SSQQ Travel is a Travel Club run by
Rick Archer
and
Marla
Archer. The SSQQ Travel Club began in 1998 as an offshoot of
SSQQ
Dance Studio in Houston, Texas. Marla is the brains of the operation. Marla is a home-based travel agent who schedules each cruise
and books the passengers (Marla does
individual bookings as well).
Rick helps by carrying the luggage and writing crazy stories
at the conclusion of each
trip.
Rick and Marla met on the 2001 SSQQ Summer Dance Cruise. Their ship was
initially headed to Cancun, but headed to Vera Cruz instead
to elude a hurricane. At the stroke of Midnight on the
first night of the trip, Rick and Marla had their very own
Cinderella experience. They met on the dance
floor during a ship-sponsored singles dance.
Once they went to the top deck, those storm winds had quite
an effect. They have never been apart since.
The story of
how Rick and Marla met stands as highly convincing
evidence of the powerful role the sea can play in creating
Romance. To complete the
circle, three years later Rick and Marla decided to marry at sea. Their
2004
Wedding Cruise aboard the Rhapsody
had more goofy twists than a madcap 'I Love Lucy' episode.
Fortunately, all's well that ends well.
In
reflection, the 2004
Wedding Cruise was the trip when our 'Group
Identity' began to form. Over the years since, the SSQQ
Travel Club has bonded into an extended family of
sorts. It
is a fact that people who travel together grow very close.
Not only do we have marvelous adventures at sea, those
shared experiences are relived throughout the year back in
Houston.
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Over a 14 year span,
SSQQ has
taken 21 group cruise adventures.
You can click on any icon to review a previous trip or look at
an upcoming trip.
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We typically take one dance cruise around the Western Caribbean each
year plus a second cruise to a special destination. Now that
many of our friends are nearing retirement age, as their interest in
travel increases, Marla has begun to schedule more cruises each
year.
2012 has been a prolific
year for cruises. So far there have been trips to the Panama
Canal, the Eastern Caribbean, and the Titanic Memorial Cruise. In 2012 SSQQ
has two more trips scheduled -
Russia in August, & the new
Magic out of
Galveston in October.
For information, email
marla@ssqq.com
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In all those years, only
one couple has ever missed the boat. That was on the Barcelona 2009
trip. They missed the ship in Marseille, spent the night
in a hotel, then took a train over to Barcelona the next day. It was
more of an embarrassment than a tragedy. Considering Marla has booked over 1,800 passengers,
she hasn't lost anyone yet. Of course you could be the first.
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We have been doing this for
so many years that many people want to revisit some of previous
destinations. We will definitely return to Hawaii in 2013.
Count on it. There is a lot of interest in Alaska for 2013 as well.
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People ask us all
the time if our Travel Club is for singles. The answer
is yes. Other people ask if our
Travel Club for couples. Yes. We have learned
from experience that "singles" and "doubles" play well
together on our trips.
It doesn't matter whether
you are traveling alone, in pairs, or with some of your
family. Traveling with our group gives you the
flexibility to do whatever you want.
You can
be alone,
you can hang out with a friend, or you can join the group
for a trip ashore. One thing for sure - when the dance
music comes on, you can to see a lot of familiar
faces out on
that floor.
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As you might expect, the
dance floor is the perfect spot for singles and couples to
merge. You will be pleased to know that practically
every person in our group is comfortable dancing with everyone
regardless of their marital status. There simply
aren't any barriers between the singles and the doubles out on
the dance floor. We all understand that Dancing, the
premier social skill, allows us the opportunity to mix
with everyone.
Oddly enough,
that attitude extends to our notorious hot tub stuffing
adventures as well. Here again, the singles and the
couples sit happily together for hours on end slowly
simmering in the warm water.
Their laughter makes it
clear that it doesn't matter whether someone is married or
single. We are a family that enjoys having fun together. There is a kinship among our
group that is special indeed. And, by the way... rest reassured that new
members are always welcome! Those cruise ships can
hold a lot of people and our friendship knows no bounds.
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One of the
special features of a cruise vacation is the flexibility that allows
everyone to find exactly what they are looking for. Some hang
with the group on excursions, others venture out alone. Some
chill, others thrill.
It doesn't matter what your romantic situation is, an SSQQ cruise
trip will make it even better. It turns out that the famous 'SSQQ
Slow Dance and Romance Magic' is just as powerful at sea as it
is on land. Maybe even more.
Since our
Travel Club originated at a dance studio, dancing
will always play a big part of every cruise
adventure. As you can see, our group claims
every dance floor as our own personal fiefdom. Every
single person in that picture is with our Travel Club.
Plus
there are twenty more people not pictured who are dancing in different
corners as well. Not only do all dance
floors belong to us, we will find a place to dance on that ship no matter how big
our group is. Just play the music.
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It turns out that Cruise trips feature many
opportunities for people to dance. One of the real
treats in life is dancing in a luxurious setting
to romantic music complete with band and vocalist. Slow Dance and Romance go hand in
hand. Nothing quite compares to the pleasure of dancing in
each other's arms to a love song. For some reason, most of us don't take
the time to seek out special moments like these back on
land. Thank goodness we have the magic of the sea to give us
these enchanted evenings.
Whether it is
swaying to the music or a fast Jitterbug to "Jump Jive and
Wail", our group of dancers puts on quite a show. One of the
curious features of every trip is watching guests from all
over the ship line up to watch our group dance the night
away. You can see how envious they are.
Few people in America
take the time to learn how to dance. Their long faces
are testimony to the importance of learning how to dance
ahead of time. These onlookers discover the hard
way that partner dancing cannot be learned overnight.
It is our good fortune to have the dance studio throughout the
year to prepare ahead of time.
If you are
interested in our Travel Group, please sign up for our
Newsletter. This bi-monthly Newsletter helps everyone keep track of Travel Updates
as well as
current dance events here in Houston. Rick writes
the Newsletter, then sends it out by
email. There is no charge, no advertising, no
membership fee, nor will your email
address ever be shared. If you would like to receive the
Newsletter,
CLICK HERE.
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