Cruise

QUESTION: A friend and I were going to take a cruise together, but she recently became concerned about the safety of it after hearing news of the death of the newlywed man and with the young girl coming forward to say she was raped by a crew member several years ago. I disagree with her and told her I would probably go on my own if she backs down. Do you think I am being unwise? I always considered cruise ships a safe way to travel. Am I wrong? — Jennifer S., Akron, Ohio

by Lew Toulmin (Second of two parts, jump to part 1,

by June L. Griffin, Lewiston, ME

For those who fervently believe that “less is more” and “smaller is better,” we recommend Hebridean Island Cruises, Ltd. (Griffin House, Broughton Hall, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 3AN, England; phone 44 [0] 1756-704704 or visit www.hebridean.co.uk).

While on a Princess cruise from Copenhagen, Denmark, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, we stopped in Falmouth, England, on Sept. 25, ’05. I had confirmed reservations for a rental car from Europcar. However, since this was on a Sunday, I was informed that after I arrived at the agency, I was to call and someone would meet me and provide the keys to the car.

(First of two parts, jump to part 1,

In late summer ’05 we booked with Cruise West, through TravLtips, a Central American cruise to take place during the Christmas holidays. At the time, we noted the ship’s departure on our calendar but forgot to note that we had to be in Costa Rica the day before. You can imagine our embarrassment upon arriving at the airport to be told, “But your flight left yesterday.”

Here are our comments about our transatlantic voyage, Aug. 27-Sept. 12, ’04, aboard the Grand Princess of Princess Cruises (Santa Clarita, CA; phone 800/774-6237 or visit www.princesscruises.com).

In 2005, my wife and I were two of the estimated 60,000 visitors to the Galápagos Islands. Our trip, which we found out about through Bridgerland Audubon Society (BAS Mini-Grants, 1738 Country Club Dr., Logan, UT 84321; 435/753-7744 or www.bridgerlandaudubon.org), took place May 28-June 7 and cost $2001 per person, including everything except international airfare.

We wanted to share a very positive experience we had with our tour boat and guide and also alert readers about an airline’s actions.

by Mary Beltran, Associate Editor