Robertson International Travel

CRYSTAL SERENITY AND VIRTUOSO VOYAGER CLUB 20th ANNIVERSARY   WORLD CRUISE 2010!

Virtuoso Voyager Club Hosts,

Brian and Judy Robertson

Welcome You Aboard !

 

The Exploration of Ancient Empires

  

We are very pleased to announce our next Virtuoso Voyager Club world cruise aboard the CRYSTAL SERENITY, January 11 - April 29, 2010.   This will be a very special world cruise as we celebrate the 20th Anniversary of both Crystal Cruises and Virtuoso Voyager Club!   We are very honored to be selected as the Crystal Cruise-Voyager Club Hosts for the 4th consecutive year and especially this special 20th Anniversary year!  Jesse Upchurch, Chairman of Virtuoso, will accompany us as our Voyager Club Honorary Host!  

Our itinerary is as exciting and adventursome as it's name, "Exploration of Ancient Empires"!   South America, South and East Africa,  The Indian Ocean, India, the Persian Gulf, Middle East, Black Sea, the Mediterranean and Europe.

We invite you to join us for one or more of the Voyages below or for the entire world cruise!   If you are not aboard the Crystal Serenity, you can follow along with us as we explore these ancient cultures and people commencing on January 11, 2010, our "Exploration of Ancient Empires"! 

SEE BELOW FOR OUR WEEKLY ROBERTSON TRAVEL NEWS LEADING UP TO OUR SAILING DATE ON JANUARY 11, 2010 AND OUR DAILY NEWS BLOG DURING OUR WORLD CRUISE!  JOIN US AND WELCOME ABOARD!!

