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

Visit Floriade Expo 2022

I’m yearning to be in Mexico right now. I guess it’s Easter that’s making me feel this way.

Many years ago, we started spending chunks of the spring months in Mexico. Some years it was only for a few weeks, and other years we were there much longer – our son did most of the first grade at a small school in Puerto Vallarta. One of my most cherished pictures is his class photo that year – twenty-two beautiful dark-haired and dark-eyed children, and one ridiculously blonde and blue-eyed gringo. They called him “Bola de Nieve” – yep, there is a Spanish word for “Snowball”.

We’ve learned a great deal from our Mexican friends and neighbors. Easter (Semana Santa, or Holy Week) is one of the biggest celebrations of the year in Mexico. Every year we would attend the parade where they recreate the last days of Jesus Christ (complete with a simulated crucifixion), and after the parade we would visit the Catholic Church with the local community.

The fact that we were not Catholic was of no concern to our Mexican friends – we were welcome as part of their community – even if we did look different and struggled to make ourselves understood in Spanish.

Amazingly, we’ve now missed two Mexican Easters in a row due to the pandemic, after having spent the previous dozen Semana Santas amongst these generous and accommodating neighbors.

It is being attached to our communities (both in Mexico AND at home) that I am missing most about the fight against covid-19. If you saw the news today, you’ll know the CDC adjusted its advice for travel for those fully vaccinated.

Thank goodness, the end is in sight. We’re almost there.

On to today’s travel news:

Floriade Expo 2022 with Ama Waterways

Much like Oberammergau, this is an event that takes place once every 10 years – although where the Passion Play at Oberammergau attracts about half a million visitors, the Floriade gets four times that many. This is a big deal – particularly if you’re into gardening and horticulture.

Never heard of it?

Floriade is an international horticultural Expo that will run six months, from April 14 to October 9 of 2022. The last one was in 2012. It takes place in the Netherlands – in Amsterdam and Almere. People from all over the world flock to Holland to see the tulips, and next year there’ll be even more to see.

If you’re a gardening or sustainable living enthusiast, there will be lots to hold your attention. In a way it’s like the Christmas markets, with food stalls, souvenir shopping and live entertainment, but with gardens and horticultural exhibits. There are pavilions that focus on green food, green energy and healthy food. They investigate urban sustainability, renewable energy, green architecture, and how we will build our cities in the future.

Many of our river cruise partners have put packages together that include time at Floriade 2022. Here’s an example from AMA Waterways:

“Tulip Time” 7 nights round trip Amsterdam starting April 24^th, 2022 – This coincides beautifully with peak tulip season in Holland (mid-April to early May). You’ll visit Floriade as part of an included shore excursion. French Balcony is $4298 per person. A 2-night pre-cruise extension in Amsterdam is available as an optional add-on.
Thats just one example. Here is the full list of Ama river cruise itineraries that include Floriade when you travel between April 14 and October 9, 2022:
If you’re interested in Ama Waterways but not necessarily Floriade, please get in touch as we have groups on the following departure dates and a limited number of staterooms with advantageous pricing ($250 per person lower than published rates):
- Tulip Time April 5, 2022 on the AmaCerto
- Magna on the Danube July 10, 2022 (named one of TIME Magazine’s World’s Greatest Places – and it’s a SHIP!)
- Melodies of the Danube October 21, 2022 on the AmaViola
- Essence of Burgundy & Provence July 28, 2022 on the AmaCello (wine-themed cruise)

The loss of the 2020 river cruise season, as well as at least part of 2021, means that 2022 is in high demand. Oberammergau is driving increased demand on Danube River cruises, and Floriade will undoubtedly have the same impact on Rhine River packages.

Book any Ama Waterways Cruise through us by April 15^th, 2021 and we’ll add a minimum $100 onboard credit to your reservation.

Greek Islands Cruise

Last week we told you that Celebrity Cruises is resuming operations in the Caribbean in June. Here’s a link if you missed it: https://pamperedcruiser.com/officially-tired-of-the-pandemic-cruising-is-back/

Celebrity is also back in service in Europe (with Americans on board) starting in June. The Celebrity Apex is brand new and would have made her inaugural voyage sometime this past year if not for the pandemic. She is the sister ship to the innovative Celebrity Edge. Apex will home port in Athens, Greece through to the end of September, with mostly 7-night round trip itineraries. Most of the itineraries visit the Greek Islands and Cyprus, and a number of itineraries visit Israel.

Apex will be running at half capacity at first, and proof of vaccination and a negative PCR test will be required to board. As always, the Celebrity fare includes all Beverages, Gratuities, and Wifi on the ship.

Fares start at $2299 per person for a balcony room (Inside and Oceanview cabins are NOT available for these cruises due to reduced capacity). We’ll add a minimum of $90 onboard credit to your reservation.

American Cruise Lines

Finally, we’ve had a TON of response to our post on American Cruise Lines (ACL) in Alaska for 2021. In case you missed it last week, here’s the link: https://pamperedcruiser.com/officially-tired-of-the-pandemic-cruising-is-back/

ACL operates small American flagged vessels, so they are not caught up in all the nonsense affecting larger ships. Much of their fleet is river ships, and their ocean ships (even those in Alaska) are more like river ships than those big ocean ships. They have some really innovate itineraries too – particularly in the Northeast (Hudson River, New England States).

Hopefully that give you some ideas for trips both at home and abroad, as we slowly crawl our way back to a new normal.

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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