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CNN Saturday Morning News

Interview With Wendy Perrin

Aired October 05, 2002 - 09:27   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: You've planned your dream trip to the Caribbean, but a hurricane chooses the same destination, say Kyle. Is there anything you can do when a major storm ruins your vacation plans?
We'll get some answers from Wendy Perrin of "Conde Nast Traveler" magazine, joining us from New York City.

Well, aside from the obvious here, Wendy, which is, if there's a hurricane, don't go, give us some advice.

WENDY PERRIN, "CONDE NAST TRAVELER" MAGAZINE: Well, there are ways to protect yourself. Maybe not as much protection as you might think if the weather ruins your vacation, but you can always -- let's say you're buying a package, you're going to a resort down in the Caribbean and buying a package from a tour operator.

There are a lot of tour operators that offer a trip cancellation waiver. Basically, you can pay an extra $39, $49, $59, and if you need to cancel for any reason whatsoever up until shortly before your trip, you can get your money back.

So if you think a hurricane is on the horizon, or there's even a tropical storm and you don't feel like, you know, trying to scuba dive in such terrible weather, then, then you can buy that, that, that, that insurance.

O'BRIEN: So you're in favor of travel insurance?

PERRIN: Well, now, there are -- that particular type of insurance, the one offered by a tour operate that covers you for cancellation for any reason whatsoever.

O'BRIEN: OK.

PERRIN: But if you're buying from, you know, say Access America or Travel Guard or a travel insurance provider, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) they might pay you a little bit. Let's say your flight is canceled because of bad weather, and so you can't get to your destination, they might pay you maybe $100 per day if you're delayed more than 12 hours.

But they don't -- those policies tend not to protect you nearly as much as you think they will.

O'BRIEN: So and -- so it's really -- if you decide to book your own trip, on the Internet or however, buyer should beware when it comes to these kinds of things.

PERRIN: Oh...

O'BRIEN: And, you know, and parenthetically, the travel industry just is not very user-friendly when it comes to acts of God, is it? And I include airlines and hotels in this.

PERRIN: Yes, no, it's not. In fact, if you're -- let's say your flight down to the Caribbean is canceled because of the bad weather and you -- you know, you think you're owed something, you think the airline should put you up overnight or put you on the next flight out, unfortunately, legally, they are not obligated to do anything for you except get you to your destination eventually. So you lose two days of your vacation, there's really -- no one's going to make it up to you.

O'BRIEN: Yes, it's just amazing to me how these airlines treat their customers. They treat them like ...

PERRIN: It...

O'BRIEN: Well, OK...

PERRIN: It's not good. It's not good. But...

O'BRIEN: ... I can't say it even on cable, how they treat their customers. It's unbelievable, isn't it?

PERRIN: But, well, it has not been good lately, that's for sure. But, you know, you can, you can also think about where you're going in the Caribbean. If you go to the deep Caribbean, like Aruba or Bonaire (ph), or Curacao, those islands down south, those are outside the hurricane belt.

Or think about postponing your vacation a little bit. You know, Jacqui mentioned earlier that hurricane season ends November 30. Think about going between Thanksgiving and Christmas, that's an amazing window of opportunity for great values down in the Caribbean and in Florida.

O'BRIEN: That is definitely kind of a low season, if you will. And the prices are good. And, of course, the weather can be more conducive, can't it?

PERRIN: Absolutely. And if you need to go before Thanksgiving, then think about going to a resort where there's lots to do indoors, you know, just in case, I mean, say a resort with a spa. That way there is a lot you can do indoors on a day when it's really raining.

O'BRIEN: All right. I got to tell you a quick story. And maybe you can offer some advice here. I was on a flight back in 1985 from Boston to Tampa, trying to fly to a hurricane, because I was a reporter and wanted to be there for the hurricane. Flight was empty except for two other people, newly married. They said, Why isn't anybody on this flight? What's going on? I said, Well, there's a hurricane down there, and they've closed off the beach. They didn't know a thing about it. So there they were, flying into Hurricane Elena, and the place they were going to was evacuated.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, you've got to stay plugged into the news here too. And if you're -- especially if you got a honeymoon, something that's kind of etched in stone, you have to really think it out, don't you?

PERRIN: Absolutely. Of course you need to stay on top of things. You know, another type of vacation you might want to consider during hurricane season is a cruise, only because if there's a hurricane that hits one island, the cruise ship can steer itself to a different island. So it'll avoid those places that are the butt of a tropical storm.

O'BRIEN: Of course, if it's a big storm, you might want to pack your Dramamine, just in case, right, yes.

PERRIN: That's always a good idea on a cruise.

O'BRIEN: All right, Cathy (ph) Perrin, thank you very much. We appreciate your being with us here. She's with "Conde Nast Traveler" magazine. We appreciate your tips on avoiding hurricanes and other weather and other act of God vicissitudes of travel. How's that sound? Pretty good? OK, all right. Thanks for dropping by.

