What actually separates the Paul Gauguin experience from the marketing hype, and is it still worth the long-haul trip? On this episode of Luxury Cruising, Dr. Krystal Sodaitis welcomes back Sylvia Hanna, owner of Luxe for Less Travel, fresh off an 11-night Paul Gauguin cruise with 32 of her clients. From overwater bungalows and sea-scooter turtle adventures to dated cabins, rocking seas, and zero thermal spa, this is the honest, no-filter review every French Polynesia dreamer needs before booking.
Dr. Krystal Sodaitis sits down with returning guest Sylvia Hanna, owner of Luxe for Less Travel, for a candid debrief of her latest voyage: an 11-night Paul Gauguin cruise around French Polynesia with a group of 33 (more than 10% of the entire ship!).
Sylvia breaks down the full experience from business-class flights and pre-cruise overwater bungalows at the InterContinental Tahiti and St. Regis Bora Bora, to life onboard the older, smaller Paul Gauguin. She shares exactly what exceeded expectations (Polynesian crew hospitality, turtle sea-scooter excursions, intimate dining views) and what fell short: dated 1990s décor, tiny rocking cabins, no thermal spa, identical food in all three restaurants, zero pre-cruise group dining reservations, lack of shade on deck, and almost no activities on sea days.
Listeners get the real talk on why Paul Gauguin feels more “refined premium” than true luxury today, how Silversea, Seabourn, and Regent now do it better, plus Sylvia’s pro tip: rent a car on the islands and skip the bus tours. She also answers a listener question about dress codes and shares her personal definition of luxury.
Episode Highlights:
About the Guest
Sylvia Hanna is the owner and operator of Luxe for Less Travel and a luxury traveler with more than 40 cruises across nearly every major cruise line. She just returned from leading a group of 33 clients on the Paul Gauguin in French Polynesia, her third visit to the islands, and brings her trademark honest, no-hype perspective on what actually delivers, and what doesn’t at this price point.
Email: luxeforlesstravel@yahoo.com
About the Host:
Dr. Krystal Sodaitis is a pediatrician, executive, and life coach for neurodiverse physicians—and the passionate host behind Luxury Cruising. She brings expert insight and honest excitement to every interview, helping curious travelers elevate their adventures at sea.
📍 Website: luxurycruising.net
📧 Email: luxurycruisingpodcast@gmail.com
🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/krystalsodaitis
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[00:00:00] Welcome back to Luxury Cruising. I'm your host, Krystal Sodaitis, and I am very excited to have our guest, Sylvia here today. Sylvia is the owner and operator of our exclusive sponsor, Luxe for Less Travel, and she just came back from a trip around French Polynesia on the famous Paul Gogan ship, and she's gonna tell us.
what lived up to her expectation and what was maybe just a little bit of hype. Sylvia, please tell the audience anything you want them to know about you. Hi, um, I am Sylvia and I own Luxe for Less, and I'm a luxury traveler. I've traveled all over the world and cruising is my jam.
This was. 40 something. I've kind of lost track cruise and so I've cruised many lines and was very excited to go back to French Polynesia. This was my third visit to French Polynesia, and this time I did it by cruise. I had done it by land, I had done it by [00:01:00] catamaran and then I wanted to experience it via Cruz and I got to do so with 32 other clients and some of them were really good friends, so it was a great experience.
Amazing. That's fantastic. So, tell us what led to you deciding to do this cruise and to take so many people with you. Yeah, so one of my friends slash clients, uh, had done it a few years back. She's a big scuba diver and she wanted to go back. She wanted to have that experience again. Front French Polynesia is lovely.
It's a once in a lifetime, but if you can go more than once, go more than once. Uh, so she wanted to go back on the Paul Gagan. Her love of scuba diving is really what drove this. They do offer scuba diving right off the ship. However, I will say that those excursions are limited. They're not at every port.
So I believe they were only at two of the ports. We were on an 11 night cruise. So they [00:02:00] opened the back of the ship and they take you off to the dive sites. And so her being a big diver, this was the big appeal for her. And she invited her friends who begat more friends, who begat more friends, and a small group grew there were 33 of us in total.
Wow. Yeah. Just focusing on the group for a minute and I imagine that the Paul Gagan ship is pretty small, so rough estimate, what percentage of all of the passengers was this group? We were more than 10% of the ship, so typically it holds about 320 guests and there were 230 on board, so we were more than 10% of the ship.
