Ever enjoy a Boutique Hotel's basement restaurant in the Left Bank of Paris? We just did again this year. It's in San Francisco in the Cornell Hotel. Powell and Bush Streets. Prix Fixe dinner, four courses for $38. Country French with a marvelous wine list that only has a $10 mark up. Great wines for $20-40.Lora had the Squash soup, Endive and crab salad, steak Au Pourvie, and Grand Marnie Souffle. I had the Cervettes and and Coquettes. The wine was a Margaux. Great meal, great value all in the delightfully designed left bank atmoshere. Its called "Jeanne D'Arc. 415-421-3154. Try it.
ari

Tucson -the Mexican Food Capital of the USA

One of the reasons I was so excitedly looking forward to my trip to Tucson was the chance to go for some really authentic and good Mexican food. The city has its own version of Tex-Mex which it calls Arizona-Sonoran cuisine, the "soul food" of Arizona which was once part of the Mexican state of Sonora. No chain restaurants here but rather mom and pop places that ar handed down to future generations. Personally I was amazed by the fact that almost all the Mexican restaurants that I enjoyed some 30 years ago are still around.

Tonight I had a chimichanga at Mi Nidito, one of the older traditional restaurants in South Tucson whose claim to fame include recent diners like President Clinton, Madeline Albreight and a recent Food Network clip on Men and Food.

Did you know that the chimichanga was actually invented in Tucson? Family legend has it that restaurant founder Monica Flin of El Charro Cafe, the oldest Mexican restaurant in Tucson cussed in the kitchen when a burrito accidentally flipped into the deep fryer. Because her young nieces and nephews were in the kitchen, she changed the swear word to "chimichanga", the Spanish equivalent of "thingamagig."

Culinary tourism is such a big market here that even Grayline offers a "Best of the Barrio" tour at $85/person offering a look at Sonoran Cuisine in the heart of South Tucson. Tastings range from handmade pastries/tortillas, carne asada, Sonoran hot dogs, fresh seafood, etc.
On a more global scale, Grayline also offers a Global Tapas Tour for $91/person which features Tucson's global cuisine from Cuba, Ethiopia, Mexico and Greece.

Next time you send clients to Phoenix, don't overlook Tucson if they want to enjoy some authentic Mexican food!

Viking River Cruises

I have a story to share about Viking. About a month ago I received a call from Melvin at Viking River Cruises.  He knew I had booked a "Tulips and Windmills" cruise for my clients, the Chars, with another agent. Melvin was following up with me to inquire whether they had been satisfied with their trip as he had record of Dr. and Mrs. Char having cruised "Waterways of the Czars" in the past. I told Melvin the Chars did enjoy their trip but had noticed the menu selection for their cruise offered less choices.

I shared with Melvin some bad experiences I had in booking Viking including not being able to book "Imperial Jewels of China" as Viking released their hotel space for that sailing.  I also told him that I'd later received a phone call from my client telling me he was able to book the same sailing with Cruise.com and had to pay in full by 6 that night. This led me to call Viking to ask for the manager. The manager wouldn't take my call and I was informed that whomever paid for the cruise first would get the booking.  I ended up with the family booking; the hotel assignments and air was assigned before their departure. Next, I told Melvin that later I received numerous fam offers from Viking for "Imperial Jewels of China."  I had purchased air to Shanghai to visit family and made several calls, including some to the reps requesting to take the only a portion of the Yangtze River Cruise as I had already cruised the Yangtze River and visited both Shanghai and Beijing.  I was told that regardless, I would have to pay for the entire trip and still arrange my own flights and transfers.  I'd wanted the experience of taking Viking's new ship and seeing recent changes in the dams under construction.  In light of being denied, I was disappointed to learn that the ship didn't sail full.

At this time, Melvin informed me that surprisingly, he takes reservations and that someone else had requested a partial booking. He was able to help them without their having to pay the full amount after taking the case to his supervisor.  For 2010 sailings, Melvin stated that they are sold out into September and October but checked to offer openings that were canceled.  

For future Viking bookings, I plan to call Melvin Chua at (877) 668 4546, ext 8297.  He was most pleasant and helpful.

Great dinning.

Thanks to Velma we went to Santana Row for the Early dining diner. We went to LB Steak House and had a very nice dinner. Steak, caesar salad and pumpkin Creme Brulee. On the menu it was ~$45. We paid the $30, Plus we got two tickets to "The Christmas Story" at the SJ Rep. What a neat theater. Reminded me of West End ones in London. The play was a very warm and humorous and brought back many memories. I always wanted a BB gun. Never got one. One can still dream...
Try it before the special is gone.

Monterey

If you have not seen the SEAHORSE exibition don't miss it. Kids love it. Also you can plan ahead a find out which days they will be feeding in the big tank. Its only every thre days or so. There are some really good deals at nearby hotels with great T/A rates Sun - Thur. Great way to park the car, relax and walk to everything.

New Zealand FAM with Contiki

In late October I had the opportunity to spend 10 days in New Zealand on a FAM trip hosted by Contiki, a travel company that caters to people 18-35 years old. New Zealand is a beautiful country with lots of waterfalls, rivers, mountains and beautiful scenery We visited cities such as Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown.


