Happy Halloween Great Time to Vacation

Plan a Vacation for Halloween

October is Halloween Time at Disney Parks

Halloween can come early for you if you visit Disney Magic Kingdom during the month of October.  The park is decked out for this magical time of year and there's even a private party that you can attend.

  
Private Party - You are Invited to Attend If You Dare

Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is a Halloween-themed special event held on select dates in Magic Kingdom theme park. Purchase of an additional event admission ticket is required to attend Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.  The park is closed to other guests for the evening.

Click for More Pictures

During Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, Guests of all ages are encouraged to dress up in their favorite Halloween costumes. There are several locations where you can collect delicious candy as you trick-or-treat around Magic Kingdom theme park.  We didn't dress up, but we did take part in the trick-or-treating.

In addition to many favorite Disney attractions, Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is filled with special entertainment, including:

• Mickey's "Boo-to-You" Halloween Parade—including Disney Characters and the stars of the Haunted Mansion attraction. The parade begins with a spook-tacular ride by the Headless Horseman.
• Happy HalloWishes—a spectacular fireworks show where the Disney Villains go trick-or-treating in the sky.
• Many favorite Disney Characters and Disney Villains in special Halloween costumes.
• Special lighting, music and theming effects transforms special areas of Magic Kingdom theme park into happy haunted hollows.

We've posted some pictures from the event on our Facebook Fan Page.

Dining at Sea - What's Your Favorite Food

National Food Week

In honor of National Food Week, let's take a look at dining at sea.

What's Your 

Favorite Food 

on a Cruise

Whether you have cruised before or not, I'm sure you are aware that there's plenty of great food to be had on a cruise ship.  The first thing you'll find when you get onboard is that your cabin is not ready, but don't worry, the buffet is open and ready to serve you.  But that is just the beginning of what lies ahead.   We'll take you on a culinary journey onboard several cruise ships over several posts.  If you can't wait, we've posted some similar stories previously as well.

Myth #4 – All There is to do is Eat – I’ll Gain Weight

While it is true that there are several dining options on every cruise, we've examined this myth about nothing to do but eat previously.  Now, let's focus on the second part of that myth - that you'll gain weight.

It is possible that you could gain weight on a cruise, but if so, that will not be the cruise line's fault. There are healthy menu options on the main dining menus and while not every venue serves food for the health conscious, there are plenty of options for you to chose from.  In addition, there are full service health and fitness facilities on each ship so that you can continue your exercise routine.

One of the things the cruise line pays close attention to are any dietary requirements of their passengers. 

We took this picture during a galley tour on Azamara Journey.  The special requests consist of some religious requests, because it was during Jewish holidays, and also some specific ingredients that needed to be avoided for another passenger.

Be sure to let you cruise specialist know if you do have any special requirements so that it can be noted on your reservation and advance preparations can be made if necessary.

What's for Dinner 

You might want to start with our previous What's for Dinner article

In addition, visit our Pinterest Board where we'll be sampling some of the food and venues that we've had the pleasure of dining at in the past.

Memorable Moments in National Parks

Yellowstone National Park

Mammoth Hot Springs

This may come as a shock to some of you but, despite the name of this blog, I do travel by other means of transportation other than cruise ship.

On this particular trip, one of our stops was at Yellowstone National Park, which spans several states: Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.

North Entrance -
This 37-foot (11-m) dormant hot spring cone marks the northern portion of Mammoth Hot Springs.

Liberty Cap & 
Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel



Minerva Spring & Cleopatra Spring 

This popular stop along the Mammoth Hot Springs trail has a wide range of colors and ornate travertine formations.  A boardwalk spans the hill allowing for close up exploration without danger.

We've seen many sights in our journeys around the world, but Mammoth Hot Springs ranks among the most impressive memories of nature.
There is a lot more to see here.  These images were taken during the first moments within Yellowstone National Park.



Want to learn more about our National Parks?   The inspiration for this article came from a Twitter chat.   Today they are featuring #Memories as the subject matter for photo submissions.

#ParksChat is a weekly Twitter chat where anyone can participate and talk about the week's selected Topic/Destination. 

NationalParksImages.org

Topic for this week (10/17/2014): #memories

Let's talk about our memorable things and share some of our memorable pics in our Parks  -- Use hashtag #ParksChat and #memories

Follow us on Twitter: @ChrisPappinMCC  Pinterest: CruiseWithChris Pappin and Facebook: CruiseWithChris Pappin Cruises Inc for more ideas.

