THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR VISITING TRAVELTRUTH.COM
YOU HAVE DISCOVERED THE GATEWAY TO OUR CHURCHILL & TUREN LTD. AD-FREE – HYPE – FREE
CONSUMER TRAVEL UNIVERSE
OUR AWARD-WINNING WEB SITES WITH THOUSANDS OF PAGES OF PROFESSIONALLY WRITTEN TRAVEL CONTENT
IS AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY FOR MEMBERS OF OUR ELITE
TRAVELER CONCIERGE CLUB
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO INQUIRE ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF JOINING OUR CLIENTS IN 46 STATES AND 7 COUNTRIES
AND RECEIVING WORLDWIDE VACATION PLANNING DESIGNED FOR INTELLIGENT CONSUMERS
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CALL US AT 630-717-7777
THE FEE IS JOIN OUR ELITE TRAVERLER CONCIERGE CLUB IS $500 PER FAMILY ANNUALLY
HERE ARE JUST A FEW FACTS ABOUT CHURCHILL AND TUREN LTD. THAT MIGHT BE OF INTEREST
No one on our staff is a “salesperson”. We have earned our worldwide reputation by always trying to be “Travel Truthtellers”. We don’t churn out trips to Vegas or airline tickets. Instead, we devote 100% of our energies to the planning of the vacations in the lives of our guests that truly matter.
Our on-site offices in 91 countries enable us to provide the very best locally organized travel arrangements for some of our country’s most passionate travelers. Everything we do, from escorted tours to cruises, from safaris, to riverboats, is done on a truly personalized basis.
- We’ve been named one of the nation’s Top Ten “Bespoke” Travel firms by Travel + Leisure
- Celebrating our 36th year. We have Operations offices in Illinois and Texas. Angela and Richard Turen are based at our Corporate Headquarters in Naples, Florida.
- We do not employ travel agents or any outside sales agents. We do not believe that travel should ever be “sold”. Our gimmick is exposing the truth about every top-tier travel product we represent. For instance, we rate the world’s top ten cruise lines, publish those rankings, and those are the only cruise lines we will represent.
- No one on our staff “sells” Our Concierge Team is fully salaried and we do not hire Travel Agents or Outside sales people. This allows us to draw from a deep pool of talent. When you work with us you work with a “Team” dedicated to the success of every aspect of your overseas vacation. No one on your team is commission-based.
- Our Managing Director was Vice President of one of the world’s largest and best-known cruise lines.
- Our President was instrumental in planning the travel for the television series “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”.
- Our media group consists of six web sites, three of which are the largest consumer, ad-free sites in the nation in their special area. One of them deals exclusively with Riverboats. One with cruises and one is totally devoted to non-cruise Q&A. Our consumer sites have no ads, no booking mechanism, and no silly, unfounded comments.
- Conde Nast has named us both the World’s Best Luxury Cruise and Riverboat Specialists for the past decade. We are the only firm to share this honor. We have won more “World’s Best Travel Specialist Awards” from the Editors of Conde Nast Traveler than any other travel firm in the United States.
- One of our owners is currently the Senior Contributing Editor at the nation’s most respected travel industry publication.
- Prior to Covid, we had the distinct honor of being named the “Top Revenue Producing Consultants” in the $23 Billion worldwide Virtuoso Network. We have earned this recognition for four of the past five years
- We operate the Elite Traveler Concierge Club whose members receive benefits, our monthly Travel Intel Report, and the waiving of all travel planning fees.
