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December 2007 issue

Europe train tour + UK

We can highly recommend the tour “Great Trains of Europe,” which we took July 8-20, 2007. This was our fourth trip with Grand European Tours, or GET (6000 Meadows Rd., Ste. 520, Lake Oswego, OR 97035; 800/552-5545, www.getours.com), and we were more than satisfied.

The nice thing about GET is they give you a day of leisure at most stops. We flew to London and stayed three nights, took the high-speed Eurostar to Paris, staying two nights, rode the TGV train (200 mph) to Geneva, bused to the train for Zermatt (no cars allowed), where we stayed two nights, then took the Glacier Express...

April 2007 issue

Tipping on cruise-tours

We went on a 16-day cruise-tour from Beijing to Shanghai, “China’s Cultural Delights,” with Viking River Cruises (Woodland Hills, CA; 877/668-4546, www.vikingrivercruises.com), Aug. 5-21, ’06. Airfare was included, and the price was $5,500.

We were very satisfied with the cruise except for the matter of tips, but since it was our first cruise we didn’t really know what to expect. I believe the cruise brochure “suggested” $6 to $8 per helper per day, which seemed rather steep to us. Other people on the trip thought that amount was standard; otherwise, the cost of the trip would have...

May 2007 issue

Not a locksmith but. . .

Several articles have mentioned the TSA-approved locks. My wife and I had been using the plastic cable ties instead of locks, as the locks put a great deal of strain on the loops of the zippers and have even caused some of the loops to break off.

In April ’06 we took a trip to the Galápagos with Stanford University and they advised us to use the TSA locks when traveling in South America, so we dutifully traipsed off to the lock store and bought two of them.

The locks are made by CCL Security Products of Wheeling, Illinois. On each lock is the word “Prestolock” as well as the...

February 2008 issue

Bills paid before travel

Before a trip, first I arrange for every bill possible — car insurance, phone, etc. — to be paid by my credit cards. I never, never enter anything in a computer. Then I arrange for my credit cards to be paid by my bank automatically every month. I make sure my checking account has enough in it to cover the bills.

For that one guy who will only accept a check, I take care of him separately before the trip. Then I am carefree for a long trip.

I use two credit cards for travel, because both my MasterCard and Visa have been refused in the past. Near Bø, Norway, my girlfriend...

August 2008 issue

Alitalia’s financial woes

The reader’s report of an unpleasant flight on Alitalia (“Disappointed in Their Alitalia Experience,” June ’08, pg. 30) reminded me that, although ITN is the leading source of information on all things travel, sometimes you have to go to the business and financial pages.

Alitalia has been teetering on the edge of bankruptcy for over a year. Small wonder, then, that the cabin staff were surly and uncooperative; they were worrying about their jobs. Small wonder, too, that there were few cabin supplies. Fortunately, there was enough fuel to complete the flight.

I am a confirmed...

November 2008 issue

New tour brochure prices retroactive

Three of us from California went on a “Discover New Zealand” trip with Explore, March 2-30, 2008. We booked through Adventure Center in June ’07 based on the published brochure and website price.

In October ’07 we were advised that the cost would be an additional $750, a 15% increase. We already had secured our airfare and paid our deposit as well as bought insurance and felt we had no choice but to pay it.

Our guide was the owner of the local tour company, Antipodean Explorer, that contracts with Explore for this trip. He (told us that) he hadn’t raised the price on this...

March 2008 issue

Wished private meeting space

On two sailings of Oceania Cruises’ Nautica — to Thailand, Viet Nam and China, Jan. 19-March 5, 2007, and to Korea, China, Japan and Taiwan, March 16-31 — I have run into the same problem.

The meetings for 12-step recovery groups were held on the starboard side of the Horizon Lounge, a very large meeting, coffee, etc., area at the top front of the ship. The meetings were usually at 5 p.m., the same time high tea tended to be going in that location.

There was no privacy and, without asking each person there, it was very difficult if not impossible to determine who was there...

December 2007 issue

Reviewers' Corner

Here are a couple of the latest travel-book reviews written by ITN readers.

“National Geographic: The Ultimate Field Guide to Landscape Photography” by Robert Caputo (2007, National Geographic. ISBN 9781426200540 — 160 pp., $21.95).

Warning! This book is a slick-paper paperback with the Geographic’s usual fine photography, but the absolutely rigid binding and the narrow margins in the gutter requires a constant struggle to keep the print at the gutter visible. It is very hard to read.

Fortunately, for me, it was offered with a no-risk guarantee. I called at once and they sent...