Tuesday, April 26, 2022

You Wanna Pizza Me

Introducing The Pizza Place
on Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady


The Pizza Place
click images to enlarge

This is a fast-casual version of your favorite slice joint, but with infinitely more opportunities to order from Virgin Voyages' curated menu of delicious pizzas made from local dough provided by the famed Mister 01 pizza makers based in Wynwood, Miami.

Pizza Place Menu
Select from one of the suggested pizzas or choose your own toppings.   Then sit down and relax while you wait for your personal pizza to be delivered.

The Pizza Place

We highly recommend you have at least one pizza during your cruise.  It is a great place to get some food after coming back from a shore excursion.

Scarlet Lady Mini-Series

Click the image (left) to read more about this cruise.

Bookmark this page and come back to read all about this award-winning new ship.  View our The Pizza Place album for more images.

Visit our Shutterfly Page to view photo albums.



 
I recently completed extensive training and have become Travel Safety Verified. As your dedicated Travel Advisor, your safety is our priority, and it's our job to ensure you have the necessary information you need to give you confidence and peace of mind when making your future travel plans. Click the link to review our Travel Safety program with valuable resources that will answer many of your questions.




Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday afternoon at 4 PM Eastern for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat





Friday, April 22, 2022

Earth Day 2022 - Travel and You

Earth Day globe Happy Earth Day 2022
April 22nd

Invest in Our Planet

Now is the time to preserve and protect our health, our families, our livelihoods… together, we must Invest In Our Planet.

There is still time to solve the climate crisis, but it's going to take all of us!


We love cruising the world's oceans and waterways.  It is one of the most enjoyable ways to explore the earth.  In order to continue doing so, we need to protect the oceans and our land for generations to come.  Each of you can help make a difference in the future of Mother Earth.

Earth Day is an annual event celebrated on April 22. Worldwide, various events are held to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First celebrated in 1970, Earth Day events in more than 193 countries are now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network.

Earth Day Network’s mission is to diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement worldwide. Earth Day 2022 is dedicated to raise awareness about what each of us does, and how we do it, which has a huge ripple effect on our ecosystems, and on the pace of corporate and government action.

Environmentally Conscious Vacation Experiences

Did you know that Cruise Lines offer an environmentally conscious vacation experience? 
CLIA Cruise Line Members lead, invest, and collaborate to minimize their ships’ impact on the environment.

CLIA ocean-going cruise lines are pursuing net carbon neutral cruising by 2050 across the global fleet.

sailing sustainably

Fueling the future 

The immediate future includes the introduction of alternate fuels in support of the IMO goal to achieve zero emissions. 

fueling the future


Cruise lines are at the forefront in developing responsible environmental practices, leading by example for the world’s shipping industry.  Learn more on CLIA website.  

Celebrity Beyond, which sails in just a few more days, is the first in the fleet to be LNG powered.  Royal Caribbean has 3 ships on order which will be powered by LNG.   Carnival Mardi Gras is already sailing.  As mentioned many more are to come.  Congratulations to the cruise lines which are taking this important measures to protect the future.

Lighthouse Project Trees4Travel Partnership 

Avalon Waterways

The Globus family of brands Lighthouse Project is focused on three, give-back categories: 
    Lighthouse Project
  • Planet: The Globus family of brands makes every effort to conserve and preserve in each destination visited. To protect waterways and wildlife and shine a light on organizations that do the same. 
  • People: The Globus family of brands is dedicated to protecting, respecting and supporting the extraordinary communities of the world as well as improving the individual lives within them. The measure of success? – The megawatt smiles we see along the way. 
  • Places: The parks, palaces, museums and monuments we enjoy today are the result of previous generations passionately committed to preservation. By way of the Lighthouse Project, the Globus family of brands aims to pay it forward so that future generations can enjoy the same glorious places to relax, renew and reflect. 

To offset travel’s carbon emissions @globusfamily is donating trees to be planted on behalf of every Avalon Waterways guest in 2022.  They area also inviting their guests to be involved.

For more information about the Globus family of brands’ Lighthouse Project, visit each company Web site at GlobusCosmosAvalon WaterwaysMonograms. For more information about Trees4Travel, visit Trees4Travel.


Help End Plastic Pollution by finding out how many plastic items you consume every year 
and make a PLEDGE to reduce the amount.


