bus trip Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Starr Tours & Charters

It’s Who You Meet Along the Way

It’s said that it’s not the journey but who you meet along the way that is important in life. Well, as Tour Directors, we are fortunate to be able to do both: travel and meet interesting people along the way!

Sometimes we meet people at our various stops and attractions, but most often it’s right on our tour bus.  After I introduce myself, and before I get into the details of the trip, I will ask if there are any veterans aboard the bus.  Sometimes I’ll get a few gentlemen to raise their hands and I thank them for their service… often the rest of the tour guests will applaud.  On occasion, a woman will raise her hand and she will not only get applause, but many times tour guests will take time during the trip to ask her about her service.  On a 4-day bus trip to Vermont last year, I had two women who were traveling together and still in active duty in the Air Force.  The gentleman sitting across the aisle from them suddenly perked up and said he just retired after 20 years in the Air Force… and the three of them then became a fun trio during the bus trip!

St. John’s, Newfoundland

On a bus trip I recently escorted to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York City, I had a family group from Philadelphia aboard, taking their Canadian cousins to the Big Apple.  Talking to Lisa, one of the Canadians, I found out that they were from St John’s, Newfoundland.  I had seen a program on the Food Network from Newfoundland and asked about it. She told me about the filming of that show and how everyone in town was involved in it. Then she said that they were going to see a Broadway show the next week: taking the train into NY. It would be her first ride on a train! And the show they would see was “Come From Away,” the hit show about all the flights that had to land in Newfoundland on 9/11.  Yes, she was involved in that too, although she didn’t take anyone into her home, they were cooking for and helping all the unplanned visitors to their town.

On the 9/11 Museum trips, I talk about the early history of New York and about the many first settlers who came in 1624 who were Walloons: French speaking Belgians who were fleeing persecution and went to Holland. They petitioned the government and were allowed to come on the first ship that sailed to the New Netherlands’ colony of New Amsterdam.  As they were getting off the bus in New York City, one tour guest said to me: “I was surprised and very moved, to hear you talk about the Walloons because I’m a Walloon… well, my ancestors were and I never really understood their place in American history!” She was quite happy the rest of the trip.

And last, but not least, on another trip into New York City, I talked about the early explorers and the dangers of exploration back then. Henry Hudson was put adrift by his crew in the Hudson Bay in the winter, and Giovani Verrazzano met a horrible end on a Caribbean Island. I mentioned that today’s explorers also experience danger, such as in the space program. On that trip I had an astronaut/payload specialist from the Space Shuttle Columbia, onboard. (A rather poignant example of the dangers of space travel – the Space Shuttle Columbia completed 27 missions from 1981-2003 before disintegrating upon re-entry on the completion of its 28th mission. All seven members of the crew were killed.) He concurred that space exploration was just as dangerous as exploring was in the 15th and 16th  centuries, but the dangers are different as there are no cannibals in space, as far as we know anyway.

 

I can’t wait to meet more interesting people on my bus trips this year!

Hope to see YOU soon!

Bette Barr
Starr Tour Director

 

P.S. Travel with me to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in May, August, October, and November, the Hudson Valley in June, Boston in July or September, an overnight in New York City in August, the Tall Ship Festival in Erie, PA in August, the Poconos in October, and more!

 

The Ideal Equation for a Great Birthday Bash

The Ideal Equation for a Great Birthday Bash

Remember that feeling in high school when you solved a tough equation? How about middle school algebra when you were trying to solve for Y? Yep, that’s what it feels like to have planned, executed and personally enjoyed a Starr Birthday Bash! And here’s the Y… OK, The WHY – Because we love our Starr Tour Guests!

 

So let’s start at the beginning. What does it take to find a destination for a Starr Birthday Bash?

Here’s what we look for – The “X” if you will:

  • A different destination than somewhere where we already offer a lot of trips to
  • Somewhere with a hotel that can handle 3-5 busloads of tour guests
  • Somewhere with a restaurant or banquet room that can hold approximately 200 guests

Then we add the “Y” or, the WHY:

  • Why would people want to go here?
  • What does this tour offer that would excite them into booking this trip?
  • What can we include that would make this trip different that other trips that they have taken?

Put those things together and what does it equal? A great Starr trip!

X+Y = Great Starr Trip!

   

I was lucky enough to join our 4 Tour Directors and Drivers and 175 Starr tour guests in Myrtle Beach this past October. We had an excellent trip and here’s why:

We picked a destination that offered beautiful weather (we ordered it!).

