Dennis, one of our clients from Colorado, recently suggested we write an article about how to choose a river cruise line.  Like many of you, Dennis and his partner have done a ton of ocean cruising – mostly on the premium lines (Celebrity, Holland America & Princess), and have recently begun experimenting with small ship ocean cruises and river cruises.

His questions about the different river cruise lines were good ones, and ones we commonly hear from others.

Comparing ocean cruise lines is an easy discussion.  For example, if you’re choosing between Carnival and Holland America, you’ll be very happy on one of those cruise lines and extremely unhappy on the other (depending on your age, and what you want to get out of the trip).

River cruise lines are far less differentiated, so the conversation is less definitive.

All the river cruise lines we work with provide an elevated level of food quality, service, and amenities.  In many regards they are all very similar.  However, there is certainly differentiation amongst them, so here’s a crack at defining what is different about the river cruise lines our clients book most frequently.

Note that all these cruise lines include airport transfers, a shore excursion in each port of call, beer/wine with meals, and wifi on the ship.  Additional inclusions are noted under each.

AMA Waterways

1. A Wellness Coordinator on every sailing, with fitness and yoga classes, as well as more active shore excursions. 
2. Happy Hour where your drinks are included every night for an hour or so before dinner (beer/wine is also included with meals).
3. A choice of included Shore Excursions at each port (including the more active ones noted above).
4. Gym and pool on board the ship.
5. Trip Extensions – All the cruise lines offer trip extensions.  AMA offers some unusual extensions, and the same cruise manager from the ship also travels with you pre/post cruise.
6. Free Flights on 2022 Europe & Mekong departures.  If you want to travel in the next few months, AMA will throw in the air as part of your cruise fare.
7. Skews to slightly younger demographic.

Avalon

1. Rooms – Avalon has a slightly larger room size than competing river cruise lines, and they orient the beds to face out the window.
2. Shorter itineraries – Avalon is the only one of these cruise lines to offer itineraries of less than a week.  This could work well if you want to combine a river cruise with another vacation in Europe.
3. Land tours – Avalon is part of the Globus family of brands, so it’s easy to connect a river cruise to a Globus or Monograms trip.

Tauck

1. Land extensions – Tauck is originally a luxury land-tour operator and have only gotten into the River Cruise business with their own ships in the past few years.  If you’re looking for high-end land tours, Tauck certainly offers this.
2. Inclusions – Tauck has all the standard river cruise inclusions and also includes beverages at ALL times, as well as gratuities for both onboard staff and local guides.
3. Exclusive experiences – Tauck puts their extensive experience on land to good use when planning exclusive shore events for river boat guests.

Uniworld

1. Boutique ships – Uniworld positions itself as a floating boutique hotel, and they do a very good job of it.  Each ship is unique and decorated and adorned to reflect the region in which it sails.  The Tollman family’s personal art collection is on board the ships as well, so each river boat is a bit like a floating museum.
2. Trains – on some voyages, Uniworld allows guests to do pre/post trips by luxury train.  There are some very interesting itinerary options. 
3. Inclusions – Much like Tauck, everything is included in the fare (open bar, all gratuities)
4. There is gym and a spa on board Uniworld ships
5. Incentives – a number of their 2022 itineraries are showing at 50% off right now, which is incredible value for such a high end product.
6. “Other” Rivers – Uniworld operates on all the standard European rivers, and also travels to a few spots others don’t go: The Po River in Northern Italy; the Ganges River in India; and the Amazon headwaters in Peru (with extensions to Machu Picchu).  We have a new video on our YouTube channel about the Po River Cruise – here’s the link:  https://youtu.be/QRIHi6SED6g

Viking

1. Scale – Viking is larger than everyone else combined, and in many cases this gives them a price/cost advantage.
2. Air Program – Viking’s extensive air program makes the value that much more compelling.  The air add-ons give people cost certainty for air travel – a big advantage – especially right now when air travel is such a huge variable.
3. Departure Dates – Viking has about 80 ships in Europe, so on many itineraries, there are more than 20 departures per month.  If your dates are tight, Viking probably has a sailing within a day or two of your preferred departure.

