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Princess opens sales for South America cruises

By
TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 1 April 2022: From the origin of the tango to the home of coffee and the rugged landscape of the most isolated continent on earth, Princess Cruises has announced its diverse programme offerings for the 2023-2024 South America and Antarctica season.

On sale April 6 2022, Sapphire Princess returns to this exotic region to visit 19 destinations in 10 countries on five unique itineraries.

With 10 departures, ranging in length from 14- to 34-days, Sapphire Princess cruises offer guests the experience of sailing to Cape Horn – where the Pacific meets the Atlantic – to the Chilean Fjords, stunning mountains of Patagonia, the Falkland Islands’ famous penguins and the mystic waters of remote Antarctica. Cruise options include:

Cape Horn & Strait of Magellan – 14 Days – 3 Voyages

  • Overnight in Buenos Aires, including scenic cruising of the spectacular Amalia Glacier
  • Depart from Buenos Aires (overnight), Montevideo, Puerto Madryn, Falkland Islands (Stanley), Cape Horn scenic cruising, Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego), Punta Arenas, Amalia Glacier scenic cruising, Puerto Montt and arrive in Santiago
  • February 5 and March 4, 2024; reverse itinerary on February 19 2024

Antarctica & Cape Horn – 16 Days – 3 Voyages

  • Featuring four days of cruising the Antarctica region with views of Elephant Island, Antarctic Sound and Gerlache Strait
  • Sail from Santiago to Punta Arenas, Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego), Cape Horn scenic cruising, Antarctic Peninsula scenic cruising (Elephant Island, Antarctic Sound, Deception Island, Gerlache Strait, Neumayer Channel, South Shetland Islands and Admiralty Bay), Falkland Islands (Stanley), Montevideo and arrive in Buenos Aires.
  • December 19, 2023, January 20, 2024; reverse itinerary on January 4 2024

Andes & South America – 18 Days – 2 Voyages

  • Overnight in Lima (Callao), Peru, with an optional overland land tour to UNESCO World Heritage Site, Machu Picchu
  • Depart Los Angeles and sail to Costa Rica (Puntarenas), Manta, Lima (overnight), Pisco (General San Martin), La Serena (Coquimbo), and arrive in Santiago – on December 1 2023
  • Depart Santiago, La Serena, Pisco, Lima (overnight), Manta, Costa Rica, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, Los Angeles – 18 March, 2024

Grand Adventures – 32 or 34 Days – 2 Voyages

  • Overnight in Bueno Aires and Lima
  • Antarctica, Andes & Cape Horn Grand Adventure (34 days): Sail from Los Angeles, Costa Rica, Manta, Lima (overnight), Pisco, La Serena, Santiago, Punta Arenas, Ushuaia, Cape Horn scenic cruising, Antarctic Peninsula scenic cruising (Elephant Island, Antarctic Sound, Deception Island, Gerlache Strait, Neumayer Channel, South Shetland Islands and Admiralty Bay), Falkland Islands, Montevideo and arrive Buenos Aires – departs December 1, 2023
  • Andes & Cape Horn Grand Adventure (32 Days): Depart Bueno Aires (overnight) to Montevideo, Puerto Madryn, Falkland Islands, Cape Horn scenic cruising, Ushuaia, Punta Arenas, Amalia Glacier scenic cruising, Puerto Montt, Santiago, La Serena, Pisco, Lima (overnight), Manta, Costa Rica, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, Los Angeles – departs 4 March, 2024

For guests wishing to combine a land tour before or after their cruise, Princess offers two cruise tours for South America:

  • Iguazú Falls Adventure – features the thundering Iguazú Falls, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a visit to Rio de Janeiro.
  • Machu Picchu Explorer – visits the ancient Inca compound, Machu Picchu, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, plus a tour of the historic city of Cusco.

Guests can enjoy the local sites, wines and cuisines in port, while Princess keeps the destinations alive on board with passionate Argentine folkloric musicians, sumptuous regional dishes and even celebrations of the famed Carnival festival with local dancers and samba classes.

In addition, the 2,670-guest Sapphire Princess offers Princess MedallionClass Vacations which begins with the Medallion wearable, a quarter-sized device that enables everything from expedited contactless boarding to locating loved ones anywhere on the ship, as well as enhanced service like having whatever guests need to be delivered directly to them, wherever they are on the ship. In addition, guests can share their favourite cruise moments using MedallionNet, the best WiFi at sea, as well as stay connected with friends and family back home, work remotely anywhere on the ship, quickly post content and stream favourite movies and shows.

