Hello Betty,

Marching into Spring

Although Wave Season is winding down, cruise lines continue to offer many attractive promotions; here are a few. Royal Caribbean is offering special pricing on three and four-day cruises from Fort Lauderdale to Coco Cay. Princess offers up to $600 on Princess Picks cruises, Viking Ocean is offering free air and $25 deposit (call us asap as this promo ends soon), and Virgin Voyages is promoting 80% off the second sailor with up to $300 in free drinks. Promotions change all the time, so give us a call, and we will set you up with the latest and greatest in whatever is your cruise line of choice.

River cruise companies are also touting various promotions. A very interesting one has been rolled out by Amawaterways, which touts its Complimentary Land Package. When you reserve space on select 2025 and 2026 Europe river cruises you can receive a complimentary 2-, 3-, or 4-night land package either before or after your cruise. This popular offer includes more than 20 excellent land packages. Highlighted in these packages are stays at 4 or 5-star hotels, daily breakfasts, transfers and porterage, and guided tours.

Land tour companies also offer savings on selected packages. Pleasant Holidays, for example, has 15% - 45% discounts on locations such as Costa Rica, Oahu, Bali and Singapore to name a few. Of course, Gate 1 Travel always provides excellent pricing on its many land tour programs.

We have reported frequently on the rush cruise lines are in to put new ships on the oceans. For example, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has confirmed a mega four-ship order with shipbuilder Fincantieri which is reportedly worth more than $9 billion. The four ships will be the largest ever built for flagship brand Norwegian Cruise Line at about 266,000 tons. They will feature 5,100 berths with a capacity for over 8,000 guests and crew. These ships will start rolling out in 2030, through 2036.

Of course, there are always a few waves we would rather not see as ever more locales want to extract more of our cruise dollars. Cruisers in Boston will start paying a $3.00 per person arrival fee starting in 2026 with rates increasing to $15 per person in 2030. The funds will help fund a $105 million dollar infrastructure project at the Flynn Cruiseport. Similarly, the Scottish Government is allowing the Orkney Islands to impose a 5 pound per person fee. The start date for the new tax has not been announced.

Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection has a new study you need to see. In October, the company released its annual report showcasing Earth's "safest" countries. As for which nation came in at No. 1 as the safest place to travel in 2025, that honor went to Iceland. Other nations that joined Iceland at the top of the list include Australia at No. 2, followed by Canada, Ireland, Switzerland, New Zealand, Germany, Norway, Japan, and Denmark, rounding out the top 10.

Next month, we will report on our combination of a Princess cruise and Gate 1 Travel trip to Japan. We were delighted to see Japan listed in the Berkshire Hathaway report!

We hope you will Join Us! on Virgin Voyages newest ship, The Brilliant Lady next January. We still have some group space available.

Finally, if you have never witnessed the Military Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle, we recommend you take a look at the British Isles cruise August 13 – 25, 2025. The Tattoo is one of the most compelling spectacles we have ever seen.

So, Where in the World Do You Want to Go?

Betty & Frank Villani

909-980-6040

7 Day Mediterranean Cruise

Athens to Barcelona

May 10 - 17, 2025 or

June 21 - 28, 2025

Sun Princess

Voyage of the Glaciers

Vancouver to Anchorage

July 5 - 12, 2025

Caribbean Princess

Let Princess take you from Vancouver to these stunning Alaskan ports: Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, and Anchorage. Enjoy scenic cruising of Glacier Bay National Park and College Fjord.

7 Day Bermuda Cruise

Round Trip : New York

July 6 -13, 2025

Norwegian Getaway

Join Us!

We're off to beautiful Bermuda again and hope you'll Join Us for this amazing cruise from New York. Enjoy 2 nights docked at the Royal Naval Dockyard - our home base as we explore the sites on this spectacular island.

16-Day Scotland & Ireland Tour

Gate 1

July 16, 2025

This incredible tour includes flights, hotels, transfers, 21 meals, sightseeing, and more!

Visit Edinburgh, Aviemore, Glasgow, Belfast, Derry, Galway, Killarney & Dublin

Polynesian Dreams

Honolulu to Papeete

August 1 - 16, 2025

Oceania Regatta

Experience the wonders of Hawaii by visiting Honolulu, Maui, Kauai, Kona, and Hilo. Then, sail to French Polynesia and see Papeete, Tahiti and four other South Pacific islands.

7-Day Alaska Explorer Cruise

August 16 - 23, 2025

Roundtrip: Seattle

Holland America Eurodam

Enjoy scenic cruising of Stephen's Passage and Glacier Bay. Visit Juneau, Icy Straight Point, Sitka, Ketchikan, and Vancouver, British Colombia.

Alaska Cruisetour

August 20 - 30, 2025

Fairbanks to Vancouver

Caribbean Princess

This fabulous cruisetour starts in Fairbanks, then goes on to the Denali and Mt. McKinley Princess lodges. Then, board the Caribbean Princess in Anchorage and visit Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan, as well as beautiful scenic cruising.

12 Day British Isles Cruise

with Military Tattoo

Round trip : London (Southampton)

August 13 - 25, 2025

Regal Princess

This cruise includes the world famous Military Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle. Be sure to see this spectacular event as well as these stunning ports:

Southampton (for London), England; Cork, Ireland (Cobh - For Blarney Castle) Dublin (Dun Laoghaire), Ireland' Belfast, Northern Ireland' Liverpool, England; Glasgow (Greenock), Scotland; Glasgow (Greenock), Scotland; Orkney Islands (Kirkwall), Scotland; Edinburgh (South Queensferry), Scotland; Le Havre (for Paris/Normandy), France; Southampton (for London), England.

Regent Seven Seas Cruise

Lisbon to Barcelona

September 14 - 24, 2025

Seven Seas Voyager

Sail aboard the luxurious Seven Seas Voyager from Lisbon to these beautiful Spanish ports: Seville (Cadiz), Malaga, Cartagena, Alicante, Ibiza, on to Sete, France and disembark in Barcelona.

Cities of Light River Cruise

Prague to Paris

November 19 - 30, 2025

Viking Alsvin

Sail away on the beautiful Viking Alsvin from Prague to Paris, visiting spectacular ports in the Czech Republic, Germany and France.

9-Night Caribbean Cruise

January 23 - February 1, 2026

Roundtrip: Miami

New Ship! - Brilliant Lady

Join Us!

Join Us! on a magical Virgin Voyages Caribbean cruise from Miami to Grand Turk, St. John's (Antigua and Barbuda), St. Kitt's, and San Juan!