DO WE NEED TO GO 5-STAR IN THE CARIBBEAN?

Q – Our frrinds in Aiken keep wanting us to join them on a Caribbean cruise. They tend to go with Princess or Holland America. We’ve done our last two cruises on Sea Dream Yachts and Seabourn, so we’re reluctant to get on any boat that doesn’t have “Sea” in its name. But then again,…

WHAT IS THE SMARTEST WAY FOR A FAMILY OF FIVE TO SAIL MICKEY?

Q – We want to take our family of five on the Disney Magic. What would you recommend as the best cabin strategy? A – Do a deck 8 Veranda. They have a queen or twin beds and three singles that pull out from the wall. There is a divider between the sitting area and…

HELP IN COZUMEL

Q – I don’t know if you all give advice but I guess it’s worth a shot given my situation. I’m young (mid twenties) petite female who just booked a solo trip to Cozumel for five days in May. Given that I’ve been there before, albeit with a companion, I thought that I chose a…

NEWS FROM THE STATE OF PARANOIA

Q – If you really want to be “truthful” you may want to tell your readers that the Chinese are already waging cyberwarfare against the United States and our entire air traffic control system can be brought down while thousands of planes are in the air causing who knows what level of chaos. I know you…

WHY TUNA CAUSES DIARRHEA

An important new DNA study by the Oceana Group has found that 60% of the tuna sold in restaurants and grocery stores in the United States is deliberately mislabeled. The fish normally substituted for real tuna is a far less expensive, oily fish, named escolar. This is a fish known to cause diarrhea in humans. But…

WHY AREN’T CRUISE LINES FLYING THE US FLAG?

Q – Reading about these cruise lines that register out of the United States and pay no taxes? Are they really non-American companies and why are we supporting them with our business. What is really going on here? A –  If you look at the five largest cruise lines operating in the United States, you…

I HATE O’HARE – OPTIONS?

Q – Spent several hours on this site last night and had to drop you a line. Great stuff. Here’s my specific question. I am a  consultant in the chemical industry and I fly, out of my home in Denver all over Europe. I work alone, with a part-time secretary and we do all of…

FLYING IN APRIL – HOW EARLY DO I NEED TO GET TO THE AIRPORT?

Q – My husband and I are going overseas for the first time this April on a tour arranged through our church in Boise. It is a group tour and we have to get to New York on our own to get on a Delta Airlines flight. My question is how much time do you…

WINDSTAR BUYS THREE SEABOURN SMALL SHIP ‘SISTERS”

Windstar Cruises, a line that operates three unique small cruise ships with computerized sails, has suddenly become the largest of the small ship (under 300 guests) operators with the announcement that it has purchased the three smaller and older Seabourn ships, the Pride, the Legend, and the Spirit. The delivery of the 208 passenger ships…

THE FOREPLAY IS OVER; AMERICAN AIRLINES AND US AIRWAYS TIE THE FINANCIAL KNOT

American Airlines and US Airways have consummated their stormy merger prenuptials, and we are expecting Justice Department approval of a deal worth an estimated $11 billion to be finalized this Fall. The new carrier will be known as American Airlines with headquarters remaining in Ft. Worth. After all is said and done, the stockholders in…

SHOULD WE REALLY CONSIDER A CRUISE AFTER THIS?

Q – After watching CNN and other interviews with the poor folks getting off the Carnival Triumph, I really wonder if we ever will take that first cruise. So let’s see why travel “truth” is still, as far as I can see, recommending cruising. Given the honesty of your answers to other questions, I wonder how you…

DOES TEN DAYS ON THE AMALFI COAST MAKE SENSE?

Q – We work full time and have just nine or ten nights to spend in Italy. We love hiking, exploring, and really good food. Could the Amalfi Coast work in that time frame and how would we set it up in terms of hotels and air. We are in our fifties and we like…

THE CHURCHILL & TUREN LTD. INSIDER’S JOURNAL

Now that our 2013 June Signature Cruise from Reykjavik to Copenhagen is sold out, we have set our sights on an early announcement for all of our VRVIP Guests announcing our personally escorted trip in 2014. In celebration of our 25th Year in this patently absurd business of ours, (absurd because your competence is dependent…

WOULD YOU PUT YOUR FAMILY ON THE DREAMLINER WHEN THEY CLEAR IT?

