Travellers' checks

Trunk call The era of cumbersome but luxuriously capacious steamer trunks is as long gone as the days when one could pay a porter sixpence in local money to lug them from the customs shed to the hotel. The palatial Ciragan Palace hotel in Istanbul, Turkey, is, however, offering its frequent guests at least a taste of those times by renting out traditionally styled wardrobe trunks - complete with three drawers and a clothes-hanging rack - so they can leave behind a full set of holiday attire and accoutrements, helping to offset some of what the hotel calls "the pain of modern air travel". For €175 (HK$1,700) per month, or €1,050 a year, the hotel will store your belongings in a trunk to which you will have your own key. Deep-pocketed travellers expecting to visit Istanbul on a regular basis can find out more at www.kempinski.com.

January 2014 might seem a long way off, but it would probably take most of us from now until then to prepare, and indeed save up, for Silversea's world cruise, which sets sail from Los Angeles for Barcelona, Spain, on the sixth of that month. Over the course of 113 days, the Silver Whisper will put in at 54 ports in 29 countries, including Kiribati, Tonga, New Zealand, Australia, Palau, the Philippines, China, Japan, Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, India, Egypt, Turkey, Greece and Italy, before finally dropping anchor in the Catalonian capital on April 30. Hong Kong passengers would be able to use a two-night stopover in late February to check their mail and water their plants. Onshore events will be held in Hong Kong, Angkor Wat (to be reached via charter flight from Bangkok) and Istanbul. The Silver Whisper carries 382 passengers, and 80 per cent of her cabins have verandahs. Full-board fares start from US$52,550 and include a US$2,500 per person spending credit, which can be used for shore excursions, spa treatments, restaurant dining, premium wines and spirits, and purchases in the internet cafe and shipboard shops. For more information and reservations, visit www.silversea.com/worldcruise2014.