The rest of Q&A

Q— (5.5.24) Our friends recently returned from a Regent Cruise sailing out of Athens. They were booked on a pre-cruise program. Their flight out of New York was canceled, and they ended up with a new schedule that required several flight changes. They arrived in Athens after 38 hours of flying. According to the Apple Air Tag, their luggage was still at Charles DeGaulle. No one from Regent or the Regent-booked hotel could help them. They finally sent an e-mail directly to the CEO of Delta and received word two days later that their luggage would be sent home as they had requested.  Thjey did the cruise with clothing and accessories they had purchased in Athens. 

We have a cruise planned on Silversea in two months and we are wondering what to do to prepare for such a situation. They told me that the travel agent could not do much because the agent had not done the ticketing. Any advise for those of us who might be worried about a similar experience regarding lost luggage would be appreciated.

A – As the rate of flight cancellations keeps creeping up, stranded pre-cruise and pre-tour baggage is a growing problem. It is a rather complicated problem to fix when it occurs because the airlines generally refuse to talk to anyone but the booking agent or the customer directly. Most airlines outsource their lost baggage departments these days so formal claims must be filed before departing the airport at one’s final destination. Although cruise lines provide air as a “convenience” to their guests, they are generally unwilling to assume responsibility for lost baggage. They will claim that it is the airline’s responsibility.

Here are Some Suggestions to Both Prepare and Cope with Lost Luggage During an International Trip: 

• Use the Apple Air Tags or a similar tracking device so you always know where your bags are at any moment
• Do not travel without emergency numbers, including the number of your airline’s lost baggage department. Ask for this number when you check in for your first flight.
• If your bags are lost, you should send a specific email to the lost baggage address. Always include the baggage claim number, the lost baggage report number, and a full description, including size, brand, and color, of your missing luggage. 
• Try using large baggage tags, including where you are staying and the dates on the back of the tag. That could prove helpful. 
• Always pack two nights of fresh clothing in your carry-on. 
• If you are not assigned non-stop flights abroad, seriously consider having your bags shipped directly to your hotel by one of the better luggage shipping services such as “Luggage-Free” (It isn’t) 
• Forget arriving at your pre-cruise destination one night before boarding the ship. To help avoid boarding without your possessions, start planning three-night pre-cruise stays wherever you are traveling. That extra day and night will help increase the odds that you will receive your bags before boarding your ship. 
• If you check in to a quality hotel without your luggage, tip the team at the Concierge Desk and nicely solicit their aid. They will often have contacts within the airport. Don’t forget that once your luggage arrives at your destination airport, it still has to be sent to your hotel. There are instances where you would go with a courier from the hotel to secure your luggage from customs personally.
• Keep a notebook with the dates/times of all conversations and details associated with your lost luggage. Keep all receipts and copies of paperwork in an envelope for easy access. This will be extremely helpful should you decide to file an insurance claim using your “lost luggage” or “trip delay” provisions. 
• If you have not received your bags do not immediately go on a wild shopping spree as insurance companies have very limited coverage of expenditures for replacement clothing. 
• Your travel advisor will, hopefully,  be tirelessly working on your behalf. Make certain that you send your advisor a daily status update. It helps if you work with an advisor who has a personal relationship with your cruise line’s management. Because cruise lines do not take responsibility for lost baggage, and the airlines will only deal with the entity that issued the tickets (The Cruise Line or Tour Company Air Departments), your travel advisor will likely be rather restricted in what they can do to help you. If your travel agency personally issued your tickets, they will/should get involved with their airline representatives.
• One or two of the better air ticketing specialists include assistance with lost baggage in their services. If you use one of these Flight Monitoring Services, such as Cranky Concierge, you will have an advantage as they can deal directly with the airlines and their baggage departments.
• Always pack anything that is truly important to you and all documentation in your carry-on. 
• Please try to stay calm. In the vast majority of cases, well over 90% of the time, passengers flying internationally, particularly those in Business or First Class, are eventually reunited with their lost luggage.

