Paulette's Travel Tips

rub-a-dub, nah, I'll take a shower instead

An interesting trend in hotels.... no more bathtubs!  Porfolio.com wrote about it this week:

  ....Experts all cite the same basic reasons for the decline of the hotel bathtub. For one thing, business travelers are just too busy for leisurely soaks. Liability issues make the tub-shower combo a magnet for lawsuits because a surprising number of travelers have trouble navigating the walls of an unfamiliar tub. Shower-only layouts are slightly more space-efficient than other bathroom configurations and that appeals to developers struggling with high real estate costs. Then there's the "ick" factor: Hotel designers say travelers, especially women, are concerned about the cleanliness of hotel tubs. Even if they prefer bathing, they won't do it in a hotel..... 

2007-11-01 14:05:44

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New danger on planes

Forget the phones; ban the batteries on planes  

While most of us are cringing at the thought of someone next to us gabbing on his/her cell phone throughout a flight, what we really should be worrying about is someone quietly using his/her computer during the flight.  

It seems that lithium batteries are a potential fire hazard on an airplane.  The battery industry is dismissing this by saying it has "only" caused 15 documented fires on planes. 

15 fires on planes!!!!!  A single one that goes out of control can kill 200+ people. 

Turn that computer off baby.  I'd rather you gab on your cell phone.

 Here's the story.

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If Bush were like JetBlue

 If Bush were like JetBlue

Great blog in today's Huffington Post about why "Bush Could Take a Lesson From JetBlue" by Carol Hoenig

JetBlue admits it. They are sorry and embarrassed....That's when I began to fantasize about the President of the United States doing the same and apologizing to the country for his mistakes.... Imagine, though, Bush taking out an ad, creating a Web site and going on television apologizing to the American people, as well as those beyond our borders, for having misled us into war, for not responding quicker when Katrina hit and for ignoring clear reasoning on just about every other issue..... Read the Huffington blog post here.

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Is the passenger Bill of Rights wrong?

The Passenger Bill of Rights... right or wrong?

There has been lots of talk about the Jet Blue fiasco giving impetus to the Passenger Bill of Rights, which basically ensures that a plane returns passengers to the gate within three hours if it doesn't take off.

Plus, the airline has to offer food, water, and clean bathrooms if the wait is longer, and refund a certain amount of money if it's over 12 hours.

First, there's the question of where they would get this food from -- Jet Blue only carries those chips, crackers and cookies, which, incidentally are no good ever since they got rid of their original Chocolate Chip cookies because they crumbled too much and left the plane too messy. 

So, either they would have to carry a couple of hundred meals if the weather was inclement and a delay was likely, or go back and get the food once they were delayed.  And if they could do that, they could probably disgorge their passengers as well.

I was doing some research on the Internet on the whole question of the Passenger's Bill of Rightsis and came upon an editorial by the "Cranky Flier" that was so interesting, I hope the writer doesn't mind if I quote him verbatim:

Says Brett, who describes himself as an "airline dork" and runs the pricegrabber.com website:

"But what if government-mandated rules were put into place requiring cash compensation? What if people by law couldn't be held on an aircraft over a certain amount of time? Well, airlines would just pre-cancel a lot more flights. And with flights as full as they are, it's going to be impossible to reaccommodate those people quickly once the weather has passed. That means all those people who really need to travel would be out of luck for several days.

One thing to remember here is that not everyone was stuck on the taxiway for 11 hours. JetBlue still managed to operate about half their flights systemwide, and that's no small feat when most of your network involves hard-hit Boston, New York, and Washington. With a Passenger Bill of Rights, JetBlue probably would have pre-canceled a lot of those flights to avoid having a couple of flights get stuck on the taxiway. That would have angered a lot more people than it would have helped."

• Read "Why I'm against a Passenger Bill of Rights" in  the Cranky Flyer here.
• JetBlue's Passenger Bill of Rights in New York Times today here.

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Jet Blue's not riding so high is unfair....

At least they had free TV to watch 

Jet Blue is not riding so high these days after the bad publicity surrounding the stranding.  But passengers on other airlines were also stranded and I wonder what--if any--compensation they received 

(Not to mention that only Jet Blue had TV for the passengers to watch all while they were waiting, although watching something like the Food Network for 8 hours when you haven't eaten anything may not be such a good thing.)

Anyway, Jet Blue refunded the money passengers paid for the flight, flew them free later, and gave them a coupon good for a free ticket for future travel. Did the other airlines do that? 

JetBlue has always been generous to their passengers.  Once on a Jet Blue flight (I take them whenever pssible because they're the best of all the airlines which may not be saying much) when my TV went out for 10 minutes, I later received a discount coupon of $10 toward a future flight to compensate me for the (minor) inconvenience. 

Another time, when my luggage was on a later flight than I was, they gave me a $50 coupon.

Still another time, when my luggage was damaged -- and there was no proof that they were responsible -- they gave me $100 as compensation for luggage that probably didn't cost me that in the first place. 

So let's cut them a little slack, OK?  They may not be perfect, but they do try harder.  And they're a lot better than the competition.  Which unfortunately may not be saying much. 

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Saving money on food while traveling?

Anyone have any tips for saving money on food or drinks while traveling? 

I keep the little drink bottles after I've used them on a plane and fill one with vodka at home and take it with me the next time I fly so I don't have to pay $4 per drink.  The bottles are small enough that you're allowed them so long as you show them to security when they ask you about liquids you're carrying.

As for food on the plane, I pack my own meal rather than buying the usually dreadful stuff at the airport. Even though I try to put together an elegant lunch that's easy to travel with (pate, fresh grapes, chocolate etc.,)  I think it's still cheaper -- and a lot better -- than airline food. 

