The rest of Q&A

Q – Hi – I have spent some time on your site, and I have to thank you for the effort you put in, and the advice that you provide – it is a great resource. I have seen a couple of comments or recommendations in regards to cruise vacations that I would like you to expand on, if you could.

The first is that for ‘air-fare included’ cruise lines, a client would be better advised take the credit and book their airline tickets directly. Can you really do better than the cruise line (and is the credit they offer really enough to let a client do so?) The second is that a client should deal through a travel agency, rather than booking directly with the cruise line. Why – especially with the “miracle pricing” you have alluded to – isn’t that only available when you deal direct?

A – Thank you for visiting www.traveltruth.com  We have been gratified with the response worldwide given that we have never sent out a press release announcing the site. You asked two questions that would require lengthy responses. But for now, we hope this suffices:

 01 – The question regarding air is “It Depends”. Every cruise line air department operates differently and each negotiates its air contracts differently. The top lines normally negotiate better fares than are available online. But they may negotiate these fares more than a year in advance of your actual cruise date so they have no way of knowing of their offer will be “average”, “outstanding”, or “terrible”. They can only guess. We’ve seen, for instance, round-trip Business Class airfare offered for $1990 per person. That s a savings of more than $2,000 off the prices we are currently seeing on most European routes. For coach fares, most studies have shown that internet sites are actually higher than the airlines own corporate sites. Air strategy is something you always need to discuss with your consultant. There are a great many variables and every air scenario is totally unique.

 02 – There are numerous reasons why you never want to book directly. When you book a cruise directly with the cruise line you are always charged the travel agent commission even though you are not using a travel agent and you are not receiving the services implied in the fee.  You receive nothing for it. In fact, you specifically do not receive the consortium benefits offered to member agencies.

Personally, we don’t much care to pay for something we do not receive. In that sense, charging direct booking clients the travel agent commission is, in our view, gross misrepresentation.

As to your point about miracle pricing – no, in our 31 years in this industry, we’ve never seen a price offered to a client by a direct sales heatset at a cruise line that was not available to any professional travel agent. It just never happens. If a line did that, they would likely lose the support of the agency community they depend on.

 There are lots of other reasons involving advocacy if there is a problem etc. But let’s leave it at that.

Q – We will shortly be taking our first cruise aboard the Celebrity Eclipse. Do you like and recommend this ship and Celebrity generally? Also, we read on the internet that you are supposed to bring a set of magnets on a cruise but we have no idea why nor does our travel agent. Any advice would be appreciated.

A – You should love it. Have modest expectations as Celebrity, despite its advertising, is not a Five-Star inclusive experience. However, we believe that the Celebrity brand provides the overall best big ship, pay-as-you-go experience currently available. You are going on one of their newest ships with all manner of bells and whistles. Do dine in the additional charge restaurants and you will have some memorable meals as well as service similar to that you would receive on a higher-rated line. For a first cruise, we don’t think your travel agent could have made a better recommendation.

Your question about the magnets made us smile. This is a sort of insider tip known to experienced cruisers. Cruise cabins are most metal, as opposed to being built using cement walls. If you bring some magnets with you, you can stick any invitations you receive up on the walls. Some cruisers feel this is a great way to keep track of their special classes and activities. We prefer our iPad mini.

Q – We are heading to Jamaica for a vacation that will involve a great music festival in Kingston. We’re foodies but know little about dining in Kingston. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Our air fare and hotels are set. Know you will provide trustworthy advice.

A – While Jerk Chicken is everywhere, we would suggest you seek out locally caught fish. The best restaurant in Kingston is Norma’s on the Terrace, a place that will give you a contemporary take on classic seafood preparation.

But we want you to be very careful about your transportation to and from Norma’s or anywhere else you go in Kingston at night. Kingston, Montego Bay, and several other popular tourist destinations ion Jamaica have serious crime problems and they carry a stern State Department Warning. Naïve Americans walking about at night in search of a restaurant or a taxi are potential targets. You can enjoy some wonderful nightlife and some really good Caribbean cuisine, but we’d feel better knowing that you had arranged secure transportation through the Hotel Concierge. For the record, we do not send our clients to Kingston under any circumstances.

Q – Wondering whether one of your editors can tell me who is operating the longest passenger flight these days. For the ultimate getaway, I might be tempted to take it and let that be the degree to which I do itinerary planning. Is there any advantage to using a travel agent once I decide to do the trip?

