http://www.viewpoints.com/Travel-Web-Sites Tue, 22 Jul 2008 01:07:49 GMT Reviews about Travel Web Sites http://www.viewpoints.com/Orbitz-review-b27c7 My friends and I wanted to stay in Santa Cruz for my friends birthday. Orbitz had a room that seemed the cheapest and was close to where we wanted to go. My confirmation said that my room would have a coffee maker, a mini-fridge, and a microwave. It also was going to be a non-smoking room. When we arrived NONE of the things were in our room and the room smelled like an ashtray. I was angry with the hotel but I did book with orbitz so gave them a call. I asked for a refund and they told me if the hotel wouldn't refund them they would not refund me. Other online booking sites have a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Orbitz, however, is way below these other sites. They still refuse to refund me for a room they lied about. All they offered me was a $50 voucher for my next trip I book with them. As if I would EVER book through this terrible website again! I plan to take Orbitz to small claims court. It's not my problem if the hotel does not refund their money. $182 refund to me from orbitz is... Tue, 22 Jul 2008 01:07:49 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Orbitz-review-b27c7 lacyk 1 http://www.viewpoints.com/Hotwire-com-review-910f5 Hotwire is a discount travel website that allows you to search for hotels, airfare, and rental cars. It gives you the best prices that are available. Hotwire offers out rates that come from hotels and airlines that need to sell off the extra rooms or seats so you get the best deal available. You can get 4 star hotel rooms for the price of a 2 star room. It also has deals with hotel and flights together and even hotel, flights, and rental cars, if needed. If you don't mind not being to directly choose which hotel or airline carrier you use, then this is the perfect site.... Sat, 19 Jul 2008 20:14:19 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Hotwire-com-review-910f5 alison18 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/The-Official-Site-of-South-Carolina-State-Parks-review-eaec3 The Official Site of South Carolina State Parks is a great place to start if you are planning a trip to a SC state park. We are planning a camping trip to South Carolina. I'm not sure why after last summer's camping experience. Last July, I was 7 months pregnant and it was 100 degrees in the shade when I had the bright idea to go on a family camping trip. No, my last name's not Griswold. — To be honest, I started out with a plan for a vacation this year that included a hotel on the beach. That plan quickly changed to camping after discovering that hotels on the beach have rather high rates during the summer months. But actually, I am quite excited about the idea after checking out this website. — I remember camping with my dad, mom, sister, and two brothers when I was a child. We had a pop-up camper and two parents who had lots of stamina. Some of those trips included rain, a pet snake, sunburns, and a rotten egg amidst... Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:21:28 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/The-Official-Site-of-South-Carolina-State-Parks-review-eaec3 Katrena 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Orbitz-review-13506 I used to be the customer of ORBTIZ for the past few years and it was great. Due to personal reasons, I have to reside overseas for a while. I've chagned the billing address of my credit card which is issued in the u.s. and still valid. The ORBITZ representative told me that they don't accept a foreign billing address of credit cards not listed on their web even if they are issued in the U.S. So that means I can't book anything on their web in the future until I move back. I understand that's their policy, but I really feel disappointed. So I will go to other online travel agencies instead. —... Mon, 07 Jul 2008 02:23:42 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Orbitz-review-13506 MANDALA 2 http://www.viewpoints.com/vacant-travel-com-review-ec617 VAcant travel make ebay shoppong so much easier. Everything is laid out just like Ebay but you can sort through and see just one airline or ending soonest, lo, high, etc. This search fids all vouchers, extra miles, upgrades, and just about any thing you need from the... Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:54:51 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/vacant-travel-com-review-ec617 mendy31560 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Cruise-Critic-review-c93a I found cruise critic (cruisecritic.com) a couple of years ago when I was hoping to find an answer about a specific port. What I found was not only the answer to my question but a great little website! While it is not perfect, cruise critic is a site worth checking out before, or after, booking a cruise. — What Cruise Critic IS — At Cruise Critic you can read reviews from other cruisers, book one of their cruise specials, find information on ships and ports you can visit. However, the best part about Cruise Critic is their boards. You will need to register before you can post a question or a response. I have not been swamped with spam after doing so. — On the Cruise Critic boards, you can go under the specific cruise line you are booked on or are just thinking about booking. You can ask specific questions such as, "Are there any cabins to avoid?" Or "What are the not-to-miss desserts?" Other cruisers who have sailed on that ship will then give you their opinion.... Sun, 29 Jun 2008 16:30:45 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Cruise-Critic-review-c93a Kristy 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Holland-America-review-0aef4 I am a busy person and find myself with little spare time. Therefore, I really don't want to waste my time and that includes on the telephone. That is the great thing about the Internet; it lets me do things on my schedule. I can order items after midnight look up directions, keep in touch with relatives' countries away and normally, book travel. — I have booked multiple cruises online and so when I saw the Holland America was offering the 3rd and 4th passenger in each cabin to sail for FREE so I figured we should jump on that! And I head over to the Holland America website: hollandamerica.com — I start out stating what region and country I am in and then move onto where, when and how long I want to cruise. I know the dates of the promotion so I start looking in September and find the cruises in that month that leave from Seattle and stop in Sitka. No problem there. — I am allowed to see the itinerary but FIRST STRIKE I must login to go any further. I do not... Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:56:11 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Holland-America-review-0aef4 Kristy 2 http://www.viewpoints.com/Hotels-com-review-086f3 Our family just tried hotels.com for the first last month.  I couldn't be happier.  — We wanted to take a vacation but did not want to spend much.  I tried many different websites looking for bargains.  — After deciding on a location, I checked every travel website you can think of.  I even called the tourism bureau of the city we were to visit to get their recommendations on hotels.  — I located a couple of the hotels that were recommended and found them on hotels.com.  After checking the reviews and great prices, we chose one hotel.  Hotels.com was offering a free $50 gas card with any three night stay.  — We found two different mid-priced hotels.  We made two separate reservations and received two $50 gas cards. — We had a great vacation and came home to find $100 waiting for us. — We had to call customer service regarding one hotel and a problem that came up. ... Thu, 26 Jun 2008 23:45:24 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Hotels-com-review-086f3 shellyin 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/indiamike-review-0b635 indiamike is a racist website. — — — it will allow anything said by foreigners for india but wont let an indian say what he wants.me and my friends wanted to discuss topics relating to how women should wear in order to be comfortable while travelling and not attract too much attention. — — besides india gets too many junkie travellers who are here only to do drugs without caring about anything else. — — they banned us for 2 weeks saying that our topics were racist,insulting and sexist. — — on the contrary ,they allowed any discussions relating to male attraction based on white colour and indian male mentality and even females asking to dye their hair from blonde and redhead to black "coz they felt it would attract too much attention and make life miserable for them". — — and they didnt make our banning public..the administrators just send us a private message giving this reason for banning.if they had courage,... Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:07:54 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/indiamike-review-0b635 radha11 1 http://www.viewpoints.com/TripAdvisor-review-ccd25 Our family does not plan a vacation without scoping out everything on this site first. We check out the hotels to see the candid photos and personal experiences, and sometimes the candid photos are SO different from those we see on the hotel's website. It has changed our hotel choice so many times for that reason. Also, when we don't know where to start, but have decided we want to visit a particular city, we will look up the top ten hotels and will then know what the top choices are. The descriptions also provide insight into what there is to do nearby, whether the hotel is family friendly or not, and all kinds of other tidbits. The site is invaluable and you can't do without... Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:07:11 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/TripAdvisor-review-ccd25 mlh08 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Nav4All-review-66201 Free GPS for your cellphone, plus tracking and tracing — I can't get it to work on my iPhone, however (sigh) so I'm anxious to hear how the REST of you react to this download!   The Nav4all.com web site says the download gives you free nav capability in your cellphone until 2010.  this part sounds great. — I have a knee-jerk reaction against the tracking and tracing features, however I'm not stupid:  I have lost my own car more than once in a parking lot.   And if I had teens who were running around with "the wrong crowd" I might well want to know where they are on a Friday night.  (Thankfully, I don't have teens, so don't have to address or solve this moral dilemma) Anyway, my iPhone won't take the download, so I'm posting this review to make you all aware of the web site, and hope to read your experiences. — The Bottom Line:   Libby's Curious! —... Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:26:05 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Nav4All-review-66201 LibbyMcMillan 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/TravelSucks-com-review-060e2 Since 1999 I have written for them as well as enjoyed the reviews & comments posted by folks who have had some unbelievable vacation mishaps.  Then you get a few trolls that drop by to harass folks & Yahoo helps us turn the in.  — So stop by & have a read, even go back to read plenty more.  On a bad day this will can make it not so bad.  Amazing that folks ever cruise, fly, rent a car or stay at a hotel every again. — ... Fri, 13 Jun 2008 19:16:45 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/TravelSucks-com-review-060e2 MacGyver 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Hotels-com-review-28bd7 I do a lot of travelling and, like a lot of people these days, I do most of my booking online. A few years ago I started using Hotels.com, and have never looked back. — My first experience with Hotels.com was several years ago when I made last-minute plans to travel from New Zealand to Florida, to spend Christmas with my folks. A word to the wise: "last-minute" and "Christmas travel" should never, ever become a reality in your life, if you have any interest in remaining sane. Anyhow, the only flights I could get in order to make it to Tampa on Christmas day involved flying from Wellington, NZ, to Auckland, NZ, to Los Angeles, and arriving in Washington D.C. late on Christmas Eve. The first flight from D.C. to Tampa wasn't until 7 am, Christmas day. I could not, for the life of me, find a vacant hotel room in D.C. that wouldn't bankrupt me. Via Hotels.com, not only did I find a moderately-priced room, but an extra $15 got me round trip shuttle service. After... Tue, 10 Jun 2008 20:55:38 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Hotels-com-review-28bd7 Telpher 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/TripAdvisor-review-72b11 i just cant help but love travel advisor.  