Travel Scams - Buyer Beware

Nowadays there are so many scams out there, its hard to tell whats real from whats not. You've saved up for a long time and want your vacation to be a memorable one..not a horror story.

Below are some tips to keep you out of hot water.

1. If it looks to good to be true, it most likely is.

Those flyers we all get in the mail, or the phone calls we get telling us we've won a free cruise, or 3 day vacation. SCAM. Majority of these are either full blown scams, or timeshares. Either way your not going to have a great time on the trip. They call my house quite a bit, and after their "you've just won a cruise on this ship" I proceed to tell them I've been an agent for 20 years and never heard of the line...usually thats when I hear the clicking of being hung up on.

2. Be your own Travel Agent "Travel like an Insider" deals.

There are many of these going around right now. Majority are pyramid schemes / multi-level marketing companies now trying to get into the travel game. You pay $500 to join, and another $50/month for a cookie cutter travel website of your very own. They claim you make millions, or at least enough to fire your own boss and work from home. All the while reaping the benefits of travelling for free and writing off all of it on your taxes. Complete Hogwash. Majority who join these type companies make no money at all, or not even enough per month to buy a McDonalds happy meal. The real money being made is by recruiting/alienating your friends/family/co-workers and such to buying into the same program. Some suppliers have seen the light and forbidden some of these agencies from selling their products. Some of these companies are now being sued by the Attorney General for being a pyramid scheme. For a list of suspected card mills as they are called you can visit this blog by a fellow agent, and also No Travel MLM's blog which I follow for more information as well.

3. Make sure your agent has some credentials.

True travel agents carry affliations with one or all of the following. IATAN, IATA, ARC, CLIA, ASTA. ASTA also has a consumer site Travel Sense which you can also get more information about popular travel scams and how to avoid. Check with your local Chamber of Commerce & Better Business Bureau to make sure all is legit and no complaints have been filed.

4. Ask how long they've been in the industry

Do not be afraid to ask your agent how long they've been in the industry. What is their knowledge background, do they specialize in certain travel arenas. If you are booking online on a website, make sure the site lists a contact name and number to call if you have questions. Check out the HELP page to make sure you have someone to call if things go wrong. If the help page is referring you to the supplier directly and not an agent, not a good sign.!

5. Avoid paying with cash or check.

You should always try to pay for your travel with credit card. This way if you suspect you have been scammed you can call the card company for help. It will also help you if your tour operator, hotel or airlines decides to go under.

6. Do not purchase airline tickets, Disney passes, or the like on Forums.

I check out Craigslist alot. I've seen many times people trying to sell their airline tickets to others if they cannot travel. Please know that 99% of the low cost tickets sold by carriers are NON REFUNDABLE & NON TRANSFERABLE. That means you cannot give them to anyone else..only the person whos name is on the ticket can travel on them. For Disney, they now fingerprint you at the gate, so if the fingerprint doesnt match the ticket..no go. You've now paid for a worthless piece of paper.

Those are the creme-dela-creme of the travel scams. I'm sure there are many more out there, but it would take me all day and many blog pages to write about them all. If you think you were a victim of a travel scam, please contact the ASTA consumer affairs office.

As always, be careful. If you have any questions or comments...feel free to contact me.

Planning a party, reunion or just a fun get together?

Are you tired of planning the regular boring parties at a local hall? Why not celebrate with you friends and family, for whatever special occasion it may be, on a cruise? With so many cruise choices now-a-days from all different ports to all different destinations. From 3 days and up...who doesn't need a little R & R.

Last July I sailed on the Norweigian Dawn on a 7 day cruise from NYC to Bermuda with 40 of my closest friends and their family. We were celebrating a very special Birthday (love ya Shirley), and decided to make it a fun adventure. We had from young & older, single and married, toddlers & teens, and never cruised before to cruise lovers.

