New Food Offerings In First Class

Alaska Airlines is taking a walk down memory lane by bringing back its most loved dishes starting this month through spring 2024, along with a selection of new seasonal chef-curated meals and a line-up of exciting beverages. 

The ‘Greatest Hits’ menu is made up of beloved past entrees based on feedback from guests and crew. Of the 35 First Class entrees, two dozen are returning fan favorites, including the Jerk Chicken with coconut curry fried rice and Kalbi Beef in a Korean BBQ sauce.  

Alaska is also launching new dishes made of fresh ingredients that are sure to become popular hits among guests, including the Steak & Shrimp and Mediterranean Lentils, available in First Class. 

Celebrity favorite — Alaska’s Sesame Chicken and Rice — will continue to be served to our First Class guests through the winter! Actor and comedian Dax Shepard recently posted on social media he “was still reeling” over two servings of the roasted chicken with sesame teriyaki glaze on an Alaska Airlines flight from Burbank to Portland. 

“Alaska puts in a lot of effort to cultivate a comfortable and rewarding guest experience and part of that includes its inflight food and beverages,” said Alaska Airlines MVP Gold 100K member Sterling Pearson who is excited about the return of Alaska’s Kalbi Beef First Class entrée.

“It was absolutely delicious and one of my personal favorites. It has well-paired flavors, between the sauce and the meat. The presentation was also top-notch. I think the fact that Alaska is putting in the effort to bring back past menu items shows their dedication to giving passengers what they enjoy the most and is also an example of how Alaska cares about the guest experience.”

Food Upgrades For Economy

Alaska Airlines features Buy On Board (BOB) for passengers flying in economy.  The airline has gone to a cashless cabin.  Food can be ordered online from two weeks, up to 20 hours prior to departure.  If you pay for your food order with your Alaska Airlines visa credit card, you will receive a 20% rebate on your credit card statement.

In the Main Cabin, guests will once again have the option to pre-order the Chicken Curry Wrap and the popular Beets So Fly Salad made with a medley of flavors including pickled beets, mixed greens, feta cheese and chicken breast in a Dijon balsamic dressing.  

“Part of redesigning our menu every few months means trying new entrees and saying goodbye to old ones. But there is always a meal that guests can’t wait to eat again and don’t want to see go. We looked back at what entrees guests and our crews loved the most over the years and built a menu around our top favorite Alaska dishes,” said Todd Traynor-Corey, managing director of guest products at Alaska Airlines. 

Alaska is also excited to announce a line-up of new beverages, which will be available on flights starting Dec. 1, including freshly brewed Stumptown Coffee, that will pair perfectly with Alaska’s new oat milk creamer and Portland-based Stash Tea’s English Breakfast, Super Mint and Premium Green flavors.

Is Alaska Trying To Up Their Game?

While other airlines have gotten their food and beverage offerings back up to par after COVID-19, Alaska has been lagging behind.  Take this first class lunch offering on a recent four-hour flight in first class, the Tillamook Burger.  

This lunch of a burger and fries on a 2,000-mile flight was disappointing to begin with.  The top bun had some kind of painted-on, orange substance that could not pass for Tillamook cheddar cheese.  There were no condiments (mustard, ketchup, mayo) so it was served dry.  Fries can not be reheated without tasting bland and being soggy.  

While other airlines like American have brought back hot towels and true pre-departure beverages, Alaska still lags behind.  Just for reference, hot towels cost 15 cents per passenger or $2.40 per flight for 16 passengers.

I am flying from PDX to SAN to HNL on December 10th.  Here are the food offerings in first class:

I have ordered the breakfast sandwich for the flight to San Diego as the least objectionable choice.  I know Alaska can do better like an omelet with sausage, fruit and a pastry.  For lunch to Hawaii, I ordered the Kalbi beef.  We’ll see how it goes.

Final Thoughts

Alaska Airlines has been lagging behind its competitors in the food and beverage offerings.  I hope that these new menu items will up their game and provide a satisfying food and beverage experience, especially in first class.  Time will tell and I am hoping for the best.

Read the rest of this article at Alaska Airlines New Inflight Food Offerings Through Spring 2024.

One of the things that I really like about Alaska Airlines is the number or partner airlines that you can earn and burn miles with.  If Alaska can’t get you to your destination, one or more of their partners can.  Alaska partners with the Oneworld alliance:

In addition to the Oneworld partners, the airline maintains a unique group of other airlines in the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan:

What has always annoyed me about Alaska Airlines is its weak IT department.  Many tasks that customers can do on other airline websites have been impossible at Alaska Airlines.  Members could book award travel at alaskaair.com with a few exceptions but to book a revenue ticket was not happening.  Alaska has taken a giant step forward to allow booking revenue tickets on partner airlines.

The Ability To Book Partner Flights

Alaska is building a world-class, direct booking platform with access to a robust portfolio of domestic and global partners. Your hassle-free journey starts at alaskaair.com where tickets for flights can be purchased for travel onboard premium global carriers that include Air Tahiti Nui; Finnair; Iberia; Japan Airlines; Qantas; Qatar Airways; STARLUX Airlines, and more. You can buy tickets with our partners in all classes of service.

“The power of our oneworld and partner airlines is now fully accessible by our flyers who can book their overseas travel directly on our website,” said Andrew Harrison, executive vice president and chief commercial officer at Alaska Airlines. “When you book at alaskaair.com, you earn elite qualifying miles for every mile flown, no change fees and triple miles for all purchases when using the Alaska Airlines credit card.”

Fly a mile, earn a mile with partner airlines:

Alaska Mileage Plan members earn 100% of the miles they fly on our partners when booked at alaskaair.com.** For overseas roundtrips that cover thousands of miles, that’s thousands of Mileage Plan miles earned. We’re the only U.S. airline that offers this level of loyalty to our members. 

Earn valuable elite qualifying miles on partners when booking partner flights on alaskaair.com:

Mileage Plan members earn at least 100% of the miles flown as elite qualifying miles (EQMs) that apply toward elite status with us.** We have a faster path to becoming an elite flyer than other U.S. airlines. And status with us equals matching tier status within the oneworld alliance and all the benefits that come with it. 

All flights purchased on alaskaair.com with the Alaska Airlines Visa credit card earn triple miles:

The Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card offers triple miles on all ticket purchases at alaskaair.com including overseas flights on our partners. Every dollar spent is three miles earned when using our credit card to purchase all flights on our site. 

Example Booking

You and three of your family members travel from San Francisco to Tokyo on our fellow oneworld member Japan Airlines.

You buy roundtrip tickets for $2,000 each on alaskaair.com using your Alaska credit card.

4 tickets x $2,000 apiece x 3 miles per dollar spent = 24,000 total Mileage Plan miles earned.

Plus, if miles flown on the Japan Airlines flight are credited to your Alaska account, those are additional miles earned – one mile for every mile flown.

That’s more than 10,000 miles for each person roundtrip!  You can earn even more miles both elite qualifying miles and redeemable miles by booking a higher fare code:

Other Benefits From Partner Booking

No change fees. Ever:

There are no change or cancellation fees when booking with us. And that includes partner flights.**

Buying tickets with our partners on alaskaair.com is simple:

Many of Alaska’s customers know its website, and most already have a Mileage Plan account with their profile information and payment details stored.  This also includes Known Traveler Numbers (KTN) so your PreCheck will print out on all boarding passes.  That information is ready to use when purchasing overseas travel with our global partners. Plus, you can see all your trips in one place.

** Saver or basic economy tickets are excluded. Effective for flights on or after Jan. 1, 2024, Mileage Plan members who book on alaskaair.com earn 100% of the miles they fly on our partners. These miles are elite qualifying miles (EQMs) that apply toward elite status with us. 

Trust But Verify

On the surface, this sounds like a big win for customers of Alaska Airlines.  I do have some doubts about pricing based on recent experience.  Shelly and I wanted to fly first class from our home airport of Portland OR (PDX) to Barbados (BGI) in the southern Caribbean.  We really wanted to fly on Alaska to Miami (MIA) and pick up American for the flight to Barbados.  The cost on Alaska’s website for this codeshare flight was much higher than just booking with American Airlines for the entire PDX to BGI trip.  Even though we flew the entire trip on American Airlines, we still earned the same miles for the same fare class as if Alaska flew the entire distance.

You may want to try booking your partner flight at alasaair.com but I would recommend checking to see if you got the best value.

Final Thoughts

I have always been frustrated with the lack of features and reliability from the IT Department at Alaska Airlines.  This is a big step forward for them as was integrating into the Oneworld alliance.  Hopefully, this will work well and it will make life easier for those who fly Alaska Airlines.  I would do some research to verify if the alaskaair.com booking is the best deal for you.

Read the rest of this article at Alaska Airlines Opens Direct Booking For Partner Airlines.

Taipei Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) is a great airport for transit passengers. Not only is it an easy airport to navigate (there are only two terminals), all the signs are listed in English and there are plenty of lounges for passengers to use. In addition to the airline lounges, T2 is home to two contract lounges for Priority Pass cardholders: the Plaza Premium Lounge and the Oriental Club Lounge (this review). Both lounges are located in the same area and you can easily jump back and forth between the two to see which one you like better.

Both the Oriental Club Lounge and the Plaza Premium Lounge are located on the mezzanine level of the duty-free shopping area. As you exit the immigration and security checkpoint, walk past all the shops and follow the signs for the VIP lounges. Take the escalator up to the mezzanine level (fourth floor) and follow the large directory. The Oriental Club Lounge will be located to the left of the EVA Air Infinity and Star Lounges.

The Oriental Club Lounge is a contract lounge for Starlux Airlines, Priority Pass, Dragonpass, and several Taiwanese banks. The lounge is open from 5:00 AM to 11:00 PM daily.

The lounge itself is not very big but it is nicely decorated with modern furniture, soft lighting, and decorative partitions to separate the various sitting areas. As you enter the lounge, you will find a small mixed-use area with some couches for relaxation, several tables and chairs for dining, and a communal workstation to get some work done. WiFi is provided throughout the lounge and universal electrical outlets are provided by most of the seating areas and workstations. 

This area also has a beverage station with a water and soda dispenser, a coffee machine, and a single Taiwanese beer on tap. 

Behind the mixed-use area is the main sitting area of the lounge with some beautiful high-back chairs and communal workstations along the large windows. The windows let in a lot of natural lighting but the view is nothing more than the front of the airport. 

Behind the main sitting area is the dining area with lots of restaurant-style tables and chairs.

For food, there is a self-serve buffet area located along the seating area with a good selection of Asian dishes such as dim sum, congee, noodles, and sautéed vegetables.

In addition to the self-serve buffet, there is an a la carte bar in the back of the lounge with a chef-prepared selection of dishes such as beef noodle soup, vegetable noodle soup, and braised pork over rice. If you love Taiwanese cuisine, you will love these selections. But if you don’t like Chinese/Taiwanese food, then you might be better off at the Plaza Premium Lounge as there are no Western options here.

As you make your way to the other side of the lounge, there is another sitting area and a refrigerated salad bar and fruit station. This area is less crowded than the rest of the lounge so if you want to avoid other people, go here.

Other amenities include a rest area, a shower suite, and an “exercise” room. The rest area is not enclosed, nor is it darkened, so it’s not really a sleep room but if you want to kick your feet up for a bit, you can do so here.

The single shower suite is available on a first-come, first-served basis and you can reserve it at the front desk.

And lastly, the exercise room seems like wasted space as there’s only one exercise bike in it. Who would use this??

Oriental Club Lounge Taipei Bottom Line

Overall, the Oriental Club Lounge is a good space to rest, relax, and refuel in between flights. The lounge is kept clean and there are plenty of employees walking around to clean up tables and refresh the food stations. Compared to the Plaza Premium Lounge across the way, this lounge seems to cater more towards Taiwanese passengers, whereas the Plaza Premium Lounge appeals to a more Western crowd. The food options are delicious (if you like Taiwanese food) and it’s less crowded than the Plaza Premium Lounge.

Have you visited the Oriental Club Lounge in Taipei? If so, please share your thoughts with us in the comments section below. Thanks for reading!

The other related posts in this series include:

1. Starlux Airbus A350 Business Class, Los Angeles to Taipei
2. Plaza Premium Lounge Taipei
3. Oriental Club Lounge Taipei
4. EVA Air Boeing 777 Economy Class, Taipei to Ho Chi Minh City
5. Vietnam Airlines Airbus A321 Business Class
6. Sheraton Phu Quoc
7. Intercontinental Phu Quoc
8. Hoa Sim Business Lounge Phu Quoc
9. Renaissance Riverside Hotel Saigon
10. Apricot Lounge Ho Chi Minh City
11. Jasmine Business Lounge Ho Chi Minh City
12. Starlux Airbus A350 Economy Class, Taipei to Los Angeles

Read the rest of this article at Review: Oriental Club Lounge Taipei, a Priority Pass Lounge.

Give the Gift of a Destination. No fees. No Expiration. Easy to redeem online, by phone or at the airport.  Buy up to five E-gift cards during this sale.  Black Friday pricing is $429.99 which is 14% of the retail value.  The regular price for these cards at Costco is $450.00.  You must be a Costco member to purchase.

Features

• Valid Only For Southwest Airlines® Flights
• Redeem Online, At Ticket Counter Or Call 1-800-I-FLY-SWA®
• Limit 5 Quantity, One Order Per Membership
• Item is Non-Refundable

These gift cards are sent via email after purchase so you can buy today and redeem today.

