Premier Economy: Air France vs Lufthansa

I traveled on both airlines from Vancouver to Cape Town via Paris and Frankfurt over the past 12 months in premier economy class. The bottom line is that Air France's product is a considerable step-up from the very modest presentation offered by Lufthansa.


First and foremost - Air France makes you feel like an business-class passenger in so many ways, while Lufthansa feels that it must protect its business class from being encroached by premier economy class and they make no pretense about this. Let s start at check-in: Air France offers its premier economy passengers Sky Priority status - that means that such passengers can check in at the business class counters, take the shorter line at airport security, board the plane first, and take the shorter line at passport controls in Paris. Lufthansa offers none of these considerable benefits.

Secondly, the premier economy seat of Air France looks and feels like the old business class seats - its a fixed structure, which means that the passenger in front cannot impede on the personal space of the passenger behind. The seat has a cozy, cocoon-like feel, with its own reading light above the the passenger's shoulder. Lufthansa's seat claims to offer 50% more personal space, but once the seat in front reclines, you are as cramped as in economy class and it is only with great difficulty than you can get out of your seat.

Air France offers it premier economy passengers their own cabin, completely separated from economy class. Lufthansa only has a separate cabin in its Airbus 380 planes, while in its 747s and Airbus 340s, premier economy is stuck between two economy sections and barely divided by a flimsy plastic separation.

The food on both Air France and Lufthansa was basically standard economy fare, served with better cutlery, wine glasses and with a menu. TV screens on both were quite a big bigger that economy class (11 or 12 inches) and in both cases, premier economy passengers can take two bags each weighing 23 kgs. Both offer a travel kit with socks, a tooth brush etc.




Both airlines allow you to enter their business class lounges for a payment of Euro25 to Euro35, but in the case of Lufthansa, this is only allowed in Frankfurt and at U.S. airports where Lufthansa has a base.

Conclusion: while I have no love for Paris and Charles de Gaulle Airport and much  prefer Frankfurt Airport, I would choose AF over LH when it comes to premier economy class, if the prices are the same. As it happened, in 2015 AF was considerably cheaper than LH during the month on which I departed, while the opposite was true during 2016.    

The World's most liveable cities 2016

The 2016 survey of the 230 top cities in the world in which to live, has just been released. Liveability is based on a combination of political stability, crime, currency exchange, recreational facilities, housing and climate.

Vienna has been billed the world's most liveable city now for seven years, which makes you wonder if the authors are perhaps Austrians based in Vienna.

Vancouver

Vancouver is the only Canadian city among the top 10, but three Canadian cities are among the top 20. There are two Swiss cities, three German cities, Copenhagen and Auckland among the top 10.

Only one Australian city - Sydney at tenth. Singapore at 26th is ranked the highest in Asia, while beautiful, but dangerous Cape Town comes in at 92nd. 

Cape Town

London

UK cities do not fare well: London is  ranked 39th, Edinburgh 46th, Birmingham 53rd and Glasgow 55th.  No U.S. cities made it among the top 20, but  San Francisco came 28th, Boston 34th and Honolulu 35th.

Here is the top 20 cities:

Vancouver

1. Vienna

2. Zurich

3. Auckland

4. Munich

5. Vancouver

6. Dusseldorf

7. Frankfurt

8. Geneva

9. Copenhagen

10. Sydney

11. Amsterdam

12. Wellington 

Berlin

13. Berlin

14. Bern

15. Toronto

15. Melbourne

17. Ottawa

18. Hamburg

19. Luxembourg

20. Stockholm (actually joined 19th)

The 50 most dangerous cities in the world

According to a study by Mexico's Citizens' Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice, Caracas is first among the 50 most dangerous cities in the world, with a murder rate of 120 per 100,000 people. The study looked at murder rates worldwide and 21 are in Brazil. Apart from several U.S. cities such as Detroit, St Louis and New Orleans, most others are in Central America, especially Venezuela. South Africa  also features prominently, with Cape Town at 9th place, Durban 41st, the former Port Elizabeth 42nd and Johannesburg 47th. All numbers below are murders per 100,000 population.

