Arthur's Blog: Recent Letters Reveal a Broad Range of Worries by People Planning a Trip

In addition to responding to phone calls made to us in the course of the broadcast, my daughter and I also discuss on our weekly travel broadcast the many e-mails we receive directed to FrommerTravelShow@Yahoo.com. They run a broad gamut, and reflect the complexity of current travel concerns. Here's a sampling, along with our answers:
Q. Where, in addition to our own State Department, can we go for informed advice on whether it is safe to visit particular foreign countries?
A. The website of the British Foreign Office, www.fco.gov.uk/travel (and then go to "Travel Advice" for a long list of countries) is famous for the clear and logical presentation of its views on choosing safe destinations. Under each country, the Brits discusses whether you should totally stay away (a) from the entire country, or (b) from only parts of that country. They discuss whether you can undertake safe trips there for important business or social purposes, again relating to the entire country or to only parts of that country. And then they award accolades where the destination is acceptably safe to persons who exercise care (a) in the entire country, or (b) in parts of that country. I find this discussion by British foreign office personnel to be clear and sensible, and superior in many respects to the sometimes-hard-to-decipher warnings of our own State Department. 
Q. I've heard of organizations that arrange for you to make contributions to a couple's honeymoon trip, in place of the more traditional gifts that people give to newlyweds. Any specific recommendation?
A. I'm impressed with TravelersJoy.com, headed by Brandon Warner, who seems to offer excellent service and a good variety of travel options for honeymooners.
Q. We've been impressed by the offerings of an Italian tour operator [and here it is named] headquartered in Venice, but how can we tell whether it is truly reliable?
A. You ask for references. You request that they give you the names and phone numbers of other English-speaking persons who have used their services. You take the same care as you would in choosing an accountant, a dentist. But you must bear in mind that nothing in travel can be absolutely guaranteed; there is a certain degree of risk in choosing any travel firm, because travel itself is an uncertain activity relying on the actions of a broad range of people. You must often take a chance. 
Q. We're planning a family reunion cruise for August of 2014, leaving from Bayonne, New Jersey, and spending five days going to and from Bermuda. Where can we get the best price?
A. It's much too early to try. For departures more than eighteen months in advance, few cruiselines or agencies will offer discounted prices. That far out, they want to get full price. It is only within a much shorter time in advance of departure that they start to "deal."
Q. Where can I watch the water fountain show at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas the best?
A. From any sidewalk position skirting the grounds of the hotel. The show goes on every half hour during the daytime, every fifteen minutes at night, and it is always changing -- both in the music that is played (which can range from Rachmaninoff to Puccini, from The Beatles to Frank Sinatra) and in the patterns of the water. 
Q. We're going on a cruise to several islands in the South Pacific. Where can we obtain shore excursions that avoid the use of those big motorcoaches, and show us around in small vans?
A. Try CruisingExcursions.com, PortPromotions.com, PortCompass.com, or ShoreTrips.com (the last-named operated for several years now by Barry and Julie Karp).
Q. Because China recently closed Tibet to foreign tourists, our tour there has been re-scheduled and re-planned to visit Kunming and Lijian. Are they worth seeing?
A. Your tour operator has done well. Kunming is a city of 7 million people, a virtual capital of Yunan province, with many theatres, museums, attractions. Lijian with one and a half million people is not quite as interesting, but a good example of a typical Chinese city of that size. Your experience in both will be instructive and perhaps memorable.
Q. How much should I tip when I go to a Chinese or Indian buffet, where the waiters are performing fewer and lesser functions than usual.
A. 10% to 15%.
Q. How do I choose a cruiseline? I am 47 and my wife is a few years younger. We'd like to avoid the party cruiselines, and since we'll be away from our kids on our anniversary, we'd like to avoid a cruiseline with heavy emphasis towards children.
A. The cruiselines with many children often on board are Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and MSC. The lines that get fewer children are Celebrity and Holland America.
Q. We are two couples wanting to tour Spain and Portugal's [and here they name a particular religious heritage]. Where can we find such a tour?
A. Go to the Specialty Travel Index, which lists the offerings of more than 500 specialty tour operators.
Q. I'm going on a lengthy cruise, and just learned that my insurance doesn't cover possible medical evacuation.
A. Try Medjetassist, or go to InsureMyTrip.com for many more that do. 
Q. Stop taking calls from listeners phoning from their cars! That's dangerous and productive of accidents.
A. You're right, and we'll ask such callers whether they have first pulled off to the side of the road to place their calls to us.