I’ve not done a year end review in a while and last year was a whirlwind of travel, chasing travel deals and accepting that travel is not going back to shoulder season rates or quiet times anytime soon.  It seems that everyone is traveling as I encountered crowds in what used to be “off season”, was told to book everything in advance to avoid sell outs, and had to learn to accept that ticket fees, credit card fees, resort fees and everything else fee is here to stay.  My friend said “I know I’m not getting the best rate and feel like I’m getting ripped off each time but I don’t want to spend hours stressing out to find the lowest rate”.  I’m not quite there yet as I recently did an excel schedule of hotel rates and benefits via credit card travel sites vs booking direct vs. loyalty discount rate.  There’s just too many options nowadays to “personalize your travel”.  Why can’t we have easy to understand rates anymore?  Instead we have dynamic pricing, surge pricing, loyalty pricing and then need to game out all the discount codes.  It can be a slog and I can see why folks who have the money to save time and stress just book the first thing they see. As for me, ROI still matters and I can confirm spending money on the NCL Prima Thermal Spa was worth every penny!

This isn’t to say that I’ve fully delved into full price travel – I’m still doing my best to balance costs, find savings and utilize my vacation days and points effectively.  But local forces outside of my control have definitely tested me this year (e.g., UK rail works, same day cancellations by SouthWest Rail, Welcome Pickups and British Airways) filling the swear jar so much that it was overflowing.  Another blow this year was losing my long time travel agent, Edith, to retirement.  She was my go to corporate and then personal travel agent who saved many of my trips over the past thirty years.  She’s earned her retirement but I’m still very sad to lose an old school travel sage (we still joke about paper tickets, 10% airline commissions and life before the TSA) who I could just send an email “I was thinking of x for these dates” and she’d reply “you know you could open jaw to y city for less and have an added vacation bonus” and I’d say “book it”.  Another time I was enroute to JFK when my flight was canceled and I got an email from her “Venice flight canceled, I’ve rebooked you on x airline, go to terminal z”. If anyone has a rockstar travel agent (old school) or travel advisor suggestion please email me.

Update: My year ended on a sad note with a New Year’s Eve email from British Airways regarding changes to the loyalty program (Executive Club) so my years of chasing status will likely end in 2025 as the hurdles will be too high to qualify.  It’s still too fresh to understand but when I know more I’ll share how this affects me and likely you if you use British Airways for One World status and partner flights.

I’ll share how I dealt with those travel interruptions, setbacks and sadness and how you can lower stress levels with backup plans to pivot or avoid all together. For now, listen to the soothing sounds of the Atlantic Ocean…..

 

Trip It Summary – 7 Trips in 2024

Solo Weekend at Bellagio in Las Vegas for a concert at the Sphere

Big Trip 1

• • • Solo Weekend in Disney World
    • NCL Epic Transatlantic (Orlando to Rome)
    • Weekend in Bologna, Italy
    • Ferrari Museums
    • London (2 days)

New York City

Washington, D.C.

Big Trip 2 (over July 4th holiday)

• • • London (1 night pre-cruise)
    • NCL Prima Norway/Iceland (Southampton to Reykjavik)
    • London (1 night – switch luggage)
    • Five Days in Sicily (Giardini Naxos & Palermo)
    • London (2 days)

London for Thanksgiving

New York City

A Year of Solo Travels

I started the year with a spontaneous trip (booked Tuesday to leave Friday) to Las Vegas solo in February.  I wanted to see U2 in concert at The Sphere and no one else was keen so I went on my own. I managed to save a few dollars on the concert ticket with discount code and Chase rebate.

I did try to snag a ticket to Adele but $1,400 was too far outside my budget (looking back now that she is no longer in Residency, that was a deal but, in the moment, it was just too much for me).  I was able to status match my Celebrity Cruise loyalty status with MGM Rewards program so that insider knowledge saved me daily resort fees (more than $150 on that stay).  Las Vegas held a few surprises and new experiences such as the Mob Museum (highly recommend), Postcards from Earth movie at The Sphere, Arte Museum (new visual experience see below) and Cirque du Soleil “O” (amazing).   I stayed at the Bellagio which definitely benefits from location, location, location and with a midnight red eye flight checked into the Nomad Las Vegas to use as a day room (booked same day, waived resort fees due to MGM status, got suite upgrade, highly recommend). I’ll give the Bellagio review another go with a trip in 2025.

Transatlantic Cruise – Orlando to Rome

In April, I had my first big trip of the year, combining a transatlantic cruise with pre (Orlando) and post (Bologna & London) travel. I was able to revisit the NCL Epic for a transatlantic cruise which I first sailed in 2015.  This cruise would leave from Orlando (actually Cape Canaveral about an hour from MCO airport) with the final destination of Rome.  As you should arrive at least a day or two before a cruise as best practice, I used this as an opportunity to visit Disney World and stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge as I had not been in the parks in over a decade and never on my own. The cruise was relaxing overall with two hiccups – we skipped Gibraltar and my room made noises so I had to get a sleeping room for some nights.  We arrived in Rome on time and despite my best efforts to arrange the train from Civitavecchia to Rome and then Rome to Bologna allowing myself 1.5 hours layover between trains, the train in Civitavecchia was over an hour late so there was a good amount of running involved.  Another reminder that despite best efforts and backup plans things don’t always go as planned so always pack snacks and water (thankfully I had a few bottles left from my cruise water package) and know the train schedules.

Bologna ended up being was a wonderful surprise of a city and a weekend wasn’t nearly enough to explore but I did my best with a walking tour upon arrival to see the historic city centre and learn about the Emilia Romana region full of incredible foods and wines.  I decided to splurge to hire a private driver to take me to the Ferrari Museums as well as the Lamborghini museums. The Hotel Corona D’oro staff were rockstars just a few days in advance of arrival to suggest an itinerary and connect me with the private tour from Bologna.  The day included lunch in Modena and ended with a Lambrusco sparkling wine tasting at the local vineyard. This day out was a budget buster for a solo traveler but well worth it for the unique experiences.

From Bologna, I arrived in London for the first of five visits/hotel check ins this year. I used London on the front end of a trip, as a mid-point connection and at the end of a trip.  The Hilton Bankside Hotel is now my go to hotel in London and the staff were wonderful in July with my three check ins and luggage storage as I went from cold Iceland to hot Sicily.

East Coast Weekend Trips to NYC and DC

I had a few overnight trips to New York this year and was able to see Broadway shows such as Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (bought ticket at box office an hour before to save on fees) and &Juliet.  For NYC, the Moxy and the new Aloft became my bases. I also returned to STK Midtown to enjoy the best brunch burger deal you’ll find at $9.99 and relied on Instagram suggestions for an Italian restaurant in midtown (Ciccone’s in The Ned).

Despite living a train ride away to Washington, D.C., I rarely visit but this year had an overnight trip to the DC office to meet colleagues. I stayed at the Moxy D.C.   Arriving on Sunday, I wandered the city and the Mall finding myself in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History for my first visit.  Living in Philadelphia with the Liberty Bell, Constitution Center and Independence Hall, I often forget about what came after the signing of the Constitution.  The American History museum highlights innovations in manufacturing, American influences in entertainment as well as Democracy exhibits. Each room was interesting – from the evolution of food, to the influence of car culture and public transit to the portrayals of Americans in media entertainment – radio, television, movies and beyond.  I spent a few hours both fascinated and appalled at the innovations as well as the destruction over the years.

Summer Trip – Volcanoes

For my summer July 4th vacation, the theme was volcanoes from Iceland to Sicily.  I would board the NCL Prima in Southampton and then return to London to fly to Sicily. British Airways decided to cancel my flight to London from the U.S. the day of departure which for someone going on a cruise from Southampton was stress x10000.  I would make it to London but it was an ordeal which then continued to the next cancellation of the train to Southampton when I was at Waterloo station waiting to board.  The next train was packed with people and luggage and then canceled en route stopping a few towns short and told everyone to leave the train (what a sh*tshow – this should be illegal but in the UK it’s the norm?).  The journey didn’t start off well but thankfully sailing NCL Prima to Norway & Iceland would be one of my best trips.  A wonderful new ship class with a unique itinerary included a few favorites such as Bruges (Zeebrugge port) and Amsterdam along with overnight in Reykjavik to allow enough time to explore the Golden Circle, Black Sand Beach and Glaciers. NCL is known for their solo programming, solo lounge and studio cabins and our solo cruise director, Thiago from Brazil was a rockstar! As if the itinerary, staff and ship weren’t already fabulous – the NCL Prima has go carts which my inner child loved.  The $15 fee to drive on top of the ship with the spectacular backdrops of the fjords and Iceland was priceless.

I learned that one way flights from Reykjavik to Europe are not cheap or convenient to cruise ship schedules. While the ship docked overnight and folks could leave at any time, it was easier to fly one way back to London, stay overnight and fly to Sicily for a warm end to my holiday.  Did I mention Mt Etna started erupting when I was in the Iceland?  Or that my airport to hotel car transfer canceled me while in the airport looking for the driver?  I had a trial by fire introduction to the Sicilian bus system. My trip was marred with high winds canceling a boat tour in Giardini Naxos and food poisoning kept me close to the hotel so I wasn’t able to explore Taormina.  I had better luck in Palermo with the pedestrian zone, Opera House tour and pizza making class. With that said, Sicily was pretty awesome despite the challenges.

Solo Thanksgiving in London

For Thanksgiving, I used a British Airways voucher for 50% off award ticket so I flew business class from Philadelphia for 80k BA Avios points. I returned to Native Bankside which is one of my favorites. My friends were surprised I was staying a week in London as I hadn’t done that since my former business travel life. Most of my visits are 1-2 days pre/post travel elsewhere in Europe. Native Bankside would give me a kitchenette and living room to have more space for the week where I had nothing planned other than Kew Gardens Christmas Lights.  I would end the trip at the Hilton Bankside (my 5^th stay of the year). This trip, I visited the West End for theater (Hadestown, Six), wandered the Christmas markets and lights in the city (too many people for me) and then finished my visit at Kew Gardens with friends.  Add in a spa massage at Sea Containers Aqua Spa and way too many sweets at Borough Market and it was the perfect way to spend a cool, rainy, windy Thanksgiving week in the city. I was thankful that I can continue to feed my curiosity with travel experiences and friends.

Final Thoughts – A Year of Travel

The year had a few more overnight/weekend trips along with my two big trips and a return to a Thanksgiving trip. I want to continue with weekend travel where I can – booking Amtrak in advance makes the trip to NYC as low as $10-17 each way vs. a last minute trip of $86+ each way. I’ll also look for trip further afield that utilize holiday weekends and fewer PTO days. It’s also a big year for Philadelphia as we get ready for all the 2026 celebrations so I’ll be visiting and writing about the Philly things you need to do and see and what to expect in 2026 (Tip – visit in 2025 ahead of the masses).

I got creative this year with travel discounts, credit card travel rebates and used airline shopping malls more frequently to earn American Airline miles when not traveling.  I’ll continue to do that even though its getting much harder than in the past.

So as we look forward to 2025, I wish you a world full of possibilities whether that’s near or far.