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May 2004 issue

Budget cruiser

I read the reader’s letter “Wildly Varying Cruise Fares Irksome” in the January ’04 issue. I have been on 39 cruises with various lines. As Bill Bennett put it (page 27), “cruise lines vary their prices according to demand.” I agree that is true. I have booked both early and late, and even though I am a past passenger with various lines I must be there at the right time to get the deals. I believe you just luck out unless you are in the know.

A “low-budget-cruise junkie,” I try to find inside cabins on cruises of seven to 10 days. I book an inside cabin and more often than not get...

September 2010 issue

When you have more time in Paris

I always use Rick Steves’ wonderful guidebooks for the basic, nitty-gritty information about traveling in Europe. However, he assumes that you will have only a week in Paris and tailors his recommendations accordingly. For those of you privileged to spend more time there, I have some ideas of things to see and do.

I exchanged houses with a young couple in Paris for two weeks in May ’10. The chance to live in a flat instead of a hotel was a treat, not to mention that it saved me a lot of money. This was my sixth trip to Paris, though I had never been for this long.

• I bought...

May 2004 issue

The deserved tip

I would like to identify my traveling credentials before giving you my thoughts on the controversial subject of tipping.

I have traveled to 161 of the nations on ITN’s “Official List” and 248 of those on the Travelers’ Century Club list. I have set foot on 197 islands (not boasting, just identifying). I was a traveling salesman in Northern California for 15 years, attending dozens and dozens of conventions, so I have stayed in hundreds of hotels and motels and eaten in jillions of food establishments. I also write travel and restaurant reviews for our local newspaper.

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February 2005 issue

Minerva II in the Black Sea

The Black Sea has always interested us, so in May ’04 my husband, John, and I flew from London to Istanbul to join the ship Minerva II for a cruise called “Grand Baroque to Grand Bazaar,” May 22-June 5.

The plane had been chartered by the ship line, Swan Hellenic Cruises (U.S. office at 631 Commack Rd., Ste. 1-A, Commack, NY 11725; phone 877/219-4239). We like visiting London so didn’t mind the added airfare and overnight hotel.

This was our second cruise that year on this ship, not to mention a previous cruise on Minerva I. Mainly for the over-65 age group, Swan Hellenic is...

March 2011 issue

West Papua with Okale

I first traveled to West Papua, New Guinea, Indonesia, 19 years ago when it was called Irian Jaya. I hiked steep trails to villages, slept on the floors of longhouses in headhunter/cannibal territory and wondered at the never-ending variety of penis gourds that were the dress for men, complementing the women’s grass skirts.

In June ’10 I traveled to West Papua with a friend. Perhaps not surprisingly, I discovered that it has made tremendous strides in catching up with the “modern” world in the intervening years.

Paved roads filled with cars and trucks abound, and there is...

March 2005 issue

Missed tour due to communication snafus

ITN is breaking with tradition, in this case, in how it presents a reader’s complaint and the company’s rebuttal. In the interest of brevity and clarity, the following facts have been summarized from many, many pages of correspondence. — Editor

ITN subscriber Joyce Barnes of Los Angeles, California, was scheduled to join a tour of Burma led by Philip Hassrick of Lost Frontiers, Inc. (87 Park Rd., Fairfax, CA 94930). She had made her own flight arrangements to Burma.

On Jan. 9, ’04, two days before she was to depart the U.S., Ms. Barnes “became violently ill.” She called the U...

April 2005 issue

Vouchers and car dropoff rules differ

ITN was mailed a copy of the following letter sent by a reader to U.S. and U.K. offices of the Hertz Corporation.

I rented a car at the Manchester, U.K., airport on Aug 25, 2004. I had called the previous day with rental inquiries and then called again the day of the rental to be sure my information was correct.

When I called both times, I specifically asked them several times if we could drop off the car early and maybe at a location other than London’s Heathrow Airport where we had planned to drop it. I asked if we could do this without a charge and if I could get credit...

September 2010 issue

Guide in Paris

Prior to taking a river cruise in France in April ’10 (July ’10, pg. 14), my husband and I spent some time in Paris to see more of that city. We hired an excellent guide, Thierry Gaudu chon (tgauduchon@aol.com), who was recommended in the guide “Rick Steves’ Paris 2010.”

Since I have trouble on steps and walking long distances, Thierry was well worth his fee of $530 for a day and a half of touring. That price included all entrance fees and a customized itinerary that we designed around my walking limitations and our interests.

Thierry is very...