The rest of Q&A

Q – I am a software gun for hire and I travel about 80% of the time. I know that there are often great deals online at the hotels I’m staying at but I just don’t have the time to check it all out on a daily basis. Is there any way to get the same rate as the internet when you’re at the check-in desk? Very cool site but wish you had more for the business traveler. Not all of us can be on a perpetual vacation.

A – Some experts suggest the “let’s be realistic” approach at the front desk. You might try pointing out that the average online site is getting close to 30% in commission from the hotels they are selling. So suggest that if the hotel will give you 20-25% off the online price, they will still be making a profit on your stay. But be careful how you handle this as it could easily backfire.

We’ll never be a site for business travelers. Dealing with the vacations in people’s lives that really matter is our narrow focus. Trust you understand.

Q – Very cool site but we wish you would have more on food and restaurants. It would be great if we could get all kinds of restaurant information mixed in with your highly valuable travel insights.

My husband and I will be in Copenhagen at the end of June, having just ended a cruise. My husband mentioned there is supposed to be a terrific new site in Copenhagen called Blue Planet and he was thinking about adding a day to our trip so we could spend some time there. Do you know anything about this and would it be worth the extra day?

A –  Well it looks like you are in luck. Copenhagen’s absolutely stunning new aquarium, Blue Planet, is scheduled to open on March 22nd in time for the summer tourist season. We expect this to quickly become one of the two or three leading tourist attractions in Scandinavia. There will be almost 500 species and just over 20,000 animals housed in a building that is already being nominated for major architectural awards. Copenhagen design firm, 3XN has created a building that resembles moving water and the aquarium’s rooftop will swirl, resembling the world’s largest whirlpool. Guests flying into or out of Copenhagen’s Kastrup Airport will have the best some amazing views of this new complex.

Absolutely spend an extra night and get your tickets in advance. This one will open to spectacular reviews.

We’ll try to do more on food and restaurants. Thanks for sharing that.

For more info please visit best digital multimeter.

Q – We have a little but of a dilemma. We are doing a land tour that begins in Istanbul and includes two nights in the city with sightseeing. But to use frequent flyer miles with US Air, we had to add on three additional nights to make our upgrades work. So we now have three nights in a Muslim country with the sightseeing of all the major places already included in our tour. Your site mentions “Lifestyle Touring” for people who don’t want or need historical bus tours. I suppose that’s us. Any suggestions?

A – You can have your agent arrange private sightseeing or you can contact the Concierge at your hotel to arrange the kind of sightseeing you really want. But very few guides are prepared to really take you inside the daily lives of the residents. The best program for you would be the Istanbul Lifestyle Touring Program designed through our sister company, A Taste of Life Ashore. Just go to www.atasteoflifeashore.com and you will see the options in Istanbul.

Q – We are thinking about taking a cruise on the Paul Gauguin in Tahiti. We are looking at an 11-Day sailing out of Papeete to the Society Islands. We are casual people, we don’t like dress up nights but we’re ready to try some quality after our last disappointing cruise on one of the mega-ships. I guess we need to know if this is a good time to go, if the line is reputable, and about what we should expect to pay after their advertised two-for-one and Free Air deal.

A – The Paul Gauguin is owned by an American based in Tahiti, is well-funded, and is highly reputable. It is, in our view, the very best way to experience the islands in the South Pacific and the ship is elegant but casual. Dress is about the same as it might be in a nice Hawaii-based hotel. For men, slacks and a Hawaiian shirt are fine.

There is a bit of a rainy season that hits the island sin mid-winter but most travelers think the risk is well worth it. The Free air is available non-stop from Los Angeles – not from your hometown. The line is currently offering two-for-one pricing which can bring the price of a picture window cabin down to $5595 per person inclusive of air. That is a per diem price, without air, that is in the $400-$450 range, an exceptional price for a fivbe-star rated experience. The balcony cabins start at $7045 plus port charges inclusive of air. The Gauguin gets high marks from traveltruth in terms of its on board service and food. We applaud the line for being able to capture some of the essence of the islands it visits by being upscale without being uptight. All in all, an excellent choice and, we believe, a far better experience than anything on the water in the Caribbean.

As to down sides: It is an eight and a half hour flight and you would probably want to upgrade to Business Class, a costly move. The islands you will visiut are small, often having just one primary circular road. This is not an itinerary for historians, shoppers, or drinkers. It is an itinerary for dreamers, lovers, and those seeking to break away from mainstream cruising.

Q – My wife and I were curious if  your restaurant writers saw the 20-20 on ABC TV about food and restaurant contamination (November 16th)? What did you think about it?

A – Yes, we saw it. It struck us as a combo platter of light investigative reporting that really didn’t take on the corporate entities that are selling our kids on corn syrup, salt, and chemically modified foods. But anything on this subject is helpful so we won’t be too critical.

The commentary on fish reflected some information we reported here several years ago. One expert said that virtually no one who orders Red Snapper in a restaurant is eating Red Snapper. Those who order “white tuna” on a sushi menu should know there is no such fish. They are really being served Escobar, a fish that causes diarrhea.

The reporting on airline food contamination was interesting because it showed that the problem is not ion the galley but in the food catering kitchens that serve the airlines. It was nice to know that First Class and Business Class passengers are just as likely to get Salmonella poisoning as coach passengers, a bit of democracy at 30,000 feet.

Some of the blue light/bacteria smear reporting was interesting. 20-20 claims that the single most likely source of contamination in the average restaurant, the place to pick up e-coli and his cousins, is your seat. They recommend that diners get up and wash their hands after they are seated. But, then again, aren’t you returning to the same seat. It turns out that restaurant seats, in all price ranges, are rarely disinfected.

Also surprising was the fact that the actual menu, along with salt and pepper shakers were found to be far more filthy than bathroom fixtures, sinks, handles etc. 

Lessons: When dining out, bring a cover for your chair, never touch the menu, and never touch the salt and pepper shakers.  Or just wear gloves when dining out.

Q – My golfing partner thinks he read somewhere that you can do a safari in the Arctic. Any truth to this and how would we go about getting additional information? Is there really such any such thing?

A – Well it’s a bit of a marketing ploy but you can actually see wildlife like the elusive narwhals and search for polar bears in their native habitat. The Arctic is big and beautiful and one of the experiences you will never forget is hot air ballooning over a massive iceberg, The company that we like for this sort of soft adventure is Arctic Kingdom. Try to plan your trip eleven months prior to your favorite departure date as the air needs to be planned surgically, we also tried the Hua Hin Villa Resort with Golf Course and its amazing, not for beginners perfect for us.

The Arctic trips are amazing, because we get to see all of the different flora and fauna on the ice. We also get to see where the polar ice shelf and the ice edge split off from each other and are now separated by glaciers,” said Ewan Evans, who works for the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge, England.

While the trip to Antarctica is all about exploring the sea ice and penguin colony, it is also an opportunity to help to protect the area. In March 2017, the group of expedition participants decided to stop for a week in Antarctica and started to protect the ice shelf. The trip was successful and was a significant contribution to the defense of the Antarctic Peninsula.

While I am extremely excited to be on this trip, I want to make sure, that the most important goal is to do what we can right now and prevent any further losses of biodiversity, including in the Pacific. It was right after our trip to the hot air balloon festival and the motives for both trips were so different that this changed my way of thinking. With the global warming in the past few years, we may also see the loss of polar bear population, and that would not have happened had this area been covered.

First Experience With Nature

You’ll never forget the first time you went to your local national park or fish and wildlife park. It wasn’t long after I first heard the words “dinosaur” and “turtle.”

It was probably in the late 1970s or early 80s that I realized how truly special and unique they were.

As time passed, I learned to appreciate their uniqueness and their incredible diversity. I began to learn the history and the ecological impact that the park and the fish and wildlife industry had on Earth. I began discovering that there are not-so-simple parallels to connect the two.

Let’s start with the name of that park in New Mexico. You can’t imagine the impact that it had on the Earth after thousands of years of volcanic action and overgrazing

Q – The family, six of us, are headed for two nights on Santorini as part of a Greek islands itinerary planned with Isram Travel in New York. Is there a particular restaurant on Santorini that you think we should go out of our way to try? Will the cruise ship hordes ruin our time on the island? 

A – We’re getting excellent reports from the Nichteri Restaurant in Kamari. Make sure your driver waits and offer to buy him dinner. The vast majority of cruise guests will be gone before sunset. That is rather interesting since one of the primary  reasons to go to Santorini, and particularly the village of Oia, is to watch the sunset.

Q – Don’t know if you folks are allowed to do this but I would love your opinion on a 33-Day Voyage on the Oceania Marina in April of 2014 from Tahiti to New York via Easter island, Peru, Ecuador, the Panama Canal, some of the Caribbean and even a day in Charleston before heading to New York. We’re in our early seventies and have just started traveling seriously. I’m not a jogger but we get around OK. We’ve done two previous cruises on Holland America. And what cabin should we get?

