Travel Articles by our own Margaret Donohoe

Planning an Unforgettable Family Vacation

(This article appeared first in the Arizona Daily Star Horizons section on April 3, 2008.)

By Margaret Donohoe

One of the most exciting trends in travel today is the multigenerational vacation. With families living in different states, the chance to spend time together on vacation is a precious gift. More and more grandparents are taking the opportunity to travel with their grandchildren.

What makes a family vacation truly memorable? Here are a few ingredients:

• - A great destination for sure,
• - Involving the whole family in planning the trip,
• - Activities suitable for everyone in the family,
• - The chance to share new discoveries and experiences,
• - Meeting families from other lands and cultures.

The hectic world we live in, however, can make it difficult to take the time to plan a truly memorable trip. The solution is to take a trip that has already been planned and organized for you, a trip on which everything has been thought of in advance – handling your luggage, comfortable hotels, enjoyable meals, activities for children and adults, and a professional Tour Director whose knowledge of your destination ensures an authentic experience.

A tour vacation is the best value in travel.  You know what your vacation costs before you leave home. You pay in US dollars, substantially protecting you against currency fluctuations. A family tour offers you more for your vacation dollar. To do everything included on a tour on your own would cost much more.

While there are many companies that offer tour vacations, one in particular stands out – Tauck World Discovery. Three generations of the Tauck family have been pioneers in escorted travel since their first tour through New England in 1925. Today there are more than 100 legendary Tauck travel experiences on all seven continents. The family programs are called Tauck Bridges.

Tauck Bridges programs for 2008 range across four continents – from a Canadian Rockies family adventure, to a visit to the jungles and rainforests to Costa Rica, to a grand family Safari in Tanzania. New family trips in Europe this year include a “Spanish Adventure: Explorers and Conquistadors” and “The Sweet Life: Rome & Sorrento.” The Tauck journeys to Europe are an especially good value this year given the current exchange rates between the dollar and the euro.

With Tauck vacations, admission fees and sightseeing are included, as are luggage handling and even gratuities for your Tour Director and driver. There are no hidden fees or surprise expenses. You can eat dinner in the Eiffel Tower, feast on a Hawaiian luau, or wear your jeans to a real western barbecue. You will stay in castle-hotels, wilderness lodges, grand city hotels, tented safari camps, or luxurious mountain or oceanfront resorts. Each Tauck Bridges hotel or resort is chosen with your interests in mind – from the very best locations to the most family-friendly facilities.

Arthur Tauck, the founder of the company, used to tell his family how much he enjoyed sharing his “places of the heart” with his children and grandchildren, those special destinations that never failed to stir his soul – Canada’s majestic Rocky Mountains, tropical Hawaiian Island beaches, and the mesmerizing Grand Canyon. Each day brings new connections, shared discoveries, and amazing experiences, balanced with time at leisure to explore on your own.

Bon Voyage Travel consultants are your Tauck specialists in Tucson. Contact any of them for further details.

Margaret Donohoe is the branch manager of the Bon Voyage Travel office at Kolb Road and Sunrise Drive in Tucson. She has been a travel consultant for 13 years. She can be reached at 520-577-7876 or via email at mdonohoe@bvtravel.com.

Expand Your Horizons by Going to Sea

(This article appeared first in the Arizona Daily Star Horizons section on July 10, 2008.)

By Margaret Donohoe

The cruise experience offers travelers relaxation, rejuvenation, adventure, and the chance to see faraway places. However, cruise lines offer their guests even more – educational programs and the chance to bring home more than just memories and souvenirs. On-board learning has been taken to a new level and here are just a few examples of what is offered.

Princess Cruises’ Scholarship@Sea program offers courses in which guest lecturers and shipboard experts present a variety of topics, including computer training, culinary arts, finance, digital photography, and even pottery. Every Princess ship offers passengers the opportunity to become Sea Scholars, and all vessels have been equipped with pottery kilns. Whether you want to improve your skills in cooking or watercolor techniques, a perfect opportunity is offered on board ship -- especially on those days at sea between port calls. Princess also offers scrapbooking classes providing an enjoyable atmosphere where passengers can take a free introductory course in the basic tools like page design, journaling, and other helpful hints.

Guest speakers are also onboard many ships to offer enrichment lectures on topics such as science, politics, geography, maritime history, health/wellness, and the culinary arts. One recent innovation offered by Princess was the first-ever live opera transmission at sea. A performance of Puccini’s “La Boheme” was transmitted from the Metropolitan Opera in New York via satellite to movie theaters around the world and shown on Princess ships throughout the fleet.

Cunard Line also offers unique enrichment opportunities on her ships. The program is called Cunard Insights, and guests can explore a number of historical and contemporary issues presented by a wide range of speakers including explorers, academics, former ambassadors, politicians, historians, scientists, novelists, biographers, and actors and filmmakers.

Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 offers performances in the Royal Court Theatre with actors from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, and during her sailings, actors from RADA offer workshops on acting and stagecraft... Another innovation on the Queen Mary 2 in partnership with the American Museum of Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium is the first planetarium at sea called Illuminations. Programs include a virtual ride into space called “Passport to the Universe” narrated by Tom Hanks. She also boasts the largest spa at sea -- the Canyon Ranch SpaClub.

An upcoming transatlantic crossing on the Queen Mary 2 has special significance. On October 16, 2008, the Queen Mary 2 will escort the Queen Elizabeth 2 on her 806th and final trip across the Atlantic. The two ships will depart New York on October 16, arriving in Southampton, England, on October 22, sailing in tandem for the duration of the crossing. This writer will be escorting a group of Bon Voyage Travel clients on this crossing. Among the guest speakers on board will be historian Barry Brown, an expert on the Golden Age of Hollywood; historian Eric Jay Dolin speaking about the history of whaling in America; and writer Lynne Truss, who has been a newspaper columnist, radio dramatist, and author of numerous books including the best-selling “Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation.” There is still space available for this sailing. Contact your Bon Voyage travel consultant for further details.

Other cruise lines offering extensive enrichment programs include:

- Crystal Cruises offers the Creative Learning Institute in an effort to enrich their guests’ vacations by offering keyboard lessons with Yamaha, language immersion with Berlitz, wellness seminars with the Cleveland Clinic among many other offerings. In addition, there are courses in estate planning and numerous culinary programs with guest chefs, calligraphy, and art history.

- Regent Seven Seas Cruises offer their Circles of Interest voyages for guests interested in a deeper focus on a specific area of interest. These encompass a broad range of topics, including wellness, maritime history, food and wine workshops in conjunction with the renowned culinary institute Le Cordon Bleu, and the line’s partnership with Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Futures Society.

On your next cruise, you will certainly spend time on deck reading, talking with other guests, or simply watching the sea pass by. But remember a journey at sea can offer so much more. It can satisfy your hunger for exploration and quench your thirst for learning.

Bon Voyage Travel consultants are your cruise specialists in Tucson. Contact any of them for further details.

Margaret Donohoe is the branch manager of the Bon Voyage Travel office at Kolb Road and Sunrise Drive in Tucson. She has been a travel consultant for 13 years. She can be reached at 520-577-7876 or via email at mdonohoe@bvtravel.com.

Great Values in Longer Cruises

(This article appeared first in the Arizona Daily Star Horizons section on January 31, 2008.)

By Margaret Donohoe

What is it that makes a voyage “grand”? It is not length alone, although time is a true luxury in our busy world. A truly grand voyage is one that combines exotic lands, lasting friendships, and the pleasures of life at sea. On a longer voyage, your ship becomes your home-away-from-home. Lifetime friendships among the passengers and crew are often formed. These voyages offer the experience of a lifetime.

With all of the complications of international air travel these days, including airport security and travel delays, a longer cruise is even more attractive. Cruise lines are seeing an increasing demand for trips that run anywhere from two weeks to several months.

Among the many longer cruises offered by the cruise lines are those offered by the Holland America Line. One of the hallmarks of the Holland America experience is the quality of service you’ll experience on board. Longer voyages allow the crew time to get to know each guest and his or her preferences.

In 2009 Holland America is offering a Grand World Voyage on the flagship of the line the ms Rotterdam for 117 days encompassing the South Pacific, Australia, Asia, and Africa. Whether you book the whole itinerary or a segment of the voyage, you will experience cruising in a very special way. Extended stays at many ports are offered, and guest lecturers will be on board to discuss topics such as history, culture, architecture, and marine life. Often folkloric performances by local entertainers are arranged on board.

Other longer itineraries are aboard the ms Prinsendam, a more intimate ship with just 793 guests that will visit South America, Africa, and Europe on voyages from 22 to 68 days in length. The Prinsendam is a ship built expressly for exploring the world’s four corners. It offers a refined ambiance as well as the maneuverability to sail into ports of call where larger ships cannot go. And every aspect of the journey, from menu design to expert speakers, culinary events to unique experiences on shore, has been designed to enhance your appreciation of the places you visit.

Another type of longer voyage is the repositioning cruise. Twice a year ships that sail in a region seasonally need to move to another region. For example, a ship that in the winter sails Caribbean waters will move to Alaska for the summer season. This trip may take it from Miami to Vancouver on a journey that includes a transit of the Panama Canal with possible stops in Costa Rica and Mexico. There are also transatlantic and transpacific repositioning cruises. These cruises have become especially popular both for their value and for the extra time spent on board ship. The per day cost is significantly less than for a conventional cruise, and cruise lines often schedule extra activities to occupy the passengers on days at sea. Repositioning cruises are scheduled in advance and are still available in 2008.

Bon Voyage Travel offers special pricing, shipboard credits, and upgrades on many of these longer voyages. Contact any Bon Voyage travel consultant for further details.

Margaret Donohoe is the branch manager of the Bon Voyage Travel office at Kolb Road and Sunrise Drive in Tucson. She has been a travel consultant for 13 years. She can be reached at 520-577-7876 or email her at mdonohoe@bvtravel.com.