(Tribune Media Services) — Carolyn Fletcher’s honeymoon started heading south the moment she and her husband landed in Cancun. No one was there to pick up the newlyweds.

It took an hour for her to convince a van service to deliver them to their hotel. But when they checked into their four-star resort in Akumal, they discovered it was “a two-star, at best,” she remembers.

“The grounds were unkempt and there was trash everywhere,” she said. “Our room smelled of mildew. I sat down on the bed to cry, only to find the sheets and mattress wet from the moisture and mildew. There was mold growing on the curtains, the walls and the furniture.”

Why am I telling you about Fletcher’s post-nuptial nightmare? Because she booked it online.

Some vacations should never be booked through anyone but a travel agent, and a honeymoon is arguably one of them. But there are others, too, as travelers like Fletcher are discovering.

A recent Forrester Research study suggests there’s something of a backlash when it comes to booking travel online. It concludes 15 percent fewer travelers will use the Web in 2009, compared with two years ago — a finding that comforts many travel agents who previously saw themselves on the endangered list.

(People have gotten a little carried away with the Forrester study, though. One headline writer suggested online booking might be the “worst part” of the trip. Right. That would be the flight, actually.)

It’s little consolation to Fletcher and her husband. “While most people will remember their honeymoon with happy memories, ours are filled with disparagement, frustration and regret,” she adds.

In trying to figure out when you shouldn’t book online, I thought I’d ask someone who works for an online travel agency. I put the question to Ginny Mahl, Travelocity’s vice president of sales and customer service. “There is still a place for traditional travel agents, particularly those that have carved out a niche, like adventure travel,” she said. “Depending upon the traveler and their needs, a face-to-face meeting with such a consultant could be wise.”

Of course, she adds, “higher fees will apply.”

Of course.

So when should you not book on the Internet? Here are seven kinds of trips.

Cruising

Travel agents remain your best bet for a floating vacation. Why? Two main reasons: First, cruise lines give travel agencies access to special deals that you probably won’t find anywhere else. And second, because a cruise can get complicated. There are airline tickets that have to be bought, hotel rooms to be booked, shore excursions and lots of options on the ship.

“Often, cruise agents will book group space on popular sailings, which often entitle them to offer their clients bonus items — onboard money to spend, champagne toasts, discounted deposits and more,” says cruise expert Carmen Shirkey. “Plus, because they’ve booked space on the best cruises, other sites may tell you that there’s no availability, when a cruise agent can get you onboard, no problem.”

Traveling around the world

An around-the-the-world itinerary is usually far more complex than a straight-up round-trip airline ticket. Never mind the hotel arrangements and activities you’ll want to plan. Travel agents are best suited to these kinds of vacations.

Blogger and frequent traveler Steven Frischling has taken several around-the-world trips for business. “Last year, in a 3-1/2-day span, I photographed jobs in Philadelphia, Frankfurt, Hong Kong and Incheon — departing from and returning to Providence,” he says. “There was no online booking engine that would allow this itinerary.”

When you don’t have the time

If you work with a travel agent who knows your preferences, you might consider outsourcing the research for your next vacation.

“If you’re a busy professional with no interest in doing the research and would rather be dreaming about sipping a Caipirinha on Copacabana beach than doing all the legwork to get there, why not work with an agent?” says Patricia Pinkney, who works for an artisan jewelry retailer. “In this case, they save time rather than money, but ultimately that may be more valuable to them.”

If you’re uncomfortable with the inter-Web

If you’re reading this article online, this probably doesn’t apply to you. Karina Goldrajch, the co-founder of GenMobi Technologies, a security company, says people should stay away from booking online if they’ve never done it before, and particularly if their next trip is a special event, like an anniversary or honeymoon (see Fletcher’s story for more on that).

But even if you’ve booked on the Web before, you should think twice before doing it again. “If you think that the Web site looks fishy, or something looks too good, it probably is,” she says.

Traveling internationally

A weekend in London is one thing. However, if you’re headed off to a country whose name you can’t pronounce, you probably need to stay off the computer — at least when you book. Find a travel professional that specializes in the place you’re going.

