Our clients are typically NOT asking for the cheapest price – they know that in travel, amongst many other applications, you get what you pay for.  If you’re typical of our clients, then what you really want to understand is the value equation of a particular cruise line or travel brand.

You’ve heard the old adage “the devil is in the details”.  That statement is true for many things, and for cruising and packaged vacation tours I would add, “the devil is in the inclusions”.

Many of the cruise lines spent their “time off” during the pandemic reassessing and modifying their inclusions (and ultimately their value equation), so I thought a quick run-down would be timely. 

Here’s a quick summary for a variety of ocean cruise lines:

• Celebrity – Celebrity relaunched after the pandemic as a fully inclusive brand, attempting to elevate themselves above their premium cruise category competitors.  The fare now includes beverages, gratuities and wifi.
• Holland America – HAL’s “Have it All” fare includes a shore excursion credit, specialty dining, wifi and beverages.  “Have it All” will cost you an additional $50 per day over the cruise-only fare.
• Oceania – Their smaller ships have allowed them to position themselves higher in the market than Celebrity, HAL or Princess.  However, they are going to need to review their inclusions if they want to maintain that status.  Currently, you can choose from a cruise-only fare, or the O-Life Choice fare, which includes your choice of ONE of the following: a limited beverage package (beer/wine with meals), a shore excursion credit, or an onboard credit.  Oceania still really stands out for their culinary program, but they need to catch up to their competitors when it comes to inclusions.
• Princess – they offer cruise only fares, and for an additional $40 per day you can have the beverage package, gratuities, and wifi included in your fare.  If you plan on having more than 2 cocktails a day, this package makes sense
• Regent Seven Seas – Literally everything is included; sometimes they even throw pre- and/or post-cruise land extensions.
• Seabourn – Once you’re on the ship it’s all included.  Normally the only onboard charges are for shore excursions or spa treatments.
• SilverSea – Flights, transfers (both at your destination AND from your home to the airport), all drinks, tips, shore excursions.  Including shore excursions is a welcome change and including a sedan to get you to/from your home and airport is true luxury touch.
• Viking Ocean Cruises – Flights (on longer cruises only; discounted flights on shorter ones), airport transfers, beer/wine with meals, shore excursions, wifi, taxes and fees.  About the only thing not included is gratuities.
• Windstar – for $79/day, you can get all drinks, tips and wifi included.  Windstar excels in really unique itineraries, and their ships hold only 312 guests, making it really attractive for the right client.  Much like Oceania, they need to review their inclusions if they want to be considered a luxury brand.

For this week’s travel opportunities, we will focus on SilverSea.

As discussed above, SilverSea is truly all-inclusive.  They have several promotions running right now, and when you locate cruises where multiple promotions apply, you discover some really compelling offers.  It is a VERY rare situation when we are allowed to combine all these promotions together like this (normally there are exclusions).

Here are a few examples.

Note: The deadline for these prices is fairly tight.  You must book and pay in full by Sept. 30^th.

Fort Lauderdale to Halifax departing May 3, 2022 for 11 days, visiting Morehead City, Norfolk, Baltimore, New York, Newport, Cape Cod, Portland, and Bar Harbor. 

• $8200 regular cruise fare (per person) – 240 sq ft. ocean view suite
• – 1640 – 20% early booking discount
• – $328 – Further5% discount for booking through my agency
• $6232 – This is what you’ll actually pay [If you attended the Silversea webinar on Sept. 22^nd you receive the additional discount promised, reducing the price even further]

This cruise is perfect for those who would prefer to stay a bit closer to home this coming year, but still want to do something unique and special.

