Tropical Sails Corp Travel Agency

Lee B.
Forest Lake, MN
0 friends
2 reviews
4.0 star rating 12/18/2012
I had spent at least a couple hours surfing and not having any luck finding a cruise that would arrange to be in the path of totality for the November 14, 2012 total eclipse off the coast of Australia. But then I found Dan Oppliger of Tropical Sails Corp. He specializes in eclipse cruises, gave us lots of advice and then booked us. For airline reservations, I had not been able to find tickets to Sydney (from MN) without having to stop overnight in L.A. or in the middle of the Pacific somewhere but Dan found us air that went all the way to Sydney from Minneapolis with only a short layover at LAX. That (plus a few sleeping pills) made the transportation there comfortable and hassle free. I was not looking forward to the time and expense of a round trip to some expensive hotel near LAX or wherever. Dan also made arrangements for two social events aboard the ship before and after the eclipse. The first was a get-acquainted occasion and the 2nd allowed us all to share stories about the experience and show each other our treasures (photos of the eclipse itself). He even arranged some tours ashore using public and private transportation at a much cheaper rate than the cruise line charged. In short, my wife and I were very satisfied.

Dear Dan,

We’re finally home and finished traveling for the moment, so I wanted to give you a little report on the trip to Turkey. In a word, it was great. There were a few surprises, but it all worked
out very well.

The Tussock yacht was beautiful and the crew couldn’t have been better. There was a traditional Turkish dish served at each meal, all very well prepared and delicious, and the wine and drinks were abundant. (Well, a few of the passengers griped when they ran out of gin, but vodka and tonic seemed an acceptable substitute to me.)

The man surprise was that none of the European passengers or anyone in the crew knew anything about the Venus transit. It was booked as a astronomy, nature and archeology cruise, so when we and the Marwines showed up planning on Venus being the highlight of the trip, everyone was a bit confused.

Fortunately, the captain was flexible and made sure Alan had a good spot to place his telescope, the Europeans were interested in the event as well as the other aspects of the trip, and we Americans enjoyed the nature and archeology (as well as the transit, which was brilliant–my husband took the attached photo through the telescope).

Some people signed on for more than one week of cruising, while we went sightseeing on land. The coast is truly beautiful, so either choice would have been good. And Turkey was extremely hospitable to Americans, of whom there were relatively few, at least in the places we went to.

We left the boat in Marmaris and went to Rhodes, then back to the coast and on up to Ephesus and Bodrum. Fascinating and worth the trip, even though we had too little time to see much of Rhodes, so we stayed in the old city, which is incredibly tourist-oriented. But prices were still reasonable, and it was fun to imagine where the Colossus must have stood.

One of the best things about the trip was the good people we met. You know Alan Marwine and Gail Bass, and we couldn’t have asked for nicer travel companions. We’ve been in touch by email since, and Alan tells us you are going into pharmacy. Does that mean you’ll no longer be organizing trips? I hope not, since you seem to have a feel for the kind of travel we like best.

Whatever you do, I wish you great success. And we thank you for launching us on another fine holiday.

Janet

Just wanted to let you know that we had a wonderful trip – I’m sure you’ve already heard that we lucked out on the weather! And our captains and crews did a fantastic job getting us to the centerline on time. It was great to meet, and sail with, Melissa, who really worked hard to iron out all the little snags. She certainly knows how to smooth the rumples that come along with all the people thrown together for the first time – and especially considering that the “excuse” for their meeting would last only 3.5 minutes and depended upon the weather! Gail and I thoroughly enjoyed her company and her leadership. As well, we enjoyed meeting the eclipse chasers and astronomy buffs on our boat and on the others (including, of course, Peter Midnight). Many of us enjoyed multiple evenings of star gazing from the bow. You did a great job, I thought, in assigning people to boats. We were all glad we weren’t on the party boat, as I’m sure they were all glad to be on it together and not on ours. I know you thought it unfortunate that the two children were not together, but it worked out very well. They each took advantage of their time together when they got it. It was nice to have them hail one another from the boats when were at close range, and to watch them play together on shore. Due to the circumstances, I only got one chance to get out the telescope, and was really pleased to show a few of the night sky wonders to the captains and crew, and to the passengers as they returned from dinner. It turned out that the captain of the Randa was our captain two years ago on our second week, and he still remembered seeing Jupiter and its moons from a dark beach one night. He was enthusiastic in gathering the crews together to see Saturn’s rings, and the moon and Pleiades at low power. Gail and I were very pleased to see him again, too.