The ship was beautiful, everything you'd expect a cruise ship to be. The restaurants were great, the pool hopping with splashing fun, the T-Rex kids pool loaded with crazy kids having a blast, the casino and bars packed nightly, and the teens had a great time at karaoke. While some of the onboard staff and restaurant snafu's left something to be desired, fun was had by all. You always had someone to have drinks with and at no point was anyone bored. By the end of the week..nobody wanted to go back home.

Cruises are a great way to get together with friends or family. They are also great incentives for companies looking to do something special for an employee outing or convention. Booking a group is very easy, and with a minimum of 8 cabins booked...discounts can be plentiful. Along with the great price you'd receive there are also added amenities. Anything from on-board credits for the group, free cruise rate for the group leader, wine/snacks, cocktail parties and more.

Why not make it fun...skip the boring and call your travel agent today. Or better yet call or email me! :)

MSC Cruise Specials

MSC Cruises is running some great promotions right now. Deals to be had all around. While these are only good for a few more days, there are many more where this came from.

See the great specials below .... or email me for more information.

7 NIGHT CRUISES MSC ORCHESTRA
Destination
2009Departures
WEST CARIBBEANFort Lauderdale, Key West, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Cayo Levantado, Fort Lauderdale
March 7
from $479*-$699*

WEST CARIBBEANFort Lauderdale, Key West, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Cayo Levantado, Fort Lauderdale
March 21
from $499*-$799*

10 NIGHT CRUISES MSC LIRICA
Destination
2009Departures
DEEP CARIBBEANFort Lauderdale, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Antigua, Tortola, Cayo Levantado, Fort Lauderdale
March4
from $599* - $1399*

CARIBBEAN feat. PANAMAFort Lauderdale, Costa Maya, Puerto Limon, Cristobal, Cartagena, Cayo Levantado, Fort Lauderdale
March14
from $779* - $1499*

DEEP CARIBBEANFort Lauderdale, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Antigua, Tortola, Cayo Levantado, Fort Lauderdale
March24
from $699* - $1399*

DEEP CARIBBEANFort Lauderdale, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Antigua, Tortola, Cayo Levantado, Fort Lauderdale
April13
from $799* - $1399*

Rates are USD, per person, double occupancy, cruise-only valid for new retail bookings on select sailings and stateroom types for residents of U.S. and Canada. Children 17 and under sail free when sailing as 3rd/4th guests in same stateroom as two full-fare paying guests. Offer cannot be combined with any other discount or promotion and may be withdrawn without notice. Offer is capacity controlled, subject to availability and restrictions apply. Government taxes and fees for all guests are additional. Ask for "One Week Sale" promotion when booking. Offer expires February 16th, 2009. Ship's registry: Panama.

How to survive 4 theme parks in 2 days

Well my family and I managed to do just that last January at Disney World.

We decided to visit Grandma and Grandpa in Tampa last year for a few days while my husband was in Orlando on business. I took my 7 year old son, and my then 1 year old daughter. It would be their first time visiting my parents new home, and their first time visiting Disney.

Since we only were there for a long weekend, we decided to make the most of it. I purchased the 4 day park hopper pass for us, the baby of course was free, got a couple rooms at the Port Orleans and set out on our journey.

The first day we were up with the sun, packed our bags and off we went. We arrived to the hotel early, checked-in (rooms werent ready yet), left our luggage in the car and off to Disney we went. It was a little crowded due to the convention (the one my husband had been attending) but not horrible. Fast passes are your friends. We hit all the big rides as quickly as possible, stayed for the mid afternoon parade, ate lunch...hit a few more little rides and back to the hotel.
Use the Disney transportation...its quick, efficient and easy.

We finally managed to get into our rooms at the hotel, freshened up, ate a snack and now we were off to Epcot. Its about 6pm and the park is not very crowded and its not a late night at the park so it closes around 9pm. We went on all the big rides..my sons favorite was the giant golf ball as he called it. Again..fast passes work wonders. By closing we were exausted and the baby already asleep in her stroller. Night time for everyone, and time for mom to soak her tootsies.