Estimated Value of Inclusions (per person)

• $300 – On board credit per person – exclusively from our agency.
• $500 – Round-trip economy flights
• $100 – Sedan transfer from your home to the airport, and then back again
• $125 – Transfers from airport to ship for embarkation, and again at debarkation
• $125 – Pre-cruise night hotel ($250 for 2 people)
• $200 – Approximate value of onboard gratuities for 11 days
• $650 – Approximate value of all-inclusive beverages (other cruise lines charge $60 – $75 per day for beverage packages)
• TOTAL $2000 per person = Total value of the inclusions articulated above.  So for an 11-day cruise, you can compare this example to a less inclusive cruise on another line priced at about $4232 per person (i.e. $6232 price above minus $2000 for all the inclusions). This is comparable to what some of the mass-market ships charge for a room of a similar size – plus you get the additional features that much harder to quantitate e.g. less crowding because there is much more space per passenger; more personalized service because the crew to passenger ratio is much higher; smaller shore excursion groups; higher quality food etc.

I would invite you to do your own math if you value the inclusions differently than I have above.  Also remember that Wifi on the ship as well as SilverSea’s legendary service are also included in the fare.

Here are a couple more examples (without the math lesson!)

Barcelona to Rome departing April 7, 2022 (7-nights)

• Visits Palamos, Marseilles, Monte Carlo, Portofino, Livorno, and Corsica.
• $3952 per person (includes 20% early booking discount + further 5% discount for booking through my agency) for a 312 square foot ocean view room.
• If you attended the Silversea webinar on Sept. 22^nd you receive the additional discount promised, reducing the price even further
• Inclusions:
  • $300 per person on board credit (exclusively through our agency)
  • Round-trip economy flights, and all transfers both at home and in Europe
  • A shore excursion in every port of call
  • All beverages on the ship, gratuities, and Wi-Fi

Anchorage to Vancouver departing June 23, 2022 (7 nights)

• Visits Hubbard Glacier, Juneau, Skagway, Sitka, and Ketchikan
• $4332 per person (includes 20% early booking discount + further 5% discount for booking through my agency) for a 287 square foot ocean view room.
• If you attended the Silversea webinar on Sept. 22^nd you receive the additional discount promised, reducing the price even further
• Inclusions:
  • $150 per person on board credit, OR hosted shore event (exclusively through our agency)
  • Round-trip economy flights, and all transfers both at home, in Anchorage and in Vancouver. 
  • A shore excursion in every port of call
  • All beverages on the ship, gratuities, and Wi-Fi

Finally, if you’re looking for something a bit different than the cruises above, here are some other itineraries where we can layer up various promos to get you excellent prices:

• Ushuaia to Buenos Aires, departing March 2, 2022 (10 days)
• Lisbon to Barcelona, departing April 1, 2022 (7 days)
• Singapore to Yokohama, departing May 6, 2022 (18 days)
• Halifax to London, departing May 14, 2022 (18 days)
• Norwegian Coast (round-trip Longyearbyen), departing July 20, 2022 (6 days)

You cannot get these prices and perks if you book directly with SilverSea. You will need to book through the Pampered Cruiser to get the full discounts and onboard credits given in the examples above.

Remember, to get these heavily discounted prices you must book and pay in full by Sept. 30^th.

Have something to say about this?

Join the conversation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamperedCruiser/posts/3101036093512217

If you’re planning a trip, I’d love to help! Click here to get in touch today.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sue Bradley

Retirements, graduations, anniversaries, milestone birthdays.  All these occasions are notable, and many people want to mark the occasion by taking a special trip.

When Bob turned 50 a few years ago, he decided he wanted to go sailing.  The smart thing to do would have been to spend a bit more money and charter a boat with a skipper who could do the skilled work that sailing vessels require. 

We didn’t do that though, because Bob had all the necessary qualifications to rent a 40-foot sailboat with a 10,000 pound keel,

However, like all skills that are learned (in his case 30 years previously), and not practiced – you use it, or lose it.

The potential for disaster was there from the outset, and it is only by sheer miracle that the ship and crew (Bob, me, our son, and our son’s friend) returned in one piece, with the only casualty being frayed nerves.

If the purpose was to create a memory… then mission accomplished.  However, if we’d thought it through a bit more, those memories might exclude the occasional shocking ‘near miss’.

