Articles by Richard Bruce Turen


GOING TO CHINA AND NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GIFTING

Q – Our travel agent here in northern Virginia, has fixed us up with a really nice tour program created by a company called WildChina. I wonder if you know anything about this company? We’ve kind of put our faith in this agent but we are paying close to $1000 per day  for a 16-Day…

TRAVEL TO NORTH KOREA: POSSIBLE?

Q – We have tried to travel to many of the countries on the “Not Advised” list over the past decade including Iran and Iraq. I am thinking I would like to visit North Korea just to get my passport stamped and to stay for a few days. How can I best do this? A- …

WHERE WILL THE NEXT ‘WORLD’S LONGEST” FLIGHT ROUTE LIKELY BE?

Q –  I have a somewhat perverse interest in long flight statistics. I can tell you who has the longest flights currently (Singapore) and I pretty much know the schedules. I’ve flown two previous “longest routes” but I am anxious to start planning for something new. Is there a longest ever route coming out soon…

IS THERE AN INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE THE INSIDER’S PREFER?

Q –  As I read your various sites and the great industry information you all provide, one nagging question seems to keep popping up for this rather frequent flyer (business and a minimum of three overseas vacations per year). Which airline should we be flying to eliminate hassles, lousy service, and awful connection percentages like…

Discover Top 7 Important Tips

Traveling wіth pets, wіthоut proper planning аnd preparation саn bе a night-mare fоr bоth оf уоu. Depending uроn уоur destination, thе preparations аrе similar: hаvе уоur pet examined tо ensure іt іѕ healthy еnоugh fоr travel, obtain thе proper paperwork, pack fоr уоur pet’s needs, train уоur pet fоr traveling аnd іf needed, hаvе уоur…

STARTING TO DO SOME LONG DISTANCE FLYING AND WE HAVE SOME QUESTIONS

Q –   I will be finally taking retirement from he auto manufacturing field in six months. My wife and I are looking forward to a life of at ;east one or two longer international trips per year, assuming there is no wall that will be built to keep us in the country. My wife…

SHOULD I WORRY ABOUT HIPPO ATTACKS IN TANZANIA AND KENYA?

Q – We will be departing for Tanzania and Kenya next month. I have been watching the pre/post election turnout in Kenya. Everything appears to be calm now. How concerned should we be about spending one day in Nairobi before flying home? We are also wondering of the hippo attack earlier this month in Tanzania…

IS THERE ANY HOPE FOR MODULAR SEATING ON AIRPLANES?

Q –  Really love this site but one criticism. You deal a lot with things as they are – not as they might be. As an architect and designer specializing in modular housing, I am intrigued by the potential of the airline industry to develop aircraft that has seating that can be easily converted in minutes…

GOING TO CUBA ON AN OCEANIA CRUISE: PRECAUTIONS?

Q – Although we sense your advice has been to delay travel to Cuba for a few years, we have decided to join my brother-in-law and his family on a cruise on Oceania to Cuba. Our travel agent feels we will be safe but we are wondering if there are any precautions or particularly, things…

DO I CRUISE IN AUGUST OR SEPTEMBER TO AVOID FLOODS OR DROUGHT?

Q –  I am concerned about flooding or drought issues. Would August or September present issues? Which month would be a better choice to avoid flooding or drought issues?  Regarding your overall ratings, would you recommend the Crystal Ravel 7-Day cruise Vienna to Budapest or the 10-day Vienna round-trip on the Crystal Mozart. Thanks for…

AND JUST WHERE IS MY SHOWER WATER COMING FROM?

Q –  My Husband and I normally like to fly into a country get a car and go.  Whatever happens makes for an adventure.  But lately we have discovered river cruising.  In Europe we tend to be the couple that “does their own thing” but we are branching out to countries where we may not…

IS THERE A RIVER CRUISE PROGRAM MY KIDS COULD REALLY LOVE?

Q –   We have two children, ages 9 and 11. Our girls are great travelers and they are curious and we want to take them on a river cruise in April or May. They would have to miss school but, with the right program, I think that exploring the towns along the Rhine would…

HOW DO THE DRINKS ON VIKING WORK?

Q –  We are set to sail on Viking next summer and we could not be more excited. Our travel agent felt we were right for Viking because we’re kind of conservative mid-westerners and, although we drink, we don’t like the idea of paying for other people’s drinks on the boats where the liquor and…

WE HAVE AVOIDED ALL CRUISE LINES ………………..

Q – We have avoided all cruise lines and have traveled extensively (4-6 months annually) on our own for the past fourteen years. Can you recommend a true, high-quality small cruise line that serves organic food at all meals? The destination is less important to us than the food offerings as we have seen most…

WHY DON’T YOU REVIEW THE MOST POPULAR LINES?

Q – We really like the approach of this site and we wish you would expand it to include the more popular cruise lines like Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Carnival.  Our philosophy is to sail the larger ships because you can take two cruises for what one of the lines you review would cost. But…

PLEASE STRAIGHTEN OUT OUR FRIENDS – REGARDING VIRUS ABOARD SHIP

Q – We are lucky enough to have friends who share our lives and travel – and have for the past 31 years. But just as we are ready to sit down and find the cruise itinerary of our dreams on one of the smaller, more deluxe ships described on this site, our friends have…

WE ARE THINKING OF CRUISING TO CUBA ON A DELUXE SHIP. RECOMMENDATIONS?

Q – The latest news out of Trump Tower seems to be that only travel on the people-to-people programs will be allowed in Cuba. We are looking forward to doing a cruise next year where we might see Cuba in-depth. We are Swiss but we live in the States. Looking for a top-tier experience. Flexible…

THINKING ABOUT SAILING SILVERSEAS TO THE GALAPAGOS: GOOD IDEA?

Q – Now don’t make fun of us – but my wife and I are birders and our dream has always been to do a Galapagos cruise. We are thinking we can budget about $15,000 per person and given our proclivities toward luxury, we were thinking we would bring our Audemars Piguet on the trip, and…

IS THIS WHAT YOU CALL A “DEAL”?

Q – Last night I read an ad in a travel publication that sounded too good to be true. A 13-day cruise on the Crystal Symphony from Mauritius to Cape Town, South Africa departing this December was listed at a starting price of $3,695! They show the list price, which I realize no one pays,…

SHOULD WE BOOK THE SEABOURN ENCORE SAILING FROM AUCKLAND NEXT JANUARY?

Q – Greatly enjoy the honest-speak on this terrific site. We’re rather newbies when it comes to cruising and, to celebrate my retirement, the Mrs. and I are seriously considering a cruise on the Seabourn Encore from Auckland to Sydney that runs 16-days departing on January 5th. Our goal is to see as much of…

SHOULD WE PROCEED WITH THIS ONE?

Q – Our travel agent is holding a tentative deposit for a trip with Pandaw from Laos to China. This sounds as though it is a really deluxe company but we would appreciate your take on it before we pull the trigger. We’ve done eight Crystal cruises, one Tauck river cruise and now we’re looking…

MY WIFE IS THINKING DANUBE BUT I’M THINKING DUORO

Q – I’ve read all of the brochures and marketing swill put out by the travel industry about cruising on the river in Europe. My wife wants to joins friend who only know the Danube – I believe they think it is the only river east of the Mississippi. I just found this site and…

WHAT IS GOING ON AT TAUCK? – THE BROCHURE IS WRONG

Q – We went online to book a cruise and got totally confused. Then we called an agent, at your suggestion, and got really confused. We’re trying to book the Tauck Sapphire from Paris and the room descriptions are all screwed up -nothing seems to match what is in the brochure and online. We’re trying…