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT TO US AT 630-717-7777
OR E-MAIL US: documents@traveltruth.com
TO CONTINUE ON TO THE LARGEST AD-FREE, SALES-FREE TRAVEL DATABASE IN THE DIGITAL WORLD
PLEASE ENTER YOUR ELITE TRAVELER
PERSONAL PASSWORD
_______________________
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR VISITING TRAVELTRUTH.COM
YOU HAVE DISCOVERED THE GATEWAY TO OUR CHURCHILL & TUREN LTD. AD-FREE – HYPE – FREE
CONSUMER TRAVEL UNIVERSE
OUR AWARD-WINNING WEB SITES WITH THOUSANDS OF PAGES OF PROFESSIONALLY WRITTEN TRAVEL CONTENT
IS AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY FOR MEMBERS OF OUR ELITE
TRAVELER CONCIERGE CLUB
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO INQUIRE ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF JOINING OUR CLIENTS IN 46 STATES AND 7 COUNTRIES
AND RECEIVING WORLDWIDE VACATION PLANNING DESIGNED FOR INTELLIGENT CONSUMERS
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CALL US AT 630-717-7777
THE FEE IS JOIN OUR ELITE TRAVERLER CONCIERGE CLUB IS $500 PER FAMILY ANNUALLY
HERE ARE JUST A FEW FACTS ABOUT CHURCHILL AND TUREN LTD. THAT MIGHT BE OF INTEREST
No one on our staff is a “salesperson”. We have earned our worldwide reputation by always trying to be “Travel Truthtellers”. We don’t churn out trips to Vegas or airline tickets. Instead, we devote 100% of our energies to the planning of the vacations in the lives of our guests that truly matter.
Our on-site offices in 91 countries enable us to provide the very best locally organized travel arrangements for some of our country’s most passionate travelers. Everything we do, from escorted tours to cruises, from safaris, to riverboats, is done on a truly personalized basis.
- We’ve been named one of the nation’s Top Ten “Bespoke” Travel firms by Travel + Leisure
- Celebrating our 36th year. We have Operations offices in Illinois and Texas. Angela and Richard Turen are based at our Corporate Headquarters in Naples, Florida.
- We do not employ travel agents or any outside sales agents. We do not believe that travel should ever be “sold”. Our gimmick is exposing the truth about every top-tier travel product we represent. For instance, we rate the world’s top ten cruise lines, publish those rankings, and those are the only cruise lines we will represent.
- No one on our staff “sells” Our Concierge Team is fully salaried and we do not hire Travel Agents or Outside sales people. This allows us to draw from a deep pool of talent. When you work with us you work with a “Team” dedicated to the success of every aspect of your overseas vacation. No one on your team is commission-based.
- Our Managing Director was Vice President of one of the world’s largest and best-known cruise lines.
- Our President was instrumental in planning the travel for the television series “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”.
- Our media group consists of six web sites, three of which are the largest consumer, ad-free sites in the nation in their special area. One of them deals exclusively with Riverboats. One with cruises and one is totally devoted to non-cruise Q&A. Our consumer sites have no ads, no booking mechanism, and no silly, unfounded comments.
- Conde Nast has named us both the World’s Best Luxury Cruise and Riverboat Specialists for the past decade. We are the only firm to share this honor. We have won more “World’s Best Travel Specialist Awards” from the Editors of Conde Nast Traveler than any other travel firm in the United States.
- One of our owners is currently the Senior Contributing Editor at the nation’s most respected travel industry publication.
- Prior to Covid, we had the distinct honor of being named the “Top Revenue Producing Consultants” in the $23 Billion worldwide Virtuoso Network. We have earned this recognition for four of the past five years
- We operate the Elite Traveler Concierge Club whose members receive benefits, our monthly Travel Intel Report, and the waiving of all travel planning fees.
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT TO US AT 630-717-7777
OR E-MAIL US: documents@traveltruth.com
TO CONTINUE ON TO THE LARGEST AD-FREE, SALES-FREE TRAVEL DATABASE IN THE DIGITAL WORLD
PLEASE ENTER YOUR ELITE TRAVELER
PERSONAL PASSWORD
_______________________
- HOW DO I GET REGENT SEVEN SEAS TO GET ME ONE OF SEVERAL NON-STOP FLIGHTS HOME?
Q – (9.21.24) – We are sailing Regent Seven Seas next summer and just received our included Business Class Air Schedule. Although there are several non-stop options to Phoenix from London they are asking us to fly to LA and then connect back to Phoenix on the return. With several non-stop alternatives, I don’t see why they would inconvenience their guests with this kind of schedule. How can we get them to change it? Why in the world would they pick a schedule that is so clearly inconvenient for their guests?
