Company Update / Letter from Joey

Good Day to our Loyal Travelers!

We hope you have enjoyed our weekly positive newsletters highlighting some unique stories, destinations, and giving you a chuckle during these challenging times! Our tour directors, drivers, and home office staff have missed seeing you over the last few months. Even though we haven’t been on the road, we have been diligently communicating with all travelers on tours that were cancelled or affected by the pandemic. I want to personally thank all of you for your nice comments and patience as we have processed refunds or moved many of you to our 2021 tours. From our conversations with you, we know that you can’t wait to travel again! We are seeing some exciting developments and are extremely excited about the future!

As some of you may know, all of our tours have been either postponed or cancelled through the end of October 2020, but we are very optimistic about our November and December Christmas Tours. We still have limited space available on our very popular Branson Christmas tours, and because the remainder of our 2020 tours are operating at 50% capacity, they will fill quickly! For a refresh, click HERE to see our Peace of Mind Policy.

We have been working hard on our 2021 tour schedule, and most of our tours for next year are already online to view and book. Our 2021 tour schedule will boast over 140 different tour opportunities, including new tours such as Utah’s Mighty 5 and America’s Amish Country, as well as the return of our most popular Mackinac Island and Autumn in New England itineraries. Our industry leading selection and variety of tours includes National Parks, Autumn Foliage, Rail Tours, Nebraska Football, Cruises, Alaska and many more! I would encourage you to think about and book your 2021 travel soon as we are already seeing an increase in demand due to this years events.

We hope to restart our Moostash Joe Tours Monthly publication in the near future, so be on the lookout! If you are not on our mailing list and would like to be so, please let us know. As we come out of COVID-19, Moostash Joe Tours and our dedicated team will be here to serve you. From our humble beginnings over 45 years ago, our commitment to service, integrity and the safety of every traveler will continue to be our guiding light. Our mission will remain the same; to help our travelers discover the wonder and majesty of God’s creation through travel.

Looking forward to seeing you on the road very soon!

Joey Spellerberg

President, Moostash Joe Tours

COVID-19 Update / Peace of Mind Policy

During this unprecedented time, the health and safety of our travelers has always been and will always be our number one priority. Along with our motorcoach partner, Arrow Stage Lines, we are thrilled to introduce our new Peace of Mind Policy, which puts the health and safety of our travelers first, gets us back on the road and continues to help others discover the wonder and majesty of God’s creation through travel. Highlights for the remainder of the year include:

  • All motorcoach tours will be limited to 50% capacity.
  • Travelers will receive a full refund, for any reason, up until the day before departure on all motorcoach tours

Click HERE to see our complete Peace of Mind Policy, along with other resources moving forward. We have many great tours coming up! Because of limited capacity, don’t wait to secure your spot. Our team is ready to serve you!

Click the links below to browse a few of our most popular upcoming fall tours!

Weekly Positive Newsletter (4/27)

In light of these challenging times, we’ve been sending out a weekly positive newsletter to our email list since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States mid-March. If you’d like to receive these weekly newsletters delivered to your inbox, please provide us with your email address. We hope you are all staying safe and healthy and that this brings you a bit of joy and happiness each week!

Photo of the Week:

Mackinac Island, one of our favorite destinations! For centuries, visitors have found this national landmark to be the ideal vacation spot. No cars. No chain hotels. Just world-famous Mackinac Island Fudge, historic Fort Mackinac, unique shopping, diverse dining and unspoiled nature.

Fun Facts about Mackinac Island:

  • No motor vehicles! Motor vehicles were banned from the island at the end of the 19th century and the restriction continues today. The only modes of transportation are horses, bikes and your own feet!
  • Mackinac Island was the second national park, then the land was given to Michigan in 1895. There are more than 70 miles of trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding.
  • More than 500 horses are brought to the island every spring and taken off the island for winter. Many of the horses are used to pull wagons for guest taxis, maintenance supplies, island tours and business needs.
  • Approximately 7,000 people live on the island during the summer months as tourist season brings many temporary workers to help at the restaurants, shops, hotels, bed and breakfasts and elsewhere. During the winter, only 400-500 islanders remain.
  • There are 14 fudge shops on the island! So much fudge is made that more than 10 tons of butter is brought to the island every year!

Quote of the Week:

“The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do.”