 

Happy FOURth Birthday #FriFotos

Celebrating a Milestone
#FriFotos #FOUR 
 

Since joining the Twitter community, we have been participating in the weekly #FriFotos  photo forum hosted by @EpsteinTravels @TravelDesigned @CharlesYap. A new theme is revealed every Tuesday 12pm ET.

Today we celebrate #FriFoto's fourth birthday and the theme fittingly is "#FOUR".

Every week in preparation for our participation, we search through our archives for a few images that meet that week's criteria.   Some themes are hard, while others, such as #greatINDOORS, provide a wealth of possibilities.   We actually co-hosted the event that week which was a lot of fun.

Commemorating the Event

There are many ways to interpret a theme, which actually adds to our enjoyment of the photo forum.   It causes us to look through our archives with a different perspective searching for photos that convey the theme.   It is interesting to see how others interpret the theme as well.   We often get ideas for future trips by reviewing others' contributions.  Here are some of our entries for this week:

#Four Dancers bringing balloons to #FriFotos birthday party

You can't have a birthday party without balloons, so we searched through our archives and found this image captured during a cruise on Caribbean Princess.

Let the Party Begin
 

Need some music for #FriFotos #Four birthday - we invited the Beatles but they were on @RoyalCaribbean Allure OTS 

What's a birthday party without some good music?  This group of #FOUR launched the world into a frenzy with their music and the rest is history.  I think they'd be the perfect group to perform at our party.

 

#Four dancing stars will provide some entertainment for #FriFotos birthday Direct from @PrincessCruises stage  

These energetic #Four dancing stars are on stage to really get our party going.   Join us on #FriFotos today so that you don't miss all the fun.

 

Many Well-Wishers On Hand

Congratulations @CharlesYap @TravelDesigned @EpsteinTravels from @RoyalCaribbean Captain Zini & Crew #FriFotos #Four

Everyone is invited to the party and look who showed up. Royal Caribbean's Captain of the largest vessel afloat brought along #Four of his crew members to with the #FriFotos team a Happy Fourth Birthday.

If you like Travel & Photography join us each Friday!

Follow #FriFotos on Twitter and Facebook

Follow us on Twitter: @ChrisPappinMCC  Pinterest: CruiseWithChris Pappin and Facebook: CruiseWithChris Pappin Cruises Inc for more ideas.

Congratulations to the best Four-Some on Twitter:
Charles Yap, Jonathan Epstein, Stephanie Diehl & You (the contributors who make it worth the effort)

Major Hurricane GONZALO Alters Cruises

Major Hurricane GONZALO

Gonzalo is now a Category Three major hurricane with additional strengthening expected over open waters of the Atlantic.  The hurricane is currently on course for Bermuda.  Interests there should monitor the approaching storm system.  Gonzalo grew to a Category Four and set sights on Bermuda.

Several cruise lines altered itineraries due to the hurricane.  In some cases, the port order was changed, in others an extra day at sea replaced a port of call, and in a few cases, Eastern Caribbean cruises became Western itineraries.   That is the beauty of cruising during hurricane season - the ship will move to avoid the storm instead of ruining your vacation with bad weather.

Weekend calls to Bermuda were cancelled and ships set sail on alternate itineraries.  Hurricane Gonzalo made landfall Friday (10/17) evening as a Category 2 hurricane with 110 mph winds along the south-central coast of Bermuda.

It was the second time in less than a week that a tropical cyclone had a direct hit on the island.  Bermuda was still cleaning up after Tropical Storm Fey hit on October 12th.  With debris laying around the island following Fey, there is an added level of hazard with Gonzalo hitting the island.

NHC issuing advisories on Hurricane GONZALO

Not the storm you are looking for?  Click Image or Here

Full coverage of this, and all tropical storms, can be found on our Hurricane Zone page.   There are RSS feeds from the National Hurricane Center posted there giving you up to the minute information.   For storms that impact cruises, we will bring you information on those details as well.  Please bookmark that page for further reference during the Hurricane Season which runs now through November 30th.

