it speaking with one voice, and not be divided down the historic lines of tour operators and travel agents.

ABTA really needs to start punching its weight in terms of lobbying – which will be in the interests of both travel companies and consumers. Inbound and outbound travel companies contribute a huge amount to the economy, employing hundreds of thousands of people in the UK.

I’ll be taking an interest in wider business issues too, such as red tape, law and taxation, so the sector goes from strength to strength. ABTA must have the ear of government when it comes to tourism and transport policy-making.

Thanks to John for taking the time to respond to my questions. If you have any questions that you would like to ask then please leave them in the comments section.

This post was syndicated from the Travel Rants blog. Signup for the free Travel Newsletter or subscribe to the Travel RSS feed for regular updates like this.

Q&A with John McEwan. Discussing the future of ABTA

You want to feel like the travel agent wants your business and a rant received questioned the commitment and helpfulness of some travel agents. As the ranter said, you’re not asking for miracles, you just want the agent to give you the impression that they want to help you book your holiday.

You do not want to feel like you are an inconvenience.

Coming across as helpful

I have sometimes come across the same issue, but to be fair, it’s not an issue just associated with travel agents.

This weekend I took my sister to an Italian restaurant for lunch, the food was average, but what annoyed me more was the lack of customer friendliness by the staff. I’ve probably put a few people off going there because I ranted about them today at work.

Word of mouth is powerful

Travel companies have to realise that first impressions count.

Consumers have the tools to be able to share their experiences, and we can be nit-picky, and while their holiday might be fantastic, how the agents come across when booking is vital to the consumer’s impression of the company, and word of mouth is very powerful.

Interested to know of any negative experiences you have had with travel agents.

This post was syndicated from the Travel Rants blog. Signup for the free Travel Newsletter or subscribe to the Travel RSS feed for regular updates like this.

First impressions count when booking with a travel agent

Booking your holiday online can sometimes be frustrating and time consuming if you are looking for something out of the ordinary. If you want to book a package holiday, 7 or 14 days, then the process of booking online can be a breeze when you decide on the destination.

Consumer requirements changing

Consumers have become more adventurous, or know the hotel and how and where they want to depart from. Some holidaymakers do not like staying in the same place and prefer a multi-centre holiday and this is when booking online becomes frustrating.

One reader ranted that he knew the Paris hotel that he wanted to take his partner to, and they wanted to travel on Eurostar, but could he find an online travel agency to meet his requirements, no. Quite rightly he wanted to book through a reputable bonded agency.

To be honest; he would have been quicker booking it himself.

More travel agencies need to change with the times

I think this is one of the things that frustrate me in that ABTA, CAA, tell us to book holidays through their members, but, they are not flexible enough to deal with consumer’s demands in 2009. Time has moved on, the number of people demanding simple holidays has reduced in the last four years.

I am interested to hear what frustrates you about booking your holiday online.

This post was syndicated from the Travel Rants blog. Signup for the free Travel Newsletter or subscribe to the Travel RSS feed for regular updates like this.

Lack of flexibility when booking holiday online

Living near Bristol Airport I have a wide choice of cheap flights to European destinations from both Easyjet and Ryanair who both use the airport as a hub. Recently I had the opportunity to fly with both airlines within the space of a few days and decided to compare the experience.

Ryanair has a reputation for being the lowest of the low cost carriers albeit at the expense of the customer experience, while Easyjet appears to be the friendlier face of low cost travel. I decided to see if they lived up their reputations.

First the Online booking

Both carriers websites are easy to buy from on the face of it although I found all the flashing ads on the Ryanair website a little distracting. I was booking a return flight with Easyjet to Berlin with my daughter and what you see is pretty much what you get in terms of prices.

We were travelling light with only hand baggage but if you check in a suitcase with Easyjet it will cost you £16 for the round trip and if you don’t pay by the Electron Card (try to Co op or Halifax ) you’ll pay an extra £2.95. The final cost was £77 per person return to Berlin.

The Ryanair pricing felt less transparent and it was difficult to work out the final price until you got to the end of the purchase. The prices quoted include tax and at £30 for a return flight to Turin looked like a bargain, but soon the add-ons became apparent.

Forced to use the counter check-in

Although we were carrying mainly hand-luggage, the fact that we had some hold luggage meant that all passengers on the ticket were forced to use the counter check-in and pay an extra £20. Those with suitcases to check in had to pay £30 and the ski bag was a further £60. By now the £30 per person had doubled to £60.

Then there was the handling fee of £10 per person per return journey which is levied on all payments except those with an Electron cards. But even with all the add-ons Ryanair was cheaper at £60 per return flight to Turin compared with £77 with Easyjet for a return flight to Berlin – although neither exactly breaking the bank.