Terms And Conditions

• A Southwest® Gift Card may only be redeemed at southwest.com®, on the Southwest Airlines® Mobile Apps and Mobile Website (only for initial flight booking), by calling Southwest Airlines at 1- 800-435-9792 (1-800 I FLY SWA®), or at Southwest Airlines ticket counter locations for Passenger air travel and other qualifying products and services
• A complete set of terms and conditions is available at Southwest.com/giftcard
• A maximum of three (3) Southwest Airlines Gift Cards can be applied per passenger on each reservation. If your purchase exceeds the amount available on the three Southwest Gift Cards, additional payment is required
• A Southwest Gift Certificate is not valid for the purchase of Southwest Airlines Vacation Packages, cargo, hotel, rental car, Southwest Airlines merchandise, Southwest Airlines group tickets, EarlyBird Check-In, oversized and excess baggage fees,
• Gift Card is nonrefundable and not redeemable for cash or credit except where required by law
• Gift Card is not replaceable if lost, stolen, or destroyed. Protect this card like cash
• For balance check, call 1-866-393-2081
• Activation or use of Southwest Gift Card constitutes acceptance of all terms and conditions on southwest.com

E-Gift Card Delivery

You will receive the redemption code, normally within the hour, via e-mail to the e-mail address you have entered. Additional processing time may be required.

Recipient’s email address MUST be supplied in the e-mail field on the Shipping Address page. To ensure delivery of your redemption code emails to your inbox, please add costco.com@memberedelivery.com to your Email Address Book or Safe List.

If you have issues receiving your email, look in your spam or you can access your purchase here: Digital Order Portal. Simply enter your Costco order number and the email address used on your purchase. Your order number can be found on your confirmation email from Costco.com or on the Order & Returns section on your Costco account.

This item is not eligible to be returned or refunded.

Final Thoughts

This is Costco’s best price of the year for the Southwest Airlines E-gift card.  You can purchase up to five gift cards so they make excellent stocking stuffers.  Your E-gift card details are sent by email after purchase so you can buy that ticket today to see Grandma and make her Christmas.

Read the rest of this article at Costco Black Friday: Southwest Airlines – $500 E-Gift Card for $430.

Explora Journeys is having their very first sale since their launch in August 2023. This sale is among the best black friday sales I’ve seen in the industry! We are talking about 50% off of cruises worldwide. Explora Journeys is a brand-new five-star company with the backing of MSC, offering cruises for as low as $2000 per person all inclusive education point this includes poor taxes, all fees, and gratuities!. Every Explorer cruise allows you to relax in the utmost luxurious environment with less than 900 people on board the cruise ship. 

In a world filled with bustling cities and fast-paced living, there’s an undeniable allure to escaping it all and setting sail on the open seas. Right now, you can experience Explora Journey Cruises at a highly discounted rate! Beckon to those with a spirit of adventure, promising a unique and unforgettable journey through some of the world’s most captivating destinations, exploring the Caribbean, Atlantic, Pacific oceans and more at the lowest prices recently seen in luxury. As we plan your trip on Explora Journey Cruises, prepare to be transported to a realm of luxury, exploration, and discovery!

Explore Cruise Sale

Explora Journey is offering their first ever sale, and it falls just in time for Black Friday. Experience all-inclusive vibrant, European luxury at sea onboard Explora Journeys. Enjoy a spacious ocean-front suite with a private terrace, nine inclusive culinary experiences and our ocean-inspired wellness and fitness program and much more.

Book by 4 December 2023 and enjoy up to 50% Value Savings on select journeys for any Ocean Terrace suite. Ocean Residences and ocean penthouses are not on sale.

You can book your own suite at Explorajourneys.com or find the perfect discounted Cruise online and then contact me for additional benefits. It’s honestly 100 times better if you book via my travel agency Scott and Thomas Travel, because every person receives a bonus 150 Euro onboard credit from those who book through us. This is not offered when booking directly with Explora. A party of two would earn 300 euros.

A few cruises that stand out which are all 30-50% off:

• Jan 5 – Jan 11, 2024 Miami to Cartagena from $2,650 per person
• Feb 9 – Feb 16, 2024 Bridgeton to Miami from $2,660 per person
• Feb 24 – Mar, 2024 Colón Panama to Bridgetown from $1860
• Feb 24 – Mar 8, 2024  Colón Panama to Miami from $4,970
• Apr 12 – Apr 18, 2024 Los Angeles to Vancouver from $2760 per person
• Apr 18 – Apr 27, 2024 Vancouver to Hawaii for $3710 per person
• May 6 – May 12, 2024 Vancouver to Los Angeles $1925 per person
• May 24 – May 31, 2024 Panama City to Miami via Panama Canal from $2,870 per person

• June 27 – July 5, 2024 Round trip Athens from $4,800 per person.
• Jul 19 – Jul 26, 2024 Athens to Istanbul form $3,675 per person.

• Aug 2 – Aug 9, 2024 Athens to Venice from $3675 per person.

• Sept 13 – Sept 20, 2024 Athens to Istanbul from $3,150 per person.
• Oct 5 – Oct 14, 2024 Round Trip Athens from just $3125 per person

• Oct14 – Oct 22, 2024 Round Trip Athens from just $2,775 per person
• Dec 6 – Dec 13, 2024 Miami to Bridgetown from $2,250 per person
• Dec 6 – Dec 20, 2024 Round trip Miami 14 days for Just $4,500 per person

• Dec 16 – Dec 22, 2024 Roundtrip Dubai from $3,555 per person
• Jan 14 – Jan 24, 2025  round trip Miami from $3,850 per person

• Feb 14 – Feb 21, 2025 Miami to San Juan from $3,150 per person

There are obviously hundreds more options on sale. You can email me for more details or check out Explora Journey’s website. Just be sure to book via me to get your additional onboard credit which can be utilized at the Spa, towards an excursion, or for the Michelin star dining option.

Solo Travelers

Explora is one of the only operators with little to no solo supplement. Unheard of in an industry that often charges 100% more when traveling alone. Explore the world with your friends in your own suites or bring a single friend along. Consider traveling alone and meet new friends on your journey. Solo supplements are currently between 0-25% on most journeys. Solo travelers who book via Scott and Thomas also enjoy all the onboard credit of 150 Euros.

More about Explora Journey Cruises

I wrote about Explora Journeys when they first started selling this summer. Since then I’ve had guests and coworkers experience Explora for themselves and everyone has been blown away by the experience. Explora is an upgraded Seabourn with newer ships and a true luxurious experience at sea. The new company is part of the MSC shipping and Cruise family. They are the elevated and more distinguished small ship version of MSC Cruises.

Explora is Luxury Redefined

Explora Journey Cruises have redefined the concept of luxury on the high seas. Learning from Crystal Cruises, Seabourn and Silversea, they have this down. From the moment you step on board, you are enveloped in an atmosphere of opulence and comfort. Impeccably designed cabins and suites offer panoramic views of the ocean, providing a constant connection to the natural beauty that surrounds you. The attention to detail is unparalleled, with every inch of the ship exuding an air of sophistication.

The ship features 461 ocean front suites with huge balconies. The Ocean Terrace suites are impeccable! At 377 square feet, they are among the largest in the industry. Even the decks feel as large as inside cabins on some ships! The rooms also feature true king beds, not just two twins pushed together.

Every suite and journey comes with the following:

• In-suite welcome bottle of Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label
• Private refrigerated complimentary mini-bar, replenished dairy
• Espresso machine, kettle and teapot with a complimentary selection of coffee and teas
• Complimentary personal refillable water bottle for each guest
• Pair of binoculars for guests’ use during their journey
• Technogym Case Kit with a smart range of fitness gear is available upon request for in-suite training
• Spacious bathroom with a walk-in shower and heated floors
• Plush bathrobes and bath linens from Frette
• Dyson Supersonic TM hairdryer and illuminated make-up/shaving mirror

Explora World-Class Cuisine

One thing I love about the Explora ships is their dedication to a world class dining experience. Culinary excellence is at the heart of the Explora Journey Cruises experience. A diverse array of 11 different dining options awaits passengers, each one a gastronomic journey in itself. 

From fine dining establishments featuring world-renowned michelin rated chefs to casual eateries offering a taste of local flavors, the cruise ensures that every palate is satisfied. Explora is one of the ONLY cruise lines to feature a Michelin rated star chef on EVERY cruise. Making their specialty restaurant among the best at Sea!

Truly All inclusive Cruising

Don’t worry about the cost of everything, because when you sail with Explora you are saving thousands because you don’t need the added packages for wifi, beverages, and more. It’s all included.

When you choose to cruise with Explora Journeys, the following elements are included in the price you pay at the time of booking:

• Welcome champagne on arrival
• Complimentary dining in nine restaurants
• Unlimited beverages, including fine wines and premium spirits
• Complimentary teas, coffees, and soft drinks
• Unlimited WIFI access throughout the ship for 3 devices per person
• Access to the spa thermal area
• Wellness and fitness activities
• All gratuities

Get on the ship, enjoy and relax! The only thing that cost extra is the Michelin star chef’s table tasting menu with a wine pairing for 80 euros. A huge discount compared to actually dining at a Michen rated restaurant. When you get off the ship, excursions are extra, but these are optional. 

Onboard Entertainment and Enrichment:

Beyond the allure of the destinations, Explora Journey Cruises offer a plethora of entertainment and enrichment options on board. From Broadway-style shows and live music to educational lectures and wellness programs, there’s always something to engage and delight passengers. Explora also has a 14 member house band placing in different groupings through the ships. The cruise line aims to provide a well-rounded experience, catering to a diverse range of interests.

On Explora you get all the benefits of a large ship, without the crowds or the people. With only 900 people max, you will always have space to stretch out at one of the 4 pools without the need to fight for space. 

Bottom Line

Embarking on an Explora Journey Cruise is not just a vacation; it’s an odyssey of discovery, a celebration of luxury, and a commitment to responsible travel. Explora Journey is having their very first cruise sale for Black Friday and as long as you book before Dec 4, 2023 you can save up to 50% per person on nearly all departures through 2024 and into 2025.  Book via my travel agency, Scott and Thomas Travel and enjoy  €150 onboard credit per person as well to use for the few items which cost extra, such as a massage or an excursion in port. Don’t hesitate, email me for more details today!

Plan your vacation today and prepare to set sail with this distinguished 5 star luxury cruise line. Be prepared to explore the world in a way that transcends the ordinary, leaving you with memories to cherish and stories to share for years to come. A Luxury vacation is waiting for you!

Read the rest of this article at Explora Cruises – Black Friday Sale 50% off Luxury Cruises.

Antarctica Black Friday deals

Arctic and Northern Europe Black Friday Expeditions

Iceland, Norway, and more are on sale! If you’re ready to find polar bears in the wild this is your opportunity. I was on a National Geographic expedition to Svalbard this year and it was by far a highlight of my life. I would highly recommend exploring the remoteness of Greenland and Northern Europe through these deals.

Central America, Africa, Mediterranean and more!

• Group airport transfers
• One-night pre-cruise accommodation with breakfast in a 4/5-star hotel
• All meals onboard
• Complimentary in room mini bar
• Professional photographer & video of your expedition
• 24-hour room service
• Coffee, tea, soft drinks, and selected alcoholic beverages available 24 hours per day. Select includes makers mark bourbon, stoli vodka, Hendricks gin, beer and wine.
• Lecture programs by our experienced expedition team and guest speakers
• Standard WiFi
• Onboard gratuities and port taxes
• Branded Swan Hellenic winter expedition parka and use of rubber boots (Polar Regions only)
• Complimentary Zodiac cruising expeditions and landings
• in room binoculars

Read the rest of this article at Swan Hellenic Expeditions Black Friday Deals – Arctic, Antarctica, Africa, and more.

 The Emirates A380 is here to stay for nearly 20 more years. Emirates is the worlds largest operator of the Airbus A380 and fans of the product received great news this week at the Dubai airshow. The mighty Emirates Airbus A380 is here to stay for the foreseeable future. 

The UAE carrier has confirmed it will continue flying the superjumbo until the 2040s, unlocking another two decades of its flagship double-decker jet experiences. Meaning the showers in the sky and the dedicated bar are here to stay, keeping Emirates opulent business class and first class product available for many more years to enjoy. 

During the Dubai Airshow, Emirates announced purchases for several new planes including the Boeing 777x. The Boeing 777x will be the world’s largest passenger aircraft when launched, but still smaller than the A380. The new 777x can hold upwards of 426 passengers, vs the A380 which can be configured with over 800 passengers. Still a huge difference in size. 

Confirming Emirates plans, Emirates President Sir Tim Clark told reporters “We currently expect to fly them until at least 2041, as there will not be a similarly large replacement by then” 

Does Sir Tim Clark really think a super jumbo will return? Most airlines have ditched large planes for smaller ones offering more point to point options and more frequencies. Time will tell. 

