THE TITANIC REMEMBERED

This is the 100 year anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic and networks have had many movies and specials on the Titanic. I pretty much watched them all; fictional and documentary.

There was a documentary on the Discovery Channel that brought together veteran divers of the Titanic to map the entire debris field, and to answer once and for all the question of fault. Was it a fault in the ship design or inferior materials such as the rivets. Unfortunately, my Tivo had other things it was recording during the last hour of the special, so I didn’t get the answer. Did anyone see it?

I couldn’t help but think of the Concordia and how much the two tragedies had in common. Regardless of either ships physical vulnerabilities ultimately the fault lies with the ship Captains. In both cases the ships were just going too fast for their location. On the Titanic the Captain left the bridge and went to bed, and the Concordia’s Captain, if memory serves me, was socializing out and about on the ship. In both incidents the Captain’s were not honest with the passengers and minimized the damage and danger, while delaying evacuation. Had both Captains evacuated passengers earlier more lives would have been saved. Human error is always more tragic than machine flaws, because human errors are almost always preventable had the person paid attention, gotten more rest, not given in to some ego based choice and so on.

One of the many documentaries had actual footage shot by passengers on the Concordia and it was frightening. Am I going to stop cruising? No. Do you stop driving if you’ve been in a fender bender? No, life goes on and hopefully we learn. What I learned from watching the footage of the Concordia passengers was to always carry a small flashlight or on your smart phone there is a light app… when the lights shut down on a ship you need light because there are no windows for the most part for any light to seep in those halls. Also, on Carnival your MUSTER STATION is printed on your Sail & Sign card which should be on your person at all times: one of the first things you should do when you board the ship is to locate your muster station, walk the route to your nearest life boats and know which decks have access to life boats. The law has now changed to require they do the drill before they leave port, but don’t wait check it out as soon as possible.

There is a debate about the salvage of Titanic items that currently rest on the ocean floor: should we bring them up and put them in museums or leave them as they are? Personally, I feel they should save what they can and put them in museums since there continues to be a conscious interest and connection to the Titanic. Remembering and honoring the past teaches us how to live better futures. I send my prayers to all the souls who died on the Titanic and Concordia… 

TAXES, TAXES AND MORE TAXES ON AIRFARES

As a passenger are you aware of how much of your airfare is taxes? Currently the aviation industry and passengers pay 17 different federal taxes and fees. It’s a hornet nest of fees that defy rationale and have no consideration for the impact on travelers and the relative expense of a ticket. In 1972 there were only 5 taxes on an airline ticket and today we have 17! How much do those taxes raise the cost of your ticket? Those taxes add 20 percent or more to the total cost of a ticket. You can visit http://www.airlines.org/Pages/Government-Imposed-Taxes-on-Air-Transportation.aspx to see all the taxes and a comparison from 1972 to now. Here are a few examples: Flight Segment Tax (domestic) - $3.80 every time you land, Frequent Flyer Tax 7.50%, Cargo Waybill Tax (domestic) – 6.25%, September 11^th Fee $2.50, International Departure Tax $16.50 and they get you for the same amount arriving! Check it out, the fees are out of control. There is even a “LUST fuel Tax (domestic)” now what is that about since they have at least 4 other fees I can attach to fuel.

At first I thought it was the airlines being greedy, but this is our government doing this for the most part. It seems more taxes are being proposed by this current administration. They propose increasing the passenger security, currently $5 to $10 per flight, and hiking it up to $15 and maybe even higher in the future. From the $24.9 billion the fee would bring in over the next 10 years, $15 billion of it would go to pay reducing the national debt. It doesn’t seem right to me that paying off the national debt should fall on the wallets of the population that flies. Not everyone who takes a flight is flush with money. I fly every month and often several times a month for work and I meet people who are headed back home because a family member has died or is ill, retirees living on fixed incomes trying to check off a few must-do sights from their bucket list, young families wanting their children to see their grandparents, and yes, business travelers, but the Donald Trumps and Oprah Winfrey’s who can afford the taxes are flying in their private jets for the most part.

Most of us never look at or ask about the tax side of our ticket, but recently the Transportation Department required all airlines and travel agents quote the fare with full disclosure of the taxes and fees. Airlines don’t like this because it makes their fares look 20 to 50 percent higher than before. I actually don’t think the airlines care about these taxes coming out of our pocket, I think they only protest because with the new full disclosure before you hit the buy button on that flight is influencing travelers to Skype that meeting, drive to their next vacation or look at alternatives like the train or bus.

While the tax gauge is the government sticking it to us all those added luggage fees, charges for seat selection, food, blankets, pillows, wifi and wasn’t it Spirit that said they were going to charge to use the toilet and got such a backlash that they put it on hold for now?  While the taxes have increase the fees for add-ons (most of which used to be included as part of your airfare) have multiplied at a far more alarming rate.

Do you think you are paying too much in taxes on airline tickets? Do you think airline tickets should be all-inclusive as they once were or do you like the ala cart fee structure?

Travel Secrets: AMERICANS SKIP VACATION – WHAT IS THAT ABOUT?

Travel Secrets: AMERICANS SKIP VACATION – WHAT IS THAT ABOUT?: In USA Today Travel online articles there was a survey done by Radisson Hotels that revealed Americans skip taking their vacation d...

AMERICANS SKIP VACATION – WHAT IS THAT ABOUT?

In USA Today Travel online articles there was a survey done by Radisson Hotels that revealed Americans skip taking their vacation days. As it is Americans only have 18 vacation days a year compared to Europe who takes 1 to 3 months off for vacation every year. What reasons could we have for not enjoying life? You guessed it…. Our workload! I’ve been conducting a little poll of my own on this same topic for the past few years and have met so many people that have not had a vacation in 10 years or worse… ever! When asked why they say they don’t want their boss to discover that someone else can do their job, or they are already over-loaded and any time away would bury them and make it impossible to catch up. Then there are the cost issue and instead of $5,000 for a family trip to Disneyland they need to paint the trim on their house or put in new plumbing. It’s no wonder we have so many stress related illnesses and people snapping and doing crazy things. Vacation time is vital to recharging your soul. If all you do is work, sleep, and work with no true rest and relaxation to reward your work efforts then the subconscious message is one that in my opinion spells DEPRESSION. Life is about so much more than stuff and things. It is about experience and feelings and learning… all of which travel supplies. I don’t care if you’re a 5-star traveler to Europe or a missionary traveler building bottle schools in a third world country or a backpacker through the National Parks, any travel always results in adding experiences and new information into your life. There is also research that shows how not taking vacation days and truly going on a vacation increase your chances for a heart attack. There is research that shows how those who take vacations are actually more productive just before and just after a vacation. As a travel host I see a lot of people on vacations and find that couples who do vacation regularly are the happiest individuals and the best marriages I see. Anyway, I encourage work/life balance and I believe travel for pleasure is a remedy for many things…. And that is another conversation. Do you take your vacation days? Why or why not?