Eton College Rowing Course (Part 1)

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.

Azamara update

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 12^th July 2010.

Diane Weissman diane1030@gmail.com 650-964-1003

Cunard Queen Mary 2 Transatlantic Voyage

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.

Why You Should Come To England

Well apparently my last post was too interesting for my mom, so here it goes again. This is a bit out of my writing experience mind you. This shall be 100% informative and 0% funny.

The number one reason I would recommend coming to England is, its virtually impossible to own a gun. So yes I can guarantee you won't be shot in England.

Another reason that separates England from the rest is that we have so many pubs here. They are all for the most part family owned and they will be a lot more social then the waiters in America.

A lot of travelers do have a fear of something bad happening and not being able to communicate with the local population. Well no need to worry, England speaks 100% English.

Fancy a night in Paris? London is only a short train ride away. Because yes the train system actually works in Europe, unlike the USA.

Now my personal favorite for going to England is beer and women. They go hand in hand.

Those were some of the 100% factual truths on why you should go to England. Now get out of your house this summer and treat yourself to something expensive such as an African Safari and Cruise.

England Summer 2010 - So Far

Your probably exhausted of this storyline, Velma's son goes to visit England over summer and makes him write for her blog while he is there. Well good news its back again.

Flying with Virgin Atlantic(what deja vu?) this summer, we taxi'd to the runway at San Francisco Airport. The flight attendant then came on the Public Announcement system with an announcement for her colleagues, "Will the flight attendants please close and lock the doors this time." Hmm. She then went through her normal speech with another famous line, "We are quite short on flight attendants today, but no need to worry yet were still with in the amount the law requires." Well I wasn't worrying till you told me that.

We jet setted off to London landing well with in the scheduled arrival time. Got through security smoothly and went off with my uncle who was waiting in the lounge. Made it home, and then had a real battle to stay awake during the day, or else I hadn't a hope in hell of sleeping that night. Well long story short, I didn't sleep that night.

I then took the train to my grandparents. Child train tickets in England run until your 16. It saved me a tidy sum! Well I got to the ticket barrier and it wouldn't let me in. Then the two barrier guards looked over. One a nice respectable guy, and one old very angry lady who somehow ended up in the wrong industry. You can probably guess which one paid me the visit. She asked how old I was, 15 I said politely. "There's no chance your 15, more like 18 at least, now pay the full price before I call security." Wait hold on, aren't you the security? Anyways I ended up showing her my passport and finally got through.

Now what next exciting happened on Jason's trip? Well nothing, I was at my grandparents the last week. A very long and repetitive week. If you want to experience it for yourself, go on youtube, and listen to the longest Margaret Thatcher speech you can find. Then listen to it 10 more times, and repeat for the next 7 days of your week.

Jason Martin