Blog - The Pampered Cruiser

Why Viking is The Pampered Cruiser’s Partner of the Month

When you call us to inquire about a cruise, it’s our job to listen to your preferences, ask a few follow up questions and then make some suggestions based on your responses.

We don’t hesitate to offer you our opinions when asked, but we have a healthy respect for the fact that there really are “different strokes for different folks”.

I know this in unfashionable in a world where we’re conditioned to demonize anyone with an opinion contrary to one’s own… but I guess we’re just nerds that way 🙂

While the rest of the world becomes more polarized, our office will always be a place where you can do your own thing and have our full support (even if it differs from what we would personally choose).

I was reminded of this aspect of knowing what you want and (perhaps more importantly) what you DON’T want when I was reviewing our partner of the month promotion with Viking Cruises.

For any Viking cruise booked through us during the month of May 2021, we will add a complimentary $100 per person shipboard credit. This is NOT something you’ll receive booking directly through Viking, so we’re pleased to be able to offer this exclusive benefit for our clients.

You can use your $100 per person shipboard credit towards the cost of:

Optional excursions
Silver Spirits Beverage Package
Pre-paid gratuities

Back to my musings above about knowing what you want (and don’t). One of the many things I love about Viking is that they don’t try to be all things to all people. They are completely up-front about “What Viking is NOT”:

No casinos
No children under 18
No art auctions, or photography sales
No formal nights or butlers

This unapologetic vision of who they want to be in the marketplace really appeals to me.

So, for the month of May, I’m going to bring you more information about the World of Viking. They are well known as the largest river cruise company in Europe, but they offer much more than European river cruises. With Viking you can also experience:

River cruises in Egypt, Vietnam, and Eastern Europe
Mississippi River Cruises
Luxury Ocean cruises to six continents
Expedition cruises to Antarctica and the North American Great Lakes

We’ll be exploring these products in more detail over the next couple of weeks. This week I’m going to talk about Viking Ocean Cruises… so it’s somewhat serendipitous that Viking released a whole bunch of exciting new ocean cruise itineraries just YESTERDAY:

Iceland (1 week). I was thrilled to see Viking add more departure dates for this fascinating European gem, because the first ones sold out within hours. Round trip from Reykjavik (and visiting 5 other ports in a circumnavigation of this island-country) from $2799 (air $999) in July, August, September 2021. The journey to Iceland is only 5 hours from northeast airports, so not quite as onerous as flying all the way to Europe. https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/baltic/icelands-natural-beauty/index.html?agenturlid=pamperedcruiser

If volcanoes and waterfalls aren’t your thing, there are also two new options for the Mediterranean this summer. Both these cruises home port in Valletta (the tiny, ancient walled city that’s the capital of Malta), a fascinating destination in its own right. Viking’s optional flight add-on takes the guesswork out of how you’ll get to this beautiful island nation.

Malta & the Adriatic (11 days) Fares from $3599 (Air $1299). Visits 4 ports in Croatia, as well as Montenegro, and 2 ports in Malta. July – October 2021. https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/eastern-mediterranean/malta-and-adriatic-jewels/index.html?agenturlid=pamperedcruiser

Malta & Greece (11 days) Fares from $3599 (Air $1299). Malta and 5 ports in Greece (including an overnight in Athens). July, August, September 2021. https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/eastern-mediterranean/malta-and-greek-isles-discovery/index.html?agenturlid=pamperedcruiser

Finally, if you want something closer to home, or maybe just want to try out the Viking Ocean experience at a fantastic fare:

Bermuda (1 week) Fares from $1799 (Air $599), departures in June, July, August 2021. Air $599. Viking added several sailings to their initial offering that sold out in a couple of days. These cruises are round-trip from Hamilton, and you also visit the UNESCO World Heritage site of St. George’s with its cobblestone streets and colorful building facades. https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/caribbean-americas/bermuda-escape/index.html?agenturlid=pamperedcruiser

Given what we saw last time Viking released new itineraries, we expect these sailings to be sold out in the next week. If none of these close-in voyages work for you, check out the Viking Ocean website where you can see ALL the options and find one that appeals to you: http://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/myagent/pamperedcruiser/

Regardless of what you choose, here’s a few things to keep in mind about Viking Ocean Cruises:

The best priced entry-level room is a large 270 square foot veranda with a King Size bed. There are NO window-only or Inside rooms on Viking.
Your fare includes all taxes/fees, a shore excursion in each port, Wifi on the ship, all Specialty Dining, beer/wine with meals, and airport transfers when you use Viking Air.
There are only 940 people on board, so there’s lots of personal space on board and the ship doesn’t completely overwhelm small ports of call like the mega-ships do.
The vibe on Viking is casual elegance. There aren’t any butlers, so you won’t feel like Gilligan on a ship full of Mr. & Mrs. Howells, and you also get first class service. It’s an understated luxury – a hard balance to achieve that Viking has mastered.
Viking Ocean has won the World’s Best Small Ship cruise line for the past 5 years in a row as voted by Travel & Leisure readers.

