Update: 6/14/10
Footsteps of Paul: I have spoken to the tour company about the situation in Greece. He in turn contacted their office in Athens and they reported the following: "Everything is quiet and "business as usual" and not expecting to be any different in the future; Athens is full of tourists. There are two or three USA big cruiseships calling daily into Pireaus port and thousands of happy passengers visiting the ancient treasures and modern Athens! The Greek Government follows the directions of EEC and we already have received "Kudos" for the good work to date and into the new era."
Drew, our tour co-ordinator at Quest also reports that he had just talked to one of their tour leaders yesterday in Rome, but had just left Greece and she said you wouldn't know that anything was wrong in Greece. Their tour went perfectly. Also that with the exchange rate now, everything was a 'good buy'.
Drew also said that it was imparitive that we get our deposits in asap as they need to book our airfares as March is the busiest touring month in Greece and they want to guarentee our spot and also the current prices.
That being said, I will be sending in the deposits that I have received and request that those of you planning on going, please send or drop off your filled out enrollment form with your $300.00 deposit (made out to Quest Travel Group" within the next week.
If you are still not sure, just give me a call as we can accept reservations for another couple of months, but they need to know for sure how many are planning on going in order to book the airfare and hotels, etc.
E-mail me at c.churchbythesea@verizon.net, or mail deposits and forms to:
Church by the Sea, 495 137th Ave Circle, Madeira Beach, FL. 33708
Update: 5/3/10
Those of you that have signed up as interested in this trip or have taken a brochure, I really need to have the forms with the $300.00 deposit turned into the office or sent to me as soon as possible. I will not turn in your deposits until we have enough people to go on this trip. That way, you will not lose any of your deposit should we not get enough people to go. I do need these forms and deposits to confirm that we have enough people. If you are planning on going on this trip please send or drop these off as soon as possible. Thank you.
Footsteps of Paul: Church by the Sea is planning a wonderful Footsteps of Paul tour to Greece and Turkey in March of 2011. This tour will be both land and sea with a three to four day cruise to the Greek Isles and Turkey. We have taken this trip before and it was truly uplifting. We will explore Thessoloniki, Kavalla, Philippi, Meteores, Athens, Patmos, Santorini, Ephesus and Corinth to mention just a few of the places that Paul visited and taught, also where John wrote the book of Revelations.
We have not settled on a Tour Company as yet as we need to determine the interest in this trip. The quotes we have so far range from $2,400 to $3,500 and would be 10 days. If you are interested in going and would like further information when it is available, please send an e-mail to:
c.churchbythesea@verizon.net or call the church office at 727-391-7706.
Trip Update: 4/6/10
We have decided to use Quest Travel for our trip to Greece. They will be sending me brochures soon. I will then make them available to you. I can tell you that the trip is scheduled for March 21, 2011. It will be a ten day tour with a three night cruise. The cost per person will be $2,446 per person with an inside cabin on the ship. Adding all of the taxes, tips, airline and port surcharges, shore excursions and upgrade to an outside cabin on board comes to $3,316 per person. If you stay in an inside cabin the cost will be $3,256 per person. We try very hard to find roommates for those traveling alone, but if we can't, the single supplement is an additional $500.00.
Again, as soon as I get the information and enrollment forms, I will have them at the Welcome Center on Sunday and also in the office. Those of you who signed up for info, I will either call you or send the info to you.
I hope to hear from all of you. This is a wonderful and inspiring trip and I know you will be blessed in many ways.
