How Slow can You Go?
Written: Jan 31 '01 (Updated May 16 '05)
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The Bottom Line
Cheaptravel.com is slow, doesn't offer the greatest deals, and has too few user options.
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Searching the web for travel information is a popular way to plan for a vacation. There are many good, useful sites to choose from, and many of them offer good, competitive prices and numerous travel related services. This site, cheaptravel.com, is a lame service, with slow speed and few user options.
How Does This Service Work?:
Cheaptravel.com can be used to search for flight information, hotels, cruises, car rentals, and package deals. You don't need to setup a user account to use any of the services. The flight search is the most popular option. It works similar to other web services: you enter your cities and dates of arrival/departure, and it finds the flights that match your criteria. It will display four choices of flights, with arrivals and departures listed separately, so that you can pick and choose, to get the best deal. Sometimes, it's less expensive to depart on one airline, then return on a different one. This site let's you select them separately.
If you specify a time, the search will display up to eight flight options. Also, there is a "Farebeater" option, that will look for even cheaper flights, if you are willing to wait a few minutes for it to load.
Hotel searches will display the price for each day of your stay. This is a nice feature, because it shows the exact cost per day, allowing you to rearrange your vacation, if you want, in order to get a better deal. The searches also show pictures of the hotel/resort.
Car rental and cruise searches work in a similar fashion. You just enter your dates and it finds the information. Nothing fancy about it, and no additional options. It just finds the basic information, and that's it.
If you search for package deals, you will be linked into other travel sites, like Apple Vacations, Super Clubs, or Funjet vacations.
What's Wrong With This Service?:
Many things! First of all, let's talk about the appearance of the site itself. When you first logon, you will see that there are six tabs listed across the top (flights, hotels, cars, cruises, packages, and specials), and a few options to click on the bottom (home, about us, customer service, help, secure shopping, privacy policy, and travel resources). There is nothing on the sides of the page at all. This makes for easy navigating, because you can't get lost in a site that has so few options. But it would be nice if they would add something to spice up the appearance a little. It's Ugly, with a capital "U"!
Another problem is with switching your search. If you are already looking in one area, and you want to redefine your criteria, you have to either press back, on your browser, until you get back to the beginning, or click on another tab, then click back to the one you were in, if you want to change things. For example, say I'm looking at hotels in New York, and now I want to check Chicago. I can't just click on the hotel tab again, because it's already in the hotel search mode. Instead, I have to click another tab, like flights, then click back to hotels, to choose another city.
Another thing worth mentioning is that the hotel searches only list a limited number of selections for each city. If you're looking for even better deals, then you have to call a toll- free number, and speak directly with a service representative. I don't like this feature. They should just show all of the available options, when you do a search. Customer service should only have to be contacted if you have questions or problems.
Customer Service:
You can reach customer support either through e-mail, or by calling toll- free. They are available to answer your questions, 24 hours per day.
Final Thoughts:
Cheaptravel.com doesn't live up to its name. The deals are ok, but I wouldn't call them cheap. And the speed of this service is too slow! No one wants to wait this long to get information on traveling.
With all the good travel services available on the internet, I recommend passing on Cheaptravel.com. The slow speed, and lack of options, makes this travel service a forgettable experience.
Be Sure to Click the Links Below to Read More Reviews of Other Popular Travel Sites:
American Express Travel
Cheapairlines.com
Travelnow.com
Hotel Discount.com
Bestfares.com
Hotwire.com
America’s Vacation Center
Expedia.com Flights
Expedia.com Hotels
Expedia.com Cruises
Travelocity.com Flights
Travelocity.com Hotels
Priceline.com Flights
Priceline.com Hotels
Vacations To Go
Vacationspot.com
Flycheap.com
LowestFare.com
Mytravelco.com
Placestostay.com
Orbitz.com
Cheaptickets.com
Recommended:
No
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About the Author
Member: Bryan Carey
Location: Houston, TX
Reviews written: 3614
Trusted by: 1570 members
About Me: Beer Drinker and Libertarian Political Activist. Great Combination, eh?
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