By all indications, you are ready to travel. 

February was a bit overwhelming for Bob and me (but in a good way!), and it looks like it will go down in history as our highest booking month ever.  It is true that many of those were re-bookings for those caught up in the April and May cancellations, and we’ll be MUCH happier when all of you are actually travelling, but it’s still evidence that the light is at the end of the tunnel (and it’s NOT an oncoming freight train).

The feedback we continue to receive is that you are happy to have trips on the books for late 2021 and into 2022 and 2023, but you’re also looking for options in the next few months.

We also know that most of our readers are avid cruisers who like the dining, entertainment, activities and easy logistics that cruise vacations offer.  When the ships aren’t sailing, can those things be replicated on land?

YES!

Each of the vacation options below (that we are calling “Land Cruises”) is structured like a river cruise:  included excursions/activities for part of the day, and free time to do your own thing for the other part of the day.  You can do as much or as little as you wish – just like a cruise. 

Here are a few specific ideas until your ship sails again – both literally and figuratively.

Land Cruise:  Alaska By Rail

The 2021 Alaska season is still up in the air due to the Canadian port closures.  In reality, Alaska by sea, and Alaska by land are two very different trips anyway.  Why not consider doing a rail tour of Alaska this year to really explore those places the cruises DON’T visit?  Without all those cruise ship passengers, you’ll have the place to yourself!  There are tons of options, but here’s an example:

• 10 Days – June through September for $3749 per person. 
• Start in Anchorage, visit Kenai Peninsula, Talkeetna, Denali NP, and Fairbanks.
• Includes sightseeing cruise through the Kenai Fjords, tour of Anchorage, sight-seeing tour of Denali National Park.
• All accommodations (at Gold Star Alaskan Cabins and Lodges)
• All transportation is by rail (this is different than the cruise line extensions, where most of your transportation occurs by motor coach).  The views from a domed rail car are far more impressive than out the window of a bus. 

Land Cruise:  Hawaii

If you don’t want to wait until summer to visit the 49^th State, then perhaps you’ll want to get out of the cold in the next month or two and visit the 50^th State (or maybe do both!):

• When planning a trip to Hawaii, the first choice is whether you want to go chill for the whole time in one place, or whether you wish to island-hop.  This land cruise is an island-hopper, covering three of the islands:  Oahu, Kauai, and Maui. 
• 10 Days in April, $3999 per person.  Includes all breakfasts, and 4 dinners, transfers, and flights between the islands.  Other inclusions:
• Oahu: Pearl Harbor tour & Honolulu City Tour.  North shore Oahu tour to Hawaii’s surfing capital.
• Kauai:  Tour of Waimea Canyon, and Coffee estate.  Open Air boat cruise up Wailua river, hula dance demonstration.
• Maui:  Tour of Lahaina, Optional tours to Road to Hana, Haleakala Crater,
• The first half of this tour is quite busy, so a few days pre/post on your own might be worth considering – particularly if you’re flying from the Eastern Time Zone.

Land Cruise:  New York: 

• 5 Days in June for $2199 per person.
• Includes accommodation at the Sheraton Time Square, Breakfasts and 2 dinners, 2 Broadway shows, a tour of the 9/11 museum, a guided city tour, a ferry cruise of New York Harbor, Ellis Island tour
• Optional Night walking tour of Greenwich Village including dinner

Land Cruise:  New Orleans

• 5 Days in April $1399 per person
• Includes accommodation a the Royal Sonesta Hotel in the French Quarter, Breakfasts, 2 dinners, guided City Tour, a walking tour of the French Quarter, and a Swamp Cruise.

Again… we like these types of trips because the logistics are taken care of for you – just like on a cruise. 

Other Cruise News:

• Oceania Tropics & Exotics:  Their 2023 world cruise sold out in one day a few weeks ago.  The 2022-23 “Tropics and Exotics” collection is available for booking on March 3^rd, and we expect those to sell quickly as well.
• ONE Stateroom on Viking’s World Cruise 2022:  This cruise has been sold out for months, but we have access to ONE Deluxe Veranda DV3 stateroom as a result of a cancellation.  This is 118 nights from LA to London departing January 10, 2022.  The price is $52,995 per person (double occupancy), and includes round-trip business class flights, airport transfers, all taxes and fees, gratuities, all beverages, all visas, luggage shipping service, a shore excursion in every port, Wifi, there are some nice onboard credits too – but with everything included, you might be challenged to spend them!  We can only hold this option for a few more days, so if this is of interest to you please call us immediately: 800-876-0168.
• Mississippi River:  American Queen Steamboat Company will have river boats on the Mississippi with passengers by mid-March.  AQSC has a vaccine requirement, and coupled with the fact it is a domestic trip, we expect the remaining cabins in 2021 to sell out quickly.  We can get you an additional $500 off just about any date on the Columbia or Mississippi.  Cruises between New Orleans and Memphis (7-nights) in April start at $2099 (inside cabin), or $3699 for a veranda.

