Q – We are off to Normandy this August with our 19-year-old son who is, of all things, fascinated by Impressionist art. We will tour the battlefields, but the main purpose would be to enroll him in some painting classes where they stress the Impressionist school techniques. In recent years, it has become a popular…
Q – We have strong environmental interests both professionally and privately. We are rather interested in going to Costa Rica to see and enjoy some of the best most eco-friendly resorts and off-the-beaten path experiences. We want to be in the hands of people who will get what we’re about and who won’t be intimidated…
Q – We are going to be in Paris later this summer. Our dream is to dine at Guy Savoy’s Restaurant. We tried online but that doesn’t seem to work. I hope this is not an inappropriate question, but is there any secret way to get into a restaurant of that caliber when traveling overseas?…
In 2013, the twenty-five highest paid Hedge Fund Managers earned two and a half times the combined income of our nation’s 157,800 Kindergarten teachers. The top four Hedge Fund Managers earned a higher combined salary than the salaries of every Kindergarten teacher combined. This information was highlighted in the annual “Rich List” published by Alpha…
Q – My wife and I have planned a trip that includes a number of days in Bangkok through one of the better tour companies in that part of the world. We worked with Pacific Delight directly. We’re under deposit for a trip in August. It may be hot but we’re both school teachers so…
Q – We are trying to figure out which river boat company has the best theme cruises for foodies like us. We’re in our mid-forties, New Yorkers, and we couldn’t conceive of going to Europe without food being our top priority. Which line should we look at first. When we asked our travel agent about…
There are still pockets of availability on some of the best escorted luxury tours this summer. The following journeys are part of the Travcoa collection, a series of extremely high-end, personally escorted journeys that have proper pacing, the best available guides, and hotels and meals of five-star quality. Based in California, Travcoa operates tours at…
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…
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…
Q – We would very much like to have your help with planning our ultimate trip, a celebration of my retirement from the financial world with a month-long journey that might include as much wildlife as possible in Africa as well as, if at all possible, the Amazon. We’re open to what else we might see…
Q – We leave for a cruise to South America this winter and we’re already looking forward to it – except for the communications part. Is there any way to cut down on the cost of making a call while still using my regular phone (Android)? A – There is one rather new technique that…
The “Girl” is more likely a woman, but that aside, no one can deny the status of Singapore Airline’s unrivaled record as one of the World’s Top Three Airlines” for more than a decade. Despite challenges from the new collection of Five-star airlines based in the Middle East, Singapore consistently ranked # 1 or #…
Q – We love reading this site even though it is clearly aimed at the upscale traveler. I suppose we are about fifty-fifty upscale. But we just hate spending money we don’t have to for another inch of chair for eight or nice hours. For a 5-star hotel at the other end yes – but we just…
Q – Don’t know if you can help with this, but would appreciate it if you can help. I am not a vegetarian but my fiancé and I do not eat meat. We do eat chicken and fish. We will be in Paris for six days in August and we would love to know that…
Wendy Perrin, the nation’s most respected consumer travel advocate and the long-time Consumer Editor at Conde Nast Traveler Magazine, announced her resignation citing differences with the current direction of the publication under its new management team. Just a few days later, Perrin was named to a new position, created just for her, as Travel Advocate…
The Chinese government has been facing increasing pressure to improve the quality of its air and its exported toys. But what about domestically produced foods? In an unusually bold step, the Chinese government has banned food production in an agricultural center of approximately 8 million acres. The ongoing production of fruits and vegetables was banned because…
The international charity, Oxfam, has just released a report indicating that the 85 richest people in the world now have $1.7 trillion in personal assets. That means that their personal wealth is now equivalent to the total wealth of 3.5 billion people living with them on the same planet. Never, have so few controlled so much. Several…
Q – We will be leaving for a European Cruise booked through Regent Seven Seas in three weeks. We booked the air/sea program and paid extra for an air deviation. We were flying United Airline on a flight from Atlanta that is actually going to be operated by Lufthansa. We have a connection in Frankfurt…
Q – We have read that Iran is a great destination with friendly people and a great deal to see. Wonder if you agree? We’ve been looking at Travcoa and Mir Tours. They each seem to be operating two departures this year. Which of the two passes your “legitimate Tour Operator” Test? Really enjoying the…
THE NEW 2014 BEST AT SEA AWARDS We take pleasure in presenting our 2014 ‘BEST AT SEA AWARDS’ in the “4-5-Star Inclusive Category”. These ratings are based on evaluations from the most respected industry and consumer media sources, our own personal Churchill & Turen Ltd. ship evaluations, and written evaluation reports from more than 1500…
Recent exposure of luggage theft rings operating at LAX and several other major airports, makes it imperative that travelers follow some basic advice when packing. These are the most important rules the pros follow when packing: 01 – Leave any designer luggage or any piece costing more than $200 at home. Thieves will steal the…
Q – Over a period of about 24 months, we’ve noticed that when we start planning our flights for vacation it seems that the prices have always gone up when we are ready to book, often just a day or two later. It happens too often to be a coincidence. Any recommendations or are we…
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…
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….
Q – We’ve been following traveltruth for the past two years and we love every bit of it – but there is one question I don’t think you’ve ever addressed. When is the best time to get awful assigned seats changed to something better? Whenever we call the airlines they say the seating is “closed”. A –…
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…
Q – As a frequent flyer, I have always wondered if a flight attendant has the power to upgrade me to Business Class or even First? I think I’ve seen it happen once or twice, but I can’t be sure the flight attendant did not know the passenger. Just something I’ve wondered about. A –…
Bill and Melinda Gates, who have devoted their current lives to eradicating worldwide starvation and preventable childhood diseases, are predicting that most of the currently underdeveloped world where poverty and starvation currently exist, will rise up to middle class status by 2035. By this date, the Gates believe “there will be almost no poor countries…
Q – We were at a friends house last night doing some Pinot Noir blind tastings accompanied by s’mores when the subject of credit ratings for countries came up. A Wall Street player in our group said that he believed that credit agencies that rate businesses also rate countries. I’d really be interested in which…
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