Note: this post is part of my trip report series about my quick trip to Manchester in February, 2020.  Click here for the trip report index and introductory post.

Sunday Roasting and More in Manchester

My friend Kyle from Live and Let’s Fly heartily recommended a visit to Albert’s Schloss for a traditional Sunday roast. My original itinerary had me arriving in Manchester by air at 9 am. Unfortunately, the winter storm had other ideas, canceling my onward flight from Toronto. British Airways originally rebooked me on a flight departing London at 7:45 pm. With my reservation at Albert’s Schloss booked for 6:30, that simply wouldn’t work. Fortunately, with some quick thinking, I booked a one-way rental car to Manchester.  It saved my trip, but also meant an early afternoon arrival, leaving me not much time to explore the city.

Fortunately, soon after arriving, a break in the weather brought sunshine to the city center. I used the opportunity to stretch my legs and take a walk around area. The ornate red sandstone exterior of the Kimpton Clocktower certainly basks in the sunlight.

A short walk from the Kimpton Clocktower is St. Peter’s Square. Front and center in the square is the Manchester Central Library. The rotunda-style library building, built in 1930, resembles the Roman Pantheon.

Next door is the Town Hall Extension building. Constructed in 1938, it is an addition to the Manchester Town Hall building. Currently, it houses the Business Section City Library. The building’s designer, Emanuel Vincent Harris, also designed the Manchester Central Library. While many consider the library one of Manchester’s notable landmarks, the Town Hall Extension receives mixed marks from architecture critics.

Speaking of which, next to the Town Hall Extension is…Manchester Town Hall. The gothic-style Town Hall was completed in 1877, but council meetings are no longer held here. Instead, these occur in the Town Hall Extension instead. However, the old building still sees use for special events and conferences. It was also where the results of the Brexit referendum were announced on June 23, 2016. When viewing the building from St. Peter’s Square, the Manchester Cenotaph sits in front of the building. Though not the war memorial’s original location, the City Council relocated it here in 2014.

One of the unique aspects of St. Peter’s Square is the juxtaposition of new and old. Right next door to the historic Town Hall and Library buildings are modern office buildings.

While here, I made a quick stop at The Vienna Coffee House. As the name implies, it’s a Viennese-style coffee shop. On this blustery day, I enjoyed a flat white and a tasty chocolate cake. Besides coffee, the shop also serves breakfast and lunch, along with afternoon tea service after 2 pm.

After a quick rest at the hotel, I took the short walk down Oxford Road to the University of Manchester. Why the University? To visit Blackwell’s Bookshop to buy a children’s book or two for my son. I quickly found Judith Kerr’s classic The Tiger Who Came to Tea, which seemed appropriate for my trip to the UK. The book came with a kid’s size teacup, which my son still uses for tea on the weekends.

Anyway, the university traces its roots to 1824, though the University of Manchester itself only dates to 2004. At that time, a merger of the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology and the Victoria University of Manchester created what is now the University of Manchester. The centerpiece of the Oxford Road campus is the Old Quadrangle. Most of these Gothic-style buildings date from 1873 through the early 1900s. Whitworth Hall stands as the most well-known, and is where commencement is held each term.

After walking around the campus for a few minutes, I headed over to the Manchester Museum. Also on the grounds of the University of Manchester, the museum’s permanent exhibition is a natural history gallery on the first three floors. Front and center is Stan, the T-Rex. Perhaps someone should talk to Frontier about adding Stan as their next tail animal.

Also watching over the gallery is this enormous skeleton of a sperm whale.

In additions to dinosaurs and fossils, there’s also some miscellaneous wildlife exhibits. This one dealt with cats of all sizes and their prey.

Meanwhile, this one included a collection of various penguin skeletons.

Though I wanted to see more of the museum, I walked in pretty close to closing time, and so I only had time to explore the first two floors. So I headed for the doors to walk back to the hotel – only to find a raging hailstorm outside. Turns out Ciara had one last trick up her sleeve before heading east. Anyway, after waiting a few minutes for the hail to stop, I headed back to the hotel to get ready for my roast.

And so it was on to Albert’s Schloss, about a 10-minute walk from the Kimpton Clocktower. Despite the stormy weather, this place was packed. That made me glad that I made a reservation. Thanks to the advance booking, though, a friendly hostess brought me to my table immediately.

I started off with a beer flight. Dark beer is usually my preference, and so it was my favorite of the bunch.

As I sipped my beer, I noticed a parade of classic cars heading down the street in front of the restaurant. Turns out this was part of a film shoot, ostensibly set in New York but filmed in Manchester. (One of the waiters tried to tell me the name of the movie, but it was so loud inside, I couldn’t make it out.)

Finally, the pièce de resistance – my Sunday roast main course. I ordered the Cheshire pork belly with roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes, seasonal greens, Yorkshire pudding, and chips.

This was all quite delicious. The pork belly in particular was quite nice, tender with a well-rendered and crispy skin. Meanwhile, the mashed sweet potatoes had a good helping of brown sugar sweetness. And the Yorkshire pudding made an excellent bread to sop up the tasty brown gravy. I also ordered an apple streudel for desert, though I apparently forgot to take a photo. The Sunday service is a decent value to boot, £23 for two courses or £27 for three.

My one complaint – the dining room gets really loud. Like, loud enough you really can’t even hear the waitstaff as they take your order. In other words, don’t plan on coming for some quiet Sunday evening conversation. But as a representation of a joyous Sunday roast atmosphere, it’s just fine.

Needless to say, I slept well after stuffing myself. The next morning, I had a little bit of time to walk around before heading for the airport. First, I paid a visit to Exchange Square and the Corn Exchange building.

The Baroque-style building was constructed in two phases between 1896 and 1903. Originally used as a corn exchange, it fell into a state of disuse after World War II. After suffering significant damage in the Manchester IRA bombing, its owners repurposed it as the Triangle Shopping Center. Today, the building houses a food court and a 114-room apartment hotel.

Just northwest of Exchange Square is Manchester’s most notable landmark, Manchester Cathedral. Construction began on the cathedral in 1421, though work only finished in the early 16th century. However, in the early 19th century, the interior was largely scored to be finished in Roman cement. Unfortunately, this severely damaged the structure, with an extensive restoration replacing nearly all of the stonework between 1868 and 1898.

From the Cathedral, I then circled back through the city centre back to the hotel. Right in front of the cathedral, I was surprised to find a statue of Mahatma Gandhi. I later learned the Manchester City Council placed the statue here in 2019 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Gandhi’s birth. It’s a little interesting they placed it in Manchester. Gandhi had little connection to the city, aside from a short visit in 1931.

A series of pedestrian malls and cobblestone streets wind their way from the Cathedral back towards Albert Square. I found things oddly quiet for rush hour on a Monday morning. Perhaps road and rail disruptions from Ciara were to blame. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the quiet walk, admiring the mix of old and new buildings.

Final Thoughts

1 pm Sunday to 9 am Monday isn’t nearly enough time in Manchester, but I enjoyed a delicious roast, and a brisk walking tour of the city.

Read the rest of this article at Sunday Roasting and More in Manchester.

Today we are going to compare expedition cruises to typical ocean cruises. While both types of cruises offer unique experiences and opportunities, there are significant differences between the two.

Expedition Cruises

Expedition cruises are typically smaller ships that offer more immersive experiences in remote and often untouched destinations. Big ships have to go to dedicated ports, whereas small ships can go where most larger ships cannot.  These smaller ships oftentimes sail with 300 people or less are designed to navigate through narrow channels, shallow waters, and rugged coastlines. The entire trip allows for passengers to explore places that are not accessible to larger cruise ships. 

Some quick examples of expedition cruises include National Geographic, Hurtigruten, Swan Hallenic, Quark expeditions, and more. You will find these companies operating in the polar regions, but also remote places like the Solomon and Galapagos islands. Read about my experience in Antarctica with Seabourn Expeditions. 

Expedition cruises always have a dedicated staff of expeditionists and naturalists. The expedition leader works alongside the captain to plan the cruise stops and daily activities. Unlike big ships, expedition itineraries are flexible and change based on wildlife sightings, weather, and other factors. Being dynamic and flexible, guests get a better sense of expeditions and experience more because the ship is not tied to a strict schedule. 

Back on board with the experts, expect entertainment to be mostly educational. The expedition team typically offer lectures and lead excursions, providing passengers with a deeper understanding of the local environment and culture. Examples of the lectures I’ve attended while onboard with Nat Geo in the South Pacific have been both about the local village culture of the remote islands in Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands which focused on traditions, way of life, religion, marriage traditions and more. Other ones, for example while on the Seabourn Venture in Antarctica included lectures of the different types of sea life, penguin poop analysis, history of Antarctica, previous wars, and the treaty which governs Antarctica today. Needless to say, every expedition has been enriching. 

Expedition ships also have map rooms and sometimes science and photo labs. These areas are utilized for not only onboard activities but enrichment ones too. Bringing guests of all ages closer to the actual journey.

One of the key differences between expedition cruises and regular big ship cruises is the focus on adventure and exploration. Expedition cruises are designed for travelers who want to immerse themselves in the natural beauty of a destination. Excursions are built into the cost and the activities offered are usually more active. While big ships might offer 20 or more different excurions at each port, expedition ships options are usually limited to only a couple options.

Passengers on expeditions have the opportunity to kayak through fjords, hike through rainforests, or snorkel in coral reefs. Some expedition cruises even offer scuba diving, stand up paddle boarding. Depending on where you are in the world, you may be treated to local tribal dances and lunch too. Expedition activities are always optional and great for people of all ages and fitness levels. The focus is on experiencing the destination in a meaningful way, rather than just ticking off tourist attractions.

Both big ships and expeditions visit remote destinations such as the Svalbard archipelago for polar bear viewing. Both types also cross the Northwest Passage and even visit Antarctica. Yet only expeditions have daily stops and allow passengers off the ship in these remote places. Expeditions and exploring by zodiac is a key highlight to an expedition cruise. Below is a picture of part of an expedition with Lindblad expeditions which stopped in Norfolk island. With no pier, it’s another example of a place where only expedition ships can stop here. 

Finally, a key difference between expedition cruises and regular big ship cruises is the level of luxury and amenities. It used to be that expedition cruises were mostly stripped back. After all, the focus is the natural environment, not the ship. Giving passengers the chance to really focus and experience of being in a remote location. Yet, over the last few years we’ve seen a true push into premium luxury expeditions. With everyone from Silversea to Seabourn launching premium expeditions and new luxury expedition ships. Even Lindblad and Nat geo have brand new ships which are extremely luxurious. Many premium companies have near 1:1 staffing onboard, offer Spa service, 24 hour room service and more.

 As the ships are much smaller, expedition ships tend to have fewer dining and entertainment options on board. Most skip over the idea of specialty restaurants and big theaters and other extras such as water slides, laser tag or go karts arenas.  However, this is not to say that expedition cruises are uncomfortable or lacking in amenities. Smaller ships tend to mean more luxurious. Many expedition cruise ships offer high-quality food, open bars, larger more comfortable cabins, and a range of activities and amenities to keep passengers both comfortable and entertained.

Big Ocean Cruise Ships

Regular big ship cruises, on the other hand, are typically larger ships with a greater focus on amenities and entertainment. These ships usually have 10 times the amount of people. These ships can accommodate thousands of passengers with many ships now sailing with between 3,000 and 5,000 guests!  These larger ships are floating cities at sea and it’s obvious too. On the big ships you will often find a wide range of dining options, entertainment, and activities. Regular big ocean cruise ship cruises are often designed to be self-contained, with everything a passenger needs on board the ship. Sometimes keeping you so busy you don’t even care where the ship might stop.

If you are looking for a vacation where the focus is the ship, then a big ship might be for you. One of the key benefits of regular big ship cruises is the wide range of activities and amenities available onboard. Passengers can enjoy everything from Broadway-style shows to rock climbing walls, swimming pools with waterslides, and spa treatments. Dance the night away in a club or get lost in a casino. 

There are often multiple dining options to choose from on big ocean cruise liners. Norwegian Cruise Line, Holland America, Celebrity Cruises and others offer a range of food from casual cafes to fine dining restaurants. From steakhouses to Italian to sushi, the bigger the ship the more dinning options you will have. Yet, with this comes added and hidden prices as well. Regular big ship cruises rarely offer a truly all-inclusive experience. Usually specialty restaurants cost more to eat at and are not included in the base price, like the buffet or main dining room. 

Regular cruise ships can also be more crowded and impersonal. With thousands of passengers on board, it can be challenging to find a quiet spot to relax or to avoid long lines at popular attractions. It’s common on a big ship to never see someone again. After all there’s 3,000+ guests and a dozen or two bars and restaurants to get lost in. On small expedition ships, and even premium luxury cruise lines, there’s often less than 400 people. This allows you to get to know your fellow sailors more easily. 

I find that on regular big cruise ships, the cruises offer the opportunity to visit many big port destinations around the world. Yet, the experience of each destination may be more superficial, as there is often less time to explore. Some times only spending a short few hours in port. Port stops can sometimes be shorter and there is a greater focus on organized tours and excursions. In some places, the big ships also anchor further from the center of town and guests take buses in and out of the city. 

Bottom Line

When it comes to cruising there are several differences between expedition cruises and regular cruises. There’s even big differences between the big companies like Princess and the smaller ship operators such as Viking and Regent Silver Seas. There truly is an option for everyone. Yet, it all comes down to the focus of the experience. The bigger the ship, typically the more hidden fees. Expect to pay extra for soda, alcohol, room service, daily staff gratuities, port fees and more. Premium small ship cruises tend to include most of these items, plus excursions. Typically, expeditions cost more upfront but are all inclusive of everything from tips, to open bar, to daily excursions and port fees. 

Expedition cruises offer a more immersive and adventurous experience in remote and often untouched destinations. The focus is on the natural environment and cultural experiences. Regular big ship cruises and often premium cruise lines offer more onboard amenities with a wide range of activities to keep guests busy and contained to the ship. Both types of cruises offer unique experiences and opportunities, and the choice between the two depends on individual preferences and travel goals.

When you’re ready to travel or book your cruise. Contact me at Scott & Thomas Travel and let me help you find you the best deal on the cruise vacation of your dreams. 

• Other Current Noteworthy Expedition & Cruise Deals

  • $6,200 fares to Antarctica. BOGO
  • Emerald and Scenic River and Ocean Voyages BOGO
  • 30% OFF Antaractica – Save $5,000-10,000 per person with Nat Geo & Lindblad Expeditions
  • BOGO Expeditions to Antarctica, Canary Islands & Galapagos with Hurtriguten.
  • 20% off the Arctic + free wifi with Nat Geo
  • Kids go 100% on Select Sailings – Nat GEO & Lindblad
  • 30% Seabourn Alaska 2023 sailings
  • No Solo Supplement Deals – Lindblad
  • No Solo Supplement Hurtriguten 

Read the rest of this article at Compare: Expedition Cruise Versus Regular Ocean Cruises.

But if you’re looking for something a little more special, then you can take the Santa Claus Express Train from Helsinki to Rovaniemi and back. The Santa Claus Express Train is operated by VR, which is the national railway operator in Finland. They operate a modern fleet of trains ranging from regular intercity trains to high-speed and overnight trains and all their trains are equipped with modern facilities. To get to Rovaniemi, the official home of Santa Claus, you can either take the intercity or Pendolino day trains, or the overnight-sleeper trains.

The big difference between the day and night trains is that the overnight trains are primarily equipped with sleeper berths. They do have a small section of economy-class seating but I don’t recommend this unless you’re really on a budget. Whereas, the day trains are all equipped with economy and first-class seating; panorama seating, and private (non-sleeper) compartments. It should also be noted that the day trains from Helsinki to Rovaniemi will take you about 8.5 hours. Whereas, the overnight trains will take about 12 hours.

The VR Santa Claus Express Trains to Rovaniemi-Lapland are super affordable and if you book in advance, you can easily snag an economy class seat from Helsinki for about 30 Euros, with no baggage fees. Seats in first class (Ekstra Class), a private compartment, or in the panorama restaurant car will cost you slightly more. In this post,

VR Finland Intercity Santa Claus Express Train

In economy class, seats are arranged in a 2-2 configuration, facing either forwards or backwards. They all feature adjustable headrests, tray tables, and electrical outlets at every seat and some seats are also equipped with footrests. Free WiFi is provided on all trains for all passengers. There are storage racks located above the seats but they aren’t very tall. You can keep your coats and other small personal items up here but anything larger than a backpack will need to be stored in the luggage racks at the end of the cars.

