Traveller Letters: Zero frills doesn't mean zero care, Jetstar

Rhoda Silber, Manly, NSW

VIEW CLUB

Don't tell anyone but if you're looking to stay in Sydney, the corner room at the Harbour Rocks hotel has wonderful views (Traveller, October 15). You can see the Sydney Harbour Bridge from one window and the Sydney Opera House in the other, at least when the cruise ships vacate the Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay. Ever changing from early morning to late at night, it's hard to drag yourself away from such views.

Lin Greenwood, Northcote VIC

MUGGED IN OXFORD

We've travelled around NSW, Queensland and Victoria recently and have been pleasantly surprised at the standard of the motels we have overnighted in - clean and well-equipped. This contrasts with a recent experience we had in Oxford in the UK this past summer where we rented an apartment for four nights. Although there was plenty of space, the furnishings were sparse. There was no table or chairs to eat at, no drinking glasses (only champagne flutes and coffee mugs) and the bath had no mat to step onto from the bath. Furthermore, the sofa bed was extremely uncomfortable and the bed had a foam mattress which was of a very poor standard. Have other readers found accommodation they have booked as basic? We realised too late that the apartment was used during term time by a uni student. Poor uni student.

Marilyn Bell, Umina Beach, NSW

BYO ENCOURAGED

A great suggestion by your correspondent, Margot Pope (Traveller Letters, October 15) to encourage travellers to bring their own reusable shopping bags. On the first morning of a 2018 tour of Morocco (also with Intrepid), our guide handed each of us our own "reusable" satchel type shopping bag. It was of simple cotton construction with a copy of the Intrepid logo on one side. It proved useful as it could easily be folded up and carried in our day bags. Then, on a 2019 trip to Japan (with Riki's Tours) on day two we were taken to a bag manufacturing and dying factory (small but efficient). The process of dying was both explained and demonstrated. We were then invited to purchase a plain bag and set about dying it to a design of our choice. The bags were washed, the die having set, and allowed to dry. It was both a useful shopping bag and a happy reminder of the Japan tour and my efforts on fashion.

Michael Hayden, Kiama Downs, NSW

BUSTING ON THE BUSES

I was sad to note the bad experience in the "Going pains" letter (Traveller Letters, October 15) regarding accessing clean amenities on flights or at terminals ("Going Pains", October 15). Try some long distance and interstate buses. In my experience, some toilet facilities can be inoperable, causing discomfort for many. One driver was dismissive, remarking: "I only drive from the front, I am not concerned about the rear end of the coach". On-board hygienic sanitation can be a challenge so be prepared yet coaches do remain a cheap travel option.

Mike Fogarty, Weston, ACT

LEFT TO MY DEVICES

In the past I have been granted free extra baggage allowance for essential medical devices allowed by airlines for a compressor to manage my arm lymphoedema. I was therefore surprised by the run around I got from Qatar Airways. After weeks of a confusing and less than helpful email chain, and despite the supply of a medical certificate and the exact specifications and weight of the device as requested, this did not result in a confirmation email as promised. A member of staff on the live-chat an hour before we were to leave for the airport promised a confirmation email within the hour. This did not eventuate, and we spent three hours at check-in, on live-chat and phone, trying to get the needed confirmation.

With less than an hour to get to our gate we eventually had to accept defeat and pay close to $500 for excess baggage fees for an additional five kilograms (fortunately the other 10 kilograms was covered by the rest of our baggage being underweight). This had risen from the $200 on the website because we were now at the airport. Given that we would have bought excess baggage at home if we had known that confirmation would not arrive in time, it did not result in us being able to pay the lower fee. A day later an email arrived declining my request for free excess baggage allowance.

