Journeys …by Kathryn

Travel Professionals International

TPI Annual Conference

On May 15th I returned from Fort Lauderdale where I had the great pleasure of checking out the world’s largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas.  The theme for our annual TPI conference aboard the ship was  ’Discover 2011′ and we had lots of opportunities to do just that. Our key-note speaker was Lisa Bauer, Senior Vice President Hotel Operations for Royal Caribbean International. Lisa participated throughout the conference and personally introduced us to Captain Zini and other members of the Allure crew who gave us a better understanding of what it takes to operate this magnificent ship.

Our sponsors this year were many so I will list them here for you. You can book any of these suppliers on my booking engine at www.tpiworldwide.com/KathrynBachhoferTPI or by contacting me directly.

Our Host: Air Canada Vacations & Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines

Platinum: Thomas Cook, Transat Holidays & Nolitours, Trafalgar Tours, Insight Vacations & Contiki Holidays

Gold: West Jet Vacations, Sandals, Celebrity Cruises, RBC Insurance and Intrepid

Silver: Hotel Connect, Carnival Cruise Lines, Ama Waterways, Exotik Tours & Boomerang Tours, Karisma Hotels

Bronze: Alio, Tourcan Vacations, Kensington Tours, Collette Vacations, Sabre

Associations: ACTA (Association of Canadian Travel Agents) and CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association)

East Gwillimbury Women’s Show

I enjoyed a successful day at the East Gwillimbury Women’s Show. I am very pleased to advise that this event raised $10,000.  All proceeds are for Southlake Regional Hospital.

Online Booking Portal

Find out what more and more travellers with Journeys …by Kathryn are discovering…for simple travel plans, you can book online safely!  Book simple air, hotel, car and all inclusive vacations with confidence at http://www.tpiworldwide.com/KathrynBachhoferTPI/.  Any booking made on my TPI booking engine is the same as booking directly with me.  You receive my support when you need it; feel free to ask me questions any time.

If you require a simple flight somewhere, our TPI website has been proven to match or beat the direct booking prices for most airlines.  Need a hotel or two anywhere in the world?  Our TPI website has you covered even if you are just heading out for the weekend.  Car rental rates are also very competitive; check it out.  For simple vacation packages like all inclusives or even Disney World, the prices on our TPI website booking portal are always up to date and compare with any other booking engine out there.

Get the best and latest pricing; book online with ease and know you are being looked after by a professional travel counsellor.

Promoting Journeys …by Kathryn with TPI

While away on conference I had the wonderful opportunity to work with Dan Galbraith of Design Group to produce my own promotional video.  Dan works with TPI whenever we have an event and I think you will like what he came up with.  You can be the first to view my new promotional video Journeys …by Kathryn with TPI.  Go to this link on my website: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW6Rvuc6opg&feature=email.

Cruise News

Princess Cruise Weeks continue!
The promotions for 2011 continue. Princess Cruise’s popular Cruise Week’s Promotion are still open for the weeks of 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.

Disney Anyone?

I have successfully completed the first phase of my Disney training and am now a Disney Cruise Specialist!

My personal Disney cruise vacation plans have been put on hold for another year. As in all families we have our challenges. One is that our daughter Lisa is undertaking major home renovations this summer.  The other is that we thought we would wait for our 2-year-old granddaughter, Jada, to reach the Disney magical age of 3 for participation before we sail off together on our family adventure. Also, our little Jada had a little accident and is now sporting a bright pink cast on her right leg from her hip to her little toes.

Watch for more information as we hope to sail in January of 2013.  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 would be more favourable for everyone and we can take advantage of some extra perks travelling as a group. On the ship you would be on your own agenda, but we could arrange for a get-together or two.  I look forward to having you join us.

Vacation News

Occidental Grand Cozumel

Of the three properties that I had a chance to inspect while on my conference in May, I particularly liked the Occidental Grand Cozumel.  This resort is beautiful and lush.  Nestled in a secluded nature preserve on the southern side of Mexico’s famed Cozumel Island, the Occidental Grand Cozumel will make you feel like you’ve stepped into your own private hacienda by the ocean. With only 251 rooms, this exclusive all-inclusive luxury resort is located on a private section of Cozumel’s finest beach, Playa San Francisco.

The Occidental Grand Cozumel caters to families and honeymooners alike, with 6 restaurants, in room dining, 4 bars and 1 nightclub, along with 3 pools and a Kids Club with a host of entertaining supervised activities.

After a warm welcome reception we were invited to inspect several different room categories.  Our host Thomas Cook/Sunquest Vacations showed us the rooms in their allocation.  We were very impressed with location and amenities.  Thomas Cook also treated us to a wedding reception style luncheon at the buffet restaurant by the beach.  Along with the usual offerings, we were able to sample some exotic dishes including deep fried lion fish!  The afternoon was spent on our own exploring and enjoying the resort facilities.

Cozumel is a very safe Mexican destination and I would love to offer this resort to you for the upcoming fall and winter vacation getaway season.  Give me a call directly or find it on my booking engine.  You just can’t beat those white sand beaches.

Kathryn’s Kapers

Allure of the Seas

The world’s largest cruise ship…at first sight all I could think of to say was …”Holy Ship!” Allure does alternate sailings of Eastern and Western Caribbean and we were to enjoy the Western itinerary with three days at sea and 3 days in port at Labadee, Haiti; the brand new port of Falmouth, Jamaica and Cozumel, Mexico.