The economy class trains are all configured with spacious lavatories, luggage racks, cell phone booths and bike racks.

For those traveling with small children, you can book a seat in the family car. These cars are configured with a small playground area to keep your kids occupied. 8.5 hours is a long time and kudos to any parent that can keep their kids entertained for that long.

In Ekstra Class, seats are arranged in a 1-2 configuration. These seats offer a little more space and comfort in a quieter cabin and all seats (except the seats facing another passenger) are equipped with footrests.

Passengers in Ekstra Class also get a dedicated space to secure their belongings, a cell phone booth with a padded seat, and their own lavatory. The Ekstra Class cars also feature a small self-serve beverage area with unlimited water, coffee and tea.

If you’re looking for something a little more private, then you can upgrade to a private compartment. These compartments come in 2-seaters or 4-seaters but you have to “buy out” the whole compartment if you want to use them. You can’t just book one seat in a private 4-seater compartment at the moment. Maybe this will change in the future but as of now, you can’t.

These private compartments are great because you get your own dedicated space to sit, relax, talk, and store your belongings. Each compartment is equipped with regular economy class seats, a fixed table, electrical outlets, and personal lighting controls. You can store your belongings in the oversize rack above your seat or in the center of the compartment. The compartments all have their own windows and the doors can be shut to give you more privacy.

On this trip, my friend and I booked one of these 2-seater private compartments and it worked out well for us. We loved having our own space and with the door closed, we could talk and listen to music without having to worry about disturbing any other passengers. If we did this again, I would for sure book another private cabin. That being said, I will admit that these cabins do feel a little tight. It’s not because the seat is any smaller than the normal economy class seat but because the enclosure of the compartment does make the space feel a tad constricting. We didn’t have a problem with it but it’s something to be aware of. I also didn’t like how small this table was and you have to twist your body a little bit to use your laptop.

But look at how spacious this overhead storage rack is. That’s a full-size international carry-on bag and a large backpack. We didn’t have to worry about our bags being stored outside and we could easily go in/out of them to grab whatever we needed during our train ride.

And here’s the 4-seater. It’s basically the same compartment but just double the size.

All of the day and overnight trains are configured with dining cars. Seating in the dining cars is on a first-come, first-served basis but of course, you can always take your food “to go” and go back to your seat if there is no seating available in the dining car.

Food-wise, I was very impressed with the quality of the VR trains’ food selection. I was really expecting a limited menu but they surprisingly had a good selection from salads and wraps to salmon soup and different kinds of pasta.

I wanted to point out that VR trains have both a dining car and a restaurant car. The dining car is what I just showed you above and the restaurant car is a seat that you can actually reserve. I don’t know why they call it a “restaurant” car as there is no restaurant there but I’m assuming they call it a restaurant car because the car has restaurant-style seating. I totally forgot to take a picture of this car for you so here’s one from their website. These seats feature a row of seats that face the window and two rows of seats that face each like a table at a restaurant. There is a small upcharge to book a seat in this car. However, no other amenities are provided for passengers in this car.

VR Santa Class Express Train Finland Experience

As I stated above, my friend and I booked a 2-seater compartment for our trip up to Rovaniemi. We booked the Intercity 23 train, which is a direct train from Helsinki Central Station to Rovaniemi Central Station. It did stop at several stations along the way but passengers did not have to get off or switch to any other trains during the entire journey. The train departed on time at 8:24 AM and arrived at Rovaniemi at 4:46 PM the same day. The entire journey took us 8 hours and 22 minutes and though that is a long time, it actually flew right by. My friend and I had our own space to watch a movie, chat and catch up. We enjoyed the views outside and even had a meal in the dining car. If you love train rides through the European countryside, you won’t be disappointed.

For two passengers, the base price of the ticket was 90.80 Euros. The upcharge for the private compartment was 18.20 Euros for a grand total of 109 Euros.

Santa Claus Express Train Bottom Line

Overall, we had a pleasant experience riding the Santa Claus Express Train to Rovaniemi. The train was clean and the journey was pleasant. The seats were comfortable and the private compartment was great. The views of the snow-covered trees were beautiful and the dining car had a great selection of food. I also appreciated the free WiFi to help keep us connected and entertained. That being said, eight hours is a long time to be traveling when a flight to Rovaniemi takes about 50 minutes.  If you’re short on time, then book a flight. But if you’re on a budget or have time to spare, then the Santa Claus Express Train will be a good experience for you and your family.

What are your thoughts? Have you been on the Santa Claus Express Train to Rovaniemi-Lapland? If so, please share your thoughts with us in the comments section below. Thanks for reading!

The other posts in this series include:

1. oneworld Lounge LAX
2. Air France Boeing 777-300ER Business Class
3. Air France Salon Lounge Paris Airport
4. VR Santa Claus Express Train, Helsinki to Rovaniemi
5. Santa Claus Holiday Village
6. Aspire Lounge Helsinki Airport, a Priority Pass Lounge
7. KLM Boeing 737 Business Class, Helsinki to Amsterdam
8. KLM Crown Lounge Amsterdam
9. KLM Boeing 787-10 Business Class, Amsterdam to Los Angeles

Read the rest of this article at Review: Santa Claus Express Train, Helsinki to Rovaniemi-Lapland.

which airlines are helping families and which ones are not.

It’s A Good Idea

Keeping families together should be the rule and not the exception.  It shouldn’t have to be an additional expense to parents to do this.  There are valid reasons for keeping families together:

• Children need supervision,
• If there is an emergency, there is an adult there to assist,
• Some children have anxieties about flying a need their parents and
• There is the possibility of stranger danger when children are seated apart from their parents.

Airlines should realize that everybody will be better off when families are seated together and just do the right thing.  Airlines are reporting record-setting profits so this should be a no-brainer – just do the right thing.

Airline Family Seating Dashboard

A parent who purchases airline tickets for a family should receive a guarantee from the airline that it will seat the parent and child together without fees or a last-minute scramble at the gate or having to ask other passengers to give up their seats to allow the parent and child to sit together. On February 1, 2023, Secretary Buttigieg announced the Department’s plan to launch a dashboard that displays which airlines guarantee family seating. Since then, some airlines have stepped up to guarantee adjacent seats for young children traveling with an accompanying adult at no additional cost.

The DOT launched a new tool that is now live to help parents identify which airlines are working to keep families seated together during flights.  The dashboard so far shows ten U. S. airlines:

• Alaska
• Allegiant
• American
• Delta
• Frontier
• Hawaiian
• Jet Blue
• Southwest
• Spirit and
• United

The dashboard has a simple display for showing which airlines are using family-friendly policies:

• Airlines with a green check mark have family-friendly policies and
• Airlines with a red X do not.

DOT is not satisfied with airline statements that they will “make efforts” to seat families traveling with children together at no additional cost. The Department urges all airlines to guarantee family seating. DOT will update the dashboard above to provide air travelers with clear information about the airlines that commit to delivering adjacent seats for a young child and an accompanying parent and those that do not.

The dashboard will serve as a bridge to help families while the Department advances a rulemaking to ensure airlines seat young children adjacent to a parent or other accompanying adult. In addition, the President has called upon Congress to fast-track the ban on family seating fees so that DOT can take action to stop those practices more quickly than through rulemaking.

Limited Conditions

There are certain conditions that apply to these family-friendly policies.  If you need help sitting together, you need to know the limiting conditions ahead of time.

When using an airline that assigns seats, the airline can condition its guarantee on each of the following:

1. The child and accompanying adult are on the same reservation;
2. Adjacent seats are available at the time of booking in the selected class of service;
3. Aircraft is not substituted for smaller aircraft;
4. Adult either chooses seats for the entire reservation or skips seats for the entire reservation and does not make changes to seat assignments once assigned to them; and
5. It is physically possible based on seat layout to seat the number of young children traveling next to the accompanying adult(s).

When using an airline with an open seating policy, the airline can condition its guarantee on the following:

1. The child and accompanying adult are on the same reservation;
2. Accompanying adult notifies the gate agent of the need for adjacent seats prior to the start of boarding; and
3. It is physically possible based on seat layout to seat the number of young children traveling next to the accompanying adult(s).

Tips for Families

Understand the airline’s seating policies.

• You can obtain information about an airline’s family seating policies directly from the airline. This information may be available on an airline’s website. Some airlines provide important advice on their web pages about what to do or not do when booking a flight to best ensure young children will get a seat next to an accompanying adult. If you cannot find this information on an airline’s website, you may also contact the airline through its reservations to request this information.
• To best ensure that your family sits together, shop for tickets that allow you to reserve specific seats on your flight or consider airlines that guarantee fee-free family seating for all fare types.
  • Note, basic economy fares are often lower fares and may not provide consumers with the ability to select a seat.
• If you are traveling with a child with a disability who you are assisting during the flight to perform a function that is not required to be performed by airline personnel, for example assisting with eating, and you self-identify to the airline, the airline is required to provide you a seat next to your child in the class of service that you purchased. Airlines may not charge for such adjoining seats.
  • Advance notice or early check-in requirements may apply, so check with the airline about its policies as soon as possible before your trip if you plan to request a seating accommodation on the basis of disability.
• All airlines may allow a child under two years old to be held on a person’s lap during the flight; contact your specific airline for more information on its policy as the required age of the person holding the child varies by airline.
  • The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) encourages all passengers traveling with children under two years of age to use a government-approved child safety restraint system or device. For more information, please visit the FAA’s Flying with Children page.
• FAA regulations prohibit children under 15 and passengers caring for small children from sitting in exit row seats. Please contact your specific airline for more information on its exit row policy.

Book your ticket as early as possible.

• The earlier you book your family’s travel, the more likely it is that you will be able to reserve seats that are next to each other.
• If you tried to book your tickets early, and seats are not available together, contact the airline through reservations to ask whether additional seats will become available later.

Book children on the same reservation as adults.

• Airlines generally know travelers belong to one party only if all the passengers are on the same reservation record.
• Airlines assigning or reassigning seats give priority to parents and children on the same reservation.

Contact the airline directly through reservations if your family was not able to obtain seats together or if you are unsure about the status of your seats.

• Ask the airline how it may be able to accommodate your family in advance of your flight or at the airport.
• Discuss with the airline your concerns about a child in your party being seated alone. Even if the airline is unable to seat your whole family together, they may be able to assure you that each child is seated next to an adult family member.
• If you booked parents and children on different reservations, contact the airline as soon as possible to ask if the party can be put on the same reservation record or have their reservations cross-referenced in the booking notes.

Confirm reservations that are not booked with the airline.

• If you did not book your travel directly with an airline, obtain or confirm your seat assignments directly with the airline as soon as possible before the day of travel. This can be done either on the airline’s website or over the phone by contacting reservations.

Confirm reservations and seat assignments before going to the airport.

• You may wish to confirm your seat assignments before you would normally go to the airport as your seat assignments could have changed after booking due to an aircraft substitution with a different seating arrangement. If your seat assignments have changed, you can contact the airline to ask for help.

Plan to arrive at the airport early on the day of your flight

• Arriving early will give your family and the airline more time to address any seating-related issues.
• Airlines will do what they can at the airport to help families who self-identify to their agents as needed to sit together. Even if the airline is unable to seat the whole family together, they may be able to assure you that each child is seated next to an adult family member.

Final Thoughts

This just isn’t a good idea, the ultimate concern is the safety of children flying, especially on long-haul flights.  The airlines are making record-breaking profits, they can help out families travel without breaking the bank.  The family-friendly dashboard will help parents see which airlines are family-friendly.  Maybe those airlines with the red X’s will adopt a family-friendly policy.

Read the rest of this article at New DOT Dashboard Helps Flying Families To Sit Together.

The snow covered white continent left me speechless and in awe; each day was better than the previous. A trip with Seabourn expeditions is among the best way to cruise to Antarctica. A trip to the polar regions on the Seabourn Venture is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I highly recommend. 

For those looking to book a Antarctica Expedition, please contact me at Scott & Thomas Travel.

The Ship – Seabourn Venture

The Seabourn Venture, and sister ship Seabourn Pursuit, are PC6 polar class icebreakers. Both luxurious expedition vessels are specifically designed for exploring remote regions like Antarctica. Both ships boast all-suite accommodations for just 264 passengers. Luxury Cruising and expeditions at its finest, Seabourn did not overlook any details on this beautiful cruise ship.

The Suites

These luxury expedition ships have spacious rooms that are beautifully appointed and equipped with everything you need for a comfortable and relaxing stay. Every room includes a full veranda, walk-in closet, heated drying closet, and 5-piece bathroom with separate bathtub and walk-in shower. Most of my friends stayed in a standard beautiful veranda suite. These rooms are more than comfortable and offer more space than most ships. 

I upgraded my room to the larger Panorama Veranda Suite and the additional cost was 100% worth it. Larger windows and more space to relax, a larger bathroom with a jacuzzi tub equated to a blissful and more comfortable stay. Plus the room includes upgrades such as heated floors, more plush robes, and a nespresso machine.

Seabourn Dining Options

The ship features a variety of dining options. The Restaurant offers gourmet cuisine in a formal setting and is open for dinner, plus breakfast and lunch on select dates. White table clothes and 5 star service is the theme in the restaurant. Yet without a strict dress code. Thankfully, jeans are now allowed and there are no formal nights on these luxury expedition cruises. 

The Colonnade serves up more casual fare and is open for Breakfast and Lunch. The colonnade is a buffet, but also has cooked to order options as well. At dinner time, the Colonnade transitions to the Earth and Ocean restaurant. This is a more casual dinner option with theme meals based on different regions of the world. Earth and ocean is a sit down dinning facility with table service. 

Nightly, from 6-9pm the Seabourn Club also turns into a sushi restaurant. Serving up surprisingly fresh and delicious sashimi, Nigiri, and rolls. We found this was a great place to grab a pre-dinner snack. Yet, it could easily be a full meal as well. 

Other dining options include the light bites from Seabourn Square, the coffee shop. Or for those who want something else there is complimentary 24 hour room service available. The entire dinner menu from the main restaurant or earth and ocean is also available via room service.

Other Public Spaces 

Seabourn has taken nearly every element of their larger cruise ships and brought them to the smaller expedition cruise ship plus more! The ship has a full size fitness center and a spa with two beautiful saunas. Both feature a panoramic window ensuring you miss nothing during your journey.

There is a club for live music and dancing in the early morning hours. Often we closed it down at 2 am. Plus there is the constellation lounge at the front of the ship with live music. This space is utilized for afternoon high tea, afternoon and evening cocktails.

The bow lounge is a great place to meet the expedition team and see the ships navigation tools. The Bow Lounge is one of my favorite places as it’s the closest access to water level and has direct access to the massive bow. It’s the perfect spot to watch for marine life. It also features touch screens showing the ship’s plotted location, as well as navigational charts and scientific information used to help guide the ship on its journey. There is also snacks in the bow lounge for those feeling peckish.

Finally, one of the most important areas of the ship is the beautiful Discovery Center. The discovery center is where the expedition team provides daily recaps and plans for the following day. The discovery center is also utilized for nightly entertainment and live shows. On my expedition the cruise director performed both live opera and classical musicals. We also watched the super bowl, other movies, and watched our expedition video. The discovery center is also often used for educational talks throughout the expedition. 

Antarctica Expeditions are more than a standard cruise. If you are traveling to Antarctica, you also need to learn about Antarctica, South America, and the history of the area, including the Falkland Islands and south Georgia. The Discovery center is utilized for Seabourn conversations, or educational “ted talks.” 

There are other public spaces on the ship, such as the expedition lounge. The expedition lounge is the meeting point for kayak and submarine excursions. It also doubles as a bar for the discovery center. Outfitted with a fireplace, it’s a cozy place the relax throughout the journey. This place also doubles as a dance floor when cruise director DJ Lupe spun for us.

Other spaces include the mud room where you get ready for the polar plunge or daily landings and where you disembark to zodiac boats. There is also the Sky Bar off the club next to the two higher jacuzzi. Off the colonnade is the pool deck which features a bar and two Jacuzzis too! 

The only thing the Seabourn Venture is missing in the famous Thomas Keller Grill. Yet, honestly with all the food options, I didn’t miss it that much!

