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BRITAIN HAS A CONTINGENCY PLAN FOR EMERGENCY EVACUATION OF TOURISTS FROM GREECE

Here is what tourists planning future travel to Greece need to know as Greece enters a pivotal week in its testy relationship with the Eurozone:1. Greece’s most immediate – as in first thing Monday morning – source of danger is its banking system. To compensate for accelerated deposit flight, the European Central Bank injected additional…

IS THERE ONE CERTIFIED BEST SHIP AT SEA?

Q – Congratulations on your site. It is extremely helpful but we’d like to reiterate a question I am sure you will be getting from many other confused cruisers. Is there one line or ship that is generally thought to be the best in the world? A – We’ve tried to make that perfectly clear…

CAN WE USE CRUISE CREDITS TO REDUCE THE PRICE OF OUR CRUISE?

Q – We will need to make a payment to Celebrity Cruises for our final payment for a two-week cruise to the Mediterranean. We booked it directly with Celebrity and there seems to be some confusion about the credits we were given when we booked with their agent, Joseph. I think we should be allowed…

HOW MANY COOTIES ARE LIVING ON MY BUSINESS CLASS BLANKET?

Q – Realize yours is not an airline site but I always wonder about the cleanliness of the blankets I find all wrapped up, nice and tidy, on my seat when I am flying Business Class internationally. I’d love to know how often those blankets are actually  cleaned?  I start itching just thinking about it….

DO I NEED A VISA FOR TRAVEL TO ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA?

Q – We have a rather unusual situation. We are traveling with friends on a Baltic cruise this July that includes three full days in St. Petersburg. My mother is quite ill and there is the remote possibility that I could be called during the cruise with the need to fly out of Russia in a…

WHERE CAN WE FIND THE CHEAPEST TRAVEL INSURANCE?

Q – We will be leaving in three months for a two-week cruise to Greece and Turkey with Sea Dream 1. Picking the cruise was easy, the ship only has 50 cabins and 100 people. But choosing insurance is tougher. How do we find the best deals on travel insurance? A – We’re not going…

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…

IS SEABOURN GOING DOWNHILL?

Q – We are currently booked on a Greek Islands cruise on Seabourn this summer. We’ve read about the changes at the line several years ago, and we’re concerned. Should we change our plans given that the ship is now run by Carnival Cruises? We booked directly with Seabourn so they are not going to…

IS SEABOURN RIGHT FOR OUR TEENS?

Q – What a neat site. It’s like talking with a friend, perhaps a friend in the business. We’ve done some nice cruising but we’ve left our 17 year-old daughter and 14 year-old son back home with relatives. We are looking at a Seabourn European cruise to Greece next summer and wondering if we should…

SHOULD WE CANCEL OUR PLANNED CRUISE?

Q – We are still, almost two years later, so upset about the tragedy in Italy and the way the Captain of a luxury cruise ship would just walk away. My husband and I are taking our two daughters on a cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale to the Caribbean on Norwegian Cruise Line and we…

INTRODUCING MY WIFE – AND HER CRUISE JEWELRY

Q – Don’ know if you can answer this – wondering if I can win anything for stumping you. The wifey and I are off to Monte Carlo for a nine-night First Class cruise on, Silversea, one of the best lines out there. She is looking forward to dressing up and showing off her jewelry….

MY CRUISE WAS LIKE A BAD WEDDING RECEPTION

Q – Dear Traveltruth – Greetings from Australia. I know that Aussies have a reputation for telling the truth in a direct manner. Hence these comments and question. I found your site by accident on the internet. But I sense I will get a truthful response. My dear husband who is now in a wheelchair…

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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…