A –  Well right now Singapore Airlines 19-hour flight from Singapore into Newark is the world’s longest flight. But Singapore will be ending non-stop service from the States. The Qantas flight from Dallas to Sydney at 7,454 nautical miles will, for a time, be the world’s longest flight.

But all that changes when Turkish Airlines begins flying from Istanbul to Sydney next year, a distance of 8,076 miles. This flight, when it finally operates, will be a game changer. Turkish Air has said it will be using Boeing 777-300’s for the route.

Q – My husband and I read traveltruth on our iPad in bed. So thanks for that. Despite the time devoted to your excellent site, we have managed to have two kids and we’re all scheduled to do an Azamara Cruise next summer that will spend two days in Barcelona. Our perfectly behaved angels are four and five and they have assured us that they will be ready for this cruise. But I wonder about issues of safety. You have indicated there is a crime issue in some areas of the city and then I’ve been reading about secession from Spain. Are we likely to encounter riots and street actions or am I just being an overprotective mother?

A – Yes, we  think you are. Despite the street gatherings and rock throwing in Barcelona and other portions of Catalonia, most protesters demanding independence paused to take a nice lunch. Yes, there is a street crime issue in the city but that pertains to certain ports of the city core at night, like the Barri Gotic.  We’ve heard that there are even portions of some cities in America where it is not entirely safe to do the stroll at night.

Absolutely do the trip. But we do think you might experience some serious demonstrations as the independence movement is quite serious and this coming summer will mark the 300th anniversary of the annexation of Catalonia.

Remember what happened in Catalonia this year. To protest the region’s defeat in the 1714 in the War of Spanish Succession, on million residents of Barcelona and the rest of Catalonia formed a human chain that actually stretched from the edge of the region north to the Pyrenees Mountains.  That happened in a province of seven a half million residents. It appears that the independence movement is real and is supported by a majority, tired of being the economic engine that is driving much of the Spanish economy. There will be demonstrations but, once again, we think they will pause for lunch.

Q – We are seriously considering joining friends from work on the January 15th sailing of Silverseas from Barbados to South America. We’ve never cruised this line but the combination of the Caribbean and South America intrigues us. Is $5650 a great deal for a window suite?  We’ve been working with an agent but were wondering what you might give us if we booked with you?

A – We’d give you directions back to the  agent who has put in time trying to assist you. No matter what the ads and the hype might tell you, all of the better cruise consultants receive exactly the same pricing. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t book the lines.

So now that you know we are not going to take you on, let us address your primary question. This is what is known as a “repositioning voyage”. You can expect discounts to be deeper on this kind of “one off” itinerary. Your cruise is coming out at about $460 per person per day on the new Spirit, Silversea’s flagship. Silverseas has moved up in our ratings of late and you should expect a Four Seasons at Sea type inclusive experience. Generally speaking, Five-star lines should come out, on a cruise-only basis, at between $500-$700 per person, per day. So we would say this is a good offer but not a great offer. You may be unaware that this is also a special Relais & Chateaux culinary sailing, a definite plus for foodies. Be prepared for some rough water in the Atlantic but not rough enough to cause us to advise you avoid the itinerary or the date.

Q – We are taking our 16-Year old on a dream trip to Italy this coming spring. Our highlights will be Venice, Rome, and the Amalfi Coast. Our tentative schedule puts us in Rome Easter week flying home after the Holiday. But we don’t know how insane Rome will be that weekend. We had wanted to do Sorrento last but now we’re thinking about doing the trip Venice-Sorrento-Rome to avoid having to commute to Rome from Sorrento on departure day. Are our concerns about Easter week justified and how would you recommend we do the trip?

A – Your concerns about Easter crowds in Rome, tied-up traffic, possible protests, and gridlock stress are all justified. You might consider staying in a hotel away from the center core, perhaps something just across the river in Trastevere like the Dei Mellini. You might want to re-think Sorrento, perhaps using Positano as a base. If your flight home is after 1:00 pm. we would recommend that you end the trip on the Amalfi Coast and use a private driver to go straight to the airport. Driving to far-out Fiumcino Airport during Easter week will inevitably involve heavy traffic and there is some advantage to avoiding the city center on departure day. If you have an earlier departure, it does make sense to end the trip in Rome as you are proposing but not that driving to Naples, catching the train, then getting to your hotel from the central station which toting your luggage is bound to be a bit of a hassle.