The above river cruise lines account for the majority of the North American market, but there are several other more minor players out there as well.  The biggest mistake people make when assessing a river cruise line is comparing to their ocean cruise experiences – the two have very little in common. 

REMINDER:  If you missed our note last week about the special discount on Oceania Cruises, here’s link to that article:  https://pamperedcruiser.com/the-1-best-time-to-book-an-oceania-cruise/.  Remember we have a very tight window for booking with this incentive, so if you’re thinking about it, we need your instructions fairly quickly.

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If you’re planning a trip, I’d love to help! Click here or call 800-876-0168 to get in touch today.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sue Bradley

Without question, the best time to book a new cruise is when you’re already on board.

ALL cruise lines will give you a better deal for booking on board compared to any other way.

Depending on the cruise line, you might get price discounts, extra onboard credits, more flexible cancellation terms, and/or a later final payment date.

If you’re on a cruise and you’re pretty sure you’re going to sail with that cruise line again, then we highly recommend taking advantage of the Book-on-Board offer. 

Many of you have expressed concern that we, as your booking agent, get cut out of the new booking if you book while on board.  Thank you for your concern!  Rest assured, that isn’t the case – the cruise lines cooperate with us on such things, so we will get credit for your new booking.  They don’t always tell us you’ve booked on board though, so we usually ask you directly when you return home. 

The actual book on board incentive varies between cruise lines, but they all offer you something extra, and that extra is usually combinable with their normal public-facing promotions.

Bob and I are getting ready to embark on the Oceania Riviera for a trip to Greece and Turkey. 

For those who follow us on Facebook, we normally publish daily blogs about our trips, but in the interest of full disclosure, we usually do those postings when we get home, and then “re-live” the trip on a day-by-day basis.  This allows us to respond when we’re back at our office, and NOT between shore excursions when we’re travelling!

So now you know our secret (you’re one of the insiders) and you won’t be confused when we publish our blog posts after you know we’re already back from this upcoming trip. 

How YOU can benefit from Sue and Bob’s upcoming Oceania cruise

Our upcoming trip gives us a unique chance to offer something special for YOU.

We can get book on board savings for YOU, as long as we make your reservation while WE are on board the ship.

If you’re thinking of an Oceania cruise, it’s a great chance to get a discount you would not otherwise receive.

NOTE this is a very unusual situation, and NOT an option that’s normally available to travel agents.   Here’s why.  Although Bob and I already sell a lot of Oceania, they’ve identified us as agents with huge potential to increase sales with them further, and we are working on ways to partner together in more creative ways. 

Here’s the discount you’ll receive (they vary by length of cruise and cabin category selected):

With the time change and the spotty internet on ships in that part of the world, this is going to be a challenge, so I thought I would take orders in advance!

If you’re thinking of an Oceania cruise, you’ll want to let us know about it ASAP, so we can get everything arranged ahead of time and simply place your deposit while we’re on our trip.

This can be for ANY Oceania Cruise and is combinable with any of the offers you see on their website. 

It’s ALSO combinable with the extra perks Bob and I normally have access to through our affiliation with Virtuoso.  ALL of the examples listed below include free pre-paid gratuities (something you would normally pay extra for if you book directly with Oceania).

There are some examples below if you’re shopping for your next vacation.

The CATCH: 

1. You need to get your booking instructions to us by July 28th, our first day on the ship.  Please keep in mind we’ll have delayed response times while we’re on board, so if you want to chat this through with us, contact us as soon as possible and definitelybefore July 23rd.
2. This is for NEW bookings only.

What is different about Oceania

1. Culinary – Oceania really stands out for its food.  The Executive Culinary Director is Jacques Pepin.  There are multiple Specialty Dining venues on Oceania ships, and it’s all included in your fare.  It won’t disappoint.
2. Small Ships – Oceania has four ships that hold 680 guests, and 3 that hold 1250 guests.  On ships of this size, you get a much more intimate experience than the mega-ships.
3. Casual Luxury – You can leave your ball gowns, and tuxedos at home, but still expect an elevated guest experience.
4. Choices – Oceania’s fare structure allows you to pay for included air, and drinks, OR choose other amenities if you wish. 
5. Entertainment – even though the ships are smaller, high-energy production shows are still offered.

Today’s Travel Opportunities

All the following voyages are eligible for book on board savings AND we can also get you FREE pre-paid gratuities just by booking through us.  Neither of these perks are available by booking directly with Oceania.

St. Lawrence Seaway and Atlantic Coast – Montreal to Miami departing October 31, 2022 (16 days)

1. Fares from $3099 per person
2. Visit Quebec City, Charlottetown, Sydney, Halifax, Bar Harbor, Newport, New York, & Bermuda.

Trans-Atlantic – Miami to Barcelona departing April 6, 2023 (15 days)

1. Fares from $3499 per person
2. Visit Bahamas, Bermuda, Azores, Madeira, Grenada, & Alicante

Alaska – Round-trip Seattle departing August 18, 2023 (11 days)

1. Fares from $2799 per person
2. Visit Ketchikan, Juneau, Haines, Hubbard Glacier, Icy Strait Point & Victoria

British Isles – Round-trip London departing August 23, 2023 (11 days)

1. Fares from $4099 per person
2. Visit Newcastle, Dundee, Shetland Islands, Stornoway, Killybegs, Belfast, Cork & Portland

Italy – From Monte Carlo to Venice departing September 22, 2023 (11 days)

1. Fares from $2299 per person
2. Visit Florence, Rome, Salerno, Messina, Calabria, Kotor, Dubrovnik, & Split

These are just a few examples – multiple other itineraries are available.

REMEMBER:  If you want the additional Book-on-Board discount, we need to place a hold for you while we’re on board.  Please get in touch with us before July 23rd to discuss your next Oceania cruise.

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If you’re planning a trip, I’d love to help! Click here or call 800-876-0168 to get in touch today.I look forward to hearing from you.

Sue Bradley

We’ve just started to ease into summer, so thinking about Christmas right now might seem ridiculous. 

However, if you’d like to experience the European Christmas Markets, now is the time to make plans.

Christmas markets operate from the last week of November through to Christmas.  They’ve become increasingly popular in the past few years, and VERY popular with river cruisers.

Here are some of the most common questions we get about Christmas Market river cruises:

Where in Europe are the Christmas Markets?
There are variations of Christmas markets everywhere in Europe, however Germany is where the modern concept has gotten the most traction.  There are also Christmas markets in France, Austria, Hungary and the Netherlands, so just about any European River Cruise itinerary at that time of year will include Christmas Markets.

I’m not much into shopping.  Are there other reasons to go?
The markets themselves are cultural and community events, and offer entertainment, as well as a chance to interface with the locals and drink mulled wine or hot chocolate.  It’s different than the Europe you’ve visited in summer.  Also, visiting Europe in the off-season means the other tourist destinations, historical sites, and museums are far less crowded.

Are the River Cruises themselves any different?
The ports of call are mostly the same as they are in other months, but the shore excursions change to get people to the Christmas markets.  Many of the other shore excursions to local historical sites and attractions are still available. 

What can I expect for weather?
There is a high degree of error when predicting weather – particularly in winter months.  It won’t be warm, but it won’t be punishingly cold either.  Here are some historical temperatures for the month of December:

• Berlin – Highs: 40, Lows: 32
• Frankfurt – H: 42, L: 33
• Cologne – H: 42, L: 33
• Paris – H: 46, L: 36
• Vienna – H: 40, L: 32
• Amsterdam – H: 44, L: 32
• Budapest – H: 38, L: 32

Is a river cruise better than staying in a hotel in one of these cities?
If you want to focus on one city’s Christmas markets, then a hotel might serve you well.  However, most people want to experience a variety of different Christmas Markets, and a river cruise is ideal in that case.  It’s nice when you only have to unpack once and your “hotel” moves with you through Europe.  River cruises are efficient in that the ship usually moves while you are asleep, so you can maximize your time at the Christmas Markets.

Today’s Travel Opportunities

Here are some Christmas market cruise deals I was able to find:

Uniworld Boutique River Cruises – 50% off cruises booked before July 31. 
The prices below already include the 50% discount:

• Depart December 15th, 2022 from Budapest to Passau for 8-days.  Prices start at $2499 per person.
• Depart December 15th, 2022 from Frankfurt to Nuremberg for 8-days.  Prices start at $3299 per person (or leave December 1 for $3899).
• Depart December 15th, 2022 from Vienna to Nuremberg for 8-days for $3499 per person (or leave Dec 8th for $3999)

AMA Waterways – Free round-trip flights on ANY 2022 European departure:
Our friends at AMA have put together a deal with free airfare.  If you want to travel to Europe in 2022, this is pretty hard to beat.  Here are some examples of available Christmas Market cruises:
France from Avignon to Lyon (or reverse)

• 8-days starting at $3499 per person including air.
• Depart December 1, 8, 15, 22

Rhine River from Amsterdam and Basel (or reverse)

• 8-days starting at $3399 per person including air.
• Depart November 28, December 5, 12, or 19.

Viking Mississippi Holiday Season.
The Viking Mississippi itinerary is almost completely sold out for 2022, and is very tight for 2023, so if you wanted to experience this new product, and see the south all decorated for Christmas, this could be a good opportunity:

• Travel between New Orleans and Memphis for 8-days on this brand-new river ship.
• Depart December 17 or 24, 2022 for $4299 per person for a Deluxe Private Balcony room.

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If you’re planning a trip, I’d love to help! Click here or call 800-876-0168 to get in touch today.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sue Bradley

If you consume television news, it would be easy to feel hopelessness and despair as we head into the Independence Day weekend. 

I do NOT feel that way.

I am not blind to the challenges we face, but one of the rewards of travelling is you get to see how other people live, and the challenges they face… and we’ve got a pretty good thing going here, folks. 

We should always be willing to learn from other countries, and continue to improve ourselves, but life here is very good, and THAT is what we need to celebrate this weekend.

Bob grew up in a border town (on the Northern border), and he tells me that years when the Canadian National Holiday (July 1st) happens on a Friday, and Independence Day happens on the Monday (like this year), that it served as a darn fine excuse for a four-day party, as people from both countries crossed back and forth to celebrate with each other.

In recognition of both nations’ birthdays, here are some travel ideas for both domestic and Canadian destinations.

Rocky Mountaineer

Travel from the iconic beaches of one of the world’s Top 10 most liveable cities to the spectacular glaciers and mountains in the Canadian Rockies by luxury train.

Rocky Mountains in 2022:

1. Canadian Rockies Circle Journey.  Round-trip Vancouver departing September 4th (10 days.
2. Visit Kamloops, Jasper, Banff, Lake Louise.
3. $5926 per person with tax. Includes all accommodations and transportation, Canadian National Parks pass, Gondola in Banff, Lake Minnewanka boat cruise, the Ice Explorer, and Glacier Skywalk.

Rocky Mountains in 2023:

1. Discovery Banff Circle Journey.  Round-trip Vancouver departing May 8th (9-days).
2. Visit Kamloops, Jasper and Banff
3. $4636 per person with tax.  Includes all accommodations and transportation, Canadian National Parks pass, Gondola in Banff, Lake Minnewanka boat cruise, the Ice Explorer, and Glacier Skywalk

American Queen – Mississippi and Columbia Rivers

Travel in 2022 – American Queen Voyages is offering 50% off select departures for this year while space lasts.  The prices below reflect the 50% savings.