1. Caracas, Venezuela – 119.87

2. San Pedro Sula, Honduras – 111.03

3. San Salvador, El Salvador – 108.54

4. Acapulco, Mexico – 104.73

5. Maturin, Venezuela – 86.45

6. Distrito Central, Honduras – 73.51

7. Valencia, Venezuela – 72.31

8. Palmira, Colombia – 70.88

9. Cape Town, South Africa – 65.53

10. Cali, Colombia – 64.27

11. Cuidad Guayana, Venezuela – 62.33

12. Fortaleza, Brazil – 60.77

13. Natal, Brazil – 60.66

14. Salvador, Brazil – 60.63

15. St Louis, Missouri, U.S. – 59.23

16. Joao Pessoa, Brazil – 58.40

17. Culiacan, Mexico – 56.09

18. Maceio, Brazil – 55.63

19. Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. – 54.98

20. Barquisimeto, Venezuela – 54.96

21. Sao Luis, Brazil – 53.05

22. Cuiaba, Brazil – 48.52

23. Manaus, Brazil – 47.87

24. Cumana, Venezuela – 47.77

25. Guatemala City, Guatemala – 47.17

26. Belem, Brazil – 45.83

27. Feira de Santana, Brazil – 45.5

28. Detroit, Michigan, U.S. – 43.89

29. Goiania, Brazil – 43.38

30. Teresina, Brazil – 42.64

31. Vitoria, Brazil – 41.99

32. New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. – 41.44

33. Kingston, Jamaica – 41.14

34. Gran Barcelona, Venezuela – 40.08

35. Tijuana, Mexico – 39.09

36. Vitoria da Conquista, Brazil – 38.46

37. Recife, Brazil – 38.12

38. Aracaju. Brazil – 37.7

39. Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil – 36.16

40. Campina Grande, Brazil – 36.04

41. Durban, South Africa – 35.93

42. Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa – 35.85

43. Porto Alegre, Brazil – 34.73

44. Curitiba, Brazil – 34.71

45. Pereira, Colombia – 32.58

46. Victoria, Mexico – 30.50

47. Johannesburg, South Africa – 30.31

48. Macapa, Brazil – 30.25

49. Maracaibo, Venezuela – 28.85

50. Obregon, Mexico – 28.29

Air France Premium Economy Review

 
Our routing on Air France was from Vancouver to Johannesburg and return from Cape Town, between September and November 2015. We chose premium economy because, at Can$1,700, it was only Can$500 more than the already very low economy fare of Can$1,200. The fare allowed us a free stop-over in Paris (which we used to complete a five-week journey through Greece and Germany), double the luggage allowance and about 4 times more miles (a total of 21,000,) compared to the lowest economy fare.

Check in at Vancouver Airport was a breeze - there was no line-up at the Sky Priority counter and boarding the Airbus 330 was as quick as we used the Sky Priority line. The premium economy cabin was cozy due to its small size, and quite luxurious, reminiscent of business class in the 1980s. Seating was 2-3-2, spread across a few rows, with more than ample legroom and considerably wider seats than economy class. 

The bucket seats offered 40% more space than economy and they reclined within a fixed area to ensure that personal space could not be encroached upon from the front or back seats. The backseat TV screens were 12 inches and there were plenty of relatively recent movies to while away the time if you can’t sleep. Food was standard economy fare although Air France claims the starter is ‘inspired by the Business Class menu’. Wine was from good French stock and plentiful, if one so desired.

One problem was that premium economy passengers did not quite know which toilets to use, as

curtains were used to cordon off the business toilet on the left, but not the right, and vice versa. Another set of curtains strangely cordoned off the access to the economy cabin. This happened intermittently on all four legs of this journey, including the Airbus 380 to Johannesburg and the flight back to Vancouver.

Landing in Paris, we all had to face unbearably long lines with a few thousand other passengers, but once again, there was a Sky Priority option which reduced the wait to about an hour, as opposed to probably 90 minutes.

