Zuiderdam Kitchen Tour & A Review of Azamara Cruises

It's all about cruising on our podcast this week. We'll check in travel expert Onanta Forbes who's been sailing onboard Holland America's Zuiderdam for the past month. Plus, we'll also get some insight on what it's like to cruise with Azamara cruises when we chat with David Yeskel, the Cruise Guru. And Ken Stewart from Crowfoot Travel Solutions will be along with a few destination ideas and travel deals with our Weekly Roundup.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome and Episode Introduction
• 1:08 Around Africa with Onanta Forbes
• 4:55 Behind-the-Scenes Ship Galley Tour
• 14:28 Azamara Cruises Experience with David Yeskel
• 23:27 South Pacific Destination Highlights
• 31:31 Ponant and Paul Gauguin Cruises Overview
• 39:14 River Cruising with AmaWaterways
• 43:28 Closing and Travel Expert Contact Info

Transcript

Randy: 0:06

Well, hello and welcome to the Informed Traveller podcast, a weekly travel podcast where our goal is to help you become a more informed traveller, and I'm your host, randy Sharman. It is all about cruising on our podcast this week. In a few seconds, we'll check in with travel expert Onanta Forbes, who's been sailing on board Holland America's Zyderdam for the past month, so we'll get an update with her. Plus, we'll also get some insight on what it's like to cruise with Azamara Cruises when we chat with David Yeskel, the cruise guru, and Ken Stewart from Crofoot. Travel Solutions will be, along with a few destination ideas and travel deals with our weekly roundup. But first let's kick things off chatting with travel expert Onanta Forbes, who joins us each week to discuss some of the travel news and travel trends. You can follow her adventures on Instagram, facebook and X at Onanta Forbes. Onantaforbescom is her website and for the past month, onanta Forbes has been on board Holland America's Zyderdam on a semi-world cruise. So where do we find you today, onanta?

Onanta: 1:09

Today we arrived in Africa, so Sarabono, that is hello in Zulu and our first point of dock is in Richards Bay. So quite a port, and I'm saying that because it's not a usual port for a cruise ship. Coal is very much a huge product here as far as exporting. So when we arrived you saw these mounds of coal that looks like huge black dirt piles and a lot of trucks lining up to deliver the coal and then they loaded onto tanker ships to go to different destinations throughout the world. So quite amazing as far as the first sight of this port. But it's a beautiful destination. I have to say. One of the things that we noticed right away was it wasn't as humid as the other ports that we visited on our cruise, so it was quite comfortable a nice 25 degrees, a slight breeze and we weren't kind of dripping as we stood. So very nice to see.

Randy: 2:22

Very good. So now give me a geography lesson here, like what part of Africa is it? Are you towards South Africa or whereabouts in general?

Onanta: 2:34

We are actually in South Africa and tomorrow we're going to head to Durban and then after that we end this portion of the cruise in Cape Town. So we're kind of starting north and then heading south.

Randy: 2:48

Very nice?

Onanta: 2:49

Yeah, it is. It's quite lovely, quite nice. There's different things that you could do while you are here. As far as shore excursions, some people they are doing an overland trip and they're going to meet us back up in Cape Town. Some people went to the like a leopard or a cat sanctuary. We went today to Lake St Lucia, st Lucia. So we took about an hour and a half drive from the port and we went on. It's like an open air it is covered, but an open air river boat and we got to see lots and lots of hippos, a few baby hippos, beautiful birds. The place is very much. It promotes bird wildlife. We didn't see any crocodiles, but that's okay. So it's kind of like starting the adventure of Africa, the wildlife that people come and see here, and there was a possibility of seeing elephants. There was a possibility of seeing elephants, but we didn't see any. But yeah, so it was kind of fun to explore Africa. It's a destination Richards Bay where it seems like a lot of people are immigrating here looking for jobs.

Randy: 4:48

When you look at it, it doesn't really look like what you think Africa should look like or you envision. It's funny because when we're going past some housing duplexes, it was honestly like a duplex and a gated area for housing, so it was very I'm going to use this word loosely civilized looking. There wasn't any safari type camps or anything set up, so we have a bit of a culture shock there. I heard like a stat speaking of hippos, that hippos kill more people each year than lions do.

Onanta: 5:01

So then well they're, they're pretty fast runners. Did you learn about hippos when?

Randy: 5:03

you're, when you're on your little river cruise there.

