The rest of Q&A

Q – We are going to be turning the corner on seventy and we are starting to think we ought to move on some of our bucket list exotics. We’re really anxious to get into the Peruvian Amazon to see as much as possible off a safe, comfortable expedition boat. Any company we should be looking at first?

A – We think you ought to start with a company called International Expeditions using a boat called Aquamarina. Try to choose a journey that gets you into the protected  Pacaya-Samina Reserve. This is an area just filled with off the charts wildlife. Try to do some birding research before you go.  A knowledge of what you might see if you’re lucky will really enhance this travel experience.

Q – In a few months we’ll be off to Europe for the first time, visiting primarily Italy with some France. As we walk around, we were wondering if we should buy one of those hidden money belts or a fanny pack for our valuables?

A – The money belts and fanny packs are not as impervious to a pickpocket with a sharp knife as one would imagine. Fanny packs are the worst place to store your money and credit cards. They also identify you as a tourist who will soon be leaving town. The safest technique seems to be the passport size zippered case that you wear around your neck and tuck inside your shirt. If someone wants to cut the cord they will have to remove your entire head and in Europe they seem to feel that is somewhat extreme. It isn’t hard to know exactly where pickpockets work the crowds. The like to work right where the tour buses let off their passengers. There is one gang that works Rome’s Trevi Fountain exclusively.

Q –  It is our 40th anniversary and first European trip. We are looking at river cruises. Outstanding food is a concern with any cruise or all-inclusive tour. We’d hate to be in Europe for two weeks eating buffet or banquet style food. Any advice would be appreciated.

A – Since you used the term “outstanding” to describe your culinary goal, we would have to say that we seriously doubt that any of the current crop of river cruise lines will meet your expectations. The food aboard many of the river cruise ships, particularly, Tauck, AMA Watrerways, and Uniworld, is often quite good. But these boats have small kitchens, rather limited menus, and food budgets that just don’t match those of some of their five-star cruise line competitors.

If you are seeking truly memorable cuisine during your stay in Europe we would recommend that you narrow your search to one of the top-rated traveltruth cruise lines. Crystal currently rates highest in this category. Food lovers rave about the cuisine on Sea Dream. The Oceania Marina has excellent food at a lower price point.

Finally, we would suggest that you look at the possibility of a river barge rather than a river boat. Some of the barges that ply the waterways in the south of France do employ talented chefs who shop at local markets each morning and produce truly “outstanding: meals.

As a general rule, never expect truly outstanding cuisine on anything that floats with pricing per diems under $500.

Q – No one has ever asked traveltruth a really important question. My wife and I are off to China on our first ever escorted tour. We are extremely nervous about this trip as we really have no sense of who our fellow guests will be. The tour company is Gate1 and the feedback we get from the company is that they attract “really nice people.” But how sophisticated are they or do we risk being placed in a group that thinks only snobs go on to college How does the consumer find out who one’s fellow travelers might be on these tours.

A – Well you know the obvious answer is to use a travel consultant who can describe the differences. But the best you can do as a consumer is to read the marketing copy and pay close attention to the “real” per diem, per person cost. By “real” we mean excluding airfare and insurance. Calculate the number of room nights and divide by the total tour cost. In China, anything under $500 per day should be considered budget to moderate. The top tour operators are going to have per diem costs in China that average $700. Each destination is different. China has some wonderful hotels. The problem is that there is a severe shortage of top-quality, English-speaking guides.

But we’re not sure that we want to take the path you’re on. Cost does not automatically equate to sophistication these days. You may find that the sophisticates on a pricey tour believe in the value of a college education, but they also may believe that global warming is a hoax and that women who use contraception are of dubious character. You might even come upon some tour participants who actually believe that Jonah lived inside a whale.

Spend a few minutes reading the brochure. The wording and the specific carrots used to tempt a purchaser are rather telling about the sophistication and educational levels of that company’s clientele.

Gate1 is a well-established company that operates tours in the value and moderate price ranges. 

Q – Thank you for FINALLY telling the truth, the whole truth, the cruise truth! I hope you can answer the question I have. My Mother just disembarked from Singaport on a flight to Dallas Texas after a 52 day segment of the Seabourn’s world cruise ( Seabourn Quest). She was taken from the airport to the emergency room where she was admitted with a severe case of double lobe pneumonia. The culture shows it is not due to the pneumoccoxis (sp?) organism, but is something else they haven’t been able to determine. Is there any way to find out what organism has been found aboard the ship-that might have caused this illness? My parents are in their late 80’s and spent the last month in their stateroom, unable to leave due to my mother’s illness on board ship. The ship’s doctor apparently only administered 3 days of antibiotics and then did nothing more to make sure that Mom’s condition was improving. She should never have remained on board untreated. Frankly, I don’t know how she made it home from Singapore. Any insight you can give me is sincerely appreciated. 

