WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN OUR EDITORS ON A PERSONALLY ESCORTED CRUISE? Our 2016 Signature Cruise will take place aboard the most luxurious ship ever built, the new Regent Seven Seas Explorer sailing from Venice to Rome on an Inaugural Voyage August 3 – 13. We will visit ports in Slovenia, Greece, Croatia,Montenegro, and Italy….
Here is what tourists planning future travel to Greece need to know as Greece enters a pivotal week in its testy relationship with the Eurozone:1. Greece’s most immediate – as in first thing Monday morning – source of danger is its banking system. To compensate for accelerated deposit flight, the European Central Bank injected additional…
Report from the Silverseas Explorer in the Galapagos: We really enjoyed this journey. Two primary areas need improvement: 1. The quality of the wine; and 2. The fitness center. There are literally hundreds of wonderful South American wines that retail in the US for under $20 a bottle. Silversea can and should do better. There…
My Trip to the 7th Continent By Derek Lloyd – Quark Expeditions As soon as I was confirmed I did what probably 90% of your travelers to Antarctica do: I spent way too much on new equipment and clothes for the trip. Of course I checked out our blog on what one needs to…
By Richard Bruce Turen The news was starting to get to me. Too much negativity. The world seems to be in a knot, a twisted, convoluted series of pressure points, any one of which can explode at any moment. My clients have concerns. I have concerns for them as they travel the globe. I needed…
We get a fair number of e-mails from civilians complaining that air travel is not as elegant as it once was. OK, that’s a given. Perhaps we ought to have some minimum dress rules aboard aircraft. Perhaps we ought to close down bars at airports. Perhaps we ought to have odor detection machines and available…
Given the importance of tourism in the underdeveloped world, accurate news of diseases that can affect visitors is often under-reported. Here is a list of some important worldwide health advisories that may be of interest to travelers in the months to come. Some of them have occurred in developed nations including portions of Europe. The…
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, which now owns the Oceania and Regent Seven Seas brands, has announced that it has purchased the former 604 guest Ocean Princess, a vessel originally launched in 1999 as an R-class ship with now defunct Renaissance Cruises. The Ocean Princess, once named the Tahitian Princess, will undergo a 35-day, $40 million…
When your local guide bursts into laughter as he begins to attempt to describe his city, you know you are in for an experience, of sorts. “In Naples, you know,” the guide begins, “they say all of the crazy people in Italy, the really crazy ones who are not politicians, live in Naples….
It is not longer a matter of debate. This April, May, June, August and September saw Europe experience its hottest temperatures since weather records began being recorded in the 1890’s. The rise in daily temps is in keeping with the rise across Europe of greenhouse gas levels. This is leading many of the best travel…
Part Two of a Three-Part Series By Managing Editor Richard Bruce Turen After beginning our culinary march through southern Italy in Rome, we landed in Catania, the tip of the Italian boot, with views of Mt. Etna in the background the Mediterranean and the Ionian Sea forming suitable backdrops to a seemingly endless collection…
By Managing Editor Richard Bruce Turen There is a light breeze coming off the water and I sit at an outdoor table at Fish Frenzy, alongside the Elizabeth Street pier in Hobart, Tasmania. Elizabeth Street pier has a beautiful waterfront. I see boats, yachts, ships, and a fisherman fishing with a fly reel under $100….
By Traveltruth Managing Editor Richard Bruce Turen For the past twenty-three years, my family and I have taken our annual vacation accompanied by a few dozen of our favorite clients. Insane, perhaps, but shared experiences are always the best. But unlike the tours, culinary and otherwise, that I’ve put together for our clients, this…
TITANIC CRUISE LINES REVEALS PLANS By Richard Bruce Turen – Managing Editor Traveltruth.com Last week, I was able to snag an exclusive interview with one of the most innovative cruise line CEO’s in the business. I sat down with Dave Weidenaar of the new Titanic Cruise Lines at his headquarters in Burlington, Vermont for a…
THE SAFETY BUCKET LIST In a world that can sometimes seem tumultuous, many of our clients are seeking out vacations where peace, calm, and personal safety can practically be guaranteed to visitors. This is a new reality-based “bucket list.” Each of these destinations is, statistically, considerably safer than a vacation within the United States. #…
October 15, 2014: Listening to the noise of the 24-Hour, always “Breaking News” stories, we’d all be better off hiding under our beds. But experienced travelers know that sensationalized reporting can make any place in the world sound dangerous. Here are our current Go/Don’t Go Ratings based on the best available industry on-site reports. Liberia…
This is our list of the current “Hot Vacations Worldwide” as compiled by the $12.4 billion Virtuoso membership. The “Hot List” is compiled using date that tracks the largest increases in traveler visits year-over-year: # 1 – NEW ZEALAND # 2 – CHILE # 3 – INDONESIA # 4 – HUNGARY # 5 – HONG…
Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises have been sold. After being rumored for weeks, the deal to acquire Prestige Holdings, the owners of both Oceania and Regent Seven Seas cruises lines, has been formally announced by Norwegian Cruise line’s CEO Kevin Sheehan, The deal cost NCL $3.03 billion and Norwegian will soon be issuing…
While proper tipping etiquette does vary from country-to-country, you will be pleased to know there are current industry standard expectations of tipping behavior. Here is what you should be tipping for good to excellent service: HOTEL DOORMAN: $1.00 TO $2.00 or 1 Euro for opening door, hailing a taxi and $3.00 or 2 Euro for…
A new study released by the U.K.’s Aberystwyth University (you get a degree if you can learn how to spell it) is shaking up the way US travelers are now exchanging greetings. The fist-bump, popularized by President Obama, has now been shown to reduce exposure to bacterial disease by 90% when compared to the common handshake. As…
WANT TO AVOID NOROVIRUS? DINE AT SEA (reprinted from Travel Weekly Magazine) By Senior Contributing Editor Richard Bruce Turen Given their fairness in all matters concerning cruise industry health and safety matters, I imagine I will soon be seeing a public apology from our friends at the major network news organizations and the decision-makers at…
Based on the volume of inquiries we receive from nervous flyers, the following three observations might be helpful the next time you take to the skies: 01 – If you have concerns about turbulence, try to book a departure before 10:00 am. Most turbulence seems to build up during the day and thunderstorm activity is…
The “Girl” is more likely a woman, but that aside, no one can deny the status of Singapore Airline’s unrivaled record as one of the World’s Top Three Airlines” for more than a decade. Despite challenges from the new collection of Five-star airlines based in the Middle East, Singapore consistently ranked # 1 or #…
The international charity, Oxfam, has just released a report indicating that the 85 richest people in the world now have $1.7 trillion in personal assets. That means that their personal wealth is now equivalent to the total wealth of 3.5 billion people living with them on the same planet. Never, have so few controlled so much. Several…
THE NEW 2014 BEST AT SEA AWARDS We take pleasure in presenting our 2014 ‘BEST AT SEA AWARDS’ in the “4-5-Star Inclusive Category”. These ratings are based on evaluations from the most respected industry and consumer media sources, our own personal Churchill & Turen Ltd. ship evaluations, and written evaluation reports from more than 1500…
Recent exposure of luggage theft rings operating at LAX and several other major airports, makes it imperative that travelers follow some basic advice when packing. These are the most important rules the pros follow when packing: 01 – Leave any designer luggage or any piece costing more than $200 at home. Thieves will steal the…
Bill and Melinda Gates, who have devoted their current lives to eradicating worldwide starvation and preventable childhood diseases, are predicting that most of the currently underdeveloped world where poverty and starvation currently exist, will rise up to middle class status by 2035. By this date, the Gates believe “there will be almost no poor countries…
There has been a shift in responses to the question “What is the best time to visit Europe?” The response in years past was the summer months. But June through mid-September has seen serious heat inversions in portions of Italy, France, and Spain, along with crowds of students and school’s out backpackers, using the best…
The Chinese have just set a world record – more than 100 million Chinese citizens traveled per day during the busiest period of the week long “Chunyun” or Spring Festival. The festival was celebrated on January 31st this year. Trains alone carried 6.8 million passengers per day as the Chinese left the major urban areas…
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