Comments on: 5 common travel mistakes – and how to fix them

By: Lessons learned from your worst travel gaffes

Lessons learned from your worst travel gaffes — Tue, 25 May 2010 10:59:32 +0000

[...] a previous column, I asked you to tell me about your worst travel mistakes. Did you [...]

By: drp

drp — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:10:45 +0000

Returning from Montreal on 1/29 with incredibly tightened security and document checks (and patdowns) every ten feet, my SO and I passed through at least 6 checks without anyone noticing that we had mistakenly exchanged boarding passes when checking in our bags. (Our names are not at all similar, clearly of the opposite sex and the boarding passes were supposedly checked against our passports). Given this, the likelihood of anyone catching a single letter error in a name, seems highly unlikely.

By: Chico Woo

Chico Woo — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:29:52 +0000

I always take pictures when I pick up my rental with my blackberry or iphone – usually the blackberry because it has a flash and airport rental garages tend to be dark. I also take pictures when I return the car. The reason I do this is because when you drop off your car early in the morning there is usually no one there. Rental agencies should have attendants at 4:30 AM to take cars.

By: Joe Farrell

Joe Farrell — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 01:01:09 +0000

I was at a business conference at hotel with a resort fee that covered, supposedly, in room bottled water. I drank the bottle and called down for more – they want to charge me. I raised quite a stink about it when they refused. They ultimately make a note on my account to send me as much bottled water as I requested. The next year we stayed someplace that did not have a resort fee. It was so much simpler.

By: MeanMeosh

MeanMeosh — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 20:10:08 +0000

Roberto – numerous third-party insurers sell trip insurance in various forms and with various coverage levels, which is almost always a better deal than buying through the cruise line itself. 15% is way too high, though – I’ve typically seen quotes ranging from 2.5-5% of the trip cost, depending on the coverage you want. Personally, I’d go for the insurance if it’s for a cruise – after all, like LeeAnne said, what would you rather be out, a couple hundred for insurance or potentially several thousand in nonrefundable cruise fare? Just make sure to shop around and read the fine print before buying.

By: LeeAnne

LeeAnne — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 18:37:39 +0000

@Roberto – yes, cruise insurance IS such a good idea. But not through the cruise line itself. Note that in the article above, Christopher points out that the insurance through the cruise line may not be the best option.

You are certainly free to just bank the money that you otherwise would have spent on insurance…but do you really want to take that risk? If you miss your cruise for any reason, and are uninsured, you will lose every penny you have invested. Is it worth saving a few hundred, if you could possibly lose many thousands?

Yes it’s a gamble — but then, all insurance is a gamble. The question is, how much risk are you willing to take?

By: Roberto

Roberto — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:24:53 +0000

Is cruise insurance really such a good idea? I looked at Carnival’s website, and their protection plan averages about 15% of the cost of the cruise.

Do people really miss their cruises 1.5 x out of 10?

Feels like if you took that 15% and put it in a savings account (and leave it there), you could self-insure and come out way ahead of the game, over time.

By: ptkdude

ptkdude — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:09:10 +0000

@Erik — I was denied a boarding pass once when Delta had my name as Christophera instead of Christopher A. That happened when the itinerary was transferred from NWA to Delta (pre-merger).

By: Bruce Molsky

Bruce Molsky — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 14:11:27 +0000

I think number 6 would be: don’t use your US cellphone for calls or data outside the US. You WILL get ripped off by the cellphone carrier.

By: SirWired

SirWired — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 11:58:35 +0000

Cassandra,

The cruise ship has decent on-board medical facilities that can be used to provide some measure of care. (It is billed to your on-board account.) They don’t exactly do open-heart surgery or serious, but should be good for the stabilization of most conditions. If you are within U.S. waters and must be evacuated, the Coast Guard generally will do so. Outside U.S. waters (or the waters of one of the few countries with such a agency), you would probably be offloaded at the nearest port with facilities better than those on-board. If the nearest port does not have good medical facilities and you MUST get to a hospital (as opposed to the mini-hospital on-board), you are on your own. It is not the responsibility of the line to get you home or ensure the quality of care in a foreign country; they are just your transportation. Most (if not all) travel insurance includes medical evacuation insurance for precisely this reason.

Frankly, basic medical/med-evac insurance is so inexpensive, there is no excuse for NOT taking it out when making a trip to places where your regular med insurance doesn’t go or won’t help.

By: Erik

Erik — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 09:12:57 +0000

Names are misspelled on tickets all the time. With the countless name variations and cultural differences in number of given names, length of names, varied alphabets and the like, a letter difference won’t be an issue. It sometimes can’t be fixed even when caught instantly, for fear that canceling a ticket may mean the fare (or award) will be unavailable to rebook immediately.

As was pointed out in the article, an airline can make a notation in the record. If there are partner airlines involved, they can notify them as well to update their records.

My wife’s name was missing a letter from her first name on an award involving US Airways, Air New Zealand and Asiana (all one ticket). At check-in on the outbound, US Airways fixed the typo for both US and NZ flights. On the return, neither Asiana nor Sydney immigration officers cared about the typo.

By: LeeAnne

LeeAnne — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 07:48:01 +0000

Um…Cassandra…the Coast Guard only guards the US Coast. If you are on a cruise ship, it is likely that you are not in US waters. Even if you were, the Coast Guard is not a medical service organization. They are a branch of the military, with a mission comprised of enforcement of US law, coastal defense and search and rescue.

Read your cruise ticket and contract.

By: gge

gge — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 02:26:13 +0000

I always take at least six pictures of a rental car, whether there is someone to go over it with me on pickup or not.

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 01:33:02 +0000

People get all freaked out about the misspelled name all the time but I’ve always thought a simple misspelled name on a ticket would not result in a denied boarding. Seriously, if it’s one letter off I doubt most screeners would even catch it.

By: cassandra badie

cassandra badie — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 22:26:05 +0000

what rights do u have if you get sick on a cruise ship can they just put you off the ship and leave if you have no insurance and there is a possibilty of death with out medical care? dont they have to call the coast gaurd or someone to help an american citizen