A – We are all so sorry to hear about your mother’s condition and trust she will have a quick recovery.Here is what to do:

 01 – Call your travel consultant immediately – today, at home, if at all possible. This is a medical emergency. Have your agent contact Seabourn as soon as they open and get in touch with the Director of On board Medical Services. Your agent should explain that this is a medical emergency and that the results of any on board testing and diagnoses is being immediately requested by your Mom’s doctors. 

 02 – If the response is not immediate and helpful, have your agent trace the Director of Guest Services and ask that you be contacted immediately. This should all happen before noon tomorrow.

03 – If  your agent does not get you the information you are seeking we think you should call Seabourn personally. Document the call  and keep records of all conversations/times. If this fails, your attorney needs to contact the line’s Chief Executive.

In cases like this, it is important to understand that the ship’s on board medical team does not work for the cruise line. That would create potential mountains of liability. Doctors on cruise ships are independent contractors and they are often hired by the “entertainment” department. It may take a while for your Mom’s medical record  to be retrieved from the ships Medical Officer. Keep careful records including any treatment records your mother retained while aboard her cruise. We do not expect that you will need to get personally involved as your agent made a significant commission on a 52-day sailing and should be quite pleased to work on your mother’s behalf. Please let us know how this turns out.

Q – Dear Traveltruth – Greetings from Australia. I know that Aussies have a reputation for telling the truth in a direct manner. Hence these comments and question. I found your site by accident on the internet. But I sense I will get a truthful response.

My dear husband who is now in a wheelchair and I took the chance to see what cruising was like from Melbourne to New Zealand on the Dawn Princess a couple of weeks ago and were quite shocked by the experience.  Everyone said how great it was for them and how great it would be for us and we are left amazed that others see us as people who would like over salted food reminiscent of someones rather poor wedding reception; overzealous crew who push you daily to spend more than your pay packet would allow and elderly fellow passengers using more wheelie frames than I saw in all my 15 years working in aged care. 

Your excellent travel site doesn’t mention Princess Cruises, and I gathered there must be a reason.  I have since looked up a myriad of Cruise sites including an American complaints site and I have realised that not only are we not alone in our perceptions, but that many, many more travellers have had worse experiences.  I got really sick with a chest infection mid cruise and therefore could not drink as much as I wanted, I am no alcoholic, only we discovered it was the only way to cope with the lack of any activities of interest to us.  We are professionals in our mid 50’s, so carpet bowls, Barry Manilow concert movies and bingo are of no interest.  However, we were very much alone and I can see that this crusieline  must be making millions on the retirees of southern Australia.  They all loved it!  Our stateroom was good and clean and we had a balcony.  We ate at every port and survived on the bread rolls on board which weren’t bad. I see that things could have been much worse.  However, we were hassled by the waitering staff for the misdemeanour of complaining that we disliked the food, to the point of being followed! ( Yes, I realise that’s paranoid)

It seems from my reading and this experience that there is a lot of disparity between cruise lines and even within their cruise ships, however we also feel really ripped off by our travel agent who basically lied to us about the cruise to make the sale. Does anyone ever get any response other than to thank you for the feedback? Its not that we are money hungry, its just that awful sinking feeling of being taken for a ride (no pun intended).  Are there any cruise lines who actually have great food and good wines and don’t charge an arm and a leg extra to enjoy them?  Do they all cater for the elderly or the children whatever population is the biggest? 

A –  So sorry your first cruise experience was a net negative. This happens more often than you might imagine as the mindset seems to be “let’s sample cruising and not spend a lot to see if we really like it.” That leads to travel agent misdiagnosis, an industry problem of biblical proportions. Your case is a bit different because it sounds as though you were given the werong information from the beginning.

You are correct, there is not much mention of Princess Cruises on this site. We see traveltruth as a voice for the upscale consumer and we deal exclusively with the world’s top ten rated lines. Princess is not one of them, nor is Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Costa, MSC, or Norwegian Cruise Lines. Sadly, had you sailed one of the lines on our  “World’s Top Ten Cruise Lines”  list, you would have had a totally different kind of experience including beautifully prepared foods using fresh, local ingredients, a nice variety of alternative dining options, and a collection of chefs with true skills and the desire to cook each dish to order. Your cruise on the Dawn Princess was designed to be affordable and to appeal to a very mid-range cruiser with mass market expectations. In the States we would say it was a “blue collar cruise”.

