Our best to our friends at AmaWaterways who are celebrating their 18th anniversary as a world-class river cruise company. Ama’s ships sail the major rivers of Europe, southeast Asia and Africa and will soon cruise down the Nile.

Time is running out to take advantage of wonderful 2021 cruise deals from Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and Princess Cruises ending tomorrow, June 30th. Free drink packagfes, extra shipboard credit, discounts and more! See our Specials Page for details.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control has now extended its “No Sail” order through September 15, 2020 for cruise lines operating out of U.S. ports with ships of 250 passengers or more. This will push back cruise vacations deeper into 2020. As a consequence, our September 15 Bucketeer cruise from Amsterdam to Rome has been cancelled. Bucketeers will receive from Celebrity Cruises the option of a refund or 125% future cruise credit.

From our friends at Globus Journeys:

“In response to elevated travel restrictions and government advisements, we have made the thoughtful decision to suspend operations through August 31, 2020. We are planning to resume operations in September.

Given these circumstances, Globus has introduced an unprecedented program designed to give our travelers flexibility when considering their travel plans—the Peace of Mind Travel Plan.

Through this plan, Globus is allowing all travel bookings between March 14 and August 31, 2020 to move travel dates easily and without incurring cancellation fees, land or airline penalties*.

You are free to move your booking to any Globus family of brands (Globus, Cosmos, Monograms or Avalon Waterways) vacation for any destination. If you are not ready to choose your new vacation, the full value paid to us will be provided via a Letter of Credit, redeemable for any future 2020, 2021 or 2022 departure, and is transferrable.

To make the transition easier, this Plan includes an additional bonus credit. This bonus credit of up to $200 per person will be in addition to your Letter of Credit, redeemable for any future travel through 2022:
This Peace of Mind plan also applies to tours combining Holland America Line cruises and VIA Rail packages, both having suspended operations through the 2020 travel season.

• Bonus credit of $200 for Avalon Waterways
• Bonus credit of $100 for Globus
• Bonus credit of $50 for Cosmos, Escapes by Globus & Monograms”

The Rome Colosseum will reopen to visitors next week…one step closer to normalcy as Italy tries to recover from its COVID nightmare.