Arthur Frommer's Blog, page 20

Arthur's Blog: Gate 1 Travel's Comprehensive Travel Package to Turkey is Currently the Price to Beat

It's hard to believe that the specialists in operating tours to Turkey will take this competitive threat lying down. But for the time being at least, our friends at Gate1Travel.com seem to have undercut the normal fall/winter price of a far-ranging air-and-land package to Turkey by a considerable amount.
In all recent years, a long-established Turkey-specializing company, Pacha Tours (www.pachatours.com; tel. 800/722-4288), has made considerable waves with the low cost of its fall-and-winter, 13-night, escorted motorcoach tour going to every conceivable attraction of interest in Turkey. The price it charged, which included round-trip airfare to Turkey, made of this program one of the great bargains of travel. Currently, Pacha Tours seems to be offering a price of $1,750 for that air-included, two week adventure in autumn the firm calls "Turkish Delight," but the material I've consulted hasn't yet been updated to set forth final prices for January through March.
Gate 1 Travel (www.gate1travel.com; tel. 800/682-3333) has dropped the price on its "13 Days Affordable Turkey" package to $1,399 for persons making their bookings prior to July 16, and to $1,499 for laggards committing themselves after that date, all for departures from November through mid-March. So there's much consternation, undoubtedly, in Istanbul! Stand tuned for undoubted alterations in Pacha's price.
In all fairness, it's important to point out that Gate1Travel's tour to Turkey is for a stay of only 11 nights in Turkey itself, as compared with Pacha's 13 nights. And Gate 1 doesn't include as many meals. But on the other hand, Gate 1's price of $1,399 includes airline taxes and fees, while Pacha's doesn't. So they seem roughly equivalent in price.
And what do you get for Gate 1's price of $1,399? You get round-trip air (and all taxes and fees) between New York and Istanbul in fall and winter. You get 11 nights of first class accommodations in Istanbul (3 nights), Canakkale (1 night), Kusadasi (2 nights), Pamukkale (1 night), Konya (1 night), Cappadocia (2 nights), and Ankara (1 night). You get breakfast daily and 8 dinners. And you get all transportation within Turkey, daily sightseeing, entrance fees, and the constant attendance of an English-speaking tour manager. Pacha Tours gives you the same (and more meals) over a 13-night period.
We'll keep you further advised as the battle rages.

Arthur's Blog: In a Sudden Switch, China Spree Replaces China Focus as the Better Source for Bargains to China

In the operation of bargain-priced, promotional tours to hot destinations, tour companies tend to drop out of price competition once their name has been established, and follow a policy of offering only higher-priced packages. They eliminate the hot deals and seek larger mark-ups and profits. I've noticed that pattern over and over again with respect to numerous competitive programs: to Ireland and Britain, to Orlando and Las Vegas, to Turkey and Spain.
Something of the same sort seems currently to be happening in the operation of tours to China. For several years now, China Focus (www.chinafocustravel.com; tel. 800/868-7244) has been the price leader, offering remarkable rates starting from below $1,000 for air-included packages to the chief Chinese cities. Suddenly, having enjoyed a torrent of business, they appear to have totally changed course. For the coming winter months, their tour product is priced several hundreds of dollars higher than the nearest competition.


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Bicyclist on the city wall, Xian. Photo by Bernd Berger
Thus, on the classic seven-night air-and-land packages to Beijing, Xian and Shanghai from San Francisco, China Focus is offering rates of $1,599 -- and also announcing that it will no longer provide a discount of $200 for January and February departures when passengers pay in cash. By contrast, China Spree -- making an obvious effort to establish itself as the new champion of budget tourists -- is offering a cash-discount price of $1,099 for a very similar tour to the same cities and for the same durations of time.
For air-and-land packages in winter that simply go to Beijing for a week, China Spree (www.chinaspree.com; tel. 855/556-6868) is offering a starting rate of $899 (and $999 for a package to both Beijing and Shanghai). China Focus, by contrast, has no such tour on its books, for anything remotely close to $899 and $999.
So for the time being, if you're looking to enjoy a bargain-priced tour to China this fall and winter, you'll need to turn to Chinaspree.com. The former price leader (China Focus Travel) is apparently feeling more comfortable with higher-priced, higher-margin products. After years of establishing itself, it is apparently seeking the higher profits that higher-priced packages are capable of producing.

Arthur's Blog: In an Historic Event for the Future of Travel, California Passes High-Speed Rail Appropriations Legislation

Last week, the California legislature passed, in effect -- by a margin of one vote -- a major appropriations bill devoting over five billion dollars to the construction of a single, 130-mile segment of what is eventually proposed to be a high-speed rail line between San Diego/Los Angeles and San Francisco. The initial tracks will be constructed at a rough mid-point of the proposed rail line, in California's Central Valley.
The bill will be signed this week by California's Governor Jerry Brown, who has been a strong proponent of high-speed rail. He overcame fierce opposition based on all the standard arguments that are so well-known to readers of this blog: "a boondoggle," "unnecessary," "a waste," "it will never be completed," "no one will ride on it," etc.
It would seem obvious that once this initial segment is completed, there will be heavy pressure to complete the other portions of this breathtaking transportation development. It would seem difficult to simply permit that segment to be unused. And thus, the dream and the vision of many for the eventual construction of high-seed rail lines throughout the country seem to have been given a strong start. In my view, we are finally acting like an intelligent nation, turning back the strong opposition from oil interests, and from the Luddites who would condemn us to suffer stifling congestion on both our highways and air routes.
So I, for one, rejoice at California's initiative, and hope that our readers will share those sentiments. We are late in following Europe's lead in creating this new method of transportation so vital to our continuing economic development. How wonderful if we could also enjoy high-speed rail between many other heavily-traveled routes between major population areas, in a country that will number over 400 million persons in the very near future. 
Either we take those steps, or we condemn ourselves to backward, moribund, second-rate status.

Arthur's Blog: Please Join Us on this Sunday's Travel Show to Talk About a Recent Alaska Vacation

This weekend's Travel Show will be heavily about Alaska, a destination that every American should visit at some point in their lives. My daughter, Pauline, became misty-eyed when the majesty of Mount Denali came into view on her progress through Denali National Park on July 4th. Who needs the fireworks? she wrote in her Twitter feed, when our love of country came be fed by such sights as the ones you encounter in Alaska.
Pauline will be flying back from Alaska on Saturday and appearing with me on our weekly radio broadcast on Sunday. In the first half-hour of that two-hour travel discussion, she'll be reviewing the highlights of her recent two-week trip to America's northernmost state.

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Photo by guitarguy.

We'll be hearing all about hiking on the tundra of Denali, of countless glaciers, of bears coming down to the ocean to fish, of sampling the dogsleds still in use for fast, reliable transportation, of panning for gold, of camping with tent and sleeping bags in place of the few Alaskan hotels, of all the hospitality she received from Alaskans (including the loan of that tent and sleeping bags by one of our listeners and readers in Anchorage). It will be, in short, an advance checklist for your own eventual trip to Alaska, and I think it will be immensely helpful in the planning for such a trip.
Following the first half hour of Alaskan discussion, there will be plenty of remaining time for your comments and questions about that or any other travel topic. Call us toll-free at 800/544-7070. We'd love to hear from you.
The Travel Show airs 12-2pm ET each Sunday on more than 130 radio stations across the country. You can also catch the livestream at wor710.com.

Arthur's Blog: You Can Go to the London Olympics Opening Ceremonies for $6,000 per Person. Any Takers?

Because no one really expects the opening spectacle in London to come even close to Beijing's four years ago, it may be that the London ticket sellers have badly over-estimated the demand for the current event. Over the weekend, the London branch of the Thomas Cook organization put tickets to the London opening ceremonies "on sale" and stated that despite the heavy demand, they had a few locations left. For only £3,999 (approximately $6,000), which also includes two nights at the Holiday Inn Mayfair in London, you can get a ticket to the opening ceremonies by contacting www.thomascooklondon2012.com. Although one of their press releases imposed a now-expired deadline on that price, that's clearly only window dressing for an event that is undoubtedly still available because of the inflated prices for it. The £3,999 is down by £1,000 from an earlier £4,999 ($7,500) that the folks at Thomas Cook thought they could get.

Meantime, how about a single ticket to a single Olympic event? For Britain versus Belgium in Women's Hockey, Thomas Cook is charging only £149 ($224), down by £159 from an earlier level of £299 ($450). But the generous British travel firm will also throw in a night at the ultra-cheap Travelodge Kew Bridge Hotel.

So aren't you glad you're a reader of this blog?  

 

Arthur Frommer's 30 Best Bargain Vacations

Why do we need still another list of travel deals?

Here's why. Although the internet has several websites that solemnly name their several-dozen low-cost travel discoveries, there's a big difference between their approach and mine. Many of them get paid by the tour companies whose deals are listed in their numerical rankings. My list is based solely on my own independent research, without payment from anyone, and with no contact between me and the organizations or facilities I list in the 30 selections appearing below.
They are grouped geographically, to bring you "best vacation buys" in The Caribbean and Mexico, Central and South America, Europe and the Middle East, Asia and the South Pacific, and the United States and Canada.
The Caribbean and Mexico
Es una gran ganga, amigos!1.  $992 for a beachfront week in Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, including everything (flight from Los Angeles, transfers, meals, and drinks). In July and August, on weekend departures, you'll be flown there and back on Allegiant Airlines, and lodged for seven nights in the glamorous, high-rise, beachfront, Sunscape Dorado Pacifico Resort on the Mexican Pacific, receiving airport-to-hotel transfers, and all government taxes and fees.  Offered by Applevacations.com; tel. 800/517-2000.
Puerto Plata, anyone? 2. $753 per person from Miami, for seven nights of all-inclusive arrangements (room, meals, drinks) at the Cofresi Palm Beach Resort in Puerto Plata, on the north shore of the Dominican Republic, including round-trip air and all taxes and fees. To this 468-room beachfront resort, you'll also receive round-trip airport-to-hotel transfers, with Monday departures from Miami in July and August. Contact Cheapcaribbean.com; tel. 800/915-2322.
On Mexico's Caribbean coast 3. $899 per person for an all-inclusive week in July on the Maya Riviera south of Cancun, with Saturday departures throughout the summer. Your hotel: the Viva Wyndham Maya resort near Puerto Morales.  And the price includes round-trip air from Miami, including all government fees and taxes, as well as all three meals daily and unlimited drinks in the hotel's four restaurants and four bars. Tour operator is BookIt (www.bookit.com; tel. 888/301-9981).
In the land of Bob Marley (with constant reggae) 4. $949 for a week in July at the giant Sunset Jamaica Grande in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, including round-trip air from Miami and all meals and drinks. The resort is the giant, 730-room Sunset Jamaica Grande with its six restaurants and 8 bars, and the stay is for seven nights of all-inclusive arrangements. Departures are most weekdays throughout July. Contact Bookit.com; tel. 888/292-6703.
The forbidden island 5. $1,999 for an eight-night tour to Cuba, including round-trip air between Miami and Havana. While $1,999 isn't usually a bargain, it is comparatively so, when most other operators charge as much as $4,000 for a week in Havana, not including air. Yet YMT Vacations (tel. 800/922-9000) has astonished the travel industry with this new and legal offering (starting in September) of one night in Miami and seven nights in Havana, including 15 meals.
Central and South America
A believe-it-or-not price to Costa Rica 6. $839 per person for a six-night July vacation in Costa Rica, including round-trip air from Miami. This is from Gate1  (www.gate1travel.com; tel. 800/682-3333), which brings you air, accommodations for 2 nights in San Jose, 2 nights near the Arenal Volcano, 2 nights near the Monteverde rain forest, always with breakfast daily, and a Suzuki JimmySUV for the week, with unlimited mileage. It's an unprecedented value, but doesn't include government fees and taxes.
Costa Rica more elaborately 7. $1,139 for "The Best of Costa Rica," but not including airfare. From Toronto's long-established G Adventures (www.gadventures.com; tel. 800/800-4100), here's a well-planned tour to 4 distinctive locations (San Jose, Tortuguero on that nation's Caribbean coast, the Arenal Volcano, and the Guanacaste beaches on the Pacific coast). You receive 9 hotel nights, 9 breakfasts, 2 lunches and 2 dinners, a tour in each location, and transportation from place to place.
Costa Rica with a group and a guide 8. $1,095 per person for escorted Costa Rica in July. If you need a guided tour to this popular place, you can't do better than with Caravan Tours (www.caravan.com; tel. 800/CARAVAN). Throughout July, this long-established firm will take you by escorted motorcoach on a 10-night tour of every important sight, including quality accommodations, all three meals daily, and daily escorted sightseeing. But airfare to Costa Rica, which you book yourself, is not included.
Don't cry for me, Argentina 9. $1,559 for 5 nights in Buenos Aires, including round-trip midweek airfare from New York or Miami. You get: round-trip air on LAN Airways (add-on for Los Angeles $120, Chicago $130, Dallas $250), 5 nights at the boutique Art Hotel in Recoleta, breakfast daily, transfers, half-day tour, fees and taxes, and airfare fuel surcharge (included in the price). Note that you'll need an Argentinian visa costing $140; and that it's the fuel surcharge of $560 that pushes your total cost to this level. Offered by Escapes Unlimited (www.escapesltd.com; 800/243-7227).
Europe and the Middle East   A cheap river cruise (gulp!) 10. $699 for a high-quality week on the Rhine, Danube and Main Rivers. At a time when most ritzy river cruise firms are announcing "sales" for just $4,000 per person (!), Gate 1 Travel is offering two-for-one pricing on 7-night cruises of Europe's most famous rivers for just $699 per person, for departures of October 11 and 18. Trans-Atlantic airfares should be moderate at that time. Make your decision by July 2 (the date will probably be extended). Offered by Gate 1 Travel (www.gate1travel.com; tel. 800/682-3333.
The marked-down Mediterranean11. $48 to $74 a day for 7-to-12-night cruises of the Mediterranean in summer. Go to www.vacationstogo.com, click on "Mediterranean," then on 7-night and 9-to-12-night cruises, and you'll find that cruise prices for these European waters have plummeted, on ships of the Royal Caribbean, Carnival, MSC, Norwegian, and Costa lines. While you'll have to pay at least $1,300 for trans-Atlantic airfare to ports of embarkation, the combined price is nevertheless a resounding vacation bargain. Fair warning: to see deals on Vacations To Go's site, you must first register with name and email address.
Apartment living, for a better stay12. $80 a day for a spacious apartment in major European cities. Provided only that your stay is for at least a week, you will find that housekeeping apartments (with kitchenettes for making occasional meals) are currently had in major European cities for far less than you'd pay for an equivalent hotel. Look for them at Wimdu.com, Airbnb.com, Homeaway.com, VRBO.com, EVRentals.com, and Rentalo.com. Offset high airfares to Europe with those apartment savings.
Fly/drive Ireland13. $749 per person for round-trip air to Dublin and a car for a week with unlimited mileage. It's an annual fall/winter bargain from Brian Moore International (www.bmit.com; tel. 800/982-2299), which will fly you there from dozens of U.S. cities (add-on rates for cities other than New York are modest) from October 28 to the end of February, and supply you with a car for a week. The $749 price sometimes dips to $709 and $729, sometimes climbs to $779; consult Brian Moore's booking calendar.
Rock-bottom rates in newly-named "hostels"14. $25 to $35 a night per person, in big European cities. All over the world but especially in Europe, owners of failed hotels, or of small hotels placing four in a room designed for two, or owners of small guesthouses whose low normal rates appeal to the cost-conscious, are calling themselves "hostels" and marketing through popular websites for hostel-seekers. Many offer private rooms, not dorms, yet charge as low as $25 to $35 per person. Find them in www.hostelworld.com, which lists thousands.
Turkish delight 15. $1,670 for a virtually-all-inclusive 14-night tour of Turkey, including round-trip airfare from New York. Operated every March and April by Pacha Tours (www.pachatours.com; tel. 800/722-4288), on guaranteed departures every Saturday, this escorted motorcoach trip takes you to every important city and sight of Turkey, staying at good hotels with daily breakfast, 12 lunches and 11 dinners. In early March, $1,670 from New York, $1,734 from Los Angeles, $1,826 from Chicago. Add $300 late March and throughout April.
Jolly old England 16. $1,099 to $1,149 for round-trip airfare to London and six hotel nights with breakfast. Go-Today (www.go-today.com; tel. 800/227-3235) has led the industry in offering low-cost air-and-land packages to London, badly affected by heavy air taxes. Visit the site, and you can fly to London for 6 nights at a modest hotel for $1,099 on scattered dates in November and December, for $1,149 on other dates in January. Reasonable add-ons are had from numerous other U.S. cities.
Both Paris and Rome17. $1,199 per person, including airfare, for 6 nights in Paris and Rome. Three hotel nights in Paris, three hotel nights in Rome, breakfast each day, and total air transportation, both trans-Atlantic, and between Paris and Rome. You'll fly Delta to Paris, Air France from Paris to Rome, and Alitalia from Rome to the U.S. And you'll pay only $1,199 per person on 8 departure dates in November, three in December, and 15 in January. Offered by www.go-today.com; tel. 800/227-3235.
Asia and the South Pacific
China cheaply 18. $899 for six nights in Beijing, including air, and starting this autumn. The source of this amazing bargain is China Spree (www.chinaspree.com; tel. 866/652-5656), charging $899 for round-trip air between San Francisco and Beijing (the price is just $100 more from New York), six nights (with full breakfast daily) at a first class hotel in Beijing, three lunches, transfers, and 3 days of escorted sightseeing, leaving you free to wander all other times. Departure dates are from November through January.
A tale of two Chinese cities 19. $999 for 7 nights in Beijing and Shanghai, including air from San Francisco. This is a neighbor to ChinaSpree's one-week tour to Beijing only, spending three nights in Beijing and four nights in Shanghai, and flying you between the two in addition to flying you round-trip from San Francisco (or New York for $100 more). You get full-day tours in both cities. November 15 to January 26, with February departures costing $30 more. See above for China Spree's website and phone.
The once-and-always island paradise 20. $1,729 for a 6-night stay in enchanting Bali, including round-trip air by Cathay Pacific from Los Angeles. Because the price includes an airfare fuel surcharge of $364, it's a remarkable bargain that also brings you 6 hotel nights in Bali, transfers, a full-day sightseeing tour, and your choice of several classes or other tours. Operated by EscapesLtd.com, it costs $150 more from NYC or Los Angeles, and also includes a free stopover in Hong Kong, August 19 to December 9.
United States and Canada
New York: Religious digs in a costly city21. $125 per twin room at Leo House in New York City. In a town where hotels routinely charge from $250 to $400 a night per double room, the centrally-located, large Leo House is a life-saving (financial, that is) religious guesthouse/hospice operated by nuns, that asks no religious questions of its guests. Rooms have private toilets and wash basins but no showers (which are found "down the hall"). Go to  leohousenyc.com for details of location and reservations procedures.
San Francisco: A cheap standout in a costly town22. $95 to $129 per double room at HI International, a renovated hotel just one block off Union Square (at 312 Mason Street), in the center of everything in San Francisco; and those rates (the latter for a room with private bath) also include free breakfast every morning and a free daily sightseeing tour. Though technically a hostel, the hotel (open to all ages) has more private rooms (57) than dorm rooms. Go to www.hihostels.com or phone 415/788-5604.
California's Anaheim: Disneyland reborn! 23. $419 per person, for air and 3 nights' hotel at California's Disneyland. Revitalized by its new Cars Land attraction, Disneyland is booming, and the feisty Travel Themes and Dreams (www.travelthemesanddreams.com; tel. 877/870-7447) asks only $419 for round-trip air to Anaheim (on Southwest Airlines) from Phoenix or Las Vegas, round-trip airport-to-hotel transfers, 3 nights at the 4-star Sheraton Park Hotel, and a $75 food credit per person. Valid July through October. Modest air add-ons from other cities.
Orlando: Cut-rate living in theme park heaven24. $60-to-$70 a night for groups of 4-to-8. While most families cram into hotel rooms in Orlando, the smarter ones rent kitchen-equipped, swimming-pool-equipped vacation homes, of which the very cheapest are at Tropical Palms Resort in Kissimmee, near Disney World, a group of tiny bungalows like mobile homes (they've seen better days) renting for $60 (one bedroom, sleeping four) to $70 (two bedrooms sleeping eight). That's at 2650 Holiday Trail, tel. 866/270-1821.
Las Vegas: Savings in Sin City25. $24 to $26 a night per room at Circus Circus Resort & Casino, mid-week. You stay almost for free, in July and August, and yet directly on The Strip. While other hotels charge only slightly more for mid-week stays (Sunday through Thursday), their rates skyrocket on weekends.  Not so Circus Circus, whose summertime weekend stays are a top of $83 per twin room per night on Fridays and Saturdays. Go to Getaroom.com or phone 800/468-3578.
Las Vegas in total luxury26. $99 to $119 per suite per night, in Vegas' posh-est hotel. Some might deny that the Vdara is Vegas' best hotel. But at worst, it's 2d or 3rd. And yet on midweek dates (Sunday through Thursday) in July and August, it will charge from $99 to $119 for suites equipped with every luxury and convenience. It you ever wanted to live like a mogul, here's your chance.  Go to www.mgmresorts.com, pull up booking calendars for the Vdara, and you'll find those many $99-to-$119 per suite stays.
Yosemite National Park: America's loveliest park?27. $111 a night for a tented cabin with two single beds, at Curry Village in Yosemite Valley surrounded by towering waterfalls, giant redwoods, and granite mountains. Tents (427 of them) are with wooden floors, can house from two to five persons, and beds are cot-style and come with sheets, woolen blankets and pillows. You will have the vacation of a lifetime, in one of the most beautiful areas of America. Book online (www.nationalparkreservations.com) or phone 866/875-8456.
Miami Beach: A hostel that's more like a hotel28. $46.33 per person in a twin room of the Clay Hotel, in the trendy South Beach area of Miami Beach, two blocks from the beach and the sea. Technically a hostel, but equally a gracious, well-designed hotel with a dedicated and courteous staff, the Clay Hotel is one of the top budget values at a price of $92 per twin room, an excellent choice for enjoying all the pleasures and hi-jinx of South Miami Beach, Florida. Go to www.clayhotel.com phone 800/379-CLAY.
Low-cost cruises of Alaskan waters29. $349, $399 and $599 for seven-day cruises of Alaska. In these remaining days of the Alaskan cruising season (July, August and September), cruiselines are frantically cutting their rates, even for upscale ships. Go to www.vacationstogo.com, click on "Alaska," and you'll find remarkable rates from these panic-stricken cruiselines. And you can fly roundtrip to embarkation ports like Seattle for as little as $470 from cities like Chicago. Combine air and cruise and you have a real bargain.
Three blocks from Waikiki Beach30. $785 per person for round-trip air to Oahu (from Los Angeles) and seven nights at the skyscraper-like Maile Sky Court Hotel. From the largest tour operator to Hawaii, Pleasant Holidays (www.pleasantholidays.com; tel. 800/742-9244), this price valid from mid-August to mid-December is about as good as you can do, and includes a free Hertz car rental for the entire week, as well as a mini-fridge in your room. Parking at the hotel costs about $18 a day, which is also a fine price for costly Hawaii.

Arthur's Blog: You'll be Hearing Me All Alone on this Sunday's Travel Show

Because my daughter is traveling this week, as a good travel writer should, I'll be appearing all alone on this Sunday's Travel Show.  So I'll be responding to twice the number of questions and comments as I usually encounter, and you are cordially invited to phone those in during the course of the program (dial 800/544-7070).
At the outset of the program, I'll be discussing in depth the apparent collapse of cruise prices for remaining summer sailings of the waters off Alaska.  It's quite a development, that permits you to book a seven-day Alaskan cruise for as little as $349 (in late July, and throughout August and the first half of September).  And because, from many American cities, you can fly round-trip to the embarkation ports (Seattle, Vancouver) for as little as $500 and $600, the total cost is a reasonable one, for a travel experience that's one of the great thrills.  Everyone, at some point of their lives, should experience the pure nature of Alaska.
What else will I be discussing?  Well, I'll be choosing a number of outstanding travel bargains for the months ahead, ranging from those in such heavily touristed cities as New York and San Francisco to such popular destinations as Belize and Guatemala.  I'll talk about some outstanding low-cost packages to Bali, and -- as always -- there will be angry confrontations from listeners to some of my own utterly reasonable opinions about travel.  I hope you'll tune in (noon to 2 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, when you can hear the program either live on one of the 130-plus stations carrying it or live on the WOR website (wor710.com).  But if you're not available to listen, you can go later to wor710.com, scroll to the bottom of the main page, and click on The Travel Show, where you'll hear a recorded podcast of the program (sans commercials) that remains up for several weeks ahead.

Arthur's Blog: Seven-Day Summer Cruises to Alaska Go on Sale from $349!

Every year, as we enter the month of July, cruiselines get frantic about the empty cabins on their remaining cruises in the waters off Alaska. They stop kidding themselves. They realize, as they have ultimately realized every year, that they have placed too many cruiseships into the Alaska market, and that something needs to be done -- fast.
I had a premonition that this year's problem was greater than usual, when I saw a massive sale on the website of Online Vacation Center. Earlier this week, they devoted several pages to remarkable Alaskan discounts for the remaining months of the Alaska cruise season. Seven-day cruises for $349! Other seven-day cruises for $399! Lots of seven-day cruises for $649, and $679, and $699!
And these were cruises of Alaska offered not on the mass-volume cruise lines but on the upscale ships. Seven-day $349 cruises on the  Statendam  and  Volendam  of Holland America! Seven-day $399 cruises on the Celebrity Millennium! Seven-day $679 cruises on the Celebrity  Infinity ! Seven-day $599 cruises on the  Oosterdam  and  Westerdam  of Holland America! These are all fine ships. And if you want to learn more about such values, you have only to phone Online Vacation Center at 800/329-9002.
To learn whether matters were as bad as they seemed (or as thrilling, from a consumer's standpoint), I went to Vacations To Go and consulted their comprehensive listings of cruiseships sailing in the waters off Alaska. And my suspicions were confirmed. Time and time again, you find seven-day cruises of Alaska for the remaining departure dates in July, August and September selling for as little as $399 per person.
Obviously, it is the cruises that leave from Seward (the port for Anchorage) that are the most heavily discounted. That's because the one-way airfare all the way to Anchorage is fairly high. But even for sailings out of Seattle and Vancouver, all with fairly modest airfares, heavy discounting is now practiced. To learn how heavy, go to www.vacationstogo.com.
How about the airfare for reaching the embarkation ports for those cruises? I just went to Hipmunk.com and requested a mid-July round-trip between Chicago and Seattle (the latter being a frequent jumping-off point for Alaska cruises). You can buy such tickets for as little as $470 round-trip and for as much as $540. Add that sum to a$399 cruise, and you have an excellent, quality vacation for a reasonable cost. Those of you who have sailed the waters off Alaska will confirm that doing so is a unique experience, bringing into view lands where human beings have never walked and probably never will.
So here's your chance. Mush!

Arthur's Blog: An Air-and-Land Package to Anaheim and a Genuinely Cheap River Cruise of Europe

Last week, I drew attention to the fact that a new and major addition to the Disney theme parks in Anaheim, California -- a large new exhibit called Cars Land -- had totally re-vitalized a once-dwindling attraction; people stood in line all night to be the first inside a park displaying the images, characters, and talking autos of the Disney's two Cars films. That new area, part of a separate Disney theme park requiring a separate admission charge, is being credited for turning California's Disneyland into a two-park visit requiring more than a single, short day in Anaheim (and Anaheim has been visibly improved and expanded, too).
Would you believe that an enterprising tour operator has created an air-and-land package to make it doubly exciting to visit the new Disney Land? A Florida-based outfit -- Travel Themes And Dreams -- is offering a $419 per person package to Anaheim that includes:
Round-trip air on Southwest Airlines to Anaheim from Las Vegas or Phoenix, ArizonaThree nights' accommodation at the excellent Sheraton Park Hotel in AnaheimA $75 per person food-and-beverage credit at the Sheraton Park HotelRound-trip airport-to-hotel transfers
What's more, it's offering only slightly higher rates for flights emanating from numerous other cities For further details, visit www.travelthemesanddreams.com or call 877/870-7447.
Along with this domestic option is a genuinely cheap, but high quality, river cruise of Europe that has just been announced by Gate 1 Travel. While several other river cruise companies have recently announced less-than-compelling reductions of $8,000 river cruises down to a price of $4,000 (which few Americans can presently afford), Gate 1 has created a 7-night cruise on the Danube, Main and Rhine Rivers in October (going to Nuremberg, Regensburg, Bamberg, Wurzberg, Rudesheim, and Koblenz) for just $699 (cruise only) per person, reflecting a two-for-one discount. Departures are on both October 11 and October 18, and must be booked at that price on or before July 2. You get all meals, unlimited wine with meals, all port taxes, and evening entertainment. And trans-Atlantic airfares at that time should be down somewhat from their current levels.
Given the current and wholly unrealistic pricing for most European river cruises, this rather luxurious $699 cruise is quite a value. Go to Gate1travel.com for all the details, or phone 800/682-3333.

Arthur's Blog: An Air-and-Land Package to Anaheim and A Genuinely Cheap River Cruise of Europe

Last week, I drew attention to the fact that a new and major addition to the Disney theme parks in Anaheim, California -- a large new exhibit called Cars Land -- had totally re-vitalized a once-dwindling attraction; people stood in line all night to be the first inside a park displaying the images, characters, and talking autos of the Disney's two Cars films. That new area, part of a separate Disney theme park requiring a separate admission charge, is being credited for turning California's Disneyland into a two-park visit requiring more than a single, short day in Anaheim (and Anaheim has been visibly improved and expanded, too).
Would you believe that an enterprising tour operator has created an air-and-land package to make it doubly exciting to visit the new Disney Land? A Florida-based outfit -- Travel Themes And Dreams -- is offering a $419 per person package to Anaheim that includes:
Round-trip air on Southwest Airlines to Anaheim from Las Vegas or Phoenix, ArizonaThree nights' accommodation at the excellent Sheraton Park Hotel in AnaheimA $75 per person food-and-beverage credit at the Sheraton Park HotelRound-trip airport-to-hotel transfers
What's more, it's offering only slightly higher rates for flights emanating from numerous other cities For further details, visit www.travelthemesanddreams.com or call 877/870-7447.
Along with this domestic option is a genuinely cheap, but high quality, river cruise of Europe that has just been announced by Gate 1 Travel. While several other river cruise companies have recently announced less-than-compelling reductions of $8,000 river cruises down to a price of $4,000 (which few Americans can presently afford), Gate 1 has created a 7-night cruise on the Danube, Main and Rhine Rivers in October (going to Nuremberg, Regensburg, Bamberg, Wurzberg, Rudesheim, and Koblenz) for just $699 (cruise only) per person, reflecting a two-for-one discount. Departures are on both October 11 and October 18, and must be booked at that price on or before July 2. You get all meals, unlimited wine with meals, all port taxes, and evening entertainment. And trans-Atlantic airfares at that time should be down somewhat from their current levels.
Given the current and wholly unrealistic pricing for most European river cruises, this rather luxurious $699 cruise is quite a value. Go to Gate1travel.com for all the details, or phone 800/682-3333.