Regardless of the occasion, here are some guidelines to follow when planning a Milestone Trip of your own:

• Create a memory.  Milestones necessarily mean doing something different.  It might be a different place, a different mode of travel, or perhaps travelling with different people. 
• People or places?  If you want to create a memorable trip with a large number of people, then the location may matter less.  If it’s just a few people, you might need a more exotic location. 
• The more people, the more complexity.  If you want 30 or 40 people on a Milestone Trip, pick something simple, and probably closer to home.  The more schedules you’re trying to coordinate, the more difficult it will be.  Our clients who have had the most success planning Milestone Trips simply say, “We’re doing x on these dates: xxx… we hope you can join us”.  And then they don’t agonize over who can make it, and who can’t.
• Multi-generational groups are tricky.  There is no doubt that seniors and teenagers have different interests when they travel.  If you plan well, there will certainly be some overlap, but it is difficult to keep all the people happy all the time.  This is why cruise vacations are so popular with multi-generational groups – the provide a little bit of something for everyone, AND draw the whole group together.
• Not everyone travels the same way.  We’re in New York often, and every time we go, we take in one or two Broadway shows, and spend time in one or more of New York’s excellent museums.  One trip a few years, we went with others, and learned quickly that not everyone likes to do what WE like to do.  Don’t assume just because everyone wants to go to New York (for example), that they’ll all want to do the same things when they get there.
• Build flexibility and diversity into the trip.  Following on the example above, the people who have had the most success with a Milestone Trip are those that build flexibility into the itinerary.  Don’t schedule everyone to do all the same things.  While one group is at the museum, the other group can go to Central Park.
• Plan well in advance.  The more people, and/or the more complexity to the trip, the further in advance it needs to be planned. 
• Go anyway.  Groups necessarily mean that some people will have circumstances that cause them to back out.  You need to decide early to do the trip anyway with whomever manages to make it happen.

Here are this week’s travel opportunities:

Ohio and Cumberland Rivers

When most people think of river cruises in the US, the Mississippi comes instantly to mind.  However, riverboats also run on some of the tributaries of the Mighty Mississippi as well.  American Queen Steamboat Company is offering up to $2000 off some of these cruises further upstream.  Here’s a few examples:

• Cincinnatti to Memphis departing May 9, 2022, with fares starting at $1999 per person
• Chicago to St. Louis departing August 15, 2022, with fares starting at $1899 per person
• Pittsburgh to Louisville departing October 29, 2022 with fares starting at $2699 per person

If you’d prefer to stick with the Lower Mississippi between New Orleans and Memphis, we are seeing some attractive pricing in March 2022, with prices starting at $1899 per person.

All the above examples are 8-night cruise packages and are based on double occupancy.  Inclusions on American Queen Steamboat Company:

• Hotel night before embarkation
• Unlimited shore excursions
• Unlimited beverages (open bar and lounges)
• All specialty dining
• Wifi on the ship

Tulip Cruises – Spring 2022

If you’ve always wanted to see the Tulips in Holland, we’re seeing some really strong pricing from Viking for March 2022 departures:

• 10-days round trip from Amsterdam with flights from the US included.
• Ports of call:  Hoorn, Arnhem, Kinderdijk, Antwerp, Ghent, Zeeland, Keukenhof Gardens
• Prices start at $3199 per person, and include all taxes and fees, flights, transfers, a shore excursion in every port, beer/wine with meals, and wifi on the ship. 

If you wanted to extend your stay after the river cruise, the Floriade Horticultural Expo starts on April 14, 2022.

In case you missed it:

Uniworld: Buy one cruise, get the second one 50% off:  This is for 2021 departures ONLY, and the offer expires Sept. 30th.  This is great for people looking for Christmas markets, or for those ready to travel in the next three months.  Here’s a link to our post about this sale:  https://pamperedcruiser.com/how-to-get-a-50-off-a-uniworld-river-cruise/

SilverSea:  These guys have some interesting things happening right now, including a 20% off sale that ends September 30^th.  Here’s a link to the details we published last week:  https://pamperedcruiser.com/we-cant-put-life-on-hold-any-longer/

We are excited to announce we are partnering with Silversea on the Consumer Event scheduled for this week on September 22^nd at 7pm ET. 

