National Cruise Vacation Month Wrapup

Let The Memories Begin!!

Creating Magical Memories

Once again, National Cruise Vacation Month coincided with our annual National Conference which this year was titled:  Creating Magical Memories 2012.  

The conference began at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida and continued with a Bahamas cruise on Disney Dream, one of the newest ships in their fleet.

Following the conference, we extended our stay with a cruise on Carnival Sensation, also sailing from Port Canaveral, Florida.  We had a short drive from one pier to another to get to our second ship.   The magical memories start when you see the first glimpse of your ship as you approach the pier.  All the anticipation has quickly become a reality.  

Catching Up

Now that we are back home, we've begun sorting through all the pictures and videos and have started posting some of them on our Facebook Fan page.  You'll want to become a fan so that you'll be notified of our updates.

Hurricane Sandy has kept us busy

Since our return, we've been kept quite busy with all the changes to cruise ship itineraries and even cancellations due to the very powerful hurricane.   Had our cruise been one week later, we too would have been impacted since both Disney Dream and Carnival Sensation had their itineraries altered.

 Last Days for Cruise Line Offers

National Cruise Vacation Week was the peak of the month-long cruise celebration, but there are still a few days left on some of the cruise line offers.

Hopefully we've already given you a taste of why Cruising is the Vacation of Choice

We'll use Disney Dream and Carnival Sensation cruises, which we've just completed, as another vehicle to demonstrate differences between cruise lines and ships.   Both are fantastic short cruises for first timers or experts wanting to visit the Bahamas.

Chef's Table Culinary Experience

Carnival Cruise Line

Chef's Table

Culinary Experience

One of the popular activities while onboard a cruise ship is participating in the galley tour.  Even if you aren't much of a cook at home, and don't really get excited seeing stoves and other cooking gadgets, it is still amazing to see the quantity of equipment and staff required to keep the passengers and crew fed during the voyage.

Carnival Cruise Line has taken the galley tour to a new level, introducing the "Chef's Table", as a pilot program last year, onboard Carnival Dream and Carnival Ecstasy.  The program is a one-of-a-kind culinary experience which includes an exquisite multi-course dinner hosted by one of the line’s master chefs along with a private cocktail reception and a personalized tour of the galley.  This year the program is being rolled out to six more ships.

The Chef's Table experience, which is limited to a select group of 12 guests, begins with cocktails and hors d’ouevres hosted by the ship’s chef de cuisine. The chef then takes the group on a personalized tour to see the galley in operation, providing participants with a unique perspective on Carnival’s extensive food and beverage operations. A traditional galley tour typically occurs when there isn't much activity in the galley and with much larger groups of passengers.

The evening concludes with a sumptuous full-service dinner with delicious appetizers, entrees and desserts created by the line’s master chefs.  Depending on the vessel, the meal takes place in non-traditional dining venues throughout the ship – the galley, library, conference center, etc.

The Chef’s Table program is being rolled out to the following six ships over the next several weeks:  Carnival Liberty, Carnival Sensation, Carnival Imagination, Carnival Inspiration, Carnival Pride and Carnival Fascination.

The program can be booked on board through the ships’ guest information desk. The cost is $75 per person.