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Show The Salt Lake Tribune TRAVEL Vacation Deals ComeWith SomeRisk with me,” says Steves, who collects $200 deposits for his companybased in El Cerrito, tours at thetimeofbooking and what happens.” The company so far is going ahead with plans for’110 trips “Oneofthe key things westress is never buy in advance of the departure date. “It would cost an extra 3 travel insurance percent [to acceptcredit cards]. through the company That's $60 morefor a tour just to cover bank fees. I'd rather you’re buying the trip @ Continued from H-1 charge $60 less and lose the busine from,’ says McGee, @Consider buying travel the dispute must be sent to your credit-cardissuer (bank, credit insurance, but makesure the that is, policies sold by union, etc.) within 60 days of policycovers acts of terrorism the cruise line or the and cruise-line or tour the time you receive your first bill companydefaults or whatever tour operator. “‘In situation concerns you most ne first thing any card. holder should do in the event Manycompanies have dropped many cases, when they one or both types of coverage. that travel is imminent, go bankrupt, so does whetherit beon an airline ora So consult a travel agent or cruise line, and they learn that compare prices on the Web, the insurance.” it will not take place, is to call the financial institution that issued the card to them,” says William Binzel of MasterCard International. In a case wherepeople have paid for cruises or tours more requires full payment 60 days and never buyapolicy before readingthe fineprint. “One of the key things we stress is never buytravel insurance through the company says McGee, that is, policies than 60 days in advanceofde- sold by the cruiseline or tour operator. “In manyca including all whenthey go bankrupt, so does the insurance.” This is becausecruise lines cardsissued by MasterCard. “It provides consumerswith and tour operators can't sell policies that cover themselves an extra level of protectic mn,” ays Binzel, by giving cardhold 120 days after the time in the caseof their ownfailure. Independent travel insurance companies can, although fewer are. Onethatstill offers default “delayed delivery clause,” in some major credit card agreements, services were to be delivered (for example, when a cruise art) to, dispute the charges. The moneywill be re- turned in the formof a credit even if you've already paid yourbill. If your tour operator or trav agent does accept credit cards (sometimes the c when you're purchasing an airline ticket througha consolidator), then you have to weigh the risks against your desire to book the trip, and look at the agent’s or operator’s track record. Rick Steves, the Edmonds- protection as well as trip- cancellation insurance due to acts of \terrorism here and abroadis Travel Guard International, a company that cov- ers about40 percentof the U.S. surancemarket. Ratesgenerally run between 5 to 7 percent of the cost of a tr ‘ip, depending on Lilet The Website, Be aware that bonds set aside by cruise lines and tour no plans to change his cash- or checks-onlypolicy for his Eu- operators to cover customers’ deposits and payments are not ropean tourspost-Sept. 11. always enough to cover all losses in case of financial “It’s a philosophi thing next year in 65 countries, including Pakistan and Jordan and, like most tour operators, has not changed its prepayment or cancellation poli- cies for its 2002tours. Take special precautions when it comes to booking cruises. Mostcruiselines are regisin countries ic Voyages exception) andare not subject to many U.S. laws. “Thebottomlineis that you don’t havealot of rights with cruiselines,andit’s something youshould be awareof when WILLIAM McG Editor of the Consumer Reports Travel Letter Upwardly Mobile failure. Tour operators who are members of the United States Tour Operators Association are required to participatein a “$1 Million Consumer Protec- tion Plan” aimed at protecting consumers’ deposits and payments. But as those who pur- Thecity on the Gulf of Mexico in the aerial photo, above, will celebrate its 300th birthday in 2002 with a yearlong party. But where is it? Still in search of clues? The name ofthis ambulatory city is in the map, below. While you are at it, namethe state. (See answers on H-6). McGee. “An airline seat i: commodity you know w you're getting. With a cruise, there are so manyfactors that it really helps to have someone guide youthroughit.” Paula Lhotsky, an agent for :2001, The H.M. Gousha Admiral of the Fleet Cruise chased tour packages from recently defunct Pennsylvania- based Kingdom Vacations found, even a $1 million bond isn’t always enough. Kingdom's consumer losses totaled between $4 million and $5 million, according to the USTOA, whichestimates the plan will pay Kingdom’s customers just20to 25 cents onthe dollar. @ Avoid paying too far in advance. Be aware of cancellation penalties and refund polices before you make a deposit orfinal payment. It’s a buyers’ nies’ coverageand prices. Most require you to buythe insurance within a few days of pay: ing a trip deposit. says he has based travel guidebook author andtour operator, Calif. “They can wait and see you're buying the trip from,” vantage ofa parture, it’s possibletotakead Sunday, November25, 2001 market right now; the more a company’sfith and your own wary of a cruise line that wants to collect the entire amount up front, she says, and take a clue from the independent insurance companies that stop insuring certain ‘Map courtesy the H.M. Gousha Go. Fairbanks, Alaska Offers Cool Brochure cruiselines. Travel Guard, for instance, stopped insuring Renaissance © on Aug. 20, several “People don’t have to book right now,” says Robyn Gorman, marketing director for Mountain high-end ways Guaranteed! brochure, published by the Fairbanks You don’t go for the weather, Convention and Visitors Bureau, has a calendarof events ofcourse, butit’s a good season to see the northern lights and cheeron dog-sledracersin the cruises because wecould see it coming,” said Lhotsky. “There werered flags.” Alaskanregion. aera ACCsy Sa eee OTE Sait i Patt Brena err VM tN9 @ Italian Cruises » ‘AND ALL CHARTER NEEDS Panama & / So. America 11 Mights 11 Nights Dao Ror a Check our website or phone us for rules ‘OTHER DESTINATIONS AVAILABLE 1-877-5SUMMIT Courteous Employees 24-Hour Security =, Salt Lake City, Utah 84104 « (801) 975-1675 ' www.pnf.com ' ! parking $6.79 per day wth this ad. One Couponper vehicle. 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