Archive for the Category »Resort «

You’re invited … Greek Island Hopper Tour with fun folks!

 

Santorini Resort Pool

So many destinations on our bucket list, and too little time and money to complete them all right now. In 2016, we’ll knock Greece off our list as we spend luxurious days in Athens, Mykonos, and Greece. One of my friends emailed late last year, saying he wanted to spend his 40th birthday in 2016 in Greece, so he wanted to know which cruise line did the best job in Greece.

If he wanted to visited Greece, Turkey, and perhaps Croatia, a cruise line is absolutely my recommendation, but if he wants to just spend time in Greece, I definitely recommend a land trip. On cruises, you only get to spend a few hours of one day in each port in most cases, so you just don’t get to immerse yourself in the culture and really enjoy these gorgeous islands. I recommended Globus Greek Island Hopper tour, and we selected the tour that would include the dates of his birthday, June 22 – July 1, 2016.

Our international flight will leave the US on June 21, and we’ll fly into Athens to meet up with all our friends, enjoy dinner and drinks, and spend two nights there. Our sightseeing there will include a visit to the Parthenon atop the Acropolis, the Erechtheum with its Porch of Maidens, the beautifully preserved Theseum, Roman temple of Zeus, theater of Dionysus, and the Agora where Socrates taught. On our second morning there, June 24th, we’ll head to the port of Piraeus, to sail on a ferry on the deep-blue waters of the Aegean Sea to the mountainous island of Mykonos, where we’ll enjoy a dinner with our friends tonight at a local restaurant, then spend three nights on this gorgeous island, including a walking tour. On June 2th, we’ll board the ferry to sail to Santorini, the stunning “Black Pearl of the Aegean,” where we’ll enjoy dinner with friends at a local restaurant, then settle in for three nights and a walking tour. I can’t wait to not only

The Parthenon in Athens

explore these fabulous islands, but relax and enjoy the beauty as well. On June 30th, we’ll head to the airport for a short flight back to Athens, where we’ll wrap up our Greek adventure with one more night in Athens, before heading home to the US on July 1st.

Here’s a link to the details online based on the 2015 itinerary. Our tour is June 22 – July 1, 2016, and it ends up being an 11-night vacation, since your outbound International flight is overnight. We love to travel with friends, so you’re invite to join our fun-loving group, which all ages, races, and gay and straight folks, all who love an adventure.

Globus is honoring their 2015 price for this tour of $1,892 per person. The cost of the intra country flight from Santorini to Athens must be added on once those flights are confirmed, and this year that flight was $331 per person, so we’re expecting much the same for 2016. Once Globus has their international flights for this tour contracted, we can check prices for our international flights. Globus airfare prices are usually lower than what I can find independently, and you can reserve your flight with a low deposit, instead of paying for it in full when you book it.

Santorini

These prices are based on double occupancy, so let me know if you’d like to see prices for single or triple occupancy. And, send me your preferred airport if you’d like me to send you a guesstimate for your international airfare.

The deposit for the tour is $250 per person, and you can book that right now. Once the intra-country air is added, that requires an additional $250 per person deposit due, probably in September. And, when you add Globus international flights, that will require an additional $350 per person deposit. Final payment is due 4/2/2016, so you pay the deposits as they are due, then you can make payments along until you make the final payment on that date … or you can just charge the final payment any time before that date. I’m happy to accommodate payments for the folks who like to pay for a “layaway vacation.”

The price is not locked in until the deposit is paid, and the price will likely increase over time. There’s only 40 seats on this trip, so this trip can and will sell out. Booking now not only locks in your price and your seat, but it also allows you more time to pay off your layaway vacation.

Deposits are fully refundable at this time. Once the tour is confirmed and guaranteed in September, the deposit becomes fully non-refundable. At that time, I highly recommend you add Globus Cancel for Any Reason Travel Protection of $249 per person. That way, no matter what happens in the future, you have protection.

If you this sounds like fun to you, come go with us! All I need to book your travel with us is your legal name exactly as it appears on your passport, your date of birth, address, phone, and email, plus a debit or credit card to pay the deposit. I plan all kinds of vacations, so I’ll help you with any vacation, but how about joining us in Greece in 2016! Here’s how to reach me or stay in touch with me.

