I often hear from solo cruisers who feel a bit ‘put off’’ by having to pay such a high price for their cruise fare compared to people who travel together as a couple.

Yes, solo cruisers normally pay a 100% ‘single supplement’.

They pay double the base, per-person cruise fare (but the tax is only charged once). As a result, the price for a solo cruiser is almost double what a couple would pay on a per-cabin basis.

I can see it both ways.

From the cruise line’s point of view, a solo cruiser is taking up two beds, which could have been sold separately.

But solo cruisers point out that they only eat half the amount in restaurants, and place half the demand on the ship’s staff.

The mass market cruise lines have started to address the needs of solo cruisers by building ‘studio cabins’, which are designed specifically for solo travellers.

Studio cabins are not on all the ships (yet), but they are becoming more and more common. These cabins are frequently (but not always) tiny, interior cabins without a balcony or even a window.

The upscale and luxury lines (and also river cruise ships) treat their solo clients a little better. They do this by occasionally offering reduced single supplements.

Sometimes they waive the single supplement altogether.

The best part of these ‘reduced single supplement’ offers is that they are not limited to the lowest priced, least desirable cabins. You can travel solo in a balcony or suite if you like.

Oceania currently has a great promotion for solo travellers.

They are offering a reduced single supplement on 17 different sailings (all with 2017 departure dates).

If you’ve never sailed on Oceania before, here’s a bit of information:

• They are considered the best cruise line for “foodies”. They pride themselves on the quality and diversity of the food offerings on their ships.
• Oceania has six ships, and they sail all over the world. The largest ship carries 1250 passengers, and their smallest carries 684.
• Like other upscale lines, the culture onboard is relaxed and informal.
• The onboard experience is more focused on quality, service, and the ports, and less on climbing walls, and ice-skating rinks.
• They pride themselves on being the ‘Best Value in Upscale Cruising’. INCLUDED in your fare, you get free Airfare; Internet; Dining at all specialty restaurants; Unlimited soft drinks, bottled water, cappuccino, espresso, teas and juices; Shuttle service from ship to city center in many ports of call; and Room service dining 24 hours a day.

Here’s a sampling of the 17 sailings with reduced single supplements:

May 10th, 2017 (11 days, San Francisco to Vancouver), from $2445 base price.  BONUS – your choice of:

• 6 FREE Shore Excursions OR
• FREE House Beverage Package OR
• $600 Shipboard Credit per stateroom

May 23rd, 2017 (28 days, Rome to Montreal), from $6681 base price.  BONUS – your choice of:

• 8 FREE Shore Excursions OR
• FREE House Beverage Package OR
• $800 Shipboard Credit

July 7th, 2017 (10 days, Rome to Barcelona), from $2272 base price.  BONUS – your choice of:

• 6 FREE Shore Excursions OR
• FREE House Beverage Package OR
• $600 Shipboard Credit per stateroom

August 31st, 2017 (10 days, New York to New York), from $1559 base price. BONUS – your choice of:

• 6 FREE Shore Excursions OR
• FREE House Beverage Package OR
• $600 Shipboard Credit per stateroom

Remember, this is just a sampling and there are 17 sailings to choose from!

If you’re a solo traveller, then you’ll want to consider Oceania’s current promotion. In my mind, it offers remarkable value.

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

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sue Bradley

The latest buzz in the industry has been all about the launching of the Celebrity Edge – even though it’s inaugural voyage is more than a year away (December 2018). The Edge marks a new class of ship for Celebrity, with 3 additional sister-ships on order due in the next several years.

You can discover more about the Edge here: http://www.celebritycruises.com/edge/
The initial sailings are available for booking now, and I already have one client confirmed on the inaugural sailing.

The innovation on the Edge that’s getting all the press is the Magic Carpet. This is a tennis-court sized platform attached to the side of the ship, which can be raised or lowered between the water level and the top deck. In the ‘down’ position it can be used to load tender boats, and in the ‘up’ position it becomes a lounge and observation deck.

This seems to “one-up” the Sea Walk, which extends off the Sun Deck (17 stories above the water) on Princess’ Royal Class vessels.

Royal Caribbean seems to still be in the lead for shipboard amenities, with ice rinks, bumper cars, climbing walls, and a million other things on their vessels.

So… I’m curious. What’s YOUR opinion about these innovative features? The Magic Carpet on the Edge looks really cool, but is it important enough to you that it would it draw you to Celebrity, or to that ship?

For those cruise lines that build bigger, and more innovative ships, what are they missing? What SHOULD be available on these big ships that’s not already?

Conversely, have the mass market cruise lines gone too far already? As the American population ages, will we become less interested in waterslides and zip-lines? Will we graduate to the luxury lines, and willingly give up innovative on-board features and amenities in favour of more interesting ports of call, fewer passengers, and superior quality and service on board the ships?

There are, of course, no correct answers, but I’d love to hear your opinions!

Join the conversation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamperedCruiser/posts/1902363933379445

My clients often inquire whether a time-limited, “must buy now” River Cruise offer is an especially good deal, and whether they should jump at the current promotion so they don’t miss out.

Normally, I answer that while the current promotion will finish at the end of this month, the first day of the next month will likely have an equally compelling offer.