The following day, again up with the sun, we set our sites on Animal Kingdom. I was amazed at the lack of crowd and hardly any lines for a Saturday morning. We managed to flow through quickly, and were done with the park by 1pm. It was my favorite park that weekend. I loved seeing the animals up close, and the Yeti ride is awesome! Since it was early enough we decided to take the kids over to MGM. They loved it. My son is a car fanatic so he loved the stunt shows, my daughter was facinated with the movie ride, especially when we were in Emerald City.
All in all it was a great time and the kids had a blast.

Here are the keys to success...especially with kids.

• 1. Bring snacks...and water.! You are allowed to bring small snacks and drinks in your bags.


• 2. Wear comfortable shoes and lots of sunscreen.


• 3. Bring a change of clothes for the kids. One wet cranky child makes for a bad day all around.


• 4. Bring a light coat for evenings..it does get a little chilly at night (especially when your wet)


• 5. Use the fast passes.


• 6. Staying at a park property lets you enter the parks earlier and leave later then most.


• 7. Use the Disney transportation systems.


• 8. Don't get sweet talked into purchasing every toy from every store..you will be broke by day 1.


• 9. Walk a leisurely pace. Its not a race, and your feet will thank you.


• 10. Don't force your children onto a ride they do not want to go on. Nothing worse then hearing..your a mean Mom while waiting on line.

Disney is running some great promotions right now. Kids 3-9 Stay, play & Dine for free when you purchase the special 5-night/6-day package including room, park tickets and disney dining. Price approx $794 per adult at a select Disney Value Resort from 3/1/09-4/16/09. Special rules apply. This is not the only special...contact your travel agent or email me for more info.

Travel Agents are not Extinct

I cannot count how many times I've seen that travel agents are "dinosaurs" or that the "Internet" put us all out of business". Hogwash!. It is true that after airline commission cuts and 9/11 that many agencies did indeed close their storefronts. However, many of us worked harder and smarter and are still around in full force today.

Travel agents are your best option when planning your vacation. Talking to a human being who's been there and done that is a much smarter option then handing over your hard saved dollars to a faceless website. A website, I might add, that will not be there to help you when things go wrong. Your agent acts as your saving grace when bad weather, delays, or any problem arises before, during and after your trip.

I recently wrote an article for a travel agent only resource site TRO that says just this. Telling agents to once again prove to consumers your worth. We are here to make your life easier. Why sit and surf the internet for countless hours trying to find the resort/air/hotel/package .. whatever your wanting. A true travel professional can do that for you in half the time and for better value. Your time should be better spent with your family's, friends, work..whatever else it is you enjoy.

One last note...

Please make sure your agent is a true travel professional. Do not fall prey to the "travel agents in a box" or "MLM/Pyramid Schemes". There are many of scams out there (we'll delve into that subject on another post) and alot of people calling themselves travel agents simply because they paid $500 for a cookie cutter website and a ID card. Ask friends & family for recommendations, or you can check at asta.org for a list of agents in your area.

Welcome travel friends

After reading and posting on countless blogs and forums related to the travel industry, I've decided to write my own. While I do not profess to be an excellent writer by any means, I hope to share some knowledge on travel, share places I've visited, and just talk about the industry in general.

I've been a travel agent for almost 20 years now, I've seen many things change over those years...some for the better...some not so much so...but its still a job I love. What's worse to me is the really BAAAAD advise given on some sites (craigslist for one). Forums have become so overrun with spam, advertising and trolls it makes it very hard to get a good answer anymore. Hopefully this will be someplace to come to get information you need.

If there is a topic you want to discuss, or questions you have, by all means email or comment and I'll do my best to help. Over the next couple days I will be posting topics on places I love, deals to be had right now, and why using a professional travel agent is always the smartest thing to do when planning your trip.

Enjoy!

~~~~ Lisa ~~~~