Goodies and Extras – Distinctive Voyages Amenities

I’m very excited about the cruise that I will be taking to Alaska in August, where I’ll be sailing as a Distinctive Voyages host on Regent Seven Seas. I love Regent, which is an amazing cruise experience that is all inclusive – air, shore excursions, gratuities, wine, beer, and spirits are all included.

Distinctive Voyages Amenities

I want to talk about the Distinctive Voyages (DV) program, as it occurs to me that I have all these wonderful amenities available to offer my clients, but tend to talk about them one on one rather than share the details about the special offers and programs I have available to enhance your trip.

Distinctive Voyages is a program through my national consortium. I’m a small business owner, but I leverage affiliations with national travel programs to have access to extra benefits and amenities that I can provide to my clients. There are many programs that are available, particularly for cruising, and Distinctive Voyages offers some lovely perks.

Each sailing features the services of a Distinctive Voyages host who provides information and assistance. Throughout the cruise, the host is available to help with any questions or special requests. As a host, I had to go through a pretty extensive application, recommendation, and interview process, followed by training to become qualified.

In addition to having the assistance of the host, the guests enjoy a private cocktail reception. This is a wonderful way to meet other people on the cruise and enjoy an exclusive social event on the ship. I’ll be hosting a private cocktail and appetizer function for all the Distinctive Voyages passengers on my Alaskan cruise.

 

Exclusive Shore Excursion

One of the best features of the DV program is an exclusive shore excursion. These excursions are complementary and usually offer a different experience compared to other excursions, or have additional visits or features than the typical excursions offered. The type of excursion varies depending on the destination. When I hosted the Rome to Venice cruise a few years ago, the excursion was in Korcula, Croatia, where we had an opportunity to enjoy a wine tasting at one stop, lunch at a winery cellar, and then a walking tour of the Old Town. In Alaska, even though Regent offers complementary excursions, ours offers more experiences than any of those. The DV excursion is from the Sitka port, where we’ll visit the raptor hospital to see how injured bald eagles are treated and released back into the wild, the Sitka National Park to see the totem-line walking trails, and then to a brewery to learn how to brew beer – and then taste!

Distinctive Voyages is a complementary benefit for clients, so no extra cost, and is available on many different cruise lines with a variety of sailing dates offered throughout the year to destinations around the world. Therefore, depending on your travel plans, you may have the opportunity to appreciate the extra amenities of a Distinctive Voyages cruise.