Getting to and from the Airport
May 4th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed
Going somewhere new and not sure how to get from the airport to your hotel?
Well, there’s a great website which provides a wealth of information about hundreds of airports around the world, and all the various ways of getting to and from them. The website is http://www.toandfromtheairport.com/Â , which is a pretty self-explanatory and easy-to-remember website address!
Apart from the obvious info on trains, buses and taxis, the page on each airport also has helpful links, such as to the main airport website, train company websites, etc etc.
If you are going somewhere you haven’t been before, this site is a must-see.
Technorati Tags: airport transfers, airports
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Air Asia Voted Best Low Cost Airline
April 6th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed
Malaysian-based budget carrier Air Asia has been named Best Low Cost Airline in the 2009 Skytrax traveller poll.
The airline has experienced rapid growth in recent years, moving from 2 planes 8 years ago to currently operating 75 planes.
The airline operates out of Kuala Lumpur and operates scheduled services throughout Asia, and through its subsidiary Air Asia X also operates services to 3 ports in Australia and to China. This subsidiary has also just commenced Kuala Lumpur to London services, with 6 weekly return flights.
500,000 Free Seats on Air Asia
February 11th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed
Low cost Malaysian-based carrier Air Asia has just released half a million free seats covering most of its destinations. By “free” they mean that you don’t pay for the seat, but do pay for the additional taxes and surcharges. While these add-ons can make a major difference to air fares, at least in Air Asia’s case they no longer have any fuel surcharge.
The seats are on sale from 10 - 15 February, for travel between 12 October 2009Â and 31 January 2010.
By the end of the first day of the sale, many of the free seats had been snapped up. Routes such as Gold Coast (Australia) to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) sold out quickly, which is not surprising given that the return trip cost a total of A$130 inclusive of 15kg baggage allowance and a meal!
There were however many flights within the South East Asian region still up for grabs. Further details are available on their website: www.airasia.com
Survey Identifies World’s Worst Cruise Ships
February 9th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed
THE world’s worst-performing cruise ships have been named and shamed in an online survey, with major companies coming under fire. Two Italian cruise companies fared the worst in the survey, conducted by www.cruises.co.uk.
The independent cruise agent collated the results from more than 12,000 passenger assessments.
Passengers rated their cruise under seven categories – food, entertainment, shore excursions, staff, provision for children, activities and cabins.
Of the major cruise lines, MSC, an Italian company, was voted the worst, achieving an average of 2.83 out of five, with a lack of activities and children’s entertainment the prime offenders in it receiving the title of the worst-performing cruise ship.
Costa Cruises, another Italian company, scored an average rating of 3.25 from 300 reviews with passengers slamming the onboard activities.
In brighter news, Oceania’s Insignia won three awards, while P&O’s family ship Ventura, landed in the top five for best for families.
How they rated:
1. MSC Cruises 2.83
2. Costa Cruises 3.25
3. NCL Cruises 3.56
4. Fred Olsen 3.90
5. Celebrity Cruises 3.93
6. P&O Cruises 3.93
7. Thomson Cruises 4.06
8. Princess Cruises 4.08
9. Royal Caribbean 4.15
10. Cunard 4.36
Technorati Tags: cruise ships, cruising
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Financial Crisis Brings Cruise Bargains
October 19th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
Plummeting share markets, sagging house values, an uncertain employment market, and other financial factors are causing consumers around the world to snap their wallets and purses shut.
 For those lucky enough to be relatively unaffected by the global financial turmoil, there are some great bargains to be had in the cruise sector.
There have been some recently-announced price reductions on cruises out of Australia and NZ, for late-2008 and early-2009 cruises. Discounts of over 60% are available, as cruise operators slash prices in the wake of significant falls in forward bookings.
For example, the Diamond Princess has a 12-night cruise from Sydney to Auckland departing 12 Dec 2008 for A$949pp per person, including a return flight to Sydney. The normal price is A$2500pp.
Check out this and other offers available at CruiseMart. Their website can be found here
Technorati Tags: Australia, cruise, New Zealand, South Pacific
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Thailand Tourism Update
September 25th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
My wife and I have just returned from a week’s holiday in Phuket, Thailand’s most popular island tourist destination.
It was certainly “business-as-usual” for Phuket, with no sign of any protestors or unrest of any kind. Everthing was operating as normal, but there was one big difference - the number of tourists in Phuket in September was down about 30% on the same time last year, following travel cancellations and a drop-off in forward bookings. All of the seminar group bookings from overseas for September were cancelled.
The unrest in Phuket was brief - a group protesters blocked access to Phuket’s airport for 3 days in late August, disrupting the travel plans of thousands. The protest was peaceful, but the widespread international media coverage caused considerable damage to Phuket’s image, and security-conscious travellers were quick to cancel their bookings.
The unfortunate outcome - as is often the case in these situations - is that it is the poorer locals who suffer. The drop in tourist arrivals affects the hotel house-maids, bar and restaurant staff and many other occupations at the lower end of the pay scale. On the bright side, the Thai people seemed extra-grateful for those of us who went ahead with our visit.
It will take time to rebuild the confidence of travellers in Phuket, especially until foreign countries lower their travel warnings for Thailand. But for us, we had a very enjoyable week (our first visit to Thailand). The weather was hot and steamy, the shopping was great (apart from the excess baggage charges on the way home!), and the tourist attractions were uncrowded. We will definitely go back!
travelbug
