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About to depart for home on April 17 after Grand Circle Travel’s “Holland & Belgium in Springtime” — an excellent cruise-tour aboard the R/V River Aria — we got word that all flights were canceled due to the ash cloud from Iceland.
That evening we were advised to relax because passengers would be able to stay on the ship, and meals would be provided too, at no charge. There was no discrimination between travelers who had insurance and those who did not (like us).
I took the “Holland & Belgium in Springtime” cruise with Grand Circle Travel (Cambridge, MA; 800/959-0405), April 7-17, 2010. With air from Des Moines, the 11-day cruise plus a four-day precruise extension in Brugge cost $3,720.
We had fine weather, comfortable quarters aboard the M/S River Aria and great meals impeccably served. We saw wonderful old buildings, windmills, tulips, flower auctions and chocolates. It was a great trip.
I signed up for the April ’10 “Egypt & Eastern Mediterranean” cruise with Voyages of Discovery (Ft. Lauderdale, FL; 866/623-2689). It cost $6,238 including air from San Diego, two nights in London, one night in Istanbul and my single supplement.
I wished to snorkel in the Red Sea, transit the Suez Canal and tour Jordan, Syria and the WWI battle site at Gallipoli in Turkey. None of these events were realized due to the volcano in Iceland.
We booked the “Circle South America” cruise aboard the Seven Seas Mariner of Regent Seven Seas Cruises (Ft. Lauderdale, FL; 877/505-5370), Jan. 9-March 16, 2010, and one of the optional excursions offered was a two-night, three-day trip to Machu Picchu in Peru.
The excursion cost $2,600 per person, with only six hours actually at Machu Picchu. That seemed expensive, and I found a similar tour on the Internet for much less, but, in the end, we thought it might be safer to take the ship’s excursion.
I did a feature article about my cruise on Elegant Cruises’ Monet (March ’03, pg. 22), so I was sad to read in the subscriber’s letter that the company is in such bad shape (“Awaiting Refund for Canceled Cruise,” May ’10, pg. 24).
The letter “Foreign-transaction Fee” (May ’10, pg. 14) really struck a nerve with us. In early April we were on a cruise from Miami to Barcelona with Oceania Cruises, and while on board we decided to place a deposit for a 2011 cruise. We paid the $1,500 using our Wells Fargo Visa debit card.
When we returned home and checked our bank statement, the bank had tacked on a 45-dollar (3%) International Purchase Transaction Fee.
After sending ITN my letter about the foreign-transaction fee (FTF) imposed when I bought tickets from Aer Lingus with my Visa card (May ’10, pg. 14), I pursued the matter with Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PFCU) and learned the following.
The information linking the FTF with a currency-conversion fee was given to me in error by a PFCU representative. The FTF has no connection to currency conversion. In fact, the FTF was and can be charged where no currency conversion has taken place.
by Joan Hansen, Sacramento, CA
NEWS FROM NETHERLANDS
Dear Globetrotter:
Welcome to the 413th issue of your monthly overseas travel magazine.