Columbia River between Portland OR, and Spokane WA

1. 9-day packages including open bar, unlimited shore excursions, pre-cruise hotel night, wifi on the ship:
2. Depart July 31 with fares starting at $2100 per person
3. Depart November 6 or 13 with fares starting at $1950 per person

Memphis to Chattanooga (or reverse)

1. 9-day packages including open bar, unlimited shore excursions, pre-cruise hotel night, wifi on the ship:
2. Depart October 17 with fares starting at $1950 per person
3. Depart October 28 with fares starting at $1800

The Mississippi in 2023

1. Lower Mississippi between New Orleans and Memphis (or reverse)
2. 9-day packages including open bar, unlimited shore excursions, pre-cruise hotel night, wifi on the ship.
3. Depart April 3, with fares from $3098 per person for a Veranda Stateroom
4. Depart June 3, with fares from $2698 per person

Alaska Cruise

Alaska in 2022

1. Sitka to Vancouver on the Ocean Victory departing August 8 for 12-days
2. Fares from $4558 per person including kayaking and zodiac boats daily, open bar, pre-cruise hotel night, and wifi on the ship.

Travel in 2023

1. Viking Ocean between Vancouver and Anchorage departing May 20 or 30
2. $4999 with air add-on from $599
3. Visit the Inside passage, Ketchikan, Sitka, Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait Point, Yakutat Bay, and Valdez.
4. Includes all taxes and fees, transfers, a shore excursion at each port, beer/wine with meals, and wifi on the ship

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If you’re planning a trip, I’d love to help! Click here or call 800-876-0168 to get in touch today.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sue Bradley

Now that many of you are out travelling again, we’re seeing requests for types of trips we haven’t experienced in a while.  Mexico and Canada are the two most visited countries by Americans, but when it comes to overseas destinations Italy has long been the favorite.

It’s easy to understand why: fantastic food, world-class historical sites, music, diversity and interesting people.  Italy is only a little bit bigger than Arizona, but in that space holds 60 million people.  Even in that relatively small space, there is so much to see, you will be forced to make some trade-offs unless you’re able to stay for a few months. 

Some of you ask the “best” way to see Italy, and when we do our jobs well, we have to be agnostic in our answer.  The best way to visit anywhere depends on what you want to get out of your trip, and the criteria by which you determine that.

With that said, here are the three main ways we send people to Italy, along with some of the trade-offs.

Visit Italy on an Ocean Cruise

Rome is one of the Mediterranean’s major ports, so all the cruise lines have some presence here.  Some of those cruises go east or west to other Mediterranean countries, but there are plenty that run between Rome and Venice (for example) featuring several Italian Ports

The upside:

1. Cruise vacations are efficient – you travel at night, so you maximize your time.
2. Value per dollar, cruise is pretty hard to beat – especially in Europe.
3. You only unpack once.
4. You often get to visit Croatia and/or Malta as well on Italian ocean cruises.

The trade-off:

1. If you’re only in a port for a day, you really only scratch the surface.
2. Neither Rome (which is 2 hours from the port), or Florence (about the same) are well seen as an excursion off a cruise ship. You need to do pre/post in these cities.
3. There are places in the center of Italy, and in the northern part that are not accessible as a port of call on a cruise ship.

Ocean Cruise to Italy (2022):

1. “Opulent Mediterranean” with Oceania Cruises.
2. Barcelona to Rome, departing September 26th for 10 nights.
3. Verandas start at $4149 (cruise only) or $5149 with flights.  We can also get you FREE pre-paid gratuities on this departure, as an exclusive benefit of booking with our agency.
4. Visit Barcelona, Palamos, Marseille, Monte Carlo, Saint-Tropez, Livorno (for Pisa, Florence, Tuscany), Messina (Sicily), Valletta, Naples/Pompeii and Rome.
5. Insider Tip:  Oceania has warned us that their fares are going up on July 1st. 

