Autumn Maritimes II on Seabourn Sojourn

We are thrilled and excited that our September 30, 2011 group sailing of Canada and New England with Oceania Cruises sold out so quickly!  As we still have clients requesting this itinerary, we thought it best to find a similar trip to satisfy the itch of our interested travelers.

We are excited to add this new group cruise program to our travel schedule for 2011!  We found another perfect Canada/New England sailing with one of our preferred cruise partners: Seabourn.  Turns out, it departs the same day as our Oceania Cruise and out of our favorite destination city; New York! 

With Seabourn’s current newest ship, Sojourn, currently at sea, Seabourn has received some great recognition, including this February 2nd Houston Chronicle article by Harry Shattuck.  He discusses Seabourn’s famous luxurious service and exquisite cuisine created by acclaimed chef Charlie Palmer, making this ship the benchmark in luxury small-ship cruising.

We look forward to having you join us on this Seabourn sailing to New England and Canada, Fall 2011.As guests set sail on Seabourn’s current newest ship, Sojourn, they will enjoy the following fabulous itinerary.

---

September 30th – Embark from New York, New York at 5pm

October 1st – Cruise the Atlantic Ocean

October 2nd – Boston, Massachusetts 8am to 6pm

October 3rd – Bar Harbor, Maine 12pm to 6pm

October 4th – Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada 2pm to

October 5th – Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada 1pm

October 6th – Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada 8am to 5pm

October 7th – Cruising the Gulf of St. Lawrence

October 8th – Cruising the Saguenay Fjord

Port Saguenay, Quebec, Canada  1pm to 6pm

October 9th – Disembark Quebec City, Quebec, Canada at 8am

---

These fall foliage filled destinations are a hot topic this year, so don’t miss your chance to see the beauty of New England and Canada with their historical sites and famous lighthouses along the coast; call us for further details and pricing information.  Don’t delay as this sailing will sell out!

Oh, and if the above itinerary wasn’t intriguing enough, have a look at your surroundings while on board the ship…

Come join us on this fabulous ship that is like no other as well as enjoy over-the-top service!  Contact us or call 713-954-4825.

Take the hassle out of group travel; call us to plan your next group trip or join ours!

Marina’s Inaugural Sailing and Christening

Linda and Cindy had the wonderful opportunity to join Oceania Cruises for their preview sailing of Marina from February 5th-8th as well as be present for her Christening ceremonies complete with Marina’s godmother, Mary Hart.  Below you will see the wonderful spot Hart did for her show, Entertainment Tonight, about the festivities.

Oceania did a fabulous job and definitely pulled out all the stops for this Christening Ceremony.

A nebuchadnezzar $10,000 bottle of champagne was custom designed for the occasion by Armand de Brignac, and guests were permitted to sign before this bottle was used to christen Marina.  Of course, our ladies took the opportunity to leave their John Hancock.  This really shows just how large this bottle is!

Cindy and Linda were both highly impressed with the ship, and she far exceeded their expectations.  In waiting for embarkation and the christening ceremonies, Cindy got some great pictures of the ship in port.  She certainly is grand but still the perfect size.

After boarding the ship, the ladies learned that Marina is just large enough without being a challenge.  With a full ship, there are plenty of people to meet with lots of activities to do, yet still feel like you are on a small ship.  Speaking of meeting people, look who these ladies ran into!
It’s Chef Jacques Pépin himself!  If you are foodie, like our office is, then you’ll likely be familiar with him.  Otherwise, you may not have heard his name specifically, but perhaps you know of his work.  He’s fabulous, and he’s the master chef and inspiration behind the cuisine of Oceania Cruises, specifically his namesake restaurant, Jacques.

In further discovering Oceania’s brand new beauty, Cindy captured some great photos of some of the common areas of the ship. 
Delightful!  Don’t you just want to lay on a chair and bask in the sun?!
Looks like people did!
Compare this real photo to the artist’s rendering, but note the view is from the opposite direction.
The shallow lounge areas look so enticing, don’t you think?!

If you haven’t seen our previous posts about the excitement this office holds for the Bon Appétit Culinary Center on board, let us just bring you up to speed on how innovative and fabulous this enrichment program onboard Marina is.  Guests can take cooking classes while onboard their cruise to learn techniques and great recipes from Oceania’s well-trained and diverse chefs.  Classes range from single sessions of breakfast dishes or modern Greek to multiple sessions of Homemade Pasta!
Just as exciting, the staterooms were spacious, and the buzz about the bathrooms concurs in our office, too; the separate tub and shower with the extra square footage in the bathroom is a plus!  Oceania Cruises management team were right to make these bathrooms what cruisers have been asking for in a cruise ship.  This applies to every stateroom category.
To state it as conclusively as we can, Marina sets the new standard for what a cruise ship should be, and there is no way you’ll want to miss sailing on this beauty no matter where she goes!
Join us for one of our fabulous group sailings already scheduled onboard Marina, or call us about any other departure which provides interest to you. You’ll surely not be disappointed!

---

Treasures of the Continent – July 29 – August 10, 2011
12-day Voyage – England, Holland, Belgium, France, and Spain

---

Grecian Glory – October 1 – October 11, 2011
10-day Voyage – Greece, Turkey, Montenegro, Croatia, Italy

---

Islands in the Sun – February 16 – 26, 2012
10-day Voyage – B.V.I., St. Barts, Antigua, Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos Islands

---

Take the hassle out of group travel; call us to plan your next group trip or join ours!