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World Class Travel & Tours

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1.

Why are fees charged for booking airline tickets?

2.

What are consolidator air tickets, and should I buy them?

3.

Does it cost more to book through a travel agent/consultant?

4.

Is it better to book a tour package of air, hotel, rental car, and transfers or should they be booked separately?

5.

Are sales of tours, cruises, air, hotels, etc. really sales?

6.

Do travel agents have preferred suppliers of tour operators, cruise lines, etc. that pay higher commissions to entice travel agents to use them instead of other travel suppliers?

7.

How do I choose a travel agent/consultant, and is it important to have a personal travel consultant?

8.

Why do I need trip cancellation insurance?

9.

Is it possible to keep from getting traveler's diarrhea?

10.

Is there any way to lessen the chance of getting seasick on a cruise.

11.

How do you find out if you need a passport or visa when traveling to foreign countries?

12.

Is it a good idea to buy timeshares and hotel/resort vacation clubs?

13.

Should I get a digital camera or a film camera to shoot pictures when I travel?

1.

The airlines stopped paying commissions to travel agents sometime ago. As a result, many travel agents have been forced out of business. In order for a travel agency to be able to book airline tickets it must use a booking engine which can be costly. The only way that a travel agency can afford to provide this service is to charge a fee. Despite this a travel agent that books airline tickets can search for the best fare and often save clients a lot of money. Since travel agents make very little money booking air tickets with the airlines, it is necessary to book other kinds of travel like tours and cruises in order to survive. Many travel agents no longer book airline tickets.

2.

Consolidator tickets are discounted or wholesale air tickets sold by consolidators, a type of tour operator. The consolidator enters into an agreement with one or more of the major airlines to sell blocks of air tickets at reduced prices. These tickets are generally only available to foreign destinations from the USA. Many travel agents do not sell consolidator tickets because they can be more work than booking through the typical reservation system. Also, many consolidators are not reputable, so you have to be very careful which ones you use. As a result, we research consolidators and only book through those that have established good reputations. In the process we have saved many of our clients money. Consolidator tickets usually come with a large financial penalty if someone wants to make a change to a ticket. This requirement is due to the airlines, and is usually not a problem for leisure travelers who plan to fly on a specific schedule. To get good deals on consolidator tickets it is best to book early, especially if you plan to go during high season. Booking three to six months in advance is not too early.

3.

Not usually. The exception is an airline ticket because a fee is usually charged in this case. See Question 2. For booking tours, cruises, hotels, rental cars, and other travel products a fee is rarely charged. Most tours, cruises, and other travel products are sold by travel agents/consultants. Although some tour operators, cruise lines, and other travel providers sell directly to the public, the amount of their sales is usually quite small compared to the sales by travel agents. As a result, the travel providers are very much dependent upon the sales of travel agents, and the price is usually the same because tour operators and cruise lines want everyone to pay the same price. So you get a travel agent's advice at no extra cost, and she/he does all of the work. Another advantage of going through a travel agent is that a number of the best tour operators only sell through travel agents. If you book on your own you cannot take advantage of these tour operators. One more important reason for using a travel agent is that sometimes things go wrong. If you book through a travel agent the travel agent takes care of the problem. Otherwise you are on your own.

The tour package will usually cost less, sometime a lot less than booking everything separately. Another reason for booking a tour package is that the tour operator has checked everything out including inspections of the hotels they offer. Tour operators only use hotels and other travel products that meet their standards.

Some times there really are sales, but not always. An objective of marketing is to convince someone that they are getting a good deal. However, it may not really be a good deal. Sometimes the airlines run sales that really are sales. This is likely to happen during the off season. But be careful. There are examples where the ad says the companion flies free. But by the time you buy the first ticket that price might be higher than if you just bought two tickets as the lowest price for published air. In marketing cruises you often see ads of big discounts with 50% off. It sounds like a great deal. But the 50% is taken off of the brochure price which in the cruise industry is usually very high. You will have difficulty finding anyone that pays the brochure price. If the usual price is close to 50% off the brochure price is that really a sale?

Yes, most definitely. The higher commissions are often based on the volume of sales meaning the more you sell of a given travel provider's products the more commission you earn. However, the higher commission does not raise the price of the tour, cruise, etc. for the client. Nevertheless, it is the policy of World Class Travel & Tours to choose the very best travel products for our clients independent of the amount of commission earned.

Most people are very careful in choosing their medical doctor, their lawyer, or a CPA. They want professionals that are competent, that get to know them, and that offer great service at a reasonable price. It is therefore surprising that so many people give so little thought to choosing a travel consultant. This is especially the case when you consider that many people spend thousands of dollars on tours and cruises. In choosing a travel consultant the issue is really not price since for a given tour, cruise, etc. the price is set by the travel provider and not the travel consultant. It is important to distinguish between a travel consultant and a travel agent. A travel agent can be thought of as someone that basically takes orders and does the bookings. A travel consultant is a travel agent that is knowledgeable enough to properly advise you on planning your travels. The best travel consultants travel a lot to experience different places, are willing to take the time to research your travel plans, know which are the best tour operators to use, attend one or more travel meetings a year, read the trade journals, and offer great service. You can learn a lot about a travel consultant by viewing his/her web site. Interview a travel consultant by phone or in person. If you have any questions ask for references.