A – Look up and down this page. No Ads. We can do and say anything here, so no worries. We absolutely love this itinerary. You’ll see the best of Polynesia, Machu Picchu, Easter island, the Pitcairn islands, and that’s not even half the itinerary. We say do it and try to get a Penthouse level cabin for that number of days. You will hit a bit of rough water and the Marina, one of our favorite ships, is a bit top-heavy. One third of your cruise will be spent at sea so you don’t want a ship any smaller than the Mariner. Port or Starboard is irrelevant, choose your cabin based on the best available mid-ship location on deck 10. This is one of the very best laid out itineraries we’ve ever seen and it is a steal based on current discounts. May we congratulate you on your “good eye”?

Q – My husband and I were planning our first cruise on a Danube River Boat Cruise. We’ve read so many wonderful things about these cruises on this site and others. We didn’t use a travel agent and tried booking the cruise ourselves with Tauck, Viking River, and Grand Circle. I am rather shocked to say that we were turned down by each line because my husband uses a scooter to get around in port. He has enough mobility to do some limited walking around the ship but I don’t see why they would not agree to help one of their own guests on or off the boat so he could use his scooter. Any light you can shed on this will be appreciated. I really got the impression they don’t want our business. 

A – Well they don’t. The average scooter that you are referring to weighs between 130-140 pounds. Crew cannot be held responsible to lift that much equipment, at some personal risk, on and off the boat in every port. River boats have extremely limited storage space, and that’s why many people decide to travel in ferry with their belongings with services as the red hook ferry which specialize in this. There is just not enough room in the average cabin to keep a piece of equipment that size. If you could make do with a collapsible wheelchair, each of the lines you mention would be happy to assist you.

We think you ought to be dealing with a travel professional who specializes in dealing with clients with disabilities. This is an important and specialized area of travel and it requires specific training and experience. Try Flying Wheels Travel in Minnesota.

Q – We’ve just returned from a cruise on the Oasis of the Seas and some friends we had dinner with told us that they had gotten friendly with their cabin attendant who told them that crew is paid next to nothing and really survives on tips. In this day and age and with minimum wage laws, I wonder if this could be true? Do you have any information on this?

A –  Workers aboard cruise ships are not protected by US laws as they are classified as foreign workers aboard ships that are not registered in the United States. They lack the same Minimum Wage, Health Care, and Working Conditions rights that you and I enjoy as citizens. By every measure they are exploited labor. Janitorial and cleaning staff average about $500 per month. A waiter can make $1,000 per month. They usually work seven days a week. They sleep below decks in bunk bed accommodations but the major cruis elines are good advertisers so we see little int he way of investigative reporting on this issue.

On the other side of the Atlantic, London’s Channel 4 sent a reporter undercover to work for five weeks aboard the Celebrity Eclipse. Celebrity, it should be noted, is the most upscale of the mass market lines and the Eclipse is a new generation ship, so conditions are marginally better than what crew might face on less upscale competitors.

The on-air expose reported that the lowest paid on board workers were receiving about $600 per month or about $2.00 per hour with no gratuities. Most crew members were working seven days a week for six or eight months. Workers are often forced, it was reported, to pay “expensive fees” to the recruitment agencies in their home country that allowed them to obtain their job.

But what about the reporter on this story? What was he paid?

Over five weeks, he earned $375 an hour and he was expected to work sixteen hours each day. This was less than the recruitment agency he used had promised. A story in the Daily Telegraph pointed out that he was charges $700 by the recruitment agency to buy his uniform, get a visa, and take out compulsory medical coverage. He started his work heavily in debt.

The documentary report pointed out, in some detail, exactly why cruise ships flag their ships in certain countries. The Celebrity Eclipse is registered in Malta. There can be no other justification for such registry other than the fact that neither US or British Employment laws apply in Malta. Cruise ships flag their ships to evade minimum wage requirements and other forms of worker protections.

There were areas the story did not have time to investigate. The treatment of workers who are injured ont he job, for example, and their access to US hospitals. Cruise lines will often require that an injured worker be flown home rather than arrange for the best possible treatment available.

And what do the cruise lines respond. They respond in much the same way that Mitt Romney responds to questions about his tax dodges in Grand Cayman and other tax havens. It is all technically within the law.

For a great many consumers, apparently, that is quite good enough.