Online check-in

Using the online check-in with Easyjet everything went smoothly – put in your account details & print off the boarding card – that’s it.

With Ryanair it felt a bit like an ordeal. I called up my details, pressed the button to check in and the screen froze. As this was the day before we were due to fly and I was using the office printer as my home one was broken I was starting to feel stressed. I phoned my husband at his work to print out the boarding card but then a new problem presented itself.

At the time of booking, Ryanair only asks for the names of the passengers, but when you check in you need to give all the passport details. This involved calls home to get the necessary details before the boarding cards were finally printed off.

If I had been booking for a group of friends, I might not have had those passport details to hand. Why doesn’t Ryanair ask for them at the time of booking, when you have time to spare, rather than when you’re in a rush just before you travel?

The flight

The Easyjet flight from Bristol to Berlin was on time although on the way back was 15 mins late, due to confusion over a cello which had been booked with it’s own seat and caused some recounting of the passenger numbers. But at least the captain kept us informed of what was going on.

The crew were good humoured, jokingly asking if they could make us a nice cup of tea with their best Edinburgh water. They were helpful to a member of our group who had her leg in a brace and we were all put to the front of the queue although we had forgotten to request special assistance.

Record of being on time

Ryanair was also bang on time flying out of Bristol and on our return trip trip they announced ‘Another on time flight from Ryanair’ as we were 20 mins early, letting us know that Ryanair has the best record for being on time of all the low cost airlines.

The planes are designed for quick turnaround with no pockets on the back of the seats to gather rubbish and adverts on the overhead lockers, although I enjoyed reading the in flight magazine which was handed round during the flight.

The Verdict

Based on my experience, Ryanair lives up to the promises it makes of low fares and good record of flights being on time. However, Easyjet offered a better pre-flight customer experience with transparent pricing and easy booking and check-in on line.

All things being equal I’d choose Easyjet, although it’s amazing how tempting cheap flights can be.

The add-ons

In addition to the published fare, be aware that you may be stung for the following add-ons;

Easyjet

£16 per round trip check in a suitcase
£37 per round trip for skis/sports eqpt
£2.95 per transaction to pay with cards except Electron

Ryanair

£20 per person per round trip to check in at desk with hand luggage
£30 / £40 per bag per round trip to check in a suitcase with online checkin
£60 per bag per round trip to check in ski or sports equipment
£10 per person per round trip to pay with cards except Electron

An excellent in-depth travel guest post written by Heather Cowper who blogs at Heatheronhertravels.com and frequently takes advantage of cheap airfares from her home airport of Bristol.

This post was syndicated from the Travel Rants blog. Signup for the free Travel Newsletter or subscribe to the Travel RSS feed for regular updates like this.

Easyjet Vs Ryanair flight price comparison

One of the rants submitted by a reader this weekend has me concerned because later this year I will be travelling to the United States and I would not want to have to experience what David Pickett and his family did on arrival at the airport.

Airport check-in nightmare

David booked the flights online and they found at check-in that his wife’s UK passport was not valid for entry to US because there was no machine readable code at the bottom of the photo page. They had the visa waiver program documentation but were turned away.

He cannot remember reading that the visa waiver program was not sufficient for the type of passport his wife has. The Foreign, Commonwealth Office website does not mention a specific type of passport to enter the US; they just confirm that you need to apply for the visa waiver program via ESTA.

Machine readable passports only

Reading the Visa Waiver program notes, the passport does have to be a machine readable and it shows an image of what one could look like. To me it looks like any other passport, and my UK passport looks familiar

It seems from the digging around I did this evening that if you applied or renewed your passport prior to 26 October 2005 then it’s likely that it will not be machine readable and you might not be able to enter the US. Consulate affairs offers a useful wizard to guide you through the visa waiver process.

Help for consumers

If you are travelling to the US then I would recommend that you contact the UK Identity and Passport Service via its website or helpline to check before booking or travelling because you would not want to ruin your holiday and be turned away at the airport.

As for David and his family, would travel insurance cover them through this scenario, what about credit card protection, surely it’s not fair that they lose the cost of their flight. Any advice for the consumer would be appreciated.

I am interested to also hear of other UK passport for travel to the US issues.

This post was syndicated from the Travel Rants blog. Signup for the free Travel Newsletter or subscribe to the Travel RSS feed for regular updates like this.

UK passport confusion and advice for travel to the US

Earlier this week I launched a new feature where readers can send me their travel rants to either publish or get off their chest. The response has been excellent, and over the coming weeks I hope to bring you even more travel rants.

Misleading hotel photos

Katie from Tripbase ranted about the authenticity of photos on some hotel websites. Some hotel rooms that look nothing like the huge deluxe suite you see on the website, its misrepresentation so how come hotels get away with it?