CATEGORY 4 Hurricane GONZALO	800 AM AST SAT OCT 18 2014 ...WEATHER IMPROVING IN BERMUDA AS GONZALO QUICKLY MOVES AWAY... ...FORECAST TO PASS NEAR THE COAST OF NEWFOUNDLAND TONIGHT AND EARLY SUNDAY...
WIND:	NEAR 100 MPH...160 KM/H...WITH HIGHER GUSTS
WATCHES/ WARNINGS:	SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT... THE BERMUDA WEATHER SERVICE HAS DISCONTINUED THE TROPICAL STORM WARNING FOR BERMUDA. A TROPICAL STORM WATCH IS EFFECT FOR... * ARNOLDS COVE TO CHAPELS COVE NEWFOUNDLAND
SHIP IMPACT:	Carnival Liberty at sea 10/14 (St. Thomas skipped) Carnival Breeze at sea 10/14 (La Romana, DR skipped) Carnival Conquest changed to Western Caribbean itinerary: Cozumel, Belize, Mahogany Bay (Honduras) and Costa Maya (Mexico) Disney Magic rearranged port order Norwegian Getaway ports changed to Falmouth & Cozumel Caribbean Princess changed ports to Ocho Rios,Grand Cayman,Cozumel Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas left San Juan early  Jewel of the Seas at sea 10/13 (skipped St. Maarten ) Allure of the Seas modified to visit Falmouth & Cozumel    Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Oceania have ships scheduled  to call at Bermuda this weekend and next week.   Explorer OTS (10/18) - Calling on Halifax & St. John. NB instead Norwegian Dawn - Calling on Nassau, Bahamas & Great Stirrup Cay Oceania Insignia - Departs 10/18 for Caribbean; Adds St. Maarten   We will monitor for any additional changes

     
Storm Archive       Graphics Archive

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED SOMEWHERE WITHIN THE WARNING AREA...IN THIS CASE WITHIN
THE NEXT 12 TO 24 HOURS.

A TROPICAL STORM WATCH MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE
POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA...IN THIS CASE WITHIN 24 TO 36
HOURS.

Royal Caribbean said Jewel of the Seas did not call at St. Maarten on Oct. 13. The ship spent Monday at sea before returning to the scheduled itinerary, calling at Antigua on Tuesday, Oct. 14.

Explorer of the Seas departed San Juan at 9 p.m. on Oct. 13, instead of staying overnight.

Allure of the Seas is sailing a modified western Caribbean itinerary. The ship will now visit Falmouth, Jamaica on Oct. 15 and Cozumel on Oct. 17.

NHC ACTIVE STORMS (CLICK HERE)

Real-Time Cruise Ship Tracking

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HURRICANES (CLICK HERE)

HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND 

WIND...TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE IN THE TROPICAL STORM
WATCH AREA IN NEWFOUNDLAND BY LATE TONIGHT AND EARLY SUNDAY.

STORM SURGE...WATER LEVELS ON BERMUDA WILL GRADUALLY SUBSIDE TODAY.

SURF...LARGE SWELLS GENERATED BY GONZALO ARE STILL AFFECTING
PORTIONS OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS...THE NORTHERN COASTS OF PUERTO RICO
AND THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC...PORTIONS OF THE BAHAMAS...PORTIONS OF
THE UNITED STATES EAST COAST...AND BERMUDA. SWELLS WILL SPREAD
NORTHWARD INTO PORTIONS OF ATLANTIC CANADA TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY.
THESE SWELLS WILL LIKELY CAUSE LIFE-THREATENING SURF AND RIP CURRENT
CONDITIONS. FOR MORE INFORMATION...PLEASE CONSULT PRODUCTS FROM YOUR
LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE.

Historical Notes:

130 PM AST SUN OCT 12 2014

...TROPICAL STORM GONZALO FORMS EAST OF THE LEEWARD ISLANDS...
...TROPICAL STORM WARNINGS AND WATCHES ISSUED... 

TROPICAL STORM WARNINGS FOR
GUADELOUPE...DESIRADE...LES SAINTES...MARIE GALANTE...ST. MARTIN...
AND ST. BARTHELEMY...ST.MAARTIN...SABA...AND ST. EUSTATIUS...

