Looking for a Relaxing Adult Vacation?

School will be out for most families in the next 2 weeks. That marks the beginning of Family Travel Season - and predictions are that family travel will break records this year. If you'll be planning an "adult vacation" this summer, beware!

The huge explosion in the popularity of Family Vacations has unwittingly caused a challenge for those looking for a quiet, adult atmosphere.  As more and more resorts and cruise lines place greater emphasis on capturing their share of this massive trend, the sanctity of adult-oriented vacation spots is at risk.

Very frequently, a client of our travel agency asks us to arrange a "return" to a special place. Maybe it's the romantic spa resort they loved 5 years ago. The real and present danger is that this resort may have shifted its marketing direction toward "capturing the wave" of family travel. Here's a personal story form a previous blog post that dramatizes how a previously romantic upscale resort quietly (pun intended!) became a family-oriented place complete with water slides and kid's menus.

Over the years, we had a particular cruise line that we liked. Today, it is more like a family cruise line. With Disney Cruise Line, their targeted clientele is obvious... with other upscale lines that historically enjoyed a sophisticated image, it's not so obvious.

When you are embarking upon a relaxing, renewing escape there is nothing worse than finding yourself in "the wrong place"! I urge you to rely upon a good travel professional for guidance - many people think travel agencies are their most expensive option. They are dead wrong! If you don't have a reliable travel advisor, find one!!!!!!

Cheers,

Dick

Europe's Oceans & Waterways

Hi Everyone,
With the terrific popularity of seeing Europe via Cruise Ship - both Ocean and River cruising-  I thought I would blab on the differences between the two cruise modes. As a veteran of many Ocean Cruises in Europe, my wife and I enjoyed our first River Cruise last year... so here's my 2-cents worth:

Strong Points for River Cruising:

• Smaller ships carrying 100 to 140 passengers promotes a more intimate ambiance and a more personal interaction with crew.
• Beautiful scenery while on the move. River ships are cruising during the day whereas ocean ships typically sail during the night.
• River cruise stops are mostly small towns and villages - and the ships dock right in the middle of town so you can walk to most of the attractions.

Strong Points for Ocean Cruising:

• Larger ships provide more creature comforts and more options for lounging (cocktail hours and late evening lounging), dining, entertainment, spas & fitness centers, etc.
• Full days in port and glorious days at sea. More like a floating resort.
• Cruise ports are typically at larger cities with greater variety of attractions and activities.

See what I mean about "different"? 

In actuality, river cruising is better compared to driving through Europe or a Motorcoach Vacation. A terrific alternative to the hassles of driving or riding the highways of Europe vs sitting back and taking in the scenic wonders from rivers rather than highways. And, you are relieved of having to change hotels every couple days - and all the hassles that entails.

Bottom line is that there are two types of travelers to whom we strongly recommend river cruising:

1. People like us who have seen all there is to see of "Coastal Europe".
2. People who ordinarily would wear themselves out with an arduous driving excursion through Europe. (Here's hint: Virtually all the big tour companies in Europe are now offering a River Cruise product - either their own ships or in a marketing agreement with an existing river cruise company.)

As with all forms of vacations, choosing the right line and the right itinerary are the make or break factors in having a memorable vacation. Find a Travel Professional that knows their stuff. (we would love to entice you to contact our travel agency - Acendas Vacations!)

Cheers,

Dick

Cruising Europe - by Ocean or River

Hi Everyone,
With the terrific popularity of seeing Europe via Cruise Ship - both Ocean and River cruising-  I thought I would blab on the differences between the two cruise modes. As a veteran of many Ocean Cruises in Europe, I enjoyed my first River Cruise last year... so here's my 2-cents worth:

Strong Points for River Cruising:

• Smaller ships carrying 100 to 140 passengers promotes a more intimate ambiance and a more personal interaction with crew.
• Beautiful scenery while on the move. River ships are cruising during the day whereas ocean ships sail during the night.
• River cruise stops are typically small towns and villages - and the ships dock right in the middle of town so you can walk to most of the attractions.