Expedition Activities

Seabourn Antarctica on the Seabourn Venture offers a wide range of activities that are designed to help you get the most out of your journey and off the ship. Although, I cannot stress enough, no matter who you go with, you will spend the majority of your time on the ship. Therefore being on a comfortable ship is extremely important. There really are few places to land in Antarctica. With so many penguin colonies and the largest glaciers on this earth, stable land is limited which results in more time on the ship than off of it.

With Seabourn Expeditions you can take part in guided hikes, kayak through icy waters, and even take a polar plunge into the frigid Southern Ocean. All passengers are offered daily zodiac cruise options along with landings. If the weather cooperates you can expect getting off the ship 2-3 times a day for 1-3 hours at a time. The fewer passengers also means the more time on land. IAATO regulations limit 100 tourists on land at a time and prohibits ships with greater than 500 passengers from landing in Antarctica.

All landings and Zodiac cruises are complementary and included in every Seabourn Expedition. Kayaking and submarines do cost more and should be signed up for before departure. The Seaborn Venture and Pursuit ships carry 2 submarines and 10 kayaks. 

The Seabourn Venture also features two custom-built submarines that can take you on an underwater exploration of this icy wonderland. Seabourn is one of the few operators on the Antarctic peninsula with submarines! Do note that many submarine excursions do get canceled. They have limited operational capacity and if it’s too windy or wavy they have to cancel excursions due to safety. I personally was offloaded from a submarine during a surprise storm and now understand why they do not operate them except in pristine conditions. Not only was getting back to the boat cold and wet, but it was very difficult to transfer from the submarine to the zodiac during the windstorm which created whitecaps.

In addition to off-ship activities there are plenty of items to keep you busy. On every Antarctic expedition, you can also attend daily lectures and presentations by expert naturalists and scientists. They will help you gain a deeper understanding of the wildlife, geology, and ecology of Antarctica.  One of my favorite lectures I attended, an in-depth look at penguin poo. I also learned about the research stations on the continent, the Antarctic ice sheet and how territorial claims lead and a mini war lead to peaceful purpose treaty for scientific research only in the Antarctic region. 

Other noteworthy Expedition cruise deals

• $6,500 fares to Antarctica. BOGO
• Emerald and Scenic River and Ocean Voyages BOGO
• 30% OFF Antaractica – Save $5,000-10,000 per person with Nat Geo & Lindblad Expeditions
• BOGO Expeditions to Antarctica, Canary Islands & Galapagos with Hurtriguten.
• 20% off the Arctic + free wifi with Nat Geo
• Kids go 100% on Select Sailings – Nat GEO & Lindblad
• 30% Seabourn Alaska 2023 sailings starting from $2,250 pp
• No Solo Supplement Deals – Lindblad
• No Solo Supplement Hurtriguten 

Bottom Line

The highlight of the Seabourn Antarctica journey is, of course, the experience of exploring the continent itself. The Seabourn Venture took me and my friends to the most stunning locations on earth. I witnessed first-hand the beauty and majesty of this unique landscape, giant ice sheets, tons of wildlife, and even watched icebergs form during glacier caving. You will have the opportunity to see wildlife that is found nowhere else on earth, and to explore the vast, frozen landscapes that make up the continent. The experience of exploring Antarctica on the Seabourn Venture is truly a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.

There is so much more I will say about my adventure to Antarctica in another blog. Yet know, this really is an adventure of a lifetime and traveling with Seabourn was a true treat. When you’re ready to book your adventure to Antarctica, please contact me at Scott & Thomas travel.  Bookings are now open through Feb 2025. I work with all major operators beyond Seabourn. My other favorites include National Geographic, Ponant, and Aurora Expeditions. Let me help you find your way to Antarctica!

 

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Read the rest of this article at The Seabourn Venture: An Antarctica Expedition.

When it comes to accommodation, Buenos Aires has a wide range of hotels to suit all tastes and budgets. From a slew of luxury hotels, hostels, AirBnbs, mid range hotels and boutique hotels, Buenos Aires offers it all. The hardest decision you will make is where to stay. From the newer neighborhood of Puerto Madero to Palermo Soho or San Telmo, Buenos Aires has all the options. Honestly though, the real question is how to save money on your next stay in Buenos Aires.

Save Money Across Argentina

Argentina has been struggling with high inflation rates for several years. In Argentina, inflation has been a persistent problem since the early 2000s. Inflation rates have varied from year to year, but they have generally been high. In 2021, Argentina’s inflation rate was around 47%, one of the highest in the world. The official exchange rate has been out of control, $1 USD was worth less than 5 Peso’s during my first visit to Argentina just 12 years ago. Now, the official exchange rate is $1 to 195! Yet, better rates are available thanks to the “blue paseo.”

Exchange Cash for Blue Peso

The “Blue peso” is a term used to refer to the unofficial currency exchange rate for the Argentine Peso. Cambios or cash exchanges which are not official banks often will exchange USD for a higher exchange rate than the official rate. In early Feb 2023, during my visit, the Cambio rate was 340-400 Paseo’s per $1. $100 and $50 bills received a higher rate than smaller bills.

Do note, it is technically illegal to exchange currency at the unofficial rate, but not really enforced. Despite this, many cambios in Argentina advertise the higher rate for the Blue Paseo. In addition, many restaurants, shops etc will give you the known rate for the blue paseo if paying in USD. Several times while shopping and eating out, I was asked to pay in USD instead of Peso or credit card. The merchant would then offer me between 340 to 400 paso for each USD I provided them. Any change back was in Argentine Pesos.

Even if you exchange your cash for Pesos at a cambio, when you pay for anything, including hotels in Argentina with peso, you will save nearly 40% over the official exchange rate. Using cash saves you money on hotels, but isn’t the ultimate cash saving option. Credit cards are the best option, cash is king for nearly everything else.

Use a Credit Card

Whenever you stay in a hotel in Buenos Aires or Argentina you can avoid paying value added tax by using a foreign credit card. Some hotels will ask you to fill out a form for their records. Yet, by simply using a non-Argentine credit card, you can save 21% on every hotel stay in the country. This is better than any hotel deal you’ll find. It’s a simple 21% saving immediately! Of the three hotels I stayed in during my time in Argentina, only the Alvera Icon hotel in Puerto Madero required the form. Other hotels automatically removed it when I checked in.

Visa & MasterCard Blue Peso Rate

For those traveling from outside of Argentina you can save even more money by paying for your hotel stay with a foreign Visa or Mastercard. The same can be said for any purchase across Argentina. From dinner to shopping, Visa and mastercards receive a better rate. 

In a bid to boost tourism dollars in Argentina, the government has allowed MasterCard Inc. and Visa Inc. to start offering travelers an exchange rate that nearly doubles their purchasing power. This rate fluctuates but is usually between 300 to 325 Pesos per $1 usd. Nearly 30% better than the government’s official exchange rate. This rate went into effect in December 2022. 

Most hotels will advertise costs in USD. Yet, when your credit card is charged, it is charged in Argentine Peso at the official 1:195 rate. This means that if the hotel costs $200 per night your credit card will be charged 39,000 Pesos. But then Visa and Mastercard will convert it back to USD at the 1:300-325 rate! 

From my experience credit cards show the official exchange rate while pending, but then updates to the tourist Blue Peso rate when officially posting. Most of my Chase Visa purchases were processed at 325 to $1. For one night, I opted to stay the Palacio Duhau – Park Hyatt Buenos Aires. The official Hyatt Prive rate with $100 resort credit was $750. Upon check-in for one night, my credit card showed a pre-authorization hold of over $1,000 usd!

Upon check out, my stay posted 4 days later for just $455! Just 60% of the actual advertise cost. A huge cost saving. Not only did I have 19,500 pesos as a resort credit. I enjoyed late check out, a complimentary upgrade confirmed at booking, a gift of macaroons on check in, and free full breakfast! Not bad given the huge cost savings I enjoyed. Just one of many benefits of using a travel agent! These benefits are only available to Hyatt Prive guests.

Furthermore, I did not have to pay the 21% VAT and my stay was 40% cheaper than shown online once converted to pesos and back to USD. The tourist credit card Blue Peso rate for the win! Do note, American Express does not offer the tourist Blue Peso rate and still converts at the official 1:195 rate. Avoid using your American Express when in Argentina.

Avoid Online Travel Agencies

The biggest mistake you can make on your next trip to Argentina is using an online travel agency. Online Travel agencies usually charge you in full for your stay before arrival. This will result in higher fees and total costs. Do not use a prepaid rate. These rates are processed by non-Argentinian companies and will be processed at the advertised price. These prices usually include value added tax as well, and if it’s prepaid, it’s not refundable. Resulting in you not only paying more upfront, but paying a 21% tax which you are not required to pay. 

The same is to be said about Airbnb or VRBO. Their banks are in the US. This means that if the price is advertised for $300 a night, you will be charged $300 a night. There’s no saving, as there is no conversion to the Peso before charging your card. 

If you want to save money, use a travel agent that can book you a guaranteed rate. It may appear higher, but when the price actually posts, you will save at least 40% given the current approved Visa and Mastercard rates. Just remember, do not use an American Express card. 

Bottom Line

Buenos Aires hotels and all of Argentina offer tons of options for every traveler. Thanks to the Blue Peso and the approved visa and mastercard tourist exchange rate, travelers can save hundreds of dollars each night on a hotel stay. I personally find using my credit card easier than visiting a cambio. Plus, by using a credit card, you can instantly save 21% on the value add tax.

If you are traveling to Buenos Aires, be sure to book with a travel agent who understands the ins and outs of Argentina. Their currency is like no other in the world. If you pre-pay for your hotel on a website you will pay more. Expedia, hotels.com and Airbnb will charge you in USD. This means the price they advertise is the price you will pay. Meanwhile, agents like myself are aware of the tourist rate and can secure you rates which will easily save you hundreds of dollars on your vacation. Are you ready to book your Argentina Vacation? Contact me at Scott and Thomas Travel and ask for Rocky. 

Read the rest of this article at Save Money On Buenos Aires Hotels.

But before I get into my review, I want to clarify a few things. There are many names for this one area so if you’re searching for, or hear someone referring to Lapland, Rovaniemi, Santa Claus Village, Santa Claus Holiday Village, or something similar, then it’s most likely all referring to the same place. The name of this general area is called Lapland, which refers to the northernmost region of Finland, and the name of the actual city where everything is located is called Rovaniemi. You may see signs such as “Welcome to Lapland” or “Fly to Lapland,” etc., but that’s just referring to the general area as the airport, train station, and city center are all located in the city of Rovaniemi. The “Lapland” area is actually so big that it spreads across four different countries: Finland, Noway, Russia, and Sweden. That’s why you will also hear references to the Swedish or Norwegian Lapland, etc. but for the sake of this post, I’m only referring to the Finnish Lapland.

Santa Claus Village is the name of the attraction where you can meet Santa, ride reindeer sleighs, and play with huskies; and Santa Claus Holiday Village is just one of the many resorts located at Santa Claus Village. And lastly, Santa Claus Village is a collection of independent stores and tourist attractions. There is no one company that owns everything so you don’t need to pay an “entrance” fee to enter the village and you can’t buy an “all-inclusive” pass for meals or attractions. You kinda have to just see what you want to do and pay for them individually. And because they are all individually owned and operated, you will find competing locations to ride reindeer, play with huskies, and meet Santa.

Santa Claus Holiday Village Location

Santa Claus Village and Santa Claus Holiday Village are both located about eight minutes from Rovaniemi Airport and about 15 minutes from Rovaniemi train station/city center. There are public buses that will take you from the airport to the city center and to Santa Claus Village but they aren’t the most convenient. Taxis are readily available but they are very expensive so in my opinion, the best transportation option is to rent a car. By doing so, you can travel back and forth between the airport, the city center, and Santa Claus Village and having your own vehicle will also allow you to explore the other parts of Lapland and go hunting for the Northern Lights on your own.

If you don’t want to rent a car, you could of course just take a taxi from the airport to Santa Claus Holiday Village and then book day/night excursions with transportation included but needless to say, that will be very expensive.

Santa Claus Holiday Village Accommodations

The website refers to the accommodations as “hotel quality apartments” but they’re more similar to cottages than apartments. Depending on how big your travel party is, you can rent a single cottage that can accommodate two adults/two kids comfortably or a double cottage for bigger families. On this trip, we booked a “classic cottage” for our three-day stay. The classic cottage is their base-level accommodation.

The cottages are all modern, clean, and comfortable. The floors are heated and every cottage comes with its own sauna. Inside, you’ll find two twin-size beds (pushed together), a sofabed, and a little dining area. The amenities include a small TV, water kettle, and coffee maker.

The dining table isn’t the biggest but for the two of us, it was perfectly acceptable.

There’s also a little kitchen so you can buy groceries and prepare your own meals. There’s a stove, sink, microwave and a small refrigerator.

Above the sink, you will find dishes, utensils, pots, and pans. Dish soap and a sponge are also provided for your convenience.

The en-suite bathroom has a standing shower, toilet, and sink. There’s not much counter space but you can keep your toiletries in the medicine cabinet above the sink or the drawers next to the sink. And because the Finnish love their saunas, every cottage is equipped with its own personal sauna, which can accommodate up to four people. Soap is provided but it’s very generic so bring your own shampoo and body wash if you don’t want to use the stuff you would normally find in a gym. Other toiletries such as lotion, shower caps, dental hygiene kits, etc. are not provided in the “classic cottage” category of rooms.

The cottages are actually pretty spacious so you won’t feel like you’re on top of each other. There are plenty of storage spaces to pack your stuff away and password-protected WiFi is also provided.

Outside, there’s a little sitting area and each cottage also has its own Christmas tree and parking spot.

Adjacent to the cottages are some outdoor firepits, gazebos, and little hills for the kids to go sledding. I tried to take a combination of both day and nighttime photos for you guys. The resort is beautiful during the day with the snow-covered treetops but at night, this place really shines.

Breakfast is included for all cottages and it’s held in the nearby Christmas House. Here, you will find a gift shop, restaurant, and one of the two Santas.

I will say that breakfast was the most disappointing part of this experience. I’m glad breakfast was included to help keep costs down but it wasn’t the best.

The hotel reception building is located at the entrance to Santa Claus Village. Here, you can check in/out, get help, book tours and excursions, or grab a drink in the lobby bar. It should be noted that the Santa Claus Holiday Village has a strict 4:00 PM check-in time. If your flight or train gets in earlier, you can store your bags at the reception desk for a small fee.

This is also where the Three Elves restaurant is located. It’s not considered fine dining by any means but it is more expensive than the other restaurants located at Santa Claus Village. If you want to splurge for a memorable experience, you can book one of these two private, glass igloos to enjoy your meal.

Santa Claus Village Experience

Santa Claus Village is truly a magical place but to be honest, you can easily do everything you want to do here in two days; one if you want to just do the highlights, or three if you want to take things a little more leisurely. As I mentioned earlier, we spent two nights here and that was plenty of time for us to do everything we wanted to do and explore the surrounding area as well. Here’s the overall map of Santa Claus Village and all the shops, restaurants and attractions that you can partake in.

Arctic Circle – One of the highlights of Santa Claus Village is its location at the Arctic Circle. The Arctic Circle is a circle of latitude that runs 66°33′45.9″ north of the Equator. It marks the southernmost latitude where the sun can stay continuously below or above the horizon for 24 hours – these phenomena are known as the Midnight Sun in the summer and the Polar Night (“Kaamos”) in the winter. This is a very popular spot at Santa Claus Village and you can even check yourself out on the live Arctic Circle webcam. This is a free activity but a certificate saying you crossed the Arctic Circle will cost you.

Santa Claus – For kids, and those young at heart, meeting Santa Claus is a pretty significant activity. Luckily for you, there are two places in Santa Claus Village to visit him. Visiting Santa Claus is free at both locations but you will have to pay to get a picture or video with him (personal cell phones are not allowed). The smaller of the two places is located at Christmas House. There is nothing special about this location as it’s something you can expect to find at a nice mall.

The larger (and much better) place to visit Santa Claus is located at the Santa Claus Office. Here, you can walk a little path through the elves’ workshop and visit the big man himself. For us, this was a much better experience as he spent a good couple of minutes talking to us. This made the entire experience much more personable (and memorable). I don’t remember the exact price but I want to say it was about 30 Euros for a digital photo and video of your meeting with him.

But because he does spend some time with each party, the line does move slowly.

Mrs. Claus also has a house nearby for kids to say hi. It’s free to visit but we did not go in.