BARBUDA...ANTIGUA...ANGUILLA...ST. KITTS...NEVIS...AND MONTSERRAT

TROPICAL STORM WATCHES FOR 

THE BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS...PUERTO RICO...VIEQUES...
CULEBRA...AND THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS
 

500 PM AST SUN OCT 12 2014

...GONZALO STRENGTHENING EAST OF THE LEEWARD ISLANDS...
...HURRICANE WATCH AND TROPICAL STORM WARNING ISSUED...

HURRICANE WATCH AND A TROPICAL STORM WARNING FOR
PUERTO RICO...VIEQUES...CULEBRA...THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS...

AND BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS

500 PM AST MON OCT 13 2014

...GONZALO BECOMES A HURRICANE WHILE MOVING THROUGH THE
NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLANDS...
...ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING LIKELY... 

SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT...

A HURRICANE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR...
* BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
* ST. MAARTIN
* ST. MARTIN
* ANGUILLA

A HURRICANE WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR...
* PUERTO RICO
* VIEQUES AND CULEBRA
* U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR...
* ST. BARTHELEMY
* SABA AND ST. EUSTATIUS
* BARBUDA
* ANTIGUA
* ST. KITTS AND NEVIS
* MONTSERRAT
* PUERTO RICO
* VIEQUES AND CULEBRA
* U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS

1100 PM AST MON OCT 13 2014

...GONZALO CONTINUES TO STRENGTHEN...
...EXPECTED TO PASS NORTHEAST OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS OVERNIGHT... 

200 AM AST TUE OCT 14 2014

...HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT FINDS GONZALO STRONGER...
...EYE PASSING JUST NORTHEAST OF THE BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS...

SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT...

A HURRICANE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR...
* BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
* ANGUILLA

A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR...
* ST. MAARTEN
* ST. MARTIN
* ST. BARTHELEMY
* PUERTO RICO
* VIEQUES AND CULEBRA
* U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS

1100 AM AST TUE OCT 14 2014

...GONZALO MOVING NORTHWESTWARD OVER THE OPEN ATLANTIC OCEAN....
...STRENGTHENING EXPECTED TO RESUME LATER TODAY... 

SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT...

NONE

500 PM AST TUE OCT 14 2014

...GONZALO BECOMES A MAJOR HURRICANE OVER THE OPEN ATLANTIC...
...ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING EXPECTED...

800 PM AST FRI OCT 17 2014

...BERMUDA IN THE NORTHERN PORTION OF THE LARGE EYE OF DANGEROUS
HURRICANE GONZALO...
...DAMAGING WINDS AND A LIFE-THREATENING STORM SURGE EXPECTED
AGAIN AFTER THE EYE PASSES... 

900 PM AST FRI OCT 17 2014

...900 PM POSITION UPDATE...
...LARGE EYE OF DANGEROUS HURRICANE GONZALO OVER BERMUDA... 

AT APPROXIMATELY 830 PM AST...0030 UTC...THE CENTER OF THE LARGE EYE
OF HURRICANE GONZALO MADE LANDFALL ALONG THE SOUTH-CENTRAL COAST OF
BERMUDA...BASED ON DATA FROM THE BERMUDA RADAR...ISLAND SURFACE
OBSERVATIONS...AND REPORTS FROM AN AMATEUR RADIO OPERATOR LOCATED
IN DEVONSHIRE PARISH BERMUDA.

800 AM AST THU OCT 16 2014

...GONZALO MOVING NORTHWARD AS A CATEGORY FOUR HURRICANE... 

What Would Christopher Columbus Think

Columbus First Transatlantic

La Pinta (Spanish for The Painted One or The Spotted One) was the fastest of the three ships used by Christopher Columbus in his first transatlantic voyage in 1492

The Pinta was square rigged and smaller than the Santa María. the ship weighed approximately 60 tons with an estimated deck length of 17 meters (56 ft) and a width of 5.36 meters (17.6 ft). The crew size was 26 men under Captain Martín Alonso Pinzón.

On the evening of 3 August 1492, Columbus departed from Spain with three ships, including the Pinta.  He first sailed to the Canary Islands where he stopped for repairs and provisions, staying there until 6 September 1492.

First Person to Sight Land

In the wee hours of 12 October 1492, Columbus claims to have seen the light of land. Columbus called the island (in what is now The Bahamas) San Salvador.  He claimed the lifetime pension promised by Ferdinand and Isabella in connection with the sighting.