Mykonos

Port Canaveral, Florida Recommendations

Radisson Resort at the Port Pool Area

Port Canaveral is one of our favorite places to cruise from for several reasons.  The port area and the cruise terminal are easy to navigate.  That’s good news especially for the folks who are driving to the port and parking their car there during the cruise.

Radisson Resort at the Port is our favorite place to stay when cruising from Port Canaveral.  (We prefer a beachfront hotel when we are actually visiting Cocoa Beach.)  We love the pool area, a fabulous Tiki bar, and easy transportation to the ship.  We can’t wait to hang out with cruising friends at the Tiki Bar in the pool area the night before the cruise

Here are some interesting restaurants we’ve enjoyed in the Port Canaveral area:

Rusty’s Seafood & Oyster Bar:  Roger especially enjoyed this place, because he loves oysters on the half shell.   We enjoyed a fabulous group meal on the open-air deck of this restaurant, with fun live entertainment that had us all swaying our hips, even in our chairs!

Roberto’s Little Havana:  This restaurant is just a little more than a diner, but I love trying new kinds of food, and this was my first taste of Cuban entrees, which I love.  Good food, good service, so this might be a place you want to try!

Durango’s Steakhouse:  Some friends picked this place to meet up with us, against our objection that you don’t eat steak on a coast.  To our surprise, this was among the best steaks we’ve ever eaten, and we ate their twice during our week-long visit.  Highly recommend this place for steaks!

Florida’s Seafood Bar & Grill:  This restaurant is the furthest away from our hotel, but I wanted to throw it into the list, because we enjoyed a fabulous seafood meal here.

Rusty's Seafood Menuhere one evening.

While you’re out on the road headed to or from your restaurant, I highly recommend a stop in Ron Jon’s Surf Shop.  We aren’t big shoppers, but we really enjoy visiting these stores, and we never leave empty-handed.  The most comfortable beach sandals I’ve ever worn came from here!

We visited Cocoa Beach the first time after taking our kids on a whirlwind visit to the four Disney Parks, Universal Studio and Sea World in Orlando.  We had scheduled three days in Cocoa Beach for beach time before flying home.  As we pulled into our hotel, two long limos pulled out of the parking lot, and we commented that someone “important” must be staying there.

Later that night, our son, who was only 17 at the time, slipped out of our room for a little time to himself downstairs, and returned saying that we could get a free drink in the bar if we said we’d seen Tommy Lee Jones or Clint Eastwood at the hotel.  Apparently that’s who the limos were for!

The next morning, Roger and Rachel headed down to the beach early, while Eric and I were relaxing a little longer in the room.  As they rounded the corner from the elevator, they ran into Clint Eastwood who was just coming in from an early swim.  (Yes, their bodies collided.)  Roger was shocked, Rachel didn’t know who he was, so they just moved on, but Roger said Clint was in great shape for an older guy.  We later found out they were filming Space Cowboys at that time, a movie that still makes us smile.

If you have time, you may want to add on some extra days before and/or after our cruise in the Port Canaveral, Cocoa Beach, Orlando area, because there’s so much to see and do there.

Good Friday 2010

Good Friday Thanks

So many fabulous friends have written guest blogs for us, and I want to say thank you.  Tom & Mary Milano most recently wrote several Wimpy Friday reviews, and I certainly want to give them a big thank you, because I know many of you were already fans of theirs, while others were just getting to know them.  Tom’s taking a break from these reviews, but I wanted them to know the joy they brought to our lives. 

As a review, here’s all the recent guest blogs: 

I’ve invited these wonderful people to share their stories with you, because their stories may enrich your travel experience and will definitely enrich your souls.  If you’ve enjoyed any of these guest bloggers, please leave a comment on one of their posts here, or visit their blogs and websites to let them know.  It’s good to let folks know they’re appreciated. 

To that end, thank you for sharing in my life by reading my blog.  I love my life! 

Judy J.

Ports of Call

St. Thomas

U.S. Virgin Islands

We love St. Thomas.  The folks on this island are friendly and welcoming, and St. Thomas has some of the most beautiful views and beaches I’ve ever seen.  We consider St. Thomas a paradise, and Roger claims he’s working his way south to live in St. Thomas at least six months out of every year.  more »

A view from Nassau’s Hilton beach!

This pic from our friends, Mike and Lee.  You can see more of their great cruise photos at this link!

RCLNassauHilton