biking along the Rhine

on a bike during our bike ride

I spent several hours yesterday afternoon with four fellow passengers from Tauck's ms Grace as we biked 27 km along the Rhine River from Boppard to Bacharach. That's about 17 miles. The late-October afternoon was quite chilly, and it got downright cold once the sun descended behind the western wall of the Rhine valley ... but it was good to get outside, stretch some muscles, and burn some of the excess calories consumed during our cruise.

A paved path dedicated just to pedestrians and cyclists went the full length of our journey, so there was no sharing the road with cars and trucks. We stopped at appropriate places to learn the stories behind the many castles perched high above this section of the mid-Rhine.

town along the mid-Rhine (c) 2021 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

As we biked faster than our ship was sailing, we made it to the cute little town of Bacharach before the ms Grace, this despite a coffee and pastry break midway ... and a wine break at the end of our ride. Alas, we gained back some of (all of?, more than?) the calories we had so virtuously burned off — or, as friend and fellow cruise passenger Tom Carroll put it, we were “maintaining caloric equilibrium.” Such is the nature of roughing it when you are a guest of Tauck River Cruises. Coffee, pastries, and wine were all paid for by Tauck.

If you find yourself on a Tauck tour, I highly recommend taking advantage of any opportunities to bike!

copyright (c) 2021 by Ourisman Travel LLC.  All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member.

why???

I received a mailing this morning. Inside was a glossy 12-page brochure whose cover was graced with the photograph above. The brochure, sent by a cruise company, advertised its ideas about Family Sailing. My immediate visceral reaction: "Why???"

My travel philosophy is simple — we travel to expand our horizons. Such was the very theme of my very first Travel Horizons post on October 4, 2006. I would never spend my dollars to take my children to the stunningly beautiful fjords of Norway, only to have them ignore the gorgeous views while they drive go-carts around a track on the top deck of a megaship.

Every traveler, and every travel advisor, is different and I would never disparage anyone's personal preferences. I'm only saying ... my philosophy of travel is about expanding our travel horizons ... experiencing the sights, sounds, tastes, smells, history, and cultures of the world's varied peoples.

I am here reprinting my words from nearly 13 years ago. This remains my guiding philosophy when planning my travels and those of my clients.

This is a new blog about travel. I am calling it Travel Horizons. 

One of the wonderful things about travel is that it expands our horizons, literally. A horizon is defined as "the circular boundary of the part of the earth's surface visible from a particular point." 

When we stay in one place, we see the same horizon day after day. What lies beyond those familiar horizons? This is the question, the basic curiosity, that leads to exploration, to discovery, to travel.

This space will be dedicated to sharing the new horizons that travel opens to us. In the months to come, I will write about where I have been, what I have seen, and how these experiences have broadened my own horizons. I invite you to be a part of this conversation.

copyright (c) 2019 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

so I went on a cruise...

cruising into Stockholm (c) 2019 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

So I went on a cruise, perhaps a surprising admission from a hotel specialist who loves nothing better than stepping out the front door of a luxury hotel into the heart of a wonderful city. Claire and I are back from our 11-day, 10-night Windstar cruise from Copenhagen to Stockholm with stops in places like Gdansk, Tallinn, St. Petersburg, and Helsinki. What's my take-away?

1. Pack and unpack one time is indeed the selling point of cruising. We enjoyed the hospitality of our little home at sea for 10 days as our ship took us every evening to a new and interesting port.

2. A ship's cabin will never be the equal of a top five-star luxury hotel room. Our cabin was 277 square feet. While large for a cruise ship, this is postage-stamp sized for hotels. However, the cabin made efficient use of space and was perfectly adequate. If you upsell to a larger Suite, you'll be very happy.

3. The food was pretty good, and everything we consumed (including in-between meal snacks, espresso drinks, soft drinks, and bottled water) was included in one quite reasonable fare.

4. It's about the itinerary, not the cruise itself. We took this cruise because we fell in love with the itinerary. There was no other way we could have visited seven new countries in ten short days.

5. Shore excursions can be very good if you get a great guide. Our guides in Bornholm and Klaipeda were fabulous, but our guide in Tallinn was boring and disinterested. (Each of these was an excursion sold by the cruise company itself). You can always book private guides through Virtuoso onsites, Shore Trips, or Viator; we enjoyed some excellent experiences this way.

