Pearl Travel

Pearls of Wisdom – Secure Flight

Are you flying this summer?  How up to date are you about the latest TSA requirements and Secure Flight?  Just what is Secure Flight you ask? In August of last year Full Secure Flight was implemented and now impact all air travelers.  It doe not matter if you arfe flying into, out of, and over the United States this applies to you.  The TSA (Transportation Security Administration) now compares pre-departure lists of passengers to the federal government watch list.  When you have booked an airline ticket you must now supply to the person/website/airline you are making the reservation through your Full Legal Name, your Gender,  and your Date of Birth.  You may also provide your Passport number, and Redress number (a Redress number is provided by the department of Homeland Security tohelp prevent future delays for travelers who have been misidentified in the past.  You can apply for a redress ) to help aid identification.  Your passport number and expiration date must be supplied if  traveling internationally.  I hope that this information will assist you when you next plan a flight.

Pearls of Wisdom for Travel

I have been in the travel industry for about 20 years and during that time I have probably seen or heard thousands of travel hints that might benefit you the traveling public.  I thought I would share one or two of  those with you.  So weekly check the blog and see the new travel hint posted. 

Today’s hint: this comes from my husband who always says “Less clothes more money”  this being said with all the extra charges by the airlines for luggage is it better to reduce the amount of clothes you bring.  You can’t and don’t need to wear a new outfit every day.  Pick clothes that are mix and match one pair of pants multiple tops, clothes that wash and dry easily, and clothes that wear well.  The last part of this hint don’t contingency pack you do not have to have an outfit for everything that might happen.  That’s all for now

Cruise and Ports

Shore Excursions while in port are an important part of a  cruise but a little advance preparation before your cruise  can save time and money while allowing you to see all you want to see.  Don’t wait until you are on the ship to decide what excursions you want to take or what you want to do in any given port.  Advance preparation, checking out the port on line through local tourist boards, english language newspapers for special event listings when you are in town, museum web sites, local tour agencies web sites or web sites of companies specializing in day trips (like Shore Trips) are the most important part once you’ve booked your cruise.  Make sure you know the distance to where you want to go for example Livorno Italy is the stop for Florence but if you want to see Michaelangelo’s ’David’ Florence is 90 miles away and you need to prebook a scheduled time to avoid a long line during high season, on the other hand Barcelona port is right down town so everything is close.  Is there a port you are really interested in, perhaps you want to spend more time in a particular location, book a cruise that departs from that port.  If you are in a port and you know everybody is going to the same ’sight’ or landmark this is the time to splurge and book a private car and driver/guide.  You will get there faster and see more than on the ships excursions.  don’t forget to check about local holidays when you will be in town, some things are limited or closed if there is a holiday.  Remember do your research for a more enhanced stop at any port.

Weathering the storm!

My Pearls of Thought for this week are a bit about combating and being prepared for delays.  I fly an average amount of time  (not frequent) and over the years have been delayed due to engine trouble (9 hour delay for a 3 hour flight), overcrowding at the arrival airport (missed European connection), emergency landing (made it home safe but late), Security breach (arrived a day late) and an untold number of weather related delays this is what I have learned I offer you a few things you can do to minimize the problems of flight delays. 

When traveling to a wedding, cruise, tour or some other thing that is ‘time  sensitive’  (it goes without you) think about leaving a day early.  This affords you the opportunity to be ready and rested at the right time and can lessen the possibility of travel delays that cause you to arrive late.

Any time you are traveling is it important that you stay informed- don’t wait for robo calls telling you a flight is delayed or cancelled you may have already left for the airport.  Call your airline, check the airlines web site, or find a flight tracking web site  like www.flightstats.com that lets you see airport delays and allows you to check the status of your flight.  Don’t forget the arrival airport can cause a problem, if you can’t land you will not be allowed to take off.

Know what your rights are.  Your airlines has a contract of carriage and it is available on the airline website.  You will find that this usually has an exclusion for “Act of God” which includes weather.  Most airlines will, as a courtesy allow you to change your flights without penalty, or reschedule to travel at the earliest possible moment.  The problem is that most flights are very full these days so it sometimes is only possible to get a few people from a cancelled flight on the next available flight.  If your flight is delayed and you find your self in line (usually a long line) to reschedule immediately get on the phone to the airline and see if you can make the change before you get to the desk.  Even when the airline phone has a long hold time this frequently gets you through before you get to the agent.  I put the airline 800 number on my cell before I leave home so that I am prepared.   

There are 2 other bits of advise I have to offer first sometimes finding an alternative way (drive, bus, train) if it is a short flight and a long delay sometimes the alternative is the best thing to do.  Second and most importantly bring your smile and your patience with you and be alert sometimes just being near the podium and hearing a word can get you to the head of the line and a courteous talk with an agent will get you much further than being confrontational.