Grand Hyatt NY Gets An “F” For Accommodations!

 

Grand Hyatt Hotel New York City

I just returned from a business trip to New York where I gave a presentation to a group of travel industry professionals. The conference went well, but that is not my reason for writing this. The problem was with the Hotel.

The conference hotel was the Grand Hyatt in New York City. This is a very large business hotel located right next to Grand Central Station on 42nd street. I was excited about staying at the hotel as I really enjoy the Hyatt brand. 

 

I arrived at 1250AM in stead of 1030PM as my flight was late from Chicago due to weather in the New York area. So I am now very tired, somewhat wet as it has been pouring rain for the entire trip from Newark Airport to the Grand Hyatt Hotel and I had to wade through the rain to get to the Super Shuttle Bus. I walk into the lobby of the Grand Hyatt and proceed to the Registration Desk. Now remember it is 1250AM on Thursday morning and there are at least 12 people waiting in line to check in. Now that would not be so bad, but there is only one desk clerk handling the check in and to add insult to injury, there are approximately 15 self service check-in kiosk that all say “OUT OF SERVICE – SEE DESK CLERK TO CHECK IN.” So now I am very tired, I have a bad headache and I am standing in a line that is not moving at all. 

 

20 minutes later I make it up to the desk clerk. I give him my name and my reservation number. He types it into the computer and then I see that look on his face that I have seen to many times before. You know the look of bad news at 115 in the morning. So he tells me that the room I reserved was not available. My heart dropped! I said you have to give me a room. He tells me that he has a queen size smoking room. I said to myself, “how bad could a smoking room be?” So I say to the desk clerk, I just need a room to sleep in, I will take the room. 

 

So he gives me the key card and I proceed to the 15th floor room I was assigned. I get to the room and open the door and walk in and then it hit me. This room REAKED of smoke! Oh did it stink, it just knocked you over. It smelled like someone chain smoked no-stop for a week! But again, I was so tired and I had this terrible headache and I just needed so sleep. So I climbed into the bed and fell asleep. 

 

When I woke up, I really look around the room for the first time. The window shade was all stained and looked as if someone threw a cup of coffee on it. The lights on the night stands did not work properly. The Desk lamp shade was broken and had a hole in it.  There was a floor lamp that was leaning over like someone bent the base.  And the final straw, the wifi in the room did not work.

 

I walked into the bathroom to take a shower. The bathroom look pretty good, so I get into the shower, close the curtain and turned on the water. I adjusted the temperature and then the tub started to fill up. Ok, so the drain was running slow. I hit the shower button and the shower turned on. It started to spray nicely around the curtain and on to the floor. I could not get a good flow onto me, but it did a great job of making a puddle on the floor of the bathroom, which I could not stop.

 

I was really frustrated by this time. I got out of the shower and threw two towels on the floor to soak up the water. I then dried myself off with a third towel, at least they gave me 4 towels and they were not the usual fluffy Hyatt towels, they were very scratchy and thin towels.

 

The service was just fair throughout the hotel. The public areas were very nice, but the service was poor at best. I stay in lots of hotel rooms during the year and this was a stay that I want to forget. I cannot recommend the Grand Hyatt in New York until they do something to improve the quality control of the rooms and the attitude of the staff.

Delta Queen Reborn As Chattanooga Hotel

 

The Delta Queen On The Mississippi

A welcome befitting a Queen, the 82 year-old Delta Queen Steamboat arrived in Chattanooga on Wednesday February 11. Hundreds of people turned out to welcome the Queen to Chattanooga which will be it’s new home as it will become a floating hotel.

 

Ambassadors International, which owns the Delta Queen has chartered to Harry Phillips, owner of Chattanooga Water Taxi and Fat Cat Ferry. Mr. Phillips has hired  Sydney Slome, owner of Chattanooga’s Stone Fort Inn, to manage the Delta Queen Hotel. The hotel is slated to open to the public in April. The hotel will have 87 cabins and can hold 174 guests.

