The rest of Q&A

Q – I thought I would see if traveltruth.com is going to give us the same blank stare we get when we ask a travel agent about cruising West Africa. I mean, Africa is a fairly large continent and, near as I can tell, it has both an East and a West Coast. We would for a nice cruise, particularly on an itinerary that includes Ghana, the land of our ancestors. Is there any decent ship that goes there and are there reasons that you would advise not going at all? I am a historian and my husband is a physician. We have never been to Africa before and we want to do it before children come along. We’re in our late thirties and early forties.

A – West Africa is high on our Bucket List so we are definitely not going to suggest you not go. You are smart enough to know that you will encounter depressing levels of poverty, some health risks in terms of prevalent viruses, and some governments for which the term “unstable” is a gross understatement.

That said, prepared to be amazed and enthralled. The trip you want to do is the 18-Night Voyage to West Africa itinerary from Accra to Casablanca on March 23rd next year,  This rather epic sailing aboard the 148-Guest National Geographic Explorer is operated by the world-renowned expedition cruise line, Lindblad Expeditions. Lindblad features some of the best on-board lecturers in the industry and you will not be disappointed in either the boat or the intelligent approach to learning about local cultures. The nine country itinerary includes Senegal. the Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Morocco.

You will be among the youngest aboard but this rare itinerary (let’s face it – this is a tough sell for any cruise line), will attract hardy travelers who practice the kind of experiential journeys favored by Lindblad.

Q – I am a pediatrician here in Dallas and an avid reader of this space. Next summer (2015) Patti and I want to take our three children on a real quality cruise up to Alaska that might have children’s programs. I would love to know the best line to do this with and how I should book it since there are five of us (12, 14, 17).  I keep getting recommendations from local agents for Princess and Holland America but I know they are not in your Top Ten and we can afford something more inclusive with better food and services, as well as fewer people. Any options that could work well to please every  member of our family. Stares from old biddies cause we brought three young-uns with us won’t bother us a bit. (anticipating your response)

A – Well you’ve likely made the best itinerary choice. We would recommend the Crystal Serenity as your best option. They will be doing 7-night Alaska cruises beginning June 19th and then will end the season with several 10-night cruises ending August 6th. Crystal, not known as a line that loves the kiddies, has actually forged an excellent alliance with the National Park Service Ranger service. The trick is to make certain that your consultant verifies there are enough kids booked to operated the program. Crystal won’t offer it if the “biddies” are the only ones onboard.

You will likely need to book a double and adjacent triple. Given the daily temperatures, we don’t feel that a balcony is critical in Alaska. Your wife should be booked with two children in the triple. Once aboard, you can actually sleep with your wife. But the ship’s log must show an adult in each stateroom. This will work well and there’s a good chance everyone will love being aboard the Serenity. The staff will make the kids feel really special because they see so few of them.

Q –  I am going to need to be in Singapore in February on business and I am thinking about bringing along my wife for a week of seeing and exploring the city. Some of what I am seeing online makes me feel that this might not be worth five nights or so and the hotels all seem to be city-centered with a business feel. (I will be staying at the Fullerton for the meeting). I won’t get to see much of the place during our meetings. We’re in our mid-fifties and friends would describe us as “foodies”. How do I turn this into a really nice getaway for my wife?

A – Your concerns are valid. Singapore can seem sterile and built for business. But we definitely think you can pull this off. Book yourselves into the Singapore Resort & Spa Sentosa.  Sentosa Island has the feel of a tropical paradise yet is only 20 minutes from downtown. There are many great restaurants on the island and they have local food stalls that match what you would find in the center of the city. Singapore is, in our judgement, one of the top three food cities in the world (Tokyo and Paris being tops). Staying at a 27-acre resort with easy access tot he city seems to be the right compromise given your goals.

Q – Our travel agent has set us up with a cruise on the Viking River Line, which I understand is the Cadillac of river cruises. We’re scheduled to leave on June 12th next year but I’ve heard from friends that the rivers sometimes flood preventing a full sailing on the river with days made up by doing a bus tour. This is something my wife and I would not enjoy. In fact I would be furious. My TA says river cruising is extremely popular and I should be more positive. What do you say?

