I’m yearning to be in Mexico right now. I guess it’s Easter that’s making me feel this way.
Many years ago, we started spending chunks of the spring months in Mexico. Some years it was only for a few weeks, and other years we were there much longer – our son did most of the first grade at a small school in Puerto Vallarta. One of my most cherished pictures is his class photo that year – twenty-two beautiful dark-haired and dark-eyed children, and one ridiculously blonde and blue-eyed gringo. They called him “Bola de Nieve” – yep, there is a Spanish word for “Snowball”.
We’ve learned a great deal from our Mexican friends and neighbors. Easter (Semana Santa, or Holy Week) is one of the biggest celebrations of the year in Mexico. Every year we would attend the parade where they recreate the last days of Jesus Christ (complete with a simulated crucifixion), and after the parade we would visit the Catholic Church with the local community.
The fact that we were not Catholic was of no concern to our Mexican friends – we were welcome as part of their community – even if we did look different and struggled to make ourselves understood in Spanish.
Amazingly, we’ve now missed two Mexican Easters in a row due to the pandemic, after having spent the previous dozen Semana Santas amongst these generous and accommodating neighbors.
It is being attached to our communities (both in Mexico AND at home) that I am missing most about the fight against covid-19. If you saw the news today, you’ll know the CDC adjusted its advice for travel for those fully vaccinated.
Thank goodness, the end is in sight. We’re almost there.
On to today’s travel news:
Floriade Expo 2022 with Ama Waterways
Much like Oberammergau, this is an event that takes place once every 10 years – although where the Passion Play at Oberammergau attracts about half a million visitors, the Floriade gets four times that many. This is a big deal – particularly if you’re into gardening and horticulture.
Never heard of it?
Floriade is an international horticultural Expo that will run six months, from April 14 to October 9 of 2022. The last one was in 2012. It takes place in the Netherlands – in Amsterdam and Almere. People from all over the world flock to Holland to see the tulips, and next year there’ll be even more to see.
If you’re a gardening or sustainable living enthusiast, there will be lots to hold your attention. In a way it’s like the Christmas markets, with food stalls, souvenir shopping and live entertainment, but with gardens and horticultural exhibits. There are pavilions that focus on green food, green energy and healthy food. They investigate urban sustainability, renewable energy, green architecture, and how we will build our cities in the future.
Many of our river cruise partners have put packages together that include time at Floriade 2022. Here’s an example from AMA Waterways:
- “Tulip Time” 7 nights round trip Amsterdam starting April 24th, 2022 – This coincides beautifully with peak tulip season in Holland (mid-April to early May). You’ll visit Floriade as part of an included shore excursion. French Balcony is $4298 per person. A 2-night pre-cruise extension in Amsterdam is available as an optional add-on.
- Thats just one example. Here is the full list of Ama river cruise itineraries that include Floriade when you travel between April 14 and October 9, 2022:
- If you’re interested in Ama Waterways but not necessarily Floriade, please get in touch as we have groups on the following departure dates and a limited number of staterooms with advantageous pricing ($250 per person lower than published rates):
- Magna on the Danube July 10, 2022 (named one of TIME Magazine’s World’s Greatest Places – and it’s a SHIP!)
- Essence of Burgundy & Provence July 28, 2022 on the AmaCello (wine-themed cruise)
The loss of the 2020 river cruise season, as well as at least part of 2021, means that 2022 is in high demand. Oberammergau is driving increased demand on Danube River cruises, and Floriade will undoubtedly have the same impact on Rhine River packages.
Book any Ama Waterways Cruise through us by April 15th, 2021 and we’ll add a minimum $100 onboard credit to your reservation.
Greek Islands Cruise
Last week we told you that Celebrity Cruises is resuming operations in the Caribbean in June. Here’s a link if you missed it: https://pamperedcruiser.com/officially-tired-of-the-pandemic-cruising-is-back/
Celebrity is also back in service in Europe (with Americans on board) starting in June. The Celebrity Apex is brand new and would have made her inaugural voyage sometime this past year if not for the pandemic. She is the sister ship to the innovative Celebrity Edge. Apex will home port in Athens, Greece through to the end of September, with mostly 7-night round trip itineraries. Most of the itineraries visit the Greek Islands and Cyprus, and a number of itineraries visit Israel.
Apex will be running at half capacity at first, and proof of vaccination and a negative PCR test will be required to board. As always, the Celebrity fare includes all Beverages, Gratuities, and Wifi on the ship.
Fares start at $2299 per person for a balcony room (Inside and Oceanview cabins are NOT available for these cruises due to reduced capacity). We’ll add a minimum of $90 onboard credit to your reservation.
American Cruise Lines
Finally, we’ve had a TON of response to our post on American Cruise Lines (ACL) in Alaska for 2021. In case you missed it last week, here’s the link: https://pamperedcruiser.com/officially-tired-of-the-pandemic-cruising-is-back/
ACL operates small American flagged vessels, so they are not caught up in all the nonsense affecting larger ships. Much of their fleet is river ships, and their ocean ships (even those in Alaska) are more like river ships than those big ocean ships. They have some really innovate itineraries too – particularly in the Northeast (Hudson River, New England States).
Hopefully that give you some ideas for trips both at home and abroad, as we slowly crawl our way back to a new normal.
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I look forward to hearing from you.
Sue Bradley
Sue Bradley