It was Mother’s Day when we embarked and to mark the occasion all the ladies  were presented with a carnation as we boarded.  I thought that was a lovely touch.  Upon entering the Royal Promenade we were immediately awed by the sheer size of this ‘lobby’. In this photo the large oval behind the car is called the Rising Tide Bar. Beyond that is the Customer Service Desk. The Car is an antique Mercedes Benz! I must say that of all the cruises I have done, this was the easiest embarkation process. We arrived at the pier and were in our stateroom in less than a half hour! Disembarkation was even easier.

My colleague and I who shared a stateroom both felt that our balcony cabin was a little tighter squeeze than others we have occupied, but it had everything we needed. The room was beautifully appointed and our steward was available at the touch of a button. In fact most everything was available at the touch of a button. We went off to orient ourselves on the ship and were pleased to find touch screens at each elevator on every floor. Simply touch the menu to begin and you can get a map to wherever you want to be and get a report on all the restaurants and how busy they are at the moment.  If you are looking for something to do, the touch screens will even offer the many activities that are available.  You can’t get bored on this ship.  Our sail away party was held in the Viking Crown Lounge where we could watch the action while sipping a glass of champagne.

We enjoyed three days at sea in conference sessions with some free time to explore this magnificent ship and three shore days to discover some of the gems of the Caribbean.

Our first day at sea, we were in conference. During our opening session we were welcomed by our key note speaker, Lisa Bauer, senior vice president Hotel Operations for Royal Caribbean International. She introduced us to Captain Zini and some of the key staff on board including the cruise director and the hotel manager for Allure. All three of these men oversaw their departments from the inception of the ship to launch and now had the pleasure of presenting her to our group of over 180 travel counsellors. That was not the last we were to see of these gentlemen as we bumped into them performing their duties aboard Allure several times during the cruise. To see more of this amazing ship, go to Allure of the Seas. With over 6,000 passengers on board, we sailed with more than capacity.

In the first port of call of Labadee, Haiti we were able to enjoy Royal Caribbean’s private island for the day. Our sponsor Thomas Cook created an ingenious way of having us explore the island by having us participate in teams covering the island “Amazing Race” style and participating in “One Minute Challenges”.  As the leader of our team (Carolina Blues), I was given a map of the island and a list of 10 tasks. Even though our team had a ringer from Royal Caribbean we still did not win. We blame the heat and the wind…after all who can keep balloons in the air when they blow down the beach!

The next day was another sea day during which they scheduled a full day filled with seminars and a trade show for us.

In Falmouth, Jamaica, our second port of call, I chose to participate in the hotel inspections we were offered. We visited two properties; Sunset Jamaica Grande in Ocho Rios and the Grand Bahia Principe. Both are unique properties, let me know if you have any interest in either and I can give you the details. That evening on board ship, West Jet Vacations and Karisima treated us to a Sparkle Party in the disco.  Here I am in some of my sparkle finery!

Before we disembarked in Cozumel, Mexico we started our day with a walk on the Promenade deck aboard Allure. TPI always does something to give back on our conferences and this year we walked for The City of Joy in Cancun. I am pleased to report that we TPI associates raised $6,000 and TPI administration and our sponsors topped that up by another $4,000 for a grand total of $10,000 that we donated to this very worthy cause! Also in Cozumel we had the opportunity to visit another all inclusive resort, the Occidental Grand Cozumel. At the resort, we attended a presentation about the facility then were treated to a beautiful buffet lunch (wedding reception style) where we had the opportunity to taste lion fish and other Mexican and Caribbean dishes. We were given the balance of the day to relax on the beach and enjoy the gorgeous facilities. Ask me about this beautiful Mexican resort.

Our next sea day we only worked half a day and I had the afternoon to experience the spa facilities.  I treated myself to the Mother’s Day special – a facial and massage.  That night we attended our gala evening; TPI celebrated our accomplishments for 2010 and I am pleased to announce that I achieved Silver status this year. Thank you all for your patronage last year!

The event for our last evening on board was held in the On Air Club where we presented TPI’s Got Talent. I participated in a skit with four of my colleagues called “The Story of Cinderella”. You had to be there to understand. Our evening and our conference was capped off by a visit from Captain Zini. A colleague and I ran into him in the elevator earlier in the day and I asked if he would be joining us that evening. Even though it was not on his agenda, he dropped in wearing his full dress uniform. A perfect end to a great conference at sea!

Homemade Lemonade

Take one lemon, wash and trim the ends then cut into 8 pieces.
Put half the lemon into a blender with 3/4 litre of cold water.
Add 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar to taste.
Blend on high till finely chopped.
Strain through a sieve into a pitcher.
Repeat with the other half lemon.
Pour into a glass with ice and enjoy!

Finally

A man and his wife were driving their Recreational Vehicle across the country and were nearing a town spelled Kissimee. They noted the strange spelling and tried to figure how to pronounce it – KISS-a-me; kis-A-me; kis-a-ME. They grew more perplexed as they drove into the town.  Since they were hungry, they pulled into a place to get something to eat.

At the counter, the man said to the waitress: “My wife and I can’t seem to be able to figure out how to pronounce this place. Will you tell me where we are and say it very slowly so that I can understand.”

The waitress looked at him and said: “Buuurrrgerrr Kiiiinnnng.”