CAUTION; LUXURY CRUISE LINES AND THE GREAT CREDIT CARD RIP-OFF
Traveltruth.com has previously reported that Oceania Cruise Lines has been running US bank-issued credit cards through a financial institution based in Dublin, Ireland. This has resulted in scores of Oceania passengers, many of them unaware, being charged an additional fee of up to 3 percent on their cruise deposits and final payments.
In the last year, Oceania and Regent Seven Seas were both sold to the cash-rich Apollo Investment Group.
Now, there are reports that Regent Seven Seas guests are also being charged additional fees on payments made on some Visa, Mastercard, and American Express Cards. Visa and Mastercard banks normally charge 3 percent. One major exception is Capital One which charges nothing additional for foreign purchases. But the largest bank groups such as J.P. Morgan Chase and Bank of America have been consistent in charging cardholders penalties on all charges originating outside the United States. American Express charges 2% for most of its cards.
Understand, these fees are penalties charged to cardholders who spend money outside the United States. Guests, for example, who spend upwards of $80,000 - $90,000 on one of the January Around-The-World sailings are looking at unanticipated extra fees of $2,500 or more. They are generally unaware of this as they give their travel consultant their credit card for processing.
Now, we have learned that Sea Dream Yacht Club has just started running some credit card payments through a bank in Norway. (Sea Dream has Norwegian owners).
Oceania and Regent respond that this is happening to very few of their guests and that when they are made aware of the credit card penalty charges, they will issue an onboard credit in the amount of the extra charge. But this has been handled on a "need-to-know" basis and we can find no example of guests being warned about these unanticipated credit card charges by the cruise lines involved.
The consumer rarely knows abbot these charges prior to their cruise. This is unlikely because the 3% will usually not turn up as final payment with the extra percent tacked on until the ship has already sailed - so to speak.
Sea Dream, one of the top-scoring lines in the Traveltruth Ratings, has not indicated that they would issue an onboard credit to all guests hit with the extra charges as a result of the company's international monetary policies.
These extra fees are in addition to the money made by credit card issuing banks whenever they convert foreign currency spending back to cardholders accounts at US Dollar rates.
Sadly, many of those paying 3% more for their vacation than anticpated, will never notice the additional percentage tacked on to their credit card statement by some of the world's very best luxury cruise lines.
LOST LUGGAGE AND CONNECTING FLIGHTS; THE WORST OFFENDERS
We've been trying to gauge how prevalent lost baggage is these days with connections in Europe. We got some answers by talking with he purser's staff on a number of popular cruise lines. Speaking off the record, they identified the following air lines as most likely to lose your bags in transit.
U.S. AIRWAYS -- Not only do they currently enjoy an abnormally high rate of lost baggage, this airline carries the insult a step further by returning bags home instead of the ongoing destination. As one cruise ship purser tells, "when it is US Airways, we have no expectation that the bags will be delivered to the ship the next day. We just start processing a shopping voucher for the guests."
BRITISH AIRWAYS - Changing planes at Heath row still carries some risk but they are quite good about trying to find you in Europe.
AIR FRANCE - Few things in the airline industry are consistent. But Air France's ability to misplace your luggage may be one of them.
So what to do if you are on one of these airlines?
The best current strategy is to design very clear baggage tags that indicate where you will be staying during your first and second nights abroad, along with local contact numbers.
CONDE NAST TRAVELER NAMES WORLD'S TOP TRAVEL SPECIALISTS IN AUGUST ISSUE
For the 8th consecutive year, Churchill and Turen Ltd. has been named to the travel industry's most coveted list - Conde Nast Traveler's annual " World's Top Travel Specialists"Awards.. This year,  Churchill and Turen received accolades for "World's Best Culinary Programs", "World's Top Spa Specialist, "World's Best Small, Luxury Cruise Specialists" and "Top Travel Generalists" Worldwide.
These are the most prestigious awards in the travel industry. C&T has won thirty-one awards, more then any other travel firm in the U.S.
THE 18% DONATION TO THE NATIONS OF EUROPE AND HOW TO GET IT BACK
Europe-Bound travelers would surely have second thoughts if the government suddenly announced that their dollar had dropped another 18% in value. Yet, in terms of overseas purchases, that is exactly what happens when Value-Added Tax exemptions are not claimed by travelers. And the fact is, that fewer then 10% of those who purchase goods from Duty-Free exempt shops in Europe, actually make claims to get their money together. We have, collectively, agreed to let the Europeans keep another 18-20% on all of our qualified purchases. How generous of us. Or, how stupid.
Other current value-added taxes, which American tourists can get back, amount to just under 8% in Switzerland. But travel to next-door neighbor Austria and you are up to 20%. It's the same in Belgium, and Italy. The sad fact is that most Americans just don;t know how to claim their refunds.
Here is a quick primer:
01 - If you are buying something that is too large to carry and is being shipped home by the store, ask that the VAT be refunded in the purchase price. Most stores will do this.