After checking in at Paris Charles de Gaulle Terminal 2E, we were allowed, as premier economy passengers, to purchase access to the business class lounge for Euro30. It was worthwhile as we had a six hour wait and it is one of the best business class lounges in Europe – outstanding showers, good food and a wide selection of wines and spirits.

The flight on the Airbus 380 to Johannesburg was smooth and it remains my favourite aircraft due to its size, spaciousness and because it is so quiet. The premium economy cabin is located on the upstairs deck. The layout was 2-3-2 and we had the two seats on the side, with lots of storage and head space above the window. Food and service were good, in line with expectations.

On our return from Cape Town, the first leg to Johannesburg was on South African Airlines on an Air France ticket in economy class, but we managed to check our luggage all the way to Vancouver. As we had another 5 hours to wait in Johannesburg, we decided to use the business lounge, paying with miles, which was within the rules governing lounge access to premium economy passengers (at least on Air France’s website). 

This brazen attempt to incur a little luxury clearly caught the Air France front-desk staff at by surprise and they made it very clear that we could not enter the lounge as premium economy passengers using our miles. I promptly opened my computer and showed them that this was permitted, but to no avail. In fact, one or two of the personnel decided it was a great time to mock our entry-level Flying Blue status and proclaimed loudly that we had some nerve trying to enter the lounge as mere mortals. 

Eventually, we were allowed to enter after paying Euro25, only to discover what must be rank among the worst business class lounges in the world – unmotivated staff, unappetizing and mostly empty food trays, and dirty plates and utensils left unchecked all over the lounge. After about two hours of eating crackers and cheese remnants, I firmly made a request to a disinterested lounge staff member to arrange for the food to be replenished.

  

The Airbus 380 flight back to Paris was fine, but by now we had seen most of the new releases and I watched Trainwreck for the fifth time (it gets less funny after the second time) - the movie selection on Air France flights between September and November were not updated much. However, the food and service were good and the flight uneventful.  Arriving in Paris, we had to again face the inevitable chaos that seems to be part of Charles de Gaulle Airport, with poor signposting, overcrowding and a layout devoid any logic.

However, this was not Air France’s fault, but the aggravation caused by petulant and confused front-desk personnel at the business class lounge, certainly was. It took four staff members at the front-desk to trying to figure out whether we can use our miles to access the lounge.  I pointed out that Air France’s website clearly states that we could. After studying their computers intensely, they suggested that it was neither possible, nor impossible (something similar to the famous French shoulder shrug) . Eventually we were allowed to enter "as an exception". We paid our 6,000 miles dutifully, enjoyed very long hot showers and several breakfasts and boarded the long 10 hour uneventful leg back to Vancouver on a Boeing 777. 

I wrote a letter of complaint about our shoddy treatment in Johannesburg and the difficulty that we experienced in Paris as well, using miles in exchange for business lounge access. I posted my complaint  it on Air France’s Facebook page. Within three days I received a n apology and 5,000 miles credited back to my account. However, there were still no guidance with respect to ivory members using miles to enter the lounge in the future when flying premier economy.

All in all, apart from the irritations concerning lounge access, Air France still delivered a prime product on this route and in this class. The planes were in great condition, service on board was above average and the value for money unbeatable. The flight between Vancouver and Paris was only introduced in the Spring of 2015 and provides Vancouver with a welcome link to France.  

Air Canada, the worst airline in North America?

Read this article below to see how Air Canada overbooks and then bumps its passengers. A truly shocking attitude from an airline which was selected by some misguided travel magazine as the 'best airline in North America'.  http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/couple-incensed-as-air-canada-overbooking-continues-1.1894951?cmp=rss

The best and worst airports in the world

All travelers have an opinion about the worst airports they had the misfortune to spent a few hours or in worse cases, overnight. Some of these are decrepit, poorly-designed structures, lack basic services and are notorious for long line-up, rude custom officials, or are staffed by over-zealous staff who ran the airport as their personal fiefdom. Others are just plain dangerous, corrupt and littered with pickpockets and miscreants. My own personal least-favourite airport is the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila – lack of basic services and amenities, an archaic in-transit system, cold, hard steel chairs without any cover, unscrupulous taxi-drivers and dangerous modes of transport to the city. But there are also many great airports where you actually want to spend more time – these are beautifully designed and offer top-quality restaurants, pubs, free Wi-Fi, clean washrooms, showers, ‘quiet spaces’, large-screen TV’s and more – Vancouver, Amsterdam, Hong Kong and Cape Town come to mind, but there are many others.


