It was four years ago that we had the opportunity to visit Bratislava, Slovakia on a Christmas Markets river cruise with Viking River Cruises.
The photograph at the top is from fellow Flickr member BMclvr showing St. Michael’s Gate in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Michael’s Gate is the only city gate that has been preserved of the medieval fortifications and ranks among the oldest town buildings. Built about the year 1300, its present shape is the result of baroque reconstructions in 1758, when the statue of St. Michael and the Dragon was placed on its top. The tower houses the Exhibition of Weapons of Bratislava City Museum. (via Wikipedia)
I shot the photograph to the right (see Carol at the yellow arrow).
As you can see, the folks in the photograph are primarily dressed in winter attire. Although, for December, we found rather balmy temperatures hovering in the low 50s. Quite nice for a Christmas Markets cruise, methinks.
When you gaze across the Danube from the historic center of Bratislava, the architecture is reminiscent of the town’s days behind the Iron Curtain. However, the Slovak Republic today is doing very well. 90% of its citizens own their own homes and Slovakia is currently the world’s largest per-capita car producer.
Bratislava holds a special place in my heart because the charm we found in the Christmas Market in the evening was quite magical. Read more about that here.
Not all Danube river cruises make a stop in Bratislava, but if you get the opportunity, I highly recommend it. 🙂
To learn more about Viking River Cruises on the Danube, CLICK HERE.
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Travel Insurance 101: Primary vs. Secondary Coverage
One of the big mistakes we see on a daily basis is people’s proclivity to shop for travel insurance in hunt of the lowest price.
While this approach isn’t totally absent from merit, we’ve seen folks very frustrated when it comes time to make a claim because they didn’t really know what they had purchased.
Travel insurance is complicated and paying attention to the fine print is very important.
Travel Insurance: Primary vs. Secondary Coverage
I was talking to a traveler the other day and through his shopping on the Internet, he found travel insurance that was a little less expensive than the policy we quoted.
As I explored deeper, I found that the lesser priced policy offered secondary coverage on the health benefits.
Let’s explore the general difference between the two:
Secondary Coverage: Let’s say that you fall while traveling and break your ankle. With secondary coverage, you’re generally on your own if you need medical care in a foreign country. You find the hospital, you should pray that there isn’t a language barrier, you should further hope and pray that you understand the care you will receive, and when you walk out of the hospital with your shiny new cast, you better hope that your credit card has a large enough available balance to cover the cost of care in a foreign country. Then, when you get home looking for coverage from your travel insurance policy, if you have secondary coverage, you will be told that you must first exhaust all possible coverage that you might have from your personal health insurance provider(s). This will include deductibles, out-of-network care, and on and on. Then, once you have exhausted your options and have written denials in hand for the full balance you paid, then the secondary travel insurance provider will step in to make you whole on the money you spent for overseas care.
Primary Coverage: Let’s again say that you fall and break your ankle. With primary coverage, you call the 800-number on your travel insurance card, the travel insurance company can make recommendations for hospitals, handle any language barriers that might exist, and many times, will even front-load the payment to the hospital and provide your benefit at the time you need it most. Plus, you will have a case manager assigned to you to help manage your care until you return home. If you have an emergency, having a primary coverage policy will give you tremendous peace of mind.
So, back to my first example. Yes, you can probably save some money with a secondary coverage policy. However, from my point of view, I’m happy to pay a small additional premium to have my travel insurance company as a guardian angel if an emergency strikes. And, I surely don’t want to try and mess with my primary U.S. health insurance company to get denials before I can get my money back from the travel insurance policy.
When we make travel insurance recommendations to our clients, the companies we use are carefully vetted through our Virtuoso Network, they provide an appropriate amount of coverage to insure our clients, and most importantly of all, if a claim arises, you aren’t going to have to hire an attorney to get paid. It’s just like anything else, buyer beware.
I hope you found this little tidbit of advice valuable. 🙂
If you enjoyed this article, sign up for our travel newsletter to keep abreast of our best travel tips, on-location reviews, exclusive travel offers, group travel events, and much more. Roaming Boomers Travel Services is an Independent Affiliate of Cadence, a Virtuoso® member. CST#201120-40
“Dr. Beach” Names the Top 10 U.S. Beaches for 2018
Each year, Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman (Dr. Beach) produces a Top 10 Beach List as he scours the U.S. for the very best beaches using his 50 Criteria to determine each year’s best of the best.
This year, “Dr. Beach” Names Hawaii’s Kapalua Bay Beach America’s Best Beach.
