Later this month, my husband Bob and I will be boarding Uniworld’s Joie de Vivre for a one week river cruise, round trip from Paris to Normandy. 

We don’t deny that this is a very fun part of our job, but we will be working just the same. 

We’re going to try to post daily videos about our journey, and try to give some raw insight into both the cruise line and the itinerary.

With that introduction, I’d like to invite questions from any of you who are considering a Paris to Normandy Cruise and/or those who are contemplating travelling with Uniworld. 

When we travel like this, it’s a risk that we look at things from the perspective of industry insiders, rather than how our clients might perceive things.

So we’d appreciate your feedback and questions ahead of time, to make sure we’re noticing the things that are most interesting to YOU, our valued clients.

Here’s a bit of info about the trip:

About Uniworld and the Joie de Vivre

Uniworld bills itself as the only Boutique River Cruise line.  Their ships are designed to reflect a high end boutique hotel experience.  Each ship is completely different.  Uniworld also differentiates on service, with highest staff to guest ratio in the river cruise industry.  The Joie de Vivre is one of Uniworld’s newest river ships – launched in 2017 – and holds 128 passengers.

About the Itinerary

When I first learned about river cruising, I was surprised that trips were offered on the Seine River between Paris and Normandy.  Not because it’s not a spectacular part of France to explore, but because it’s really not very far between those two places.  I remember exploring Europe as a backpacker, and was able to travel between the French Coast and Paris in just a couple of hours.

As it turns out, my memory hadn’t failed me.  If you drive between Paris and Normandy it is only 160 kilometers, or just under 100 miles.  So if you ever doubted that river cruises are about the destination itself more than the onboard experience, this should illustrate the point.

After we leave Paris, here’s where we’ll go:

• La-Roche-Guyon – Vernon Giverny:  This is where Claude Monet is from, and his home and museum are a big attraction here.
• Rouen:  This is the Capital of the Province of Normandy.  It is also where Joan of Arc met her end, as well as many Allied soldiers in World War II.
• Cauldebec-en-Caux:  This is a former commune, now a stop to visit the Abbey and the museum.
• Mantes la-Jolie and Versailles:  The 12^th Century Notre Dame, and the Palace of Versailles are also visited on this cruise.

Besides Uniworld, most of the other major river cruise lines also do this routing with similar itineraries.

If a Paris to Normandy river cruise AND/OR a Uniworld cruise is on your bucket list, then what information can we dig up for you while we’re there?

We’ll do our best to answer all your questions.

It’s easy to participate! Just leave a comment here: https://web.facebook.com/PamperedCruiser/posts/2330472760568558

Planning a Cruise?  I’d love to help!  Click here to get in touch today.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sue Bradley

Being on board a cruise ship for months at a time is NOT something that appeals to everyone. 

However, most who do it come back raving fans of these extended voyages. 

After you’ve done one or two world cruises, what could possibly be next on your bucket list?

SilverSea has one potential answer:  An Expedition style World Cruise.

There is no doubt that expedition cruising is growing much faster than the rest of the cruise industry.  As people get weary of visiting the Caribbean ports of call over and over, they begin looking for more interesting places to explore.  What used to be a very niche offering, is now a whole subset of the cruise industry.

So it was probably only a matter of time before someone came out with the extended version of the expedition cruise.

The Silver Cloud will be departing Ushuaia (at the southern tip of South America) on January 30, 2021 for the first Expedition World Cruise in history. 

She will do several days in Antarctica before heading to more moderate latitudes.  Guests on board will visit the Chilean fjords, followed by some zig-zagging through the South Pacific to places like Easter Island, Tahiti, Fiji and Tonga, before making a port stop in Cairns, Australia.

One doesn’t normally associate Australia with expedition cruising, but Cairns is the perfect port to explore the Great Barrier Reef, which fits perfectly into an expedition cruise.  From Australia, the Cloud will head up to South Asia before moving eastward through the Indian Ocean to Sri Lanka and India. 

The next leg of this cruise is decidedly less “expedition”.  During the month of June, the Cloud will sail up the Red Sea, and into the Mediterranean briefly, on her way to Iceland.  After six port stops in Iceland, the Cloud will head further north into the Arctic Circle to Svalbard before sailing south again to finish in Tromso, Norway on July 16, 2021.

Here’s the summary:  167 days, 107 ports of call, 30 countries, and to the best of my knowledge the only cruise ever to have included both the Arctic and Antarctic circles. 

“How much?” is probably the next question.  We’ll have to wait until March to find out.  

