Kathryn’s Kapers April 2011
Mar 19th, 2011 by admin
Travel Professionals International
I am Celebrating 10 Years!
To thank you personally for your patronage, I would like to invite you to join me to celebrate the anniversary of my 10 years of service as a travel counsellor. It has been a pleasure…without you, there would be no Journeys …by Kathryn.
Date: Tuesday, April 12th Time: 6:00 pm
The Roast of Sharon, Ceilidh Room
18947 Woodbine Avenue, Sharon, Ontario L0G 1V0
Phone: 905-478-1111 Location Map
Highlights:
Presentation by Holland America, Mary Goldsmith
Hors d’oeuvres
Wine, Coffee & Tea
Door Prizes
East Gwillimbury Women’s Show
I will be having a booth at the East Gwillimbury Women’s Show. I hope to see you there on Saturday, April 30th. If you would like complimentary advance tickets, please contact me to arrange it.
Sabre Red
We have just undergone a major software update for Sabre. This is the software program that I use to book and invoice your travel. I am pleased to say the update went very smoothly as you might expect from a professional organization like Sabre. You will see a few changes in the way your itineraries and invoices are presented.
Cruise News
Princess Cruise Weeks continue!
The promotions for February and March are now finished for 2011. But, Princess Cruise’s popular Cruise Week’s Promotion are still open for the weeks of May 1st, June 5th, July 10th, September 4th, October 16th, and November 20th.
These sale weeks run for 7 days and include the option to reserve your cruise with a reduced deposit of $100 per person and receive a Shipwide Savings Coupon book worth up to $325 US in savings toward shipboard products and services. If you are considering a Princess cruise this year or next, it is a great idea to book during one of these sales. When you book with a small deposit instead of the usual larger one you receive more than your deposit back in on board savings.
Vacation News
Disney Anyone?
As the grandmother of three beautiful girls, I decided it’s time to make the trek to Florida for a family Disney vacation. Of course as a cruiser I would not consider the trip to be complete without some time aboard a Disney ship. I am just beginning to arrange a group vacation to include a few days at Disney World in Orlando followed by a 4 night cruise on the newest Disney ship, the Dream on January 8th, 2012.
If you too think it’s time to take your family to Disney and would like to travel at the same time as the Bachhofer family give me a call or drop me an email. Group rates should be more favourable and we can take advantage of some extra perks travelling as a group. I look forward to having you join us.
Kathryn’s Kapers
TPI Annual Conference
In May I’ll be attending the annual conference for Travel Professionals International departing on the 7th and returning on the 15th. This year’s conference will be a cruise aboard the newest and largest cruise ship in the industry – Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines Allure of the Seas. Although I’ll be in training sessions for most of the week, I will have the opportunity to enjoy and explore this new ship to her fullest with a professional escorted tour by Royal Caribbean.
Our western Caribbean itinerary includes Labadee, Haiti where we are hoping to give a little support to this recently devastated island. We are waiting to hear what is planned for the TPI Agents there. Other ports of call will include Falmouth, Jamaica and Cozumel, Mexico. Two days at sea will be mostly spent in conference and with suppliers.
Some of the differences in cruising aboard this large new ship are apparent even prior to boarding. During my cruise personalization, I was able to choose and reserve shows and make dinner reservations on board before even leaving the pier. The pre-embarkation has stepped up a notch or two aboard Allure and her sister ship Oasis. Already, I am impressed. Look for my full report in the next issue of Kathryn’s Kapers.
Vancouver
What pleasure I had introducing my 5-year-old granddaughter Payten to the wonderful world of travel! We took the early WestJet flight from Toronto to Vancouver in the last week of February. This was my first WestJet (I usually travel Air Canada), and Payten’s first ever flight. We were hoping to get a little bit of a jump on spring, but that was not to be. Although we did see a few crocuses poking their little heads above the snow — yes, snow — it was cool and rainy on the “wet” coast.
On the day of our arrival, Thursday, we just relaxed and visited with my friend Torill, taking a walk around her part of the city. To our delight the next morning we were greeted with a gorgeous sunny day. The three of us headed downtown to visit the Vancouver Aquarium which is located in beautiful Stanley Park. From there we got a great view of the North Shore mountains. The snow capped peaks looked stunning against the clear blue sky. What an impressive sight! Despite the chilly temperature we still were part of a large crowd watching both the beluga whales and dolphins strutting their stuff in their outdoor shows. The jelly fish and octopus were also fascinating to watch, but the highlight was the many different species of anemones (a new word proudly mastered by Payten). After the aquarium we took the drive around Stanley Park, stopping at one of the beaches to do some shell collecting. (That was the first time Payten had seen the ocean.) Then it was on to the famous totem poles, also in the park. A typical 5-year-old, Payten said: “This is boring”, but she certainly changed her tune when she spotted the magnificent carvings and was suitably impressed. In the photo she even appears to be studying the plaque.
Saturday morning found us driving up the coast to visit my sister in Powell River. The town is only 175 km north of Vancouver, but because of the craggy coastline there are no roads along the mainland that actually go there. Five and a half hours later which included two ferry rides we finally reached our destination, and it was well worth the effort in order to visit my little sister for her birthday. We headed back to Vancouver the next afternoon and by 7:30 pm the second ferry brought us into Horseshoe Bay where it had been snowing, resulting in 8 inches of the white stuff. Lucky for us, it had already been plowed and, as what often happens on the coast, the mild temperature had started the melting process.
On Monday, our last day in Vancouver, Torill took us to Richmond to visit a cat shelter. This place is totally run by volunteers and houses hundreds of cats. My little Payten is a cat lady already! She readily latches onto any cat within her sight and they take to her immediately. Before we entered the compound Torill had armed Payten with a big bag of kitty treats. I think Payten got as much joy out of handing out the treats as the cats did receiving them, and the bag was quickly emptied out. All too soon for Payten and not soon enough for Oma’s allergies, we had to depart.
In the afternoon we spent a couple of hours in Steveston, a quaint little fishing village at the south end of Lulu Island in Richmond. We found a cosy restaurant on the dock for lunch and then poked around a few of the many shops. This is a lovely little community. You can buy fresh fish off the boats, the people are friendly, and there are a variety of interesting shops. A visit to Steveston is highly recommended.
On our last evening in Vancouver Torill’s friend Colleen had invited us to dinner, where she had prepared delicious homemade chicken wings. Thanks again for dinner Colleen. Payten and I enjoyed the wings and your company very much. Because our flight home to Toronto was leaving the next morning at 7:00 am, there was no time to dawdle over dessert and we dashed back to Torill’s to finish packing and it was early to bed.
It was a brief but memorable trip visiting my best friend, my sister and a beautiful part of the country. As for Payten, she is still impressing people with her pronunciation of anemone!
Finally
WestJet is noted for the crew’s sense of humour. I did not hear any jokes on the outbound portion and was beginning to think I would not hear any on the return flight either. As we were on final approach into Toronto, passing the CN Tower on a bright sunny day, the WestJet attendant incharge came on the speaker and declared, “I have had a few requests for one of our famous WestJet jokes. So, this one is for all you psychics out there.”