Sapphire Princess was previously based in Singapore from 2014 to 2020.

https://www.princess.com/learn/cruise-destinations/south-america-cruises/

(Your Stories: Princess Cruises)

Frommer’s names top booking sites

By
TTR WEEKLY
-

SINGAPORE, 1 April 2022: Frommer’s, a guidebook company celebrating its 65th this year, offers insights on the best hotel booking sites when planning summer vacation travel.

Earlier this week, it released the latest edition of its Best Hotel Booking Sites, saying the top 10 has been shaken considerably since the previous ranking in 2020.

Photo: https://www.frommers.com

Using a complex, weighted system involving 60 different room reservation scenarios, travel expert and analyst Reid Bramblett put booking engines through the wringer to determine which sites deliver the lowest rates, the most options, and the easiest user experience.

Frommer’s explained it involved tallying the number of choices each contender could rustle up in seven major tourist cities: Orlando, New Orleans, San Francisco, Rome, London, Bangkok, and Buenos Aires.

Then, for each city, it searched for the lowest rates each site could find at four specific downtown hotels in varying price ranges for a mid-week, shoulder-season stays three months out.

For the first time, Google tops the best list, but the search giant only narrowly edged out previous winner HotelsCombined, showing a keen ability to find the most affordable rooms.

Other heavy hitters, including Tripadvisor and Kayak, only managed middling scores when put to the Frommer’s test, ranking 5th and 7th, respectively. After falling out of the top 10 five years ago, Hotels.com clawed its way to the 10th slot, displacing Hotwire from the list entirely.

The complete top 10, along with detailed analysis, a rundown of each site’s pros and cons, and money-saving warnings about sneaky tactics and outright rip-offs, can be found at Frommers.com/BestHotelSites.

The top 10 booking sites

  1. Google.com/travel/hotels
  2. Hotelscombined.com
  3. Trivago.com
  4. Agoda.com
  5. Tripadvisor.com
  6. Booking.com
  7. Kayak.com
  8. Expedia.com
  9. Priceline.com
  10. Hotels.com

Frommer’s latest ranking of the top sites for finding affordable airfare will be updated later this year.

About Frommer’s:

One of the most venerable brands in travel, Frommer’s has been in continuous publication since the 1957 debut of Arthur Frommer’s Europe on Five Dollars a Day, which changed the way the world travelled. The Frommer’s collection of travel products has expanded to include nearly 100 award-winning guidebooks, a popular podcast.

(Source: Frommer’s)

India keeps a watchful eye on airfares

By
TTR WEEKLY
-

DELHI, 1 April 2022: India’s aviation authorities reminded domestic airlines this week that they continue to monitor airfares on a monthly basis to prevent sudden price surges and also to promote transparency.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation emphasised earlier this week that airlines should display on their websites the tariff sheet route-wise across their network in various fare categories and in the same manner it is offered in the market.

In addition, the DGCA noted its Tariff Monitoring Unit continues to monitor airfares on specific routes on a monthly basis to ensure that the airlines do not charge airfares outside a range declared by them.

Even though the government does not regulate airfares under normal circumstances, the Covid-19 pandemic adversely impacted businesses’ revenue streams, including the aviation sector. In response, the government introduced fare bands with upper and lower limits as a special measure to serve the dual purpose of protecting both travellers and airlines.

Presently, fare capping is applicable on a rolling basis on a 15-day cycle. Decisions regarding the domestic scheduled operations and the possible relaxation in fare capping are subject to the prevailing Covid-19 situation, the status of airline operations and passenger demand for air travel.

Fare check Delhi-Mumbai route

During April, a fare check on the popular Delhi-Mumbai route showed variations from a low of USD76 to a high of USD97 for one-way economy travel.

According to a Google flight search, Spicejet filed the lowest fare at USD76, but for those who worry about carbon emissions, the flight flagged 13% more kgCO2 when compared with the route’s average of 134 kgCO2.

Vistara and Indigo, both quoting USD97 fares, operated at the average carbon emission level flying the route. AirAsia quoting a USD96 fare, scored a minus 29% carbon emission level when compared with the route average, well below all rivals.

Air India quoted a fare of USD94, but the carbon emission level was the highest of all airlines serving the domestic route at 29% over the average. AirAsia at -29% is the winner when the topic is carbon emission levels and not just a cheap fare.

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