ANTARCTICA: SCENIC OR CRYSTAL?

Q –  We are anxious to book an Antarctica sailing on one of two new ships supposed to be launched in 2018 – the Crystal Endeavor and the Scenic Eclipse. As we want to start reading and getting ready for this trip, which will you be recommending to us in terms of overall quality and…

DO THE PHILIPPINE CREW MEMBERS ABOARD THESE SHIPS HAVE US LEGAL PROTECTIONS?

Q – Just returned from a sensational Silverseas  cruise in Alaska. You don’t praise this line enough as it is, based on our 13 prior cruises, the very best of the best. There was an interesting discussion one evening at our table about the rights of crew members like the lovely folks from the Philippine…

CAN YOU STEAK US IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION?

Q – We’re about ready to book our first cruise. We’re read the online reviews, your stuff, and looked at the line’s web sites. But now its time to pull the plug. Is there a way to work with you on getting this done?  We live in Los Angeles and we are foodies and steak…

WINDSTAR SEEMS LIKE A GREAT VALUE – WHAT ARE WE MISSING?

Q – We have been following your Q and A since you started and we thank you for such honest feedback. Our employment situation has changed and I’ve resigned from three Boards, so my wife and I can now start doing several cruises a year. Our plan is to start with one of the small…

WILL ANOTHER EXPLORER BE BUILT?

Q – The online reviews have all been quite positive  for the new Regent Explorer. We’re wondering if Regent will be ordering another one as I understand it takes three years to build? We missed the Inaugural of the Explorer but we may like to book the first sailing of any new ships they launch….

PLANNING ON DOING SOME ADVENTURE CRUISING IN 2018, 2019 AND BEYOND (HOPEFULLY)

Q – We are already planning for a new life of cruising devoid of canned Gershwin tributes, scam art auctions, and silly dress requirements. We are active, adventure types and I suppose we are getting ready to “retire” from cruising (Crystal is our brand of choice) to something smaller and more adventurous. We love true…

ARE WE GOING TO EVER FIND A SMALL BOAT WE WILL ENJOY?

Q – Cheers. My wife enjoys browsing boutique and secondhand shops, and we both enjoy a scenic or interesting walk. We live in a beautiful coastal town in Massachusetts so we don’t feel the need to do much traveling, and have never done a cruise. We do go to London once a year for a…

IS SEA DREAM BUILDING A NEW 200 PASSENGER SHIP?

Q – We’ve just returned from a Sea Dream Cruise that your firm booked for us – thank you very much. While on-board, the crew was telling some of us that the line is building a new ship to be called Sea Dream carrying 200 guests, twice the size of the current vessels. What can…

COMPARING AZAMARA, OCEANIA, AND WINDSTAR

Q – As we have learned,carefully reading (and enjoying) the information you have put together, what you see is not always what you get when you book a cruise. We are trying to figure out whether or not we should choose Windstar, Azamara, or Oceania. From your reviews, we are leaning toward Azamara, but are…

VIKING STAR ELIMINATED ISTANBUL

Q – We completed our first cruise  on the Viking Star, which was highly recommended by our agent. Since this line does not appear to be in the Top Ten Ratings of cruise lines we were skeptical. We’re in our mid-forties and were told that Viking had a younger clientele. We boarded in Venice and…

WONDERING WHO IS FINANCING VIRGIN CRUISES

Q – As a frequent cruiser, I’ve been on eight of your top-ten rated lines, I am interested in the financials of some of these businesses. It seems to me that it is extremely difficult, with all of the discounting, to really make money in the cruise industry. The new Virgin ships won’t be paid…

WHY IS SEABOURN SO ANTI-SMOKING?

Q –  Dear Sirs; I am writing to inform you that the politically correct have taken over Seabourn Cruise Lines. I sit here on my porch on a sparkling evening in Eugene, Ore. The stars are bright and I have a glass of cognac on the table next to me. In my hand I have…

ARE THEIR CRUISES WHERE GUESTS PICK THE PORTS?

Q –  We have a friend who once worked as a stevedore on the Cunard Line. He is 81 and still reads all he can about the cruise industry. The other night he told us that there are now lines where you board the ship and the passengers actually vote on where they are going….