Because you work with me, a Virtuoso travel advisor, you have access to this exclusive session.  I’ll be joining along with you.

During the webinar, you’ll discover more about Silversea’s all-inclusive cruises, its luxurious fleet, and its destination-immersive voyages. 

The event will be hosted by Mark Conroy (President of SilverSea) and Karl Kannstadter (Head of Expeditions), and you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions and get help planning your next trip.

By attending this session, you’ll be eligible to save $500 per person on any sailing with Silversea!  This offer is available ONLY to webinar attendees.

Click here to register for the webinar: https://virtuoso.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMtcOqorj8iEtNBQU_agptFnqfLmD9Q_jpl

IMPORTANT  When you register, indicate that you are a ‘Traveller’ and list me (Sue Bradley) as your traveller advisor.  Also, after you register, send me your confirmation email for a further exclusive bonus from me and Bob (forward your confirmation to sue@pamperedcruiser.com).

Have something to say about this?

Join the conversation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamperedCruiser/posts/3096243573991469

If you’re planning a trip, I’d love to help! Click here to get in touch today.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sue Bradley

There are two seemingly unrelated things I wanted to share with you this week.  Please bear with me, as I tie them together.

Our daughter got married a couple of weeks ago.  We feel remarkably blessed because we really like the fellow she married, and they truly are a fantastic match for each other.  She’s also been trying to get this wedding “across the line” for the past 18 months. 

In a story that is certainly NOT unique to her, this wedding was originally scheduled for the spring of 2020, then the fall of 2020, and then finally in the summer of 2021.  Thanks, Covid.

In the run up to this third attempt at getting married, she simply declared, “We’re getting married this time regardless of the restrictions or circumstances”.  Luckily, there were very few restrictions or compromises to their intended plans, and they (and we!) were extraordinarily thrilled with how it all turned out.

The other thing that happened in the past two weeks is that the news media announced that European Council recommended closure to US Passport Holders, and the Government of the Netherlands had closed their borders.  Both these headlines were based on a true story, but sadly missing context and facts to help people make good decisions. 

For the record, the European Council recommended non-vaccinated American travellers be quarantined for 10 days upon arrival (a far cry from being “closed”), and member states were left to make their own decisions.

The Dutch Government did restrict stays in the Netherlands to people from outside the EU, but that does not stop people from connecting in Amsterdam, OR from embarking or disembarking their ships there.

So how are these stories related?

Our clients (in what I think is typical of people travelling right now) simply responded by saying, “I’m going… so what do I have to do to make this work?”.  The language is different, but the sentiment is exact the same as my daughter being determined have a wedding no matter what.

There are many milestones and life events that have been postponed due to the pandemic.  In some cases, this has been unavoidable.  However, we are seeing more and more people willing to simply forge ahead, jumping through new hoops as the situation requires, because we can’t put life on hold any more. 

This is not cavalier… it is the willingness to adapt to the conditions in which on finds oneself. 

Next week, I’ll offer some suggestions on how to plan a milestone trip.  Such trips usually involve more people, so they can be a bit trickier to plan.

Until then, here’s some travel opportunities I uncovered this week:

20% Off SilverSea Cruises

A few weeks ago, I mentioned this opportunity for those who might like to try out a small ship luxury cruise or expedition cruise.  The good news is that SilverSea has extended this sale through to the end of September.

Get 20% off select Silversea cruises when you book by Sept. 30^th:

• Alaska departing Anchorage on June 23, 2022 for 7 nights, bound for Vancouver:  $5310 per person.
• Western Mediterranean departing Barcelona April 7, 2022 for 7 nights, bound for Rome: $5120 per person.  You also get a $300 on board credit on this sailing, and you can add Business Class flights for an additional $699 per person
• Eastern Mediterranean departing Rome April 14, 2022 for 11 nights, bound for Athens: $6160 per person (you also get a $300 on board credit, and the opportunity to fly in Business Class for $699.
• Antarctica: departing Ushuaia February 26, 2022 for 10 days:  $11,360 per person with a $300 OBC.
• Canada/New England:  Departing Fort Lauderdale on May 3, 2022 for 11 nights, bound for Halifax:  $6560 per person.  Upgrade to Business Class flights for $349.
• Dubai to Mumbai:  Departing December 8, 2022 for 12 days:  $5280 with a $300 onboard credit.  Add Business Class flights for $1499.

The prices above reflect the 20% discount you’ll receive when you pay in full by the end of September.

Also, we are excited to announce we are partnering with Silversea on a Consumer Event scheduled for September 22^nd at 7pm ET. 

Because you work with me, a Virtuoso travel advisor, you have access to this exclusive session.  I’ll be joining along with you.

During the webinar, you’ll discover more about Silversea’s all-inclusive cruises, its luxurious fleet, and its destination-immersive voyages. 

The event will be hosted by Mark Conroy (President of SilverSea) and Karl Kannstadter (Head of Expeditions), and you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions and get help planning your next trip.

By attending this session, you’ll be eligible to save $500 per person on any sailing with Silversea!  This offer is available ONLY to webinar attendees.

Click here to register for the webinar: https://virtuoso.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMtcOqorj8iEtNBQU_agptFnqfLmD9Q_jpl

IMPORTANT – After you register, send me your confirmation email for a further exclusive bonus from me and Bob (forward your confirmation to sue@pamperedcruiser.com).

FREE Flights on Viking Cruises

If you’re ready to travel in March 2022, then you can get FREE flights on various Rhine, Danube, and French river cruise itineraries with Viking River Cruises.

You can also get FREE airfare on many January / February 2022 Viking Ocean Cruises in the Mediterranean.

A special code is required to get this free airfare, so get in touch with me if you’d like to book a trip during these periods.

Travelling early in the season is not for everyone.  I take Cologne, Germany as an example because it is in the middle of the itineraries on offer.  In March, the highs are to 55 degrees, lows to 35 degrees, and there are normally 12 days during that month with some rain.  The good news is that the shore attractions in Europe are much less crowded than they are in the summer months. 

However, if you’re ready to wear a coat, these off-season departures offer incredible value. 

$300 Off US Rockies with Rocky Mountaineer

The famous Canadian luxury rail line has finally begun its inaugural season in the US Rockies between Denver and Moab, Utah, with trip extensions to either Las Vegas or Salt Lake City.  For selected departures in November 2021, you can get $300 off.  Here’s a link to the video we did earlier this season about the Rocky Mountaineer US experience: https://youtu.be/OYO1WoxJ-e0

Have something to say about this?

Join the conversation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamperedCruiser/posts/3091923524423474

If you’re planning a trip, I’d love to help! Click here to get in touch today.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sue Bradley

If you are one of those who has stopped waiting for the end of the pandemic, and are simply adjusting to travelling during the pandemic, then you appear to be in good company.  Quite a few of our clients traveled to Europe and a few other places in July and August, and all of them came back with very similar assessments of their vacations:

• The onboard experience was not diminished.  With lower passenger loads, many suggested the service was even better than they had experienced previously.
• Shore attractions were less crowded.  There are fewer tourists out there right now, and that was obvious to many of our clients as they visited the sites in Europe that are usually at maximum capacity in the summer months.
• There are some extra hurdles.  Passenger locator cards, advance PCR tests, and proof of vaccination are all part of the international travel experience right now.  These things will go away at some point, but for the foreseeable future, these will be the hoops we will need to jump through if we wish to go abroad.

The very clear trend amongst both travellers and travel suppliers is adjusting to HOW to travel during the pandemic, as opposed to sitting at home and waiting for the pandemic to end.

This shift in mindset is nothing but good for those of us involved in the travel industry, and perhaps more important for the millions of people employed in the hospitality industry both here at home and abroad.  It is difficult to articulate how challenging the past 18 months have been for all those people, so to have them back at work is a huge step in the right direction.

Here are this week’s travel ideas:

Buy a Uniworld River Cruise & Get a Second One at 50% Off:

This is an incredible opportunity for those ready to travel between now and the end of the year. 

