For at least the last decade, most cruise lines have devoted themselves to nurturing a younger clientele. The dream has been to capture cruisers in midlife and hold on to them for the next 30-40 years. Now, COVID-19 is turning this strategy on its head.

Most international ports are on the verge of welcoming Americans warmly, if everyone on the ships (crew members and guests alike) are vaccinated and eager to spend money on meals, excursions and hotels. As an essential plus, most seniors are already vaxed and—according to several recent surveys—want to sail on ships on which everyone is vaxed. The following statistics were based on data reported last week by The New York Times. Read the rest of this entry »

Now that vaccinations are available everywhere in the United States, and are free and sometimes linked to one million dollar lottery prizes; it’s tempting to rejoin the travel cheerleaders. Here’s a “rapid test” to determine whether COVID-19 is still a significant threat to travelers:

Will the hospitalization rates (per 100,000 people) for July in the states with the highest vaccination rates be greater than the hospitalization rates for July in the states with the lowest vaccination rates? Also, will the hospitalization rates for July 2021 will be greater than the hospitalization rates for June 2021 Read the rest of this entry »

The past year’s events have shown travel advisors that they will not survive unless they can charge advisory fees, in addition to their usual commissions. If you’re a travel advisor, the advisory fees are yours to keep even if your booking is canceled or deferred to a later date.

There is a rich tradition of travelers paying fees for advisory services. Since 1902, the American Automobile Club (AAA) has served American motorists. While their primary service has always been to get tow trucks and charging vehicles to members in need, a close second has been to identify gas stations, tourist attractions, and noteworthy eating establishments along the route. My parents would never start a motor trip without a custom-made AAA Trip Tik® Travel Planner on the front seat. Read the rest of this entry »

Whether to accept unvaxed guests onboard has been resolved in the luxury and premium cruise ship markets. Anyone who refuses to be fully vaxed has very few high-end ships from which to choose. These cruise lines’ primary market, prosperous seniors over 65, have voted overwhelmingly with their credit cards to vaccinate everyone.

Here is The New York Times map of those who are fully vaxed in the United States. These data are as of June 18, 2021. The darker shades of green indicate more county residents are fully vaccinated. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week we described the great cruising grounds of Europe and Southeast Asia. This week, we’ll describe some other cruise opportunities that your clients may consider, if you suggest them.

Oceania (Australia, New Zealand)

Australia has three fantastic cruising routes. The most popular cruise is Sydney-Melbourne-Hobart-South Island (New Zealand). Sydney is one of the world’s most popular destinations, and Hobart is great for hikers and foodies. Your clients will cross the Tasman Sea, the New Zealand glaciers, and sail up the South Island (of Harry Potter fame). It has wildlife refuges, mysterious caves, and small welcoming Read the rest of this entry »

If some of your clients love cruises, they may have promised themselves that – if they got through the COVID crisis unscathed – they’ll find some new places to visit. Here’s how you can help them fulfill these promises. Suggest some new places to explore and provide them with enough information to turn their dreams into reality. Read the rest of this entry »

The tipping point for the cruise industry occurred last month when the CDC permitted cruise ships to sail, provided that 95% of the passengers and 98% of the crew were fully vaccinated. Since that time, cruise bookings have skyrocketed, and deep discount pricing is becoming increasingly rare. The CDC has also given cruise lines more freedom to determine the masking and social distancing safeguards that they will require onboard, if everyone is vaccinated.

Airline passengers deserve the same privileges. They could get them if airlines were permitted by the CDC and FAA to declare some flights “Vaccinated Passengers Only” (VPO). Read the rest of this entry »

Smartphones, notably the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max, are photographic miracles. They can see in the dark and rise to nearly all photographic challenges. If you’re within 10-15 feet of your subject, the newest smartphones are almost infallible in their ability to provide a bright, sharp photo—even if you make no adjustments and press the red button on the screen. When you are this close to your subject, smartphones can rival larger, dedicated cameras in their ability to generate beautiful images—if you don’t enlarge them too much. Read the rest of this entry »

In the time since most of your clients have flown, there have been some significant changes. Many relate to travel documents, disinfectants, and masks. Whereas all that was previously required was a passport and airline ticket, now they may have to supply vaccination data, testing information, health inventories, and reservations for many of the restaurants and entertainment experiences they’re planning to enjoy.

All travelers will require masks, possibly a medical-grade one to use on flights where some flyers are not vaccinated, and a light-duty one to wear outside in crowds. Also, many fliers will want to carry wipes for use on restrooms and seat surfaces.

By summer, many nations and likely some states will require virtual health passports, meaning that smartphones will be essential to display them. On long flights, smartphones will add charging cords or power bricks to the list of needed “stuff.” Read the rest of this entry »

More than a year ago, the CDC set its bargaining position: Cruising couldn’t resume until all guests and crew members were safe. The rules the CDC adopted to enforce this position were to mandate a series of “simulation cruises” before any revenue-producing cruises could begin and creating a mountain of paperwork that each ship was required to complete.

The CDC said that the simulation cruises had to be cost-free for guests. It also required that the cruise lines craft individual agreements with every port that a ship visits, describing how activities such as quarantines and evacuations will be carried out. These rules stopped cruising dead in its tracks until about a month ago. Then, movement occurred Read the rest of this entry »

Next week, Los Angeles and San Francisco will become the poster children for the vaccine movement. After leading most of the United States in new coronavirus cases at the end of 2020, in four months, both cities are down to the under two-percent threshold that places them in California’s lowest-risk Yellow Tier. The risk for being infected with COVID-19 in these cities is becoming increasingly unlikely. Their daily infectivity rates for the virus are now less than 2 cases per 100,000 for those tested. Read the rest of this entry »

Apple’s reputation and wealth resulted from its track record of improving revolutionary products. It doesn’t try to be the first in the marketplace. It prefers to wait until new products have proven appeal and then to build superior devices.

The iPhone is a perfect example. Apple waited for pioneers such as Motorola and Blackberry to release their mobile telephones and then crushed them with iPhone. Then, by improving the iPhones’ cameras, they nearly destroyed Kodak, Pentax, and Nikon.

Apple did the same thing with portable computers. It built upon the PC market that Kaypro, IBM, and Compaq created; and drove them out of the marketplace with the Mac and MacBook. Read the rest of this entry »

Like many 70+ peers, a few years before the pandemic I chose to give up driving. I still have my driver’s license, but I would hesitate to get behind the wheel today for anything other than outright emergencies.

Cutting back on my driving was easy. I simply took Lyft or Uber about five times a week. In the evening, my wife, who is ten years younger than me, usually drove. If we planned to consume a bottle of wine in the evening, we racked up more Lyft or Uber trips.

Since I live close to LAX and most of my destinations are in West Los Angeles, a car was seldom more than 10 minutes away or cost more than $15.00. We got rid of our second car, which more than offset the costs of our Ubers and Lyfts. Read the rest of this entry »

The Centers for Disease Control is pondering an offer from the Norwegian Cruise Line that may avoid months of haggling. If the CDC accepts the deal, the other two members of “Big Three,” Carnival and Royal Caribbean, will likely go along; lest they lose the rights to sail this summer from American ports. Norwegian Cruise Line’s offer to CDC Is:

Permit Norwegian Cruise Line to begin cruises on all of our ships by the Fourth of July, and we will require that everyone on board (including crew members and children) be fully vaccinated two weeks before each cruise begins.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) consists of three cruise lines. The only one that usually sails from American ports—making their health and safety provisions fall under the Center for Disease Control’s authority—is the Norwegian Cruise Line. It features large resort ships that cater to American families. Read the rest of this entry »

Passengers are tired of seeing ads and press releases that praise airline ventilation systems for being so effective. Ventilation systems won’t help if there are infected persons, who aren’t showing symptoms, on the flight along with others who are unvaccinated and untested. All will be at risk if they share armrests, bathrooms, access the same luggage compartments, and eat and drink unmasked. Also, no one knows how long vaccinated fliers will be protected, especially against new virus strains. That’s why the CDC urges fliers not to fly until they’re vaccinated, and has started to mention booster shots. There is evidence that clients agree with this advice. Read the rest of this entry »

No one should buy an expensive home here in California without strongly considering both fire and earthquake insurance. Likewise, your clients shouldn’t book an international cruise or any other form of vacation without travel insurance. This has been especially true since COVID has ravaged the world. Hospital costs for treating the coronavirus and complications can easily exceed $100,000. Medicare and most private insurance are null-and-void when you leave the United States.

Medical evacuations to hospitals in the United States can also cost more than $100,000—especially if they involve private jets and nurses. Care in hospitals abroad can be expensive, if you’re not part of that nation’s health plan.

Here are some pitfalls of which you need to be aware. Read the rest of this entry »

For at least the past five years, Regent Seven Seas has been the leader in cruises that give a new meaning to the label All-Inclusive. To most travel advisors and experienced travelers, “all-inclusive” meant that the costs for all beverages, tips, fees, most specialty restaurants, concierge or butler services, and economy air were built into the price.

Using that definition, Regent, Silversea, Seabourn, and Crystal—and sometimes Oceania, Cunard, Celebrity and others—can proudly claim that they were all-inclusive; at least when certain promotions are underway and for some levels of accommodations (“Free economy air and butler service for all guests in penthouses & concierge suites.”) Read the rest of this entry »

The writing is already on the wall. For the demand for cruises and flights to take off, all guests and crew members will need to be vaccinated.

Vaccinations are projected be available to every American adult who wants one by May 1. If substantial numbers of people have “vaccine hesitancy,” we may be able to get everyone vaccinated by June who initially wants shots. People will be able to celebrate the Fourth with others this year. It should also permit flying and cruising to begin in July—providing everyone that boards the ships or flights are vaccinated. Read the rest of this entry »

Tourism for the rest of 2021 and 2022 will ultimately come down to one thing: How safe will travelers feel? Safety will include three key elements:

• Infection & vaccination rates
• Bucket list destinations
• Public safety and strong public health systems

We can’t look at these factors as they presently exist. We need to project how strong they are likely to be in June and November, when the two most critical travel seasons begin. Read the rest of this entry »

When it comes to COVID-19 vaccinations, Israel is one of the few nations that is well ahead of the United States. It has just passed the 50% rate for vaccinating ALL of its residents, not just only those who are senior, which is what we’ve achieved. It also has stockpiled enough vaccines to inoculate all Israelis over the age of 16.

Now Israel is facing the problem that we will probably be experiencing in a few months: What do you do when you run out of people who volunteer to get vaccinated? To ensure that Israel goes from the 50% vax rate to the 75-85% rate that experts say is necessary to establish “herd immunity,” the Israelis have established a “Green Passport” program that will affect travel, dining out, public entertainment, and some jobs.

Green Passports will be issued only by the Israeli Health Ministry Read the rest of this entry »

Despite the high prices that everyone fears when cruising resumes this June, there are several genuine bargains that offer exceptional value when clients book immediately. Will these cruises be standouts, or will they be joined by many other cruises that offer significant value? Read the rest of this entry »