Have something to say about this?

Join the conversation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamperedCruiser/posts/2942778886004606

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

It has been a wild week at the Pampered Cruiser Headquarters (aka: our home office), a week of tremendous ups and downs.

The Good News!

• Our health authorities have confirmed a timeline for the vaccine rollout.  There will inevitably be some ups and downs, but it looks like everyone who wants a shot will have one by the late spring.
• Anecdotally, we have had contact with a ton of our clients this past week and so far, 100% of them have either been immunized or have it scheduled within the next couple of weeks
• Costa and Aida, two ocean cruise lines that cater to Europeans, are planning to resume sailing in just a few weeks (the middle of March).  They were sailing last summer, so it’s not an unrealistic endeavour.  Not only is this a very encouraging situation, but these cruise lines will also gain valuable experience in their return to operations that other cruise lines will benefit from.
• Globally, the rate of new covid-19 infections has dropped in half in the past 3 weeks.  Scientists are trying to explain why and how, but I’ll take it as good news for now.

Our Challenges this Week:

• Viking told us on Tuesday they would be sending out cancellation notices to our April/May clients the following day.  Thank you to all of you who are caught up in this for your patience – we no longer have any administrative support, so it’s just me and Bob managing all the cancellations and re-bookings.
• Nobody would confirm this officially for us, but reading the tea leaves, we believe Viking COULD have sailed in May, but chose not to because of uncertainty around the politics related to the resumption of travel.  An example is given immediately below.
• Last week the Canadian government closed its cruise ports for another full year, with the effect of spooking many travel suppliers who wonder whether other governments will follow suit.  The Prime Minister of Canada was asked directly why the government did not instead put a vaccine requirement in place, along with the current measures of advance testing and a national mask mandate.  He wouldn’t answer, which leads one to assume that his government is willing to devastate the tourism economy in Canada (& Alaska) to avoid reminding Canadians that Americans and Europeans are going to be getting their vaccines months before Canadians will get theirs (Canada is 53^rd in world for vaccine rollout).  Such political games are unfortunate for the resumption of tourism globally – not just in Canada.  Hopefully the cruise lines, and other governments will identify this cynical action taken by the Canadian Government for what it is.

When we take into consideration all of the above factors, we are simultaneously exhausted (we’ve been doing this nonsense for a year now), and optimistic (we believe all the evidence supports a resumption of international travel – including cruises – in June or even sooner).

This is what I’ve heard consistently over the past couple of weeks: 

“WHAT IF I CAN’T WAIT TILL JUNE AND WANT TO TRAVEL NOW!”

Our clients often self-identify as “cruisers”, although that’s not the only type of travel for most of them.  Here are a few reasons they gravitate towards cruising:

• Logistics: They like everything arranged for them – they are perfectly capable of navigating airports, hotels and transportation on their own, they’d just prefer not to.
• Food: The cruise lines our clients tend to select on are synonymous with great dining options.
• Entertainment and Activities:  One of the great things about cruising is you can do as little or as much as you want, and all those options are within close proximity.
• Social:  Cruisers like to meet other like-minded travellers when they are on vacation.

Based on these preferences, here are a few of suggestions for travel in the next three months based on trends we are seeing:

1. River Cruises and Rail Options in the USA

We’ve written lots about these before — call us if you’d like more information here.  Cruises on the Mississippi and Columbia Rivers are resuming within the next month!

2. Small Group Tours (or as we like to call them – “Land Cruises”)

There are a number of suppliers that offer escorted land tours with small groups, or even individual bubbles.  Groups as small as 8 people can do organized “land-cruises” across different parts of the world.  We are seeing the most interest right now for domestic tours, and the most popular of those are:

• National Parks Tours – most often in the northwest, or the southwest.
• Southwest Desert and Cultural Tours (yes… I know it snowed the southwest states last week, be we appear to be past that now).
• Northeast Museum and Historical tours (often these include Washington, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston, but there are lots of variations).

3. City Stay Packages

These are short (7 days or less) packages designed to let you feel like a local in a specific city.

You’ll be able to unpack once and settle in.

