Another Timely Reminder About Passports...

This time from The Independent:

Until 20 years ago, getting the necessary paperwork for a trip to our most popular European holiday destinations was easy. If you noticed at the last minute that your passport had expired, you just went to the Post Office for an on-the-spot British Visitor's Passport. For a time, you could even use one to get into the US.

In these security-aware days, it is trickier, especially if you are going to one of the many remaining non-EU countries that require a certain amount of validity; search online for "FCO entry (name of country)" to find out from the Foreign Office. You may also have a passport stamp that may cause you a headache (usually from Israel, though Cuba has also caused problems in the past). Either way, you will need to attend a passport office, located in London, Liverpool, Belfast, Durham, Glasgow, Newport or Peterborough. Call 0300 222 0000 to book an appointment.

Before you do, decide whether you need a passport on the same day as your appointment – costing £128 for the Premium service – or can allow a week for it to arrive for a Fast Track fee of £103 (compared with the normal £72.50). Be prepared to be flexible as the Passport Agency warns: "Your appointment may be up to three weeks from the day you book it." To accelerate the process, it helps to be prepared to travel to whichever regional office has the shortest wait.

The best way to renew a passport, though, is not to be in a hurry. Early March is an excellent time to check when your passport expires. You have four weeks until Easter, which is easily long enough to get a straightforward renewal; recent correspondents to The Independent Traveller have bragged of getting the replacement in three working days, even though the official line is up to four weeks. And you get full credit for any unused time up to nine months; so, if you apply today for a passport that expires on 7 December 2015, the replacement document will be valid until 7 December 2025.

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Safe Cities

York

Holidaymakers have voted the historic walled city of York the safest place to visit in the world. The survey, by Post Office Travel insurance, found only one per cent of British travellers considered the city to be ‘risky’. And it revealed tourists - considering the Egyptian capital, Cairo, to be the most dangerous - placed three other British cities in the top ten  

The survey of 2,075 UK adults showed that 72 per cent felt the traditional country town of Yorkshire was safe, compared to one per cent considering it risky, and 26 per cent having no view. 

In contrast, only seven per cent thought Cairo was safe - and 56 per cent felt it was dangerous to visit. But London did not even make the top ten - with 58 per cent deeming the capital safe and 16 per cent risky. A stolen wallet (24 per cent) was the most common occurrence for those who had had problems in cities. Bangkok, Istanbul and Marrakech were also deemed most risky to visit on a short break. Of the eight UK and Ireland destinations in the survey, the least-safe was Belfast with only 37 per cent deeming it a sensible destination choice. 

But although 53 per cent reckoned Manchester was safe, 20 per cent thought the city was risky - a higher figure than that for Belfast (19 per cent). 

Top ten safest cities in the world -

1. York

2. Bath

3. Edinburgh

4. Brighton

5. Venice

6. Vienna

7. Dublin

8. Florence

9. Stockholm

10. Copenhagen

Trip Advisor

From The Telegraph:

Service is by far the biggest factor behind negative reviews on TripAdvisor, new research has suggested.

A poll of nearly 5,000 Telegraph readers saw it placed above "quality of food and drink" and "size/style of room" as the aspect of a hotel most likely to prompt a bad write-up, with 58 per cent of votes. With hotels increasingly under pressure to improve their TripAdvisor ranking, the results could persuade many to focus their efforts on improving staff training. They are supported by a recent study by TripExpert, another travel review website, which found that 41 per cent of TripAdvisor's one-star reviews cite service as the main problem.

Telegraph Travel's survey also revealed some doubts about the effectiveness of TripAdvisor's authentification methods. Two-thirds of readers urged TripAdvisor to do more to stamp out illegitimate reviews, with almost three-quarters (72 per cent) believing travellers should be required to provide proof of their stay before being allowed to write a review.

The website has previously faced accusations that some of its reviews are not genuine, and in 2012 the Advertising Standards Authority said it could no longer claim all the reviews on its website were "honest, real or trusted".

Despite these doubts, the majority of readers (58 per cent) said they would still ignore a hotel, or cancel a booking, on the basis of a negative TripAdvisor review, demonstrating just how influential the world's most visited website has become. Around half (48 per cent) said they trust TripAdvisor’s ratings as much as they do the opinions of a newspaper, magazine or professional reviewer.

The survey also revealed that 96 per cent of readers browse reviews on TripAdvisor, with almost half (46 per cent) visiting the website at least once a month.

Fewer write about their experiences – seven per cent said they pen reviews at least once a month, and 37 per cent said they have never written one.

Of the 4,825 people who took part in the survey, 67 (around one per cent) said they had written a review that wasn’t completely honest. A further 295 (six per cent) said they would threaten to write a negative TripAdvisor review to get a refund or discount on a hotel stay.

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Air Rage

Lately we've seen both a rise in air rage incidents and in calls to limit alcohol both at airports and on flights.

Figures released by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) revealed that 114 incidents were recorded for 2014 with 85 in 2013 and only 47 in 2012. A bomb threat was made, cabin crews kicked, passengers scrapped, drugs were taken, a pipe lit (yes, really) items were thrown and parents refused to comply with safety instructions.

Apart from the aggression, one of the most frequent complaints were passengers smoking in the toilets. Usually, recalcitrant passengers were met by Police, but occasionally planes were forced to turn back or divert.

The CAA said there was no excuse for aggressive behaviour towards cabin crew or fellow travellers, it is a criminal offence to be drunk on board an aircraft as is refusal to comply with safety instructions issued by staff and crew.

Passengers are, of course responsible for their own safety, but also for the safety of others; fines can be onerous and a criminal record could be the end result. We are all urged to drink responsibly, let's not spoil our holidays and those of others.

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