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35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Out of time and out of place, July 1, 2004
This review is from: The Courier Air Travel Handbook: Learn How to Travel Worldwide for Next to Nothing (8th ed) (Paperback)
The author is less than honest with the reader. Here?s why. You cannot travel when you want to because travel dates are set by the courier company, which of course is not practical for the average traveler. Other hassles involve not going directly to your desired destination. For example, if your destination is London you may wind up being transferred first at Amsterdam before going on. Most courier packages are ?one-way? ? and a return flight is not easy to book. If you chose to courier a package you ?must meet a representative upon arrival?, and in some cases this can take hours before the item is ?back-tracked? and deemed ?clear to proceed? (as happened to me once in Ireland); not to mention the many forms that you will be forced to fill out. The author does not bother to mention that most courier companies request that you ?become a member? for an average annual fee of $45. Or the fact that it is next to impossible to travel with a loved one because the odds of finding two packages going to the same place at the same time are astronomical. But the worst is yet to come. Courier packages are not widely available as they were before 911 because private security companies are now picking up the slack. When they are available, they are subject to new and evolving international laws which may bring the courier ?under suspicion?, even though, as the author misleadingly claims, ?He never touches the package?. Courier traveling is based on a gap in international law which authorities are currently attempting to close. Couriers may soon be held liable if it can be demonstrated to some degree that ?proximity? or ?association by proxy? can be established. Many people have been questioned or held ?under suspicion? on Money Laundering charges and some have even been arrested. Many illegal items are shipped through courier packages often not to the knowledge of the courier company, but as a matter of fact to the authorities. The companies themselves are covered by insurance and by various disclaimer laws that do not apply to the courier. Shipping companies courier their packages through customs faster and cheaper as luggage. But this expediency sacrifices security for the sake of saving money. In a post 911 world this simply should not be allowed. Under international law, any given country is allowed to hold packages for hours or days and in some cases for weeks at a time. It is not worth the hassle or the risk! This is the kind of book someone can paste together in a few days, or hours from readily available sources on the Internet. The author is verbose; writes with a hustler?s mentality; and does not bother to give the reader more than a few pages of his own writing. It is a waste of paper.
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29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing, December 21, 1999
This review is from: The Courier Air Travel Handbook: Learn How to Travel Worldwide for Next to Nothing (8th ed) (Paperback)
You can get much more of the same information from the internet: pros/cons of courier travel, courier companies, destinations, how to set up a trip, and reference prices. The 152 pages of large type, photos and unneeded banner separators created the impression of lot of fluff. The same text could be contained in 1/2 as many pages. Save your money!
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Idea for Discount Travel, July 16, 2001
This review is from: The Courier Air Travel Handbook: Learn How to Travel Worldwide for Next to Nothing (8th ed) (Paperback)
I originally purchased this book with the idea of traveling from Chicago to Japan to visit my sister who is teaching English in Tokyo. Ten months later and I have done a total of four trips (Japan twice, London and San Paulo, Brazil). This is the best travel secret I have found to date. Although, it takes some planning and flexibility, if you want cheap travel, this is the way to do it. I found the book was well produced and accurately researched. I have only skimmed through the other books on this subject, but I would have no problem recommending this book to anyone.
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