Tonya Fitzpatrick, who hosts a travel radio show, learned that when she tried to help a family member and her companion after they booked a trip to Costa Rica online. “An international trip is a different animal,” she said. “At the end of the day they incurred more expenses because they booked online.”

Doing something exotic

This is for the trips that aren’t for everyone, such as sailing up the coast of British Columbia and Alaska, as the people who book Maureen Gordon’s Maple Leaf Adventures packages do. (Imagine climbing over the rail of a schooner into a zodiac to go bear watching.)

“When we speak to someone on the phone, we can make sure a trip is right for them,” she says. “And when you’re sharing 92-feet in the wilderness with eight others, plus guides, you want to know everyone around you is happy.”

Special events

A honeymoon, anniversary or class reunion falls into this category. But mostly, a honeymoon.

“Engaged couples have enough to worry about,” said John Peters, the president of Tripology, a New York referral service for travel agents. “A honeymoon is a time where you need to be looked after, not when you should be worrying about yet another item on a to-do list that’s much too long to begin with.”

An agent can make sure your vacation is as close to perfect as it can be, from start to finish. A travel professional can also make sure you’ve booked the right vacation.

Wondering if you should consult with a travel agent before your next vacation? There are some who think it’s always a good idea to phone a travel pro first.

Sheryl Kayne, author of the book “Volunteer Vacations Across America,” said you should “never book online” before checking first with an agent — and that’s especially true of anyone considering a volunteer vacation, which, like a cruise, can get more complex than other trips. “You also don’t want to book a trip before knowing all of the requirements and conditions of the trip.”

Me? I’m not so convinced. I’d turn to a travel agent if I were going somewhere special for a family reunion and didn’t have the time to plan the whole thing. But travel agents aren’t charities, and they make almost nothing on a simple point-to-point airline ticket.

Yes, there are a few trips I can’t imagine planning through anyone except a travel pro. For the rest, I fire up my laptop.

The girl — one of scores trapped beneath buildings that collapsed in Tuesday’s 7.0-magnitude quake — was rushed to a first aid station Thursday evening where doctors told her family they were not equipped to deal with her injuries. Her right leg had been pinned by a large piece of metal for two days.

She died before her relatives could drive her to a more sophisticated hospital outside Port-au-Prince.

Her last words, her uncle said, were, “Mother, don’t let me die.” She was buried Friday in her mother’s hometown, her uncle said.

Her story, which CNN captured on camera throughout the day Thursday, was one of many miraculous rescues since the quake left entire city blocks in ruins.

On Friday, an 18-month-old was pulled from a small hole — seemingly unharmed — by an Australian TV crew.

Also Friday, a man was rescued from the U.N.’s devastated building, where at least 37 people have been confirmed dead. The U.N.’s Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Edmond Mulet told “Larry King Live” the man was receiving medical assistance. He did not provide any other details about the man or his condition.

In another bit of good news, a sniffer dog with the California-based Search Dog Foundation detected three girls trapped but alive beneath the broken concrete of a four-story building Friday. Rescue crews were working to extricate the girls.

Others rescued this week included an Estonian security officer for the United Nations, a man pulled from beneath a police van crushed by a school, and a woman trapped inside the Hotel Montana.

Haitians and rescuers continue rushing in their efforts, hoping that more survivors can be pulled out alive from beneath the multitude of wreckage sites, but some have accepted that many will perish waiting for help.

With those four words, “General” Larry Platt has gone from “American Idol” reject to Internet sensation.

The 63-year-old civil rights veteran performed his original hit at an audition for the show’s ninth season, winning over judges Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi — and earning a nervous endorsement from incurable skeptic Simon Cowell.

“I have a horrible feeling that song could be a hit,” Cowell reluctantly predicted.

Platt’s fan base exploded after the show Wednesday night, as his audition hit YouTube and Twitter. Within hours, he had been clicked and tweeted into one of the Internet’s most popular topics.

“Caught the west coast feed of AI tonight. Pants. On. The. Ground. Priceless,” past winner David Cook Tweeted.