New Zealand is a destination that offers many activities. We had the opportunity to participate in a Bungee jump, an air safari, a jet boat ride, rafting, sky diving and much more.

One highlight of the trip was an overnight vintage steamship to Milford Sound. The cruise was breathtaking as we passed towering cliffs and spectacular waterfalls. The cabins were very small, with four people per cabin and only one person could enter at one time. The showers were co-ed and the bathrooms were outside. Most of us slept in our clothes in case we needed to use the bathroom at night.

The highlight of the trip for me was when we visited the MINUS 5-degrees BAR.
The charge to enter the bar was $28NZ that included your boots, socks, gloves, and a hooded parka. In addition you had to purchase a drink ticket before entering. Everything in the bar was made of ice including a couch, a chair and many beautiful ice carvings. Even our glasses were made of ice.

Another highlight for me was when we went up the Skyline Gondola to experience spectacular views of Queenstown. We had dinner at the Skyline restaurant that serves a 6-course buffet.


To summarize a little about Contiki, it is a company that caters to young adults 18-35 and tries to keep the cost low while including lots of activities. Our itinerary was similar to a commercial Contiki trip. For us, many of the activities were included but we did have some optional tours that a lot of us did. All the breakfast and dinners were included but no lunches. The hotels were low end but comfortable and clean. The guide’s were very informative and the bus drivers were amazing. The activities were superb. If this was a commercially booked trip, most of the activities would be optional except for the sight seeing and the Vintage steamboat cruise.

All in all I enjoyed the trip tremendously and will definitely try to sell it.
Thank you Contiki for giving me the opportunity to finally see New Zealand.

Shark Dive Maui Hawaii

On our recent trip to Maui Linda and I visited the Maui Ocean Center Aquarium on 11/2/09. Travel Agents who show their business cards can get in for only $5.00 per person. Normal admission for Adults is $25.00, Children ages 3-12 is $18.00, and Seniors ages 65+ is $22.00 a day.
While we were walking around the aquarium and I came across a flyer that was about a Shark Dive in the Maui Ocean Center in their 750,000 gallon Shark Tank. I am a Certified Scuba Open Water Diver, and this would be a once in a lifetime opportunity for me to dive with over 20 sharks including a Tiger shark, Hammerheads, Black Tip and White Tip reef sharks, Sandbar and Graybar reef sharks. Also in the tank are Spotted Eagle Ray, Broad Stingrays, and hundreds of tropical reef fish.
Reservations are required. When I signed up for the dive The total cost was $214.00 this included admission for Linda and I on 11/4/09. They provided the air tank and the weight belt only. You must have your dive Certification Card with you. I had to supply a wet suit, mask, BC Vest, and Regulator, which I was able to rent for about $15.00 for everything from one of the many Maui Dive Shops the night before. The dive lasted 30-40 minutes, maximum depth of 20 feet.
Linda was able to take pictures of me while I was in the tank and I also had a underwater camera thattook in the tank with me. Take a look at my pictures and video. I also received a T-shirt and a Certificate after the dive was over. We had a great time there and I would recommend this dive to any Certified Diver.

The Kapalua Villas in Maui site inspection and stay in November:

John and I stayed two nights at the Kapalua Villas in Maui on The Ridge Villas over looking the ocean. Prior to our stay we did a site inspection with Molly Elmo the assistant Manager of Kapalua Adventure Center. Molly is a sweetheart and showed us as much of the Kapalua Villas property as she could. There is three areas to stay at here; The Ridge Villas, The Golf Villas over looking the golf coarse and The Bay Villas are oceanfront villas. The Villas are two-story condos that are privately owned with full kitchen, living room and free internet. Upstairs has a very large bathroom and in it was a washer and drawer, shower, a Jacuzzi bathtub, double sinks, a walk in closet and a bedroom with a balcony overlooking the ocean. That is what ours looked like but each condo is different. We even seen a house you can rent with a pool for $4000.00 a day; it was so beautiful and 12 people could sleep in this house. There is also a Spa, Plantation House Restaurant, resort golf shop, golf academy, tennis garden, Honolua store, logo shop, adventure center, activity desk, grocery store, and they have 3 restaurants in this area. They have a free shuttle service that you can call and they will pick you up at your villa and take you to a restaurant, shopping, golfing and take back when you are ready. This is on the far north side of the island next to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. The site inspection was great but staying there was wonderful. I even cooked dinner one night. This one gets A+ from me.

The Kapalua Villas Maui
500 Office Road, Lahaina, Maui
800-545-0018
kapalua.com

Linda Moore

Technology Insights

I was glancing today at my October 2009 issue of Corporate & Incentive Travel and found this gem written by Susan RoAne which might be of some value to us agents....

"When we use technology to avoid human interaction, we may save time and money but we lose out on the opportunity to build rapport, trust and connections, and the unexpected benefits that happen in the face-to-face space."

I couldn't agree more! Everyone wants the to get there (wherever that may be) in the easiest, fastest and most economical way but often this method causes your message and your brand to be overlooked. Think about mixing it up, call a few clients daily, visit a few and take every possible opportunity to speak with them in person. It'll pay off as your clients will become addicted to your personalized services which thus far the internet can't yet replicate though they are getting better all the time.

Luxury Travel Expo

Velma, Linda and John Moore and I attended a well-organized and informative Luxury Expo last week. One of the highlights was attending the Australia Reunion at the home of Jeff Adams located in the Red Rock Canyon area. We were bused there and were wined and dined. My favorite food was the large country sausage, smothered with carmelized onions on a huge bun. Most of the wines being served were from Australia.We had to take a test to win a free trip to Australia and were given t-shirts that we had to wear for the drawing at their booth the next day.

Jeff had the crew from "Thunder from Downunder" introduce themselves and invited the ladies to attend their show the following night, but that men were also allowed. We got our tickets from the Australia booth the next day and attended "Australia's Thunder from Downunder" at the Excaliber. The majority of the audience was women with a few men, including John. When the show started, you should have heard the yelling, screaming and clapping of the audience, which never stopped. During the performance, one of the "Yonder from Downunder" (wearing only a G-string) landed on our table and took off Linda's glasses. After a few shakes here and there, he returned the glasses to Linda. Linda tried to put them back on but she said they were foggy and thought she should sanitize them first. WELL - Ladies....you should ask Linda where her glasses were???? After the show, we went to XS at the Encore to attend the Expo's Cocktail Party. Drinks and desserts were flowing and the dance floor was filled to capacity. It was surely a FUN NIGHT!!!

G'Day - Marilyn Sakamoto

Phoenix and the Grand Arizona Resort

I just returned from Phoenix where I attended the NSA Conference at The Grand Arizona Resort. We all expect a resort to be "grand" - and this one "is"! However, what impressed me most was the service. Our experience with every staff member who works there was flawless - right from the bell desk upon arrival until our departure three days later.

Some good to know information for Travel Professionals:

• The entire resort is huge - but if you want they will drive you around in little golf carts between the buildings.


• The Oasis - the water park closes for the winter every year - but they do open it partially for the weekends only.


• It has an amazing Spa with all kinds of treatments and very luxurious


• It has one of the best eqipped Gyms I've ever seen and I've seen many


• Behind the main lobby, there are two very large fire pits overlooking the Golf Course. It is a wonderful place to relax after dinner - open air, warmed by the fire with drinks served from the restaurant/bar. And you can even order dinner here.


• Claus sure enjoyed the food at Rustler's Rooste (a steakhouse) - I can definitely say that the portions were enormous. I ate the veggies and he ate the meat - and we still did not finish ONE order. But the "ambience" was THE BEST! The decor was "western dining" with an actual steer "Horny the Bull" near the entrance. And there live country music throughout the evening with several people dancing.

Honestly, for a wonderful relaxing weekend - this would be a perfect place - with or without kids! And yes, they do have a good TA rate.

Casa Munras is beautiful, as expected. I was a bit concerned when we arrived as it is located on a very busy street. The rooms are tucked back behind the registration/resteraunt building and are protected from the street noise. The rooms are large and very warm. Beautiful oak headboards and warm green walls. The bathroom is a bit on the smaller size but they have a vanity outside the bathroom with a huge mirror and counter. A small refridgerator is tucked in under the vanity counter.

The staff was very friendly and called the room about 15 minutes after we checked in to see if we need anything.

I will post more after the site inspection on Friday... so far, I love it!

Norwegian Star-Nov.7-14--NCL PhD @Sea

Norwegian Cruise Line really did an outstanding job with their new Sea program for NCL Free Style graduates. First I had reservation sailing on this line since I have heard negative input about their services and food coming from the Hawaiian Island cruises. I was totally surprised with the quality of food served in the Main Dining Room,the serving was the right size and very tasty. For $15-$25 per person, I opt to try Le Bistro(French),SoHo(Seafood),Ginza(Asian Fushion) and Cagney's(Steaks) Restaurant. Excellent and attentive services by charming Filipina Wait Staff.All the food was cook to order at a leisure pace-never rushing, only once I was in a rush to catch the first evening show that I requested my dinner be bought to me by a specific time which they accomandated.

Two six hours class room training classes: one from CLIA-Local Public Relations Techniques and the second one from NCL Product-Clark Reber( insight of Epic).

High light for me was the Behind the Scenes Ship Tour-personally meeting the Executive Chef and his stories of the galley and meeting the entertainers. The Q & A with the Panel of Ships Officers was very interesting.

We(42) Travel Agents from U.S and Canada experiencing Free Style Group Dining. Had a group photo taken and each of us received a framed certificate.

NCL was very generious giving us all Balcony Stateroom with Cold Appetizers,Cheese Plate,Chocolate Covered Strawberries, Mini Assorted White & Dark Chocolates daily. We also received $25 credit for Specialty restaurant, and 20 per cent saving on Shore Excursions. I choose to visit the beautiful and green Las Caletas Hideaway at the tip of Puerto Vallarata bay-a smooth boat ride(45 minutes) to John Houston's haven-enjoying the nice beach and a warm ocean swim. Inclusion: Snorkeling,Kayaking.Cooking Lesson,Yoga,Nature Walk and Lunch.Massage-$35-$70, I highly recommend this Tour for your clients! Childen would love the water,parrots and monkey. $95.99 per person.

The 7 day round trip from San Pedro,Ca. was only $296.16. It was really a wonderful experience for me-seeing everything first handed and I feel positive about the NCL brand. I hope that I will have the opportunity to cruise on the Epic.

San Diego (downtown) pre-cruise stay

I always believe in arriving at a cruise port at least a day or two early. We had visited San Diego several years ago and had hit many of the prime tourist stops like the zoo, Sea World, Old Town, etc. The San Diego cruiseport is adjacent to downtown so I planned a 2-night stay focusing on the downtown area. This is a short ($10-12) cab ride from the airport. A nicely located hotel is within walking distance of the waterfront, Little Italy, the Gaslamp Quarter and other attractions so a rental car isn’t needed.

Highlights:

--a nice hotel: Sofia Hotel is an upscale boutique hotel that has been nicely refurbished. Rooms are very small but adequate. Service is super friendly. There are 3 computers in the lobby that can be used for checking email. I got a great rate ($80/night) from Travelzoo. I should have tried the happy hour in their restaurant.  (http://www.thesofiahotel.com/)

--being close to the Gaslamp district: this is a vibrant area spanning several blocks downtown with lots of bars and restaurants. Many restaurants feature popular happy hours. At 6PM on Monday we got the last table at La Puerta, a Mexican place (1/2 price appetizers and drinks all night on Monday). We had a few margaritas, a great pork quesadilla, and a tasty dish called “carne asada fries” (like nachos with french fries instead of tortilla chips).

--touring the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier: the Midway is docked downtown and serves as a museum. The tour is self-guided. The cost of admission includes an excellent audio device which you can use to obtain more information about each of several dozen exhibits. Docents provide frequent talks about the operation of the launching catapult and the landing procedure. You can also get a guided tour of the bridge. In all we spent about five hours touring this huge ship. http://www.midway.org/

--touring the Maritime Museum: this is a collection of several ships docked near the cruiseport. Your tour begins with the Star of India, the oldest ship still sailing. She was built in the Isle of Man in 1863 and spent her early days transporting emigrants to New Zealand. It is interesting to compare the accommodations to modern cruise ships! Another highlight was going through a Russian submarine; there are five narrow portholes that you need to scramble through. Fortunately they have a sample outside the ship labeled something like “if you can’t crawl through this, don’t enter the submarine”. Those guys really roughed it! http://www.sdmaritime.org/

--a quick tour of the US Grant Hotel: we had a few hours to kill on embarkation day so we started a walk about town and popped into this historic upmarket hotel. The lobby is stunning. I asked the concierge a question and he suggested that we go down a level to look at the historic photos. After doing this I stopped by the main desk and a receptionist offered to get someone to show us a room. This place is definitely worth a walk-through.

Hackney's Exotic Vacation 11-24-2008

I attended the PATA seminar on Wed Nov 18, 2009 at Chef Chu in Los Altos. It was about 48 people in the small dining area on the second floor. The food was pretty yummy. It started with Chinese chicken salad, bun with duck meat, honey prawns, fried rice wrapped in lotus leaves, chicken curry, spicy garlic beef and steam veggie. The desert is almond pudding with canned fruits.

We watched the video Eye On The Bay which Brian took it when he went on vacation to Indonesia in March 2008. First he went to Borneo to see orang utan/gorilla then flew to Java to see the biggest Buddhist temple in the world Borobudur in central Java. On the way to the airport in Jakarta he forgot his camera so he had to go back to his apartment. By the time he got to the airport he missed his flight to Denpasar, Bali. After stand by for several hours with no luck a stranger approached him and asked him $400 for a ticket to Bali. All the flights were full due to the biggest holiday in Bali. Finally he was able to board the plane.

His video Hackney's Exotic Vacation you can find it at www.cbs5.com/eyeonthebay.

It is very interesting to watch especially for anybody who never been to Indonesia.

Carnival Spirit--8 nights to Mexico from San Diego

Sharon and I recently enjoyed an 8-night cruise on the Carnival Spirit. This itinerary features four days at sea with port stops at Acapulco, Zihuatanejo and Manzanillo. While we prefer more upscale cruising, we still had a good time on this voyage.

What we liked best:

--Food in the dining room exceeded my expectations for quality and variety. We had good waiters and several times I relied on their recommendations with good results.

--Evening entertainment: there was a nice assortment of the typical cruise ship song and dance evenings interspersed with comedy and a big band night. The show room was large enough that it was not necessary to arrive early to obtain a seat.

--The water slide appealed to adults and kids alike and provided good exercise climbing up the stairs to try it again and again.

--The ship is in good condition. It has a straightforward layout that is easy to navigate

--San Diego is a great cruise port and I recommend a few days of pre-cruise stay to enjoy it; ship embarkation and debarkation were both smooth and quick.

Areas of disappointment:

--Activities during days at sea are definitely oriented to the ‘sun and fun’ demographic. There were very few activities that are more intellectual than “hairy chest contest”, beanbag toss, bingo and trivia contests (may also be true for Mexican Riviera itineraries of other cruise lines also).

