The rest of Q&A

Q – We have a rather unusual situation. We are traveling with friends on a Baltic cruise this July that includes three full days in St. Petersburg. My mother is quite ill and there is the remote possibility that I could be called during the cruise with the  need to fly out of Russia in a hurry. Our travel consultant has set us up with a full itinerary of specially created tours. The Visa will be included.  Is there any reason why I need to apply for a separate visa in addition to the one being provided?

A – Yes, in your specific set of circumstances you will need a separate visa. The documents issued by your consultant’s ground operator in Russia will cover you as long as you stick to the proscribed sightseeing program. But you are not covered for independent travel to the airport or, for that matter, for flights out of Russia. Your visa from the tour operator will only cover you for arrival and departure by ship. So, in the unlikely event that you get the call and have to fly out immediately, we do want you to have an independent visa covering such an eventuality.

Q – Realize yours is not an airline site but I always wonder about the cleanliness of the blankets I find all wrapped up, nice and tidy, on my seat when I am flying Business Class internationally. I’d love to know how often those blankets are actually  cleaned?  I start itching just thinking about it.

A – It turns out that blankets used by airlines are far more sanitary than the blankets that adorn your hotel room bed. Our favorite frequent flyer web site, Viewfromthewing.com recently tackled this subject. In the case of American Airlines, blankets are not put back into cellophane. The blankets are collected and sent off to cleaning contractors in major hubs who clean them and then repackage them. It is safe to assume that any airline blanket sealed in cellophane has not been used by other passengers. Hope that helps with the itching.

Q – We’ve been following traveltruth  for the past two years and we love every bit of it – but there is one question I don’t think you’ve ever addressed. When is the best time to get awful assigned seats changed to something better? Whenever we call the airlines they say the seating is “closed”.

A – Airlines, bless their hearts, close their seating down when their computer software tells them that just about all of their sucker seats are gone. This means regular folks coach seating. But every airline holds some seats for their most preferred elite status flyers. So the trick is to try to get those seats when they are released. This is what the pros do:

Set the airline on speed dial and sit down with a watch that is accurate. At exactly 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds prior to your departure time, hit speed dial. Better yet, use two phones. Seats are released for general sale at precisely 24 hours prior to scheduled departure from the gate. By the way, this call will also serve to reconfirm your flight, not a bad idea when the airlines operate under rules that allow them to take your seats and offer them to an Elite Status flyer. Always ask for an e-mail confirmation of anything promised to you in airlines reservations. It turns out the ad about “The Friendly Skies” was, alas, just an ad, not a statement of policy and practice.

Q – We will need to make a payment to Celebrity Cruises for our final payment for a two-week cruise to the Mediterranean. We booked it directly with Celebrity and there seems to be some confusion about the credits we were given when we booked with their agent, Joseph. I think we should be allowed to take the credit off the price but Celebrity is trying to get us to pay the full rate. Who can I turn to for help with this? Can I still get another travel agent involved with final payment only three weeks away?

A – You have made a direct booking with a commissioned salesman in a cubicle whose job is to maximize revenue for his employer. Celebrity will charge you the commission meant to compensate your travel agent. That’s the bad news. You’ve been suckered. The good news is that you may still be able to turn this reservation over to a professional cruise consultant since you have not yet made final payment. Since the travel consultant commission is built into all cruise pricing, it is unlikely you will have to pay anything for professional services.

There are two kinds of credits. If a cruise line mails you a credit because something happened on your last sailing, you can take the amount of the credit off your final price. But if you have received an “On-Board Credit” you may not deduct the value from your cruise price. The on-board credit, which we suspect you have, is simply applied to your final expense account aboard the ship. It is deducted from the amount to be charged to your credit card for on-board activities, drinks, medical treatment, spa services, gift shops etc. Hope this is helpful. Probably best to never book directly again. You should always have an advocate when purchasing travel services – things can and do go wrong.

Q – We were at a friends house last night doing some Pinot Noir blind tastings accompanied by s’mores when the subject of credit ratings for countries came up. A Wall Street player in our group said that he believed that credit agencies that rate businesses also rate countries. I’d really be interested in which countries get the highest ratings if you could chase that down. If you do, we’ll invite you to our next party, “Chardonnay and Cannolis.” We’re up in Westport.

A – We really like your themes. Well done. It sounds like no one in the neighborhood appreciate a fine cheese selection.

Your friend is correct. Several major ratings agencies have identified a select group of nations that have achieved the highest financial health ratings form the three major agencies. They are: Canada, Finland, Germany, Luxemburg, Australia, Singapore, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and Denmark.

These countries could, in our view, form the basis for a travel bucket list of countries you need to get to know better. Each has excellent healthcare, low or non-existent poverty, and high level accommodations and cuisine. It is also interesting to note that none of these countries has a serious pollution or crime  problems so travel is intrinsically safer than staying at home.

Q – As frequent cruisers, we have to make our minds up quickly about a 16-Day voyage on Regent Seven Seas between Oslo and Copenhagen. This is a cruise pretty much limited to the coast of Norway and St. Petersburg, which we’ve previously visited, is not  on the itinerary. Wondering of you would recommend this specific itinerary?

