Come Sail with Us!
Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert
Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist
Today’s Blog is about an excellent opportunity for you to sail with Anne and Hank on the Seine River in May of 2024. But before I explain this option, here are 2 important announcements:
Important Announcements
First, we are having some technical issues with our emails from hschrader@dreamdestinations.com. Although you may be getting error messages about not being sent or received, we are getting all messages and it appears that you are also getting them. For now, while we sort this out, we also will text you and include an alternate email address of hschrader@visitdd.com. Sorry for the inconvenience!
Second, almost all river cruise lines have opened up their 2025 schedules and they are ready for booking. There are some strong incentives for early bookings, so if a river cruise is in your plans for 2025, please reach out to us.
Our Seine River Cruise and a Possible 2 Day D Day Tour in Bayeux.
Our cruise is on AmaWaterways, sailing from Paris on 11 May 2024 and returning to Paris on 18 May 2024. The route is the Paris & Normandy itinerary on the AmaDante. The AmaDante has a max of 144 guests, has 73 staterooms and is perfect for the Seine River as a 110 m ship.
Sailing in May is an ideal time—the weather traditionally has been mild, not too hot, or too cold. While we have not sailed this route yet, most of you know we have led 2 anniversary tours to the D Day sites in 2014 and 2019, so we are quite familiar with this region of France.
Long time readers of our blog will also know the awesome way AmaWaterways takes care of its guests—we should know it will be our 23 AmaWaterways sailing and you can anticipate being treated the same way..
To help you learn more about the itinerary, please use this link to read the day-by-day experiences you can enjoy on this wonderful cruise (although the power point PDF uses the AmaLyra , the AmaDante has an almost identical deck plan and staterooms)..
To reserve your space on the cruise, please fill out a Travel Request. We will then explain the stateroom options and provide you an exact quote, which you will have 7 days to consider if this is the right trip for you—we hope so! You should also tell us if you desire to join the optional pre-tour of D Day. Here is the link:
The Optional D Day Pre Tour
Since it is very difficult to obtain hotel space near the key D Day Sites during the anniversary time of 6 June, we have developed a possible 2-day pre tour in Bayeux to see the D Day sites in depth prior to the cruise on 9 and 10 May. This possible tour has room for only 10 couples. We are planning to stay in the Churchill Hotel, provided we can get enough folks to book and deposit the pre-tour by 30 September 2023.
This was a history changing day, so let’s learn together about this massive invasion, why it was so important and why you should see the key sights in the Normandy battlefield beaches with our pre-tour.
We would recommend that you arrive on 8 May 2024 in Bayeux (we can help with train reservations to Bayeux from Paris).
On the morning of 9 May, we will visit Utah Beach and the museum, Pointe du Hoc, Iron Mike Statue, and the Airborne Museum in Ste. Mere Eglise. Here are some pictures:
Utah Beach 2019
Point du Hoc Observation Bunker With the Bayonet Memorial on top
Iron Mike—the tribute to the 82nd Airborne Soldiers
Airborne Museum
On 10 May will visit the American Cemetery, Omaha Beach, the costal gun battery, Arromanches 360 theater and the landing museum at Arromanches. Here are some pictures:
American Cemetery
Statue Omaha Beach
Costal Gun Battery
Arromanches Over view
Tank rigged for the assault
On 11 May, we will take the train back to Paris and join the AmaDante for our 7-day cruise.
By taking this tour, you will get a much better look at the actions during the D Day operation in 1944 and can also expand your knowledge by taking the British D Day tour during the river cruise.
This is a condensed version of the weeklong tour we led in 2014 and 2019 prior to the 80th Anniversary of D Day.
Our Final Thoughts
Wow—what an offer!
We hope you will consider joining us—it will be fun and educational. Anne and I will work hard to make this the trip of a lifetime. You will have our travel experience, the wonderful AmaWaterways ship experience with great meals and wine, luxury staterooms, exciting ports, cultural emersion, and a somber look at what the cost of freedom was in 1944. We also think that sharing the experience with like-minded folks will enhance the trip.
Please come join us!
We are travel experts, ocean and river cruise specialists, and Europe destination experts. We have first-hand knowledge of almost anywhere you want to visit in Europe. We know our products and the vendors who sell them to you. We have designed special tours for dozens of clients, led several and will continue to find just the right vacation that will exceed your expectations.
When you are spending your hard-earned money for a vacation, you want an advisor who can match you with the right trip. You want someone who will understand your expectations and fuel your anticipation (or excitement) to get you the best possible trip experience. And, you want someone who can help you with the decision making process. We think we have all these qualities.
Whatever your Dream Destinations are, we are here to help you get the best possible vacation based on what is important to you! We will provide you high quality, expertly planned travel. Please give me a call 713-397-0188 (Hank) or email me at hschrader@dreamdestinations.com. We want to help you: Savor life…make memories…Visit Dream Destinations! Your journey begins here!
ANNE has earned a degree from the University of Houston in Hotel and Restaurant Management. Serving as the President of Visit Dream Destinations, LLC, since 2016, she is uniquely experienced professional travel advisor with over 26 years’ experience in the travel industry. Among her numerous certifications, she is a Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) by the Travel Institute, considered the gold standard in travel agent certification and she is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC) by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), as well Luxury Cruise Specialist also from CLIA. Having traveled often to Europe since 1989, she has expanded on her certification as a Destination Specialist in Western Europe (DS) with extensive first-hand experience in luxury vacations. She holds numerous other specialty designations from individual vendors. An expert photographer, she delights in capturing the true essence of destinations to share with all.
HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 50 years. He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA). This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years. He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees. His other Certifications:
AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent
