Travelers' Intercom

April 2012 issue

Princess’ pre-cruise London package

My wife and I decided to try the pre-cruise package offered by Princess Cruises (800/774-6237) before our “Top of the World” cruise from Dover, England, to Brooklyn, New York, July 20-Aug. 7, 2011.

For $579 per person, we would be met at Heathrow Airport, transferred to London’s Chancery Court Hotel and, after two nights, transferred by van to the ship in Dover. For an additional $189 per person per night, we could book additional nights through Princess at the same hotel. Was this a good deal?

Our flight landed in Heathrow at 7 a.m. After retrieving our bags and emerging...

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March 2012 issue

A stay at Mt. Athos
Our day started at the ungodly hour of 4 a.m. In the early darkness, with the starry skies above, my second godson, Vasilli (almost 80 years old), and I joined pilgrims from Greece, Russia, Ukraine, Romania and Poland to sit, stand, make the sign of the cross and kiss icons while monks chanted age-old Byzantine hymns and prayers that have remained unchanged since the birth of Christianity. It was August ’11 and we were guests in Pantokratoros, one of the 20 monasteries on Mt. Athos (Agion Oros), the spiritual center of Greece, the birthplace of my parents. The pilgrims were young and old — grandfathers, fathers and sons (no women are allowed on Mt. Athos). I marveled to see the pilgrimage being shared by three generations of a family.
June 2004 issue

Arrangements needed double-checking

We took a trip to Machu Picchu, Peru, arranged through Analie Tours. The trip was delightful, but we felt Analie Tours was frightful.

Upon arrival at the Miami airport at 3 p.m. on Nov. 17, ’03, we were told that our 6:15 p.m. flight had been changed, two weeks earlier, to 1 a.m. on Nov. 18. Our party of four and one other party had not been notified. We all were traveling through Analie Tours.

We called Analie Tours from the airport at 3:30 p.m. and were told that they had not been notified and that their computers still showed the 6:15 p.m. departure. However, several other...

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June 2004 issue

Seville from Lisbon via Beja, Portugal

  If you travel directly to Seville from Lisbon via Beja, Portugal, as we did in June 1998, you will take route 433, which winds pleasantly through the hills of the Parque Natural Sierra de Aracena. Spend a day or so at Hotel Galaroza Sierra (phone 959 12 32 37 or fax 959 12 32 36), which is 70 kilometers west of Seville at Galaroza, Spain. We liked the tranquility of this modern facility, with swimming pool, situated on a hill overlooking the forest. The cost was about $50. For info, visit www.hotelsearch.com.

DONALD SCHUBECK Cooper City, FL

July 2004 issue

Quick refund from International B&B

My husband, Eugene, and I were scheduled to leave on April 12, ’04, on a month-long trip to Eastern Europe, beginning in Prague.

After having seen in ITN an ad for International Bed & Breakfast (Box 823, Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006; phone 800/422-5283), we contacted them and reserved and prepaid bed-and-breakfast accommodations for one week plus transportation from the Prague Airport.

The day before we were scheduled to leave on our trip, Eugene had a medical emergency which necessitated our postponing and then ultimately canceling our trip. We immediately contacted...

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August 2004 issue

Money hunt in the Balkans

On a trip to the Balkans my husband and I took in May ’04, we had wanted to travel by bus and find accommodations as we went. As soon as we arrived in Tirana, Albania, we realized that language problems would require us to have a car and driver.

In three hours, Sadik Malaj of Sondor Travel & Tours (sondor2002@hotmail.com) made all the arrangements. Our driver was his son, Dorien Malaj, who spoke English very well and was an excellent driver. The car and driver for eight days cost €1,250 (near $1,530), and we paid our own meals and hotels.

Credit cards generally are not...

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February 2012 issue

More on Tottori, Japan

I have a bit more information regarding a couple of the places mentioned in the article on Tottori Prefecture in Japan (Nov. ’11, pg. 6). I visited the area Nov. 1-7, 2011. Regarding the Uradome Coast boat excursion with the San’in Matsushima Yourun Company (Iwami-gun; phone 0857 73 1212 or e-mail info@yourun1000.com), the small-boat ride described in the article runs only from April to October and lasts 50 minutes, while the large-boat ride runs from March to November and lasts 40 minutes. Although the large boat, which I took since it was the only one running, did not pass between as...

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January 2012 issue

Hotel Wallis, Munich

Whenever my husband, Bernie, and I go to Europe, we enjoy flying Lufthansa, and when we go to Germany, which most recently was in September ’10, we like to arrive in and depart from Munich.

Right outside the Lufthansa terminal, we catch the airline’s shuttle and take it to the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) in the city (€17 round trip). We stay in the city center area for a day in order to “Europeanize” ourselves.

For our last trip, Chris Weike at Nonstop Travel (Torrance, CA; 800/949-6362 or 310/324-5500) found us a cute little hotel about...

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