The killer tsunami of Dec. 26 devastated parts of Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India and even reached African shores. The total loss of life may never be known. Thailand’s six southern provinces along the Andaman Sea also were battered by the tidal waves. The popular tourist beaches in Phuket, Krabi, Phi Phi and Khao Lak suffered varying degrees of death and damage though, on the whole, much less than their Indian Ocean neighbors. In early March ’05, I visited Phuket, Thailand, 1½ hours by air...

I am writing with reference to the letter titled “Confirmed on Tour, Then Bumped to Another,” from ITN readers Clair and John Kohler, and the response of Grand Circle Travel (Feb. ’05, pg. 30). Frankly, I was astonished and actually angered by what happened to the Kohlers, particularly because it involved a large and, I thought, reputable tour company.

I regularly receive brochures from Grand Circle, and after reading the Kohlers’ letter I checked the terms and conditions in a recent...

To celebrate our 60th Anniversary, my wife, June, and I decided to “live it up” by taking a cruise on the 6-star Silversea ship Silver Shadow, Oct. 7-19, ’04. We left from Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica, and sailed to Ecuador and Peru and back.

Our plans called for us to fly on United Airlines from Boston to San José, Costa Rica, with a change in Washington. All went well until our arrival in San José, where we discovered that our two pieces of luggage did not arrive with us.

...