Until then, you will be ale to continue to step on board an Emirates A380, and find yourself in a world of luxury and comfort. The airline has spared no expense in ensuring that every aspect of the passenger experience is meticulously curated. The first-class suites are equipped with private cabins, sliding doors, and fully flat beds, creating a haven of tranquility at 40,000 feet. Business class passengers enjoy lie-flat seats, while even economy class is a cut above the rest, featuring wider seats and a carefully designed cabin layout to enhance comfort for long-haul flights. See my review of the A380 First class to LAX

Emirates A380 Plans

The A380 is here to stay, but some will still be retired in the coming years. Currently, Emirates has 104 A380. The first A380 was delivered in 2008. The last ever produced A380 was delivered in December 2021.  The newest models to join the fleet are only a few years old while the early delivered ones are already getting close to timing out. For example, In February 2020, Emirates retired its first Airbus A380 (registration A6-EDB) after nearly 12 years of service.

Going forward, 83 superjumbos A380 will enjoy a makeover. Each plane will receive a refresh across every cabin class. These planes will also gain Emirates’ new premium economy. This will help harmonize the fleet and bring Premium economy onto 99 A380s.

Sir Tim Clarke continue to talk about the A380’s future, as Emirates truly loves this plane. “Our continued commitment to and confidence in the A380 are why we’re investing heavily to keep the fleet in optimal shape and pristine condition…The A380 will remain core to our network and customer proposition for the next decade, and we want to ensure our fleet is in tip-top shape. “

To do so, Emirates is also investing over US$1.5 billion in keeping the A380s flying. This comes after Airbus shut down new production and Emirates needs to ensure a way to keep spare part available. 

Bottom Line

Emirates is keeping the A380 and continues to invest in the product to ensure that it offers among the best products in the sky. The A380 will continue to fly through at least 2041 based on current planning. Emirates will also fly next-generation aircraft including the B787, B777x and the A350 from 2025 and beyond. Yet, until the 2040s, the showers in the sky are here to stay!

Read the rest of this article at Emirates Will Keep Flying The A380 for Nearly 20 More Years!.

Alaska Airlines has announced new award chart pricing beginning March 2024.  Alaska Airlines is partnered with 24 other airlines which you can earn or redeem miles with.  The airline has always had great award routing and pricing through its own quirky network of carriers.  On March 31, 2021, Alaska joined the Oneworld Alliance as a full member.  Usually, when a carrier announces changes to award pricing, it has been with negative impacts on the customer.  Most of the time airlines change award pricing, it is to devalue their program by drastically increasing the number of miles needed to redeem.  Some airlines have changed mile redemptions to dynamic pricing where routes to more popular destinations and/or more popular times of the year will increase the milage redemption amount.  In this case, the airline has come up with a unified award system that fixes so long-standing problems with mileage redemption.

Many of the changes have been in the works for a long time and due to computer limitations, unifying carrier awards was not possible.  The Airline has now overcome the computer limitations making award booking simpler.

Oneworld Alliance

Since becoming a full member of Oneworld, Alaska Airlines added a boatload of new partners at the same time.  You can earn miles (on paid tickets) or use miles for award travel on these carriers:

The Other Airline Partnerships

When Alaska Airlines joined the Oneworld Alliance, I thought that the existing quirky list of partners would go away.  This did not happen and Alaska Airlines kept the airlines they had outside of the Oneworld Alliance.  This gives Mileage Plan members a total of 24 partner carriers with both groups to purchase award travel from.

Change Highlights

Alaska has made a number of improvements for redeeming award travel.  Here is a list of changes going into effect soon:

Alaska is committed to continuing to develop new ways of adding flexibility for their Mileage Plan members. In the future, members will be able to redeem award tickets with a combination of miles and money that will give them more control. They’ll also offer mileage redemption when combining two partner airlines in a single itinerary on a one-way trip. Plus, they’ll further enhance the value of Mileage Plan miles by introducing the ability to redeem miles on car rentals.

“Mileage Plan has long been known for offering great value on global redemptions with access to some of the most aspirational premium products and destinations,” said Brett Catlin, vice president of loyalty, alliances and sales at Alaska Airlines. “We’re excited to provide a more straightforward award proposition while doubling down on the opportunities our guests will have to find amazing values.”

Distance Chart Pricing

The new award charts will be based on distance with charts for three regions:

• The Americas,
• Europe, Middle East, Africa and
• Asia Pacific.

With the new distance-based structure, 60% of partner nonstop routes in economy class and 64% of routes in business class will start at a lower price point. The streamlined information gives a better idea of how many miles are needed to fly to and within regions of the world with short-haul awards starting as low as 4,500 miles each way (down from 7,500). Many shorter-distance flights within continents will start at up to half the current price.     

Multi-Partner Award Bookings

This has always be a problem with the Alaska Airlines booking engine.  You could not partner a second airline to an award booking unless the other flights were positioning flights on Alaska Airlines to the Partner gateway airport.

They’re also expanding access to premium economy awards with more partners than ever before, including American Airlines and Japan Airlines, at award levels starting just 30% higher than economy.  Awards start at only 6,000 miles one-way in premium economy (down from 12,500) and business class is available from 9,000 miles each way (down from 20,000).  

All our partner redemption pricing will be one-way so their guests can mix and match which airlines they’re flying, say British Airways on an outbound flight from Seattle to London and then Finnair from Helsinki to Seattle for the return.

Award Travel Still Includes Free Stopovers

One of the sweet spots with Alaska Airlines award booking is the free stopover.  If you want your vacation to include London, Paris and Rome, you can book this trip by booking two one-way award tickets with a stopover.  Alaska does not charge extra for adding a stopover to your itinerary.

Solving The Business Class Inequity Problem

When you book business class on international flights, you expect to have lay-flat seating.  Some airlines like Icelandair do not have lay-flat seats in business class as they offer recliner-type seating.  This will no longer be a problem as these seats will be redeemed as premium economy awards.

Award Ticket Sales Promotions

This is something that Alaska Airlines has never done, have periodic sales for award travel.  Beginning in 2024, they’ll offer regular global partner award sales with quarterly, limited-time promotions featuring special pricing of up to 50% off specific partners, routes or destinations.

This is a big deal especially if you can get away for any last-minute sale bookings.

Final Thoughts

Usually, any changes to an Airline award problem is laden with a lot of bad news.  Although there may be some routings that will require a larger mileage redemption, some routings may require fewer miles for redemption.  Alaska has fixed a lot of issues with its booking engine like combining award carriers for a single trip.  These quirks have been to limitations within their IT Department.  Alaska has kept the free stopover which can give you a free vacation in one direction of travel.  The program has never offered any routing with “sale” pricing so I will be looking to expand my horizons by finding a great trip with a lower mileage redemption.  

Read the rest of this article at Alaska Airlines Makes Changes to New, Unified Award Charts.

As the holiday season approaches, the excitement of Black Friday brings not only discounted electronics and fashion but also incredible travel deals that can turn your dreams of a getaway into a reality. Whether you’re craving a tropical escape, a cultural adventure, or a cozy winter retreat, Black Friday travel deals presents a golden opportunity to snag fantastic travel bargains. Although Thanksgiving is still a couple of weeks away, many companies have already released their black Friday deals. 

Cruise into Savings: Unbeatable Cruise Packages. Cruise enthusiasts, rejoice! Black Friday brings forth irresistible cruise deals that cater to every taste. Whether you prefer a sun-soaked Caribbean cruise or a scenic European river journey, Black Friday is your ticket to sailing into savings.

Luxury Cruises and Expeditions Deals

Hurtigruten Expeditions – Looking to explore the far corners of the world? Sail on small sustainable ships to some of the planet’s most off-the-beaten-track destinations! With a legacy of expedition travel since 1893, we’re proud to offer adventures with science, education, and conservation at their core. Immerse yourself in otherworldly landscapes, get up close to rare wildlife, and encounter unique cultures — in the most sustainable way possible.

From Antarctica to the Galapagos you can save up to 50%! The Black Friday Sale is now live and includes most Expedition Cruises to the coolest destinations! From Nov 1-30, guests can save up to 50% on select expedition cruises to Antarctica, the Galápagos Islands, Alaska, Northern Light cruises through Scandinavia and more! The best deals are on Africa Expeditions and Galapagos cruises. 

Starting November 15, AARP members can save an extra 5% on any booking. Plus, book via a preferred agency like my agency, Scott & Thomas and get an additional $100 onboard credit per person

Seabourn Cruises – Seabourn announced its annual “Black Friday Sail” and it’s already live. The promotion offers value-added benefits on select 2024 ultra-luxury ocean and expedition voyages which include a two-category veranda suite upgrade, up to $2,000 per suite shipboard credit, and 50% reduced deposits. You can enjoy a Veranda 3 for the price of a veranda 1 or a Veranda 4 for the price of a Veranda 2.The promotional campaign will be available until November 27, 2023. 

Last minute travel deal: For those looking to travel between now and Feb 2024, there is also the Final sale. This provides up to a 20% discount, but no room upgrades or onboard credit. This drops the price to Antarctica on the Expedition vessels to below $9,000 per person. 21 day South Georgia Expeditions for $14,000! There’s also amazing deals to be had throughout the Caribbean and Asia for as low as $2,500 per person. 

Contact your favorite travel advisor, as these prices are not available online.

Swan Hellenic Expeditions – Swan Hellenic isn’t calling it a black Friday sale, but instead the luxury cruise line launched a travelzoo special around Halloween offering 50% off Antarctic expeditions leaving between now and Jan 8. Prices ranged between $5999 and $6999 for rooms. Most options are sold except the Dec 11, 12, and 20th sailing and even the travelzoo special expired on Nov 10. Yet, for select travel advisors can also match the pricing on other sailings through Feb 2023. These prices are NOT representative online and only available via select agents (aka Scott and Thomas Travel)

Swan Hellenic has also reduced the price on several cultural expeditions throughout Europe, Africa, the Americas and Arctic expeditions for the 2024 season. Through select travel advisors (aka me) you can save an additional $2000 any price online. A double saving!

Scenic – Scenic and Emerald cruises which offer river cruises throughout the world and luxury small yachts have yet to say what they will offer for 2023, but we know that it will be announced on November 15. Stay tune!

Azamara – Azamara deal looks similar to Seabourn offering double stateroom upgrades, $1,500 in onboard credit to spend on the ship, and 20% off suites on select cruises in 2024.

Ocean Cruises

Norwegian Cruise Lines – Norwegian cruise line has launched their preview sale which is offering. 50% off the full fare of the cruise plus free at sea plus free airfare for the 2nd guest. NCL markets similar deals like this often, so I don’t believe this is their “best” deal, but anything added to save is always great, especially with runaway mandatory staff gratuities which continue to increase. 

Holland America Line – Starting November 17 and running through to December 1, 2023, The Black Friday sale includes up to 30% off cruise-only fares for cruises to Alaska, the Caribbean, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The black friday sale will also include prepaid crew appreciation component in its Black Friday Sale, which can add savings of up to nearly $112 per person for a seven-day cruise.

Celebrity Cruises – Celebrity Cruises is offering an almost BOGO deal to help you bring your friends and family for less. With this deal enjoy 75% off the second guest in a cabin and up to $300 in onboard credit on nearly all cruises through April 2026. 

Royal Caribbean – The world’s largest cruise line brings you the world’s largest cruise sale. RCI will offer their biggest sale of the year with the best savings being on prepaid packages. After booking your cruise save upto 55% off beverage packages, WiFi, shore excursions, dining packages, and more. But you have to book first to know how much you can save later.

Virgin Voyages – No official word on what Virgin will do but we have an idea. Virgin Voyages accidentally sent out an early email that said they will be offering 30% off all cruises and up to $600 to spend on drinks. 

Bottom line

Many Black Friday and Cyber Monday cruise deals are already live or announced. If you are looking to travel on your favorite cruise ship between now and 2025, book now for the best savings. For those already on a ship, remember the best deal on a cruise is by rebooking your next cruise onboard. The offering onboard usually provides the best deals. Yet for those not currently onboard, know you can get a deal via these Black Friday sales, many which area already live! Don’t for

Read the rest of this article at Black Friday Cruise Deals Are Here .

Big changes are coming to the network of Alaska Airlines lounges.  This post will cover the good, the bad and what you can do to reduce the price increase.  The Alaska Lounge consists of nine locations that come with the standard membership.  The Lounge+ membership gives the member access to over 90 additional lounge locations.

The Alaska Lounges are unique because they serve locally sourced food and beverages and have a coffee barista and a bartender.  The Lounges feature a new cocktail of the month.  For November, the featured cocktail at PDX is the Ginger Apple Sangria.

Over the next three years, Alaska Lounge plans to invest $80 million as they enhance the Lounge experience with 50% more seating, modern spaces, elevated food and more.  As with most airport lounges, the Alaska Lounge has experienced overcrowding problems.  The addition of additional lounge capacity will certainly be a welcomed change.

Alaska Lounge Locations

The Alaska Lounge operates nine of their own lounges.  Lounge+ members have access to over 90 partner lounges as well as American Airlines Admirals Club locations.

Recent Improvements

The Alaska Lounges have improved the food offerings with better “time-of-day” selections.  The lounges have employees trained as baristas to get you that perfect cup of coffee.  The lounges feature coffee from:

• Portland-based Stumptown Coffee at Portland and New York JFK,
• Kaladi Brothers Coffee at Anchorage and
• Umbria Coffee at the Seattle lounges.

The PDX location has been enlarged in Concourse C with greater seating capacity. They also added an “express lounge” in Concourse B.

The Seattle Concourse D location has been thoroughly renovated and reopened this past summer.  The lounge in Seattle Concourse C has been reconfigured with additional seating capacity.

