I invite you to join our group experience on Europe’s Danube River this fall as, between October 27 and November 3, we sail northwesterly from Budapest, Hungary to Germany's Bavaria.  

Our group departs Logan for Europe on Wednesday evening, October 26.  On the 27th we’ll be met by the AmaWaterways team in Budapest and transferred to the spanking new AmaViola. The vessel will be in port in the Hungarian capital for 30-hours, adequate time for us to get a feel for this storied city.  Over the rest of the week, we will stop alt locations in Slovakia (its capital of Bratislava), Austria (Linz for Salzburg or the Czech town of Cesky Krumlov) and Bavaria.  As with Budapest, we will have an overnight and full-day in stunning Vienna.

This AmaWaterways program provides a perfect opportunity to visit some of the most memorable locations along central Europe’s water highway.  Using our vessel for transportation, eating and sleeping, the emphasis is on getting the most out of every destination (no parking & unpacking, no transferring from airport to city, no need to orient oneself).  In addition to all on-board meals (with wine and beer at lunch and dinner) and cabin accommodations, sightseeing is included at each port.  For those on deposit on or before March 31, 2016, the cost of ship board gratuities is also included! 

For more details about this value-laden offer, please scroll through this posting, and contact me by phone (781-325-2553) or by email (edmccourt@travelcoll.com) if you would like more information or would like to place a deposit on this program.  I sincerely hope that you will consider joining us.

Sincerely,
Ed McCourt

Cabin pricing – AmaViola – Melodies of the Danube/Budapest to Vilshofen - October 27 to November 03, 2016
	On deposit by 3/31/16	On deposit after 4/1/16
Category E	[AMA brochure rate: $3099.00/person (basis 2 occupants)]
	$2599.00/person (basis 2-occupants per cabin) $168.00/person  -   port taxes Rate includes prepaid gratuities (a value of $105.00/p at current EUR-USD exchange rate). Deposit of $400.00/person due within 7-days of reservation and no later than 3/31/16, whichever comes first.	$2849.00/person (basis 2-occupants per cabin) $168.00/p  -   port taxes Gratuities payable on board at participant’s additional expense. Deposit of $400.00/person due within 7-days of reservation.
Category D	[AMA brochure rate: $3398.00/person (basis 2 occupants)]
	$2898.00/person (basis 2-occupants per cabin) $168.00/person  -   port taxes Rate includes prepaid gratuities (a value of $105.00/p at current EUR-USD exchange rate). Deposit of $400.00/person due within 7-days of reservation and no later than 3/31/16, whichever comes first.	$3178.00/person (basis 2-occupants per cabin) $168.00/p  -   port taxes Gratuities payable on board at participant’s additional expense. Deposit of $400.00/person due within 7-days of reservation.

Cabin pricing – AmaViola – Melodies of the Danube/Budapest to Vilshofen - October 27 to November 03, 2016
Category C	[AMA brochure rate: 3998.00/person (basis 2 occupants)]
	On deposit by 3/31/16	On deposit after 4/1/16
	$3498.00/person (basis 2-occupants per cabin) $168.00/person  -   port taxes Rate includes prepaid gratuities (a value of $105.00/p at current EUR-USD exchange rate). Deposit of $400.00/person due within 7-days of reservation and no later than 3/31/16, whichever comes first.	$3748.00/person (basis 2-occupants per cabin) $168.00/p  -   port taxes Gratuities payable on board at participant’s additional expense. Deposit of $400.00/person due within 7-days of reservation.
Category BB	[AMA brochure rate: $4498.00/person (basis 2 occupants)]
	$3998.00/person (basis 2-occupants per cabin) $168.00/person  -   port taxes Rate includes prepaid gratuities (a value of $105.00/p at current EUR-USD exchange rate). Deposit of $400.00/person due within 7-days of reservation and no later than 3/31/16, whichever comes first.	$4248.00/person (basis 2-occupants per cabin) $168.00/p  -   port taxes Gratuities payable on board at participant’s additional expense. Deposit of $400.00/person due within 7-days of reservation.

Cabin pricing – AmaViola – Melodies of the Danube/Budapest to Vilshofen - October 27 to November 03, 2016
Category BA	[AMA brochure rate: $4698.00/person (basis 2 occupants)]
	On deposit by 3/31/16	On deposit after 4/1/16
	$4198.00/person (basis 2-occupants per cabin) $168.00/person  -   port taxes Rate includes prepaid gratuities (a value of $105.00/p at current EUR-USD exchange rate). Deposit of $400.00/person due within 7-days of reservation and no later than 3/31/16, whichever comes first.	$4448.00/person (basis 2-occupants per cabin) $168.00/p  -   port taxes Gratuities payable on board at participant’s additional expense. Deposit of $400.00/person due within 7-days of reservation.
Category AB	[AMA brochure rate: $4898.00/person (basis 2 occupants)]
	$4398.00/person (basis 2-occupants per cabin) $168.00/person  -   port taxes Rate includes prepaid gratuities (a value of $105.00/p at current EUR-USD exchange rate). Deposit of $400.00/person due within 7-days of reservation and no later than 3/31/16, whichever comes first.	$4648.00/person (basis 2-occupants per cabin) $168.00/p  -   port taxes Gratuities payable on board at participant’s additional expense. Deposit of $400.00/person due within 7-days of reservation.

Cabin pricing – AmaViola – Melodies of the Danube/Budapest to Vilshofen - October 27 to November 03, 2016
Category AA	[AMA brochure rate: $5098.00/person (basis 2 occupants)]
	On deposit by 3/31/16	On deposit after 4/1/16
	$4598.00/person (basis 2-occupants per cabin) $168.00/person  -   port taxes Rate includes prepaid gratuities (a value of $105.00/p at current EUR-USD exchange rate). Deposit of $400.00/person due within 7-days of reservation and no later than 3/31/16, whichever comes first.	$4848.00/person (basis 2-occupants per cabin) $168.00/p  -   port taxes Gratuities payable on board at participant’s additional expense. Deposit of $400.00/person due within 7-days of reservation.
Category SUITE	[AMA brochure rate: $6298.00/person (basis 2 occupants)]
	$5798.00/person (basis 2-occupants per cabin) $168.00/person  -   port taxes Rate includes prepaid gratuities (a value of $105.00/p at current EUR-USD exchange rate). Deposit of $400.00/person due within 7-days of reservation and no later than 3/31/16, whichever comes first.	$6048.00/person (basis 2-occupants per cabin) $168.00/p  -   port taxes Gratuities payable on board at participant’s additional expense. Deposit of $400.00/person due within 7-days of reservation.

Kindly click on the "Read more" button on the immediate lower left to view additional program information.

An AMA Waterway European river cruise itinerary emphasizing Jewish Heritage

AMA Waterways AMA Certo passing Bratislava Castle on the Danube 

The linked article just below is a bitter-sweet NY Times (3-13-15) account of a fascinating river cruise itinerary offered by AMA Waterways.  This river cruise line generally exceeds guest expectations and offers some of the most creative special-interest programs for individual travelers. EM
Tracing Jewish Heritage Along the Danube   By LISA SCHWARZBAUM
In Hungary, Slovakia, Austria and Germany, the river was a guide and a witness to vanished Jewish life.

Pasted at bottom is this river cruise itinerary for 2015.  Do note that the 8-day cruise may be packaged with a Prague pre-sailing land-tour option that further enhance the "heritage" experience.

Please contact me (781-325-2553 or edmccourt@travelcoll.com) for information about this cruise or other AMA Waterways programs.

Review these great opportuntities to visit Greenland!