YOUR WEATHER CONCERNS SEEM A BIT ALARMING

Q –  Your travel advice is spot on with one rather glaring exception. We don’t subscribe to your theory that the earth is getting hotter and that travel to places like Europe should be reconsidered in the summer months. We just returned from a ten-day package in Germany and we found the July temperatures to…

HOW DO YOU SPOT A FAKE HOTEL REVIEW?

Q –  Most of my  friends use and depend on TripAdvisor to develop their travel “expertise”. They mostly use it to justify the hotel they selected based on price. But I have learned, partly from this informative site, that these online reviews are often fake. So I wonder if you might share some ways that…

CAN I SELL MY BOOKED HOTEL ROOM TO SOMEONE ELSE?

Q – We’ve booked a hotel in London  for five nights and are currently in penalty. There is no agent involved and I did not take out insurance for this trip. We’re due to leave in 11 days. Is there any way to sell the room in London or to re-sell it in the States…

RHINE HEAT AND HUMIDITY – AN ISSUE?

Q – Hi – just found your excellent site today. Some quick info before the question on heat. My wife and I are considering a cruise on AMA from Amsterdam to Basel plus the extra land days to Zurich/Lucerne in mid-July of next year. The date is fixed as we would be joining some other…

DO WE SIGN UP FOR THE CAPTAIN’S TABLE?

Q – We are booked on Viking River’s Elegant Elbe program on October 26th next year. The cruise goes from Prague to Berlin. It is our very first cruise of any kind  and we’re excited. We got 2-1 rates and the people at Viking were extremely nice and helpful. One thing we are wondering about…

HOW DO MY HUSBAND AND I GET UPGRADED?

Q –  You probably get this question quite often but we’re rather new to the idea of international travel as my husband is about to take a comfortable retirement next month. Although we live outside of Charleston and could just enjoy the city we love so much, the world seems to be calling. At your…

CAN YOU SOLVE A TWENTY YEAR MYSTERY?

Q – I lived in San Francisco for may years where I was a modest collector of watercolors I would buy at street fairs. I was particularly struck by these incredible mountain scenes, always covered by fog in the paintings and seeming quite mystical. Now, my wife and I are in a financial position where…

ANYTHING YOU CAN RECOMMEND CLEANING ON MY NEXT FLIGHT?

Q – I am a frequent flyer in the front of the plane who loves your site(s). The problem is I read traveltruth whenever I fly and sometimes the conversation about cleanliness makes me itchy. I know I’m a germaphobe and I don’t have any problem coming out of the closet. So I would ask…

REALLY GETTING FRUSTRATED BY AIRFARE SEARCH ENGINES

Q –  I’ve been keeping track – in the last three months, I’ve found four low airfares, tried to sell it to my husband, and each time when I got back the price was gone. Do these fares really change like that every  fifteen or twenty minutes? A – We are thinking that you have…

ANY HINTS FOR POTENTIAL CARIBBEAN RETIREES?

Q – We have been once – 25 years ago – to the Caribbean (friends house on Antigua) and fell totally in love with the island’s quietness, the vibrant and friendly people, the sound of the sea, and especially the steel drum music. We are now approaching retirement age (58 and 53) and we want…

SHOULD WE FEED THE ANIMALS IN THIS ZOO?

Q – I received an e-mail from Travel Zoo. I have never traveled with them. There were two bargains that would enable me to take my three daughters with me: 01 – Portugal, which includes airfare, well under #1,000 per person. 02 – Tuscany, about the same as above. How do I get an answer on…

YOU ARE CONFUSING YOUR READERS

Q –  As long-time readers and clients, I have to tell you that your site has one confusing characteristic. I’ve noticed that, while the site refers to “River Boats” and “riverboating”, you seem to have taken to calling river boats “riverships”. I don‘t know if this is worrisome to others but I would like to…

BOOKED ON SCENIC AND CONCERNED ABOUT WATER LEVEL ITINERARY ALTERATIONS

Q – We were pretty much set to book a Scenic Rhine cruise for next fall when we read your latest “CSI” Report. First, what is that, I’ve never heard of it, and should we think about sailing with Uniworld, our next choice, so that we don’t end up with a bus tour instead of…

WILL WE REALLY SEE WINDMILLS?

Q – We’ve met with our travel agent and she is recommending, knowing our love of gardening, that we ought to sail with Avalon on the “Tulips” itinerary next year. We imagine beautiful scenery and windmills along the route. Will we actually see the windmills? We have an allocated budget for this trip and I…