Q – We have been following the story, now on the New York Times second and third page, of the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner. I am writing this on February 8th and I wonder what the status is. We are supposed to fly the plane in April on United. You all seem to be honest journalists…

Private Guides

Q – Hopefully you can help us get an answer to a question that is not covered online or in the various river boat brochures. To what degree will the on board Concierge staff customize sightseeing or arrange for private guides? We love the concept of river boating, as you’re presented them, but we know…

WHY NO DISCUSSION OF RIVER BOAT SAFETY ISSUES?

Q –  As potential new cruisers, we found your site extremely helpful. But we did notice the absence of any information on boat safety and who has the safest river boats. Given the Concordia and other mishaps at sea, we wonder why the omission? We’ve never cruised before and we’re rather nervous about all this….

A-ROSA

Q – Our friends found an ad for a river boat company we’ve never heard of called A-Rosa. They sound like a spaghetti sauce but they claim to be both deluxe and inclusive. Is this a line we should be looking at for a summer Danube cruise. From their ad, it looks as though they…

WHEN TO BOOK

Q – It appears that cruising along Europe’s best rivers is even more popular than we’ve been lead to believe. We are trying to travel the Danube in a top suite on Tauck and everything is booked up for the entire summer of 2013. Is this typical of the industry? If so, when do you…

THE TRAVEL GLITCH OF THE YEAR

BOEING’S NEW 787 DREAMLINER TAKEN OFF THE TARMAC The mostly eagerly anticipated aircraft of the decade has been taken out of service worldwide because of fire-inducing issues with the new lithium ion batteries unique to the 787. ANA and Japan Airlines have already taken delivery of 28 of the planes. Air India has has 6….

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ARE WE GOING THERE OR ARE THEY COMING HERE?

THE REALLY BIG PICTURE Sometimes, we in travel need to step back a few paces, to see the big picture in terms of future travel destinations. NASA’s latest data collected from the amazing Kepler long-range telescope, now indicates that there may be as many as 17 billion planets the size of Earth in the galaxy, including the 461…

DOES ANYONE STILL OFFER AROUND THE WORLD CRUISES?

Q – In this day and age of less ostentatious travel, I wonder if  cruise lines are still offering Around the World type cruises? A – This year, we count nine lines offering ATW Cruises, six of which will literally circumnavigate the globe. Three of these lines, Holland America, Seabourn, and Silverseas, compete with identical length, 115…

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DISNEY’S MAGIC WRIST BRACELET

The Disney folks are launching a new series of technology improvements to enhance guest experiences. The initiative is known as MyMagic+. The program, which will first be introduced at Walt Disney World in Orlando will include a new website and dedicated apps. But the innovative part of this is the radio-frequency technology that comes embedded in…

WHERE IS ICE CREAM STREET?

Q – We’ve been searching for a really strange destination and thought your staff might be able to help. We will soon be opening an ice cream parlor in Sonoma, California. I’ve taken early retirement and before getting back to the hard work ahead in launching a labor intensive business, my wife and I want to…

I am in the restaurant business and your site…

Q – I am in the restaurant business and your site has pretty much convinced my wife and I to try a river cruise. My only question is whether or not I can use my laptop onboard for business two or three hours a day. I have to be in contact with our various franchisees…

Like about half of the residents of our condo building,…

Q –  Like about half of the residents of our condo building, I am likely to be needing hip surgery. In the meantime my better half wants us to take a river cruise this summer. Is one line better at offering easier walking tours than the others? Enjoying the site quite a bit. A – …

Which of the river boat companies…

Q – Which of the river boat companies would have the most sophisticated clientele? We are well traveled and we would like to be with people with a broad range of intellectual interests who are on a river cruise because of their cultural curiosity. We notice that there is a Sophistication Rating for cruise ships…

We have read that Grand Circle has…

Q –  We have read that Grand Circle has a really high repeat factor. This is important to us and, if it is true, would be a reason for booking. We have been on more than a dozen Tauck Tours and on almost every one 75% or more of the guests were repeaters. A – …

Friends have just returned from a European river cruise…

Q –  Friends have just returned from a European river cruise with Viking. They thought it was a terrific deal compared to big cruise ships but they felt that there was literally not enough food. No one offered them seconds and the staff seemed shocked when they asked for more food, calling in the maitre’d….

We have found a sixteen-day tour…

Q – We have found a sixteen-day tour to South Africa run by AMA Waterways. I’ve never heard of them or the river cruise boat they are using, a boat called the MS Zambezi Queen. South Africa has been a dream of ours for a very long time. On this trip you visit Cape Town,…