Coming improvements

Alaska Airlines currently uses Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport.  Alaska Airlines will be moving to Terminal 1, Harvey Milk terminal at SFO.  Next summer, the Alaska Lounge will open a new lounge in Terminal 1.  The current Alaska Lounge in Terminal 2 just opened two years ago.

Portland International Airport is in the middle of a major construction project to be finished in 2025.  When complete, Alaska Airlines will have a new and larger lounge in the new construction between Concourse C and Concourse D.

I understand the Los Angeles Alaska Lounge has plans to completely renovate that lounge.

Las Vegas Terminal 3 Lounge

Beginning December 1, 2023, Alaska Lounge+ members will have access to The Club LAS.  This lounge is located in Terminal 3 and has the gates that Alaska Airlines currently uses.

Lounge Membership Prices Going Up

Now for the bad news.  The cost of lounge membership is going up again.  The cost of the standard membership increases by $50.00 and the Lounge+ membership will be going up by $100.00 per year.

Alaska Airlines elite members can receive a $100.00 discount on the price of an annual membership.  If you pay for membership with the Alaska Airlines Visa credit card, you will receive a $100.00 discount.  The rub here is that Alaska Airlines’ frequent flyer elite members can’t combine discounts with paying with the Alaska Airlines Visa credit card.

At the increased price, Alaska Lounge membership is still lower than other airline lounge networks.  All Alaska Lounge memberships include the member and up to two guests.  There will be a change to the guest policy which I will mention later in the post.  The key benefit is the power of the Lounge+ membership which includes the American Airlines network of Admirals Club locations.  For comparison, here is what American Airlines charges their own members per year.

To get the same value of admitting yourself and two guests will run as low as $1,550.00 to as high as $1,650.00 for the Household membership.

Lounge Access Restrictions

Beginning February 1, 2024, access for both members and guests will be  limited to traveling on:

• Alaska Airlines,
• Oneworld member airlines and
• Alaska global partner airlines.

Renew Membership Early

My Alaska Lounge membership expires on December 31, 2023.  I was able to renew for 2024 at the existing rate.  I used my AMEX Hilton Aspire credit card ancillary airline credit of $250.00 to pay for my membership.  I checked with Alaska Airlines this morning regarding early renewal.  You can renew your existing membership up to 90 days early.  You could renew on January 31, 2024 for memberships expiring during the next 90 days.

Ancillary Airline Credit Card Perk

If you have a credit card that provides an ancillary airline credit, take your elite status discount and pay for your membership with that credit card so you can double dip.  Credit card benefits change so be sure to check all of your credit cards.  My AMEX Hilton Aspire credit card lost the $250.00 ancillary airline credit so I used the benefit for the last time when I renewed last week.

Alaska Airlines 100K Status Members

Alaska Airlines elite members who achieve 100K status can receive a “choice” benefit.  They can choose from the following in descending order by value:

• 50,000 bonus,
• Alaska Lounge+ membership,
• Gifting MVP Gold status,
• Complimentary wifi access for a year or
• Complimentary CLEAR membership for a year.

The 50,000 bonus miles has a retail value of about $900.00 at 1.8 cents per mile.  The Lounge+ choice is worth $650.00 so this would get you lounge access for free.

Traveling On A Paid Alaska Airlines Ticket

You used to be able to get into the Alaska Lounges on any paid Alaska Airline ticket.  This was changed to paid first class tickets on flights over 2,100 miles.  If you are traveling to Hawaii or the East Coast, you can still use this access.

Alaska Lounge Day Passes

This used to be a real sweet spot for access to the Alaska Lounges.  You used to be able to purchase day passes at all lounges and they were valid for your entire one-way journey.  Due to overcrowding, lounge day passes are only available at the Portland and JFK locations and they are now single-use entry.  Day passes used to cost $50.00 and you would get a 50% discount to paying using the Alaska Airlines Visa credit card.  The current cost is $60.00 per pass and the Alaska Visa credit card discount is gone.

Final Thoughts

Yes, the cost is going up but the enhancements will justify the price increase.  Compared to other lounge networks, the Alaska Lounge+ membership is still a bargain.  I look forward to the enhanced food options and increased seating capacity.  If you are an Alaska Airlines MVP Gold 100K, you can use your choice benefit to cover your Lounge+ membership for the entire benefit year.

Read the rest of this article at Big Changes Coming To Alaska Lounges – Some Good, Some Bad.

Two more flight reviews before going back to fill in some trip reports. We took our first international family vacation this summer, with Tahiti the destination. The lynchpin was not one, not two, but THREE award tickets I scored in Air Tahiti Nui Business Class for the return. (A return not without drama. A cabin crew strike involuntarily extended our vacation, though only by a day.) For the flight out, we chose United B787-10 Economy Plus, thanks to a remarkably cheap base fare. Ironically, while I found Polaris pretty average, this flight in coach was excellent.

I paid $512 cash for each ticket, plus $225 each for three Economy Plus seats. Yes, that’s a steep price, but I valued the extra space on this long flight. Why did we pick this daytime flight to Tahiti? Since this was Ashok’s first long-haul, we thought he’d handle a day flight better than a redeye. Plus, that allowed us to get to our hotel around bedtime and head straight to sleep.

United Airlines (UA) Flight 115

• Tuesday, June 27, 2023
• Depart: San Francisco International Airport (SFO), Terminal I, Gate G2, 13:34, 9m late
• Arrive: Papeete – Faa’a International Airport (PPT), Terminal 1, Gate 2, 18:55, on time
• Duration: 8 hours 21 minutes
• Seats: 34A, 34B, 34C
• Equipment: Boeing 787-10

Check-In and Boarding

Rather than try to connect in San Francisco same day, we chose to fly in the day before. Especially since this was my son’s first long-haul flight, we thought the extra rest might come in handy. We spent the night at the Doubletree near the airport, which ostensibly offers a shuttle service. But the shuttle reservation system is kind of clunky, and I had problems getting it to work. So we took a Lyft to the airport around 10:30.

Though our flight departed from the international terminal, construction there required us to check-in at Terminal 2. After a quick passport check and bag drop, we walked over to the G gates. Pre-check took only a few minutes at that hour, and we first headed to Mustard’s Bar & Grill for lunch courtesy of Priority Pass. Afterwards, I talked Ashok into heading outside to the observation deck for a few minutes to look at airplanes. We enjoyed some planespotting, and a few minutes in the cool Northern California air. (You call it June Gloom, I call it a refreshingly delightful change from a brutal Texas summer.)

There were some nice planes out on the ramp area, including an ANA Triple Seven.

United of course had plenty of representatives, including a 777-300ER and another 787-10 (not our plane).

And my son enjoyed the planes and the fresh air. (Yes, he’s already declared allegiance to the Aggies. #sorrynotsorry to all you Tea Sippers out there.)

Anyway, we trudged our way back to the gate after we had enough fresh air. Time to get excited; we’re really about to get on a plane to Tahiti!

Before settling in, I went to take a look at a Turkish Airlines A350 next door. That’s one nice looking plane.

My son also insisted on the two of us doing a pose by the window. (He’s a big fan of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, and was trying to parody the album cover to the Jersey Boys soundtrack.)

Boarding began a little late, with Group 3 called about 20 minutes behind schedule. We made our way onboard to the right, and settled into our extra legroom seats for the next 8 1/2 hours.

United B787-10 Economy Plus – Seating & Interior

The Economy Plus section on the 787-10 consists of 54 seats in a 3-3-3 configuration. It’s a split cabin configuration, with 45 seats taking up the first 5 rows of the forward Economy cabin. The first row of the aft Economy cabin make up the remaining 9 seats. While Economy Plus seats are the standard 17.1″ wide, the include 34″ of pitch, or 3″ more than standard Economy.

United trims the seats in blue leather, with a small pillow added for this long-haul flight. A think blanket is also offered (underneath the pillow).

My son commandeered the window, of course. I’ve trained him well it seems.

Obviously, the extra legroom in Economy Plus is the big advantage to these seats. While 3″ of extra pitch might not sound like much, it makes a big difference on a long flight. Legroom is generous, even with bags stacked up at your feet. With your carry-on moved out of the way, there’s plenty of room to stretch out fully.

mak

For the little ones, the extra pitch also means a little more room to wiggle around and relax on dad.

And finally, the extra pitch makes it much, much easier to stick a laptop on the tray table to watch. Yeah, I know about screen time, but those rules go out the window on long trips.

I rate the seat comfort as fair to good. For slimline seats, the padding actually isn’t terrible. Combined with the extra 3 inches of legroom, it’s a reasonably comfortable ride for coach, with no back or saddle sore even after 8 1/2 hours. The issue I have with the 787, though, is the tight width in the 3-3-3 configuration. It makes things really tight in the shoulder/upper body area, and I definitely felt the soreness up there.

With the lights dimmed, the fluorescent mood lighting on the Dreamliner does make the cabin pop. Of course, dimming the lights and darkening the shades on a daytime flight still ranks as a personal pet peeve…

I did get a quick peek back into standard Economy Minus. There’s really no difference, aside from the 3″ pitch reduction.

United B787-10 Economy Plus – In-Flight Entertainment

All Economy Plus seats come equipped with 9″ IFE monitors, the same as standard Economy. While not terribly large, the resolution is good, at least. The screen also includes a USB-A port at the bottom of the screen.

A 110-v power outlet is at the bottom front of each seat. While I always appreciate power outlets, I really dislike this positioning. It’s difficult to find the outlet prongs, especially in the dark. And it’s easy to get a long cord tangled up in your shoes.

United offers a free selection of entertainment, both through the IFE screen and on your own device. Among domestic carriers, I still think Delta’s “Delta Studio” system is a little better, but United’s isn’t bad. There’s a reasonable selection of both new and classic movies, TV shows, games, and concerts.

For moving map geeks, there is one, but it’s fairly rudimentary. You do get basic views and zooms, along with rotating flight info, but I’ve seen better systems. (Note that the last two photos came from a different United 787-10 flight).

My son seemed to take a liking to the safety video.

United offers WiFi on the 787-10, but given that it failed to work on my last two flights, I didn’t hold my breath. Surprise, surprise, it actually did work on this one. United partners with T-Mobile to offer free WiFi to TMO customers, and my wife and I both took advantage. Note that free WiFi applies only to mobile devices; you can’t use it to get free internet on a laptop. The connection was reasonably stable and quick for basic use, such as web surfing or Instagram. It isn’t great for video streaming, though. My son tried to watch a couple of YouTube videos, which would occasionally stall part way through.

I found it kind of interesting watching flight progress on both the United app and Flighty. Both showed estimated arrival times within 3 minutes of each other.

United B787-10 Economy Plus – Food, Beverage, & Service

Meal service began pretty quickly after takeoff, with snacks served about 25 minutes later. This was a package of snack mix, the type you’ll find in the airline lounge snack tower of sadness. (In fairness, it was fine.)

It took a while after that to get the main meal, though. After about an hour, the FAs offered a choice of butter chicken with rice, or noodles with stir-fried vegetables. My wife and son ordered the chicken, while I chose the noodles. Both came served with brownie bites and a mostly grain salad with a few greens.

I’ll start with my meal, which I found decent enough. The noodles were a tad mushy, and the sauce a bit sweet, but I found it good enough to eat the whole thing. I found it way better than Delta’s coach dinner to Europe, at least. For the rest, I’m not a fan of grain salads, so I mostly picked at the greens. The other items were…fine. Overall, I’d rate it edible but not very memorable – in other words, about what you expect in coach.

We brought some leftovers from Mustard’s, not knowing if my son would eat the on-board meal. But surprisingly, he ate every bit of the chicken and rice. He wouldn’t touch the salad either, though.

To drink, I asked for a red wine. The house selection on this flight was a Zelada cabernet sauvignon.

Continuing with a familiar theme, I found the wine perfectly drinkable, though unmemorable. It’s a little dry, with noticeable cranberry and pepper flavors, but not overly so. There’s not much body here, but it’s fine at cruising altitude. “Decent airplane wine”, as someone once said.

About 90 minutes before arrival, the FAs served the second meal. This was more of a snack box on a tray thing, with a turkey and cheese roll, some pineapple and grapes, and a pack of M&M’s.

I found the meal objectively fine. While not as good as those old sandwiches in Lufthansa coach, the roll was reasonably tasty. I’d prefer it warmed up, but as a simple snack, it does the job. In addition, the fruit was fresh and ripe. The only problem? It’s the exact same turkey and Swiss sandwich Matthew highlighted…in 2018. That’s right, no meal refresh in nearly 5 years! Come on, United – do better.

Note that on domestic flights, unlike American and Delta, United doesn’t offer free alcohol in Economy Plus. That’s offered only on international flights, but it’s the same back in Economy Minus.

So far, everything I’ve described suggests a serviceable but hardly world-beating product. Decent seating with good legroom but tight at the shoulders. Perfectly edible meals but ones that needed a refresh about 3 years ago. IFE that’s fine but not industry-leading. So why did I describe this as an excellent coach experience? Simply put, the service. There’s only so much you can do to enhance the coach hard product, but service can make or break the experience.

On this flight, it was simply exceptional. The older FAs serving our side of the aisle was genuinely pleasant and friendly, and seemed to actually enjoy their jobs. What really stuck out was how the FA serving meals approached meal service. As mentioned earlier, my son actually enjoyed his meal of chicken and rice. But he’s also a pokey eater, and wasn’t anywhere close to done when meal service wrapped up. The FA kindly told my son to take as much time as he needed, and told me to ring the call button when he was done. And not only came promptly when I rang it, but told off the junior FA who started giving some attitude.

Flightseeing

A flight that’s 98% over the Pacific Ocean doesn’t provide much in the way of flightseeing. But we did enjoy some nice planespotting before departing SFO. As we left the gate, I spied a really nice looking Turkish Airlines A350 across the ramp.

A few minutes later, we got an even closer look as we passed each other taxing to the runway.

This isn’t a great photo of a Lufthansa 747, with the nose cut off. But any photo of a 747 is worth taking, IMO.

Later, we passed one of United’s newer fleet members, a 737-MAX 9. I tried but failed to try out the MAX 9 last December (though still enjoyed a father-son avgeek adventure).

Finally, as we neared the runway, we encountered a mishmash of budget carriers. To wit, a jetBlue A321, a Frontier A320, and a Southwest 737.

After that, there was really nothing to see until sunset over the Pacific a couple of hours before landing. The lowering sun over the 787’s cool curved wing is always worth watching for this avgeek.

United B787-10 Economy Plus – Final Thoughts

I ended up enjoying this flight more than I expected. Not because the product itself is particularly groundbreaking. It’s fine for coach, but there’s nothing terribly special about it. No, I enjoyed this flight because the service actually was of a much higher standard than I typically see in the cheap seats. If only United could pull this off consistently, they’d be able to pull off their marketing spin as a premium domestic carrier.

Read the rest of this article at Review: United B787-10 Economy Plus, SFO to Papeete.

Swan Hellenic is back with last minute options to Antarctica at rock bottom prices! Antarctica is a life changing experience that I think everyone should experience. Its coastline and mountains are more dynamic than anything I’ve seen from Alaska to Norway and makes the glaciers of the Alps, New Zealand and Argentina seem small. Plus, wildlife lovers rejoice as there is an abundance of beautiful land, air, and sea creatures to keep your camera clicking and everyone engaged in the sheer beauty of the white continent. Now you too can experience the 7th continent and mark the trip off your bucket list through Swan Hellenic limited time deal. 

Explore Antarctica and the polar region in 5 star luxury for just $5,999 per person. Nearly the same price as Hurtigrutens recent BOGO sale, yet on a smaller, more intimate, and nicer ship; with more inclusions!  

Contact me at Scott & Thomas Travel to save upwards of 66% off the published rate on expeditions to the Antarctic Peninsula. Just click this link to email me directly and start enjoying the best deals and prices brought to you only by approved travel agents. This deal is not available if you call Swan Hellenic directly.

Antarctica Cruise Deals

The Antarctica cruise deal with Swan Hellenic is only available to those looking for a last minute trip for this year. You can only book these rate through an approve agent and will not get rates this low by calling Swan Hellenic. The expedition Antarctica sale offer is for sailings between Nov 6, 2023 and Jan 8, 2024 and start as low as $5,999 per person in an ocean view or balcony suite. On some sailings a balcony is the same price as an Oceanview, on others its only a few hundred dollars more.

I personally would HIGHLY recommend a balcony room, as you never want to miss a moment when they announce whales or other wildlife off the side of the ship. There is nothing worse than running upstairs just to miss it, when you could instead step out onto your balcony and look both ways. 

Solo travelers only pay a 25% supplement. Making this on of the BEST solo traveler deals to Antarctica!

The following expedition dates though early January 2024 are on sale at the best rates of the season. Prices below are per person. Promotion applies to new booking made from October 23, 2023 to November 10, 2023, on all Antarctica Expedition voyages sailing from November 6, 2023 to January 8, 2024 via an approve agent. 

All fares include charter flights to/from Ushuaia, Argentina from Buenos Aires and includes one pre-night hotel stay with transfers, government fees & taxes. 

You can see the full itinerary and trip details via Swan Hellenic. You will notice that price also starts at $10,000 or more when booking direct! Each Trip is an Antarctic Peninsula Discovery, Antarctic Peninsula Odyssey, or Spirit of Antarctica holiday expedition with at least 4 full days in Antarctica. The longer trips have 5-9 days in Antarctica! For the trips departing from Ushuaia expect 2 days to cross the Drake Passage in each direction and the rest of the time exploring the white continent.

If you are interested in the longer expedition, do not miss the Antarctic Peninsula In Depth. This trip normally starts at over $16,000 per person and goes beyond the Antarctic circle. Enjoy the magic while exploring the magical Marguerite Bay. This trip is 66% off and starts at just $6,500 now!

Each expedition includes one night in a hotel in Buenos Aires (Or Cape Town) before the expedition. This means you need to arrive in Buenos Aires one day before the listed date on the table above for your Antarctica cruise. Your expedition includes all airport transfer in Buenos Aires (Or South Africa), 1 night in a 4 or 5 star hotel in Buenos Aires (Or Cape Town), and then transfer back to the airport on the listed departure date for a charter flight to Ushuaia, Argentina to catch the boat. After your trip ends, you will be charted back to Buenos Aires.  This does NOT include flights from the USA or wherever you are traveling from.

This is an amazing sale because not only is it great for a last minute cruise to travel to Antarctica, but it’s not during shoulder season, but the peak season. You can spend the holidays in Antarctica when the weather is prime! Choose November for thick and amazing sea ice or later in the season for Penguins and whale watching. No matter when you go, you can enjoy great hikes, walking on the beautiful landscapes and glacier, and sea kayaking. 

What’s Included on a Swan Hellenic Antarctic Expedition

I can be the first to attest that Swan Hellenic cruises are fabulous and have amazing personalized service. I had the opportunity to sail on the SH Diana’s inaugural voyage in May 2023. The food in the dining room was the best I’ve ever had at sea thanks to the partnership with JRE Jeunes restaurateurs.

The SH Diana and SH Vega are very similar and both polar ice class expedition ships from the Helsinki shipyard. Both have extra large stabilizers making the crossing of the Drake passage easy. Plus both ships boast tons of comfort items such as a pool bar and grill, outdoor hot tubs, steam rooms and sauna, plus in room fireplaces.

 The SH Diana is slightly larger though with 192 guests whereas the Vega only has 152. Both ships boast a staffing capacity of 1 staff member to every 1.25 guests. The best in the industry, only matched by Explora, who doesn’t travel to Antarctica. No matter what ship you’re on you will be joined by a dedicated team of expedition leaders and naturalists and will enjoy daily lectures, making this an all around perfect expedition. Plus with less than 200 people you can do two landing in Antarctica every day! 

Swan Hellenic also has all inclusive pricing on every Antarctic cruise. The price you pay includes tons of extra and they do not charge you for extras. Every cruise also comes with the following addons, all included in the fare every time.

• Regional round trip flights to the port of embarkation and/or disembarkation (Between EZE-USH and back)
• Group return transfers from the airport to the cruise port (via our included accommodation where applicable)
• One-night pre-cruise accommodation with breakfast in a 4/5-star hotel or onboard
• All meals onboard
• Professional photographer & video of your expedition
• 24-hour room service
• Coffee, tea, soft drinks, and selected alcoholic beverages available 24 hours per day. Select includes makers mark bourbon, stoli vodka, Hendricks gin, beer and wine.
• Lecture programs by our experienced expedition team and guest speakers
• Standard WiFi
• Onboard gratuities and port taxes 
• Branded Swan Hellenic winter expedition parka and use of rubber boots
• Complimentary Zodiac cruising expeditions and daily landings
• Complimentary in room mini bar

Bottom Line

If you are looking for a luxury expedition or cruises to Antarctica on a small ship cruise line, then Swan Hellenic is for you. Swan Hellenic ships are all around beautiful and have all the modern comforts onboard. These last minute cruise deals to Antarctica are currently the best deal in the industry.

I have additional deals on Seabourn, but even these start at over $8000 per person or $14,000 if you want to see South Georgia and the Falklands.  You are not going to find all inclusive cruising on a small luxury 5 star ship anywhere else at this price point! Even the 30% off deal I have with National Geographic Expeditions in November and December begins at twice these prices! 

This expedition cruise sale is only available until November 10, 2023. Do not delay. Contact Scott & Thomas travel, as these are exclusive prices which are not available anywhere else. 

Read the rest of this article at Swan Hellenic Antarctica Sale From $5,999 – 66% Off.

For Father’s Day, I decided to do a little something different this year. My son Ashok started expressing interest in accompanying me on my I blog boondoggles about a year ago. We did our first avgeek jaunt last December on a day trip to Chicago, which went really well. So this time, we decided to do our first father-son overnight trip. And what better way to do it than by getting some blog material in the process? I’ve wanted to try Breeze’s “Nicest” class on the A220-300 for a while, so I searched for options. I eventually found a routing on Breeze Ascent from Tampa to Hartford that worked for a true weekend trip.  This flight ran me $169 for each ticket, though I used $12.76 of orphaned BreezePoints from my trip to try Nice and Nicer Classes.

Breeze Airways (MX) Flight 533

• Sunday, June 18, 2023
• Depart: Tampa International Airport (TPA), Concourse C, Gate C45, 11:31, 9m early
• Arrive: Hartford Bradley International Airport (BDL), Gate 22, 14:24, 1m early
• Duration: 2 hours 53 minutes
• Seats: 2D, 2F
• Equipment: Airbus A220-300

Breeze Ascent – The Basics

Specifically, Breeze Ascent refers to Breeze’s First Class seating. In a way, it’s similar to Spirit’s Big Front Seat. Unlike the BFS, though, Breeze does offer free drinks and snacks in Ascent. (Oddly, while “drinks” includes alcoholic beverages, “snacks” doesn’t include premium snack boxes. Only the junk food in the snack basket.) Although the “Nicest” bundle includes Breeze Ascent seats, you can can select the seats for a fee with any fare. If you pay for the Nicest bundle, you get a carry-on, 2 checked bags, and priority boarding.

So what does the buy-up look like? Looking at a random flight from Charleston to Hartford, Nicer costs $80 and Nicest $141 more than the base fare.

Meanwhile, Ascent seats run $101 with a Nice fare.

With a Nicer fare, the Ascent seats still run $101, though extra legroom seats are free.

In other words, if all you want is the seat, carefully compare the bundle price to the seat buy-up before buying. In this example, buying a Nicer fare and then selecting an Ascent seat costs $40 more than just buying the Nicest bundle.

Check-In and Boarding

Our flight from Dallas the day before came in later than expected.  Way late, as the patented AA Creeping Delay (TM) turned a 6:48 pm arrival into an 11 pm one. My son and I slept in a little, but he wanted to head to the airport to eat breakfast. So we headed over right away. I checked in online using the Breeze app, and Precheck on a Sunday morning took just a few minutes. We had plenty of time to grab coffee and breakfast at Café con Leche, and lunch for the flight at PDQ. Then, we settled in at an eerily empty gate area at C45 to await our flight. Ashok certainly seemed plenty amped up for this first weekend trip with dad.

Boarding began on time, and we headed on board with Group 1 with our Ascent seats. Note that Breeze allows all families with children under 12 to board first with Group 1. So don’t waste your money buying priority boarding when flying with the kids.

Breeze Ascent Seating and Interior

Initially, Breeze offered two configurations on the A220-300. One featured 36 “Nicest” First Class seats, 10 extra legroom “Nicer” seats, and 80 “Nice” standard Economy seats. The other featured 10 Nicest seats, 45 Nicer seats, and 80 Nice seats. Recently, however, Breeze reconfigured all A220s in the slightly denser configuration. For those flying Ascent, this means 10 Safran Z600 seats in a 2-2 configuration. Seat pitch measures 39″, with 20.5″ of width. That’s actually more generous pitch than typical domestic First products, which usually feature 36-37″ of pitch.

This aircraft, put in service just 10 days prior to our flight, certainly had that new plane look and smell. Breeze outfits its Ascent seats in grey leather with blue headrest trim. Small touches like the neon blue mood lighting in the armrest give the cabin a fresh, bright feel.

The A220-300’s oversized windows give the cabin an exceptionally airy feel.

Purple mood lighting also graces the ceiling by the fuselage.

With the half walls, the seats somewhat resemble the new First Class seats on Delta’s A321neo. Unlike the neo, though, Breeze’s seats don’t include the winged headrest for additional privacy.

Legroom felt quite generous, with plenty of space to stretch out. In fact, it felt more roomy than similar domestic First products on American, Delta, or United. Overkill for this shorter flight, perhaps, but welcome for sure on a longer route like Las Vegas to Jacksonville.

The seats feature a fixed-shell design with both recline and legrest controls through separate buttons.

In fully relaxed mode, the seat provides adequate recline and room to rest your legs. Because of the fixed-shell design, reclining results in minimal disruption of the space behind you.

I found seat comfort alright on this flight. While plenty roomy, the cushioning was a bit hard, in my opinion. That left me with a bit of saddle sore at the end of this 2 1/2 hour flight. My little guy certainly found them plenty comfy, though.

As far as storage goes, the main storage is a deep console wrapping around both seats. You can easily put a tablet, phone, newspaper, etc. in here.

There’s also a pair of small cubbies in the footspace between the seat in front of you. I’m not exactly sure what you can shove in there, though. A drink holder also reveals itself above if you flip open the knob. But it’s of pretty limited utility, as it’s difficult to reach a drink in that position.

One thing that’s clearly still an issue with Breeze – they have trouble filling up their planes. This Sunday flight was half full in Ascent, about the same in the extra legroom section, and less than that in deep coach.

