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November 2005 issue

Rental car CDW waivers

In his August ’05 “Discerning Traveler” column, Dr. Philip Wagenaar offered some tips for handling collision damage waivers (CDWs) when renting a car, to which I would like to add some notes. The CDW is a good way to save money, but it has to be watched.

If you decline the CDW when renting a car, you are promising to return the car in the same condition as when you received it. If it is damaged from any cause, whether it is your fault or not, you must pay to fix the damage.

In addition, as Dr. Wagenaar noted, some companies add on a “loss of use” charge which reimburses them...

March 2006 issue

Sapphire Libya & Med cruise

I took an 8-day cruise to Libya and the Mediterranean aboard the MS Sapphire of Louis Hellenic Cruises (Athens, Greece) in April ’05. I booked it through Advantage Travel & Tours (Poway, CA; 800/882-2098 or e-mail advantaget@aol.com).

The brochure price was $1,499 for an inside cabin or $1,699, outside, and included air from New York. Since I needed airfare from Ft. Myers, Florida, I had to pay $200 extra. The single supplement was $500, but I opted to share with a stranger to save the extra charge and that worked out fine. We had to pay for the tours in Libya in advance to...

July 2006 issue

Flaming Cliffs notes

I believe in some literary license, but the reader’s comparison of the Flaming Cliffs in Mongolia to the Grand Canyon (May ’06, pg. 64) goes way too far and creates unrealistic expectations for future travelers.

We, too, visited the Flaming Cliffs in July ’05, and we have just returned from our third visit to the Grand Canyon. The latter continues to be awe-inspiring, regardless of our having seen it before, and remains near the top of our long list of sites seen around the world.

Also, responsible tour operators forbid, rather than encourage, visitors to carry off dinosaur...

December 2006 issue

Credit cards

I have been reading with great interest readers’ reports about credit card/debit card use while traveling. I travel a fair amount and have always used my debit cards (business and personal), for reasons like not having to pay monthly bills; getting money from ATMs; avoiding extra exchange fees (with a debit card I get the commercial exchange rate, not just the regular “bank” rate at an airport or hotel desk), etc. However, following a trip to Hong Kong in March ’06, I noticed a huge foreign transaction fee charge on my statements: three percent!

When I called my bank to complain,...

April 2006 issue

Grand Princess cruise

Here are our comments about our transatlantic voyage, Aug. 27-Sept. 12, ’04, aboard the Grand Princess of Princess Cruises (Santa Clarita, CA; phone 800/774-6237 or visit www.princesscruises.com).

On this trip, we flew from Detroit to Amsterdam, caught a flight to Copenhagen and boarded ship there. We stayed at the Radisson SAS, a wonderful hotel, near the center of Copenhagen. They have wonderful buffets featuring delicious seafood and luscious desserts. We had only a half day in Copenhagen, enough time to get a cab and visit the Black Diamond, their beautiful new library. There is...

May 2006 issue

Republic of Georgia

My visit to the Republic of Georgia, May 13-June 19, ’05, was the perfect trip. The temperature was around 50º-68ºF. I would suggest taking a light, waterproof jacket and an umbrella, as rain can occur (although on this trip it was not heavy enough to interfere with sightseeing).

The capital, Tbilisi, had major traffic and parking concerns, so I would recommend the reasonably priced taxis. Most places could be reached by taxi for $3-$5. (The exchange rate was $1 = 1.81 Georgia lari.)

There were two lines in the metro system. A trip across town cost about 10¢. A numbered...

October 2005 issue

Concern from carabinieri

My wife and I booked a transatlantic cruise on Celebrity’s Galaxy, sailing from Galveston to Civitavecchia (for Rome) in May ’05. The crossing was uneventful, we found it even boring, during the five consecutive days at sea. Except for a complete breakdown in our dining arrangements and a final billing error, the food and service on board were very good, although not up to the standards we had experienced in two previous cruises aboard their sister ship Mercury.

One reason for booking this cruise was to return to Rome and once again visit the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel plus see...

June 2005 issue

Santiago de Compostela

I really enjoyed reading Rick Steves’ article on Santiago de Compostela in the August ’04 issue. It brought back memories of a voyage my wife and I made in May ’04.

While Rick is correct in saying that the Cathedral is Santiago’s one real sight, it would be a shame not to visit some of the other buildings, for example, Santa Maria la Real de Sar, founded as a monastery in the 12th century, with its impressive sloping piers and walks, its Romanesque cloister and its 13th-century tombs. Then there is San Benito del Campo, one of the town’s oldest churches, dating from the 10th century...