A –  We are not particularly pleased with the manner in which river boat lines, in general, have handled this question of water levels and their effect on itineraries. This topic has not been tackled with candor and you are right to be concerned. Just this past week, one company, Viking River, had twelve sailings that were effected by water levels. Guests had to do partial bus tours or switch from one Viking ship to another mid-trip. Last year, dozens of itineraries on all of the major lines were affected and there are hundreds of angry guests who feel they were not given adequate notice or compensation for their troubles.

The problem has to do with both high water, caused by melting snow from the Alps and other mountain ranges, and the low waters in July and August caused by summer draught. In the former, river boats may not be able to fit under bridges. In the latter, river boats may lack a sufficient draft to navigate the waters.

We believe that the need to adjust itineraries, change ships, and alter schedules, happens more often than the public perception. Each company covers itself in the fine print and they have an absolute right, due to weather conditions, to  make changes in the name of safety. But we have noticed major differences in the manner in which each company handles these matters, particularly as pertains to guest compensation or options to cancel. Many guests on river boats last year complained online and elsewhere that they were not informed that their boat would not be operating the full itinerary until they landed in Europe.

For additional reporting on this issue – see our companion site www.riverboatratings.com 

Q – As we approach the magic day – two weeks from now, retirement will mean that we will be going out to see much of the same world we have been avoiding for the past six decades. We don’t want to see it all – no interest in seeing the Congo or hiking the Himalayas, but we do want o see those places on most everyone’s bucket list. Time and money are factors so we will need to pare it down a bit, which is why we are wondering of there is a list of the world’s most overrated places?

B – That could be a long list. It would also be entirely subjective, heavily influenced by the travel writer’s frame of mind at the time. Leon Logothetis, whose name you might recognize from his work on the Discovery Travel, wrote a piece for the LA Times in which he named his Top Five Most Overrated Destinations. We do not agree with all of his assessments, but we thought you might find his list of interest:

# 5 – ATHENS – Rudeness and a disdain for serving others, particularly Americans. Many of the buildings are unfinished and taxis are sometimes impossible to find. Best to see the Acropolis and leave as soon as you can.

# 4 – DUBAI – astonishing “super-city” sites, the splashiest malls you’ve ever seen, a parade of Mercedes, Bentley’s, and Jaguars and an almost constant demonstration of gold and oil-based wealth. You will be comfortable here. But to understand the Middle East, you can’t be coddled and that is exactly what Dubai does best.

# 3 – PRAGUE – Lots of tourists and surly locals who seem not to want to interact with westerners. The beauty of the city is tainted by the sullenness of the people.

# 2 – MOSCOW -An amazing city that can be vibrant if you are in the company of younger residents like university students. But most tourists pay some of the steepest prices on earth for service levels that are not on a par with international standards of luxury. You have to keep your eyes and your wallet wide open in Moscow.

# 1 – PARIS – (And may we say we are not in agreement with this particular rating)  Logothetis faults Paris for the same things that writers have been saying about the city for decades. The Parisians are completely tired of unfashionable tourists, particularly the ill-clothed tourists from the English-speaking world who don’t quite understand why it might be useful to be tri-lingual. At least Paris is, once again, # 1 on a travel list.

Q – My wife and I read travel blogs for fun and we think your sis one of the best. But I’ve been told by two different cruise lines reservations departments that you are not telling the truth when you claim that booking directly with a cruise line is a rip-off. The two lines I spoke to claim that their computers assure the lowest price, something a travel agent can’t do. Are they right?

A – No, you are being fed a sales pitch by a commission-based reservations clerk. If a cruise line offered better pricing to those who call directly, no reputable travel agency would ever sell that line. It just never happens. Most of the top cruise consultants in the nation are completely up-to-date on the best pricing initiatives because they appear in their computer system or in e-mailings from the line. The rip-off is that cruise lines charge you the travel agent commission even when you are not using an agent. They never return it to the consumer, so you are paying for all sorts of services you never receive when you book directly.