Wow. Fun. That sounds amazing. Um, how do you get to French Polynesia? And were there any luxurious aspects of the trip there? I say that knowing, because I have followed this trip on Facebook and If Anybody isn't following luxe for less travel on Facebook, they should. 'cause they get to see all the [00:03:00] amazing above the water and under the water pictures.
So please tell the audience about your pre cruise trip and stay. So most of the guests were from the east coast. There were some, uh, from the west coast, so most of us flew to la and then from LA we flew to Pepe Tahiti. And then from there you can either catch the ship, which we did a few days later. I went early.
I wanted to relax a little bit since this was a larger group. And so I wanted to have a little bit of a pre vacation. So I used points and I flew business on United Polaris, which is my favorite. So flew to LA and from LA flew to Tahiti, which was about eight hours from la. yeah, that's nice. And that's quite a trip, but going Polaris business class, that definitely ups the luxury for that segment of the trip.
And where did you stay when you got there? So the first night I stayed at [00:04:00] the Intercontinental on Tahiti and basically because I had landed so late, uh, we had landed about 10 o'clock. And so you really can't go to your next destination at that point, so you just need a hotel to crash. So I am a platinum guest with them.
So I got upgraded to an Overwater bungalow. I got there in the dark, so I didn't see very much when I got there, but when I woke up, it was lovely to be in an overwater bungalow. I had stayed in that hotel, uh, twice before in just a regular room. The view is beautiful. The grounds are beautiful, the pool is lovely.
There's more than one pool, and you have a lovely view of marre because, uh, MOA is right there. So definitely get the rooms with the view of Mar area. Wow. Does anything special come with the over water bungalow? Nope, just the view. Then the next morning I flew to Boar Bora, so short, 45 minute prop plane.
And there I stayed at the St. Regis. And I used [00:05:00] points and I stayed in an over water bungalow with a mountain view, which means you're looking at, uh, mount ano, you can have a lagoon view. Uh, they have rooms that are a little bit more affordable, that are beach villas, so they're not over water. And then they have some garden villas.
But if you're going all the way over there, splurge Get the overwater bungalow. So what is it, because I hear people talking and raving about the Overwater bungalows and I saw your pictures, and so what is it? What is the appeal of an overwater bungalow? in this hotel room that is on stilts and it's above water and the lagoon is completely still, and there are fish floating underneath your villa.
And depending on the villas that you're in most of 'em have glass panels in the floor. The one I had stayed in in 2003, you actually could move that floor panel out of the way. Feed the fish. Sharks are swimming underneath your Villa Stingray, and then you can jump off [00:06:00] and you can swim under the villa.
So it's quite a unique experience. The Hilton and moa, their Overwater bungalows is kind of built with, there's reef, so you can actually just go snorkeling underneath your villa, which they have really good snorkeling right there at the resort. So really depending on where you stay. And you love water.
you can just listen to the water as you're sleeping, as you're bathing. Some of the villas have glass in the bathtub. I had that in 2003 in the resort that I stayed in. So you're taking a bubble bath and looking over and there are fish right under you. So it's quite an experience that you really can't get in most of the world.
There are overwater bungalows in the Caribbean and Mexico now, but uh, the original ones were Bora.
Wow, I never knew that. Wow. Yeah. Now over water bungalow is definitely on my list. So it's a bucket list item. Definitely do it. Just adding and adding things to it. Amazing. Okay, so now onto the ship. Tell us, had you been on the ship [00:07:00] before? I had not just my one friend. So there were, uh, 31 of us that had not been on this ship before.
So the ship, it's small it's luxury as they advertise it. We were in the port. Onboarding was pretty easy. You just kind of walk on. It probably took an hour, the whole embarkation process, which wasn't too bad. Uh, it is a little hot and humid, but that's, you know, you're in French Polynesia, so you deal with that.
Uh, once you get on board, your room is ready. So they start boarding at 3:00 PM So it's not like we're used to in the Caribbean where the ships board earlier, but when you're on board, your room is ready. So you're taken straight to your room. Somebody walks you to your room, so it feels very nice. You escorted to your room and the room was okay.
