T.S. Eliot once said April
is the cruelest month…if that's true, then January can’t be far behind! Think about it: all
the joy and excitement of the holidays is over, the days become shorter and the temperatures hover around freezing. Blech!
It’s around this time
every year that people start dreaming of sunshine, sand, and warmer weather–which
is why we’re excited to offer the spectacular Sun Splashed Isles Cruise from January 23-February 2, 2014! Experience a different kind of "winter blues" sailing in the eastern Caribbean's cobalt and turquoise waters aboard Oceania Cruises’ elegant
Riviera.
This ten day voyage was
carefully created to ensure that you’ll wake up to a new port nearly every day.
Discover the colorful Spanish colonial architecture in Old San Juan...
lounge in the
famous baths at Virgin Gorda in Tortola...
and snorkel in the crystalline waters in St. Barts...
Of course, since this is an Oceania Cruise, you'll be able to enjoy all the luxuries of upscale cruising, including gourmet dining, spacious staterooms and indulgent spa services. Enjoy all that Riviera has to offer with a $100 spa or shipboard credit per stateroom, prepaid gratuities (a $150.00 value) and a 1-hour cocktail party with hot hors d’oeuvres – exclusive amenities just for our clients!
Click here to view the brochure, and contact us to make your reservation–you'll thank yourself next winter!
Take the hassle out of
group travel; call us to plan your next group trip or join ours! 713-954-4825
or 1-877-648-1973.
Oh my. What a VOYAGE!!! We enjoyed an incredible time onboard Oceania CruisesRiviera for Caribbean Hideaways from January 23rd-February 2nd with The Dining Diva. This voyage was created with a culinary focus in mind, complete with a culinary course in the culinary center onboard! Our group of 30 travelers were a delight to escort on this journey, and we are already looking towards our next journey with The Dining Diva (stay tuned)!
We discovered the hideaways in the Eastern and Southeastern Caribbean from Bathsheba in Barbados, the rum distillery in St. Lucia, to the quaint French township of St. Barts.
Of course, our sailing was fulfilled with the ports alone, but, as our loyal travelers know, we aren’t just about the voyage as planned. We thrive on enhancing the journey!! The Dining Diva worked with us from May 2012 to develop this culinary trip, and the cuisine of Oceania Cruises paired with our added cuisine-focused shore excursions and cooking class in Oceania’s onboard culinary center.
A highlight for many included our rum distillery tour and rum tasting the beautiful St. Lucia!
By the way, did you know St. Lucia had these awe-inspiring pitons? We knew they existed, but we didn’t realize the beauty these add to the coast of St. Lucia. We actually know of a couple luxurious resorts facing these pitons!
As an added bonus to the exciting ports, delectable cuisine, and excellent service-oriented vessel, our group took advantage of the extra days at sea. In fact, this was a large draw for this selected itinerary because of the number of days at sea allowing our travelers to experience all that Riviera has to offer.
While our 10-day voyage was joyous in every way, it seemed to go by so quickly! The sun has set on this unique experience, and we are already planning our next.
Take the hassle out of group travel; call us to plan your next group trip or join ours! 713-954-4825
It’s safe to say that, in this day and age of cruising, you can sail away your vacation just about anywhere in the world, including by river. That said, we’re not just any travel agency offering any and every departure! As our seasoned travelers know, we look for the unique…one-of-a-kind…has-a-lot-to-offer type of voyages; especially when we hear from clients that have specific ports in mind for their sailing or perhaps are looking for something culturally diverse.
This is precisely why we have chosen to share with you this week the Treasures and Monuments sailing on Oceania Cruises newest Riviera. There are a multitude of reasons why this is a sailing to both consider and remember:
The best way to see Greece
In the past, we shared logic on viewing Australia and New Zealand by cruising is the best way to experience the region because of the ground to cover, the distance traveling by land, and, most importantly, the best views of this area are from the water. The same details apply to the beauty of Greece. Because of Greece’s many islands and amount of travel required to see much of the country, cruising suits your travel needs best to unpack once and also allows you see its INCREDIBLE COASTLINES from the water. With the perfectly arranged stops in Rhodes, Santorini, Crete, and Cephalonia, take this sailing to view and capture the best of Greece.
Visit Italy for five days
On top of the splendor of Greece at the beginning of your sailing, experience the west coast of Italia including the breath-taking coast of Amalfi. Your ports of call through Italy include Taorminia (Sicily), Amalfi/Positano, Olbia/Porto Cervo (Sardinia), Florence/Pisa/Tuscany (Livorno), and your disembarkation port of Civitavecchia.
