Here’s a round-up of luxury travel stories that have caught the eye this week. To make sure you receive these new weekly alerts in your web browser, please click on the red bell icon in the bottom right hand corner of the page and click ‘subscribe’ (works on desktop only – for other ways to subscribe, please click here). This will also alert you to any other posts on the blog. Should you wish, you can unsubscribe at any time, by clicking on the icon again and selecting ‘unsubscribe’.
Travelers are ready to cruise again – and they’re booking up 2021
Belinda Shawn*, a 41-year-old mom in Florida, has a family cruise booked with Royal Caribbean next year: It departs in late May 2021 out of Barcelona with stops in Italy and France. With the cruise industry on pause due to the coronavirus, and a resulting change in cancellation and rebooking policies, Shawn and her family could easily postpone to the following year or get a refund. But they’re sticking to their plans… [read more]
You might be surprised how much it costs to charter a yacht right now
With the cruising industry in tatters and the desire for remote travel greater than ever, chartering a yacht can sound appealing. But what does it cost? And will rates decrease during the coronavirus pandemic? Yachting has long been the terrain of the ultra-wealthy — and yes, some charter prices are akin to a down payment on a house. But for others, charters can be cheaper than a week on a cruise ship for a family of four… [read more]
Traveling post-coronavirus: How do you book your next trip when so much remains uncertain?
Now what? That’s the question keeping tour operators like Phyllis Stoller up at night. “How do you make travelers feel safe booking their next vacation?” she wonders. She’s considering limiting group sizes, avoiding buffets and bringing an endless supply of masks and hand sanitizers on her trips. Stoller, who is president of The Women’s Travel Group, says the changes will be expensive but worth it… [read more]
These are the top travel trends for 2021, according to experts
Ringing in the 2020 New Year, it’s likely you had big travel plans for the year ahead. Perhaps you were counting down the days until you’d fly and flop onto a Portuguese beach, or perhaps you wanted to finally tick spotting the Northern Lights in Norway off your bucket list? Yet, in late January a global pandemic came along and subsequently quashed all of our grand travel hopes for this year. So we’re looking to 2021 instead… [read more]
Travel after COVID-19: Armchair travel inspiration for when lockdown lifts
With the Olympics now postponed, 2021 is the year to visit the Land Of The Rising Sun. Japan’s high-speed bullet trains make it easy to zip between cities Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima… [read more]
We really enjoy hearing from our readers and would love to hear your views on any of these stories! Please click on the comments below and share your thoughts. Thank you.
Have a story you’d like to share? Please contact us for details.
Paul Johnson is Editor of A Luxury Travel Blog and has worked in the travel industry for more than 30 years. He is Winner of the Innovations in Travel ‘Best Travel Influencer’ Award from WIRED magazine. In addition to other awards, the blog has also been voted “one of the world’s best travel blogs” and “best for luxury” by The Daily Telegraph.
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5 Comments
It does seem like people are getting itchy feet already. Holidays for this year seem out of the question but that puts more pressure on next year, with the hope that the virus will be a thing of the past by then. It’s interesting to look at the cost of things like private yacht charters that many, including myself, would probably think of as being incredibly expensive, and yet could probably beat the budget for a few folks travelling for a week somewhere. I’d anticipate private travel would be more sought after now as people are dubious of public transport and generally being around others in confined spaces!
It’s such a shame for Tokyo 2020. I know it’s been said before just how many millions will be lost from having to postpone, even though it couldn’t be avoided at this point, but it’s still disappointing for all involved I’m sure. Japan is number one on my bucket list, has been for years and I think the current pandemic has made me keenly aware that the usual excuses (not enough time, don’t want to spend the money) are pretty silly now; if I can make it work then I’ll make it work because you never know what the future holds and whether there will be bigger forces at play that mean you can’t do these things freely. With any luck, effective antibody testing will be introduced, treatments will be developed and a vaccine will be found before the year is out, allowing for 2021 to supercharge the economy and get the travel industry moving again.
I wasn’t aware that the Olympics have been postponed. That’s quite astounding, I didn’t see that happening at all. But I feel the same about visiting Japan. It’s probably one of the safer countries to travel to over the summer months.
Extensive social distancing is not being practiced in most of the countries, the time-to-peak for the pandemic is still uncertain. On the other front, the slump in global economic growth is weakening many countries’ efforts to fight the virus.
The picture of Tokyo put a smile on my face. I have wanted to visit Japan since I was a little kid. I’m fascinated by Japanese culture, their food and the people there. I know it’s slightly expensive compared to other places in Asia. But as a U.S. citizen, I’m allowed three months when I visit, I believe. When traveling gets back to normal, as it slowly is in Asia, Japan is at the top of my list.
