…see the cities where Winnie embarks or disembarks, I encouraged her to add hotel stays, or she will not see anything of them. Tiring Second, a week-long Mediterranean cruise can be tiring. Few have sea days for her to relax, as they call into ports daily. She’ll be out exploring most of the day and enjoying the dining and entertainment onboard into the evenings. She’ll be flying in, so likely tired and jet-lagged. Another good reason for having pr…
…first port. Covering the costs. I used to book my own flights and pre-stay hotels but no longer. If the cruise line flight and hotel are higher than booking myself, my travel agent builds a package of flights and hotels which, certainly in the UK, through the ATOL package tour rules, provides the same protection. So, when my flights via Amsterdam to Panama City to join an Oceania Cruise were cancelled at short notice, she had to find new flights t…
…searched. I handed my luggage over the night before at the Quito pre-stay hotel to be searched and sealed. I wasn’t allowed to break that seal until I got my bags on the ship. During the flight from Quito to the islands, the plane was sprayed with insect spray. The Galapagos has a huge problem with invasive species wreaking havoc. In the on-board talks I learnt there is up to 1,700 animals, insects or plants that have arrived on the island either…
…price included flights to Ecuador and on to Galapagos, pre- and post-stay hotel, transfers, all drinks, basic Wi-Fi and gratuities, entry fee to the Galapagos National Park, and expeditions. The only cost I had once there were meals in the hotels, and I upgraded to the better Wi-Fi. As much as I enjoyed my trip, I realised I am a more casual nature lover and prefer the more bucket list animals. If you are like me, you may find the Arctic with pol…
…ot a benefit. They spoke about how so many cruisers say they want to avoid hotel costs by flying in the same day of the cruise. However, many have got frantic cries for help due to delays or cancellations on cruise embarkation day. I agree with this. Over the years, I have been saved much drama and stress by building in at least one overnight, like on a recent Azamara Quest Western Mediterranean cruise out of Barcelona where bad weather passing th…
…requirements If you are likely to require extras booked by Sarah (flights, hotel etc) once those are available Permission for her to let me know you have booked and that she can give me your email so I can contact you about the Facebook group and add you to specific group cruise mailings and updates. Sarah will process the bookings in the order she receives the emails, and based on demand it may take a few days to return with your quote. Note: Cab…
…requirements If you are likely to require extras booked by Sarah (flights, hotel etc) once those are available Permission for her to let me know you have booked and that she can give me your email so I can contact you about the Facebook group and add you to specific group cruise mailings and updates. Sarah will process the bookings in the order she receives the emails, and based on demand it may take a few days to return with your quote. Note: Cab…
…. I won’t spend a lot of time on this as I have spoken about this in other videos. But basically, what happens is close to a cruise the line sends out opportunities to bid for an upgrade. The cruise lines love this as they find they can entice people to pay more than they had planned for the cruise, and again frees up those lower grade cabins, which are easier to sell. The trap here is the cruise line sets minimum bid levels which on checking are…
…ns these on ships on how to use FaceTime, edit photographs, and make short videos on your phone. So, if you have any of the skills or knowledge like Chris Frame, Chris T or David and can teach or talk about it, you could be pitching to cruise lines. One other, but fast diminishing free cruise opportunity, is if you love ballroom dancing is being a gentleman host to dance with solo lady travellers on lines like Cunard and Saga. I’ve interviewed a c…
…he Norwegian Fjords and they status match other cruise lines, or even high hotel or airline status. I gave them proof of my top-tier Diamond status on Cunard, and they matched it, which unlocked perks like free specialty dining, on-board discounts, and priority embarkation and disembarkation. At time of writing this, Virgin Voyages are also doing the same. Status Within The Group Some lines share status within the same group. I had no status with…
…fic Ocean Swordfish for my main course as I’ve seen people recommend it on videos I watched. I could have had Beef Fillet or Vegetable Moussaka. For dessert we all had the Cherry, Apple and Blueberry Galette not the Banoffee Pie. We were tired after our travels, so we headed off to bed. Returning to our cabin, it had been turned down and the double beds had been made, with chocolates and bathrobes left out. We set our clocks back 30 minutes to be…
