The rest of Q&A

Q – My wife and I really appreciate your approach and so we come to you with a question that’s been on our minds for months. You could say we are frequent world travelers. As COO of a large company based in Boston, I travel overseas an average of two times per month. We take three weeks of vacation every year, always enjoying top grade accommodations and services. I am a seeker of high-end services, hate skimping, but the accountant in me demands that I ask “How exactly do you get the best pricing on a top-end hotel room or suite? What is the secret? Is it online, web site, calling direct etc? 

A – The goal of this game is make the consumer feel that he//she has the best rate whenever and wherever they book. In fact, any price that you receive online or from a travel agent is likely to be high because any advertised or available onside pricing is, essentially, being offered to the general public. Hotels do not want their rooms sold online so they routinely require high cancellation policies and assign online bookers some of the worst rooms in their inventory. Hotels want you to book with them directly but they have to offer the same pricing to anyone who contacts them. They cannot offer pricing that will alienate their regular guests.

The bottom line is that anytime anyone quotes you a hotel price, online or offline, you can be pretty certain you are not getting the best price. The best hotel prices are secret, they are never shown to the guest. These room prices are called “Contracted Rates” and tour operators in the country where you hotel is located have negotiated special pricing available through the tour operator or wholesaler. So when you visit Spain and you have arranged a complete itinerary using a Spain-based tour operator, through your travel consultant, you will receive your itinerary with the hotels and it will all have one price. The confidential rates, lower than what you could ever find elsewhere, are incorporated into the itinerary. In that way the hotel fills lots of rooms at the lowest possible price without upsetting the majority of guests who did not book through an in-country wholesaler and, consequently, paid more for their room.

Sorry for the long explanation, but your question required it. Bottom Line: If you actually know the price of your room and have seen it in writing, you are likely paying more than you should.

Q – My wife and I have been following traveltruth for the past eight years. And we always thought we could take anything you said to the bank. But this last story about flying monkeys, horses, and pigs is stretching our credulity. I just can’t believe that any airline is going to let any of these animals into the passenger compartment of an aircraft. And I say this as a certified private pilot. Please retract the story as it demeans the trust we’ve placed in the information that appears here. I’ll grant you this – it’s a good story.

A – Actually, we were being entirely serious and stand by our story. In fact, the photo that accompanies the piece shows a women with a rather hefty pig who was boarded by US Airways at Bradley Field in Connecticut. The pig made a rather huge mess in the aisle soon after boarding and the flight attendants requested that the owner clean the floor before they continued boarding. That resulted in the woman, with her pig, departing the plane. We can’t make this stuff up.

New Department of Transportation regulations instruct airlines to accommodate pre-approved animals that provide “emotional support” to be boarded in the passenger compartment following recommended guidelines.

Q – We will be leaving for London next week flying on United, with a United connecting flight to Lisbon. We just noticed we have four and a half hours between flights. Any suggestions as to where we should eat or shop in the Terminal would be appreciated.

A – You need to get specifics from your travel agent. Our guess is that you are flying British Airways from Heathrow to Lisbon on a code-share with United. That means that BA will actually fly the plane. United flights usually arrive at Terminal 2. We would recommend the new Perfe3ctionists Café which is headed up by celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal. (Don’t expect to see him in the kitchen. Most celebrity chefs with outposts at an airport limit their appearances to the departure gate)

For shopping we would recommend the new John Lewis store and the boutiques belonging to Cath Kidston and Ted Baker. There are often delays coming into Heathrow. Believe us, the time will pass quickly.

Q – My wife and I have just spent several hours on the phone trying to actually book seats using miles, miles we’ve earned by being loyal customers. I used to fly for my work so I am in a position to see how the damn airlines have cut and cut the seats they allocate to mileage customers. I’ve about had it. I want to find one or two airlines that still have some portion, some molecule of customer service in their DNA. Is there any way to know which airlines we should fly because they still have some integrity in their frequent flyer program.

A – Airlines have integrity. What they don’t have, however, are policies that reflect a proper appreciation of their best customers. Consumer Reports, one of the organizations whose journalistic standards we greatly respect, tried using frequent flyer miles to book seats on the five most popular US routes. They tested nine major airlines over a period of several months. They found major differences between the carriers.

Delta claims it offers more Frequent Flyer seats in its ads. In fact, the Consumer Reports testing indicates that claim is accurate. Southwest was in second place.