Onanta: 5:09

Yeah, like they were saying how fast they run. So don't be taunting them at all or sticking your camera in their face, because they'll come after you and they're big animals, so they could inflict a lot of damage quite quickly. Animals, so they could inflict a lot of damage quite quickly. Um so, but again, when you're in a destination such as africa, no matter what part, we always want to show respect to the wildlife, to the place that you're in, to the people and so on. But uh, no, it's um, it's all. It's all um. We're looking forward to starting our adventure in africa now that've left Asia.

Randy: 5:44

So now, what are your adventures ahead? You mentioned you're going to was it Durban?

Onanta: 5:49

Yeah, Durban tomorrow.

Randy: 5:51

And then Cape Town Two days at sea.

Onanta: 5:55

Yeah, so two days at sea before Cape Town, and we got a lovely invitation to have lunch the day before we disembark, with the hotel general manager and the captain, so looking forward to that, and then a nice cocktail party afterwards.

Onanta: 6:11

But, um, as you know, we've mentioned in the past like they keep you busy if you wish to be busy when you're at days at sea. So one of the things I did a couple of days ago was I went on a like a kitchen tour, a galley tour, of the uh, of the ship Um, and it was quite interesting, like I posted some pictures and you'll see how clean and efficient it looks. And they, um, you know, the kitchen operations prepare 90% of the food for um at full capacity, a thousand 2,000 guests and almost 800 crew members. And so, you know, we were able to see when we entered off the dining room where they, you know, wash their dishes and they have a dishwashing area where they work hard. The foreman and the crew like to clean the items right after they return to the galley, and then part of it is for glassware, the second part is for chinaware, and then in the evening there are crew members that are assigned to a designated dishwashing area and nobody likes to wash dishes, but they wash dishes very well.

Onanta: 7:22

It's a very clean atmosphere here Very, very, and this is also for, like, the Lido market and room service areas. So you know, just to give you an idea, they can wash approximately like 3000 dinner plates, 7000 dessert plates and 5000 glasses, not to mention ramekins and plate covers, so on. So it's a pretty efficient operation. And then you go through where they have, like the cold kitchen, where all the room service orders are being prepared as well as they're dispatched to various outlets as well. The cold kitchen also creates all the coal appetizers and sandwiches, like cheese platters and so on, and they say it's probably the healthiest part of their galley. And yeah, so they just kind of have these refrigerators.

Onanta: 8:19

The steward just reaches in, opens the door, reaches in and gets the right dish. So it is a well oiled machine. Like I know you've worked on a ship so you probably can testify to this because not only are they doing this for the guests, but they're also doing this for the culturally diverse staff members. So there's a lot of people from Thailand and Bali, philippines, as well as other nationalities. So Holland America has has chefs for each of these nationalities and cuisines, and I think that's quite. I think that's it shows a nice respect for the, for your, your team members, by Hull of America, because not everybody likes to eat the same food, right so?

Onanta: 9:12

it's nice to have something from home, especially if you're working away from home. One of my favorite areas was the bakery area, because they daily prepare like 20 different kinds of bread, so I like bread. So it's like 120 loaves of bread, 100 loaves of French bread, 4000 dinner rolls, 800 croissants. Can you imagine trying to pull this off every day, right?

Randy: 9:41

Every day. The numbers are staggering when you think about it. So how many meals they prepare and uh, it's. It's just mind-boggling how they do it every day right, yeah, and you know they were.

Onanta: 9:54

they also gave us, um like a, a listing of their average consumption per cruise and, granted, this has been a little bit longer cruise than most cruises, but, like for meat and meat products, it's like 11,830 pounds. For poultry, it's over 3,800 pounds. For eggs, over 23,000 individual eggs. So you know there's a lot of food. I have to make fun of this because I am not a fan of green beans, but Holland America must have gotten a big sale on green beans because you can get it with every meal if you want it. It's just like oh my God, green beans, I'm not having that.

Randy: 10:39

Well, it's just amazing the storage space that they find for all of that stuff too, the storage space that they find for all of that stuff too. And it's funny you mention a kitchen tour. All the time I was on a cruise ship I never really went through the kitchen at all. It was kind of an area that you just left alone to the experts and they didn't really want other crew members through there anyways. And you talk about preparing meals for different cultures. I know that the Filipino crew and the Indonesian crew always used to tease the North Americans about fish heads, because the delicacy in their culture and it's something that I personally find really disgusting and they knew that and they just love to tease us about it.

Randy: 11:23

It always comes back to me when you talk about the different meals that they prepare.