Q – As my wife and I work, almost continuously, on our Five-Year Travel Planning, we find ourselves drawn to the list you published several months ago of the World’s Top Fifty restaurants. Fine dining seems as good a reason to visit a country as anything else, so we are trying to use two or three in-country firm reservations to guide us in our planning. The question is how to best secure a reservation at one of the restaurants on the list.  Do you recommend that we call or, perhaps, put our request in an e-mail? Should it be addressed to the Head Chef or the owner? We would love to lock several places in Brazil and Japan in for 2026. Is there anything we should tell the restaurant about ourselves to make this all go smoothly?

A –  Good idea but, perhaps, wrong approach. The last thing a world-class restauant wants to do is try to figure out what a US caller is talking about. You have no clout with a foreeign restaurant unless you get screamed ast easch evening by someone named “Gordon”.

The last thing the really top restaurants overseas  want is a reputation for catering to tourists from the USA. It would help kill their local business. We would leave the restaurant reservation portion of your trip-planning to the overseas office used by your travel advisor to do the rest of the tyrip. The owners of your on-site offices live in-country and if the restaurant is on the “Top-Fifty” List it ios likely they have a relationship with management. Leave it to your local contact to fill the restauant in on juist how very important you are. Unless you are a blood relative of Anthony Bourdain  however, they may remain unimpressed. They hear from true VRVIP’s each and every afternoon seeking tables. 

The rule here is that any reservation needs to be made by a local, fluent speaker of the language or, in the case of the British Isles, by someone with the proper pronunciation.

There is one exception – if you are a return VIP Guest at one of the very best hotels in town, it is likely that the Lead Concierge at your hotel would also be a good source to score a hard-to-get reservation. 

May we say that being led on your travels by a desire to dine really well is an idea with a great deal of merit. But beware that that approach may keep you isolated int he more affluent, sophisticated portions of your destination. We would suggest a fifty-fifty mix of fine-dining and dining “a la local” in the countryside.

Q – It would appear that The Goring in London meets with your approval. We work with a TA and she is a member of one of the major consortium groups. However, I was able to call the hotel directly and get an extremely competitive rate with no hassles. We are collecting countries, 73 to date, and there will be many hotel nights to book as we are in our early fifties. So I suppose I want to ask, on behalf of others who visit this insider site, how do we really know when we are getting the very best hotel rate?  Do I book through my agent, the hotel directly, one of the mega-online agencies, or do I spend my time on Expedia and Priceline? Is there clear advice you can share. It really isn’t the money. It’s more about the principle – if we are spending, on average, in excess of $1,000 per night, how can we be certain that we have been given the best price?

A – This is, as you realize, a somewhat complex question. But you raise several excellent points and we feel that we want to try to achieve some clarity in our response. So allow us to address your questions with bullet points:

• The best hotel rates are normally going to be offered by the hotel property, not by some third-party 800-number online entity. One would have to assume that Hotel Owners are idiots were they to allow internet-based sites to beat the pricing they have in their own hotel database. We know what the ads say – but booking anything with a 1-800 Call Center is just a sucker move – yet – seven of the ten largest travel agencies sell online strangers. They are there to sell you a hotel room but, as importantly, they are there to gather your identity and your credit card information which can then be sold several times. The proceeds from the sale of your private information is generally greater than the profit on a hotel room booking – even one at a deluxe property.
• But you only represent a single booking. your agent may book the Goring several times a year and her consortium may do six figures or more in total annual bookings. So normally, (and believe us the phrase “there are always exceptions” was created by the hotel gods for their profession, the best consortium members receive similar pricing plus a package of amenities. This may include complimentary breakfast, airport transfers, a dinner voucher for the hotel restaurant etc. In other words you agent would not be undercutting the hotel’s direct price but they may have negotiated volume amenities and upgrade offers that are not available to the general public or those who book their accommodations directly. 
• So – the bottom line:
  • Only book a hotel with an advisor who has a consortium certified contract arrangement with your hotel. That is how you get the best rate – ask if the hotel “Is a Preferred Supplier of your consortium”?
  • If not, your second best option is to book directly with the hotel – not a service desk or a rep firm – the hotel itself

Q—I have a guidebook that says Sunday is the best day of the week to book a flight within the USA. Prices seem to go up on Monday. This sort of makes sense but it also seems too simple to be true.

Is there a time of day when the average air ticket is lower? We are now at the point where we will be doing more domestic travel to visit kids and grandkids and I am trying to figure out a simple strategy. Thanks very much.

A – Airline strategies are fun to write about but much of what is written is old by the time it reaches print. You want to book domestic flights between 30-60 days before departure. But there is no one day when rates are lower. The new breed of computer algorithms is changing fares constantly based on availability and sales data streaming in by the millions. There is no way a human can try to predict or even keep up with those changes.

Wednesday and Thursday may be the best days but that is really hard to certify. We do know that flights that leave between 6:00 and 8:00 am and flights that depart in the evening between 10 PM-1:00 AM tend to have better pricing and better on-time records than mid-day departures. 

Q – We are three friends – all in our thirties, all financially comfortable, and all working for West Coast architectural firms. We ski and take lots of photos, but we travel primarily to be stimulated by new ideas in urban planning, architectural design, and lifestyle planning. We like to go where the world’s happiest people live to try to gain an understanding of how buildings and design can make city living fun again.

We are now planning a November getaway – possibly to Stockholm. We have already traveled to Copenhagen. We are wondering if you would agree that Stockholm is the obvious choice? Love the site and the lack of ads. 

A – We would make a strong base for Oslo at the moment. A surplus of  Norwegian oil money has allowed the city mothers and fathers to devote considerable energy to take stodgy Oslo and turn it into a cultural colassus that admirably competes with Stockholm. You will actually see locals enjoy winter sports as you walk downtown in November.Walk to the top floor of the Oslo Opera House where you can climb promenades that slope toward the roof. The public library is not to be believed – they have craft stations with 3-D Printers and home-made crafting, high quality music studios, and movie theaters that are, of course, complimentary. The National Museum is spectacular and is larger than any other museum in Scandinavia.

Then there’s the Bjorvika District and the new performance center, SALT. But to see the locals enjoying one another’s company, you might want to book a short sail on a small Sauna boat that will drop you off in a relatively isolated portion of the fjord. You jump into the frigid water and then soon come back aboard warming up on the boat’s large sauna.

Sorry Stockholm – the newest hot major Scandinavian city of the moment is Oslo. But not literally “hot” in November. 

Q – I travel for business and my husband and I travel as much as possible overseas for pleasure. Inb our early forties, we are somewhere in the world about 60% of any year. But trying to really figure out flight schedules is terribly frustrating. Just wondering if there is a website or specific source you would recommend to help us figure out which airports have non-stop flights to cities where we need to go overseas. I have, of course, fooled around with the Expedia and Kayaks of the world. Simplicity of use is not one of their attributes. Sorry for the bother, buit we just feel we are missing something.

A – You are certainly not alone. Flight search sites are predicated on the belief that price rather than non-stop flights is the major motivation for visitors. Fortunately, there is “work-around” for this problem. Virtually every major airport in the United States now has a page on Wikipedia. Go on the site and scroll down to the section called “Airlines and Destinations.” Under this subject you will find clear listings of which routes from the airport have non-stop service and which airline(s) provide it.  This is a simple fix but it works.

Q – This is a rather fascinating site. As a resident of  Manchester U.K. I must admit that some of the cryings about travel displeasure seem uniquely American in nature. I have been planning my own travels with few issues for about twenty-five years. But I have just recently run into a stone wall trying to get confirmed on a Silversea sailing from Tokyo. I wrote a letter to management indicating that I take at least one major trip a year etc. but that has done little for my status. Do you have any suggestions to get the space cleared? Do they work these wait-lists conscientously. Any tips would be appreciated. We Brits do like to mind our manners and keep our place in line – but not necessarily in Manchester. Keep it up.

A – Let’s look at it this way. You represent a potential booking. One small piece of the cruis line’s annual revenue. Our firm belongs to a consortium group of top-producing agents. It is a “By Invitation Only” organization. In 2023 we did a total of $23 Billion in luxury sales and we are the top-producing group for most of the major luxury brands. Then, drill down a bit to who we are and what specific revenue we might product for a top-ranked cruise line. By failing to take advantage of advocacy and oversite you have placed yourself in a position to lose this soccer match. A bit of advice for getting space cleared:

• Work with a top-producing travel advisor well known in executive circles at the line. It will cost you nothing and may well get you cleared.
• Have your advisor help you design a brief bio that highlights your unique ability to generate word-of-mouth bookings for the line. That bio should be submitted with a special request to the travel advisor’s personal sales manager at the line. That won’t clear the space but it very well may move you up on the waiting list.
• Put it all in perspective: Japan and Iceland along with Grand Voyages of more than 24 Days are currently booking up faster than the vast majority of cruise itineraries in the luxury sector. They should be booked 14-16 months in advance to assure that you will get what you are seeking.