Reindeer Sleigh Ride – There are two reindeer farms where you can go on a sleigh ride through a small path. They are both about 5 – 10 minutes long and will cost you about 16 Euros/adult. These are convenient because they are right here but you can easily visit better reindeer farms outside of Santa Claus Village. Just Google them.

HuskyPark – Of all the things we did, HuskyPark was probably the most fun. Here, you can play with huskies or go on a husky sled ride. If you want to do the sled ride, you need to book in advance as they do sell out. And just like the reindeer park, there are cheaper options located outside of Santa Claus Village.

Post Office – This was also one of the cooler things we did. Here, you can buy postcards and postage and send out Christmas cards to all your family and friends. You can either have them sent out immediately or held to be sent out at Christmas time. I thought this was super cool as I sent cards to all my family and friends and they will be delivered around Christmas time 2023. You can also buy postcards from the Santa Claus Office but the postcards are slightly cheaper here. I forgot to ask but I hope they get stamped from “The North Pole!”

Something I did not know is that when kids write letters to Santa Claus and send them to the “North Pole,” the letters get delivered here. That’s because Santa Claus Village is the official home of the North Pole. They actually have “elves” that read the letters and send replies. How cool is that?

Snowman World – This is a brand new addition to Santa Claus Village. We didn’t pay to go in but it’s basically an attraction where kids can go sledding, tubing, and ice skating, and adults can enjoy a beverage inside an ice bar. You can even eat inside an ice restaurant.

Restaurants – There are plenty of dining places located on-site from quick and casual to sit-down and more upscale. I wasn’t planning on doing any restaurant reviews but I wanted to tell you about one place that we really enjoyed – Santa’s Salmon Place, located across from HuskyPark. It’s a little teepee-looking place so if you’re not looking for it, you will definitely miss it. It’s not a very big place and they only have one main entree but we enjoyed the food so much, we went back a second time. The menu is very limited: a simple salmon filet cooked over an open flame, served with bread and a Finnish salad. That’s it for 25 Euros. I know it’s pricey but it was definitely worth it.

Northern Lights – And lastly, no trip to Santa Claus Village is complete without a mention of the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis). To answer the obvious question, “Can you see the Northern Lights from Santa Claus Village?”, the answer is “it depends.” That’s because you need both solar activity and a clear sky to see them. Santa Claus Village is located north enough for you to see them, and on a clear night without any cloud coverage, you can see them from the village. But you will need to get away from the village to get a better view. That’s because you need a dark environment to see them better and Santa Claus Village is lit up with lots of pretty lights at night. So yes, you can see them but the further away you get from the village, the better your viewing experience will be.

But keep in mind, you need both solar activity and a clear sky. So even on nights when the solar activity is very strong, you won’t be able to see anything if there are clouds in the sky. Unfortunately, that’s what happened to us. It snowed the whole time we were there and we didn’t get to see much.

Other Activities – There’s obviously plenty more to see and do at Santa Claus Village. I just tried to give you some of the highlights. More info on Santa Claus Village can be found here.

Santa Claus Holiday Village Bottom Line

Overall, we really enjoyed our stay at the Santa Claus Holiday Village. The accommodations are cute, the amenities are convenient and the location can’t be beat. I really appreciated the heated floors and personal sauna. This allowed us to play outside during the day and warm up quickly the moment we got back into our cottage. This truly is a magical place and we can’t wait to come back.

What are your thoughts? Have you visited Santa Claus Holiday Village? If so, please share your thoughts with us in the comments section. Thanks for reading!

The other posts in this series include:

1. oneworld Lounge LAX
2. Air France Boeing 777-300ER Business Class
3. Air France Salon Lounge Paris Airport
4. VR Santa Claus Express Train, Helsinki to Rovaniemi
5. Santa Claus Holiday Village
6. Aspire Lounge Helsinki Airport, a Priority Pass Lounge
7. KLM Boeing 737 Business Class, Helsinki to Amsterdam
8. KLM Crown Lounge Amsterdam
9. KLM Boeing 787-10 Business Class, Amsterdam to Los Angeles

Read the rest of this article at Review: Santa Claus Holiday Village, Lapland-Rovaniemi Finland.

NOTE: if the northern lights photos appear blurry and grainy in desktop mode, I apologize in advance.  I’ve literally been working on these for months to get them right, to no avail. I promise, they look just fine in a photo editor, but then degrade when uploaded.  User error of some kind no doubt, but I finally had to give up to get this published.

When/Where Is the Best Place and Time to See the Northern Lights in Lapland?

This site provides a pretty good overview of the optimal places and times to go aurora chasing in Finnish Lapland. In a nutshell, there’s three general tips for successfully finding the aurora borealis:

• The best timeframe is October through March, though the aurora is technically visible from late August through April. Hint: October and March still provide plenty of darkness, but also enough daylight to get in some non-aurora activities.
• Head north, but not too far north. Prime aurora viewing occurs around 68 degrees north latitude, where the lights appear roughly 3 out of every 4 clear nights. Chances actually decrease slightly as you head north of 70 degrees latitude. Major destinations in this area include Kittilä, Ivalo, and the ski resort area of Saariselkä.
• The best viewing generally occurs a couple of hours either side of midnight, but sometimes even earlier in the evening.

For my trip, I headed to Inari, a small town on a lake a little north of Ivalo. I’ve provided a map of Finland below for reference so you can get an idea of just how far north this is.

The reality, though, is that aurora chasing resembles storm chasing in a lot of ways. Namely, there’s a great deal of blind luck involved. You can encounter a spectacular light show before dinner on your first night in Lapland. Or you could spend a week there and see nothing. You’re relying on both clear skies AND the magnetic disturbances that create the aurora syncing together on a given night. That makes it largely a crapshoot. For that reason, I strongly suggest spending at least 3 nights in Lapland, and preferably 4 or 5. Odds are you’ll end up with at least one night where things work out. On my trip, the second night came through with an incredible aurora display, but the other two went el busto due to persistent cloud cover.

Of course, if you fancy seeing the northern lights, you’d best prepare for the cold. Late October proved bearable, with temperatures hovering right around freezing in Inari. Temperatures bottom out in late January, with average highs in the mid-teens Fahrenheit. The coldest nights, though, can reach 20-25 below zero. Since aurora chasing usually involves spending considerable time outside in the dead of night, prepare yourself for the conditions.

As for the best time of night to see the northern lights, you often hear stories of people sitting out in fields at 3 am. So is that really necessary? The answer is, not necessarily. If you luck into a clear night with good aurora conditions, you might get your fill of the lights by dinnertime. Other nights, you might pull an all-nighter, waiting for a brief break in the clouds to appear. I got incredibly lucky on my second night in Inari, with skies clearing by 7 pm and staying that way. That gave me my fill of the aurora borealis by a reasonable hour. Don’t count on that happening, though.

The biggest thing is you need to find someplace, well, dark. In other words, away from city lights. If there’s too much light pollution at your location, you might need to walk or drive elsewhere. The good news is, if you go to northern Lapland, the E-75 highway includes plenty of pull-out parking areas. Many of these are at picturesque spots along little lakes. Just picture this scene after dark with the northern lights setting the sky ablaze…

Another thing you need to do? Read up on how to change your camera settings to properly photograph the northern lights. And practice how to change them before you get out in the field. Trying to change settings for the first time, in the dark, in 20 degree weather, with gloves on? Not the easiest thing to do. This guide provides some good advice, but it’s trial and error to a large degree, based on local conditions. I’d also learn how to use photo editing software. Bad comes to worse, you can photoshop imperfect pictures after you get home.

Do You Need to Book a Northern Lights Tour? Or Can You DIY?

Practically every hotel catering to tourists in Lapland offers guided northern lights tours. In winter, this usually involves a snowmobile or dog sledding tour out onto a frozen lake or remote outpost. Meanwhile, during shoulder season (fall or late spring, when there’s insufficient snow or ice), these tours involve hiking in the remote forests and/or driving to areas known to be favorable for aurora viewing. The benefit of these tours is you get a local guide who knows exactly where to go. And in mid-winter, sledding out into the middle of a lake sounds pretty cool. That’s probably not something you want to do on your own if you don’t know the area.

The downside? Guided tours aren’t cheap. The hotel I stayed at, Wilderness Hotel Inari, prices tours starting at €115 per person. Tours also have a fixed length (usually 2-3 hours), so flexibility is limited.

My trip in late October was too early in the season for a snowmobile or sleigh tour. Lapland did receive its first significant seasonal snowfall the day I arrived, but the lakes weren’t frozen yet. Since paying for a tour just meant driving out somewhere to view the lights, anyway, I decided to rent a car and do it myself. Remember, though, this involves driving in a foreign country in potential winter conditions. (I’ll post on this later, but I found driving in Lapland easy enough, given the lack of traffic.)

How To Get to Lapland

Three airports service Lapland – Ivalo (IVL), Kittilä (KTT), and Rovaniemi (RVN). Here’s a map so you can get an idea of where these are located.

Ivalo and Kittilä are very very small airports with limited service. Finnair serves Ivalo via a nonstop from Helsinki. During non-peak seasons, however, the return goes via Kittilä. There is also a once-weekly nonstop on Saturdays between Ivalo and Frankfurt on Lufthansa. The only service to/from Kittilä is Finnair’s service to Helsinki. However, similar to Ivalo, flights from Helsinki during non-peak seasons go via Ivalo.

Rovaniemi offers the most frequent service. Finnair offers daily nonstops to Helsinki, of course, but numerous others carriers (mostly LCCs) provide seasonal winter service to 13 other European destinations. If you visit Rovaniemi, you can check out Santa Claus Village year-round. That’s something I really want to take my son to before he figures out Santa is dad.

I took the nonstop from Helsinki to Ivalo on the way up, which takes about an hour and a half. On the return, there was no practical way to fly from Ivalo. So I drove the 3 hours to Rovaniemi to catch the nonstop to Helsinki from there. And now on to the best part…

Aurora Chasing in Finnish Lapland

Dates of visit: October 21-23, 2022.

In my case, “aurora chasing in Finnish Lapland” ended up rather anticlimactic. That’s because I lucked out and enjoyed a fantastic show right on the hotel grounds. Wilderness Hotel Inari sits right on the shore of Inarijärvi (Lake Inari). The lake makes an ideal scene for aurora viewing, and in deep winter, you can sled out on to the lake and view the lights literally out onto the ice. Alas, it’s not cold enough for that in late October, so I settled for viewing at various points along the lakeshore.

The night I flew in to Ivalo brought the first major snow of the season to Lapland. While that transformed the landscape into a winter wonderland, it also meant overcast skies. So night one went down as a bust. The next day, snow continued on and off most of the day, leaving this wintry scene as sunset approached.

That made me skeptical of the forecast calling for skies to clear by 7 pm. Sure enough, though, the clouds really did clear by then. Soon enough, I heard a bunch of people gathering outside. I step outside, and…wow. The aurora borealis had made her appearance. And so I grabbed my camera and coat, and headed down to the lake. The lakeshore in this area is oriented northwest to southeast, and so I headed to the northwest end first, closest to my cabin. Here, green flames appeared to shoot up into the sky from some clouds in the background.

I then worked my way to the center of the hotel’s lake frontage, offering a clear view out over the lake. By now, the aurora had taken on more of the sky, with some hints of red coming through.

As the first phase of the light show began to fade, the lights began making shapes. A half octagon surrounded by green fire, anyone?

One thing to remember about the northern lights is they tend to ebb and flow through the night. After putting on a show for 30-40 minutes, the lights went dim for a bit after the above photo. Soon, though, the lights reappeared to the southeast, this time less bright but with more reds and oranges.

Soon after that, the clouds returned. I used that opportunity to warm up and make some calls back home. Around 10, the skies cleared out once again. And this time, the aurora put on a truly special show. One I didn’t even need to leave my room to enjoy. I sprung for an “igloo” cabin, which features a heated glass roof on one side facing the sky. The selling point is the ability to watch the aurora while lying down in bed. And guess what? When the conditions cooperate, you really can watch the show in bed.

The second show featured a much more vibrant aurora, with the lights truly dancing across the sky. I’ll let the photos do the talking here.

And thanks to the early show, I actually got to bed at a reasonable hour, a little after 11 pm.

I’ll talk about this in another post, but if your aurora chase goes full el busto, there are plenty of other things to do in Lapland. Arctic night makes things more challenging; Ivalo records no daylight from December 4th through January 8th. But you can still do quite a bit in the area, whether it’s visiting reindeer or husky farms, wildlife viewing, ice fishing, skiing, etc. You can even do what I did and drive to Norway to see the Arctic Ocean.

Final Thoughts

I’ve long wanted to see the northern lights, and I’m really, really glad this trip to do some aurora chasing in Finnish Lapland worked out. In a future post, I’ll share more of the things I did on my 3-day trip to the top of the world.

Read the rest of this article at Aurora Chasing in Finnish Lapland.

Several of Hyatt Privé benefits are similar to having top elite status. Yet, it gets better. With Prive, you do not need to be a World of Hyatt Globalist to receive the hotel’s best benefits. Prive reservations come with room or suite upgrades, property credit per room, per stay, and more. 

Hyatt Privé adds benefits to every hotel stay and can have enormous value with huge cost saving. By booking via Prive you can save hundreds on each stay and enjoy the best rooms or suites each Hyatt property has to offer. Hyatt Prive also has select offers for free nights on select stays. 

What is Hyatt Privé

The Hyatt Privé program is designed to reward guests with exclusive benefits and rewards. There are several similarities between Hyatt Prive and the American Express Fine Hotel and Resort program. If you’re familiar with Amex FHR, then you should understand Hyatt Privé. The program is designed to offer guests a variety of ways to make the most of their stay at Hyatt Hotels worldwide. 

Hyatt Prive rates are only available via a preferred travel agent. Bookings via a travel agent are still direct bookings and earn World of Hyatt points. Elite status is recognized on all Prive bookings too. Even though you’re using an agent, It’s not as though you are booking via an online travel agency (OTA)or 3rd party. The only difference is that your travel agent of choice must make the booking for you. This is fantastic news as typically OTAs and 3rd party bookings do not earn points or qualify for elite benefits. Finally, not all agencies have Hyatt Prive access.

Hyatt Prive Benefits

Hyatt Prive focus is to elevate your stay. It’s like have elite status but only better. By working with a certified travel agent each Hyatt Prive stay includes the following benefits:

• Welcome Letter
• Welcome Amenity
• Complimentary Breakfast for Two
• Property Credit
• Room Upgrade confirmed within 24 hours of booking.
• Connecting Rooms Priority confirmed within 24 hours of booking
• 9 am Early Check-In subject to availability
• 4pm Late Check out subject to availability 

What really sets Hyatt Prive apart from Amex FHR or Marriott Stars and Luminous programs is that everything is confirmed within 24 hours of booking. Even the highest world of Hyatt elite status does not guarantee these perks. Most programs only confirm upgrades or late check out during the check-in process. Hyatt ups the ante by confirming the upgrade when the reservation is made. This allows guests to make informed decisions about their stays and doesn’t leave it to a random worker’s mood at check-in.

Travel agents with Hyatt Prive access can see all upgrade options before reservations are completed. Other perks include knowing what the hotel credit is and what additional amenities are available with Prive. All this is only available to authorized Prive agents.

Hyatt Prive Hotels

Hyatt Prive hotels are Hyatt’s best hotels across the world. For example Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, and Park Hyatts parktake in Prive. Yet Hyatt Place hotels do note.  The Hyatt hotels which participate in Prive have the amenities to even do so. Within the Hyatt brand only the following hotels are possible to book with Prive benefits.

• Park Hyatt,
• Miraval
• Andaz
• Thompson Hotels
• Alila
• The Unbound Collection by Hyatt
• Grand Hyatt, Destination by Hyatt
• Hyatt Regency
• Hyatt Centric,
• JdV by Hyatt
• Ziva
• Zilara

Do note that different hotel brands have different minimum stay requirements to incur Hyatt Prive benefits. Minimum stay requirements start at just 1 night and increase to a minimum of 3 nights across all-inclusive resorts.

It is to no one’s surprise that all inclusive resorts have a longer minimum stay. As everything is included at these hotels, they want to ensure you are staying longer before upgrading your room or providing you with additional benefits. More shockingly though, many hotels only require a single night for Prive benefits. Most hotel programs which offer resort stays or upgrades require a two night minimum. This is one benefit that really sets Prive apart.

