Plan for a Vacation Day

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"Where do you want to go? I don't know. What do you have a taste for? I don’t know. How about going to … No, we went there last time.” 

Sound familiar? The last time you went out for dinner, did you have a conversation somewhat like that? I wouldn't be surprised if you did, since I've had several of these conversations myself.

Planning a vacation often sounds like that too. That's not a bad thing. It's actually very good to ask questions and get a consensus before planking down your hard-earned money on a vacation. You do want to involve everyone in your decision process, so that you will all be happy with the final plan. I also encourage you to get some professional advice.

Planning a dinner outing isn't that much different than planning a vacation. The questions are pretty similar: “Where do you want to go? What do you want to see and do there? Do you want to dress up for dinner? Do you want to relax at the beach? Do you want to go somewhere you haven’t been to before or go back to the same destination you went to last year? Where can we get good value for our money?”

Let me help you answer some of these questions. The last question is probably the easiest to answer. A cruise gives you excellent value. You are able to pay one price for all your lodging, food, and entertainment. From the time you board the ship, you are treated to a resort experience that you will talk about for years to come. Even in the most expensive ports of call, you have an option to keep your costs down by eating your meals onboard the ship instead of at some local restaurant. You don’t have to worry about the exchange rate if you don’t want to. You’ve already paid for your cruise in your local currency and all optional onboard expenses can be charged to your account in your local currency.

So, that brings us to the harder question – where to go. If you have cruised before, you have most likely been to some part of the Caribbean Islands and/or the Bahamas. The majority of first-time cruisers go there, so I think my odds are pretty good on guessing where you’ve been to before. There’s good reason why most cruisers go to the Caribbean – it’s a great destination, the weather is great, it’s a year-round destination with many cruise ships going there. Due to the supply, the cruise lines have no problem keeping up with the demand.

On the other hand, if you’ve been to the Caribbean several times before, you might be looking for something new this year. I’d like to let you in on some inside information which may surprise you. Europe is an excellent cruise value, especially in 2008. This may come as a shock to you. It seems that we are either in a recession or heading for one, so how could Europe be a good value? Isn’t the cost of fuel going up, so won’t it be expensive to get to Europe from the States? Yes, times are tough, fuel costs are rising, and there is a good chance that the airline ticket will be the largest portion of your vacation price. Repeat that you say. Airfare may be more than your cruise fare. There is a possibility that you can get a great deal from the cruise lines this year. Why is that? The cruise lines are over-deployed in Europe this year. There was such an increase in demand for Europe the past few years, the cruise line reacted and moved many of their ships to the European market.

Cruise ship schedules are done well in advance, so it takes quite some time to react to changing times. With all the ships in Europe, the cruise lines need to fill them up this summer. In order to do that, many of the lines are offering special pricing which combats the price of the airfare. In some cases, they even have special airfare if you book that through them. If you haven’t been to Europe before, or if you’ve been yearning to go back, this might be the best time in the next few years to do so.

It wouldn’t surprise me if the airlines also react by offering special airfares during the summer months. It is very costly to fly long-distance trips and the airlines want to have their planes as full as possible. So, the savvy cruise traveler can actually reap great rewards by taking advantage of special pricing. If Europe isn’t your “cup of tea”, I would encourage you to check other destinations beyond the Caribbean on our blog and website.

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Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat 

Early Bird Gets the Worm

What We Learned 

at National Conference

Times are a Changing

One of the highlights of CruiseOne / Cruises Inc. 2014 National Conference, which was held onboard Regal Princess earlier this month, was the Cruise Line Panel Q&A.  Each year, we hold our conference on a different cruise ship but no matter what line it is on, the other CLIA member cruise lines participate.

This year was no different with, representatives of many lines including Princess Cruises, Carnival Cruises, Norwegian Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, and Holland America, to name just a few.   A subset of those lines participated in the moderated Q&A session which talked about the Cruise Industry, their business, and the outlook for next year.

Prices Are Rising 

As you might expect, the cruise lines want to sail full each sailing, so they need to monitor sales closely and adjust prices as needed.   In 2014 there was excess capacity in the Caribbean, with all the new ships, so that had pressure on pricing forcing some last minute discounting.  Cruise lines don't like to do so because it hurts their bottom line and also penalizes those that booked early.

