Many more of you are considering longer getaways than we’ve seen in the past. This trend is probably driven by the travel opportunities lost to the pandemic, or maybe we’re simply catching up with our European cousins who have always been more prone to two- and three-week vacations.
Bob and I are living this trend right now (although, we’re not really on “vacation”) as we do back-to-back Mississippi River Cruises with our friends American Queen Voyages. If you want to follow along with us day by day, we’re posting on our Facebook and Instagram pages. Here are the links:
Follow along on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamperedCruiser
Follow along on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pamperedcruiser
Most of you don’t have strict work or family commitments anymore, so your ability to be away for more than a week is as much psychological as anything else. Some folks really don’t like to be away from home more than a week or so. However, if you’ve never considered it, here are some advantages:
- Most obviously, you get to see more and experience more. Some of our clients tell us they are going away for a month this coming year to make up for the two-week vacation they lost in 2020. Take that, covid-19!
- You only have to fly once. Flying has become like an endurance contest, so in some ways, the longer your trip, the better. Before the pandemic, I would have excluded domestic air travel from the “onerous” category, and now it appears to be MORE onerous (and certainly way less reliable) than travelling overseas.
- Flights are usually a substantial part of the trip cost, so if you’re flying less, your cost per day on a longer vacation will be lower as well.
- If you’re flying across multiple time zones, then there’s an investment in that adjustment (I usually feel awful for at least a day when I fly to Europe, although I’m slowly building up my list of hacks to help me deal with the time change… but that’s a whole other blog post).
On our current journey, we’ll be away from home for about 24 days. This allows us to do two 7-day cruises, with a week on land between the two. We haven’t done it this way before, but I really like how this is turning out.
The week in between cruises allows us explore Tennessee and Louisiana and surrounding areas in a bit more depth.
The first river cruise is on the Tennessee, Ohio, and Cumberland Rivers between Chattanooga and Memphis. The scenic cruising through the Tennessee Gorge is every bit as pretty as sailing along the Rhine or the Danube (although the “castles” look different here than in Europe). We even get to sail through some locks.
The second river cruise is between New Orleans and Memphis, so we get to experience this American standard with all the requisite food, music, and historical sites along the Mighty Mississippi.
It’s not for everyone, but longer trips do make some sense if you can swing it. Follow along with us on Instagram and/or Facebook and let us know what you think.
Here’s today’s travel opportunities
American Queen Voyages – US River Cruises
If you’re following our daily posts, and it looks of interest, here are some suggestions for your own trips. Maybe you’ll choose back-to-back voyages too! AQ Voyages is running a year-end sale right now, so it’s a good time to book. Save up to $2000 per stateroom if you book during the month of December. Plus, you’ll receive $100 Shore Experience credit ($50 per person) from Sue and Bob.
- Lower Mississippi (between Memphis and New Orleans). History, culture, food, music – it’s all here. Here’s a few examples where there is great value:
- March 2022 departures from $1899 per person
- May 2022 departures from $2499 per person
- October 2022 departures from $2599 per person
- Memphis to Nashville (for the music lovers!). Depart June 5th, 2022, with prices from $1699 per person. There are several other dates available as well.
- Minneapolis to St. Louis (enjoy the scenery and retrace Mark Twain’s footsteps). Depart August 28th, 2022, with prices from $1699 per person. Other dates available.
All the above cruises are one-week trips, and the pricing includes one hotel night prior to embarkation, shore excursions in every port, an open bar, Wi-Fi on the ship, and American Queen’s legendary entertainment and lectures. The prices listed above are the year-end sale prices.
Viking Cruises – Great Lakes
Viking is launching its very first expedition ship in the next few months. The Viking Octantis is a fully equipped luxury expedition vessel that holds just 378 guests. On her way to the edges of the earth, she will spend the summer in the Great Lakes doing one- and two-week itineraries. Here’s one example:
- Milwaukee to Thunder Bay, Ontario (or reverse).
- Visits Mackinac Island, Georgian Bay, the Soo Locks, and Silver Islet.
- Special fares from $6695 per person in August 2022
Here are a couple of quick videos showcasing this stunning itinerary.
- Great Lakes Explorer (Milwaukee to Thunder Bay): https://www.vikingcruises.com/expeditions/video/all/play.html?id=151709&agenturlid=pamperedcruiser
- Undiscovered Great Lakes (Thunder Bay to Milwaukee): https://www.vikingcruises.com/expeditions/video/all/play.html?id=152086&agenturlid=pamperedcruiser
Get FREE airfare on this itinerary if you book before the end of December. Plus, you’ll receive $200 onboard credit ($100 pp) from Sue and Bob.
Have something to say about this?
Join the conversation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamperedCruiser/posts/3155082398107586
If you’re planning a trip, I’d love to help! Click here or call 800-876-0168 to get in touch today.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sue Bradley
Sue Bradley
