Posted by David Porter on February 2, 2018 · Leave a Comment
Want to avoid getting sick while flying? Then learning the most germ-ridden surfaces in our nation’s airports might go a long way towards that goal.
If you had to guess the most germ-ridden surface in our nation’s airports, what would you guess?
The handrail on the moving sidewalk? The door handle coming into the airport? The flusher on the toilet?
If you guessed any of these, then like me, you’re wrong. It’s the screen on the self-check-in kiosk!
Surprized? I was too.
How ’bout this?
What is the most germ-ridden surface on the airplane? I got this wrong too. I guessed the tray table.
As I write this article, the flu bug is running rampant across our nation. And, if you want to lower your chances of catching this ugly bug when flying, then heed the advice found in this informative article by the folks over at insurancequotes.com: click here.
Over the recent busy holiday season, they conducted 18 tests across six surfaces from three major U.S. airports and airline flights. They sent their swabs to the lab and found the average number of viable bacteria and fungal cells per square inch, or colony-forming units (CFU), to see how clean traveling really is.
The result will likely surprise you.
Bottom Line? If you don’t want to get sick while flying, keep your three-ounce bottle of hand sanitizer handy and use it often.
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Roaming Boomers Travel Services is an Independent Affiliate of Cadence, a Virtuoso® member. CST#201120-40
Posted by David Porter on February 2, 2018 · Leave a Comment
Scottsdale, Arizona: Regent Seven Seas Cruises Informational Evening
Regent Seven Seas Cruises is the world’s most inclusive luxury experience with a four-ship fleet that visits more than 450 destinations around the world.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises is currently undergoing a $125 million fleet-wide refurbishment that will elevate the elegance of its fleet to the standard set by the all-balcony, all-suite Seven Seas Explorer, which entered service on July 20, 2016. Recognized since as the most luxurious ship ever built, Seven Seas Explorer joins all-balcony, all-suite sister-ships Seven Seas Voyager, Seven Seas Mariner, and all-suite, 90 percent-balcony Seven Seas Navigator.
As one tries to understand Regent’s niche in the world of ocean cruising, here are a few important bullet points:
- 5-star luxury cruising
- 4-ship fleet with the largest ship holding only 750 passengers and all staterooms are suites with most having walkout balconies.
- All-inclusive including airfare. Other than the spa, you will be hard pressed to spend a dime on a Regent Seven Seas Cruise.
One of the biggest mistakes folks make when considering a luxury cruise with Regent is that they look at the price and walk away making a false judgment that it is more expensive than its luxury competitors.
Consider this: we just booked a fun Regent Seven Seas Cruises sailing for clients on a 14-night sailing from London to Barcelona. The cruise fares start at $13,299/person. While this might sound high to some, when you dig deeper into Regent’s famous inclusions you will find that this includes business-class airline tickets, unlimited shore excursions, all alcohol all the time, gratuities, and much more. Other than a spa treatment, you can’t spend a dime on a Regent cruise.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises was the “Best of the Best” Virtuoso Award-winner for the most luxurious guest experience this year, and if you click here, you can see their long list of other awards and honors.
Bottom Line? Regent Seven Seas Cruises is one of the world’s best luxury cruise lines with a value proposition (all-inclusive fares) that make their brand worthy of serious consideration.
Want to learn more? Come join our Scottsdale informational evening with Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
Oh, on a sidenote, Carol and I will be sailing with Regent Seven Seas Cruise in Alaska this summer. Want to come join us? To learn more, click here.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Roaming Boomers Travel Services Invites you to a fun and Informational Evening
When: Tuesday, February 13th, 2018 at 6:00 PM
Where: Terravita Desert Pavilion, 34109 N. 69th Way, Scottsdale, AZ. 85266
What: Complimentary Regent Seven Seas Cruises presentation with light appetizers, wine, beer, and soft drinks
Why: Because this is a very fun way to learn about Regent Seven Seas Cruise’s award-winning cruises. PLUS, all attendees will receive a special booking bonus from Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Space is limited, so RSVP by calling our office at (480) 550-1235, or simply complete the secure form below. Please RSVP by February 6, 2018.
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Roaming Boomers Travel Services is an Independent Affiliate of Cadence, a Virtuoso® member. CST#201120-40
Posted by David Porter on January 19, 2018 · Leave a Comment
Click for large view
Viking Cruises Ocean & River Voyages combine a fun river cruise and ocean cruise.
Carol and I are always on the hunt for travel adventures that are unique and one-of-a-kind. And Viking’s combination Ocean & River Voyages are just that.
In fact, Viking Cruises is currently the only company in the world that could pull this kind of adventure off in-house.
This adventure is available starting June 2nd, 2019 and features two sailings running in both directions: Bergen to Basel, or Basel to Bergen.
Here’s our advice:
- First of all, take the Basel to Bergen route as you will be sailing downstream on the Rhine. This way, you’ll experience no engine vibrations fighting the strong currents on the Rhine. And, if you are so inclined, maybe even have us book the fabulous Explorer Suite on the back of the river cruise ship. These staterooms are spectacular, but best enjoyed downstream as they are at the very back of the ship.
- Then, consider a pre-cruise adventure in either Lake Como, Italy or Lucerne, Switzerland. Both are stunning.
- And then, when you disembark in Bergen, Norway, consider a post-cruise stopover in Iceland on the way home!
Now that, in my humble opinion, would be a cat’s meow journey! 🙂
Plus, to make it all the more fun, if you book this journey with us before February 20, 2018, we have an exclusive $500/stateroom shipboard credit for you to spend on the ship(s). This can be used for an optional drink package on the ship, or perhaps a special optional shore excursion.
To learn more about this rare opportunity, CLICK HERE.
A word of caution, Viking offered similar journies last year, and they sold out in like 2 seconds. So, if you’re interested, don’t dilly-dally.
To learn more, or to book this exciting Viking Ocean & River Voyage, call Roaming Boomers Travel Services at (480) 550-1235 or use our convenient online information request form (click here) and we will reach out to you.
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Roaming Boomers Travel Services is an Independent Affiliate of Cadence, a Virtuoso® member. CST#201120-40
Posted by David Porter on January 18, 2018 · 3 Comments
The U.S. State Department Rolls Out New International Travel Advisory Program
The U.S. State Department has been criticized over the years as international travelers never really understood the difference between a travel warning and a travel alert.
Therefore, to make their travel advisories easier to understand, they have given every country in the world a color-coded advisory:
- No color – exercise normal precautions
- Yellow – exercise increased caution
- Orange – reconsider travel
- Red – do not travel
As you study the new map, Cuba moves from a travel warning to “reconsider travel” while most of Europe gets a yellow color reminding us to exercise increased caution. And, of course, North Korea and other trouble spots on the map get a “red” don’t go!
I suppose having four different categories will make their advisories a little clearer to understand. I don’t know, let’s see how this plays out over the coming years.
To explore the U.S. State Department’s new travel advisory site, CLICK HERE.
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Roaming Boomers Travel Services is an Independent Affiliate of Cadence, a Virtuoso® member. CST#201120-40
Posted by David Porter on January 6, 2018 · 1 Comment
Viking Ocean Cruises Voted #1 Ocean Cruise Line in 2016 & 2017
I have long stated that Viking Cruises is a disrupter in the world of cruising. They completely dominate the world of river cruising with more than 50% market share, and with the announcement yesterday of their sixth ocean liner, they are carving out a large slice of the ocean cruise world as well.
There are many reasons Viking Cruises is riding a wave of success, but one of the most fundamental is that they know who they are and who they intend to serve.
Want to know why Viking Ocean Cruise is disrupting the ocean cruise industry? CLICK HERE.
With only 930 passengers aboard each ship, they are small-ship cruising, and while their ships are certainly luxurious, Chairman Torstein Hagen is loathe to use the world luxury when talking about his brand.
In my eyes, they are the Goldilocks ocean cruise line. Not 5-star luxury, but greater in luxury than all of the 4-star lines. I like to think of them as a 4.5-star ocean cruise line. As there are no butlers onboard, it’s not too luxury, but with its small size, no formal nights, no kids, no casinos, no umbrella drinks, and no servers running around singing Hot, Hot, Hot; many would say that Viking Ocean Cruises is the perfect ocean cruise line.
And their ability to garner their best-of-the-best awards for such a young ocean cruise brand speaks volumes. Torstein Hagen likes to call his brand “the thinking person’s cruise”.
Here are a few articles that we’ve written about Viking Ocean Cruises we think you might enjoy:
- To read about our personal experience sailing with Viking Ocean Cruises, click here.
- To get a good understanding of their staterooms, click here.
- And did you know that Carol and I are one of the top 5 Viking cruise sellers in the world? No? CLICK HERE.
Viking’s newest ship, the Viking Sun, was in Los Angeles yesterday surrounded by a lot of hoopla as she is setting out on a world cruise. Here’s a copy of their press release:
Click For Larger View
Los Angeles (January 5, 2018) – Viking® (www.vikingcruises.com) today welcomed its fourth and newest ocean ship, Viking Sun® to Los Angeles, also the home of the company’s U.S. headquarters. The ship is currently sailing Viking’s sold-out 141-day World Cruise from Miami to London, and Los Angeles is Viking’s first U.S. West Coast port of call in the company’s 20-year history. Viking Chairman Torstein Hagen today greeted guests on Viking Sun, and during a press conference onboard unveiled a new multi-channel brand advertising campaign titled, “Did You Know?”
“We have always been a travel company that focuses on exploration and cultural immersion,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking. “In the last two decades we have led the industry in river cruising, and as we become the leading small ship ocean cruise line we have an opportunity to introduce many new travelers to the Viking way of exploration. Our new ‘Did You Know?’ campaign is aimed at inspiring people who may not yet know what makes us so different in the industry, why we are the most award-winning cruise line and how we can provide more included value than any other cruise company.”
Timed with the cruise industry’s “Wave Season” in January, the launch of Viking’s new “Did You Know?” campaign will feature new creative advertisements that will appear across all marketing channels, including TV, print and digital. Aimed at travel agents and the company’s target audience of experienced travelers 55 and older, the campaign highlights Viking’s industry differentiators, including its inclusive value with a shore excursion included in every port, as well as what Viking is not – no formal nights, no kids and no casinos. The campaign will also share Viking’s award-winning history, such as being named the #1 Ocean Cruise Line in Travel + Leisure’s 2016 and 2017 World’s Best Awards and the #1 River Cruise Line in Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards.
At the press conference, Hagen also announced that the company’s sixth ship will be named Viking Jupiter®. Scheduled to launch in February 2019, the 930-guest sister ship will sail Viking’s most popular itineraries in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean, as well as two new itineraries in South America – Southern Atlantic Crossing (22 days; Barcelona – Buenos Aires) and South America & the Chilean Fjords (18 days; Buenos Aires – Santiago).
Viking Sun
On December 15, Viking celebrated the kickoff of its inaugural World Cruise onboard Viking Sun in Miami. From Los Angeles, Viking Sun will continue to sail for 120 days, visiting destinations in the South Pacific, Australia and Asia – and will be officially christened in Shanghai on March 8, 2018. When the ship arrives in London on May 5, she will have visited five continents, 35 countries and 64 ports during her first World Cruise. Viking Sun will continue to sail the globe during the 2019 World Cruise, a 128-day itinerary from Miami to London.
Viking’s ocean ships have a gross tonnage of 47,800 tons, have 465 staterooms and host 930 guests. Classified by Cruise Critic® as a “small ship,” the all-veranda Viking Sun is the newest addition to Viking’s award-winning ocean fleet, which also includes Viking Star®, Viking Sea® and Viking Sky®. Viking will welcome two more sister ships in the next two years, including Viking Orion® in summer 2018; with the arrival of Viking Jupiter in 2019, Viking will be the largest small ship ocean cruise line. Four additional ships are also on order for delivery starting in 2021, which will bring Viking’s ocean fleet to 10 ships by 2023.
The Viking Difference
Designed for discerning travelers with interests in science, history, culture and cuisine, Chairman Torstein Hagen often says Viking offers guests “the thinking person’s cruise” as an alternative to mainstream cruises. Ships are small to get guests closer to their destination, with more time in port and more overnights. Onboard, guests find serene Scandinavian spaces, where every room is beautiful and functional, quiet and filled with light. All-veranda ships mean that guests experience every day with a new, expansive vista. With the most al fresco dining at sea, featuring regional cuisines and always-available American classics, Viking’s guests can truly dine in their destination. A focus on cultural enrichment brings immersive experiences onshore and onboard. And only The Viking Way brings guests itineraries that feature Local Life, Working World and Privileged Access experiences.
In addition, Viking Inclusive Value provides a small ship experience at a big ship value and no nickel-and-diming – with every cruise fare including a veranda stateroom, shore excursions in each port of call, all onboard meals, and all port charges and government taxes. Guests also enjoy many complimentary amenities as part of their fare, including: beer and wine with lunch and dinner service; premium dining reservations; Wi-Fi; self-service laundry; access to the Thermal Suite in the LivNordic Spa; and 24-hour room service—an included value of more than $200 per person, per day for an average cruise.
Booking Details
For information about Viking Ocean Cruises’ latest offerings, click here. For information about the best way to book an ocean or river cruise, click here.
To book a fun Viking Ocean Cruise, call Roaming Boomers Travel Services at (480) 550-1235 or use our convenient online information request (click here) and we will reach out to you.
If you enjoyed this article, sign up for our travel newsletter to keep abreast of our best travel tips, on-location reviews, exclusive travel offers, group travel events, and much more.
Roaming Boomers Travel Services is an Independent Affiliate of Cadence, a Virtuoso® member. CST#201120-40
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