CRYSTAL SERENITY WORLD CRUISE 2010
Date	Day	Port  (BEGINNING OF VOYAGES 1-7)	Arrival	Departure
Jan 11	Mon	MIAMI, FLORIDA, U.S.A. / VOYAGE 1		8 pm
Jan 12 - Jan 14		Cruising the Atlantic Ocean & Caribbean Sea
Jan 15	Fri	St. Lucia/Castries, West Indies	8 am	6 pm
Jan 16	Sat	Barbados/Bridgetown, West Indies	8 am	5 pm
Jan 17	Sun	Cruising the Atlantic Ocean
Jan 18	Mon	Devil's Island, French Guiana	8 am	1 pm
Jan 19 - Jan 20		Cruising the Atlantic Ocean & Crossing the Equator
Jan 21	Thu	Fortaleza, Brazil	8 am	5 pm
Jan 22 - Jan 24		Cruising the Atlantic Ocean
Jan 25	Mon	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil(overnight)	9 am
Jan 26	Tue	RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL / VOYAGE 2		8 pm
Jan 27 - Jan 28		Cruising the South Atlantic Ocean
Jan 29	Fri	Buenos Aires, Argentina(overnight)	8 am
Jan 30	Sat	Buenos Aires, Argentina		5 pm
Jan 31	Sun	Montevideo, Uruguay	8 am	6 pm
Feb 1 - Feb 7		Cruising the South Atlantic Ocean
Feb 8	Mon	Cape Town, South Africa(overnight)	9 am
Feb 9	Tue	CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA  VOYAGE 3 (overnight)
Feb 10	Wed	Cape Town, South Africa		6 pm
Feb 11	Thu	Cruising the Indian Ocean
Feb 12	Fri	Port Elizabeth, South Africa	8 am	6 pm
Feb 13	Sat	Cruising the Indian Ocean
Feb 14	Sun	Durban, South Africa	7 am	6 pm
Feb 15-Feb 17		Cruising the Indian Ocean & Mozambique Channel
Feb 18	Thu	Zanzibar, Tanzania	7 am	5 pm
Feb 19	Fri	Mombasa, Kenya	8 am	6 pm
Feb 20-Feb 21		Cruising the Indian Ocean
Feb 22	Mon	Mahé/Victoria, Seychelles	8 am	5 pm
Feb 23-Feb 24		Cruising the Indian Ocean & Crossing the Equator
Feb 25	Thu	Malé, Republic of Maldives	9 am	6 pm
Feb 26	Fri	Cruising the Indian Ocean
Feb 27	Sat	Cochin, India	7 am	10 pm
Feb 28	Sun	Cruising the Arabian Sea
Mar 1	Mon	Marmagao, India	8 am	5 pm
Mar 2	Tue	MUMBAI (BOMBAY), INDIA / VOYAGE 4	8 am	12 m
Mar 3 - Mar 4		Cruising the Arabian Sea & Gulf of Oman
Mar 5	Fri	Muscat, Oman	8 am	5 pm
Mar 6	Sat	Bandar Abbas, Iran	9 am	10 pm
Mar 7	Sun	Cruising the Persian Gulf
Mar 8	Mon	Kuwait City, Kuwait	8 am	5 pm
Mar 9	Tue	Manama, Bahrain	9 am	12 m
Mar 10	Wed	Cruising the Persian Gulf
Mar 11	Thu	Abu Dhabi, UAE(overnight)	8 am
Mar 12	Fri	Abu Dhabi, UAE		10 pm
Mar 13	Sat	Cruising the Persian Gulf
Mar 14	Sun	Dubai, UAE(overnight)	8 am
Mar 15	Mon	DUBAI, UAE / VOYAGE 5 (overnight)
Mar 16	Tue	Dubai, UAE		5 pm
Mar 17	Wed	Khasab, Oman	8 am	6 pm
Mar 18	Thu	Al Fujairah, UAE	8 am	6 pm
Mar 19 - Mar 22		Cruising the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden & Red Sea
Mar 23	Tue	Jeddah, Saudi Arabia	8 am	6 pm
Mar 24	Wed	Cruising the Red Sea
Mar 25	Thu	Aqaba, Jordan	7 am	9 pm
Mar 26	Fri	Luxor & Karnak/Safaga, Egypt(overnight)	8 am
Mar 27	Sat	Luxor & Karnak/Safaga, Egypt		12 n
Mar 28	Sun	Transit the Suez Canal
Mar 29	Mon	Alexandria/Cairo, Egypt	7 am	12 m
Mar 30	Tue	Cruising the Mediterranean Sea
Mar 31	Wed	Ashdod, Israel	7 am	10 pm
Apr 1	Thu	Cruising the Mediterranean Sea
Apr 2	Fri	Athens/Piraeus, Greece(overnight)	9 am
Apr 3	Sat	ATHENS, GREECE / VOYAGE 6		5 pm
Apr 4	Sun	Cruising the Dardanelles and the Bosporus
Apr 5	Mon	Odessa, Ukraine	9 am
Apr 6	Tue	Odessa, Ukraine		5 pm
Apr 7	Wed	Yalta, Ukraine	8 am	5 pm
Apr 8	Thu	Sochi, Russia	9 am	5 pm
Apr 9	Fri	Cruising the Black Sea
Apr 10	Sat	Istanbul, Turkey(overnight)	9 am
Apr 11	Sun	Istanbul, Turkey		5 pm
Apr 12	Mon	Cruising the Aegean Sea
Apr 13	Tue	Kuşadasi, Turkey	8 am	11 pm
Apr 14	Wed	Cruising the Sea of Crete & the Mediterranean Sea
Apr 15	Thu	Sicily/Catania, Italy	8 am	5 pm
Apr 16	Fri	Naples, Italy	8 am	5 pm
Apr 17	Sat	ROME/CIVITAVECCHIA, ITALY / VOYAGE 7	8 am	9 pm
Apr 18	Sun	Florence/Livorno, Italy	8 am	9 pm
Apr 19	Mon	Cruising the Mediterranean Sea
Apr 20	Tue	Barcelona, Spain(overnight)	8 am
Apr 21	Wed	Barcelona, Spain		6 pm
Apr 22	Thu	Cruising the Mediterranean Sea
Apr 23	Fri	Gibraltar, United Kingdom	8 am	1 pm
Apr 24	Sat	Lisbon, Portugal	8 am	6 pm
Apr 25	Sun	Cruising the Atlantic Ocean
Apr 26	Mon	Bilbao, Spain	8 am	5 pm
Apr 27	Tue	La Rochelle, France	9 am	5 pm
Apr 28	Wed	Cruising the Atlantic Ocean & English Channel
Apr 29	Thu	LONDON/SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND	Disembark am

  

Robertson Weekly News ~ Blog Work

During the last week, you may have noticed our blog starting with our very first post back in March 2007 when we embarked on our first world cruise in Sydney.   We have now printed our entire 3 years of posts on our world cruises as we start to write our world cruise book.   We are now getting caught up with travel news which is primarily all about the tremendous savings on all cruises right now!   Crystal Cruises has now gone to a "2 for 1" campaign plus the "As you wish" shipboard credits.   THE WORLD of ResidenSea becomes the most luxurious and spacious ship afloat with temporary savings on all apartments and studios!  Stay tuned!