Sardinia, Italy and Crete, Greece
These two unique ports are lesser traveled and accessible by smaller vessels at sea such as Oceania Cruises. This means there will be fewer cruise travelers present in these ports! In Sardinia, you’ll have the opportunity to experience the Nuraghic culture through their cuisine, enigmatic remnants, and handmade goods inspired by them.
Finest cuisine at sea
In our many posts about Oceania Cruises, we have shared intermittently about their exquisite cuisine. This stunning cruise line has a culinary team led by the well-known Chef Jacques Pépin which further affirms the quality of gastronomy served in their Grand Dining Room and four specialty restaurants. After several groups sailing with us on Oceania Cruises, our travelers have each concurred that their dining experiences onboard were top-notch with haute cuisine, for sure! We continue to encourage our clients to consider Oceania for their preferred sailing because of the continuous rave reviews.
Unmatched accommodations and service
Further to the delectable cuisine onboard, Oceania provides you with gorgeous and spacious staterooms, and 96% of those on Riviera have a verandah! With certain suites decorated by Ralph Lauren and Dakota Jackson, the cruise line spared no expense to make sure that you travel in comfort and elegance for your voyage. Pair these accommodations with divine service, and you have another reason why Beyond Group Travel wants you to experience Oceania Cruises!
As we do with each of our sailings, we are able to help you with extending your voyage prior to embarkation or at disembarkation. This means, we can assist with your stay in Istanbul or complete your voyage with a history-rich stay in Rome. Your ideal 3-night stay in the Eternal City could really conclude your once-in-a-lifetime journey!
Take this opportunity to sail this extremely well-planned itinerary on a voyage that has numerous experiences to offer in location, diversity, beauty, cuisine and accommodations. Special 2 for 1 CRUISE FARES with INCLUDED AIRFARE available for reservations made on/before March 31, 2013. Contact us today for more information and to reserve! Click here to view the brochure.
Take the hassle out of group travel; call us to plan your next group trip or join ours! 713-954-4825 or 1-877-648-1973.
Are you a regular reader of the Beyond Group Travel blog? If so, take a guess at who the author is! Did you guess Cindy? Oops, you are incorrect. Did you guess Linda? I’m so sorry to say that you did not select the right answer, yet again. It’s a face you may only have seen once on our blog. Now you know our blog author
I’m Krista Borchard, Assistant Tour Coordinator at Beyond Group Travel, Inc. I met Cindy and Linda in May of 2010, just a few short months after the incorporation of BGT, and I began working with them at the beginning of August 2010. For further interest, you can read about our entire staff here. If you have traveled with us since that time, perhaps we have spoken via phone or you have received an email or two from me. If we have not met or spoken, then I hope to hear from you soon as one of our travelers!
Now, to be fair in my above statements, the three of us compose these blogs together We are, in fact, a team, and we eagerly put this information together to share with you via our blog. That said, you remember that Linda and Cindy have seen Oceania Cruises most beautiful Marina, correct?! Recall this post from their trip to Miami.
Now how do you suppose one composes a post about a ship she’s never seen? You must rely on second hand information and photos, right?! Well, not anymore! This girl has now walked the fresh carpet of Marina! I’m excited to share with you that I was able to make a day trip to Miami to see this ship in all her glory and, most importantly, beauty. I was one of the lead stalker’s in the construction updates of Marina, and I agree with posts and reviews that this must be the best ship to sail the high seas in 50+ years (although I know there’s quite a few years in there that I was not able to vouch for).
With camera in tow (including additional lenses, batteries and memory cards), it was off to the races once I was onboard. In just one hour’s time, I was able to capture over 200 photos across 10 decks. Oh yes, hurrying was involved, don’t you worry. I can imagine the picture that comes to mind of such an insane amateur photographer, but it’s ok; I don’t own a fanny pack and nor did I wear one.
More importantly, I was highly impressed with Marina’s décor, and even that is putting it lightly. I think one would naturally expect a new ship to be constructed well and have new technology, all details engineers, architects, etc. would take great interest in. But it’s the fabric on the chairs, the selection of furniture and lighting that peaks my interest! Having seen this ship, I can’t imagine why one would sail on any other vessel Oh wait…there is ONE other ship that I would make an exception for; Marina’s sister ship, Riviera, which will take her inaugural sail April 2012. You can actually join our group for this maiden voyage sailing of Rivieria! She’ll travel from Barcelona to Athens for her first voyage. We are able to offer 2 for 1 cruise fares, a free hotel night pre-cruise, free airfare, an a bonus $1,000 savings per stateroom if you reserve with us before August 31, 2011. This actually applies to all of our 2012 Europe sailings!
Now, you may notice that I have not shared one single photo of my trek through Marina with you as we do in our normal posts. Well, after over 200 photos, I did not presume you would like to scroll for days on end. Thus, I present you with an easy viewing method of everything I captured onboard. As I snapped away, I kept thinking about what, you, our travelers really needed to see about the beauty of this ship. The abundance of Marina’s beauty, however, makes it difficult to chose just a few key points.
We hope you enjoy this look at Marina!
Our experienced clients can attest that we are experts with Oceania Cruises as they are our preferred vendor. We are happy to help you with any sailing with Oceania, but you can also join Beyond Group Travel for the following group cruises!
Baltic Treasures – June 20 – July 1, 2011 – Marina 10-day Voyage – Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Denmark, Germany Treasures of the Continent – July 29 – August 10, 2011 - Marina 12-day Voyage – England, Holland, Belgium, France, and Spain Grecian Glory – October 1 – October 11, 2011 - Marina 10-day Voyage – Greece, Turkey, Montenegro, Croatia, Italy Ancient Mysteries – January 21 – February 8, 2012 – Marina 16-day Voyage – Chile and Peru Splendors of Down Under – February 5 – 22, 2012 – Regatta 16-day Voyage – New Zealand and Australia Islands in the Sun – February 16 – 26, 2012 - Marina 10-day Voyage – B.V.I., St. Barts, Antigua, Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos Islands Samba Serenade – March 8-22, 2012 –Insignia 12-day Voyage – Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil Mediterranean Tapestry – April 13-23, 2012 – Riviera 10-day Voyage – Spain, France, Italy, Turkey, Greece Tuscan Artistry – May 11-22, 2012 – Marina 10-day Voyage – Spain, France, Monaco, Italy Exotic Lands – June 4-17, 2012 – Riviera 12-day Voyage – Spain, Portugal, Morocco Italian Reflections – November 7-15, 2012 – Marina 7-day Voyage – Greece, Italy, France, Spain Take the hassle out of group travel; call us to plan your next group trip or join ours! 713.954.4825
Recently, Anne Campbell of ShipCritic Blog wrote a remarkable post detailing cruises that should be considered even for those who ‘wouldn’t be caught dead on a cruise ship.’ We feel she made some tremendous points in stating that seeing Antarctica or Alaska best should be done by cruising. Being able to see the vast size of a glacier from afar on the deck of a cruise ship truly gives you the full picture of the amazement of Antarctica. Much the same, at the railing of a cruise ship, you might best capture breeching whales as you sail the coast of Alaska.
Anne’s words intersected a conversation that we recently had in our office about an upcoming group sailing we have on the 2012 Beyond Group Travel calendar with Oceania CruisesRegatta for Australia and New Zealand.As you look at the 16-day itinerary below, truly think about how you would actually do this much within the same amount of days yet by air/land. Realize that, by land, you’ll be packing and unpacking for each destination. February 5th – Embark from Auckland, New Zealand at 10:00pm
February 6th - Tauranga, New Zealand from 10:00am to 8:00pm
February 7th - Cruising By White Island/Great Mercury Island
February 8th - Napier, New Zealand from 8:00am to 5:00pm
February 9th - Wellington, New Zealand from 8:00am to 6:00pm
February 10th - Christchurch (Lyttelton), New Zealand from 8:00am to 6:00pm
February 11th - Dunedin, New Zealand from 8:00am to 6:00pm
February 12th - Cruising the Fjords of Milford Sound
February 13th - Cruising the Tasman Sea
February 14th - Cruising the Tasman Sea
February 15th - Hobart (Tasmania), Australia from 8:00am to 6:00pm
February 16th - Cruising the Tasman Sea
February 17th - Geelong, Australia from 8:00am
February 18th - Geelong, Australia to 3:00am Melbourne, Australia from 8:00am to 6:00pm
February 19th - Cruising the Tasman Sea
February 20th – Arrive Sydney, Australia at 8:00am
February 21st - Sydney, Australia
Seeing this much of Australia and New Zealand in this amount of time is definitely a challenge by land. Your travel time involved is excessive, requiring you to have additional days to experience each of these destinations above. Not to mention, the beauty of White Island/Great Mercury Island, the Fjords of Milford Sound, and the Tasman Sea would all likely be missed. With this fabulous Oceania Cruises sailing, you can pack once and return to the same accommodations each night. There’s no change of mattresses to adjust to, learning a new hotel every night or two nights, or discovering a new place to eat in each destination. You enjoy the plush accommodations of Regatta and delight in the magnificent cuisine, including Toscana, Polo Grill, Terrace Café, Waves and the extraordinary Grand Dining Room, of Oceania Cruises. Not to mention, you can efficiently use your two weeks of vacation for the year!
For these reasons, we echo Anne’s comments when cruising is a necessity, and experiencing Australia and New Zealand during the same trip is the perfect time for a cruise. This mode of travel allows you to see bodies of water that are a photographer’s dream, view country sides thought to be creations in movies, and visit landmarks that will fulfill your bucket list. Even better, you still have additional time at the end of your cruise to see Sydney. No other hotel arrangements are needed as you can return to Regatta to stay for your last night and continue to explore Sydney further the following day.
Without a doubt, we know you will enjoy this cruise with us! After all, not only is it an incredible destination, but this cruise sails on the marvelous Oceania Cruises with the finest cuisine at sea and exquisite service. Come see the splendors of Australia and New Zealand.
Take the hassle out of group travel; call us to plan your next group trip or join ours!
Wouldn’t you love to sip wine in France for your next vacation?
What about shopping for authentic and handcrafted Spanish ceramics and antiques?
How about taking a tour of a real Belgian chocolate factory?
Undoubtedly, you’d surely love a canal cruise through Amsterdam, no?
To top off your dream vacation, how about a ride on the London Eye to catch a full glimpse of the city of London?
Guess what? You can do all of this and more on a 12 day cruise embarking this July! Have you ever dreamed you could do all of the above and more in one voyage? That’s FIVE different countries all in one vacation. Wait…not just one vacation, a 12 day vacation. You can take this summer’s vacation time and return to the office a well-traveled, cultured and relaxed individual. Gander at this invigorating Treasures of the Continent itinerary:
July 29th – Embark from London (Dover), United Kingdom at 6:00pm
July 30th - Amsterdam, Netherlands 10:00am to 10:00pm
July 31st - Bruges (Zeebrugge), Belgium 10:00am to 7:00pm
August 1st - Paris (Honfleur), France 9:45am to 11:00pm
August 2nd - St. Peter Port (Guernsey), United Kingdom 8:00am to 6:00pm
August 3rd - Saint-Malo, France 11:00am to 8:30pm
August 4th - Pont-Aven (Concarneau), France 11:00am to 6:00pm
August 5th - La Rochelle, France 8:00am to 6:00pm
August 6th - Bordeaux (Le Verdon), France 8:00am to 9:00pm
August 7th - Biarritz (Saint-Jean-de-Luz), France 8:00am to 6:00pm
August 8th - Santander, Spain 8:00am to 4:00pm
August 9th - Cruising the Bay of Biscay & English Channel
August 10th – Disembark London (Dover), United Kingdom at 5:00am
As well as embarking on any one of the aforementioned excursions/activities, this itinerary allows you the opportunity:
to visit Normandy and the landing beaches where D-day occurred.
to learn more about the history of Anne Frank and visit the museum and home/annex where she and her family sought shelter during WWII.
to visit Vannes, France (considered to be the premier tourist town in southern Brittany).
to experience the Guggenheim Museum.
In addition to all of these sites, countries and marvelous outings…oh yes, there’s more…this sailing is onboard the ALL-NEW Marina!!!You’ll be able to experience each and every one of Marina’s fabulous details that we told you about from Cindy and Linda’s inaugural sail. As if these destinations weren’t spectacular in and of themselves, your accommodations will be plush, exquisite, and all new with Oceania Cruises. Without a doubt, you’ll dine in top notch restaurants onboard your brand new ship with exquisite cuisine under the direction of Chef Jacques Pépin.
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!
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!
Recently, MSNBC posted an article about the brand new cruise ships taking their inaugural sail in 2011. We found it very intriguing as there are so many new cruise ships this year! Several more are planned for 2012 as cruising becomes many traveler’s preferred method of travel!
One of our favorites, Marina, is actually mentioned 2nd in this article and is the newest ship in Oceania Cruises fleet. As we anxiously await this ships completion, Cindy and Linda are preparing to attend the inaugural ceremony on February 5th! We are even more excited about having travelers join us twice this year onboard Marina for the Baltic Treasures sailing as well as the Grecian Glory sailing. Let us know if you want to join us on one of these fabulous sailings. After all, how could you not be excited about seeing this?!
Also within this article, we are thrilled to see the Seabourn Quest debut!
Seabourn really does have a service in a league of their own, as Cindy and Linda have experienced first hand. Now, with Quest, Odyssey and Sojourn in their fleet, they have new yacht-like ships that look like the service they provide. Quest accommodates just 450 passengers creating a smaller cruise experience, however Seabourn does not incorporate “small” in anything the provide. You want for nothing when you sail with Seabourn.
We are thoroughly looking forward to taking our travelers aboard both of these ships. In 2012, we also anxiously await the debut of Oceania’s Riviera!
Take the hassle out of group travel; call us to plan your next group trip or join ours!
We are, in fact, a team, and we eagerly put this information together to share with you via our blog. That said, you remember that Linda and Cindy have seen 
