Free Meal Package on Land for Princess Alaska Cruisetours

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With our Where2Next series exploring "the Last Frontier" scheduled for January 18, Princess Cruises has exhibited excellent timing by announcing Free Alaska Meal Packages on Land for their most sought-after vacation experience, Princess Alaska Cruisetours.

Valued at up to $469 per person, this should be the piece of the puzzle that lures you to a vacation you've dreamed about for years.

One of the questions I am asked most by people planning an Alaska cruisetour for their families is how much will meals be?  My answer has tended to be that it depends on what kind of meals you like, but as a general rule think Applebee's with an occasional more upscale meal at McCormick & Schmick's, if you so desire.  You choose the meals you want, and you can skip some if you like and opt to just eat a can of Pringles.

Now, you can leave that dining concern at home, if you book a Princess Cruisetour during this limited-time promotion.

This Princess promotion runs from January 13 through January 27, so you have the opportunity to contemplate it and be ready to book as soon as it goes on sale or after you've attended our Where2Next webinar for Alaska.  Your choice!

Many travelers call Alaska Cruisetours the most spectacular vacation of their lives. 

Of course, other lines also cruise Alaska, including ships that embark roundtrip from Seattle for those who aren't ready to commit to 10- to 17-day voyages.  I'll be happy to find the Alaska cruise that suits you best.

I expect there to be a lot of pent-up demand for Alaska, 2020 being shutdown entirely and less than a half-season in 2021.  Some folks booked Alaska cruises in 2020 that have been pushed back two or more times, but they're still planning to go, so expect there to be about three years of demand when the floodgates open.

Right now, the CDC has thrown what in baseball we call a "brush-back" to get you away from the plate so that you end up letting three strikes streak past you when fear makes you "step in the bucket."

Don't you really want to get your swings and, as John Fogerty sings, "hit the ball, and touch 'em all, a moment in the sun.  It's gone and you can kiss that one goodbye."

Too early in the year for a baseball metaphor?  Probably, but I digress:

"Put me in coach!  I'm ready to play today!"

I'm ready to help you get back in the game.

Will Covid-19 be gone by summer?

I have my doubts it will ever vanish any more than we have seen the last of the common cold, but the fact is that statistically cruises are safer than your hometown, unless you're a self-sufficient hermit living in total isolation on a hillside somewhere.

With vaccines required to board a cruise, augmented by therapeutics available that weren't known two years ago, you will statistically more than likely die of some other cause when the time comes, with that most likely being heart disease. 

Don't die of heartbreak from missing the best years of your life!

To be clear, if you are morbidly obese, really old or have some other co-morbidity, I am not telling you that a cruise will heal you or make you less susceptible to Covid-19, but no virus lives exclusively at sea.  Covid-19 is everywhere, as you should have realized by now.

For most travelers I speak with, the greatest fear does not seem to be the virus itself so much as the protocols designed to keep us safe, but you can mitigate potential problems with travel insurance and understanding that if cruise lines take something away from you such as a port of call, they tend to compensate you with some spending money or some other reward.

For most cruisers who had their plans disrupted over the past couple of years, the biggest penalty has been staying home.  Most ended up being compensated but some actually went on their cruises and loved them, even with an occasional hiccup.

I saw a video the other day of the Lido Deck on a mega-cruise ship in the sunny Caribbean where the narrator was walking around whining about the protocols and missing a port.  I couldn't help noticing that all around him were happy, healthy cruisers sunbathing and drinking Pina Coladas or other cold beverages, perhaps paid for with some additional onboard credit.  As someone who was just shoveling snow off my steps, that scene looked pretty good to me!

Back to baseball, if you never take a swing, you never have a chance to hit the ball.  

Why not take your chances?

That's especially true for anyone who has deposited a cruise either set to sail within weeks or with final payment approaching.  When you were in a calm, rational state of mind, you knew you wanted to get back to traveling.

If not now, when?

That is especially true if you have a non-refundable deposit of some kind.  Why not proceed with confidence?  Then, if the cruise line bails, graciously accept the bonus compensations to preserve your travel dollars rather than hanging your head as you walk back to the dugout having failed to even try.

Wes