Hyatt Prive Locations

Hyatt Prive is a global program and it offers access to luxury hotels and resorts around the world. There are currently over 500 hotels in Hyatt Prive portfolio and it continues to grow. Find Hyatt Prive around the world.  Some of the locations where you can find Hyatt Prive participating hotels and resorts include the following areas:

• North America: United States, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean
• Europe: United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland
• Asia: China, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore
• South America: Brazil, Argentina
• Africa: South Africa, Egypt
• Middle East: Dubai, Abu Dhabi

How to book Hyatt Prive

Booking a hotel stay through Hyatt Prive can only be done in a single way. Contact a travel advisor who has Hyatt Prive access. These advisors (aka Scott & Thomas Travel or me) have access to the exclusive rates and offers only available through Hyatt Prive. We can help you plan and book your hotel stay..

Once you have a travel advisor with Hyatt Prive access, you can start planning your hotel stay. The advisor will work with you to find a hotel that meets your needs and preferences. The Travel advisor has to book your stay for you. You cannot do it without a travel agent. 

To complete a booking, note that you will need to provide your personal information and payment details to complete the booking process. A travel advisor cannot process a booking without payment information. Once the booking is confirmed, you will receive a confirmation email with all the details of your stay. Then within 24 hours of booking you will also know what type of upgrade you received. 

It’s worth noting that not all Hyatt hotels and resorts within the Hyatt brand participate in the Hyatt Prive program. Even some of the Hyatt brands which commonly participate, do not participate in all locations. It is always best to check with your favorite travel advisor to ensure that the hotel you’re interested in is available through the program.

Is Prive Worth It

Hyatt privé rates are typically the same cost as the standard hotel rates.  Although these rates might be slightly higher than member rates, Hyatt Prive quickly pays for itself. Even for guests with a world of Hyatt status.

Recently I booked a guest at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki for 5 nights. My client wanted an ocean view room. If the guest was not using Prive they could reserve an ocean view room for the member rate with a discount of $379 a night, or $1,875 for the length of stay. 

Or they could opt up 2 categories for an oceanfront room. This rate is slightly more, $405 a night. The guest could book the cheapest room, a city view, for $282 and gamble on the upgrade. Yet, without globalist status it’s unlikely that the guest would be upgraded to an ocean view room. Let alone an oceanfront room. 

My client opted to pay $319 a night for a city view room, $37 more than the “member save more rate”, to book via Hyatt Prive. I was able to confirm within 24 hours of booking a double upgrade to an ocean front room. The final cost, $1,595. 

If the client booked an Ocean Front room, the cost would have been over $2,000 for the stay. Hyatt Prive saved my client over $450! In addition, my client also enjoys a daily full breakfast in the main restaurant for two, a $100 property credit per room, per stay. 

Even for the naysayers who say, “but the upgrade cost them money.” Yes, this is true. My client did pay $37 more a night over the lowest price. Or $185 more for a 5 night stay. Yet, this $185 is quickly recovered in the cost of full daily breakfast, the double upgrade, and the resort credit. Prive clearly pays for itself.

What are you waiting for, contact us at Scott and Thomas Travel and ask for Rocky to book your Hyatt Prive stay. There are fewer benefits of booking through Hyatt than using a Prive preferred travel agent. So stop delaying and contact us to enjoy all of the Prive benefits.

Bottom Line

Hyatt Prive provides industry leading benefits for guests of select travel agencies. If you want to enjoy all the benefits of Hyatt Prive, be sure to contact your travel agent. Or contact me with your Prive request. Hyatt Prive elevates every stay by providing amenities and upgrades usually reserved for Hyatt’s top elite customers. Hyatt Prive is just one of many reasons why you should still be using a travel agent.

Read the rest of this article at Hyatt Prive: Guaranteed Upgrades, Breakfast, and More.

Here is a summary from an American press release about their fleet plans around 787 deliveries:

Deliveries that resumed in 2022 and through 2023 will be the Boeing 787-8, but unlike the -8s in the fleet currently, these have a different business class configuration, using the Collins Super Diamond seat. This is the business class seat on all American 787-9s, and some Boeing 777-200s.  More details below as I summarize business class seats on each long haul American plane, plus discuss what to expect in the future.

American Airlines Business Class on Boeing 787-8 (788)

American started flying the Dreamliner back in 2015, eventually the fleet grew to 20 of the -8 variety. Business Class has a unique seating configuration with flat bed seats that are comfortable, but are my least favorite in their fleet. Starting in 2020, they also started receiving new deliveries of 788s, eventually growing this fleet to 42. These newer planes will have the Collins Super Diamond seat in business class, like the larger 789. I’m not aware of any plans to unify this fleet, so it seems that flyers won’t know which seat will be on board won’t be possible until the plane is assigned to the particular flight that day. Either configuration has the same number of seats, but the orientation is different, with 234 seats on board. It likely won’t be until boarding that passengers will know which seat is available on their flight.

American’s 787-8 business cabin is small, with only 20 seats, reconfigured a few years back to make room for premium economy. These 20 business class seats between doors 1 and 2, in a 1-2-1 configuration. The Concept D seats alternate forward and reverse facing, with the A and L window seats in even numbered rows facing rearward. The D and H aisle seats in the middle of the cabin have rearward facing seats in the odd numbered rows.

Some people dismiss facing to the rear automatically. I actually prefer it, especially on overnight flights or when sleeping. Due to the nose up angle of the plane, it feels more normal when facing backwards. Take off and landing feels somewhat strange, as the sensation of the plane accelerating pushes your back away from seat. The rear facing seats seem a bit narrow, as there are immobile arm rests on both sides. I’m not that wide, so it doesn’t bother me, and arguably a positive is that this can make for a more private feeling as well. Although due to the alternating front/rear setup in the cabin, passengers look face to face with people across the aisle. Can be awkward. Keep in mind there is also no shoulder belt in rear facing seats.

Another issue with these seats is that they rock and/or shake when passengers in connected seats adjust their seating position. American has said this issue is being addressed, but I haven’t seen this confirmed anywhere.

Yes, it’s a flat bed, with decent privacy.  That’s very important, but there are several annoyances with this seat. This is my least favorite business class seat in American’s fleet.

Reminder that new delivery 788’s have the Super Diamond seat (see below for photos), identical to the American 787-9 fleet. That’s good news, but even after the 22-plane new order of 788’s is complete, the 20 original -8s will still have the Concept D seat.  The only way to try to predict which cabin will be on your flight is to track tail number of the plane. N800AN through N819AN have the Concept D seats, and N870AX and higher will have Super Diamond.

Original plans had all 22 new 788s scheduled for delivery by the end of 2021, but now this looks like the end of 2023 for the remainder of the 788 orders to be delivered.

American Airlines Business Class on Boeing 787-9 (789)

There are currently 22 Boeing 787-9 in the fleet, with 25 more on order, with the new deliveries scheduled starting in 2024. Note that those new deliveries will have a new seat and more premium-heavy configuration, with 51 “Flagship Suites” in business class. I’ll discuss these more below, it seems to be the Adient Ascent seat with doors.

At least for now through 2023, unlike the possible uncertainly of seat on the 787-8 and 777-200, the business cabin configuration is the same on all planes, and the 30 seat cabin has the Collins Super Diamond seat. These seats face forward, are 21 inches wide, with a fully flat bed with decent privacy and storage options.

The seat finishes are noticeably more modern than on Cirrus seat on the 77W, but the walls of this aren’t as tall, so I find it less private. The IFE monitor is fixed in front, so no need to move it for taxi and takeoff. That said, it can be difficult to see the monitor clearly when reclined. The table folds and slides under the monitor, which makes for more storage room, but the table can bump into knees/shins when reclined.

This is the ‘current’ AA business class seat, as this is what is being installed in all new delivery wide body planes through 2023. This came about due to issues that American had getting Zodiac to deliver their “Concept D” seat. The Super Diamond seat is in use by multiple carriers, and is an excellent seat.

This seat also has a shoulder strap that must be worn for taxi and takeoff. Not that big of a deal, but something to keep in mind.

American Airlines Business Class on Boeing 777-300ER (77W)

Flagship of the American Airlines fleet, the 777-300ER, (77W on American schedules) has 52 seats in business class and 8 seats in the first class cabin. The Business class seats are among my personal favorites that I’ve experienced, featuring the Cirrus seat, manufactured by Safran. Starting in late 2024, American will refurbish these cabins, removing first class, and replacing current first and business class seats with 70 Flagship Suites.

This seat design is owned by Cathay Pacific.  Plenty of space, very private, and decent storage spaces. Hard to believe, but a product first launched over a decade ago. Not the best seat for 2 people to easily talk while seated, but very private for solo travelers. This is my favorite business class seat that American flies. They have reupholstered  and changed the finishes slightly, and feels relatively fresh. That said, an older IFE controller, and a smaller screen both show the age of the seat. Comfort both seated and reclined is excellent. The high partitions around the top of the seat mean it is difficult to see others even in a large cabin of 50+ seats

There are 20 77W’s in American’s fleet, with the same seating configuration. If you see 77W on your itinerary (at least through late 2024), you know what your seat will be like. There is a small mini cabin in front of door 2, featuring 8 seats in rows 3 and 4. I like this area for more privacy, and feels less like a giant cabin, particularly compared to seated near the back of the cabin. The rest of the cabin is between door 2 and the wings, rows 5-15. The seats are all the same, physically. For me, window seats are much preferred, even if I had to sit in the rear of the cabin. Hard to beat both a window and an aisle seat. Still, the aisle seats in the middle of the cabin are fine, especially on the long flights these planes typically fly.

American Airlines Business Class on Boeing 777-200ER (772)

The 777-200ER currently makes up the largest portion of American’s wide body fleet, with 47 planes, but that will be surpassed by the 787 as deliveries continue. Similar to the 788, there are 2 business class configurations on the 777.  Both have 37 seats, in a 1-2-1 configuration split across 2 cabins on either side of doors 2. Which planes have which seats?  Well, 19 of the planes have the Concept D seat, and the rest have Super Diamond. Almost 60 percent have Super Diamond, but still there is no way to know which configuration your flight will have until boarding.  Check the (unofficial) American Airlines fleet site, which shows which plane has which seating concept, but know that swaps are always possible.

To my knowledge, there are no current plans for upgrades or changes to business class configuration for the 772 fleet.

What’s next?

As mentioned, starting in 2024, 787-9 deliveries will resume, and these planes will be have the new Flagship Suite, and a much more premium heavy configuration, with 51 business class seats, and 32 premium economy seats. American has already shown a mock up of the cabin. Photos above and below, from American Airlines pressroom.

This definitely looks nice, more privacy, and nice new finishes. This appears to be the Adient Ascent seat. Qatar Airways 789 business cabins have this seat.  Likely configured differently, but same basics seat, with some customizations. Very nice, a good modern setup, but when I flew Qatar, I can’t help but notice the footwell is constricted. This means going from 30 to 51 seats in business class on the 789.   The 77W now has 52 business seats plus 8 First Class, and will become 77 Flagship Suites. A nice increase in premium seating, especially on the 789.

Final thoughts on American Airlines business class seating options

American has streamlined their long haul fleet, which now consists of only 777 and 787s. Unfortunately that doesn’t mean you know exactly which seat you have unless your flight is on a 777-300ER or a 787-9, but that will be changing soon. Some uncertainty isn’t great, but hopefully the better products will make it a net positive. Both the 787-8 and 777-200 have several seating configurations, and your flight could have either one. Exactly which you likely won’t know until boarding. In any case, all business class seats are flat bed seats, with all aisle access, but some seats are better than others. The Concept D seat alternate forward and reverse facing, and some flyers find them narrow. Certain seats sometimes move when an adjacent passenger adjusts their position. I much prefer the Super Diamond seat on all 789s, the majority of 772s and a growing number of 788s. My favorite is probably the Cirrus seat on 77W, which will start being phased out for the Flagship Suite. If not much better, at least more private and more modern, and it is probably time for an update.

Read the rest of this article at American Airlines Business Class Seat Guide, 2023 Edition.

All four are the largest gay companies doing full ship charters with the major cruise lines like Holland America, Norwegian Cruise Lines, and Celebrity cruises. They also do land base & hotel programs for those who don’t like to cruise vacations. 

If you’re thinking of a vacation, why not take a gay vacation? Pack your bags, maybe a costume or two and get out of town. Each company focuses on curtailed vacations LGBTQ travelers. From drag shows to comedy, Broadway singalongs, lesbian entertainers, cocktail parties, and Tea dances, you’re bound to have more fun with Atlantis, RSVP Vacaya, or Olivian. Please reach out to me, your LGBTQ travel expert, at Scott & Thomas to help you plan these amazing vacations.

RSVP Vacations

In 1986, RSVP created the first gay and lesbian cruise. A safe, tailor-made vacation environment for the gay community. Today, RSVP is still working to create safe and all-inclusive travel spaces for the LGBTQ community.

Upcoming RSVP Vacations

RSVP Vacations has one gay cruise planned for 2023 on the Norwegian Pearl. RSVP vacations tend to offer slightly better value than their little sister Atlantis with an all-inclusive drink package. Something not typical on full ship charters on the large ships.

The next RSVP vacations is setting sail on the Norwegian Pearl March 17 – 27, 2023 throughout Central America.

Atlantis Events

For gay cruises and gay resort takeovers, Atlantis events is the fun party sister of RSVP Vacations. For over 30 years, Atlantis Events has hosted iconic all-gay vacations. Atlantis has a long history of chartering cruise ships and taking 2,000+ gay men and their friends on fabulous trips.

Each Atlantis cruise or resort offers a carefree experience based around friendship, camaraderie, relaxation, indulgence, gay adventures, and pure uninhibited fun.

Atlantis Upcoming Cruises & Resorts

Each year there Atlantis offers several full ship charts and gay resort vacations. Cruises are typically announced 8-12 months in advance. For the 2023 Season Atlantis is focusing heavily on the newest and nicest ships in the industry. Gay Cruises in 2023 include setting sail on Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and Ocean. The next big event, February 2023.

Atlantis Events has four full ship charters with the major cruise lines in 2024. Only three still have space for sale. One is completely sold out.

• Norwegian Prima Caribbean Cruise January 22 – 29, 2023.
• Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas Southern Caribbean Cruise Feb 4 – 12, 2023
• Oceania Vista Athens to Venice July 5 -15, 2023 
• Royal Caribbean Odyssey of the Seas Italy, France & Ibiza August 28 – September 6, 2023

Depending on the cruise and room category, prices start as low as $1,179 per person.

Ships aren’t your style? Atlantis Events will be hosting gay week at Club Med, an all inclusive resort. Atlantis events Club Med Cancun is April 30 – May 7, 2023. Space is limited and begins at $1,499 per person.

Vacaya – The all Inclusive LGBTQIA Company

Vacaya is the ultimate elevated inclusive gay friendly travel company. While RSVP and Atlantis invite all to their parties and vacations, they tend to attract a subset of gays and a few lesbians. And of course, there’s always a few straight allies sprinkled. Vacaya truly focuses on everyone in the community. Not just a single subset but instead advertises and invites all to experience the ultimate safe space vacation. 

Bears, Twinks, butch, fruit fly, pup, dykes, lipsticks, circuit queens, fag hag, trans, fem, masc, leather, otters, twunks, guy next door, straight ally…Vacaya welcomes all! Vacaya’s gay and lesbian groups brings the community together. Vacaya is the only large-scale adults-only vacation company on earth built for the entire lgbtqiapk community and our straight ally friends.

Vacaya also focuses on full ship charters, river cruises, and resort buyouts. Yet, what makes Vacaya unique is they don’t only focus on large ships. Vacaya’s primary focus is small ship expeditions and premium luxury cruises with unique ports of calls, unesco world heritage sites and all 7 continents. Vacaya works with the leading premium companies for gay vacations to bring you to the far ends of the earth. Imagine an all gay trip to Antarctica, Galapagos, the middle east, or even the south pacific. 

Vacaya offers a vacation every month! This makes a gay vacation easier to plan and book. 

Upcoming Vacaya Vacations

If you’re interested in a Vacay gay vacation, I kindly ask you to contact us. Vacay has several upcoming cruise experiences on both Celebrity Cruises and Ponant. Gay and Lesbian cruises start at just $1497 per person. 

