Archive for Past Cruise
Trek Updates
Update – January 18, 2018:
Hello, fellow Cruise trekkers!
I hope this note finds you all very well after the holidays . . .
First to a quick business item – our cruise date &
ship for our Danube II cruise later this fall is just about totally sold
out . . . though we may have an opportunity for a few more cabins . . .
just never know, as inventory changes . . . so if you want to join us
still . . . always and for sure give us a shout-out as inventory changes
all the time.
Now reflecting back to our last event – my thanks
appreciation again – it was amazing to see how self-reliant and
interdependent a group (even family-like) we were . . . from my own
viewpoint . . . you guys are incredible . . . and do you remember our
Rolf Potts, our guest vagabond from quite a few years ago??
Seemingly we are becoming travelers as such . . . a very cool
thing . . .
Speaking of adventures, CT 18 is truly a vagabond opportunity to
be just that . . . it is an adventure to catch spontaneous sites &
experiences for certain, whether they be meals together or meeting
locals or being culturally enriched . . . and opportunities to experience
so much.
Excited to share it all with you once again.
Be well and travel safe . . .
Charlie
Update – November 15, 2017:
Hello, Cruise Trek Family!
The exuberant Cruise Trek Tribe celebrating togetherness, memories
and the 50th anniversary in Las Vegas – what a great shot!
Hope this communique finds you all very well.
A few quick new things to mention for the Cruise Trek 2018
“Danube II – Bucharest to Budapest” adventure.
First of all, we extended the Early Booking discount and CT Past Passenger
discounts to January 31, 2018, though it is best to book ASAP as some
categories are very limited and/or waitlisted only.
Another improvement to our program is that we made Trek Shares
available in one category higher. That is, the larger outside cabin
including both the French Balcony & “Outside”
Balcony is now available as a Trek Share as well. This category
(and higher) includes a great new feature on newer river cruise ships
– two sliding doors and with one that actually has seating on an
outside balcony! We highly recommend this higher Trek Share category
because of its larger size, especially for those who are not traveling as
a couple. It simply makes much more sense for many reasons.
Plus, while most of you traveling as Trek Shares have already
& smartly requested a Trek Share for hotels, we also now officially
offer the hotel packages as Trek Shares. In any case, all this is available
to see on the newly updated Booking Form for Cruise Trek 2018 and
Cruise Trek 2018 Itinerary.
Now to another exciting new cruise opportunity (which may have been
influenced by our current “traveling” lives) . . . While we
are certainly flying over to Bucharest from LAX (maybe a week prior to our
embarkation day), it looks like we will be sailing the repositioning
Trans-Atlantic crossing back from Rome, Italy (port is Civitavecchia) to
Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
This cruise will depart October 28, 2018, and arrive back in Florida on
November 11, 2018. Besides sailing from Rome, we will have stops in
Spain (Alicante, Malaga, Cadiz/Seville) and Portugal (Funchal/Madeira).
So, our current plan is to fly from Budapest to Rome on October 27, have
an Italian dinner, do an evening sight-see or walk about, & overnight
in Rome – then sail the next evening from the port of
Rome/Civitavecchia. (subject to change per flight availability).
~ Pre-Cruise – Optional ~
October 17 to 20, 2018
City tours in Bucharest and Brasov
CT Family Cocktail Party
Tour Peles Castle
Tour Dracula’s Castle
~ Post-Cruise – Optional ~
October 27 to 29, 2018
Budapest and/or Vienna
City tours of Budapest and/or Vienna
~ Trans-Atlantic Cruise – Optional ~
October 28 to November 11, 2018
Rome, Italy, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida
3 Spanish ports
1 Portuguese port
Do you remember how enjoyable the days at sea were on the crossing
to Hawaii? This adventure is just as lovely and relaxing, if not more so. We
did this itinerary just this last Spring on an amazing newer ship and enjoyed
it so much that we definitely want to do it all over again – and on the
same ship!! For those of you on the post packages, you could even join the
ship in Alicante, Spain, if need be. Sure a little more complicated but also
doable.
So, would you like to join us on the Trans-Atlantic add-on adventure
– by itself or do both???? Either or is possible!! And one never
knows who will join us for the Trans-Atlantic!!?? Really relaxed and
enjoyable . . . Kind of like those extra 20 days we did on the South
America trip. Remember how family-like that extra segment was?
Something important to note is that we will not book this until we get
much closer to the sailing date. This is for the purpose of super-duper
pricing on the cruise and flights! In any case, if you are curious, please
get on our list of interest, and we can take care of everything as usual.
