May 16, 2008
The constantly commercial atmosphere aboard many of the giant, cruise ships will inevitably drive the more discriminating cruise passenger away
I have written before in this blog about how some of the popularly priced cruise lines -- not all, but some -- have pushed the pursuit of profit, through onboard sales, to ridiculous extremes. They surround you with commercial pitches, with mindless activities meant to promote shopping, with lectures and events designed for cretins. And there has never been a better summary of that trend than in a letter which this post has just received. It is from a woman who traveled with her husband on an Alaskan cruise operated by one of the large ships, and I have printed relevant excerpts below:
It's interesting to note the writer's comment that many of the first-time cruisers aboard the ship were unconcerned about these excesses of marketing. They were apparently so fascinated by the experience of being aboard a ship that the vulgarity passed them by. Is it possible that a large number of Americans will tend in the future to avoid this sort of commercial amusement-park-at-sea?
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The daily activities were lectures about make-up use, the joys of massage, how to value jewels, specials in various departments, and ever new ways to shop. The one serious lecturer was totally inept, had sparse attendance at his lectures and I can no longer remember his topic. Planets, I think. Most of the activities were for shopping, both on the ship and the ports of call.
Things were constantly hawked about the ship. Any gathering produced waiters with buckets of beer or trays of tropical drinks that you first thought were free. Before the shows they hawked raffle tickets. Seldom, outside your own cabin or in the library, was there ever peace or quiet.
For those who were on their first cruise, they either loved the experience or didn't object to the things that we objected to. Virtually all the experienced travelers that we talked to hated the cruise for the same reasons that we did.
Would I ever take another cruise with that company? Only if it were free! We have grown attached to small boat (100 passenger) river cruises, such as Uniworld. We have been on 3 of theirs and cannot say enough good things about them.
It's interesting to note the writer's comment that many of the first-time cruisers aboard the ship were unconcerned about these excesses of marketing. They were apparently so fascinated by the experience of being aboard a ship that the vulgarity passed them by. Is it possible that a large number of Americans will tend in the future to avoid this sort of commercial amusement-park-at-sea?
Write and read comments about this post.
Labels: cruise
October-December is high season for river cruises of the Danube. Yet prices are refreshingly modest at that time
Most big cruise ships have left the Mediterranean, the Adriatic and the Aegean by the time mid-autumn arrives. But the smaller, 140-passenger riverboats that sail the Danube are especially active at that time. Part of the reason are the colorful "Christmas markets" that spring up at river-towns starting in November and reaching their crescendo in December.
Go to Gate 1 Travel (www.gate1travel.com), click on river cruises, and study the offerings offered along the Danube, usually from Nuremberg to Budapest, passing through Vienna on the way. These are cultural adventures that will introduce you to a town-a-day, which you tour at your leisure, returning in late afternoon for dinner, entertainment, and your comfortable stateroom (more spacious and well-equipped than on the average ocean cruise ship). Yet many of the prices of these 12-day river cruises are as low as $1,499, including round-trip air from New York to and from the ports of embarkation and disembarkation. Considering the high quality of all arrangements, and the fact that airfare alone is worth at least $600 or $700 at that time, these autumn river trips are among the great bargains of travel.
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Go to Gate 1 Travel (www.gate1travel.com), click on river cruises, and study the offerings offered along the Danube, usually from Nuremberg to Budapest, passing through Vienna on the way. These are cultural adventures that will introduce you to a town-a-day, which you tour at your leisure, returning in late afternoon for dinner, entertainment, and your comfortable stateroom (more spacious and well-equipped than on the average ocean cruise ship). Yet many of the prices of these 12-day river cruises are as low as $1,499, including round-trip air from New York to and from the ports of embarkation and disembarkation. Considering the high quality of all arrangements, and the fact that airfare alone is worth at least $600 or $700 at that time, these autumn river trips are among the great bargains of travel.
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Labels: river cruise
May 15, 2008
At last! A company that will book your shore excursions for less than you'd pay to a cruise line -- and it will be a better tour
"Should I buy my shore excursions in advance?" "From the cruise line?" "Or should I take my chances once at the port?" "What if the ship docks at a pier far from town?"
On our Sunday radio show (noon to 2pm, streaming live on www.wor710.com), Pauline and I receive more calls about cruise ship shore excursions than on any other topic. To all of them we loudly respond: No! Don't buy these overpriced tours from the cruise line. These canned and artificial experiences! Don't squeeze into a 45-passenger bus. Wander on your own. Enjoy the authentic aspects of the ports you visit.
But though this advice is politely received by our callers, it's obvious that they would still like to tour with a guide, and possibly as part of a small group.