You’ll get an immersive, guided tour experience, with some meals included, access to a Tour Manager, and planned excursions to the city’s must-see destinations and hidden secrets only locals are aware of.  Alongside planned excursions, there is built-in downtime in the itinerary so you can explore (or relax!) on your own.

City Stay Packages are available for:

• New Orleans
• Washington DC
• South Dakota (Mt. Rushmore & Badlands)
• New Orleans
• New York City
• San Antonio
• Santa Fe
• Nashville

4. Extended Stay at a Ranch, Spa, or Resort

This is a trend that is likely the result of people being very tired of being under “house-arrest” for a year now.  They are flying to a Resort, Ranch or Spa, and staying for 3 or 4 weeks.  There are many features of such trips that are similar to cruising:

• You only unpack once.
• There are tons of choices for activities on site, and in some cases, you can rent a car and explore a bit further afield if you choose to do so.
• Many of these facilities have entertainment on site on a nightly basis.
• The food options are every bit as good and diverse as you would get on a small-ocean ship, or a river boat.

You might not get to check off a bunch of European countries or visit a ton of historical sites like you would on a European cruise or river cruise, but since that’s not available in the next couple of months, one of the ideas above might hold you over for the time being.

Might I also suggest that one of these trips would be a great way to celebrate getting immunized and surviving a year of house arrest?  You deserve it.

We’re ready to help you with whatever you’ve got planned next.

Have something to say about this?

Join the conversation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamperedCruiser/posts/2937603359855492

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

Things are changing quickly in the world of travel, and we’ve been inundated with questions in the past week or so about how 2021 and 2022 are shaping up.  It seems that people DO have some comfort to make plans now, and they’re trying to make sense of all the information out there.

Here’s our attempt to address the more common questions.  DISCLAIMER:  I don’t own a time machine, and my crystal ball is no clearer than anyone else’s.  I might be right, I might be wrong, or somewhere in between.  Also remember that none of us has ever come out of a pandemic before – so if anyone tells you they do know with certainty what is going to happen, you can quickly dismiss them.

Q:  I’ve heard demand for travel is usually high.  Do I need to panic?

It depends on what travel you want to do.  If you are looking to go on a specific date, and you need a specific type of cabin or accommodation, and you want to go with six other couples, you may be out of luck already.  If you’re flexible for dates and other details, you’ll be fine.  Here’s some stats:  The 2023 Oceania world cruise sold out in one day.  River cruises in Europe are about 20% more sold out for 2022 than they would be normally at this point.  The traditional wisdom all along was that small ship and river cruises would recover first, and that appears to be the case.

Q:  What’s going on with Alaska, and other trips that include Canada?

The Government of Canada announced last week, it was closing all its ports to cruise ships until 2022.  Given that the cruise ship season for Canada doesn’t even start until just about everyone will be vaccinated, this decision didn’t really make much sense to me, so I asked a Canadian (luckily, I’m married to one).  His response: “I don’t think it was particularly well-thought out, and probably a panic-response.  A PCR test, or even proof of vaccine would have been a much more reasonable course of action”.  American flagged ships are still operating Alaska cruises this year, so you can still do an Alaskan cruise if you want.  Also, there is a very good chance that the Alaskan Government will request the federal government temporarily suspend the Passenger Vessel Services Act (often incorrectly referred to as the Jones Act) that requires a foreign port stop.  The same scenario will likely play out for Canada/New England cruises up the St. Lawrence Seaway for the fall of 2021. 

Q:  I’ve got a trip to Europe planned for this summer.  What are the odds my ship will sail?

With the information we have to work with right now, we fully expect ships in Europe to sail as scheduled this summer.  With the exception of the UK, Europe has performed very well in controlling the pandemic to date, and there were river and ocean ships operating in Europe in the summer of 2020 (before rapid PCR testing, and vaccines).  It is likely that masks will continue to be required in public indoor spaces, but other than that we are not seeing any significant adjustments to European itineraries for 2021.

Q:  Will I need proof of vaccine to travel?

It will depend on the jurisdiction and the trip.  Australia and New Zealand are leaning towards a vaccine requirement.  We have not heard much on this front from Europe.  American Queen Steamboat Company announced a vaccine requirement for its domestic river cruises, but other providers have not followed.  This one will continue to evolve, and there is no clear consensus yet.

Q:  I’ve had my shot, and I’m ready to start travelling again with appropriate precautions.  How soon can I leave?

I would suggest looking at domestic options in the next two to three months.  There are far fewer variables if you don’t have to worry about what foreign governments might do (see the note about Canada above).  We’ve written before about domestic river cruises and rail trips.  We’ve also had many people enquire about National Parks Packages.  If you live in the Northern half of the country, you might just want to get into the sun (it was snowing in Seattle today – a very occasional occurrence – so I’m expecting a bunch of phone calls from area code 206). 

