comforttravel@less$: the travel agency fidicuary duty...

comforttravel@less$: the travel agency fidicuary duty...: PLEASE NOTE:  BUYER BEWARE!  by using a "Cruise Line Official Travel Agency" to book your cruise be aware that CLIA (Cruise Line A...

the travel agency fidicuary duty...

PLEASE NOTE:  BUYER BEWARE!  by using a "Cruise Line Official Travel Agency" to book your cruise be aware that CLIA (Cruise Line Association) affiliated travel agencies, are NOT required to have the travel agency fiduciary duty to their customers—clearly stated this means that if you book through such a travel agency you HAVE agreed to the agency "disclosure" that I will paraphrase: "It should be understood this agency is just a facilitator for transfer of customer funds to the cruise lines."    This means that when customers of cruise line agencies are booking a cruise with a CLIA affiliated travel agency, if any problems arise while on board the ship they are sailing the ocean in a canoe without a paddle.

When you use a travel agency that sells travel products in addition to cruises they may also be CLIA affiliated agencies, it is ALSO buyer beware! WHEN BOOKING A CRUISE—though, if you use the same travel agency to arrange other travel products, such as airline tickets, hotels, and tour products, they are travel industry association members of ASTA and IATA—these associations require their agency members to demonstrate a fiduciary duty when booking travel products—if something goes wrong the travel agency is responsible for offering whatever maybe necessary to correct the wrong.  When a resolution is NOT forthcoming from the travel agency then  IATA and ASTA are the ones to contact with notice that one of their appointed travel agencies has been negligent of the fiduciary duty.  ASK FOR AN INVESTIGATION AS TO WHETHER THE AGENCY LICENSE SHOULD BE REVOKED.

It is my experience that Cunard Lines has a disdain for Americans who rely on the terms of a Cunard Line storage contract:   a promise of "insurance cover" for storage of luggage at the Cunard Southampton UK storage facility for the sum of  $65 for a period of not more than 30 days, which the ship's Purser offers transatlantic passengers needing storage while traveling elsewhere before return to the ship.  

The Cunard storage contract with me was entered into while en route to Southampton UK., but as an American, I have sadly discovered that Cunard is no longer a venerable and respected ship line.  And I cannot resolve the issue directly with Cunard due to the fact that Princess Cruises dba Cunard is located in Santa Clarita CA.and Princess Cruises Claims Department dba Cunard is also dba Carnival Cruise Lines.

In my case, "Princess Cruise Lines" dba for Cunard dba Carnival Cruises Line Claims Department refuses to acknowledge the Cunard Line storage contract.  The Princess Cruises dba Cunard dba Carnival Cruise Line Claims Department cites the "Passage Contract" (I have warned about this document in my previous blogs which every major cruise line passenger must approve when they pay for their cruise but in the Cunard dba Carnival Cruises Lines "Passage Contract" there is no "I accept" or "I decline")—the Cunard Line "Passage Contract" refers to 1979 Athens Convention (which the US Congress never signed) in #14:  "You agree that Carrier's liability for loss or damage to baggage or personal property is limited to U.S. $250 per guest..."  

The Princess Cruises DBA Cunard dba Carnival Cruise Line Claims Department in Santa Clarita, CA.  refuses to recognize the Cunard Line storage contract.  BUT, if I was a citizen of the UK, Cunard Line would be responsible for my loss.  And it is clear that Cunard dba Carnival Cruise Line Passage Contract which cites "1979 Athens Convention" definition for loss of luggage IS NOT the Cunard Line "storage contract" wherein a sum of money was paid for "storage with insurance cover." 

It's BUYER BEWARE!!  for Americans booking any Cunard cruise.  This ship line maintains its main office in Southampton UK and Americans must use Princess Cruises dba Cunard dba Carnival Cruise lines Claims Department in Santa Clarita CA if any problems arise, WHICH includes death, injury and any other issue that may threaten a passenger while on board.

