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Travel Tips and Comments From Martha Nell

Single Supplements

An agitation our single clients run into frequently is the single supplement. Usually the single person has to pay from 120 to 200% of the tariff of someone who is sharing a cabin or suite. However, the Brits have a more sensitive approach to this, and on their ships they usually have a fair number of single cabins, with rates that are fair, set aside. In particular Swan Hellenic with its one ship, the Minerva, and Hebridean Cruise Lines, with two ships, follow this philosophy.

Important Hotel Room Card Key Information

Bottom Line: Keep your Hotel Card Keys.

Southern California law enforcement professionals assigned to detect new threats to personal security issues, recently discovered what type of information is embedded in the credit card type hotel room keys used through-out the industry.

Although room keys differ from hotel to hotel, a key obtained from the "Double Tree" chain that was being used for a regional Identity Theft Presentation was found to contain the following the information:

a.. Customers (your) name
b.. Customers (your) partial home address
c.. Hotel room number
d.. Check in date and check out date
e.. Customers (your) credit card number and expiration date!

When you turn them in to the front desk your personal information is there for any employee to access by simply scanning the card in the hotel scanner.

An employee can take a hand full of cards home and using a scanning device, access the information onto a laptop computer and go shopping at your expense.

Simply put, hotels do not erase these cards until an employee issues the card to the next hotel guest. It is usually kept in a drawer at the front desk with YOUR INFORMATION ON IT!!!!

The bottom line is, keep the cards or destroy them! NEVER leave them behind and NEVER turn them in to the front desk when you check out of a room. They will not charge you for the card. (Information courtesy of: Sergeant K. Jorge, Detective Sergeant, Pasadena Police Department)

Travel Made Easy

One of the goals of Travel Advisors is to make the whole travel experience easier for people. There is enough stress in the world and we try to take some of it out of travel.

Airport Hotels

Some airport hotels allow you to leave your car free for a certain period of time. This can be especially great when you are departing on an early flight. I tried this recently when I had a 7:00am flight to Las Vegas. My choice of hotel was the Holiday Inn Express, just south of SFO. It worked perfectly. The hotel puts out a better-than-some breakfast at 5:00am and they also have a coffee maker in the room. I grabbed a quick breakfast and was off on the shuttle, which goes every twenty minutes, at 5:20am.

Passports

Getting a passport in San Francisco has become easier. Now all post office locations can handle passport applications, whether for a renewal or a new passport. The office opposite the Marina Safeway can also take photos, although they are more expensive than one can get in other locations, like Walgreens.

Cell Phones

An attempt that didn’t quite work--

On my June trip, I decided to rent a cell phone to use in France, Italy and the U.K. I ordered the phone through World Cell but unfortunately the experience was not good. The main problem was that they gave me the wrong phone, one that wouldn’t work in the countries I was visiting. World Cell had poor instructions on what to do if there was a problem. Then when I returned the phone, they were slow to refund my money. However, a cell phone would have been extremely helpful on that trip in particular. My friends who were traveling with me and I had challenges along the way—such as our train from Paris to ! Venice being cancelled at the last minute.

So I am on the look out for a good provider of phones for use throughout the world.

I welcome thoughts from anyone about what you find makes travel easier

Southern Africa: South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana with Eyes on Africa

“You can mark this one 'another satisfied customer.' From a logistical perspective, everything went perfectly. We were met and transferred as scheduled everywhere. Kudos to the two of you and also to Wilderness Safaries. I will certainly recommend all of you to others.

Cape Town --we spent 4 nights in Cape Town. We stayed at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, which is an area with many shops and restaurants. Though tourist oriented, it was a great place to stay and convenient to a lot of good eating. On our first full day we went with a guide to the Winelands, visited about 5 wineries and had a great lunch. Very scenic and uncrowded,good wine too.

The next day we visited the top of Table Mountain, and then went on a drive around the Cape Peninsula. On our last day we visited Robben Island which was the site of a prison and where many political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela, were kept. It is now a museum.

Botswana --we visited 3 camps in the bush, 2 in the Okavango Delta, and 1 in an area near Chobe called Linyanti. Botswana is a very well run, fairly affluent country. The wilderness area, or bush as it's generally called, is completely pristine and almost completely devoid of human signs. No roads, power pools, phone lines, etc. Dick's analogy for how the camps are run is that they're like a cruise ship--everything is taken care of for you,everything is included and there is lots of eating and drinking.

Accommodations were fine with ensuite bathrooms, electricity and fans. Amazing animals, learned many things and overall a fabulous time. The three camps were Chitabe, Kwetsani (lots of water) and Duma Tau.

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe--We stayed at the Victoria Falls Hotel which is a destination in itself. Beautifully situated and maintained, staying there is like stepping back in time 100 years. We visited the Falls of course and were apparently fortunate to be there at a time of low water, as in high water there is so mist that it is hard to see anything.”

L. and A. M., Alameda