6. Small, boutique ships are the way to go for most luxury hotel aficionados. Four Seasons fans should be happy on a ship with around 200 cabins. On the other hand, I can't imagine myself on a mega-ship, equivalent to a Vegas mega-hotel but bobbing up and down in the middle of the ocean.

We truly enjoyed our experience on Windstar's Star Pride and will sail again when we find an itinerary that's calling our name. In the meantime, there are some great values out there... including up to a $1000 shipboard credit on 2019, 2020, and 2021 voyages if you book before September 30th. 

copyright (c) 2019 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

so why am I going on a cruise?

Some travelers are born cruisers who revel in the shipboard experience. Viewing sunrises and sunsets as they sail the seven seas, taking perhaps too much advantage of 24/7 dining opportunities, enjoying myriad opportunities for on-board entertainment, all this comes with one, affordable cruise fare. I'm not one of those travelers! Given my druthers, I'd much rather stay in the center of things with all the attractions of a city, village, beach, or mountain resort just outside the front door of my hotel.

So why am I, a hotel specialist, going on Windstar's Baltic Delight next week? Here are the top three reasons why I'm really excited about this trip...

1. I love this itinerary. I'm especially looking forward to Tallinn and St. Petersburg, but I've never been to any of these countries. Denmark, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Russia, Finland, and Sweden are brand new destinations for me to check off my bucket list.
2. Pack and unpack just once... that's really appealing when you're on a 10 day cruise and get to visit all the ports on the map above. Touring by day and traveling while we sleep, I can't think of any other way to see all these places in 10 days.
3. Our ship is small, intimate, and luxurious. Star Pride (formerly Seabourn Pride) has just 106 suites, and even the smallest one is 280 square feet — small for a hotel room but large for a cruise ship. You'll never catch me on a mega-ship with thousands upon thousands of guests crammed into half as many tiny, postage stamp rooms. Large ships are like Las Vegas casino hotels floating in the middle of the ocean. If Vegas doesn't float your boat for travel luxury, don't settle for a huge Vegas-sized ship at sea. 

A true luxury cruise ship line, Windstar is not as all-inclusive as Seabourn or Regent Seven Seas, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Drinkers can take advantage of a very reasonable beverage package, but unbundling alcohol from the cruise price works to the advantage of non-drinkers.

Choosing shore excursions has been a LOT of fun! Claire and I immersed ourselves in the lists of excursions offered by Windstar, Shore Trips, and Viator. Looking at all the possibilities got us excited about each destination. We eventually chose excursions from each of these three companies. (I now realize how time consuming planning shore excursions can be, so do rely on your travel advisor's destination knowledge to enhance your cruise).

As I'll be posting periodically during the tour on Travel Horizons and Facebook, subscribe to Travel Horizons (use the link in the right column) and follow me on Facebook.

copyright (c) 2019 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

our impulse travel purchase

the itinerary of Baltic Delights, our Windstar cruise

This was an impulse purchase. Here's the story of how it came to be...


Act I — an intriguing itinerary

The dream of this trip began last August (11 months ago) when a travel blogger I follow wrote about Tallinn. In his words,

Europe in general has so many charming “old towns,” though Tallinn has the most beautiful one I’ve ever seen. Period. The old town is large and adorable.

Tallinn sounded so interesting. Searching Virtuoso.com, I looked for itineraries including Tallinn and found what is shown above — a Baltic cruise on Windstar, a boutique luxury cruise line. A lot of these places are on my bucket list — Copenhagen, Tallinn, and especially St. Petersburg, Russia where the cruise will dock for two full days.

The prices were reasonable for a 10-day luxury cruise, but I was hoping for travel agent rates — I've been spoiled; there were none to be had. So this cruise went on the back burner, and I forgot completely about it, until...


Act II — a compelling cruise fare appeared

Last Monday, just eight days ago, Windstar sent out an email blast with agent familiarization fares. By a stroke of luck, there was an agent's rate for the very sailing we had been looking at. I applied for the rate, but everything depended on finding...


Act III — reasonable air

When it's just one month before departure, the least expensive business class air fares buckets have usually sold out. Note: I'm not going to fly from San Francisco to Europe if I can't lie down flat and get some decent sleep on the way over. Bottom line — there's lie-flat business for about $6500 per passenger round-trip, but at that price, the trip was a no-go.

So I began searching. Could I accomplish some travel agent magic on my own behalf? Yes!!! I eventually discovered a consolidator rate to Copenhagen and back from Paris (not Stockholm) for about $2350 per passenger, round trip. I spent some Amex points for the inexpensive flight from STO to CDG ... and ended up with four bonus nights in Paris!


Act IV — so the cruise is on

Let it be known, I'm not a cruiser — at least not to this point — but Claire and I have grown more and more excited about our Windstar adventure as we've started planning our days. There are many sources for shore excursions — Windstar itself but also independent vendors like Shore Trips and Viator. We've looked into all of them, read the tour descriptions, and have become more and more...


Act V — ... excited to go!

We're actually surprised at the degree of excitement we have for this trip. After all, we travel so much. We even have an epic trip to Australia at the end of September ... but we're giddy with anticipation for this Windstar cruise.

Sometimes making an impulse travel purchase is the very thing to do. By the way, Windstar just published an Independence One Week Sale with prices as low as $1599 ... get in touch if you'd like to make your own impulsive travel purchase! 

copyright (c) 2019 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

book Silversea in April | bonus $250 gift card

First of all, this is a gorgeous itinerary. You spend your first evening in London, then set sail the next day on the Thames going under the Tower Bridge. Heading out to sea, your ship (the Silver Wind) cruises through the North Sea toward the gorgeous western coast of Norway. Norway's fjords are the most beautiful place I've ever been.



Second, you're on Silversea enjoying the intimacy of a small ship with just 296 guests with so much included in your fare — including round-trip airfare, transfers, an upgrade at booking, butler service, unlimited Free WiFi, beverages including champagne and select wines and spirits, complimentary transportation into town in most ports, and included gratuities.

Third, you receive a $250 Visa gift card in addition to any other promotions, including Virtuoso Voyages amenities for selected cruises. This exclusive offer is available from any Brownell Travel advisor, including the team at Ourisman Travel.

Finally, this offer is value on ANY Silversea cruise (including this particular cruise that captured my imagination). Just make your booking during April, 2019.

copyright (c) 2019 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

five reasons to book this Seabourn cruise

8-day Gems of Italy & Spain

Here are five good reasons to book this cruise, departing 27APR, 2019 from Athens to Barcelona.

(1) There's a two-week sale on this cruise aboard the Seabourn Ovation. Book by April 8th for Veranda suite upgrades and shipboard credits. Cost is from $2,999 per person.

(2) Virtually everything is included — Seabourn luxury on an intimate ship with all ocean-front suites, complimentary premium spirits and fine wines, no tipping, and Thomas Keller-inspired dining.

(3) interesting things to see and do... 

• 27APR — stay in Athens the night before, and explore the Acropolis on the day of your departure.
• 28APR — Pylos, Greece, on the southwestern coast of the Peloponnese, affords sightseeing opportunities to the castle of Neokastro or the achaeological site of Messini.
• 29APR — a day at sea, a chance to relax and let Seabourn pamper you.
• 30APR — dock in Naples and visit Pompeii and Herculaneum or perhaps the Amalfi Coast.
• 1MAY — 14 hours on the ground in Rome; ask you you can book a guided tour by Vespa.
• 2MAY — you'll spend the day at Bastia on the French island of Corsica, Napoleon's birthplace.
• 3MAY — walk narrow streets and small squares of Toulon, a harbor townon the coast of Provence, France.
• 4MAY — Palamos, Spain: Visit Dali's Castle Museum or wander through the town of Girona.
• 5MAY — Barcelona. Experience the innovative architecture of Antonio Gaudi.

(4) Receive Virtuoso Voyages amenities, your choice of a complimentary shore excursion in Palamós, Spain, a $175 per person credit towards a Virtuoso product (pre-cruise stay, post-cruise, stay, or shore excursion through a Virtuoso onsite), or a $150 per person shipboard credit.