02 - The way it normally whorls is that the store will give you a Tax refund check. You get it stamped at the airport and then you take the stamped check to the VAT Refund Desk. That's two stops and there could be lines. Allow three hours for check-in if you are flying home from Europe and you have collect your tax.
03 - One way to facilitate all of this is to use a company called Global Refund. They are among the largest and are associated with many fine shops throughout Europe. Global Refund has its own refund desks in major European airports. To plan in advance use www.globalrefund.com
04 - If you don;t have time to do get your refund at the airport, make certain not to board your plane without first securing the mail-in VAT application.On the application, we recommend that you have the amount of your refund credited to your credit card. (You will need to supply the number) This will avoid the hassle of having to wait several weeks and then to receive a check in Euros.
05 - The general rukle of thumb is to try to claim a VAT refund for any eligible purchases from a single Global Refund approved store of over 200 Euros. Do be careful. "Duty-Free Store" is not a term you can ttrust.
CHARGING THE OVERWEIGHT FOR AN EXTRA SEAT
The nation's airlines, reaching the desperation point when it comes to the search for non-ticket revenue sources, has long felt that charging the obese for an extra seat is worth careful scrutiny. Making such charges difficult to enforce is a little-known Canadian Law passed in March that prohibits Canadian Airlines from charging the disabled or the obese for a second seat. This is seen as a kind of international precedent, although even US airlines that fly to canada are not bound by the new rules.
Southwest Airlines has been the most aggressive in this area. Despite the protests of rights for the overweight groups, Southwest has maintained its right to charge those passengers for whom even a seat extender is not sufficient.
Delta and American have generally tried to handle the issue with diplomacy by placing seriously overweight passengers in an otherwise empty row. But with the number of planes currently being taken out of service to save on fuel costs, empty second seats are as hard to find as a belt buckle.
RATING THE CRUISE LINE AIR-SEA PROGRAMS
No decision is more important to your total satisfaction with the cruise vacation experience then the choice of cruise-provided or independent air arrangements.
The vast majority of cruise lines offer an air/sea program that includes round-trip airfare to and from the ship as well as transfers. Cruise lines wait until approximately 45 days before a cruise to turn over the names of their paid-in-full passengers from each gateway city to the airline with whom they have a contract on that date. You should accept the fact that you are unlikely to get a nonstop flight if you simply accept the air/sea assignment. One of the downsides of cruise line air programs is that seat assignments are often not available within forty-five days of a flight. You may be forced to wait until you arrive at the airport to get your seats. Even if seats can be booked, the aisle seat you prefer may not be available. On busy weekends, your agent may not even be able to secure two seats together.
There are two ways around this. First, you can always purchase your own air ticket. This usually costs more, sometimes a lot more, and the airline will not generally include transfers if you do your own air. We are now recommending that all of our clients, with the exception of those booked on Crystal, Seabourn, Silverseas or Regent Seven Seas, make their own air reservations rather than rely on increasingly poor routings and tight connections offered by the mainstream cruise lines. 
One of the ways to avoid these problems is to ask for an air deviation. This allows your agent to request a preferred flight assignment immediately in writing. The air deviation request is usually returned to the agent within two weeks. The cruise line will either grant the request, in which case there is a $75-$100 per person extra charge, or reject the request. If the request is rejected you have lost nothing. But there is one important caveat. About a year ago, the percentage of air deviations that required an additional charge, on top of the normal fee, spiked dramatically. The larger cruise lines now routinely charge additional fees on top of the air deviation fee. They justify this by saying that the class of service for which they have contracted is no longer available. This is called an air "up charge." So, in reality, an air deviation can cost upwards of $400 per person.
Unfortunately, air deviations are usually not permitted during busy holiday periods such as Spring break, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Given the current high cost of airline tickets, many cruise lines such as Princess, Holland America, Royal Caribbean, and Celebrity assign flights with limited regard for the comfort of their guests. These lines tend to work exclusively with their contracted carriers and if a connection is "legal" it may be assigned even if common sense dictates that more connection time be recommended.
The chances are good, in fact well over 90%, that you will thoroughly enjoy your cruise experience and decide to repeat it. But do make note of the fact that cruise lines report that fully 90%+ of all complaints they receive from angry guests have to do with transportation to or from the ship - not the cruise experience itself. That's why we recommend that you carefully consider an "air strategy" with your consultant. You will always receive an air credit by doing your own air Your cruise will cost more, but you are far more likely to have a hassle-free, less anxiety-ridden trip to and from your ship.
We know that some cruisers feel that if the cruise line blocks the air, they have some responsibility if the flight is delayed or cancelled. Sadly, they write away that liability in their contract of passage. They take no responsibility. When an airline cancels a flight, you are always dealing with the airline - not the cruise line. On the other hand, if a large group of passengers are booked on a delayed flight through the cruise line, there is a possibility that the Captain will decide to delay the ship. But that is never something to count on as it could involve a late departure and higher fuel costs for the line.