We picked a hotel where every room had an ocean view and a balcony! The staff was so excited to host our Starr customers and showed us warm southern hospitality!

We had a great Birthday Dinner at the Giant Crab where the buffet had 171 items-I counted! We ate birthday cake and gave away lots of prizes to over 30 lucky winners!

We saw 4 fabulous shows! Each one was entertaining and dazzled us beyond expectation!

Everyone went home with smiles on their faces and wonderful travel memories!

   

So for 2019, we did the same equation and we’re going to Branson and St. Louis, Missouri!!  https://www.starrtours.com/bus-tours/index.php/branson-mo-birthday-bash/tour-detail/3575

We’ll see 5 shows on this trip plus see the Gateway Arch and tour the Anheuser Busch Brewery! Join us! I promise you will be glad you did. We have over 30 people on board already and we’d love to have YOU!

   

Now it’s time to plan for 2020? Got any ideas for the “X” in the equation?

All is Not Lost!

Traveling on a bus trip with Starr is an exciting experience, and you’ll want to bring all sorts of things to help you enjoy it; cameras to capture the scenery, hats to shield your eyes from the sunny skies, iPads and e-readers to pass the time, and of course souvenirs to remember your Starr Vacation!

 

Sometimes, however, these items don’t quite make it home with you, whether they fall out of a pocket, get left in a hotel room, forgotten in a theater, or fall to the back of a Starr bus’ overhead bin. That’s where Starr’s Lost and Found comes in. We see a vast assortment of items including souvenirs, shoes, alcohol, and laundry, which could be returned to their owners if a few simple steps had been taken before the traveler left for their trip. Here are some tips which could help return your belongings to you after a Starr Vacation!

 

Before Your Trip

  1. Label Important Items
    Print out a small piece of paper with your name and phone number, and attach it to important belongings, such as a phone, iPad, camera, book, glasses case, car keys, a medicine bottle, or wallet. This is the easiest way for us to contact you. Alternatively, attach an address label to each item.
  2. Bring Labels with You
    Pack a sheet of address labels, a stack of business cards, or several pieces of paper with your contact information in your luggage. These can be used to label your water bottles, souvenir bags, etc.
  3. Take Photos of Your Belongings and your Driver’s License
    In the event that you’ve lost or misplaced something, you can send us a picture of the item so we know exactly what to look for. You can ALSO take a picture of your driver’s license! As we scroll through the pictures on lost, unlocked devices, we are looking to see if we can recognize anything, and a driver’s license is very recognizable.
  4. Tell Siri/Google Who You Are
    Sometimes returning an iPhone is as easy as asking “Call my wife!” If your iPhone, iPad, tablet, or Android device can connect to the internet without wifi, leave that function on. Even if we can’t unlock your device, we can use a few smart built-in features like Siri or the Google Assistant to ask who the device belongs to! To help this work, make sure you have told Siri or your Google contacts who you are, who your spouse is, who your children are, and your home phone number.
  5. Find My Phone Function
    If you have an iPhone, consider activating the “Find my iPhone” function; and if you have an Android device, activate the “find my device” function alongside your GPS. Both of these can allow you to remotely lock and locate your phone should it be lost.¹

 

During Your Trip

  1. Look Around
    As you get on and off the coach, check on your seat, under your seat, and in the overhead bins carefully to ensure you have everything that belongs to you.
  2. Souvenir Bags
    If you purchase souvenirs, place a business card, address label, or slip of paper into the bag along with the souvenir. If that is not immediately possible, write your name and phone number on the receipt. Consider putting the souvenir directly into a carry on or luggage if possible.

 

At the End of Your Trip

  1. Look Again
    Check again on your seat, under your seat, between the seat, in the seat back pocket (if your bus has them), in the overhead bin, and into adjacent seats. These are also checked by your escort and the driver at the end of the trip, and by the cleaners when the coach returns to our garage.
  2. Is That Your Bag?
    If you did buy souvenirs, check your bags to make sure they are YOUR bags and not someone else’s! We have had situations where people have taken the wrong souvenir bags home—and yes, they did get back to their original owners!
  3. Where Did You Sit?
    Remember the bus number and where you were sitting, the dates of your trip, and where you were going. If you were part of a large group of buses, perhaps for a charter, try to remember your driver’s name or some of their identifying attributes.
  4. Was there a Shuttle?
    If you have to take a shuttle to your final destination, take note of what kind of shuttle you have: whether it is a car limousine, a Starr van, another Starr coach, etc.

 

Where did my Item Go?

