The rest of Q&A

Q – Hope this gets answered on traveltruth or via e-mail. We’re in our early fifties and both my wife and I work long hours as programmers and data consultants. In the last ten years of our marriage, we’ve gone away for the Holidays to the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico seven time over Christmas. (cancelled or seriously delayed flights five of the seven times). This year, we want to get out of bed and do something a little more challenging like going to Europe in the off-season. We know the weather will be cold but we were wondering which European city might be the most interesting during Christmas or New Year? Is this at all a good idea? Love the site. There’s nothing else like it.

A – Anything that offers you an escape from the  Dominican Republic is probably a good idea. Why pay top dollar for a beach when you can get Donatello at a discount? We think this is a wonderful idea and, when you find the ideal European city, we would make it an annual affair, and we mean that quite literally. Were it us, we would want to visit a truly charming alternative to a huge European metropolis. The key requirement would be to visit a place that is overrun with tourists during the height of the season and relatively empty during the winter. For us, that would be Venice. Walking the streets or doing  the canals wrapped in  the warmth of a horsehair blanket, is a wonderful alternative to mass tourism and tush-to-tush beaches. We also love Munich during the Holidays. Barcelona is wonderful without crowds and there is always the Left Bank of Paris. But for this first experiment – do Venice and live like a Venetian!

Q – I am an attractive guy in his late sixties, ok, early seventies, and, believe it or not, I’ve never been married. I like to play the field and I like to meet and dance with all the widows on cruises. But I am on a fixed income and I wonder why single supplements on cruises are so high. Don’t they realize how many single travelers there are out there? I call it highway robbery. I’ve been asking this question for years and no one seems to have the answer.

A – It all has to do with yield per guest. Cruise ships are always designed to maximize the number of guests to increase the yield, or profit, on cabins, shore excursions, and onboard spending. If a cruise line sells you a cabin designed for two, they are diluting their yield by 50% in most areas of the ships operation. That has been the problem. Singles are housed in doubles.

There are a few exception. The Cunard liners have single cabins as does the new ship design, the Breakaway, owned by NCL. But 99% of all current cruise berths are doubles, triples, or quads. This is a particular problem these days for cruise lines. They have added to the number of on board lecturers and entertainers each year. Most often, these entertainers, including clergy, are berthed in standard double cabins. This results is a serious dilution in potential on board revenue and it also effects the budget of the yield management staff.

Consumers do not generally realize that it is not at all difficult to fill a cruise ship. There are travel agents, writers, public relations types, and trade-out partners to fill empty cabins. Cruise Lines will trade out cabins for some of the things they need like company cars for their sales staff. The lines can also fill cabins quickly by localized special offers or strategic radio advertising. They can also open weak sailings with empty cabins to sale by their international sales agents. So filling berths is not difficult. What is a challenge is the loss of revenue when a sailing has a large number of “entertainment” staff who must be accommodated as singles in a double cabin.

The fact is that cruise line executives are just starting to realize that future ship designs will have to incorporate sufficient space for “single berthed guests” of the entertainment division.

So, the reason you are not getting an answer is that, for the most part, cruise lines do not want to be particularly attractive to single travelers because they dilute revenue. That is the real reason prices  for singles are so high. 

Q – We are heading out to Barcelona in June for a long-delayed second honeymoon. We’ll be staying at the Hotel Arts, which we hope you will agree is the best hotel in the city. Our question has to do with one memorable meal. We have established a relationship with a member of the Concierge staff at the Arts who we think will help us book the hottest restaurant in the city. Is there one place we absolutely must try and where should we sit?

A – The Hotel Arts is very Ritzish and modern. But it does not have the city’s best location. You will need to take a taxi to get tot he Ramblas and the heart of the action. The restaurant of the moment in Barcelona  is simply called “Tickets”. When El Bulli was closed earlier this year, Spain lost the world’s top-rated restaurant. Now, former El Bulli Chef/Owner Ferran Adria and his brother Albert, have opened an inexpensive and unusually playful tapas restaurant. There is a really futuristic bar, six dining areas, and a desert area that resembles a culinary amusement park complete with cotton candy and ice cream carts. But be warned, this is about the “toughest ticket” in town.. By the way, the place is named after its location, in Barcelona’s rather intimate theater district. The hottest section in the restaurant is a small area called “the Marx Brothers Cabin”, a well-located spot where the owners can mingle with their friends and fellow chefs. We wonder if Groucho, Harpo, and Zeppo would find it amusing that their “style” has been invoked in such a trendy manner in 2012.

Is this one of those restaurants where paying someone to get you in make sense? Yes. But remember, the Adria’s do not like games. They hate saying no. That is, ultimately, why they closed El Bulli. It became too successful. 