Complaining about hotel website photos

If the photographs are misleading on the website then I would suspect that either trading standards or the advertising standards authority would be the places to complain to in the UK, but that could be different depending on the country.

Consumers should always complain to the hotel before they check-out and if the complaint has not being dealt with satisfactory then put it in writing, recorded delivery and make sure you receive a response.

Alternatively, you could leave a review about your experience and upload photos.

Poor quality or staged photos

The main problems I find with hotel photos is the quality, and when the photo was taken, usually when it was first built. You will also find that most of the photos are taken in the best rooms, or very well staged.

So I am interested to hear your experiences with dodgy hotel room photos.

This post was syndicated from the Travel Rants blog. Signup for the free Travel Newsletter or subscribe to the Travel RSS feed for regular updates like this.

Misleading hotel room photos rant

5 trillion plastic bags are produced each year and the vast majority get thrown away according to World Watch Institute.

That’s a lot of plastic.

photo credit: evelynishere

Luckily, more people are switching to reusable bags. Given the unbelievable number of options when choosing a reusable bag, it’s not always easy to know which one to buy. So we’ve put together this handy guide to help you choose a reusable bag.

Primary Use

The first question to ask yourself when looking for a green bag is: What am I going to use my reusable bag for? Grocery shopping? Daily tote? Random shopping spree? Travel?

Unfortunately, I have yet to find the perfect bag for every occasion (if you’ve seen it, let me know) so I have several types of bags that I use depending on the circumstance.

Reusable Grocery Shopping Bags

For planned trips to the grocery store, I find that short and deep bags made out of durable material work best.

Size and Shape: The bags that are about 6-8 inches deep, 12+ inches tall, and 12+ inches wide work especially well for carrying cartons of milk, juice, and other heavy products. Look for grocery bags that have sturdy bottoms that don’t bend when heavy products are placed at the bottom.

Weight and Material: Because I don’t carry grocery bags with me on a daily basis, the weight/bulkiness of bags doesn’t matter too much. However, insulated bags are particularly handy. As are compartmentalized reusable bags with spaces for wine bottles.

Design: Frankly, if my grocery bag is ugly, it doesn’t really matter. Good thing too, because few reusable grocery bags have fun patterns on them.

What to Buy: Free reusable grocery bags tend to work just as well as any you’ll buy. (I got mine from a Discovery Channel booth at a Green Expo). Most grocery stores also sell their own brand of reusable bags.

Online you can find numerous options for reusable grocery shopping bags including this 7 set combo (insulated and wine bag too) set, this 4 set combo pack or this single decorated grocery bag. Reusable grocery bags tend to be the cheapest of all reusable bags with most bags costing under .

Reusable Shopping Bags and Travel Bags

Whether wandering the streets of Tokyo or browsing the aisles of a hometown boutique, you need a reusable bag tucked away for unplanned purchases.   

Size and Shape: Small and compact. There is no way around this one — unlike reusable grocery shopping bags which are fine if they’re fairly bulky, a reusable shopping bag for shopping or travel needs to be very small and very compact so you can shove it away in the depths of your purse or backpack. I like bags that crumple into a small self-contained storage compartment.

Weight and Material: The lighter the better. Again, because you’re carrying this bag with you all the time, you want the lightest and thinnest material possible.

Design: Reusable shopping bags come is a wide variety of patterns and colors. Shop around and you’ll find a design you like.

What to Buy: Look for bags that tuck into themselves like the Flip and Tumble or cinch into a small pouch like the Chico.

We own several Baggu bags and they work really well. Several Twitterers (see below) suggested Envirosax bags.

Daily Tote Bag

If transporting your lunch to work, carrying extra work home, or bringing a change of clothes for the after work work-out, daily totes are indispensable.   

Size and Shape: For daily totes the size and shape of the bag is completely up to you. I prefer fairly flat bags with less depth, but figure out what you’re transporting and what you need to fit in it.

Weight and Material: For a daily tote you want a bag that’s durable and washable. We own several organic cotton bags that are sturdy enough for a stack of library books and can be thrown in the wash when the leftover curry from lunch spills.

Design: Whether hopping on the subway or sneaking into work a few minutes late people are going to notice your daily tote. Find a design that says something about you or the issues you care about.

What to Buy: Like reusable grocery shopping bags, daily totes are often giveaways. (But remember, just because something is free don’t take it if you don’t need it.) If you don’t get one for free, buy one from a cause you support — such as NPR — or get one free with a donation to a cause — like Pet Charities (through PetSmart).

Who Likes What

We asked folks on Twitter for their reusable bag recommendations and here are the answers we received:

@katonahgreen love plain bag from ecolution from organic cotton. use for shopping, and washing delicates in!

and have one from chico bag- works great, wish it were more eco-friendly material

@ghtravelblog  I’ve got plenty, tops are canvas bags from TJ’s or the heavy plastic ones from Whole Foods.