And this is an older ship. The ship was built in the early two thousands, I believe. So it's an aged ship. It's been refurbished a couple of times, but it showed its age. [00:08:00] So the rooms were nice, they were clean, but it is dated, I'm sorry, I believe the ship might have been built in the nineties, but it had like 1980s, 1990s kind of decor vibes.
Hmm. Yeah. Yeah. And the rooms I'm sure were somewhat smaller than what a more modern luxury ship, correct. Uh. Yeah, if you're gonna compare it to a luxury line like explorer, those are suites. They're well appointed, they're larger. So these were pretty standard size cabins, even though. The price tag isn't standard, so just keep that in mind.
The bathroom was the shower tub combination was a little odd, which I thought I am a relatively young person and I thought I would slip and fall and break a hip, whereas the demographic for this cruise line is much older than I am, so the top was very curved. Abnormally curved where there wasn't much flat area for someone to stand.
Mm-hmm. So I thought [00:09:00] there was a bit of a hazard. yeah, especially if it's just a shower tub combo. Like you don't have the option of taking a separate shower on a flat surface. And if you want the top, then you just have the top. Correct. And I thought it was odd because the bathroom itself by the sink had a bar so you can hold on.
So since it is a smaller ship, it doesn't have the modern technology of some of our newer ships. Nowadays, newer ships have stabilizers. So even though we were most of the time in pretty relatively calm waters. That ship was rocking and rolling in the evenings, so I definitely would make sure I was taking my shower, when we were docked before we left port, or you know, when it wasn't too rocking and rolling.
Wow, That's good to know. Wow. Anything else about just the ship layout or the room that you think people should know? I mean, it's small, so the ship doesn't have typical [00:10:00] spa amenities. I'm a spa girl, and so it doesn't, you're not gonna have a thermal spa that you would be. Kind of expecting in a luxury ship.
So I was a bit disappointed. I got my three massages and then got one free, which I really did enjoy. But it would've been nice to have that thermal spa, that sauna, that sea room type thing, which they don't have on board. It's an older ship. There are uh, three restaurants. So they all serve the same dinner, so it's kind of, there's no one main dining room.
And the differences are one kind of has that main dining room feel with the really high ceilings and giant pillars. That one is called a leis. Then there's leg grill, which is an outdoor on top by the pool deck restaurant, which can be very uncomfortable in the evening when it's hot and humid.
You kind of need air conditioning in French Polynesia, we only dine there once. On the inside portion. The night we overnighted in Bora, they [00:11:00] take the tables out and they put them around the pool. And we had dinner outside, which was a little nicer 'cause there's more air. So that was fine.
And the third one was my favorite live Miranda. Um, smaller, more intimate, and it had a better view. In my opinion of just the ocean, like you could pretty much see three 180 degrees, um, ocean, depending on where you were sitting. So that was my preferred restaurant. It was smaller, it was quieter but they all serve the same meal, so it's not like you're getting a different meal every night in a different restaurant.
Oh, interesting. So not really like a specialty dining or do they have any specialty dining? There is no specialty dining. No, no. Same restaurants. Same food, different restaurants. Same food, different restaurant. And the dining is a little odd in the sense that like a typical cruise ship or even luxury liners, you can make reservations in an app ahead of time.
So you kind of know, whereas you are not allowed, they don't have a system, they don't have it [00:12:00] where you can go ahead in an app and make d dining reservations, which became. Kind of an issue when you're traveling with 32 other people and you all want to have the same dining. And so that was a challenge.
Even dealing with the group's department, they weren't willing to give us set dining ahead of time, which kind of stressed out our group and they said, oh well when you get on board you can get dining having 19 couples running to the dining desk to try to get yeah, the same time. So logistically they haven't worked out things to make it easier for groups to travel.
And as the travel agent, that was a lot of stress on me. And then my clients would say, well, I don't have dining. Are we going to be able to eat together? And then the leader of our group, you know, who kind of invited all her friends, was very kind of stressed out about it and was like, well, I'm gonna get on ship as soon as they open and mm-hmm.
Run to the dining desk and try to get us seating and. So for the 11 nights, I was only allowed to getfour reservations for the group ahead of time. And that was with, uh, escalating and escalating and escalating to the CEO. [00:13:00] So in terms of customer service, pre cruise, I'd give them an F. So they were very challenging to work with.
And I work with a lot of groups and I'm able to get perks and discounts and they'll bend over backwards to help a group that large typically. The only thing I was able to procure for our group was 30% off retail, which was a good deal. They were able to get $250 per cabin of onboard credit, which all of my guests really appreciated.
Most of them used it for excursions and that private outdoor dinner overnight, uh, in Bora. Other than that, they really weren't willing to work with our group and give us anything else, so that was a little disappointing. Yeah. and not in keeping with what you would consider that Polynesian hospitality, which seems very friendly and, really, committed to customer service and making the customers and clients happy.
Yeah, Pogon is a French company. They're headquartered in France and they've been recently acquired by [00:14:00] Penant, but they seem to function independently for Penant. I've worked with Penant, and Penant is great to work with. Um, I don't think that integration has happened and there definitely seemed like Pogon didn't necessarily care about having happy clients ahead of time.
My sense was it's a bit of a one and done ship. Most people are not gonna cruise French Poly Asia multiple times, whereas in the Caribbean are going to different islands. It's a long way to go. It's a pretty big trip. It's pretty expensive. And I kind of got the sense from their lack of customer service.
They knew they got you once and they knew you weren't gonna come back, so they really didn't have to try very hard. Yeah, That's a shame. I mean, because they are sort of if you want to cruise around French Polynesia, they've historically been known as sort of the go-to cruise line.
Cruise ship for that experience. And if they make it unpleasant, then you know who's gonna wanna do that? Well, there were two ships that were kind of following the same itinerary as [00:15:00] us. And so it was The region, silver Sea, and the Seaborn, and I would definitely say those three options are much better in terms of luxury.
I've sent lots of clients on those and always have had wonderful customer service. So in that sense I would probably go with the other liners. I think in the initially, POL Gagan was the one historically, you know, first to do it, but I think some other lines are doing it better. Well, that's good to know now that there's options.
Mm-hmm. Um, and was there any sort of Polynesian flavor to the crews, the food , anything? Yeah, once you're on board, the hospitality of the crew is wonderful. They have Paul Gogans and Paul Goins, like male and female. I guess kind of Polynesian hostesses, and they have sessions and shows about the culture, so they have that educational aspect.
Um, some of the food was endemic to Polynesia, which was great to try different things. But I wouldn't say that it was, you [00:16:00] know, as much as I thought it would be, I thought we would have more Polynesian. Um, and we didn't, the lack of activities was a little disappointing as well. Because it is a bit of an older demographic that typically cruises on this, like a sea day was pretty boring.
They would only have about four events the whole day. Where I'm typically used to most cruise lines, there's at least one or two things going on somewhere on the ship about every hour. And sometimes it would be like, you'd have fear of missing out, right? It's like, do I wanna play bingo or do I wanna go learn how to make a bracelet and that type of thing.
And that wasn't the case. There was a lot of downtime. On sea days and when you were on the ship, if you weren't going on an excursion, there was nothing going on the ship. So Wow. You pretty much had to leave. Yes. there were no activities when the ship was on board. So, and not everybody got off.
I spoke to several clients and guests that were on the ship that would skip, there was one gentleman who never got off, he just was cruising [00:17:00] just to enjoy the view. You know, not much to do except to sit on the pool deck. And my biggest criticism of the ship is that lack of shade. Only one small part of one side has shade.
And that doesn't, if you've got 230 guests and. There were about 15 shaded seats that you know left. you're either baking in the sun, hoping someone's gonna get up and leave. I'm somebody on a sea day who pretty much finds a chair and sits there and reads all day. So that's pretty much unfortunate for somebody who would want my spot.
So I would say that is a big miss if they could shade a little bit more of their decks. Then people would go outside more, but you'd have to get up early. I would make sure I got up early and literally sat in that seat right after breakfast by like 7 45. I was sitting in my lounger. Yeah. Wow.
That is really a shame. It almost sounds like they built the ship maybe in the early two thousands, maybe in 1990, around sort of. [00:18:00] That way of cruising. But cruising has evolved a lot in the last, you know, 25, 30 years and the ship, maybe it's had some dry docks, maybe it's had some renovations. But the general sort of philosophy around cruising hasn't changed on that ship very much at all.
No, the ship is a bit of a destination in itself too. You wanna explore and, try different things and sit in different parts of the ship. And one thing I love about Virgin, there's all these different spots to sit. It is not just like the pool deck, there's other areas outside.
