28 November 2008 by Don.

We’re off to Vienna tomorrow and will keep you posted on the trip up the Danube.  Please keep posting your comments and questions.  We will try to post updates as we have time and internet connectivity.

Thanks,

Posted in Viking River Cruise 30 Nov - 7 Dec | 1 Comment »

20 November 2008 by Don.

I heard a song the other day that’s stuck in my mind - “Blue skies smilin’ at me, Nothin’ but blue skies do I see”.  You probably know the words and can hear Willie Nelson singing it.  I love the song but I’ll spare you the pain and me the embarrassment, and not try to sing it myself.

If you are in need of some warm weather and blue skies, come on down to the Caribbean.  That’s where they are and I can put you on a cruise ship under those blue skies for less than you think.

There are some great deals out there and now is the time to act.
I’m Don Vore with BuyCruises and I’ve got Blue Skies to smile on you.

Posted in Specials | No Comments »

12 November 2008 by Don.

I hope that you were paying attention when you saw that big yellow Low Shoulder sign.  I assume that you safely got past that spot in the road.   You may not see a warning sign right now, but you still need to watch of those shoulders.  It’s important that you pay attention because right now, I’m talking about cruises.  What do low shoulders have to do with cruises?

Well, people are always asking me when they can get the best price on a cruise.  The simple answer is the Shoulder-Season - that brief period between Prime-Season and Off-Season.  If the price is the most important factor and you have some flexibility in your schedule, the Shoulder-Season is the place to look.

The Shoulder-Season may not have the warmest weather and you may need to schedule your vacation around the school calendar, but it’s the time to get some of the best prices.
One of the most obvious examples is an Alaska Cruise in May or September. If you don’t have children in school, it’s a great time for you to get a bargain on a fantastic cruise.  It may be a little cooler, but just bring another sweater and enjoy the savings.

The Mediterranean cruise season tends to start a little earlier and last a little longer than Alaska with the best prices generally in early April and late October.  The weather won’t be as warm but the crowds will be smaller.

South America and Antarctica have a short season during our winter (there summer).   Prices ramp up quickly with the highest prices will be over Christmas and New-Years holidays. Early November and late February are considered the Shoulder-Season in the southern hemisphere.

The Caribbean has an extended year-round popularity with no off-season. The large number of cruise ships sailing the Caribbean keep the prices steady for most of the year.   Predictably, the prices go up for cruises during a few extremely popular periods.  The Christmas and New-year holiday, Spring Break week, and mid-summer are always in high demand and you need to book early to get the best stateroom on your first choice of cruise ships.

Posted in When to Cruise, Specials | 1 Comment »

4 November 2008 by Don.

If I’m not on a cruise, I like to be talking about cruises.  But, more importantly, it’s not the talking, it’s the listening to others that I appreciate the most.  I always learn something new when I listen.  I always ask for an introduction to friends and relatives that have cruised, preferably people who have cruised several times.  It’s interesting and educational to hear what they really enjoyed about their cruises, how they planned them, and the stories about the few things that didn’t go exactly as expected.

A high percentage of passengers have a great cruise vacation but every now and then, I run in to one that didn’t enjoy the cruise experience.  Most of the time, if I analyze their whole vacation, the problem is easily traced to some incident early in the vacation.   From that point, everything goes wrong for the unlucky passenger.

Right now, I’m working on a magazine article not about cruises but about the effort to get from home to the cruise terminal.  I’m interested in stories about the airline flight to the cruise port, whether it was arranged by the cruise line or booked by the passenger.  That may sound like a dull topic, but when you think about it, the airline flight is the most difficult part of a cruise.  With a little additional knowledge and a little planning, it could be less painful.  If you have experiences with air travel or know others who have stories (good or bad), please drop me a note at Don@DistinguishedCruiser.com (I’ll reward your efforts with a special discount on your next cruise).

Posted in How to Cruise | 1 Comment »

2 November 2008 by Don.

Our documents arrived yesterday and in a little less than a month, my wife and I set off on our next adventure.  I like to think that I’ve been everywhere and done everything, but it’s far from true.  For me, this cruise will be a new ship, a new cruise line, a new destination, and a new type of cruising.

We will be doing a European river cruise up the Danube on the Viking Spirit from Vienna to Nuremberg.  After so many warm-weather, ocean cruises, I’m looking forward to something completely different.

Although I love warm weather, sunshine, and fresh ocean breezes, this will fill my thirst for scenery, architecture, history, and culture.  There will be no verandah staterooms, no formal nights, and no lavish production shows on this ship that’s so small that it can only accommodate less than 10% of the passengers on from our recent Alaska cruise.  As I said, this is something new and different for me.

The attraction of a river cruise for me is the easy access some of the historic sites of Europe - they were all built along the rivers.   In addition, I get to see them by my favorite mode of transportation, a cruise ship.  I love the idea of packing and unpacking only once while I take my small, luxury hotel with gourmet food, and excellent service along with me as I travel.

My wife loves to shop and instead of the standard set of shops found on most cruise ship, we’ll have the Christmas markets in Vienna, Melk, Linz, Passau, Regensburg, and Nuremberg (there goes this years Christmas budget).

Posted in Viking River Cruise 30 Nov - 7 Dec | 1 Comment »