The river cruise companies frequently offer “free” or discounted air that has dozens of footnotes that explain why it’s not exactly as advertised. They also often advertise 2-for-1, or 50% off cruise fares that are more amazing tricks in math than they are amazing deals.

So my normal advice is to choose the river cruise that is right for you, and book it as early as possible once you’ve made that decision.

However, every now and then I see a promotion that runs contrary to this advice. The current promotion with Viking River Cruises falls into this category.

I don’t normally comment on specific promotions by the cruise lines, but I strongly believe that this one is a deal worth acting on!

Until March 31st, Viking is offering a 50% early booking discount for its 2018 Grand European Tour sailings that is well worth considering if you’re contemplating such a trip. It includes free air that IS actually FREE from over 150 airports in the United States.

Also, normally you are required to make payment in full by the end of the month in which you book (essentially, payment in full at time of booking).  With this promotion, after your deposit is paid, the balance is not due until a much more reasonable 9 months prior to departure.

As always, you can save an additional 3.3% if you don’t use your credit card to pay, and use Viking’s E-Check option instead (this is basically a direct withdrawal from your bank account).

The Grand European Tour is the most popular itinerary for European river cruises, travelling between Amsterdam and Budapest over 14 nights.  Click here to read more about Viking’s Grand European Tour.

Here’s an example of the cost breakdown:

Viking’s Grand European Tour (14 nights, Amsterdam to Budapest):
• French Balcony: $5899 including taxes and fees
• Air: FREE!
• Optional Insurance: $619
• Optional 2-day pre-cruise package: $549
Total per person: $7067
(Note that pricing will vary depending on the date you select)

If your bucket list includes a 2018 river cruise on Europe’s Danube, you won’t get a better price than this. You’ll want to act quickly, as Viking’s 2-For-1 Cruise and FREE Air promotion ends on March 31, 2017.

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

If you’re a traveller, the greatest innovation of the past century isn’t space travel or insulin, but rather wheels on luggage.

This has changed everything.

No longer are you restricted by your own ability to lift and manage your own bags. You can now bring just about everything you own, and simply be able to push it along a sidewalk until someone much stronger than you can lift it on to a conveyor belt.

This is clearly evident in the fact that new luggage comes in the same sized box as a refrigerator. If you don’t believe me, take note next time you’re at an airport or cruise ship terminal. It’s a comedy of errors watching some people attempt to manage their own stuff.

For some, this catastrophe-in-waiting is remedied by packing light. This has always been my preference. However, after travelling with my mother-in-law, I quickly realized this is not a course of action that will work for some people.

I also had to rethink my luggage strategy when I combined a back-packing trip in Europe with a cruise. I didn’t want all the other back-packers to make fun of my garment bag, so I was forced to look at alternatives.

As it turns out, there are a number of services out there that will pick up your luggage a few days in advance of a cruise (or other types of trips), and will deliver it to your embarkation point. Imagine how nice it is to get up on your date of travel, grab your carry-on, and leave for the airport.

One in particular that you may want to check out is Luggage Forward.

No overhead cranes to get your luggage in and out of your trunk; no wheeling through the airport with your half-ton of stuff – it takes away a lot of the pain of travelling.

One of my clients recently travelling from Seattle to Miami for a cruise, was charged $79 for her over-sized suitcase. When you consider the airline was going to charge her $40 to check her bag, it quickly became a no-brainer to send it via a luggage service.

So if you’re a notoriously heavy packer, or even if you just don’t want to be bothered dragging stuff through airports, it’s probably worth checking one of these services out. For a few dollars more you solve a refrigerator-sized problem.

Now… think about how much more stuff you can bring!

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

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sue Bradley

It used to be that when you did a tour of Europe, you would fly to Amsterdam, and haul your oversized luggage from the motor coach to a somewhat marginal hotel room, only to be ordered to have your bags outside your door for 6pm so you could do the same thing all over again the next day.

You would work your way from Amsterdam, across the Benelux countries, through France, and then fly home from Rome, completely exhausted, and vowing to throw away your massive suitcase for good.

Needless to say that river cruising is a significant improvement over those days.

Most people going on a European river cruise still fly to Amsterdam, and then hop on one of dozens of potential river ships and take a 7-day trip to Switzerland, or a 14-day trip to Budapest.

These trips are the most popular, but the Rhine and Danube trips are not the only routes in Europe!

• For those with a particular love of the Dutch, you can sail round-trip from Amsterdam on the Rhine, Mosel, and Elbe rivers
• If France is more your speed, you can sail on the Rhone, Saone, or Seine Rivers.
• Italy is also a river cruising destination, often round trip out of Venice on the Po.
• German river cruises are available on the Oder and Elbe Rivers.
• If you prefer to be further south in Europe, you can sail on the Douro River through Portugal and Spain.
• You can even take a river cruise to Russia

There are also river cruises in Asia, South America, and even the United States.

Most of these trips are between 7 and 16 days long, and have a wide choice of itineraries. So, while the Amsterdam to Budapest route is definitely worth considering, don’t feel bound by just one option.

Thinking of a river cruise?  I’d love to help!  Click here to get in touch today.