-Kobe Bryant

Story of the Week:

Rocks, Pebbles and Sand

A philosophy professor once stood up before his class with a large empty mayonnaise jar. He filled the jar to the top with large rocks and asked his students if the jar was full. His students all agreed the jar was full. He then added small pebbles to the jar and gave the jar a bit of a shake so the pebbles could disperse themselves among the larger rocks. Then he asked again, “Is the jar full now?” The students agreed that the jar was still full. The professor then poured sand into the jar to fill up all the remaining empty space. The students then agreed again that the jar was full.

In this story, the jar represents our life and the rocks, pebbles, and sand are the things that fill up our life. The rocks represent the most important projects and things we have going on, such as spending time with our family and maintaining proper health. This means that if the pebbles and the sand were lost, the jar would still be full, and our life would still have meaning.

The pebbles represent the things in our life that matter, but that we might live without. The pebbles are certainly things that give our life meaning (such as our job, house, hobbies and friendships) but they are not critical for us to have a meaningful life. These things often come and go and are not permanent or essential to our overall well-being.

Finally, the sand represents the remaining filler things in our life, and material possessions. This could be small things such as watching television, browsing through our favorite social media site, or running errands. These things don’t mean much to our life as a whole.

Moral of the story: The metaphor here is that if we start with putting the sand into the jar, we will not have room for rocks or pebbles. This holds true with the things we let into our life. If we spend all of our time on the small and insignificant things, we might run out of room for the things that are actually important.

Chuckle of the Week:

Quarantine has turned us into dogs. We roam the house all day looking for food. We are told “no” if we get too close to strangers, and we get really excited about car rides.

Moostash Joe Tours Monthly – April

Happy Spring from all of us here at Moostash Joe Tours! We hope you, your families and your loved ones are all staying safe and healthy. We also want to thank you for the awesome response we’ve had with the weekly positive newsletters. There’s no doubt we can all use some positivity, inspirational thoughts and a bit of humor, especially now, and we look forward to continue to send them to your inbox weekly.

The April edition of Moostash Joe Tours Monthly is here! Simply click on the front cover below to flip through the digital version, which also includes links to each tour page on our website.

Please Note: Our April publication was printed before the COVID-19 situation in the United States in mid-March. For an updated list of upcoming tours, please see our website, www.mjtours.com. If you have any questions about a particular tour, please feel free to reach out as we’re continuing as normal as possible here at the home office.

This special publication is all about Nebraska Football! We’re definitely looking forward to the Huskers’ upcoming college football season and I know you probably are as well! You’ll see all of our upcoming Nebraska Football tours, including our Nebraska vs. Illinois Ireland 2021 tour which already has a large group signed up! If you are at all interested, we encourage you to sign up as soon as possible as there is currently very limited availability. Our Nebraska Football tours are year-after-year some of our most popular and we know you’ll have a great time with many like-minded fans and plenty of camaraderie! Go Big Red!

In his letter, Joey tells a story about a special memory he associates with Nebraska Football and challenges you the send in the same. We’d love to hear from you! And finally, our Discover the Difference page highlights Tour Director Vicki Allen, who loves her job and leaves an incredible impact to those she meets on the road.

April’s Moostash Joe Tours Monthly can also be found on our website under the “TOURS” tab, along with all of our previous monthly publications.

From the entire team here at Moostash Joe Tours, we certainly miss seeing you, our wonderful travelers and being out on the road, but we know this difficult situation will pass and we all will be stronger for it. Your health and safety will always be our top priority and we look forward to continue to discover the wonder and majesty of God’s creation very soon.

Update on the coronavirus

FREMONT, NEBRASKA, March 12, 2020

Moostash Joe Tours announced that it is canceling tours up until April 12, 2020. Travelers on tours during this time will receive a full refund of all monies paid or an incentive offer to apply monies to a future tour.

Joey Spellerberg, President of Moostash Joe Tours had these comments:

“Since starting operations in 1975, we have always focused on putting our travelers first in everything we do. Our number one priority is the safety and well-being of our guests. Out of an abundance of caution regarding the spread of the coronavirus, we have decided to take these temporary measures to our operations. Travel is essential to life and we know that we will overcome these challenges with an unwavering commitment to our travelers, employees and travel partners. We know we will come back from this stronger than ever. Our mission will always hold true and that is to continue to help our travelers discover the wonder and majesty of God’s creation through travel. We have always been a leader in the group travel industry and will continue to lead the way during this challenging time.”

