A One-Way Street

As I explored Expedia.com I found many useful features.  I could compare options, check exchange rates, get package deals, and check ratings from people who had traveled to a particular hotel on a particular airline.  It was easy to find flights, hotels, cars, and combinations of the three based on price and dates.  The only missing combination seemed to be cruises and flights.  I went to book an Alaskan cruise that departed from Washington state, and had to go back to the beginning to book a flight to Washington separately.  The use of icons on the pages was really well done, but anything that didn't include an icon appeared to be hidden.  It was also possible to miss links since some information is only provided at certain stages of the process.  If you are booking a flight, there will be two opportunities to check associated baggage costs, and if you don't click on them when you first see them (provided you do see the small links amongst all the other text) you will miss your chance.  There is no "back" button to let you make changes or go click on a link that is no longer available.  The missing "back" button irritated me more than anything.  If you chose to compare two cruises side-by-side you had two options: check availability for A and check availability for B.  You didn't have the option of deciding neither one was what you really wanted.  You could press the back button on your browser unless you've already gotten past the login screen, in which case you could only go back to a certain point.  I think Expedia.com tries to do way too much and doesn't do anything exceptionally well.

-Robin Miller