A recent survey by the Travel Leaders Group listed the top 10 USA airports for business travel as chosen by 700 travel agents owners, managers and agents. Glancing through the criteria that were used, the presence of many of the following services helped to ensure that a particular airport made the list: free Wi-Fi, showers, spas, shoeshine, currency exchange, baggage storage, meditation room, rapid charge stations. The top 10 US business airports are:

1. Atlanta (with Wi-Fi, shoeshine, Minute Suites for napping or watching TV, a quick visa denier boarding desk, currency exchange, four Brookstone shops and an Express spa).
2. Chicago O’Hare
3. Dallas/Fort Worth
4. Minneapolis/St Paul
5. New York JFK
6. Detroit Metro International
7. Houston Intercontinetal
8. Los Angeles
9. New York (Laguardia)
10. San Francisco, Washington (Dulles), Newark (tied)

The 20 overall best airports, according to the 2012 World Airport Awards:
1.Incheon International Airport
2.Singapore Changi Airport
3.Hong Kong International Airport
4.Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
5.Beijing Capital International Airport
6.Munich Airport
7.Zurich Airport
8.Kuala Lumpur International Airport
9.Vancouver International Airport
10.Central Japan International Airport
11.London Heathrow Airport
12.Copenhagen Airport
13.Auckland International Airport
14.Tokyo International Airport Haneda
15.Frankfurt Main Airport
16.Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport
17.Narita International Airport
18.Abu Dhabi International Airport
19.Kansai International Airport
20.Sydney Airport

The ten worst airports in the world in 2012, according to Frommer’s, are:
1. New York JFK Airport Terminal 3
2. Manila, Philippines Airport Terminal 1
3. Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport Terminal B/C
4. Nairobi, Kenya Jomo Kenyatta International Airport
5. Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, Terminal 3
6. Amman, Jordan Queen Alia Airport
7. New York LaGuardia Airport Terminal 5
8.Terminal B at Newark Liberty International Airport
9. Paris’ Beauvais Airport

10. Chicago Midway Airport

Silver Reef Casino review

This is a review of one of the  hotels on the busy cross-border corridor between Vancouver and Seattle. This is an extremely popular route for Canadians on day- and overnight shopping trips to Washington State. During 2011 Canadians made 44 million visits to the US and spent about C$16.5 billion, of which at least 5 million visits occurred across the BC border with WA. We start with the Silver Reef Casino and Spa in Ferndale, WA.

This casino hotel is about 15 minutes from the Canadian border just off the I5 and is in a relatively isolated spot. We arrived at about 4pm and by then the parking lot was already filled to the brim with day visitors to the casino. Reception and check-in was adequate, but lacked a touch of warmth and a welcoming atmosphere. The room on the 4th floor was huge non-smoking room with a comfortable king bed, large flat-screen TV, bathroom and separate basin area. Amenities included free wifi, a coffee-maker and ice bucket(unfortunately the plastic bag in the ice-bucket was too small, making it impossible to gather ice in a sanitary way). The casino is large, but incredibly smoky – if smoking is allowed (and most patrons were smoking like chimneys), surely there should be sufficient ventilators to properly extract smoke and replace the stale air? We stopped for a couple of beers at a pub during happy hour, but the Budweiser tasted watered down and hardly worth the $2. Supper was at the La Cantina Mexican restaurant, probably the biggest disappointment of the stay – the sampler of three Salsas was tasteless and I had to send back the chicken lime taquitos due to a very strange taste.b Its replacement, the quesadillas with asadero cheese, sour cream, guacamole, pico de gallo and lime crema, was simply bland. The Queso Fundito, a pot of melted cheese and white sauce, chorizo and poblano chile, was good. The next morning we had a complimentary continental breakfast with eggs, waffles, fruit etc, but it would have been nice to have had some bacon or sausages added for free. Checkout was efficient and the staff friendly and we received a free newspaper. What impressed me was the security car driving back and forth the whole night in between the rows of cars, presumably to ensure safe parking and a safe visitor environment. Would we go back? Probably at some time, as we generally had a pleasant visit, but to be honest, the Skaggit Valley and Snohomish Casino probably offer equal if not better value for roughly the same price.

