Do you remember the old adage about NOT wearing white after Labor Day?  I don’t think people pay too much attention to that anymore, but there’s no doubt that Labor Day is second probably only to New Year’s Day for marking transitions. 

For those of us in the northern half of the country, Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer, even though there are a few weeks left of it on the calendar; the kids go back to school, and we start making plans for the fall and beyond.

What does this mean in the world of cruise?

Normally September is amongst the busiest months for cruise bookings, but we weren’t sure what to expect this year with the effects of the pandemic still very much influencing people’s travel plans.

It turns out that people are booking cruises, but rather than booking 2 or 3 months in advance, they are booking six, twelve or more months out. 

Many of the river cruise, and small ship ocean lines are reporting to be more sold-out for 2021 when compared to this time last year.  There is some logic to this – many people who had their cruises cancelled in 2020, simply moved their plans ahead a year.  When you combine this with people’s need to have something to look forward to, it’s not a big surprise that some travel providers are seeing increased demand.

Over the course of the next few weeks, we’ll let you know about different offers we’re seeing out there, if you’re one of those who are itching to make plans for your next adventure.

This month (September 2020), our agency is the “Partner of the Month” for Oceania Cruises.  What this means is that on just about all their scheduled cruises in 2021 and beyond, we can get you FREE gratuities when you book a veranda cabin or higher category.  Normally you would be charged between $16 and $23 per passenger (per day) for gratuities, so this exclusive perk could be worth several hundred dollars depending on the length of your cruise.

Oceania has 6 ships that travel to 6 continents, so there are hundreds of itineraries, but here are a few examples.

Alaska – Departing June 21, 2021 from Vancouver for 11 nights

Why we like this cruise:

• Starting at $2399 per person
• The Oceania Regatta holds only 680 guests
• You start in Vancouver, and finish in Seattle, that enables you to visit both these spectacular cities.  Most of the time you have choose one or the other.
• In addition to the standard Alaska ports of Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan, you get to visit some less travelled places like Wrangell, Sitka, and Victoria.

Amazon River – Departing Nov 27, 2021 round trip from Miami for 24 nights

Why we like this cruise:

• Starting at $4699 per person
• The Oceania Insignia also only carries 680 guests
• You start and finish in Miami, removing the need for international flights, while visiting some of the more remote ports in South America.
• You will visit some of the Eastern Caribbean’s best beaches on its way down
• You spend 6 days in the Amazon, including an overnight stop in Manaus

Mediterranean – Departing May 18, 2021 from Istanbul for 15 nights

Why we like this cruise:

• Starting at $3649 per person
• This cruise is also on the Insignia, so you’ll only have to share with 680 others.
• There are overnight stops in Istanbul and Venice – giving you a chance to really explore these ports.
• You will visit standard ports in Greece (Mykonos and Athens) and Croatia.
• You also visit less frequented ports like Kavala (Greece), Sicily, Sorrento and St. Tropez.

We like Oceania because it’s a smaller ship experience, and their pricing structure enables you to choose whether you want a more inclusive package, or just take “cruise-only”.  They are also known as “the cruise line for foodies” for those who enjoy an upgraded dining experience.

We can see reasonable availability on the examples above, but some cabin categories are already sold out. 

Even if none of these particular cruises work for you, we can get still you free gratuities on almost any other Oceania cruise booked before the end of September (Veranda or higher category). 

If you recently booked an Oceania cruise directly with the cruise line, please get in touch as soon as possible so we can try to add the pre-paid gratuities added to your existing reservation. Important note: free gratuities cannot be added to reservations booked under Oceania’s recent Labor Day Sale.

Have something to say about this?

Join the conversation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamperedCruiser/posts/2801264336822729

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’re like other avid cruisers, there is plenty that attracts you to cruising as a mode of travel:

• The inclusive nature of cruising, and value it represents compared to travelling independently.
• The consistency of your favorite cruise brand in terms of the quality of food, service, and amenities compared with the consistency amongst hotels and resorts.
• Getting to see multiple destinations in a single trip.
• Having someone else manage logistics and details to the point where all you really have to do is get to your departure airport on your own (and some of the cruise lines will even pick you up at your house!)

This is fantastic, but what if you want to visit a place that not near the ocean or a major river?

We introduced the idea of “Land Cruises” a couple of months ago, as we found our clients shifting their focus more from international trips to domestic ones.  Essentially, what we have termed “Land Cruise” is a vacation package that is NOT on a ship but has many of the same advantages that draw people to cruising.

