Most letters I receive are legitimate requests for help from travelers who have been wronged by an airline, hotel or car rental agency. But not all of them are. Here’s a selection of gripes that didn’t make the cut: Free room for plumbing problems? Q: I stayed at the Howard Johnson’s earlier this year on [...]
2003
Next time you stay at a hotel, get “comped.” The “comp,” which is industry jargon for getting a complimentary room for a night, is the ultimate hotel perk. A free room means you’re someone special, like a frequent guest, a high-roller or just a really, really good negotiator. And free, as I explained in an [...]
Q: I recently I booked a flight on United Airlines from Cedar Rapids, IA, to Amsterdam on United Airlines. Anticipating the possibility of war and other uncertainties in my schedule I asked if I could cancel or reschedule the trip if I needed to. I was told by the airline booking agent that I could [...]
My eyes are changing color again. First they were blue. Then they turned green. Now they’re kinda brown and gray. Who knows what they’ll be tomorrow?
A steaming plate arrives at our table with bite-sized servings of alligator, catfish and frog legs. It comes with a side of cocktail sauce for dipping, in case we’re feeling adventurous. We aren’t. “Wait, wait,” we hear from the kitchen, just as we’re about to sample from the so-called “critter platter.” “You have to try this.” Ben Bishop, the general manager of Marsh Landing restaurant, emerges with yet another delicacy: a dense, spicy broth. He slides our dish aside to make room for the bowl.
They dragged me all the way out to Sanibel Island, along with Grandma and Grandpa. There’s nothing quite like spending four hours in a van. Then again, the beaches here are terrific. Better than what we have in the Keys. And these shells! They look good enough to eat.
Q: My husband and I recently purchased two roundtrip tickets to Rome from OneTravel. As soon as I had keyed in the purchase, I realized that I had listed my husband’s name as Jack Finegan. In fact, his legal name is John Andrew Finegan. It dawned on me that the name on the ticket would [...]
They painted our house yellow. It’s so bright that I am sure it must be visible from space. And that’s good, cause one day I’m gonna be an astronaut!
The best thing about the new coral rock wall in the back yard is that it is just high enough that I can take it apart. I call it baby deconstructionism.
Hertz. Avis. National. These are the three best car rental companies on wheels – at least according to a consensus of customer surveys and my own customer interviews. I thought I’d get that out of the way first, because it’s the easiest (and easily the most important part) of this column. Where should you rent [...]
Q: My family and I traveled to Cuba recently on Air Jamaica. When we arrived for a stopover in Montego Bay, we discovered our luggage had been broken into. Bags were torn, locks were broken, our personal belongings were rummaged through and stolen, adding up to about $850 in lost or damaged goods. We tried [...]
I hear girls like guys with big boats. And even though this one technically isn’t mine – it’s really community property since it’s part of the Key Largo pool – these two ladies didn’t seem to mind.
With all these guys here working on the house lately, I’ve had to learn to hold my own. This is my best “Ya wanna make something of it?” pose. Like it? I know, it needs a little work. For one thing, it helps not to be a baby. People just think it’s … cute. But [...]
I can feel the rhythm of the tropics down here. Oh, yeah. Come on baby shake it now do that conga, I know you can’t control yourself any longa. All I need now is my own band. Paging the Miami Sound Machine.
I’m learning to fish. I have to get my casting chops up before Captain Dave comes back in the fall. I want to be able to go out on his boat and catch some tarpon with Pops. Only problem is, Mommy won’t let me use a real hook. She thinks a magnet works just as [...]
The storm sweeps across Sanibel Harbor at dawn, drawing a dark curtain over the island. Gray water churns angrily, spitting foamy waves on the beach. Gale-force wind gusts rage. What a perfect day to go shelling. Yes, shelling.
Given the airline industry’s dismal state, passengers have accepted recent cuts in amenities, services and meals without much complaining. But when American Airlines announced it would scrap its roomier economy-class seats on nearly a quarter of its flights, Ed Kummel snapped. “What’s next?” asked the network engineer from Ashburn, Va. “Standing-room only with flight attendants holding cattle prods?” The latest round of reductions suggests the big airlines are operating under a flawed assumption. Passengers, they seem to believe, want one thing: low fares. American says it’s returning to what it euphemistically calls “standard” seating because passengers said they’re more interested in low prices than roomier seats. Or, put differently, customers actually asked for the change.
Q: During a recent trip to Costa Rica I decided to call my housemate on her birthday. I knew I should have used a calling card, but decided just to make a quick call with my credit card instead. I used one of those ‘international long distance’ phones that are in hotel lobbies. So, I [...]
Before I go to bed Mommy sings me some songs and Daddy tells me a story. Sometimes the stories are really scary; sometimes they are funny. This one is a real nail biter.
Poof! There goes your vacation
July 28, 2003
The great American vacation is vanishing. Every year, the average length of a leisure trip shrinks by a few more hours, to the point that travelers like Craig Puller have a hard time thinking of it as a vacation at all. Consider the trip Puller took to the Florida Keys. Reluctant to take a lot of time off from his job, the Princeton, N.J., data analyst flew to Miami over a long weekend and spent three nights in three different hotels before jetting back just in time for work Monday morning.
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