Mark Kahler, in Your Guide to Budget Travel in about.com wrote an item this morning on how to save money on food while traveling (where I got the idea) and suggested you make the least expensive meal of the day your biggest, you eat the foods that are in abundance where you're going (e.g., eat bananas in Central America although I think that to save enough money with that you'd have to eat more than a monkey does) visit supermarkets, ask locals for advice, and average in inexpensive dinners with splurge.  See the story here.

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Hands up for the new Club Med Yucatan in Cancun

     ^{The new Club Med's beach is a marvel}

A new and better Club Med awaits

By Paulette Cooper, Photos by Paul Noble

Remember the old Club Med? Those resorts with so much singles’ sex going on that a lot of us were “created” there?

Well, now the kids are already here – and the singles are mostly gone. Club Meds everywhere are changing over to family-style children-allowed resorts catering primarily to couples.

No longer will part of the night-time entertainment be watching singles chase and bed each other.  Now, married couples can stay in their rooms with their kids and watch the large plasma TV.

Mon Dieu!

Another major change: the Clubs are no longer basic and rustic.  Au contraire!  They’ve become so upscale, that their claim to be the most exclusive of the all-inclusives is indisputable.

I saw this change the minute I got to my room when I recently went the Club Med Yucatan in Cancun, which was being reopened after having been severely damaged by Hurricane Wilma. Where once guests at a Club Med were lucky if they could find a tiny sliver of soap in their bathroom, now it’s filled with upscale amenities. That'sa photo of the club's entrance above on right.

The closets even have irons and hair dryers, because the old style unkept wrinkled and crinkled hippy guests aren’t here (or wanted) any more, thank you.

Even the doors have changed.  Once there weren’t any locks (and if there were, they didn’t ever work), so that you wouldn’t have to carry a key around.  It was almost a badge of honor to have at least one thing stolen from your room during your stay. But now the doors have workable locks, and if you forget your plastic key, you have to go all the way to the front desk to get another one.  Progress.  

But while some will miss the old Club Meds at first – I did-- you can’t help but fall in love with the new one.  I did.

This “new” club is spectacularly beautiful, like all Club Meds.  Get their ubiquitous catalogs and thumb through the color photos of the “villages” all over the world and you’ll already be planning your next vacation.    

The food is also still superb, and while it always was at Club Med, the buffets are now far more extensive-- and expensive. (Not that you pay for them; while the old way of paying for drinks by beads is gone, you still get all meals and drinks for free.)  That's one corner of the breakfast room above on right.

The restaurants also offer far more varied cuisine than they used to, so unlike some all-inclusives, here you never get tired of the meals.  There are gourmet buffets that would put an all-you-can-eat Las Vegas buffet to shame.  There are also separate dining areas with Mexican buffets, Mexican- French fusion meals, and there’s even a new dining room overlooking the ocean that serves tapas each night.

Another area where there’s more variety now than there used to be are the rooms.  No longer are they all pretty much the same – and you were assigned one once you get there.  Here, there are 384 rooms in 3 categories (some with connecting rooms for families) and they’re all comfortable and attractive.  

That’s especially true in the new upscale Jade building, where there are 18 ocean view suites offering concierge service, room service, free internet access, fresh flowers, priority housekeeping, private cab to the hotel, and more.

You also get the feeling of luxury and comfort in the lounging areas, especially near the large freestyle pool.  There are plenty of luxurious beach loungers--no plastic stuff any more – and 6 large comfortable Thai style lounge beds.

You’ll also find a unique third place to lie down here; underneath a thatched hut are large puffy pillows on the floor where you can relax and look out at the water.

The hut also provides a bit of shade, as do the large decorative sails nearby to give you a bit of protection from the bright Cancun sun.  At night, they focus colored lights on these sails, turning it into a stunning kaleidoscope slide show.

Who would ever want to leave this resort?  

Actually, many don’t. This little piece of paradise is away from the 100 or so other resorts in Cancun and it’s situated on 22 acres with three beaches so you never feel crowded.  

It’s between the lagoon and the ocean, but you’re more likely want to stay near and stare at the peacock-blue Caribbean.  The water laps up against equally-pretty postcard-looking white powdery sand which, by the way, had to be trucked in after losing all of it in Hurricane Wilma last year.  

Those who’d rather go under the water than in it (or look out at it) will soon find another piece of paradise.  Few know this, but Cancun has the second largest coral reef in the world next to Australia.

Water sports are just one of the reasons people come to the Club Meds.  This one, like all of them, offers an enormous amount of activities (at no extra cost) from the traditional to a more unique trapeze-training area shown on right.

But if you want to leave the property – why?—the Club also offers a number of side trips. My favorite places to go to in this area are the eco-amusement-parks: Garrafon in Isla Mujeres, and Xcaret Water Park.  

If you want to go out and eat out one evening – again why? -- an indispensable book containing detailed descriptions of the 475 restaurants, clubs, bars and hotels in  Cancun based on the experiences of hundreds of Cancun tourists is available at www.peopleschoiceguide.com.  It’s probably the best guide to Cancun available.)  

But you’re unlikely to want to go away for long once you get here.   

When I finally had to leave from my long weekend, convinced that what had replaced the old Club Med was far better, my only regret was that I missed hearing them sing the traditional “Hands Up,” one of the signature songs of  the Old Club Meds.

But perhaps in homage to our memories, as the buses pull out to go to the airport at the end of the week, the GO’s (employee/guests) come out and wave with their hands way up.  

A nice reminder, but the new upscale Club Med with children is so spectacular; one almost needn’t be reminded of the old place any more.

Club Med.  Mexico
Club Med. Puntz Nizuc, 77500 Cancun, Quintana Roo -- Mexico
Reservations 1-800 CLUB MED

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