If you write to Princess you may get some sympathy and a future cruise credit. We doubt that is what you want. You ought to share your feelings in writing with your travel agent but we doubt seriously that you will receive any financial compensation. We like your characterization of “complaint sites” related to cruising. There are a great many of them but virtually all of them have been seriously infiltrated by those with a vested interest in the outcome of their comments. For the future, we would recommend that you work exclusively with an Australian member of the Virtuoso or Signature travel networks. Their consultants work with a very high-end clientele and should be familiar with characteristics of the five-star fleet. Unfortunately, travel agents are unlicensed opinion givers whose advice can easily ruin a vacation experience. But if you ask the right questions, you will find a true,professional consultant fully capable of  turning your travel dreams into reality.

The average three-four star mass market cruise line is charging about $150 per day for an outside cabin without air. The Top Ten Cruise Lines, rated Five-Stars, are normally going to come in at $500-$700 per person, per day. You get what you pay for despite all the marketing hype and phony deals designed to make you think otherwise. If you wish to stick to mass market pricing, you will find better food on Celebrity.

There is a compromise. Try looking at Oceania Cruises, particularly their Marina and Riviera. They are not inclusive but the ships, Riviera has not been launched yet, are high-level four stars with some excellent dining options. The age of one’s fellow passengers is more determined by the length of the cruise. The crowd on a ten-night or longer sailingmay average as much as ten years older than the same ship doing a seven-night sailing. Many of those still working cannot or will not take off more than a week for vacation.

The reality for you is that you would need to spend about double what you spent on your cruise to experience the level of service and food quality that we think you really desire – and deserve. We would urge you to cruise again on Crystal, Seabourn, or Regent Seven Seas. But for the very best food, you may want to look at the Europa.

Q – OK here’s the deal. We’re in our mid-thirties, not all that well traveled, but we have a week and want to do a Caribbean island that has a nice variety of beaches. We are willing to spend up to $1200 a night for a great beach and we’d love a restaurant recommendation on the island for something romantic. Where should we stay and where should we set up dinner? 

A – There are several options but you sound right for Parrot Cay in the Turks and Caicos. It is a gorgeous property on one of the Caribbean’s best stretches of beach. Grace Bay Beach is also lovely. For a romantic dinner consider Parallel 23 in the Regent Palms Resort.

Q – We are headed off to Brazil in October for a two week custom-planned vacation. Our travel agent is recommending that we take out a new credit card just for this trip because she is concerned that the card could be compromised during our stay. Do you think she is being just a little bit paranoid on this issue?

A – No.

Q – We were referred to you by a serious world traveler friend. My husband and I are planning a trip to the Galapagos but we’re not sure that the Celebrity Expedition  Cruise is the way to go. There are land trips and other sailing vessels but we feel like the blue foot boobies. Help! We love adventurous travel and we want to sail with a company that caters to those seeking a real adventure not a cruise that just happens to take place in the Galapagos. Hope this question makes sense. Absolutely entrall

A – The Galapagos can be a tough call. The Celebrity product is somewhat downscale from some of the other options but the ships are beautiful. Celebrity attracts a fairly high percentage of its guests from the Celebrity cruise brand. They are larger 100-Guest ships and that is something to factor in as you make your decision. We think the guides and expedition leaders are key to the experience and for that reason we recommend Lindblad Expeditions first, then Abercrombie and Kent, followed by Tauck Tours.

Q – We are going to devote a portion of this weekend reading this site, but so far, we can’t find anything much about the Splendour of the Seas, the Enchantment, the Norway, or the Celebration. We’ve sailed all of them and wonder why these cruise lines, which I believe are the largest, seem to be ignored. I am sure that you are turning off large numbers of potential visitors to your site. We would like to meet others who may be going on our next Caribbean adventure.

A – There are literally hundreds of cruise sites that devote themselves to discussion of the largest, mass-market, cruise lines. Many of them enjoy advertising support from one or more of the lines. We are not a cruise site. But when covering the cruise portion of the industry, we devote 100% of our time to reporting information related to the World’s Top Ten Rated Cruise Lines. So yes, we would be of limited interest to those seeking information about the lines you reference.