Thanks very much for inviting us – I hope I fulfilled your expectations. Steve Goldberg was very helpful as was his friend Steve from Cornwall and Victor from MN. I look forward to seeing them all again. Indeed, Gail and I feel once more that we have made many new and dear friends.

Don’t yet know if any of my eclipse photos show anything more than a blur. But if there is a shot you might like, and can use in the future, I will be sure to send it to you.

Alan M.

Hi Dan.

I’m sorry that I did not get a chance to write sooner. Still trying to catch up from the trip.

All went well. The group was an interesting bunch and a good time was had by all.  Singapore is an exciting place, but way too hot and muggy to properly enjoy. We took advantage of several excursions and they all paid off well.

The eclipse was perfect. Sailed to a clear spot and got a nice place on deck to watch the whole thing.

The Sky & Telescope crowd had many events — all private. Several special guests — Bob Naeye, Dr. Krupp, and Fred Espanack.
We didn’t even hear about what they were doing.

Accommodations prety good, but not as nice as the Dawn Princess. Food on ship good. Food on land a bit spotty but recognizable.
I want to thank you for arranging the drink packages for me and Cathy. They worked out well for both of us.

With the high temperatures, we drank a lot of water.

That’s all for now.

I have not yet organized my photos, but I’m working on it. It took me 2 days to adjust to solid and firm ground and over a week to readjust to the time zones.
Those flights are so long and the planes more uncomfortable than ever.

Once again, thanks for everything.

Another successful trip!

Bob

Dan Is awesome at helping you make travel plans and helping you see everything you want to see on your trip he is very personable and kind. I was able to see everything on my list because of him.

Thank you! Hi, my name is Cliff Watson.

First of all, I am the Coordinator of the Pomona Astronomy Club Queensland Australia and President of the Combined Coastal Car Club, Cooroy, Qld, Australia.
I have known Dave Reneke for several years and have been and assisted him on a number of occasions. We had been, planning a tour of the United States for a few years when the offer to take your tour came along, so this was it! I had not travelled out of Australia before this, and this was my first Jet flight. Wow!

As we spent a week in LA I got used to the American culture and some of the sights, Mt Wilson Observatory, The Californian Science Institute (I did cry when I saw the Space Shuttle Endeavour, which is also the name of Lieutenant Cooks Ship who discovered Australia. Magnificent) and some telescope observing, saw the Big Dipper and Polaris for the first time!

What a Fantastic country. I felt welcome and secure everywhere we went and it seems Americans love us Ozzies! Then off to Salt Lake City to join the Tropical Sails Tour and another adventure.
I would like to thank Tropical Sails Tour Group for organizing at  Total Eclipse Tour of Yellow Stone National Park, The Grand Teton Mountains and the great event itself, a Total Solar Eclipse.
I was surprised in the diversity of people and countries that we met at the start of the tour and our Tour Director, Steve Kaverman and Dave the driver (nice Coach too).

The first part of the trip we all got to learn a bit about each other on the coach and traveling through Utah and Idaho, Steve informed us on some of the great history and sights along the way, I still had a hard time with the fact that I was in Idaho! (potatoes, Radar O Riley from MASH etc. and I was there!)   READ MORE

Kingsley A.
Santa Rosa, CA
0 friends
1 review
4.0 star rating 3/24/2013
From Allen and Marcia K
We enjoyed sailing on the the Mandalay immensely, as we have the other times we have we sailed her.  The crew was superb, and the food was wonderful, and the ship was everthing we remembered. We would like to see her Sail for a two week voyage, as it sailed before. One week is not enough!

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