Time 2 Cruise

For one cruise line, they have. Norwegian has raised their fuel surcharges from $7 to $9 per person per day and tacked on a $1 per person per day for additional guests in the cabin after the first and second passenger. The question now, is whether or not the other cruise lines will follow suit. Its difficult to tell. Unlike the airline industry, cruise lines are not known for playing follow the leader, but rather try to be as different as possible. That mind set was broken with the onset of the fuel charge last fall. When you take a step back, and look at things over the last eight months it is kind of funny how the cruise lines have taken on a business strategy that the airlines are known for, and now the airlines are working with what could be considered a cruise line strategy with the a la carte method of pricing. When the cruise lines introduced the fuel charges originally last October/November, it did not go over well, and even ended up causing a lawsuit and many passen...

The price of gas goes up every summer so why should this summer be any different? It wont, and with the cost already at an astronomical amount, it is just going to mean a bigger hit than normal for the summer drive vacation. The cost of a barrel of oil just recently topped $117 and many experts do not see an end in site. $150 is not unforeseeable . This could mean many families may just stay closer to home, or even stay home this summer. If this happens, look for some popular destinations to offer some pretty good deals to entice you to gas and go. Some Vegas hotels are toying with the idea of offering gas and food vouchers. Living in Phoenix, we are within driving distance of Vegas and Los Angeles. I have seen more 2 for 1 coupons popping up around town for some California destinations such as Magic Mountain and Disney World. So if you are feeling the hurt of the gas prices but are still hoping to take a family vacation some time this summer, look around and see whats being ...

We are all familiar with the $25 charges popping up for second checked bags, and it has a while since we last seen a free meal included when on a flight, now U.S. Airways is going to start charging for window and isle seats. They are calling the plan "choice seating" and it is to go into affect starting in May. At this rate, it is going to cost to put bags in the over head compartment soon. I can see it now, the bins will take bills and credit cards. Want some peanuts? Might have to take out a loan to get a tiny bag. This is tough times for the airline industry, but its also a tough time for the consumer. At the rate things are going, vacations could become something that we read about in magazines rather than actually take. hopefully we wont see it get to that.

Niel Dietz , Secretary-Treasurer of the Hawaii Ports Maritime Council of the AFL - CIO , wrote a detailed article about how U.S. flagged ships are getting hurt by foreign flag ships when it comes to cruises to Hawaii. While he makes a valid argument on it hurting the U.S. flagged ships, I find it hard to believe that enforcement of the rule as planned is going to help. Reason being is that there are not a lot of U.S. flagged cruise ships to begin with. As he stated, being under U.S. flag also means following U.S. regulations in regard to hiring, wage, and tax practices. That is why the ships have trouble with competing in the Hawaiian market because their costs are so high to begin with. Removing the competition does not mean that people are just going to jump ship so to speak and move over to the U.S. flagged ships that will be raising their prices with the lack of competition. Cruising can be an inexpensive vacation, and this is why so many people try it and return many times ...

It is safe to say that a lot of people are afraid to fly. Its not a new phobia by any means. But, the reason behind many of new adopters of the I rather stay on the ground crew is all the news about lack of maintenance and enforcement of maintaining the integrity of the planes by the FAA. With American Airlines grounding over 3000 flights in the last four days, it is easy to see why people rather drive even with the price of gas right now. My own sister in law and mother are going to make a trip to Phoenix AZ from Buffalo NY next month. After watching four airlines file bankruptcy and others ground flights over maintenance issues, they are now going to drive. What was going to be a week long vacation in Phoenix is being cut short by travel time now because of a new found fear of flying. Its really a fear of paying to fly and not doing so. American Airlines is spending countless man hours and who knows how much money in putting passengers in hotels and paying for meals and ...

In the past few weeks alone, you cant open a newspaper or watch the evening news without seeing some new development in the airline industry. A few of the smaller operations have filed bankruptcy and shut their doors and many of the larger airlines are dealing with problems of their own with FAA inspections causing them to cancel flights. Of course there is the price of oil rising faster than the morning sun every day that is putting a hurt on every ones wallet in one way or another as well. So, what does this mean for Joe Passenger? I have talked previously about how many airlines are going to the "a la carte " menu of flying. This is something that a couple of the smaller (and now bankrupt) airlines were already doing. Look for more a la carte pay as you go options to pop up and the prices to increase as we become accustom to them. It is not to far off where not just a second checked bag will cost, but possible that in the future each checked bag will have a fee att...

We were in Las Vegas over the weekend and despite all the problems with the economy the place was packed. It was difficult to get on many table games at some of the casinos and walking down the strip was shoulder to shoulder. We did not do much gambling ourselves as this was a sight seeing tour for the group. We had someone with us that had not been to Vegas in over 15 years. In Vegas that's many lifetimes over. We were even shocked at the number of casino's on the strip that had changed names since last summer alone. The shops in the different casino's have to be one of our favorite places to go, if just to window shop. It seems like everything at many of the shops are priced as if you just hit the jackpot and are ready to spend it right back. McCarran Airport was packed as always when we left on Sunday but has to be one of the better airports for getting people through security. In all it was a good trip and we look forward to the next one hopefully soon.

ATA and Aloha airlines have both shut their doors in the past week. This has left many passengers stranded or stuck at home wondering what to do about their vacation. A few will be happy that they decided to get travel insurance. Travel insurance is a smart move when you add up the cost of a vacation and the added benefits for just a small fraction of the total cost of the vacation. I have talked about travel insurance a few times before and recommend it especially when traveling over seas or out of the country in general. But you have to be careful! Not all insurance policies are the same. In some cases, there may be people that bought insurance for their vacations on ATA and Aloha that will find out that the plan they got does not cover the airline going out of business. just like any type of insurance, you have to read the fine print and not just pick one based on the price. Different plans from the same company can vary greatly over just a few dollars of cost. With the th...