“Kapalua Bay Beach is number one in the 28th annual Top 10 Beach List, produced by coastal expert Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman, a professor at Florida International University.
Kapalua Bay Beach is a secluded, crescent-shaped beach lined by palm trees. This small beach is protected from the oceanic waves by the “arms” of lava flows, making it a great place for snorkeling with the plethora of beautiful tropical fish, which are just offshore of the white coral sand. Getting there from the main road is an easy drive through a golf course. There are showers and restrooms nearby; lunch and drinks can be purchased from the nearby Ritz Carlton. The only problem is the limited parking so arrive early to snag one of the spots.
As “Dr. Beach” (www.DrBeach.org), Leatherman has selected the annual Top 10 Beaches since 1991. Fifty criteria are used to evaluate beaches, which include water and sand quality as well as safety and management. Dr. Leatherman is an internationally known coastal scientist who has published 20 books and hundreds of scientific articles and reports about storm impacts, coastal erosion and ways to improve beach health and safety. Bonus points are awarded for the prohibition of smoking on beaches. Previous National Winners are retired and listed on my website.”
A few years back, Carol and I were able to frolic on the Kapalua Beach and the neighboring D. T. Fleming Beach, a former “best beach” winner in years past.
There is a beautiful Ritz-Carlton Kapalua nestled near these beaches. You can read our review and watch the video from our stay by clicking here.
To find a beautiful resort on or near any of the other beaches on the Top 10 list, click here.
You can book these resorts 24/7 on our website AND get our complimentary Virtuoso VIP perks as well! 🙂
If you enjoyed this article, sign up for our travel newsletter to keep abreast of our best travel tips, on-location reviews, exclusive travel offers, group travel events, and much more. Roaming Boomers Travel Services is an Independent Affiliate of Cadence, a Virtuoso® member. CST#201120-40
Come Sail With Us: Bordeaux Wine Country, Scenic River Cruises
One of the missions of our travel agency is to walk the walk and not just talk the talk.
The travel world is full of very nice 25-year-olds sitting in call center bullpens booking ocean and river cruises.
However, most of these young folks don’t even have a passport let alone have the ability to give you any kind of advice from firsthand experience.
Carol and I have been enjoyed 7 different river cruises. And this time, we’re inviting you to come along with us!
Scenic Luxury Cruises and Tours: 11-Day Beautiful Bordeaux River Cruise with FREE Air
Here’s this from Scenic: “When one thinks of the region of Bordeaux, it is impossible to not also think of wine. With almost 300,000 acres of vineyards growing 15 different grape varietals—everything from popular Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc to lesser known varietals such as Carménère and Mauzac—Bordeaux is unequivocally the top wine-producing region in France.
Similarly, when one thinks of a Bordeaux river cruise, it is impossible to not think of château tours and Grand Cru tastings. Fortunately, on a Scenic Bordeaux river cruise, itineraries abound with both”.
Carol and I sailed the Bordeaux region of France a few years back. We loved it so much, we vowed to be back and we’re very excited to again sample this region.
In fact, for our pre-cruise studies, Carol and I have enjoyed three bottles and counting of this fabulous 2015 Bourdeaux Red Blend from Château Prieuré-Lichine in the Margaux appellation.
James Suckling (world-renowned wine expert) gives this bottle a score of 96 and proclaims, “some very ripe dark-plum aromas with a wealth of sweet spices and earthy notes. The palate has an impressively rich, suave and smooth core of black fruit with a powerful palate that delivers a concentrated and intense structure. This is superb Margaux”.
I agree. YUM!
Besides the fabulous culinary experiences available in this region, you are going to also enjoy all of the fabulous chateaux dotted around the countryside.
I shot this photo of the Chateau Pichon Longueville in Pauillac, France on our last journey and I’m looking forward to having many more in front of my camera lens on this trip.
Want To Come With Us?
Here’s the scoop:
What: 11-Day Beautiful Bordeaux River Cruise with Scenic Luxury Cruises and Tours When: September 23rd through Oct 3rd, 2019
To learn more of the specifics including current pricing, CLICK HERE.
And, here’s what’s included:
Five-star, onboard service standards of being all-inclusive include the following:
FREE Air if you book by December 31, 2018
Butler service for EVERY guest
Unlimited drinks all day and night*
All airport transfers
Free WiFi throughout the ship
In-suite mini-bar restocked daily
Nightly turndown service
The finest in Egyptian cotton linens
Private in-suite safe
24-hour room service
An in-suite Mac-mini infotainment system
Scenic Tailormade (our exclusive GPS device)
Laundry service for all cabins **
ALL tipping and gratuities
PLUS, we have $100/person discount on the price of this cruise as a special gift from us to you.
* Premium/Top Shelf liquors are included. Ultra-premium liquors and spirits, French champagnes, and vintage wines are available at an additional cost.
** Laundry inclusion varies by suite type.
As of this writing, prices for this cruise start at $6,920/person with FREE round-trip air and all of the inclusions listed above.
Unless you want a haircut or a massage, you might as well leave your wallet at home because you will be hard-pressed to spend a penny on this all-inclusive cruise.
Oh, and did I mentioned onboard culinary classes and market visits with the chef?
Listen, this is going to be an experience of a lifetime. Eleven glorious days sailing in arguably one of the finest areas in the world for food, wine, and luxury experiences. Come join us!
Note: prices are subject to change without notice, the staterooms are available first come, first served, and you can read the terms and conditions here.
If you’re ready to book, or just need more information, please call Roaming Boomers Travel Services at (480) 550-1235 or use our convenient online information request (click here) and we’ll reach out to you.
If you enjoyed this article, sign up for our travel newsletter to keep abreast of our best travel tips, on-location reviews, exclusive travel offers, group travel events, and much more. Roaming Boomers Travel Services is an Independent Affiliate of Cadence, a Virtuoso® member. CST#201120-40
As I sit here, I’m sipping on a piping hot brew of coffee that I made from grinding these Reko beans that I just received and then stewing them in my shiny new French Press.
It is said that Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee, it was then introduced to Saudia Arabia, and from there the coffee bean was introduced around the world.
If you care to learn more about the coffee beans produced from the prized Reko Station in Ethiopia, then read this recent article from a travel reporter in Brazil. Note: you will need to let Google translate the article if you’re not fluent in Portuguese.
One of the rewarding benefits of travel is getting to sample the cuisine in various parts of the world, and coffee is certainly something that is cherished the world around.
I’ll never forget my first journey abroad when I was a freshman in college. I was in Rome, and I walked into a pastry shop for some local sweets and a cup of espresso, which I had never experienced before.
The sweets were glorious, but I turned up my nose at the espresso and marveled at the small size of the serving cup. It’s a funny thing, but today I never finish a fine meal out without a double-decaf expresso.
Enjoying a morning cup of Cortado in Jerez, Spain
Coming Soon: Culinary Travel Experiences Here and Abroad
So, why all the talk about coffee beans and culinary travel?
Well, our Virtuoso Travel Network has just launched a culinary travel community to serve the nearly 18,000 travel advisors in the network.
Culinary travel is a big deal in the luxury travel segment, and this hyper-focused culinary community will help us keep you abreast of interesting culinary travel opportunities in the future.
So, as I raise my now second cup of Reko bean coffee, here’s to truffle hunting in Italy, wine-tasting in the Bordeaux region of France, or heck, even a fabulous gordita found right here in my own hometown.
Foodies rejoice, culinary travel is alive and well. 🙂
PS: I shot that photograph of Carol and a group of travel writers enjoying a morning Cortado in Spain as we traveled with Abercrombie & Kent a few years back. A cortado is a Spanish-origin general term for a beverage consisting of espresso mixed with a roughly equal amount of warm milk to reduce the acidity. The milk in a cortado is steamed, but not frothy and “texturized” as in many Italian coffee drinks.
If you’re interested in culinary travel and would like to learn how we might help you plan a fabulous culinary travel experience, call Roaming Boomers Travel Services at (480) 550-1235 or use our convenient online information request (click here) and we will reach out to you.
If you enjoyed this article, sign up for our travel newsletter to keep abreast of our best travel tips, on-location reviews, exclusive travel offers, group travel events, and much more. Roaming Boomers Travel Services is an Independent Affiliate of Cadence, a Virtuoso® member. CST#201120-40
The Roaming Boomers
Bratislava, Slovakia with Viking River Cruises
Travel Insurance 101: Primary vs. Secondary Coverage
“Dr. Beach” Names the Top 10 U.S. Beaches for 2018
Here’s this from Scenic: “When one thinks of the region of Bordeaux, it is impossible to not also think of wine. With almost 300,000 acres of vineyards growing 15 different grape varietals—everything from popular Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc to lesser known varietals such as Carménère and Mauzac—Bordeaux is unequivocally the top wine-producing region in France.
What: 11-Day Beautiful Bordeaux River Cruise with Scenic Luxury Cruises and Tours
Culinary Travel