That’s probably the biggest thing you should keep in mind with Breeze. Their network planning seems to consist of a monkey flinging [excrement] on a wall and seeing what sticks. If it doesn’t, they’ll cancel routes with little warning. So book in advance at your own peril.

Breeze Ascent In-Flight Entertainment

At the time of my flight, IFE consisted of…nothing. WiFi wasn’t installed yet, so your choice was to bring your own, or enjoy the view out the window. This is changing, though, with Breeze installing WiFi on its entire A220-300 fleet by early 2024. The installation of WiFi also enables streaming entertainment options though the system. Breeze hasn’t finalized WiFi pricing yet, but they do promise one unique feature. Your purchase WiFi by PNR, so one price connects devices for all passengers on your reservation. That’s a legitimate enhancement I wish more airlines might try and emulate.

Anyway, all Ascent seats include a 110v outlet and USB A and C ports between seats. I like this placement on the front of the seat, as it helps keep cords from tangling in your feet.

The seats also contain a couple of device holders. With the tray table stowed, a device holder flips down from the bottom of the table.

With the tray table down, it instead flips up from the top of the table.

The problem with this setup? Your phone or tablet isn’t exactly secured tight. Jostling the tray (or a bout of significant turbulence) can send it sliding.

Breeze Ascent Food, Beverage, and Service

As mentioned earlier, Breeze offers a complimentary selection of food and beverages in Breeze Ascent. Oddly, while all alcoholic beverages are free – even the “premium” selections like cocktails – the snack boxes aren’t. You’ll just have to take junk food (or bring you own) with that Old Fashioned.

My son and I both just enjoyed a Sprite with the lunch we’d brought onboard. Ashok wanted chicken fingers, so we grabbed a box at PDQ before boarding. As far as chicken fingers go, they’re not bad. As an aside, TPA does a pretty good job of bringing local concessionaires to its concourses. Café con Leche has been a Ybor City fixture for a century, and PDQ was founded in Tampa.

And we enjoyed some bonding moments afterwards.

Frankly, I think food & beverage is one aspect where I think Breeze leaves something on the table. On the one hand, yes, it’s better than what you get with Sprit’s Big Front Seat. At least with Ascent, the fare does come with unlimited drinks and some snacks. But the exclusion of snack boxes just seems kind of silly.

I found service on this flight generally average. The FAs were friendly, though not particularly proactive. After the main snack/beverage service, there weren’t any proactive second helpings offered, though they did quickly respond to the call bell if you wanted something. Fine for a quick-ish domestic flight, in other words.

Flightseeing

After taking our seats after boarding, I spied another Breeze A220-300 at the gate next door. I really do like the A220; it’s a sleek-looking plane, and provides a great passenger experience inside.

Meanwhile a few gates down, crews were busy getting Southwest’s colorful Arizona One loaded up.

We took off to the south, which took us across the Howard Frankland Bridge heading to St. Pete shortly after takeoff. Apparently it’s being expanded and rebuilt these days.

After hooking a U-turn to head north, we passed the Gandy Bridge looking towards South Tampa. An unfortunately placed cloud covered up what would have been a nice shot of Macdill Air Force Base.

I realized after the fact that I picked the wrong side of the plane to sit on. Why? If I’d taken the other side, we might have gotten a distant view of the New York skyline as we passed to the east. Instead, we caught a brief glimpse of the Hamptons as we flew over the east end of Long Island.

Finally, on final approach to Bradley Airport, we enjoyed some nice views of Hartford as we passed to the west. In this case, a well-timed low cloud added an illusion of clouds dancing around the skyline as we descended through it.

After arriving at Bradley, I made sure to grab a photo of our beautiful, new A220 before moving on. That’s one mean looking machine seen from the front.

We then hung out in the terminal for our four-hour layover before heading back to Dallas. Unlike the flight getting us out of town, this one featured no drama, and got us home more or less on time.

Breeze Ascent Final Thoughts

Breeze Ascent certainly is a unique product in the low-cost carrier space. It’s a true First Class seat with more premium class features than competing products like the Big Front Seat. So what’s the value proposition? For $100, it’s not a bad price for a much more spacious seat and some free drinks. On longer flights, though – Jacksonville to Las Vegas, for instance – the buy-up runs much more. Random winter dates price out at $270 for just the seat. I’d say that’s pretty steep.

Read the rest of this article at Review: Breeze Ascent A220-300, Tampa to Hartford.

Extra American Express Reward points are coming easy to those who like to cruise. American Express is already providing bonus points for using your Amex cards on Oceania and Silversea cruises. I wrote about this deal previously. Now you can also earn bonus points when you set sail with Cunard or Seabourn cruises.

The Seabourn Cruise Amex deal and the Cunard Amex offer is pretty straight forwards. All you have to do is use your card to pay a travel advisor or the cruise line directly and you can earn bonus points. Earn bonus points on everything from ocean cruises to Antarctic expeditions. Even onboard spending for items such as the Spa, excursions, or shopping at the store qualify. As long as the merchant is Cunard or Seabourn.

We have seen several deals in the past for Cruises including on Celebrity, Carnival, Seabourn, and Norwegian Cruise Line. These Amex offers usually offer bonus Membership Reward points or cash back. If you have a cruise on hold or have been consider booking one, make a payment now to earn your bonus points.

Check your Amex offers to see your personal offer. It could be bonus rewards  like the one below or possibly cash back.

Current Seabourn Cruise Deal

The Seabourn Amex offer will reward you with 5 bonus points per dollar on every Seabourn cruise when you pay with American Express card. Just load the Amex offer. This means you will actually earn 6 points per dollar or more!  You can earn up to 50,000 bonus points via this Amex and Seabourn Cruises promotion. As the limit is 50,000 points, a $10,000 charge will maximize this bonus.

Get 5 additional Membership Rewards® points for each dollar spent on qualifying purchases of cruise reservations made using your enrolled eligible Card online at seabourn.com, via phone at 1-800-442-4448, or through your preferred travel advisor by 12/31/2023. Limit of 50,000 Membership Rewards points.

Also note, you can stack the Amex offer with other travel agent incentives. For example, my clients also save 20% off Seabourn Venture and Seabourn Pursuit sailings in 2024 and 2025.  Travelcodex readers can also stack these offers with our exclusive onboard credit offer. Receive up to $200 Shipboard Credit per Suite for 2023 sailings and up to $300 Shipboard Credit per suite for 2024 sailings! Contact me today for additional details.

Cunard Amex Offer

Similar to the Seabourn cruise offer, the Cunard cruise deal is also for bonus American Express points. Earn 5 bonus points per dollar, meaning you will earn a minimum of 6 points per dollar depending on your credit card type. If you spend $10,000 on Cunard cruises you too will earn 50,000 additional points. Or spend any amount and earn 5 extra points per dollar!

Get 5 additional Membership Rewards® pts for each dollar spent on qualifying purchases of cruise reservations made using your enrolled eligible Card online at Cunard.com or by calling Cunard Customer Service at 800-728-6273 by 12/29/2023. Limit of 50,000 Membership Rewards pts.

Like all Amex offers, you can stack with additional savings.  Booking via our Agency offers up to an additional $300 of onboard credit depending on the cruise. Imagine earning free money plus bonus points. A win-win all around.

What Are Amex Offers

American Express offers mostly know as Amex offers are special deals, discounts, and rewards available only to American Express cardholders. Every card and person gets slightly different offers and each card only shows 100 at a time. These offers are typically tailored to individual card members and can vary based on the type of card you have and your spending patterns. The deals above are all available on my American Express Platinum card. You may find similar ones or different ones on your card. Don’t have an American Express card, consider signing up for one!

Examples of American Express offers include cashback on certain purchases, discounts at specific merchants, and access to exclusive events or experiences. Usually purchasing gift cards do not qualify, but there are typically exceptions on select offers. Heck I even have Amex offer for a hotels.com gift card currently.

American express offers may be available for a limited time with strict expiration dates, while others may be ongoing. Some are also capacity controlled. Meaning only so many American Express customers can add the bonus offer to their account. Which means, if you see an offer you want. Add it to your card.

To access American Express offers, log in to your account online or through the Amex app. From there, you can browse available offers and add them to your card. When you make a qualifying purchase with your enrolled card, the offer will be automatically applied, and you’ll receive the associated reward or statement credit after a few days or weeks.

If you have multiple Amex cards, be sure to check all cards for offers. Business American Express cards often have different offers than personal issued American Express cards.

Bottom Line

If you are looking to take Seabourn Cruise or Cunard vacation, be sure to check out your Amex offers. Seabourn cruises offers both ultra premium luxury cruises on small ships worldwide, but they also have two beautiful brand new purposeful built expedition ships. Seabourn offers a verity of expeditions and cruises to all seven continents. Most ships are less than 600 passengers. Meanwhile Cunard offers Premium cruises to more standard ports and larger ships, such as the Queen Mary II or Queen Anne. All in British fashion and all the perks such as high tea. Find a Cunard Voyage throughout North America, Australia, Europe and beyond. Most Cunard ships host around 2,500 guests.

If you are going on a vacation between now and 2025, book today and use your American Express card and with the above Amex offer loaded to earn bonus points. Don’t wait, contact me to book your cruise ASAP to ensure you earn the most points possible!

Read the rest of this article at Earn Bonus Amex Membership Rewards on Seabourn and Cunard Cruises.

American Express is providing a bonus for using your Amex cards for on your next premium cruise via Amex offers. Use your card to pay a travel advisor or the cruise line directly and earn bonus on an Oceania or Silversea cruise or expedition. We have seen several deals in the past for Cruises including on Celebrity, Carnival, Seabourn, and Norwegian Cruise Line. These Amex offers usually offer bonus Membership Reward points or cash back. If you have a cruise on hold or have been debating one, make a payment now to earn your cash back or bonus points.

Check your Amex offers to see your personal offer. It could be bonus rewards or cash back.

Current Oceania Cruise Deal

Earn bonus reward points on every Oceania cruise by paying with American Express card. You can earn up to 50,000 bonus points via this Amex and Oceania promotion. As the limit is 50,000 points, a $10,000 charge will maximize this bonus.

Earn 5 additional Membership  Rewards points for each dollar spent on qualifying purchases of cruise reservations made using your enrolled eligible Card online at oceaniacruises.com, by calling 866-316-3437, via American Express Travel or a preferred travel adviser by 12/29/23. Limit of 50,000 Membership Rewards pts

Also note, you can stack the Amex offer with other travel agent incentives. For example, our clients can receive Free Pre-Paid Gratuities plus 3 bottles of wine on select sailings.

SilverSea Amex Offer

Similar to the Oceania cruise offer, the Silversea cruise deal is also for bonus American Express points. Yet instead of being for any amount of spending, one must charge $1,000 or more to earn the bonus points. If you do, you will be rewarded 25,000 bonus Membership Reward points. This is an amazing bonus, earning 25 membership per dollar spent!

Get 25,000 additional Membership Rewards® points one-time by using your enrolled eligible Card to spend a minimum of $1,000 in one or more purchases on cruise reservations via phone at 1-888-978-4070 or through your preferred Professional Travel Advisor by 12/29/2023.

Stackable offers: Booking via our Agency offers up to $500 of OBC depending on the cruise or expedition. Free money plus bonus points. A win-win!

What Are Amex Offers

American Express offers are special deals, discounts, and rewards available to American Express cardholders. These offers are typically tailored to individual card members and can vary based on the type of card you have and your spending patterns. The deals above are all available on my American Express Platinum card. You may find similar ones or different ones on your card.

Examples of American Express offers include cashback on certain purchases, discounts at specific merchants, and access to exclusive events or experiences. Usually purchasing gift cards do not qualify, but there are typically exceptions on select offers. American express offers may be available for a limited time with strict expiration dates, while others may be ongoing. Some are also capacity controlled. Meaning only so many American Express customers can add the bonus offer to their account.

To access American Express offers, log in to your account online or through the Amex app. From there, you can browse available offers and add them to your card. When you make a qualifying purchase with your enrolled card, the offer will be automatically applied, and you’ll receive the associated reward or statement credit.

If you have multiple Amex cards, be sure to check all cards for offers. Business American Express cards often have different offers than personal issued American Express cards.

Bottom Line

If you are looking to take a cruise vacation, be sure to check out your Amex offers. Silversea offers both premium luxury cruises on small ships world wide, but they also have one of the largest expedition fleets in the world. Silversea offers a verity of expeditions and cruises to all second continents. Most ships are less than 300 passengers. Meanwhile Oceania offers Premium cruises to more standard ports throughout North America, Asia, Europe and beyond. Most Oceania ships host 900-1200 guests.

If you are going on a vacation between now and 2025, book today and use your American Express card and with the above Amex offer loaded to earn bonus points. Don’t wait, contact me to book your cruise ASAP to ensure you earn the most points possible!

Read the rest of this article at Earn Bonus American Express Membership Reward Points on Cruises.

I am resurfacing this deal because the price has dropped even further. There is a new jaw dropping price, and this trip is now cheaper than many trips to Antarctica only! Seabourn has dropped the price to $21,999 per person. Yet, I have the price available for just $15,000 per person!

