Just Cruises Plus

Bergen, Norway

Viking continues to offer the Traveling Virtually with Viking series which we are posting here for your enjoyment and enrichment.  These are mostly destination-focused webinars that represent a mixture of River, Ocean and Culinary Experiences.  This week, enjoy experiences ranging from an exclusive culinary journey in France to a “tale of two cities” in Budapest; from a Rhine river cruise to an Ocean Cruise in the Fjords of Norway.  To sign up for an event, simply click on the name of the event.  This week, we translated times into Eastern Time.  When you click on any of the links, Viking expresses in Pacific Time.

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

12:00 PM ET – Tour Scenic Fjords, Towns & Cities on Viking Homelands

3:00 PM ET – Travel to Switzerland, Virtually

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

12:00 PM ET – Learn about A Tale of Two Cities in Budapest

3:00 PM ET – Exclusive Culinary Journey – Culinary Delights of France

Thursday, August 27, 2020

12:00 PM ET – Sail to Lands Rich in Tradition with Passage to E. Europe

3:00 PM ET – Explore Castles & Cathedrals on Rhine Getaway

Friday, August 28, 2020

12:00 PM ET – Travel to Vienna, Virtually

3:00 PM ET – Sail the Colorful Caribbean with West Indies Explorer

Dr. Scott Gottlieb, Co-chair of the Healthy Sail Panel

When will it be safe to cruise?  To answer this question, the Royal Caribbean Group (Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Azamara and Silversea) and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (Norwegian Cruise Line, Regent Seven Seas and Oceania) have jointly formed a panel of public health, infectious disease, biosecurity, hospitality and maritime experts.  The panel is co-chaired by Dr. Scott Gottlieb (former FDA Commissioner) and Mike Leavitt (former Secretary of Health and Human Services).  You’ve probably seen Dr. Gottlieb interviewed on TV regarding Covid 19.  The group is called “Healthy Sail Panel”.

The job of the panel is to come up with procedures, guidelines and recommendations for the cruise lines to use to keep their passengers and crew as safe as possible.  The group is expected to come up with recommendations by August 30^th.  We’ll let you know as soon as they make their report.

Royal Caribbean has come up with a new and novel method to meet Safety at Sea requirements while keeping passengers safe from crowds.  The following (from their website) describes this innovative procedure.

“Royal Caribbean Group is replacing one of the least-loved but most important parts of a cruise vacation — the safety drill — with Muster 2.0™, an entirely new approach to delivering safety information to guests. The innovative program, the first of its kind, reimagines a process originally designed for large groups of people into a faster, more personal approach that encourages higher levels of safety.

With Muster 2.0, the key elements of the safety drill — including reviewing what to expect and where to go in case of an emergency, and instructions on how to properly use a life jacket — will be accessible to guests on an individual basis instead of a group approach that has been followed historically. New technology, eMuster^TM, will be used to help provide the information to guests via their mobile devices and interactive stateroom TVs. Travelers will be able to review the information at their own time prior to setting sail, eliminating the need for the traditional large group assemblies. The new approach also enables everyone on board to maintain better spacing as guests move about the ship, and it allows guests to enjoy more of their vacation with no interruption.

After reviewing safety information individually, guests will complete the drill by visiting their assigned assembly station, where a crew member will verify that all steps have been completed and answer questions. Each of the steps will need to be completed prior to the ship’s departure, as required by international maritime law.”

Of course, these procedures will be available to all companies that fall under the Royal Caribbean Brand:  Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, Azamara Club Cruises and Silversea.

Thank you, Royal Caribbean!

Throughout the pandemic crisis, our clients have been served with the utmost care.  Up until recently, our service had been strictly by telephone and email to meet the legal requirement of Pennsylvania.

On July 8th, after putting all recommended safety measures in place, we opened our office to in-person visitors.  Our pandemic office hours are weekdays from 10AM to 3PM.  Visits are by appointment only and masks are required.  If you need to come in at a different time, call and we’ll do our best to accommodate you.

Viking is offering a Traveling Virtually with Viking series which we are posting here for your enjoyment and enrichment.   These are mostly destination-focused webinars.  From the charms of Portugal along the Douro River to the iconic cities along the banks of the Mississippi, you can pick and choose which webinars to participate in based on your interest.   To sign up for an event, simply click on the name of the event.  Note that times are based on Pacific Time, so remember to adjust for your time zone.

Monday, July 13, 2020

9:00 AM PT – Explore the Mighty Mississippi

12:00 PM PT – Sail on the Iconic Western Mediterranean

Tuesday, July 14, 2020

9:00 AM PT – Discover the World of Viking

12:00 PM PT – Journey to the Extraordinary with Viking Expeditions

Wednesday, July 15, 2020

9:00 AM PT – Experience the Magic of Viking Christmas Market Cruises

12:00 PM PT – Enjoy the Douro’s Beauty & History

Thursday, July 16, 2020

9:00 AM PT – Discover Holland & Belgium on Tulips & Windmills

12:00 PM PT – Explore the Remarkable Sights of the Galapagos Islands

Friday, July 17, 2020

9:00 AM PT – Immerse Yourself in History & Culture on the Mississippi

12:00 PM PT – Travel to Vienna, Virtually

Destination Puzzle – View of the Arno River in Florence, Italy

If we go by the sizable response we received to our June 19th destination puzzle, we apparently have many puzzle enthusiasts out there.  We received a flood of responses to our question about the photo’s location.  Most respondents correctly named the city of Florence, Italy.  Some also knew the river was the Arno River.  The winner of the contest is Bill Kelly of Warminster, PA, whose  name was randomly selected from those who responded correctly.  Bill will receive a $25 shipboard credit on his next cruise.

We love Florence!  We love the muted colors of the city, the art, the architecture and the cobblestone streets.  The city is small enough to walk most places.  The must-see Duomo is located in the center. Walk to Palazzo Vecchio to see the replica of Michelangelo’s David, hang out in Piazza Signoria, where one can sit for hours and people watch.  The Accademia Gallery houses the original David along with other works of Michelangelo’s including some unfinished. The history of the artwork housed here is fascinating – it is well worth a visit to this Gallery with a good guide.  Stroll across the iconic Ponte Vecchio. Sit at an outdoor cafe.  We miss Florence and look forward to going back.

If you missed the June 19th puzzle and want to give it a try, click here.

Replica of David’s Michelangelo in front of Palazzo Vecchio located in Piazza della Signoria.

Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, aka Duomo

Amazing view from the tour bus parking lot

Ponte Vecchio spanning the Arno River.

American, United and Spirit — These are the airlines that will be selling middle seats on their aircraft. The math is simple.  The fewer people you have within 6 feet, the better is your chance of avoiding Covid 19.  An airplane is an inherently dangerous environment insofar as Covid 19 is concerned.  If the guy across the aisle has the virus, you are at risk.  The fewer people on a plane with you, the lower will be the risk but the risk will never be zero unless you are the only passenger on the plane.

Delta, Jet Blue and Southwest will limit the number of seats that they sell on any flight.  If you have to fly, these airlines offer the best chance of avoiding Covid illness.

Throughout this pandemic, we have found Delta to be the best in terms of fairness and responsiveness to customers and they’ve also done a good job of keeping travel agents up-to-date with changes to flights and policies.

Click here for the Destination Puzzle

We have not missed a beat throughout this pandemic crisis.  All of our clients are being served with the utmost care.  So far, our service had been strictly by telephone and email to meet the legal requirement of Pennsylvania.

We have some clients who like to plan their cruise in a face-to-face environment. Therefore, in accordance with state guidelines, we will be opening our office for visitors by appointment only beginning Wednesday July 8th.  We will wear masks and we ask that our visitors do the same.  Our pandemic office hours are weekdays from 10AM to 3PM.  If you need to come in at a different time, call and we’ll do our best to accommodate you.

In the meantime, we have been visualizing all of the destinations we look forward to experiencing.  We thought it would be fun to share with you a photo of one of our treasured destinations – in jigsaw puzzle format.  Once you complete the puzzle, email us (info@justcruisesplus.com) by next Thursday with the photo’s location.   We will select from all who respond with the correct photo location – the winner of the drawing will receive a $25 shipboard credit which can be used on a future cruise.

We are looking forward to seeing you and helping to plan your next travel adventure.  Until then, we are still here to serve you by phone and email!

As you well know, Covid-19 has been especially hard on the travel industry.  Airplanes are flying practically empty and cruise ships are not sailing at all.  In fact, there was a day last week when Norwegian Cruise Line indicated that they might not be able to survive. However, they secured loans enabling them to stay in business.

Just Cruises Plus has no debt and we are well capitalized so we will be here to serve your travel desires when this dastardly virus is no longer a threat.  Many of our phone calls in April were from people who needed to cancel a cruise.  If you were one of those people, you know that we were here to answer your questions and to explain your options.  We have heard horror stories from people who booked directly with the cruise lines and who called their cruise line and spent hours on hold trying to get someone to help them.

Some people think that they can get a better price by booking direct.  This is absolutely not true.  We offer the same or better “deals” and we give much better service.

Please keep in mind that the “Plus” in Just Cruises Plus means that we are here to meet your travel needs even when they do not involve a cruise.  We can get you on a safari to Africa, the Outback in Australia or the beaches of Normandy.

Currently, and because of the requirements of the government, our office is not open to visitors.  However you can reach us by telephone between the hours of 10AM and 3PM from Monday through Friday.  At other times, you can call and leave a message and we will get back to you within the above hours.  Our telephone number is (215)364-3310 and we welcome emails at info@justcruisesplus.com.

We wish you good health and look forward to serving you.

— Wayne Leese, Rachelle Leese and Terry Devlin

Cuba’s Classic Cars

The Trump administration has (suddenly) ended the cruise lines’ already limited access to Cuban ports.  We think it was outrageous and irresponsible that the Trump administration implemented this policy with no advance warning.

We took advantage of the limited window of opportunity to visit Cuba.  We found the people to be very friendly toward us and there were hints of a nascent capitalism.  There were non-state owned restaurants that served wonderful food.  We rode in a 1956 Crown Victoria taxi owned by the driver.  These are the folks who will be most hurt by the travel ban. More about our visit to Cuba.

We feel very sorry for the people currently on ships that were scheduled to visit this island museum where cars from the 50s comprise about 1/4 of all cars in Cuba.  We also recognize that there are many disappointed people booked on future cruises to Cuba who will miss this unique opportunity, at least for the foreseeable future.

How the Different Cruise Lines are Handling the Change in Policy

*Sailings on or before 9-2-19.  Sailings after 9-2-19 will automatically be canceled and deposits refunded.  Customers affected may book a future NCL cruise with a %20 discount.