Bob and I have done a number of such trips and have had really positive experiences – and this is from two people who always resisted the idea of packaged tours.  Once we learned there were small group (8 – 15 people) options, that use local guides and local transport, it seemed much more appealing than being on a motor coach with 50 other tourists with minimal exposure to the local people and culture. 

The last trip we did (in Central America) was with G Adventures.  They illustrate well the upside of this type of travel, and they are doing some interesting things right now to deal with the pandemic.

“Book Your Bubble”

While G Adventures has always offered small-group travel, they are now offering extended families, or a group of 2 or 3 families that are comfortable in the same bubble the opportunity to travel together.  This gives you comfort of travelling with a group of people you know, but with the expertise and experience of a local guide that will help you get immersed with the local people and culture.

National Geographic Journeys

G Adventures has partnered with National Geographic for some of their trips to maximize the experience for those seeking insider access to some of the world’s most iconic sites. 

The Ripple Score

Have you ever wondered when travelling abroad, how much of your money actually stays in that community, as opposed to being sucked up by some big, foreign, multi-national conglomerate?  G Adventures rates its trips based on how much of your money supports local people and local businesses. 

Here are a few examples of their trips, and if you want to check out their website, here’s the address:  https://www.gadventures.com

Domestic Trips:

• Alaska:  Kenai & Denali.  10 days from $3899 per person.
• California:  Yosemite NP, King’s Canyon NP, Sequoia NP, Death Valley NP.  9 days $3099
• Canadian Rockies:  12-days $4199

International Trips:

• Costa Rica:  14 days from $2399
• Morocco:  9-days from $1899
• South Africa:  10-days from $3399
• Croatia & Montenegro:  12-days $3249

After we travelled with G Adventures, I equated it to travelling with a hyper-organized friend who has done the route before.  Your local guide (called the Chief Experience Officer) handles all the details and logistics of getting you around, and you’ll be travelling with fewer people than would normally accompany you on a shore excursion when you take a cruise.

Land Cruises are not for everyone, but if you wanted to try something a little different in a part of the world difficult to access by ship, this is worth considering

Have something to say about this?

Join the conversation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamperedCruiser/posts/2777750459174117

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

In a normal year, I would have slept through most of this weekend, after flying home from Las Vegas on Friday night as Virtuoso Travel Week normally wraps up.  This year, I only had to walk from my office to the living room, so the journey wasn’t quite as exhausting.

There is no doubt that attending this event, and connecting with all our contacts via video-conferencing was not as good as being there in person, but we all really did try to make the best of the situation, and I do feel that I learned as much as I have in other years, definitely making it a worthwhile effort.

I thought some of the trends being discussed at Virtuoso Travel Week might be of interest to our readers, so here’s summary of a week’s worth of meetings:

When can we travel again?

• There are lots of opinions on this, and only those possessing a time-machine know for sure, but consensus is that travel will start to ramp back up later this year, and through the first half of next year. 
• Vaccines are at the center of a recovery, and it is hoped they will be available by the end of the year.  The other pillars of a return to normalcy are rapid (and accurate) testing, treatment options and contact tracing.  These tools to combat the virus may be available before a proven vaccine. 
• Gloria Guevera, the President of the WTTC (World Travel & Tourism Council) addressed us and spoke optimistically about the things we can learn from those countries that have had the best outcomes to date in managing covid. 

Where are People Most Interested in Going Next?

• There are some interesting data points here that I am still digesting.  As you would expect, people are planning domestic travel, but the top-five destinations are not quite the same as they were pre-covid.  They are: California, Hawaii, Alaska, Washington and Montana.  Nobody could tell me why, but I’m guessing there is a strong focus on National Parks that is driving this.
• For cruising, there is a parallel trend:  Alaska and Canada/New England are selling very briskly for 2021 right now.  We are also seeing strong interest in the Rocky Mountaineer Luxury Train Trip (also in Canada).
• Internationally, there are also some new trends.  South Africa has overtaken Italy as the place most people are booking to.  Italy fell to second place followed by Australia, France, and Japan. 
• For cruising, we are seeing European River Cruises continuing to be very popular for next year, as well as Egypt (Nile River) and Southern Africa (Zambezi River).

How will it be different?

