Original by: Rapidfire Cai Cai, Playful Travels, 2023-02-01 14:28:06
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but after three years of the pandemic, the prices of overseas travel products haven’t gone down; instead, they’re rising. Both airfares and hotel prices are going up, especially for top luxury options, which see the greatest hikes.
Are there any travel products currently experiencing significant price drops? Yes, there are—cruises.
This year’s cruise prices are astonishingly low, which really shocked me!!!
Plus, cruises are perfect for family trips. Most cruises offer free or extremely low-priced tickets for the third and fourth passengers.
They are very suitable for traveling with elderly family members or children.
Moreover, cruises are generally all-inclusive. You don’t need to spend additional money on food, drinks, entertainment, or accommodation.
Let me give you a few examples.
To Alaska:
The Cunard Queen Victoria departs from Tokyo, Japan, heads north to Aomori and Otaru in Japan, then crosses the Bering Strait and the Aleutian Islands, continues around Alaska, and finally reaches Vancouver.
Such a 16-night voyage (departing on May 24) costs only $1,188 USD, plus a little over $200 in taxes and fees.
That totals less than 10,000 RMB, averaging less than 625 RMB per night. Cunard is all-inclusive, with three meals a day, afternoon tea, all included. It’s truly very, very cost-effective.
This route is excellent too, covering both Japan and Alaska. With Japan’s visas now open, you only need to get U.S. and Canadian visas to embark on the trip.
You might not be familiar with Cunard, the unrivaled king in the mid-to-large cruise market.
In the cruise industry, there is a bible called the Berlitz Cruise Guide, updated annually. It evaluates over 200 active cruise ships worldwide. Among cruise ships with a capacity of over 2,500 passengers, Cunard ranks top.
Cunard currently operates three ships, all named after queens: the Queen Mary 2, the Queen Elizabeth, and the Queen Victoria.
All Cunard captains have been knighted by the United Kingdom, just like Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United.
I once boarded Cunard’s Queen Victoria. Apart from the necessity of wearing formal attire, everything else was perfect.
This ship’s target audience is really the old money folks, exuding a full aristocratic vibe.
Regardless of whether you choose an interior cabin or a balcony on Cunard Cruise Line, the welcome gift is sparkling wine. The toiletries provided are luxurious Penhaligon products, and there are also welcome fruits. Turn-down service includes chocolates…
You can have breakfast delivered to your room daily with no extra charge.
Isn’t that a great deal?
To be honest, buying a direct flight ticket from China to Vancouver alone now costs over 5000 yuan. If you have the time, it might be better to take a cruise, enjoying fun and food along the way.
Going to Tahiti
NCL (Norwegian Cruise Line) has just refurbished the Spirit, which will embark on a journey from Sydney to Tahiti on March 28th. The itinerary includes stops at New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, American Samoa, Raiatea in Tahiti, Moorea in Tahiti, finally reaching the capital, Papeete.
For just 15 days, at an all-inclusive price of 899 USD, it translates to only 406 yuan per day for an all-in package that includes accommodation, dining, and entertainment. And the destinations are stunning South Pacific islands that were once hard to reach.
It’s an absolute steal.
The Spirit has just been renovated, so the travel experience should be top-notch. Of course, those familiar with me know that I have never really liked NCL.
The highlights of this itinerary are the stopovers: Vanuatu, Fiji, American Samoa, and Tahiti are all gems of the South Pacific. Typically hard-to-reach places, you can now visit multiple islands in one go. Just thinking about island-hopping in the South Pacific is exhilarating.
As for the price, it’s unbeatable. Flying from Sydney to Tahiti alone could cost as much.
I really, really want to visit Tahiti again.
Going to Antarctica
Quark Expeditions offers an exceptional route to Antarctica on February 17th. The journey is unique, flying directly from Punta Arenas to King George Island in Antarctica, then boarding a Quark cruise.
The itinerary includes 6 days and 5 nights exploring the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands, then flying back to Punta Arenas.
Do you know how much this fly-in, fly-out trip costs? Only 6000 USD (approximately 40,000 RMB). This flight-inclusive itinerary saves you from the rough seas of the Drake Passage.
Departing from Chile is pretty convenient since, with a US visa, you can enter Chile visa-free. Currently, round-trip flights to Chile cost a little over 10,000 yuan. While the flight is a bit pricey, the cruise fare is genuinely cheap.
A cruise ticket costing over 40,000 yuan is actually a bargain, compared to the rough journey through the Drake Passage, not to mention flying directly to Antarctica.
Now, this is a last-minute Antarctic trip one can embark on with minimal planning.
The vessel is Quark’s polar expedition ship “Ocean Adventurer”, which can accommodate 128 passengers. It also boasts a 1A ice class rating.
Sure, here is the detailed English translation of the provided Chinese text, maintaining the original meaning and tone, and ensuring good readability. Each paragraph is separated by two line breaks.
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For a ship of this size, going to Antarctica is quite good. The Antarctic Treaty stipulates that each landing is limited to 100 people. With 128 people, one group can land while another group goes on a zodiac cruise, making it the most efficient.
The only downside of this ship is that the rooms are a bit lacking. But let me put it this way, most rooms on ships going to Antarctica are quite average. At least the rooms on the Quark are better than the ship I took to Antarctica back then.
The main focus of an Antarctic trip is still the experience itself.
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Crossing the Atlantic
Cunard’s flagship, Queen Mary 2, offers a 7-day transatlantic route from New York, USA to Southampton, UK, for just $888 (plus $81.53 in taxes).
I highly recommend this route. Cunard has a transatlantic route every year, paying homage to the golden age of ocean liners.
Back in the day, the Titanic sailed this route, but now it’s much faster, taking only 7 days to cross the ocean.
During the 7-day voyage, the clock is set forward by one hour each day, which is truly a magical experience. Cunard is the only company that operates a fixed transatlantic route every year.
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Taking a Cruise from Singapore
Currently, many ships are deployed at the home port of Singapore, operating Southeast Asian routes. These ships are ready to be moved to Chinese home ports as soon as they open.
The city size of Singapore cannot support a ship like Royal Caribbean’s Spectrum of the Seas, which has over 2,000 rooms and a capacity of over 4,000 passengers, so the prices naturally go down.
Can you imagine how much the Spectrum of the Seas, which used to cost at least 5-6k per voyage in China, sells for in Singapore? A lot of tickets are in the range of 1,500 to 2,000 yuan.
Isn’t it a bargain? It feels like you get your money’s worth just by eating on the ship for a few days.
Currently, there are no home port routes in China. Once the Spectrum returns to China, the prices will go up again. The current situation in China is that many people want to go out, but there are too few routes. Once they come in, there will definitely be a surge.
So if you have the opportunity and the means, take a cruise from Singapore.
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See the Northern Lights or Get a Free Cruise
Hurtigruten has a promotion, promising that certain routes will have a 100% chance of seeing the Northern Lights. If you don’t see them, they will give you another cruise for free.
Hurtigruten is the leading cruise line in the Norwegian fjords and a global leader in expedition cruises. Its mission is to explore new “worlds” and bravely reach places where humans have never been.
If you plan to see the Northern Lights in Norway this year, with Hurtigruten’s promise, you don’t have to worry at all. If you don’t see them the first time, you can take another cruise until you do.