@jclynes envirosax bags! They’re totes that fold and snap up to fit in ur purse. Cute designs too! Www.envirosax.com

@EKricfalusi ChicoBag! Love them. Light but strong, Roll up into compact form. Loop and carabiner for storage/carrying. www.chicobag.com

@cartmanmacduff The ones I dont have to buy, I dont mind advertizing for companies that give away their reusable shopping bags.Its fair deal

@chrisjoeytotes www.joeytotes.com but I am a little biased

@IsabellesTravel If you mean a reusable shopping bag, I like the ones from Envirosax!

Eco Bags and Green Bags: Sustainable Materials

If you’re looking for the greenest of reusable bags you’ll want to carefully consider the type of material the bag is made from. Options include bags made from recycled plastic bottles, organic cotton, bamboo, hemp, and more.

But, before you immediately opt for the more sustainable material, realize that what is greenest isn’t always apparent. For example, Treehugger points out that canvas bags require a lot of energy and water to produce and have more of an impact than polyester or polypropylene.

What’s your favorite reusable bag?

originally posted at Go Green Travel Green

How to Choose a Reusable Bag for Green Travel and Shopping

The following is an interview with Green Traveler Kelly Galaski who works with GreenSpot.

What do you like about green travel and working in the travel industry?

It is good to see that travel that “gives back” is on the rise. With innovative trips that incorporate a type of “active philanthropy” or the booming voluntour sector, travel seems to be changing for the better.

One of the great aspects of being in the travel industry at this time is being able to make a contribution to people and places you’ve grown to love over the years of visiting and getting to know local residents. Being able to develop programs that incorporate community experiences that will benefit these people and knowing that this is a growing part of tourism is exciting.

What’s your background? And how did you end up working with GreenSpot?

When I was finishing my master’s degree in community-based tourism and had worked all year with a rural community group in the small town of Quizarra, in Costa Rica, I had to start thinking about how I could help them create partnerships with an international tour operator. That’s when I met Richard and Irene Edwards, the founders of GreenSpot.travel. The rural town belongs to the Alexander Skutch Biological Corridor, an area designated for conservation due to it being surrounded by protected areas that are major habitats for wildlife. The residents want to strengthen the Corridor by increasing businesses that allow for conservation, such as tourism, rather than increase more intensive land uses such as cattle ranching.

When I told Richard I wanted to continue helping this group of residents in Costa Rica, he said, “Why do it on your own time? Do it on GreenSpot’s time!” Richard and Irene believe so much in the power that travel has in being able to connect travelers to communities in developing countries, they knew we could make it work.

What sorts of programs have you been a part of?

We developed the Costa Rica Cultural Experience itinerary that allows travelers to visit the community I worked with, helping them to establish tourism in their community, and contributing directly to their incomes, incomes which are much needed in this rural farming town. I recently guided a trip and it was so much fun. The couple I accompanied from California said their favorite part was being in the community with the families, having lunch with them, learning how to make tortillas from scratch, taking a walk through beautiful primary forests on different families’ properties, and even riding in the back of their trucks! For me it was a wonderful experience because I got to see everyone again, got to bring them some business, and got to let a few more people experience the welcoming and heartwarming culture of rural Costa Ricans.

What other programs are in the works?

Another innovative way for travel to give back is taking place at the Procopio Gamboa Villalobos School, located ten miles from La Fortuna near the Arenal Volcano, also in Costa Rica. Irene and Richard have helped the school that Irene went to as a child start up their own community-based enterprise, selling donated clothes. They are providing advice and business guidance to the leaders as the project grows.

Irene has lots of other ideas for the school and the surrounding community. Next on the list for this summer is to help set up a recycling program, that will be managed by community members and will not only help with waste management, but it will provide an additional source of income as the program expands.

Already in this little town of Chachagua, travelers can visit Irene’s mom’s house and make tortillas with her, play with Irene’s niece and nephew, and even see the whole process of corn being turned into “masa”, the flour to make tortillas, at a neighbor’s farm down the street. Doña Mara loves to have people visit; it’s a real treat to share in her culture. Just spending some time making authentic Costa Rican food, taking in the views around of flowers and the distant volcano, and letting the warm breeze relax you, makes for a very peaceful day.

How can Go Green Travel Green readers contribute?

We certainly love to hear about any green travel initiatives going on in the world, whether it’s a great project, lodge, or organization and will write about in Adventures in Green, our blog, or post news items in Latest Green News.

GreenSpot.travel also welcomes the contribution of used clothes for the clothing store project. You can contact us at info@greenspottravel.org

Happy Green Traveling!

originally posted at Go Green Travel Green

Interview with Green Traveler Kelly Galaski