A – You are booked on the, now discontinued, “Free Business Air” Program operated by Regent for many years. This process in fairly complex as tickets are purchased and flights assigned through a separate office at the airlines contracted for specific gateway cities. In fact, it is the airline that ultimately chooses the flights based on the pricing parameters set up contractually. In your case, the airline fares for the non-stops are significantly higher than the agreed fare arrangements with Regent. They will book you on the non-stop return but the airline is requiring a $2200 per person upcharge to reflect what the real cost of the non-stop would be versus the net contract rate.
You have not been assigned the non-stop on the return because the airline is charging the cruise line significantly more than their agree-to budgetary costs for the air service.
The fact is that the major airlines operating routes to Europe no longer feel that they need to dilute their revenue by providing contracted fares to cruise lines and tour operators. We are starting to see major lines eliminate or drastically change their previous air programs based on favorable rates unavailable to the general public.
Regent has been affected by this is a major way as previously discussed on this site. Effective September 1, 2024, they eliminated the Free Business Air Option. Now, guests are given a specific quote for air based on the class of service, their gateway, and the specific flight option. The “Ultimate” Regent option includes the air, transfers on arrival and departure, as well as a $500 Limousine company credit to be used for transportation to/from the airport or some time during the cruise in port.
We are now advising, that in the case of Regent, guests carefully consider choosing and booking the air independently.
It is important to point out that Regent’s competitors on the Top Ten List of the world’s best cruise lines are not currently offering an inclusive Free Business Air Program. There are carefully orchestrated efforts by major luxury lines to get out of the air business whenever possible given the disappearance of once-common “contract rate” agreements.
- WONDERING HOW SILVERSEA IS HANDLING RESTAURANT UPCHARGES ON THE SILVER DAWN THAT WE ARE BOOKING FOR MARCH 2026?
Q – We have been following your ratings and rankings of the top, the very top, worldwide cruise lines and we are excited to be trying Silversea in 2026 on a wonderful itinerary. You rank them as second best in the World – high praise. But on one of threads I follow I see that Silversea is now charging for dinners – something that doesn’t compute with its high per diems. I can afford whatever they charge but I would really like to know what my additional dining costs will be on the Dawn from Split to Lisbon? By the way, your telephone number is tough to find and I recently discovered you are unlisted. Who the hell is your Marketing Manager?
A – We now have cruise lines that are engaged in partnerships with top-line Michelin chefs and some of the options on the very top lines in our rankings are now charging for dining that really goes beyond the normal gourmet experience. Some of the “extra charge” dining experiences come with or offer extraordinary wine flights for those so-inclined. What we look for in our rankings is just how necessary is it for guests on a five star line to avoid paying anything extra to dine while still enjoying a “better than the restaurants at home”.
Here is a point often missed by cruisers: Your best restaurant at home normally gets deliveries on Monday/Tuesday and/or Thursday/Friday. Weekend food is rarely fresh. But on most itineraries, the Chef and staff make runs into local markets and pick out groceries and proteins that are fresh and meet their high standards. So you are often dining on better overall ingredients, like fish less than 24 hour sold, when you dine aboard one of the five-star’s on our list.
On your cruise, there are five restaurants that carry no additional charge. They are: Atlantide – La Terrazza – Silver Note – The Grill – Spaccanapoli
There are the extra charge dining options and the current pricing:
- Salt Kitchen – Stands for “Sea and Land Taste”. This is a “culinary voyage into local cuisine and culture. It is normally $230 Per Guest. It is worth trying once but we find that our “Foodies” like to dine in this venue more than once during a voyage.
- La Dame – Truly French with some great DNA, $160 Per Person at the moment.
- Kaseki – A serious Japanese venue at $80 per person. Some of the discussion revolves around the fact that Crystal does not charge for its sushi bar.
So – is there kickback about these extra charges? Really very little. Food costs are hard to predict almost two years ahead of a sailing and extra charge dining options seem to be ingrained in portions of the lux cruise experience.