until i found this site it was tough to decide on a hotel.  there are so many candid and up front reviews by real people.  you have to look at the type of person the does the reviewing to really understand their motivation.  but i love the realistic pictures that people post and the details are fantastic. its where i turn for travel... Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:51:44 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/TripAdvisor-review-72b11 genoveve26 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Priceline--25303-review-227a5 Quick synopisis: — I found online air specials for the same time/days/airport for $215. I put in a bid for 4 air tickets for $175 on Priceline. Hey $40 dollars per ticket is $40!! I put in all the neccessary info needed to make a bid. I hit "bid now" button and got redirected back to the page asking for my password. I filled in the password again, hit "bid now' and again got redirected to the info page asking for  my password. I filled out the password again, hit "bid now" and got redirected to the same info page asking me for my 3 digit code on the back of my credit card. Hit "bid now" and it finally went through. — Within 1 minute I got an email saying my bid $350 was accepted!!!??? No other email stating my bid was rejected, or anything — When talking to the customer service their records show that I was submitting my bid 3 times for $175-but my last "bid now" was somehow intercepted by a glitch on their site that when "bidding" it overrided... Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:51:29 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Priceline--25303-review-227a5 dahlbaby 1 http://www.viewpoints.com/Braziliantravel-com-review-03022 This so called "agency" is a FRAUD!! They are NOT in Florida!! They are ILLEGALLY run out of a basement in New York..They sell your credit card numbers and are constantly changing their address & phone numbers so when you go to SUE them you cant find them! DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THESES LIARS &... Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:19:19 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Braziliantravel-com-review-03022 StopInternetFraud 1 http://www.viewpoints.com/Expedia-com-review-5e693 Expedia is undoubtely a big and great company. It would be absolutely unfair to say the contrary. — But, I have a big but, at least for my taste, and it is that they do not offer the best prices at all despite their claims, and I know for sure they favour too much vendors that give the best conditions. — Otherwise, it's a sure place to go shopping. —... Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:44:38 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Expedia-com-review-5e693 Mamborock 2 http://www.viewpoints.com/cheapcaribbean-review-01d44 We just finished our first trip with CheapCaribbean.com and are very happy with the service and value. I was a bit hesitant to use them at first, but they offered the best deal on the vacation I wanted (and we shop for our vacations!) We couldn't have asked for a better experience. Our confidence has been established, and we will use them again for sure. —... Mon, 02 Jun 2008 02:46:47 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/cheapcaribbean-review-01d44 acool57 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Expedia-com-review-b0f21 A website with tons of travel information to allow you to make the best decision according to your budget and needs.  I use Expedia more than any other travel website for hotel accommodations because they run the full gamut of availabilities in all price ranges, and offer comprehensive information, pictures, maps, and reviews for those facilities viewed.  When searching the site, you can also fine tune your search around a specific facility or attraction, opening the possibilities of eliminating the need to rent a vehicle.  — Expedia offers some very attractive bundled packages, (i.e, air/hotel/car), at times, and is worth searching through when you're planning a trip.  Activities and tours can also be added at the time of your trip, and all information can be saved on Expedia's web site under "my itineraries", so it can be viewed any time you wish online. — I usually search airfares under the specific airline website I intend to fly on because... Fri, 30 May 2008 18:56:48 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Expedia-com-review-b0f21 steve9631 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Farecast-review-6d270 Do not puchase airline tickets until you visited farecast. This site is genius, and obviously created by travel experts. Not only is the information incredibly useful, but the website is very user friendly and easy to navigate.In the right hand bottom corner, they have special travel tools. There are three categories to choose from:  Top Airfare Deals, Flexible Travel Deals, & Email Alerts. These tools are in addition to their main searching tool. — I have used the site extensively over the past year, and have yet to find any inaccuracies in their reporting. This site not only checks multiple travel site for the same itinerary, but it also reports industry and seasonal trends. Farecast advices consumers on the best times to purchase tickets, and when the prices are expected to rise or drop. I typically build my travel arrangements on the information I receive from Farecast. — ] —... Fri, 30 May 2008 18:17:14 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Farecast-review-6d270 smeckroth 5