If you did leave something on the bus, it would be seen one of two different groups of people.

  1. Driver/Escort: They check EVERYWHERE before they get off the bus. They may even contact you before you get back home. If they can’t reach you, they’ll label which coach it comes off of and deliver it to the office along with their tour materials.
  2. Bus Cleaners: If the cleaners find it, it goes into a bag along with items from other coaches. A day or two later, it is delivered to the Starr Receptionists who handle the cataloging and processing of lost and found. Oftentimes, these items have no identifying information, which is why labeling your items is helpful to us!

 

Finding your Items

When you call our office to ask about your lost item we will ask you the following:

  • Give us a detailed description of the item
  • The dates of your trip
  • The coach number (or the driver’s name)
  • The group, the charter number, the trip, or where you were going
  • Your seat number, or where you were sitting (and if you changed seats during the trip)
  • If the item was on/under your seat, in the overhead bin, in the baggage compartment, or the seatback pocket.
  • If the item was in a paper or plastic bag
  • And if the item was a cell phone, what the number is so we can call it and listen for the ring

 

Please also keep in mind:

  • Our coaches have a high turnover rate in the busy season, and there is a chance that the coach you rode on over the weekend was cleaned overnight and is already out on the road again and can’t be checked right away.
  • We will make every effort to look for each item that you call for, but we are not responsible for items you have misplaced while on our coaches, and you may not get a call back from us if we are unable to locate your item.
  • If we DO find your item, we will call you back. It is then your responsibility to call us and arrange how you wish the item to be returned.
  • We keep all lost and found items that come to us for several months, and document them as they come in. If you realize a month after your trip that you lost an item, there is no harm in calling the office and asking if we have it.

 

Don’t let a fear of losing your items keep you from traveling. More often than not, Starr travelers are very proactive about keeping tabs on all of their belongings! The moral of the story is, LABEL your important things with your telephone number and your name at the very least.

 

Bon Voyage!
Ally Berger, Starr Receptionist

 

¹The author of this article has used Google’s function on a recent trip abroad to locate and erase a stolen smartphone, and can confirm her information was not compromised!

Researching How To Spend Time “On Own”

Many of the trips we offer at Starr include free time to explore an area “on own.” Your free time on own might include seeing the sites, local attractions, or tasting the best of the local faire. However you choose to spend it, here are some great ways to research the best of the best in the area.

 

  1. tripadvisorTripAdvisor
    TripAdvisor is a travel website boasting reviews of the best and the worst. If you go to their website, you can type in your destination and what you’re searching for, such as “Boston restaurants” or “Cape Cod attractions” for example. The website then lists the top go-to places in the area by rank. The information and reviews are always current, so this is one website that we highly recommend!

 

  1. Local Convention and Visitors Bureaus (CVBs)
    Local CVBs are known for their tourism marketing. They always have an abundance of brochures and can recommend the best and most popular places in town. It helps that they are knowledgeable of every area of town too, so they can easily locate attractions nearby where you will be. You can either visit the bureaus in person, or simply do a Google search for the town website and contact them.

 

  1. Google
    GoogleIn any case, there’s always good ole Google! You can simply go to www.google.com and type in your destination, like “Cape Cod,” and an array of websites will appear that can give you tourism information for your specific location. If you want to get a little more specific, you can type in “Cape Cod restaurants” or “best Cape Cod restaurants.” Many times, bloggers have already written about your chosen destination with helpful pointers on the go-to places in the area.

 

  1. Smartphones
    If you own a smartphone, then it probably comes equipped with the handy little “map” app. What’s neat about this is that you can actually search for restaurants, bars, shopping, fun, and so on, all in this little app. It can give you the reviews and distance from your location, too! So if you’re just at a loss for how to spend your free time, search on your map app for what’s nearby!

 

yelp

  1. Yelp
    Similar to TripAdvisor, Yelp is another great travel website. It lists reviews for local areas and allows you to search for specific places. If you’re in the mood for Mexican, you can input your destination and “Mexican” to see what restaurants are highly rated.

 

  1. grouponGroupon
    Once you have figured out how you’d like to spend your free time, then you can look into discounts. Groupon is an awesome website that lists deals that you can snag for dining and activities. It is also available as an app for your smartphone.

 

We love offering free time during travel because it allows you the freedom to customize your trip exactly how you’d like it. These websites and apps are great ways to research and plan the perfect getaway for you!

Calling All Kids!

Calling All Kids!