Original Post below

If you have been considering an expedition cruise to South Georgia, Falkland Islands and Antarctica I have an amazing deal for you. It is a bit last minute as it’s for travel for this Christmas. This Seabourn 21-Day Antarctica, South Georgia & Falkland holiday Antarctic cruise deal cannot be beat! Typically these types of expeditions cost over $30,000 per person. Yet, right now, you can save $8,000 below direct booking prices by booking via Scott and Thomas Travel. Plus, I’ll be on the ship too. Come travel with me, Dec 19, 2023–Jan 9, 2024. I had such an amazing time in Antarctica in Feb 2023 that I have decided to go back for Christmas!

The trip will be on the nearly brand new Seabourn Venture and is a true all inclusive holiday vacation to the Antarctica. I wrote about my time on the Seabourn Venture in Antarctica and honestly, the vacation can not be beat. By far one of the best vacations I’ve ever had! If you don’t have plans yet for Christmas, but want a full Antarctica experience, this is your opportunity to see King Penguins colonies in South Georgia, and the stunning landscapes of the Falkland islands. 

Come travel to Antarctica for Christmas and stay in South Georgia for New Years! This is really the best way to see Antarctica via small ship. Why am I going back so soon? Because a trip to Antarctica is not only magical, it’s life changing. In addition, last time I was there, I didn’t see the Falklands and South Georgia and I honestly think that was a mistake! Everyone I’ve spoken to who has done both South Georgia and Antarctica rave about South Georgia. Saying it was their favorite part and #1 spot on the planet. I have serious FOMO, so I’m going back! 

The Extended Antarctica Expedition

This vacation is on sale for just below $40,000 per room based on double occupancy.  Final Price, $39,196.02. Travel dates are Dec 19, 2023–Jan 9, 2024. This is $19,598.01 per person total. This is an exclusive deal for Travelcodex readers only. Currently Seabourn is selling this same vacation for $27,999 per person! Save $8,400 by booking and traveling with me.

Updated price is now just $15,000 per person! Contact me today to book

Pricing includes everything you can imagine. Start with an overnight stay in Buenos Aires at the beautiful 5 star Alvear Icon hotel. Then the next morning, board a charter flight to Ushuaia to start the journey to South America.

After two days crossing the icy waters of the Drake passage, spend 6 full days exploring the Antarctic Peninsula. Christmas in Antarctica! This is a day longer than most Antarctica expeditions and provides lots of time to see the wildlife during the most pristine time of the year. See Antarctica when the weather is the best in December and the days are long. Allowing plenty of time for wildlife viewing from seal pups to penguin chicks, and even the start of whale migration season.

South Georgia Expedition Stops

After exploring the Antarctica peninsula, and having possibly enough time to cross to the Antarctic circle, head North East towards South Georgia. Arrive in time to spend New Years Eve here and spend 3 days with King penguins and the stunning wildlife of this remote archipelago.

The South Georgia Islands Group is one of the least visited destinations on earth. Being largely untouched and blessed with a sub-Antarctic climate and nutrient-rich seas, it represents a sort of Lost Eden of unspoiled wildlife habitat. Although ice and snow are present, they are strikingly green with vegetation as compared with the Antarctic islands. 

The islands have an abundance of wildlife, including seals and whales. See the massive populations of king and macaroni penguin species. Penguins which are not found further south in Antarctica. Stop and enjoy other animals too such as the beautiful fur seals, elephant seals, albatrosses, giant petrels, and other seabirds. Minke Whales, orcas and dolphins abound offshore in one of the most diverse marine ecosystems on earth. 

Although the animals are the highlight, at least for more. There’s more to see. During the time in South Georgia your visit will include visits to historic communities such as Grytviken, with its memorial to Ernest Shackleton, the immense breeding colony of king penguins on the Salisbury Plain and other highlights, along with less well-known, but equally unforgettable sites. 

Falkland Island Expedition Stops

If this trip was not already jam packed enough for exciting stops and things to see, prepare yourself for a stop to explore the Falkland Islands. The highly sought after British overseas territory that Argentina wants so badly is on the itinerary. The stop here is equally great and consists of three full days, it’s enough time to take it in before heading back to Ushaiaia. 

There is nowhere else in the world like the Falkland Islands. The archipelago is a remote, wind-swept place of stunning landscapes, dazzling white sand beaches, magnificent wildlife, and a rather gregarious mix of people. Enjoy the views of the shore while sailing by and during the full day stop to explore Stanley. 

There is over 200 islands surrounding the two main islands of West and East Falkland. These isolated and treeless shores are home to an overwhelming abundance of birdlife. A true birders dream! Watch out for albatross, penguins, caracaras, geese, and many others bird species.

Perhaps it was the very remoteness of the islands; the allure of its barren landscapes, pure in their austerity and colorful in their details, and the immensely large open skies that attracted settlers to its shores long ago. It’s yours now to discover and fine the allure. What makes this place so special? Go and find out! 

After a quick day visit, return to Ushuaia Argentina and fly back via charter fly to Buenos Aires to return home or continue your travel elsewhere.

What’s Included in a Seabourn Expedition

Seabourn expedition cruising is among my favorite ways to see the world. If Seabourn is not my favorite expedition brand, it is among the top 3 with Lindblad and National Geographic taking a very close second. Seabourn pricing includes everything from complimentary starlink internet, staff gratuities, daily landings and activities, zodiac rides and more. Seabourn even includes open bars on every voyage and unlimited caviar for all. Not just for those in First Class, or this case those in an owner’s suite. 

Seabourn provides near 1:1 staffing on expedition ships and never sails with more than 250 people. Meaning you can get off the ship during Antarctica landing. Explore and learn with a world class expedition team. Naturalist and expedition leaders join every landing and provide educational lectures each day. Relax and learn, take it all in!

Seabourn all inclusive pricing is among the best in the industry and this deeply discounted expedition to Antarctica is not to be missed. If you’ve wanted an all inclusive Antarctic expedition to see everything Antarctica has to offer. Now is your opportunity

Bottom Line

I’ve been writing a lot about Antarctica and the polar regions. I have an obsession. It’s my favorite place in the world. The remoteness and pure beauty is unlike anything else. The derpy penguins make me smile and laugh with delight. Antarctica is like going on an African Safari, but with snow and different animals. Every day you see something different. There wasn’t a day that passed in February on my last trip where I wasn’t overtaken with Awe.

This limited time deal to save over $16,000 on a veranda suite is only available for 3 suites on the ship. The tour begins on Dec 19, 2023 and returns on January 9, 2024. If you ever wanted an all encompassing trip to South Georgia, the Falklands, and Antarctica this is your opportunity. Contact me today to reserve your suite. See more about the expedition here, but be sure to contact me for the best prices!

Remember, do not go to Antarctica on a larger ship (aka Holland America). Always do it with an expedition company with less than 500 people, to ensure you can stop and walk on Antarctica.

Read the rest of this article at South Georgia and Antarctica Cruise now 50% off.

Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport (CDG) is one of my least favorite airports to transit. The airport is confusing and cumbersome to navigate and unless you’re flying in business class with Air France or another SkyTeam airline, lounge access is pretty limited. Priority Pass members departing from terminal 1 can use the Star Alliance Lounge, but for those of us departing from terminal 2E, the only lounge option we have access to is the YotelAir Paris Charles de Gaulle, which is not great. The lounge is small and the amenities are limited but if you happen to be arriving in or departing from terminal 2E, then it might be worth a visit to freshen up a bit before continuing on with your journey.

But before I go on, let me explain a few things about the YotelAir Paris and where it’s located. The YotelAir Paris is technically an airport hotel and not an airport lounge, but they have turned their lobby area into a small lounge for Priority Pass, Lounge Key, Lounge Pass, and Diners Club members. It’s actually a smart way to monetize their space but because their focus is on accommodations, and not on lounge services, you should expect that lounge services will be very limited. But for the sake of access, the YotelAir is still considered a “lounge” so American Express and Capital One customers are still allowed access as part of their Priority Pass agreement.

The YotelAir Paris is also a pain in the butt to get to. It’s located in the pre-security area of the L gates and you can only access the YotelAir Paris if you are arriving in or departing from terminal 2E. There are three halls in terminal 2E, for gates K, L, and M. There is a train that takes you between these halls but instead of having one main security checkpoint for the entire terminal, each hall has its own security checkpoint. So regardless of where your gate is, you will need to go through security again to get to your gate from the YotelAir Paris.

When you get to the L gates, do not go through security. Instead, just follow the sign for the airport hotel. Find this long hallway and walk all the way to the end and the entrance to the YotelAir Paris will be located in front of you. The YotelAir Pais is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Priority Pass members are entitled to the following perks:

• Access to the YotelAir Lounge (3 hours maximum)
  • Access to the shower room is included
  • Access to the sleeping rooms (cabins) is NOT included
• Complimentary sweet/salty snacks and beverages such as water, coffee, juice, soda and beer

It should be noted that there are no real food options in the lounge; nor are there any restaurants in the pre-security area of terminal 2E either. So if you want a real meal, you will have to get it after the security checkpoint. As I stated earlier, I really hate Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and this is one of the reasons why.

When you get to the lounge, walk past the kiosks and proceed to the front desk area, called “Mission Control.” Here, you can scan your boarding pass and present your membership card to the lounge attendant.

After they verify your membership, they will show you a menu for your snack and beverage selections.

Inside the lounge, you will find a small refrigerated section with some drinks, an espresso machine, and a filtered water station. With Priority Pass, you only get two beverage items free of charge but water, coffee and tea are provided complimentary for everyone. And as a reminder, this lounge is located pre-security so there’s no reason to fill up your water bottles here as you won’t be able to bring them through security.

There are three areas to this very small lounge. Directly behind the entrance, there is a small seating area with some lounge chairs, tables, and a communal workstation with access to European electrical outlets. Wi-Fi is provided throughout the lounge so you can work from anywhere.

To the left of the main seating area, there is a dining area with a large communal table and several bar tables and chairs.

And then there’s a small room behind the dining area with more lounge chairs. There are no couches or benches to sleep on, as this is a hotel and you can just rent a room if you need to get some shuteye. And during my visit, I was told that there were no bathrooms located in the lounge. I don’t know if this was a temporary thing (closed for cleaning) or a permanent thing (no bathrooms at all), but I was told to use the public bathroom outside of the lounge.

A shower room is available on a first-come, first-served basis. It’s a very basic shower room, similar to a gym shower room, but towels, soap, and shampoo are provided. I did take a shower during my visit and it wasn’t the best. There was no ventilation in the room so it just fogged up and it smelled kind of funky due to the lack of ventilation. Like I said, a gym shower.

YotelAir Paris Bottom Line

Overall, this is not a lounge that I would go out of my way to visit. The space is small and the amenities are quite limited. But for Priority Pass members, this is the best (and only) option we have in terminal 2E, so if you happen to be in the area, and have some time to kill, then it might be worth your while.

Have you visited the YotelAir Paris? If so, please share your thoughts with us in the comments section below. Thanks for reading!

The other posts in this series include:

1. American Express Centurion Lounge LAX
2. oneworld Lounge LAX
3. Air France Premium Economy, LAX to Paris
4. YotelAir Paris, a Priority Pass Lounge
5. NH Hotel Santa Lucia, Venice
6. KLM Economy Class, Amsterdam to Salt Lake City

Read the rest of this article at Review: YotelAir Paris Airport, a Priority Pass Lounge.

One of the problems with airline food and beverage service is what tastes good on the ground loses taste at cruising altitude.  Alaska Airlines has worked with local Portland OR Stumptown Coffee for the past year to make their coffee taste great at cruising altitudes.

Alaska Airlines, the premier West Coast airline, and Stumptown Coffee Roasters, a third-wave coffee pioneer and certified B Corporation, are proud to introduce a custom coffee blend that’s specially crafted to be enjoyed up in the air – brewing soon on all Alaska flights. 

The Search For The Perfect Pot of Coffee

Taste and smell are inextricably combined and people’s sense of smell is significantly altered in the sky. Food and drinks taste different because pressurized cabins lower blood oxygen levels, which reduces the ability to smell. The extremely dry air of the cabin, with its low humidity levels, also affects smell which influences the sense of taste.

For over a decade, Alaska Airlines has been serving Seattle’s Best Coffee both in the air in on the ground at the Alaska Lounges.  The airline will now source their coffee from Stumptown Coffee in Portland OR.

The journey of Stumptown Coffe with Alaska began in the fall of 2022 when they shared a sip of Holler Mountain at their offices in Seattle, WA. From there, they began considering the guest experience at 30,000 feet and created a blend that’s fit for the skies. Did you know your taste buds behave differently at high altitude? That’s why food and drinks can taste different in the air compared to on the ground.

After selecting the coffee, Stumptown conducted extensive brewing tests with the Alaska team—on the ground and in the air—to understand how it tasted both below and above the clouds. They also wanted to ensure our roast profile worked with all types of brewing machines on Alaska aircraft.

Here’s where we landed: the custom blend served on flight is an organic coffee roasted deep enough to bring out notes of toasted marshmallow and dark chocolate, while remaining exceptionally smooth and balanced. It uses the same clean and sweet base as Holler Mountain, but with a focus on a roast that mellows acidity and introduces just enough toastiness to please a wide range of palates.

More than two decades ago, Portland, Oregon’s beloved Stumptown led the third wave – a craft movement in coffee sourcing and roasting emphasizing quality and sustainability – in the Pacific Northwest and beyond through its uncompromising commitment to craft and unwavering dedication to its top-tier roasting methods, partners and the planet.