Today, help arrived, in the form of a website called ShoreTrips (www.shoretrips.com), administered from a small town in Wisconsin. Its founders, former travel agents, have apparently toured all the major ports in the Caribbean, Mexico and Europe, interviewed scores of local tour companies, and made arrangements with the best of them to handle the shore excursions of the clients of ShoreTrips for prices that average 50% of what the cruise lines charge. And the tours in question usually run with 4 to 8 persons, far fewer than the depressing groups of 45, squeezed into a giant motor coach, and operated by the cruise lines.
We'll be interviewing the principals of ShoreTrips on this Sunday's broadcast (I spoke with a junior employee when I phoned ShoreTrips late this afternoon), and will obtain far more detailed information to appear in a later blog post. But a glance at the website is encouraging. It asserts that ShoreTrips looks for unusual, unique, memorable tour experiences, and not for the canned sights of the standard cruise ship-sponsored tours.
Stay tuned.
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On our Sunday radio show (noon to 2pm, streaming live on www.wor710.com), Pauline and I receive more calls about cruise ship shore excursions than on any other topic. To all of them we loudly respond: No! Don't buy these overpriced tours from the cruise line. These canned and artificial experiences! Don't squeeze into a 45-passenger bus. Wander on your own. Enjoy the authentic aspects of the ports you visit.
But though this advice is politely received by our callers, it's obvious that they would still like to tour with a guide, and possibly as part of a small group.
Today, help arrived, in the form of a website called ShoreTrips (www.shoretrips.com), administered from a small town in Wisconsin. Its founders, former travel agents, have apparently toured all the major ports in the Caribbean, Mexico and Europe, interviewed scores of local tour companies, and made arrangements with the best of them to handle the shore excursions of the clients of ShoreTrips for prices that average 50% of what the cruise lines charge. And the tours in question usually run with 4 to 8 persons, far fewer than the depressing groups of 45, squeezed into a giant motor coach, and operated by the cruise lines.
We'll be interviewing the principals of ShoreTrips on this Sunday's broadcast (I spoke with a junior employee when I phoned ShoreTrips late this afternoon), and will obtain far more detailed information to appear in a later blog post. But a glance at the website is encouraging. It asserts that ShoreTrips looks for unusual, unique, memorable tour experiences, and not for the canned sights of the standard cruise ship-sponsored tours.
Stay tuned.
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Labels: cruise, tour companies
Thomas Cook swears it will forego commissions on changing your dollars into pounds if you bring a voucher to their London offices
Here's an oddity that may possibly save you 5% on your next visit to London (hey, every little bit helps!).
If you'll go to Visit London's special offers section (www.visitlondon.com/offers/currency/) you'll see a deal from Thomas Cook. If you download the PDF file, print it, and take it with you when you exchange your currency at any Thomas Cook store, and you'll receive a better rate.
A small item in one of those free daily newspapers tipped me off to this savings, and though I can't guarantee it will work, I'd be surprised if a company with the reputation of Thomas Cook weren't sincere. If the voucher is honored, it'll mean you'll save the 5% in exchange fees that you would otherwise pay to every other exchange desk, kiosk, or bank in London, or the 3% you'd pay for using an ATM machine.
There are 10 Thomas Cook offices in London: at Marble Arch, Great Russell Street, Hammersmith, Wembley, Old Brompton Road, St. James's, Victoria Place, London Wall, Wimbledon, and Islington.
Thomas Cook also claims that when you change your currency with Thomas Cook, you'll receive a special offers booklet offering such savings as two-for-one admission to the Tower of London, which would alone save you at least £15.
A note to Garry, one of our London readers: can you check this out? In exchange, I'll send you a free copy of Pauline Frommer's London.
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If you'll go to Visit London's special offers section (www.visitlondon.com/offers/currency/) you'll see a deal from Thomas Cook. If you download the PDF file, print it, and take it with you when you exchange your currency at any Thomas Cook store, and you'll receive a better rate.
A small item in one of those free daily newspapers tipped me off to this savings, and though I can't guarantee it will work, I'd be surprised if a company with the reputation of Thomas Cook weren't sincere. If the voucher is honored, it'll mean you'll save the 5% in exchange fees that you would otherwise pay to every other exchange desk, kiosk, or bank in London, or the 3% you'd pay for using an ATM machine.
There are 10 Thomas Cook offices in London: at Marble Arch, Great Russell Street, Hammersmith, Wembley, Old Brompton Road, St. James's, Victoria Place, London Wall, Wimbledon, and Islington.
Thomas Cook also claims that when you change your currency with Thomas Cook, you'll receive a special offers booklet offering such savings as two-for-one admission to the Tower of London, which would alone save you at least £15.