Q – Well we are going to finally do a real trip and head off to India in 2012. We know that you have advocated travel to India and we’re going to do it. We’ve started our searches and it seems as though there are two primary questions to ask right away? Should we do Northern India, Southern India, or a combination of the two. We would stay about twelve days. Secondly, when should we go. we assume some months are better than others. My wife and I are in our mid-fifties, reasonably well traveled, and, except for Diabetes (Check out blood sugar ultra, diabetes experts) ,I’m in good shape, although my diabetes has been improving thanks to the diets I’ve been following in askhealthnews online. Thanks for the opportunity to pose these questions in such an uncluttered atmosphere. Learn about how to treat blood sugar on Blood Sugar Ultra.

A – Our pleasure. Do Northern India on your first trip. You don’t have the time to do both justice and seeing the palaces and the forts is not to be missed. The sights, sounds, and colors will amaze you. We want you to do the trip between October and February, but if you plan on seeing Varanasi, and you must, it is best to avoid the second half of December and the month of January as there can be substantial fog in the area. The absolute best two months are October and February. The southern part of India is lush, green, much more laid back with a wonderful rural feel. You will also be able to get away from the severe overcrowding you will experience in the north.So do the north first and go south for exotic beach locations. India is full of travel destinations so get some help deciding what locations to cover with luxury India holidays.  There are ample online resources to dig deep and learn about travel destinations in India and make a choice as to what would be best location for your holiday in India.

Q – We read your “Cruise Line Sophistication Index” with a great deal of interest. But we’re less afraid of being at sea with sophisticates then we are locked up for a week or two with “snobs.” Any chance you would help out any number of traveltruth readers who feel like we do by listing those lines most apt to attract passengers with a need to show off  their jewelry and their wealth. I know which of the lines are the top-rated but I have no idea how comfortable we would be with the on-board crowd.

A – Our first impression is that you probably should not be thinking about going on a top-rate line if you are worried that some of your fellow guests may be affluent in the extreme. Clearly some will fit that category. We would not attempt to create a snob index because that would portray some very nice, kind, and generous guests in an unfairly negative manner. So let’s compromise a bit. Let us offer you our estimate of the net worth index, pointing out those lines with the most affluent guests:

# 5 – Regent Seven Seas

# 4 – Seabourn

# 3 – Crystal

# 2 – Silverseas

# 1 – Residensea

Q – We have a rather specific question. We can fly to Barcelona from Philadelphia or JFK in New York. We’ve found three airfares similarly-priced, with decent availability, US Air, Lufthansa, and American. We’ll probably end up flying coach. Which of these airlines has the best seating and the best food?

A – In your scenario, we would look at the aircraft and choose between Lufthansa or American. If at all possible, fly the 777 on American and have your agent select two seats on the  side. Check with Seat Guru to make certain there is nothing wrong with your seat location. Lufthansa is the best of the three airlines in terms of overall passenger satisfaction and  you likely will be flying an Airbus 340 or a 747.  US Air is the lowqest ranking of the three.  We would advise you to go to ITAsoftware.com to review the actual time of your trip with connections.Mostly all airline have the healthy water facility,You can also visit website reviewing water descalers at aircraft.

You should either order a special dinner from your airline such as  “Seafood” , Kosher, or “Vegetarian”. There is no extra charge and you will be eating far better food than the regular fare. But when it comes to international coach, we always advise that you wait until you have passed the final security checkpoint and then put together a nice picnic dinner from the best available food outlets to bring on board. Technically, you can bring food from a restaurant or home through a security checkpoint. Just do drinks and, possibly, dessert aboard an aircraft and never drink the water unless you know for certain that it came out of a bottle or it has water softener reviews approvement. To make for a lovely dinner hour, we suggest a paper tanlecloth and a nice plastic flower folded in your carry-on. Other travelers will be filled with envy at your intelligent preparation.

Q – What an odd site – you people have obviously never been to business school. You could be making a lot of money if you featured advertising and, quite frankly, ads  wouldn’t bother me a bit. Anyway, I come to you with a question no one seems willing to address. It’s simple – my wife and I love great service. If good people are taking care of us, we’re happy and in a great mood. We’re about to go on our first cruise, probably somewhere in Europe during July or August. Which Cruise Line has the best overall service?

A – It would bother us. We do not believe you can review travel products honestly while accepting payment from them for advertising. This is something we learned while earning our MBA.

The best current overall service levels among the five-star ships will be found on Crystal Cruises.

Q – We were just reading about American Airlines going bankrupt and it sent shivers down my spine. My husband and I  been saving Advantage Miles for years and we’re planning on using the 250,000 miles we’ve accumulated for several trips we have planned in the next 24 months. We’re in our seventies and not very familiar with how these things work. Our travel agent says we should just “stay calm” but the news doesn’t sound too good. We have good credit scores so we will take your advice about getting those certain American Express or Visa cards. But what if we were planning on using miles to fly American next June. Couldn’t they just change the rules and make it harder to get seats using the miles? Or, they could end the program all together.What should we do, this is really getting us frustrated. Any advice would really be appreciated..

