It’s one of the great travel cliches. Tourists at beach resorts who get up early and “reserve” a spot on the beach, a deck chair or by the pool by placing a towel there. Then they go back to bed or breakfast, hoping to take up their privileged spot later on.
It’s led to (often racist) jokes, arguments and even fist fights in the past. And now it’s illegal. Continue reading No reservations
You may have heard about The Man Who Lived at the Ritz. It was a novel, then a TV movie, about a man who spent several years at the famous Ritz Hotel in Paris during the Nazi occupation.
In real life, Coco Chanel did live at the Ritz (although, apparently, not in the actual suite that now bears her name).
There’s an old showbiz anthem, It’s Not Where You Start, it’s Where You Finish, which has been an earworm for me today.
It started during a Twitter conversation I had with another travel blogger about how some airfare structures were, at first glance, confusing.
The classic Little Golden Book Gordon’s Jet Flight, by Naomi Glasson and Mel Crawford, was first published in 1961. I read it when I was old enough to read Little Golden Books.
In my memory, it was about a little boy’s first flight on a Boeing 747 Jumbo, but as the cover shows, it was about the B707, which was still a mighty plane in its day.
Updated on 23 July (see end of post)
So, I received a direct-marketing email from Royal Caribbean, the American cruise company.
Headed “We want to hear from you”, it invited me to take part in a survey. The email said: “This survey will only take about 10 minutes to complete. We hope you’ll make your opinion count as your feedback is very important to us.”
The issue of appropriate attire for travellers has been in the news lately. There was outrage in the Middle East, and an official apology in America, when a man from the United Arab Emirates was judged suspicious by an Ohio hotel clerk, and later arrested, partly because he was wearing national costume.
That incident led to an advisory from UAE authorities to its own citizens suggesting that they not wear traditional clothing while travelling.
Meanwhile, in a survey of 2,500 Americans, 59 per cent agreed that passengers should be kicked off aircraft for “dressing inappropriately”.
I’m pretty much an omnivore, but I am sensitive to other people’s dietary requirements. And I feel for those with diet restrictions when they are travelling.
So, it’s great to note that there are organisations that do the research and spread the word on the web so these people know where to go to get a good meal.
I’ve written before about my concerns about a cruise line offering passengers free, unlimited alcoholic drinks. My comments then related to certain Norwegian Cruise Line sailing.
Now another cruise operator, Thomson, has announced that on its new TUI Discovery, “everyone goes all inclusive from summer 2017”.
So you’ve spend a shed-load of money, rearranged your work and life schedule, paid well in advance and raced around like crazy to put everything in place, all so you can enjoy your dream holiday without a hassle. Yes, it’s been hard, but you know it’ll be worth it
But what if things don’t turn out the way you expect? Continue reading Are we having fun yet?
I once asked a friend for his opinion of a particular airline, and he replied: “They’re great in the air, but terrible on the ground.”
He then described the litany of problems he had had with his website booking, and with customer service both on the phone and at the airport. Continue reading Highs and lows of flying
Some friends who recently flew from Australia to Europe were annoyed when a few bottles of alcohol in their luggage were broken, ruining some of their clothes. So, they took to social media to broadcast their displeasure with their airline.
It got me thinking about the whole issue of baggage handling. I’ve been pretty lucky. My bag was torn by handlers at a German airport many years ago, but British Airways cheerfully provided me with a better one.
Ibis Styles on Macpherson
Singapore
June 2016
I chose to stay at this hotel for a very simple reason: it was the cheapest room I could find online among my preferred brands.
I was looking for a relaxing stay in a no-hassle place. I’d already chosen Singapore as my destination because of the excellent business-class deal I secured from Oman Air, and the knowledge that I’d be comfortable with my surroundings.
The Styles came in at about S$128 (US$95.50) a night for bed and breakfast. Continue reading Review: Ibis Styles, Singapore
Oman Air A330-300* business class
Abu Dhabi-Muscat-Kuala Lumpur-Singapore-KL-Muscat-Abu Dhabi
June, 2016
Yes, it’s the long way around to get from Abu Dhabi to Singapore and back, but with Oman Air it was a pleasure.
As I discovered when I flew to Bangkok recently, Oman Air has a very good business-class product. Continue reading Review: Oman Air to Singapore
Many of my flying frustrations relate to baggage. Not just packing and hauling my own, but coping with the way other people deal with theirs.
Some tourists or business travellers pack like they’re migrating. They dump three or four large suitcases onto the belt at airport check-in, then try to sneak a fully laden backpack larger than an eight-year-old child on to the plane.
A time-lapse video doing the rounds of social media demonstrates three years of change in Singapore in just under five minutes.
Created by artist Keith Loutit and posted on Vimeo, it shows buildings going up, and coming down, cars winding through the streets, and changes in season and weather.
You can read more about the artist and his work here.
A trip to Raffles features on many a bucket list — especially for those interested in Singapore’s colonial past who want to see (or stay in, if they can afford it) arguably the most celebrated hotel in the world. For me, this was my third visit, and a somewhat sentimental one as I remembered a departed friend with whom I first visited Raffles many years ago.
Those of us who like to travel sometimes forget about the delights of where we live. While researching the next exotic destination, we are sometimes oblivious to changes in our own neighbourhood.
It pays to have a look around; to go somewhere new but nearby. I did this today with my first proper visit to Al Maryah Island, which has been designed to be the new central business district of Abu Dhabi (which, in case you don’t know is where I live).
We go on holiday to relax. And, for many of us, that means some overindulgence, especially when it comes to food and drink. And when the food is free and all you can eat, you can see why cruise passengers are wont to put on a kilogram or two on holiday.
But overeating isn’t the only danger. Cruise ships do a roaring trade in alcohol. Most lines offer an all-you-can drink package that can cost as little as $30 per day.
