It takes a taste for the exotic and a little sense of adventure to consider a river cruise in Myanmar: these are not the kind of clients likely to appreciate being locked into cookie-cutter shore excursions.
That’s why Strand Cruise is opening its 2016 Ayeyarwady River cruising season with a new menu of customizable tour options, and agents can also lead clients ashore with free domestic flights if travelers combine a cruise with a night or more at The Strand Hotel in Yangon.
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| The Strand Suite |
The latter offer is good for travelers booking a Strand Cabin, State Suite or Strand Suite on the cruise along with at least one night at The Strand Hotel. The fights will meet cruisers at the beginning (Bagan) and end (Mandalay) of their trip — a savings of several hundred dollars at least.
Onboard tour staff will work with passengers aboard to 28-cabin Strand Cruise ship to arrange custom excursions, such as arranging for a car and driver to visit the Thabyinnyu temple in Bagan or the Sagaing hill pagoda. That’s in addition to existing stops on the cruise itinerary, which include the Mingun pagodas, the Maha Aungmye Bonzan in Ava and the U-Bein bridge.
The Strand Cruise launched last year as a paired experience with the The Strand Hotel in Yangon, a five-star property and landmark in the former Myanmar (Burma) capital since 1901, when the city was known as Rangoon. The hotel is currently closed for renovations, but is slated to reopen in November.
Three-night trips between Mandalay and Bagan on The Strand Cruise start at $1,782 double occupancy; four-night cruises start at $1,976. Rates are inclusive of food, drinks (other than liquor), port charges, and multilingual guides. Room rates at The Strand Yangon start at around $300 per night.
Visit www.thestrandcruise.com.