Concerned About Traveling Too Soon by Cruise Ship? Take It From “The Cruise Guy”: Land Travel is a Great Option!

Over the past months of dealing with the fallout from COVID-19, my time has not only been focused on the canceled cruises and travel plans, the rebooking of everything from seven day to World Cruises, following up on refunds and Future Cruise Credits (Oh Boy! Has that been fun!), trying to keep my clients informed on the latest actual news and science about COVID-19 as it relates to travel and, believe it or not, booking new journeys and cruises.

Nope! My time has been spent

• Reviewing my travels over the past decades through looking through, scanning and uploading long ignored slides and photographs.
• Identifying my travel articles about my cruises and other journeys.
• Updated the Goldring Travel website and incorporating all of my reviews of many of the cruises and land journeys I have taken and the cruise lines and tour operators I have experienced.
• Thinking.
• Feeling Grateful.
• Assisting people who have had issues with travel agencies that either haven’t survived, may not survive or who are now failing to service their clients.
• Contemplating how to address the concerns and desires of my clients and potential clients.

What I have come to really focus on is the conundrum facing many:

A love of cruising and a serious concern about going on a cruise.

The first thing to seriously consider is this: COVID-19 will not “magically disappear”. It is going to be with us, possibly forever. It is not a Zero-Sum scenario. Just like car accidents, slip-and-falls at home, norovirus, the common cold, the flu, measles, smallpox, etc. the experts are uniform in their scientific expert opinions (remember when science actually mattered?) it will not “disappear”. This requires – if you want to dine out, no less travel – a modification of one’s thinking. As with everything in life – eating an oyster or at a Reno “all you can eat” buffet or at a 5 star restaurant – there is always a chance of getting sick or worse.

Second, I have heard all too many times, “I am not traveling until there is a vaccine!” I hate to disappoint you, but (a) even when there is a vaccine the experts are saying one that is 70% effective is basically the best we can expect (similar to the best of other vaccines), and (b) it is going to take years for everyone to be vaccinated. And, of course, there are two other factors since things have become politicized from two different groups: (1) Questioning if the vaccine actually going to be proven safe and effective, or has it been rushed out for political purposes; and, (2) Anti-Vaxxers pushing another non-scientific agenda. Add those four together and Vaccine Nirvana Zero-Sum goes right out the window!

Third, many people have made refusing to do three simple things that will stem the spread of COVID-19 a political statement. I am truly baffled by how wearing a Mask; washing your hands; and, staying away from large crowds (especially indoors) is something other than science. Littering, wearing a seatbelt, public drunkenness, shooting someone, are somehow all OK to prohibit or require, but wearing a mask is an infringement? Prohibiting large gatherings is now somehow an infringement, but every bar and restaurant, sports stadium, theatre, etc. has legally required capacity controls for the safety of everyone inside. Oh, and it doesn’t mean you need to agree with my little rant, because agree or not, there are a whole lotta people that aren’t going to do what scientifically is necessary to protect you.

Speaking indoor spaces, that is the real hiccup with cruise ships. With COVID-19 being able to float in the air (though normally so diluted that it won’t infect you…so say the experts) the concern is that without proper ventilation it can concentrate and infect (though, they say, it is not the primary way to become infected). The other side of the coin is that if there are proper testing and precautions (even if scientifically over-the-top, but give a sense of protection) the chance of being infected on a cruise ship can be far less than going to a restaurant or office building.

Why is Goldring Travel being so “negative”? Actually I am not. I am just presenting a realistic perspective so that you can really dive into your personal space and figure out if cruising or even travel is something you want to consider, no less do. And if you want to consider or actually do some travel, NOW is the time to look at options that are comfortable for YOU. Seriously, there are many people that have already booked and many others that are about to…and with reduced capacities on ships, on airplanes, in hotels, restaurants, museums, etc. things will sell out.

So what to do? In my personal retrospective over the past month what really jumped out at me were not only the number of land-based travel experiences I have enjoyed, but how many I have created for clients.

• Culinary Adventures in Japan
• Safaris in East and South Africa
• Caribbean Cultural Immersions
• Peruvian Amazon River Expeditions
• Exploring the South of France
• Cultural Immersion in Turkey
• Chartering a Gulet or Catamaran in Croatia
• Easter Island
• Chartering a yacht in The Galapagos
• Costa Rican Nature & Spa Experiences in the Cloud Forest
• Staying in an Ecology-focused Lodge in Patagonia
• Staying in a 15th Century Villa on Lake Garda, Italy
• Gorilla watching in Tanzania or Rwanda

The list goes on and on. And, done the right way (for you) these are incredible travel experiences that do not involve being within close indoor contact for prolonged periods of time.

Just imagine yourself dining al fresco on the Serengeti, paddling the backwaters of the Amazon River, wandering the hills of Patagonia, driving through Turkey exploring from your private villa, trekking through the jungle to see amazing wildlife or wandering the garden city of Kyoto, Japan from your private ryokan.

Cruising has started and it will be coming back strong in the coming months. But if you want to consider something in the interim or the alternative, Goldring Travel has the experience to create that land journey that fulfills your desires. And now a member of the Adventure Travel Trade Association and an Abercrombie & Kent Africa Specialist has added to my expertise, we now have even more ideas and suggestions.

Interested in exploring options? Want to just chat about your dream safari or luxury villa? Give me a call, drop me an email or send me a Facebook message!

US: (877) 2GO-LUXURY (877-246-5898)
UK: 020 8133 3450
AUS: (07) 3102 4685
Everywhere Else: +1 530 562 9232