Once you pay for a tour or cruise you are expected to go, and if you do not go the tour operator or cruise line has penalties that get higher as you get closer to your travel dates. If on the date of travel your are unable to travel there is not likely to be any refund at all. They argue that if at the last minute you are unable to go it will be too late for them to be able to sell your tour or cruise to someone else. To protect your investment you can buy trip cancellation insurance. Not all insurance plans are equal. But typically you are protected for a covered sickness, injury, or the death of you, your traveling companion, family members, and possibly others. The insurance under certain restrictions may also cover tour operator or cruise line bankruptcy. Other things covered may include the weather, lost baggage, and baggage delay. In most cases the travel insurance should be purchased through a provider independent of the tour operator or cruise line from which your vacation was purchased. Discuss these details with your travel consultant.

When people from countries like the United States travel to third world countries they sometimes come down with traveler's diarrhea. It is not possible to promise that you will not get traveler's diarrhea. However, many people go to third world countries and never have any problems with diarrhea. There are things that you can do to lessen your chances of becoming ill. Only drink bottled water or other bottled drinks and make sure that ice cubes are made from bottled water. Do not eat anything at stands on the street, because they may not be clean. Eat only at quality restaurants where you know a lot of tourists frequent or in homes where you know that care is taken in the preparation of food. Finally, before you go check with your physician or druggist about medicine to take with you in case you become ill due to traveler's diarrhea.

Many people go on cruises and never get seasick. Modern ships have well designed stabilizers that dampen out the motion due to ocean waves leading to smoother rides. If you are concerned about motion sickness you can improve your chances of not getting seasick by sailing on large ships. Also, choose a cabin that is located near the center of motion of the ship since these cabins experience the least amount of wave induced motion. The center of motion of the ship is near the middle from stern to bow and near the middle from top to bottom. Before you go on the cruise buy some wrist bands at a drug store. You can usually buy these bands onboard the vessel, but they might cost a lot more there. Some destinations are free of ocean waves, and therefore seasickness is not likely to occur. Such is the case for a cruise in the Inside Passage of Alaska or the river cruises in Europe, even for small ships.

Choose "Links" under Travel Info in the Menu. Then choose "Travel Related" from the list and finally "Foreign Embassies in Washington, D.C. It is then easy to select the countries of interest.

Only you can answer this question. However, we have had so many complaints from our clients about their timeshares that it is necessary to add these remarks. Owning them can be very restrictive as to when you can take vacations or where you can go. Although you are supposed to be able to trade for timeshares in other locations it can be difficult to accomplish this. If someone does not want to use a timeshare in a given year it can be difficult to find a renter of the timeshare to obtain financial relief. Getting to timeshare locations like Cancun, Mexico can be expensive. It is often better to book a hotel/resort package which includes wholesale air. You can book the tour package at the time of your choosing and you do not always have to go to the same location or the same hotel/resort. There are many vacations where timeshares simply will not work. For example, if you want to visit places like Costa Rica, Spain, Italy, and many other places it is best to move around throughout the country, possibly being in a different city each night. Further, timeshares and vacation clubs are expensive. They tend to be sold through high pressure tactics where you must commit to spending a lot of money at the conclusion of the sales pitch. If you are not allowed to think overnight about such a large expenditure of money before signing a contract then something might be wrong. It is also important to realize that if the timeshare or vacation club package is in a foreign country, then you will not have the protection of the laws of your own country with regards to the purchase.

Digital cameras have a number of advantages. You do not have to buy film or pay for film processing. They are also not damaged by X-rays, whereas film is if passed through security X-ray machines. When you buy a digital camera you want one with lots of megapixels. You can choose between a point and shoot camera or a single lens reflex (SLR) camera. The latter choice is more advanced and offers you the ability to change lens and to use a more powerful flash unit. Another thing to consider is the processing required to get your pictures. With film the processing is done by a lab. With a digital camera you upload the images to your computer and you carryout any necessary editing (processing) of the images. If you do not like doing this you will be unhappy with a digital camera. Film cameras will remain the preferred choice for some people. However, with a digital camera, the proper use of image software, and a computer the digital camera offers much greater potential for taking pictures under a greater variety of conditions than found with a film camera. If you are serious about photography and want the best possible pictures you will use a digital SLR camera and shoot all images in the RAW format. Be sure and take a lot of memory cards.

Travel Shows

Do you need a speaker? We do travel shows for groups.. Brilliant slides and videos are presented of Great Destinations. The Destinations are described by J. Ernest (Sunny) Breeding, Jr, Ph.D., Travel Consultant, Travel Photographer, and former Associate Professor. For more information about our qualifications see About Us. Contact us to schedule a presentation before your group.

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