Royal has that celebrity, has that, where it's not just by the pool. If you want something a little quieter, you're indoors. If you're not sitting by the pool, like there are no options or you're baking in the sun. So that was a little disappointing.
Yeah, and especially, the weather there it's not like sometimes in the Caribbean where the sun is shining and the temperature is pleasant enough that you could be outside in the sun. Like [00:19:00] obviously if it's August in the Caribbean, like no one's sitting in that sun for hours on end.
But there are times when it's pleasant. Um, I don't know if. French Polynesia gets like that, or if it's always hot and humid, it was so hot and humid, the sun is beating down on you. So there was no relief. You know, every once in a while there'd be an overcast, you know, 15 minutes, it'd be like, ooh, some relief.
But yeah, the sun is strong and it was a very hot 11, you know, 12 days when we were there. Wow. so you mentioned the excursions. Were there any, Paul gon sponsored excursions that you thought really like, oh, I could only get this on Paul gon this was really a great experience.
I would say no. I'm somebody who tries to get the best deal for an excursion. All of the islands are really, really small. That pretty much whatever Paul Gagan was offering, you could find it on Avaya tour. Or if you did some more research on, the different vendors on the island, you could book it directly.
I [00:20:00] personally booked one excursion in I hockey and it took us to Honeymoon Island and, uh, I think it's called One Foot Island. It had a small post office there and that was an okay excursion. Didn't knock my socks. But I'm pretty sure I probably could have found that on via tour.
I did it 'cause I wanted to be with some of my friends in the group. But other than that most of us just kind of did our own via tour excursions. 'cause the islands are really small. And the best one I did was, uh, sea scooters with turtles. And so it's where these turtles live, so you're guaranteed to see these beautiful turtles.
And then you had a sea scooter, and so you're zipping around in the water with this underwater scooter, which was so fun. I was basically a child and, uh, got to see these wonderful turtles, and then they take the pictures for you with their wonderful GoPro so you're not fumbling with your phone or your GoPro.
Yeah. And so we had. Wonderful pictures. You probably saw those wonderful pictures of those turtles. Some of them didn't even look real. They looked like big ai. Oh Yeah. So that was [00:21:00] my favorite excursion. That sounds amazing that sounds like it's almost worth all the trip and the heat and all that, just for underwater scootering
There is nothing like French Polynesia. I went once in 2003, never thought I'd go back. Then I went again in 2019 and thought, oh, I'm never gonna go back again. It's such a large trip to do. And then when this opportunity came up and if another opportunity comes up, I'll probably go back for a fourth time.
It's just a magical place on earth. So if you get a chance to go to French Polynesia. Yeah. For people who maybe aren't swimmers and scuba divers or snorkelers mm-hmm. Are there things to do like we've talked about on the ship, but in on the islands? Are there other things to do? They're heavily water-based excursions for the most part.
Um, in moa I did do an a TV tour, which was fabulous. Um, you know, it rained on us and we went up this crazy mountain and had beautiful [00:22:00] views and that was a very fun excursion. But for the most part, most of the excursions are. Jet skiing and snorkeling and you know, going out on a boat to look at dolphins.
And so it's mostly water based, I would say. The islands don't have much to see. Those individuals in our group that would do kind of the island bus tour didn't come back that happy. Uh, it's mostly water based and some of the. Islands, it's hard to even find a nice beach, so that could be a challenge too.
So Bora Bora is beautiful, but most people go to be in an overwater bungalow and their resort has a private beach, and that's where they get their beaching. And Bora Bora really only has one public beach, Matura Beach. And it's small and not very shaded. And you know, there's not lounge chairs and umbrellas.
So it's a little different if you're used to cruising in the Caribbean where you could just go to Paradise Beach Club or you rent [00:23:00] two chairs in an umbrella. It's not like that in these islands. So if you're headed for the beach. You're gonna bake in the sun because there's not gonna be shade. So it's a little different.
So you kinda have to be willing to bake in the sun or sit on a bus with 40 other people to look at the island, which doesn't have a lot . Which is a shame and surprising considering what you said about the demographic. And I can imagine, given the price point and the distance it is going to be, more skewed to older people. And I mean, and we know like the younger, baby boomers and even gen X is gonna be in that retirement age very soon. You know, we are more active than, let's say, the generation before us. But even still, there's probably a lot of people that are not gonna be zipping around on underwater scooters.