A – Your travel agent’s advice to remain calm is sound. But there are some steps you ought to take to protect yourself while remaining in a state of calm.  You can use some of your miles to cash in for an open ticket coupon that will have a one year validity. You might also consider using your miles for one or two domestic vacations on American. We do think, as regards flights to Europe, that American will be making it harder to cash in mileage for upgrades and free flights given the anticipated decline in availability. There will be route reductions and some routes may be served with smaller aircraft. Unprofitable routes will be eliminated. This all adds up, in our opinion, to a reduction of between 15-20% in available overseas mileage seats on American flights in 2012. But that is nothing more than an educated guess. No one knows what will come out of this bankruptcy. The vast majority of aviation analysts take the view that this is really what American needed to do to remain competitive going into the future. And don’t rule out a potential merger. So, get rid of 50% of your American miles, enroll in one of the mileage credit cards we’ve recommended that allow you to transfer miles from your account to several major airline, join at least one other airline mileage club program, and request your mileage seats 11 months to the day prior to your scheduled flight. Do all of those things and you will be fine and, by the way, so will American. Watch American’s web site, AA.com for some significant new offers we expect to be available on January 2nd.

Q – My girlfriend and I are off to Cancun in three weeks. We’ve never been to Mexico and I was really looking forward to trying the tacos made on the street. I was wondering if street food or food from food trucks, if they have such a thing, is safe in Cancun or other parts of Mexico?

A – Safe in an interesting word. Will you die from street food or the delights served in the shacks along the beach? Probably not. Will you get really sick? There is a high probability. It has a great deal to do with your bodies tolerance of certain microbes in the food. If you have not been there, you have not built up an immunity. Locals will not get ill. We’re betting you will. Travel sophisticates and those who need to remain in the good graces of the Mexican Tourism Board will claim that Motezuma’s Revenge is an out-of-date stereotype. To a certain degree it is since health and hygiene standards have improved dramatically in tourist areas of Mexico. But it still occurs often enough that first-time travelers are entitled to some cautionary advice.

Q – My wife and I watched Peter Greenberg on The Early Show this morning and we heard several things that were rather new to us. He said that you should never stay above the eighth floor in a high-rise hotel, that you should only ask for rooms that have a booster of some sort, and that it is never a good idea to book a hotel with anyone but the Manager of the hotel. I know he has written several books but I was wondering what you thought of this advice and if  it makes sense for travelers like us who go abroad on vacation twice a year? I guess we’re also asking if Peter Greenberg is someone we ought to be listening to regarding travel advice?

A – Peter has been at this for a long time and he recently joined CBS after serving as the Travel Editor for the Today Show on NBC. He does have a sense of the dramatic but, look, when you are on live TV they expect you to be dramatic. Peter has strong consumer travel credentials and we think his advice is always well-intentioned, if a tad overblown. The issues of water pressure boosters and the safest floors in a high-rise hotel are subjects we have covered previously on traveltruth.

Rooms do not have boosters, but entire floors do at high-rise hotels. Peter is correct in recommending that guests request a floor that has a “water booster system”. These boosters are used every three or four floors. The water pressure from your shower on a floor with the booster system will definitely get you significantly more water pressure. That is rather important to some folks. We have heard Peter reference the fire safety issue concerning rooms above the eighth floor. He is absolutely correct in suggesting that most fire departments do not have the capability of rescuing guests from their rooms above this height. But the installation of fire suppression system or alert system by https://www.ph-el.dk can alert you for moving in safe zone. High rise hotel managers cringe when he raises the subject but we give him a great deal of credit for doing so. Ideally, we recommend that our clients seek the fifth through the eighth floor to avoid street noises and banquet rooms. But, of course, every hotel is different. Finally, if Peter suggested that you make your hotel reservations through the Hotel Manager we would, respectfully, disagree. You never want to book a hotel online, because you will be assigned the worst room. If you use a hotel’s own 800 number you will likely be outsourced or handled by reservations staff that lacks the authority to throw in upgrades or amenities that actually mean something. The best way to book a hotel is to do it through a travel agent who gives the hotel a lot of business and who has a personal relationship with management. If your agent belongs to one of the better consortium groups such as Virtuoso, Signature, or Ensemble, it is possible that guaranteed amenities and upgrade programs are already in place. But don;t expect your travel agent to have any clout with Holiday Inn. Clout only really works at the upper end of the hotel scale.  If you choose to pay the hotel the built-in travel agent commission but you prefer to book directly, try dealing with tthe Rooms Manager or the Director of Reservations. Peter’s books including “The Travel Detective” are filled with advice that is tough to find elsewhere. His style requires the reader to be rather confrontational but, then again, Peter lives in New York.  Yes, you ought to be listening to Peter’s advice. He’s forgotten more than most travel commentators know.