The airlines requiring the most miles with the highest fees were Spirit Airlines and US Airways.

Additional advice from Consumer Reports: Book your mileage seats as early as you can. If you can’t find what you want by going online or by speaking with an airlines reservations agent, contact the “Frequent-Flyer Service Desk”. Every major airline has one.

Q – Do you happen to know which country has the most travelers, meaning residents who travel abroad. The question came up over dinner last night and the answers ranged from the United States, France, and England. Also wondering why you no lo longer answer questions about restaurants. We used to find that part of traveltruth really interesting.

A – In the case of England and France, those are good guesses if you are considering the percentage of citizens who leave the country each year on vacation. Given that only 29% of Americans have a passport, we’re near the bottom of the list of industrialized countries in terms of overseas travel. The answer is that China now sends more citizens abroad than any other nation. Bloomberg BusinessWeek estimates that a staggering 116 million Chinese tourists will travel abroad this year and they will spend upwards of $155 billion.

Perhaps most amazing is the fact that this represents a one year growth rate of 20% among Chinese who leave the country for vacation, making the Chinese the most significant tourism market on earth.

There has been no deliberate attempt to devote less coverage to worldwide restaurant recommendations. We respond to questions asked of us. We think that some of the better consumer travel magazines such as AFAR, Travel + Leisure and Conde Nast Traveler are doing a much better job of late featuring hot, new restaurants within their area of coverage. Some of the best restaurant advice can be curated from the blogs of the better Concierge teams at top-rated hotels.

Q –  After only a decade of talking about it, my procrastinating husband has finally agreed to take me on a crossing to or from Europe next year. Wait until he finds out he won’t be able to get ESPN on the ship. We want the best itinerary and ship and we’d love to have as many ports as possible. The world’s champion Pitt fan is retired now, so we can go anytime and we figure we can be away for about two weeks. Is there one particular sailing you would recommend?

A – Our favorite crossing in 2015 is going to be aboard the Crystal Symphony on August 30th from Amsterdam to New York City. This is before the Atlantic hurricane season on a five-star inclusive ship that can handle rough seas well. The 13-Night itinerary includes stops in Edinburgh (overnight), the Shetland Islands, the Farce Islands (Denmark), an overnight in wonderful Reykjavik, Iceland, and Nova Scotia. You can get an outside stateroom at heavily discounted pricing below $5,000 per person.

Q – We were directed to your site by another site. Looking for a ship or a company that supposedly will take you to Antarctica on an actual sailing boat. We can’t seem to find any information on this program and wondering if you could point us in the right direction. My wife and I are in our early fifties, we’re sailors, and we always select the most adventurous way to see a place.  I think that doing Drake’s Passage on a sailboat would be just awesome. 