Strong Points for Ocean Cruising:

• Larger ships provide more creature comforts and more options for lounging (cocktail hours and late evening lounging), dining, entertainment, spas & fitness, etc.
• Full days in port and glorious days at sea. More like a floating resort.
• Cruise ports are typically at large cities with greater variety of attractions and activities.

See what I mean about "different"? 

In actuality, river cruising is better compared to driving through Europe or a Motorcoach Vacation. A terrific alternative to the hassles of driving or riding the highways of Europe vs sitting back and taking in the scenic wonders from rivers rather than highways. And, you are relieved of having to change hotels every couple days - and all the hassles that entails.

Bottom line is that there are two types of travelers to whom we strongly recommend river cruising:

1. People like us who have seen all there is to see of ocean ports.
2. People who ordinarily would wear themselves out with an arduous driving excursion through Europe. (Here's hint: Virtually all the big Tour Companies in Europe are opening up River Cruise product - either their own ships or in a marketing agreement with an existing cruise company.)

As with all forms of vacations, choosing the right line and the right itinerary are the make or break factors in having a memorable vacation. Find a Travel Professional that knows their stuff!

Cheers,

Dick

Good Deals on Cruises!

Anyone concerned with "truth in advertising" should have a ball with the cruise industry.
My travel agency, Gateway Express, sells a lot of cruise vacations - and, I personally, "heart" cruising. BUT! Although the value of cruise vacations is awesome, the pricing policies are very dishonest.
Gateway Express gets "sale bulletins" almost hourly pitching the unbelievable deals. Just taking one example, I just saw a number of 7-night Caribbean sailings through the winter where the "advertised" price for an Oceanview cabin ranges from $699 to $749 per person. Good deal, eh?
Well, the whole industry conveniently excludes taxes and port usage costs from their advertised prices. Those items can add up to almost as much as the advertised price. So, your $749 cruise is really $1,294.  
For comparison, suppose the airlines (who have their own set of issues) deducted all their airport usage costs and the myriad of taxes they must pay from the published fares. The $478 fare includes all this although the fine print on your ticket does break out the taxes. So you are well aware that the actual fare on that $478 was $392 and the rest was tax. But, suppose they excluded all their airport usage costs and advertised an airfare of $310.
So, if they advertised like the cruise industry does, you would see a fare of $310 when the actual price of your ticket will be $478. Totally dishonest.
Don't get me wrong... $1,294 for the afore-mentioned cruise is a terrific value. I just wish they could be honest about it!


Cheers,
Dick

Deluxe Cruise for $649? RIGHT!

You all know that I have always been a big proponent of cruise vacations. They continue to be a very good value when compared with "land-based" touring.

But cruise lines' pricing has become a total joke. First Class lines like Royal Caribbean (just to name one) are showing us and you "special offer" prices like $649 for an ocean view cabin on a 7 night cruise. In reality, this cabin costs you almost double that figure... about $1,000 not including airfare. The simplified explanation is that all their costs of "parking" at the various stops are referred to as "taxes"... and the price you saw does not include taxes or fees.

This is more than deceptive! If you paid $70 to park your car at the airport (government parking facility) for 4 days, is it a "tax"? Port costs are a normal cost of operation the same as their payroll costs or provisioning costs. So why is that not included when they determine what they need to sell that cabin for in order to make a nominal profit?

I have always defended the cruise industry against moronic criticisms. Look at my post "Travel Writers are Dinks" from two years ago for a good example!

Cruises are wonderful... but a good 7 day cruise with airfare is going to cost you at least $1,400 per person even with the great specials that are out there now.

Cheers,

Dick

Please follow Gateway Express on facebook!

There's NEVER Been a Better Time to Travel!

The bargains are beyond anything I've EVER seen in my 34 years in the travel business! 

My travel agency just booked a few clients to Las Vegas - Round Trip Northwest flights from Minneapolis and 3 nights at the magnificent Wynn Las Vegas for $371 per person INCLUDING taxes and bellman gratuities.

