Cruisers looking to go to Europe are always able to book well in advance. As a matter of fact, for most cruise lines you can already book for travel all the way through April 2014. With tour companies it has always been different. Why? Well think about it…the cruise line owns the ship – tour operators on the other hand have to negotiate with hotels, admission tickets for included sightseeing and even with restaurants for meals in order to be able to calculate their prices and print a brochure for consumers to review. They even have to factor in and try to anticipate changes in currency conversion. Cruise line prices are based on their volume of sales, and they can increase or decrease their prices any time they want. Tour operators commit to a brochure rate and have to stick to it. So typically each year in June the tour companies release what is called “winter” tours. These tours travel in the off season from November through April. Then they would release their full brochure in September or October. So if you wanted to go to Italy in June, you would have to wait until 8 or 9 months prior to make your reservation. We always understood the reasons as noted above, but we also knew they were losing out to travelers who ended up booking cruises instead of tours so they could have their dream vacation on the books and start saving.
The good news is that things are finally changing. We have been advised that major operators will release brochures in just a couple of weeks. This means travelers can book 2013 Europe tours through October 31st. A few tours will even have dates through April 2014. So whether you want to visiting Italy, Spain or Greece or select a tour that visiting several countries, they will all be open for reservations. Tour operators will also offer guaranteed departure dates so you can book with confidence knowing the tour will not cancel.
Which companies will have brochure out in June?
Globus tours, Cosmos tours, Trafalgar tours, Insight tours, Adventures by Disney and Collette tours. That will give travelers around 500 European itineraries to choose from.
Anything new for 2013?
We have yet to see, but we anticipate more tours that will travel at a slower pace spending 2 to 3 nights in each city. With the increasing popularity of multi-generational travel, we also think there will be some new escorted family vacations.
Feel free to email us if you would like to be placed on a waiting list to receive a brochure as soon as they are available, and of course our website will also go live with all itineraries, dates and prices the same day as the tour companies.