Gaynor Sheahan, Wantirna South, Vic

TIP OF THE WEEK

PLANE SAILING

Flying to London in July, and having read horror stories about Heathrow, we decided that Gatwick would be our best arrival airport option. Our three-month UK sojourn began happily enough at Gatwick with the arrivals carousel delivering both our suitcases and we laid our hands on them quickly. (Were we just lucky or had we devised a well-thought through plan?). We then took the Gatwick pre-booked express train to Victoria Station, thus avoiding long ticketing queues with our ING Cards swiped to pay for the subway trains to Kings Cross. Neither lifts or escalators were available at either station but, having elected for Gatwick, we were just grateful we had our cases to manhandle up flights of stairs.

Stephen Spencer, Ashburton, Vic

TEA CUPS FOR TWO

One of our frustrations with cruise staterooms and hotel rooms (Traveller Letters, October 15) is the pathetically small coffee and tea cups provided. Our solution is to find an op shop on our first day and buy two lovely secondhand mugs and two travel cups. We then take them with us to enjoy that large hot in-room coffee or tea or take out with us. It is especially useful on cruise ships when we want to have a hot beverage on a different deck than the buffet and therefore we can take our drink with us safely to enjoy anywhere. We've had many envious fellow co-cruisers ask us where we got our mugs. On our last day, we found another op shop and re-donated them.

Nancy Johnson, Newport NSW

UDDER FRUSTRATION

Nearly all hotels now provide a Nespresso machine but what about the milk? Powdered stuff or some in tiny capsules is just not good enough. I have recently stayed at several hotels in Australia and Europe and only one provided a small bottle of milk. My solution is to ask at reception for a jug of milk ( and wait for it ), take a cup full from the breakfast area or buy a small bottle at the nearest shop. Keep it in the fridge.

Heather Barker, Albert Park, VIC

PLEASE LEAVE A TIP

We are three adults travelling from the midwest US to New York and wish to stay for four nights in New York, close to amenities and attractions. Any suggestions for hotels or apartments to stay in and at reasonable prices in New York and also the best way to travel from Madison, Wisconsin to New York at reasonable cost and convenience

Eva Havas, Wollstonecraft, NSW

ROAMIN' CRIMES

To avoid Telstra's $10 a day roaming charge in Europe recently, we bought a local SIM card for each of our two mobiles. Apart from calls and messaging, this allowed us to use apps for maps and way-finding. Regardless of these steps, Telstra charged us multiple roaming fees. On return to Sydney, I complained in person at a Telstra retail outlet and got a full refund without much argument. The assistant also went to the Telstra app on my phone and turned something off. Fine but we did visit Telstra before we left to make sure that this did not occur. I suggest travellers using a SIM card local to the country they're visiting delete the Telstra app from their phone at the time. It can always be re-loaded on return to Australia. And if you get charged, complain.

Mark Bullen, Wollstonecraft, NSW

SNAKES AND A PLANE

Before the COVID-19 era, I had passed through Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok several times a year since it opened. Your airport review column (Traveller, October 16) made me optimistic that passing through it will remain a positive experience. And, incidentally, the name of the airport may interest readers as Suvarnabhumi translates as something like golden land or, perhaps, golden place. Not a bad piece of PR as the original location was called Nong Ngu Hao, which means cobra swamp. The site was an undeveloped swamp, which explains why there were early problems with runways cracking due to subsidence. But don't let that discourage you. It's a good place to spend a few hours and cobras are rare nowadays.

Robert Fisher, Leichhardt, NSW

HOW TO WRITE TO US

We give preference to letters of 100 words or fewer and they may be edited for space, legal or other reasons. Please use full sentences, don't use textspeak and don't include attachments. Email us at travellerletters@traveller.com.au and, importantly, include your name, address and phone number.

The Letter of the Week writer wins Hardie Grant travel books worth more than $100. For October, that includes Ultimate Walks & Hikes Australia; Pasta Grannies; and Kinfolk Islands.

See hardiegrant.com

The Tip of the Week writer wins a set of three great Lonely Planet travel books, including Offbeat by Lonely Planet, Where to go When and The Weather Book.

See shop.lonelyplanet.com