BREAKING NEWS........Crystal Cruises celebrates the Conde Nast Award for World's Best Large Ship Cruise Line for their 16th consecutive year!  Congratulations to Crystal Cruises!  You did it again! 

OUR THOUGHT OF THE WEEK:

"I love to travel, but hate to arrive"  - Albert Einstein

ROBERTSON WEEKLY TRAVEL NEWS ~ OCTOBER 5 - 10, 2009

Crystal World Cruise News:   Rio de Janeiro wins the bid for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games!  This will certainly be a highlight for our visit to this beautiful city when we end our first segment of our world cruise and begin our second segment as we continue down the west coast of South America and then cross the Atlantic to Cape Town!  Please refer to our itinerary at the top of this blog for the dates of our visit!  Once in Rio, we will certainly want to see the sites where the Games will be held, most of which will be under construction.   

New Cruise Ships:  We were waiting for a few interesting statistics and news about new ships entering service in the next 12 months.  If there is a deep recession, the cruise lines certainly don't know about it!   Can you imagine that in the next 12 months, 14 new cruise ships will be launched!  Quite a few are in the mega ship class, but Silversea, Seabourn, and Oceania with the size more to our taste will all have new ships next year.   And then, there is Cunard coming out with the Queen Elizabeth 3 (QE3) scheduled for her maiden voyage on October 12, 2010.  Cunard's fleet will consist of the Queen Mary 2, the Queen Victoria, and the new Queen Elizabeth 3.   With all of these new ships, we anticipate prices to be very competitive!  

Cruise and travel trends:  It's very predictable that our clients are planning to take a cruise with very short notice.   Long range planning is there (we have 17 people on our Crystal Symphony Hawaii Christmas Cruise in 2010 already), but reservations for this fall and winter are still very active. 

Ken Burns and his National Parks:  We hope you spent the time to watch the wonderful series on our National Parks with Ken Burns on PBS.   If you did miss it, you can get the DVD's of the entire series at www.shopPBS.com.   It's worth every penny!      

OUR THOUGHT OF THE WEEK (On National Parks):

"When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it is attached to the rest of the world".  -  John Muir 

Robertson Weekly Travel News ~ September 28 - October 2, 2009

We had a little delay getting news to you this week.   We are now posting once a week a Monday to Friday basis.  

Crystal World Cruise 2010 News:   We approaching the 90 day mark on our gala sailing day of the Crystal World Cruise from Miami January 11, 2010.   Preparations are starting to materialize and we are excited!  We were very pleased to see the line up of entertainment including the staff, officers, and lecturers listed on the Crystal Cruise website!  Each segment is listed on the website at www.crystalcruises.com.   We have noticed so many of our favorite people returning who really made our world cruise this year and last a huge success!   

  We were so saddened by the devastation in Samoa this week due to the tsunami.   Here are a few pictures of our wonderful stay in Samoa aboard the Crystal World Cruise last year.

 

We enjoyed the Aggie Grey Hotel and the wonderful staff.  The Robert Louis Stevenson home is on high ground where he wrote "Treasure Island" plus many of his famous books.  Somoa is certainly an Island to be treasured and we hope recovery will come soon to these wonderful islands and their people. 

OUR THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK:

"Ideals are like stars.  We never reach them but, like the mariners on the sea, we chart our course by them".   -  Carl Schurz

 

ROBERTSON WEEKLY TRAVEL NEWS ~ SEPTEMBER 21-25, 2009

Crystal World Cruise 2010 News:  Exciting plans are being made for our 20th Anniversary Virtuoso Chairman's World Crystal Cruise 2010.   Space is still available on all segments with some categories now very limited.  Reserve now! 

Cruise News:    The remainder of 2009 is going to be the very best time to take a cruise, especially as it relates to your pocketbook!  Most cruise lines have added special incentives in addition to their current  promotions.     Crystal Cruises is currently offering not only their "As You Wish" program of offering from $500.00 to $1,000.00 per person shipboard credit, but now within our Virtuoso network, Crystal is offering an additional $250.00 per person for all reservations deposited prior to October 2, 2009.   On certain sailings, that could translate into a huge $2,500.00 shipboard credit for only a 10 to 12 day cruise.  Their Antarctica cruise for Christmas is doubling the offer plus our favorite Rex Ziak is going to be one of the explorer lecturers!  This will be the last time Crystal Cruises will be going to Antarctica - take advantage and spend a wonderful Christmas and New Year in Antarctica!