Cruise lines are making adjustments in deployments for next year, and that over-capacity situation will not exist driving prices upwards.   Across the board the cruise lines indicated that their goal for 2015 was to have the best prices early in the sell cycle with higher prices resulting as the ships fill and demand continues.

Message to Consumers - Book Early for Best Deals

Sales for 2015 are off to a good start, so the cruise lines are confident that their strategy will work.  To be sure to keep sales on track, the lines are kicking off Wave Season early.  Normally it doesn't start until January, but many lines have already released Wave Season offers.  Wave Season is the first quarter of the year and typically has some of the best offers.   This is the time of year when people are locked inside their houses due to cold temps, so they really start to dream about getting away to somewhere warmer.
 
Of course, Black Friday is one of the biggest shopping days of the year, so cruise lines have announced offers for that as well.  See our Facebook page for some highlights.

Location, Location, Location

Besides getting the best prices by booking early, there are other advantages as well.  What would you rather look at when you wake up - 4 walls or the ocean?  Would you like the smoothest ride or is a roller-coaster cruise satisfactory?

The most important thing to having an enjoyable cruise is your accommodations.  Contrary to popular thinking, you do spend a significant amount of your vacation in your cabin, so comfortable surroundings does increase your satisfaction level.    If you've ever looked at multiple cabin categories, you'll notice that location factors into the price you pay.    Mid-ship demands a higher price tag than all the way aft or all the forward, even on the same deck.  You will find the least motion mid-ship, so anyone that might not want to feel the "motion of the ocean" should definitely try to get one of these prime cabins.

Guess which cabins sell out first?   Mid-ship and higher decks - which often mean the balconies and suites  that are highly sought after.  

Delaying your booking means you get what's left.  You'll still have a great cabin and no doubt an enjoyable cruise, but perhaps it could have been even better if you were able to get your first choice in cabins.

How to Play the Game

Our goal is to help you find the right cruise for you and your guests.  With all the added capacity, there are also many choices.   It is becoming harder for the individual to sort through all the choices and offers to find the best value for your vacation dollars.   That's where we come in - that is our task and one that we really enjoy.   We love making dreams come true and hearing about your fantastic vacation afterwards.

Our website has links to all of our various social media outlets.   Most importantly is our eNewsletter which is sent out via email on average once a week.   During Wave Season, and times when there are an abundance of offers, it might be more frequent.  Some offers cross our desk and have a very short duration - so we suggest you let us know in advance about your plans so that we can watch for the best value.


We've included links here with a brief explanation of some of the resources we offer to our followers.   Please be sure to take advantage of all these opportunities, as that is the best way to stay informed.

 
If you haven’t signed up for our eSavers Newsletter yet, be sure to do so. This is just one of our communication vehicles to keep you informed about industry news and special offers for our loyal followers.




Be sure to visit our Facebook Fan Page and "Like Us" so that you can be in the inner circle of our Fans. You’ll have the opportunity to be the first to know about specials and other exclusive information, such as updates from cruise lines.

Follow us on Twitter: @ChrisPappinMCC  Pinterest: CruiseWithChris Pappin and Facebook: CruiseWithChris Pappin Cruises Inc for more ideas.

Each week we post images from our trips and participate in several travel chats on Twitter.

Take advantage of these resources to assist you in planning your dream vacations.  Of course, we are always available to answer any questions you might have about travel and the industry.

A Cruise Line is Born

Welcome to the new Viking Cruises

Just Announced May 17, 2013

Torstein Hagen, the visionary founder of Viking River Cruises, the world's largest and fastest growing river line, told the assembled travel agents, journalists and past passengers the company would launch its ocean-oriented cruise line in May 2015.  The announcement came at a gala banquet in Beverly Hills, California.

Click on this interactive image to start exploring the new cruise line and the first of its ships, Viking Star.



Viking Cruises, the new name of Viking River Cruises, announced the launch of its ocean product line, Viking Ocean Cruises, marking the introduction of the travel industry’s first new cruise line in nearly a decade.

Destination is Key Focus

Developed from the ground up to return the focus of cruising to the destination, Viking Ocean Cruises will begin sailing in May 2015 with its first vessel—Viking Star—embarking on maiden voyages in Scandinavia and the Baltic; and the Western and Eastern Mediterranean.

Leveraging extensive feedback and input from Viking River Cruises passengers, Viking Ocean Cruises was developed with experienced travelers in mind. Itineraries are curated for maximum time in port, often with late evenings or overnights, so guests can experience local nightlife or evening performances. Ports include both cosmopolitan cities and “collector ports,” and appeal to those with an interest in history, art and culture.

Small Ship Sailing with Unparalleled Value

All-inclusive pricing provides unparalleled value—with every cruise fare including a veranda stateroom, shore excursions in each port of call, all onboard meals, and all port charges and government taxes. Passengers also enjoy many complimentary amenities as part of their fare, including: beer and wine with lunch and dinner service; wi-fi; self-service laundry and 24-hour room service—a value of more than $2,400 per couple for an average cruise. 

Continued Fleet Expansion

Viking Cruises has aggressive expansion plans in both the ocean and river cruise categories, with a second ocean ship on order for delivery in 2016 and conditional orders and options for four more additional ocean vessels. The ocean ship order follows the company’s continued rapid fleet expansion in the river cruise sector, with 10 new river ships recently christened in March of this year and 12 new river ships planned to launch in 2014.

Earlier this year Viking set the World Record for the most ships launched on a single day: World Record Ship Launching

Working Closely With Viking to Launch New Cruise Line

Bookings Now Open for Viking Star 

Planning a Cruise Vacation

 
Cruising...

Today's 

Vacation of

Choice 

You've heard friends talk about their cruise vacations and how great a time they had, and you wonder what's it all about. More and more people are discovering the all-inclusive pleasures of a cruise vacation.   This month, in conjunction with CLIA's National Cruise Vacation Month, we are writing a series of articles to help you become more familiar with cruise vacations.

Planning Your First / Next Cruise

The diagram above shows some of the decision points that factor into your final selection of a particular cruise sailing.   At first glance, it may seem to be a bit daunting, and perhaps that is what has kept you away from taking a cruise up to now.  We can work with you to demystify the process.

We highly recommend that you work with a professional travel agent, that specializes in cruises, to plan your vacation.   As a CLIA certified Master Cruise Counselor (MCC), we've taken the time to learn about the industry, the cruise lines, the destinations, all the changes that occur year after year, and through our personal experiences, can ask the right questions to find the cruise that best meets your desires.  The MCC certification isn't a one-time event, it is an ongoing commitment, of our expertise, which we need to renew year after year, much like your family doctor.  

Asking the Right Questions

Think about other travel that you have done ...  When planning those trips, you had certain criteria in mind that ultimately factored into what became your vacation or business trip.  

Who's Going, What are their Ages, When Can you Go
 
In many cases, you are locked into a specific date or period of time (such as when the other travelers can get off of work, or when the kids are out of school).  Once a date is selected, the pool of possible cruise destinations may shrink.   For example, if you wanted to cruise in December, you won't be going to Alaska, as that season goes from May - September.

Are Certain Ports a Must, Are you Driving or Flying to Port

We'll look at destinations in more detail in another post, but that is one of the key determining factors in planning the actual sailing.   Let's assume that you want to meet a long lost relative in a foreign country...   that would become a must-see port of call and could become your primary deciding factor.

If you are fortunate enough to be within driving distance to a cruise port, departing from that port may dictate the length of cruise and destination(s) possible.  Even if you are flying, each port has certain destinations that are within sailing distance for a given length of a cruise.

Do you Have any Preferences

You may have some cruise lines, that you are familiar with, and want to sail on.   This may be a trip with the family who loves Disney characters or Dreamworks characters and the cruise line becomes the most important factor in your planning.

Finding the Right Cruise at the Right Price

After discussing all the options within the framework of your wants, the final decision will most likely involve what's available within my budget.   Our goal as your agent is to find you the best value for your vacation dollar.  Note that doesn't necessarily equate to the lowest price.   If the lowest priced cruise doesn't have any of your top requirements, then that cruise isn't for you.  You wouldn't buy a car that you didn't like, and you shouldn't purchase a cruise vacation that you won't like either.

Starting the Planning

We have many tools for you to begin your cruise research.   We are highlighting them throughout the month as we look at cruising, which we fell in love with personally some 30+ years ago.  This blog, our Facebook page, and our website are your building blocks.   We have a cruise finder on all these sites which can give you an idea about the destinations that are possible within the desired time frame.  The best tool that you have at  your disposal is the phone.  An interactive conversation is the best way to uncover your wants and desires and funnel them down to possible candidate cruise sailings.

