The rest of Q&A |

YOU SAID SOMETHING THAT MADE NO SENSE ABOUT HOTEL RATES

Q – We were reviewing your truly ambitious site. You have set yourselves quite a challenge. But how are we to trust your information when we read that “if you know the price you’ve paid for a hotel room – you’ve paid too much.” Please explain. Otherwise love the information and the way it is presented without “commercials.”

A – You are taking a sentence out of context. There was a long explanation that led up to your quote.

When you book a hotel online or directly with a hotel, you are receiving a rate that is in the public domain. It is available for everyone to see. The very best rates are not available to foreign tourists who book their rooms online or directly with the hotel. They are contracted rates available only to local travel firms that do substantial business in the destination. These are known as “In-bound” travel specialists. They book complete programs for individual travelers or groups. They negotiate and receive special discounted hotel rates in a confidential tariff. In other words, the rates they get cannot be revealed online or even directly to a travel agent. They are incorporated in a proposal that might include transfers, sightseeing, as well as accommodations. The best hotel rates are contracted, confidential rates. You will receive a total price for your arrangements but the actual, per night charge for your hotel room will not be broken out separately. That is how to get the best hotel rates worldwide.

If this all sounds circuitous, it really isn’t. Every travel agent who belongs to one of the major consortiums works with in-country experts who use these special confidential, contracted rates. It is really true that you have paid too much if you know the cost of your hotel stay. But we truly do understand that this is rarely discussed openly and so it sounds suspicious.
BUDAPEST IS OUR DESTINATION: IS IT TOO DANGEROUS TO GO?

Q – We are scheduled to stay in Budapest for three days before boarding our Uniworld River Cruise. The news is just awful, and the refugees seem to be causing all sorts of problems in the city. My wife is somewhat fragile and I will admit, based on what I am seeing on TV, I’m worried. We were just planning on walking around on our own. We booked ourselves into the Prestige Hotel. We set up the entire trip ourselves so we’re dependent on you for some good advice here. Should we try to cancel in view of what is going on? Is the news media overstating the situation in Budapest?

A – They are not overstating it according to the hoteliers and offices in the city with whom we work regularly. This is a serious situation and the reaction of the Hungarian government to newly arriving immigrants from Syria and other war-torn nations in the Middle East is something that cause some level of civil unrest. But we still believe that tourists can avoid the areas where authorities are cracking down on new arrivals, particularly in the area around the city’s central train station.

We are a bit concerned that you have no one to fall back on should you need help. If things go bad, you will have only your own resources. Our recommendation is to initiate a relationship for the future with the best travel agent in your town. This is a very personal situation and should not be handled on the internet. Ask the agent to arrange services by a trusted guide during your three days in the city. If that is not something you are willing to do, we think you should write a detailed letter tot he Head Concierge at the Prestige Hotel. We like the property and it is near Parliament and St. Stephens Church on a quiet side street. It should work well for you.

We have migrant workers and an estimated 40 million people who don’t get enough to eat living in our own country. Put it all in perspective, listen tot he arguments on both sides, and go see for yourself. The attempt by refugees in escape horribly oppressive regimes is a terrible thing to watch. That it is happening in those very countries where some of our own relatives tried to escape persecution not very long ago, makes it particularly poignant. The refugees, most of them, are headed to Germany and just trying to pass through heading in a northerly direction. It is not in anyone’s interest to harm American tourists and we think you will be absolutely fine if you follow our recommendations above.
SCHEDULED FOR GREEK ISLANDS CRUISE IN SEPTEMBER – WILL IT HAPPEN AND SHOULD WE GO?

Q – We are doing a cruise out of Athens on Oceania that departs in September. We’ve scheduled our arrival early so we can have three nights in Athens to see the main sites. Would you advise that we cancel this trip, although we don’t think insurance would cover it since it is not medical. But then again, if we get killed that would be “medical”. Any guidance would be appreciated. Any precautions you would advise if we do go?

A – We are expecting some major disruptions in Athens this summer. We are placing our clients in the most secure hotels. Tourists are appreciated and no violence will be directed toward you, but there could be street demonstrations and some flying souvlaki overhead.