We would love to have you share this not-too-often lifetime opportunity!
Just a couple more things for Cruise Trek 2018. Please be aware that
some flights have opened up for those of you wanting to use miles, and if
you desire extra nights at hotels for either the pre, post or other, please let
us know. In fact one fellow adventurous couple is staying one more day in
Vienna to enable a trip for the Mauthausen Concentration Camp Day
Trip from Vienna. Though we are booking the extra hotel night for
them, they are arranging the tour on their own. Is that right, Tammy
& Mike???
Another mention . . . As some of you know, we sailed the same or
similar itinerary for both the Trans-Atlantic and Danube River for R&D
this last April/ May. And both were indeed wonderful experiences from
start to end! It was also good to see that the fellow travelers we met on
both cruises were pretty much the same demographics as us . . .
unseasoned, seasoned, and some even more adventurous. For the
Danube in terms of sites, cultural and historical experiences it will
definitely fill you up! And we are totally psyched to do it all over again!
Suggestions – even though we have a Bucharest City Tour
included in our pre cruise stay, we also suggest the free city tour one
can find online. Also, read up on Vlad the Impaler. This pre cruise tour
is amazing and a very popular and a year round sight/destination. And
the pride of the Romanians was very apparent in how clean the country
was. I noted this aspect to one driver we had . . . funny how he sat up
more and smiled. Additional item to note – Bran’s
(Dracula’s) Castle is not ADA compliant – similar to most
of what was Eastern Europe.
Yes, it may seem like a lot . . . so, any questions? No worries –
just give us a shout . . .
Happy Holidays!
Charlie
PS
Cruise Trek 2017 proved again it is about family, the commonality, the
connection, and the experiential aspect of it all! Thank you for the cards,
emails and CDs . . . loved it all. I could or should say more . . . though it may
be best to get back to you individually. Be well . . .
Update – March 5, 2017:
Hello, Cruise Trek family,
First, here’s a bit of personal information and/or recent history
to start this new Update.
However, please feel free to simply skip down to the new and/or
additional information for Cruise Trek 2017: “California Gold”
and/or Cruise Trek 2018: “Danube II – Bucharest to
Budapest.”
In any case, indeed, it has been awhile since our last Update . . . .
our apologies.
To explain, we have been continuing to live as vagabonds since our
month-long CT South America event. So, all in a rather spontaneous way,
we became adventurers, and if I may quote one endearing CT family
member, we’re “roaming the world on the whims of fate . . .
‘cause that just sounds so amazingly wonderful.”
We have also been busy managing our vacation rental North of Santa
Barbara in a small Central California Coast wine and agricultural community.
We meet people from all walks of life and from various parts of the country
and world. Through our doors come engineers (including rocket scientists,
too), airline pilots & captains, project managers, and even Australian
emissaries.
Some of our guests even work at Vandenberg AFB (Indeed, we have
rocket launches from the town!) or are vacationers simply enjoying all that
there is to see and do in our centrally-located humble little town. Mostly, I
mention this so if any of you, our Cruise Trek Family, want to stay in that
area, please let us know. And if you take care of the cleaning chores upon
departure, we will comp for you at least a weekend, if not longer. Casey
& Brigit Biggs are up the coast a little ways further hosting a vacation
rental as well – Refugio Pasa Robles.
Speaking of travels, we have been vagabonding all over. We spent
two months in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico, where we lived as locals, taking
in the cultural experience, enjoying 85-degree water, dining generously
& inexpensively, and witnessing a turtle hatching in the wild. (I
thoroughly enjoyed being the only gringo on the 25-cent local barrio bus.)
~ Do You Need Travel Insurance? ~
One option is Trip Insurance.
There are other choices, but we offer
Travel Guard for informational purposes.
Visiting Merida, Mexico, was also a highlight as we could venture to
magnificent Old World haciendas and even older Mayan ruins both off the
beaten path – that is, with minimal tourist traffic. During additional
travels, we also shared time & sleepovers with CT family –
both the actor and non-actor types.
Even the ever-gracious Menyuks had dinner waiting for us after one
vagabonding adventure. Then after that enjoyable meal, we all went for
sorely needed local Chinese foot massages!
Oh, and yeah, there are more stories – just not enough room
here to expand upon them here. Though please feel free to ask us to
share when you see us next!
Next on our schedule and coming up very quickly is a cruise from Fort
Lauderdale to Civitavecchia – the port for Rome.