The 2015 Vancouver cruise season

The Vancouver cruise season is starting early in 2015, with outstanding early-season discounts and promotions. Departing first is the Grand Princess on 22 March and 6 April 2015 on 15-day cruises to the Hawaiian Islands, starting at $1,400 and $1,600 p/p for an inside cabin, plus taxes and fees. Balconies start at about $2,000 p/p.

Other sailings is on 22 April (10 days California Coastal on the Grand Princess, starting at: Interior for $999 and balcony for $1,399); and 29 April (4 Days Alaska Sampler on the Ruby Princess, starting at: Interior $348.00, balcony $598.00).

See these and other great cruise deals and departure dates for 2015 at CruiseTimetables.com

Review: British Airways Club class between Cape Town and London

This review covers a Club class flight on British Airways between Cape Town and London on 26 August 2014. The Boeing 747-400 service offered a flat bed service on this route in Club class and while the general quality of the cabin was inferior to the same class on the Airbus 380 (photo below) between London and Johannesburg, it remains one of the better business class products in the sky.

Check in at the BA counters in Cape Town would have been a breeze, was it not for the unexpected six hour delay in the departure of the flight. The upgrade from Premium to Club class made this inconvenience almost bearable. However, be warned - Cape Town airport becomes like a ghost town when all flights but yours have departed. BA's Executive lounge in Cape Town is spacious, luxurious and serves good food (plenty of cured lox-style salmon) and Cape wines. There are free internet and computers and generally a friendly service, even at midnight.

While comfortable, BA's Club seats on the 747 can really do with an upgrade. They are still  configured in a 2-4-2 layout, with one passenger facing forward and the one adjacent facing backward, at the side row - the middle row has two forward and two backward facing. This is something I never understood - why facing backward? - it just makes no sense. The seats are separated by a hard plastic curtain/separator that moves up and down with the push of a button. Theoretically, the air hostess should walk behind the front-facing seat to serve the backward-facing passenger at the window - however, on my flight the air hostess insisted on leaning over me, pushing the button to lower the separator and serving the accross my seat - after about three times this really got annoying. The problem is that if you don't raise the separator, you and your fellow passengers stare straight at each other from a distance of less than one meter - pretty awkward, unless it happens to be Miss World sitting side by side.

Food was satisfactory, rather than outstanding. But by then I had so much Salmon lox in the lounge that everything else tasted a bit bland. The starter choices were poached Norwegian Salmon with marinated prawns or an oyster mushroom salad. Main courses included 'Ballotine' of chicken with Port, Drakensberg trout, pasta or a cold main course salad of za'atar beef medallion.

I took the chicken and it was OK, but sadly inferior to my mother's Sunday roast chicken. There was a selection of South African Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and some good reds. Breakfast was a choice of a cheese omelette, continental or a filling traditional English breakfast with bacon, sausages, mushrooms and potatoes.

Arriving in London, I took the supposedly fast track option - a big mistake. In theory this is supposed to expedite your progress through customs as a Club passenger, but in practice, it was a disaster - there were only two or three border agents present at any time and it took 45 to 60 minutes to get through the 'fast track' customs - I could see group after group of fellow BA passengers clearing the slow lane long before I took the next few steps forward.

 The BA arrivals lounge was a welcome relief from the hustle and bustle of Heathrow Terminal 5, arguably one of the more unpleasant, poorly designed and overcrowded airport terminals in world. I had a few cappuccinos, caught up on the newspapers and made use of the free internet before catching the tube into London. All in all, not a bad experience, but having flown on these seats quite a few times over the past 15 or more years, I really think it is time to either upgrade the Club cabin on the 747's or just switch to newer Boeing 777's or the Airbus 380.

