January 29, 2012
Orlando International Airport (MCO) has been my home-base airport for the past twenty years. But did you know that Orlando also has a second airport? Orlando Sanford International Airport (SFB) is about 50 miles from Disney World, about double the distance from MCO. Though great for me, SFB is only 10 miles from my house, compared to 30 miles to MCO. It offers close proximity to the Lake Mary, Longwood and Altamonte Springs areas.
I flew out of SFB for the very first time last night. A business trip to Reykjavik had me searching Delta and Continental, though with 3 to 4 connections and very high fares, a direct flight to Reykjavik out of Sanford’s airport was a quarter of the price in a quarter of the hours! Granted, getting no miles towards my Diamond or 1K status may have me regretting this flight later in the year, but its practicality won me over for this trip.
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Posted by Carol Margolis under Current Affairs, Places to See; Things to Do, Random Thoughts, Travel |
January 22, 2012
Travel booking for the upcoming weeks is total frustration tonight. I tried to book rooms at Marriott and Hilton and both gave me errors after I had selected the dates and room. Well, first it was Hilton’s site that was having technical difficulties. One strike and they were out. Over to Marriott I went. No luck there either. I thought it might be Internet Explorer so I tried Firefox. Nope, that isn’t the issue. The websites display but just won’t take me all the way through.
Ok, I’ll at least get my car rentals booked. Oh no … Hertz’s website is down also.
What is this – Sunday night system updates? I usually like to book my own hotels and cars, as well as most domestic flights, but this is crazy and a frustrating waste of time. A travel agent may be worth it to deal with all of this.
I’m not even going to try to book airline tickets tonight. My usual good travel karma isn’t in the stars this evening. I’ll wait this one out and try again later this week.
Are you, too, experiencing this Sunday night blackout?
p.s. Now I can’t even tweet either! Is it just a very busy time on the internet or is someone trying to tell me to turn off the technology for the night?
Posted by Carol Margolis under Travel |
January 13, 2012
Gold status? That’s all I am? Just because I’ve never forgotten my pants or lost my keys? 50 weeks on the road last year and only Gold? I’m dejected. J
I had to take the quiz a second time. Just gotta get to Platinum!
No go. I only reached Silver the second time – after I fibbed a bit and said I have forgotten my pants. Arghh!
Head over to CNBC’s Quiz: How Much of a Road Warrior Are You? and check your road warrior-ness.
And if you reach Platinum, share your answers!
To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com. Watch for my new book, Business Travel Success – How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel with Confidence, being published by Morgan James in early 2012.
Posted by Carol Margolis under Pearls of Travel Fun |
January 13, 2012
Fairmont Hotels is offering an interesting promotion. Choose the deal that most appeals to you:
- Up to 30% off the room rates
- Free breakfast for two
- Stay for a free night
All of these deals include 10% off Air Canada flights, and some of them include bonus air miles. This promotion applies to their resort properties worldwide so it may appeal to US travelers as well as Canadian and international travelers. Some properties may have blackout dates so verify the qualifications before booking.
I love Fairmont Hotels (Lake Louise is my all-time favorite!) and all of these deals sound good to me! Choices, choices!
This promotion is good for travel through April 30, 2012 but note the hotel must be booked by February 7, 2012, so act fast if you are interested.
To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com. Watch for my new book, Business Travel Success – How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel with Confidence, being published by Morgan James in early 2012.
Posted by Carol Margolis under Current Affairs, Hotel Living |
January 9, 2012
It’s Monday morning. I’m awake early, packing the last of my bag and getting ready to fly out for the week. A quick cup of coffee with my husband, a kiss goodbye with a promise to call when I land, and I’m out the door.
Wait … it’s not me this morning heading to the airport, it’s my husband. And I’m staying home!
Oh, this is weird.
While my husband also travels a lot, he usually flies out later in the week and we’ll both be gone from home. I’ve held the Monday morning departure time in our house for years. And rarely am I ever home for a full week.
So I dropped him at the airport this morning, shared a kiss goodbye and he promised to call when he lands. I drove home and came into a very quiet house. I got a pot of coffee brewing and then looked around and said “Now what?”
An entire week at home. Doing dishes and laundry vs. having maid service. Standing at the kitchen counter to eat instead of going out for client dinners. Dressing Florida-casual instead of business casual. Having my laptop on the lanai poolside vs. sitting in conference rooms. Ah … now this I’m gonna love!
So while my husband is off at the Consumer Electronic Show this week in Vegas, I’ll be getting to know what it’s like to be waiting for a call in the evenings when he gets back to his hotel room. I’ll share what I got accomplished at home during the day and tell him the dog is doing fine. And I’ll be asking later in the week “What time does your flight arrive home, dear?”
Yes, this is very weird.
Posted by Carol Margolis under Relationships |
January 6, 2012
It’s been talked about for a long time and the rules are finally changing – airlines will need to disclose government taxes and fees and other mandatory charges in their advertised fares. Baggage fees are another item that will soon be full disclosed.
Airlines to Disclose Ticket Prices Upfront gives more details on the rules that go into effect on January 24th.
Now we need the other two-thirds taken care of.
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Posted by Carol Margolis under Current Affairs |
December 29, 2011
For my year-end review of my 2011 travels, my butt-in-seat air miles added up to 201,832 and I was gone for part or all of 47 weeks. I had lots of travel to Houston, New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas domestically, and several international trips to the UK, France, Norway and Singapore.
With my Continental Platinum, I was upgraded 100% of the time on my domestic flights. My Delta Diamond status also got me upgraded 100% of the time within the US. I succeeded a few times in using my system-wide upgrades on my Continental international flights; while watching my Delta upgrades sit idle in my account. My attempt to get six Delta first-class seats to Hawaii for my family, all on the same flight, was a 100% success (80,000 miles each).