How Does Pinta  Compare to Today's Cruise Ships

Oasis of the Seas is 47 meters wide and 360 meters long, i.e. 40 m longer than the height of the Eiffel tower! Height over the water line is 65 m. Building the vessel has been compared to a huge 3-dimensional puzzle. The vessel consists of 180 grand blocks, the biggest with a size of length 22 m, width 30 m and weight 600 tons! The vessel´s weight is 12 times the weight of the Eiffel tower. 

 Pinta Definitely Out-Sized

Here you see just one of the 180 grand blocks that comprised the Oasis of the Seas.  Let's assume that it's the largest block.  That would mean that the Pinta was 5m shorter and 1/10th the weight of just that one building block.

Oasis of the Seas First Transatlantic

Just like the Pinta, the Captain of the Oasis of the Seas set sail from Europe destined for Bahamas and points beyond.   The Oasis made the journey from 31 October 2009 until 13 November 2009, arriving two days later than planned due to a tropical storm it encountered during the crossing.   Columbus too had encountered tropical weather during his crossing.

Columbus would probably be amazed if he sailed his ship alongside the Oasis of the Seas.   We'll take a look at more ships as we continue our special series for National Cruise Vacation Month. 

Compare La Pinta to other Cruise Ships

Choose from 289 ships by 24 cruise lines

Size Does Matter - They Come in Many Sizes

Grandeur of the Seas Next to Oasis of the Seas

Picking Right Ship For YOUR Cruise

We've taken many pictures of cruise ships over the years and perhaps none was as striking as this image we captured in Cozumel, Mexico, a few years ago.  Shown here are two Royal Caribbean ships:  Grandeur of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas.

It should come as no surprise that the Oasis of the Seas would definitely stand out in a crowd of ships since it was (until the Allure of the Seas) the largest ship afloat.   Allure of the Seas, its sister ship, beats it out by 2 inches in length technically making the Allure larger.     Is that taking things to the extreme?  Well, maybe, but
Captains Zini and Wright had something to say about it amongst themselves.   That story was picked up by the media and has become one of the talking points about the two ships.

Watch the video of the two captains: Allure of the Seas Arrives in Fort Lauderdale

Well, back to the story about different size cruise ships.   Here are the facts about these two vessels:

Grandeur of the Seas Passenger Capacity: 2,446 Gross Tonnage: 74,000 Length: 916' Beam: 106' Draft: 25' Cruising Speed: 22 knots

Oasis of the Seas Guest Capacity: 5,400 double occupancy Gross Tonnage: 220,000 Length: 1,187' Max Beam: 184.40' Draft: 30' Cruising Speed: 22 knots

We published this picture and details before, but it is worth repeating.   Click on the image to really get an idea of scale of both Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas.

Oasis of the Seas is 47 metres wide and 360 metres long, i.e. 40 m longer than the height of the Eiffel tower! Height over the water line is 65 m. Building the vessel has been compared to a huge 3-dimensional puzzle. 

The vessel consists of 180 grand blocks, the biggest with a size of length 22 m, width 30 m and weight 600 tons! The vessel´s weight is 12 times the weight of the Eiffel tower.  The Statue of Liberty does tower over the ship but you could put several Boeing 747s, London Double Decker buses and Mercedes Benz autos end to end and have room to spare.

Size Does Matter

Just to give you an additional sense of scale,  the first cruise ship we went on in the 80s was Carnival Celebration which  weighed in around 37,500 tons.   At the time, that was one of the largest vessels in Carnival Cruise Line's fleet.   The Oasis and Allure are almost 6 times heavier than the Celebration.

If you have been following our blog, you are well aware of all the activities on Oasis and Allure.   Size is obviously an advantage to ship builders - they have more canvas on which to create.  So with the introduction of these ships, we have some of the most amazing innovations at sea.

Of course, size costs more. The price tag of these state of the art vessels means someone has to pay for the ship.   The good news is there are more cabins on a large ship which means more passengers to share the weekly costs.    It does however mean that, at least for the foreseeable future, guests will pay a premium over smaller ships owned by the same companies.

More passengers can mean more wait time, but Royal Caribbean has taken that to heart in planning these ships, and you might not experience long wait times.   There are so many different attractions onboard, passengers will be scattered over the entire vessel, so it shouldn't appear crowded most of the time.  Loading and unloading the ship will be one time where you'll see most of your fellow passengers, but Royal Caribbean has taken steps to make that run smoothly.