Cruise Review: Coral Princess Vancouver to Los Angeles

Princess Cruiselines, Coral Princess: Vancouver to Los Angeles, 25-28 September 2013.

This was a one-way, non-stop cruise with our ultimate goal of getting to Las Vegas, but while slower than flying or driving, it certainly was more enjoyable and not much more expensive.

The Coral Princess can accommodate almost 2,000 passengers over 16 decks and 789 cabins of its 1,000 cabins have balconies. The ship has several lounges, four pools, five whirl-pool spas, several deckchair areas, a volleyball court and ‘Movies Under the Stars’.

We chose a balcony cabin and while there was not much to sea over the three day voyage, it was great to sit on the balcony having breakfast or early-evening drinks and stare at the grey Pacific – on the last day we could see the hills of Southern California, but saw little or nothing of the coastlines of Washing State and Oregon, nor of San Francisco.

Checking in was easy, with a waiting time at customs of not more than about 30 minutes and thereafter only one stop for the ‘voluntary’ and very annoying, pre-boarding photograph. The obligatory lifeguard drill was extremely poorly organised, with the recorded message and instructions being repeated four times because of some technical hitch – by the third time most passengers simply walked away.

The departure from Vancouver is always spectacular, with the city fading in the background, passing under the Lions Gate Bridge and heading past the beaches of West Vancouver before turning to the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately, the deafening music and entertainers who were trying to create a ‘vibe’ (and sell drinks), almost managed to spoil the ambiance.

The cabin was standard, with a comfortable bed, a TV with nothing to watch, a chair and a desk and a bathroom with very small shower. Service was attentive on the first day, but gradually became more sullen as the time went on – perhaps as it was a repositioning cruise cabin crew were more interested in preparing for the next, longer voyage. Gratuities are automatically charged to your onboard accounts at  $23 to $24 per cabin per day, but this can (and should) be adjusted if the service is poor – I did not feel the need to adjust it on this trip, but if the level of service did not improve during a longer voyage, I would have been tempted. The service charge is relatively high, especially as a percentage of the price of a cheaper inside cabin.

The food was mediocre, but plentiful, room service was prompt, but the endless lining up every night to get into the two main buffet restaurants was infuriating (the Bordeaux and Provence dining rooms). After waiting for 45 minutes, we went to the upstairs restaurant only to find no queues and many empty tables, but there was no communication between the two restaurants to even out the crowds. Service in both these restaurants varied greatly, and depending which waiter you had, was either pleasant or absolutely dismal. For a supplement passengers could also eat at Italian-themed Sabatini's or the New Orleans-themed Bayou Cafe and Steakhouse. On the first day we had make-your-own pizza next to the pool, which was one of the best I ever had – unfortunately the next two days this was replaced by a pre-made and cold pizza.  We spend a lot of time at the Horizon Court with its good buffet options and its ample breakfast spread – sometimes just for a starter before enduring the line-ups for the main restaurants.

The onboard entertainment in the evenings was worthwhile watching and mostly jammed-packed, with many people standing in the back of the theatre. The casino was relatively generous and had many penny options. There were plenty of lounges, theatres and a cigar bar.

Disembarkation was busy, with passengers forced to wait in certain pre-assigned areas of the ship and not many staff members really knew what the procedures were and when groups under their direction could leave. Many passengers eventually just left the ship at their own convenience.

Princess scored a rating of 5.5 out of 10 with this cruise.

Cuban tourism boom?

This cartoon in the Globe and Mail this morning depicting the expected Tsunami of American and other tourists about to flood Cuba, reminds me of our visit to the island in 1996.

Apart from a few other Canadians, Europeans and some local cigar salesmen, the magnificent beaches at Varadero were virtually empty and untouched by large-scale commercialism and tourism. It is about to change, perhaps not for the better.

12 money-saving travel secrets

The Wall Street Journal's Marketwatch recently published 12 secrets about saving money on flights, cruises and hotels, and cited travel experts at a travel industry show hosted by the New York Times. Here are some of them and also a few which they did not mention:

1. Try calling the airline instead of booking online, as not all the best deals are offered online.

2. After searching  for a flight clear your computer’s cookies and cache, otherwise travel companies track your searches and you could end up paying more, especially if you are committed to a certain date.

