CEE EAB Spring Meeting – Saturday Sightseeing, April 5, 2025

Trip Highlights

  • Saturday - Tour the Project Visioning Center for Tampa Bay’s largest mixed-use development Water Street, an ongoing 10-year joint venture with Bill Gates, transforming the Channelside District.

  • Saturday - Tour of Tampa Bay with a professional certified tour guide.

  • Saturday - Step back in time with a visit to the H.B. Plant Museum, formerly the Tampa Bay Hotel and now part of University of Tampa. (See below for more details)

  • Saturday - Lunch on your own at the Armature Works Food Hall and Events Center, a new historic preservation project, formerly Tampa’s streetcar depot.

  • Saturday - Tour America’s oldest family-owned Cigar Factory in Ybor City before heading to the airport for an optional drop off or return to the hotel! (See below for video & details)

Description

Join your EAB colleagues and fellow CEE alumni in Tampa, FL home to one of Georgia Tech’s largest alumni networks outside of Georgia. With over 1800 alumni and current students, Tampa has strong connections to Tech and also has one of the largest Civil Engineering populations in the country. Enjoy an exciting weekend of meetings, project site visits, and sightseeing excursions!

As a service to CEE, SerVacations has organized an optional day of project site visits and sightseeing in Tampa for Saturday, April 5th after the EAB meeting and activities at cost. Your cost for the transportation, tour guides, admission to attractions, special entertainment, and gratuities will not exceed $185 per person. To reserve a spot for you and your guest, please make a deposit of $50pp at this time. On March 1st you will be auto-billed for the remainder, which may be adjusted lower than $185, depending on attendance.

There will be an optional drop off at the airport on Saturday afternoon for flights leaving after 6:30pm. Transportation will return to the hotel for all other guests staying over on Saturday night, and they can enjoy dinner on their own that evening.

Deadline to Register: February 17, 2025
Register by clicking the “Book Now” Button

Water Street Tampa Project Visioning Center
Water Street Tampa Project Visioning Center

SPP’s current project, Water Street Tampa, is an entirely new kind of urban community, embodying an entirely unique urban energy. Designed to deepen people’s interactions with the cityscape, the natural environment and each other, Water Street Tampa embraces wellbeing and outdoor living. Walkable streets connect homes, offices, shops, and hotels – all along an accessible waterfront.

We will visit the state-of-the-art Project Visioning Center that take 3-D modeling and holographic images to the next level in presenting how Water Street is transforming the skyline of downtown and the Channelside district.

H.B. Plant Museum (formerly The Tampa Bay Hotel)
H.B. Plant Museum (formerly The Tampa Bay Hotel)

Tour fascinating exhibits that showcase the history of Tampa and the world from the perspective of this famous former hotel that experienced its heyday during the time of the steamboat, luxury railroad cars, and the Spanish American War. The 1888 palatial hotel showcases what the resort life of the rich and famous was like during the Victorian Era.

J.C. Newman Cigar Factory Tour at El Reloj
J.C. Newman Cigar Factory Tour at El Reloj

The Newman family looks forward to welcoming our board on a top to bottom exploration of El Reloj, the only cigar factory still in operation in Cigar City, (Tampa, FL). This tour takes guests through the process of cigar-making both by hand and on antique cigar machines, the Newman family legacy, the history of Cigar City, and much more. Three stories high, and one city-block long, this historic cigar factory is fantastic.

The American was the first cigar brand rolled in J.C. Newman’s historic El Reloj factory when it opened in 1910 in Ybor City, Florida. A century later, The American has been reintroduced as a 100% American cigar, once again hand rolled in El Reloj. This brand honors America’s cigar tradition by rolling world-class cigars in America using the finest American-grown, aged, heirloom tobaccos. From the tobacco to cigar molds to the wood cabinet boxes, everything is proudly grown and made in America.

Tour info

Duration
1 day 7 hours
Group Size
Up to 50
Price starts at
$185
Meeting Point

3050 N Rocky Point Dr W Tampa FL

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Why take this tour?

Check out this video about El Reloj the historic factory of J.C. Newman Cigar Company!

Included

  • Deluxe Bus Transportation

  • Driver and Guide Gratuities

  • Drop off at Airport & Hotel after touring

Frequently asked questions

Tampa: - Tampa Museum of Art - The Florida Aquarium - Busch Gardens - University of South Florida - Sparkman Wharf - Tampa Riverwalk St. Petersburg: - Salvador Dali Museum - Museum of Fine Art - Museum of the American Arts and Crafts Movement - James Western Art Museum - Stroll on Beach Drive - Fort DeSoto State Park - St. Pete Beach Clearwater: - Clearwater Beach (Always ranked in Top 10 in America) - Clearwater Marine Aquarium (Made famous in the Dolphin Tale movies) Other: - Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks - Weeki Wachee - Crystal River Swim with the Manatees - Sarasota - Ringling Museum - Sun n Fun Fly-In April 1-6th - 2nd largest fly-in in the nation for aviation buffs
It’s of course up to you. A lot of people will likely arrive on Wednesday night and depart on Sunday morning. But there is so much to see in Tampa Bay that we will only be scratching the surface! The meetings start at 11:30AM on Thursday with lunch at the hotel and end on Saturday following touring, with an optional airport drop off around 4:30pm and then return to the hotel.
We plan to drop off at the airport around 4:30pm so please do not schedule your flight until after 6:30pm.
Here are some restaurants very close to the hotel that we recommend: Oystercatchers - gourmet cuisine, fresh seafood, elegant ambiance with water views Whiskey Joe’s - sunset views on Tampa Bay, casual restaurant with island fare Casa Cami - atop the nearby Current Hotel, upscale Mexican cuisine with gorgeous views Bahama Breeze - walking distance from the hotel There are so many fabulous restaurants just a short Uber ride away in the Westshore, SoHo, or Hyde Park districts. Also Saturday night is the NCAA Women’s Final Four Championship Game in Tampa if you want to brave downtown/Water Street and get tickets!

Things to know

Flexible Cancellation Policy

You can cancel and receive a full refund anytime prior to the registration deadline of February 17th. After that time, all sales are final, but you may transfer your ticket to another person.

You can cancel and receive a full refund anytime prior to the registration deadline of February 17th. After that time, all sales are final, but you may transfer your ticket to another person.

Easy Payment Plan

You can register to save your spot today for $50. You will be auto-billed the remainder on March 1st.

You can register to save your spot today for $50. You will be auto-billed the remainder on March 1st.

Health & Accessibility

You must be in good health to participate in this tour as there will be a significant amount of walking during sightseeing, and you must be able to get on and off of motorcoaches on your own. We regret that we can not give you individual assistance; in such cases you must be accompanied by a companion who will assist you.

You must be in good health to participate in this tour as there will be a significant amount of walking during sightseeing, and you must be able to get on and off of motorcoaches on your own. We regret that we can not give you individual assistance; in such cases you must be accompanied by a companion who will assist you.

Itinerary Changes

While we do the very best at making sure all items listed in your itinerary are included, there are times when conditions beyond our control may affect your program/itinerary, including but not limited to delays, weather, attraction closure, time constraints, or changes made by your tour leader, tour guide, or the local office.

While we do the very best at making sure all items listed in your itinerary are included, there are times when conditions beyond our control may affect your program/itinerary, including but not limited to delays, weather, attraction closure, time constraints, or changes made by your tour leader, tour guide, or the local office.

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From $185

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