I also promised I would highlight some domestic travel opportunities:

Mount Rushmore & the Badlands. This is a land-cruise, where you are in one hotel (in Rapid City) for 7-days, and do daily “shore excursions” to Mt. Rushmore, the Crazy Horse memorials, Badlands National Park, Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane’s house, Adams House in Deadwood, Custer State Park. Includes 9 meals, all accommodation and transportation. Departures May through October starting at $1899 per person. For any bookings made during the month of May, we can get you $100 off your airfare.
Pacific Northwest & California. Seattle to San Francisco. Visit Pike Place Market, Mount St. Helens, the Oregon Coast (one of the country’s best kept secrets), Yaquina Head Lighthouse, Newport, Bandon, Coos Bay, the Columbia River Gorge, Multnomah Falls, and the California Redwoods. Includes 10 meals, 7-nights hotel, all transportation. Runs June through October with pricing starting at $2399 per person. For any bookings made during the month of May, we can get you $100 off your air.

In Case you Missed it:

Hawaii Cruise: One-week round trip from Honolulu on Norwegian’s Pride of America. Visit Maui, Kona, Hilo, Kauai, and much like the Alaskan cruise tours, you can add days on land to this cruise. Fares start at $1721 per person.
Chesapeake Bay Cruise: One-week round trip from Baltimore on American Cruise Lines. If you’re a history buff, or just like charming small towns, this is great getaway. Prices starting at $3405 per person: https://pamperedcruiser.com/3-trips-you-can-take-in-2021/

Well…that’s it for this week. It’s so encouraging to see so many of you start to make plans again. We’ll do our very best to keep you up to date on the news… it seems things are changing very quickly (for the better!)

Remember, take advantage of our ‘Viking Partner of the Month’ promotion and receive $100 per person shipboard credit when you book ANY Viking cruise through us during the month of May 2021. You’ll want to let your friends and family know too.

Have something to say about this?

Join the conversation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamperedCruiser/posts/2995923007356860

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

Breaking News re: US Cruises

If you’ve been following the news, there’s been several events of note this week for travellers.

But first… a very short Social Studies lesson: Did you know that France has a self-governing territory in the Gulf of St. Lawrence near Newfoundland? The island nation of Saint Pierre and Miquelon uses the Euro as their currency, they speak French, and when you visit, you’ll experience French food, wine, and music. It’s the only place in North America where you’ll see an abundance of European license plates.

I’ll get back to why this seemingly useless bit of trivia might be of interest, but first the news:

Earlier this week, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Union, stated that fully vaccinated American tourists will be welcome in the Europe this summer. Her announcement was lacking in detail, but this is by far the strongest signal yet that travel is beginning its slow return to a new normal.

The second encouraging bit of news came on Thursday when the CDC announced that cruise ships will be allowed to depart from US ports starting in mid-July for fully vaccinated guests.

What should we expect next?

It’s important to keep in mind that the cruise lines have not been operating for over a year, and it’s not a simple matter of flipping a switch to return to service. They need to recall their crews and ensure all of them are vaccinated. This will be a significant undertaking.

They also have to arrange port spaces – something that is normally done years in advance. Canada is closed to cruise ship traffic until 2022, and we’ve been given no indication they plan to change that directive.

The other consideration is that cruise ships typically move AWAY from Florida in August and September due to hurricane season.

The combination of these factors brings us back to our Social Studies lesson.

I think there’s a good chance that the cruise ships will return late summer/early fall to the Northeast for the normal Canada-New England season. You’ll board in New York or Boston, run up the coast of the New England States, and perhaps over to St. Pierre & Miquelon instead of Canadian ports in order to satisfy the Passenger Services Act foreign port requirement.

Alaska is a bit more complex. Theoretically ships could run out of Seattle or Anchorage, but Canada is the only foreign country nearby, and we haven’t been given any indication yet that the Congress is going to get its act together to temporarily amend the Passenger Services Act. It is a shame that everyone agrees what the right thing to do is, but miraculously they can’t get it done.

So, what is cruising going to look like for the balance of 2021?

