 |  | | | Welcome to the August 2012 edition of The Perrin Postcard! | | Mark August 13 on your calendar. That's the day when you can score any of 32 once-in-a-lifetime trips, created expressly for Condé Nast Traveler readers by me and my team, at discounts of up to 65%. First we chose your favorite places, hotels, and cruise lines—the ones you rate highest in our Readers' Choice Poll. Then we wove them into smart itineraries, adding all manner of unique special-access experiences. We made sure that every trip was something you couldn't find elsewhere: Either it's never been offered before or the price has never been lower. On top of that we asked United Airlines to take 20% off the airfare to each destination—in any class of service—and provide United Club airport lounge access. And we did all this as a gift to you in celebration of Condé Nast Traveler's 25th Anniversary. The magazine is earning no money from the sale of these trips; in fact, we're saving readers a total of $3 million! The sale opens to the public on August 21, but the pre-sale for Condé Nast Traveler subscribers starts August 13. Click to condenasttraveler.com/worldonsale to find out how to access the pre-sale and for a sneak peek at the trips. A few more things of note this month: |
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| | | Win a $10,000 Caribbean Cruise for Two* | | What's the best day you've spent in any port anywhere in the world? Maybe you rented a moped in Bermuda and discovered a secret pink-sand beach. Or you learned how to make the world's best cannoli the traditional Sicilian way in Palermo. Or you dived with manta rays the size of king-size mattresses in Kona, Hawaii. Wherever the port, if you did something awesome and have a cool tip for other travelers headed there, share it here and you could win a one-week, five-star Caribbean cruise on Seabourn Cruise Line. Here's how this contest works: My team and I are reading every tip that comes in, and we'll be sharing our favorites by publishing them on condenasttraveler.com. (So, if you have a Web site or blog and want to see your name in lights on condenasttraveler.com and to get a link from our site, include your URL when you enter the contest.) After we choose the ten contest finalists, we'll ask readers—that means you—to vote for their favorite, and the winner of the popular vote will win the $10,000 Caribbean cruise for two. For more info or to share a tip, click to condenasttraveler.com/contests. Speaking of cruises . . . | Is a River Cruise for You?
Ten Things to Know Before You Commit | | Last spring I sailed on three ships on three different European rivers, on assignment for my story "The River Cruise Revolution" in Condé Nast Traveler's August issue. Americans are flocking to European river cruises in record numbers, making this one of the hottest trends in travel and leading river lines to launch a whopping 11 new ships on European waterways this year and 12 more next year. But will river cruising float your boat? See the slide shows from my time aboard Grand Circle Cruise Line's M.S. Bizet on the Seine, Uniworld's S.S. Antoinette on the Rhine, and AmaWaterways' AmaBella on the Danube, and consider these factors: | | 1. River cruising removes the work and the risk from travel. | | It's a no-brainer vacation, which is either a good thing or a bad thing depending on the level of adventure and challenge you want from your trips. On a river cruise you need never struggle with a foreign language, decipher a map, read a road sign, or even pick up a guidebook. The down side is that many of your fellow passengers will be the sorts of people who don't want to struggle with a foreign language, decipher a map, read a road sign, or pick up a guidebook. | | 2. You can't plan around the weather. | | The ship has to leave port when the ship has to leave port—which means you can't wait till the fog clears to visit the castle with the stunning vistas, or tailor your indoor versus outdoor activities to the weather forecast. Also, river water levels rise and fall; your ship could literally get stuck because the water level is too high or low. | | 3. There's no schlepping from hotel to hotel. | | You check in and unpack once. | | 4. Your time in port is limited to a few hours. | | You get a tasting menu of many different places, but you can't dive deeply into any. | | 5. There's always something new out your window. | | The shoreline is always changing, as are the vessels gliding by. | | 6. Depending on the cruise line, the port sightseeing can be slow-paced and the tour guides mediocre. | | There can be waits and delays while everyone is loaded onto and off buses, handed over to local guides, and moved as a group through famous landmarks. With most people aged 60 to 80, some ships offer a "gentle walkers" group for the less mobile. AmaWaterways sometimes has an "active walkers" group, but that doesn't guarantee a great guide. For me the exception to the lackluster sightseeing was on the Bizet: Passengers were always punctual, and the superlative guides orchestrated the exploration so that you could go as quickly or slowly as you wanted and easily venture off on your own. | | 7. You spend a lot of time eating. And not in local restaurants. | | Most people dine onboard because they've paid for three meals a day on the ship, and dining is at communal tables with other cruisegoers. Usually at breakfast and lunch there's a buffet as well as a menu, so you could grab something in 30 minutes, but dinner always takes two hours. | | 8. You meet few locals. | | When you have only a few hours in a place and you're with a group, you end up spending more time talking to people from the ship than to locals. | | 9. There may be bikes. | | Some river ships carry bikes that you can use for free in port. On some sailings, AmaWaterways lets passengers bike from one port to the next and rejoin the ship. | | 10. There are no kids. | | There may be the occasional teenager accompanying a grandparent, but child-friendly river cruises are uncommon: Cabins fit two occupants only, there's little play space, and dinner is a drawn-out affair. Speaking of kids . . . | Hitting the Road with the Family this Month?
My Perfect Pit Stop | | It's that time of year again—it might as well be called Family Road Trip Month—and before I pile my own kids into the car for an eight-hour ordeal odyssey to Maine, I thought I'd share my favorite solution for surviving long drives with wiggleworms in the back seat: children's museums right off highways. They're better than playgrounds, since playgrounds near highways require close supervision of tots (and don't work in bad weather), whereas in a nice, safe children's museum you can get on your handheld device or laptop and play office catch-up for a couple hours while your kids unleash their pent-up energy. The Association of Children's Museums can help you figure out which are along or near your route. A couple of my family's favorites: Baltimore's Port Discovery Children's Museum (just off I-95 in Maryland) and the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito (just off Route 1 in California). Consider saving on entry fees by purchasing a museum membership with the ACM Reciprocal Program. You'll find plenty more hard-earned family-trip tips in my A-to-Z Guide to Traveling with Kids and Family Vacation Secrets: What Kids Say They Really Want. | | Happy Travels! | | Wendy Perrin | | Director of Consumer News & Digital Community | | CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER | | For more insider travel advice, click here to visit Wendy's blog, The Perrin Post. |
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| | | . | | *NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. To enter and for full rules, go to condenasttraveler.com/contests. Starts July 17, 2012, at 12:01 a.m. EST and ends September 7, 2012, at 11:59 p.m. EST. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, D.C., and Canada (except Quebec) 18 years or older, except employees of Sponsor, their immediate families, and those living in the same household. Void in Quebec; outside the 50 United States, D.C., and Canada; and where prohibited. Approximate retail value of prize: $10,000. Sponsor: Condé Nast. |
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