Africa’s east coast with Silversea
Image
Cruise
Anti-tourist protests in Venice
In Italy, about 500 Venetians wheeled shopping carts and wheeled chairs through the streets of Venice on Sept. 12, protesting mass tourism.
On Sept. 25, hundreds of protesters in boats blocked cruise ships from entering the Venetian Lagoon, claiming that the large ships and the enormous influx of tourists damage the city and the local environment.
It is estimated that 60,000 tourists visit Venice, a city with a population of 55,000, each day.
Cruise accidents in the news. Northeast Passage cruises.
Dear Globetrotter:
Welcome to the 489th issue of your monthly foreign-travel magazine.
Nancy Gatland of Wilton, New York, wrote, “ITN comes to my home every month; I would be lost without it. Over the years, I have learned so much from the experiences of other travelers.”
Countries where locals feel safe. Also, cruise ships and smoking.
Image
Dear Globetrotter:
Welcome to the 488th issue of your monthly foreign-travel magazine.
Credit Card Surprise
In the letter “Winging It to Estonia…” (Aug. ‘16, pg. 12), a reader wrote that his credit and ATM cards wouldn’t work in Estonia because he hadn’t notified his bank about his last-minute itinerary change to Estonia.
I had a similar experience on a Rhine and Moselle river cruise aboard the River Navigator with Vantage Deluxe World Travel (Boston, MA; 888/514-1845, www.vantagetravel.com) in May 2015.
ShoreTrips for all
With ShoreTrips (Milwaukee, WI; 888/355-0220, www.shoretrips.com), ships’ passengers or any travelers can book independent day tours and ground transfers at 420 river and ocean cruise ports in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia/Oceania and South and North America.
All with English-speaking guides, tours offered are of all types, including driving, walking, cycling, historic, cultural, cooking, kayaking, fishing, whale-watching, etc.
Amazonian tourist boat robbed
Armed robbers boarded the Amazon Discovery cruise ship on the Amazon River near the Peruvian city of Iquitos on July 14, stealing more than $20,000 worth of money and goods from crew and passengers. Passports were locked away. The captain suffered a minor injury, but no one else was injured during the robbery. Passengers included 21 Americans, six Australians and two New Zealanders. The ship is regularly chartered to river-tour companies.
Emergency hospital visit in Naples, Italy
I was shaking uncontrollably and curled up in the fetal position in the corner of my sofa when my friends found me in my stateroom.
“What happened to you?”
“I don’t know,” I replied.
They immediately called the ship’s onboard emergency number (911), ordered a wheelchair and took me to the doctor’s office six decks down and several long halls away. It was April 2016.
When the nurse asked me what the problem was, I could hardly answer her. “I feel just miserable,” I said.