Last year was a very busy year for us, doing what we do best, arranging trips ...
We love Alaska. ... the mountains of Germany's Black Forest and weaves 1,770
miles southeast ... The Solstice Class was named "Best Cruise Ships" by
Frommer's 2011 .... city can charge more because they have to drive out of the
city again.
All Occasion Travel Independent Agent for America's Travel Cos. Inc. 312 Colonial Way, Rio Vista, CA 94571 – E-Mail
[email protected] Phone: 707-374-2449 – Fax: 707-374-2404
Expertise, Value, Trust Owner/Manager
Agent/Consultant
SPRING 2013 Newsletter Joan Greene, ACC
Jana Tooley
We hope you are receiving our twice-a-month newsletter showing 1,000 to 2,000 travel specials. not, please let us know and we see that you do.
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And, we hope that you will take advantage of our website where you can find, not only our quarterly news but, also, just about all the information you will need to function in any country. Just click on the map. It is a fun site. Try it... Last year was a very busy year for us, doing what we do best, arranging trips and cruises for our clients and, as well, indulging in some travel ourselves. During the first part of the year, we enjoyed cruising with an All Occasion Travel group around South America and another cruise in the fall to Alaska. We love Alaska. And later in the year, Joan cruised from Barcelona through the Suez Canal to Dubai (the latest popular travel destination). Jana's Caribbean cruise pick for 2013 was enjoyed early this month and was a great success, We will post pictures. Her 2014 group promotion is on Page 4. Joan's Fall & Winter Specials are on Page 5 and "A Little of This and a Lot of That " starts on Page 6. We want to again mention Riverboat Cruising is the fastest growing area of vacationing and is a great bargain. Besides the accommodations and food which you would normally expect, The price also includes wines, all or most excursions and sometimes air. There are several cruise companies that offer these lovely trips. We are featuring some of the itineraries on Page 2. Think about a Spring river boat cruise on the Rhine when the flowers are in bloom and the colors of the towns are like impressionistic paintings or a December river boat cruise in Europe with all the cities and towns in their holiday clothes. For our single travelers, you can stop suffering the 100% single supplement. We have compiled a list of cruises and tours that either don't have a single supplement or a small one. There are not a lot of single cabins on the ships and bookings have to be made early, but one 0f those ships is our beloved Marco Polo which is now cruising out of Britain. See Page 3. If you prefer staying in villas (rather than resorts or hotels) and savor the flavor of the country you are visiting at your own pace. we can offer Villas located in most parts of the world. The Villas range from 1 bedroom to 40. And, the prices are from $750 a week to $5,500 per day depending on the size, location and time of year. The gorgeous Villas in Costa Rica are a "must see" for a great price. And, we have access to the Paradores in Spain. These hotels are in historic Castles, Palaces, Monasteries and other spectacular locations. At long last, it's possible that San Francisco is again going to be a major port for cruise ships. It has been a long time in coming. The problems commenced with a Longshoremen's strike in the 1950s that closed the piers and all the businesses around the docks. The cruise ships stopped coming and even after all this time, only a few make it a port of call. Princess will be the second cruise line to make this a departure port. Regent Seven Seas has had a few cruises leave from San Francisco. Now, with the new piers, other ships certainly will follow.
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Europe's most scenic waterways
A view of the Main River from Miltenberg, Germany. By Claire C. Brown, Condé Nast Traveler Austria (Danube).....The second-longest river on the Continent and one of its busiest, the Danube begins in the mountains of Germany’s Black Forest and weaves 1,770 miles southeast through eight other countries and four capital cities to the Black Sea. Most scenic stretch: Between the Austrian towns of Melk (where you'll find this monastery) and Krems (23 miles). Don't miss: Vineyards and monasteries line both banks in the storybook-lovely Wachau Valley. In charming Dürnstein, a steep 25-minute hike from the water’s edge leads to the ruins of medieval Kuenringer Castle and fine river views. Germany (Main).....One of the Rhine’s largest tributaries, the Main flows through the forests of Germany’s enchanting southwest. The water turns terra-cotta as it passes through the mineral-rich Spessart hills. Foxes, boars and other wildlife are easily spotted beneath the towering oaks onshore. Here, a freighter navigates the tight turning point of the Main river near Wertheim. Most scenic stretch: The 20 miles between Miltenberg and Wertheim. Don't miss: Zum Riesen, Germany’s oldest tavern, is in the walled town of Miltenberg. Order a locally brewed Faust beer or a local red wine (Miltenberg’s sandstone turns out velvety reds, including the worthy Portugieser and Spätburgunder). Germany (Moselle).....The 