Additional Resources:
environment signs
 (click on the image to enlarge)


A Global Concern

When we were in Southeast Asia before the pandemic we toured Gardens by the Bay in Singapore.  These signs underscore the need to take action to protect our environment.  We encourage you to start your education on this Earth Day 2022, and take steps to conserve and recycle during your vacations and daily lives.  

Thank you to CLIA, Participating Cruise Lines, EPA, Earth Day Network and their sponsors for efforts to educate and make changes necessary for sustainability.  And thank YOU for doing your part.  

We must work together to protect endangered and threatened species: bees, coral reefs, elephants, giraffes, insects, whales and more.



I recently completed extensive training and have become Travel Safety Verified. As your dedicated Travel Advisor, your safety is our priority, and it's our job to ensure you have the necessary information you need to give you confidence and peace of mind when making your future travel plans. Click the link to review our Travel Safety program with valuable resources that will answer many of your questions.




Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday afternoon at 4 PM Eastern for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat





Friday, April 15, 2022

Put Your Tax Dollars to Work on a Vacation

Spend Your Tax Refund



Have you had visions of Caribbean beaches and cruise ships in your dreams?  I'm sure that I'm not the only one that does...  especially after the long pause from cruising due to the pandemic.

Are you are getting a tax refund?  Help the economy grow - spend some of your tax refund on yourself - on a cruise vacation.  If you've not been on a cruise before, now is the best time as ships are still not 100% full and the experience is the best ever.

Europe images

If you are like most Americans, when the pandemic started, your vacation plans went out the window.   Consequently cruise prices have remained at pretty constant low prices, but are about to start increasing.   There are still several cruise line offers available for those that want to take advantage of the lower pricing.


How about Europe Instead?

Of course, you don't need to go to the Caribbean, and in fact, European cruise vacations are on the rebound.   Why is that you ask?    The cruise lines have record deployments in Europe in recent years but the demand hadn't kept pace with the increased capacity.

That's not to imply that people aren't booking European cruises - they are.  However, there are larger ships and more of them, in Europe this summer than any other time before. Obviously, the cruise ships need to sail full for the companies to make a profit, so the consumer wins.

Comparing Cruise to Land-Based

blue domes of Santorini
I just did a quick search on my website for a short European cruise vacation in May.  A 9 night Greek Isles cruise was available for less than $800 pp for an inside cabin.   For those that aren't quick at math, that's about $88 pp per day or less (excluding taxes and fees).

For comparison purposes, I did a hotel search for Santorini, Greece, one of the embarkation ports, during the same period and prices for a popular hotel started from $282 Per Night.   The hotel didn't include meals or entertainment and was rated as a 4 star accommodation.    Contrasting the hotel stay and the cruise...  On the cruise it's like getting your room at less than 50%, all your meals, and entertainment onboard the ship.

Besides Santorini, you'd visit Naples, Italy • Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey • Mykonos, Greece • Rhodes, Greece • Souda (Chania), Crete. Greece is one of our favorite cruise destinations.


Scandanavia

I've not discussed airfare, which is a large expense for a European vacation, especially in prime season.   Since the cost of air would be the same for the cruise and land-based vacation stay, I've excluded that from the equation.    Since this cruise is before the Summer Season this makes the selected cruise even more attractive.  Cruise lines often have reduced air prices.

There are many deals to Europe this Summer.   We'll feature some of the sales on our website and Facebook page.   If you are seriously considering a Europe get-away this Summer, my suggestion would be to book now while the supply is larger than the demand so that you can maximize your investment.  

The prices I've seen during my search in preparation for this article are on par with what you'd pay for a Caribbean vacation on the same or similar ships.   For the most part, the ships are the larger, newer vessels in the respective fleets.   Ships like Celebrity Beyond, Enchanted Princess, and Royal Caribbean Odyssey of the Seas are just a few of the choices you'll have.

Of course, if you want to stay closer to home in the Caribbean, Bermuda, or Disney World, we can help you sort through all the possible choices and find the best value for you and your family.  


Put Your Tax Dollars to Work for You on a Cruise / Land Vacation to Remember for Years to Come.   Cruise Europe in 2022 !!
I recently completed extensive training and have become Travel Safety Verified. As your dedicated Travel Advisor, your safety is our priority, and it's our job to ensure you have the necessary information you need to give you confidence and peace of mind when making your future travel plans. Click the link to review our Travel Safety program with valuable resources that will answer many of your questions.




Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday afternoon at 4 PM Eastern for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat