Escorting Clients
Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert
Yesterday, May 6, 2021, was National Travel Advisors Day.
I starting thinking about the things we miss about the current travel restrictions, and it became clear to me that one of the most important was guiding and escorting clients.
So, today’s blog is about that important and rewarding part of our job and a tribute to those who has trusted us with their vacations.
Our Role
Our role as escorts and guides is to provide a safe and unforgettable European travel experience to our guests and clients. We are part entertainers but our primary role is to educate our guests about the destinations we are visiting. Sometimes we handle all these duties ourselves. Other times we partner with others in our industry to provide an even enhanced travel experience.
Our Duties and Responsibilities
Our primary duty is that we are always responsible from start to finish, to manage all aspects of the tour.
Sometimes, especially with European River Cruises, we often handle any pre and post trips as the primary guide. During the river cruise, we assist the river boat tour manager and handle many details directly for our clients.
We do have special tours, designed and led by us. Our 2014 and 2019 Anniversary Celebration of D Day certainly are our best example of this type of tours.
We have other duties. These include:
We must have an expert knowledge of the European tour we are escorting clients on, to help our clients learn and experience more during their vacation. This always means we must thoroughly read, research and provide appropriate commentary about our tour destinations and be able to point out these unique features to our guests. This often requires us to visit the destination on our own to familiarize ourselves of the exact location of top sights and to be able to find these sights during the tour.
We must be able to handle various problems and emergencies that might arise during the tour and resolve them to ensure a great experience for our guests and have them travel in a safe and healthy manner.
We must be able to vet our vendors and coordinate every aspect of the travel experience so it is seamless and hassle free along with providing an outstanding trip.
We must be able to handle transportation and transfer operations during the tour—from reading maps, communicate directions (sometimes in a foreign language) and even handle luggage.
A Brief Look at Our Escorted Trips by Year—A tribute to our Guests!
2014
We started the year, leading a small networking group of the Houston Business Cabinet and some family members on a short 4 day Caribbean cruise.
Our first major escorted tour was the 70th Anniversary of D Day during which we led 14 wonderful folks on a 7 day excursion in late May to the first week of June.
2015
In 2015, we led two groups on 2 different AmaWaterways trips. . The first was on the Blue Danube Discovery River Cruise on the AmaDagio. Prior to the cruise, we led one guest on a tour of Budapest and then escorted him in Nuremberg.
The second was the Rivers and Castles River Cruise on the Moselle and Main Rivers, again on the AmaDagio
Later, we escorted 2 guests on a Danube Christmas Time cruise on the AmaPrima. We continued on to Prague, where we escorted this couple during the Christmas markets festivities.
2016
In 2016, we led a river cruise group on a Provence River Cruise on the Rhône River on the AmaDagio.
Later that year, we escorted 2 guests on Rhine River Christmas Markets Cruise. At the end of the cruise, we led our guests on a tour of Paris.
2017
We escorted 2 guests on an AmaWaterways “A Taste of Bordeaux” river cruise. We continue on with the same folks on a special tour to the Loire Valley Region of France.
2018
We escorted 3 guests on two different AmaWaterways river cruises in 2018.
First, we escorted a great friend on the second leg of his 2 week AmaWaterways Danube Cruise and then guided him in Prague.
In December we led 2 guests on a Christmas Markets cruise on the Rhine.
Later, we continued on to Castel Engelenburg for a special European Christmas trip.
We continued on to Brugge, Ghent, and got a special Flanders Fields WW I tour, where we organized, guided and help arrange the special WW I tour.
2019
It was a very busy year in escort duties for us in 2019.
First we led 33 awesome folks on a trip of a lifetime to the 75th Anniversary of D Day celebration. We worked 3 years to design and execute the trip and the results were great.
Right after that trip, we then escorted 8 guests on a Rhine River Cruise on AmaWaterways on the AmaSerena.
We finished the year on a special themed jazz cruise escorting 2 clients on the AmaKristina on a Danube Christmas Markets cruise. Prior to the cruise, we escorted our clients through Vienna. At the end of the tour, we escorted them in Nuremberg.
Our Future Escorting Trips
We are looking at a special tour of WW I sights in the Belgium, Luxembourg and France areas in a special tour we will lead in 2022 or 2023, depending upon when Europe reopens and we can complete a tour recon to ensure the excellence our plan trips have achieved in the past.
You can be assured we will be on the rivers again, escorting clients when the opportunity arises.
If you would like to be placed on an interested travel list for either the WW I tour or a river cruise or both, please contact us using the email at the bottom of this blog.
My Final Thoughts
What a great adventures—I really think you can see how much we love escorting our guests in Europe and sharing experiences—just another reason we love the Old World of Europe so much!
Since 2014, we have led 12 escorted tours on land and on the rivers of Europe and one ocean cruise group—13 in all. We would like to thank our guests who trusted us with their travels—we believe we exceeded their expectations.
We hope you enjoyed these pictures as much as we enjoyed seeing them during our travels.
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!
HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 49 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
