Cruise

We decided that Latin America would be our 2017 travel destination, sailing on a 22-day “Amazon Exploration” cruise aboard the 684-passenger Regatta of Oceania Cruises (Miami, FL; 855/335-2723, www.oceania cruises.com).

We left Miami on Feb. 2, sailing for eight days through the Caribbean and nine days on the Amazon River, then along Brazil’s coast, ending with two days in Rio de Janeiro.

We would like to share information about a surcharge, or tax, that Brazil has been imposing on cruise passengers sailing in Brazilian waters.

My husband and I, along with another couple, enjoyed a wonderful 3-week trip to Italy. Prior to starting a tour, we spent five nights in Bologna, Italy, at the Palazzo Trevi B&B (Via Frassinago 31; www.palazzotrevi.it), arranged on our own through Booking.com, which worked very well. Our stay cost the two of us a total of $735.

When my husband, Ted, and I flew on TAP Portugal from Boston to Lisbon, Portugal, in February 2017, we landed at the airport on time, at 7:15 a.m. We were certain we would make our 9 a.m. connection to Barcelona, Spain, where we were booked for both ground transportation to the port and a cruise embarking that afternoon. However, we hadn’t factored in the enormous queue at Immigration in Lisbon.

TAP officials invited some travelers to join a fast-track Immigration line and kept telling us we would make our connections. We didn’t.

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“The Northwest Passage” — words that have excited Europeans for hundreds of years. 

Royal Caribbean International and Costa Cruises have canceled ports of call in South Korea for their cruises that leave from China, due to tensions in China regarding the installation of an antimissile-defense system in South Korea by the US. The two cruise lines are replacing South Korea stops with ones in Japan. 

The Chinese government has also requested that Chinese tour companies halt any land tours of South Korea. 

This month’s winner is EDWARD PUSATERI of Chicago, Illinois:

I took my first cruise in November 2016. It was a Mediterranean cruise, with a crew that was always eager to be of help. 

At one point, I wanted to know the local time, so when I saw two crew members talking, I decided to ask them. Smiling and pleasant, as always, they told me the time. 

I also wanted to know if we would be passing through different time zones. I asked, “Will the time remain the same for the entire cruise?”

On a cruise from Paris to Barcelona with Oceania Cruises, when the ship reached Oporto, Portugal, my husband and I took a 4-hour tour of the city with Oporto Discovery Tours (phone +351 911 715 594, oportodiscoverytours@gmail.com). 

In fact, we contracted with the tour company by email on the morning of Aug. 10, 2016, and went on the tour that same afternoon. We were with another couple, and the combined cost for the four of us was €245 (near $260).