The rest of Q&A

Q – We will be traveling to the Greek Islands this October, thanks to you. We are not all that digitally proficient and we are wondering if there is anything like a flight app that will work while we travel to monitor gate changes, flight delays etc. It would be great to have that with us.

A – Download The Flight Tracker. It gives you all the real-time basics you will need as well as reminders when you need them. But the real reason to download this app is that it works offline so you can take advantage of it while you are en route aboard your aircraft.

The pro’s app is Flight Aware Flight Tracker which you can use on your desktop. Some say that flight changes appear here before they are posted on the airline’s own site. Learn to use the “Misery Map” which instantly shows you which airports have been hit with the longest delays and cancellations.

Q – 9.7.21 – It all seems rather confusing at the moment – can’t imagine how you are keeping up with where one can/should go on vacation these days. Like everyone else in the D.C. area, we need to get away for a while. Are there general areas of the world we should be considering, avoiding, if we want to travel before the New Year?

A – For 2021, the luxury playing field is narrowing but there are still many good options – although you may have to do a bit of 72-hour pre-testing. Let’s start with those portions of the world that we think might be best avoided for the rest of this year and into the first quarter of next year followed by destinations where current conditions make vacation planning in the next 100 days feasible:

AVOID:

• Central America
• South America
• Asia with the exception of Japan
• Mexico
• Hawaii
• Caribbean Mega-ship Cruise Ports
• India and Nepal

CONSIDER

• Tahiti
• Antarctica Cruising
• Christmas Market River Cruises
• The Maldives
• The United Arab Emirates
• Eastern and Southern Africa
• Iceland
• Ireland and Scotland
• Egypt and Nile Cruises
• European Cruises on ships with no Covid history on the Cruisetruth Top Ten List
• Italy and Greece
• Seychelles (Cruise)
• The Galapagos Islands (Cruise)
• Private Jet Touring
• Scandinavia and Russia

Q – We are people travelers – we could care less about sterile historical buildings and silly church buildings with their excessive costs. For us, we like to be around locals where they gather – seeing neighborhoods that are developing but are off the beaten tourist track. It seems that we invariably stumble into some fine local dining by experiencing places this way. This fall, we’ll be heading to Prague for the first time and we are wondering if you can identify a few neighborhoods worthy of our time. They don’t need to be deluxe – just authentic and where the locals really tend to hang out because they can’t afford the rents in the city center. Realize you are into high-end vacation planning so hope this question is appropriate.

A – Candidly, we are in complete agreement with your approach, or we would be if you included some of the major sites of interest. Many years ago we designed an approach to touring we call “Contemporary Lifestyle Touring” (CLT) which involves tour planning that utilizes a “where do the locals gather” approach along with guides who are trained to offer a sense of modern life in the city. So your question is entirely appropriate and we think your approach ought to be incorporated by the major tour operators, many of whom are offering essentially the same “Main Sites” itineraries they have been selling for two decades.

The wilder part of Prague is Vrsovice which has an incredible main street called Krymska that features some great local food, thousands of football fans, and a pub or beer garden every twenty feet or so. You have not really seen Prague unless you have walked the Krymska.

The floods of 2012 left the old town neighborhood of Karlin in ruins. This is now the hippest part of Prague and a great place to go during the lunch hour. Try Eska for really excellent classic Czech cuisine. One of the current dining stars is “Avocado Gang” which features shared tables. Carnivores swear by the Presto Meat Market, essentially a butcher shop with a few tables. If the tables are full – no worries. There is a dining tent out in the back.

Q – 5.14.21  Thank you for all of this – extraordinary info. We are planning a tour to Egypt that will include a cruise along the Nile for four nights. This is a bucket list item and I am an advance planner. The dates and pricing for our planned travel about two years from today are not out yet but I am told I can have our names placed on a wait-list with a deposit. We will then be contacted when things are set. We are working with a local agent in our town who is encouraging us, naturally, to deposit.  Are there risks involved? Is 24 months in advance rushing things? 

A – Egypt touring with Nile components is among the five top worldwide destinations that are selling out far in advance of reservations elsewhere. The demand is high with visitors from North America, Asia, India, and Europe. For one of the better, most reliable tour operators the idea of placing your deposit down far in advance of pricing is a sound one as some departure dates could sell out within days of being announced. The deposit will serve to hold your place – space will be offered to your agent before the departure is opened to the general public. We want to be certain, however, that you have something in writing certifying that if you are unhappy with the pricing presented you can drop out and receive a full refund. You should receive a confirmation in writing from the supplier care of your advisor showing the wait-list confirmation.

Travel to Egypt is challenging, worthwhile, and dependent on the quality of the operator, the hotels, the guides, and the boat used along the Nile. This is an example of a destination where budgeting is unwise. Take security into account as well. Stay at one of Cairo’s top-grade hotels. Standards decrease rapidly. Be prepared for Cairo’s pollution. 

Q – Thanks to your efforts, we are looking forward to a cruise from Copenhagen to Stockholm next summer. We have decided to arrive in Copenhagen two nights prior to our sailing on the Regent Splendor. We would love to stay at a well-located, reasonably-priced hotel and go out to a nice dinner before boarding the next day. Any recommendations for an interesting hotel experience along with a Vegan-centered restaurant recommendation? We have been assured by your Team that Vegan dining aboard ship is not an issue.  Just wondering if you are coming across many Vegan travelers in your work? 

A – We’d suggest a stay at the new Villa Copenhagen, a four-year project to convert the post office next to Tivoli Gardens into a $215 Million 390-Room property with a striking rooftop pool. Rates will co9me in at under $300 for a standard room and you’re perfectly close to the action. You can walk the streets and watch some of the world’s “happiest” residents frowning their way through the city.

For the best Vegan food in a city renowned for its creative cuisine head to Restaurant Ark which is very close to the worth visiting Torvhallerne food halls. Try to order a dish made with produce from the staff’s private mushroom farm (no not that kind). 

The facts regarding vegetarian dining in America are quite surprising. Forty-six percent of the U.S. adult population always or sometimes eats vegetarian meals when eating out. Twenty percent of U.S. adults always or sometimes eat vegan meals when eating out. Four percent of American adults are vegetarian (including vegans) all the time, and half of the vegetarians are also vegan (two percent).

Enjoy the schrooms and don’t forget to board the Splendor the next day. 

Q – 5.14.21  I had a trip planned with Tauck Tours in 2020 and was offered an incentive to keep money in-house with an incentive that was placed in something they call a “travel wallet”. Now, it looks like we are being cancelled again and I was wondering if we should expect a doubling of the incentive if we travel in 2022? Is there an industrry rule that they have to keep increasing the offer with each cancellation (by them – not me)?

A – There is no such rule and these companies, which have been hit hard by the pandemic, are not generally doubling up on re-booking incentives once they have been applied. This is not a bank account that earns compound interest. Some companiues like Tauck will take your insurance payment and move it into an account for a future booking where it can be applied. That saves you the considerable cost of re-purchasing insurance. 

We would need to know the specifics of your case but it appears that you have had two tours cancelled because it was deemed that to operate them might place your health in jeopardy. Normally, incentives would be carried over once and then again if necessary. But they would not be duplicated. 

Q – As we start planning our travels again, and I don’t want to bother you with long weekends and domestic hotel stays, I wonder if you are feeling that handing over credit card info to a hotel website or online booker is reliable these days? In the past, I’ve done it without thinking, but something you once posted made me think that this had once been a problem. Just how secure is online booking? 

A – Actually, glad that you raised this question. Fake hotel sites are a major problem and most consumers cannot identify the real sites from the fake ones. In 2019, the last year for which reliable pre-Covid data exists, there were an estimated 15 million bogus hotel bookings at an estimated value of $1.3 billion. Most “ghost” hotel sites look identical to the real thing. The goal of the ghost sites is collecting your credit card information and it is estimated that the number of credit card numbers harvested by online hotel bookings now exceeds $100 Billion. Many of the online sites are pretending to be located in the States but they are often overseas ventures that sell your personal information to anyone willing to pay. 