EXPLORE THE ARCTIC ISLAND OF GREENLANDThe Arctic island of Greenland offers adventures you have never experienced before. The wilderness is amazing, the wildlife is exotic and the people who live here have interesting stories to tell. Choose from four special voyages that let you explore the best of the Arctic. This Voyage brings you through Disko Bay to the less visited southern parts of Greenland. Visit traditional Inuit settlements and historic places from the Viking era, the capital of Greenland, Nuuk. Join wildlife and nature photographer Darren Perkell on this special Voyage and bring home stunning photographs of your own. Photography workshops and learning opportunities are included! Enjoy rarely visited settlements with giant icebergs, fjords, wildlife and spectacular landscapes for an authentic experience of Greenland and its people. Both educational and inspiring. Join an extraordinary and exclusive expedition taking you to three Arctic Islands; Spitsbergen, Greenland and Iceland. Experience North East Greenland National Park, the largest and least visited national park in the world.

	E-MAIL ME: edmccourt@travelcoll.com CALL ME: 781-325-2553

Terms & Conditions  |  Privacy Policy *From prices based on two people sharing an unspecified inside cabin on select sailings. Offer valid on new bookings only. Offers not valid for port to port, group travel, packages sold by a tour operator. Ships registry: Norway Hurtigruten, Inc. 320 120th Ave NE Suite 100 Bellevue, WA 98005 USA

Unspecified Cabin Guarantee Offer - Save Up To 38%* Off Regular Fares Free Cabin Upgrade Offer* - Get an Outside Cabin for the Price of an Inside Cabin $250pp Air Credit Offer* - When you book your customer’s flights through Hurtigruten

Had an encounter with an oarfish lately?

Oarfish are rarely seen by humans, and, like other marine life, their visibility close to shore may be an indication of their distress.  Wikipedia tells me that the very elongated oarfish may run anywhere from 10 to 30-feet in length and occasionally weigh up to four or five hundred pounds. 
Oarfish recently have appeared in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez (aka as the Gulf of California and made famous by Steinbeck in his 1951 non-fiction work, The Log from the Sea of Cortez).   View this Un-Cruise video to see an oarfish in action.

Between November and March, Un-Cruise offers two, 7-day itineraries on the Sea of Cortez.  These sailings provide wonderful opportunities to experience raw beauty, active adventure, authentic culture, and wildlife—sea turtles, boobies, pelicans, frigate birds, blue whales, gray whales, orca, humpback, pilot and fin whales, whale sharks, dolphins, mantas, and sea lions. Kayak in coastal mangroves and glassy coves. Hike along cactus-clad rims and among desert scrub. Snorkel alongside playful sea lions and colorful invertebrates. And in a picturesque setting of red rock cliffs, discover a centuries-old town or relax on a white-sand beach.  

This all-inclusive Un-Cruise experience models the line’s commitment to experiences that are Un-rushed, Un-crowded and Un-believable.  For more about the itineraries, view this additional Un-Cruise video.

Ed McCourt, CTC
781-325-2553
edmccourt@travelcoll.com

A Polar Christmas in Norway!

             

This week, Tim Palmer, Sales Mgr. for Norway's Hurtigruten visited the Travel Collaborative. Since the late 19th century, Tim's line has transported passengers and cargo (year round!) along the nation's coast from Bergen in the southwest to Kirkenes on the Russian frontier. In between, they visit more than 30-ports (Ålesund, Trondheim, Tromsø, etc.).  Today, the line has eleven, modern, ocean-going vessels plying the north-south-north routes throughout the year, and the experience is first-class and traveler-oriented. Cruisers may customize their itineraries - round-trip (12-nights) or 6-nights in either direction.

Usually, we associate the midnight sun of summer time with sailing the spectacular Norwegian coat, but nowadays off-season has its own appeal. There are special Holiday sailings (Christmas in polar regions with Santa and the reindeer!)) and, of course, many fall and winter itineraries just about guarantee exposure to the greatest light show on Earth, Aurora Borealis (or Northern Lights).

Hurtigruten offers Antarctica sailings during the Northern Hemisphere's winter.  In summer, itineraries include Spitsbergen, Iceland and Greenland sailings.
If you've sailed the Norwegian Coast or one of the other mentioned itineraries -  with Hurtigruten or another cruise line - please share your comments about the experience.

[Seeking more information? Email (edmccourt@travelcoll.com) or phone (781-325-2553).]