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Jonathan Pilkington
- Aug 18, 2019
- 3 min
Don’t like tours or cruises? Maybe you’re a FIT. What’s that?!?
When traveling, some people like to go to a companies that offer tours, whether they are small groups or large groups. These tours often have a specific purpose or theme, such as “Spanish Wine Tour” or “Classical Music in Vienna,” and the group will have a set itinerary, which probably also allows for a certain amount of free time. These can be great, and I encourage you to check out my host agency, Travelex International, which offers several wonderful music, food, and wine
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Jonathan Pilkington
- Aug 12, 2019
- 10 min
UPDATED Cruise vs All-Inclusive: The Pilkington Perspective
December 3, 2020 Update This post was originally written after my first visit to an all-inclusive (AI) resort in August of 2019, during a time when cruising was an option. Since then, I have been on more cruises (last one in March, 2020) and have visited seven more AI resorts. While I miss cruising greatly and am sad each time more cruises are canceled, the experiences I have had at AI resorts in 2020 have been excellent, for the most part. You can read about them in my 3-par
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Jonathan Pilkington
- Aug 1, 2019
- 3 min
5 Facts About Using a Travel Advisor
Pilkington Travels, LLC is my company name, and I am an independent affiliate of Travelex International. That is a mouthful, but it is all important! Travelex International, established in 1992, is a Virtuoso® member travel agency that advises travelers in personalized leisure travel, custom group travel & corporate travel. As a Virtuoso® member, one of the top 1% of travel agencies worldwide, we provide custom itineraries for our distinctive clientele to the seven continents
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Jonathan Pilkington
- Jul 29, 2019
- 3 min
My Solo 7-Day Alaska Cruise: How and Why
travel advisor with Travelex International. Summer is a scary time for an educator since income is reduced, but I’ve become pretty good at saving thanks to my budgeting app that I mention later. While I might be a bit crazy to book an Alaska cruise with a somewhat uncertain future, I knew that everything would work out (without going into debt)! I usually cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line because they have studio cabins, which are intended for solo travelers. In case you didn
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Jonathan Pilkington
- Jun 26, 2017
- 2 min
Day 12: Just look at the pretty pictures
This is the time late in my trip that I don’t feel like writing about every detail, and you might not feel like reading them either. 🙂 I’m going to post a bunch of photos and make comments when needed. It was a good, full day of squeezing in as much as possible in a sort period of time. The main thing is that I absolutely love this city and the people here, and I definitely need to return to explore more of the city and the rest of the country! The morning. A stroll through
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Jonathan Pilkington
- May 17, 2015
- 9 min
Last day of this trip & Closing thoughts
Considering that I only had about 1/2 a day to complete my time in Oslo, I was pretty productive. It certainly helped that it was another beautiful day! After breakfast, finishing up yesterday’s blog, and actually falling asleep again (because I woke up around 5:30), I went out to explore the Akershus Fortress at the recommendation of my host. On the way there, I stopped by Joe and the Juice, a juice and coffee bar that I’ve seen since I was in Reykjavik. I got a juice that I
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Jonathan Pilkington
- May 14, 2015
- 8 min
Copenhagen/København, Torvehallerne, & Alpha Waves
Well, I seem to be on a alternation of sleep patterns. I think the constant rocking of the ship lulled me to sleep rather than keeping me awake. That’s very fortunate, considering that there would be nowhere to nap today! I had already bought yogurt and blueberries in Oslo, so I just needed to go up to deck 7 for some coffee. I got my coffee and had my light breakfast in my room. Since the ship was scheduled to arrive in Copenhagen (København) at 9:45, I had plenty of time to
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Jonathan Pilkington
- May 11, 2015
- 8 min
For the beauty of the Earth
We’re now in Gudvangen following an amazing 2 hour Fjord cruise. Once again, I awoke much earlier than I had hoped since the sun rose at 5 AM. I got coffee and juice from the hotel restaurant and waited for breakfast, which began at 7 AM. The television in my room only had a few channels, and all that was playing this morning was some low-budget German show. Breakfast was quite a large assortment of food, including eggs, fruit, potatoes, fish, and breads. It was quite good, a
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Jonathan Pilkington
- May 10, 2015
- 4 min
Oslo-Myrdal-Flåm
I’m now on the train en route to Flåm. We’re approaching Ustaoset, and this place is a winter wonderland! The ground is covered with snow, and the water is frozen. I wasn’t expecting this, but it’s completely beautiful. The rest of the train ride has been great too, and it has only gotten better as it it’s gone along. It’s like judging a singing competition. You don’t know how to judge the beginning until you get farther into it. As we left Oslo and saw the first sights of fj
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