There is no reason that you should use a travel agency to book domestic hotels unless you are seeking high-end comp. amenities at a five-star property. But if you do book directly always phone the hotel directly and make certain you are actually talking to hotel reservations and not a ghost service. Tell them you are recording the call and ask specifically if they are “on property”. 

Thank you for raising this important question as most travel consumers are naive about the dangers of online travel purchasing. 

Q – We are restarting our travel buttons with planned stays at hotels in LA as well as Manhattan for Fashion Week events. As we emerge from this Covid crisis, cleanliness is even more important than godliness. To be specific, how do we choose a hotel that will not be reusing the same sheets from a previous guest? According to your site, this happens often. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I mean suppose a Kardashian has just occupied the room?

A –  It does happen far more than most hotel guests would imagine. In 2019, the average room rate paid for a hotel room in the United States was $97.50. At that rate, housekeeping is going to be minimal and sheets will likely not be changed if there are no visible stains. In June 2020, Inside Edition found “used sheets” gracing beds in the middle of Manhattan at Hyatt Place Times Square, the Hampton Inn Times Square Central, and Trump International. 

There are a few ways to avoid this issue. First, make up your mind that budget or even mid-range hotels are far more germ-laden than you might imagine. Avoid them and book upscale properties that come personally recommended by your consultant. If you can’t afford to stay at a Four Seasons call the hotel front desk shortly before arrival and insist that the beds be made up with fresh linens and ask that all room bedspreads, duvets, and cushions be removed. It is likely that they are covered in fecal matter and have not be properly cleaned for months.

Q – Any thoughts on how things might change in terms of the check-in process, rules aboard aircraft etc? What can we expect?

A – Airlines have discovered major software deficiencies system-wide making the cancellation and transfer of credits extremely challenging. Automation challenges are being addressed now and should be in place when full-scale international air travel resumes by May 2021.

You should expect a rapid acceleration in the use of biometric facial ID at airports. This will help streamline the process. The checking-in of baggage will also be changed in some dramatic ways but that is, according to experts, about three to four years off. Facial ID achieved by having the passenger simply look into a camera will even become the norm at larger domestic airports.

Security clearance will not be initiated at check-in. El-Al has had a system in place for years that allows them to identify all passengers at the time of ticket purchase. Israeli security consultants think we are foolish for not doing the same.

Airlines will simply refuse to permit non-mask wearers to access the aircraft and, in most cases, the terminal. This will surely change over time but look for rule enforcement throughout 2021.

Q – We are due refunds, we believe, for our air arrangements which we made directly through American. They are giving us credits which we do not want at this time. How does one deal with this, can you help us, and how do we avoid this fiasco in the future? We were flying Business class and our total investment was $8400.

A – US Airlines have been doing everything possible to avoid paying cash refunds. In the majority of cases, they are required to under the law. You should keep sending certified letters to customer service explaining why you will be unable to use a future credit. Those with health or financial issues will be in the best position to get a positive response.

As you may have detected, we are not big fans of anti-social media because anything posted becomes public domain and can be sold or used against you in a profile. Here you will get a kickstagram review to increase your instagram followers.  The average American now has more than 1,000 data bits of information in their profile – a profile that is sold by Google, Amazon, Samsung, and your grocery store. That said, in your specific situation, anti-social media (we think that is its correct name) can be useful. We would suggest you carefully lay out your case on American’s various social media sites. They are carefully monitored by management because you may be influencing thousands of users who follow the sites. You are likely to get a faster and more consumer-friendly response than you would had you simply written an e-mail or posted, perish the thought, an actual letter.

Finally, as we face certain turmoil in the booking process, changes, cancellations, and re-routings, it is really important that guests book directly with the carrier or, better yet, through one of the better Flight Ticketing services that offer Concierge-level flight monitoring.