As a consumer, you are entitled to know what to expect from the Air/Sea departments at the various cruise lines. For that reason, www.traveltruth.com now offers a letter grade to each of the major cruise lines based on their willingness to consider connection times, passenger comfort, and booking flexibility beyond their normal contracts with the airlines. These “Grades” will be updated as situations warrant:
Celebrity Cruises - D
Crystal Cruises - A
Holland America - D
Oceania Cruises - C
Princess Cruises - D
Regent Seven Seas - A
Royal Caribbean - D
Seabourn Cruises - A
Silverseas Cruises - A
Tauck River Boats - A
Viking River Cruises - F
FOUR OF THE BEST RESTAURANTS IN THE WORLD - AND HOW TO CRACK THEIR RESERVATION CODE
The problem, at one time, was simply knowing the best restaurants. Now, with the success of The Food Network, Top Chef, and Mr. Ramsey's Empire, along with Zagat et. al. everyone wants/needs to dine at the best restaurants in the world. But some of these places only have thirty or so tables. How do you score one?
In its April, 2008 issue, Travel + Leisure Magazine does more then name names - it names numbers. Here are the best ways to crack the reservations "codes".
EL BULLI - Send a fax request eight to twelve months prior to your requested dinner to 34.97. 215 0717. Or, call one day ahead to see if there are cancellations at 34. 97 215 0457. Hint: don;t put a lot of effort into securing reservations in 2008. They are completely booked. 
BABBO - Mario Batali's Manhattan outpost of creative and heartwarming Italian cuisine leaves it all up tot he speed of your telephone connection. Call exactly at 10:00 am. one month to the day prior to your requested date. Dial 212 - 777 -0303. Wear kitchen clogs if you can.
L'ASTRANCE - This top tier Paris Restaurant tries to maintain a waiting list. But the best way to secure an actual reservation is to call exactly two months to the day prior to your desired reservation. The call should be made at exactly 10:00 am. Paris time - or the middle of the night for North American foodies. The number to use is 33 1 40 50 84 40
THE FRENCH LAUNDRY - We think FL's Thomas Keller is the top chef in the United States. His Napa dining spot takes calls for reservations at 707 - 944 - 2380. Call several months in advance and always call during the day on weekends.
CARRY THIS NUMBER WITH YOU WHEN YOU TRAVEL
The vast majority of overseas travelers leave home without knowing the most important number every traveler should commit to memory: How do you dial a 911-type emergency number abroad?
Canada uses 911 but in Mexico it's 060.
Note that all countries on the Euro use the same important number: 112
Additional National Emergency Numbers include:
Argentina 911 Hong Kong 999 Israel 100 Japan 119 Switzerland 144 and Thailand 191
CONSUMER WARNING; DON'T PURCHASE ART AT SEA
We think it has become necessary for responsible agents to issue warnings to guests sailing on cruise ships that feature onboard art auctions. In this economy, cruise lines have been extremely hesitant about increasing the advertised price of their cruises from year to year. But onboard revenues, as a share of total profits generated, have increased dramatically. This has been achieved by the establishment of numerous profit centers onboard the meg-liners, not the least of which is the sale of art at auctions that occur several times during a cruise.
Most of the mainstream cruise lines work with a company called Park West Gallery. The onboard staff of Park West refer to their company as "the largest seller of fine art in America." Given the number of these auctions that occur weekly on the high seas, the quote may be accurate, but the definition of "fine art" is highly subjective. Park West sold more than a million pieces of art and is currently operating on more then seventy ships.
Here are some of the problems with the purchase of art aboard a ship by the uninitiated:
The contract between the onboard seller usually has language that essentially says that anything the seller (auctioneer) represented to the buyer is not in force unless it is in writing.
So-called Certificates of Authenticity do not represent the importance of the piece or even how rare it really is. In other words, the auctioneer can say anything but the fine print absolves the company that sells the art from any representations as to quality and worth.
Terms are sometimes used during the sales process that may be confusing or even meaningless to the purchaser, many of whom are making art purchasing decisions in a large lounge, during a relaxing vacation, with drinks available without leaving their seats.
Two terms we have heard used aboard ships are "pochoir" and the infamous "signed in stone." Art dealers ashore tell us that the term pochoir, while pretty impressive on its own, really refers to a stencil print which has far less value, normally, then a true lithograph or an original etching. The term "signed in stone" is a misleading way of stating that the artist never actually signed the work being sold.
It has been alleged, in one class action lawsuit, that onboard auctioneers use the old auction trick of pointing to bidders who really don;t exist to bid up the price of a piece.
At the very least, guests onboard who are considering a significant onboard purchase, ought to use the ships internet service to research both the art work and the firm doing the selling. And remember the contract is binding - the promises of the auctioneer are not.
FUEL PRICES; IS IT AS BAD AS IT SEEMS FOR CONSUMER?
In a word - yes. We have seen eleven fuel-based price increases by the majors during the past five months. This translates to additional fuel charges and taxes on some trans=continental flights of $310-$340 per passenger.
|
