Articles by Richard Bruce Turen


ANY PLACE WORTH SEEING NEAR BUT OUTSIDE VENICE?

Q – In late September we’ve booked a great itinerary on the Seabourn Spirit round-trip out of Venice for ten days. The cruise will visit ports in Greece and Croatia that we really want to see but it overnights at the end in Venice. The problem is we’ve been there twice before, once with a…

BEST CRUISE WITH KIDS NEXT SUMMER

Q – I am a pediatrician here in Dallas and an avid reader of this space. Next summer (2016) Patti and I want to take our three children on a real quality cruise up to Alaska that might have children’s programs. I would love to know the best line to do this with and how…

GETTING BLANK STARES ABOUT A CRUISE THAT INCLUDES WEST AFRICA

Q – I thought I would see if luxurycruiseratingscom is going to give us the same blank stare we get when we ask a travel agent about cruising West Africa. I mean, Africa is a fairly large continent and, near as I can tell, it has both an East and a West Coast. We would…

IS NORWEGIAN RIGHT FOR MY FAMILY AND WHY DON’T YOU RATE THEM

Q – I think it is fair to say that you have no bigger fans of this site but, sadly, we find little help from you in planning our upcoming cruise with our 8 and 11 year-old boys. I know, for example, that Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean are supposed to have the best…

WHAT MAKES DISNEY S0 SPECIAL FOR YOUNG KIDS AND FAMILIES?

Q – Forgive me, but I just don’t get it. My wife wants to bring the grandkids, ages 8-16 on a seven-night Disney cruise. I’ve heard they do some special things but have no sense of the experience. Wouldn’t the family have just as good a time on an adult line like Princess that also…

SAILING NOT CRUISING ANTARCTICA WOULD BE COOL

Q – We were directed to your site by another site. Looking for a ship or a company that supposedly will take you to Antarctica on an actual sailing boat. We can’t seem to find any information on this program and wondering if you could point us in the right direction. My wife and I are…

MEET MY LOVING BUT ANNOYING TRAVEL COMPANION

Q – This has been bothering me for years and I thought you might be able to help. Our best friends are absolute wine snobs. I am getting tired of my friends habit of insisting on doing all the wine tasting on our frequent forays abroad. He makes a big deal of swirling his glass,…

TRAVELING ON SEABOURN AND NEED HELP WITH SMARTPHONE STRATEGY

Q – I am taking our family on a really nice cruise. Fortunately for me, our children are gainfully employed and will need to be in touch with their offices, as will I. I went tot he Seabourn web site and got links to a satellite provider for the ship. Utterly useless. So what do…

SHOULD WE DO A DECEMBER CROSSING ON THE QUEEN?

Q –Need your advice and help on a possible trip for this December. Since we had to cancel our July Silverseas Baltic trip (which has been rescheduled for next year) I need to use or lose my airline credit by the end of the year. For many reasons, December would be the best month for…

JUST HOW BAD IS THE FOOD ON ROYAL CARIBBEAN?

Q – We’ve been asked to join friends on the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas. They’re wonderful friends, great company, but we’re folks who enjoy fine dining on vacation. So how bad is this going to be? A – There are specialty restaurants that you will likely find tolerable and perhaps even enjoyable. For…

WE LIKE ADVENTURE – WITH OUR LATTE’S

Q = I suppose you could call us soft adventurers. But we’re in our early forties and extremely adventurous, having done several mountain treks including Nepal. We are looking for a small ship cruise line that really can take us to out of the way places, way off the tourist map. We’ve looked at Quark…

HOW DOES VIKING OCEAN CRUISES RATE?

Q – Great site but no ratings of Viking Ocean cruises which our agent promised was the “top line in Europe” with sleek new ships.” Would we be making a mistake to book this line? We’re looking at a Med cruise next August. A – Luxury Cruise Ratings identifies and evaluates the world’s top ten…

SILVERSEA; ARE ALL SHORE EXCURSIONS INCLUDED?

Q – We are newcomers to cruising and we are thinking about Silverseas which was highly recommended by friends. We’re trying to figure out which shore excursions are included. The one that most interests us is the chance to go truffle-hunting in Slovenia. We understand that as one of the top lines nearly everything is…

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SHOULD WE DO A DECEMBER CROSSING ON THE QUEEN?