A – In fact, you’ve picked one of our favorites all-time cruise experiences. The North Cape cruises are only offered once or twice each summer by a few of the top lines. It is an ideal itinerary but rather expensive for the lines to operate since Norway is not particularly interested in attracting day visitors and port charges and docking fees are unusually high.

This particular itinerary is outstanding and we highly recommend it. Here are a few specific reasons why:

01 – Absolutely beautiful  small towns and villages. The fjords form a magnificent backdrop.

02 – The days at sea sometimes feature views of land.

03– There is no crime or poverty. It is really uplifting in many ways.

04 – It is a great way to beat the summer heat.

05 – There are not many  ships doing this route. Towns are not crowded.

06 – Most North Cape Cruises are 10-12 days. The length of this cruise seems to us to be ideal.

Q – We have a rather large, tightly-knit Greek family (so what else is new) and we’re planning to go to the islands in 2016 for a two-week spectacular trip. We thought it best to start now. Of course we’ll have all age groups and some will want to do their own thing. We have some decent financial reserves for this trip and were wondering if you could provide a few ideas we may not have thought of that we could bring to our travel agent.? We will likely number 23.

A – Sure. We’ve planned numerous family gatherings of this kind and we have some specific suggestions: Start with these  and have your agent think about including them in your itinerary:

Rent a yacht, preferably in the Cyclades island group, and spend six nights touring the best islands. Nothing will bring the family closer together, the per person cost will be manageable, and the crew will do all the work.

Try to get the family to an authentic wine village where they can join the locals in the harvest celebration while stopping their bare feet to crush grapes for next years wine.

Have the younger folks hike the Samaria Gorge on Crete. The hiking is memorable and the scenery is fantastic.

As a great finish, before flying home from Athens, charter a few helicopters and fly the family above the suspended in air” monasteries in the rock pinnacles of Meteora. Four of these impossible to get to structures still house small, monastic communities.

Do remember that you will want to carefully consider taking over entire restaurants for a party each night of your trip. That will involve a good deal of planning but the results will be well worth it.

You should start planning this trip fourteen months prior to departure.

Q – We have three BMW’s in the garage. For our next trip to Europe, we’d love to have a custom trip arranged where we might drive a Beemer on some of Germany’s best roads, with frequent stops for beer and Brotzeit. We know what we want – we just don’t know how to begin. Awesome site unlike anything we’ve seen on the internet before.

A – Start your vacation in Munich. We would suggest that you, first, fortify yourself at the Hofbrauhaus with a private insider’s tour, then rent a late-model, high-performance BMW and drive some of the great back roads of Bavaria and then head up into the foothills of the Swiss Alps. The scenery will blow you away. And please drive responsibly, which, in Germany,  means keep it under 90 on the straightaways.

In terms of beginning, find a travel consultant, not a travel agent, you can trust and inquire about their affiliated offices in Germany. If they don’t have one – move on. 

Q – Please don’t use my name but you can say that I am a fairly well-known amateur photographer whose work has appeared in several major publications including AFAR and National Geographic. But I have a day job that finances our photographic journeys. My dream is to take some great photos of Japan’s Mt. Fuji for the gerber competition. It seems there are some wonderful lights in the distance if you choose the right spot. Is there any way you might advise us as to where we might go to get the best shot and who we ought to be booking this with to go exactly where we need to go?

A – Nice to meet you. We’ve got several photographers on staff whose work appears on Instagram and Pinterest. We did not know the answer to your question but we have contacts with the best travel specialists in Japan. They recommend that you try to take your pictures from Lake Ashi in Hakone. They promise amazing views with the lighting background we think you are seeking. We would suggest that you plan the trip with someone who is part of one of the best consortium groups such as Virtuoso, Signature, or Ensemble. Inquire about their offices in Japan. If you want photography historical blog then do visit to Endurance Obituaries site.

Apart from this you can focus more on instagram growth for sharing your photography skills. Instagram has such a huge user base that can grow you quickly. You can get instagram followers fast with the help of nitreo. At Upleap you can buy instagram follower for your instagram growth.

Q – We’re really into traveltruth but we feel you seriously shortchange the Caribbean. There isn’t much objective information about the islands online – they all use the term “paradise” interchangeably.  In three months, we’re off to Jamaica on a corporate reward trip including accommodations at Rose Hall. But we keep hearing negatives about the island. How we  spin this trip so it is awesome?

A – You could go out to Bob Marley’s house and just inhale for a half hour. But better to play one of Jamaica’s excellent golf courses, go horseback riding on the beach, get set up for a few hours with a picnic lunch on a deserted beach, and definitely go for a ride on the “Country Bus” to meet the real Jamaica. Stay away from anything touristic and make contact with a great travel specialist or the Head Concierge at Rose Hall. Watch yourself at night if going “off-campus” but do dine-around. Here are some recommendations for dinner:

• Sugar Mill Restaurant (Montego Bay; tel. 876/953-2314):

• Norma’s on the Beach at Sea Splash (Negril; tel. 876/957-4041):

• Rockhouse Restaurant (Negril; tel. 876/957-4373

• Bloomfield Great House (Mandeville; tel. 876/962-7130):