RCI Explorer OTS & Azamara Journey

Smaller Ships



Here is another image with two ships side by side in port.  The ship on the left is Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas and the ship on the right is from sister line Azamara Club Cruises - Azamara Journey.  The Journey is one of the old "R" ships which by today's standards were very small.


If you are looking for an intimate experience with less passengers, then Azamara Journey would be an excellent choice.  The smaller size ship also allows the cruise line to visit ports that the big sisters can't get into.

Here are the facts for these two ships.  Notice that Azamara Journey has a gross tonnage of less than 25% of the Explorer of the Seas and it is about half the length of Oasis of the Seas.

Explorer of the Seas Passenger Capacity: 3,114 Gross Tonnage: 137,308 Length: 1020' Beam: 154.7' Draft: 28.2' Cruising Speed: 23 knots

Azamara Journey Guest Capacity: 781 Gross Tonnage: 30,277 Length: 592' Max Beam: 84' Draft: 20' Cruising Speed: 18.5 knots

 
We have focused on Royal Caribbean in this article, but there are other examples within the remaining cruise lines.   One important take away is that size is just one factor when planning your cruise vacation, but it is an important one.   Take advantage of the expertise among cruise specialists in deciding the right ship for you and your traveling partners.   The last thing you'd want would be to be expecting a ship the size of Grandeur of the Seas and step out of your cab to find Oasis of the Seas in front of you at the pier.

No matter what size you are looking for, you'll find a ship in one of the cruise line's fleets that meets your needs.   They come in many sizes, shapes, and with many different attractions.   Personally, the fun is in selecting the ship you want to try next and enjoying everything it has to offer once you start your cruise vacation.

As National Cruise Vacation Week continues, be sure to Follow us on Twitter: @ChrisPappinMCC  Pinterest: CruiseWithChris Pappin and Facebook: CruiseWithChris Pappin Cruises Inc for more ideas.  Sign up for our eNewsletter to get updates.

Confused About What Cruise Line To Select

Stop Losing Sleep - Seek Advice of Specialist

STOP LOSING SLEEP! Seek the advice of a trusted cruise specialist to select a cruise line Every day we make choices.  Coke or Pepsi?  Coffee or Tea?  Chips or Fries?  The list goes on. Sometimes making these decisions introduces stress into our lives.  One of the benefits of taking a vacation is to get away from daily stress.  We'll guide you through the selection process.
Look Under the Covers to Narrow Selection
	You've seen their commercials; you've heard their slogans.   Even though you've never sailed before, I bet you can name these top selling cruise lines. In case you can't, they are Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean International, and Norwegian Cruise Line (top to bottom). Each cruise line has a different personality and appeals to different demographics.  In most cases, any of these three lines would be an excellent choice for your first cruise. However, you will definitely need to know differences to set proper expectations.
CLIA has 26 member cruise lines with over 260 ships  [Tweet this]
Determine What is Important to You
As a cruise specialist, the majority of my time is spent asking questions and listening to your responses.  Those answers in turn help to narrow the field of cruise sailings to a manageable short list.  Example:  If you don't want to go on a cruise where there are children, you probably won't want to book a cruise on Carnival during Spring Break. From there, factors outside our control may further narrow the selection (for example, a particular cabin type could be sold out). Homework Assignment:   Read about these three cruise lines - "All Cruise Lines" page.
Tell a friend about what you've learned and suggest that they read some of our articles as well Follow us on Twitter: @ChrisPappinMCC  Pinterest: CruiseWithChris Pappin and Facebook: CruiseWithChris Pappin Cruises Inc for more ideas.  Sign up for our eNewsletter to get updates.

How To Plan a Cruise

You Haven't Lived Until You've Cruised...

You've heard friends talk about their cruise vacations and how great a time they had, and you wonder what's it all about. More and more people are discovering the all-inclusive pleasures of a cruise vacation.   This month, in conjunction with CLIA's National Cruise Vacation Month, we are writing a series of articles to help you become more familiar with cruise vacations.

Planning Your First / Next Cruise

The diagram above shows some of the decision points that factor into your final selection of a particular cruise sailing.   At first glance, it may seem to be a bit daunting, and perhaps that is what has kept you away from taking a cruise up to now.  We can work with you to demystify the process.