Our telephone numbers have been generally unlisted for forty years. Our Marketing Manager, one A.V. Churchill, has never felt that we should be accessible. A.V. is very British and will not book anyone on any travel unless it is to Great Britain or its (Empire) and reachable by British Airways. But always feel free to reach out to us at 630-717-7777. We’ll make sure that A.V. doesn’t answer the phone. After 40 years, he still does not know quite how to work the phones.
- FLYING TO JAPAN AFTER CONNECTION IN DALLAS: HOW CAN WE MAXIMIZE OPPORTUNITY TO SLEEP?
Q – We have a long flight coming up on Japan Airlines but first we have to connect from Las Vegas then on to Dallas for our flight. We are fairly well traveled but this is a long flight on an Airbus 350 and I am not prone to fall asleep while flying. Any advice for us specific to how to prepare for a good night’s sleep? Any information about how comfortable we will be in Business versus First Class? Can’t tell you how much we value this site and its honesty.
A – Well let’s start out with the good news. You will be flying the recently configured Airbus 350-1000 with one of the most innovation and comfortable Business Class seats that convert to beds in the skies. You will have a privacy wall, excellent food, a large screen, and more technology than you will ever be able to figure out during one flight. And – you will have a comfortable bed with speakers in the pillow section that will help play the sounds of sleep if you wish.
Here are the specific recommendations we discuss with our clients who have sleep concerns on longer flights to Asia, Africa, and portions of Pakistan:
- Start by considering Melatonin and a strategy to wear compression-socks.
- For two days before your flight go on the “FJD”, the Flying to Japan diet. That might mean lean meats, fish, nuts, dairy, and some complex carbs. Avoid the hard to digest foods you normally eat.
- Try to get into deep relaxation in the 24 hours prior to your flight. Avoid raising your heartbeat – no strenuous exercise..
- Carefully select an eye mask and comfortable earplugs in advance. Test them out at home. Don’t rely on what the flight attendant hands you.
- Always avoid any hot, water-base beverages offered on an aircraft. They are likely using tank water but they do not advertise that. Notice how rarely, if ever, you have seen a flight attendant make themselves a cup of coffee. The stuff they drink is from Starbuck’s in the terminal.
- Try to book the latest flight out so you are exhausted when you board.
- Consider making a picnic at your seat using healthy choice options you purchased in the terminal. It is OK to pas son what is being served in favor of your own creation. If it keeps you more comfortable it is worth it.
- WONDERING IF YOU FEEL ‘CLEAR” MEMBERSHIP WILL HELP US MOVE THROUGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS FASTER?Q – (9.19.24) – We have heard that CLEAR is actually preferred to TSA Pre-Check to save time and effort in airport security lines. I love shortcuts – do you recommend that your clients take out this membership?
A – We are not yet enthusiastic about CLEAR. It costs $189 Per Year and there is good US Airport coverage. But we are not at all impressed with its coverage overseas. There have also been delays based on the need for each passenger to input information into machines that can be moody.
Bottom Line: If you regularly fly out of a home airport with CLEAR by all means sign up – but don’t rely on it as an international strategy for scooting through airports ahead of the masses.
- WE ARE PLANNING A MEMORABLE FAMILY VACATION IN FRANCE. WHAT ARE THE MAJOR ‘BEHAVIORAL’ RULES TO KNOW?
Q – Although our planned trip to Paris and Bordeaux with our grown kids and their three children is still eight months away, we are wondering if there are a few cultural rules we ought to start drumming into everyone now? In other words, what does it take to be a successful “tourist” in the eyes of the French? This is a 70th Birthday Celebration and we want everyone to fully enjoy the experience – but aside from us, no one int he family has been abroad.
A – There are several things worth knowing about French cultural norms that will be helpful. Here are our personal French “House Rules”:
- Never speak loudly in a restaurant or cafe. If other tables can hear you – tone it down a few octaves,. The French don’t mind being seen but they dislike being heard.
- Never ask for food to go or for leftovers to be placed in a doggie bag.
- Everything that touches your lips should be eaten slowly – always carefully and thoughtfully savored. Americans, the French feel, do not know how to slowly enjoy anything from coffee to snails – to life itself.