It’s hard to say, but early indications are that ships will be deployed to individual countries where there are willing governments, port space, and passenger demand. We’ve already seen this in Iceland, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Barbados and Greece, and these cruise destinations have been selling quickly (and in some cases, sold out completely). This list will likely expand, and you may have to make decisions quickly when new itineraries are released by the cruise lines.

Our clients tend to fall into two categories of traveller:

“I need to get away as quickly as possible; please keep me informed of the opportunities”
“I’m happy to sit it out until next year, so help me make plans for 2022”

We’ll continue to serve both groups, and to that end, here are today’s travel opportunities:

Viking Cruises

People know Viking as the river cruise people in Europe, but they also have ocean and expedition ships, as well as operating on rivers in Asia and Africa. Viking takes you to all seven continents, and they will be our Partner of the Month in May. If you book any Viking Cruise with us in May, we’ll get you an extra $100 per person onboard credit that you would not receive by booking direct. More details to come next week. Click to learn more about Viking Cruises.

Antarctica

One thing the pandemic has taught us is that we need to knock off items on our bucket list when the opportunity presents itself. You can visit Antarctica on an expedition ship, like I did a couple of years ago. Here’s a link to my video: https://youtu.be/3c-2TBXw6ls

Another Antarctica trip that caught my eye is on the Seabourn Quest. This will be the FINAL year Seabourn will be sending its regular ships (450 guests) to Antarctica. The thing I like about this trip is that it also visits Patagonia, Chile, the Falkland Islands, and Argentina over the course of 21 days, with 6 days of scheduled landings in Antarctica. The Seabourn Quest is an all-suite vessel, with extraordinary service and amenities. If you want to go to Antarctica in style and comfort, this is how you do it. There is a departure from Buenos Aires on February 3, 2022, with suites starting at $14,999. Bob didn’t visit Antarctica when I went, so we are eyeing up this trip ourselves.

3 Trips You Can Take in 2021

You may have noticed some patterns developing, as we crawl out of the pandemic. The first pattern that we’ve mentioned previously is the tendency towards domestic travel for 2021. The other pattern we’re seeing as cruise ships return to service are voyages that involve just one country.

This makes perfect sense when you consider that every jurisdiction has different rules and requirements for the safe resumption of travel and tourism. In the past few weeks, we’ve seen cruise lines announce sailings in the Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Greece, and Iceland.

In the coming weeks, we expect announcements about the UK (they are already doing this for British citizens), as well as France and Portugal for river cruises.

You may also have noticed a number of airline announcements about the resumption of some routes. It will take them the rest of the year to get back up to full service, but the fact that there are international flights is a good indicator that we are starting some return to “normal”.

Here are a few other thoughts on what to expect when you fly:

Masks will be required on flights for many months to come yet.
Depending on the destination, some flights will require proof of vaccination to board.
Other flights may require a PCR test within 3 days of travel. United Airlines recently announced that their app will enable passengers to schedule PCR tests prior to departure, and then automatically have the results uploaded to the app, so the airline can issue a boarding pass. Passengers can also upload their proof of vaccination to the app as well.
Maybe Business Class seats will be a bit cheaper. Business travel will take much longer to recover than leisure travel (I think many companies have discovered that videoconferencing may suffice for the time being).

So hopefully that provides a little insight as to the buzz we’re hearing in the industry. On to today’s travel opportunities:

Silversea Caribbean Cruise

If you’re looking for a cruise vacation this coming winter, and you’ve always wanted to try a small ship experience, here are a couple of great value ideas from Silversea:

November 17^th, 2021 – 15-nights from San Juan to Fort Lauderdale starting at $5280 per person. This cruise visits just about every Caribbean port (only 2 sea days!).
If you’re looking to experience more of the ship-board life, here’s one with 4 sea days: December 9^th, 2021 – 12-nights round trip from Fort Lauderdale starting at $4640 per person.
Both these cruises are offered at 20% off (the prices above reflect the discount) so on a per day basis, this is incredible value.
The Silversea fare includes flights, gratuities, all drinks, all dining, wifi, and the kind of service an attention you can only get on a ship of this size (388 passengers).
If you book by the end of April, you are covered by the relaxed booking conditions that enable you to cancel without penalty as late as 30 days prior to departure.