The Delta Queen was built in 1926 and has a steel hull and a wooden superstructure. Currently the Delta Queen cannot legally operate overnight cruises at present because its congressional exemption from fire safety laws was allowed to expire on Oct 31, 2008. 

The Delta Queen will host Dixieland jazz bands, cabarets and musical revues. Tours of the vessel will also be available.

So if you are planning on visiting Chattanooga this summer, you may want to book a cabin on the historic Delta Queen.

American Airlines to buy up to 100 Boeing 787’s

 

787 Dreamliner

American Airlines announced this past week that they plan on purchasing up to 100 Boeing 787 Dreamliners at a cost of $15 billion dollars. This purchase could make American the largest operator of the new Boeing aircraft.

 

“This state-of-the-art aircraft will offer many cost and environmental benefits, particularly fuel efficiency and customer friendly attributes and comforts” said Thomas Horton, executive vice president and CFO during the airlines October 15 conference call with financial analysts.

American plans to buy 42 of the 787 Dreamliners for delivery between 2012 and 2018, with an option for 58 more for delivery between 2015 and 2020.

The first 787 flight was scheduled for August of 2007, with deliveries to begin in May of 2008. But due to delays and a strike at Boeing, the first flight is now planned for the fourth quarter of 2008 and initial deliveries slated for the third quarter of 2009.

The new 787-9 is designed to carry up to 290 passengers, with at range of up to 8,500 nautical mailes. The 787-9 is a stretch version of the 787-8 and will use 20% less fuel then current aircraft flying today.

These are some of the airlines that have ordered the 787 Dreamliner. 

1. Qantas – 65 planes
2. All Nippon Airways – 50 planes
3. Air Canada – 37 planes
4. Japan Airlines – 35 planes
5. Etihad Airways – 35 planes
6. LAN Airlines – 26 planes
7. Continental – 25 planes
8. Aeroflot – 22 planes

Royal Caribbean Brilliance of The Seas – A day at The Panama Canal

 

One of the Mules that Pulls the ship through the Locks

Alan at the Midpoint at the Gatun Locks

The Brilliance of The Seas exiting the Gatun Locks

The Brilliance of The Seas at anchor in Lake Gatun

Approach to the Gatun Locks

 This past January my wife and I took a fascinating cruise thru the Panama Canal on Royal Caribbean’s Brilliance of The Seas. This is a wonderful ship and a great cruise for anyone that loves cruising. The day we began to  transit the canal started early in the morning just before sunrise. Our pilot arrived at our ship as the sun broke the horizon. We then picked up our two tug boats that would help our ship into the locks.  The total transit took about 3 hours. The pictures below are my “Photo Blog” of our experience through the Gatun Locks on the Caribbean side of the canal.

If you have never been on a Panama Canal cruise then you have never experienced the excitement that you feel as you approach and then transit the canal. It does get hot during the day, so take a lot of sunscreen along so you don’t get burned.

If you have never been on a Panama Canal cruise then you have never experienced the excitement that you feel as you approach and then transit the canal. It does get hot during the day, so take a lot of sunscreen along so you don’t get burned.If you have never been on a Panama Canal cruise then you have never experienced the excitement that you feel as you approach and then transit the canal. It does get hot during the day, so take a lot of sunscreen along so you don’t get burned.

Carnival Cruise Line to Rework Three Ships with More Balconies

 

The Theater on the Carnival Liberty

Carnival Cruise Lines announced that they will be taking 3 ships out of service over the next three months to add cabins with balconies. The three ships are the Carnival Destiny, Carnival Triumph and the Carnival Liberty.  A total of 48 balcony cabins will be added to these ships. These cabins will feature floor to ceiling windows.

 

Ruben Rodriguez, Carnival’s executive Vice President stated that “Balcony staterooms continue to be in great demand. In fact, they’re often the first cabin category to sell out.” 

Carnival will also add two, 750 square foot “deluxe penthouse suites,” to the Carnival Liberty. These two penthouse suites have a separate bedroom, living room and two full baths and can accommodate up to five passengers.