This package one year ago was about $700 per person.

Ya Gotta Go!!!!

Dick

Alaska Cruise: All's Well That Ends Well!

Well, we're back in Minnesota looking for the sun! It has rained constantly since we returned - feels like Seattle albeit a bit warmer. In a way, it's hard to believe that it took me 63 years to get to Alaska since our travel agency (www.gatewayexpress.com) has sent hundreds of clients there over the years... but in another way, it's no shock - we hate to leave Minnesota in summer leaving our limited travel time & funds for winter escapes! Our Princess Cruise aboard the Island Princess was spectacular! (At Gateway Express Travel, we feature Princess Cruises and Holland America Line for family travel and Silversea Cruises for upscale, adult-only trips.)

When I last posted we were in Juneau about to head out for an evening of whale-watching. For me, that was the highlight of the whole trip... being able to get within 200 feet of the magnificent beasts! At one point we came up to a mother and baby cavorting playfully together. The youngster was just learning the "moves" and it was fun to watch.

Then it was off to Skagway where we went out for some King Salmon fishing. Although we got skunked, it was a gorgeous day on the water. We saw Black Bears along the shore, Sea Lions and a lot of Bald Eagles. The cruise ended with two days of sailing through Glacier Bay and College Fjord. In the latter, we saw numerous Seals perched on large chunks of ice that had broken off the glaciers. On one of these mini-icebergs we saw a new-born seal with its mother. There was some blood on the ice indicating that the baby had been born within the last couple days. After a very scenic 2-hour rail trip from Whittier to Anchorage aboard the Princess Express that continues on the their Wilderness Lodges in the interior, our day in Anchorage was pretty uneventful. We disembarked about 7:00AM and had a 9:30PM red eye flight home. We intentionally gave ourselves the day to explore Anchorage... that is the one thing we would change. There's not a lot to do or see in Anchorage. We were ready to get home to our 2-year old Cockapoo, Hat Trick! The 1:00PM flight would have been perfect!

Cheers,

Dick

To comment, please click the "comments" link below, type in your comments then, under “Choose an Identity”, select “Nickname" if you want to leave a name (your name or a ‘blog handle’) or just leave it blank. OR, you can select ‘Anonymous’. I would love to hear from you!

More Proof that Travel & Leisure Writers are Dinks!
Conde Nast Traveler writer Wendy Perrin takes a poke at the cruise industry and their alleged 'deceptive' pricing in her July article, "Sticker Shock at Sea", claiming that her family's Celebrity cruise ( a family of four) cost 54% more than the base fare. In her critique, she listed a number of extra charges that they incurred... charges for things that I would not exactly call 'typical'. She complained that she and her husband paid $220 for dinner for two including wine and tip in the ship's alternative gourmet restaurant. I looked it up and found that the surcharge for that gourmet dinner is $30 per person - far less than a similar meal in a comparable land-based restaurant. How she and her hubby could spend an extra $160 is a bit perplexing - either it was a very special bottle (or bottles) of wine or they are BIG tippers! Either way, it was their choice!

She whined about the $6 per hour they spent on child care. I checked into that and found that Celebrity's children's program is free of charge. She complained that they spent over $800 on 10 shore excursions. Again, their choice - and I don't know of any vacation package that includes side trips. She complained about their $228 bar bill. Again, their choice... and it is common knowledge that wine and cocktails on ships are well below prices at land-based lounges and restaurants. She even took offense at the $5 per day charge for unlimited soft drinks and complained about the 'endless' fliers promoting the shops and spa services. Apparently, she was unaware that use of the waste basket in their cabin IS complimentary!!!!

A good travel agent could tell her that the luxury lines typically DO include all those things for which the contemporary lines provide as optional services. (You would think that a professional writer would be familiar with the term, "Optional".) Of course the base price is much higher. I guess she wants Lexus features at a Kia price!

Cheers,
Dick