Anyone want to join us on this very inexpensive & yet adventurous
transatlantic sailing???
Seriously, we would love to share the experience and the company.
We’ll be sailing April 2 to the 15th on a grand, newer ship and
with stops in the Azores, Malaga, and Alicante. Even better is the price
– amazing! Like – it doesn’t make sense to stay
home! Call or email us and we can even get you booked! Oh, and
airfare back is very reasonable through the cruise line. Just as an FYI,
afterwards, we will stay in Rome for a few days, and then vagabond off
toward Venice.
Beyond that we will find our way to Bucharest and Budapest for some
R & D for our CT 2018 adventure. Then we end up in Paris at another
house-sitting gig. Though this time for our CT family member John Ps’
– remember him from CT 16 South America??
~ Want to Take a Regular / Non-Event Cruise? ~
Cruise Trek can help!
We’ve been on more than 100 cruises, and
we can help you find the perfect cruise you’re
looking for.
Contact Us!
Oh yeah . . . . If my inference was not clear, we have been making
arrangements for many of our Cruise Trek Family to cruise and/or travel
either with us or on their own to many near and/or faraway places. In fact,
we have a CT actor family doing a 15-day re-position cruise from Tokyo
to Vancouver, another family doing the Galapagos, and another couple
sailing from Singapore.
When we think about where we have been as a group of travelers, if
not as a “family,” sharing and experiencing together –
the science, the culture, the people, the societies, the economics of each,
the geographies of each, the history of each and, of course, the huge
differences and yet the obvious similarities – memories come
rushing back.
To mention only a few – Paris, NYC, Boston, Sydney Harbor,
Buenos Aires, London, Stonehenge, the Historic Beaches of Normandy,
CERN in Switzerland, Cape Horn, Australia/New Zealand and Tasmania,
the rivers Danube, Seine & Rhine, and really so very much more.
And I mention all this not to be a braggart but to express the gratitude
for our shared fascination to seek out different experiences, adventure,
connectedness and commonality. All in this moment brings me back to a
reflection as a young child crawling around on my father’s garage
shop floor where he was building the original Star Trek Enterprise model
and Shuttle Landing Bay. The model has now undergone a full restoration
at the Smithsonian. Alas, certainly another destination on my list.
Okay, enough of that personal stuff . . . Below is the quick and short
for CT 2017 and for CT 2018:
CT 17 – “California Gold” ~
New information – Cruise Trek 2017:
“California Gold” – Click here for the booking
information sheet – BIS CT 2017.
We are very much looking forward to this sailing with our CT family.
Sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge together will be a sight and
experience to remember always. We are still working on logistics with
the cruise line and ports of call. Though, since we are a smaller group,
we are thinking of producing some opportunities to enjoy each
other’s company on various tours and/or family-style meal
gatherings in various ports . . .
More info to follow. In any case, please see the below bullet points for
current/new ideas and happenings.
- Booking discounts & bonus extended for CT 2017
– Indefinitely and/or until supply or program lasts.
- Pre & Post Hotel – We can book
a hotel stay for you. Simply get us your cc info. You won’t have
to pay until check out. Best to reserve ASAP as space and pricing is
limited. Current Rate – $199.00 per night plus 15.5% taxes. It is
a Universal City Studios hotel. If enough are interested, we’ll
have a pre cruise CT family dinner there or nearby. More info to follow.
- Universal Studios – We are working on
group/discounted tickets for the Cruise Trek family. More info to follow.
- Transfers – We have found UBER to be
a very viable option and extremely competitive in availability and pricing.
Make sure you download the app(s) before you leave home!
- We sail from
San Pedro/Port of Los Angeles –
Depending upon your needs & costs you can choose to fly into
LAX, Long Beach or Burbank Airports – the link above has tons
of info.
- Sightseeing options for the Los Angeles areas
are numerous and varied. And we are finding interests of individuals
to be so as well. Therefore, at this time we suggest you figure out your
most desirous activity and go from there . . . This way, you can cater
to your particular needs. Though here are a few links to help –
Hollywood
Tours and Sightseeing
Warner
Bros. Studio Tour
A Day
in LA Tours
Starline Tours
Universal
Studios
That said, for those of you coming in early, we will organize informal
gatherings in the hotel lobby to team up with if you so choose!
- Ensenada, Mexico – For this port, we will
have an exclusive tour to two wineries in Guadalupe Valley which will
include lunch at quite a lovely spot. Amazing wines are produced here!