To date my problem remains unresolved:  the "Official Cruise Line Agency" Direct Line Cruises (located at Hauppauge, L.I. in New York state) who booked my back to back transatlantic cruises SAY they aren't responsible for the contract made with Cunard and THEY cite the "Disclosure Notice" (see above paragraph one).   The Cunard Line refuses to accept liability for my luggage lost at Cunard Storage Southampton UK because I am not a citizen of the UK.  The Princess Cruises dba Cunard dba Carnival Cruise Line Claim Dept. didn't bother to reply to my October 31st, 2013 $6900 itemized claim for loss of my luggage; on Jan. 2nd they sent me a check for $100 (which I returned) with no letter or explanation, and it took until Feburary 2014 (6 months) for me to find out that my luggage was deemed lost within 10 days after it was first reported on Oct. 8, 2013. 

In my next blog I will tell you what resolution steps I have taken that involves the State of New York, and what I have done to inform the Better Business Bureau of a "buyer beware" re Direct Line Cruises; if you look for Direct Line Cruises on the Internet, you will see the travel agency website, and the BBB notice of 3 complaints, 2 (which includes mine) which are service oriented and remain unresolved.   FYI:  "service" when referring to a travel agency is synonymous with fiduciary duty.

*N0TE: For those of you who have faithfully come to read this blog I apologize for what is a necessarily a blog that has no particular posting schedule—my aim with my now 5 blogs total is to collect what I've written to publish as a Print and E-book—you can read all of my blogs on the Internet free here and on other blog sites (see below for the urls of my blogs). I also plan to share my blogs on Wattpad, which I will do at some point when I've completed the first of my series of hub city travel guides No More Hotels In Paris: Hub City Travel Guide

And when my 2014 CynthiaLynnBookWorks publishing projects with the fiction writer J. R. Camelback are completed, and I am sharing here the covers of these books:

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here are my other blog urls:
http://www/theparismystic.blogspot.com
http://www.clarissaauthorsguild.blogspot.com
http://www.wordsplusmeanings.blogspot.com
http://www.thinkingoutloudan.blogspot.com

the state of comfort travel in 2014

The idea of this comfort travel at less blog, is not only a how-to from my personal experience, but I'm featuring what's new that my readers can use for their benefit.

First of all, watch your back when you take a Carnival affiliate company cruise—they own most of the major cruise lines and use the same passenger contract that signs away the right to sue of unwitting cruisers.  According to Ashly Fantz http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/14/travel/questions-cruise-passengers/index.html  when you get sick or anything else happens when you cruise it's not so easy to sue, says this CNN travel reporter, also, a one person undertaking cost $$$, and the CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin advises it's best to get on with life.  The more bad cruise news happened just the other day, another outbreak of severe illness of a cruise line http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/25/travel/cruise-ship-illness/index.html .

Do ask yourself why Congress is so uninterested in protecting the rights of US cruise passengers, yet doesn't hesitate to cite airlines and cause potential bankruptcies on the consumer behalf.

As for what's available in technology this year— I'm offering what my readers can derive at old standy Internet sites like Airbnb https://www.airbnb.com/s  that can set filters to show private rooms and houses.  For those of you that still want a hotel there are Internet sites to book re offer a refund if you discover that a comparable hotel nearby is available for less http://www.triprebel.com/ .  There's another hotel booking site on the Internet with a twist of sorts http://www.tripbam.com/ which guarantees help to locate a hotel where you want and says it does alert you if the price drops so you can rebook.  Though it seems to me it may be too late when you get an alert if you are too late to cancel and rebook.

Ho hum, perhaps the above will bring some $$ savings, but I'm partial to my old standby of "do it yourself" investigation.  You can
rely on what I recommended in my previous blog, re what I did to find comfort hotels at less $$ when I prepared for my 2013 24 day travel adventure.  And I did pass along the results, all excellent with a proven value that compared better against local comparables, and contented my comfort zone.  Also, I gave my readers the truth about my ill fated roundtrip transatlantic disaster on the Cunard. 

Keep in mind that I advise all my readers who want to cruise, not to do it because of that pesky signing away your rights when you purchase the tickets.  Though I'm not aware of any cruise travel agency, or CLIA (the travel agency cruiseline Association that promotes the cruises lines), will even admit that what is in the passenger contract is necessary to alert clients about "before they purchase."