National Parks – “Land Cruise“

If you can’t wait until the fall for a trip, here’s a cool land-cruise option:

12-days between Phoenix, AZ and Rapid City, South Dakota
Get a whole bunch of ticks in the box: visit Old Faithful in Yellowstone, stare into the Grand Canyon, do a breakfast cruise on Lake Powell, Zion NP in Utah, the cliffs and hoodoos at Bryce Canyon, see the Bighorn Mountains, Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse.
This is a great trip if you’re a photographer, a scenery enthusiast, or you just want more stamps in your NP passport.
There are 5 departures a month between now and October, and prices range from $3999 to $4299 per person (double occupancy).
We can get you an additional $100 off per person on selected departure for those trips booked by the end of April.
The trip is structured much like a cruise, where your accommodation, transportation and some activities are included, and there are also optional “shore excursions” if you have a particular interest.
Includes all Breakfasts and 6 dinners

Chesapeake Bay – “River Cruise on the Ocean”

The Inland Passage between Maryland and Florida is one of the country’s best kept secrets, and on American Cruise Lines, the size of the ship, and level of service is much more like a river cruise than a mega ship. Here are the details:

One-week round trip from Baltimore
Departures in May, October, November from $3405 per person
Depart from Baltimore’s scenic harbor and travel the “Historic Triangle”. In Yorktown, visit the battlefields, and the colonial homes. Next on to Williamsburg, which is virtually unchanged since the first English colonists settled there. Also visit Crisfield, the “Crab Capital of the World”. Finally take a trolly through the streets of Annapolis.

When Will Viking’s ‘Risk Free Guarantee’ End?

[Offer Expires April 30th, 2021]

By virtue of reading this message, you’re in good company.

You’re in good company in that you have a lot in common with others reading right now AND there are a lot of you (about 20,000 readers).

Let me explain.

We built up this list of email subscribers over the past five years the hard way. We posted informational pieces on the internet or social media channels and invited people to follow us. Many of you told your friends about us (thank you, by the way!). This is a slow and methodical way to build a following (and we’re not done yet!), but it has worked for us.

Of all those many thousands of followers, about 2% of you have become clients. Believe it or not, that “conversion rate” is quite high according to the information marketing gurus – a 1% conversation rate is considered good.

Today, I’m going to speak to the other 98% and it’s going to appear a bit self-serving, but I promise to make my point quickly.

You are of course welcome to continue to follow us and consume the information we provide. We do it for both clients and non-clients alike. We want as many people as possible to be informed with the latest travel-related tips and advice.

Here’s my ‘ask’: When you do go to travel, please book through a travel agent.

We would like that to be us, but we realize that people have existing relationships in place, or they want to deal with someone in their neighborhood. That’s fine… but book through an agent. Here’s why:

The price will be the same. Cruises and packaged vacations have set prices, and travel agents cannot mark them up OR discount them. The price is the price.
Travel agents can provide amenities you won’t get by going direct. Good agencies are often able to get you an additional advantage or amenity you can’t get by booking direct. This is often an onboard credit or other perk you wouldn’t otherwise receive.
A good travel agent can help you compare. You may have made up your mind already (which is fine) but knowing what else is out there will provide some purchase confirmation assurance – not a bad idea if you’re investing thousands in a vacation.
You still get your loyalty benefits. The booking terms and conditions (including deposit amounts, perks offered by cruise lines, and even your loyalty benefits) are exactly the same regardless of where you book.
Travel agents DON’T hold your money. When you book through an agent, your payments are still made directly to the cruise line or tour operator (not to the travel agency). Travel agents are paid on a commission basis after you travel.
Support the whole sector. Small business is the engine of the American economy. Travel agents are small businesses that have really struggled this past year. The big travel corporations have also had a tough go – but not like the little guys.

Thank you to those who have booked with us this past year! For those who are still inclined book direct, I would invite you to do your homework to verify the benefits I mention above, so you’ll fully understand there’s no upside to going direct.

On to Today’s Travel Opportunities:

Cruise Hawaii: Norwegian’s Pride of America resumes sailing in July. The Pride does one-week sailings round trip from Honolulu that make 6 port stops on 3 different islands. A Balcony room in July, August or September 2021 ranges between $2617 – $2870. They also have some land add-ons if you want to extend your time in Hawaii.

Cruise Massachusetts: A one-week cruise… all in one state. Round-trip from Boston for 7-nights, visiting Gloucester, Plymouth, Martha’s Vineyard, New Bedford, and Provincetown. Departures in May and June 2021 from $4370 per person. American Cruise Lines has small, American Flagged vessels, so they are not affected by the CDC order, or the Canadian Border closure.

Cruise Greece: This Mediterranean hotspot is preparing to welcome visitors in the next few weeks, and the cruise lines are not far behind. Celebrity, Seabourn, and SilverSea all start sailing out of Athens in June. I wrote about the Celebrity Greece cruise a few weeks ago.