PERRIN: You bet.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired October 5, 2002 - 09:27   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: You've planned your dream trip to the Caribbean, but a hurricane chooses the same destination, say Kyle. Is there anything you can do when a major storm ruins your vacation plans?
We'll get some answers from Wendy Perrin of "Conde Nast Traveler" magazine, joining us from New York City.

Well, aside from the obvious here, Wendy, which is, if there's a hurricane, don't go, give us some advice.

WENDY PERRIN, "CONDE NAST TRAVELER" MAGAZINE: Well, there are ways to protect yourself. Maybe not as much protection as you might think if the weather ruins your vacation, but you can always -- let's say you're buying a package, you're going to a resort down in the Caribbean and buying a package from a tour operator.

There are a lot of tour operators that offer a trip cancellation waiver. Basically, you can pay an extra $39, $49, $59, and if you need to cancel for any reason whatsoever up until shortly before your trip, you can get your money back.

So if you think a hurricane is on the horizon, or there's even a tropical storm and you don't feel like, you know, trying to scuba dive in such terrible weather, then, then you can buy that, that, that, that insurance.

O'BRIEN: So you're in favor of travel insurance?

PERRIN: Well, now, there are -- that particular type of insurance, the one offered by a tour operate that covers you for cancellation for any reason whatsoever.

O'BRIEN: OK.

PERRIN: But if you're buying from, you know, say Access America or Travel Guard or a travel insurance provider, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) they might pay you a little bit. Let's say your flight is canceled because of bad weather, and so you can't get to your destination, they might pay you maybe $100 per day if you're delayed more than 12 hours.

But they don't -- those policies tend not to protect you nearly as much as you think they will.

O'BRIEN: So and -- so it's really -- if you decide to book your own trip, on the Internet or however, buyer should beware when it comes to these kinds of things.

PERRIN: Oh...

O'BRIEN: And, you know, and parenthetically, the travel industry just is not very user-friendly when it comes to acts of God, is it? And I include airlines and hotels in this.

PERRIN: Yes, no, it's not. In fact, if you're -- let's say your flight down to the Caribbean is canceled because of the bad weather and you -- you know, you think you're owed something, you think the airline should put you up overnight or put you on the next flight out, unfortunately, legally, they are not obligated to do anything for you except get you to your destination eventually. So you lose two days of your vacation, there's really -- no one's going to make it up to you.

O'BRIEN: Yes, it's just amazing to me how these airlines treat their customers. They treat them like ...

PERRIN: It...

O'BRIEN: Well, OK...

PERRIN: It's not good. It's not good. But...

O'BRIEN: ... I can't say it even on cable, how they treat their customers. It's unbelievable, isn't it?

PERRIN: But, well, it has not been good lately, that's for sure. But, you know, you can, you can also think about where you're going in the Caribbean. If you go to the deep Caribbean, like Aruba or Bonaire (ph), or Curacao, those islands down south, those are outside the hurricane belt.

Or think about postponing your vacation a little bit. You know, Jacqui mentioned earlier that hurricane season ends November 30. Think about going between Thanksgiving and Christmas, that's an amazing window of opportunity for great values down in the Caribbean and in Florida.

O'BRIEN: That is definitely kind of a low season, if you will. And the prices are good. And, of course, the weather can be more conducive, can't it?

PERRIN: Absolutely. And if you need to go before Thanksgiving, then think about going to a resort where there's lots to do indoors, you know, just in case, I mean, say a resort with a spa. That way there is a lot you can do indoors on a day when it's really raining.

O'BRIEN: All right. I got to tell you a quick story. And maybe you can offer some advice here. I was on a flight back in 1985 from Boston to Tampa, trying to fly to a hurricane, because I was a reporter and wanted to be there for the hurricane. Flight was empty except for two other people, newly married. They said, Why isn't anybody on this flight? What's going on? I said, Well, there's a hurricane down there, and they've closed off the beach. They didn't know a thing about it. So there they were, flying into Hurricane Elena, and the place they were going to was evacuated.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, you've got to stay plugged into the news here too. And if you're -- especially if you got a honeymoon, something that's kind of etched in stone, you have to really think it out, don't you?

PERRIN: Absolutely. Of course you need to stay on top of things. You know, another type of vacation you might want to consider during hurricane season is a cruise, only because if there's a hurricane that hits one island, the cruise ship can steer itself to a different island. So it'll avoid those places that are the butt of a tropical storm.

O'BRIEN: Of course, if it's a big storm, you might want to pack your Dramamine, just in case, right, yes.

PERRIN: That's always a good idea on a cruise.

O'BRIEN: All right, Cathy (ph) Perrin, thank you very much. We appreciate your being with us here. She's with "Conde Nast Traveler" magazine. We appreciate your tips on avoiding hurricanes and other weather and other act of God vicissitudes of travel. How's that sound? Pretty good? OK, all right. Thanks for dropping by.

PERRIN: You bet.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com