Johnny Rockets at Sea Special Offer

February Dining Offer

Book any category stateroom and receive a
Complimentary Johnny Rockets Experience for up to Four Guests
AND Dinner for Two in a Specialty Restaurant
AND One Passport to Savings Onboard Value Booklet!

You are in the middle of the ocean on a cruise ship and all of a sudden you get a craving for a juicy hamburger and a milk shake. What do you do? Hopefully you are on a Royal Caribbean ship that has a Johnny Rockets Hamburger restaurant onboard, such as on the Oasis of the Seas.


A burger, fries, and shake does sound really good, doesn't it. We thought it might, so for a limited time only we are offering a unique dining experience onboard select Royal Caribbean Cruises.

If you've not tried a specialty restaurant before, this is a great way to experience one.

Applicable Sailings:

ANY 7-Night or longer Royal Caribbean cruise

departing between March 15 – June 30, 2010

For ships that do not have specialty dining and/or Johnny Rockets, a bottle of wine will be substituted.

Booking Window:
February 24 – March 31, 2010

Limit one dining experience in Johnny Rockets, one specialty dining experience, and one booklet per booking. New reservations only, excluding group bookings. Additional restrictions apply. For complete Terms & conditions of this offer, call or email me.

Black Friday - Leave the Stress Behind

Looking for Something Different this Year?

The busy holiday shopping period has begun. If you go to your local mall, people are dashing from store to store frantically trying to find that special gift for a friend or someone they love.

Do you hate going to the malls to shop during this busy season?

Are you struggling to find the perfect gift for someone on your list?

Would that person enjoy a relaxing vacation on a beach like the one pictured above?

Do your gift shopping from the comfort of your home or office.

There is no question that 2009 has been a tough economic year. You might have noticed that several cruise lines introduced new ships this year. The most recent addition is the world's largest cruise ship, the Oasis of the Seas. What were the cruise lines thinking?

A new cruise ship doesn't happen overnight. In fact, from inception of an idea to the inaugural sailing takes many years. When Royal Caribbean placed its order with STX Europe in Finland, the economy was in much different shape.

Now that there is all this extra capacity, each cruise line is competing for passenger's cruise vacation dollars. That's great news for you, the consumer! Every day, fantastic offers have crossed my desk and I've shared them with you, my faithful readers, throughout the year.

Guess what? The bubble is about to burst. Prices will soon be rising again as the economy starts to recover. There is still time to take advantage of the low prices - but you must act now.

Remember my words in a couple months or so. Don't set yourself up for regret - book your 2010 cruise vacations NOW. They make great holiday gifts!!

Take advantage of Black Friday Offers

Let us CUSTOM DESIGN a CRUISE VACATION for YOU.

The Sunset of 2008

Close your eyes and picture yourself on the balcony of your favorite cruise ship. It is almost dusk. Memories of the day's activities are running through your mind. You open your eyes just in time to witness the sun slowly sinking from the sky and settling into it's nightly resting place deep in the ocean.

Darkness surrounds you as the sun's light is completely extinguished. This doesn't bother you since you have hope that tomorrow the sun will once again rise high into the sky above and shine brightly as you explore yet another destination along life's journey.



As 2008 draws to a close, I would be remiss if this column didn't take a look at the year in review. Somewhere out there, someone stood on a balcony looking at the final sunset of the year and just as you, hoped for a bright tomorrow.

Perhaps this year, more than others in recent time, many people are hoping for a brighter tomorrow. The last quarter of the year has been the most challenging as we learned that we were indeed in a recession.

Close your eyes one more time and think about the good and the bad times of 2008. On the bad side, I suspect your list will include the rising cost of fuel, the credit crunch, the housing problems, bank bailouts (and more bailouts)... On the good side there are the new leaders that were elected that bring the promise of change to the new year. The task of digging out of the recession is in their hands.

The cruise industry was not exempt from the credit crunch and rising fuel costs. All the major cruise lines imposed fuel surcharges which added to the cost of your vacations. The good news is that the end of the year brought declining fuel costs and the cruise lines have rolled back those surcharges. Already the sun is starting to peak out from it's nightly resting place.