--The breakfast and lunch buffets are a bit of a zoo. The layout is somewhat confusing. However the ‘deli’ station produces very good panini-style sandwiches (especially the reuben) but lines can be long.

The Ports:

--Acapulco: beautiful harbor and convenient docking facility. We began a walk around town starting with the fort (excellent exhibits) but got sidetracked by a tout on our way to old town. For a future visit, I recommend a shore excursion or staying on the ship. Others on the ship enjoyed the cliff divers (we both had seen this on a previous trip).

--Zihuatanejo: a tender port with a pleasant seaside town. Took a cab to Playa la Ropa but wished that we had taken the tender to Playa las Gatas (see cruisecritic.com message boards)..

--Manzanillo: the ship docks in a container port.  We took a Carnival shore excursion to Barra de Navidad by bus and it was pleasant. Others took a cab to Las Hadas resort for the day (see cruisecritic.com for a description). There is nothing to do in town.

Tips:

--use the main dining room for breakfasts (any day) and lunches (sea days only) to avoid the crowds in the buffet area. Service was prompt and the experience was far more civilized.

--try the upscale specialty dining restaurant (Nouveau Supper Club) at least once. It might seem a bit pricey at $30/person but the food and service are excellent. Given how little you pay for this cruise, the supper club is a good value for a very nice dining experience.

--the ‘ultimate ship tour’ was thoroughly enjoyed by a couple that dined with us. They saw all sorts of interesting places on the ship and had a chance to speak with several officers. These tours are only given a few times and are limited to 15 guests per tour. The cost is something like $90. Consider it a shore excursion onboard ship.

--the water slide is best on sea day #2 and during port days (limited hours in port). It gets very windy on the last two sea days.

--if you are using ‘anytime’ dining, ask for a table in Ricardo’s section; he is very good. You can switch from fixed dining to anytime dining with a bit of angst by being polite but assertive.

--the self-service ice cream bar sometimes had sundae items added during afternoons

--The Filipino band (Music Network) that plays in the Versailles Lounge does a great job with 50s, 60s and 70s rock covers.

--the ‘farewell party’ on the last sea day was very nice; free drinks and entertainment were provided.

Who would enjoy Carnival:

--Just about anyone who sails with the proper expectations. This itinerary appeals primarily to a ‘sun and fun’ demographic: people that like to drink by the pool, play bingo and hang out in the casino. You are not paying for Holland America/Cunard level of service and you won’t get it. But you can still have a good time

--Families and multi-generation groups were plentiful. The kids program seems to be effective as we didn’t see much of the 300+ kids who were aboard our sold-out cruise.

Who would not enjoy Carnival:

--Someone who strongly prefers a more elegant style of cruising with intellectually stimulating daily activities

--Anyone who would be put off by people wearing shorts and t-shirts at dinner in the main dining room; it appeared that the dress code, if any, wasn’t being enforced on this itinerary.

--Sophisticated travelers should not use Carnival as a first cruise; they should have their first cruise experience on a more up-market cruise line, later using Carnival for a quick getaway.

Vermont Tour Group

I recently returned home from escourting a group of 24 to Vermont. It was a successful trip and I feel that everyone had a great time and is looking forward to the next trip. We flew into NYC and then to Burlington, VT. Our bus picked us up at the airport and we were off to a new adventure. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express for the 4 nights that we were in Vermont. Great service, nice breakfast, enclosed spa and swimming pool.

Each day was a new adventure for us. The first day was a CiderMill, Stowe,Vermont, Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream(if you go make sure that your visit the grave yard where all the discountued flavors are resting). We had a buffet dinner at a country club. The next day was the Vermont Teddy Bear factory, Shelbourne Museum (outdoor museum with a lighthouse, covered bridge, train, ship, circus experience, tiffany glass, quilts, etc.), Christmas Loft, and a dinner cruise.
Thursday we visited a granite quarry, the state capitol and a maple farm. Dinner was a buffet with the rest of the Diamond Tour groups in the area.

If you are in Vermont, make sure that you stop at these sites for a real picture of how Vermonters live.


Chris

Last year my family decided to hang up the pot holders and go away for Thanksgiving. We went to Monterey and it was one of the best Holiday's we have ever had. No cooking or cleaning, just all day and night to visit, relax and site-see. My Brother is incredibly cheap and picked a substandard hotel a few miles from the Wharf. It was clean, but had nothing exciting about it (I can't even remember the name). We still spent about $129 a night as it was a Holiday.

This year I decided to call our rep, Cara Berends, from the Larkspur Hotels and see if I can arrange a stay at the Casa Munras with a site tour on Friday. Of course they were happy to accommodate me with a great TA rate of $99 a night. When I called to see about 2 more rooms for my family, they extended the same rate - what a deal.

So while the rest of you are exhausted from cooking (or picking up) dinner, I will be at a ocean front restaraunt eating lobster with my family....

