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Hi Everyone,

We just returned from a great river cruise.   As I mentioned last week,  we spent two days before the cruise in Baden-Baden, a spa resort town, and then were taken to our ship, Uniworld’s River Queen, our home for our trip down the Moselle and Rhine Rivers.  Great food, great company, and amazing sights entertained us each day.  Here are just a few of the pics I took along the way. The first two are a couple of the rooms at the Casino in Baden Baden.  As I mentioned last week, people get dressed up to go here and it is quite elegant.   The remainder of the pics are scenes from along the river or on excursions from our cruise.

The other big news this week is that Canada has eliminated their travel restrictions.  This is not only important for those of us who live near the border but it is really important for people traveling through Canada or beginning/ending trips in Canada including cruise lines and tours.

I was saddened this week to learn of the vandalism of the Washington Monument in Washington DC.   Red paint and obscenities were splashed across the base.  This is one of America’s most important sites.   Cleaning this will eventually be accomplished but it is difficult due to the type of stone used in the construction.

Fuller Travel Tours, 2023-2024

Lynn

Hi Everyone,

I am currently sailing the Moselle and Rhine River in Germany so this will be a brief posting this week.    We have been very lucky.  The river has enough water to sail and the weather has been good so far.  We are on a cruise ship with a capacity of 128 but there are only 70 of us so it feels like we have a lot of room!  We started this trip in the resort town of Baden-Baden.   This town is considered a spa town and spa towns also have a casino.   They are much different than our casinos.  They are very beautiful and people get dressed up to go there.  They mostly have table games, very few slots.   It was quite impressive. I had hoped to be able to post some pictures but have limited internet service so that will need to wait until next week’s blog.    The good news is that life appears very normal in Germany right now.  Water levels have risen,  masks are required on public transportation and some venues, but for the most part, things look like business as usual.

You have probably heard that Amsterdam’s  Schiphol Airport continues to struggle with an overabundance of passengers and luggage. They have asked the airlines to cancel flights and  limit the number of passengers. for the flights that do fly.   In return the airport is prepared to pay 350 Euro for every passenger whose trip is cancelled over the next few days.  They are hoping  to reduce the lines for security checks and baggage problems.

If you plan to travel to the Cancun area of Mexico soon, the Sargassum problem (massive amounts of seaweed) has been greatly reduced by Hurricane Fiona.  While no one wants a hurricane to visit, one small positive result from the recent Hurricane Fiona  is that most of the sargassum in the area was swept out to sea, leaving the beaches clean and beautiful.

Fuller Travel Tours, 2023-2024

Lynn

Hi everyone,

I just read a very interesting story about how cruise lines are assisting Ukrainian refugees.    For the last six months, Holland America’s Volendam has been home to Ukranian families who fled the war with Russia.   Those families have now been settled with relatives or moved to more permanent accommodations in the Netherlands.  Captain Ryan Whitaker said: “We are sad to see the Ukrainian families leave, but also hopeful for them that this move to more sustainable housing helps them adjust to their new life in the Netherlands.”   While the families were onboard, the Salvation Army and ship team members worked to make the ship feel as homey as possible. Crew members who spoke Ukrainian were added to the ship, children’s play areas were added to the deck, and the ship’s entertainment stage was transformed into a creative learning area.   Many of the adults found jobs in Rotterdam and the children attended local schools. I know other cruise lines are doing their part too but this was a great story to start my day!-Insider Travel Report

The cruise lines keep building bigger and better ships.  Princess just announced that they will welcome the Sun Princess to their fleet in 2024.  The ship will be the biggest ship in Princess line and will be capable of carrying 4300 guests.    Meanwhile, Disney just announced that the Disney Treasure is under construction and the interesting part of this is that the Treasure will sail to Hawaii and the South Pacific, a new area of the world for Disney ships.  Viking is building new ocean ships as well, two of which will be equipped with hydrogen fuel cells to produce power.

Between Memorial Day and Labor Day this year, we saw the 5 largest U.S. airlines cancel more than 29,000 flights and saw more than 336,000 flights delayed.  Things were much better this Labor Day although there were still some weather related headaches.    Fall normally brings a lighter load for the airlines until the holiday season begins.   We will still have a labor shortage at that time  and that problem will take a long time to solve.  If you have to travel during the holiday season, hopefully, you already have your flights.   Try to fly as early in the day as possible. If something goes wrong, there may be a back up.  Go a day early if possible.  That is especially true if you are cruising.  In most cases,The cruise ship will not wait for you. Really think about whether you need to check a bag.  If you do, then consider purchasing some Air Tags.  Download your airlines’ app.  It can be a very good source of information if you have problems and can give you an early warning that things may not be going smoothly.

Take a good look at the two new tours below:  Painted Canyons of the West, and Discovering Croatia, Slovenia, and the Adriatic Coast.  This one is on a very short reservation timeline.  I can only hold seats on this tour until the end of November, and I only have  20 seats.

Fuller Travel Tours, 2023-2024

Lynn

Hi Everyone,

If you were planning a river cruise this fall, you were holding your breath.  The lack of rain caused river levels to fall to levels that made it impossible for navigation in some areas.   The good news is that rain has arrived in Europe and there has been enough rain to help replenish parts of Europe’s most affected rivers to water levels sufficient for the normal operation of sailing.   Hopefully, Europe will continue to get more rain as it is not just cruising that’s affected.  Many  industries  in Europe use the rivers to move supplies and product and that has been a huge challenge.

Carnival Cruise Line has enacted a change to its Minor Guest Policy effective immediately, implementing a fleet wide curfew for children age 17 and under.  “If these guests are not accompanied by an adult in their traveling party 21 years of age or older, they must be clear of all public areas by 1:00am each evening unless involved in a Club 02 or Circle C teen activity.”   I’m not sure why minors need to be roaming a ship at 1:00am anyway, but that’s just my opinion.

New data from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) found that the United States remains the world’s biggest and most powerful travel and tourism market contributing 1.3 billion dollars to the country’s economy last year.  This was still a bit of a decline from pre pandemic levels but clearly shows that travel is bouncing back.  China and Germany rounded out the top 3 most powerful tourism markets.-Travel Pulse

Fuller Travel Service Tours

Lynn

Hi Everyone,

Amid months of mass flight cancellations and delays, the Department of Transportation has launched a customer service dashboard to  help vacationers ahead of the travel-heavy Labor Day weekend.  Travelers can check the dashboard to see what kinds of guarantees, refunds or compensation the major domestic airlines offer in case of flight delays or cancellation.  It’s designed to enable travelers to shop around and favor those airlines that offer the best compensation.   The dashboard is part of an extended pressure campaign from the U.S.  Transportation Secretary who has publicly challenged major carries to improve service and transparency after a summer marred by cancellations and flight delays.  The website can be found at  transportation.gov.   If you scroll to the first article on the website,  you can check it out.

Adult Americans  should be able to renew their passport online as soon as next year according to news from the Department of State.  You  will have to meet some fairly simple requirements, and if eligible,  you’ll be able to renew online instead of having to mail your passport  and forms.   Although it may not reduce the wait time, you will be able to track your progress through the system.

The Walt Disney Company is reportedly considering a membership program that would offer discounts and perks for combining streaming services, theme parks, resorts, and merchandise purchases.  According to the report, Disney executives are working on a program similar to Amazon Prime.  Sources said it remained unclear how much the service would cost or when it would debut if they do implement it. -Wall Street Journal

Fuller Travel Service Tours

Lynn

Hi everyone,

Although the holidays are still a few months away, if you plan on flying anywhere during the holiday season, you may want to make plans early.  United, American, and Delta continue to cut flights as they cope with the worker shortage.  Together, these three airlines have scheduled 95,000 fewer flights for October of this year than they did in October, 2019 and  79,000 fewer flights for November than for the same period in 2019.   We can only expect the same scenario for December.

Cancun government officials just announced that the destination has ended the need for arriving travelers to complete customs forms and granted Americans fast track entry.   Now, approved travelers will be granted a short term residence permit.  If you’ve traveled to Cancun in the past you know that visitors are issued a paper card that you have to produce when you leave Cancun.  Many of those cards were lost while people vacationed and then you had to pay a fee at the airport to get a replacement.   That procedure is ending as approved travelers will be issued a stamp (assuming on your passport) reducing wait times amid staff shortages.

Royal Caribbean announced this week that it is raising its recommended daily gratuities. Starting September 7, the new recommended guideline will be $16.00 per guest, per day in staterooms and $18.50 per guest, per day in suites.  The updated gratuity recommendation recognizes the crew members from staff in bars, lounges, and restaurants as well as stateroom attendants and staff behind the scenes.  The gratuity is automatically added to passengers’ account although they are able to change the amount at their discretion.    It is important to note that once one cruise line increases these types of cost, the others generally do the same.

Fuller Travel Service Tours

Hi Everyone,

We just returned from a short tour called Islands of New England.  We had a great time visiting Providence, Rhode Island, Block Island, Plymouth, Martha’s Vineyard, Provincetown, Hyannis, and Nantucket.  I have included a few pics from the trip:

The Breakers:                                        Replica of the Mayflower

      S.

Old Mill in Brewster:                   Second Oldest Lighthouse in U.S.,Nantucket

Princess Cruises just announced a new program that allows you to bid on cabin upgrades. Once you have paid in full travelers will receive an email asking if they would like to bid on an upgrade for a better category of cabin.   There is no obligation to do so, but if you’ve always wanted to sail in a mini-suite or better, it is a good opportunity to see if you can do that a little less expensively.

As we move into Fall, attention will soon be focused on holiday travel.   Holiday travel is always hectic and this year may be more difficult.  The airline industry is still very short on employees from pilots to baggage handlers.  If you are traveling this upcoming holiday season, book early, book nonstop if possible, and prepare to be patient.    I just purchased some air tags and experimented with them on my short trip to New England this past week.   I thought they worked amazingly well.   Whenever I moved away from my bags or they were moved away from me, I received an update.  They were definitely worth the investment.

Tourist behavior in Europe has been a hot topic this summer.  The latest episode occurred in Venice when two people decided to go surfing up the Grand Canal.  The Grand Canal is not just the center of the UNESCO World Heritage site lined with historical buildings, but it’s also the main thoroughfare of Venice. Needless to say, this craziness was not appreciated.  The individuals’ board have been confiscated, they were heavily fined, and expelled from the city. -CNN

Fuller Travel Service Tours

September 18-30, 2022 Rhine, Moselle, and Blissful Baden-Baden    Spend 2 nights in the beautiful spa town of Baden-Baden and then board your ship for a cruise up the Rhine and Moselle rivers.  We will visit Strasbourg, Speyer, Frankfurt, Rudesheim, Boppard, Cochem Bernkastel and Trier before returning home from Frankfurt. Uniworld Cruises   

Hi Everyone,

Vaccination requirements continue to change rapidly for cruisers.   Royal Caribbean  eased vaccination requirements on sailings from certain destinations starting Sept. 5. For Cruises departing U.S. ports in California, Louisiana, and Texas or from ports in Europe (excluding Iceland, Covid-19 vaccination is not required. Royal Caribbean still “strongly recommends” that guests are fully vaccinated. Guests who are not fully vaccinated will need to bring a negative test result taken within three days of boarding.  Royal said that some destinations they visit requires passengers to be up-t0-date with their vaccination status to go ashore which may mean additional testing for those who are unvaccinated.

Celebrity said that for sailings departing on or after Sept. 5 from Los Angeles and Europe (excluding sailings departing from Iceland), vaccination is not required. For most sailings, Celebrity still requires a negative Covid-19 test result as a condition for boarding.

Norwegian Cruise Lines also eased vaccination and testing protocols ending testing for vaccinated travelers and allowing unvaccinated travelers to cruise with a negative test in from most ports starting September 3.   It is important to note that some destinations require passengers to be up to date on their vaccinations in order to go ashore.-Travel Weekly

Friday, Princess removed their vaccination requirement for cruises under 16 days departing from all departure ports except Canada, Greece, Australia, and Bermuda.  Vaccinated guests no longer have to pre-test. Unvaccinated guests should self test within 3 days of sailing and upload proof of a negative test before sailing.

Hi Everyone,

The big travel news of the week is the elimination of the inbound testing rule  for entering the United States.   The rule that required everyone flying back into the country to be tested 1 day before their flight has been a very real detriment to travel, both for American citizens returning from abroad, and others who would like to visit our country.

The other news of the week is not as positive.   Many U.S. airlines continue to cancel thousands of flights due to staffing shortages. According to NBC News, Southwest Airlines had the highest number of cancellations for the summer season, canceling just under 20,000 flights because it lacks the thousands of employees necessary to run the flights.   Delta Air Lines is canceling 100 daily flights in the U.S. and Latin America from July 1-August 7.   The problem, however, is not confined to the United States.  High demand and staffing shortages are problems around the world.  Europe saw a worse spring for air travel than the U.S. with major airports seeing back-ups, travelers missing their flights, and long baggage lines.  Adding to this is that several countries are experiencing worker strikes.   When you travel this summer, pack your patience.-Travel Pulse

Delta Airlines will debut some very cool new technology at Detroit Metro Airport on June 29.   The technology, named Parallel Reality, will allow up to 100 flyers to simultaneously see flight information tailored to their unique itinerary even though travelers will be looking at the same digital screen.  This Parallel Reality screen will be located immediately past the security checkpoint at Terminal A.  You will just need to scan your boarding pass.

Disney just took delivery of their fifth cruise ship.   The ship, Disney Wish, introduces a brand new, Disney design concept.  The ship features new spaces and experiences infused with more Disney storytelling than ever, bringing to life the characters at the heart of Disney, Pixar, Marcel, and Star Wars.-Disney Travel Agents

Hi Everyone,

Last week I mentioned that I was on a tour of Ireland.  We returned home Friday from a really great trip.  The Irish weather cooperated and we had a wonderful group of people traveling with us.  I wanted to include a few more pics from the tour: View from lunch stop on the Ring of Kerry,  Blarney Castle Fern Garden (Thanks,Steve) Our last night stay at Cabra Castle,(Thanks, Ann), Cliffs of Moher.

In other news this week, the travel industry was pleased that the Biden Administration plans to revise its Cuba policy to bring back group travel in the people-to-people category and allow charter and commercial flights to Cuban cities other than Havana.  Further details have not been released.

Delta is joining United in rolling out bluetooth headphone support on their latest jets.  It is in the testing phase now but soon you’ll be able to use your wireless AirPods and other wireless headsets.

Disney World theme park tickets and resort bookings for 2023 will officially open on June 8.  Also, you will no longer be able to purchase the Genie+ service when booking.  You will need to purchase it on the day of your visit, via the app, one day at a time, subject to availability.

We have all seen things like scarce rental cars, shortages of pilots and other airline workers, full hotels etc.  This week I read an article about the scarcity of available airport parking.  Do yourself a favor, particularly around peak times like holidays,  and reserve your spot ahead of time.  Most airline and off airline property lots, let you reserve in advance so you can be assured of a spot when you arrive.