The booking deadline is September 9^th, 2021. Call us at 800-876-0168 to make a reservation.

The fine print on this offer is that it is only good for 2021 departures, so unless you enjoy spending a lot of time on trans-Atlantic flights, it probably means doing back-to-back river cruises (maybe with a few days in between in your favorite city). 

The combinations are endless, but here are a few I thought of:

• France:
  • Week 1:  Paris to Normandy ($3999 pp).  Round trip Paris
  • Week 2:  Burgundy & Provence ($3599 X 50% = $1800 pp).  Avignon to Lyon.
  • Week 2 (alternate):  Bordeaux ($3799 X 50% = $1900 pp).  Bordeaux round trip.
• European Christmas Markets:
  • Week 1:  Rhine Markets ($3899 pp).  Basel to Cologne.
  • Week 2:  Danube Markets ($4099 X 50% = $2050 pp).  Frankfurt to Nuremberg.
• Italy, Switzerland, Germany & Amsterdam
  • Week 1:  Po River, Italy ($3899 pp).  Milan to Venice.
  • Week 2:  Rhine River ($2999 X 50% = $1500 pp).  Basel to Amsterdam

Check out the possibilities and create your own combination: https://pamperedcruiser.uniworld.com/us/current-offers/2021-second-cruise-savings

As an exclusive benefit of booking through us, we also have a $200 per person onboard credit. 

Remember:

• Get 50% off the SECOND cruise
• Valid for 2021 departures only
• Must be booked by September 9, 2021.

Pacific Coastal (LA to Vancouver) with Viking Cruises

For those of you on the East coast who wanted to try out Viking Ocean, you’ve had the opportunity to go to Bermuda this summer.  There is still space on September 10 & 17, 2021 with balcony cabins starting at $1799 pp.  Bermuda may not be the most exotic destination, but what a great opportunity to check out Viking Ocean at an incredible price!

Now, those of us in the western half of the country have a similar opportunity.  Here are the details:

• Los Angeles to Vancouver (or reverse), visiting San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Astoria (Portland), and Victoria (BC).
• Fares start at $2499 per person for a veranda cabin, and include all taxes and fees, transfers, a shore excursion in every port, specialty dining, beer/wine with meals, and wifi on the ship.
• Air add-ons between $199 and $399 depending on where you’re flying from.
• Departures on April 9 & 25, 2022 from LA, and April 17, 2022 from Vancouver.

If you’ve never been to the west coast, this is a great way to get a little sample of many of the cities out that way.  It’s also a great price to check out Viking Ocean Cruises.

With Australia and New Zealand closed for this coming season, the cruise lines are having to redeploy their vessels.  Viking is doing some interesting itineraries in both the Caribbean, as well as out to Hawaii and Tahiti in the coming few months.  Here’s the link to our previous blog post about that:  https://pamperedcruiser.com/hawaii-with-viking-cruises/

Have something to say about this?

Join the conversation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamperedCruiser/posts/3084783311804162

If you’re planning a trip, I’d love to help! Click here to get in touch today.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sue Bradley

Bob and I are just back from Virtuoso Travel Week in Las Vegas, and we’ll use this space over the next couple of weeks to pass along what we learned from our travel suppliers and peers while we were there.

Many of you had logistic questions about why cruise lines, hotels, tour providers or other vendors have changed itineraries or their product offerings.  Some of those answers are more obvious than others, so here’s a bit of a summary:

Political Considerations – Governments throughout the world are trying to balance the safety of their populations and visitors with the economic considerations that tourism (or lack thereof) bring.  This dynamic tension means things change often, and without warning, as all travel vendors must react to such changes.

Demand Considerations – The cruise lines and other travel providers are for-profit businesses, so they are continually reassessing what will maximize the number of people who will travel with them.  They are polling potential clients weekly about opinions on vaccination, masks, and other conditions of travelling during a pandemic.  Their decisions are driven by what the majority of their clients are telling them. 

