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.

Have something to say about this?

Join the conversation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamperedCruiser/posts/2969550876660740

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

Officially Tired of the Pandemic? Cruising is BACK

You are officially tired of the pandemic and you’re ready to travel.

Two weeks ago, we conducted a survey of our readers, and they confirmed in detail many of the things we suspected, and we learned a few new things too. We intend to reply individually to all of you that participated, but please be patient with us… the response was overwhelming.

Here’s what you told us:

Over 75% of you intend to travel in 2021. In many cases, you are leaning towards domestic trips this year, although 25% intend to go abroad before the end of the year.
People are generally not worried about their health and safety. This makes sense – with the combination of vaccines, rapid testing, masks and cleaning protocols, travel is likely safer than it has ever been.
The larger concern holding people back is whether an overseas travel experience will be diminished by closed attractions or other restrictions.
For specific travel options, there is a high correlation between WHEN and WHERE:
- Spring Travel: National Parks and City Stays
- Summer Travel: Vacation Rentals and Resort Stays in the USA.
- Fall Travel: Tropical Travel to Hawaii, Mexico, and the Caribbean.
Underscoring all of this is people’s higher tolerance for ambiguity. Many of our clients who have overseas trips booked for this summer fully realize the situation is fluid, and they seem comfortable to wait and see. They are hopeful, but realistically so. Overall, I think this is a healthy frame of mind for travel in the immediate term.

Thank you to all of you that took the time to respond. It really helps us to be able to highlight those travel opportunities most relevant to you. With that in mind, in the next few weeks we’ll highlight trips that match what you’ve told us.

Here are a few ideas to get started:

ALASKA CRUISE:

“WAIT!”, you say. “I thought Alaska was cancelled for 2021?”. In reality, the US and Canadian governments continue to dither on what may or may not happen in Alaska this year. While they fail their citizens in both countries, the cruise lines have largely moved on. The good news is that small American-flagged cruise ships with fewer than 500 people are exempt from all the silliness, so they are carrying on as usual. There isn’t a better year to cruise to Alaska than this one, with the mega-ships absent, and you have the place to yourself. Here’s an example:

American Cruise Lines (ACL)

7-nights, round trip from Juneau (a 2-hour plane ride from Seattle).
Visits Petersburg, Tracy Arm (for Sawyer Glacier), Haines (for the Yukon Railway), Icy Strait Point (for the world’s longest zip-line), and Glacier Bay National Park (for spectacular scenery).
The American Constitution was launched in 2018 and holds 170 guests.
Departures in July and August from $5650 per person.

What we like about this trip: ACL is more like a river cruise line that operates on the ocean. The upgraded small ship environment provides superior food and service options, and this itinerary includes the highlights featured by many of the mega-ships, while also visiting some more out-of-the-way places as well. You’ll get to see more of Alaska on a trip like this, and in 2021 you don’t have to share it with the floating amusement park ships carrying 4000 passengers or more.

Alternatives:

Uncruise Adventures also uses small, US-flagged vessels, so they are exempt from the current regulatory quagmire. Uncruise is more of an expedition offering, and is perfect for those who want to have a more active experience in Alaska. Travelling with teenagers? This is a great option.
We highlighted some Alaska Rail trips a few weeks ago. Here’s the link: https://pamperedcruiser.com/land-cruise-ideas-for-spring-2021/

2. CARIBBEAN

Celebrity Cruises announced this deal a couple of days ago, making it very easy to get back to cruising:

7-nights cruises on the Celebrity Millennium round trip from St. Maarten, starting on June 5, and carrying on through to October. If the CDC keeps playing games with their uninformed action towards the cruise industry, it is possible the Millennium will be doing this itinerary well into the fall.
Balcony rooms from $1599, and Suites from $3399.
Inside and ocean view rooms are not available, because the ship is running at 40% – 50% capacity for this year. This means there will be about 1000 people on a 90,000-ton vessel (talk about social distancing).
Book through me and you’ll get a free bonus: Specialty Dining for Two (Value $90). Book a Suite and you’ll get Specialty Dining for Two AND a $75 shopping credit as well! (If you booked directly with the cruise line please get in touch ASAP so I can get this perk added for you).
Here’s the best part: Celebrity is offering air add-ons for $500 for round-trip economy air. That is from east coast gateways, but you can also fly from LA from $800. Other gateways are between these two price points.
The Celebrity fare includes all beverages, pre-paid gratuities, and wifi on the ship.
The Millennium has undergone a massive $40 million refurbishment in the past few months. The ship is brand new, and you’ll be the first to be on her.
Here’s the fine print:
- Proof of vaccination will be required.
- A PCR test within 3 days of departure is required to get into St. Maarten.
- For the first cruises back, shore activities will be restricted to sanctioned shore excursions. This will be lifted as restrictions ease, but we don’t know exactly when.

What we like about this trip: The ship is brand new, and even if the shore activities are limited, the ship itself is a destination. Also, the low-cost flight add-on provides price certainty and minimizes the hassle of finding your own flights.

3. REMINDERS OF OTHER NEAR-TERM TRAVEL OPPORTUNITIES

Mississippi and Columbia River Cruises. American Queen Steamboat Company has been operating since mid-March, and by all accounts it is going extremely well: https://pamperedcruiser.com/spring-2021-alaska-or-mississippi/
Rocky Mountaineer Rail Packages between Denver and Las Vegas or Salt Lake City: https://youtu.be/7D2vFBWA500
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts: https://pamperedcruiser.com/were-learning-new-travel-tricks-for-you/

You told us you were committed to travelling, so we’re ready to help you nail down your plans. Hopefully some of the above gives you some ideas.