Insider Tips on Tour Packages
If you are traveling this summer and don’t have your passport – apply now! Because of the new requirements for passports to the Caribbean, Mexico, and Canada, there are a record number of travelers applying. It could take 10 weeks instead of the usual 6 to process routine applications. Expedited requests, which cost an extra $60 on top of the normal $97 fee, could take 4 weeks instead of 2. Don’t wait a day longer.
We Travel Consultant's make mistakes that can greatly benefit you the Traveler. Here are a few things we have learned that can save you time and money.
When looking over ads, brochures, or fliers please keep these hints in mind. Give us a call to read the fine print before you sign any commitments.
Check the brochure's pictures. Do the people in the photos fall into your age category? For many, that is important.
Understand the word "from." It indicates the starting price of a package. There's no guarantee that you will get it.
Calculate the trip's pace. If breakfast, lunch and dinner are included each day, then the trip will be relatively slow-moving. If your accommodations change every night, you're moving fast.
Find the cancellation point and read the fine print. Don't have a magnifying glass? Then call us. Know the penalties involved and under what circumstances the company can cancel its trip.
The most common reason why trips are canceled is that not enough people sign on. On the other hand, if you should need to cancel, ask what the fee is. And, consider purchasing travel insurance if you or someone in your family is not well.
Use your credit card. For your deposit and the final balance due. Under the federal Fair Credit Billing Act, consumers have the right to refuse to pay for services not delivered.
If the company goes out of business, you can dispute the charges through your card company.
Count the nights. Most companies advertise the number of days you'll be away from home. The number of nights, however, is a better way to evaluate a trip. Obviously nine days sounds like a longer trip than seven nights -- but on a nine-day trip, two nights are very likely spent on a plane or train.
Look for trade association membership. Tour operators and packagers belonging to TOP, a division of American Society of Travel Agents (www.astanet.com) have been in business for at least three years and adhere to a code of ethics. They also work with various consumer protection agencies to resolve problems.
The U.S. Tour Operators Association (www.ustoa.com) has even more stringent requirements for membership and offers consumers more tangible protection through its $1 Million Travelers Assistance Program.
Add up the minutes. A prompt telephone or e-mail response from a company indicates it is well-organized and tightly run. Ditto on polite reservationists and staff.
Find a street address. Never do business with a firm that hides behind a post office box or web site.