A note to Garry, one of our London readers: can you check this out? In exchange, I'll send you a free copy of Pauline Frommer's London.
Write and read comments about this post.
The manner in which some companies continue to do travel business in Myanmar is simply incomprehensible
I was sickened, literally sickened, to read statements in the travel trade press of various American travel companies, about their continuing involvement in running tours or cruises to Myanmar. One of them, an outfit called Explore Asia, was quoted in Travel Agent Magazine (May 6, 2008) as having given assurances to would-be visitors of the safety of continuing to travel in Myanmar, following the disastrous cyclone that hit there on May 2:
"Nancy, a partner in Explore Asia", wrote Travel Agent Magazine, "notes her company has confirmation from its land operators that, with some modifications in the affected areas, travel to and around Myanmar remains safe... Travel agents will want to redirect their customers around the affected areas. Hotels and tourist destinations upcountry are operating normally".
In other words, travelers should continue to flaunt world public opinion and continue to travel like happy-go-lucky tourists to suffering Myanmar.
Another group of sensitive journalists, our friends at World Hum, have recently, in effect, applauded the U.S. operators of river cruiseboats in Myanmar for making their vessels available for relief efforts. And they have implied that this aid is a positive benefit of the earlier refusal to boycott travel to Myanmar.
After all, if these riverboats had never been sent to Myanmar for American tourists to use, they would not now be available for relief efforts!
These grotesque justifications of tourism to Myanmar deserve to be condemned by every individual. The democratic opposition in Myanmar has repeatedly pleaded for an end to tourist visits there, arguing that touristic expenditures simply maintain the military junta in power. If anything, we should redouble our efforts to condemn the thuggish generals of Myanmar, stop the flow of dollars there through tourism, and eventually rescue its poor, starving people.
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"Nancy, a partner in Explore Asia", wrote Travel Agent Magazine, "notes her company has confirmation from its land operators that, with some modifications in the affected areas, travel to and around Myanmar remains safe... Travel agents will want to redirect their customers around the affected areas. Hotels and tourist destinations upcountry are operating normally".
In other words, travelers should continue to flaunt world public opinion and continue to travel like happy-go-lucky tourists to suffering Myanmar.
Another group of sensitive journalists, our friends at World Hum, have recently, in effect, applauded the U.S. operators of river cruiseboats in Myanmar for making their vessels available for relief efforts. And they have implied that this aid is a positive benefit of the earlier refusal to boycott travel to Myanmar.
After all, if these riverboats had never been sent to Myanmar for American tourists to use, they would not now be available for relief efforts!
These grotesque justifications of tourism to Myanmar deserve to be condemned by every individual. The democratic opposition in Myanmar has repeatedly pleaded for an end to tourist visits there, arguing that touristic expenditures simply maintain the military junta in power. If anything, we should redouble our efforts to condemn the thuggish generals of Myanmar, stop the flow of dollars there through tourism, and eventually rescue its poor, starving people.
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Labels: bad states
May 14, 2008
The Caribbean and coastal Mexico have become the least expensive destinations for a comfortable vacation this summer
I've been spending some time looking at the various air-and-land packages to Mexico and the Caribbean in July and August -- and they are dramatic. The cheapest, high-quality, destinations for Americans today are in those tropical areas. If you haven't yet made your summer plans, you might now want to scan the offerings of Vacation Travel Mart of Miami (www.vacmart.com) and the similar site of CheapCaribbean.com (www.cheapcaribbean.com). You might also want to go to Apple Vacations (www.applevacations.com) for more examples.
It has taken some time for increases in the cost of fuel to be fully incorporated into the summer packages. Until recently, they weren't prominently featured in advertised prices, but suddenly cropped up in the form of independent fuel surcharges when you booked the package. Now they're in the basic price, which has therefore gone up by about $150 per person over the levels that were advertised about a month or two ago.
But even with those increases, the cost of a Caribbean vacation this summer remains one of the great bargains. Going simply to Vacation Travel Mart, a seven-night stay at La Romana on the south coast of the Dominican Republic, at the attractive, beachfront, Oasis Canoa Beach Hotel, including round-trip air from Miami, lodgings for the full week, all three meals a day (supplemented by a late-night snack for a total of four meals daily), unlimited drinks and beverages, sea sports and entertainment, comes to $924 per person, with children staying and eating for free. Add about $100 for flights from most other cities.
That $924 is less than what you'd pay for round-trip airfare alone to most of Europe in the months of July and August this year. The Caribbean has become dramatically cheaper for the vacationer who simply wants a comfortable week or two weeks of relaxation this summer. Bear in mind that most of the packages described in websites like that of Vacation Travel Mart or Cheap Caribbean are all-inclusive, covering every one of your basic expenses.