Don't expect accuracy with some travel help offered by the venerable New York Times "Travel" section—in a recent roundup of 2014 travel offerings the mention of a Google app at "Fieldstripper.com" brought up an app featuring a field manual for guns, not an alert that you have on your Iphone or Android phone re attractions plus historical sites as you are traveling.  I did my usual careful research and found out that Google's apps are for the most part no longer free and cost $$.  Another peeve against major newspapers with travel sections, like "The New York Times" that feature articles by travel writers who anoint certain individuals as master detectives, for instance, of "hole in the wall" restaurants—that too, is less than accurate. My accurate research did find a wikipedia listing for a food critic that no longer works for "The Village Voice."

Yet you can trust this blog for researched and accurate reports that are not sponsored, which in this day and age is a rarity.  I encourage you to contact me to suggest future blogs that will be a benefit to all the readers of this comforttravel at less $$ blog.

places and people to remember are travel treasures

The photo you see of the Le Havre rocky port side beach with its azure colored water so clear that it is possible to look down into the rocky depths below is one of my most recent travel treasures, which keeps me from the doldrums during this east coast USA winter of frigid cold, constant snow, and cloud filled days without the sun.

Yet the beginning of 2014 leaves me with travel angst about staying in the US and spending my money in my country this coming year—when compared with prices in the US for similar priced properties, I found that as usual, 3rd and 4th class European chain hotels offer more bang for your buck, even when  you figure the Euro conversion—the cleaning staff are hardworking and consider what they do as integral to the reputation of their employer, and they really know how to clean a hotel room. 

I've stayed at some major US chain hotels with franchise owners that are not representative of the product they franchise, but I know when I go abroad, sight unseen, with a tourism class distinction I can count on receiving what is expected, because there are consequences for not offering the requirements listed.

When I was looking through the notes of  I kept about my recent challenging 24-day travel experience, I found the names of the crew at the Mercure Le Havre Centre Bassin du Commerce—Christophe, Peggy, Gwen, Domineque and Mathew, who were there to help with any problems, also actually cared about my well-being—these are the people I remember in Le Havre who were genuinely devoted to giving the best service, and worthy employees of  the hotel that they strived to make a place of refuge for this weary traveler.

My choice of 4th class chain hotel properties to book during my stay at Red Hook just a few blocks away from the Cunard Brooklyn Port, Germany, France and the UK was a good one—the value of chain hotels is multifold—advance bookings during the off season are usually offered at special prices, also the employees are solicitous and aiming to please.

The Choice Hotels and Mercure properties I stayed at had loyal employees who were well-trained, they granted all the requests that I made, which included additional heating, more pillows, more coffee and tea packets, plus maps and other guides to the surrounding neighborhood—as well they were hotel efficients, and made sure that I was given a paid in full printed bill prior to my departure, better yet, I had no unpleasant surprises re charges for items that I did not authorize.

It's been my experience that chain hotels care more about their reputation, and are interested in maintaining good consumer relations, while the independent small property in Europe may not be as responsive regarding their guest's complaints. 

In a foreign country the laws and cultures differ.  Also what is a complaint to an American may be a slur to another culture, and if there is a dispute about payment and overcharges, the owner of an independent property may be absent which means no immediate solution.  Command of the language is necessary to explain what happened, yet there too it's necessary to contact the right person.  If you are traveling on a schedule, it's best to stay at properties that are reliable, shop in department stores, and eat in restaurants that display menus with set prices for each item, then if tourism classified that will be noted too, which will offer you more quality control.

Then if you are not satisfied because you did not receive what you expected, you can complain to the tourism bureau by letter citing specifics (by e-mail in English). 

For chain hotel complaints, you should always ask for the General Manager of the hotel property, and if they are not available ask for the Manager on duty.   Be persistent, but polite, and don't be intimidated, or accept anything but an immediate meeting to discuss your concerns.  Get the corporate address, which is easily obtainable on the Internet, then contact the chain corporate management, usually the VP of Consumer Relations.

Do be aware that taking a tour in a foreign country means finding out if the tour operator is locally recognized and is tourism accredited—taking tours with independents means you have no guarantee as to what you will be receiving for the price you are paying—and using small independents may also involve transport in substandard vehicles which can be can be hazardous.