Amidst all of this, Celebrity Cruises new ship Solstice set sail for it's inaugural season. I was fortunate to be one of the first passengers to set sail on this new ship which has set a higher standard for all the cruise lines to meet. We'll take a closer look at this ship in future columns.

What are your happy memories from 2008? I hope that you were on a cruise vacation. I also hope that the economic woes of 2008 haven't prevented you from planning future cruise vacations.

For those of you thar are regular readers of my blog, you know that we visisted Bermuda, Alaska, and the Galapagos this year. Due to the holidays I've gotten behind on my blogging, but promise to continue the Galapagos trip column in January.

In bad times, investors seek out value. Cruise vacations continue to be the best travel value, so this is the time to take advantage of the bargains that are available.

Let us close the book on this historic year together. Tomorrow, when you awake, open the book on what I hope will be a brighter tomorrow. Happy, Healthy, Propserous New Year to all!!

Cruising Beyond the Caribbean

"Where do you want to go? I don't know. What do you have a taste for? I don’t know. How about going to … No, we went there last time.” Sound familiar? The last time you went out for dinner, did you have a conversation somewhat like that? I wouldn't be surprised if you did, since I've had several of these conversations myself.

Planning a vacation often sounds like that too. That's not a bad thing. It's actually very good to ask questions and get a consensus before planking down your hard-earned money on a vacation. You do want to involve everyone in your decision process, so that you will all be happy with the final plan. I also encourage you to get some professional advice.

Planning a dinner outing isn't that much different than planning a vacation. The questions are pretty similar: “Where do you want to go? What do you want to see and do there? Do you want to dress up for dinner? Do you want to relax at the beach? Do you want to go somewhere you haven’t been to before or go back to the same destination you went to last year? Where can we get good value for our money?”

Let me help you answer some of these questions. The last question is probably the easiest to answer. A cruise gives you excellent value. You are able to pay one price for all your lodging, food, and entertainment. From the time you board the ship, you are treated to a resort experience that you will talk about for years to come. Even in the most expensive ports of call, you have an option to keep your costs down by eating your meals onboard the ship instead of at some local restaurant. You don’t have to worry about the exchange rate if you don’t want to. You’ve already paid for your cruise in your local currency and all optional onboard expenses can be charged to your account in your local currency.

So, that brings us to the harder question – where to go. If you have cruised before, you have most likely been to some part of the Caribbean Islands and/or the Bahamas. The majority of first-time cruisers go there, so I think my odds are pretty good on guessing where you’ve been to before. There’s good reason why most cruisers go to the Caribbean – it’s a great destination, the weather is great, it’s a year-round destination with many cruise ships going there. Due to the supply, the cruise lines have no problem keeping up with the demand.

On the other hand, if you’ve been to the Caribbean several times before, you might be looking for something new this year. I’d like to let you in on some inside information which may surprise you. Europe is an excellent cruise value, especially in 2008. This may come as a shock to you. It seems that we are either in a recession or heading for one, so how could Europe be a good value? Isn’t the cost of fuel going up, so won’t it be expensive to get to Europe from the States? Yes, times are tough, fuel costs are rising, and there is a good chance that the airline ticket will be the largest portion of your vacation price. Repeat that you say. Airfare may be more than your cruise fare. There is a possibility that you can get a great deal from the cruise lines this year. Why is that? The cruise lines are over-deployed in Europe this year. There was such an increase in demand for Europe the past few years, the cruise line reacted and moved many of their ships to the European market.

Cruise ship schedules are done well in advance, so it takes quite some time to react to changing times. With all the ships in Europe, the cruise lines need to fill them up this summer. In order to do that, many of the lines are offering special pricing which combats the price of the airfare. In some cases, they even have special airfare if you book that through them. If you haven’t been to Europe before, or if you’ve been yearning to go back, this might be the best time in the next few years to do so.

It wouldn’t surprise me if the airlines also react by offering special airfares during the summer months. It is very costly to fly long-distance trips and the airlines want to have their planes as full as possible. So, the savvy cruise traveler can actually reap great rewards by taking advantage of special pricing.If Europe isn’t your “cup of tea”, I would encourage you to check other destinations beyond the Caribbean. My websites should give you some more ideas. I’ll share some additional ideas with you next time.