• Celebrity Cruises Reflection Caribbean Cruise Feb 12-19, 2023 
• Celebrity Apex Caribbean Cruise Feb 17 – 24, 2024 

Vacaya Gay Expedition, Small Ships, 

Vacaya has several small premium luxury options for the gay traveler who is looking for something of a higher caliber. The costs increase, but these vacations bring the ultimate value as an all-inclusive getaway at sea. Each Vacaya gay cruise is on luxury five star French carrier Ponant. Ponant, along with Seabourn, is among my favorite major cruise lines. With just 180-250 guests, these super yacht charters are beautiful, Check out the yachts! 

Vacaya expedition in Antarctica[/caption]

• Ponant  Le Bellot Costa Rica, Panama and Columbia Expedition March 7-17, 2023
• Ponant Le Jacques Cartier Jordan to Athens April 16-26, 2023
• Ponant Le Dumont D’Urville Norwegian Fjords July 31- aug 7, 2023
• Ponant Le Lyrial Adriatic Sea cruise Aug 13-20, 2023
• Ponant Le Boreal Hawaii and French Polynesia Oct 12 – Oct 27,2023

For the lgbtq travelers looking for something not on a ship Vacaya offers the following land and hotel programs for 2023.

• Land tour: Italy’s Malfi coast & Capri Aug 7-13, 2023
• Hilton Vallarta Riviera All Inclusive Puerto Vallarta Mexico Oct 29 – Nov 5, 2023

Vacaya Resort takeover

Other Gay Travel Companies

There are several other gay and lesbian travel companies which I did not highlight above. I will cover these in future blog posts. Feel free to contact me for travel ideals or for other companies. Some big ones include the Lesbian version of Atlantis and RSVP, Olivia travels. Olivia has options all around the world and runs more like Vacaya. Several options every year. More of that in a future blog.

Looking for something smaller? Try Out Adventures, focusing on gay small group travel;usually land based programs. We are lucky to live in a time where there’s something for nearly everyone.

Bottom Line

When it comes to gay travel, gay and lesbian cruises, LGBT+ expeditions, and gay resorts, there are more options than ever thanks to several companies which are helping create a safe and welcoming place for our brothers and sisters. On every vacation, allies are welcome to join the fun.

In the worlds of Lady Gaga, No matter gay, straight, or bi’, lesbian, transgender life RSVP, Atlantis, Olivia, and Vacaya is ready to take you on the ultimate welcoming and safe space LGBTQ vacation. Contact me, your openly and proud gay travel concierge, to plan your ultimate getaway and the best cruise offers

Read the rest of this article at The Best Gay and Lesbian Vacations.

As the world becomes technology focused people have difficulty disconnecting for a couple hours. Travelers want and need access to emails and the internet no matter where they are. Airlines have offered wi-fi onboard for years, usually charging between $8 and $60 per session depending on the type of internet on each equipped flight. Now, Delta is helping shake up the industry by offering free and fast internet to all guests. Guests can ditch monthly global plans and connect for free!

In the announcement, Delta Air Lines will offer fast, free Wi-Fi in partnership with T-Mobile to all customers on board most domestic mainline flights beginning Feb. 1, 2023. The airline will offer the service on more than 700 Viasat-equipped aircraft by the end of 2023. Delta moved from gogo ground to air internet to Viastat a few years ago, but not all aircrafts service has been updated to the faster satellite internet. Currently, nearly 500 Delta aircraft have fast viastat internet. Meanwhile, many aircrafts are still offering near dial up speed.  Under the announcement today, Delta also said that they will bring free Wi-Fi on international and regional aircraft by the end of 2024. Meaning come 2024 alcohol and Wi-fi will be free on Delta’s longhaul flights!

“At work, at home and everywhere in between, connectivity is essential to daily life, and your journey on Delta should be no different,” said Delta CEO Ed Bastian at CES 2023 in Las Vegas. “Our vision has long been to deliver an experience at 30,000 feet that feels similar to what our customers have available on the ground.”

“At T-Mobile, we believe staying connected while traveling should be an easy, seamless experience,” said Mike Sievert, T-Mobile CEO. “T-Mobile customers already get free in-flight Wi-Fi and now we’re partnering with Delta to bring that experience to all customers — regardless of their wireless provider — so that anyone flying Delta can enjoy online access from takeoff to touchdown.”

HOW DO TO GET FREE WI-FI?

Connecting to Delta’s onboard Wi-Fi is easier than ever. Once on board, customers can select the “DeltaWiFi.com” network in their device’s settings. Just be sure your phone is in Airplane mode.  After connecting, customers simply enter their Delta SkyMiles number and password for free Wi-Fi. Wi-fi usually turns on when the boarding doors close. Customers onboard can then enjoy Wi-Fi from pushback to park. Real gate-to-gate service. For those customers who are not Skymile members, you can create a free SkyMiles account. Your Skymiles number does not have to be tied to your ticket. Thus allowing partners and visitors from other airlines to still earn miles in their preferred program, but still use the Wi-Fi and enjoy their favorite content.

Customers who prefer to not have a SkyMiles account have the option to purchase Wi-Fi access for a flat rate of $10 per device per flight.

Read the rest of this article at Delta Air Lines Introduces Free High Speed Wifi.

I recently finished an expedition with Lindblad throughout Melanesia. The majority of the trip was about building relationships with local communities and going places where others cannot. After exploring, or cruising, with Lindblad I honestly know why people who choose Lindblad, go back time and time again. Let me help you Nat Geo your life and book your expedition via Scott & Thomas.

Dedicated to Small Ship Expeditions

Lindblad Expedition has a dedicated fleet of expedition ships. Lindblad’s largest ship, National Geographic Explorer, holds just 148 passengers. Meanwhile, most cruise ships hold over 2,000 customers, these ships are just 10% of the size. Most of Lindblad ships hold less than 100 people. The smallest is the Delfin II, awaiting your arrival in the pristine swath of jungle. With just 28 guests sailing the Western Amazon in Peru, join Lindblad amazon expeditions.

Don’t just see the upper amazon, but Lindblad offers small group tours to Machu Picchu as well. See both places together, making this an easy trip 5 months of the year.

Each of Lindblad ships are purposefully built for the destination they serve. In the Caribbean and Mediterranean the beautiful Sea Cloud invites 58 guests to set sail on an actual sailboat. The Sea Cloud is a historic four-masted barque, is an overall multisensory experience of the rarest kind. With just 30 outside cabins, you will be impressed.

Whereas Lindblad Antarctica polar sister ships National Geographic Endurance and Resolution invite 128 guests on a luxury expedition with a very distinctive profile, the patented X-Bow®. The X-box is a game-changing design that guarantees the smoothest, most comfortable ride in all kinds of conditions; and since it eliminates bow impact, a quieter ride across the drake passage.

Nat Geo Antarctica offers options both short and long. Explore Antarctica or tack on the Falklands and South Georgia. They also go beyond the typical Antarctica peninsula with an atypical sailing from New Zealand.

With small ships, Lindblad can go where no one else can go. On my most recent trip on the National Geographic Orion, our ship pulled up to small islands and bays in the Solomon Islands. As these bays are not mapped or on official charts, Lindblad would use a scouting zodiac with sonar to map the bay. Then the ship would pull in close to the island and drop anchor close to the remote villages. As large ships stop in Port Vila, we were able to visit several remote villages and islands. Some which have never had a cruise ship ever visit before our arrival!

National Geographic and Lindblad offer several unique options throughout Asia and the South Pacific. Some options even allow divers to explore the underwater world and discover dive sites which are not on anyone’s map. From Raja Ampat to Papua New Guinea, the options are endless and a scuba divers dream! For those who do not dive, do not worry, the snorkeling is out of this world and there’s other options such as hikes, kayaking, village visits and more! Snorkeling gear is always free on Lindblad expeditions.

There are many benefits to the small ships, beyond just the destination. With less than 130 people, you get to know your fellow passengers. There are no lines, no waiting, and you get to experience more of the destination. With Lindblad and Nat Geo, it’s about the destination. The ships are stunning, but the trip is about the exploration and destination.

National Geographic Partnership

Nat Geo only partners with one cruise line and it is Lindblad Expeditions. The partnership was created in 2004 and brought the two companies together as one. Together they further inspire everyone to experience expedition cruising. Their collaboration in exploration, research, technology, and conservation provides extraordinary travel experiences and disseminates geographic knowledge around the globe.

Now, thanks to the Lindblad-National Geographic alliance, you can sail aboard the National Geographic fleet to the planet’s most extraordinary places. Sail with world-renowned scientists, naturalists, educators, and researchers. Explore stunning natural environments alongside skilled specialists using state-of-the-art exploration tools.

On every Lindblad cruise you are accompanied by National Geographic experts. These include National Geographic Photographers who not only teach you how to take better photos but are busy filming and photographing for the next Nat Geo special! The photographers are with you at every destination. Expedition cruises also include cultural specialists and naturalists. These experts help educate passengers and recap experiences along the journey. Each night there’s a daily recap, relive the experiences and take away meaning from the experience of the day. Don’t just travel, learn! It’s what expeditions cruises are about.Nightly recap on the Orion

Impressive Destinations On All 7 continents

Lindblad Expeditions in partnership with National Geographic sail to all 7 continents. Few companies can take small groups of people to all 7 continents. With their dedicated small ship fleet there are a few ships which do year-round tours in unique destinations such as the Galapagos, Nile, Mekong, and Amazon. Other ships move around the world, opening destinations far and wide.

Lindblad offers unique options and sailings around the world. A safari at sea, where the destinations matter, but the exploration and the daily find lead the charge.

I chose Lindblad for my expedition cruise as I really wanted to explore Melanesia. With stops scheduled in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia it was a win-win. The impressive islands offered welcoming locals, great hikes, and an experience I will never forget. Village Chiefs welcomed us, kids looked at us in awe, and villages performed traditional dances and shows for us and then proudly would show us around in small groups and explain to us their way of life.

 

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The experiences I had with Nat Geo surpasses any experience I have had with other cruise companies. Check out my IG for more pictures and videos of this trip. I cannot wait to go on my next expedition. I’m ready to explore, learn, and grow while seeing more destinations off the beaten path!

All-inclusive Expedition Cruises

When on expedition with Lindblad nearly everything is included. Step onboard and get ready to experience the world through National Geographic. From dinner time to Teatime, and everything in between all meals are included. There’s no specialty restaurants or upcharges for food. Plus, starting in 2024 all ships will offer an open bar. While most of Lindblad Expeditions fleet already includes complimentary full bar, beginning in 2023, they will offer complimentary beer and wine on National Geographic Venture, National Geographic Quest, National Geographic Sea Lion, and National Geographic Sea Bird. And beginning in 2024, these ships will offer full complimentary bar as well, so that the entire Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic fleet will include complimentary drinks. The offer includes local and international beers, wines, and liquors.

Each day you will also have multiple options for your expedition activities. From hikes to zodiac tours your costs are included in your fare. Lindblad has kayaks and SUPs on most ships along with several zodiacs. Get off the ship and explore where other people can’t go. Have an active vacation where you are exploring; not just sitting on a ship or exploring a gimmick port specifically built for the large cruise ships.

Other noteworthy cruise deals

• $6,500 fares to Antarctica. BOGO
• Emerald and Scenic River and Ocean Voyages BOGO
• 30% OFF Antaractica – Save $5,000-10,000 per person with Nat Geo & Lindblad Expeditions
• BOGO Expeditions to Antarctica, Canary Islands & Galapagos with Hurtriguten.
• 20% off the Arctic + free wifi with Nat Geo
• Kids go 100% on Select Sailings – Nat GEO & Lindblad
• 30% Seabourn Alaska 2023 sailings starting from $2,250 pp
• No Solo Supplement Deals – Lindblad
• No Solo Supplement Hurtriguten 

Bottom Line

National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions offers among the most unique way to cruise the world. On some trips, the destinations are made up and the stops don’t matter. Why?! Because if something more unique comes up or there’s a better expedition opportunity, the expedition leader is going to change directions to ensure the best experience for all. Lindblad Expeditions offers destinations and a vacation which aren’t your typical ship-based vacation. If you have a sense of exploration, then National Geographic and Lindblad is for you. If you want a strict schedule with little deviation, avoid Lindblad.

National Geographic Lindblad Expeditions typically cost around $600 to $1,400 a day per person. National Geographic Journeys with G adventures can be more expensive or more economical. The more remote the destination the higher the cost. Unless there’s a sale, like the 20% off the 2023 Arctic Summer sale currently happening

The price can be high, but the experiences are priceless. When you are ready to be a real explorer, contact your expedition expert Rocky at Scott & Thomas. For the best prices and deals.

Read the rest of this article at Nat Geo your Life – Why I love Lindblad Expeditions.

Princess Packages New Pricing

Like most cruise lines, Princess offers discounts for bundling services. Cruise fares include the cost of the room and most services onboard, including meals, select beverages, entertainment, pool access, etc. For those who want more, you can upgrade your cruise by including the cost of other items in a package.  These packages tend to include items such as Wi-fi, specialty dining, alcohol, and more.

Currently, Princess Plus packages include the Plus Beverage Package, single-device Wi-Fi plan ($15 daily value) and daily crew appreciation. The cruise drink package ‘Plus beverage plan’ includes most alcoholic drinks below $12. This includes wine by the glass, fountain sodas, fresh juices and more. Starting Dec 14, the price will increase by $10 to $60 per person, per day.

The new Princess Plus Package expands to include the following new items:

• Two Princess premium crafted desserts per day, as well as unlimited juices.
• Two fitness classes per cruise created under our new partnership with Xponential Fitness, Inc., the largest global franchisor of boutique premium fitness brands, that include Pure Barre, Yoga Six and Stretch Lab classes.
• Free shipping of Medallions to Princess guests (U.S. only) prior to their cruise.

Princess still sees the Princes Plus package as a fantastic deal. With the enhanced Princess Plus you can enjoy $140 of value each day for just $60  – a 57% savings. The current Princess Plus package is a value of $95 per day. These new features racks up the savings. Especially if you want more than just alcohol.

Princess Premier is also changing. The current Princess Premier package includes the Premier Beverage Package, four-device Wi-Fi plan ($40 dollar daily value), daily crew appreciation, two nights of specialty dining, one photo package and Princess Prizes. The premier beverage package cover drinks up to $18. It is truly designed for those who prefer top shelf alcohol.

What’s new:

• Unlimited premium crafted desserts, juices per cruise.
• Unlimited fitness classes created under our new partnership with Xponential Fitness, Inc.
• Reserved seating at the Princess Theater (for all guests in a stateroom)
• Complimentary Medallion accessory exclusively designed for Premier package guests (fulfilled onboard).
• Free shipping (U.S. only) of Medallions to your client’s door prior to their cruise.

Princess Premier’s new cost will be $80 per day per guest. This is an increase of $5, up from $75. The new enhanced Princess Premier can equate to $257 of value each day for just $80 – a 69% savings. 

Both packages include the additional benefit of a 25% discount on the following excluded items: all bottles of wine, large bottles of water and cans of soda.

What’s included in the Princess Cruises Drinks Package?

The Plus Beverage Package is prt of Princess Plus. This Princess Cruise drink package includes beer, spirits, wine by the glass and cocktails up to $15 USD / $22 AUD. There is over 50 spirits, 40 wines by the glass and cocktails to choose from. Plus, all non-alcoholic beverages including bottled water (500ml only), fountain sodas, the new Juice Bar, plus fresh juices (if available), specialty coffees and teas, frappes at Coffee & Cones, milkshakes (if available) and Red Bull energy drinks. Bar service charges are included in this package.

Cruises departing from and returning to Australia and New Zealand will be charged in AUD vs USD.

Princess Cruises drinks package – Premier

The Premier Beverage Package is part of Princess Premier. It’s the highest category of drinks. This leap grgich hills and cattier champagne or private woodford reserve bourbon selection created exclusively for princess. It includes a premium selection of beer, spirits, wine by the glass and cocktails $20 USD / $30 AUD. This package will cover the cost of more than 75 spirits, 40 wines  by the glass and cocktails onboard. In addition, all non-alcoholic beverages including bottled water (500ml only), fountain sodas, the new Juice Bar, plus fresh juices (if available), specialty coffees and teas, frappes at Coffee & Cones, milkshakes (if available) and Red Bull energy drinks. Bar service charges are included in this package. The package includes the additional benefit of a 25% discount on the following excluded items: all bottles of wine, one-liter bottles of water and bottled juices. The package has a daily limit on alcoholic beverages of 15 beverages over a 24-hour period (6 a.m. to 6 a.m.).

If you want to enjoy top shelf spirits, reserve wines by the glass, and cocktails this Princess cruises drink package is ideal for you!