This is our recommended game plan:

Do not cancel your cruise. You will love the islands and your enjoyment of the itinerary and ship will not be affected. But we would suggest you not change your flight schedule but do consider cancelling the three nights in Athens and, instead, connecting on a short flight to one of the lovelier islands for your three-night stay. (Perhaps fly into Rhodes and stay on Simi, or visit Lesbos or Patmos) Then on the day the cruise departs, book an early flight back into Athens and have a driver meet you for a visit to the Acropolis, the Plaka District, and any of the riot sites you care to visit. You won’t need to be at the ship until 3:00 pm. This will really maximize your enjoyment of this vacation without the need for major trip renovations.
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 emergency funding on Friday to allow the banks to open on Monday. With a lot more needed, the ECB will grow more hesitant to pump in new money unless the Greek government secures an agreement with its European partners and the institutions through which they operate (the European Commission, the ECB and the International Monetary Fund).
2. A Summit of European leaders has been called for Monday to increase the chances of such an agreement. The aim is to find a compromise under which Greece would agree to a set of economic reforms, creditors would provide additional debt relief, and at least 7 billion euros of previously committed funds would be released immediately to help Greece navigate its tough payments schedule over the next few weeks.
3. The Greek government faces a virtually impossible choice in these negotiations. Either it relents and agrees to the demands of its increasingly restless creditors, thereby breaking its electoral promises and undermining what it has fought and stood for; or it holds out and risks seeing a series of disruptions that include the total implosion of the banking system, the rapid accumulation of payments arrears to creditors and suppliers, the imposition of capital controls to counter the accelerated flight of money out of Greece, and the issuance of government IOUs to meet pensions and other government obligations – all of which would deal another blow to an economy that is already ravaged by recession, alarming unemployment and climbing poverty; and it would render very difficult Greece’s continued membership of the Eurozone.
4. The unpleasant choices also apply to Greece’s creditors. Even if the Greek government agrees to additional reforms, few believe that it would actually implement them. As such, they fear that the new money disbursed would only buy the country a few weeks while continuing to transfer private liabilities to the European tax payers; and this is assuming that national parliaments, including in Greece, would approve the revised terms for the bailout. Yet the alternative is also very unappealing. If creditors continue to withhold funds, Greece would be tipped into a catastrophic crisis that, for the rest of Europe, would also entail the threat of massive migration out of the country as well as geo-political risks.
5. Markets have been relatively calm in the face of a growing probability of a Graccident and the Grexit that this could entail. Some market participants believe that, as has repeatedly been the case in the past, a last minute agreement will be reached to avert a Greek economic, financial, social and political disaster. Others realize that such an agreement could well elude Europe this time around but are comforted by the steps that have been taken to contain the negative spillovers.
6. The rest of the Eurozone is indeed better placed to deal with a Grexit than it has been at any time since this crisis first emerged in 2010. A number of regional funding windows have been put in place. The ECB has already embarked on large-scale balance sheet operations which could be rapidly expanded. The European Investment Bank has obtained greater lending flexibility. And the usual list of peripheral European countries at risk – including Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain – are themselves less vulnerable than in the past.
7. Minimizing contagion risk does not equate to eliminating it. Given the truly unprecedented nature of all this, there are lots of unanswered questions, including vexing legal and operational ones. For example, it is far from clear how a Greek currency redenomination process would play out given that there are no established procedures for this. Existing safety nets are way too weak and already-extremely stretched to handle the likely human dislocations. And new mechanisms would need to be found to reset the banking system in order to restore a minimum level of financial services to citizens and companies.
8. While seeking an agreement to avert a Greek implosion, also expect European leaders to work hard on a “Plan B” that most, if not all, could rally around. In addition to establishing a new European relationship for Greece should it be forced to exit the single European currency system (such as an association agreement with the European Union), they would need to approve a “whatever it takes” mandate for regional institutions to contain contagion risk emanating from a Greek disaster.
9. The implications for the global economy depend in large part on whether European leaders succeed in finding a durable solution for Greece or, alternatively if they fail to do so, are able to contain the crisis from pushing the rest of the continent into recession and financial instability.
10. Whatever happens, and while the blame game is likely to intensify, there are important lessons to be learned for all involved. If this learning process does indeed happen over time, some small good could emerge of what otherwise is a terrible Greek tragedy.

This post originally appeared on Business Insider.
Mohamed El-Erian is chief economic adviser to Allianz and chair of President Obama’s Global Development Council.

Churchill is not currently advising that travel plans to Greece be altered. But all of our guests contemplating travel to Greece in the upcoming months should make certain that all payments are made by a highly-rated credit card. All guests to Greece should carry “cancel for any reason” insurance.
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 us to travel (birthdays, anniversary, etc.)

Anyway, one of the things that we have wanted to do was to take a cross atlantic trip. If we do so we are thinking that the Queen Mary 2 would be the best given the possible rough weather. I see that there is a crossing from Southamption to NYC on December 15. We are thinking of going to Europe a week earlier, spending some time perhaps in Rome (which we haven’t been to in a long while (or maybe Spain???) then making our way to London for the sailing?