• Even if we get a vaccine, and other countermeasures in place in short order, it will still take some time to get them fully deployed, so we can count on some differences in the way we travel.  Some changes may remain permanent.  For example…
• Muster Drills:  For the cruise ships that have returned to service in Europe, they are doing the safety chat on TV, and then asking people to report to their muster stations within a specific time period.  This practice may outlive the pandemic.
• Cruise sales overall are down 6% for 2021 over where they would normally be this many months in advance.  However, small-ship ocean cruises, and river cruises are MORE fully booked out than they would normally be for 2021.  Part of this is undoubtedly due to rebooking of 2020 cancelled cruises, but there is another trend at work here too.  It seems that people aren’t all the worried about catching covid.  Their fear is getting stuck on a ship somewhere with no way to get ashore to get home.  This doesn’t happen on river ships and is much less likely on a small ocean vessel.
• Masks will be part of our reality when we fly for some time yet.
• Buffets on board ships are not available now, and there is some question as to whether they’ll return or not.  Buffets are not really consistent with a luxury experience, so while they may eventually return to the mega-ships, it is an open question as to whether river ships and small ocean vessels will return to buffets once all this nonsense is over.
• Reduced capacity on both ships and in hotels until further notice.
• Bubble-Travel.  This is a trend we’re seeing amongst land-tour operators.  Extended families or groups of two or three families are getting their very own group when doing land tours.  These groups are normally 8 – 12 people, and some land tour operators are making this a very attractive way to get out there again while minimizing the risk.  I’ll write more about this next week.

Finally, Gloria Guevara (President, WTTC) reinforced for us the importance of the tourism industry both in the United States and abroad.  Travel and tourism is responsible for about 1 in 10 jobs globally, so the spin-off effects of having shut the industry down are devastating.  Some governments around the world have recognized this fact, and attempted to put mitigating factors in place, but there is no doubt there are a lot of people hurting both at home and in those countries we like to visit. 

Over-tourism (a very real problem) has given way to under-tourism this year, as the whole industry has simply ground to a halt.  Hopefully, as we emerge from the pandemic we can return to travel in a thoughtful and sustainable way.

For me… I’m looking forward to being back in Vegas in person next August to take in Virtuoso Travel Week 2021 (and the floral scents of the Bellagio!)

Have something to say about this?

Join the conversation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamperedCruiser/posts/2771749366440893

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

Under normal circumstances, Las Vegas is probably the last place on earth I would volunteer to be in August.  For those of us who live in the Northern half of the country, summer is the time we strive to be outdoors before the days get short again, and the rain and snow begins.

But every year in the second week of August in Las Vegas, there’s an event compelling enough to get me to the desert (“… but it’s a dry heat!!”).  Virtuoso Travel Week is to luxury travel what Paris Fashion Week is to the haute-couture apparel industry.  Bob and I get to renew our relationships with the powers-that-be at the cruise lines and other travel providers, as well as learn what’s new in the world of luxury leisure travel.

To clear up any misconceptions, we are NOT planning to fly to Vegas and check into the Bellagio with our facemasks and haz-mat suits this year! Virtuoso made the decision a couple of months ago to host the 2020 Travel Week as a virtual event.  I am not under any illusions here – it won’t be near as much fun attending this from our home office as it would to be together with our peers and suppliers sharing laughs in the hallways.

The good news is that my feet won’t be near as swollen this year (a by-product of any trade show), and I have a high level of confidence that there will still be tons of learning opportunities.

The big two questions that everyone wants answers to are:

1. When will be able to travel abroad again, like we used to do?
2. What are the new travel protocols, and precautions going to look like?

Frankly, those are NOT the questions I am looking for answers to.  Here’s why:

1. Anyone who says they know when life will return to normal is a charlatan or delusional. 
2. Each travel provider, whether it be a hotel, air carrier or cruise line has extensive literature and videos on their website for what they are doing to manage covid for however long this is part of our reality.

Instead, I’ll be coming with a different group of questions. 

I want to know about new destinations, properties, or products that might interest our clients.  I want to know what trends are emerging in the industry, and how the pandemic might have changed how and where people will travel.  Next year is already more booked up than any year has been previously at this point, so where is the pent-up demand going to show itself?

In the short term, domestic travel will likely rule the roost.  What domestic products are out there that I might not be as familiar with that our clients (with their new expectations) might be interested in?

There are about 1500 leisure travel suppliers at this virtual event.  Essentially every cruise line and tour operator that you’ve heard of is attending.  There are also a whole bunch you haven’t heard of.  So – what do you want to know?  

• What destinations would you consider travelling to in the next six months?
• What type of experiences would you consider at this time?
• With the shorter-term focus on domestic travel, which destinations in the Lower 48 are of the most interest to you?
• Are there any other questions we can ask on your behalf of the leaders of these travel vendors?