At both wineries, you’ll have to walk up a few stairs or on dirt
pathways. Then afterwards you’ll be able to easily walk into
town.
- Actors & Guests – Still TBA . . . but
they will be fun, enjoyable, and engaging!
- Around June 1, we will provide you with info to enable you to go online
to register for the cruise and more.
- Beverage/Wi-Fi Packages – For 1st &
2nd passengers in an outside cabin or above, we can now get you the
premium beverage package (includes drinks up to $13) and unlimited
Wi-Fi all for only $239pp. Or for $99pp, you can have either unlimited
Wi-Fi alone or the lesser cocktail package of up to $8, beer up to $6
and wine to $9 per glass. Soda, water, and juices are an option for both
packages. Please email
Aaron.cruisetrek@gmail.com
for same. Subject to limitations, availability, and change. Just to give
you an idea, Internet alone can be more than $200pp for the week.
Announcing Cruise Trek 2018: “Danube II –
Bucharest to Budapest” – Click for more
information – Cruise Trek 2018.
CT 18 – European River Cruise ~
~ Pre-Cruise – Optional ~
3 nights – Oct. 17-19, 2018
City tours in Bucharest and Brasov
CT Family Cocktail Party
Tour Peles Castle
Tour Dracula’s Castle
~ Post-Cruise – Optional ~
2 nights – Oct. 27-28, 2018
Budapest and/or Vienna
City tours of Budapest and/or Vienna
Many of you have been asking for another European River Cruise.
So here you go – fall 2018!!! Remember, most tours, Wi-Fi, beer
& wine & soft drinks at lunch and dinner, and bicycles are all
included in the cruise price. Oh, and if you have not joined us on a river
cruise in the past, English is spoken on board and we’ll have a
very professional and personal cruise manager to help in so many ways
which makes for a very easy and manageable vacation adventure.
Again, please see the below bullet points for where we are at this
point of the event production. Important note – up to
$200pp off if booked before July 31, 2017 – Please be aware
that the lower categories are very limited.
- CT 2018 Booking Information Sheet
- River cruise 7 day exact itinerary
coming soon.
- Enjoy an optional 3 nights' pre-cruise hotel stay in Bucharest with a
tour to Transylvania & the Bran Castle, known as Dracula’s
Castle. One night we stay in Brasov, Romania. Also available are
post-hotel stays in Budapest/Vienna.
- CT Past Passenger discount of $50pp & an additional $50pp for
early booking . . . as well as an additional cruise line Past Passenger
discount of $100pp. All expire July 31, 2017 – need to deposit by
check to have these all apply.
Looking forward to seeing you once again . . .
Best of safe & bold travels,
Charlie
Update – June 30, 2016:
Reminisces of our last adventures & past CT Family and
announcing Cruise Trek 2017: “California Gold”
Hello, Cruise Trek Tribe!
~ Do You Need Travel Insurance? ~
One option is Trip Insurance.
There are other choices, but we offer
Travel Guard for informational purposes.
It’s been too long for sure . . . and simply getting back to
reality after our grand South America adventure has not been all that
easy!
I am simply too desirous of wanting to go adventuring all over again!
More so, I miss our people! Remember Cape Horn day . . . cruising the
Beagle Channel & more? It was another amazing trip . . .
but, this one got to my core. At times we were so immersed in natural
beauty and yet still able to see humanity and its effects on our planet in
both good and sometimes not so good ways. It was a truly life-broadening
experience.
Our passion, intellect & cultural curiosity were hugely piqued
and so much so that I am still seriously missing our CT tribe. Perhaps
maybe it was just because we shared it all together . . . taking meals
together in culturally enriching Buenos Aires and exploring the many
ports of call could have not have been any more enjoyable.
Family style dinner in the Argentinian way at our home base hotel
in Buenos Aires and touring the city together will always be ingrained in
my fondest of memories. And the 20-day long second cruise segment
left me wanting for so much more.
In fact, these feelings are shared by more as we even have some
of our CT family booking additional cruises with us this year as they
loved being away and the adventures so much! And then to balance all
the inspirational brain food was the zany silliness we also had on-board,
which only comes from being able to enjoy each other at a higher and
more intimate level.
Right, Dominic!!??
In any case, thank you very much for the opportunity to share our
commonalities and our curiosities, as well as for perhaps broadening
our human perspectives.
Though speaking more of silly, generous, and wonderful, we all
remember our friend Dominic Keating (Enterprise’s
Malcolm Reed) sharing very personally/intimately of his start in show
biz, his talents and his work regarding the Iliad while in
South America; he just recently performed the same piece in front of
a live audience in DC.
Next time he performs, I hope to get the word out to all of you for
your own enjoyment.
We also had the ever-energetic Jerry Hardin with us on such a grand
trip and at 86 years young!! I aspire to be just like him!
Then additionally, we had our friend and visual effects guru Ron
Moore (5-time Emmy award winner), for the first time, sit down with
actors to discuss the very essence of the movie/TV business at a very
personal level. It was certainly enlightening.
Besides getting back into the reality groove upon our return, we have
been changing our computer system to allow being on the road more
often. We might become even more vagabond-like (remember Rolf Potts
and his book Vagabonding?).
With that, we have changed our CT phone line to be a “Magic
Jack” or VOIP line. This way we can bring or forward our phone
line anywhere in the world while we travel. A really cool device/app and
one we thought to recommend as a way to avoid land line costs.
NO WORRIES THOUGH. WE WILL KEEP THE SAME MAILING
ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBERS, AND EMAIL ADDRESSES.
And perhaps more importantly to the CT Tribe, we have also been
researching alternatives for our next CT adventures for 2017 and
beyond . . .
With that, we have the pleasure of announcing our next adventure,
this time, much closer to home –
“California Gold”:
September 24 to October 1, 2017.
We will sail from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara, San Francisco,
Monterey, and Catalina Island, and then to Ensenada, Mexico, to meet
the Jones Act requirements. In Los Angeles, we will gather for our
pre-cruise hotel (Universal Studios area) and perhaps tour to several
places including the Griffith Park Observatory (and the Leonard Nimoy
Theatre within), JPL for a science lesson, and the Reagan Library (and
it does not matter your political affiliation – this place is just cool
for all, especially history buffs).
~ Fun in California! ~
Griffith Park Observatory
Los Angeles Science Center
Hearst Castle
Monterey Aquarium
Carmel
Cannery Row
And on the day of our transfer to the pier, we will stop at the Los
Angeles Science Center, where the Space Shuttle Endeavor
is displayed . . . by itself, a fun day to be had for all . . . and again . . .
there’s no telling which actors will join us on all of it!
A possible optional tour may include a Central Coast road trip to
Hearst Castle (overnighting near Cambria) and perhaps to Paso Robles
to a special locale.
Sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge, a part of our next adventure,
is a sight to behold. Then we’ll enjoy all that the Bay Area has to
offer. In any case, options for this day and night are still in development,
though we may tour the Napa Valley wine country and/or trip over to
Lolita Fatjo’s for a barbeque or simply explore the city and hang
for a CT family gathering/dinner. We will let you know as it all evolves.
Other possible excursion options include visiting the Monterey Aquarium
or Golden Gate Park (Remember The Voyage Home?).
Also, the 17 Mile Drive, Carmel (home to Clint Eastwood), Cannery
Row, are additional scenic possibilities. Driving the Central Coast on
Highway 1 is consistently listed one of those trips you have to do before
you just can’t.
Then there are meals and/or tours in other ports to plan.
How about a family outing (if not simply a big party) in Ensenada at
a local restaurant? Remember past festivities at Carlos &
Charlie’s? We were last there a few years ago on our Hawaiian
cruise . . . great food, great people and good times! We will be arranging
this afternoon beforehand. And we’ll let you know as this one,
too, evolves.
~ Want to Take a Regular / Non-Event Cruise? ~
Cruise Trek can help!
We’ve been on more than 100 cruises, and
we can help you find the perfect cruise you’re
looking for.
Contact Us!
In 2018, we are looking forward to a European River cruise once
again . . . how about from Budapest, Hungary to Bucharest, Romania?
More to follow.
As an additional side note – looks like the
Star Trek® model my father worked on so many
years ago has undergone a huge renovation –
“Smithsonian Sets Phasers To Restore
On Original Starship Enterprise”, NPR.
I know he would be happy to see it displayed in a much more worthy
locale. Enjoy . . .
Once again, we believe Cruise Trek 2017: “California Gold”
will be another great opportunity for family, tribe, and friends both new and
old.
Though sadly, we have lost a few CT Tribe members these past few
months – Tom Pacuk and Jug Tivald. My memories with them will
always be fondly cherished. Again, and of course, my sincere condolences
go out to their respective families. Loss is difficult.
Looking forward to seeing you once again . . .
Best of safe & bold travels,
Charlie
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