International Travel News

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September 2006 issue | Appears on page 0

Visiting Guayaquil

I would like to respond, if I may, to the letter from the reader who was told by a cruise line that Guayaquil was not the chosen port of entry in Ecuador because “Quito is a much safer city” (July ’06, pg. 38).

My husband grew up in Quito. It is the best-known Ecuadorian city and certainly is lovely, but, indeed, many people — including me — find the altitude difficult. So I take (most recently in April ’06) many of our charter groups to the Galápagos Islands via Guayaquil, for the...

September 2006 issue | Appears on page 0

‘Amazing’ buffet in Beijing

While traveling in Beijing, China, in November ’05, my husband and I stayed at the Great Wall Sheraton. We happened upon a buffet that was the most amazing and delectable display of seafood we have ever encountered. It is put on every Tuesday and Friday night from 6 to 10:30 in the hotel’s Silk Road Trattoria.

There were 25 large, hot chafing dishes filled with seafood done every way imaginable: in sauces, grilled, fried, filleted, baked, barbecued, sautéed, broiled, blackened,...

September 2006 issue | Appears on page 0

Funniest Thing for September

Tell ITN about the funniest thing that ever happened to you while traveling in a foreign country. There are no restrictions on length. (ITN prints no info on destinations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean.) The ITN staff will choose each month’s winner, who will receive a free one-year subscription to ITN. Entries not chosen cannot be acknowledged. This month’s winner is NINA ARRABIT of Santa Rosa, CA:

In January of this year we sailed the M/V Nordkapp, a Norwegian...

September 2006 issue | Appears on page 0

Re shore tours, stockholder perk

I took a cruise on the Maasdam across the North Atlantic from Rotterdam to Boston, Aug. 2-20, ’06. I’m generally not a great fan of cruising on large ships, but this cruise made stops in the Faroe Islands, which I hadn’t seen before, and at places in Iceland and Greenland that I hadn’t been to on previous visits.

One of the stops in Greenland was at Qaqortoq, which is near the site of the first Viking settlement, which had been abandoned under mysterious circumstances. Unfortunately,...

September 2006 issue | Appears on page 0

HAL British Isles cruise

Beautiful treeless islands, cool clean air and sunny days marked our 2-week “Windmills and Waterford” cruise, around the British Isles, Aug. 23-Sept. 6, ’05, on Holland America Line’s ms Prinsendam.

The blend of cities, small towns and islands had something for everyone, including golfers. Cities included Dover, Liverpool, Dublin and Belfast, with excursions offered to London and Edinburgh. The Isle of Man, Stornaway on the Isle of Lewis, the Hebrides, Kirkwall on the Orkney Islands...

September 2006 issue | Appears on page 0

Star Clipper ships

I read the June ’06 “Cruising World” column and totally agree with everything Lew Toulmin wrote about the Star Clipper ship. My husband, Tom, and I took the Royal Clipper on its relocation cruise from Barbados to Civitavecchia, Italy, April 16-May 7, ’06. It was a wonderful sailing experience. We couldn’t have asked for better accommodations, crew or meals.

We booked the trip with TravLtips (Flushing, NY; 800/872-8584) at a per-person cost of $3,042 plus $295 in port charges for a...

September 2006 issue | Appears on page 0

Antarctica aboard Mikheev

At 9 a.m. on March 3, ’06, the Grigoriy Mikheev sounded her horn and we celebrated crossing the Antarctic Circle with Dutch liqueur. When choosing an Antarctic trip, this had been one of my goals.

The trip, Feb. 25-March 10, ’06, was perfect in many ways. With only 45 passengers on board, getting to know everyone was easy. Also, we never had to wait for Zodiacs and could enjoy 2-hour cruises among icebergs and ice floes. When not in the Drake straits, we had two landings a day.

September 2006 issue | Appears on page 0

Took grandkids to Ecuador and Peru

With our two grandsons, Louis and Victor, ages 14 and 12, my wife, Monica, and I took a trip to Ecuador, including the Galápagos Islands, and Peru, particularly the ancient Incan city of Machu Picchu, in March ’05.

We joined a tour arranged by Alki Tours (6417-A Fauntleroy Way SW, Seattle, WA 98136; 206/935-6848, www.alkitours.com) for $3,344 per person. This included all airfares, the cruise package, hotels (with breakfasts), most of the lunches and evening meals, and taxes.

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