It seems like the longer this pandemic drags on, the more I’m a little surprised at how it could take so long to get everything going in the other direction again. What a wake-up call this has been for traveling. I can hardly believe that people would have their New Year’s plans ruined by this virus! It seems so far away. But I guess the only thing to do right now is to play it safe.
Travelers are ready to cruise again – and they’re booking up 2021
Belinda Shawn*, a 41-year-old mom in Florida, has a family cruise booked with Royal Caribbean next year: It departs in late May 2021 out of Barcelona with stops in Italy and France. With the cruise industry on pause due to the coronavirus, and a resulting change in cancellation and rebooking policies, Shawn and her family could easily postpone to the following year or get a refund. But they’re sticking to their plans… [read more]
Travelers are ready to cruise again – and they’re booking up 2021
Belinda Shawn*, a 41-year-old mom in Florida, has a family cruise booked with Royal Caribbean next year: It departs in late May 2021 out of Barcelona with stops in Italy and France. With the cruise industry on pause due to the coronavirus, and a resulting change in cancellation and rebooking policies, Shawn and her family could easily postpone to the following year or get a refund. But they’re sticking to their plans… [read more]
You might be surprised how much it costs to charter a yacht right now
With the cruising industry in tatters and the desire for remote travel greater than ever, chartering a yacht can sound appealing. But what does it cost? And will rates decrease during the coronavirus pandemic? Yachting has long been the terrain of the ultra-wealthy — and yes, some charter prices are akin to a down payment on a house. But for others, charters can be cheaper than a week on a cruise ship for a family of four… [read more]
Traveling post-coronavirus: How do you book your next trip when so much remains uncertain?
Now what? That’s the question keeping tour operators like Phyllis Stoller up at night. “How do you make travelers feel safe booking their next vacation?” she wonders. She’s considering limiting group sizes, avoiding buffets and bringing an endless supply of masks and hand sanitizers on her trips. Stoller, who is president of The Women’s Travel Group, says the changes will be expensive but worth it… [read more]
These are the top travel trends for 2021, according to experts
Ringing in the 2020 New Year, it’s likely you had big travel plans for the year ahead. Perhaps you were counting down the days until you’d fly and flop onto a Portuguese beach, or perhaps you wanted to finally tick spotting the Northern Lights in Norway off your bucket list? Yet, in late January a global pandemic came along and subsequently quashed all of our grand travel hopes for this year. So we’re looking to 2021 instead… [read more]
Travel after COVID-19: Armchair travel inspiration for when lockdown lifts
With the Olympics now postponed, 2021 is the year to visit the Land Of The Rising Sun. Japan’s high-speed bullet trains make it easy to zip between cities Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima… [read more]
We really enjoy hearing from our readers and would love to hear your views on any of these stories! Please click on the comments below and share your thoughts. Thank you.
Have a story you’d like to share? Please contact us for details.
It does seem like people are getting itchy feet already. Holidays for this year seem out of the question but that puts more pressure on next year, with the hope that the virus will be a thing of the past by then. It’s interesting to look at the cost of things like private yacht charters that many, including myself, would probably think of as being incredibly expensive, and yet could probably beat the budget for a few folks travelling for a week somewhere. I’d anticipate private travel would be more sought after now as people are dubious of public transport and generally being around others in confined spaces!
It’s such a shame for Tokyo 2020. I know it’s been said before just how many millions will be lost from having to postpone, even though it couldn’t be avoided at this point, but it’s still disappointing for all involved I’m sure. Japan is number one on my bucket list, has been for years and I think the current pandemic has made me keenly aware that the usual excuses (not enough time, don’t want to spend the money) are pretty silly now; if I can make it work then I’ll make it work because you never know what the future holds and whether there will be bigger forces at play that mean you can’t do these things freely. With any luck, effective antibody testing will be introduced, treatments will be developed and a vaccine will be found before the year is out, allowing for 2021 to supercharge the economy and get the travel industry moving again.
I wasn’t aware that the Olympics have been postponed. That’s quite astounding, I didn’t see that happening at all. But I feel the same about visiting Japan. It’s probably one of the safer countries to travel to over the summer months.
Extensive social distancing is not being practiced in most of the countries, the time-to-peak for the pandemic is still uncertain. On the other front, the slump in global economic growth is weakening many countries’ efforts to fight the virus.
The picture of Tokyo put a smile on my face. I have wanted to visit Japan since I was a little kid. I’m fascinated by Japanese culture, their food and the people there. I know it’s slightly expensive compared to other places in Asia. But as a U.S. citizen, I’m allowed three months when I visit, I believe. When traveling gets back to normal, as it slowly is in Asia, Japan is at the top of my list.
It seems like the longer this pandemic drags on, the more I’m a little surprised at how it could take so long to get everything going in the other direction again. What a wake-up call this has been for traveling. I can hardly believe that people would have their New Year’s plans ruined by this virus! It seems so far away. But I guess the only thing to do right now is to play it safe.