Marcia Abramson
Interestingly, I learned that the French Quarter, the tourist haven, has not experienced serious flooding like the rest of the city. Hopefully, their slogan, "Let the Good Times Roll" with their super restaurants, parades, Mardi Gras and jazz at Preservation Hall will return and make their citizens whole again. I remember my good times at the Super Dome, the Café Du Monde, and Brennan's famous restaurant, to name just a few of my favorite things that will hopefully return and make the state of Louisiana whole and safe again for its many full-time residents. As an inveterate traveler, I have been fortunate to be vacated from Acapulco, Warm Springs, Ga. (on my first try to get to Savannah) before the worst. I was not that lucky at a Travel Writers Conference in Bermuda on Sept. 9, 2001 when the gale force winds struck at the historic Naval Dock Yards, where I was attending a gala farewell dinner. The Princess Hotel issued advisories that the airport was closed and that no planes would be arriving or departing that evening or the next day. Radio and TV announcements advised us to stay in our rooms, not venture onto the streets and plan to stay in rain-soaked and wind-blown Bermuda until it was safe to venture out of the hotel. Lady Luck was with me and I was able to make new plane reservations for the next day by calling the American Airlines 800 number. (The concierge's private American Airlines' number was constantly busy). Luck was with me and I was home the day before the horrors of the tragic 9/11 terror attack on the Twin Towers. Some writers were still trying to get home for almost a week after the comparatively minor hurricane. Fortunately for them, the Bermuda Sonesta Hotel's management hosted the travel writers until they were able to leave Bermuda. (Incidentally, the Bermuda Sonesta is now a Wyndham Hotel, while Sonesta has concentrated on three other South Florida hotels in addition to their international properties). After storms in the Western Caribbean two years ago, cruise passengers booked on the Norwegian Line were scheduled to leave from New York City for the normally warm sunny climes and found themselves heading for the frosty fall foliage of the North Atlantic New England and Canada coast cool weather. A fast change from swimsuits to warm-up suits was the required wardrobe for this sailing. Cruise lines have the option to reroute their sailings. They reroute when necessary. On a cruise through the Greek Islands I did not get to tour Santorini on the back of a donkey because of unsafe weather conditions.Another incident occurred in attempting to leave Rome's harbor to sail to Florence because of a dangerous windstorm. This eventually cut short our time in Florence. However, the cruise lines boast that because of their mobility, they can just sail away from the storm into nice sunny weather. The travel industry has recognized the need to deal with the problems caused by sudden storms and terror tragedies with hurricane protection insurance, terror attacks (recent London bombings) and evacuation procedures. Cautious travelers won't leave home without adequate insurance to cover the cost of their pending trip. Travel Guard International of Wisconsin has reported a surge in insurance inquiries after Hurricane Denis and the London bombings. They advised me that the cost to a traveler in his/her thirties for a $3,000 vacation would be $139. Another note of caution, if you decide to buy that insurance to safeguard your vacation investment from hurricanes, you must make your purchase before hurricane warnings are issued. Your insurance will only cover "unforeseeable" conditions.
Copyright by Marcia AbramsonE-mail: mascribe@aol.com