Most of our readers are cruisers, but don’t rule out going to a ranch or a spa in the desert.  The scenery doesn’t change every day like it does on a ship, but all the other things you love about cruising are available in some of these resorts.  And it will be warm… (I’m talking to all of you in the Northeast and Great Lakes States).

I’ve said all along that each of you has to decide for yourself when it is most appropriate to start travelling again.  For many people that day is here now, or at least within sight.  In the cold parts of the country, the days are starting to get longer again, but in the absence of the cruise you would normally take at this time of year, do you really want to wait until May to have the sun on your face again?

If there’s one upside to the pandemic, it’s that it has heightened our appreciation for the beauty and diversity of this magnificent country.

Have something to say about this?

Join the conversation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamperedCruiser/posts/2931292190486609

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

Around this time last year, we started hearing about a potentially dangerous virus in Asia that could potentially alter our clients’ travel plans. 

I don’t need to recap for you what happened after that. 

For many of us, it has been more than a year since we’ve been able to travel freely, as we had been accustomed to.

The travel trade is still going through its reckoning as a result of taking a year off, and there are plenty of pundits out there offering people like me advice on how to survive and reinvent ourselves as the situation drags on.

In reality, we’ve spent most of the past year re-booking our clients’ cancelled travel plans.  The downside of this is we only get paid after a client completes their trip (ouch!). 

The upside has been that working with clients on their vacation plans is the truly fun part of this business.  So, when the pundits started telling us that we needed to reach out to Millennials because they were more willing the travel in the past year, we briefly considered the idea… before soundly rejecting it.

Here’s why:

We feel a particular association with our clients. 

It’s true that YOU – our clients – come from all over the country with a wide variety of opinions and world views, but there are a few common threads that join all of you together:

• You mostly fall in the 55 – 75+ year-old age group.  Bob and I are both part of this cohort, so perhaps that’s why we were resistant to dealing with Millennials (although I’m sure many of them are delightful).
• You like to do a lot of your own research, and navigate the internet well in order to do so.  We are often very impressed by the questions we receive.
• Many of you have done independent travel in the past, but now prefer to have many of the frictions of independent travel taken out.  This is what makes you gravitate to cruising and packaged tours.  Sleeping in a train station in Europe provides great stories to tell after the trip, but most of our clients are well past such heroics (and so are we!)
• You have an urgency to travel.  Some people express this is “we need to go while we can”.  If the pandemic has shown us anything, it’s that we really DO need to do the things we want while they are still available. 
• You are not necessarily looking for the cheapest product out there, but you do want to understand that you’re receiving good value.  River cruises (about half our business), and small ship ocean cruises (the next 40%) are not cheap, but they do offer additional value for the additional cost.  The story we often hear is from our clients who end up taking their grandchildren on one of the mega-sized floating amusement parks out of Florida.  While there’s no doubt these cruises are incredibly cheap, our clients can hardly wait to get back on board a river ship or small ocean vessel where they’ll be “treated like a lady” (as Bob likes to say).

So, what’s next?

• You – our clients – are optimistic about returning to travel, but also pragmatic.  In some cases, that will mean waiting a few more months.
• Many of you have European River cruises planned for this summer and fall.  All the indications we have now are that those ships will sail as scheduled. 
• You have also used the pandemic to expand your horizons.  While many of our clients have been avid cruisers for years, many are now also exploring packaged land tour options as well.
• We’re seeing particular interest in rail trips – both in North America, and in Europe.
• Domestic travel continues to drive the “immediate-travel” market.  We get daily phone calls asking what’s available in the next month or two.  Sometimes the answer is a Mississippi river cruise, other times a National Parks Tour, sometimes it’s a week at a Ranch or Spa.  Cruisers are mixing things up!

As bad as it can be here at home, we must never forget that there are many people living less fortunate lives in other countries.

We need to remember that besides being responsible for 1 in 10 jobs in the US, the travel industry does a very effective job of redistributing some level of wealth from rich countries to those still developing economically.  It is vitally important for us to get back out there as soon as it is safe to do so.

Thank you for sticking with us this past year.  We’d love to help you with your next trip whenever you’re ready.

Have something to say about this?

Join the conversation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamperedCruiser/posts/2927751150840713

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’ve missed it, we’ve been shortlisting two trips for each season of this year and inviting our readers to chime in with your comments if you’ve done a similar trip – and maybe even join us if it suits you!