When you book directly, the commission salesmen at the cruise line  call centers cannot offer you the amenity packages offered by members of the major consortiums. So, in effect, you are paying more for your cruise by booking directly. Cruise line reservations cannot VIP you or make you eligible for special VIP Documentation. Only a professional cruise consultant can do that. Upgrades are more likely available when you are dealing with a consultant with true clout and millions of dollars in past bookings with the lines. When things go south, you really need someone in your corner.

The cubicle dwelling commissioned sales agent at the cruise line cannot help you with pre and post cruise arrangements, which 75% of all cruise guests require. They can only sell their own, usually cost-inflated program. They do not have contacts in the various ports that will help define your vacation.

Cruise line reservations can only offer their own contracted flights and air prices. You are just a group name in a computer system. No one at the line will review your private flight arrangements, only a travel consultant would do that.

Cruise line reservation staff  can only recommend and sell the cruise lines party insurance, something we would never recommend you purchase. 

And you can have all of the above at zero cost because it is already included in the cruise fare.

We can go on – but we won’t. You decide who is lying.

Q – We will be doing a driving trip from coast to coast later this summer. We’re in our mid-sixties, relatively well-traveled, but we’ve not done a driving vacation in the United States. Our biggest concern is all those meals we will have in strange places and we want to stay healthy. How would you suggest we prepare, research, etc? You could say we are E-coli super-conscious. Which restaurants in these small towns and cities are likely to have kitchens that won’t kill us.

A – There actually is some research in this area. The first thing to point out is that there is not any medical research to back up the fact that urban dwellers with sophisticated palates live longer than their rural cousins. But you could make a case for obesity and less access to the best medical care influences rural lifespan statistics in some major ways.

As far as E-Coli strains, and there are many, we must point out that fast food chains tend to have the healthiest kitchens. Most of their food arrives frozen and there is very little food handling. This is what we want to emphasize to you in the hope that the information is widely disseminated. The best known fast food chains have expensive equipment that sets off alarms or shuts down when the cooking process is shortened. Undercooked meat and poultry is the major cause of gastrointestinal viruses and food poisoning in travelers. It is virtually impossible to find anything undercooked under the golden arches.

White tablecloth restaurants with a strong local following will usually have a chef who has studied health and hygiene at a recognized culinary school. They take careful steps, though not as careful as the Burger Kings, KFC’s, and Taco Bells of the world.

Your biggest risk is eating at local diners and lower-priced local dining outlets that employ  staff that has not been trained in proper food preparation.

The last huge beef recall occurred in April of this year. It involved 1.8 million pounds of beef sold in ten states including Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. But as the laws now read, the FDA did not have to reveal to consumers exactly what kind of restaurant was getting shipments from Detroit’s Wolverine Packing company. The Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service does not have to advise consumers that the meat, in this case used in Angus Steak burgers as well as ground beef patties, was shipped to specific restaurants. As you were driving around the country, trying to choose a place to stop for lunch, you would have no way of knowing where you could safely stop for something to eat.

Finally, we advise our clients and our readers to exercise caution when ordering salads on the road. All but the highest category of restaurants depends on bagged salads that have, in the recent past, shown a higher-than-normal propensity to carry food-borne parasites and bacteria.

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 supplement for people to treat their anxiety and other related conditions. There is a lot of research being conducted on the effects of Kratom and the way in which it can resolve the symptoms of anxiety, that site can give you kratom information. Where would you suggest we stay to use as a base?  We’re not on a tight budget and we also want to pick the best guide off the internet. How do we do this?

