I just came back from a business trip to Hawaii. I stayed on the island of Oahu , at the Westin Moana Surfrider Waikiki Beach for the first half of the week, and the Sheratin Waikiki for the remainder. I spent a lot of time checking out hotels, so there was not much free time. On my last day, however I managed to squeeze in a few hours of fun. For the first time in my life I took a surfing lesson! It was a struggle at first, but when I was finally able to stand up on the board and surf it was such thrill it go with the waves!Surfing did not come easily to me. It is a lot harder than it looks.
First, I did not have enough shoulder and arm strength to paddle. Then when I finally succeeded in paddling to where the waves were, I got stuck there because I did not know how to turn the surf board to face the beach. Then once I was turned around, I would either be pushed too close to the beach or I would get knocked down by the waves! So, then I would have to get to the surface and climb up on the board again. Once I even drifted away from my class and I couldn't get back to my group where my instructor was! I felt so alone, struggling and not knowing what to do. I almost wanted to give up.
Thankfully, the owner of Hans Hedemann Surf, Hans Hedemann came by to help the beginners that were stuck. I was lucky to have Hans as my instructor. The first thing he did was give me a softer surf board which my feet could grip. This was great. I followed his instructions and did all that he taught me. There I was...........feeling and hearing the sound of the wave as I was gliding through the water. I could enjoy feeling of the wind blowing on my face while surfing. I was totally elated and on a total high after that! A couple things to be aware of……not only do you have to be in relatively good shape, but having good balance surely helps! AND, it takes a lot of perseverance!!!
As this was a business trip, my husband, Ken, stayed home with the kids. I think he had more time for fun and relaxation!! Each day I, along with 43 other travel agents from California , went to inspect and learn the unique features of many hotels. Needless to say, the surfing lesson was by far the highlight of my trip!
I just made reservations for dinner and the World of Color show at Disneyland for November. I am going to Disneyland with my daughter,son,daughter-in-law, granddaughter and grandsons. My granddaughter is marshing in the Disney Holiday Parade and it is being taped the first weekend in November. Back to the dinner reservations. I made reservations for dinner at Ariel's Grotto and then we get VIP tickets for the World of Color show in California Adventure. You can make reservations up to 60 days in advance at either Ariel's Grotto or the Wine Country Trattoria. Very easy and makes sure that we get a spot for the World of Color.
London is my favorite European city. When we were able to capture a transatlantic Cunard Commodore graduation cruise it provided a great excuse to spend some more time there. I am reminded of a quote from noted British writer Samuel Johnson "when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford."
Having visited London several times we have hit most of the important "must do" sites so on this trip I planned to visit some of the lesser-visited attractions and to incorporate excursions to Stonehenge and Dover.
General tips:
--admission prices at attractions tend to be high. Ask about senior discounts.
--for day trips, consider the bus instead of the train. Advance purchase fares on National Express buses were far cheaper than train fares. The bus journey may take a bit longer.
--Yelp now has listings for London that I used to help select dinner restaurants. Check them out at: http://www.yelp.co.uk/
--depending on what someone is planning to visit, they might save money by purchasing a London Pass and/or a London Travelcard (do a google search for details).
--the Oyster card is a good way to obtain discounted subway fares. You load up a plastic card with an amount of money and your discounted fares are deducted as you use them. If you have money left on the card, it can be refunded to you at any manned underground station.
Where prices are shown I am assuming an exchange rate of $1.50 per British pound.
Hotel: I chose the Park Plaza Victoria, a short walk from Victoria Station. This is a fairly upscale hotel at a reasonable price (at least for London). Including tax it was a bit under $200 per night. I chose the Victoria Station area primarily for convenience to the bus station (bus from Heathrow, bus to Dover, bus to Southampton and bus for Stonehenge day trip). The hotel was fine and a short walk from many restaurants and a good supermarket.
Stonehenge: I found a half-day bus trip to Stonehenge run by Evan Evans tours (http://www.evanevanstours.co.uk/). Unlike most trips to Stonehenge, this one was a half-day trip that included only Stonehenge and was quite reasonably priced ($37.50 including admission fee). The ride from London Victoria takes about 2 hours and is slightly scenic. We were given 1 1/2 hours at the site which is quite adequate. The tour includes an audio guide that is very well done, covering some of the speculation about how this amazing site was assembled by prehistoric people more than 4000 years ago. tip: if visiting from London, the half-day trip is a good way to do it. There are also longer trips that include additional stops like Bath.
Dover Castle: Dover Castle overlooks the shortest sea crossing between England and France so it has been an important fortification site for millennia. The castle was begun by King Henry II in the 12th century. When I visited it 40 years ago, I felt that Dover Castle was how a castle should be with impressive stone walls and a drawbridge (rather than a fancy palace like Windsor Castle). Visiting now I remain impressed. This is a great place to visit for those with an interest in British monarchy and also with an interest in World War II. There is a special guided tour (no additional cost, tour time booked at entrance) of the Secret War Tunnels below the castle complex. The day we visited was overcast with a huge fog bank engulfing the harbor. This precluded any views of France but we thoroughly enjoyed our five hour vist anyway. http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/dover-castle/ tips:
--try to arrive early in the day so that you can get tickets to the Secret Wartime Tunnels tour as these tend to get booked out.
--if arriving by bus or train, take a taxi to the castle. This avoids an uphill walk and gets you to the castle faster. The downhill walk back to town is relatively easy.
--the 8 Bells pub in downtown Dover had a good burger and beer special at about $9.
Canal cruise: Regent's Canal was built in the early 1800s to facilitate the movement of cargo to the north part of London. Commercial traffic is no longer needed so the canal has become home to dozens of short narrow houseboats. There are several options for touring the canal between Camden Town and Little Venice. I chose to take the trip on the Jenny Wren for a 1 1/2 hour trip costing $13.50 per person ( http://www.walkersquay.com/). It seems that walking or biking would be good options also. The trip begins in Camden Town, a quirky part of London where the main street houses tattoo shops and many rows of outdoor market booths selling a wide variety of stuff. In one section of the market a number of food booths feature various international cuisines. We boarded the canal boat just before its 12:30 departure. The journey starts by entering the Camden Lock where the boat is raised about 6 feet before continuing on the canal (not exactly the Panama Canal experience but amusing). The boat slowly makes its way past colorful houseboats and goes through Regents Park and the London Zoo (minimal animal sightings). The boat driver provides an interesting commentary about the history of the canal. The boat turns around in an area called Little Venice where you can get off and spend a few hours before catching a return boat. The combination of a visit to Camden Town and the canal cruise was quite enjoyable and would be particularly nice for people that like to shop.
Kew Gardens: Anyone with more than a casual interest in gardening should visit Kew Gardens, more properly the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. This botanic garden covers almost 300 acres with a tremendous variety of plant species. Several glass houses protect more sensitive species. You can take a guided tour led by an enthusiastic docent. We got some good ideas for creating a succulent garden in our yard. We spent about 6 hours there though you could easily spend several days. Admission is $21 ($17 senior).
other activities:
--theater: we saw Wicked. Fortunately I read an internet summary of the plot, elsewise I would have been lost. I was pretty sure that we wouldn't find this at the 'half-price' ticket booth so I pre-booked seats via the internet. Seat prices vary dramatically; our balcony seats were $34 each including booking fee. Seats a few rows down were about twice that price.
--Churchill War Rooms: this museum will be educttional for those with an interest in WWII history and/or in Winston Churchill. The museum is housed in the underground command complex where the British government directed the WWII efforts. Well worth a few hour vist. Fairly pricey at $23/person ($18 senior) but includes a well done audio guide. http://cwr.iwm.org.uk/
--walking tour: we did a walking tour of the Westminster area using an MP3 player where I had downloaded Rick Steves' walking tour from his website. His anecdotes help bring the area to life. Had it rained while we were there we would have visited the British Museum using his audio guide.
--wander around a park: St. James Park was near our hotel and we wandered through it twice on our way back from somewhere. One time we saw a portion of the famous "changing of the guard" ceremony. Another time we stumbled upon a classical concert. Very pleasant and no cost!