Expectations can ruin any vacation, but as I noted above these are the ways to guarantee that at least you can expect no more not comfortable hotels...and in 2014,  I'll discuss more about the ins and outs of traveling with comfort for less dollars.

this is the era for a pro-active traveler...

*NOTE TO MY READERS:  this blog is not sponsored, and the views herein expressed by me are that of a travel industry professional (Certified Travel Consultant) aimed at giving the informational for a pro-active traveler based on my personal experience.

 

Though my last blog offered my unpleasant experience with Cunard's once venerable transatlantic cruise, and the still not answered claim for my loss sent to Cunard, which is after more than 8 weeks since their receipt of my Certified letter, I have some good things to report about the rest of my 24-day travel adventure.

For instance, I found that the US based Rail Europe offers lower fares for online bookings than I was able to book in Europe when dealing in person direct with SNCF (the French Railway) at their Saint Lazare Boutique store.  This wasn't always the case, but now when someone in the USA wants to access SNCF's Internet site, they are directed to Rail Europe's USA Internet site, and I suspect that other European countries are doing likewise.

If you look at my previous blog posts, I detailed how I booked my trains in advance, but I didn't mention that I had to pay a booking fee.

FYI:  If you use a travel agent who is willing to get online and to book for you while you wait, then they can get you what you need without a booking fee as they get a commission directly from Rail Europe—it's even better if they call the Rail Europe toll free number and if your agent gets on the "Travel Agent" queue, and has your rail travel booked directly by a Rail Europe representative—do have them send the tickets directly to you by giving your credit card information to the travel agent who passes it on to Rail Europe.

**unless you are a business traveler most travel agencies may charge a consultant fee and almost never do any instant bookings while you wait, however, if you travel personally and frequently with a group size, you will get that Business Traveler star treatment.

For the best rates plan on about 1-2 months in advance for your rail bookings, and it's best to look up the train schedules of the countries you are visiting and preplan time and date you want then book directly online since those fares are moment by moment controlled, and with sometimes just 1 seat available, as it was in my case. 

The problem of not knowing whether you will have a "Murphy's Law" travel disaster did concern me, as I had to disembark the Queen Mary before anyone else, I left at 5 a.m.and I preplanned with some 3 hours in advance for a 9 a.m. disembarking, and arrived at the train station where I almost froze to death at the below 20 degrees in the Hamburg Railway station, which is one of the worst main stations in Europe—it's late 20th century never modernized. 

Though after I disembarked at 5 a.m. in Hamburg and took a taxi to the main station where a helpful lady told me about the elevator to the track level, and I took that up to the 2nd level, where the escalator was set to down at the track where a train was scheduled to depart within 10 minutes.  She had recommended that I stay in one of the restaurants fronting the elevator iuntil just before train time, and she also noted that somewhere on the 2nd level was first class waiting room (I had a 1st class ticket that Rail Europe customer service had booked for me at a 2nd class bargain price. 

But I didn't anticipate sitting in a refrigerated cooler because the station was just roof covered.  As I discovered, the sides were open to the unseasonable winter weather on that October 1st morning.  I wanted to go upstairs and when the train that I was not scheduled to take arrived the escalators were set to a 1-way arrival (up). 

I reached the Kiosks (on the 2nd level) where I could sit and freeze less to have coffee, but when I took the up escalator to porte what was by then a roll on bag that weighed a ton.  I was able to open my luggage and get my wool leggings that I had packed just in case.  Even layering with 2 sweaters over my velour pant suits with matching jacket and top couldn't abate the chill.  Luckily I picked an open Kiosk beer and coffee restaurant with a small heater and a bathroom.  I asked if there was a restaurant nearby the station where I could sit in some warmth, the server told me to leave the second level and walk outside and I would find one.  

That's when I discovered that I wouldn't be able to get downstairs to the track until just 10 minutes before my train was scheduled to arrive—I knew I needed more time, but I walked outside and found the excellent adjacent to train station "coffee fellows" Hachmannplatz—I was early enough to claim a window overlooking the square where the commuters and school children/workers were hurrying to and fro blowing on their fingers as some lacked gloves warm enough to tolerate that unseasonable freeze—they allowed me to sit with  whip cream atop a Hot Chocolate (Nettoumsatz) for the next 2 hours.

