Scenic Crystal "Space Ship"

Our cabin on the Danube deck featured a “Sun Lounge,” unique to Scenic Cruises. It’s a weatherproof, step-out balcony enclosed with a floor-to-ceiling glass patio door, where the upper portion can be lowered with the touch of a button to create an open-air balcony. You’ll never miss a Kodak moment as you glide past the many castles on the Rhine and Moselle.

Shot taken from our "Sun Lounge" balcony.

Our balcony cabin category came with butler service which included packing and unpacking luggage upon request, room service including delivering morning coffee and pressing up to two garments per day — all complimentary. I set out a blazer with the ironing order form on the bed one morning. When I returned from my shore excursion, the pressed blazer was waiting for me. We wanted to take DJ, our butler, home with us.

We were spoiled by DJ, our butler.

Scenic Cruises price is fully inclusive: premium wines, beers and soft drinks at lunch and dinner, a choice of shore excursions at each port; entertainment; airport transfers; and gratuities and baggage handling. Even the shore excursion guides, who are Scenic Tours land vacation escorts, gratuities are included.
You’ll never have huge surprise charges at the end of your vacation ~ never a feeling of being nickle and dimed throughout the trip.

If you are considering an European river cruise, please feel free to send me an email or call me so we can discuss your vacation plans in detail.

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“Napa Valley will see several new restaurants and tasting rooms, culinary workshops and renovated hotels and spas in the spring and summer seasons. New restaurants include Bardessono, resort’s new Lucy Restaurant and Bar, which harvests ingredients from its onsite garden in Yountville. Michelin-starred Chef Richard Reddington has launched Redd Wood, offering wood-fired pizzas, pastas and other seasonal selections. Rancho Caymus Inn has opened Alex Italian Restaurant, featuring a regional Italian menu with influences from Liguria and Emilia-Romagna and a California flavor. Two restaurants are also slated to open in St. Helena, including French Blue Restaurant in April, which will feature local food sourced from nearby farms, orchards and bakeries. Goose and Gander will debut in May in a 90-year-old craftsman-style bungalow.

New wine tasting rooms include Savour St. Helena’s cooperative tasting room, home to nine of the region’s boutique wineries. Mark Herold Wines opened a tasting room in Downtown Napa. Kelly Fleming Wines opened a winery tasting room in Calistoga, where tours and tastings include visits to the winery’s caves. Materra Cunat Premium Vineyards will begin pouring wines by appointment on Main Street in St. Helena in March.

Charles Krug Winery is making additions, including plans to add a delicatessen and Napa Valley wine history museum to its Redwood Cellar, along with a new picnic area and indoor lounge. Italian restaurant Oenotri will expand into Downtown Napa’s Gordon Huether Gallery to open an artisan cocktail bar surrounded by Huether’s artwork. Chef Michael Chiarello’s NapaStyle introduced the NapaStyle Culinary Program, a new series of culinary workshops welcoming Napa Valley authors, chefs and vintners to its Yountville classroom kitchen to teach guests about artisan epicurean techniques. For wine enthusiasts, Calistoga’s B Cellars unveiled a series of wine blending boot camps on the last Friday of every month, providing guests an insider’s view of winemaking.

The new Auberge Adventures program allows travelers to enjoy cultural and culinary exploration from two Napa Valley lodging hosts — Auberge du Soleil and Calistoga Ranch. Offerings include Artisan Workshops curated by Auberge du Soleil for hands-on classes on how to make cheese, sausage, salami and bread; a day-long Wine and Food Sensory Exploration at Calistoga Ranch that features an epicurean immersion at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, a session in wine-blending at an area winery an Executive Chef-led master class and dinner; as well as an abalone-diving excursion with Calistoga Ranch that takes guests to a protected cove to hunt for this local delicacy.

The $40 million expansion project at the Meritage Resort and Spa will be completed in May, including the addition of 165 guest rooms and 12,500 square feet of event space. An expanded fitness studio will now overlook the resort’s own vineyards, and a new Crush Ultra Lounge features six luxury bowling lanes, two bars, a fireplace and pool tables. Unveiling on March 31 after a $4.7 million renovation, the Embassy Suites Napa Valley offers guests completely refurnished and redesigned public areas and guest suites, including the addition of 60 luxury suites.

