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E L L I O T T' S TRAVEL NOTES
Travel news, opinion and analysis

April 27, 2004

Royal Caribbean Torpedoes Vacation
Al Scatto and his friends were dreaming of a vacation on the high seas. "The plan was to go on a cruise and enjoy a friend's 40th birthday," Scatto said. "Three couples." He put down a $500 deposit for a cruise aboard Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas. But when Scatto called to add another couple to the list, he got a big surprise. Not only could he not add another couple, but the trip wasn't going to happen at all because the whole ship had been rented. Everyone who had booked would have to make other plans. "I was told basically that the boat had been chartered by somebody else and that we would have to cancel or reschedule," Scatto said. Royal Caribbean offered alternative dates, but those dates didn't work for Scatto. "They did offer me my money back, but that's not what we were looking for. We were looking to enjoy the cruise," Scatto said. Channel 10 | Posted 7 a.m.
-- Triprights.com: A cruise from hell to nowhere

• How can cruise lines get away with this? Because, in some respects, they are above the law, as I observed in a recent commentary. Send us your comments.

Surcharges for Biz Travelers Sticking
The brochure of the Comfort Inn Oceanfront in Miami Beach, is awash in caveats about extra charges: a daily parking fee of $9.50, a pet surcharge of $25 a stay and $10 a night, a visitor parking fee of $6 for every four hours. But there is no mention of a $1.50-a-night fee for a safe in the room, payable whether you use it or not. Andy McGehee did not. And when Mr. McGehee, a nuclear engineer from North Augusta, S.C., who stayed at the hotel recently, was told about the charge at check-in, he protested. The desk clerk was unmoved. "They told me I didn't have a choice,'' Mr. McGehee said. He said he let the matter drop because he did not think it was worth complaining to higher-ups about such a small amount. Getting nickeled and dimed on the road, especially at hotels, is nothing new. But with the economy rebounding and occupancy rates up, something else is - the hotels' attitude toward unhappy guests. The New York Times | Posted 7:10 a.m.
-- Times: Look out for 'surcharge syndrome'

Southwest, Trump Lose in Survey
The Customer Respect Group, an international research and consulting firm that focuses on how corporations treat their customers online, has released the results of its Spring 2004 Online Customer Respect Study of 36 airline, travel and leisure firms that rank among the countries largest 1000 companies. Overall, Orbitz and Hotwire scored highest among travel firms, while WorldTravel BTI scored lowest. Northwest Airlines ranked first among airlines, while Southwest Airlines ranked last. Marriott International scored highest among hotels/resorts, while Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts scored lowest. And GetThere bested Sabre Airline Solutions in the travel solutions category. The study is the only one to bring objective measure to the analysis of corporate performance from an online customer's perspective. Business Wire | Posted 7:25 a.m.

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• And finally ... Carol Pucci had what is probably the best story to date on TSA-certified locks. I have to wonder how safe they are, when the luggage handlers could easily get their hands on the skeleton keys, too. But as she points out, they're better than nothing. Posted 7:30 a.m. | Send us your comments.

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