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Cruise Prices Plunge / Hawaii Stay High

February 2, 2009 in George's Observations by George

I price out travel to post on the web for the large travel agency for which I am the webmaster. I have been reading with interest the many headlines about travel prices plunging.

However, I have noticed that despite all the hoopla the only prices to truly plunge have been Cruise Fares. Europe, Hawaii and Mexico vacations are more or less the same price frankly. However, cruises have never been lower.

How about a 7 night Greek Isle cruise for $799. This is not on one date, but for the entire month of May on Royal Caribbean Cruise’s Splendour of the Seas! I also found 10 Night Mediterranean cruises aboard Holland America Line for $999 for May. Interested in Mexico Cruise from Los Angeles or San Diego? Why settle for an inside cabin, when you can get an outside cabin with a Verandah for $699. These are really great prices.

However, in pricing out the least expensive 4 night Hawaii Packages from LAX or San Francisco, I am finding prices of $500 or more per person. And with a Hawaii package, you just begin dishing out the dough as food and drink are quite expensive.

Bottom Line: The Hawaii Travel Companies need to realize it’s a new world and provide value. Not lip service. The Hawaii State economy is depending on them.

George

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by George

Mexico Timeshare Scams – Now is not the time to buy

December 16, 2008 in George's Observations by George

I received this review the other day on www.ReviewResorts.com. I did NOT publish this review on this Mexico hotel for a couple reasons. Primarily because the author did not put input their contact information. However, it was disturbing in many ways because it fits a pattern of others I received. I will publish it here for you – So you can beware.

From Scammed:
“Please beware of the fraudulent timeshare sales practices at this resort. There are numerous complaints on this company all over the internet. XXXXX Resort sales reps go far beyond the usual exaggeration and embellishment at timeshare resorts. XXXXX Resort sales staff outright lie and deceive unsuspecting buyers. Take heed and stay away from this unscrupulous company. In my experience, XXXXX Resort agreed to trade-in a timeshare I owned at another resort to offset the price of an upgrade from a studio unit to a one bedroom. When questioned about the why the trade-in was not listed in the upgrade documents, I was told that it would be in a separate document and would be provided shortly by fax. I told them that my upgrade was based on that trade-in. Although they later put the supposed trade-in confirmation in my sales folder, it was not correct. After returning home, I found that the document referred to listing the timeshare for rental or resale instead of confirming the purchase by XXXXX Resort. There had been no mention of listing the property for rental or resale in my discussion with the sales rep. The only discussion was related to the trade-in to XXXXX Resort. I thought it might be a clerical mistake at first, but soon realized this was fraud when XXXXX Resort pretended to know nothing of the trade-in. I also discovered that there are many, many other victims of the XXXXX Resort timeshare scams. You can find a multitude of posts by doing a Google search of XXXXX Resort combined with scam, fraud, and lies. It is amazing that they have been able to perpetrate these fraudulent practices for so long.”

The old adage of “Let the buyer beware” comes to mind. In this economic recession, I am sure that there will quite a few hotel managers looking to exploit time-share sales for more revenue. Be careful – Now is NOT the time to buy Time-shares.

George

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by George

Zen Travel – Yoga Resorts in Mexico

December 4, 2008 in George's Observations by George

Yoga Resorts in Mexico. OM and Namaste at a Mexico Beach Resort with www.ViaYoga.com.

A while back I was part of a group that visited the Ceiba del Mar Resort in Puerto Morelos (Cancun). Some of the group signed up for the morning Yoga class held on the beach.

So I’m in the gym lifting weights like most guys and the group of ladies signed up for the Yoga class came into the gym area to get fresh towels for the class. Naturally they egged me on to join them calling me a wimp and saying that I probably couldn’t handle Yoga anyway. Well, you ladies know exactly how to get a man to do what you want and I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to prove them wrong, right?

You ladies are smart because I sure am glad I did. It was an truly remarkable experience. Practicing the peaceful art of Yoga on a tropical beach with the sound of the ocean waves in the background is one of the most relaxing experiences one can have. I will definitely make this a priority on future beach trips.

With that said, I stumbled upon a new tour company called VIA YOGA. These people have combined tropical adventure travel with Yoga.
Via Yoga’s moto is: Sun. Surf. Yoga. You.

VIA YOGA combines surfing and Yoga, Pilates and Surfing, Spanish and Yoga and more. This sounds like a real nice twist on experiential travel. They have a great web site that will have you ready to explore your inner Zen in Mexico. Here is a link to their web site for more information: www.ViaYoga.com

Enjoy,
George

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Gran Caribe Real Cancun Resort Review

December 2, 2008 in George's Observations by George


Gran Caribe Real Cancun

As editor of the popular web site www.ReviewResorts.com I seem to receive quite a few Cancun resort reviews complaining about sleazy time-share pitches that sometimes a ruin the impression tourists have of their hotel. The Gran Caribe Real Resort in Cancun Mexico deserves kudos for treating the guest who wrote the review below with respect and doing all they can to provide the best possible vacation experience. Check-out this review and see if you get the same good feeling I did when I read it:

Peter from Belmont, Michigan writes:
“My fiance and I just came back from Cancun today after a five day stay at the Gran Caribe Real Resort. We did not know what to expect from this fine establishment due to it being a 5-Star resort. We decided to stay there due the great introduction price due to construction currently going on. We are average every day middle class U.S. citizens with not a lot to spend on accommodations. Since we were paying a far lower rate than to be expected, we were concerned of the service that we might be given. If we had been given less than upper class service, I would not have written this review due to that we paid a very fair price to stay at an upper class resort. We were BOTH utmost surprised with the service that we received in ALL areas of the resort” ….Read More

Now that the financial mess has reduced vacation demand, resorts must examine the vacation experience they provide. Any resort could use more reviews like this to get people into their hotels.

George