- Never ask a French person what they do for a living. The French are proud of their life-work balance and they do not enjoy discussing work after hours.
- Never enter or leave any French establishment without a proper Bonjour or Monsieur/Madame acknowledgement. And always make sure you utter hello or goodbye in French before the staff.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR VISITING TRAVELTRUTH.COM
YOU HAVE DISCOVERED THE GATEWAY TO OUR CHURCHILL & TUREN LTD. AD-FREE – HYPE – FREE
CONSUMER TRAVEL UNIVERSE
OUR AWARD-WINNING WEB SITES WITH THOUSANDS OF PAGES OF PROFESSIONALLY WRITTEN TRAVEL CONTENT
IS AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY FOR MEMBERS OF OUR ELITE
TRAVELER CONCIERGE CLUB
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO INQUIRE ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF JOINING OUR CLIENTS IN 46 STATES AND 7 COUNTRIES
AND RECEIVING WORLDWIDE VACATION PLANNING DESIGNED FOR INTELLIGENT CONSUMERS
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CALL US AT 630-717-7777
THE FEE IS JOIN OUR ELITE TRAVERLER CONCIERGE CLUB IS $500 PER FAMILY ANNUALLY
HERE ARE JUST A FEW FACTS ABOUT CHURCHILL AND TUREN LTD. THAT MIGHT BE OF INTEREST
No one on our staff is a “salesperson”. We have earned our worldwide reputation by always trying to be “Travel Truthtellers”. We don’t churn out trips to Vegas or airline tickets. Instead, we devote 100% of our energies to the planning of the vacations in the lives of our guests that truly matter.
Our on-site offices in 91 countries enable us to provide the very best locally organized travel arrangements for some of our country’s most passionate travelers. Everything we do, from escorted tours to cruises, from safaris, to riverboats, is done on a truly personalized basis.
- We’ve been named one of the nation’s Top Ten “Bespoke” Travel firms by Travel + Leisure
- Celebrating our 36th year. We have Operations offices in Illinois and Texas. Angela and Richard Turen are based at our Corporate Headquarters in Naples, Florida.
- We do not employ travel agents or any outside sales agents. We do not believe that travel should ever be “sold”. Our gimmick is exposing the truth about every top-tier travel product we represent. For instance, we rate the world’s top ten cruise lines, publish those rankings, and those are the only cruise lines we will represent.
- No one on our staff “sells” Our Concierge Team is fully salaried and we do not hire Travel Agents or Outside sales people. This allows us to draw from a deep pool of talent. When you work with us you work with a “Team” dedicated to the success of every aspect of your overseas vacation. No one on your team is commission-based.
- Our Managing Director was Vice President of one of the world’s largest and best-known cruise lines.
- Our President was instrumental in planning the travel for the television series “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”.
- Our media group consists of six web sites, three of which are the largest consumer, ad-free sites in the nation in their special area. One of them deals exclusively with Riverboats. One with cruises and one is totally devoted to non-cruise Q&A. Our consumer sites have no ads, no booking mechanism, and no silly, unfounded comments.
- Conde Nast has named us both the World’s Best Luxury Cruise and Riverboat Specialists for the past decade. We are the only firm to share this honor. We have won more “World’s Best Travel Specialist Awards” from the Editors of Conde Nast Traveler than any other travel firm in the United States.
- One of our owners is currently the Senior Contributing Editor at the nation’s most respected travel industry publication.
- Prior to Covid, we had the distinct honor of being named the “Top Revenue Producing Consultants” in the $23 Billion worldwide Virtuoso Network. We have earned this recognition for four of the past five years
- We operate the Elite Traveler Concierge Club whose members receive benefits, our monthly Travel Intel Report, and the waiving of all travel planning fees.
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT TO US AT 630-717-7777
OR E-MAIL US: documents@traveltruth.com
TO CONTINUE ON TO THE LARGEST AD-FREE, SALES-FREE TRAVEL DATABASE IN THE DIGITAL WORLD
PLEASE ENTER YOUR ELITE TRAVELER
PERSONAL PASSWORD
_______________________
[theme-my-login action=login]