Onanta: 11:29

Right, and some people, like you know, they have these coffee chats and they actually had some of the dining room staff talking about this and they were saying you know how some people like spicy foods and they have like a tray of different kinds of like sambal, which is like a spicy, like a sauce that you could I'm not saying sauce is not a right word, but it's like that you can use, you know, to spice up your meal. Or you can tell the chef, you know, I wouldn't mind it a little bit more spicier. In the Lido market for lunch and for dinner they have like a wok station. You could add chilies to it, but it's almost like and when I say this I mean this like it's more, it's a lot more classier than Edo of Japan, but it's kind of like Edo of Japan.

Onanta: 12:20

You kind of walk, you know create your meat and your noodles or your rice, and then you could add whatever kind of sauce you want or vegetables. Some people are not. They don't eat meat, so they just have rice or noodles and vegetables in the sauce, and they also have sushi as well. So, you know, it's not just what we consider North American fare. There's other kinds of food that you could enjoy while you're on this cruise. And again, the importance of all the crew members that are part of the kitchen team that make this run perfectly well and they're very lovely people that help you, you know, create your meal for you.

Randy: 13:11

Yeah, I would think it doesn't matter what kind of food that you want to eat. There's a pretty good chance you can find it there, and if they can't, they'll get it for you.

Onanta: 13:22

That is so true, like they're very conscious and very aware of people's dining preferences so they try really hard. Like I remember early in the cruise I was in the Lido market and I just, oh, can I just get a milk? And every time that person saw me goes do you want me to get you a milk? And it was like you know it was like they remember what you like.

Randy: 13:44

Exactly, it's all part of the service, it's all part of the experience and it's an amazing experience. So always great to chat and get an update of where you've been and what you've been doing. So we look forward to hearing about your adventures in the rest of South Africa and your sea days and so on when we chat next time. You can always follow Onanta's adventures on Facebook at Onanta Forbes, on Instagram at Onanta Forbes and on X at Onanta Forbes and on X at Onanta Forbes. Lots of images and photos. I enjoy looking at your images too. So appreciate your time, Onanta. Thank you.

Onanta: 14:19

Thank you, have a good week.

Randy: 14:28

Well, when it comes to taking a cruise, one of our go-to experts is David Yesco, otherwise known as the cruise guru, and he recently sailed on Azamara Cruises. So David joins us now to share his experience. You can follow him on X at Cruise Guru and his website is OceanCruise Guru. Hi, david.

David Yeskel: 14:48

Hello, randy, good to be with you again.

Randy: 14:51

We are going to talk about Azamara Cruises. The way I understand it, this is the first time that you've cruised on Azamara, so what were your first impressions? Let's start there.

David Yeskel: 15:02

Yeah, this is the first time I was on board Azamara, so I can tell you I've cruised. As you know, I've cruised on most major vines, almost every cruise line, ocean-going cruise line, and I'd heard about them. Of course they sail four ships that are nearly identical, top out at just about 700 passengers just a little under 700. But the ships are 25 years old. So I'll say that they are in very good condition. They're well-maintained. So these were ships that were originally built for the defunct Renaissance cruises, if you remember them, Right around 1999 to 2001,.

David Yeskel: 15:46

These four ships were built. They're well-maintained, They've been updated. You know they look fresh. A lot of the original dark woodwork still remains aboard and that's very well-maintained and it's kind of cool and it's very nice. So you really feel they feel nautical. The downside of these old ships is their super-tight bathroom configuration in the cabins. So this is no fault of Azumara's, of course. This was an unfortunate legacy left from the original designers and the bathroom is just super tight, the shower's tiny, there's not much storage, so that's the major knock. But I can tell you nobody's aboard these ships for the hardware. They're not going for the hardware. It's really what makes Azamara and what really grew on me during the time I was on board are what I consider really their two brand pillars.

David Yeskel: 16:51

They are warm very warm, personalized service and a destination focus and a destination focus and so but the service, randy, I could tell you I don't think I've ever had warmer, more personalized service on board any ship I've been on, and that's even on top end luxury.

Onanta: 17:03

Wow.

David Yeskel: 17:04

Yeah, really it was a while. I mean the crew learns guest names within a couple of days and it wasn't just me, you know mean they knew who I was. I knew I was writing a couple of stories, uh, but I I noticed everybody else too. I mean they learn names, they have these tips and tricks or they learn names and memory techniques and just so warm and they address you by name and remember you and your likes and what you like to drink, and it's just super, super impressive and and that's why the people keep coming back to Azamora. I talked to a lot of repeaters. There were a large number of repeaters on board and they really said we come back for the service and the destinations. Really interesting, you know, off the beaten path itineraries.

