|
Post by solaria on Sept 9, 2016 21:31:50 GMT
And if you do decide on Scotland, try to be there in august and attend the Tattoo - An amazing spectacle!
if/when I get the chance I'd go again in a heartbeat!
|
|
|
Post by plane2catch on Sept 16, 2016 1:02:01 GMT
I just put a deposit down on Spectacular Alaska with Globus. I didn't know for sure which month to head to Alaska but I have decided on July. I'm a tad excited as I haven't travelled First Class in quite a few years.
I have been fortunate enough in my travels to have clear days whenever viewing a Mountain summit. During my last trip to the Canadian Rockies one of my fellow travelers told me that when he visited Alaska he wasn't able to see Mt. McKinley due to cloud cover. I feel like my luck is overdue to run out. Hope not but I will just have to wait and see.
|
|
joyb
Junior Member
Posts: 59
|
Post by joyb on Sept 16, 2016 14:37:32 GMT
Did an Alaskan tour a few years ago. Scenery is absolutely stunning. Went in July also and had clear skies for Mt McKinley.
|
|
|
Post by plane2catch on Sept 16, 2016 18:36:52 GMT
Did an Alaskan tour a few years ago. Scenery is absolutely stunning. Went in July also and had clear skies for Mt McKinley. Joyb, that is good to hear. I will be keeping my fingers crossed!
|
|
joyb
Junior Member
Posts: 59
|
Post by joyb on Sept 23, 2016 14:56:46 GMT
Booked my travel plans for 2017. Decided to finally do a river cruise which I've been thinking about for a couple of years. Going on a Rhine river cruise...8 days...in June 2017. Found a pretty good deal as the single supplement was waived. So looking forward to this after going through cancer treatment in 2015 ending in June 2016. Haven't done any overseas travel for the past 2 years and it will be so good to get back to something I enjoy so much. Will post a review of my trip on the forum as I haven't seen anything about the river cruises on here.
|
|
|
Post by tiffany on Sept 23, 2016 15:01:53 GMT
I’m glad to hear you finally booked a trip Joy! I’m sure you will enjoy yourself, especially after a 2 year hiatus.
|
|
|
Post by bet on Oct 6, 2016 0:07:50 GMT
I've just seen a current offer from Trafalgar, book a 2017 summer tour of Europe and fly to Europe from $499 (from Australia) that is incredibly cheap especially in summer considering most flights are give or take $2000. It just goes to show there ain't the people travelling to Europe like they're used to be. It's a shame Europe or Trafalgar isn't on my 2017 agenda otherwise I'll be on my way at that price.
|
|
|
Post by solaria on Oct 6, 2016 2:54:08 GMT
Also Avalon Waterways - part of the Globes brand - are offering up to $2000 off air fare if we in nz book certain euro river cruises for 2017. I am tempted.
But one tour idea that's got me thinking is Dubai to Venice through the Suez canal and stops in Israel and Greece and an option to see Petra. I am working on BH to also think it would be a great trip. March/April so not too hot and the cost including airfares would be similar to a cruise of euro tt tour!
|
|
|
Post by kiwigrandma on Oct 6, 2016 9:55:49 GMT
Solari à, That tour idea you thinking about sounds great. Have you seen it in a brochure or where can I find it to have a look.
|
|
|
Post by chech on Oct 6, 2016 11:45:14 GMT
Unfortunately, you don't see much of Petra via the cruise. When I was there on a land tour, I spent the entire day in Petra (which is a massive site more than two kilometres long after the Treasury). On my way out at 3 pm, I came across hundreds of people rushing in. I asked my guide and he said they were from the cruise ships. They are on the road for hours in both directions, get rushed in to glimpse the Treasury and then rushed out. That was the experience that made me decide not to do cruises to areas otherwise accessible by land....at least until my knees give out....lol. That's a good deal with Avalon. On one of my tours this year, I was talking to someone about the river cruises and they noted that the ones that advertise on TV - like Viking - cost more cause something like 30% of the ticket price is for marketing. Companies like TT and Globus which don't advertise don't add the cost of marketing to their tickets.
|
|
|
Post by tiffany on Oct 6, 2016 12:21:25 GMT
I’m hoping to go on two tours next year, and I’m glad that the prices have come down from 2016. It will make travelling more affordable for me in 2017!
