DOING A WORLD CRUISE SEGMENT THIS YEAR: POSSIBLE?

Q – I have been interested in doing portions of a world cruise this year or next. But it seems as though the lines want their customers to book the full 90 days and only certain longer segments remain. I was wondering if there is any way to buy a section of a world cruise…

WHO HAS THE BEST BIKES AND THE BEST BIKE-RIDING DESTINATIONS?

Q – We want to pull the trigger on  a river cruise in 2017 but no one seems to be able to answer our question as to which of the various boats have the best bicycle riding program. We’re in our early sixties and, while I’ve ridden a bike from time to time at home…

WHY HAVE YOU HIDDEN GLOBUS?

Q –  I Did not find Globus River Cruises in your ratings.  Where do they stand?  I found that they operate on most of the rivers that the rated river boats cruise on. A –  Globus is a large, well-established, affordable tour operator based in Zurich. They own Avalon River Cruises. Their river boats all…

SHOULD WE CANCEL TRAVEL TO THE CARIBBEAN BASED ON LATEST ZIKA VIRUS NEWS?

Q – We are booked on a Silverseas Cruise calling at a number of ports in the Caribbean next month. My wife has had some past medical issues including two bouts with cancer. I called the line to inquire about changes in itinerary and getting our money back and they referred me to a web site…

PLANNING VACATION TO CARIBBEAN BUT MY GIRLFRIEND IS AFRAID OF ZIKA

Q – I am just hearing about this Zika virus on the news. It sounds pretty bad and absolutely awful for pregnant women. We’ve booked a vacation in Puerto Rico in 30 days and I have some concerns as I suppose my girlfriend, and soon to be fiance, is in the “pre-pregnancy” stage of our…

BOOKED ON PRINCESS AND ALSO WONDERING ABOUT CALLS IN TURKEY

Q – We’re in a similar situation to one of your recent letter writers. We’re booked on Princess Cruises and we’ve really not heard anything yet about major itinerary changes, refunds etc. involving Istanbul.  You seem to always miss Princess in your Q & A as well as your reviews and I wonder if you…

BOOKED ON REGENT SAILING OUT OF ISTANBUL: IS IT SAFE?

Q – It is now six months prior to our scheduled cruise in Europe – our first ever, and we’re getting a little nervous since the attack in Istanbul. That happens to be where our cruise begins and we’re scheduled to go in a day early. We’ve done everything through the cruise line, Regent Seven Seas,…

ARE YOU GOING TO TELL US TO LEAVE THE LADS AT HOME?

Q – Great resource – thanks. We’re a family based just outside of Philadelphia and we are thinking about taking our kids and my mother-in-law on a river cruise next June or July in Europe. Probably the Rhine but we’re open. We’ve had friends go on Uniworld and they were extremely pleased with virtually everything….

I DON’T SPEAK DOUBLE-TALK: CAN YOU EXPLAIN VIKING RIVER’S INSURANCE?

Q – We’re sitting here reading the Viking brochure we had to download because our agent didn’t have any. We’ve asked about insurance and she told us that Viking has a cancel for any reason policy since we took out their insurance at the same time we just made our deposit. Did we make a…

LOOKING FOR HEAVEN IN BORDEAUX

Q –  After a good deal of research on this intriguing site, we’ve pretty much decided to book Scenic’s 21-Day “Gems of the Seine and Breathtaking Bordeaux.”  I retired in May and we’re now set to start working our bucket list which I’d love to have your team help us with. We don’t really want…

ANY SUCH THING AS A RIVER CRUISE FOR HIP MILLENNIALS?

Q – My boyfriend and I have read most of your site and while there is some interesting stuff I wonder why you don’t talk more about boats that cater to people like us. We’re in our late twenties, have already been to Europe four times, and we’re active and rather hip when it comes…

HAS CROISIEUROPE FOUND A WAY TO BEAT THE LOW-WATER PROBLEMS?

Q – Our TA is pushing a CroisiEurope river cruise on the Loire next May because she feels that their boats “will not have a water issue”. She generally knows what she is talking about but we use her primarily for ski trips and Disney. We want a great experience with no worries about all…

CAN WE HANDLE UNIWORLD’S DECOR?