Q –Need your advice and help on a possible trip for this December. Since we had to cancel our July Silverseas Baltic trip (which has been rescheduled for next year) I need to use or lose my airline credit by the end of the year. For many reasons, December would be the best month for…

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TRAVELING ON SEABOURN AND NEED HELP WITH SMARTPHONE STRATEGY

Q – I am taking our family on a really nice cruise. Fortunately for me, our children are gainfully employed and will need to be in touch with their offices, as will I. I went tot he Seabourn web site and got links to a satellite provider for the ship. Utterly useless. So what do…

VIKING AGAIN/ I DON’T THINK SO!

Q –  We are riverboatratings followers down under. We booked Viking River through their Australia office with low cost flights . I told the Viking agent I would use flyer points to upgrade. He did not comment. My wife developed a back problem. This needed a flight with flat bed on medical advice. We asked…

A LETTER FROM THE GALAPAGOS AND SILVERSEA

Report from the Silverseas Explorer in the Galapagos: We really enjoyed this journey. Two primary areas need improvement: 1. The quality of the wine; and 2. The fitness center. There are literally hundreds of wonderful South American wines that retail in the US for under $20 a bottle. Silversea can and should do better. There…

MEET MY LOVING BUT ANNOYING TRAVEL COMPANION

    Q – This has been bothering me for years and I thought you might be able to help. Our best friends are absolute wine snobs. I am getting tired of my friends habit of insisting on doing all the wine tasting on our frequent forays abroad. He makes a big deal of swirling…

LOOKING FOR A HIP, QUALITY, BOUTIQUE HOTEL IN LONDON

Q – Any recommendation for a nice, unique, small hotel, in London that attracts a hip crowd?  A – Try the new Chiltern Firehouse. This small, 26-room property was a firehouse in the 1890’s. It has a lively bar and a recommended restaurant. Can’t promise “hip” but it has been attracting an artsy, younger crowd….

CALM, CONVENIENT, CARIBBEAN LUX RESORT

Q – We want to find a Caribbean resort that will provide sun, spa, serenity and an opportunity for my husband and I to have, well, never mind. But we’re stymied because we live in Chicago and it has to be an easy non-stop flight.  Is there an answer to our dilemma? A – There…

AN IDYLLIC GETAWAY LESS THAN TEN HOURS AWAY

    Q – If your writers could take a month off and go  somewhere lovely next summer where they could enjoy village life, the sea, authentic, fresh local foods, and hours spent sitting at an outdoor cafe working on a novel, where might it be? It would need to be less than a ten…

CAN WE REALLY ENJOY OUR WINES ON A RIVER BOAT?

Q – I am wondering if you can recommend a wine/food program on a riverboat or barge. We really want excellent food and your ratings seem to play down the overall quality of the cuisine on the river boats. We’re from Sacramento and we visit Napa often. We expect to have two or three other…

WHY WERE OUR FRIENDS UPGRADED WHEN WE WEREN’T?

Q – We’ve been enjoying traveltruth for a long time. We sail the better cruise lines and have used the same Denver agent for years. But our friends,  just got back from an NCL cruise got upgraded by their travel agent the first time they used her.  Should our travel agent be upgrading us? If…

HOW CAN WE AVOID HAVING OUR RIVER BOAT JOURNEY TURN INTO A BUS TOUR?

Q – How often, after all of the hype, are river boat sailings in Eastern Europe cancelled due to water levels? Are there certain months when this is more of an issue. Some of the forums seem to have contradictory information. A –  Forums do not generally present “information”. Instead, they give you the personal…

JUST HOW BAD IS THE FOOD ON ROYAL CARIBBEAN?

      Q – We’ve been asked to join friends on the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas. They’re wonderful friends, great company, but we’re folks who enjoy fine dining on vacation. So how bad is this going to be? A – There are specialty restaurants that you will likely find tolerable and perhaps…

SAVING ON BUSINESS CLASS TO SYDNEY

     Q – I am bringing my family to Australia for a well-deserved holiday. It will be a costly trip and we are looking at flying coach. We are wondering if there are still any ways to dramatically save on Business Class tickets to Sydney from the States. A – This is one of…

DO I WANT/NEED AN AMA DOUBLE BALCONY CABIN?

Q – We have been told that AMA Waterways has double balcony cabins on its boats. Is this really true and how do we get one? A – AMA first  designed double veranda cabins in 2010 with the  debut of the AmaBella. It is a rather unique cabin design and one that we think gives AMA…

DOES SIZE MATTER WHEN IT COMES TO RIVERBOATS?

  Q – We seem to have a choice of different size river boats, with the largest belonging to Viking River. In terms of density, are there real advantages in terms of one size over another? The fact that everything is shown in meters adds to my confusion. Really useful site but you should have…