SilverSea is deploying its brand-new flagship, the Silver Moon, to Athens this summer on 10-day round trip itineraries. The Silver Moon carries 596 guests in an all-suite vessel, and is completely inclusive (flights, shore excursions, drinks, gratuities, Wi-Fi). Fares start at $7800 per person. There are a few different itineraries that hit all the most popular ports in Greece, Cyprus and Turkey, so there’s something for everyone. Proof of vaccination will be required to board the ship.

Relaxed Cancellation Policies:

For the past year, the cruise lines have all offered relaxed booking conditions whereby you could cancel on short notice (in some cases as late as 24 hours prior to departure). If these are the conditions under which you booked, then that advantage remains in place. We are hearing some rumblings amongst the cruise lines that as we recover from the pandemic, regular booking conditions will likely resume on May 1^st. If the flexibility to cancel on short notice is important, then you should place your booking soon.

We’re Working the Phones For You

Did you grow up with a single telephone mounted on the wall at the end of the hallway for the whole family to share? We tell our kids such stories and they laugh with delight at how primitive life must have been for those who grew up in the 20^th century.

I bring this up because this past week, I had much more “on-the-phone time” than “off-the-phone time” – a necessary (and positive) consequence of the huge surge in booking requests we are getting right now from clients.

It’s a far cry from that single phone on the wall at the end of the hall.

Both Bob and I are on the phone all day, every day.

Bob handles most of the in-person client work – so almost all the time, you’ll end up speaking with him on the phone.

My own job includes managing our relationships and bookings with the cruise lines and other suppliers, and email correspondence with clients between time of booking and time of travel.

Others in the travel biz compare our process to how Elton John and Bernie Taupin write songs together. It’s a bit unusual, but it works for us.

It also explains why we usually try to book phone appointments with our clients. When we’re on the phone with someone, we want to ensure that person has our complete attention, so the phones are forwarded to voicemail, and we will never interrupt a conversation to answer a call on another line.

This past week, we’ve also been dealing with dozens of rebooks (some of you for the third or fourth time) from recently cancelled sailings originally scheduled for June and July.

Thank you to all of you for your patience as we sort through all of this. We’re doing our best.

New Travel Opportunities:

The CDC’s erratic behavior as it relates to cruise ships continues, so more and more cruise lines are bypassing them altogether, and sailing from foreign ports. This is devastating for the 250,000 Americans employed by the cruise ship industry, and hopefully those jobs will eventually return to the US, but until the Federal Government provides instructions to the cruise lines as to what hurdles will be required to sail from US ports, the cruise lines will continue to deal with more cooperative governments.

Here are some examples:

Bermuda

Viking Cruises recently announced brand new one-week cruises round trip from Hamilton starting in June 2021:

If you find Bermuda a somewhat uninspiring port of call, you might want to view this as unique opportunity to try out a Viking ocean cruise. It might also just be a nice change of scenery for a week.
Fares start at $1799, with air add-ons at $599.
The best priced cabin on Viking is a 270 square foot veranda, so this is a very competitive price compared to other cruise ship rooms.
At the same time the Bermuda itinerary was announced, Viking also released one-week cruises in Iceland, but those already sold out (within a week!). If they deploy another ship, and more space opens up, we’ll let you know.

We continue to get a ton of requests for domestic travel options that depart in the next few months. Here are some ideas:

Glacier National Park, Montana

The Pacific Northwest is one of the best kept secrets in the country, with spectacular scenery, a number of National Parks, and wide-open spaces. On this 10-day trip, you’ll travel between Chicago and Seattle by train.

Available June through October.
2 nights in Chicago, 2 nights in Seattle, 3 nights at Glacier National Park. There are also two nights aboard the train, and sleeper cabins are available on this route.
Glacier NP covers more than 16,000 square miles, two mountain ranges, and includes 130 lakes.
$2749 per person based on double occupancy.
Travel through 7 states retracing large parts on Lewis and Clark’s journey.
This itinerary is unique in that you get to visit some of the most remote parts of the country, in between the two great urban experiences of Chicago and Seattle.

Mackinac Island, Chicago, and Detroit

If you want to explore the Midwest instead, this “land-cruise” guided tour caught my eye:

Two nights in Chicago, then on to Traverse City for one-night; followed by 2-nights at the charming and famous Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island; then to the Bavarian town of Frankenmuth; and finally, 2-nights in Detroit where you can visit the Henry Ford Museum and take in Detroit’s other attractions.
7-nights starting at $2799 per person, for departures June through October.
Includes all breakfasts, and 4 dinners