Theatre at Sea Cruise: Top-Notch Actors and the Amazon

by Jamie Rhein on

Lately, I’ve been thinking I ought to go on a cruise. Geek Cruises perked up my interest. So did finding out I could get credit to renew teaching certification on another. Here’s the cruise of cruises–possibly the right combination of reasons to take in some luxury, see the world and have a wonderful time being entertained by the best.

Regent Cruises has an intriguing option for taking a vacation and maximizing a holiday experience. Theatre at Sea Cruise (a venture between The Theatre Guild Broadway and the cruise line) involves traveling 1,000 miles of the Amazon in Brazil (plus trips to Barbados, Puerto Rico and Dominica) with stars like Edward Asner, Patricia Neal and Eli Wallah who put on plays at night–one at the 1890s Manus Opera House. From what I read, the cruise on the Regent Seven Seas Mariner (February 21-March 4) sounds like the line between audience and actors are blurred. The actors don’t disappear between the times the curtain goes up and down. Instead, the after the play parties are for everyone. The thing I also like about this cruise is that Brazil is an integral part of the experience. Along the way, the tour takes in ports beyond just the usual beach and shopping fare–there are two stops at indigenous villages, although I do wonder what the people in the villages think when a bunch of tourists traveling by luxury liner descend on them.

If you are looking for luxury and creative energy that crackles, this might be it. When I opened the email from The New York Times Ticket Watch expecting to find discount tickets to a show on Broadway, I sure felt energized finding this offering instead. If someone can swing this, I say, go for it. If you can’t make this one, how about the Around the World Tour on the Queen Victoria in 2009?

New Luxury Hotel Coming to West Hollywood

by Jamie Rhein on

According to Virgo, my zodiac sign, (see post), the perfect vacation for me is a luxury resort. I’m not sure if I would have made that choice, but thinking I ought to look into the possibility, I sought one out. The thing is, luxury resorts make me feel like I’m playing pretend. I’m a more of a budget travel kind of gal. Whenever I’ve gone uptown, ending up in a room with those thick plush bathrobes, fancy shampoos and highly polished wood furniture with drawers that glide so smoothly that you barely hear them open and close, I feel as if I’ve won some grand prize, and in the morning will return to my regular person kind of life.

In my fantasyland, here’s one resort hotel that looks like it would be a swell place to play pretend. The London West Hollywood, formerly The Bel Age Hotel is slated to open January 2008. West Hollywood, California is where one of my best friends used to live. It was the perfect place for a stop when we either flew in or out of the United States when we lived in Asia. Many a time I worked off jet lag with a hike in nearby Runyon Canyon and picked up pastry at one of the neighborhood Russian bakeries. My friend has since moved to Butte, Montana leaving us to find other accommodations if we stay there.

So, if I had a different kind of life, staying at The London West Hollywood of Luxury Resorts would not be too shabby. Just sampling the bath items on the counter would thrill me. Just look at that soap. So oval like and smooth. The Q-tips and cotton balls so carefully placed. All that marble. So orderly. So Virgo like.

New Luxury Train Travel in the United States

by Jamie Rhein on

Neil rightly expressed dismay at the state of train travel in the United States in one of his posts, but Amtrak is going upscale on some routes. The company isn’t going it alone however. It’s pairing up with GrandLuxe Rail Journeys, a private company in Evergreen, Colorado that was once called the American Orient Express.

If you’ve seen any movies of train travel back when men and women wore cool hats and overcoats, the GrandLuxe Limited train cars look like people from that era might hop on. Think mahogany, five-course meals, and an ambiance that captures the high life. There’s personal butler service even. In a way, as I read about this mode of travel, it reminded me a bit of the cruise to the Bahamas that my dad and daughter took this past December. The experience on the ship was the main thing they talked about. In the case of the GrandLuxe Limited, you’re traveling across the land instead of the sea and getting pampered along the way. While getting to a place is part of the reason for taking one of these train trips, the ride is like a vacation on it’s own.

If you’re thinking about going between Chicago and San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, Denver or Albuquerque or between Washington to Miami, this might be what you’re looking for. It’s not cheap, but it looks fun. The trains aren’t heading down the tracks until November, but you can make reservations now on the GrandLuxe Web site.

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Ask Nan at BabyBoomersTrips.com. and you’ll get an answer

by Jamie Rhein on

If you’ve ever had a travel related question and have been stumped about where to find the answer, there’s help. Her name is Nan. I just found out about Nan a couple days ago and thought, now that’s clever.

At BabyBoomersTrips.com, Nancy Zimmerman, former talk show co-host of WE TV’s StyleWorld, answers readers’ questions that range from ghost town jaunts to what in the world is going on with airline seats these days. It turns out that if I had read “Ask Nan” in December, I may have taken some time out to go to St. Augustine. (We were heading in a non-direct route from Orlando through St. Petersburg to Ft. Lauderdale.) St. Petersburg was a lunch stop off visit with my husband’s aunt. We could have combined this with a tour of the St. Augustine’s haunted hot spots. Evidently, there are plenty and the Ripley’s Ghost Train would have taken us to them.

About the airline seats. Nan’s news kind of makes a person never want to sit down again, unless, there’s something between the seat and you. Airline seats are a real germ carnival. She suggests bring along a stole or an airplane size blanket (cuddly) to put between you and the seat.

BabyBoomersTrips.com is also filled with other detailed tidbits divided into catagories of “Budget Boomers,” “Big Shot Boomers” and “Beauty Boomers.” Passport information, spa vacations and how to get the best travel deals are part of the offerings. It’s interesting to see what people want to know about. So, if you have any questions, “Ask Nan.” Or you can always ask us at Gadling. There are plenty of travel questions to go around.