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It has taken some time for increases in the cost of fuel to be fully incorporated into the summer packages. Until recently, they weren't prominently featured in advertised prices, but suddenly cropped up in the form of independent fuel surcharges when you booked the package. Now they're in the basic price, which has therefore gone up by about $150 per person over the levels that were advertised about a month or two ago.
But even with those increases, the cost of a Caribbean vacation this summer remains one of the great bargains. Going simply to Vacation Travel Mart, a seven-night stay at La Romana on the south coast of the Dominican Republic, at the attractive, beachfront, Oasis Canoa Beach Hotel, including round-trip air from Miami, lodgings for the full week, all three meals a day (supplemented by a late-night snack for a total of four meals daily), unlimited drinks and beverages, sea sports and entertainment, comes to $924 per person, with children staying and eating for free. Add about $100 for flights from most other cities.
That $924 is less than what you'd pay for round-trip airfare alone to most of Europe in the months of July and August this year. The Caribbean has become dramatically cheaper for the vacationer who simply wants a comfortable week or two weeks of relaxation this summer. Bear in mind that most of the packages described in websites like that of Vacation Travel Mart or Cheap Caribbean are all-inclusive, covering every one of your basic expenses.
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Tanzania is a grand place for an African safari, but at a cost substantially over the price of a safari in Kenya
A number of readers have questioned my seeming preference for Kenya over Tanzania as a place for wildlife safaris, and I should respond. I am well aware that the wildlife-viewing opportunities in Tanzania are the full equal of those in Kenya. But it is only the safari industry of Kenya that has attempted to price their vacations at an economical level, permitting mid-income people to enjoy this superb travel adventure. As best I know, you cannot hope to enjoy even a one-week safari in Tanzania, including airfare from the U.S., for the $2,500 price that many tour operators now offer for a weeklong safari in Kenya (and some recently went down to $1,999).
That being said, Tanzania is a peaceful place with excellent safari opportunities, and many Americans may prefer to substitute it for Kenya in light of the touchy political situation in Kenya. But these are Americans able to afford the higher cost of a Tanzanian safari.
Two readers from Calumet, Michigan, Bob and Deloris Langseth, have written me about their very positive reactions to Tanzania, and I feel obligated to share their arguments with you:
That being said, Tanzania is a peaceful place with excellent safari opportunities, and many Americans may prefer to substitute it for Kenya in light of the touchy political situation in Kenya. But these are Americans able to afford the higher cost of a Tanzanian safari.
Two readers from Calumet, Michigan, Bob and Deloris Langseth, have written me about their very positive reactions to Tanzania, and I feel obligated to share their arguments with you:
We have been to Tanzania on 9 occasions since 1992. It is one of the few countries in Africa that has never had a civil war ... You do not need to land at Nairobi. Go instead to the Mt. Kilimanjaro International Airport in Arusha, via KLM. Kilimanjaro is in Tanzania and my wife climbed it at age 72 in 2004. The Ngorogoro Crater -- one of the wonders of the world -- has all of the big 5 animals, is a 4-hour drive from Arusha, and a gateway to the Serengeti. On the way you have Tarangire National Park which has the largest herd of elephants in any of the parks, and Lake Manyara with its vast flocks of flamingos... We have been beautifully served by the Menno Travel Agency in Minneapolis (800/635-2032) and/or by Safari Makers Ltd. out of Arusha, Tanzania... We went to the Serengeti in 2007 for our 50th wedding anniversary. The park rangers stated that more than 2 million wildebeest and zebras make the migration. We estimate we saw over a half million animals, along with 23 lions (5 were in one tree) as well as a cheetah and leopard... We love Tanzania and want to share this good news of a peaceful country and fabulous game parks.Write and read comments about this post.
Labels: kenya, safari, tanzania
Among the dividends of LasVegasAdvisor are listings of the best values in Sin City
I earlier wrote about the popular website called TravelWorm, which specializes in revealing reduced-price hotel rooms in all the major U.S. resort locations, but does that best for Las Vegas. Among its competitors is LasVegasAdvisor (www.lasvegasadvisor.com), which also reveals hotel discounts but is just as well known for its up-to-date descriptions of the city's best non-hotel values. These are utterly factual but tremendously amusing, too, and trying them out is a practice far more entertaining, in my view, than spending time at the gaming tables. Here are the 10 current champions:
1) 99¢ for a shrimp cocktail at the Golden Gate casino.
2) $6.95 for a complete steak dinner at Ellis Island: a 10-oz. sirloin with salad, green beans, choice of potato, and fresh, microbrewed beer.
3) A $1.49 breakfast special at the four "Wild" Station casinos (Wild Wild West, Wildfire, Gold Rush, and Magic Star): two eggs with sausages, hash browns, and toast).
4) $100 in "free play" for signing up at the Hoosiers players club, including free entrance to the raunchy Bobby Slayton comedy show.
5) $10.95 for steak dinner at the Gold Coast casino: a 16-oz. T-bone with five sides and a glass of beer.
6) Reduced-price, $10.95 admission to the Magic Show at Greek Isles.
7) $13.95 to $24.95 for an all-you-can-eat buffet at the Mirage casino in center Strip: the best and highest quality buffet in all the city, says LasVegasAdvisor.
8) Reduced-price, $19.95 admission to the Comedy Stop at the Tropicana (note by A.F.: whose parent company recently filed in Chapter XI bankruptcy).
9) The entertainment viewable from the Fontana Bar of the Bellagio Hotel, where purchase of a $6 drink entitles you to sit at that bar all evening.
10) $9.99 for the Prime Rib special at Mr. Lucky's Coffee Shop in the Hard Rock Hotel, where you can order additional slices of beef for as long as you can finish them.
Who said that Las Vegas was just about gambling?
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1) 99¢ for a shrimp cocktail at the Golden Gate casino.
2) $6.95 for a complete steak dinner at Ellis Island: a 10-oz. sirloin with salad, green beans, choice of potato, and fresh, microbrewed beer.
3) A $1.49 breakfast special at the four "Wild" Station casinos (Wild Wild West, Wildfire, Gold Rush, and Magic Star): two eggs with sausages, hash browns, and toast).
4) $100 in "free play" for signing up at the Hoosiers players club, including free entrance to the raunchy Bobby Slayton comedy show.
5) $10.95 for steak dinner at the Gold Coast casino: a 16-oz. T-bone with five sides and a glass of beer.
6) Reduced-price, $10.95 admission to the Magic Show at Greek Isles.
7) $13.95 to $24.95 for an all-you-can-eat buffet at the Mirage casino in center Strip: the best and highest quality buffet in all the city, says LasVegasAdvisor.
8) Reduced-price, $19.95 admission to the Comedy Stop at the Tropicana (note by A.F.: whose parent company recently filed in Chapter XI bankruptcy).
9) The entertainment viewable from the Fontana Bar of the Bellagio Hotel, where purchase of a $6 drink entitles you to sit at that bar all evening.
10) $9.99 for the Prime Rib special at Mr. Lucky's Coffee Shop in the Hard Rock Hotel, where you can order additional slices of beef for as long as you can finish them.
Who said that Las Vegas was just about gambling?
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May 13, 2008
Rentalo.com has now entered the hotly-contested Orlando market, poking fun at the high cost of hotels and praising vacation homes instead
Things are heating up in the vacation-home-vs.-hotel controversy for Orlando, Florida (Disney World and friends), with newcomer Rentalo.com (www.retalo.com) issuing a press release in which it first tells about $385 hotel rooms and then describes more spacious vacation homes for as little as $99 a night. Here's the opening part of their unusually combative salvo:
Disney World's Grand Floridian resort costs $385 per night, plus 12% tax, and even their "value" resorts are $82 per night. Granted, they allow the whole family to cram into one room, but why would anyone want to do that?Write and read comments about this post.
On the Rentalo website, families can find a three-bedroom condo for $99, a five-bedroom house for $125 per night. And a house with a kitchen means savings on meals, as well. In addition, Rentalo's SmartSearch feature means travelers can easily find a property that suits their needs. Some of the houses available this summer include:
Villa Magic Orlando for $120 per night
This four-bedroom, three-bath house in Eastern Kissimmee is in a gated community, just off the main highway to Disney World. It has a screened-in pool, air conditioning, smoke detectors throughout, a fire extinguisher and emergency lighting, as well as a fully-equipped laundry room and kitchen. It is large enough that two families can share it. From June 1 to August 31, the house costs $120 per night, with a four-night minimum.
Windsor Hills Apartment for $99 a night
One bedroom has a king-size bed, the other has two full-size beds and there's a sleeper sofa in the living room of this ground floor apartment in the Windsor Hills Resort. It's only two miles from Disney World and is a short walk or drive to shops, restaurants and a supermarket. Windsor Hills has 24-hour security, a clubhouse, community pool with a water slide, kids' playground, tennis and an internet café. The apartment features a screened lanai. It costs $99 per night, plus tax, from May 23 to September 1, with a seven-night minimum.