Downtown Napa’s Avia Napa hotel will undergo renovations before reopening this summer as Northern California’s first Andaz hotel, Andaz Napa. The hotel’s signature restaurant and bar will showcase items from regional ranches, orchards, mills and farms, and the menu, will offer a selection of local high-end and boutique wines. Events and meetings at Andaz Napa will accommodate groups of up to 130 in three venues, with other hotel amenities including a 24-hour fitness center and a rotating art gallery showcasing works made by local artists.

The Calistoga Spa Hot Springs announces the recent renovation of their pool deck and four healing mineral pools, which draw mineral water directly from the source. The renovation of the mineral pools feature newly created “niches” where families or couples can enjoy respite from the active pool area, also offering guests varying degrees of water temperature.”

If you are considering a trip to Napa Valley, please feel free to send me an email or call me so we can discuss your vacation plans in detail.

Need more information? We service many of our clients entirely through email:

Planning a vacation? Please feel free to send me an email or call me so we can discuss your vacation plans in detail.

We service many of our clients entirely through email:

For 4 days/3 nights veer off the beaten path and discover Parma, a charming town with a rich history. Parma is famous for its cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano, and its ham, Prosciutto di Parma, as well as its beautiful cathedrals, palaces and opera house. Your package includes a private guided walking tour of Parma, as well as a half-day excursion to the surrounding countryside where you will visit a local farm and sample the delicious wine, cheese and prosciutto of the region. Book for travel from September 15-19, 2012, and attend the 13th annual Prosciutto di Parma Festival! Optional add-on tours available to the nearby towns of Maranello, home to Ferrari, and Bologna.

Package Includes:
• Roundtrip Transfers Between the Parma Rail Station and Hotel
• 2 Nights Parma at 4* Palace Maria Luigia
• Private Guided Walking Tour of Parma
• Private Half-Day Countryside Excursion with Wine, Cheese and Prosciutto Tasting
• One 3-Course Dinner
• Daily Breakfast
• Hotel Taxes and Service Charges
Day 1 – Arrive Parma:
Arrive by rail or car to Parma, and check into the 4-star Palace Maria Luigia, perfectly located in Parma just a three-minute walk from the rail station and a five minutes walk to pedestrian-only city center. This sophisticated property is an updated mix of contemporary and classical in structure and decor. Rooms are individually decorated with great attention to amenities, plus all rooms are soundproof. The Palace Maria Luigia offers a beautiful garden lounge, where you can have your meals served or your can just relax and visit with other guests over a glass of a delightful local wine. (Accommodation, Parma)
Day 2 – Parma:
After breakfast, meet your English-speaking guide for your private walking tour of Parma, a city that dates back 3,500 years to the Bronze Age. Sights include the Romanesque Cathedral, the 12th century Baptistery the 10th century abbey church of Saint John the Evangelist, the 11th century Benedictine Monastery of San Paolo, the University of Parma, one of the oldest in the world, the Palazzo della Pilotta (1583) housing the Academy of Fine Arts, the Ducal Palace, and so much more. (Breakfast, Dinner & Accommodation, Parma)
Private Guide for Half-Day Walking Tour of Parma:
Present your voucher to the guide then discuss the sights you are most interested in seeing – the tour is yours to enjoy!
3-Course Dinner at the Ristorante Angiol d’Or:
An elegant place serving traditional local cuisine, Angiol d’Or faces the Piazza del Duomo opposite the Baptistery. The menu starts with cold meat cuts, prosciutto, salami and cooked shoulder, or ravioli with black truffles, or pasta with partridge sauce. Main dishes include shin of veal, tripe with Parmesan, beef stew with polenta, lamb with Balsamic Vinegar or glazed duck breast with pears. The wine list is varied and of excellent quality. (Please arrive on your own for your 8:00 p.m. reservations; present your voucher before ordering. Your dinner will be 3-courses with water and 1 glass of wine per person. Gratuities & additional beverages not included.)
Day 3 – Parma:
The city of Parma is located between the Po River and the Appennino Mountain Range, including a series of wonderfully preserved castles from the 14th and 15th centuries, plus a number of rural villas. The mountains near Parma provide plenty of opportunity for hiking and other outdoor activities plus beautiful landscapes as a backdrop to your Parma experience.