I checked my bag about 20% of the time, usually on my longer international flights. I had TSA greeting cards in only a few of these checked bags and no lost or stolen items that I’m aware of.
All these stats are ho-hum – what’s really amazing is my 0% travel mishap stat for 2011.
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Posted by Carol Margolis under Random Thoughts |
December 21, 2011
Feel uncomfortable when your hotel room curtains do not close all the way?
My hotel room has a 3-inch gap in the curtain closure and the room overlooks a courtyard. So it’s easy to see into rooms, especially at night when the lights are on. I know … since I took a glance out the window to see how many other rooms could be peeped into.
For times like this when you want closure to the issue, a few things will work and all depends on what may be in your suitcase:
- Use duct tape to tape the curtain panels closed. A small amount of duct tape wrapped around a pencil and tossed into your bag before you travel is a good pre-emptive measure.
- Use a chip clip to pull the curtains closed. Again, this needs forethought to have a multi-purpose clip in your bag … the type of clips typically sold to keep bags of chips or snacks closed.
- Use a slacks hanger from the closet. Assuming the hotel hangers are not permanently affixed to the closet rod (said hotels are usually off my list once I find this!), a slacks hanger does the trick!
Option 3 worked perfectly for me in my current hotel room. I’m now comfortable in my room sitting at the desk knowing the courtyard peepers will have to find another place to peep.
To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com. Watch for my new book, Business Travel Success – How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel with Confidence, being published by Morgan James in early 2012.
Posted by Carol Margolis under Hotel Living, Safety |
December 13, 2011
Are you approaching the end of the miles and points year with the realization that you’ll be a lesser person next year? A person with a lesser airline, hotel or car rental status, that is!
While I’ve reached top tier status at three hotel chains (Marriott, Hilton and Starwood) and will reach 100k on Continental/United, I’m more focused on what I’m not going to achieve – Diamond status on Delta.
I have flown even more miles this year than I did last year (190k vs. 150k) and yet not ended up with the top tier on both airlines. I added more focus on Continental to ensure I reach the 1k status now that they have a fourth tier as they merge programs with United. I’m counting on an international flight next week with a 150% bonus to get me to this goal. With the increased focus on Continental, the airline I fly more often for domestic travel, the seesaw reverted downwards on my Delta accumulation. Sad. I want them both!
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Posted by Carol Margolis under Random Thoughts |
December 9, 2011
We’re down to just hours. By this time tomorrow the winning name will be selected. Enter now for your chance to win 2 nights at any Marriott Courtyard in the continental U.S. It’s easy, it’s fast and it’s a great holiday gift if you win. Go here for the details and I hope I’ll be contacting you shortly!
To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com. Watch for my new book, Business Travel Success – How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel with Confidence, being published by Morgan James in early 2012.
Posted by Carol Margolis under Current Affairs, Hotel Living |
December 8, 2011
You may think that with all the travel I do, which is just about every week of the year, that I am a fearless traveler who treks dauntlessly throughout the world. That’s not always the case. Not at all.
Sometimes I just want to hibernate in my hotel room because there’s discomfort on the other side of the door. I may feel perfectly safe and at home within the walls of my hotel but don’t want to venture out into the streets where the culture is different; the foods are mysterious and the words are not understood.
Yes, hard to believe that I can have these anxious feelings, but I do. Have you ever felt the same?
What I’m not going to let happen though is for this initial anxiousness to ruin a visit to somewhere that I’m sure must be wonderful, or why would I have traveled there?
My tried-and-true ways to squash the unease are these:
- Head out the hotel door and start walking (ask the hotel front desk or concierge about the safety of their hotel vicinity). Once I walk a few blocks and start to enjoy the store fronts, peak at a few restaurant menus and see friendly-looking faces, I already feel 100% better. On my first walk, I usually keep to one or two streets so that I can be confident that I can make my way back to the hotel.
- Make a pact on where I’m going to eat. I’ll say to myself “I’m going to walk two blocks and then eat at the very first restaurant I see after that point.” This has been a wonderful way to try restaurants and foods that I normally would have passed right on by without making such a definitive pact. Oh, I might have my 2nd thoughts at first, but a pact is a pact and this approach at swallowing my fear ball has never let me down – and I’ve enjoyed really wonderful foods. (A pact may need to be broken if the appointed restaurant only serves scorpions and cicadas, as my friend Pat encountered in Beijing since a fundamental rule of mine is NO BUGS!)
- Take a ride on a hop-on, hop-off bus if the city offers such a service to explore its highlights. At first I’ll plan on riding the full circuit without getting off, just to get the lay of the land. Though with 100% certainly, I always jump off at a stop that just looks too good to pass up, even knowing I could come back later. Hop-on, hop-off boats are also great! Here’s a great place to start to see if there’s such a tour where you’ll be visiting.
By now, my anxiousness has turned into excitement and I’m off and running! My pre-arranged plans, talks with the hotel concierge, chats with Twitter or Facebook friends and TripAdvisor recommendations for Things to Do (here’s my list from Singapore) and now I’ve got too much to do in too little time. Fear ball conquered!
What are your tips for moving from A to B (anxiety to bravery)?
To receive a free copy of our ebook, 70 Secrets to Safe Travel — Because Your Life Can Change in a Heartbeat, and for more travel savvy info to help you travel smarter, safer and with more enjoyment, visit SmartWomenTravelers.com and PearlsofTravelWisdom.com. Watch for my new book, Business Travel Success – How to Reduce Stress, Be More Productive and Travel with Confidence, being published by Morgan James in early 2012.
Posted by Carol Margolis under Favorite Cities and Towns, New Travelers, Places to See; Things to Do |
