The Washington Post’s travel writers and editors recently discussed stories, questions, gripes and more. Here are edited excerpts:
Q: Do you have any recommendations to squeeze in travel to Cuba in the next 90 days? Preferable an all inclusive; cruise with stops in at least one Cuban port or travel group package.
A: Check out International Expeditions, which arranges cruises and land tours, and Intrepid Travel. Friendly Planet Travel also has great Cuba trips. I went on one a few years ago.
– Andrea Sachs
Q: I just booked a flight on Delta to Venice, Italy, over Labor Day weekend with Orbitz. I received a booking confirmation email with a Delta confirmation code, but later received a phone call telling me that the airline wasn’t issuing a ticket because the fare had increased. Orbitz customer service refused to honor their advertised price, and I was given a choice to either pay the fare difference, or cancel the reservation and rebook through another service. I chose to cancel, as I’m incensed and don’t want Orbitz to make money off of this. Is there anything else I could have done?
A: That’s absurd. If you had a confirmation code and paid the fare, you should have had a ticket. I would appeal this to one of the Delta Air Lines executive contacts.
– Christopher Elliott
Q: What are your thoughts on ordering food to a hotel that offers room service? If it makes a difference, it’s a mid-range hotel along the lines of the Kimpton chain. I’ve polled a few people and reactions range from “Totally fine” to “No, that’s tacky.”
A: I think it is absolutely fine. Hotels don’t have a no-outside-food rule. Just be sure to clean up your mess for housekeeping and, if you have a lot of extra trash, leave a bonus tip for housekeeping.
– A.S.
Q: Other than asking friends, is there a good way to find a travel agent? Some website that lets you put in certain parameters (e.g. what type of trip or the area) and then it suggests specific agents?
A: Try the American Society of Travel Agents’ find an agent page ().
– C.E.
Q: I paid for a window seat in Economy Plus only to discover I had no window whatsoever; only a blank wall. On the one hand, when looking at the chart to select my seat, it did not say it was a window seat – it was a seat on an outside edge of the plane. On the other, the charts have warnings for seats that have limited or no recline — why not have one that says there is no window? My question is, is this something I could hope to get a small credit for, or should I save my time? Had I known, I would have picked a different row.
A: I would ask for a refund. If you reserve a window seat, you should get a window.
– C.E.
Q: The last few trips I’ve taken, it seems like rental car prices have been much higher than normal. For example, three days in Denver this coming weekend are costing $350 for an economy car at a low-budget company! It’s almost as if I need to budget the rental car price moreso than the cost of the airplane trip. Am I just getting unlucky or is this a trend lately?
A: Actually, rates are falling in many markets, according to the latest figures. When demand increases, as they do during the summer travel season, so do the prices. (I’m staying at a hotel in San Jose right now — $178 a night. I asked to extend another night and they wanted $308. Supply and demand!)
– C.E.