350-mile Moselle intersects with the Main and Rhine in Koblenz before zigzagging its way southwest through Germany, along the Luxembourg border, and into northeastern France. Most scenic stretch: A 45-mile route between the German towns of Cochem and Bernkastel.Don't miss: Few Crusader castles are as romantic as Reichsburg Castle, with its cluster of turrets rising dramatically above the town of Cochem, a frequent stop on shore excursions. Lesser known and well worth the trip is Beilstein, just six miles from Cochem and considered the best preserved medieval town in Germany. Note that you’ll need your own wheels to reach it, since most of the river ships don’t stop there. Germany (Rhine).....The twelfth-longest river in Europe and one of the most trafficked, the Rhine flows from the eastern Swiss Alps to the North Sea. Most scenic stretch: The 41 miles between the German towns of Koblenz and Rudesheim. Don't miss: This entire stretch was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002 in honor of both its dramatic natural beauty and historic significance. The banks are lined with—you guessed it—castle after castle, about one per mile. Marksburg is among the best preserved (the squeamish might want to skip the torture chamber). Rudesheim, one of the most popular winemaking towns in the Rhine Valley, is perpetually packed with tourists. You’re better off hopping on an open-roofed gondola or a chairlift over the Niederwald recreational area for an unbeatable aerial view of sloping vineyards and the river valley. France (Seine)...Beginning near Dijon, in northeast France, the Seine flows some 500 miles—through the French capital, west to Normandy, and into a pastoral landscape so beguiling that few French painters could resist its charms. Most scenic stretch: The 16 miles between the French towns of Vernon and Les Andelys. Don't miss: Monet’s famous gardens at Giverny (ten minutes by bus from Vernon) may be the main attraction, but from there begins an equally canvas-worthy stretch of lush riverbanks studded with roses and orchids in summer. The ruins of the twelfth-century château in Les Andelys, built by Richard the LionHearted to fend off Philippe Auguste, serve as a reminder of Normandy’s history as a contested region between France and England, and are a prime spot for sweeping photos of the Seine Valley.
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If you plan to be in Honolulu, Hawaii in the future, You might want to visit the home of Doris Duke who when she was a child was known as the "richest little girl in the world". Her home "Shangri La" houses one of the most beautiful gardens and also one of the world's most extensive collection of Islamic and Asian art. It is only open a few hours a week and you will need tickets, but the house, gardens and art collection should not be missed.
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JANA'S PICK FOR 2014
12 Nights -Italy & Greek Isles Cruise - October 2, 2014 Celebrity Equinox Occupancy – 2,850 Inaugural Date – 8/8/09 The Solstice Class was named "Best Cruise Ships" by Frommer's 2011 Cruise Ports Departing from Barcelona, Spain; Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy; Naples, Italy; Santorini, Greece; Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey; Mykonos, Greece; Athens (Piraeus), Greece; Valletta, Malta; Barcelona, Spain
Restaurants/Beverages: Main Dining Room; Silhouette; Martini Bar; Cellar Masters; Quasar; Tuscan Grille; Blu; Silk Harvest; Murano; Michael’s Club; Bistro on Five; Café al Bacio Pricing (does not include air or travel protection): Veranda (Category 2-B)- $2,229 + taxes $118.77 = $2,347.77 (installment plan - $250 deposit with 15 equal monthly installments = $140 per person) Ocean View Stateroom (Category 8)-$2,074 + taxes $118.77 = $2,192.77 (installment plan $250 deposit with 15 equal monthly installments = $130 per person)
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Joan's Summer & Fall Specials
$1599* 13 Day Escorted Tour of Turkey Including Airfare Explore Istanbul, the famed city of Troy, breathtaking Cappadocia & more
$ 799 Escorted Tour of Grand Canyon, Zion Nat'l Park, Las Vegas & More Spend 6 nights touring Southwestern US (highlights Arizona, Utah & Nevada)
$1799* 9 Day Tour of India Including Airfare Visit Delhi, Agra's Taj Mahal & the Pink City of Jaipur
$1899* 13 Day Kaleidoscope of Morocco Including Flights Highlighting Rabat, Fez, Erfoud, Ouarzazate, Marrakesh & Casablanca
$1299* 6 Day London, Culture & Theatre Tour with Air Including air, hotel, sightseeing & theatre pass
$2199* 11 Day Classic Israel Including Flights Featuring Jerusalem, Dead Sea, Galilee & Tel Aviv
$ 849 10 Night Eastern Mediterranean RCCL Cruise (3 Nights Rome) Ports of call: Messina (Sicily), Athens, Kusadasi (Turkey), & Chania (Crete)
$1499* 8 Day Rome, Florence & Venice by Rail & Air Two nights each in three of Italy's most captivating cities
$ 899 10 Day Hawaiian Island Hopper - Oahu, Kauai & Maui Taste of three Pacific islands. Big Island extension available
$2999* 10 Day Tour of Argentina & Chile Including Flights Enjoy the sites of Buenos Aires, Bariloche, Puerto Varas & Santiago
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TRAVCOA Tours has reduced single supplements by 50%.
