Burglarized in the Bahamas
Q: My friend and I pre-paid for two nights at the Wyndham Nassau Resort & Crystal Palace Casino in the Bahamas through Travelocity.
On our second night, someone came into our room while we were sleeping and robbed us. The robber came in through the sliding glass door to the balcony and we were staying [...]
Convenience? Not for everyone
New technologies, including airport check-in kiosks and Web-based reservations systems, have been heavily promoted by the travel industry as conveniences for customers. Unfortunately, they are not convenient for all customers.
Maps that steer you wrong
Online mapping services were supposed to be a godsend for business travelers when they were introduced a few years ago. But for motorists like Diane Taub, the devil was in the turn-by-turn directions.
Flying with kids is a drag
Q: I recently flew from Boston to Chicago on ATA with my husband and my three young children.
When the flight landed, my six-year-old daughter ran off the plane. I immediately followed her to make sure she was safe and told her to wait by the front of the plane. Since my infant twins, all [...]
A mysterious currency fee
Larry Bradley switches credit cards an average of once a year, but not to rack up extra frequent-flier miles or to pin down a lower interest rate. Mr. Bradley, a small-business owner from Tyrone, Ga., swaps plastic to escape rising currency-conversion fees.
Smart moves for bad knees
I lost the cartilage in both knees when I was 13 years old. My doctors told me, “No more rugby,” but I kept playing until I was 45. I’m 6 feet 3 inches tall, and I had the No. 8 position. That’s the flanker who controls the ball at the back of the scrum. Let’s just say it isn’t the safest spot to be.
Salvaging a sunken cruise
Q: Last year my husband and I booked a tour to South America through Grand Circle Travel.
When we arrived at the airport in Charleston, S.C., a Delta Air Lines representative told us that all flights to New York were cancelled that day because of a blizzard. We immediately contacted Grand Circle and followed all [...]
Luggage goes diving on a cruise
Q: My husband and I recently took a cruise on the Star Princess to the Mexican Riviera. When we disembarked in Long Beach, Calif., we were advised that our luggage had been “dumped” into the ocean.
Princess representatives assured us they would take care of everything. They sent divers to retrieve our luggage and noted [...]
Missing a muse, but finding inspiration
For two years I crisscrossed the globe, meeting the world’s great travel writers. Simon Winchester served me Lapsang souchong tea and homemade lemon tea cake at his farm near Great Barrington, Mass. Bill Bryson trudged through six inches of snow to meet me at a pub, which had a small plaque near our table reading “Bryson’s Booth,” in Hanover, N.H. Then I found out my father had cancer of the pancreas, and I put my travel plans off.
The downside of outsourcing
As a million-mile frequent flier on United Airlines, David Fink is used to being treated with deference when he travels. So when he arrived five hours early for a recent flight from White Plains to Washington and asked a ticket agent if he could to go standby on the next plane out, he was taken aback by the curt reply.
An impossible connection in NYC
Q: I bought tickets through Travelocity to fly to from Richmond, Va., to Paris, in September.
But when I saw the itinerary, I noticed a problem. When I change planes in New York, I have to transfer from JFK to La Guardia. I only have two hours to do that, and Travelocity agrees that’s not enough [...]