|
|
joyb
Junior Member
Posts: 59
|
Post by joyb on Oct 6, 2016 18:40:24 GMT
Also Avalon Waterways - part of the Globes brand - are offering up to $2000 off air fare if we in nz book certain euro river cruises for 2017. I am tempted. But one tour idea that's got me thinking is Dubai to Venice through the Suez canal and stops in Israel and Greece and an option to see Petra. I am working on BH to also think it would be a great trip. March/April so not too hot and the cost including airfares would be similar to a cruise of euro tt tour! Avalon also had good pricing for solo travel on some of their Europe river cruises. I didn't get the air fare discount but was able to book a french balcony cabin with waived single supplement.
|
|
|
Post by solaria on Oct 6, 2016 19:42:51 GMT
Solari à, That tour idea you thinking about sounds great. Have you seen it in a brochure or where can I find it to have a look. It is offered through pukekohe travel. Saw it advertised in the weekend herald so looked it up.
|
|
|
Post by solaria on Oct 6, 2016 19:51:10 GMT
|
|
|
Post by plane2catch on Oct 6, 2016 21:00:42 GMT
I went on a land tour of Israel and Jordan. It sounds to me that you will have more than enough time at Petra. I doesn't sound to me that your trip will be rushed in any way. Enjoy!!
|
|
|
Post by chech on Oct 6, 2016 21:11:49 GMT
Yeah, it's certainly better than nothing. If those timings stand, you should be able to get to the area of the city just beyond the Treasury (takes about an hour to walk down from the parking lot and in through the Siq to get to the Treasury). The monastery is likely too far and not worth the effort if your time is limited. If you get as far as here, you'll get the best view of the whole site. It's worth the climb!
|
|
|
Post by bet on Oct 6, 2016 21:12:42 GMT
It looks like a fascinating cruise and it will offer a different perspective of the region. I'll be interested in hearing about it if you go ahead with it.
|
|
|
Post by mary on Oct 9, 2016 17:33:35 GMT
I received a call on from Cosmos that my Ecuador trip in February has been cancelled. The representative didn't know the reason, but I assume they didn't have enough participants. She offered up two other departure dates, one of which I can't do, and also said neither were definite departures yet. I checked the Trafalgar website and they have a definite departure in March on Secrets of Ecuador. I had considered Secrets of Ecuador, but picked the Cosmos trip because I liked the itinerary better.
So, decision time. I have to let Cosmos know on Monday whether to refund my deposit or move it to another date. Or book Secrets of Ecuador.
|
|
|
Post by Tulips on Oct 9, 2016 18:05:50 GMT
I received a call on from Cosmos that my Ecuador trip in February has been cancelled. The representative didn't know the reason, but I assume they didn't have enough participants. She offered up two other departure dates, one of which I can't do, and also said neither were definite departures yet. I checked the Trafalgar website and they have a definite departure in March on Secrets of Ecuador. I had considered Secrets of Ecuador, but picked the Cosmos trip because I liked the itinerary better.
So, decision time. I have to let Cosmos know on Monday whether to refund my deposit or move it to another date. Or book Secrets of Ecuador. Sorry to hear that, Mary! If it were me, I would take something that is guaranteed. Have you considered other companies? Don't know whether you like luxury or comfort or are good with a bit of adventure. There are lots of companies out there. I like Trafalgar, but now having done two small group tours with less than 20 people, I find I like that more. Sometimes, you do give up a bit of comfort though. My Ecuador/Galapagos trip was with G Adventures. It was land based and the hotels while not luxury were more than comfortable and clean and all had free wifi. Here is another tour with Goway www.goway.com/trip/central-and-south-america/value-ecuador-moderate/. You can also pick a more upscale version. Hope you find something you like.
|
|
|
Post by tiffany on Oct 11, 2016 12:13:39 GMT
I’m sorry to hear that your trip was cancelled Mary. I agree with Tulips, and would pick something that is guaranteed. Let us know what you decide to do.
|
|
|
Post by tiffany on Oct 20, 2016 11:43:58 GMT
So my friends are back from Eastern Europe, and we are already planning our 2017 tours! It looks like we will be going on Trafalgar’s Croatia-and-Bosnia-Herzegovina tour at at the end of April, and their Northern Spain tour at the beginning of September. The Croatia tour is a cost-saver tour, which I’m usually not a fan of, however, I liked the itinerary of this tour, and the price was right. We are all planning on flying into Zagreb a day or two early, as it’s only a 10 day tour. I also noticed that they changed the Northern Spain tour this year, and it now starts in Barcelona and ends in Madrid (It used to start and end in Madrid). I’m glad that this tour starts in Barcelona now, as I’ve always wanted to go back to that city. Since this is only an 11 day tour, we are going to fly into Barcelona a day or two early, and stay in Madrid an extra day or two after the tour. We are planning on booking at the beginning of January in order to take advantage of Trafalgar’s early payment discount, and I hope I won’t have to cancel at the last minute this time around! This is the first year in about 10 years that I have not gone on a trip, and I feel it!