Labels: accommodations, orlando
If you're a fan of casino-resorts and leisure destinations -- then TravelWorm is for you
TravelWorm has been around for more than 15 years, seeking out the most simple-minded of travel bargains: hotel discounts, in sun belt cities of the resort variety. Its current offer of $34 a night per room at the Sahara Hotel in Vegas is about $3 less than any other offer I've been able to find on the internet. Its $37 per room offer at Vegas' Stratosphere Hotel is $1 and $2 less than most others. If you're planning a trip to any of the resort cities listed above, you'd do well to go to www.travelworm.com, which also lists various meal discounts and other bonuses (free spa visits, for instance) at the hotels whose bargains they tout.
All in all, it's a pretty impressive website that has obviously grown unusually popular and mighty, enabling its managers to pressure big reductions from the hotels they feature. I believe you can book directly on the web, but you can also phone TravelWorm at tel. 888/700-8342.
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All in all, it's a pretty impressive website that has obviously grown unusually popular and mighty, enabling its managers to pressure big reductions from the hotels they feature. I believe you can book directly on the web, but you can also phone TravelWorm at tel. 888/700-8342.
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Labels: accommodations, las vegas, websites
Would you believe a price of $499 per person for a Mediterranean cruise of seven days, round-trip from Barcelona? Hint: it's on a ship of NCL
I recently called Norwegian Cruise Line a "hungry" company, and more proof of that has come from an announcement by White Travel Service (tel. 860/233-2648; www.whitetravel.com) that they will be making cabins available on the October 20 and November 2 sailings from Barcelona of the 2,400-passenger Norwegian Gem, an almost brand-new ship, for as little as $499 per person -- which is surely an unprecedented low price for the popular Mediterranean. On the same ship's November 9 sailing, they will be charging only $10 more -- $509. In each instance, the cruise is seven nights in duration.
Now some of this comes about because of dates. Most Americans will not want to be away over Election Day (which is on November 4 this year). And the other two sailings are scheduled at a time when the weather can be chilly in the Mediterranean (in fact, most cruise lines don't sail that late in the year in European waters).
But it's also a fact that Norwegian Cruise Line has been a hard-luck company this past year, suffering losses while other comparable lines were racking up profits. Recently, a private equity firm has made a large investment in NCL, and ships are being massively improved and altered. Other giant new ships are presently in construction for NCL.
But NCL's sale of cabins at such cut-rates, through a Connecticut cruise discounter, is nevertheless telling -- and good news for cruise bargain-hunters.
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Now some of this comes about because of dates. Most Americans will not want to be away over Election Day (which is on November 4 this year). And the other two sailings are scheduled at a time when the weather can be chilly in the Mediterranean (in fact, most cruise lines don't sail that late in the year in European waters).
But it's also a fact that Norwegian Cruise Line has been a hard-luck company this past year, suffering losses while other comparable lines were racking up profits. Recently, a private equity firm has made a large investment in NCL, and ships are being massively improved and altered. Other giant new ships are presently in construction for NCL.
But NCL's sale of cabins at such cut-rates, through a Connecticut cruise discounter, is nevertheless telling -- and good news for cruise bargain-hunters.
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May 12, 2008
Late November and early December: 14-night re-positioning cruises from Europe to the Caribbean that include airfare
A re-positioning cruise -- moving a ship from one continent to another, when seasons change -- is among the great bargains of travel. Because they spend many days simply at sea, such cruises are not entirely popular and are therefore priced at sacrificial rates to fill their cabins. But they are not always as cheap as might first appear, because they sometimes require the outlay of a high airfare to reach the port of embarkation or to fly home from the port of disembarkation.
That's why a recent shift of policy on the part of Online Vacation Center (tel. 800/329-9002; www.onlinevacationcenter.com) is so important . O.V.C. is now including round-trip airfare to and from your home city in the total price of the cruise, providing only that you leave from, and return to, either Miami, New York, Newark or Washington, D.C. Thus, on a re-positioning cruise that starts in Spain and ends in San Juan, it will fly you -- at no extra charge -- to Spain, and later home from San Juan.
And this policy prevails on the high-quality ships of Celebrity Cruises, an cruise line with top amenities and food.
On November 28, 2008, O.V.C. will fly you to Barcelona to board the Celebrity Summit for a 14-night cruise to other ports in Spain, Portugal, and the Canary Islands, then crossing the south Atlantic to St. Maarten, and ending in San Juan, from which you'll be flown home free. The total cost for a balcony-equipped outside cabin: $1,859 per person, including the round-trip air and all airport-to-hotel transfers.
On December 4, 2008, it will fly you to Rome to board the Celebrity Galaxy for a 14-night cruise through the Mediterranean to Morocco, then to the Canary Islands, and then across the south Atlantic to the British Virgin Islands and San Juan, from which you'll be flown home. The total cost for an ocean-view cabin will be $1,569 per person, including round-trip air and all airport-to-hotel transfers. (That's slightly more than $100 a day, including air, which is almost cheaper than living at home).
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That's why a recent shift of policy on the part of Online Vacation Center (tel. 800/329-9002; www.onlinevacationcenter.com) is so important . O.V.C. is now including round-trip airfare to and from your home city in the total price of the cruise, providing only that you leave from, and return to, either Miami, New York, Newark or Washington, D.C. Thus, on a re-positioning cruise that starts in Spain and ends in San Juan, it will fly you -- at no extra charge -- to Spain, and later home from San Juan.
And this policy prevails on the high-quality ships of Celebrity Cruises, an cruise line with top amenities and food.
On November 28, 2008, O.V.C. will fly you to Barcelona to board the Celebrity Summit for a 14-night cruise to other ports in Spain, Portugal, and the Canary Islands, then crossing the south Atlantic to St. Maarten, and ending in San Juan, from which you'll be flown home free. The total cost for a balcony-equipped outside cabin: $1,859 per person, including the round-trip air and all airport-to-hotel transfers.
On December 4, 2008, it will fly you to Rome to board the Celebrity Galaxy for a 14-night cruise through the Mediterranean to Morocco, then to the Canary Islands, and then across the south Atlantic to the British Virgin Islands and San Juan, from which you'll be flown home. The total cost for an ocean-view cabin will be $1,569 per person, including round-trip air and all airport-to-hotel transfers. (That's slightly more than $100 a day, including air, which is almost cheaper than living at home).
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Would you pay $725 for round-trip rail to Leeds, England, an outdoor performance of Shakespeare, and dinner in the train on the return trip?
On the morning of Wednesday, July 9 -- and only on that date -- a train of the Orient Express company will leave London St. Pancras Station on a 2½ hour trip to Leeds, a mid-sized British city about 170 miles to the northwest of London. Passengers will be served brunch en route. Once in Leeds, they will see an outdoor performance of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, and will then get dinner in the train on the return trip to London.
For this they will pay a starting price of £345 ($725) per person. Since the British pound now costs at least $2.10 after five-percent commissions to money-changers are factored in, £345 equals $725.
Now assume that you are the editor of a Sunday newspaper travel section in the United States. Would you run an article on this one-time, one-date travel opportunity? Why would you? How many of your readers would give a second's attention to a July 9 trip to Leeds for $725 per person? Would even one such reader be a potential buyer of an afternoon in Leeds, and dinner on a train, for $725? Would any of your readers consider flying to England for such a dubious reward? Even for readers already in London, how many would consider paying $725 per person for afternoon at the theater -- in Leeds? One person? Two? Or none?
Yet this, dear readers, was the announcement made on page two of the May 11, 2008 edition of the New York Times Sunday travel section. It occupies the number one position in the weekly review of travel developments that appears at the very opening of that newspaper's travel discussion. I have not altered a single fact in a notice headlined "Shakespeare in England, in Luxury," and you can also read the actual notice in the online edition the Times.
What sort of foolish day-dreamer would consider this one-time travel opportunity, to Leeds, no less, as worthy of appearing in a serious U.S. newspaper? How much relevance does such a notice have to the travel plans of the newspaper's readers? Again: to how many persons would such a notice be of interest? One person? Two?
The New York Times travel section has now plumbed such depths of absurdity that I, for one, have concluded that this senselessness can't be accidental. The decision to sprinkle the pages of a travel section with references to sky-high travel offerings can only have come about from a directive from on high to do so. It must be part of an effort to attract advertising from the producers of luxury goods, unaffordable to most of us, from swank companies that want their ads to appear in a congenial environment. In writing as they do, I am now convinced that the travel writers and junior travel editors of the New York Times are attempting to execute a policy consciously set down by the Times.
Only people obeying orders could have run an article about a one-time opportunity, on July 9, to take a train back and forth to Leeds, there to see a show, for $725 per person. Either I am right, or travel journalism has gone haywire.
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For this they will pay a starting price of £345 ($725) per person. Since the British pound now costs at least $2.10 after five-percent commissions to money-changers are factored in, £345 equals $725.
Now assume that you are the editor of a Sunday newspaper travel section in the United States. Would you run an article on this one-time, one-date travel opportunity? Why would you? How many of your readers would give a second's attention to a July 9 trip to Leeds for $725 per person? Would even one such reader be a potential buyer of an afternoon in Leeds, and dinner on a train, for $725? Would any of your readers consider flying to England for such a dubious reward? Even for readers already in London, how many would consider paying $725 per person for afternoon at the theater -- in Leeds? One person? Two? Or none?