Correct. My advice, and I know this is a luxury cruising podcast. is if you're gonna go to French Polynesia, do it by land. Stay in a lovely luxury resort in an [00:24:00] overwater bungalow. Enjoy it that way. If you wanna go do an excursion for a day and see the island or rent a car. So in Bora Bora and in moa, I rented cars and I zipped around the island.
Because the tours, there's not much to see. So I just pretty much saw this island on my own in a rental car, and probably what I would've spent on an excursion. And I stopped in different spots and I, you know, grabbed food at a different spot. And so I would say if you're gonna do the cruise ships, get off rent a car, and zip around, because most of them it's one road that goes around the island, so you could probably see the whole island on your own.
And then you're not stuck on a bus with. 40 other people that are hot and sweaty as well. I think that's a great tip. And you know, even if it isn't gon, if it is, I think you said, um, T and Silver Sea we're sort of following you around and Seaborn Yeah. Rent the car. You don't need to be on a tour with 40 people for three hours.
You could probably see each island in an hour and do it at your own pace. Stop in the grocery store. Stop and [00:25:00] get pearls. If you're gonna buy ta Haitian pearls and be at your own pace. I prefer to just do things at my own pace, so I rent cars and I just kind of make my own adventure. Yeah, I think that's great advice.
You know, for people, especially if this is a bucket list trip for you, it's important to have, uh, the right expectations. And you know, if you think that you're gonna go and it's gonna be all, rainbows and daisies in paradise, and the ship room's kind of small and kind of dated, then that could really impact your trip.
So I really appreciate you coming on and. Telling people the real deal. Yeah. So enjoy it. Definitely go to each of them . Absolutely. Absolutely. It's been a while since you were on the podcast last can you remind the listeners and me, how do you define luxury? It has to be better than my home. I think I might have said this last time.
I live in a nice home. I have a pretty nice life, and so I'm not somebody who's going to go [00:26:00] somewhere where it's rugged, so the food's gotta be spectacular. The accommodations have to be. More upscale than what I have, you know? Uh, and so that's luxury to me. And then add on great service. And I would say the crew at Polygon were wonderful by day two.
The crew around the pool, I sat in the same spot every day, and Thomas knew my name. You know, Sylvia would do, and he knew my drink, and so he would bring me my coke with lime every day and I would never was thirsty. So that's part of luxury too, where, you know, you feel at home, but it's just a little bit better than your home and they feed you well and they keep you well hydrated.
Awesome. Anything else about this trip that maybe we haven't covered that you want people to know? Definitely fly business if you can swing it because they are long flights and the jet lag and the time difference it can take a little bit out of you. And if you're going to do a cruise, which I highly recommend, just maybe [00:27:00] not Paul g maybe do a Seaborn or a region or a Silver Sea.
Um. Stay somewhere before you get on the ship because it's a long flight and you're tired and you don't wanna miss out on that first day on the ship, just kind of tired and sleeping. It's a long trip. So give yourself an extra day or two beforehand and enjoy an overwater bungalow before you get on the ship.
Yeah. that sounds for sure. Amazing. So, and all my questions are out of order today. Did this. Trip on Paul Gaon. Meet your expectations for luxury, meet your definition of luxury. Unfortunately, did not. The ship was a little bit below what I would consider luxury standards, um, because it was built in the nineties and hasn't really received the upgrades.
I am used to a bit of a ship that's a little bit more shinier and has more space and has more amenities, and I was a little disappointed with this ship. [00:28:00] Yeah, sounds like it. But I really appreciate you coming on and you know, giving us your real and true review of Paul gon, what is next on your travel itinerary, luxury or otherwise cruise or otherwise?
I'm sure you have some cruises planned, so tell us My kids have separate spring breaks, so two trips for me. Um, so Atlanta's for my daughter Icon. Aw, I know it's rough life icon of the seas for my son. So he's very excited to be going on the largest ship in the world.
So, and then we'll cruise to Alaska on Princess in the summer and then Kenya. I'm taking, uh, 12 clients to Kenya in September and then gonna end up the year with going on Star of the Sea for Christmas. And there's a Virgin Cruise in there somewhere. I think Memorial Day. So yeah, I'm gonna be busy somewhere in there.