(I will write up a full hotel report after Thanskgiving)

2009 Garden Tour of New Zealand

You can follow our progress (and learn a lot about New Zealand) at

www.rhododendrongardentours.com

Diane

H/A Pacific Northwest & Coast Fam Cruise

Sixty nine Travel Agents from all over U.S.A. was invited to sail on the m.s Veendam from Vancouver,B.C. to Victoria, and Astoria.Disembark in San Diego.This was the best Cruise Fam offered by any cruise line,really reasonable priced which included two top notch Hotels overnight stay in Seattle and Vancouver,B.C. Amtrak Cascade Train from Seattle to Vancouver and five night cruise on the ship.Sept.25-Oct.02,2009

It was first hand learning experience on board with two days of Seminars: Mr. Dave Fields,Coordinator and Mr. Rene H, Spatz,Sales Developement Manager was the principal representatives of Holland America. Invited travel partners: Tourism British Columbia,Anchortage & seattle Convention & Visitors Bureau.Amtrak and CLIA.

I flew up to Seattle on Friday morning with a one night stay at the Renaisance Seattle Hotel- a nice downtown location with a pool on the top floor overlooking the City. Hosted a fantastic dinner Buffet:Rack of Lamb,Cooked in front of you Crab Cakes Cakes.Fresh Salmon,etc. Next morning a beautiful scenic Coastal train ride on Amktrak Cascade-4 hours to Vancouver. Box breakfast was served. Narrow gauge train that was build in Spain,comfortable beige leather and very clean bathroom facilities.Also Business class csection is available at the back end of the Bistro car.

We stay overnight at the Pan Pacific Hotel,home of Canada Place-lower floor-Cruise Terminal. The new Fairmont waterfront is right across the street. A surprise dinner location was hosted by Tourism Vancouver inside the Vancouver Aquarium catered dinner with unlimited cocktails and wines with fishs swimming around you.. Another truly undersea experience was watching the 3D10 special effects and then was treated to a private night show by their residence Dolphins.

After Breakfast(Canadian bacon and eggs) at the Hotel,we boarded ms. Veendam for a tour of the ship and the Travel Agents Sailaway Cocktail Party-I think we had one too many including yours truly-thanks to couple young ladies!

Next morning-we were in Victoria-capitol of British of Columbia .Visited the Royal B.C. Museum and the world famous Butchard Gardens(we had the most wonderful Afternoon Tea better than Sheraton Palace Hotel or the Peninsula Hotel of Hong Kong.

The highlights of the Fam trip for me was meeting and listening to all our Hosts and presenters first handed about new destinations/point of interests and having the knowledge to promote Holland America Line from being on site.

Holland America Line is best suited for anyone who likes refine taste and not overly stuffy. Excellent values for the bucks and always ecellent service from its staff.

I am greatly appreciative to Holland America's Mr.Dave Fields,Mr.ReneSpatz,Mr. Jordan Marona and Ms. Velma Chen for this educational fam trip.

Raddison San Francisco

I recently stayed at the Raddison San Francisco (While touring the Norwegian Sun ). They were pretty booked, but still gave me a discounted rate of $129 a night (online was $179). It was an average room, nothing much to write about. I had read that they had a major renovation, but it was not evident at all. The bathroom vent did not work and there was rust and mold in the tiles behind the bath. I toured their conference center and the smell of must or mildew was so strong, I had to walk out.

One great thing was the outdoor fire pit. Several guests sat around, smoked, drank and chatted about where they were from and where they were traveling to. Several families picniced around the fire pit and played games as well.

A few days later, I received a survey in my email and I was dreadfully honest about my stay. It was average. A few hours later I received an email from Ronald Diaz, the Front Office Manager as follows:

Dear Ms. Gries,

We appreciate you taking the time to complete a survey regarding your recent stay with us.

On behalf of our entire staff here at the Radisson Hotel Fisherman's Wharf we apologize for the concerns you have about your experience at this hotel. We appreciate the feedback and, as a good will gesture, wish to extend a partial refund in the amount of $100.00 for your stay.

Please accept our apology and we hope to see you again when your travels bring you back to San Francisco. If you would like to discuss your experience further with me, please don't hesitate to call me at the phone number listed below.

They actually credited my card $180...I appreciate the gesture, but I could not recommend this location for a client.

Norwegian Pearl Inspection and Lunch

On thursday Sept 24th I arrived at Pier 27 to join other agents for the Ship Tour and Luncheon.
There were about 50 agents and we were all signed in by 11:00AM. Due to security we did not board till 11:45AM. We were given two room number and went to see each cabin. One was an inside Cabin Deck 8. I like the bathroom but the cabin itself was tiny. Then on deck 10 we took a look at an OceanView Balcony Cabin. Same thing. Nice Bathroom and Balcony but tiny cabin.
We went up to Deck 11 and just looked for an open cabin that was being cleaned. Much better.
Suite Cabin much larger. So if I was booking my clients on this ship. The lowest Catagory I would reccomend would be the Suites with Balcony. Next we rushed down to the Summer Palace Main Dinning Room for Lunch. One of Four Dinning Rooms. It was very beautiful. Low Ceiling and Russian Paintings of Katherines Palace in St. Petersburg. Lunch was very nice.
Spring Rolls, Lobster Bisque Soup, Salmon, and a Chocloate Desert to die for. The offered Red and White Wine and any Soda or Tea you wanted and coffee. Next we had one hour to see the
public Areas. I like the pools, the Gym, the Spa, etc. The Atrium of the ship was only two stories and they had a huge movie screen playing videos etc on the main wall. I noticed windows everywhere in the eating decks such as the Buffet Lunch Area. The hallways where the cabins were not wide enough for me. I also felt claustropobic on the Cabin Decks. The ship is decorated in cool tones with warm accents. I felt the serve yourself dinning areas were to plan and not appealing. I would reccomend this ship for those that like to stay up on the sports or pool decks.
But the overall impression I got was the ship was too dark and boxy. Not enough light and Dark public areas. I prefer Holland America or Celebrity myself. Even Royal Carribean sometimes.
She will be sailing Alaska and the Carribean in the winter next year. As always their shows and water sport activities are top notch. The shopping deck had quite a few stores and nice and large walkway. This ship would be a good choice for a family or couple on a tight budget as NCL is priced to sale. Resturants looked good and it dine when and where you want that many people like. Like other ships. They have a electronic board showing time and how long before you can be seated. I like this ship more than the older ones. Just not enough outside decks and light for me. Robin

Linda & John trip to Sandals Negril Jamaica

Linda and John Moore trip to Sandals Negril with a site inspection at Beachs in Jamaica on August 23 to 30th 2009. John and I and our friends/relatives David and Jeanette spent a fantastic week at Sandal Negril. It was so nice to just relax and enjoy the Beauty of Jamaica. And it was even sweeter that we were upgraded three categories to the Grand Luxe Beachfront Rooms in the Coconut Cove buildings; which was 50 feet from the waters edge and valued at $7000.00. We swam about 3 times everyday with water temperature of 82 degrees. The air temperature was between 80 and 86 degrees.
John and David are both Certified Scuba Divers; so they did a 30 foot dive and two 70 foot deep dives during the week. John said he would recommend these dive sites at Sandal to anyone. Diving at Sandals is free to certified divers, they supply all equipment and only charge $10.00 per day for a wet suit if you want one. You can make two dives per day. You can get your Open Water Certificate if you stay 7 days or more. There is an added fee for the Certification.
The white sand of the seven-mile beach at Negril goes on forever and is so beautiful.The dress code is casual; men dress in shorts and collared shirts for dinner and only the Kimonos restaurant did you have to have long pants and make reservations. They have Six restaurants to pick from each night. Kimonos restaurant was Asian. The Bayside restaurant was international and had buffet style breakfast and lunch; but for dinner was sit down dining and more of a steak house. Barefoot by the Sea served seafood and was right on the beach. Beautiful table settings but you sat on hard wooden benches with cushions and not very comfortable and all the food is cooked over at the Sundowner restaurant and then brought out to your table. The Sundowner restaurant has Caribbean West Indian dishes and is an indoor restaurant with elegant place settings and service. This was my favorite restaurant at Sandals Negril by far. The 4C’s was Italian the meal started with a cold buffet with appetizers, salads, breads and desserts. Then you order your main dish of Pasta; which you would pick from there menu and they make it up in there open kitchen. Also on the beach and they did the pasta on a hot plate in the middle of the restaurant. The Café Sandals Grilled served sandwiches, burgers, fries, fried chicken and was very good and a big hit as there was always people hanging out there. They closed a different restaurant every night being it was the slow season; but you did not know till you walked up to the restaurant that night. Also John was disappointed that they did not have lobster at any of the restaurants.

The management team put on a welcome cocktail party and we met all the staff. It was very nicely done and we enjoyed meeting all the different people. They also do a private dinner for return guests with the managers on a different day.

General Manager Horace Peterkin hpeterkin@grp.sandals.com

Sales Manager Jeffrey Burke JBURKE@grp.sandals.com

We did a site inspection and there we were told that Sandals Negril was at 65% capacity. All the rooms have air conditioning. The internet there was $60.00 a week or $39.00 a week if you had a lap top. For the people that had butler service they were given cell phones that dialed directly to the butler for whatever they wanted. It was amazing how many young couples had the butler service. John got a bad sunburn while we where there and the SPA did a lily wrap on him, they wrapped him up in sheets that were soaking in a tub of Ice and water it helped take the pain away. The SPA was so nice; I did a salt scrub and loved every minute of it.
We used the swim up bar a couple of times but the young couples took it over most of the time and played volley ball in the pool so the ball would go flying and hit you on the head while you were trying to cool off and have a drink.
The private dinners on the beach for the wedding couples or honeymooners was done so nice and it was $170.00 and well worth it. Even if you had a anniversary or feeling romantic you could do this too.




We picked a three package tour that was $100.00 per person and well worth it. They took us in a van to the Black River at St. Elizabeth where we saw many birds and
Alligators.





We had a buffet lunch Jamaican still and it was good.

From there they took us to Y/S Falls a 7-tiered waterfall where you ride a tractor drawn jitney up to the falls.

Then we finished our day at the Appleton Estate Rum Factory where they served us rum punch and gave us a tour and then had everyone sample 7 types of rum and John says they were very good. They sold the rum cheaper than any where else put people did not get the fact that you can not carry the bottle on the plane and when they went to check in they had to put them in there check on luggage; I wonder how many bottles made it home unbroken.

Before we went all we heard was go to Rick’s Café; they have the best food and it so much fun. Okay so when we got to Sandals Negril they said it was not safe for us to do it alone and we had to go with them either by $20.00 per person taxi/tour guide or $72.00 catamaran from the resort. The boat ride was a party boat and we did not want to do that. Big mistake as it cost for the 4 of us $190.00 to eat and drink and the food was not that good and for 3 hours the total cost was $270.00. The divers did a few dives and kept coming up to us to pay them more for another dive. It was nice to see the dive but after you saw them dive there was nothing else. They had a band later when it was time for us to leave so we guessed people liked it for that. Any way the four of us vote it as a tourist trap and other than the divers it got thumbs down all around.

We also did a site inspection at Beaches Negril and to get there we walked to Beaches Sandy Bay which was right next door to us and then took the free shuttle to Beaches Negril. We also were given cards to show that we were staying at Sandals Negril to get on the Beaches properties. I liked Beaches Negril very much but they had a lot of stairs to all the rooms. The children’s programs were great and they even had child care room with cribs. The lazy river was so much fun that Jeanette and I kept going round and round. We had lunch there and the pizza was very good. The guys did the water slide and they liked it. We found out that Beaches was 95 % full. Also they have X-BOX games that are tried there before going on sale to the public. The internet was cheaper at beaches they sold cards of $5, $10 or $15.00 to use it.

Anthea showed us around, but my contact was Iesha Samuels isamuels@grp.sandals.com and we also met with the general manager Carl Hendriks hspittle@grp.sandals.com.

Lazy River and Water Slide at Beaches Negril



We would highly recommend Sandal’s and Beaches Resorts to any client.

Mendocino Get-away: Stanford Inn by the Sea

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit Mendocino and stay at the Stanford Inn by the Sea. The drive from San Jose was long but very picturesque.

This beautiful property is nestled on a hillside, sitting atop a meadow overlooking Mendocino Bay. The inn has 32 guest rooms, 9 suites and a rambling lobby, all paneled in redwood & pine. The inn includes such amenities as wood-burning fireplaces, phones, wireless internet, business services, TV, VCR players, and room service. It also has a beautiful solarium enclosed pool and spa and many workout rooms. The inn also offers complimentary full breakfast and afternoon hors d’oeuvres.

The Ravens restaurant is outstanding and is nationally known for its vegetarian cuisine. Some of the vegetables are grown in their own private gardens.

The Mendocino area has many wonderful things for you to explore and do.
I was only able to stay for one night but would have preferred to stay 3-4 nights to enjoy some of the nearby activities such as hiking, swimming , kayaking and much more.

In closing I had a wonderful experience and looking forward to returning to enjoy more of the wonderful scenery and activities.

A weekend getaway at Half Moon Bay

Ken and I had a chance to get-away for the weekend so we stayed in the Half Moon Bay Lodge. One of the nicest boutique style hotel of Best Western Hotels. We were quite impressed as we first checked-in. There were two rooms available for us to choose from and we choose the room with the garden-view. The other room had a view of the dried up part of the golf course which was not appealing. After checking-in at 8:00pm, it was time for a relaxing soak in the jacuzzi. A pool was next to it so after 15 minutes, I took a dip into the pool to cool off. A dry sauna was available also, so I took advantage of it on the next day. What a night to start!

On our second day, we had a continental breakfast. It was not great but we could make our own waffles so this made it exciting.

Our day followed by taking a long walk at the Ritz. The Ritz had a long walkway over looking the beach so you'll see local residents taking walks with their dogs. It's a perfect morning exercise for about two hours following the golf course pathway. We rested at the outside bench looking into the ocean and the golfers. It is a perfect place to relax and enjoy watching the golfers playing golf. As a golfer myself.........I watch them played with frustration and could relate to it quite well. Except this time, I am totally relaxed sitting there and enjoy the perfect view of both the golfs and the beach.





Later in the afternoon, Ken and I headed to the famous Barbara's Seafood Grill. A place we have aways wanted to try each time we drove by with our family but didn't have time to eat there. The restaurant is a hole-in-a-wall but after the 30 minutes wait........it was well worth it. We ordered fish and chips and it was totally yummy for $10.99pp, even for someone who is picky eater like me. Note: for Seniors 62 and over, it is $6.99. Well Charlotte, let me know when you want to go?

After the late lunch, we went back to the hotel and enjoyed our bottle of wine with French bread & cheese. Later it was time for relaxation again.........back to the jacuzzi, swim, and hot sauna........hm.........I could get use to this!

You see! We needed to take a short weekend to get away.........a totally relaxed & enjoyable weekend.

A rack rate of $129.00 per night is a steal. I was given a $50.00 voucher for the next stay, a real surprise.

I definitely recommend this hotel to your clients. They will thank you for putting them there for such a deal with great and wonderful amenities.

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