I am looking forward to these upgrades to these great Carnival Ships.

Art Auctions on Cruise Ships, worth the Time?

 

Cruise Ship at Port in Mexico

If you have traveled on a large cruise ship in the past 10 years, you have probably experienced the Art Auctions at Sea. There has been many articles written on this subject over the past 10 years, some good and some not so good. I have sat in on many of these Art Auctions on cruise ships and I have actually enjoyed it. I have learned some things about the art work and artists and enjoyed the company of the other passengers attending the auction. 

 

Some of the articles that have been written on this subject have taken to task the value of the art work that is up for auction on these ships. One person interviewed said they spent $73,000 on artwork that was later appraised for $10,000. I really have a hard time believing that someone would actually spend that kind of money on an art auction at sea. Who in their right mind would spend that kind of money without doing their homework prior to the auction. It is always buyer beware! Know your product before you buy anything. If you are going on a cruise and want to bid on some art, then make sure you know what that art is currently selling for before you bid on it. If you have no idea what that piece of art is worth, then don’t bid on it. It is that simple. I have no sympathy for anyone that throws money around buying things they know nothing about and then complain about the purchase. 

I know animation art very well. I know what a framed piece cost, so if I were to bid on a piece of animation-art on a cruise ship, I would know what a good price for that piece is and what a ridiculous price is. Plus, I would never buy an expensive piece of animation art on a whim. 

So if you are sailing on a cruise ship in the not to distance future, and you find yourself attending one of the Art Auctions At Sea, sit back and enjoy the view  out the window, enjoy the company and the narrative on the artwork and sometime you many even get free Champaign. But never make an Art  purchase on a whim and if you do bid on something, know what you are doing. And remember to “Have a Great Cruise!”

Thanks to All that attended Travel Trade Cruise-A-Thon 2008

I want to thank all the people that attended my workshop in Vancouver BC at Travel Trade’s Cruise-A-Thon 2008. I so enjoy working with all the great travel agents that attend every year. This was my 4th year conducting workshops for Travel Trade. I hope that everyone keeps attending and I will keep teaching. Thank you again! You make it all worth while for me.

Alan -The Travel Doctor

United Airlines Gets My Vote!

This past Sunday I had the good fortune to fly from Seattle to Chicago on United Airlines. I have to tell you that I had the best experience with the gate agent at United in Seattle. This Agent, was so friendly and helpful that it made it a pleasure to be a passenger. I wish I would have gotten her name, but she was the Best!! Kudos to United in Seattle. You made my flight back home to Chicago just a little less stressful.

If it has wheels, some people think it’s a carry-on

I guess this is my rant for this week. I just returned from a flight on American Airlines from Las Vegas. I was in boarding group 4, I don’t know how I always get in boarding group 4. I check in at home 24 hour in advance and I still get boarding group 4. But anyway, I board the plane and get to my seat, an aisle seat on a 757 and sit down. Within 30 seconds, this women comes down the aisle dragging this huge suitcase and bumping into everyone that has an aisle seat. She gets to my row, row 21 and stops. Now mind you, there are maybe 15 people behind her and now she is standing in the middle of the aisle with this suitcase (yes it has wheels) that should have been checked. I have no Idea how she got it through security. Now everyone is backed up out the door of the plane waiting for her to hoist this boulder into the overhead rack. So she tries to lift this thing by herself into the overhead rack. After the first try, it fell on an empty seat. The second try it fell on the passenger in row 20. I get up to try to help her and it falls on me. There was no way that the suitcase was going to fit into the over head rack the way it was packed. So she starts taking things out of this suitcase and putting it in her carryon bag. Well, to make a long story short, the flight attendant was able to finally cram that thing into the overhead after she emptied about 2 pounds of stuff into her carry on bag but now there was no space for any ones carryons except hers.

So, please the next time you fly. Be respectful to your fellow passengers and bring a small carryon that will fit without any problem in the overhead rack. And remember, just because it has wheels, does not make it a CARRYON!

Ok, I feel better now.