Please reply with your thoughts about these questions on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamperedCruiser/posts/2765581517057678

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

Back in March when the travel industry first started reacting to the pandemic (seems like a decade ago), we came up with the idea of “Virtual River Cruise”.  In between cancelling our clients’ vacation plans, we started to script out some (contrived) conversations between the two of us at our dining room table discussing a specific port of call, as though we were at that place.  We even went as far as to select specific wines from Budapest and Bratislava – our first virtual stops.

We never published these videos for two reasons:

1. It was a lot of work to get them produced, and the bulk of our day was consumed by cancelling and rebooking our clients.  You’ll be pleased to know that the wine didn’t go to waste, however.
2. We weren’t the only ones with this idea, and the cruise lines themselves had immense marketing and media departments with people who were now looking for things to do.

In reality, the videos we produce (or in this case didn’t produce), are not of the same quality you get from the cruise lines.  In some cases, the videos we take with our iPhones when we travel are better – you get to see exactly what we see, and there is no airbrushing, professional models or extensive editing. 

There is no doubt, however, that the cruise lines’ professionally produced videos are much more slick, and some of them have done a fantastic job of “Virtual Travel” to tide us over until we are able to participate in the authentic experience once again.

So, if you are so inclined over the heat of the summer to take a virtual vacation to various places or on certain cruise lines, here are some suggestions:

The Pampered Cruiser:  https://www.youtube.com/thepamperedcruiser

Yep… this is our channel, and this is a shameless plug.  See the caveats above for what you can expect there.  YouTube is not the most intuitive browsing experience, so click on the “Videos” or “Playlists” button if you are looking for something specific.  If Bob and I are anonymous to you, we actually “star” in some of the videos here if you ever wondered what we actually look and sound like.

American Queen Steamboat Company:  https://www.youtube.com/user/AQSCVideo/playlists

Most of us are probably closer to travelling domestically than internationally at this point, so this might be a good place to look.  Click on the playlist for American Queen to get a good feel for what a Mississippi Cruise is like.  One of my best discoveries during this period has been the Columbia/Snake River Cruises on the American Empress.  The scenery and natural beauty in that part of the country rivals Alaska (and unlike Alaska/British Columbia there are cruises on the Columbia this fall).  Both Mississippi and Columbia River cruises are starting up in the next couple of weeks.

Paul Gauguin Cruises:  https://www.youtube.com/user/pgcruises/videos

This channel could be more flashy, but they have a number of short videos if you’d like to see what Tahiti is like on a small ship.  I included this because French Polynesia is currently open to US passport holders, and (little known fact) Tahiti is only 2 hours further on a plane than Hawaii is, but with a fraction as many people.

Seabourn:  https://www.youtube.com/c/theyachtsofseabourn/videos

Seabourn has lots of videos on their ships and experiences, and also on destinations.  They’ve also been adding videos since they suspended operations in the spring called “Bringing Extraordinary Home”.  A couple of weeks ago, we wrote about some deals we’re seeing on Seabourn, and they’ve recently extended those deals to the end of August.  Here’s a link if you missed that post:  https://pamperedcruiser.com/combine-cruise-deals-for-the-best-value/

Viking:  https://viking.tv/index/story/weekly-schedule

If you’re on Viking’s mailing list, then you already know they are a marketing machine without rival.  Since they suspended sailing in the spring, they have been putting a ton of energy into their videos that include the normal promos for their ships and destinations but also many other enrichment topics that you would normally experience on their cruises.  For example, they have “Museum Mondays”, and “Guest Speaker Thursdays”.  If the content is of interest to you, then this is a great place for a virtual vacation.

AMA Waterways:  https://www.youtube.com/c/amawaterways/videos

AMA has several short videos on their site that feature the people that work there showing you around their ships and destinations.  AMA differentiates itself as a “family company” and its people, and that comes through strongly on their channel.

Rocky Mountaineer:  https://www.youtube.com/c/rmountaineertrain/videos

If you haven’t heard of this train journey, you might want to check out their YouTube channel.  We quite often add this on to Alaskan Cruises for our clients, because it is quickly becoming one of the world’s “must-do” train trips.  It is a luxury trip over the continental divide through the Canadian Rockies, and features some of the most stunning scenery in the world.

People are beginning to travel again, but for many of us a virtual vacation might be the best we can do for a while.  So have some fun with this – pick a destination or a cruise line, pour a glass of wine (or your preferred choice of beverage), and explore your next destination virtually.

It’s certainly not as good as travelling in person, but also way better than watching the news.

Have something to say about this?

Join the conversation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamperedCruiser/posts/2756819494600547

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