The rest of Q&A

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.

Q – We are thinking about doing a trip to Great Britain with a family whose daughter attends grade school with my son. The parents get along well and so do the kids. My friend is recommending the Disney Tour company and says they actually provide two las vegas escorts blondes. Is this really true and is this a concept you folks would recommend?

A – Given the level of mediocrity in the travel industry, we tend to recommend anything with Disney’s name on it although we would bring a few of the half ton bottles of Purell along on any of the trips.

You will receive a well-rehearsed, well acted, Disney experience on any program or cruise the company operates and they do nothing below the Four-Star level of service. They are an extremely trustworthy brand. So what if they are a cult with a rodent leader who has a sort of wife but no actual genitalia.

It sounds like you are considering their excellent “Adventures by Disney” Tour offering. These tours use both a full-time Disney Guide as well as local guides. Parents can go off on a more in-depth exploration a site or region with the local guide, while the specially trained  Disney Guide creates adventures that are less detailed but more interesting to kids. It is, in our view, a potent concept that usually works well unless mid to upper-age teens are involved. They tend to hate touring, hate Europe, and they definitely hate Disney. But, of course, there are exceptions and that makes it all worthwhile.

Q – Quite frankly, we are disappointed that traveltruth does not have more questions about smoking on cruise ships. The vast majority of us are non-smokers and we feel that the last thing we need is to be exposed to second-hand cigarette smoke. We understand that smokers have rights, but we would choose a luxury cruise company based, in large part, on their smoking policy. Is there one of the top lines that is best for non-smokers, or, put another way, is there a line we should avoid. We love balcony cabins but we would never put up with someone smoking on the balcony next to ours.

A – We have had a sharp increase in questions about smoking aboard ships. Ironically, the mass market lines, which appeal primarily to Americans, have had strict anti-smoking policies in place for a while. Some of the deluxe lines, which appeal to more of an international clientele, allow smoking in various venues and one or two are still allowing smoking on stateroom or suite balconies.

We have a strong bias on this issue so let us state it openly. We believe that smoking on a balcony or an open deck is a serious fire hazard. We further believe that when it comes to the issue of second-hand smoke, smokers have no rights. Smoking is an act of self-loathing with dire health consequences. Second hand smoke is just as deadly as first-hand smoke and so, in our view, it represents a form of assault on another person. When children onboard a ship are exposed to second hand smoke, the issue becomes even more serious. 

That stated, Crystal, Paul Gauguin, Sea Dream, Regent Seven Seas, and Silverseas do not permit smoking ion any guest stateroom or balcony. Regent Seven Seas has the strongest anti-smoking policy stating that guests who do not comply with their non-smoking policies “will be asked to disembark the ship without any credit or refund for the unused portion of their cruise.” Regent has rigorously enforced this policy.

The luxury line that does allow for limited balcony smoking is  Seabourn.  Their new smoking policy allows guests in upper-level suites the right to smoke on their verandas. This is a change from Seabourn’s previous policy which allowed all guests to smoke on their balconies and in their cabins. Smokers will still be permitted to light up in portions of the Observation Bar, the Sky Bar, and the Club on the Seabourn Odyssey, Quest, and Sojourn.

Q – I am a retired Officer who would love to visit some of the sites of the Second World War  Pacific Theater with my wife. I have the time and the means to do it right and was wondering if there is a cruise that might make us happy in terms of a focus on the major battlegrounds like Pearl Harbor and Okinawa?

A – Yes Sir – there is one cruise that would be the best for your needs. But we must advise you that it is heavily booked. Crystal Cruises will be sailing from Los Angeles in mid-January on a 22-Day sailing on the Serenity that will call at Hilo and Honolulu, Guam, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, Okinawa, and the port of Yokohama. Crystal has invited an impressive group of guest lecturers including four-star generals and historians like James Bradley, author of “Flags of Our Fathers.” Work with someone on booking this who you feel has the clout to move you up on a VIP Wait-List. 

There are all sorts of ways to visit WW ll sites in Europe, particularly the Normandy Battlefields. But the War in the Pacific was much more spread out and land tours are difficult. This Crystal itinerary is the best we’ve seen in recent years. Best of luck – and thank you so much for your service.