Ocean Cruise to Italy (2023):

1. “Italian Sojourn” with Viking Cruises
2. Venice to Rome, departing May 15th or May 26th, 2023 (7 nights)
3. Verandas start at $3799 per person ($5098 per person with flights)
4. Multiple departure dates offered (prices vary with date of travel).

Visit Italy on a River Ship

Uniworld Boutique River Cruises operates a one-week cruise round-trip from Venice through the Venetian Lagoon, and up to Po River towards Bologna.  You can also add-on Milan for 2-days pre-cruise, and/or a rail journey finishing in either Zurich or Istanbul.

The upside

1. The ship is docked right on the Grand Canal, leaving you steps from all that Venice has to offer.  With the ocean-going ships no longer docking in Venice, this makes the river ship that much more unique.
2. Venice and its surrounding areas have far more to offer than simply streets of water (what you experience when you’re there for a day on an ocean shore excursion), so you get to explore this corner of northern Italy in depth.
3. Milan and Lake Como are common add-ons to this cruise – neither of which is easy to access from an ocean ship.
4. The upsides to cruise ships noted above, apply here as well.

The trade-off

1. You really don’t travel that far in the week, so it wins for “immersive”, but ocean cruises would have more diversity of experience because they visit different regions in Italy.

River Cruise in Italy (2022)

1. Venice (round-trip), departing October 2nd for one week.
2. Window room $2199.  (French Balconies and Suites sold out)
3. Includes transfers, open bar, daily excursions, Wi-Fi.
4. Visit Venice (dock in 2 different locations around the city), Chioggia, Bologna, Porto Viro, Burano, Torcello, Mazzorbo.

River Cruise in Italy (2023)

1. Venice (round-trip), departing July 11th for one week.
2. Window room $3399.  French Balcony $5099
3. SAVE 10% off the above pricing as an early booking bonus for those willing to pay in fulls at time of booking.

Visit Italy on a Guided Land Tour

There are an infinite number of land tour providers that offer tours of varying lengths to every corner of Italy.  Your challenge will be narrowing your choices down!

The Upside:

1. We sometimes refer to such land tours as “land-cruises” for our clients that have mostly done cruise vacations.  These land tours are structured very similarly, so the people that like the structure of a cruise will be comfortable.
2. Most of these land-tours include a local guide, so you will be much more informed and immersed in local culture than you would be on your own.

The Trade-offs

1. Much like a cruise, you are operating on a pre-determined itinerary, so you lose the flexibility of staying somewhere for a while longer if it appeals to you.
2. Unlike a cruise, you’ll be packing and unpacking every night, or every other night, and you will be on trains and motorcoaches during the day to get between destinations. 
3. These land tours are typically not as inclusive as cruises are, so you’ll be paying as you go for meals, drinks, and entry fees to museums or other attractions.

A couple of other thoughts:

1. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and you can’t properly visit it in one day (especially when it’s 2 hours each way to the ship).  This is the biggest mistake we see people make when planning trips to Italy.  If you’re a museum person, then the same applies to Florence.
2. A combination of a cruise and land tour might be best if you have time. 

Guided Land Tour in Italy (2022)

1. “Ultimate Italy” – Luxury Gold’s best-selling tour of Italy
2. Rome to Venice (12 days)
3. Prices from $8995 per person
4. Includes VIP experiences, exceptional dining, elegant hotels and a Traveling Concierge who’s there to tailor everything to your desires.
5. Luxury Gold and Uniworld Boutique River Cruises are sister companies, owned by the same parent corporation.
6. Consider choosing “Make Travel Matter” experiences on both Luxury Gold and Uniworld trips.  Learn more here: https://youtu.be/HjVlx0q1tC8 

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If you’re planning a trip, I’d love to help! Click here or call 800-876-0168 to get in touch today.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sue Bradley