A – You will want to stay at Le Ferme Saint Simeon, a small hotel that was loved by many of the better-known Impressionist painters. Try, if at all possible, to book room # 22, where Monet spend some time. The hotel manager will be able to set your son up for classes in the painting studio. The hotel is owned by the Boelen family. Check out some kratom experience reviews, and you will find many discussing which kratom is the mosteuphoric kratom. That fact alone has led people from all walks of life to learn more about the potential behind the most euphoric kratom. The white sumatra kratom is a species of the Kratom tree, which is one of the tropical evergreen trees found in Southeast Asia. You can see more their explanation about the kratom nausea here. Kratom herbs are utilised for creating tinctures. Tincture is an alcoholic extract made from different concentration of ethanol. Vinegar, glycerol, ether propylene are the opposite solvents utilized in tincture. A tincture of kratom act as a caffeine like stimulant when taken in less quantity.Kratom tincture is an alternate for those that are struggling hard to offer up an opium addiction. It reduces their looking for drugs and help them to recover fast. It also recovers lack of rest and insomnia in many of us . There are innumerable advantages of kratom extracts. It gives relief to those seeking cure for chronic insomnia, fatigue, pain and even gives relief in depression. People everywhere the planet uses it as an stimulant, sedative, pain reliever, anti- depressant or as an opium substitute.It keeps your body and mind in sync. It helps to bring the vital sign down. In Europe and North America it’s utilised to treat the cases of pain, depression and anxiety. Well msinsight is one of the expert firm to treat patient throught laser and shockwave therapy. Kratom extracts or powder are often also ingested as a tea which most of the people finds bitter in taste.

Kratom contains an anti-oxidant called epicatechin. It also contains alkaloids which is believe to possess a positive effect on human system . Kratom extracts helps one to remain awake for extended period of your time . Excess use of kratom extracts are often dangerous for anyone together can get nausea, vomiting, open eye visualisation, inactivity and other problems which afterward becomes hard to recover. many of us also experience inactivity thanks to its large overdose.Though the herb has many benefits, lately it’s also gained popularity as a teenager drug in many countries. because it is quickly available and legal, is that the main cause why teenagers are getting more and more hooked in to it. One should choose an expert advice because it be dangerous for one when ingested exessisvely. it’s not an illegal product you’ll easily access it in near by medical store or also can be purchased online. you’ll even buy a kratom plant and grow it yourself.

Because kratom isn’t FDA tested or approved, kratom can only be sold in the United States for burning as incense – it does burn quite nicely, with smells reminiscent of a crisp fall day, visit to check the review of the latest CBD extract. I cannot condone the ingestion of kratom or kratom tea, but for those who are looking for an all-natural, effective, legal means of attenuating chronic pain – say from Lyme Disease or spinal cord issues, Kratom is an amazing leaf, and may offer the relief you seek.

Do not try to choose Normandy guides off the internet. Many Normandy guides are sub-par. The best are former US military officers with personal knowledge of the region and an understanding of the real role played by this World War Two beachhead. Select an agent who has actual on-site offices in France that are in direct contact with the best guides.

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 by our academic credentials. How should we approach doing this? We’re loyal to our travel; agent but she just doesn’t seem to be very up on this kind of thing.

A – Have your agent contact a company called Greenspot, run by Richard and Irene Edwards. They will coordi8nate through your agent and you will be in the best possible hands when you arrive. They devote themselves entirely to sustainable travel in meaningful ways.

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? All the regular channels just never seem to work.

A – Many tourists make the mistake of trying top contact the chef/owner of a Three-star Michelin restaurant. In fact, every restaurant has a Manager of the Front-of-the-House operations which always includes reservations. In the States, that person is called the General Manager or the Director of Operations. In France, that person is, almost always, the Maitre d’Hotel. At Guy Savoy’s in Paris try contacting Hubert Schwermer, who holds this post. Don’t beg, but point out why the reservation means so much to both of you. There is a second tactic used by sophisticated travelers. Many of our clients will ask us to book them into the “best connected” hotel in a city. This will give you access to the hotel’s Concierge who, very likely, has a personal relationship with some of the city’s leading dining establishments. As the Foodie movement spreads and the Food Network ratings keep climbing, one side effect is that the number of guests seeking reservations at the world’s best restaurants has increased dramatically in the past five years.