3. Search for your flight or hotel without frequent flier or loyalty membership numbers.  I have not tried this myself, but sometimes it might be cheaper, perhaps because of the 'captive audience' syndrome.

4. Exploit the cruise industry’s current spate of bad publicity and over-capacity and make use of subsequent low fares while it last.

5. Call the hotel directly for its best room rate rather than booking online or using its 800 number.

6.  To get the biggest online choices use Venere or Booking.com rather than Hotels.com. Personally I always start the search with Expedia, as a base, and then compare it with one of two other online sites, as well as the hotel or airline's own website.

7. Go where the local currency has weakened against your home currency, e.g. Argentina, Australia, Canada, Japan and Turkey. To Marketwatch's list you can add Russia, South Africa and Brazil, all who suffered a currency decline against the US$ of between 20% and 50%, and in fact, all of the Eurozone, which dropped by 15% over the past year.

Other useful money-saving ideas are the following:

>  Travel low season - hotels in Europe can cost 30-50% less after mid-September to December and in April-May and flights are always cheaper. All-inclusive deals to the Caribbean islands such as Dominican Republic and Cuba sell for much less than $1,000 starting April.

> Ask for better rates in person.  I have stayed in many hotels in Germany (Wurzburg, Nurnberg etc - smaller towns and cities are easier) where I made no booking  - I simply walked straight to the reception and politely asked for a better rate than which they offered at first - it worked every time (except if there was a convention or another big event on).  Also be prepared to walk out and try the same tactic at the hotel next door.

> Be clever when using your frequent flyer miles. British Airways for example asks 9,000 miles for a return flight from London to Berlin or Nice. A much shorter flight (in mileage terms) to Brussels or Amsterdam requires the same number of miles  -  then the Eurostar or a ferry might be better value. Also a flight to Pisa or Barcelona requires 15,000 miles - it might be cheaper to use 9,000 miles to get to Nice and then take a train to Pisa or Barcelona.

> Renting a car in Europe  offers outstanding value, especially of you are two or more people. A one-week rental in Italy, France or Germany can go for a low as $200 for a compact or even a mid-size car, depending on the season. This makes a lot of sense compared to train travel and flying, especially if your premium credit card will cover the insurance.

> Use credit cards that offer you travel points rather than credit cards that offer you miles and tie you down to a specific airline or loyalty program such as Aeroplan -linked cards in Canada, South African Airways Voyager' or BA and Cathay Pacific-linked cards. The former can be used at any time for the full flight cost, you can fly any route and there are no black-out dates.

Valentine’s Day getaways

Bloomberg Business came up with these 12 rather random Valentine’s Day getaways - "The key here is not to over think it. Stick to the tried-and-true destinations for the best chance of success", according to Bloomberg.  Most of these would not be my personal choice, but others warrant some investigation. Here are the 12 choice destinations:

PHILADELPHIA, with a major landmark a statue called Love and cobblestone streets and historic landmarks. beaches, tripical climate and much more. AUSTIN: Sixth Street’s live music. TULUM with its pristine white sands and warm gulf breezes, boutique hotels and top-notch restaurants. SAVANNAH's history and a "quintessentially Southern square".
MIAMI: 

THE BAHAMAS with turquoise waters, beaches and choice of 700 islands. CANOE BAY (WIS),  with lakeside resorts, pristine cabins, massage tables and horse-drawn carriages. SAN JUAN: "hammocks strung between coconut palms". BIG SUR on the Pacific Coast Highway with sheer, rugged cliffs, Monterey, redwood forrests.  PARK CITY, a luxury hotspot in the Wasatch mountains and an expanding network of high-speed lifts and soft powder snow. PALM SPRINGS, "an easy escape for poolside cocktail sipping and sunglass-shaded intrigue". VAIL: Colorado’s famous slopes and a seemingly limitless array of hearthside bars". Read the whole article at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2015-02-02/twelve-easy-valentine-s-escapes