When I went back into the deep freeze I had about 30 minutes before train time as I entered via the 2nd level, which I found out was at the back entrance of the train station (the taxi had deposited me at the main entrance which was the bottom level where I took an elevator that only went the 1-way up). 

And I found a strong German man waiting in a queque for a coffee near the 2 level staircase, and I pointed to my luggage and the down staircase, he smiled and obliged by porting my wheely to the track level, and an obliging student took my luggage into the train thus I avoided having to climb the steps into the train with my ton weight of luggage that was getting heavier every moment. 

The problem with traveling in Europe during the fall season is that weather is unpredictable and layers of clothing weigh down in the suitcase.

I arrived in Frankfurt exhausted, and a fellow passen ger helped me out of the train and recommended that I take a taxi to my hotel—though I knew I had booked the Choice hotel stateside at a great rate and it was located opposite the station, the square was about 1/4 of a mile wide and 2 tracks of trolleys had to be bridged, so I let him pick a taxi, he helped load my luggage into the taxi's trunk, we said goodby and from then on "Murphy's Law" took over.

The driver refused to speak English and he wasn't German, he was from India where English is a first language, he very was unpleasant and took me for a ride around town when my Choice hotel was located directly across the square, at the border of what is the Frankfurt "Red Light" district, yet the 1-way streets allowed this taxi to rack up Euros, he wouldn't look at the address I showed him, and he finally stopped in front of a hotel that was definitely a "Red Light" district regular for hourly room encounters.  He opened the door and put my luggage in the street and asked in German for 20 Euros, pointing to the meter. 

I gave him 5 Euros and walked off with my luggage toward a construction in progress hotel across the street, he ran after me, and I told him clearly in English, "call the Police."  Of course, he drove off in a huff, and as I walked back toward the Frankfurt Station with passersby directing me to my hotel, I found it, and entered hoping for the best. 

Yet as I noted in the subject line of my post, this is the era for a pro-active traveler, and in this 21st century travel can be a hazard unless you prepare in advance and expect the worst, but when the traveler knows what to do when all else fails, there's a certainty which is comforting.   I wanted to contact the police to tell them about the Taxi driver, but then I discovered that the station was another taxi ride away. 

It could be that someone from the Frankfurt Chamber of Commerce will discover my post and correct the problem with thieving taxi drivers who take tourists for long rides—my helpful hotel clerk noted that Frankfurt is notorious for this—and this was not so in the freezing clime of Hamburg, my taxi driver spoke flawless English, told me he was a Turkish immigrant hoping to be granted citizenship in Germany soon, also that he was happy his children were born in Germany and grateful for the opportunity to have a good life.  He was so honest and despite the early a.m hour claimed just 5 Euros for the ride which was of some 20 minutes duration, which gives a plus to the city of Hamburg.

TO BE CONTINUED 

here's what the cruise industry doesn't want publicized...

*PLEASE NOTE THIS IS AN AMENDED BLOG TO GIVE MY READERS THE CORRECT TERMINOLOGY TO USE WHEN ASKING A CRUISE LINE AGENCY ABOUT THE LEGAL DOCUMENT "PASSAGE CONTRACT"

I've created this comforttravel@less blog to speak truth to fiction—it's not a pretty cruise picture that I present because I was just like everyone else falling for those puff PR travel section articles until I failed to carefully examine what is called by the Cruise industry "Passage Contract," which is lawyer speak for the rights of the cruise passenger as granted by the Cruise line when a ticket for passage is issued from the cruise line.

Now you will be aware that as a passenger your rights are limited in every way, in fact the Captain's staff can arbitrarily keep you in your cabin and not allow you out of it if they deem you are disruptive, and they don't have to define what they consider as disruptive, nor do you have any legal recourse to dispute with them, even when you disembark your legal right to sue or make claims is limited to what they offer in the "Contract of Carriage." 

The representatives of the Captain of your ship can stop you from leaving the ship, they are the "law" while you are on board. 

If your cruise is booked with a travel agent, some travel agencies can issue the ticket and then it is their duty to inform you about the cruise line's "Passage Contract."  When booking an airline ticket there is a Geneva Convention agreement between airlines as to the rules and regulation which includes compensation for a passenger booking in the US as to the right to sue for bodily harm, denied boarding compensation which used to be meals and hotel if necessary, and lost baggage, and one for all other passengers outside the US.   When taking a tour, everyone should know that a tour member is liable for violating the laws of the country where the tour takes place. 

