Issue 33.09
Part 2
Last week: Finding a flight.
If I am going to need a hotel, I like to check out www.hotels.com. You can usually find out quite a bit about location, safety, special policies (pets, smoking, etc.) and nearby facilities and attractions. On a recent trip to Salt Lake City, I was able to find a place to stay that was half a block from the training location I needed to be at for three days. Very convenient! You can often also save money by booking your flight and hotel together at most of the sites already mentioned.
For cruises, I have used www.vacationstogo.com. They have an extensive list of cruises all over the world and can help you know when to book to get the best fares. Right now, the cruise lines are just trying to fill their ships and prices get lower and lower until the ship is full. Again flexibility can save you quite a bit. Often if you wait until 2-4 weeks before the sailing date you can get extremely good deals, but you run the risk of the cruise selling out and having to start over. If you must fly to the port, you will probably want to book your cruise with at least 3 weeks to go to take advantage of the best airline fares.
There are a number of other good cruise agents as well and you may want to check them out. It is also a good idea to contact the cruise line directly if you want to take a specific cruise. They sometimes will make you an offer even better than the agencies in order to fill the ship. I found out on our last cruise that if I had booked the cruise and flight with the cruise line, they would guarantee that I would arrive in time for the cruise, even if there were disruptions in flight schedules, etc.
I hope this has helped you with some ideas on how to travel and save money by using the internet. Bon Voyage, stay safe and happy computing.
Shaun McCausland has been in the computer industry for 27 years (locally with Musicomp & Bits ‘N’ Bytes) and currently does in-home and on-site computer consultation, service, training and repair. If you have questions, you can reach him at 668-7118.