(5) Meet me onboard! I'll be joining the cruise in Rome, along with my friends and colleagues from Brownell.

copyright (c) 2019 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

six travel mistakes to avoid

Cliffs of Moher (c) 2019 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

Inexperienced travelers frequently make foolish travel mistakes when planning a trip. I am highlighting six of the worst travel mistakes mentioned in a recent article in USA Today.

(1) Declining travel insurance for expensive international trips. Even if you have NOT made any non-refundable deposits, purchasing $500 of trip cancellation per person is inexpensive and offers important protections. Top of the list: primary medical coverage while out of the country. If you're a US-based senior citizen, Medicare does NOT cover you outside the U.S., but Travelex Basic or Select offers primary medical insurance. Because the coverage is primary, you won't have to bother getting your claim rejected by Medicare before the insurance company will pay you (which is the case if your policy provides only secondary medical coverage). Note: rely only on the insurance carrier's own employees for authoritative and detailed explanations of a policy's coverage.

(2) Taking selfies in hazardous places. For instance, there's a rope to keep you safe when visiting Ireland's Cliffs of Moher (pictured above), but that doesn't stop some foolhardy tourists from venturing to the very edge of the cliff, risking injury or death. Risking your life is not worth 5 minutes of YouTube fame.

(3) Failing to check passport and visa requirements well in advance of the trip. Ensure that your passport has empty pages and is valid for at least six months beyond the end of the trip (as countries typically require). Check whether the country to which you are traveling requires acquiring a visa before you travel. Not all countries offer visa on entry.

(4) Arriving the day your cruise (or tour) departs. It simply makes no sense to risk being left behind at the port, scrambling to figure out how to catch up with the rest of the cruise or tour (at your own expense). Plan to arrive the day before your cruise or tour begins.

(5) Overscheduling your days. While many tourists have the idea that "doing Paris" means checking off a dozen items on a to-do list, I'm a firm believer in "less is more." Don't plan on six museums in one day; you can't possibly enjoy all of them, and you'll be exhausted. There's no reason to visit Versailles and Giverny on the same day; you'll be short-changing both. And don't waste a full day in Paris visiting Disney, of all things. Don't "do" Paris. "Experience" Paris by doing what Parisians do. Spend a leisurely hour sitting at a sidewalk cafe on a picturesque street just watching the life of the city unfold before you.

(6) Booking tight flight connections. Think you can make that 50-minute connection in Paris, London, or Frankfurt? Think again. Navigating an unfamiliar airport in a jet-lagged condition, waiting in passport lines, possibly going through security a second time, and generally not knowing where to go is NOT the way you want to begin your trip. I would want at least a 2-hour connection in all of these international airports. Consider a VIP meet-at-the-gate escort where available to fast-track you through immigration and get you to your next gate stress-free.

copyright (c) 2019 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

Regent Seven Seas | $200 to experience the best

itinerary of Regent Seven Seas "Stockholm to Copenhagen" cruise

Regent Seven Seas Cruises — a truly all-inclusive luxury cruise line. Luxury means larger cabins, each with an ocean view; superb meals; and attentive service. All-inclusive means no nasty surprises when you settle your bill at check-out. Your cruise fare on Regent always includes:

• free pre-paid gratuities
• free unlimited shore excursions
• free air
• free unlimited beverages
• free 24-hour room service
• no charge for specialty restaurants

You'll of course need pay for spa treatments and gifts purchased onboard, but we've even got that covered with a special new Virtuoso promotion — $100 per person onboard credit for any new 2018 sailing booked through Virtuoso in the month of August. This is in addition to any exclusive Virtuoso Voyager experiences you'll also receive. Treat yourself ... on us!

It's what you pay at check-out, not the advertised fare, that really matters. That Premium cruise line  you're considering may seem like a bargain, but by the time you're billed for everything from bottled water, soft drinks, alcohol, and shore excursions to the required gratuities, you'll have spent just as much as if you booked a true luxury cruise — and not enjoyed the full luxury experience.

Go for the best. Sometimes luxury is also the best value! Drop us a note... 

copyright (c) 2018 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

do you do Black Friday?