|
|
|
Post by chech on Oct 20, 2016 21:23:56 GMT
You could always pop down to Vegas, San Fran, Boston or New York etc for a weekend. My Tibet tour for May got moved to the fall 2017...which moved Kenya/Tanzania to fall 2018.....but I found something to do in it's place late next spring. Storm Chasing. I just signed up for Tour 6 - ten days of chasing starting in Denver and driving all over the high plains looking for supercells and tornadoes.
|
|
|
Post by tiffany on Oct 21, 2016 11:20:50 GMT
I don’t want to go to the States anytime soon, as it would be very expensive to get insurance. Once my medical situation is more stable, I will consider a trip to the US. I have been considering a weekend trip to Montreal, as I haven’t been there in years. It will depend on my finances though.
I’m sorry your tour dates got moved, however, a storm chasing tours sounds interesting. I can’t wait to read about that one!
|
|
|
Post by chech on Oct 21, 2016 11:27:40 GMT
Or Quebec City! I live there for three years and still think it's one of the nicest cities to visit in the country.
|
|
|
Post by tiffany on Oct 21, 2016 14:38:23 GMT
I haven’t been to Quebec City in years, so that would be a good option. I have a cousin in Montreal though, and I could stay at her place for free. My friend also invited me to visit her in Calgary, and I may take her up on that offer, although I don’t know if I want to go to Calgary in the winter! At least I have a few options to consider. Now I just need to save my money and see what I can afford!
|
|
|
Post by californian on Oct 21, 2016 20:25:35 GMT
You could always pop down to Vegas, San Fran, Boston or New York etc for a weekend. My Tibet tour for May got moved to the fall 2017...which moved Kenya/Tanzania to fall 2018.....but I found something to do in it's place late next spring. Storm Chasing. I just signed up for Tour 6 - ten days of chasing starting in Denver and driving all over the high plains looking for supercells and tornadoes. Haha! Chech, I will mention this to my son in law, he would love a tour like this; he goes out of his way to find tornadoes! I'd go on road trips with him and my daughter once in a while, and more than once we have waited for menacing clouds to come closer. He got me into watching the Weather channel and we text each other about storms, a little scary as well because I have three grandchildren living in the Midwest! Very interesting tour!
|
|
|
Post by chech on Oct 21, 2016 21:19:05 GMT
I love storms but we don't get them with the nice cloud formations here. No supercells or thunderheads and that. I picked the high plains tour even though it has less chance of a tornado sighting because it will have the nice scenery and parks to visit on non-storm days. If I like it, I'll sign up for the Oklahoma based one for 2018.
|
|
|
Post by bet on Oct 24, 2016 6:54:12 GMT
So my friends are back from Eastern Europe, and we are already planning our 2017 tours! It looks like we will be going on Trafalgar’s Croatia-and-Bosnia-Herzegovina tour at at the end of April, and their Northern Spain tour at the beginning of September. The Croatia tour is a cost-saver tour, which I’m usually not a fan of, however, I liked the itinerary of this tour, and the price was right. We are all planning on flying into Zagreb a day or two early, as it’s only a 10 day tour. I also noticed that they changed the Northern Spain tour this year, and it now starts in Barcelona and ends in Madrid (It used to start and end in Madrid). I’m glad that this tour starts in Barcelona now, as I’ve always wanted to go back to that city. Since this is only an 11 day tour, we are going to fly into Barcelona a day or two early, and stay in Madrid an extra day or two after the tour. We are planning on booking at the beginning of January in order to take advantage of Trafalgar’s early payment discount, and I hope I won’t have to cancel at the last minute this time around! This is the first year in about 10 years that I have not gone on a trip, and I feel it! Sounds exciting Tiffany, I hope for your sake 2017 will be a better year for you with no trip cancellations. I'm curious to hear about the Croatia and Bosnia Herzegovina tour, it looks a good tour. I definately want to get to Croatia and especially its islands one day. Happy planning
|
|
|
Post by tiffany on Oct 24, 2016 11:34:30 GMT
Thanks Bet. I too hope that I won’t have to cancel again! I’ll be buying some extra insurance this time around though!
|
|
|
Post by bet on Oct 25, 2016 10:47:03 GMT
I'm sure both tours will be great especially after missing out on Eastern Europe. You could always pay the deposit and the reminder at the last minute once your certain your going, although you'll miss out on any early payment discounts.
|
|