Tended by Voyages of Discovery

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.

I departed San Diego on April 12 for London. When the European air space was closed on April 15 because of the ash cloud, our afternoon charter flight for Egypt, naturally, was canceled. The British travelers went home; however, 26 of us were stuck in London.

Voyages of Discovery went above and beyond in taking care of us. Staying in five-star hotels, we were treated to outings in Brighton and Hever Castle. Breakfast was always provided in the hotel, and each stranded traveler was credited £30 per day for lunch and dinner.

Assigned the tour manager Sue Pollanen to assist us day by day, we were kept well informed. On April 24 we finally were flown to Antalya, where we joined the ship for the last four Turkish ports. My return to San Diego on April 28 was as originally scheduled.

We all have been offered prorated credit for a future cruise. I highly recommend Voyages of Discovery.

JAMES M. BOCKLER

Poway, CA