Silversea Black Friday promotion

I received this email blast today, reminding me that Thanksgiving, otherwise known as the day before Black Friday, is nearly upon us. There are a lot of deals out there, including third-night and fourth-night free promotions at some of the world's most wonderful luxury hotels. These deals typically include such amenities as free daily breakfasts and hotel credits through amenity programs such as Virtuoso, Dorchester Diamond Club, Four Seasons Preferred Partner, Rosewood Elite, and more.

There's even a promotion from Silversea, a luxury cruise line. Available to previous Silversea cruisers right now, the 5% discount sale opens to the general public on Monday, Nov. 20. Many Silversea cruises are part of the Virtuoso Cruise Program; this means even more savings to you when you book through your Virtuoso travel advisor. (You're free to put a cruise on deposit and then contact your Virtuoso advisor to take over the booking — but be sure to turn over the booking to us before you make final payment, due Nov. 28th if you want to take advantage of the Black Friday deal.)

copyright (c) 2017 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

travel and the weak dollar | three tips

The weak dollar is distressing to those of us who want travel to London, Paris, or Rome and explore the beautiful villages of England, France, and Italy. At one point this week, one Euro was worth $1.60. Many of us remember the days, not too long ago, when a Euro cost only 90¢. The dollar has been devalued, and it hurts!

So what can you do if foreign travel is in your blood? Here are three tips.

1. Visit places where the exchange rate is not so disadvantageous.

South America is relatively undis-covered by most of us in North America, and there is so much to explore. The cities of Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro, Iguazu Falls, Machu Picchu, Patagonia, the Amazon, and the Galapagos Islands are all high on my own to-do list.

Southeast Asia is also an affordable destination. My visit to Thailand was one of the most interesting vacations I've ever taken. Bangkok is a fascinating city, and there are luxurious and affordable resorts in the north (Chiang Mai or the Golden Triangle) and on the beach in Phuket and Koh Samui. Cambodia's Angkor Wat is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and well worth the visit.

Canada offers scenic beauty (from Vancouver Island in the west, to the rugged Canadian Rockies, to Nova Scotia in the east) and cultural diversity. Vancouver is a beautiful, world-class city. Quebec gives you a taste of Europe right in North America.

2. Take advantage of Guaranteed U.S. Dollar Rates.

Many luxury hotels in London and Paris offer these, and Starwood offers a Welcome to Italy package with a deeply discounted U.S. dollar rate (including breakfast and taxes) if you spend a total of seven nights at their properties in Rome, Milan, Florence, and Venice. Because many casual tourists don't know about these deals, a foreign travel consultant can save you time and money in planning a trip.

3. Consider a tour or cruise.

I know the reasons people resist tours. On many mass market tours, you get the feeling you are being hurried through the places you're visiting, and upscale vacationers don't want this. The good news: there are great tour companies that pamper you and do everything possible to help you have the vacation of your dreams. Many tour companies can even put together a private tour for you. You take advantage of great rates available to them because of the volume of rooms they book, and you pre-pay everything in U.S. dollars.

Cruises can also be a bargain, especially if you're willing to take an inside cabin (keep repeating, you only sleep there). I got an email this morning about a 12-day Mediterranean cruise from Venice to Barcelona with rates beginning at $1,199 per person. That's $2,400 for a couple. You get twelve days in Europe with your room, meals, and entertainment included. There are extras, of course, but tours and cruises are good options, if you are concerned about the weak dollar, because the costs are predictable ... and you pay in U.S. dollars before you leave home.

foreign travel consultant (search here on Google)


copyright (c) 2007 by David J. Ourisman. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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travel bargains in Europe?

While the sad state of the U.S. dollar makes travel to Europe more expensive than it normally might be, there are bargains out there. Here's a deal that came across my desk the other day.

Spend twelve days on the Mediterranean, including round-trip air from the east coast. Your room, meals onboard, and entertainment are all included at a rate starting at only $2,199 per person. That's in U.S. Dollars. Yes, it's a cruise, but, no, it's not on Carnival or some other "budget" cruise line. This price is for an inside cabin on Holland America (while availability lasts); outside cabins with verandah begin at $2,899. Taxes and port fees are additional, and of course you're on your own when you visit Barcelona, Florence, Rome, Dubrovnik, Venice, and the many other stops on your trip.

