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, 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 