Good Luck with Liverpool.

Q – We are planning on doing a 14-night Regent Seven Seas Cruise to Australia and New Zealand next winter. I was wondering if you could tell us how many formal nights there will likely be so we can plan on packing.

A – There will be zero formal nights. Sorry if this is disappointing. Regent does not have formal nights for any sailing of less than 16 nights. But on other competitive lines like Seabourn, Crystal, or Silversea, formal nights are less of an issue than many first-time guests imagine. Every Luxury line offers alternative dining venues on formal nights that do require that male guests try to look as much as possible like members of a Falkland Islands Penguin colony.

Q – We are planning a visit to Europe in the Fall that will include Warsaw, Prague, and Budapest. We are not budget travelers at all, so quality hotels are not an issue. But we wonder about making certain that the areas around a hotel we might choose in these cities are safe at night. How do we make certain we are not venturing into unsafe areas? Is this something a travel consultant can help with? Do you advise your clients on such things, or is it up to us to do all of the research? Although we have done many driving trips in the US, as you might be able to tell – we are not well-traveled outside the country.

A – This is not a silly question. You need to feel safe when you travel. When you work with a professional advisor you should be shown hotel inspection reports that are not available online. These reports will cover any concerns such as unsafe areas around the hotel.

The truth is that five-star hotels are normally not open in anything like a dangerous area. Part of any hotel stay for visiting tourists is wandering out and finding dining choices that look enticing. The Concierge Desk at your hotel is the overall best source for the most up-to-date safety information. Always feel free to ask questions such as “is there a direction where you would advise we avoid walking”?

In general, when walking around a strange city, we recommend leaving most of your cash and some of your credit cards, along with your best jewelry, in the hotel safe. And remember, again, that 131 countries in the world are safer to walk around than almost any of America’s largest cities. (Source: 2024 Global Safety Index)

Q – (1-26-24) I just received my issue of Travel & Leisure, and I counted eight cruise lines that were touting the fact that they had won “World’s Best” Awards. Viking claims they have won top line in several categories including Riverboats and Cruises. As we are in the New Year, I wonder if there is any consensus as to which cruise line, based on objective factors, is really the top-rated line in the world. We have only done a four-day cruise to the Bahamas many years ago but are now ready to commit the money to sail the best line at sea. 

A  – No answer to your question is truly “objective”. We look at many criteria, several of which involve sources  based abroad. We also maintain our own program of CSI Inspectors who sail all of the top ships at full tariff and undercover. We have achieved this by training sophisticated world travelers who have luxury cruise experience. They use the same evaluations and tests that we use when comparing cruise products.

There are two things to note that are important:

• Numerous companies sell full sets or partial sets of A!-produced online reviews. For that reason, they are virtually meaningless. 
• Print Media believes, and studies do show, that “Lists” or “Ratings” increase circulation. The major consumer magazines try to create as many categories as possible so that every potential cruise advertiser has an award to reference. This is all big business and the consumer is supposed to believe that the line they want to sail, or the one their travel agent recommends, is really top-of-the-line. In most cases that is false.

In 2024, the top-ranked cruise line is Hapag-Lloyd. The top-ranked ship is the Europa 2. Following Hapag-Lloyd there is a close bunching of excellence as Silversea, Regent Seven Seas, and Seabourn battle for second place. 

Hapag-Lloyd is a German Line and guests who do not speak German may be at a conviviality disadvantage. Silversea is a more formal alternative to Regent Seven Seas. Seabourn does more creative itineraries and Regent is, by a significant margin, the better value as they include round-trip Business Class Air and shore excursions on all sailings.

When you ask this question next year, we think you will see some major shits in the Cruisetruth Rankings as smaller luxury lines like Four Seasons and Aman begin to launch their products. This will squeeze out non-inclusive higher density lines like Viking from Top Ten consideration. Our team is busy updating our www.cruisetruth.com website where you will soon see the updated rankings.