We highly recommend that you work with a professional travel agent, that specializes in cruises, to plan your vacation.   As a CLIA certified Master Cruise Counselor (MCC), we've taken the time to learn about the industry, the cruise lines, the destinations, all the changes that occur year after year, and through our personal experiences, can ask the right questions to find the cruise that best meets your desires.  The MCC certification isn't a one-time event, it is an ongoing commitment, of our expertise, which we need to renew year after year, much like your family doctor. 


Asking the Right Questions

Think about other travel that you have done ...  When planning those trips, you had certain criteria in mind that ultimately factored into what became your vacation or business trip.

Who's Going, What are their Ages, When Can you Go

In many cases, you are locked into a specific date or period of time (such as when the other travelers can get off of work, or when the kids are out of school).  Once a date is selected, the pool of possible cruise destinations may shrink.   For example, if you wanted to cruise in December, you won't be going to Alaska, as that season goes from May - September.

Are Certain Ports a Must, Are you Driving or Flying to Port

We'll look at destinations in more detail in another post, but that is one of the key determining factors in planning the actual sailing.   Let's assume that you want to meet a long lost relative in a foreign country...   that would become a must-see port of call and could become your primary deciding factor.

If you are fortunate enough to be within driving distance to a cruise port, departing from that port may dictate the length of cruise and destination(s) possible.  Even if you are flying, each port has certain destinations that are within sailing distance for a given length of a cruise.

Do you Have any Preferences

You may have some cruise lines, that you are familiar with, and want to sail on.   This may be a trip with the family who loves Disney characters or Dreamworks characters and the cruise line becomes the most important factor in your planning.

Finding the Right Cruise at the Right Price

After discussing all the options within the framework of your wants, the final decision will most likely involve what's available within my budget.   Our goal as your agent is to find you the best value for your vacation dollar.  Note that doesn't necessarily equate to the lowest price.   If the lowest priced cruise doesn't have any of your top requirements, then that cruise isn't for you.  You wouldn't buy a car that you didn't like, and you shouldn't purchase a cruise vacation that you won't like either.

Starting the Planning

We have many tools for you to begin your cruise research.   We are highlighting them throughout the month as we look at cruising, which we fell in love with personally some 30+ years ago.  This blog, our Facebook page, and our website are your building blocks.   We have a cruise finder on all these sites which can give you an idea about the destinations that are possible within the desired time frame.  The best tool that you have at  your disposal is the phone.  An interactive conversation is the best way to uncover your wants and desires and funnel them down to possible candidate cruise sailings.

Are you new to cruising?   Start by reading our Cruise Rookies page.  We'll be posting several more articles this month, but if you can't wait, we suggest you next visit our NCVW mini-site.  You can also search our Blog for past articles.

Follow us on Twitter: @ChrisPappinMCC  Pinterest: CruiseWithChris Pappin and Facebook: CruiseWithChris Pappin Cruises Inc for more ideas.  Sign up for our eNewsletter to get updates.

Save the Dates National Cruise Vacation Week

October is National Cruise Vacation Month, and October 6-13, 2014 is  National Cruise Vacation Week - the World’s Largest Cruise Sale (NCVW) – an event that focuses on the pleasures of cruising. This is an annual event which has grown from a one day virtual sale ten years ago to a week-long event the past few years.

Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) has organized this event with it's member cruise lines and member agencies. This is your opportunity to learn more about cruising and the individual cruise lines as well as take advantage of several special offers that are valid for either one day or the entire month.

Continue to watch this column for more information about my participation in this annual event. We will have a web page devoted to NCVW which will point you to video links and provide information about the various cruise line offers.  Some of the offers have yet to be announced.  We will update the page with information as we get it.  You can also give us a call for the latest information or just to talk about how to plan your cruise.

There is no need to get dressed up to go to a meeting hall. Simply turn on your computer and participate in a virtual cruise night. You can participate any time during the month of October, but the early bird will get the worm so to speak.

Are you new to cruising?   Start by reading our Cruise Rookies page.  We'll be posting several more articles this month, but if you can't wait, we suggest you next visit our NCVW mini-site.  You can also search our Blog for past articles.

Follow us on Twitter: @ChrisPappinMCC  Pinterest: CruiseWithChris Pappin and Facebook: CruiseWithChris Pappin Cruises Inc for more ideas.  Sign up for our eNewsletter to get updates.