In 2011, many cruise lines are repositioning their ships to U.S. ports and we will see many more cruises sailing from the West Coast.   Crystal will have several cruises round trip from Los Angeles to Mexico, to Hawaii, and Alaska.   Disney Cruise Line will be sailing in Alaska in 2011.   

$$$$$$$    TAKING A CRUISE IN THE REMAINING MONTHS OF 2009 AND ALL OF 2010 WILL DELIVER UNPRECEDENTED $AVINGS TO YOU!  THE CRUISE IS UNQUESTIONABLY THE VERY BEST VACATION OFFERING A TOTAL EXPERIENCE WITH OVERWHELMING VALUE!   WITH THE DEVALUED DOLLAR, THE CRUISE IS YOUR VERY BEST OPTION!   RESERVE YOUR CRUISE TODAY!  

ROBERTSON WEEKLY TRAVEL NEWS ~ SEPTEMBER 12 - 18, 2009

Crystal World Cruise 2010:  We have very exciting news about the 20th Anniversary of both Crystal Cruises and our Virtuoso Voyager Club!   Matthew Upchurch, CEO of Virtuoso and Bill Smith, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Crystal Cruises, have agreed to celebrate both company anniversaries and call the World Cruise 2010 as "The Virtuoso Voyager Club Chairman's Cruise" with Virtuoso Chairman, Jesse Upchurch, as the Honorary Voyager Club Host.  Brian and Judy Robertson will be the Primary Hosts for the full World Cruise and will be making arrangements for very special activities for all Voyager Club Members. 

Virtuoso "Peer to Peer" Awards:   At the end of Virtuoso Travel Mart in Las Vegas, the Awards Dinner was another outstanding event and we want to share the winners of the awards pertaining to our travel providers - the hotels, cruise lines, etc.   All the Virtuoso members voted to show who they feel are the very best of the best.   They are as follows:

 

HOTELS

Hotel of the Year:

PARK HYATT SHANGHAI, CHINA

Best Hotel Bar:      

MO BAR AT THE LANDMARK MANDARIN ORIENTAL , HONG KONG 

Best Design:  

SLS HOTEL AT BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA

Best Hotel Dining:  

ROSSELLINI'S AT PALAZZO SASSO, RAVELO, ITALY

Most Innovative Guest Experience:  

SIX SENSES HIDEAWAY ZIGHY BAY, MUSANDAM PENINSULA, OMAN

Best Spa:

FOUR SEASONS RESORT BORA BORA, FRENCH POLYNESIA

Most Socially Responsible:

FAIRMONT HOTELS AND RESORTS

Best Family Programs:

HALF MOON, MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA

Hotelier of the Year:

KARAMBIR SINGH KANG, GENERAL MANAGER THE TAJ MAHAL PALACE AND TOWER, MUMBAI, INDIA

Hotel Manger to Watch:

JOHN REED, GENERAL MANAGER, AMANKORA, BHUTAN

    

SUPPLIER PARTNERS

SPECIAL NOTE:  WE ARE SO PLEASED THAT OUR TWO FEATURED CRUISE LINES, CRYSTAL CRUISES AND SEABOURN CRUISE LINE, WERE AWARDED THIS HIGH HONOR OF "VIRTUOSO'S BEST OF THE BEST"!  WE ALSO ESPECIALLY CONGRATULATE OUR LEADING PARTNERS, ABERCROMBIE AND KENT, TAUCK TOURS, AND LINDBLAD EXPEDITIONS PLUS OUR PREFERRED TRAVEL INSURANCE - TRAVELEX INSURANCE SERVICES!

Best Small Ship/Specialty Cruise Company (Under 500 Passengers):

THE YACHTS OF SEABOURN

Best Large Cruise Line (500 Passengers or more):

CRYSTAL CRUISES

Best Voyager Club Event:

TRAILS OF INDOCHINA, GALA DINNER ~ FORMER HOME OF HENRY CABOT LODGE

Best Custom Tour Operator:

ABERCROMBIE AND KENT

Best Escorted Tour Operator:

TAUCK WORLD DISCOVERY / TAUCK TOURS

Best On-Site Supplier:

IC BELLAGIO, ITALY

Best Adventure Company:

 LINDBLAD EXPEDITIONS

Best Preferred Airline:

SINGAPORE AIRLINES

Best Specialty Supplier:

TRAVELEX INSURANCE SERVICES

OUR THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK:

"The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are."

   - Samuel Johnson

ROBERTSON WEEKLY TRAVEL NEWS ~ SEPTEMBER 5 - 11, 2009

Crystal World Cruise 2010 News:   Good availability still exists on all segments, but with the economy starting to show some life and we are getting closer to sailing date (January 11, 2010), we expect space will start to become limited.  So many looked ahead at this incredible itinerary saying, "This is the cruise of our dreams".   For those not booked, they will probably be saying, "Let's do it"!   Go to www.crystalcruises.com to find up to the minute news on the entertainment aboard. 

A Very Personal Couple of Weeks Ahead:   Several Anniversaries are coming up this week and next.   On a bright Monday morning on September 10, 1962, I walked into a travel agency, Booher Travel,  in Santa Barbara and took my position on "the front line".   I had worked part time in Boulder, Colorado at a travel agency my last year at the University and again at a temporary position at another travel agency, but did not consider my career starting until that very significant day in 1962, 47 years ago.   We all know the next date - September 11, 2001 when the destruction of the Twin Towers and part of the Pentagon marked the end to life as we knew it and we entered a new era of security and a new version of world order, drastically changing the landscape in the world of travel.   On September 17, 1987, the happiest day of my life started a life for me beyond expectations and boundaries with my wife, Judy.   Yes, there are three very significant dates to remember in my life story.

Our Thought for the Week:  "Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world."  -  George Bernard Shaw

ROBERTSON WEEKLY TRAVEL NEWS! August 29 - September 4, 2009

Crystal World Cruise 2010 News:  To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Crystal Cruises, the line-up of entertainment and events aboard the World Cruise is overwhelming!  We are seeing many of our favorite lecturers and entertainers returning in 2010 including Brig. General Nick Haley, Bob Hale, Harm de Blij, and Rex Ziak.   Speaking of Rex Ziak, his ratings on this year's world cruise were "off the charts" and he will be returning for the full world cruise in 2010!  So far, Rex will definitely be lecturing on the Rio de Janeiro to Cape Town segment about the early explorers.  Stay tuned for future bulletins on new arrivals in the entertainment department.  Meanwhile, you can go to www.crystalcruises.com and the 2010 World Cruise and click on "Entertainment" for each segment.  This site is updated as we get closer to our sailing date on January 11, 2010.  We are very pleased to see Rick Spath returning as our Cruise Director!

Virtuoso Travel Mart Update:   We were reviewing many of the new and exciting travel opportunities and the thought occurred to us that many of these fabulous offerings are completely unknown to the traveling public.  Here are a few of our favorites:

1)  Unique family safaris by Micato in East Africa.  Visit their new recently established libraries for school children.      

2)  ResidenSea's THE WORLD, visits New Guinea with a spectacular New Guinea land expedition.  Additional expeditions are being planned on THE WORLD'S voyage itinerary.  The Bering Sea Expedition was just completed with resounding success!

3)  Special air cruises of Australia and New Zealand by private aircraft offered by Bill Peach Journeys.  A very unique and desireable way to see these two exquisite countries down under with very remote highlights that need to be visited!  If you are going down under, we need to check this out for you! 

4)  Around the World by private jet by TCS Expeditions visiting very remote destinations not normally visited by the average traveler.   We have been aboard a TCS Private Jet Expedition and it is one of the highlights of our travels to date!

5)  Tauck's new "Culturous Journeys" designed for the active traveler (hiking, kayaking, horseback riding, and biking).   One more entry into active travel programs which is getting more popular each year!   Some of our favorites include Butterfield and Robinson, Backroads, Alpine Adventures (skiing) and Lindblad Expeditions.  Some of these programs will astound you! 

6)  Richard West has really done it this time!  His company, Cruise West, is offer a 335 day cruise around the world entitled, " Voyages of the Great Explorers".  There are 24 separate voyages spanning 6 continents, 14 seas and oceans, more than 59 countries, 242 ports of call and 85 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.  This incredible journey starts in Singapore on March 6, 2010 aboard the SPIRIT OF OCEANUS.   

These are only a few of the very unique and special opportunities available to you!  There is so much to see in this world and these companies are working very hard to make it easier and more exciting every day!   Travel is definitely alive.....all around the world!   

OUR THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK...."Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful." 

 

ROBERTSON WEEKLY TRAVEL NEWS! AUGUST 21 - 28, 2009

VIRTUOSO TRAVEL MART ~ LAS VEGAS SUCCESS BEYOND BOUNDARIES!

Another year at our Virtuoso Travel Mart has just concluded and we are coming away with fresh and new travel opportunities for you!  There were so many "highlights" to our full week that it would be a very long list to complete here on our travel blog.   With this economy and the travel trends that seemed to resonate throughout Travel Mart, there was one resounding vacation that had value, convenience, and enjoyment so far ahead of the pack - THE CRUISE.   The fact that the cruise is ALL INCLUSIVE based on the U.S. Dollar speaks for itself.    The bargains are out there right now, but don't forget the ultimate experience that a cruise will deliver to you!  

With the media and travel promotions so predominently based on price during this recession, we are saddened by the apparent loss of the most important feature of travel - the ultimate experience.   The EXPERIENCE, or as Virtuoso says, your "RETURN ON LIFE" through travel is so vital to our understanding of the world around us and our communion with our fellow man.   We interviewed many of our returning travelers this summer and all said basically the same thing, "It was worth every penny and more.   We are so happy we made the decision to travel this year".    

ANNOUNCING THE VIRTUOSO VOYAGER CLUB AND CRYSTAL 2010 WORLD CRUISE 20th ANNIVERSARY!   JANUARY 11 - APRIL 28, 2010   Brian and Judy Robertson honored with the invitation to be the VIRTUOSO VOYAGER CLUB HOSTS....once again!

For the 4th consecutive year, Brian and Judy will be hosting the Virtuoso Voyager Club on a world cruise.   This will be the 3rd world cruise aboard the celebrated CRYSTAL SERENITY!   Details of the 20th Anniversary Crystal ~ Voyager Club World Cruise Celebration will be available soon!  Meanwhile, we are posting the headline page in the next few days to display the world cruise map, detailed itinerary, and many features.   

WELCOME TO THE NEW ROBERTSON WEEKLY NEWS!

GREETINGS FROM JUDY AND BRIAN ROBERTSON!  

We hope you are having a great summer!

  

                                         

The response on our travel blog over the past 3 years has been overwhelming with over 11,000 visits or "hits" on our world cruise blog this year alone!  That's astonishing!  We have decided to share experiences, travel bulletins travel enrichment stories on a weekly basis.   Let us hear from you!  Your input, questions and comments are important to us!  

 

 

                                                                                                 HEATHER SCHUYLER, CTA, Manager

Our manger, Heather Schuyler, has been with us for 6 years and is the force behind our marketing and sales in our office in Santa Barbara, especially when we are hosting our Virtuoso Voyager Club world cruises and occassional shorter cruises.   Heather also travels the globe and will be going to the Galapagos Islands with Lindblad Expeditions in October.  Her next venture is Virtruoso Travel Mart in Las Vegas - see report below.   

 

 

 

                                                                           SEABOURN ODYSSEY REPORT                                    

After returning home from hosting our Virtuoso Voyager Club Crystal World Cruise this year, it was only 3 weeks later we accepted the position of hosting the first Virtuoso Voyager Club group of 107 Voyager Club members on the newly Christened SEABOURN ODYSSEY in the Black Sea.  

The 32,000 gross ton SEABOURN ODYSSEY was Christened in Venice, italy on June 24th and sailed on her maiden voyage to Istanbul, Turkey.   We flew to Istanbul arriving on July 6th and spent 2 days at the RITZ CARLTON HOTEL, a delightful new hotel on a hill overlooking the Bosphorus.    We were hosted for a memorable dinner on the Bosphorus at the Four Seasons Hotel Bosphorus by our dear friend, Nurdan Ustman, owner of United Travel Services in Istanbul, our Virtuoso On-Site company in Turkey.  Our Virtuoso On-Sites around the world are paramount to our ability to offer the utmost in services to our clients.                          

 

 

   Nurdan's personal attention is unprecedented in Turkey!  

On July 8th, we sailed from Istanbul for our 10 day Black Sea Cruise - a mere split second in time compared to our past 3 world cruises on Silversea and Crystal hosting our Virtuoso Voyager Club.