Looking for an affordable way to visit Europe this Summer? This Mediterranean cruise might just be your ticket!


copyright (c) 2007 by David J. Ourisman. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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how to plan a romantic honeymoon

So you're engaged, and now you're planning a romantic honeymoon to begin your married life together. You may find that planning this trip is very stressful because there are too many choices! Do you want to take a cruise or spend a romantic honeymoon at a beach resort in a tropical paradise?

Where do you want to go? The world offers so many honeymoon destinations: Hawaii. Capri. Costa Rica. Tahiti and Bora Bora. Fiji. The Maldives. Mexico. Jamaica or the Caribbean. Do you want an all inclusive vacation? Do you want a totally flexible package?

This is perhaps the one time in your life when all these choices are not welcome. You're in the midst of countless decisions about your wedding, and you're getting frustrated by them. You are discovering that the two of you may have different decision-making styles, different priorities, even different expectations. You've had to deal with disagreements and conflict around your wedding ... and now you have the trip of a lifetime to plan. Both of you want it to be the most wonderful, romantic honeymoon ever, but you can't agree on anything. What's a happily engaged couple to do?

Here are some tips on how to plan a romantic honeymoon and keep your love intact!

1. Keep it simple. You'll want to avoid frequent packing and unpacking. Who wants the hassles of traveling to a dozen destinations on your honeymoon? This is a time for you to be together and enjoy each other. Talk about this question: What do we like doing for fun? Brainstorm destinations that would be fun to visit. Come up with separate lists, then compare and see what you have in common.

2. Set a budget. If your vacation costs more than you can afford, the expenses will add to your stress, both during the trip and afterwards (when the credit card bills come in). You can have a romantic honeymoon that stays within your budget and enjoy your memories forever (and avoid the debt).

3. Ask for help. Planning any kind of travel can be complex; if it were simple, you wouldn't be reading this blog! A good travel consultant will listen to the dreams you have for your honeymoon, respect your budget, do all the research, and offer you a few choices that you can talk over together. Whatever you may pay as a consulting fee, you will reap many times that investment in mistakes avoided, real value found, and a bottom line that you can afford. And, most of all, you will have a romantic honeymoon that's been planned by an expert so that all you have to do ... is enjoy it!


copyright (c) 2007 by David J. Ourisman. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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travel insurance | is Consumer Reports right?

Consumer Reports researched travel insurance in its May issue. CR's conclusion? It is rarely needed. "Many people don't realize it," said Editor at Large Greg Daugherty, "but travel insurance often duplicates coverage they already have through their credit cards, homeowners insurance, life insurance, and other policies."

You should definitely do your due diligence. What will your health and auto insurance cover if you are out of the country? What coverage does your credit card offer? Duplicating coverage is an unnecessary expense. Consider, however, that the number one reason to purchase travel insurance is for trip cancellation, interruption, or delays. According to a travel industry spokesperson,

The article ignores a very important fact: the vast majority (70%) of travel insurance claims are for trip cancellation, interruption and travel delay. Covered reasons for these benefits include: sickness, injury or death of a traveler or a non-traveling family member; or for non-medical reasons such as adverse weather; or damage or destruction of a home, etc. While we agree it is important to see if coverage is provided by other policies, for the vast majority of the above claim types, consumers will find there is very little coverage, other than travel insurance, that would reimburse their loss.

Here are scenarios in which you should seriously consider trip insurance.

• You are going on a cruise. Cruises are pre-paid, and cancellation penalties get higher as your cruise approaches. Heavily discounted, promotional cruise rates are often totally pre-paid and non-refundable. Check to see if your cruise company offers some sort of "peace of mind" insurance that refunds your deposits if you cancel for whatever reason.
• You are taking a packaged tour. Tour packages, likewise, involve deposits and full pre-payments. If you have to cancel for health reasons or for a personal or family emergency ... trip insurance can protect you.
• You are staying in a resort during high season. Resorts often require deposits and can have rather lengthy cancellation deadlines. Again, trip insurance can save you thousands of dollars.

A company to consider: Travelex. Why? With their Travel Plus or TravelLite policies, multiple children under the age of 16 are covered at no additional cost when accompanied by a covered adult family member.

If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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