Q – Your site was recommended to help us answer a question about my personal bucket list. Can you actually do the Silk Road through Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazahkstan by train. I want  to see it all, and my wife will indulge me, from the Karakum and Kysilkum deserts to the Tien Shan Mountains. We’re rather well-traveled, much of it on our own. We need private facilities but, other than that, we have minimal expectations although we would want the best accommodations on the train that they have – assuming a train exists. I would have no way to know if this is something two sixty-three year old retirees in good health can actually book, we’d love to know how. Thanks to your staff  for the most credible travel site we’ve found.

A – Love your idea and we would never discourage you from this amazing adventure. The good news is that there is a program called “The Legendary Silk Road by Private Train”. The two-week journey is operated by Europe-based Lernidee, which pioneered worldwide private train charters, beginning with programs on the Trans-Siberian Express. The name of the train on this route is the Orient Silk Road Express. But think three-star not the Hollywood version. Most of the travelers will be in compartments with toilets and a shower at the end of the car. You would have a preponderance of Brits on this journey with a fair share of Aussies, Germans, and Europeans who are not interested in remaining home and tossing rocks at their local parliament building. The trip begins in Ashgabar and ends in Almaty so you may not be able to fly non-stop on Southwest. You will want one of the Kalif Suites at $9,635 per person. Next year, they are operating this journey in April and October.

This trip will, in our view, require serious consultation with a travel clinic. Be aware that the air-conditioning is turned off when the train is not moving. We highly recommend that you have your flights planned and monitored by the Cranky Concierge as there will be cancellations and changes. We also recommend that you take a film-making course before this trip. If you do this trip we are going to send you a button that reads “Traveler Not Tourist”.

Q – Like many traveltruth fans, we have always wanted to go to Cuba. Now, it seems, things are opening up and we noticed that Tauck Tours is offering programs there next year. Can we book this and do you recommend this. Does Tauck have a  decent reputation?

A – Tauck is, in our view, the world’s best First-Class Tour Operator. That is very different than being the world’s best “Deluxe” operator but for most upscale clients, Tauck is the most reliable, best organized, tour operator for sophisticated travelers who don’t need the top suite in the best hotel but welcome a company that does away with the stereotypical trappings of group travel such as name tags, guides hoisting umbrellas in the air to be followed, and trips to stores that pay kickbacks tot he company or the guide.

But Cuba is a different animal. The rules on “Exchange Programs” haven’t really been changed so the eight-day program Tauck runs in Cuba includes six days of “people-to-people” educational exchanges. You will be exposed to Cuban music and you will meet professionals and students. There is an exposure to Cuban art and an interesting series of insights into Ernest Hemingway’s Cuba. This is a tour that is different because portions of what you will see and do are directed by the government of Cuba, anxious to put its best foot forward. Expect your group to average 20-30 travelers and plan on one night in Miami followed by six nights at the Melia Habana Hotel.

It is always good to remember that American tourists are often a secondary factor when it comes to number of visitors. Cuba has been open to tourism for many years and so there is some local infrastructure. It is the Americans who have chosen to boycott the country and place limitations on the ability of its citizens to travel within the country unrestricted.

So, with that said, we think you should go. There is still space on several 2014 dates.

Q – We are really worried about a cruise we have booked for next year on Silverseas Cruises Shadow, This will be our third cruise, first on this line, but we are now quite worried because our daughter-in-law was checking the ship out online and tells us it just failed its health test. There also was a big problem with the crew hiding food like steaks in their pants and stuff and taking it to their cabins. Would you consider cancelling and trying o book something else?

A – Well, we hope the chef wasn’t cooking sausage and peppers. Let’s try to set the facts straight on this.

In its last surprise sanitation inspection, the Silverseas Shadow received its first ever failings score, an 84 out of a possible 100. The inspection, done in Skagway, Alaska,  uncovered the fact that some galley crew were so discombobulated by the presence of CDC inspectors that they took some of the food carts and hid them in crew quarters. Inspectors were not happy about finding food meant for passengers sitting in an unrefrigerated state in crew cabins.

Silverseas, one of the world’s great lines, quickly instituted new crew training procedures and vowed this will never happen again. Given the negative press this incident received, you probably will find tighter food control standards on Silverseas these days than the industry standard. There were no reports of crew hiding food in their clothing. There was no evidence that the crew had even touched the food. They just sort of “hid” some of the preparation by moving it to crew quarters.

Surprise inspections are often traumatic for any crew. One of our Editors was on a Five-Star ship ion Bergen, Norway when a surprise inspection by Norwegian customs uncovered marijuana in the cabins of several of the entertainers. They were detained and there were no production shows for the remainder of the voyage.