My husband and I had a week’s vacation in Paris in March ’05. For the second time in five years, we used Go-today.com for our travel arrangements. They offer a package with flight and six nights in a hotel plus breakfast for very reasonable rates.

We paid a total (for two) of $1,752, including add-on airfare from San Francisco (the base rate is from New York) and a shuttle from the hotel to Charles de Gaulle Airport on departure day. (Go-today no longer seems to offer shuttle service...

My wife and I took an extensive cruise in February-March ’05 that included Easter Island, northern Chile, Argentina (Buenos Aires) and finally Antarctica. Much has been written about Antarctica, and we reiterate what almost everyone reports: it’s magical!

In meeting other people who have cruised to Antarctica or around South America, we have found there is a huge difference in the experience depending on the type of ship chosen. Over 100 ships enter Antarctic waters each year,...

My wife and I were passengers on a River Explorer cruise, beginning in Bucharest on Sept. 1, ’04, and scheduled to end in Amsterdam on Sept. 25, with Vantage Deluxe World Travel. Halfway through the trip, when the ship arrived in Vienna late on Sept. 13, we were told to leave the ship early the next day. When I asked why, the Vantage tour guide and the captain only said that my wife was slow and they were afraid she would fall.

We had paid the entire charge for the cruise to Vantage...