Randy: 17:51

Which, if you're a smaller ship, helps. Right, you can get into the smaller ports that the big mega ships can't do. Absolutely yeah, um. So I know that, like using princess, for example, they're pretty high tech, right. They have their um medallions or whatever how high tech is asmera like, or are they at the other end and that's what gives them their charm, kind of, because I think sometimes you can get too high tech right?

David Yeskel: 18:17

Yeah, I agree. I agree, princess's technology is the best in the industry. We've talked about the medallion before. It's awesome. And for large ships to deliver personalized service at scale, that's what Princess can do with the medallion. On the other end of the coin, the flip side of the coin, azumara doesn't need the technology. Their ships are small enough to deliver that same personalized service without technology, so there is no app. Their onboard Wi-Fi is super slow.

Onanta: 18:52

It was driving me a little crazy.

David Yeskel: 18:53

I was on the high-speed Wi-Fi and it was still like super slow. So yeah, it's not about technology and you can't expect that, but, like I say, they make up for it on the soft side, on the service side and destination focus and food and beverage too.

Randy: 19:17

So let's talk about where you went. What was your itinerary? How did you enjoy that?

David Yeskel: 19:21

This was a fascinating itinerary 14-night open jaw voyage. So we left from. We flew to my wife and I flew to Papeete, tahiti. That's where we joined the ship. My wife and I flew to Papeete, tahiti.

David Yeskel: 19:32

That's where we joined the ship, and then it was a 14-night sailing to Bora Bora, america and Samoa, which doesn't see many cruise ships. Then Samoa, tonga, fiji, a exclusively fit and well-traveled baby boomers. So people in their 60s and 70s I would say most were repeaters. The ones I talked to were on for the very reasons for the personalized service, the warm service and the destination focus, and a lot of them were on for a full 87-night grand voyage.

Randy: 20:23

Wow that would be something.

David Yeskel: 20:27

That would be something.

David Yeskel: 20:28

Very long and a lot of them were on for that, and we're in the middle of it when we got on board and we're raving about it. So, yeah, we left from Papeete, tahiti, which was very interesting in the sense that the city of Papeete it's a small, relatively small city. It's really just a transit point. That's where the airport is for, you know, french Polynesia, the major airport, that's where cruises come and leave from. There's nothing about Papeete, tahiti, that's redeeming in terms of a tourist destination, the Tahiti that we think of and know of. The beautiful beaches are on other parts of the island.

Randy: 21:09

I see.

David Yeskel: 21:10

And on other islands, of course, but Papeete itself is nothing to speak of, it's just a transit point. I see waters that Tahiti and her islands are known for, and that was just gorgeous.

Randy: 21:33

Like you see in all the photos, right you see, this can't be true.

David Yeskel: 21:35

Like you see in all the photos, right, right With the overwater bungalows, yeah, which cost a fortune, by the way, to stay in. And that's another reason why a South Pacific cruise is a good value, because French Polynesia, in particular, is super expensive. I mean, everything's expensive there the hotels, the food. Somebody went to a the one of the people we were talking to in bora bora that got off the ship and went to a snack bar to get a snack, ordered a coke and it was 15 euro, to give you an idea so better enjoy that coke better enjoy the coke and come back aboard the ship and have it for free.

Onanta: 22:16

So yeah, that's what French.

David Yeskel: 22:17

Polynesia is Beautiful but super expensive. But the other ports along the way I mean American Samoa, samoa, tonga, fiji, you know not as highly visited. Certainly American Samoa and Tonga are quieter, don't see a lot of ships, and for that reason they were fascinating places to visit.

Randy: 22:37

Nice. Well, anytime we talk about a cruise, we've got to talk about the food. So how did the food rate on Azamara?

David Yeskel: 22:44

Yeah, the food was very good, very good aboard. So you know, the ship's small size, I'd say, was inversely proportional to the quality and quantity of the food aboard. So not only were there great menus in the Windows Cafe, the Casual Buffet, the Discovery's main restaurant, an area called the Patio, that was more than a burger grill, it was like a full restaurant menu for lunch and dinner. There were snacks, there was late afternoon tapas, there were late night snacks, there were snacks, there was late afternoon tapas, there were late night snacks. But actually what impressed me most were the nightly ethnic themed buffets in the Windows Cafe.

David Yeskel: 23:20

That's the buffet restaurant, and I've never done this before in a cruise ship. I ate dinner more nights in the buffet than I did in the dining room. Oh, wow. And that's not knocking the food in the dining room, which was very good, it's just that every night they turned the buffet into an ethnic-themed feast and they went full out.

David Yeskel: 23:40

I mean, every dish on every station of the buffet was themed for that ethnic theme and it was French, italian and Indian were really popular. There was a Chinese New Year buffet, there was a Mediterranean buffet, there was American-Brit buffet, there was a Mediterranean buffet, there was American, british, and it was good and there was appropriate music and decorations appropriate to the theme. They did a great job on those and I asked, since we were only on for 14 nights, how many different variations do you have? And they say, oh, it's 26-day rotation you have. And they say, oh, yeah, it's 26 day rotation and they have 26 different ethnic buffets they can, they put on and and I'm telling you, the guests loved it and I thought it was great that's amazing.

David Yeskel: 24:22

Well, if you're on for over 100 days, I guess you better have a high rotation of food and on the beverage side, I can tell you they do something different than any other line I've been on and any other line in their category, excuse me. So their niche in cruising is in the industry. It's considered upper premium. So other lines in that niche are Oceana and Viking Ocean. They compete against those lines. They compete against those lines. And Oceana, by the way, sails four of these R-class ships too, these older ships. They have four of those same ships and so what Azamara does that's different is they include not only beer and wine is typically included at meals on those other upper premium lines but, Azamara includes a whole alcoholic beverage package basic cocktails and vodka, gin, rum, tequila-based highballs, as well as some dessert drinks and beer and wine that are

David Yeskel: 25:28

included in the base fare and that's a big savings. That's a really big savings. I can tell you that I was observing most people, like before dinner, in the bars. They were ordering those because there were enough drinks made with those basic cocktails that they could be satisfied with and that was a big savings. Those included cocktails and the other lines in their niche don't do it. The lines on the luxury end, of course, include everything, but they're much more expensive. On the luxury end, of course, include everything, but they're much more expensive. So that impressed me that those alcoholic beverages and a selection of mocktails to go with it were also included.

Randy: 26:02

So it is almost like an all-inclusive experience.

David Yeskel: 26:05

It's almost like they don't include short excursions, so you have to do those, buy those or do them on your own, and we did some of our own thing which were easy those or do them on your own and we did some of our own thing, which were, you know, easy and use. By the way, I've used Get your Guide, which is a, you know, a tour aggregator. I've used them in Europe on cruises a lot and you know the third party. They basically aggregate all these third party smaller tour companies and you can pick out tours and we found a Get your Guide tour in Tonga that we took for $47 US a person. That was a half day tour with a Tongan guide and it was great and we just met them off the ship. So you can't do your own thing in these ports as you can in other ports around the world. You just have to do a little research up front.

Randy: 26:49

I was going to ask I'm glad you mentioned that they're sort of upper premium niche. I was going to say, if Carnival's at one end and Silver Sea is at the other, where would Azamara fall in? But they lean towards the Silver Sea side, it sounds like.

David Yeskel: 27:03

They lean towards right, a little closer to luxury, just because of the size of the ship. So, just under 700 passenger is a little. You know about where some of the luxury, newer ships are now. The ship isn't as big as those luxury ships that carry 700 passengers. It's smaller but you know it's the high-touch service you get. That's roughly the same.

Randy: 27:29

Now, what about the entertainment? You talked about the cultural aspect of the food. What about the entertainment? Yeah, so the nighttime aspect of the food. What about the entertainment?

David Yeskel: 27:35

Yeah. So the nighttime entertainment, the standard entertainment. In the showroom there's a small production cast, I'd say moderate quality. You know, small lounge, a couple of lounge acts around the ship. Moderate quality is what I would say. Nothing that you're going to be wowed by, but what they do a great job at is bringing the destination aboard. So a few days before we got to New Zealand they brought aboard in Fiji, as a matter of fact, a couple of Maori ambassadors got aboard from New Zealand and they spent the next couple of days through lectures and workshops, kind of steeping us in the Maori culture. So it was really nice with workshops and lectures and they were demonstrating, you know, the haka dance, the war dance that's so fearsome, you know that was cool.

Ken Stewart: 28:26

Yeah.

David Yeskel: 28:27

And so we were. By the time we got to New Zealand we were. We kind of had a lot of background in the Maori culture and could appreciate it much more. When we got to New Zealand we were, we kind of had a lot of background in Maori culture and and could appreciate it much more when we got there. So that's the type of thing they do. They also had a couple of deck buffets that were, you know, australian and New Zealand deck buffets, just before we got there, with some foods, you know, native to those areas and drinks.

David Yeskel: 28:49

So the bar manager board crafted this Kiwi mojito because it was, of course, for the kiwis that are grown in new zealand yeah, excuse me, and and so, um, they did a great job of kind of bringing the destination aboard and getting us, uh, in the feel of these destinations that we were going to visit so can you do the haka war dance, like if you go out in the front lawn of your house in your neighborhood and scare? All your neighbors. I would scare myself if I tried the Hakka war dance. I would scare myself if I tried that. But yeah, it was cool to see the pros do it.

Randy: 29:26

Uh-huh, no kidding, it doesn't look like it's easy to do and I don't know if we all do all that yelling and shouting. Anyway, it's a lot of yelling, but if it scares off the enemy, which was the idea, that's the goal, I suppose anything else we might have missed yeah, so so I can just say it's a it's.

David Yeskel: 29:43

It's a very unique product, azamara um. But for people interested in exploring destinations and they do these open jaw cruises, you know, start in one end in another because they can cover more area and so, like this South Pacific in depth, they do other areas of the world like that and that's why people love it and you can get on at a really reasonable fare fare, I'd say. Their balcony cabins, which are the majority of cabins, typically start out at about from what I saw, about $300 per night per person, which is in line with the other lines in their niche, and it's a very good value considering everything you get, including the alcohol. But it's really. I'll just come back for the service and I could tell you that on the last day of the cruise, the captain's farewell message was you come aboard as guests and leave as family, and that's not hype, I'm telling you. We experienced it, it's true, and everybody did feel like family by the end of the cruise and certainly even halfway through. I felt that way Nice.

Randy: 30:51

Well, it sounds like you had a great experience. You can follow David Yeskel's experiences on X at Cruise Guru. You can check out his website, oceancruiseguru. I think your website says a travel guru now.

David Yeskel: 31:07

So you've bumped yourself up. Now I bumped myself up. I need to be a little more generic, because I talk about more things.

Randy: 31:15

Well, it's always great to talk about cruising with you again, David Yusko. He is the cruise guru. Great chatting, David. Thank you.

David Yeskel: 31:23

Thanks, randy, same here.

Randy: 31:31

This is the Informed Traveller Podcast. I'm Randy Sharman. Just want to remind you of our website, theinformedtravellerorg. That's where you can find our contact page. If you have any questions or comments about the podcast, you can also email me too with any questions you might have or any segment ideas. My email address is randy at theinformedtravellerorg ideas. My email address is randy at theinformedtravellerorg.

Randy: 31:55

And if you want to get up-to-date travel info through the week or just see a few amusing travel stories and links, you can like us on Facebook, at facebookcom slash informedtraveller, on Instagram at informedtraveller, or on X at informedtraveller Plus. You can now sign up for our monthly newsletter. It's released at the beginning of every month. Our March issue is available now, so just go to our website, theinformedtravellerorg, click on the newsletter button and it'll take you right there. Or, better yet, just subscribe to it and have it arrive in your inbox each month. So now, as always, we'd like to end the show with our weekly roundup, and joining us to do that, like he he does each week, is Ken Stewart from Crobat Travel Solutions. Good day, sir, hey Randy, hello everybody. Spring is here. It is. I'm always glad. When spring is here, it's like a turning point. You turn the page and I know we can get some wonky weather in the months of April and stuff, but still spring is here. It's a psychological thing and it's good. So other than that, how was your week?

Ken Stewart: 32:59

Well, again we got that spring break, travel season, one of the main travel times of the year. This week, and with Easter being a little bit late, the middle of April again a few weeks away, or whatever, it is going to be extremely busy too. So again, whether you're traveling now or not, check those passports and your other important items or documents, your PR card if you have one, nexus, anything you might need to use to travel. Make sure that they're valid. Don't wait until it's too late. Visas in particular.

Ken Stewart: 33:25

I had a client who actually lost a day on his trip because he was a little bit late getting his visa. He left it too long and applied and it took too long for him to get, so he lost a date. Uh-oh, you don't want to have to do that on your holidays because again, we're rebooking airfares and doing all kinds of fun stuff for you that we don't really want to do, and neither do you. And again, I have one on my calendar and I know a lot of people do. But put a reminder on your calendar six months out and then even a year out. You know twice on your calendar. Just hey, go have a look at your documents.

Ken Stewart: 33:56

See what those entire dates are Save you a lot of grief down the road.

Randy: 34:00

It sure will. The worst thing you want to do is be panicking to update your documents the day before you leave.

Ken Stewart: 34:08

Yep, yep. Well, and he had gotten it just hours before he was when he was actually at the airport is when it came in. But because it was so late in coming in to him, they still would not. The airline would not accept him on the night of boarding. Really, they didn't have a copy of it. Yep, yeah.

Ken Stewart: 34:24

Okay, so again the last minute can still work, but I mean you want to give yourself that little bit of time, you do, you do Okay. Bit of time you do Okay. We had a breakfast seminar this week. A couple of sister companies were plonant expeditions.

Ken Stewart: 34:38

They're a cruise company from France, maybe not really well known, but definitely known by cruisers. They're only about 30 years old. They started with a boutique luxury sailing ship and doing sailings in the Mediterranean. They've added boutique style yachts over the years now now doing itineraries around the world and you can have anywhere from the 32 guests on the sailing yacht to their largest ship, which is still only 264 guests, which is not a lot when you're on a cruise ship. That's a really nice number to deal with.

Ken Stewart: 35:11

They like to say it's laid-back luxury cruising. Everything you need is included on board, so you've got fabulous food, your beverages of choice, you've got 24-hour room service. Importantly, you have free Wi-Fi and at least one excursion in every port. Your transfers and then are all included, and they even have an air program so we can add your air in that and tie it on to make one simple package Nice. Some of the things I thought were really cool is, if you're doing one of the colder sailings, like Arctic or the Antarctica. They're going to provide you with the parkas and boots. That way, you don't have to pack them.

Randy: 35:45

Good idea, so you don't have to worry about that.

Ken Stewart: 35:48

Yeah, and one of the cool ones. They're explorers class ships. You're going to make sure that you're going to spend some time in the Blue Eye Lounge and what it is. It's a lounge and it's got two big kind of like glass eyes, but it's actually below the waterline so you can actually see into the water. So if you're cruising, you know, in the South Pacific or Caribbean pretty much anywhere you can see what's going on around you out in the water and what's really cool is they have the sound from around you. So imagine you're cruising by a whale and hearing that whale talk to you. I think that'd be very cool.

Randy: 36:26

I think it'd be very cool too. I was as a former crew member on a cruise ship. I was always leery about being below the waterline, though it was a thing.

Ken Stewart: 36:38

Well, they've had this for over eight years now. They started the first ship with it, so I think it's working.

Randy: 36:45

Yeah, not to discourage anybody, but it was always a thing with me personally.

Ken Stewart: 36:48

It's like hmm, yeah, but I think it'll be cool. You're sitting there having a beverage or whatever and watching watching life go by.

Randy: 36:55

Yeah, yeah, that's part of the experience, though, right.

Ken Stewart: 36:59

And if you want a little bit more than considering doing one of their itineraries, they partner with the Smithsonian on theme cruises. So again, on these ones you're going to have participate or just listen to what they're talking about and learn a little bit more. Again, they're all learned in the areas that you're going to be sailing in. Another cool thing with them no solo supplement for those of you who are traveling alone, or maybe like myself and my one friend or whatever. I love them dearly, but I don't want him in my cabin, so we can get our own cabins and not have to worry about it. That's a good idea, yeah no, I like that too.

Ken Stewart: 37:36

And also teens and children, 15-year-olds and under sail free in the cabins if you're traveling with the parents, or even the grandparents, and that's all new bookings by April 25th. So again, give us a call and we'll have a chat about that, if that's one that might fit for you, about that, if it's one that might fit for you. And their sister company is Paul Gauguin Cruises and that's a little more familiar name, the authentic Tahiti and South Pacific ship. They're one of the few who can still sail around all the islands. A couple of years ago, south Polynesia started restricting ships with over 1,200 passengers from sailing in and around the island, so that took a lot of the big cruise lines like Holland and Princess and these guys out of the equation. So their packages, again very cool. They include round-trip airfare from Los Angeles and we can add easy connections from anywhere in Canada to get you on to those flights.

Ken Stewart: 38:24

Ask for your pricing. If you're talking to your travel agent in Canadian dollars, the exchange rate is really really good. Right now they're at 1.32, and if you're to go to the bank or whatever, you're looking at about $1.45. So that's a huge saving. When you're talking pricing for a cruise, that is a huge saving. Nice, exactly, exactly. But you have to ask for it. They don't advertise it or whatever, but it's there, it's available for us Canadians.

Randy: 38:47

Good.

Ken Stewart: 38:48

And, like I said, laid-back luxury cruising. Everything's included on board for you Fantastic food, your choice of beverages, 24-hour room service, importantly again, as we mentioned, wi-fi, which everybody wants nowadays. And what's really cool is the water sports are off the back of the boat in some of the destinations when you're stopping. So imagine yourself walking down to the back of the boat. You jump on your paddleboard or grab the snorkel gear and jump off into the water close to clear water in the South Pacific so you can see everything below you. The colors and the wildlife are phenomenal. And again, no solo supplements.

Randy: 39:22

Nice.

Ken Stewart: 39:22

And right now, teens and children 15 years and under are self-reinforced in the cabin with the parents and grandparents. For new bookings by April 25th? I like it. I know you're going to spend an extra couple of days uh, pre or post on the actual island of Bora Bora. Yes, yes.

Ken Stewart: 39:42

Uh, hello, waterways I was also coming along and visiting with them Again another preferred partner for River Cruises sailings worldwide. Uh, they've got exotic sailings in and they'll actually assist you with the visa that you need to get to Egypt. You just give them all the information and they do it and it's included when you do your package. So, again, one of those things you don't have to worry about. When you show up at the airport or show up in Egypt. You're looked after. You're sailing on the Nile, seeing the Sphinx and the Pyramids. You're going to be riding a camel, maybe you're doing one in Africa, so we're checking out the culture and, of course, all the animals. And you have an extra stay with the overnight impressive Victoria Falls, which is always a must if you're going to Africa and that area. You really wouldn't want to say that.

Ken Stewart: 40:28

Asia. They're on the Mekong River and they're actually adding another ship here shortly. So another one of those destinations becoming more and more popular every year. We've got Columbia in South America, still fairly new and, of course, always a popular European rivers Again one of the things they pointed out and I hadn't really thought about it too much but Portugal, if you're wanting to go there and kind of stay away from the crowds or whatever. They've got really great weather all year long because we talk about them for our long stays. So consider them for river cruises. Yeah, this is the season when everything's not as busy and the weather is still really really great, not like the heats of the summertime, so again, a great temperature compared to ours over here at that time.

Ken Stewart: 41:06

And Christmas markets and those river sailings again, this is with all the cruise lines, not just AMA, but they've really taken off over the last couple of years. They're almost being sold out For this year. You might find the odd cabin here and there, which is not surprising. Though, with the offers and the itineraries, again, we can always book into 2026, and they're still selling really well already. We're into early 2027, so we can't do the Christmas ones for 2027, but we will shortly in a few months.

Ken Stewart: 41:32

So again, the great things that you get to experience in the ports with the locals. A lot of them will have markets, kind of like our outdoor markets here, where everything's all set up. You can go around and check out their wares, get some great souvenirs, have some hot glue wine, all those kind of things, and a lot of the itineraries that Ammo Waterways offer actually have pre and post options, and right now they've got some specials on where you've got an extra two or three night stay pre or post you can choose from either one of those and those have got a value of about $2,500 a person. So some great savings there. If you want to extend your stay a little bit and again you can use your points or we can book the airfare with the cruise and make it all a single package.

Randy: 42:16

Why not extend your stay? Right, you're going all that way, why not? And back to about the Christmas markets. Yeah, if you want to do a Christmas market sailing, best to start planning now for probably next year. Yes.

Ken Stewart: 42:33

Unless you could go anytime. Like I say, there is the odd cabin.

Randy: 42:36

Yeah, you've got to be very flexible. Or a balcony or anything like that yeah, very flexible on the time and the cabin that you're looking for, Exactly exactly.

Ken Stewart: 42:47

And just again, we like to remind you all the time again, online pricing is almost identical to what any agent can find for you. A lot of the sites we're using the same one and it's the same price when you book through us. But not only can we assist you before, make some help with some suggestions and, again, heaven forbid, if you needed assistance during, if necessary after the trip because there was an issue, we're here for you. And booking online, you're still essentially dealing with a travel agent in that sense, but you've got no personal service. You can't have conversations. You have to look after everything by yourself Hope they're notifying you of schedule changes or if you have problems with your airfares and everything like that, you've got to deal with them directly. And if you've never used a real-life travel agent, try one out. In most cases, we find that once you've tried us, you keep coming back and we do appreciate that, very true.

Randy: 43:32

How do people get a hold of you?

Ken Stewart: 43:34

In Calgary, 403-241-7140. And outside Calgary you can call us toll-free, 877-511-5511. Then you too can relax. It's all taken care of, indeed, sir. Enjoy your week everyone.

Randy: 43:51

And that is our show for this week. If you have comments or questions, we'd love to hear from you. If you have a show idea, send that along as well. My email is randy at theinformedtravellerorg, and if you like what you heard, tell a friend. You can check out our website too, at theinformedtravellerorg. In the meantime, thanks for listening. Travel safe and be an informed traveler.