Scott Barronton (00:00)
If you are anything like us, you love a great deal. Especially when it comes to travel. Welcome to Travel Deals Thursday, where each week we dig through hundreds of emails, alerts, and travel sites to bring you a few of the best deals we've found on cruises, flights, hotels, and all-inclusives. So welcome to Travel Deals Thursday.
So Scott, you actually found this first one and I really think this one is definitely so needed in the cruise space because we want to check out features of different cruise lines and this makes that a little more available. So we don't feel like you have to sail the same cruise line all the time. Yeah. So we got a note from Royal Caribbean today and they are launching a new type of status.
that they're calling point choice. And this is where they're going to allow sailors to choose which lines that they cruise on. either Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, or Silver Sea. And then they can apply their earned points towards whichever brand loyalty program that they want to. And all of this helps to build their status inside the captain's club.
So it gives you so much flexibility. so points choice is going to be available in early 2026. So start watching out now, especially if you're a Royal Caribbean traveler, be on the lookout for more information in the coming weeks, including the official launch date, all of the program rules and any exchange rates across the different programs. I think this is awesome. And I really hope
that more cruise lines will adopt this strategy because we have traveled on Holland America a lot and we're doing Princess on this trip that we're about to go on. But even though they're in the same line, we don't have our status from Holland America to apply. Yeah, and sometimes it's just the itinerary doesn't work out like what we were looking for. And we mentioned that in previous episodes of the podcast.
This Princess sailing that we're doing is unique to what we wanted to do and the timeframe. And so it wasn't like, you know, going to the Caribbean where we're like, let's do this Holland America versus this one. So you're right in Princesses, like you said, in the Holland America. So that would be a really good feature. So hopefully you're right. Hopefully other cruise lines will like take that as kind of like a benchmark and start doing that as well.
Scott Barronton (03:12)
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Scott Barronton (04:14)
Well, did you see all the snowfall and the pictures of the Northern Lights in Iceland over the last couple of days? I did. Absolutely incredible. I saw this one video from the Sky Lagoon where they were showing just all the snow and like, you remember sitting in that sauna and just the snow and then the Northern Lights. Yeah. I also saw where someone had taken pictures of the church there in Reykjavik.
and it was lit up pink and then you had the Northern Lights behind it and all the snow around it and even piled up on the church itself. Just absolutely amazing. So the Northern Lights have actually been going crazy recently and that's just one example because we saw that. I've seen people in Alaska recently and that
is supposed to continue into early next year. And earlier this year in Iceland is where we actually saw the Northern Lights for the first time. And let me tell you, it was absolutely breathtaking. So right now Icelandair is offering round trip flights starting at just $299. and that's for winter travel between November 1st and February 15th. You can even bundle your flight with two nights of hotel from just
$552 total. And that even includes a check bag and advanced seat selection. So you get this whole full winter escape without the budget airline headaches. So especially if you're on the East coast, it really is not that long of a flight. We actually ended up flying back from Reykjavik to Orlando. So because we wanted to find like a nonstop and Icelandair makes that possible.
And we actually had a great experience. we used the stopover program. We flew them from London Heathrow to Reykjavik and then did their stopover and then Reykjavik to Orlando. And I actually thought it was a fantastic experience. I mean, the planes were nice so we highly recommend Icelandair because I think sometimes
like let's say for Delta, for example, some of them are seasonal roots or they don't have as many flights, but Icelandair, because it's there, right? This is a great way to get to and from Iceland, you know, any time of the year. And let me tell you what makes this even better is because fall and winter in Iceland means fewer crowds. You get frozen waterfalls, snowy landscapes, and of course, the chance to soak in a steaming lagoon.
while snow's falling all around you. It's just absolutely surreal. And the other thing I would say probably about going this time of year is that, you know, the days and the daylight is really short. so take the rest of that time to just relax. And, the places that we stayed, the other place where we stopped and had dinner, I mean, they were super cozy. Once it gets dark, I mean, wouldn't you agree it would be, any of those places would be a great place just to
relax and chill out for a while. And so then also if you're thinking of making a longer trip, They are also offering $100 off per person on other vacation packages. So there is a code, use the code Iceland at checkout and that one ends October 31st. So jump on that fast. We'll put the link to that in the show notes.
Okay, so now let's pivot from Fire and Ice to a full on Mediterranean luxury. And Scott, when I found this one, I'm like, ⁓ I think we really need to book this. Princess Cruises just dropped an offer that is crazy. It starts and ends in Fort Lauderdale. So if you're like, well, I don't want to fly overseas. I don't want to do the overnight flight. You don't have to for this one.
Okay. So it's a 50 night Grand Mediterranean Odyssey. It visits Spain, Italy, and Greece. Wouldn't you agree that's like three of our favorite places? A dozen or more unforgettable ports, but listen to this. The price has started to $7,629 per person for 50 nights. Like I don't even think that you could feed yourself at home for that much. Book It Dano.
So if you're not ready to take 50 days off, they also have a 25 day sailing, also Spain, Italy and Greece, and it starts at $4219 And on that one, you get up to $1,000 in onboard credit per stateroom. So just absolutely crazy.
And we did a 12 day Mediterranean sailing several years ago. And we have told you guys like how we've raved over what a great way it is to hit some of these ports and get an introduction with the convenience of then getting back on the ship every day. I mean, it was just a great way to see so many places in the Mediterranean. So if you've ever dreamed of sipping wine in Santorini or wandering cobbled streets in Barcelona,
flights, then this is your trip. Just one suitcase, no airports and nothing but the Mediterranean. And the great thing about it is that you get to like unpack once. And then the other thing that Scott loved is like, we weren't running to do stuff till midnight every night and get back up at eight o'clock. Right. We've really had time to relax.
and I think that's the great thing about a trip like this. So we'll drop the link to that in the show notes if you want to check out the dates and the routes for that. And if you're serious about a trip like this, reach out and we can help you plan or even book it for you. But we'll also have that link.
So whether you're chasing the Northern Lights or the Mediterranean sun, these two offers are a once in a while kind of deal. So don't sleep on them. If either of these are your dream trip, just let us know. We'll put the links in the show notes. And we're always here to help you book, plan, or even try to find a better deal than what we're talking about. And as always, you can find our curated travel deals inside Travel Deal Insiders.