For the Spring, we suggested a Mississippi River Cruise or a small-ship Alaska experience: https://pamperedcruiser.com/spring-2021-alaska-or-mississippi/

The summer will take us to either the Great Lakes or on a luxury rail trip through the Rockies: https://pamperedcruiser.com/this-is-a-tough-decision-maybe-we-should-do-both-trips/

Today we’re considering two international trips for travel this fall, and they couldn’t be more different. 

These two trips are at opposite extremes in just about every dimension.

Christmas Markets Danube River Cruise

There are Christmas markets all over Europe (and the rest of the world), but the real enthusiasts insist the Germans do it better than anyone. 

The Deal:

• AMA Waterways.  7 Nights from Vilshofen (Bavaria, Germany) to Budapest departing December 13, 2021:
  • Standard (window) room:  $2595 per person
  • French Balcony:  $3294 per person
  • Prices include taxes/fees, a $300 on board cabin credit, a shore excursion in each port of call, beer/wine with meals (and during the daily pre-dinner Happy Hour).
  • The prices above represent $1000 per person off regular prices

What we like about this trip:

• Europe is great in the off-season.  It is true that the Christmas Markets have brought more tourists to Europe in winter, but it is still much less crowded than the summer months.
• More than knick-knacks.  The Christmas Markets are much more than an outdoor shopping mall full of stuff you’ll get rid of at your next garage sale.  There is music and art and culture specific to that unique part of Europe.
• The Budapest Christmas market has strict rules about selling only handcrafted items (no mass-manufactured goods allowed!)

Who it appeals to:

• Previous Europe Travelers.  This is a way to see it from a different perspective.
• Shoppers.  Most obviously, there are markets at every port stop.
• Christmas People.  You know who you are – those who unapologetically revel in the wonder of Christmas.

Insider Tip:  

People often come back with way more luggage than they left home with on these trips.  If you’ve got “nesting” luggage, pack your small suitcase inside your large one, and if you need extra room for all your purchases, you can check two bags on the way home.

Alternatives:

• If you are less interested in the markets themselves, but want to experience Europe off-season, go in the first three weeks of November.  It will be a bit cheaper, and even less crowded.
• There is similar pricing on these Christmas market trips:
  • Dec 9:  Basel, Switzerland to Amsterdam
  • Dec 11:  Vienna to Nuremberg

Tahiti

If beach wear is preferable to parkas, then maybe you’ll want to go in the other direction.  Rather than northeast to Europe, how about south and west to French Polynesia?

The Deal:

• 7-night cruise through French Polynesia with Paul Gauguin Cruises, departing November 6, 2021.
• Prices start at $6045 per person including flights from Los Angeles, all transfers, meals, drinks, gratuities, specialty dining and watersports such as kayaking and paddle boarding.  Book by Feb. 15^th and get a $200 per person shipboard credit… and a box of chocolates for your sweetie.

What we like about this trip:

• We’ve all seen the pictures of the bungalows over water and put it on our bucket list.  Now’s the opportunity.
• It’s immersive.  Paul Gauguin brings Polynesia on board.  Some of the most frequent visitors to Tahiti and French Polynesia are residents of Hawaii, who say it reminds them of their home before it became overrun with tourism. 
• This departure is being hosted by our Virtuoso colleague Scott Harvey from the Folie a Deux Winery in the Napa Valley.  Any time wine is involved, it can’t be bad!

Who it appeals to:

• The Romantics – Paul Gauguin is currently running its aptly named “Take your Sweetie to Tahiti” promotion.  It’s not just for honeymooners.
• People who really need to get some sun after a long stretch of being stuck at home.
• Those who love Hawaii but have found it has become a bit too crowded and busy.
• People who might otherwise go to a tropical all-inclusive resort.

Insider Tip:  Tahiti is only 2 hours further by plane than Hawaii.  While other South Pacific Islands are much more difficult and time consuming to get to, it is not unreasonable to do a quick, one-week getaway to Tahiti.

Alternatives:

• The Treasure Islands – One week trip on a Star Clippers sailing vessel that only holds 170 people.  Tahiti’s pretty hard to beat, but the Eastern Caribbean has some incredible white sand beaches and tropical islands.  Pricing in November starts at $2320 per person.
• The Seabourn Odyssey (450 guests) is also in the Eastern Caribbean this coming winter.  It doesn’t have sails, but it does have a drop-down marina right off the ship, like Paul Gauguin.  Round trip from Barbados for one week from $3499 per person.

Will you embrace the winter, Christmas experience, or the tropical, sunny one for your trip this fall?

Have something to say about this?

Join the conversation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamperedCruiser/posts/2921276298154865

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