--dinner at a Belgian pub: Belgium is famous for mussels, French fries and beer and all are available at Belgo Centraal in the Covent Garden area. An early dinner special is offered from 5-6:30 PM at about $9 and lunch specials with beer are $12. http://www.belgo-restaurants.co.uk/locations
Our London and environs excursion ended with a bus trip to Southampton. While waiting for the bus we met an older lady who said that she was a soprano opera singer and had performed on the QE2 many times. She indicated that she had completed 9 world cruises on Cunard. Her name is Mary Mastony and has written several books about her experiences. She shared our cab from the bus station to the ship. At the 'past passenger cocktail party' she received the award for the most traveled Cunard passenger of the voyage; she has sailed over 1500 days!
As many of you have heard from my mom about my illustrious and very exaggerated rowing career, I have taken another step to becoming a better rower. I recently attended a week long rowing course at Eton College. It was a live on campus course, so basically we lived the life of an Etonian student-rower with out the hassles of coursework.
Sunday July 18th I arrived on campus around half past three where we to be checked in at the Russian Language classroom. Quite posh for a start. One of the course leaders then escorted me to my dorm, the top floor of quite possibly the tallest building in Eton. And I have to say, I am physically fit, but man did I dread those steps after each workout. We came out onto my floor and then proceeded to my room. Half expecting tea and scones to be awaiting me inside, I walked in and to my disappointment just a bed, desk, and dresser. They were single person dorms so everyone did have time to get away from the other students.
Upon looking out my window I find that I have the grand view of the back alley of Eton. The view no one would even expect from a 2 star hotel! I then explored and met the other boys (the girls were placed in a dorm down the road from us). Samuel Mitchell was one of the first boys I met and inside his room he had a grand view of the Etonian Lawn, Windsor, and even Windsor Castle! It turned out only 5 boys on my floor got the back alley view, two Frenchmen, two Americans, and one South African. Scandalous at the very lest. I couldn't grumble though as the noisy Italians were on another floor.
The first activity on the night was the swim test, in the Etonian Swimming Pool. It consisted of three full minutes of treading water then swimming seven laps in the pool. Wow was that a challenge! I am a good swimmer and all, but that was pure endurance. The guy from Texas who claimed he was a lifeguard couldn't even pass it first time. Luckily I scraped through it and back to the dorms we went for a rewarding shower. Next on the itinerary was dinner in the Eton College Dinner Hall. It was basically a cafeteria, but it was still quite nice. The food I have to admit was better then school food, but it never pressed on gourmet.
Back to the dorms we went, and after the third time climb up Mount Eton that evening my legs were about to give away at the top of the stairwell. The beds at Eton I must say are substandard. I am pretty sure Motel 6 has higher quality mattresses then them, fortunately I was so tired from the day I couldn't be bothered.
Monday July 19th 7:30am on the dot, counselor Jesse came blasting through the halls banging on everyone's doors to wake up. It was a sleep in for me, as I usually have to wake up at 4:15am for rowing. Breakfast at Eton College consisted of cereal and full English and we all had large portions as two sessions of rowing were up next. We sat down in the dining hall, scuffed through our breakfast, but then asked where was Mr. Texas? We finished and walked back to the dorms, and sure enough we past the guy from Texas desperately running to get breakfast as he had overslept.
My first session on the water was at the Rafts Boathouse on the Thames River. Unfortunately I was put in the intermediate group, which I shamelessly rowed circles round. The single scull that I was rowing in that day was not as nice as the single boats at my home club, but I couldn't complain as it did the job. The two sessions which were about an hour and a half each went by quickly and soon it was lunch. We then had an afternoon lecture followed by what we had all been waiting for, a race.
Finally it was an exciting activity. All sixty students were taken to Dorney Lake, home to the 2012 Olympic Rowing Course, for a one kilometer time trial in single sculls. It was level ground to all, and I was eager to start. My adrenaline was already rushing from racing on the same course as were the best rowers in the world row. I started my time trial. I raced a clean first 500 meters which went by quick, but then it started to burn. Every stroke seem like a fight and all of a sudden my oar got caught under the water. Known as a crab in rowing, they are heart crushing in a race. And usually fatal in a single scull. Somehow by some god, I saved it though and started rowing again pushing harder and harder this time. And before I knew it I was finished. Back on land we settled down for our dinner, only to bed interrupted by girls screaming. The month before I came to camp the band, Take That, announced Robbie Williams was returning. Well low and behold they were filming their first music video at Dorney Lake. We all saw Robbie Williams and the band Take That, although the girls were 100 times more excited then us guys. It was admittedly a nice surprise, and then we started the final activity on the night, the group Olympics. I was on team Bob as we called ourselves, we then were in a competition against three other teams.
The event was where you had a balloon tied to your ankle and you had to try and pop the other teams ballons. I quickly got into a row with Emma from team squatters. We argued their balloons weren't blown up enough. I ended up making things good with Emma and we became good friends. Although Team Bob finished third place on the night.
Tuesday July 20th We found out the results from the Time Trial that morning. The three Italians took top three. I ended up 11th out of 60 students, which I thought wasn't bad considering I nearly capsized. The new groups were then released and finally me and Sam were in the advanced group. We got to go to Dorney Lake for a morning session of rowing. Another fun day in a single, where I got to row down the full course of Dorney Lake which was amazing. The second session that morning we had to row a few boats from Dorney Lake to Masters Boathouse down the river. I was placed in the eight, which was quite possibly the worst row of the week. No one was with it and it was, was a major pain. We arrived at Masters late, and quickly had to get the boats in and run the mile back to Eton Campus for lunch. It was a boring day by most all means, but finally it brightened up.
For our afternoon activity; Sam, Dave, Lars, Emma, Murray, Xanni, and I all went into Windsor for a bit of looking around. We went through the high street looking through shops, then we stopped off at a fish and chip shop for a snack. It was a quick trip, but we got to scout out what we wanted to do next time we went to Windsor that week.
That evening we went back to Dorney Lake and the advanced group go to try extreme sculling in singles. It basically consisted of going out in individual boats and doing crazy things you would never be allowed normally. I managed to stand up in my boat, take an oar out and then fly it above my head like a helicopter. Some kids even managed headstands. It was a great 3 days, and the final half of the weeks' report is to follow.
I’ve just returned from a NACTA Seminar at Sea on Azamara Quest and wanted to report back on how this company is reinventing itself as a true deluxe product.Many who sailed on Azamara back in 2008 dismissed it as “no comparison” to its obvious rival Oceania, but the 30 participants of this SAS were in agreement that today Azamara is as good as, if not better than Oceania.
Azamara is now run by Larry Pimental (formerly of SeaDream) who has brought over many of his staff to recreate the intense customer satisfaction orientation that the line desires.On our second day hotel manager Philip Herbert welcomed us with “we are family here and we want you to feel like part of our family.Let us know how we can make things even better for you and we will do our utmost to accomplish that.”
On Day 4 we all received a “details matter” form to provide feedback to the staff on what we liked and felt was lacking.I commented on a rather cold dining room, less than optimum shower pressure and complimented them on the wide range of fresh fruit available in the buffet.The following day a voice message assured me that the engineers were checking the AC outlets in the restaurant.Later one of the senior staff members stopped to thank me for the fruit comment and mentioned that at Odessa they would be sending a team from the crew to the local market to refresh their supplies of strawberries, blackberries and other items such as local fish.After the next port stop our showerhead was replaced.That’s definitely attention to detail!
We learned that Azamara, now a freestanding division of RCCL, and has made the strategic decision to maintain it’s pricing as a deluxe brand to qualify its clientele even if that means sailing at less than maximum capacity.You’ll find it priced similarly to Oceania but with a lot more inclusions – gratuities, wine with meals, gourmet coffees, soft drinks and water all day long – including bottles as you disembark each day, fresh flowers, fruit and daily chocolate treats in the staterooms, free self service laundry, complimentary port shuttles and even an onboard concierge.The company seemed to be going out of its way to avoid that tacky feeling of being “nickel and dimed” and furthermore the friendliness of the staff was unbelievable.
Now home, I’m looking at Azamara’s itineraries for all clients ready to move up from big ship cruising.To enhance appeal to the slightly younger cruising market (50+) the coming season will have many more 7-night itineraries and even a few shorter trips.Those provide an ideal opportunity to get your clients to try this premium product.Once they’ve tried it they’ll be a lot more comfortable committing to that longer 11 or 12 night sailing.I liken it to one’s first experience of business class - when going back to economy seems grim.For me, this deluxe cruising experience has somehow diminished the appeal of big ship cruising.
Personally I cruise for the destinations not the food, but I can’t end this review without commenting on the cuisine as that’s what so many will ask about.Excellent quality, lots of made to order items and, for a smaller ship, an amazing variety of choices both in the main dining room and the buffet.Outstanding food presentation throughout and no hesitation from the staff when I asked to combine the entrée of one item with the sides of another.Two specialty restaurants offer the “over the top” experience for those who live to eat whilst an excellent educational presentation in the spacious gym impressed those of us who eat to live.
Our itinerary was port intensive yet there was still a wide range of onboard entertainment with a British guest lecturer on the history of the destinations, dance teachers, accomplished fine musicians as well as local groups who came on board.
Nightly entertainment included the 8-piece band, dancers, Broadway songs from the cruise director and even an impressive magic show from the entertainment director.To emphasize the “family” feel, the cruise director and hotel manager personally served us at the ice cream social and even the captain sliced chicken at the deck BBQ.
I thank Azamara for allowing us the privilege of having our seminar at sea on Quest and encourage you all to give them a chance to serve your clients – it’s definitely in your best interest too as there’s a lot more commission on an inclusive produce than a $599 deal.Feel free to email me with specific questions you may have on Azamara Quest or our Black Sea itinerary of 12th July 2010.
Cunard has a 170 year history of transatlantic crossings. Cunard's flagship, the Queen Mary 2, continues this tradition with 6 and 7-night crossings much of the year connecting the historic port of Southampton (about 60 miles SW of London) with New York City.
Most cruise lines include a spring and a fall transatlantic journey to reposition their ships to/from the Caribbean and Europe. These voyages tend to be about 2 weeks and many include some stops in European ports, the Canary Islands, Bermuda, or the Caribbean. A significant difference for the Cunard QM2 crossings is that these are dedicated crossings with no port stops. The six night voyage has five full days at sea to enjoy a significant variety of activities. In 2011 the crossings will be 7 nights with 6 days at sea.
Based on my 3 Cunard cruises, I believe that 2 descriptors are appropriate: elegant and civilized. The exception to this assessment is the lunch buffet where, like most cruiselines, chaos rules.
hints:
--sign up for late dinner even if you normally prefer early seating. There are so many activities onboard that you day ends up pretty full. Afternoon tea runs from 3:30 to 4:30 and you can't fully enjoy it if you will be eating at 6 PM.
--the westbound cossing direction can be more enjoyable because you pick up five hours due to the time zones. So five of your days are 25 hours long. The eastbound direction loses five hours so five of their days are only 23 hours long. You will definitely appreciate the longer days.
I just came back from a business trip to Hawaii. I stayed on the island of Oahu , at the Westin Moana Surfrider Waikiki Beach for the first half of the week, and the Sheratin Waikiki for the remainder. I spent a lot of time checking out hotels, so there was not much free time. On my last day, however I managed to squeeze in a few hours of fun. For the first time in my life I took a surfing lesson! It was a struggle at first, but when I was finally able to stand up on the board and surf it was such thrill it go with the waves!Surfing did not come easily to me. It is a lot harder than it looks.
Thankfully, the owner of Hans Hedemann Surf, Hans Hedemann came by to help the beginners that were stuck. I was lucky to have Hans as my instructor. The first thing he did was give me a softer surf board which my feet could grip. This was great. I followed his instructions and did all that he taught me. There I was...........feeling and hearing the sound of the wave as I was gliding through the water. I could enjoy feeling of the wind blowing on my face while surfing. I was totally elated and on a total high after that! A couple things to be aware of……not only do you have to be in relatively good shape, but having good balance surely helps! AND, it takes a lot of perseverance!!!
