Greek Island Cruise (Part 1)

(52 Reviews)
100% Recommended

Lola Stoker

Mississauga, ON

Cruise Holidays | Luxury Travel Boutique

I was born in The Netherlands and moved to Canada in my early twenties. I started my career in travel and hospitality in Ottawa and later moved to Toronto where I have lived and worked ever since. My home is in Etobicoke, a quiet neighbourhood i...

My background includes a Degree in Hotel Management from the University of Maastrict, The Netherlands. A veteran of the hospitality industry, I spent my early years working in catering, restaurant management and sales. Later, an opportunity arose in Corporate Travel Sales where I represented some of the larger corporate travel companies in Canada. Although I enjoyed this career, I was always envious of the leisure travel specialists that I met; they seemed to be having so much fun researching and booking dream vacations for their clients.

In 2012, I decided to pursue a career in leisure travel and started a boutique travel agency with my husband, specializing in cruises and custom vacations. I've learned more about myself and the world than I ever imagined. I am truly grateful to have this opportunity to help clients, who have been bitten by the travel bug, plan their trips and cruises.

Many of my clients have spent most of their lives in North America and are eager to see more of the world. Canada is an absolutely gorgeous country, but I believe that it is important for people to travel, experience different destinations and cultures to broaden their horizons and enrich their lives. This could mean an escorted tour in Asia, an expedition trip to Antarctica or a relaxing river cruise in Europe.

My background gives me a unique perspective when booking cruises and other travel experiences for my clients. Born in The Netherlands, I traveled extensively throughout Europe. After moving to Canada as a young adult, I continued to travel extensively to Asia, the Caribbean and Mexico. Eventually, opening my own travel agency will allow me to use my unique expertise to help a variety of valued clients.

I love connecting with my clients, hearing their stories and seeing their pictures of their travel experiences after they return. This was particularly true with a client who booked a trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. The client had the opportunity to stay in a jungle resort with an amazing view of a volcano, visit the city of Quito, cruise the Galapagos Islands and get close to the extraordinary wildlife there. The pictures I received after this trip were absolutely breathtaking!

While I travel quite a bit with my agency, I make sure I am available for my clients. While my clients are abroad, I make it a point of being reachable so that I can quickly respond to any questions they may have. After my clients have returned, I'm always eager to discuss their trip, not only to learn about their experiences but to find ways to improve my service to them.

My number one mission is to deliver a once in a lifetime, worry free travel experience through superior service, excellent value and relevant expertise - and I will do whatever it takes to achieve that goal!

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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to take a Turkey and Greek Islands cruise holiday? Peter M. Wong, CARP Mississauga board member and Lola Stoker, CARP Etobicoke member, also co-owners of Cruise Holidays | Luxury Travel Boutique recently went on a Turkey and Greek Islands cruise holiday on Azamara Club Cruises. Read about their amazing cruise and see their photos and videos of their trip on the CARP website by clicking the photo or the link here. Day 1 - YYZ to Istanbul – 10 hour flight – Departed 1 hour late at 5:30 pm arrived 10:20 am Monday morning. Istanbul customs very busy. Long walk to foreign nationals queue. Took 45 minutes to be processed. The longest wait appeared to be for the computer system to refresh. Lots of frayed nerves especially in the Turkish national line up. Foreigners seemed to take it in stride. Istanbul is a modern developed city – very spread out, but manageable. Hotel transfer was a good option – not sure I could instruct the taxi driver where to go. Found our name taped to the barriers upon exit from baggage claim. Hotel Rep met us and called the car to come. Ten minutes of waiting and the vehicle showed up. Spacious and air conditioned. Our hotel was about 45 mins from the airport in the old part of Istanbul. The Sultanhan Hotel is on a back street near the main avenue that leads to the Grand Bazaar. Nice hotel, but not luxurious. Great location. Drove past the Hyatt Regency and other high rise north American hotels, but it would be 40 mins into town each way so recommend staying in Old Town.Arrived at our hotel at 12:30 pm and room was ready. Couldn’t manage going out in the afternoon heat after three hours sleep, so crashed for 4 hours. Got up at 5:00 local time and walked to the Grand Bazaar. What a fantastic and exotic place covering many square blocks of stores of exquisite and trashy mix of products and artifacts – carpets, metalware, leather, silk, spices, sweets, clothing…could spend all day and shopping. Major purchase was two silk scarves that started out at 50 Turkish Lira each for 55 TL for two. For dinner, we found a modern outdoor café on the main avenue with a troubadour and great table for people watching. Ordered Turkish Pizza and meat wraps. Light and reasonable. Met a couple that were going on the same cruise as us. Turkish coffee after dinner, then a walk towards the Blue Mosque. We have a formal tour organized by a supplier Tuesday morning, so didn’t walk all the way to the Blue Mosque. On the main avenue, there were numerous side streets lined with outdoor restaurants of all kinds. Romantic settings with candle lights and gentle cool breezes and lots of people watching. Notices a very nice looking upscale hotel Hagia Sofia right in a great location for more luxury conscious clients. Walking distance from all the highlights of old Istanbul. Great part of the city for walking at night. Everyone seemed to be out enjoying the cool evening. Day 2 – Tuesday July 21 – Istanbul – Breakfast on the roof top terrace of the Sultanhan Hotel with great views of the harbour and city. Private guided walking tour by Mine from Magister Tours Inc., our preferred tour guide supplier in Turkey who arrived promptly at 9:30 am. First stop – The Hypodrome square, the centre of Istanbul from a historical and cultural perspective. Even today, it is a focal point of community and religious events and ceremonies. Next to the Hypodrome is the famous The Blue Mosque – incredible history and architecture and one of the most revered mosques in Turkey if not the muslim world. Dress protocol is strictly enforced and both men and women are given shawls and wraps to ensure they are properly covered. Plastic bags are provided to carry shoes since there are too many people visiting to leave shoes at the entrance. Timing of entry is critical, especially if there are cruise ships in the harbour. There was only one large ship and the Azamara Journey, but the line up to get in grew very quickly by 10 am, so it may be a good idea to visit before 8:30 to beat the crowds. The next stop was to have been the Hagia Sophia Museum which is also one of the most sacred historic sites in Istanbul. The museum is ever larger than the Blue Mosque and is just a few hundred feet away. Unfortunately, the line up was too long and the weather was too hot to stand in line, so we opted to miss the museum this trip.Instead, we went to visit the underground Cysternes across the road from the Blue Mosque and the museum. Amazing underground water system that supplied the city’s water brought in via aquaducts from many miles away.