Sunday, Oct 13, while reading the myriad of travel emails that I get, one, in particular, caught my eye. Panama Canal cruise for $65 a night balcony room. I could not just turf that one out, I had to investigate. It must be a hoax. Balcony rooms on that itinerary usually start at $250 to $300 per person per night and climb from there. Well out of my maximum budget of $150 per person per day for all the "hard" costs, transportation, accommodations, cruise, etc.
On further investigations, I found it is not $65 per night but it is $105 when taxes and everything else is added in. Still a very, very good price. So what's the catch?? Well, it sails in 3 weeks, we have to be ready to go fairly quickly, and it is a bit of a long one, 16 nights. Sailing from Miami, it does a complete transit of the Canal and ends in Los Angeles. Conditions that not everyone can respond to quickly, but being retired, completely doable for us. Then followed 2 full days of planning, how we would get to Miami, at a reasonable price, arranging hotels, etc. Will we fly, will we take a train, will it be a combination of both??
Spreadsheets were made and at least 7 scenarios were created. The most appealing was to take the train from Vancouver to Miami, cruise, then train from Los Angeles to Vancouver. But delving deeper into the details, there were no sleeping rooms available for the longest segment, 49 hours. I don't think so! Maybe if I/we were still in our 20's, but comfort is key these days.
So, in the end, we had our plan. Fly from Vancouver to Miami. Again with a little finagling, we were able to get a good deal on our airfare by being flexible. Move back a day, and save $500, more than paying for the extra night's hotel at the other end. In fact, we were able to score Business class seats, a new one for us, for just a bit more than the usual 3 seat purchase (redneck premium economy) when you add checked bag and seat selection fees, that we have done for our last few flights. Never heard of Redneck Premium Economy?? It is my term for getting the best possible bang for our buck when flying. Often, for a fraction of the cost of the Premium Economy, you can purchase a seat without a body assigned to it. You only pay the airfare portion and do not pay all the taxes, airport improvement fees, carrier imposed costs, etc., which sometimes are more than the actual flight costs. It ensures only 2 of us occupy a space that is designated for three. On long trips, you can stretch out, turn sideways, do not get or give elbow with a stranger, etc. A very civilized way to travel. At the end of our cruise, we will be hopping a train back to Vancouver. All accomplished for my $150 per person per day cost for all the "hard " costs.
Oct 17, the booking process has commenced.
Our cruise ship will be the Norwegian Joy, a new cruise line and ship to us. Joy is one of those semi-behemoth ships (because there are even larger ones), something new for us too. The ships we have cruised on in the past have been between 2100 and 2800 passengers. This beast has a 3800 passenger capacity. It visited Vancouver earlier this year for the first time making a newsworthy entrance to the city. It is so high that they had to wait until low tide, to pass under Lion's Gate Bridge, lowering their mast as they did and only having 5 feet clearance from the top of the ship to the bottom of the bridge.
This will be our itinerary with a couple of changes - we will not be going to Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica, instead a stop in Acapulco has been added.
Nov 3, 10 PM - everything is packed and we are ready to roll out tomorrow morning on the start of this journey.
On further investigations, I found it is not $65 per night but it is $105 when taxes and everything else is added in. Still a very, very good price. So what's the catch?? Well, it sails in 3 weeks, we have to be ready to go fairly quickly, and it is a bit of a long one, 16 nights. Sailing from Miami, it does a complete transit of the Canal and ends in Los Angeles. Conditions that not everyone can respond to quickly, but being retired, completely doable for us. Then followed 2 full days of planning, how we would get to Miami, at a reasonable price, arranging hotels, etc. Will we fly, will we take a train, will it be a combination of both??
Spreadsheets were made and at least 7 scenarios were created. The most appealing was to take the train from Vancouver to Miami, cruise, then train from Los Angeles to Vancouver. But delving deeper into the details, there were no sleeping rooms available for the longest segment, 49 hours. I don't think so! Maybe if I/we were still in our 20's, but comfort is key these days.
So, in the end, we had our plan. Fly from Vancouver to Miami. Again with a little finagling, we were able to get a good deal on our airfare by being flexible. Move back a day, and save $500, more than paying for the extra night's hotel at the other end. In fact, we were able to score Business class seats, a new one for us, for just a bit more than the usual 3 seat purchase (redneck premium economy) when you add checked bag and seat selection fees, that we have done for our last few flights. Never heard of Redneck Premium Economy?? It is my term for getting the best possible bang for our buck when flying. Often, for a fraction of the cost of the Premium Economy, you can purchase a seat without a body assigned to it. You only pay the airfare portion and do not pay all the taxes, airport improvement fees, carrier imposed costs, etc., which sometimes are more than the actual flight costs. It ensures only 2 of us occupy a space that is designated for three. On long trips, you can stretch out, turn sideways, do not get or give elbow with a stranger, etc. A very civilized way to travel. At the end of our cruise, we will be hopping a train back to Vancouver. All accomplished for my $150 per person per day cost for all the "hard " costs.
Oct 17, the booking process has commenced.
Our cruise ship will be the Norwegian Joy, a new cruise line and ship to us. Joy is one of those semi-behemoth ships (because there are even larger ones), something new for us too. The ships we have cruised on in the past have been between 2100 and 2800 passengers. This beast has a 3800 passenger capacity. It visited Vancouver earlier this year for the first time making a newsworthy entrance to the city. It is so high that they had to wait until low tide, to pass under Lion's Gate Bridge, lowering their mast as they did and only having 5 feet clearance from the top of the ship to the bottom of the bridge.
This will be our itinerary with a couple of changes - we will not be going to Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica, instead a stop in Acapulco has been added.
Nov 3, 10 PM - everything is packed and we are ready to roll out tomorrow morning on the start of this journey.
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