There's a Virgin Cruise. [00:29:00] That's awesome . Um, oh the trip to Kenya, is that open to anyone or is that a closed group? That one is closed. If I have enough interest, I will do another one. So it act. Some actual clients that went on the pole goon will be going, uh, two of the couples will be going with me to Kenya.
So I went to Botswana last year and fell in love with Africa again. I thought it was gonna be a one and done. I'll do a safari and I'll be checking off that off my bucket list. And I fell in love with Africa, and now I wanna go back to every country. Yeah. we won't hear about the Botswana trip
on this podcast. But hopefully and I'm sure there will be another luxury cruise in your future that you can come back on. And talk to us about since you are the sponsor of the podcast and you are a fantastic travel advisor, we actually have a listener question that I thought you might be able to help with, if that's okay?
Absolutely. [00:30:00] So the question comes from Wendy. And Wendy is concerned because she feels like she might feel out of place on a luxury cruise. It's like, I'm not sure this seems stuffy. What advice would you give to Wendy about feeling out of place on a luxury cruise? It really depends on the cruise line.
So Paul Gagan, they told the gentleman that they had to wear blazers and all of the gentlemen brought blazers and they were not required to wear them. So it really depends on the cruise. I had brought a little bit more fancier regalia and I didn't use it 'cause it wasn't the vibe, even though that's how it's advertised.
So some ships may advertise that, but. You probably can get away with what you're comfortable with. There are probably some cruise lines that have dress codes. Typically Norwegian cruise line has a dress code and they enforce it a little [00:31:00] bit more than other cruise lines. Um, Holland America is very strict.
They will send you back to your cabin if you are not dressed to their standards. So it really depends on the cruise line. And so you can definitely cruise luxury. And still be comfortable in your own skin. Don't feel like you have to be wearing a ball gown every night, but it really depends on the cruise line.
So speak to a travel advisor and they'll know which ones will fit what you're looking for versus going in and then having to eat in your room, room service because Holland America sent you back every night 'cause he didn't bring the right stuff. Yeah. Yeah. And you know, that just brings one more question that I have.
And I know that you have crews with Virgin a lot and you have had clients that have sailed in rockstar suites and the Rockstar Suites, they have access to Richard's Rooftop. But is there a restaurant? Do the Rockstar and Mega Rockstar Suites have their own restaurant? No, it's a kind of a flaw, [00:32:00] I think of Virgin Voyages that they don't give their rock stars a specialty restaurant.
There is no main dining room in Virgin, so all of the restaurants are a specialty and they all have a different theme, and so everyone has access to them equally. The only difference is that the rock stars can make their dining reservations 120 days before the sailing versus the rest of the folks.
Those open up at 60 days prior to sailing. So that's the only advantage in terms of dining that they have. But yeah, it would be great to have the rock stars got their own Richard restaurant. Yeah. I just curious because we were talking about dining and, you know, Virgin just put out in response to Norwegian trying to tighten up their dress.
Code to their main dining room. You know, Virgin sent out this very, cheeky virgin esque letter about how you can wear your flip flops. We don't care. And so I was curious if there is a rockstar suite restaurant if that sort of philosophy [00:33:00] extended, but it doesn't apply. So. It does not. No.
And I would say people are comfortable in virgin wearing shorts and a t-shirt to dinner or getting a little dressed up. I think even Scarlet Night, most of the ship, I'd say about 90% of the ship is wearing red. And there'll be folks that are just not gonna wear red, and that's okay. No one's looking at them, no one's judging them, and that vibe on that ship, it's a much more relaxed vibe.
So it again, best to speak to your travel advisor to find out what vibe you have and what's a good fit for you. Yes. Awesome. Well, thank you again, Sylvia. Now if anybody wants to reach out to you, we are gonna have all of your contact information in the show notes, but just in case people are driving and they have a really good memory, please tell them, uh, what's the best way to get in touch with you.
Sure. Um, my email is Luxe for Less travel@yahoo.com and that Lux has an E in it. And the four is like for you, not the number four. So Luxe for [00:34:00] less travel@yahoo.com. Check the show notes. Happy to help you. Whether it's luxury cruising or something else. Happy to assist. Awesome. Great having you again.
And to all listeners, thanks for being here and until next time, I wish you safe and luxurious cruising.