Yet this, dear readers, was the announcement made on page two of the May 11, 2008 edition of the New York Times Sunday travel section. It occupies the number one position in the weekly review of travel developments that appears at the very opening of that newspaper's travel discussion. I have not altered a single fact in a notice headlined "Shakespeare in England, in Luxury," and you can also read the actual notice in the online edition the Times.
What sort of foolish day-dreamer would consider this one-time travel opportunity, to Leeds, no less, as worthy of appearing in a serious U.S. newspaper? How much relevance does such a notice have to the travel plans of the newspaper's readers? Again: to how many persons would such a notice be of interest? One person? Two?
The New York Times travel section has now plumbed such depths of absurdity that I, for one, have concluded that this senselessness can't be accidental. The decision to sprinkle the pages of a travel section with references to sky-high travel offerings can only have come about from a directive from on high to do so. It must be part of an effort to attract advertising from the producers of luxury goods, unaffordable to most of us, from swank companies that want their ads to appear in a congenial environment. In writing as they do, I am now convinced that the travel writers and junior travel editors of the New York Times are attempting to execute a policy consciously set down by the Times.
Only people obeying orders could have run an article about a one-time opportunity, on July 9, to take a train back and forth to Leeds, there to see a show, for $725 per person. Either I am right, or travel journalism has gone haywire.
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Labels: england, new york times
The world's hungriest cruise company would seem to be Norwegian Cruise Line: Their bargains are unbeatable
It's one of the world's few cruise lines to recently report several quarters of losses rather than large profits. For whatever reason (and many of its problems stem from an ill-fated positioning of three ships in the Hawaiian Islands), Norwegian Cruise Line hasn't done well in recent years. Now, with additional financing from a "private equity" group, it is frantically building new and giant ships and refurbishing old ones. But until the public becomes sensitive to its many comfortable improvements, it appears that NCL is doing more than its fair share of discounting.
Go to www.americasvacationcenter.com, click on "deals," and then go to the section listing discounted prices for Norwegian Cruise Line. Starting in late September and through most of November, 7-night sailings of the Caribbean from New York, Miami and Philadelphia, and 7 night-sailings of the Mexican Pacific coast, almost invariably start at $499 and $599 per person for inside cabins. Go to the Mediterranean during the same period of time (late September through most of November) and you'll find that seven-night sailings of the Mediterranean are available for $669 and $699 per person. Given all the recent fuel-related increases in the cruising world, the fact that one-week Caribbean sailings for as little as $499 per person (that's with five meals a day) and $599 are still available on Norwegian Cruise Line (up to $699 in the Mediterranean) is quite remarkable and shows that NCL is fighting hard for business.
Americas Vacation Center can also be reached by phone, tel. 888/420-1035.
Now perform the same exercise using www.vacationstogo.com. Go to any Norwegian Cruise Line ship sailing the tropics in October and November. The great majority of those departures are available at discounts of as much as 60%. Go to Norwegian Cruise Line sailings in the Mediterranean during the same period, and you'll find discounts of 50%, 56% and even 67% -- breathtaking reductions.
Here's a travel phenomenon that can result in low-priced vacations of high quality.
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Go to www.americasvacationcenter.com, click on "deals," and then go to the section listing discounted prices for Norwegian Cruise Line. Starting in late September and through most of November, 7-night sailings of the Caribbean from New York, Miami and Philadelphia, and 7 night-sailings of the Mexican Pacific coast, almost invariably start at $499 and $599 per person for inside cabins. Go to the Mediterranean during the same period of time (late September through most of November) and you'll find that seven-night sailings of the Mediterranean are available for $669 and $699 per person. Given all the recent fuel-related increases in the cruising world, the fact that one-week Caribbean sailings for as little as $499 per person (that's with five meals a day) and $599 are still available on Norwegian Cruise Line (up to $699 in the Mediterranean) is quite remarkable and shows that NCL is fighting hard for business.
Americas Vacation Center can also be reached by phone, tel. 888/420-1035.
Now perform the same exercise using www.vacationstogo.com. Go to any Norwegian Cruise Line ship sailing the tropics in October and November. The great majority of those departures are available at discounts of as much as 60%. Go to Norwegian Cruise Line sailings in the Mediterranean during the same period, and you'll find discounts of 50%, 56% and even 67% -- breathtaking reductions.
Here's a travel phenomenon that can result in low-priced vacations of high quality.
Write and read comments about this post.
Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
