The Zombie Returns

Ah yes, Vegas. Nothing like flying 3 time zones home, then coming in at 8:30am the next day to over 200 emails and voicemails. But it comes with the territory when you choose to visit Hell Lite. So how did I do, you ask? Just like the networks on election night, this one is too early to call. I can tell you I came home after 4 nights without even having to cash a single travelers' check, so that in itself was a win. There were a few football games I read perfectly, and only a 4th-quarter collapse by New Orleans kept me from being an outright winner already. I'm one of those people who not only gambles when I'm there, I also bet "futures"....as in I already have bets for the World Series and Super Bowl (made previously), and I brought back a bunch of bets on next week's college and pro football. Mail order winners....ain't life grand? By Monday night, I'll be able to say whether this trip was a minor loss, break-even, minor win, or a haul. Haul would be nice.

In cruise news, one of the big cruise line executives was questioned why they continue to charge high fuel supplements, when crude oil has dramatically turned South on pricing world-wide. You can play the Ike card only so long. Rates aren't $150 per barrel any more -- instead, they've come down below $100 and have plenty of downside still available. So why the insistence on maintaining $10 per person per day "fuel surcharge" on every itinerary? It's like asking why CEO's give themselves millions of dollars in raises and bonuses, when their companies are floundering and laying off jobs. Answer? BECAUSE THEY CAN. It's the kind of math nobody has to answer to, until they're standing at the gates of Heaven watching the DVD of their lives with eternity on the line. Here's a synopsis of the response by the cruise line:

"For quite some time, we were absorbing the expense of higher fuel costs, but eventually came to realize a fuel add-on would ease our pain and return us to profitability. We realized it right after our competitor did it, and was able to get away with it. After slapping a few heads around in the Board Room (why didn't WE think of that first?!!), we announced publicly that it was our intention to remain as close to being an industry leader as you can be, when your modus operandi is following your competition's every move within 2 weeks, give-or-take. In the past, we raised certain segments of our pricing, by creating something we termed non-commissionable fares. Another industry first from us! This was a bold move, to be sure, fragmenting the decades-long support of the travel community by creating something where we didn't have to pay as much for their hard work and dedication to us. We had previously erred in trying to raise the fees known as "port charges", but some stinkin' accountant or investigative people researched it, and found out how much we actually were being charged to keep the ship in port. The jig was up, which really ticked us off by the way, so this time we chose not to get too creative in selecting a new term for this made-for-profit surcharge. We thought of things like "international seamen's tax", but found discovered old treaties could have required us to actually disburse these funds to seamen, LIKE THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN! "Future lineage development fund" hinted around that the money was going for new ships, when actually it was going for Executive bonuses. Then somebody stood up and said Hey....let's just call them Non-Commissionable Fares. It is what it is.

After hysterical gales of laughter, a final vote wasn't even necessary. When confronted with genius, you just raise your glass and toast. Even though the new non-commissionables were wildly unpopular with travel agencies, we realized if you're going to be so gutsy as to call them that, you can't be hypocritical enough to feign being sorry later. Once we added on the $5.00 per person per day fuel surcharge, it took us nearly 3 days to become fully profitable again. A couple of months later the profits started dwindling a bit as gas crept up, so we thought OK. What about $5.50 per day? Maybe $5.75? Then we noticed our competition came out and DOUBLED theirs to $10.00 (more head-slapping in the Board Room). We felt it was solely in our best interest, at the expense of the consumer, travel agents, or anybody else to immediately follow suit."

OK, so those might not have been his exact words, but reading between the lines it felt that way to us. The Cap'n will keep you posted if and when these supplements go by the wayside. Even though we in the travel community are stuck with non-commisionables, we'd like to see the mandatory supplements you pay as passengers reduced as fuel prices warrant. Having said that, you can still find cruises at excellent value prices. Particularly if you have flexibility in the time you can travel.

Would you believe if your plan was to cruise over New Year's, but you waited to go the 1st week of January instead, you could save as much as 60-70% on the cruise price? You always have the taxes and "fuel" and such, but flexibility can add an extra vacation per year to your budget, if you allow your travel agent to find you the best deal and let pricing lead the way. Don't forget, we also can create package deals for you to resort destinations. And not just exotic islands or far-off countries. If you don't have a passport or want to stay closer to home, we can put together a deal to Florida beaches or theme parks. Or California cities, wine country, or any number of other domestic destinations. Variety is the spice, as they say. Feel free to call or email me for suggestions or pricing on any type of travel, and we'll always give you our best deal right up front.