Half-day Excursion into the countryside around Parma including several visits to local farms to learn and taste how the famous Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and Prosciutto di Parma are produced. Next you’ll visit a quaint winery to taste some local varieties accompanied by a little more ham and cheese! (Breakfast & Accommodation, Parma)
Day 4 – Depart Parma:
Depart Parma with day at leisure. If possible, add a day in Parma to enjoy an optional tour or depart for your next Avanti destination. (Breakfast, Parma)

Price from $1,399 Land Only – Does not include air travel to/from USA. Price is per person, based on double occupancy and subject to hotel availability. Price may vary slightly by month of travel.

If you are considering vacation in Italy, please feel free to send me an email or call me so we can discuss your vacation plans in detail.

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Chef Regina’s vision for the American Queen is to re-create many American Classic dishes using only premium ingredients. The legendary gracious hospitality of the American South is thriving, and in that tradition you will be treated as an honored guest on the American Queen, thanks to Regina Charboneau!

The Great American Steamboat Company has announced three Civil War-theme voyages during the inaugural season of the American Queen. The eight- and 10-night theme cruises will include visits to battlefields and on-board entertainment including actors, impersonators, lecturers, balladeers and reenactments.

Fares begin at $2,295 per guest based on double occupancy, and include a pre- or post-cruise hotel stay, bottled water and soft drinks, wine and beer at dinner and complimentary shore adventures in each port of call.
The August 10 to 20, 2012, voyage sails from New Orleans with visits in Vicksburg and Helena, Mississippi; Chattanooga, Memphis and Savannah (for Shiloh National Military Park), Tennessee; Paducah, Kentucky and Decatur, Alabama.
The August 20 to 30, 2012, sails between Chattanooga and Vicksburg visiting Decatur and Florence, Alabama; Savannah for Shiloh National Military Park; Paducah; and Ashport Landing and Memphis, Tennessee.
The August 30 to September 7, 2012, voyage between Vicksburg and Louisville, Kentucky, stopping at Helena, Arkansas; Memphis; and Henderson, and Louisville, Kentucky.
The August 10, 2012, voyage, presented by American Experience and Artful Travelers, will feature Ric Burns, who co-produced the PBS series “The Civil War” in 1990, and Mark Samels, executive producer of “American Experience” on PBS.
The August 20, 2012, cruise will feature historian A. Wilson Greene, manager with the National Park Service and founding member of the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites; James I. “Bud” Robertson Jr., executive director of the U.S. Civil War Centennial Commission; Barry Meadows, who portrays Gen. Ulysses S. Grant; and Al Stone, who portrays Gen. Robert E. Lee.
The August 30, 2012, sailing will feature the Hon. Frank J. Williams, founding chairman of the Lincoln Forum and retired chief justice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island, and Harold Holzer, vice chairman of the Lincoln Forum and co-chairman of the U.S. Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.

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Timeless Holiday Traditions On Classic Christmas Markets River Cruises

May peace be your gift this holiday season and your blessing all year through.

From Avalon Waterways:

You can find out all you need to know about small ship and specialty cruising and even take virtual tours because The Cruise Center, Inc. is hosting a “Virtual” National Cruise Vacation Week. By simply logging on to the special agency web page, NCVW, you can explore the amazing world of cruising and plan a cruise! The Cruise Center, Inc. has chosen several short videos showcasing the exciting offerings and destinations from participating CLIA member cruise lines. For extra convenience, the web page will be live until the end of the October.

Here is a sneak peek at Avalon Waterways latest video:

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The press release went on to say that “Chef Staib combined his passions for history and Caribbean cooking for seasons two and three of A Taste of History®, by filming in Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Antigua and The Bahamas to share the story of the influence that the West Indies had on Colonial culture and dining.
His love affair with Caribbean cuisine began in the 1970’s as he completed major food and beverage projects on the French side of Saint Martin and in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Studying intensely under Jamaican cooks in jerk huts, food stalls at Faith’s Pen, in the Blue Mountains as well as in local markets, fruit and spice orchards, molasses, rum and coffee plantations, Staib became a veritable authority on Jamaican delicacies and dishes.
Chef Staib also founded the Caribbean Culinary Federation, bringing authentic and delicious Caribbean flavors to the various restaurants and menus throughout all Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts. As the Sandals Culinary Ambassador, he ensures guests experience top-notch dishes, ranging from genuine Caribbean cuisine to Asian and Italian cuisine.”

Get a price quote on your next Sandals vacation.

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