Arthur's Blog: 16 Travel Questions from Readers and Listeners

Here is a sampling of questions recently phoned in to The Travel Show. Were any of our answers off-track or inappropriate?
Q. What's that website address again for the British foreign office and its advice on the safety of visiting particular countries?
A. www.fco.gov.uk/travel.
Q. A travel agent is claiming that we must pay $985 for a round-trip air ticket between Newark and Orlando, Florida. Is this correct?
A. Change travel agents. A price of about $351 is more like it, from American Airlines or Delta making one stop each way.
Q. What tour operators will offer a good, cheap tour to China? And who will offer a middle-priced one?
A. ChinaSpree.com for cheap, Pacificdelighttours.com for the middle.
Q. We want to schedule a cruise for a family reunion in July of 2014. Where can we get the cheapest rate?
A. It's much too early to even look, and no one will offer you anything but the standard rate so far in advance. Wait until July of 2013, and then start searching the discount cruise brokers.
Q. What was that website that specialized in off-the-beaten-track travel?
A. Vayable.com.
Q. I will be on a cruise to Buenos Aires. Can I get a day tour to Antarctica?
A. You must be kidding.
Q. What activities are available to me on a visit to New York, that are not the standard ones? 
A. The off-Broadway theatres presenting avant garde and counter-culture plays. And at least one water tour, like one circling Manhattan in a sightseeing boat.
Q. I'll be in Amsterdam for three days. Could I include a one-day visit to Bruges in Belgium?
A. Yes, but with some difficulty. Trains will take you there, via Brussels, and if you leave very, very early in the morning from the Amsterdam train station, you can squeeze in a short visit before returning to Holland.
Q. I'd like to schedule an off-beat island for my winter vacation in the Caribbean. Where would you suggest?
A. St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, or Bonaire.
Q. Which are the companies that schedule port tours operated in a 12-passenger van? (We're going on a cruise).
A. ShoreTrips.com, CruisingExcursions.com, PortPromotions.com, PortCompass.com.
Q. Is it safe to go to Tunisia?
A. The State Department added Tunisia to its travel warnings just a short while ago. (An attack took place on a U.S. government consulate in a suburb of Tunis).
Q. Because Tibet has been closed to tourism, our tour operator replaced it with a stay in Kunming. Anything to do or see there?
A. Kunming is a city of seven million people, full of theatres, museums, historic attractions, good restaurants.
Q. How much should we tip the waiter at a Chinese or Indian buffet restaurant where the waiters perform lesser functions than usual?
A. 10% to 15%.
Q. Which are the standard, popularly-priced cruiselines, and which are the lines one step up in quality and price?
A. Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and MSC are the standard lines, while Holland America and Celebrity are one step up. Princess Cruises? About half-way between the two categories.
Q. We can't seem to find a tour of Spain and Portugal geared to our particular religion?
A. Try SpecialtyTravel.com.
Q. Why do you take calls from listeners phoning from their automobiles? Don't you know you are encouraging unsafe driving habits?
A. You are absolutely right.
You can hear The Travel Show on Sunday afternoons between 12-2pm ET or visit www.wor710.com for a streaming version of the live broadcast.