Each cruise line has their own "Passage Contract."

If your cruise ship is owned by an umbrella cruise line like Carnival who has bought up several well-known cruise line, this means the umbrella cruise company has a "Passage Contract" for all their ships. 

Other cruise lines that are solely owned will have their "Passage Contract" which will be different since it was prepared by their lawyers.

Each cruise line company has it's individual ship's "country of registration," which may complicate the filing of a suit claiming compensation.  You have to find a lawyer in the country of registration to file a civil compensation suit, but in Carnival's case, though not all their ships are registered in the same country, you can sue the umbrella Cruise corporation where its main office is located. 

If you have been robbed while on board, it is your responsibility to make certain that you notify the Captain's representatives—when you were give permission to occupy your cabin to for the length of the cruise you accepted that the Captain is the law while you are on board, and you may need proof documentation that an investigation was conducted.  You are responsible for asking the Captain's representatives to proved you with it.

When I stepped on  board the Queen Mary 2 on September 22nd 2013, I was aware of any of the above, I had to give my E-ticket to the Cunard representatives—but a computer glitch didn't allow me to print the E-ticket, Cunard sent it to me emblazoned with the red Cunard logo, and with it a cruise brochure—without any knowledge that the "Passage Contract" was part of the download when printing an E-ticket, I skimmed through the first 2 pages and came upon the "Cunard Guest Protection" insurance program. 

Though I wasn't interested in protection for a medical disaster since I had my own insurance for that, and I wanted no part of the travel insurance they offered because the travel agency I booked the cruise with had offered a cruise price with travel insurance that provided me with a full refund if I had to cancel.  Insofar as baggage protection, I didn't bother to get it, I had one suitcase to wheel on board and my formal clothing was packed in that luggage with the hangers in a cloth hangup bag.  I intended at all times to port my luggage and keep it within view while on board the trains I intended to take after I disembarked 9 days later at the port of Hamburg.

Yet if I had been able to print my own E-ticket, I would have had to download that "Passage Contract" and I would have read it, and I was unable to do so, nor was I apprised by the CLIA approved travel agent that I had to read this, as it is a legal document. 

My travel agent is a member of CLIA, which is comparable to the Travel Industry Association, and I have the CTC designation because I took the courses that they offer to travel agencies which inform about travel agents about how to best serve their client—a good travel agent must point out any potential problems with the tours their client may want to book.  As well, CLIA offers their accredited cruise line travel agencies similar programs and certifications. 

I asked my booking agent if there was anything to inform me about prior to booking passage on the Queen Mary 2.  She told me that she had never been on board but assured me this a top of the line cruise and I would be pampered.

Now, too late, my lawyer and I have read this Cunard "Passage Contract," and he noted that the travel agent was responsible for telling me that my legal rights were limited by the terms of Cunard's legal document in their favor I told him that I had noticed the baggage tickets were at the front part of the brochure  and though didn't plan to let Cunard load my luggage on board or offload it, I decided for security screening purposes to affix one baggage ticket to my luggage and another to my backpack.  I informed my lawyer that I didn't bother to look at the final pages of the brochure, and I never noticed the 2 pieces of thin paper with no logo that lay there so innocuously in-between  the final page and the cover.

Though my lawyer found an anomaly that is to my favor and does not apply to the Cunard "Passage Contract" that was part of the E-ticket printing download, which was not pertinent since I had been unable to do so. 

When I paid Cunard to store my hangup bag with all my expensive clothing bought especially for the transatlantic cruises on the Queen Mary 2, I was issued a letter by the Captain's representative that noted my baggage was insured specifically by the Cunard's Southampton storage facility, which exempted me from the baggage compensation as noted in the Cunard "Passage Contract" that I had not been aware of—nevertheless, I was satisfied that my hangup baggage was issued a special Queen Mary 2 baggage tag, which to me meant that the insurance would be comparable to what a passenger on board the Cunard's top of the line Queen Mary 2 would have purchased.

TO BE CONTINUED