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 |