Another school year has come to an end and your little darlings are home again – FOR TWO WHOLE MONTHS! What’s a parent to do to combat the inevitable, “Mom, we’re bored!”? To make your family vacation even easier, our Kids Sale is back! For trips now through August 31, 2016, kids get a discount of 50% off on any overnight trip and 25% off on any one day tour when you travel with Starr!

 

Guests take the plunge and cool off after they Escape from Pompeii® at Busch Gardens® Williamsburg. ©2013 SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Guests take the plunge and cool off after they Escape from Pompeii® at Busch Gardens® Williamsburg. ©2013 SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Busch Gardens, Williamsburg has been awarded “World’s Most Beautiful Theme Park” every year since 1990 by the National Amusement Park Historical Association. “NAPHA Historian Jim Futrell says, ‘Members have long praised Busch Gardens Williamsburg for its amazing setting with its world class thrill rides and attractions surrounded by detailed European theming all nestled into a lush, rolling, forested landscape.'” Add in their other awards of “Cleanest Park,” “Best Shows,” and “Best Food,” and it is no wonder that this park is one of America’s top destinations. Your kids are going to love their thrilling rides, safari ride, characters and more, and you’ll love that you are making family memories in a unique and diverse setting with plenty of opportunities for learning and fun! This two-day overnight trip, is jam-packed with fun and adventure for the whole family and also includes Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum and free time in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor!

 

 

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The Assateague Explorer views wild ponies on the beach. Photo Courtesy of Assateague Explorer

A visit to Assateague Island  is an experience your family will cherish for years. On this wonderful day trip your getaway will begin with lunch at Philip’s Crabhouse where it is chicken or fish for you, and kid friendly menu options for them. Then, you’ll climb aboard The Assateague Explorer for an exciting eco-cruise with a professional naturalist. Learning about Assateague’s unique coastal eco-system is made fun with an on-board touch tank and hands on activities. You may even get a glimpse of the famous wild ponies! Afterwards, round out your perfect summer day with a trip to Ocean City’s boardwalk lined with shops, eateries, and amusements. Be sure to pack your camera and get ready for a great day! And for your young readers, the book “Misty of Chincoteague” by Marguerite Henry is a fantastic children’s novel to get them psyched about the trip.

 

 

 

DC_Smithsonian--Wmax600x600
Home to the Smithsonian Visitor Center, the Smithsonian Castle is your perfect first stop in discovering all that the Smithsonian Institution has to offer.

Feed your child’s natural curiosity with a trip to Washington D.C.’s Smithsonian Institution. We will drop you off on the National Mall between the US Capitol and Washington Monument. Then, the day is yours to explore all that the museum complex has to offer. No matter what your child’s interest is, there is something for everyone as you choose to visit The Air & Space Museum, The American Indian Museum, Natural History Museum, American Art Museum, Portrait Gallery, Postal Museum, African Art Museum, The Anacostia Community Museum, American History Museum Hirshhorn Museum, or Sculpture Garden and you’ll find plenty of kid activities in each one. If you’d like to have a little more time in DC, then try the DC 3-day trip! This is perfect for the whole family. Visit the towering monuments and the touching memorials as you explore the nation’s Capitol.

 

 

 

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Virginia Beach has it all from amusements to history along a pristine stretch of sandy beach.

Summer isn’t summer without at least one trip to the beach. Why not pack up the kids and their buckets and sand shovels and check out beautiful Virginia Beach this year?  You can spend a relaxing day on the beach, walk or rent a bike to experience their three-mile long boardwalk, take a surfing lesson, visit a water or amusement park, visit historic landmarks, and so much more! Plus, you’ll spend this three day vacation staying at a great hotel located right on the beach! Whatever your passion, the sun-filled skies and coastal charm are sure to make this the perfect getaway.

 

 

 

Whatever a vacation sounds like to your family, there is definitely something for everyone at Starr. Take advantage of this awesome deal to save big on any of these trips while it lasts! Your next getaway starts here: https://www.starrtours.com

The details:

  • 25% OR 50% OFF discounts apply only to children 18 and under.
  • Overnight tours: Must include 2 full-price adults in the same room to offer 50% off the child price; Max of 2 children at 50% off. When there is only 1 full-price adult, the first child would be 25% off.
  • One-Day Tours: Must have 2 full-price adults with the booking to offer 25% off child; Max of 2 children at 25% off. With only 1 full-price adult, children can save 10% off the child price (or regular price if there is no child price).
  • Discounts cannot be combined with any other discount. Cannot apply this discount to existing bookings. Excludes Fly and Cruise trips as well as any trip 6 days or longer.