A – This is a wild one but it does exist. Have your travel agent contact Natural Habitat Adventures. They have been using the 75-foot Australis, a true sailing vessel that is equipped for polar ice. The 17-Day Immex program normally goes out with eight passengers from Ushuaia down the Beagle Channel, along the coast of Argentina and then across the Drake Passage to the coast of Antarctica. There will be an on-board biologist and, if weather cooperates, you will be camping on absolutely deserted beaches. They charged $22,995 per person the last time they operated this voyage and that was not for the top accommodation. Get More Information here for best accommodation to enjoy youur holiday. This is easily a $50,000 + adventure. If you are on budget and hunting in search of a durable and high-quality tent, your search ends with ALP Lynx single person tent. Our researches thoroughly check its specs and passed it through the wringer before including this in our list. ALPS is not a novice brand in the manufacturing of backpacking tends, its designed products such as Zephyr is one of the top-selling products on Amazon. The Lynx does not differ much over Zephyr but its cost is significantly lesser. The single person backpack tent comparison comes in hands over $100 price range. The company did not cut the corners, nor integrated it with sub-standard features or manufactured with poor-quality material. By all means, it is on par with other backpacks. As long as the size is concerned, the backpack is only 2 foot 8 inches wide and 7.5 feet long. If you are a larger person, the size might not fit you well. Yes, you get extra space to store things inside, it is long enough for a larger person. The total weight of the backpack falls around 4-pounds, with 2-liter soda bottle thickness. With the Lynx Tent series, you do not need to be worried about the assembly. It adheres to a free-standing design, two aluminum built poles with Plyster ten fly resist water and UV damages. It comes with eight quality zippers, guy ropes, stakes, and one doorway to get inside or go out seamlessly. The vestibule area to store your gear is outstanding integration. It is one of the most notable differences between Zephyr and this. Lynx offers less space inside compare to zephyr but enough for a single person. Yes, the rainfly mesh is lesser, it would not withstand against cold weather, taken down by a bad-weather much easier. The storage features with mesh pockets and a gear loft are important sections to consider in a tent, so the Lynx comes integrated with all. If you are going to hit backcountry and weather forecast tells heavy rainfalls in that area, do not hesitate if you got Coleman Sundome Tent onboard. This is the best selling tent and comes in hands at the affordable price range. The Tent comes with WeatherTec patented system to protect you from soaking. Its welded corners and cover seams keep the water out from you, so you stay dry no matter how much rainfalls. Its large window and vents enhance ventilation and ensure you breath fresh air and stay cool all night. The ground vents push the warm air up and out from the tent, to render a comfortable sleeping experience. It comes with mesh pockets into the tent’s walls for easy storing of small yet, essentials like keys, glasses, watches and other stuff. The tent dimensions are  82.7 inches long, 59.1 inches wide and 47.2 inches height. Two persons can easily fit into it and spent time comfortably. It comes with a 1000D polyethylene floor that is of breathable style and protects campers from extreme weather with welded seams protections. It is coated polyester fabrics on the fly and even on the walls are durable and protects from rough weather conditions. It is easy to set up, one person can pull it up within 10-minutes. It integrates two windows and roof vents for enhanced ventilation, mesh roof also assist in easier ventilation to reduce overall condensation.

Q – We’ve got a situation where I have over a million miles on United and I will lose some of them if I don’t use them. My wife and I are sushi-lovers so we thought we’d do a fast round-trip from LAX  for about a week of doing for lunch and dinner. We hope to take an advanced Sushi course so we have a real appreciation of this kind of dining when we return to Santa Monica. You seem tuned in to the best restaurants. What restaurants should we definitely include?  

A – Ryugin is terrific and quite a modern take on classic sushi. Sukiyabashi Jiro is an incredible spot in the Ginza district made famous by the documentary “Jiro Dreams of Sushi.” and we think you should include Sushi Nakamara, considered by many experts to be the best in the city even though it is nearly impossible to find with zero signage.

Q – We’ve been covering your site for some time and readily subscribe to most of your views. But you have been extremely cautious about even mentioning Ebola even though you must know it is on everyone’s mind. The reaction of our hospitals and our government’s confusion about how to protect us at home, must have an influence on Americans traveling abroad. Why haven’t you addressed this? Afraid people won’t travel if you do?

A – Actually, if you truly follow traveltruth you will note that our position has generally been that one should not travel if concerns about your vacation are serious enough to detract from your enjoyment of the trip. The travel industry, to date, reports very few cancellations by Americans traveling abroad. Travel from the US mainland to the west coast of Africa has not been very significant in the best of times.

Much of the news, and we think you might find better sources for your news than this  travel site, concerns Americans paranoia regarding Ebola’s arrival in the US and the closing of our borders. One fact we think is worth noting: To date, more Americans have been married to Kim Kardashian than have died from Ebola. In fact, three times as many.

Q – What a neat site. It’s like talking with a friend, perhaps a friend in the business. We’ve done some nice cruising but we’ve left our 17 year-old daughter and 14 year-old son back home with relatives. We are looking at a Seabourn European cruise to Greece next summer and wondering if we should bring the kids. Is there anything to do aboard the ship, particularly the Quest.

A – Thank you. You make our hearts soar like that of an eagle. We are less worried about the kids than we are about you and Dad. How will you feel when a bunch of rich, retirees, stare at the kids as though aliens have suddenly appeared in the dining room? If your kids are polite and well-behaved, there will be few issues. You are going to be off the ship pretty much all day. If you are traveling in the summer, there could conceivably be other aliens aboard the Quest.

If the kids are willing to dress properly, and if they would enjoy using the water sports marina at the back of the ship, it could be a win-win. But there will be stares. Some grumpy folks go on cruises choosing lines like Seabourn specifically because they offer no kids programs and cater to adults. 

It is hard to be more specific without knowing your children well.