Q&A

FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER SHORTAGES, HUGE FARE RAISES ON INTERNATIONAL ROUTES, AND CROWDED AIRPORTS IN EUROPE RTEQUIRING NEW FORMS OF ID: AS WE PREPARE TO MAKE OUR AIR ARRANGEMENTS FOR TWO WEEKS IN BRUGES, ANTWERP, AND AMSTERDAM, SOME AIR ADVICE WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL. ALL I SEE ONLINE IS ‘BOOK EARLY”

Q – My girlfriend and I keep received airline warnings and airport updates that make us wonder if we should contemplate traveling to Europe at all this fall. Our friends who will be traveling to Spain (we are headed to Belgium and the Netherlands) keep telling us we should book with one of the larger…

IS IT TRUE THAT THERE ARE NOW VISA REQUIREMENTS FOR ENTERING FRANCE?

Q – We have friends who left for Paris for a week of rambling around and investigating croissants “fillings” in the better neighborhoods. They know we are leaving for Paris ourselves next month on a Scenic Seine River Cruise and they warned us that there is a new Visa system in place that can take…

IS IT TRUE? CONSUMER REPORTS NAMES THE THREE BEST CRUISE LINES

Q – 4.23.26 – I must confess that I have been a subscriber to Consumer Reports magazine for more than three decades. I believe strongly in their consumer stance and I have demonstrated that belief with occasional donations. Our washer/dryer, bedding, and the two automobiles in our garage are all purchases based on their favorable…

IS CASKET RESTING REALLY A THING IN JAPAN?

Q – 3.28.26 – Don’t judge me harshly but I was on Tik-Tok the other evening and a dimpled, freckled, exquisitely-smiling influencer was explaining that lying in caskets is “sweeping” Japan and that all visitors to the country who want to be cool and up with the times should try it out. We are leaving…

IS THIS A GOOD USE OF POINTS IN COPENHAGEN?

Q – It looks like I finally have enough Bonvoy Marriott points to get a two-or three night stay at one of their overseas properties. We are sailing out of Copenhagen in September and we were wondering if you feel that using our points at the Copenhagen Marriott is a good idea? Or, should we…

CONSIDERING CANCELLATION OF OUR SCHEDULED EGYPT TRIP – WHAT TO DO?

Q – We have a rather special privately planned trip to Egypt scheduled to depart in the next 45 days. With war in the region we have to face the necessity of canceling our long-awaited trip to Egypt. Do we cancel now or let the tour company in Egypt cancel? . The government is telling…

WHEN WILL A CRUISE LINE TRY TO BUY OFF BOOKED GUESTS?

Q – (2.23.26) While I am thinking about it, maybe sometime you could explain when and why a cruise line will offer to buy a confirmed cruise passenger out of their booking. A person sailing with us told us Regent offered a full refund if they would cancel their cruise. A –  It would almost…

WE ARE MAKING THE CONVERSION FROM OCEAN TO RIVER CRUISING: HELP!

Q – We have been traveling on luxury programs abroad for the past twelve years including four of the cruise ranked “Best in The World” on your sister site, “Cruisetruth”. Recently, at the urging of close friends, we are planning on doing both the Danube and the Rhine next year on the best rated riverboat…

WHY ARE SO MANY FOLKS STILL GETTING SICK ON EVEN THE BEST CRUISE LINES?

Q –  We were watching a feed on Tik-Tok that showed that one of Regent’s ships, the Mariner, had an outbreak on a sailing between Miami and Honolulu this January with many of the older guests aboard this longer itinerary getting sick. The video was not pleasant to look at and we are wondering if…

I WAS SHOCKED WHEN I LANDED IN FRANKFURT

Q – 12.19.25 – As we have not spoken for two or three weeks, I thought I would submit a question I would normally ask you on the phone in writing. Feel free to respond on the Traveltruth site. As you know, I am a bit of an aircraft nerd. I like to know what…

THIS MAY SEEM LIKE A STRANGE HOBBY BUT . . . . .

Q – Please be careful how you write this. I have a hobby – I travel a great deal for business, almost all of it international. As I do business on three Continents, I find myself flying many different airlines. About a year ago, I started taking quick photos of some of the better looking…

IS THERE REALLY A MEDICAL CONDITION FOR PEOPLE WHO HATE LARGE CRUISE SHIPS?

Q – (12.19.25) – My husband is a nurse practitioner who told me at dinner last night that my aversion to large cruise ships is a medical condition and that somewhere buried in the medical literature it has a name. I have no issues with yachts or smaller vessels that carry say, a few hundred…

WHEN CAN WE START BOOKING THE NEW CELEBRITY RIVER CRUISES – SHOULD WE?

Q –  11.29.25  – When will the new Celebrity Riverboat be sailing, and have the books been opened up yet? Is this a river cruise you will be recommending? We are past Celebrity guests in Europe (twice) and we were extremely satisfied.  A – Celebrity River Cruises will launch their first sailings in 2027, featuring…

CAN YOU SIMPLIFY TRAVEL INSURANCE AS IN ‘WHAT SHOULD WE TAKE OUT”?

Q – Much of what you cover on your “Traveltruth Media” sites makes sense and we feel travel educated when we spend some time reading the postings. But there is an exception. Travel insurance just confuses the hell out of me. I am 71 years old, both my wife and I are cancer survivors, and…

IS THERE REALLY A SO-CALLED $2000 RULE AT RITZ-CARLTON HOTELS?

Q – In a previous post, you mentioned the $2000 Rule at the Ritz-Carlton. I am in HR at a Fortune 500 Bank Group, and I am really curious as to how this works. I understand it is a “Rule” at the hotels and not necessarily aboard the new Ritz-Carlton Cruise line. Can you explain…

ARE ALL THESE ‘BLACK FRIDAY’ OFFERS REALLY LEGIT?

Q –(11.21.25) – It seems as though our e-mail and our physical mailbox have been inundated with so-called “Black Friday” travel offers from hotels, cruise lines, tour operators – everyone! The offers sound good. In one specific case, the current offer and amenities seem better than what I had when I booked my Viking cruise…

JUST WHAT CAN WE DRINK ON AN AIRCRAFT THAT WON’T MAKE US SICK?

Q – We are not yet clients – but hopefully, we soon will be. So let me pose a serious question. You have been somewhat specific about some beverages you advise your clients to avoid when flying. These include coffee, Coca-Cola, Hot Tea, and that famous Mrs. T Bloody Mary Mix, which tastes better at…