Briefly, the SEABOURN ODYSSEY is strikingly different from most ships with her abundant outdoor outdoor deck space with lots of areas to seek privacy.  She is the closest we have seen to a super mega yacht and definitely follows the tradition of the byline - "The Yachts of Seabourn".   Having said that, she is vastly different from her 3 little sisters, the PRIDE, SPIRIT and LEGEND offering a more intimate atmoshphere.   We see a vast majority of SEABOURN ODYSSEY guests not necessarily coming from current Seabourn Club members, but rather guests new to Seabourn.  Our interviews with many Seabourn Club members confirmed that impression.   We express caution, however,  with any report on a ship so new.    Within a short period of time, we are certain that the SEABOURN ODYSSEY will shine brightly for all her guests on every cruise!  For us, she shined very bright with great dining, marvelous entertainment in the evening, small groups on the shore excursions, personalized service throughout, and very attentive officers, staff, and crew.   The cruise director, Barry Hopkins, was the best and so supportive of our Virtuoso Voyager Club.  

As for our Voyager Club group, we had a grand reception in the Observation Bar and a great shore event in Odessa with a private entry into the Grand Opera House and a very entertaining luncheon with Cossak dancing in a private venue at one of Odessa's outstanding restaurants.     

We highly recommend the SEABOURN ODYSSEY to all who prefer smaller ships, but enjoy plenty of shipboard activity during the day and in the evenings.   We applaud Captain Karlo Buer, his fellow officers, staff, and crew for a very memorable experience on his new ship, the newest lady to join the Yachts of Seabourn, the SEABOURN ODYSSEY!                  

 

VIRTUOSO TRAVEL MART IN LAS VEGAS, NEVADA       AUGUST 15 - 21 ~ BELLAGIO HOTEL 

       

It's that time of year again when we meet with over 3,000 travel suppliers from around the world at our Virtuoso Travel Mart.   This meeting is an extraordinary experience and raises the bar on our ability to offer personalized service in our profession.   Although we are at Travel Mart, our doors are open.   We will report on Travel Mart in a future post.   

LOCAL NEWS - SANTA BARBARA CHANNEL CITY CLUB LUNCHEON AUGUST 20th - SPEAKER COMMANDER FRED KACHER, USN              

As a new board member of the Channel City Club, Brian will be returning to Santa Barbara from Travel Mart to attend the meeting on August 20th with speaker, Commander Fred Kacher, USN.   The topic, "Life Onboard the Navy's Newest Destroyer, the USS STOCKDALE - It's Mission, Its People, and Its Namesake.    We are looking for more speakers coming from the travel industry and from our enrichment experiences aboard our world cruises.  Stay tuned and we look forward to seeing you at the Channel City Club!  Not a member?  This is a very worthwhile and educational organization in our community!  We recommend it! 

OUR THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK.....

On Patriotism ..."Freedom is no heritage.  Preservation of freedom is a fresh challenge and a fresh conquest for each generation.  The discovery that man is free is the greatest discovery of all ages".          - Donald Dalls 

 

TUESDAY, MAY 12 ~ SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A.

POST CRYSTAL WORLD CRUISE BREAKING NEWS!

Santa Barbara Fires:  Today we received news that the fires were 70% contained with no further loss of homes.   We sincerely wish all of our friends in Santa Barbara a safe and rapid recovery from this tragic event.   

Crystal World Cruise 2010:  We are very pleased to announce we have been invited to host the Virtuoso Voyager Club Crystal World Cruise 2010.   We will be posting detailed information about the World Cruise within a week and will be continuously posting updates on the Virtuoso Voyager Club and all Crystal Cruise news about this unprecedented world cruise itinerary in 2010!   We look forward to hosting our 4th World Cruise for Virtuoso Voyager Club.

Robertson World Travel World Cruise Blog:   As of today and since our sailing day on January 21, 2009 for our Crystal World Cruise, we have had a total of 11,048 "Hits" or website visits.   Thank you to all who have been following us on our 2009 Crystal World Cruise.   We look forward to presenting another Crystal World Cruise Blog in 2010. 

MORE NEWS TO FOLLOW........STAY TUNED!

Very best wishes from your Virtuoso Voyager Club Hosts, 

Brian and Judy Robertson

Robertson International Travel Consultants, Santa Barbara, CA