Looking at how SilverSea prices its other expedition cruises, I would expect pricing for this journey to start at around $100k per person.  Knowing SilverSea, this will be a highly inclusive price. 

So, if you’re looking for a bucket list trip that has really never been done before, OR if you’re thinking that a segment of this trip might be worth taking, then take a look at the Silver Cloud. 

In either case you will have earned pretty cool bragging rights.

Click here to learn more about the first-ever Expedition World Cruise: https://www.silversea.com/destinations/world-cruise/world-cruise-2021-expedition.html

Planning a Cruise?  I’d love to help!  Click here to get in touch today.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sue Bradley

One of the great things about being alive in this century is our seemingly endless opportunities to travel and explore the world. 

The flip side of this blessing is to overlook or discount what is in our own backyard.

The stretch of the country in Oregon and Washington falls into this “overlooked” category.  No one disputes the beauty and attraction of San Francisco, Seattle or Vancouver.  However, what occurs between those cities is often underestimated.

Portland, Oregon is a great example of this.  Years ago, I remember driving from Southern California all the way to Vancouver, and was awed by the scenery and attractions along that route.   At that time, though, I considered Portland to be little more than a gas station stop. 

No longer – Portland is “ground zero” for craft breweries in the United States, and has a funk factor that rivals better known West Coast cities. 

It is also at the mouth of the Columbia River – perhaps the most overlooked place in North America for cruise experiences. 

The geography and scenery in Washington and Oregon rivals that in Alaska.  You won’t find calving glaciers, but you will find waterfalls, impressive rainforests, volcanoes, and wildlife.

While the Alaska cruise run attracts over 2 million visitors a year, the Columbia River attracts only a small fraction of that. 

So what do you do on a Columbia River Cruise?

First – you spend a few days in Portland – it seems no one has ever been there, so you’ll have instant bragging rights.  You should also check out the Oregon Coast – one of the best-kept secrets in the entire country – miles of beautiful beach and sand dunes. 

Once you board your ship, there are a wide variety of activities:

• Enrichment lectures on the Lewis & Clark expedition that initially explored this area.
• Wine – believe it or not, Washington State produces some incredible, world-class wines.  The long summer days at high latitude work really well for some varietals of grapes.
• Educational opportunities to learn about the rich indigenous culture of the area.  The totem poles, long houses, and cultural artefacts normally associated with Alaska and British Columbia are also on display in Washington and Oregon.
• Water sports – for those more active, there are river rafting and kayaking opportunities on the Snake and Columbia rivers.  Many sections of the river are quite remote, so it’s a unique nature experience.
• Jet boating – if it’s more fun NOT to paddle

The other obvious advantage to the Pacific Northwest is the travel logistics – flight times are relatively short to get there, and you don’t have to check if your passport is up to date. 

There are two types of cruise on the Columbia/Snake rivers: 

1. River Cruises – American Cruise Lines and American Queen Steamboat Company both have ships here.
2. Expedition Cruises – UnCruise Adventures has ships here in the summer and fall months as well.

Washington and Oregon are great trips on their own.  Or, if you wanted to extend your Alaskan cruise, it’s very easy to get from Seattle/Vancouver to Portland or Spokane, Washington where these cruises start and finish.

Don’t overlook your own backyard!

Planning a Cruise?  I’d love to help!  Click here to get in touch today.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sue Bradley

Marketing is a bit of a dark art. 

The idea is a noble one – try to get people interested in whatever product you’re selling by talking up the benefits.

Somewhere along the line some marketing professionals decided to try to use “the new math” to market their wares.  So how does this apply to the cruise lines?

Some of the mass-market cruise lines are quite blatant about bumping up their prices the same day they advertise a 50% off sale.  That’s not really chatting up the benefits of your product as much as it trying to baffle people with the math.

In reality, there are cruise deals worth watching for.  The struggle we have is when someone contacts us, and thinks they are actually getting a 2 for 1 deal.  Sorry – those deals don’t exist… or I should say that no one ever pays full price, so the 2 for 1 does exist.  It just exists in perpetuity.

So how can you make sure you’re getting the best price?

