Luxury Travel Advisor - March 2008 - (Page 38)

and open table choices with no assigned seating; table sizes vary, so if your clients want to sit alone with their party, they can. Then there’s Afternoon Tea in the lounge, with decadent regional sweets and traditional goodies. Service on River Cloud II is nothing if not terrific; it’s small enough that the multilingual staff remember names and preferences of passengers, and they go out of their way to accommodate. There isn’t much in the tiny gift shop, and there’s only a single chair in the hair salon, but Cruise Director Beate Kubny and her crew will recommend places on shore—the beauty of a river cruise is that, as ships dock right in town, getting off to run errands is easy. We took the music cruise from Regensberg, which sailed 500 miles of the Danube with only 55 passengers through Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. Ports varied, from small towns (Regensburg and Passau, Germany, and Melk and Durnstein, Austria) to capital cities (Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest). We enjoyed the expertise of a well-trained private guide at every stop and were warned in advance when excursions required a lot of walking (some passengers chose relaxing onboard or shopping independently instead). In Budapest, we couldn’t resist the huge marketplace, where we stocked up on paprika, Christmas ornaments and handembroidered linens. We sailed in late fall, with leaves turning along the banks of the river and towns devoid of the summer tourist crush. Coming back onto the boat after excursions in the brisk air, we were met by Kubny, who offered cups of steam- ing bouillon, warm strawberry milk, thick hot chocolate or apricot Schnapps to warm us up. Kubny is bright, energetic, charming, multilingual and arrangementsabroad.com Classic Vacations www.classic vacations.com; (800) 635-1333; travel@classicvacations.com Crown Collection www.crown luxurytravel.com; (800) 628-8929; res@crownluxurytravel.com Elegant Cruises & Tours www. elegantcruises.com; (800) 6836767; info@elegantcruises.com Exeter International www.exeter international.com; (800) 633-1008; info@exeterinternational.com Kalos Golf www.kalosgolf.com; (919) 942-3464; info@kalosgolf. com ACCESS: Sea Cloud Cruises does not sell its cruises direct; instead, non-charter sailings aboard River Cloud II can be booked via these partner agencies: Abercrombie & Kent www. abercrombiekent.com; (800) 323-7308; info@abercrombie kent.com Annemarie Victory Organization www.annemarievictory.com; (212) 486-0353; amvorg@aol.com Arrangements Abroad www.arrangementsabroad. com; (800) 221-1944; trips@ RIVER CLOUD II accommodates 88 passengers and is staffed by 34 attendants. 38 LUXURY TRAVEL ADVISOR | March 2008 http://www.classicvacations.com http://www.classicvacations.com http://www.crownluxurytravel.com http://www.crownluxurytravel.com http://www.abercrombiekent.com http://www.abercrombiekent.com http://www.elegantcruises.com http://www.elegantcruises.com http://www.exeterinternational.com http://www.annemarievictory.com http://www.exeterinternational.com http://www.kalosgolf.com http://www.arrangementsabroad.com http://www.arrangementsabroad.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Luxury Travel Advisor - March 2008

Luxury Travel Advisor - March 2008 Contents Editor's Letter Dublin: We Tour the Irish Capital’s Top Offerings Puglia, Italy: Where to go for Complete Tranquility Small Meetings: Inspiring Settings for your Corporate Client The Thompson Beverly Hills: Bold New Style Arrives in Southern California US Grant: Unabashed Luxury in Downtown San Diego Sailing the Danube: Low-Key Luxury on River Cloud II Sin City Spas: The Latest From Some of our Favorite Las Vegas Retreats Bob Boulogne: Rosewood Hotels & Resorts' COO Targets Elite Travel Advisors The Pulse Exotic Car Rental Jetset Report Sightings Source List

Luxury Travel Advisor - March 2008

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