Q – We have friends, he’s a lawyer and overly critical, who just got off a Uniworld Cruise. We’ve been waiting for their comments as we’re planning our first riverboat trip next August which we hope we can do through you. They really loved their Danube experience but they said we might find the design…

WHY DOESN’T VIKING HAVE THE GUTS TO CALL ME BACK?

Q –  I receive emails and brochures from Viking Cruise.  I called on 12/30/15 about a promotion set to end on 12/31/15.  The agent was very nice and friendly.  However, we were wanting/needing the standard stateroom.  After being on hold for about 5 minutes, she came back and said the company had not even opened…

IS THERE AN EMERALD IN OUR FUTURE?

Q –  Your site is amazingly thorough and helpful. Thank you. I found an answer to a question about how you would rate Emerald but I’m not sure how long Emerald had been in existence at the time of your answer. You appeared to not say a whole lot but were overall very positive and,…

CAN YOU RECOMMEND A SMALL, WELL-LOCATED HOTEL ON PARIS’ LEFT BANK?

Q –     Since the attacks in Paris, we’ve changed our vacation plans from Ireland to France, our token measure of support for the French. We’d like to see if we could spend no more than $600 per night at a boutique property on the Left Bank that will put us close to the city’s…

RESTAURANT GIFT FOR MY WORLDLY HUBBY

Q – My husband is an excellent chef and a real foodie – but only a few of our friends in Manhattan really know this. He will turn 60 in February and I want to arrange to fly him to the best restaurant in the world. I really don’t care about favorable weather as this…

VISITING WARSAW – HATE HIGHRISE, LARGE HOTELS

Q – Visiting relatives in Warsaw in spring. Is there a small, boutique hotel that is well-located and has less than 50 rooms? We can’t stand the chains or the larger hotels.  A – Try to book the H15 Boutique Hotel on Poznanska 15. This new property just went through a five year renovation. It…

I LOST YOU AT ‘BEST WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW YOUR HOTEL RATE”

Q – Y’all lost me a few weeks back. My wife and I have been huge fans of both this site and the information you provide for the past five years. We’ve used your information in our travels and passed it on to friends. But you just about lost us with the idea that anyone…

HOW CAN YOU CLAIM THAT RIVER BOATING IS HANDLED BY AGENTS FOR FREE?

Q – I have enjoyed your site and passed it on to friends. But I just don’t see why you would possibly claim that travel agents will help you with the planning for no fee on a totally free basis. Sure you don’t want to back off of that one  A – No, not at…

DOES AMA HAVE TWIN BALCONIES AND SHOULD I CARE?

Q – We have been perplexed by the numerous choices of river boats and accommodations on Europe’s rivers. Until we found this site, we were babes lost in the wilderness. But we’re still not sure about AMA. They seem to have a real advantage in their double balconies and we were wondering if you feel…

HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF TRAVEL LEADERS?

Q – My new agent belongs to something called Travel Leaders. Any good? A – Travel Leaders is the largest network of travel agents in the United States. They have offices in 41 States. With 4,000 member agents, some are better than others. But you can trust their pedigree and credentials and know that they…

WHERE IN THE WORLD CAN WE TAKE AN ELEVEN AND A 14 YEAR-OLD?

Q – We’ve reached a point in our lives where we have the income to travel anywhere in the world and to do it in some style. But we’re relatively young and we have two girls ages 11 and 14. Given our age, we want to try to see places in the world that might…

THE MOST OVER-RATED PLACES IN 2016

Q – As we work on our future post-retirement travel plans, two things are clear. We want to see some of the world that we’ve missed out on all these years, and we want to stay in touch with traveltruth to help us make plans that will not disappoint. Could you give us a quick…

RIVER BOAT PRICING 101 – BRAND PRICES BOTTOM LINE

Q – Despite discovering this enormously helpful site, we still have some confusion regarding pricing comparisons. Is there any way you could tell us what the various lines would typically charge for a standard cabin of about 150-170 sq. ft. on a river cruise along the Rhine between Amsterdam and Basel? We understand the ratings…

TRY TO FINESSE COMFORTABLE SNUGGLING WITH MY WIFE EN ROUTE TO SYDNEY FROM LA

Q – Remarkable site but, perhaps, I can challenge you with a pressing question involving our planned trip from southern California to Sydney, Australia. I won;t spend the money for First or Business Class seats, but I might be willing to fly that distance in Premium Economy. But I would want to know that if…