Here are a few things you can do or avoid to make sure you’re getting the best bang for your buck:

1. If you want to take a cruise at peak season – you’re going to pay peak price.  This probably seems obvious, but if you want to go to the Caribbean in March, or Alaska in July, you should be prepared to pay whatever the posted rate is – because the cruise lines don’t have any trouble filling their ships at those times
2. Conversely – consider shoulder season.  We really like Europe in April and October, for example.  You don’t go to Europe to bask in the sun, so why not go when there are fewer people there?  Alaska is worth considering in late April or May for the same reason.  The Caribbean is cheaper in August/September, but it is hurricane season so be prepared.  The Panama Canal often has great deals when they are relocating the ships in spring and fall.
3. Look at the entire package.  People often become far too fixated on the fare, when they need to also look at the included amenities.  Some of those amenities like free gratuities, or on board credits are really easy to value.  Beverage packages, free specialty dining, spa treatments or other goodies are worth as much as YOU would be willing to pay for them.  Different people will assign different values to these things, so figure out what it’s worth to you. 
4. See where the cruise lines are adding capacity.  Any consumer driven business is subject to the laws of supply and demand, and cruising is no different.  There are literally thousands of new rooms coming onto the market every year.  Part of this growth will be consumed by the increasing number of people choosing to make cruise ships their format of choice for vacation, but in other cases there will be some extra capacity in the system.  In 2019, we see some extra rooms in Alaska – there are four new ships there this coming year (two of them over 3500 passengers), so that will put some downward pressure on prices – particularly in the spring and fall.

The moral of the story is that it is always good to look at the sales, but rarely do we see substantial discounts in the cruise market – particularly in mass-market cruise lines where things are already very competitively priced compared to other vacation options.

Planning a Cruise?  I’d love to help!  Click here to get in touch today.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sue Bradley

Bob Wiley (in the movie “What About Bob?”) was so apprehensive about being on the water, they had to tie him to the mast.  Hopefully, you have no such aversion – otherwise you might want to stop reading now.

Star Clippers is a cruise line that you may not have heard about, but might be of interest to you, especially if you’ve already “been there, done that” in the Caribbean.

They have 3 ships – all true clipper ships, which give you an authentic tall ship experience.

Step aboard these unique vessels and discover a new age of sail, where the traditions of the past are happily married to the comforts and amenities of the present day.  These are modern cruise ships in every way, created for luxury-loving passengers who also love the traditions and romance of the legendary era of sailing ships. 

Each ship is about 5000 tons (compared to 30,000 tons for a small cruise ship ship, and 230,000 tons for the biggest cruise ship).  They hold between 170 and 225 people, and the best part is they will take you to unique places the other cruise lines simply don’t go. 

Star Clippers sail in the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, and Southeast Asia.  I’ve recently been dealing with a client who has been to the Caribbean well over a dozen times, and has been to all the standard ports of call.  He simply asked, “is there anything new or different?”.  He doesn’t have time to fly across one of the oceans for a cruise, but really wanted a unique vacation.

Star Clippers fit the bill for him, and it might be worth considering for you as well.

Star Clippers is a very casual offering – you will spend most of your cruise barefoot and in shorts.  They put a strong emphasis on the food, but there is no doubt that the focus of these cruises is on the tiny coves and villages that you just can’t get to on the bigger ships.

Some people have enquired with us before about the idea of chartering a sailboat in the Caribbean, but are usually turned off by the price, or the fact they will have to share a marine toilet with 12 other guests.

I’m happy to report that all of Star Clippers staterooms have private toilets.  I’m equally pleased to report that the cost to get on board the Clipper Fleet is in line with what we see on many other cruise lines. 

Here are a couple of examples:

7-nights: Round trip from Philipsburg in St Maarten in February/March 2019:  Cabins range between $1400 – $3300 per person.

If you’re looking for something a bit longer:

14-nights: Panama Canal starting in Barbados, finishing in Panama City in the fall of 2019.  Cabins range between $4000 – $7800 per person.

There are no Broadway shows (local entertainers are brought on from shore), and you won’t find a casino anywhere on a Star Clippers ship – so if those are required features for your cruise, we would be happy to recommend an alternative.

Right now, Star Clippers has some really great booking incentives:

• $200 Onboard Credit per Cabin and Pre-Paid Gratuities Per Person
• OR a Complimentary 1 Category Upgrade (Categories 2-6 only) and Pre-Paid Gratuities Per Person
  
• OR a Complimentary Massage Per Cabin (Double or Single Occupancy) and a Bottle of Champagne and Sweet Treats in Your Cabin

This special offer applies to all 3 ships, all destinations, and all dates!  You must book by Jan. 31st. to receive these perks.

Who knows… maybe you’ll even meet Bob Wiley – up on deck – strapped to the mast.

Planning a Cruise?  I’d love to help!  Click here to get in touch today.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sue Bradley