Note: Unless shown otherwise; all prices above are per person, double occupancy and based on availability, category, time of year. In most cases, they do not include taxes and fees, and are for the least expensive cruise or /tour in their latest promotional material. Prices are not firm until booked., THESE ARE ALL GREAT BARGAINS.
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a little of this and a lot of That This is soooo good. Put this in your browser. http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=5YGc4zOqozo China's Terracotta Warriors are in San Francisco.....The Asian Art Museum is celebrating its 10th anniversary in San Francisco's Civic Center with an exhibition from one of the greatest archaeological discoveries in modern times. China's Terracotta Warriors: The First Emperor's Legacy will be on view until May 27, 2013. The exhibition features 120 rare objects from the great tomb complex of China's First Emperor (259210 BCE), including 10 life-size terracotta figures-the maximum number of figures permitted outside China in a single exhibition. Since its discovery in 1974, the First Emperor's tomb complex is one of the largest burial sites ever constructed. Estimated at nearly 250,000 square feet, more than four American football fields, it includes a scale replica of the emperor's imperial palace, complete with stables, offices, an armory and even a zoo. Some 8,000 terracotta figures have been excavated to date, including warriors of all ranks (all individually constructed, no two faces are alike), acrobats, musicians and horses. The tomb complex took 700,000 laborers nearly 40 years to build. Dreamworks Plans Tourist Attraction In Shanghai.....Dreamworks Animation is planning to build a $3.2 billion "entertainment zone'' in Shanghai. The studio's newlyformed China joint venture, Oriental DreamWorks, is set to open the tourism attraction in 2016. The project, called the Dream Center, will include entertainment facilities, animation exhibitions and commercial developments including hotels and shopping areas in Shanghai's Xuhui district. The announcement comes after Disney broke ground on a planned $3.7 billion theme park in Shanghai last year. That part is scheduled to open in 2015. Nepal Bans Independent Trekking For All Tourists.....The Nepalese government has banned independent trekking for all tourists, effective in September 2012. The new measure will require individual travelers, who were exempt from restrictions, to hire guides for all treks in the country. The move was prompted by an increasing number of crimes targeting trekkers, especially females. The new regulations will increase costs for travelers, especially those in small groups Holland America Helps Out Bar Harbor....One of Bar Harbor's most frequent cruise ship visitors is set to purchase a literal ton of local lobster next time they pull into port. Holland America's Maasdam will purchase some 2,000 pounds of lobster for passengers. This will help out the local lobster industry. The town chose Holland America because their ships are the most frequent visitors during the summer months. New River Cruise Company Forms.....Former executives of Pandaw River Cruises have joined together to start Haimark Travel and focus on river cruises in Myanmar and India and handle land operations for Mekong River Cruises. They will sell Ayravata Cruises in North America. Haimark will handle ground operations for river cruises in Vietnam and Cambodia and for Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection and Avalon Waterways. The company is based in Breckenridge and will open an office in Yangon this fall. Pandaw River Cruises is based in Singapore and has 10 ships operating in Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar. New National Geographic Cruise To Circumnavigate Iceland.....National Geographic Expeditions is planning a new small ship expedition next year to circle Iceland in just over one week. Linblad Expeditions' 148-passenger National Geographic Explorer is offering the the eightnight cruise that will focus on Iceland's many geological wonders and natural areas. Highlights of the cruise will include walking on lava fields and ice sheets, visiting hot springs and waterfalls and birding in the Arctic Circle. Kayaking into fjords and serene bays, hiking along remote stretches of the Iceland coast and visits to small coastal towns. National Geographic is also offering a new 17day trip into the Arctic Circle called Arctic Quest: Greenland and the Canadian High Arctic and a 12day trip in the region called Along the Viking Trail: Iceland to Greenland.
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American Will Now Deliver Bags To Home, Office Or Hotel For A Fee..... The newest airline service for a fee comes from American Airlines. The airline will deliver your luggage to a home, office or hotel. The new service, will begin Monday, and cost passengers $29.95 for one bag, $39.95 for two bags and $49.95 for three to 10 bags. American is partnering with BAGS VIP Luggage Delivery for the service. Passengers order the service when they book a flight and, as usual, drop off their luggage at the airport ticket counter. Instead of picking up the bags at the carousel, the passengers will get the luggage delivered to a designated address. The fee includes delivery to a location within 40 miles of the destination airport. The airline will charge an extra $1 per mile for final delivery locations 41 to 100 miles from the airport. Passengers still must pay a baggage check fee, in addition to the delivery charge. The service will be offered at about 200 airports across the country.
Excellent article on "How to best use a travel agent".....Examiner.com has a great article by Ruthanne Terrero, Vice President-Content/Editorial Director of the Questex Travel Group. I plan to start sending at least parts of it to new clients as we begin to work together. See How to best use a travel agent Bahrain To Unveil Tourist-Only Area.....Discussions are set to begin on a proposal to turn the Bab Al Bahrain souk into a tourist-only area. It could be done by removing shops that are not 'tourist friendly', according to a Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry board member. He said there should only be shops that sell items that are unique to Bahrain and what Bahrain is known for." he said. Singapore Announces iPad Rentals For Tourists.....Singapore unveiled its latest tourist venture for travelers who need to stay connected.Tourist Pads rents iPads that give travelers unlimited high-speed 3G connectivity anywhere in the city. Travelers can reserve their iPad online at www.touristpads.com for $30 a day, at least 24 hours before they need it. The iPad will be hand-delivered to their hotel or the airport. TouristPads says a deposit of S$800 will be blocked on the renter's credit card Paris Ritz Closes For $170 million Face-Lift.....The Paris Ritz closed for a two-year renovation to bring the city's best known luxury hotel into the 21st century and keep its mega-rich clientele coming back. The renovation comes after the five-star hotel, which has not had a refit since 1979,failed to win France's coveted "palace" designation marking a top luxury destination .Owned by Egyptian tycoon Mohamed Al Fayed, it was once the hotel of choice of Charlie Chaplin, Coco Chanel and Ernest Hemingway, and the place where princess Diana and Al Fayed's son, Dodi, dined in 1997 before their fatal car crash. The refurbishment will last until mid 2014, equipping the Ritz with a new garden restaurant and fitting out its 160 rooms with "the latest technology. Founded in 1898 by Cesar Ritz and the chef Auguste Escoffier, the Ritz is home to L'Espadon restaurant, holder of two Michelin stars, and the Ritz-Escoffier cooking school. Princess Revives A Signature Tradition.....Remember when cruise ships allowed you to bring aboard your friends and relatives to wish you a bon voyage. Well that tradition is back at Princess, although it comes at a cost. Princess calls it the "Bon Voyage Experience" and it costs $39 a person. Those who sign up for the program will get a four-course lunch with wine, a tour of the ship and a souvenir photo (of the ship?) They and the passenger they are accompanying will have access to priority embarkation, and will be allowed onboard for about four hours. The fee can be applied to a future Princess cruise. The program will at Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale and later to New York, San Francisco and Seattle. Princess will notify passengers through pre-cruise emails as their cruise date gets nearer. The visits can be booked through a travel agent or by calling Princess beginning 120 days before sailing date to up to six days before the sailing date Taxi Scams In Rome.....A recent law in Rome limits the amount of a taxi ride from the airport into the city to 40 Euros (around $56 dollars) but some cabs post an official 60 euro rate for the same trip. The 40 euro fare is for Rome cabs, those based in the city. Taxis based outside of the city can charge more because they have to drive out of the city again. Look for a cab with "SPQR" on the door for the 40 euro rate.
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Venice's Bridge Of Sighs Is Being Restored.....If you are visiting Venice this year you will not see the Bridge of Sighs in all its glory as it is surrounded by scaffolding and will be for several years. However this year Venice's city museums and the Clock Tower on St. Mark's Square are offering youth and senior discounts to Americans and others who are not EU citizens. And be aware if you are crossing the Calatrava Bridge, which opened in 2008 and spans the Grand Canal from the train station to Piazzale Roma. This modern designed bridge has irregular steps and a mix of glass and stone flooring which has caused many visitors to twist their ankles.
DID YOU KNOW? While most of our travelers prefer to have us make all the arrangements for their travels, there are a few who like to book their own travel but still want a travel agent to coordinate their plans. If you are one of the these, did you know that upon your request most cruise lines and tour companies will provide your booking information to your travel agent? When one makes this request, he/she will have to provide the cruise line or tour company with the following: Your Booking Number Name of your Personal Travel Agent: Joan Greene or Jana Tooley Name of Agency: America's Travel Cos. Phone: (702) 597-5035. Be assured it costs no more to use our services than to do it all yourself. It is a “Win Win” situation for EVERYONE. But, please be sure that you let us know about it. Please note that unless specified, all of our advertised rates are per person based on double occupancy, and are capacity controlled. Government fees may be additional. Some restrictions apply. We make every attempt to keep the web site up to date but hot deals sell out very quickly. Rates can be increased at any time by the cruise line or travel supplier until it is booked and under deposit. We are not responsible for typographical errors that from time to time may occur. We apologize for any confusion that these may cause and attempt to fix these as soon as they are identified.
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Call Joan or Jana today and start packing Office Phones: 707-374-2440 or 650-878-8008 Fax: 707-374-2404 8
