The Travel Detective: How to Get the Best Service and the Best Deals from Airlines, Hotels, Cruise Ships, and Car Rental Agencies - Softcover

Greenberg, Peter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0812973801 ISBN 13: 9780812973808

Publisher: Villard, 2005

Synopsis

Renowned travel authority and NBC Today show travel editor Peter Greenberg shares his insider secrets.

Americans now travel more than ever before. Yet as our traveling has increased, the service we receive from airlines, hotels, and other agencies has deteriorated dramatically. Industry surveys reveal what you already feel: growing dissatisfaction among travelers of every age, income, and education level. We've been abused by the travel experience. Peter Greenberg is here to help. The Travel Detective tells you the things most travel agents can't — or sometimes just won't — tell you. In his characteristic friendly and conversational tone, Greenberg tells how to find the secret walk-up fares that can save air travelers hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on last minutes flights; which coach seats on which planes are better than first class; the secret rule to know to avoid being bumped from a flight, which cruise ship brochures lie; which credit card companies are fastest — and slowest — to come to your aid in a foreign land, or worse, in the U.S.,; which hotels have the best — and the worst — fire and crime safety records, and how you can protect yourself; how to negotiate the best hotel room deal; which hotels have the worst water pressure in their showers (and better yet, how you can get great water pressure, even at those hotels); and much, much more. Accessible and entertaining, The Travel Detective gives you the information and tools you need to make every trip an affordable pleasure.

About this title

Review:

The good news, according to travel writer Peter Greenberg, is that Americans are traveling more than ever before. The bad news is that we hate the process--the delayed flights, lost suitcases, overhyped cruises, and overpriced hotel rooms. We are a nation of unhappy but addicted travelers, doomed by our own inadequate travel planning and geographical ignorance. Never fear, though, the original savvy traveler has written the guide to end all guides on how to get to your destination and have a good time, too, by beating the airlines, hotels, cruise lines, and rental car agencies at their own games, playing by their own rules.

Greenberg is hands down the right man for the job. Here is a guy who, just for laughs, checked in a double porcelain sink as a carry-on, crisscrossed the country on six different airlines over two days to see if the flights would be on time, and tested credit-card company claims of offering global assistance in an emergency by getting stuck in a ghost town in Death Valley. Not only that, he's traveled to 120 of the world's 187 countries.

A tourist, says Greenberg, is a victim waiting to happen. The travel world is full of ridiculous and draconian rules, but there are no shortages of ways to finesse them. You just have to know what to avoid and how to ask the right questions. Greenberg explains how to get the cheapest fares, beat the Saturday-night-stay requirement, and the importance of Rule 240. He tells you the truth about frequent-flyer programs, where the secret flights and even secret seats are, and how to avoid being a PAWOB (passenger without bags). He's got tips for traveling with kids and pets, and the truth about the safety of infants flying on laps (as well as that infamous first-class flying pig). Once you've made it to your destination, he'll fill you in on the best time to call to get the lowest hotel rates, the right question to ask to get a room with good water pressure, and how to avoid hotel and rental-car rip-offs. He's even got advice for finding a cruise that lives up to its seductive description. This is one useful, fun, and readable guide. --Lesley Reed

About the Author:

Peter Greenberg is the travel editor for NBC's Today show. He is also the chief correspondent for the Discovery Network's Travel Channel and editor at large for National Geographic Traveler magazine. He lives in Los Angeles, but he's never home. Go figure.

About this edition

• Publisher: Villard
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0812973801
• ISBN 13: 9780812973808
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 496