And “Glee’s” Lea Michele was on the ground herself after watching Larry’s performance.

“Oh my god. The guy on American Idol singing ‘pants on the ground’ right now. I’m dying!! SO funny!!!!!” she Tweeted.

On Thursday at his home in East Atlanta, the e-celebrity seemed dazed by the attention.

His show-stealing performance came at the end of the popular show that featured auditions from Atlanta taped on Aug. 17.

The spotlight on him, Contestant 103519 began singing — rapping? — the now infamous verse: “Pants on the ground! Pants on the ground! Looking like a fool with your pants on the ground!”

Within moments of chanting the chorus, singer and guest judge Mary J. Blige sank into her chair and howled with laughter, tears filling her eyes. Jackson bobbed his head and smiled. And just as a scowl-faced Cowell tried to wrap up the performance, Platt dropped to the ground in a split.

For Platt, the song was just another one of his causes. He said Thursday that he and his civil rights colleagues sacrificed too much for today’s youth to walk around with sagging pants.

“Everybody in America’s singing my song, ‘Pants on the Ground.’ I made that song up, years ago,” he told Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush, adding that the song has a simple message.

“It’s about these kids and grown folk walking around with their pants down,” he said. “Get these pants up!”

Platt — his black jeans securely fastened — proudly showed off black and white photographs of himself alongside civil rights icons Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Congressman John Lewis, and pointed to plaques from city and state officials recognizing his social justice work as a dedicated foot soldier with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

Platt, who worked to elect President Barack Obama, is still an activist, and can frequently be seen in downtown Atlanta holding signs protesting foreclosures, war, violence, racism and “any wicked things that take place.”

(CNN) — On Thursday, Jimmy Jean-Louis finally received the phone call he had longed for: He spoke with his mother in Haiti. “I got a phone call from my sister who said she was able to reach home,” the Haitian native and “Heroes” cast member said. ” So I picked up the phone and my mom answered. The first reaction from both of us was simply to cry.” The actor had been searching for his elderly parents in Haiti after a powerful earthquake struck his homeland. Adding to his desperation to find them was the knowledge that the house he had grown up in had collapsed during the disaster, killing several of his relatives. Now he knows that his parents are safe physically, although they are sleeping outdoors for fear that their damaged home is not safe. While they are whole in body, emotionally and mentally his parents are in rough shape, Jean-Louis said. “They don’t understand what’s going on,” Jean-Louis said. “It’s almost like saying ‘Why [are we] living?’ Shock is an understatement.”

“Apparently they have not stopped crying ever since the earthquake happened,” he said, his voice breaking.

Jean-Louis was born in Petionville, Haiti Video, where he grew up without electricity or running water before moving to Paris, France, when he was 12 to pursue a modeling career. He has supported his parents by sending money home since he started acting nearly 20 years ago.

The actor, who is best known as “The Haitian” on the NBC series “Heroes,” returned from Haiti only a couple of weeks ago after spending the holidays with his parents. He was planning to return this month but will now be traveling much sooner to provide relief aid.

Jean-Louis said there is still no word on the many relatives and friends he has in Haiti. And while he is anxious not only to reunite with his family, he also wants to lend his support to his fellow Haitians.

He is the founder of Hollywood Unites for Haiti, a nonprofit organization whose original mission was to provide sports and cultural education to underprivileged youth on the island. Now he says their mission is to mobilize and offer whatever aid they can for earthquake survival.

He expressed gratitude for the many people of all nations who have come together to support his country in its desperate hour of need.

“I am very, very happy that there is unity,” he said. “Only through unity will we be able to overcome the catastrophe.”

At just 23 years old, The Hills star Heidi Montag decided to go under the knife for a second time and have a staggering 10 plastic-surgery procedures in one day.

“For the past three years, I’ve thought about what to have done,” the reality star tells PEOPLE. “I’m beyond obsessed.”

And so, on Nov. 20, Montag’s total transformation began. Keeping even her family in the dark, the starlet chronicled every painful moment of recovery and her journey to become “the best me.”

To find out what surgeries Heidi underwent and what husband Spencer Pratt thinks of her new look, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.