Ranches, Malls and Cheap Seats

In the fast-moving world of travel, it sometimes pays to quickly summarize a host of current bargains, tips and deals that don’t each deserve full-scale discussion. Minor as some may seem, they nevertheless may interest some.

Mall of America: To some Americans, the nation’s largest shopping complex is a weekend heaven. It’s in Minnesota, only four minutes from the airport of Minneapolis/St. Paul, to which devotees book a low-cost weekend fare on Northwest Airlines. The airport hotels bus you to and from the airport and Mall of America, all for free; they also can arrange free transportation to an Indian-owned casino about an hour away.

Call the Bloomington, Minn., tourist office, telephone (800) 346-4289, Ext. 34, for a booklet of discount coupons saving you 25% on hotels (some rooms come down in autumn to as little as $45 a night).

Discounts for plutocrats: By now almost everyone has heard about air-fare consolidators who reduce the cost of seats in coach class. But are there consolidators that reduce the cost of first-class or business-class seats? Surprisingly, there are. It appears that the airlines occasionally give secret discounts on their premium seats. If you’d like to test that market, try consolidators Travel Royale, telephone (212) 268-5595, or Worldwide Discounts, tel. (800) 626-4449.

Fall/winter horses: Most of the major dude ranches are usually associated with summer vacations. We tend to forget that a great many such ranches are in states like Arizona or California, which are sunny year-round. A free booklet called the Dude Rancher lists a dozen; at some, the cost can be as low as $900 a week for seven nights’ lodging, three meals daily and a horse for every day of your stay. Tel. (970) 223-8440.

Cheapest-ever cruise? Nowadays, a one-week cruise can be cheaper than living at home. That’s about the only comment I can make on the air-fare-included (but not from the West Coast) $799 price for a one-week Caribbean sailing aboard an elegant modern ship that can’t be publicly named, on an itinerary from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Miami, stopping at St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. Maarten. The starting date: Nov. 2. And the price includes round-trip air fare to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Miami from Atlanta, Hartford, Conn., Boston, Baltimore, Newark, N.J., New York, Miami, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Providence, R.I. It’s being offered by cruise broker Galaxy Cruises, tel. (800) 662-5450.

Don’t be scammed: It has become increasingly important that you inquire about all possible extra charges when you rent a car. We’ve heard recently of scattered car rental outlets that add a 10% “concession recovery fee” to your final bill. That means they want you to pick up part of their cost of doing business. Another company has a 35-cents-a-day charge for “tires and battery.” Still another has a “vehicle license fee recovery charge.” I’d ask them to list in advance all possible charges in writing--if they’re not already on the rental contract--and if you see items as patently grotesque as the ones I’ve cited, walk over to a different car rental firm.

Top hat and tails: A great many people are put off by the warning that they’ll need to wear a tuxedo on one or more nights of a particular cruise. Let’s first point out that on nearly every major cruise ship, there are alternative and less formal dining facilities for passengers who don’t want to dress up for dinner in the main dining room. But if you eventually decide to go formal, there’s no need to buy a tux or even bring one along. A little-known fact is that virtually every cruise ship carries on board an assortment of tuxedos in varying sizes and will rent one to you on the spot. Phone your cruise line to confirm that.