If we take the QM2 we would want a decent stateroom (Queens Grill category.) I haven’t really seen much on Traveltruth regarding the QM2 so your advice is, as always, my first choice.

Please let me know regarding this possible itinerary and whether Italy or Spain would be a better choice for December.

A – Thanks so much. Pretty straightforward.

You don’t want to be in the middle of the Atlantic in December in any class of service. We think it could be more of an adventure than you both require in your lives.

December is difficult – Spain would be marginally better than Italy but the weather will not be very different than, say, the Washington D.C. area at that time of year. We would think you might think more about someplace like St. Petersburg, Russia or Stockholm, where the winter weather could be fun.

To save some money and have a good experience, you might want to look at one of the Christmas Market river boat cruises in December to Germany. We love the experience but it helps if you would enjoy the beer and sausages.

When we think of December travel you could use your miles and be in prime season in:

The Orient/Southeast Asia
Portions of Africa
South America

The crossings are wonder but we think that is a bucket list item that should be checked off in prime season.
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 we do? Will our smartphones likely work. We’re among the select few to own an iPhone.

A – We can see that you have gotten a bit of a run-around in terms of sites linking to sites – none of which really answers your question.

Seabourn has invested in satellite communication technology. But Internet service and Wi-Fi connections at sea are extremely problematic. No one can guarantee a clear connection unless you bring along a Satellite Phone and point it at the southern sky.

Here is what we recommend you do.

01 – Call Wireless Traveler – 866 – 700 – 3883. A human being will answer the phone. . They will ask what countries you are going to be visiting and what your needs are and they will overnight you the proper phone with sim card, along with detailed instructions. You don’t need to purchase a phone – just rent one for the length of your trip that will work in the countries you are visiting. Wireless Traveler will take care of all details.

02 – As an alternative, AT&T and Verizon rent overseas equipped phones to their customers. But you would need to have a nearby office for convenience.

03 – You will significantly better connections on land than you will have at sea so I would plan for that eventuality.

04 – If you have a serious need to be in telephone communication while aboard the ship, do seriously consider renting a satellite phone from Wireless Traveler. They are bulky but they always work as long as you are on a deck, outdoors aboard ship.

05 – Your current phones will not work abroad because they lack the proper Sim cards so one of the above steps is required.
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, endlessly “aerating” his wine before tasting it as the hapless wine steward stands by anxiously awaiting his nod of approvals. My friend takes every available wine course offered in our city and I suppose he knows what he is doing but the tasting and, occasional spitting out the wine back in the glass is sometimes embarrassing. How would you deal with this?

Q – If he enjoys it we would say let him gargle his wine, spit into out, or put it behind his ears. But, in truth, we would likely not hold back and point out that truly knowledgeable wine connoisseurs never taste a wine. Taste is a very personal thing. It tells you nothing important about the wine except whether or not, on that day, at that time, your friend likes it.

When a wine steward presents a bottle of wine the proper response historically is to simply sniff the cork to determine if the wine is spoiled or rancid

Click here to see some really nice “immobilier israel” offers.
LOOKING FOR A HIP, QUALITY, BOUTIQUE HOTEL IN LONDON

Q – Any recommendation for a nice, unique, small hotel, in London that attracts a hip crowd?

A – Try the new Chiltern Firehouse. This small, 26-room property was a firehouse in the 1890’s. It has a lively bar and a recommended restaurant. Can’t promise “hip” but it has been attracting an artsy, younger crowd.
CALM, CONVENIENT, CARIBBEAN LUX RESORT

Q – We want to find a Caribbean resort that will provide sun, spa, serenity and an opportunity for my husband and I to have, well, never mind. But we’re stymied because we live in Chicago and it has to be an easy non-stop flight. Is there an answer to our dilemma?

A – There are several but the one that first comes to mind is the Dorado Beach Ritz Carlton. Think beautiful, secluded beach and the Spa Botanical plus James Beard award-winning chefs on premises. This is a one-of-a-kind Ritz Carlton Reserve Property.
AN IDYLLIC GETAWAY LESS THAN TEN HOURS AWAY

Q – If your writers could take a month off and go somewhere lovely next summer where they could enjoy village life, the sea, authentic, fresh local foods, and hours spent sitting at an outdoor cafe working on a novel, where might it be? It would need to be less than a ten hour flight from Atlanta.

A – A bit subjective and there are at least thirty possible answers but your question takes us to one of the less visited among the more than fifty inhabited Greek Islands. For starters, check out Paros, Lesbos, and Simi.

If you can’t write while sitting waterside in a taverna along Simi’s waterfront, it is time to choose a new passion like reverse bungee-jumping.