Princess Daily Gratuities Increasing

With the increase in costs of Princess Plus and Premium packages, Princess Cruise Line is also increasing the mandatory gratuities for staff. These gratuities are split between your room attendant, entertainment, and restaurant staff.

The daily crew appreciation charge is based on the stateroom category. Effective Dec 14, 2022 daily appreciation will increase by $2.50 for all guests in all cabins. The new daily charge will be:

• $16 per guest in Interior, Oceanview and Balcony
• $17 per guests in Mini-Suite and Club Class
• $18 per guest in Suites

Existing bookings have the opportunity to pre-pay the crew appreciation for their cruise at the current rate until Dec 13, 2022. Otherwise expect a 7-day cruise for two to cost $35 more in gratuities. For those who purchase Princess Plus or Princess Standard, there are no additional staff appreciation charges. The packages include pre-paid gratuities which further makes adding a Princess cruise package ideal. Saving you money and taking the stress out of worrying about running up additional charges while onboard. 

Bottom Line

Price increases are never easy to spin. The crew works hard and the additional daily gratuities go directly to the staff to perform the work they do. Some consider this wage subsidization and I understand that sentiment. The increased cost of Princess Plus and Princess Standard will make Princess Cruises more expensive, but at least they also are adding new additional  perks. Some of these new perks add very little value. Not everyone will indulge in a specialty dessert or take a gym class. Especially on port days. Thankfully though you can always opt for princess standard and pay separately for items such as drinks, Wi-fi, fresh juices and healthy smoothies juice bar and all the other items as you choose to utilize.

If you are going to take a Princess Cruise soon, or any cruise, please reach out to me at Scott & Thomas Travel and let me help book your next vacation. ust ask for Rocky! A travel agent can not only save you money, but we get free perks that we can pass on to you too! Contact me today and get your cruise on.ruise soon, please reach out to me at Scott & Thomas Travel and let me help book your next vacation. Just ask for Rocky!

Read the rest of this article at Princess Drink Package & Daily Gratuities Increases.

The History of East Boston

Before I start, perhaps a more accurate description is “short walking tour of Jeffries Point”. Although it was a short walking tour of East Boston, I only had about 2 1/2 hours to get back to the airport after making a couple of phone calls home. So I didn’t really have time to go through the all of Eastie.

Anyway, East Boston, aka “Eastie”, originally was a separate settlement altogether. East Boston originally consisted of five separate islands – Noddle’s, Hogg, Governor’s, Apple, and Bird. The islands remained largely undeveloped until the 1830s. At that time, William H. Sumner laid out a street grid on the largest island, Noddle’s, which led to the first residential settlement. Jeffries Point, on the southeast side of the island, became the first developed neighborhood in 1834. A sugar refinery and the shipbuilding industry soon followed, turning East Boston into a boomtown. The rapid expansion let East Boston’s big brother, the City of Boston, to annex the town in 1836.

So what happened to the other islands? Hogg Island, which separated East Boston from Revere and Winthrop, was connected to Noddle’s via landfilling in the 1940s. As for Apple, Bird, and Governor’s Islands? These were also landfilled in the 1940s, later subsumed by the runways and taxiways of Logan Airport.

Perhaps Eastie’s most significant contribution to Boston’s history is its role in immigration to the United States. Starting in the mid-1800s, Eastie became known as “Boston’s Ellis Island” for the many immigrants who settled here. In the 19th century, Irish and Canadian immigrants settled first, followed by Russian Jews and Italians. Moving into the 20th century, Southeast Asians settled here, and more recently, Hispanic immigrants from Central and South America. One particularly famous Massachusetts family traces its history to Eastie. The Kennedy family immigrated from County Wexford in Ireland in 1849, settling in a small home on Meridian Street.

How to Reach East Boston from Logan Airport

To reach East Boston from the airport, Terminal A is the best starting point. When you exit on the lower level, first head left towards the taxi stand.

Though it’s hard to tell, the sidewalk continues along the bus lane extending past the terminal. After a short walk, you reach the end of the bus lane at Hotel Drive.

Walk to the left, and you’ll reach a large intersection. From here, Tomahawk Drive continues straight, Transportation Way is to the right, and Harborside Drive is to the left.

From here, you can go straight along Tomahawk Drive, along the south side of the large Massport parking lot. Or you can turn right and walk along the north side of the parking lot. I followed this route, which led to a Shell station at the next traffic light.

Then head left at the traffic light, walk around the building, and continue to the red crosswalk. The crosswalk leads to Maverick Street; finally turn right to enter Eastie.

Here’s a quick map showing the walking route I took to and from the airport.

Short Walking Tour of East Boston

It was past 1:30 at this point, so getting some food was first priority. I thought about Santarpio’s Pizza, where JFK waved to the crowd during his Senate run in 1954. But I ate pizza for dinner the night before, and wasn’t really in the mood. Instead, I found Carmella’s Market, an old-school Italian market on Everett Street. It’s really a small deli counter that also sells some Italian staples. The menu is taped on flyers both inside and outside the store, with a variety of sandwiches on tap.

Inside, there’s but a single table to sit and eat. An open deli counter displays the day’s selections. You can order meats and cheeses to go, and take some staples with you.

I ordered “The Taft”, a prosciutto and soppressata sandwich with provolone and vinegar peppers. The bread is freshly made, and simply put, it’s one delicious sandwich.

Now, since there’s only one table, where can you go to eat your meal? Fortunately, Piers Park is just three blocks south, so I headed there in search of a picnic table. I found one with a great view of Boston Harbor and the downtown skyline. Beautiful early fall weather – 63 degrees and full sunshine – made a perfect day for a picnic.

After enjoying my sandwich, I headed down to the water to take in some skyline views and admire the sailboats in the harbor, which can be bought from a local boat dealer. The park, while not crowded, saw a healthy number of Bostonians visiting to enjoy the beautiful day.

A large marina pays homage to the neighborhood’s roots as the center of Boston’s shipbuilding industry.

Meanwhile, a look back towards Jeffries Point from the pier provides a great view of the neighborhood. The residential neighborhood, as seen here and in the following photos, provides a glimpse of the contrast found in historic urban neighborhoods throughout the USA. Housing shortages and the increasing pains of commuting push people to rediscover close-in, historic neighborhoods. However, with that push comes the teardowns, as the value of the land underneath dwarfs that of the structure. In sprawling cities like Dallas, this spawned the “McMansion”. You’re surely seen it – the cookie-cutter suburban home about two sizes too big for the lot replacing the historic single-family home that sat there. In Jeffries Point, you’ll instead see a mix of quaint old rowhouses interspersed with the hideously ugly “Big Square Box” apartment building common in modern architecture.

Anyway, after a few minutes relaxing and enjoying the view, I retraced my steps to the airport. This time, I headed down Everett Street, one of the main streets through Jeffries Point. A beautiful, quiet Saturday afternoon is one of the best times to walk through neighborhoods like this one. Tourists are few and far between, but you’ll see the locals out and about enjoying the weekend with their families. And as I alluded to before, the odd mix of historic rowhouses and modern Rubik’s Cubes.

Final Thoughts

If you have a long layover at Logan, a quick walk through Eastie is a very doable itinerary to stretch your legs and grab a bite to eat. That’s especially true if you have a long layover at Delta’s Terminal A, where you don’t have access to any Priority Pass options. And the restaurant options don’t exactly rate highly in the first place…

Read the rest of this article at Eastie For an Afternoon – Short Walking Tour of East Boston.

In this post, I’ll talk about the logistics of planning a trip; from which airport to fly into and how to get around to which hotels to stay at depending on your budget. I’ll also add a few other tips and tricks you need to know to get the most out of your vacation. But to be clear, this isn’t a review of the parks, rides, or food. There are plenty of YouTube videos and reviews of the parks already. This post is simply to help you prepare for your trip and make the most out of your time in Tokyo. I hope you find it useful.

Tokyo Disney Resort Location

The Tokyo Disney Resort, which refers to both Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, is not actually located in Tokyo proper. The resort and its surrounding hotels are actually located in the city of Chiba, which is southeast of Tokyo center. This area is also referred to as “Tokyo Bay.” This is important to note as the two major airports have agreements with the airport taxi companies to provide a fixed rate from the airport to your hotel in Tokyo but this won’t apply to hotels in the Chiba area.

Additionally, you should know that once you’re in Tokyo Bay, it’s not exactly convenient to get to “downtown” Tokyo. By train, it will take you approximately 50 minutes to get from the Tokyo Disney Resort area to Shinjuku, and cost you 420 Japanese Yen ($2.82 USD). Or you could hire a taxi, which will take about 30 minutes and cost you about 10,000 to 11,000 JY ($67 – $73 USD).

As a point of reference, the exchange rate for today’s date (October 17, 2022) is 148 Japanese Yen to $1 US Dollar.

Which Airport to Fly into?

There are two major airports that serve the Tokyo area: Tokyo Narita and Tokyo Haneda. Narita is a huge airport with plenty of connections to almost every major city in the world. Flights to Narita tend to be cheaper than flights to Haneda as there are significantly more options. Whereas Haneda is a smaller airport with fewer connections, but it’s more manageable and closer to the center of Tokyo than Narita. If you’re debating between flights, I would take the one that gets in the earliest. For example, if flying into Narita will save you $100 but gets you in at 9:00 PM, as opposed to 4:00 PM in Haneda, I would take the Haneda flight.

Transportation To/From the Airport to the Tokyo Disney Resort

The easiest way to get to/from Haneda or Narita Airport to the Tokyo Disney Resort area is with the airport limousine. It’s called the airport limousine but it’s really just a shuttle bus so don’t expect anything fancy. The airport limousine from Narita will take about an hour and cost 2000 JY whereas the airport limousine from Haneda will take about 30 minutes and cost you 1000 JY. Both airport limousines from Haneda and Narita will drop you off at Mahaima Station, which is the main train station for the Tokyo Disney Resort area. Some airport limousine routes will also drop you off at one of the major hotels but you need to check their specific schedules and routes for more information.

However, keep in mind that the airport limousine doesn’t run all night. Depending on the day, it may stop running as early at 4:00 PM. So if you’re getting in later than that, you may have to find alternative transportation such as a train or taxi. Trains run till about midnight daily and Taxis run 24/7. A taxi from Haneda to the Tokyo Disney Resort area will take 30 minutes and cost you about 10,000 JY ($67 USD). A taxi from Narita will take an hour and cost you about 20,000 JY. You can check the timetable and routes for the airport limousine here.

Mahaima Station is located right next to Ikspiari, which is Tokyo Disney’s version of Downtown Disney in California or Disney Springs in Florida. To get from Ikspiari to Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo DisneySea or other Disney hotels, you need to take the monorail aka “Disney Resort Line.” However, unlike the monorail at the other Disney parks, this monorail is considered public transportation and you have to pay for it. It’s not much, only 260 JY per adult (12 Y/O and older), per trip, but it does add up if you’re going back and forth a lot. The monorail runs on a continuous loop from the Resort Gateway Station at Ikspiari to Tokyo Disneyland Station to Bayside Station (where the majority of hotels are) and finally to Tokyo DisneySea Station and back.

If you’re going directly to the parks and need a place to store your luggage, there are plenty of public storage lockers to rent at any train station, including Maihama.

Pro tip: the Disney Resort Line monorail ticket booth is cash only so make sure to bring small bills or change with you.

Where to Stay for Tokyo Disney Resort

Where you stay at will largely depend on your budget. If money is no object, then you can stay at the Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta, which is the only Tokyo Disney Resort hotel that is located in one of the parks. The other Tokyo Disney Resorts hotels are all located outside of the parks. The Tokyo Disneyland Hotel is the next best hotel and it’s located right outside the gates to Tokyo Disneyland. The Disney Ambassador Hotel is located next to Ikspiari and the Toy Story Hotel is located next to Bayside Station. The Tokyo Disney Celebration Hotel is located in a separate part of Tokyo Bay, about 20 minutes away by bus.

As a point of reference, the Tokyo DisneySea Hotel MiraCosta, Tokyo Disneyland Hotel, and the Disney Ambassador Hotel are all considered Deluxe Hotel types. The Toy Story Hotel is considered a moderate hotel and the Tokyo Disney Celebration Hotel is considered a value hotel.

There are many benefits to staying at one of the five Disney Resort Hotels but the most significant perk is the “Happy Entry,” which will grant guests early admission to the parks. This perk only lets you in 15 minutes prior to the general public but this allows you to hit one, maybe two, of the major attractions before everyone else.

If you want to save some money, I would recommend staying at one of the official Tokyo Disney Resort Partner Hotels instead. These hotels are much cheaper than the Disney hotels but they don’t offer any real perks other than a shuttle ride to the parks. However, some of them are conveniently located near the Disney Resort Line monorail so transportation will be much easier than staying outside of Tokyo Bay. These official Tokyo Disney Resort Partner Hotels include the Grand Nikko Tokyo Bay, Hotel Okura Tokyo Bay, Hilton Tokyo Bay, and others.

On this trip, I stayed at both the Disney Ambassador Hotel and the Hilton Tokyo Bay and they were both great. I will have my hotel reviews up within the next couple of weeks.

Other tips and tricks

Fastpasses – Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea got rid of their Fastpass machines and replaced them with a “Disney Premier Access” virtual queue. Just like the Lightening Lane passes at Disneyland and Disney World, you now have to pay to bypass the standby line at certain attractions such as Toy Story Mania and Soaring: Fantastic Flight at Tokyo DisneySea and the Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast at Tokyo Disneyland.

However, there is one ride that will still give you a free “Fastpass” and that is the Haunted Mansion. To get your free Fastpass, you must use the Tokyo Disney Resort app to click on the Haunted Mansion ride. Select “Standby Pass” and it will assign you a time to return later on in the day. You can grab this free Fastpass as soon as the park officially opens for the day.

Tokyo Disney Resort App – Speaking of the app, you really should download it and link your tickets to the app. This will allow you to get the Haunted Mansion Fastpass, purchase Disney Premier Access passes and view ride wait times. But more importantly, you will need the app to watch one of the big shows such as Jamboree Mickey! Let’s Dance!, Mickey’s Magical Music World and Club Mouse Beat at Tokyo Disneyland, and Big Band Beat at Tokyo DisneySea.

Now, here is the one thing I don’t like. These shows are so popular that they can’t let everyone in and they don’t offer standby lines for them. In order to watch one of these shows, you have to “request entry” in the app and select the show and time you want. Once you make your selection, it will automatically put you in a lottery system. If you are selected for the show, you will be automatically assigned seats. If you are not selected for the show, you are not allowed to try again for the rest of the day. You can try for other shows but you can only try once per show. On my trip, I was only able to get one of the three shows I wanted to watch and there was no standby option to get a “second” chance at catching the shows.

Cash and credit cards – For such a developed country, Japan is really behind on cashless payments. Cash is still king and you will definitely need cash with you when exploring Japan. However, credit cards and “tap to pay” is widely accepted at the Tokyo Disney Resort and the only thing I needed to pay with cash was the Disney Resort Line monorail ticket. I was able to pay for almost everything else with my Apple pay or my Suica Card.

Suica Card – This is a metro card to pay for train/subway/bus rides in Japan. But surprisingly, you can actually use it to pay for more things than just transportation. You can use it at convenience stores in Japan and all the restaurants/shops at the Tokyo Disney Resort. This is convenient as you can load your Suica card with however much money you want from a credit card and then use the Suica card to make your daily purchases. This is handy if your credit card charges a foreign transaction fee as your credit card will only be charged each time you load your card and not each time your Suica card is used.

If you’re an iPhone user, you can add a Suica card to your wallet very easily. Just go to your wallet, press the plus sign in the top right-hand corner and click on transit card. Scroll down to Japan and add the Suica card. Then use Apply Pay to add funds to your Suica card. Simple.

And that’s all the info I have for you right now. I hope you found it useful. Feel free to ask me any questions you want in the comments section below and I’ll try to answer them in a timely manner. Thanks for reading!

The other posts in this series include:

1. Japan is open for visa-free tourism! Here’s what you need to know before going.
2. American Express Centurion Lounge at LAX
3. Review: ANA Economy Class, Los Angeles to Tokyo Haneda
4. Review: Hilton Tokyo Bay, an official Tokyo Disney Resort hotel
5. Review: Disney Ambassador Hotel, an official Tokyo Disney Hotel
6. Beginner’s guide to visiting Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea
7. Review: ANA Lounge Tokyo Haneda
8. Review: ANA Economy Class, Tokyo Haneda to Los Angeles

Read the rest of this article at Beginner’s Guide to Visiting Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea.

Miami Beach Airport Express (150 bus line)

Miami-Dade Transit operates this express bus between Miami International airport and South Beach destinations and attractions.  The cost of taking the airport express is just $2.25 per person each way.  I timed my transit between MIA and the Washington Ave and 13th Street stop at just 40 minutes in typical Miami traffic.  This line departs MIA every 30 minutes from 6:00 am to 11:40 pm.

Getting To And From The Terminals And Miami Central Station

From any terminal, you will head upstairs and follow the signs to the MIA Mover.  Once on the station platform, watch or listen for an MIA Mover car headed in your direction of travel. Check the digital display above the map in the center of the platform for each car’s destination. A bell sounds when a car approaches the station. MIA Mover cars arrive frequently—every 90 seconds during rush hours and every 3 minutes during off-peak hours. When a car arrives at your station, wait for the passengers to exit before you board. Hold on to a pole or handrail. 

While on the MIA Mover platform, remember to keep a good grip on strollers, luggage, hand carts, and other wheeled items, to prevent them from rolling or blowing onto the tracks.

The MIA Mover terminates at Miami Central Station.  You will go down to the ground level to the bus bay for the Beach Express, route 150.

The MIA Mover train ride only takes minutes.  You need to allow enough time from airport MIA Station for the walk to the ticket counters and Security.  My walking time from the MIA Mover to the American Airlines ticket counter in Terminal D was a good ten minutes.

Final Thoughts

If you are commuting between Miami International Airport and South Beach, the Beach Express bus 150 may do the job for you.  It offers reliable service from 6:00 am and midnight, seven days per week.  The best part is that the cost is only $2.25 per person, each way.  I found it convenient as it took only 40 minutes in typical Miami traffic to get to and from South Beach.

Read the rest of this article at Easy And Cheap Transfer From MIA To Miami Beach/South Beach.

That being said, we have seen countries open up, report a surge in cases and then tighten restrictions again so you should always check with Japan’s Ministry of Health/Foreign Affairs for the most updated information. Additionally, I’m an American so this information will be specific to other Americans traveling to Japan. I’m not familiar with other countries’ requirements so please check with your local embassies for more information.

As of October 11, 2022, Japan lifted its cap on foreign visitors and reopened its borders to visa-free visitors. Americans no longer need to apply for a travel visa ahead of time and you can stay in Japan for up to 90 days upon your date of arrival. You also don’t need to book an organized group tour; purchase travel insurance; quarantine upon arrival, or even submit to a mandatory arrival PCR test if you meet one of the two following criteria:

• For unvaccinated travelers, submit a Covid-19 negative test result certificate before departure
  • Covid-19 negative test result certificates must contain the following information in English or Japanese.
    • Name, date of birth, testing method, sample, specimen collection date and time, result, name of medical institution, and the date of certificate issue
  • Must be taken within 72 hours of departure
  • Must be a NAAT (Nucleic Acid Amplification Test) such as PCR, RT-PCR, Lamp, etc.
  • More information on acceptable negative tests results can be found here
• For vaccinated travelers, submit a Covid-19 vaccination certificate before departure
  • Covid-19 vaccination certificates issued outside of Japan need to fulfill all the following requirements.
    • Name, date of birth, vaccine manufacturer, vaccination date, and the number of vaccine doses must be listed on your vaccine certificate.
    • Have at least three (3) doses of the following vaccines:
      • AstraZeneca, Janssen (Johnson & Johnson), Moderna, Novavax, or Pfizer. *Note* one dose of Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) is considered two.
      • Mix-and-match of vaccines is okay.
  • More information on acceptable vaccine certificates can be found here.

Additionally, you need to complete an online health questionnaire prior to your arrival in Japan. 

You can complete your online health questionnaire and submit your documents for verification through the MySOS app. This is an official phone app used by the Japanese Ministry of Health for entry into Japan. I highly recommend you download it and submit all your required documents ahead of time. Just trust me on this. It will allow you to use the “FastTrack” system and ensure a very smooth check-in process with the airline and arrival into Japan. If you don’t download the app, you can still present your negative Covid test/vaccine certificate at boarding and show the online health questionnaire upon arrival to Japan but this will not be ideal for you.

Instructions on how to use the MySOS app

After you download the app, open it and you will see a screen like this. It will be red in color.

Click on the “Pre-registration for Quarantine Procedures” (bottom left-hand corner) and follow the prompts to enter your personal details including name, passport number, date of birth, etc. You need to then do everything in order. For example, you can’t just skip to submitting your documents until you upload a picture of your passport. The app will also let you register a minor child if he/she is traveling with you.

• Upload a picture of your passport. You don’t need a picture of it already. You can take a picture of it in the app. It will send you an app notification to say if your picture was verified or not. It took me two tries to upload the picture correctly. Make sure the numbers at the bottom of your passport are clearly legible. This process took about 30 minutes before I could move on.
• Complete the health questionnaire.
• Upload your vaccine certificate if you have one. If you don’t, you still need to click on this and say that you will not be uploading one so you can skip to the next step.
• Upload your negative test certificate if you are not vaccinated.

Once you submit all your required documents, the app background color will change from red to yellow. This shows that your documents are being verified. And once your documents are verified, your app will turn blue and show a QR code. This is a good thing.

When you get to the airport, the check-in agents will ask for your passport and ask to see your MySOS app before checking you in for your flight. And when you land in Japan and get off the plane, they will ask to see your MySOS app again as soon as you get off the plane. There will be airport employees asking to see the app. If your app is blue, they will hand you this blue card and direct you to the FastTrack queue. If you don’t have the app, or your app does not show blue, then you will be directed to another way. The app does require an internet connection so if you’re worried about that, just screenshot the blue screen with the QR code and you should be good to go.

Take this blue card to the health station and show them the card and your QR code. They will screen your temperature, verify your documents and then give you this green piece of paper. Take this green piece of paper to the immigration officer to receive your visa-free landing pass.

And that’s it! I know the process can be intimidating but I hope you found this information useful. Japan is a wonderful country and now, without all the tourists, is a great time to visit. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

The other posts in this series include:

1. Japan is open for visa-free tourism! Here’s what you need to know before going.
2. American Express Centurion Lounge at LAX
3. Review: ANA Economy Class, Los Angeles to Tokyo Haneda
4. Review: Hilton Tokyo Bay, an official Tokyo Disney Resort hotel
5. Review: Disney Ambassador Hotel, an official Tokyo Disney Hotel
6. Beginner’s guide to visiting Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea
7. Review: ANA Lounge Tokyo Haneda
8. Review: ANA Economy Class, Tokyo Haneda to Los Angeles

Read the rest of this article at Japan is Open for Visa-Free Tourism! Here’s What You Need to Know Before Going.

If you are past Crystal Cruises client and are feeling adrift, let me help you find a new home with Seabourn. Book on any Seabourn voyage and Seabourn will match your Crystal Society level and benefits with the corresponding Seabourn Club level for sea-days sailed. In addition, when booking through a travel agent, and if you are new to Seabourn, you will get an additional 5% discount on your first booking.

Crystal Society Levels will be matched to the corresponding Seabourn Club levels:

Seabourn Club Points

As Crystal Cruise Society members are new to Seabourn Club, know that you earn points within Seabourn Club for each day you sail. There are also a number of ways to earn Seabourn Club Points:

• Each Sailed Day on board a Seabourn ship earns you one Seabourn Club Point
• Each Sailed Day in a penthouse or premium suite accommodation earns one additional Seabourn Club Point
• Each night on an escorted Seabourn Journey earns one Seabourn Club Point
• Every $500USD of eligible onboard and pre-cruise online purchases earns one Seabourn Club Point (net of returns, and limited to one additional Seabourn Club Point for each Sailed Day)

Seabourn Club Amenities

The more you sail the better the amenities with Seabourn. Earn your points or enjoy your Crystal Cruise status match and find the following benefits onboard.

Seabourn Club Members

• Special events and receptions on board Seabourn Club Host or Hostess on every voyage
• 5% On board Booking Savings on future cruises
• Special Refer a Friend Shipboard Credit program

Seabourn Club Silver Member

• Same benefits as Seabourn Club Member, plus your choice of ONE of the following:
  • 10% savings on Shore Excursions
  • 10% savings on premium wines & spirits
  • Complimentary telephone – 20 minutes
  • Seabourn Club Signature Massage
  • Day in the Spa Serene Area One complimentary bag of laundry

Seabourn Club Gold Member

• Same benefits as Seabourn Club Member, plus your choice of TWO of the following:
  • 10% savings on Shore Excursions
  • 15% savings on premium wines & spirits
  • Complimentary telephone – 30 minutes
  • Seabourn Club Signature Massage
  • Day in the Spa Serene Area
• One complimentary bag of laundry (Self-service laundry is always free on Seabourn)

Seabourn Club Platinum Member

• Same benefits as Seabourn Club Member, plus your choice of THREE of the following
  • 15% savings on Shore Excursions
  • 20% savings on premium wines & spirits
  • Complimentary telephone – 40 minutes
  • Seabourn Club Signature Massage
  • Day in the Spa Serene Area
  • One complimentary bag of laundry (Self-service laundry is always free on Seabourn)

Seabourn Club Diamond Member

• Same benefits as Seabourn Club Member, plus ALL of the following benefits:
  • 15% savings on Shore Excursions
  • 25% savings on premium wines & spirits
  • Complimentary telephone – 40 minutes
  • Seabourn Club Signature Massage
  • Day in the Spa Serene Area
  • Complimentary laundry and pressing
  • Daily delivery of preferred newspaper
  • Priority Embarkation

Seabourn Club Diamond Elite Member

• Same benefits as Seabourn Diamond Club, plus ALL of the following benefits:
  • $100 Spa credit Complimentary dry-cleaning
  • Disembarkation/ embarkation transfer to/from Ship – 50 miles or less
  • Single Supplement A – PH category: 150%
  • Single Supplement PS – GR category: 175%
  • Upgraded welcome aboard Champagne in your suite

Seabourn Club Milestone Awards

On top of awards and benefits on every cruise, and welcome gifts when reaching each status, Seabourn does offer milestone awards to guests. Seabourn Club Milestone Awards feature a complimentary cruise of up to 7 days when your Club account reaches 140 Redeemable Sailed Days, or a complimentary cruise of up to 14 days when 250 Redeemable Sailed Days is reached. These complimentary cruises is a huge reason to stay loyal to a cruise line. In addition, Seabourn offers milestone awards when you reach other milestones.

Special awards and recognitions are provided to guests at the following intervals.

Bottom Line

With Crystal Cruises no longer in business, it’s time that their customers base return to cruising. Seabourn is a luxury cruise line with ships with max capacity of 264 – 750 people. Seabourn even offers luxury Expeditions to Antarctica and the Artic! Onboard Seabourn there is nearly a 1:1 staffing, complimentary premium spirits, wifi, and all dining venues are included. I went on an Alaska Seabourn Cruise with my 88-year-old grandma a few weeks ago and we were more than impressed. I am certain, anyone who has never sailed Seabourn will be happy onboard with Seabourn. Not only did I meet several other former Crystal Cruisers, but several staff members from Crystal have also found employment with Seabourn.

If you are looking for your premium luxury small ship cruise, let me and Scott & Thomas Travel help you plan your cruise. And if you are a former Crystal Cruise Society member, I can help you apply for your status match to unlock more benefits and savings. Finally, by choose to book with Scott & Thomas, there are several sailings that offer up to $600 of onboard credit per suite. One more reason to use a travel agent. Just inquire with me, as this is a special that is not available by going directly to Seabourn. Email me today to book your adventure.

Read the rest of this article at Crystal Society Members: Status Match and Savings on Seabourn Cruises.

Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights

This Bill of Rights describes the fundamental rights of air travelers with disabilities under the Air Carrier Access Act and its implementing regulation, 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 382 and is current as of July 2022.  You can find the disabilities bill of rights website here.

This Bill of Rights covers the following areas:

1. The Right to Be Treated with Dignity and Respect.
2. The Right to Receive Information About Services and Aircraft Capabilities and Limitations.
3. The Right to Receive Information in an Accessible Format.
4. The Right to Accessible Airport Facilities.
5. The Right to Assistance at Airports.
6. The Right to Assistance on the Aircraft.
7. The Right to Travel with an Assistive Device or Service Animal.
8. The Right to Receive Seating Accommodations.
9. The Right to Accessible Aircraft Features.
10. The Right to Resolution of a Disability-Related Issue.

It is about time that passengers with disabilities are treated with the care and compassion that they deserve.  The have been horror stories of disabled passengers stranded at the airport without an escort.  In 2017, a 74-year-old woman died when she drove her motorized cart onto the down escalator at Portland International Airport.  Her escort from the airport contract company, Huntleigh left her alone.

Some airlines are approved by DOT to use an alternative method to comply with regulation when it provides an equivalent level of accessibility or it meets the objective of Part 382. Visit the docket for the Equivalent Alternative Determinations and Conflict of Law Waivers for more information.

DOT Air Travel Consumer Report

Passenger complaints are up 270% above pre-pandemic levels.  The latest edition of the Air Travel Consumer Report (ATCR) has been released.  The data contained in this report is through June 30, 2022.  You can read a copy of it here.  This report breaks down problems into multiple categories:

• On-time performance,
• Consumer complaints,
• Mishandled baggage,
• Mishandled wheelchairs and scooters and
• Bumping/overselling.

The ATCR is designed to assist consumers with information on the quality of services provided by airlines. The Department of Transportation remains committed to ensuring airline passengers are treated fairly and is concerned about recent flight cancellations and flight disruptions. The Department’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (OACP) is monitoring airlines’ operations to ensure that airlines are not engaging in unrealistic scheduling of flights and are complying with aviation consumer protection requirements. This includes ensuring consumers receive prompt refunds if they are no longer interested in continuing their travel when their flights are canceled or significantly changed.

Secretary Buttigieg revealed that nearly a quarter of domestic flights were delayed and just over 3% were canceled in the first half of this year.  “We are also contemplating options for rulemaking that would further expand the rights of airline passengers who experience disruptions,” Buttigieg wrote. He added that DOT asks that airlines, at a minimum, provide meal vouchers for delays of 3 hours or more and lodging accommodations for passengers who must wait overnight at an airport due to flight cancelations.

Passenger complaints from May to June of this year climbed 35%.  To be fair to the airlines, there are delays and cancellations due to circumstances outside of the airline’s control like weather, airport congestion and Air Traffic Control delays.

DOT Aviation Consumer Protection

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection website can be found here. The Office of Aviation Consumer Protection reviews and responds to consumer complaints and promotes awareness and understanding of consumer rights through online consumer information and education. The site describes DOT rules, guidance, and enforcement orders related to aviation consumer and civil rights matters. The Department of Transportation has information dealing with the following situations:

The “Dashboard”

The purpose of the DOT airline passenger dashboard is to inform travelers how much they are owed for flight cancellations and controllable delays.  The dashboard will be featured with comparative information on the services that each of the large U.S. airlines provides, said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

The Department of Transportation wants to give passengers clear information about their rights and how to proceed to get their refund.  This dashboard is scheduled to go online on September 2, 2022, at www.transportation.gov/airconsumer.  The dashboard will have a matrix appearance with expectations listed by airline.  I would expect that the dashboard will have exemptions for causes like weather and air traffic control delays.

Is It Working?

Last Saturday, we were flying nonstop from San Diego to Boston.  San Diego International Airport has two runways, 9 and 27.  Runway 27 is the prevailing wind runway where aircraft take off to the west over the ocean.  Due to an off-shore wind, the airport was using runway 9 which has a ridge to clear after takeoff.  Our aircraft was too heavy for a runway 9 departure which resulted in a four-hour delay.  After two hours, Alaska Airlines sent $24 meal vouchers to the passengers by email.  The solution for departing San Diego was to offload 5,000 pounds of fuel and stop en route at Kansas City and pick up the 5,000 pounds of fuel so we could continue to Boston.

Final Thoughts

The airline passengers’ Bill of Rights is sorely needed and way overdue by the DOT.  All passengers deserve dignity and respect regardless of their physical and mental abilities.

The airline customer service dashboard is a step in the right direction.  The industry needs to come up with a general passenger bill of rights for flight delays and cancellations.  Will the U. S. Department of Transportation do more?

Read the rest of this article at DOT Launches Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights.