Our travel newsletters for October.
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| Madi Effertz, a young musician from Owatonna, Minn., came up with the perfect image for these times. |
If
you’re like us, you’re way past tired of hearing the “Q” word—quarantine. You’d
like to get away to a place that won’t require to spend a week or two stuck in
your hotel room before you can get out and see what you came to see, assuming
you have any vacation time left for enjoying yourself.
But where can you go? TravelPulse
magazine, along with us here at Travel Designers Travel Leaders, have found
some places that don’t require quarantining upon arrival. Many of them do
require proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within a few days of arrival,
but here are some places in the Caribbean with sand, sun and no 10-letter words
that begin with Q:
· Aruba. The Dutch island averages daily high temps around 80, dry weather and some of the best scuba diving and windsurfing in the Caribbean.
· Anguilla. If you like beaches, this British
Overseas Territory has 33 of them, plus a notable culinary culture that is sure
to satisfy every palate.
· Belize. This former British colony on the Central American coast boasts lazy beach ambience along with great diving and adventurous jungles and caves for those inclined to explore.
· Barbados. The British influence is still strong
here, giving the island a distinct Euro/Carib vibe.
· Dominican Republic. This exciting country on the island
of Hispaniola offers a vibrant Latin culture, terrific beaches and, for the
very adventurous, the Caribbean’s highest mountain.
· Jamaica. The reggae music captures you right away,
and the beaches, lush rainforests, rugged highlands and distinctive cuisine
will keep you coming back.
· Puerto Rico. You can stay in the U.S. and still enjoy
the island’s Latin culture and historic Spanish landmarks, not to mention its
beaches.
· Saint Lucia. This volcanic island has more mountains
than any other in the Caribbean, making it a mecca for adventurers, not to
mention those who want to enjoy its first-rate resorts and beaches.
· Saint Maarten. This Dutch colony shares the island with
French Ste. Martin, which is still closed to visitors, but on the open side you
can still enjoy an eclectic mix of beaches, resorts, restaurants and casinos.
· Turks and Caicos Islands. Another British
Overseas Territory, T&C has beaches that are quite likely the best in the
Caribbean, if not the world.
That’s quite a lineup! These lovely Caribbean
islands are ready to greet you right now and as you can see, there’s something
for every vacationer. Wisconsin’s winter is just around the corner, so now’s
the time to plan your getaway. Call us today, so we can start working for you
and you can start shopping for beachwear!
* * *
Cruise ships aren’t cruising right now,
but they will be soon, of that you can be sure. Another thing you can be sure
of is that whatever ship you sail on next, eventually, that ship will be
withdrawn from service and sail off to…where? Reader’s Digest recently decided to find out.
A cruise liner is a collection of
machines. A very large collection, of course, but no machine lasts forever.
Like your car and Grandpa’s pocket watch, a cruise liner eventually wears out.
Perhaps new technology has made many of its workings obsolete, or maybe trends
in the cruise industry have passed it by. For the average cruise liner, it
takes about 30 years for a new ship to reach the point where it goes on its
final voyage.
Some liners are sold to other
companies, which then refit them for more years of use. Others are stripped for
scrap, their parts sold piecemeal, right down to the waterline. The lines use
different yards around the world, but the biggest is in India, where the Alang
shipyard handles half of all cruise liners. Usually a ship makes it there under
its own power, but occasionally it’s towed. And the Alang facility is not
really a “shipyard,” it’s just a ten-mile stretch of beach with a 25-foot tidal
variance, allowing ships to be beached at high tide. Workers scramble aboard
and start removing everything. The hulk is gradually winched further onto the
beach until there’s literally nothing left.
A very lucky few cruise ships live
on well past their final voyage. The RMS Queen
Mary (pictured above) is perhaps the most famous. Built by the UK-based Cunard-White Star
Line, Queen Mary sailed on her maiden
voyage in 1936, and for 15 of the next 16 years it held the title of fastest
liner on the North Atlantic crossing. The ship held 2,139 passengers with a
crew of 1,101. At 1,019 feet in length it was 168 feet shorter than the largest
of today’s liners, Royal Caribbean’s Symphony
of the Seas, but it was otherwise much smaller, with less than a third of Symphony’s passenger capacity. Queen Mary and its class of ocean liners
were rendered obsolete by the jet age, and the ship was retired from service in
1967. Its last voyage was to the California port of Long Beach, where she
remains today as a tourist attraction, featuring a hotel, restaurants and a
museum. Taking a tour of her today is the closest anyone will ever get to going
aboard the most famous cruise liner of all, the Titanic, which was lost on its famous maiden voyage in 1912.
The coronavirus pandemic has hit the
cruise industry particularly hard, and has caused the early withdrawal from
service of many ships, 18 by Carnival Corp. and three by Royal Caribbean. Most
of those ships would have sailed for several more years, but with no cruising
going on, the companies couldn’t afford the overhead of keeping them in
service, even as they remained in port.
But those that remain will sail again, hopefully soon. Whether you want to take the kids and avail yourselves of the big ships with their climbing walls and skating rinks, or go smaller and more intimate for just the two of you, we’ll be here at Travel Designers Travel Leaders to get you aboard!
* * *
Autumn
leaves are falling and we’ve had our first snowfall of the season, so that
means the holidays aren’t far away. Normally one of the heaviest travel periods
of the year, what will the holidays of 2020-21 hold? Will the pandemic keep
most travelers from flying to Grandma’s house or celebrating in the Caribbean
or Mexican sun?
Not according to a recent survey, says Afar magazine. More than half of Americans (55%) say they plan to
travel for the holidays, most of them for the first time since the virus began
locking things down last March. If you’re planning to be one of them, expect to
see airports a lot less busy than they would’ve been a year ago. Travel by air
is steadily rising; according to the TSA, nearly a million travelers passed
through US airports on October 11, the highest number since the start of the
pandemic, but it’s still less than half of the total from a year earlier.
Expect to see many changes at TSA
security checkpoints and throughout airports when you begin your holiday
journey. There will be masking, plexiglass security shields and social
distancing rules strictly enforced. Equipment and surfaces will be sanitized
frequently. Passengers will be required to wear masks inside the airport, removing
them only briefly to allow for identification. On the plus side, wait times
will be shorter. TSA used to recommend arriving at the airport at least two
hours before departing on a domestic flight, and three hours for international
travel. Now, you can cut those times back by about an hour.
Five US air carriers, including
Delta, which is the most popular carrier for our clients, are still keeping
middle seats vacant. Delta will keep them empty until at least January 6, while
other airlines might open the seats up sooner. All major airlines have
mandatory mask policies in place for passengers, and they’re being strictly
enforced.
We can expect to see some cheaper
fares this season. Domestic fares have dropped 41% for the Thanksgiving season,
compared to last year, with Christmas prices down almost as much. To get those
seats and those prices, though, we advise not waiting any longer. Use Halloween
as a good deadline date, which gives you just under two weeks from now to
finalize your plans and call us to book your trip, in order to get the best
possible dates and prices. If you’re concerned that booking that early might
backfire if you have to change your plans, you should know that most airlines
have ditched their notorious change fees.
With the kind of year we’ve all had,
traveling someplace for the holidays, whether to see family or just get out of
the winter, sounds pretty good. We’re here to help you make those wishes
happen. Call us today, and start dreaming of how good Grandma’s pumpkin pie will
taste, or how nice it’ll be to lay on the beach while everyone back home is
shoveling!
* * *
The hotel business has taken a big hit this year thanks to the coronavirus, but they’re on the way back. Everyone is cautiously optimistic that 2021 will see a vaccine, the virus will become a nasty couple of pages in the history books, and travelers will be checking into hotels all over the world again. Their choices will be many, regardless of destination. But which ones are the best? Well, some of them are right here in Wisconsin.
Lots of our clients enjoy
road-tripping through our beautiful state, just to see the sights or to visit
family, or both. If you can’t get the spare bedroom at Grandma’s house anymore,
you might want to check on these great hotels. Six Wisconsin hotels and resorts
have won 2020 Reader’s Choice Awards from Condé
Nast Traveler magazine.
The two highest-ranked Wisconsin
hotels are in Milwaukee. Ranked 6th overall is the Saint Kate-The
Arts Hotel, followed in 8th by the Pfister. The hotels offer a wild
contrast in décor but both sport great amenities. The Saint Kate is an
“art-centric” hotel where you can sleep surrounded by leopard-print or elegant
flowers. Each of its 219 rooms has a different décor, many of them designed by
local artists, and the themes range from the merely stylish to the wild and
colorful. The Pfister has been a downtown Milwaukee icon since 1893 and brings
the best in style and service to the traveler. It’s no wonder that the Pfister
has for decades hosted Milwaukee’s most distinguished visitors, but there’s
plenty of room for small-town travelers who want to experience Gilded Age
elegance.
Also on the best-in-the-country list
are the Delafield Hotel in suburban Delafield (17th) and the
Edgewater in Madison (20th). One of the state’s best boutique
hotels, the Delafield is a popular site for weddings. The Edgewater, right in
the heart of the capital’s vibrant downtown, offers a beautiful location on the
shores of Lake Mendota and within a few blocks of the UW campus, making it a
prime destination for Badger fans coming to the city for a game.
The American Club in Kohler is one
of only two Midwestern resorts to make the magazine’s list of top 20
destination resorts. Ranked 11th, the American offers a five-star
hotel and access to some of the country’s best golf courses. Finally, the Grand
Geneva Resort & Spa in Lake Geneva ranks 20th on the list of the
best resorts in the Midwest and West. Nestled in one of southern Wisconsin’s
most picturesque areas, the Grand Geneva has over 1300 acres for you to enjoy
with golf, hiking, skiing and more.
Northwest Wisconsin doesn’t have any
properties on the list, but some should be, like the Old Rittenhouse Inn in
Bayfield (pictured above), the Inn on Lake Wissota in Chippewa Falls, the Phipps Inn in Hudson
and, right nearby, the Cobblestone in Birchwood. Wherever you might be thinking
of going on your next Wisconsin road trip, give us a ring and we’ll help you
find the place that will be just right for you and your family. Happy
exploring!
Sue Tindell
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