Tours currently affected include:

Grand Canyon by Rail #1: March 14 – 22, 2020

The Great Sandhill Crane Migration: March 18 – 19, 2020

Orpheum Broadway Series – Dear Evan Hansen: March 21, 2020

Grand Canyon by Rail #2: March 21 – 29, 2020

Georgia and the Carolina’s Spring #1: March 21 – 31, 2020

Mystery Tour “S”: March 26 – 27, 2020

Gulf Coast Adventure: March 27 – April 4, 2020

Washington, D.C. Spring: March 30 – April 8, 2020

Travelers on the above tours can rest assured that we will soon be contacting them and going through all of their options. Tours after April 12, 2020 will also have updated final payment dates to give our travelers more flexibility.

To learn more about Moostash Joe Tours, please visit their website at www.mjtours.com

Moostash Joe Tours Monthly – March

Moostash Joe Tours update regarding the coronavirus:

Moostash Joe Tours is aware of and understands that there may be uncertainty felt among some travelers about the effects of the coronavirus. Our number one priority is the safety, security and well-being of our travelers. At this time, all of our tours are operating as scheduled. We encourage that everyone follow the preventative actions advised by the CDC to mitigate the spread of any virus. We want this milestone year to be a memorable year for you and your loved ones, and we encourage you to continue to discover the wonder of God’s creation through travel!

The smell of spring is in the air! But, doesn’t it seem like the Midwest has a history of teasing us with this beautiful weather an then takes us back to reality when a week of winter comes out of nowhere?

This month’s publication features some great summer tours, complete with new activities and recent favorites. You’ll see a few new destinations and itineraries, such as The Canadian Rockies, Destination Door County, WI and Black Hills and Badlands. For sports fans, we’ve brought back a two-game series between the Cubs & Cardinals at must-see Wrigley Field as well as a Cardinals & Yankees game in our Best of St. Louis tour. AND, not to mention our first ever GOLF TOUR! Join Joey and John Spellerberg as you play four premier western Nebraska golf courses in four days! Sure to be a blast for any golfer.

The unbelievable Norwegian Breakaway is on the front cover and sails the Caribbean in December, which we think is a perfect time to get away from the cold! You’ll also find a Panama Canal Cruise later this year that includes an intimate excursion through the Panama Canal – traveling to the Pacific Ocean and back to the Gulf in the same day!

In his letter, Joey talks a little bit about Moostash Joe Tours’ involvement in American Bus Association as well as being a tourist in your own backyard. And finally, our Discover the Difference page highlights Tour Director Amy Christensen, who does a magnificent job on the road.

March’s Moostash Joe Tours Monthly can also be found on our website under the “TOURS” tab, along with all of our previous monthly publications.

Happy Traveling!

Moostash Joe Tours Monthly – February

Happy February! In case you missed it, Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow, meaning spring is right around the corner!

February’s edition of Moostash Joe Tours Monthly is here! Simply click on the front cover below to flip through the digital version, which also includes links to each tour page on our website as well as a few helpful videos on select tours.

This month’s publication features a little insight into our annual Tour Director and Home Office Retreat in the Letter from Joey. This year the entire Moostash Joe Tours team spent an afternoon volunteering at the Food Bank for the Heartland. If you aren’t aware, the Food Bank does incredible work feeding folks in Nebraska and western Iowa, and volunteering is a ton of fun!

The cover photo features San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, which is included on our Great Pacific Coast Adventure tour and is year-after-year one of our most popular. The tour also features Crater Lake National Park, which Moostash Joe himself said was “the most scenic sight I’ve ever seen!”

Next, there are quite a few featured upcoming bus tours that have very limited availability, and we encourage you no to wait too much longer if you are at all interested.

Finally, our Discover the Difference page this month highlights Tour Director Nancy Gutschow, who has taken the job by storm! We know you’ll enjoy getting to know a little bit more about her.

February’s Moostash Joe Tours Monthly can also be found on our website under the “TOURS” tab, along with all of our previous monthly publications.

Happy Traveling!

Moostash Joe Tours Monthly – January

Happy New Year! We hope you had a safe and enjoyable holiday season and are ready for an exciting 2020, because we sure are!

January’s edition of Moostash Joe Tours Monthly includes a lot! First, you’ll notice the 2020 Tour List, which is a quick way to see ALL of the tours we offer along with each individual early booking discount deadline – so you don’t miss out on great savings! This will be a running list of our upcoming tours that will be included in each monthly tour publication moving forward. Next, we want to make sure you check out the “Letter from Joey,” as he tells a story of a great tradition he and John carry on during each holiday season. Speaking of John, one of his favorite places in the world is highlighted on the front cover, Glacier National Park, which is featured in our Great Parks of the Northwest Tour. Also, there are quite a few featured upcoming tours that have very limited availability, and we encourage you not to wait too much longer if you are at all interested. Finally, our “Discover the Difference” page this month highlights Tour Director Claire Grosse. Claire is one of our most experienced Tour Director’s and has a very fun-loving personality and unique sense of humor. We know you’ll enjoy getting to know Claire a little bit better.

In addition to the Moostash Joe Tours Monthly, there are a few other exciting things we’d love to tell you about!

  1. Customer Survey – Many of you received and completed the Customer Survey we sent out last month, and we just wanted to THANK YOU for the INCREDIBLE response! We received so much valuable information which will help us continue to provide the absolute best tours with the top destinations and the greatest service for you, your family and friends.
  2. Norfolk Lodge & Suites – We are so excited to begin picking-up on all of our tours at our new Norfolk, NE pick-up location! The Norfolk Lodge & Suites is Norfolk’s premier full-service hotel, which features ample parking, spacious rooms along with a restaurant and microbrewery! For those coming from out of town, be sure to take advantage of our negotiated rate and start your vacation early!
  3. Tour Director Retreat – This Thursday and Friday, we’re thrilled to once again have all of our Tour Director’s come together for a couple days of relationship building, community service and fun! In addition, we’ll be discussing new ideas and ways to make our customer experience on our tours even better. Stay tuned for pictures!
  4. ABA (American Bus Association) – It’s ABA week! Joey and John Spellerberg will once again represent Moostash Joe Tours at the annual American Bus Association Marketplace, January 11-14. It is a special year as the Marketplace is right down the road in Omaha! Hundreds of destination representatives and delegates from all over the United States will converge in Omaha to share ideas and solidify relationships. Attending this trade conference each year is a commitment Moostash Joe Tours has on planning the most innovative itineraries and being the FIRST to market, while the others are waiting and watching to see what we do next!

Below, you’ll find the cover of the January issue of Moostash Joe Tours Monthly. Just click on the front cover below to flip through the digital version, which includes links to each tour page on our website as well as a few helpful videos on select tours. This monthly tours publication can also be found on our website under the “TOURS” tab, along with all of our previous monthly publications. Make 2020 your year to see the world!

Happy Traveling!

Moostash Joe Tours Monthly – December

Season’s Greetings from the team here at Moostash Joe Tours! We hope your holiday season so far has been filled with loved ones and many wonderful memories. We have been busy wrapping up the years final Christmas tours before preparing for an amazing 2020!

December’s Moostash Joe Tours Monthly is bigger and better than ever! There are simply too many awesome things happening here to tell you about. Below are just a few highlights to make sure to check out in this special year-end edition of our monthly publication!

1) The 2020 Tour Schedule – Browse our complete list of tours for next year in one, convenient location. Perhaps bring this list to your next family gathering or over a cup of coffee with your friends and share your travel thoughts!
2) Nebraska vs. Illinois Football Ireland 2021 – We’re headed to Ireland to see Nebraska Football kick-off their 2021 college football season! We’ve meticulously put together a tour package featuring Ireland’s must-see highlights and at a great price. We’ve had incredible response since our release the past couple of weeks and seats are filling fast. Be sure to take advantage of our FREE AIRFARE offer!
3) New Tours for 2020 – In our featured upcoming tours section, we highlight just a few of our exciting new tours we have planned for 2020 like The Canadian Rockies, Nova Scotia and Canada’s Maritimes, Great Lakes of North America, Autumn in New England by Air and Classic Italy by Rail!
4) Orpheum Broadway Series – We’ve partnered with Omaha’s celebrated Orpheum Theater to make it easy for you to enjoy Broadway’s most popular performances right here in Omaha! Enjoy a stress-free day filled with world-class entertainment, a delicious meal and many new friends!
5) Discover the Difference featuring Tour Director John Spellerberg – Get to know a little bit more about Moostash Joe’s son, John! He talks about some of his favorite places, life as a Tour Director and much more.

Below you’ll find the cover of the December issue of Moostash Joe Tours Monthly. Just click on the front cover below to flip through the digital version, which includes links to each tour page on our website as well as a few helpful videos on select tours. This monthly tours publication can also be found on our website under the “TOURS” tab, along with all of our previous monthly publications. From our family to yours, a sincere thank you for another wonderful year and a very Merry Christmas.

Happy Traveling!

Testimonials

“This was our first bus tour. So glad we chose to go with Moostash Joe Tours! The trip was very well organized and our Tour Director and Driver were super. We will be traveling with Moostash Joe Tours again!” (Nashville and Memphis Spring, 2025) – Kevin & Jeanne, Ansley, NE