“We wanted a crowd pleaser – something that would delight folks who enjoy milder coffees and also speak to guests who enjoy medium-bodied roasts,” said Stumptown President Laura Szeliga.  

Alaska’s medium-dark blend uses the same clean and sweet base as Holler Mountain, but with a primary focus on a roast that mellows acidity and introduces just enough toastiness to please a wide range of palates. It’s exceptionally smooth and balanced, with aromatic notes of toasted marshmallows, browned butter and toffee with delicate hints of citrus and cherry. Additionally, Stumptown dialed in this roast to be delicious when served black or with the addition of creamer or oat milk (also now offered on Alaska flights).

Putting A New Coffee Through Its Paces

After selecting their signature coffee, Alaska Airlines conducted extensive brewing tests both on the ground and in the air. They did this to

1) understand how it tasted both in the air and on the ground; and

2) ensure our roast works with all types of brewing machines on Alaska and Horizon aircraft. 

Together, Alaska and Stumptown Coffee Roasters have taken steps to ensure each sip of our signature coffee is handcrafted and unlike anything else being served in the skies.  

• More than 200 pots of coffee were brewed for the development of the project,
• Over 20 variables including changes in grind, dose, filter paper and filter pack dimensions were used to ensure passengers will love the new taste,
• Multiple flights and blind customer surveys were conducted to ensure the taste would be the same as it is at Stumptown Coffee in Portland OR,
• Alaska taste-tested the coffee with Alaska’s inflight oat milk and Biscoff cookies to ensure both pair with the coffee.

After selecting the coffee, they conducted extensive brewing tests with the Alaska team—on the ground and in the air—to understand how it tasted both below and above the clouds. Alaska also wanted to ensure our roast profile worked with all types of brewing machines on Alaska aircraft.

Here’s where they landed: the custom blend served on flight is an organic coffee roasted deep enough to bring out notes of toasted marshmallow and dark chocolate, while remaining exceptionally smooth and balanced. It uses the same clean and sweet base as Holler Mountain, but with a focus on a roast that mellows acidity and introduces just enough toastiness to please a wide range of palates.

Alaska’s custom roast will be available exclusively on all Alaska flights starting this fall and will be on every flight by Dec. 1, 2023. Plus, guests can sip Stumptown in our Portland and JFK Lounges where they’ll be proudly serving Stumptown’s Holler Mountain for our brewed coffee and Hair Bender in our hand-crafted espresso beverages. Trapper Creek will also be available as a decaf option. 

Local Sourcing

One of the things that Alaska Airlines does well is share the Pacific Northwest experience with its passengers by sourcing locally as much as possible.  Being based in Seattle, Alaska Airlines uses many food and beverage sources from the West Coast.  In addition to local sourcing, the airline also aims to excel in sustainability when it comes to inflight service.  They are proud not only to serve California, Oregon and Washington wines but also many other local staples:

• Tillamook Cheese,
• Beecher’s Cheese,
• Salt & Straw ice cream,
• Elite passenger chocolate bars from Seattle Chocolate Company,
• Fremont Brewing and
• Evergreens and Straightaway cocktails.

Alaska Airlines celebrates the unique culture of the West Coast with the many craft beer brewers and coffee houses.

Final Thoughts

My hat is off to Alaska Airlines for trying to solve the food and beverage taste challenge at cruising altitudes.  Alaska Airlines has been proud to cater their flights with as many locally sourced food and beverage options as possible.  Their commitment to sustainability is evident during the inflight food and beverage service.  Stumptown Coffee has been a local favorite in Portland OR since 1999.  I look forward to trying the new coffee with my favorite onboard creamer, Five Farms Irish Cream on my first flight in December.

Read the rest of this article at Alaska Airlines Perfects Onboard Coffee For 30,000 Feet.

Seabourn is offering a unique deal and discounts to celebrate their expedition fleet. The Seabourn Venture and Seabourn Pursuit expedition ships are both in the water taking guests on small ship expeditions to the most remote parts of the world. The purpose built expedition ships Seabourn Venture and sister ship Seabourn Pursuit take guests where other cruise ships cannot. 

These are only two expedition ships in the Seabourn fleet of 7 ships. The Seabourn Venture is focusing on the polar regions including the Arctic and Antarctica. Meanwhile the Seabourn Pursuit focuses on expeditions in Antarctica and the South Pacific, visiting remote Pacific Islands and the Kimberley’s in Australia. 

I have been on both Seabourn Ships. I was on the Seabourn Pursuit when she was in Miami in September for a night and on the Seabourn Venture in Antarctica last February. Both ships are stunning! Offering everything for 24 hour room service to an infinity pool and multiple hot tubs. Seabourn offers true 5 star ultra luxury expeditions where everything is included, except for the stress!

Now to celebrate both expedition vessels being in service, Seabourn is partnering with their preferred expedition Travel advisors to provide our guests additional savings.

Seabourn Expedition Deal

By choosing to book via a preferred partner (aka me) you can save 20% compared to Seabourn’s online and direct booking prices. That’s right, save 20% on your expedition with this unique deal, but you must book before the end of October.

Looking to travel sooner? There are also some extreme discounted deals to Antarctica and South Georgia for 2023 and early 2024. Between 30-50% off. Contact me to get these bare bone pricing. I’m talking two for one savings on the 21 days between Antarctica, South Georgia, and Falklands islands for just $15,500 a person! This was selling for $30,000 a person last week. 11 day Antarctica is price at less than $9,000 some days! These prices are only available via a select travel advisor and not via Seabourn directly. 

Guests who book any 2024 or 2025 Seabourn expedition on the Seabourn Venture or Seabourn Pursuit via Scott and Thomas Travel can receive 20% off their voyage or more. This includes all Seabourn Expeditions to all destinations. This cruise deal is also stackable with other saving offers such as Seabourn’s Set Sail event which includes up to $1,500 in air credits per guest!

Where Do Seabourn Expeditions Go?

Expedition cruising is meant to explore the most remote destinations. The world is huge and Seabourn expeditions makes it easier to see more. Going where the big cruise lines and ships cannot. After all, these are special ships with a max of 264 guests in all ocean front suites. Every Suite has a veranda! Each ship boasts state of the art design; meeting pc6 polar class standards to break through the ice in the polar regions.

In 2024 and 2025 guests who are ready to explore the world in comfort and style can visit the most remote places on earth and visit all 7 continents! The sister ships will visit the most ecologically diverse place in the world, South Georgia, plus other world gems such as Easter Island, Papua New Guinea, the Kimberleys and more. Nowhere is off limits as Seabourn can now take you off the beaten path to places with both size and navigation restrictions.

Remote islands of Melanesia where previously on Lindblad and National Geographic explore are within reach. Or travel to more well known places such as the British Isles and Norwegian Fjords. Explore Svalbard and search for Polar Bears throughout Greenland and beyond.

No matter what expedition cruise you choose, you will enjoy ventures by Seabourn excursions including a expert expedition team, double sea kayaks, 24 zodiacs, and two custom built submarines. Enjoy nightly recaps and educational lectures through Seabourn’s enrichment program. Find your expedition by contacting me today or by searching for expeditions on Seabourn’s website. From the Arctic to Antarctica Seabourn is going there!

Just remember, you must book by October 31, 2023 to save 20% on your 2024 or 2025 Seabourn Expedition.

Bottom Line

Seabourn Expeditions are a fantastic way to explore the world. From Indonesia to Iceland and nearly everywhere in between, Seabourn can take you to all 7 continents. Visit and learn about indigenous cultures. See the stunning glaciers in both polar regions. Or gaze at the stunning wild life such as walrus, narwhals, polar bears, whales, seals, and penguins up close!

Do all of this and more with this unique cruise discount. Take 20% off or more a Seabourn Venture or Seabourn Pursuit 2024 or 2025 expedition. The discount is only available by booking via Scott and Thomas Travel, so email me today! The deal expires October 31, 2023,do not delay. Lock in the best prices of the year now and check out somewhere new while doing so in style. And don’t forget, those with flexibility who can travel last minute can save the most. Including on some amazing 2023 expeditions!

Read the rest of this article at 20% Off Seabourn Venture and Seabourn Pursuit Expeditions.

Solo Cruising continues to make the news and is becoming more popular as solo travelers look for new opportunities to travel and see the world. The small luxury ships and expedition companies are constantly offering solo cabin deals with reduced single supplements. Now, the big cruise lines are looking at more ways to attract solo travelers with solo rooms. 

NCL Solo Cabins Expansion

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) is going to introduce nearly 1,000 dedicated solo staterooms across its entire fleet. All 19 cruise ships will have solo cabins and they are going on sale this week. Norwegian Cruises will also expand the categories of staterooms available for solo travelers. Single cruise guests will be able to book Solo Inside, Solo Oceanview and Solo Balcony for future sailings starting Jan. 2, 2024.

Solo travelers can expect to pay less than a traditional double occupancy room. There will still be a solo supplement on some cruises, depending on popularity and time of year. 

“We strive to provide our guests with diverse offerings to create their dream vacation,” said David J. Herrera, president of NCL. “Since we first launched our solo staterooms in 2010 with Norwegian Epic, they have been quite popular with single travelers. We are continuously listening to our guests to deliver the experience they want. After realizing the growing demand of individuals looking to travel on their own, we have now expanded single occupancy staterooms across our fleet.”

Soon, solo travelers will be able to choose to cruise worldwide on Norwegian Cruise line. From ocean crossing or from New Zealand to Scandavia and everywhere in between, solo travelers can go further in comfort and style with Norwegian Cruise line.

This announcement comes in response to a recent surge in the popularity of solo travel within the tourism industry, with a growing number of individuals choosing to travel the world solo. According to a study by Travelport, solo travel made up nearly 18 percent of global bookings in the travel industry! This trend is only growing, as Radical Storage reported a 267 percent increase in online searches for the term “solo travel” between December 2020 to April 2022.

Norwegian Solo Traveler Perks

Solo travel has it’s perks on Norwegian and this is why sometimes their guests pay a little more. Solo Guests who stay in any solo stateroom categories gain access to the Solo traveler only Studio Lounge. The lounge is on most ships and features a place for solo travelers to mix and mingle. 

The studio lounge is usually within the cluster of solo rooms and features a dedicated space to relax for solo guest. There is also a fully equipped bar with beer and wine plus a variety of snacks served daily.

In addition to their own lounge, solo cruisers can enjoy activities in the daily programming for single travelers. Building a community at sea of like minded individuals, you won’t feel alone, unless you choose to be. 

Cruise Ships with Solo Cabins

Many Cruise lines already offer small studio cabins for single travelers. These include companies such as Holland America to expedition companies like Lindblad. Here are just a few that currently offer solo cabins with reduced solo supplements.

Norwegian Cruise line

The studio cabin was groundbreaking when introduced in 2010. The first of its kind in the cruising industry.. The rooms are very small, but then again most cruise rooms are on teh big ships. 

Each room is around 100 sq feet, but built for a solo traveler. Rooms feature a twin bed and all solo cabins also receive lounge access which encourages solo travelers to meet other solo travelers. Find Solo cabins on the following NCL ships: Norwegian Bliss, Norwegian Breakaway, Norwegian Epic, Norwegian Escape, Norwegian Getaway, and Pride of America

Celebrity Cruise line

Select Celebrity ships offer solo cabins and continue to expand the solo cabin offerings. The Celebrity Edge was the first ship in the fleet to feature 16 solo Infinite Veranda staterooms. These rooms are 131 square feet with an indoor balcony. Solo guests can now find solo suites on the Celebrity Apex,  Celebrity Beyond, Celebrity Edge, and the Celebrity Silhouette. Note the silhouette only has inside solo rooms.  Also keep your eyes out for solo cabins on the soon to launch Celebrity Ascent 

Virgin Voyages

One of the newest cruise lines in the industry, Virgin continues to mix things up with solo cabins. The adults only cruise line offers 46 solo cabins on the Scarlet Lady. Find solo Seaview rooms and balcony rooms on the entire fleet including Scarlet Lady, Valiant Lady, and Resilient Lady.

Royal Caribbean

Only available on the Quantum class ships, there are few solo cabins for single cruisers on Royal Caribbean International. Solo travelers can select between both balcony and interior rooms. Interior rooms have a digital window, with a 6.6 foot (80 inch) floor-to-ceiling LED screen that displays images from outside the ship. Royal was also the first with solo balcony cabins. Each solo balcony cabin has a small 55-square-foot balcony.

Find a solo cabin on the following Royal Caribbean ships: Anthem of the Seas, Brilliance of the Seas, Harmony of the Seas, Ovation of the Seas, Quantum of the Seas, and Symphony of the Seas 

Lindblad Expeditions

For those looking to go exploring the polar regions or places more remote, Lindblad offers small ship expeditions to the most remote places in the world. You can find solo cabins on the National Geographic Resolution and National Geographic Endurance. Both ships offer solo balcony cabins.

Bottom Line

Cruising while single is becoming more popular. Norwegian Cruise line recognizes this trend and is offering more opportunities by expanding the types of solo cabins across their entire fleet. Look for more solo travel deals and decrease solo supplements as more ships offer more staterooms for solo travelers.

When you’re looking for your next cruise, reach out to Scott and Thomas Travel and ask for Rocky, I’ll be happy to help you plan your next cruise. Solo or with a group! Email me directly for the best deals, including additional Onboard credit and other perks!

Read the rest of this article at Norwegian Cruise Line Adds Solo Cruise Cabins .