Logistic Considerations – Cruise lines with lots of ships are phasing them back into service over the course of the next several months.  The demand for travel could put them all to work tomorrow.  So why are they waiting?  They need staff and crew to deliver a product that is consistent with their clients’ expectations, and after having been shut down for 16 months, it will take several more to get back to full capacity.  We learned this week that many hotels around the world are also running at 50% – 75% capacity simply because there is not enough trained staff to have those properties operating at higher numbers. 

Air Limitations – Cruise, hotel, and resort operators are at the mercy of the airlines to deliver most guests to the start of their vacation.  The airline industry (particularly our domestic carriers) is in complete disarray, and until that problem is solved, cruise ships and other accommodations will be running at reduced capacity. 

The overwhelming sentiment of the feedback we’re getting from our clients who are currently travelling or recently returned home is that while there are a few extra hoops to jump through in order to travel during a pandemic, the onboard experience is fantastic, and fewer people both on the ship and at shore attractions makes for a very positive experience overall.

You can expect the return to “normal” to take several more months, but the good news is that as the cruise lines adjust to the above considerations, you’ll see a number of new and innovative products and itineraries on offer.

Which brings us to today’s travel opportunities:

Hot off the press… Viking Cruises just announced some exciting new ocean itineraries for this fall.  Remember that Viking fares include taxes and fees, airport transfers, a shore excursion in each port of call, beer/wine with meals, Wifi on the ship, and specialty dining.

Viking Cruises Caribbean – 14 nights round trip from Fort Lauderdale, visiting 9 ports in the eastern and southern Caribbean.  Fares start at $2999 per person for a veranda room (with all the above inclusions) for departures on October 20 and November 3 of 2021.

Viking Cruises Hawaii – 16 nights round trip from Los Angeles, visiting 4 different islands in Hawaii, as well as Ensenada, Mexico.  Fares start at $3999 per person for a veranda room, for departures on December 4 or December 20, 2021.  These Hawaii cruises are perfect for those who really enjoy sea days. These itineraries are not even on the Viking website at time of publication, but they are open for booking already.

Quiet Season Mediterranean with Viking Cruises – Viking is offering free flights for those wanting to visit the Mediterranean in December, January or February:

• Athens to Barcelona (15 days).  Fares start at $5598 per person.
• Rome to Istanbul (15 days). Fares start at $5598 pp.
• Athens round trip (11 days). Fares start at $3999 pp.

If you would rather travel later in 2022, SilverSea is offering 20% Off selected voyages if you book by Aug. 31. 

SilverSea is a small ship, luxury experience with everything included.  Included in “everything”: Flights to/from the port, all beverages (including daily restocking of your in-suite mini-bar according to your preferences); gratuities, wifi on the ship, specialty dining, and a shore excursion in every port. 

When you take into consideration all the inclusions and the 20% off, the actual cost approaches what you might pay for a nice cabin on one of the megaships – but you don’t have to share the ship with 5000 others.  Here are a few examples:

• Alaska departing Anchorage on June 23, 2022 for 7 nights, bound for Vancouver:  $5310 per person.
• Western Mediterranean departing Barcelona April 7, 2022 for 7 nights, bound for Rome: $5120 per person.  You also get a $300 on board credit on this sailing, and you can add Business Class flights for an additional $699 per person
• Eastern Mediterranean departing Rome April 14, 2022 for 11 nights, bound for Athens: $6160 per person (you also get a $300 on board credit, and the opportunity to fly in Business Class for $699.
• Antarctica: departing Ushuaia February 26, 2022 for 10 days:  $11,360 per person with a $300 OBC.
• Canada/New England:  Departing Fort Lauderdale on May 3, 2022 for 11 nights, bound for Halifax:  $6560 per person.  Upgrade to Business Class flights for $349.
• Dubai to Mumbai:  Departing December 8, 2022 for 12 days:  $5280 with a $300 onboard credit.  Add Business Class flights for $1499.

The prices above reflect the 20% discount, and the fine print on their offer requires payment in full by August 31^st, 2021. 

Have something to say about this?

Join the conversation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamperedCruiser/posts/3070801353202358

If you’re planning a trip, I’d love to help! Click here to get in touch today.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sue Bradley