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More than castles in the sand...
More
than Castles in the Sand
What’s New at LTTK
Having moved our office at the end of May (see
notice), we are well settled in our new
space. We are now familiar with our computer network and
our sophisticated new telephone system. Larger office space has allowed us to add
to existing staff. Ann Marie Wilson, a recent University graduate, a
well traveled young miss, and a member of our extended family for the past
23 years, has joined our team. Welcome Ann Marie! And a warm invitation to all
to visit us in our new location.
It is now time to deliver on promises made to ourselves and to our clients.
Let's Take the Kids policy has always been to offer to our clientele products and
family travel destinations that,
whenever possible, our consultants have satisfactorily experienced themselves. We have been busily searching out new and interesting family
travel opportunities.
Along came opportunity, knocking on a cabin door, offering a 14 day "Enrichment Voyage of Discovery" to Central America on the MV Explorer.
The MV Explorer is the cruise ship used for the Semester at Sea program offered
for the past 40 some years through the Institute for Shipboard Education, more
recently sponsored academically by the University of Virginia. www.semesteratsea.org
The opportunity to travel and learn on this Enrichment Cruise to Central America was too much to resist.
Ann Marie and I embarked on our personal Voyage of Discovery on May 11.
Airline Connections
On May 11 we flew with WestJet from Ottawa to Nassau via Toronto.
Connections were great and, having left Ottawa at 7 am, we were on board
the Explorer by 4 pm that afternoon. We returned from Nassau to Ottawa on May 25, again using an easy connection with WestJet.
Itinerary Summary
The first day we were "at sea". During the course of
the following 3 days we visited
- Cozumel,
- Belize, and
- Honduras
spending one day in each of these ports.
- After another day at sea, cruising the coast of Honduras and
Guatamala, we docked at Puerto Limon in Costa Rica.
- We spent 2 days in Costa Rica and then
cruised to Panama where we spent another 2 days.
- Our return to Nassau was via Jamaica and Grand Cayman with
another day at sea and a day in each of these ports.
Wow! Double-wow
it was!!
For
May 2009, the cruise promises to be even more exciting, with stops in
Guatemala, Nicaragua, Roatan (Honduras), both coasts of Costa Rica (with
transit through the Panama Canal) and much more. All this for less than
$2500 per passenger... remember, that's for two weeks... Contact
us for more details...
An Extra Ordinary Cruise Ship
The MV Explorer is unique in design and concept. It is a floating university,
cruising at sea for all but approximately
7 weeks out of each year. During the fall and winter semesters more
than 700 students are on board for about 15 weeks
each term, and in summer for a 10 week term. The students enjoy traveling and pursuing courses
which deal with cultural, regional and global issues while earning University credits. The cruise itineraries vary but
cover a good part of the world.
During 2 - 4 weeks in May and 3 weeks in December the ship is available and
is marketed, at very reasonable rates, to anyone who wants to enjoy a cruise vacation with a
difference...
On board, passengers are free to make use of a staffed library of more than 10 thousand books,
a computer room, also staffed, which offers free use of 32
stations plus plug ins for individual laptops,
game rooms, classrooms,
an equipped gym and a small swimming pool,
a stage/lounge area which doubles as a lecture and briefing center and an entertainment
lounge,
a piano bar lounge,
spacious decks, a gift shop, a spa and a
disco. It's all here for your
convenience and pleasure.
The cabins, small but quite
comfortable, are
designed to provide an amazing amount of storage space .
The ship is immaculately clean, the food and service excellent.
There are two main dining facilities… one of which offers buffet service only for all meals and the other which offers full service for dinner as well as buffet service for breakfast and lunch
Except for 2 special dinners… welcome and farewell, seating for all meals is open and
passengers have the opportunity to share tables and meet one another.
Approximately 600 paying passengers were on the May 11 sailing. Some of the passengers were alumni of
Semester at Sea (SAS) sailings, including a few couples on their honeymoon, some were first time sailors, others were confirmed cruisers, having enjoyed more than 40 cruise vacations. Quite a number of passengers
were families enjoying some very personal time together.
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