Merry Christmas 2014

Merry Christmas

Holidays are about families, and what better example of a happy family then the characters of Walt Disney's imagination.

One highlight for us this year was a day exploring the Museum of Science & Industry's "Christmas Around the World & Holiday Lights" exhibit along with the "Treasures of Disney".  

The holiday exhibit is an annual event at the museum while the Disney exhibit was a limited exhibit highlighting the life of Walt Disney.  

It All Started With a Mouse 

As the saying goes, Disney's success started with a mouse. Today Disney provides families with great value at the resorts and ships from coast to coast. We were fortunate to be able to sail on Disney Dream, one Disney's newest ships, during one of our recent national conferences.

There is something for everyone that loves Disney characters during a Disney land and sea vacation. Greet your favorite characters, get an autograph or a photo with them, have some Mickey Mouse pancakes or waffles for breakfast, zip around the ship on a raft in the Aqua Duct. Get welcomed aboard the ship by your cast of  Disney characters. Watch out for pirates during the Pirates in the Caribbean party.

Most importantly, spend some time together as a family enjoying all the entertainment that the Disney staff has in store for you from the time you arrive at the resort or board the ship.

We hope that your Christmas tree was filled with many special gifts this year.   Perhaps one of them contained a gift certificate for a cruise or resort stay at one of Disney parks or ships.

Even if you didn't have a Disney vacation wrapped up in a box under your tree, there's still plenty of opportunity for you to surprise your family in the New Year with a trip that they will remember for years to come.

Make some memories in 2015 with your family and friends.

Thank you for letting us be a part of your lives this holiday season and throughout the year.  We hope that you've enjoyed our gift of stories and photos from our cruise and land trips.

We would be happy to help you plan for your next vacation.

Merry Christmas 2012

Merry Christmas

Holidays are about families, and what better example of a happy family then the characters of Walt Disney's imagination.

One highlight for us this year was our National Conference which was held at Walt Disney World Resort and aboard Disney Dream.  During this conference, our hosts, Disney Destinations, showed us how they entertain families both on land and at sea.

It All Started With a Mouse 

As the saying goes, Disney's success started with a mouse. Today Disney provides families with great value at the resorts and ships from coast to coast. We were fortunate to be able to sail on one Disney's newest ships during our conference.

There is something for everyone that loves Disney characters during a Disney land and sea vacation. Greet your favorite characters, get an autograph or a photo with them, have some Mickey Mouse pancakes or waffles for breakfast, zip around the ship on a raft in the Aqua Duct. Get welcomed aboard the ship by your cast of Disney characters. Watch out for pirates during the Pirates in the Caribbean party.

 Most importantly, spend some time together as a family enjoying all the entertainment that the Disney staff has in store for you from the time you arrive at the resort or board the ship.

We hope that your Christmas tree was filled with many special gifts this year.   Perhaps one of them contained a gift certificate for a cruise or resort stay at one of Disney parks or ships.

Even if you didn't have a Disney vacation wrapped up in a box under your tree, there's still plenty of opportunity for you to surprise your family in the New Year with a trip that they will remember for years to come.

Make some memories in 2013 with your family and friends.

Thank you for letting us be a part of your lives this holiday season and throughout the year.  We hope that you've enjoyed our gift of stories and photos from our cruise and land trips.

We would be happy to help you plan for your next vacation.

Merry Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas

One of our favorite cruise ships is Celebrity Constellation.  In preparing this column we searched the web for an image that had the grand staircase decorated for Christmas.   Click on the image to go to the album on Flickr.  Thanks to gailf548 for sharing these pictures of the holiday decorations.

Images like this usually stay with you for some time and when you close your eyes, you can sometimes see them again as if you were seeing them for the first time.

We've had the good fortune of being able to add other images to our memory banks this year.  Our major cruise adventure this year was a 12-Night Mediterranean & Greek Isles Cruise.   We've posted stories on our blog and pictures on our Facebook Fan Page.  If you've not read our posts yet, see Diary of Cruise with Chris to Greek Isles
for links to individual blog posts and the various photo albums.

One of the many highlights of that cruise vacation was visiting The Vatican during our pre-cruise stay in Rome.  Last night the Pope celebrated midnight mass inside St. Peter's Basilica.   The mass was broadcast across the world to millions of viewers. The alter was setup in front of the entrance to St. Peter's tomb which can be seen in this image.  This year's mass had a special meaning since we had actually been there just over six months ago.  See more images in our album: St. Peter's Vatican.


For those that have never been to Rome, we highly recommend adding this to your bucket list of places to visit.  We actually stayed in central Rome and explored the city by mainly walking from one attraction to another.   Our hotel was near the Roma Termini Train Station, so we transferred to the ship by train. Rome is one of those destinations which you could spend days exploring and still not see it all.   That shouldn't stop you from seeing the popular attractions during a pre-cruise stay.   Make sure to throw a coin into Trevi Fountain, so that you'll return one day.

Holidays are a time for family and friends and a good time to share vacation photos and stories. My wish for you this Christmas Day is that you are sharing the day with those that you love and care about, and who have mutual feelings for you. For those that are away from home, such as cruise ship crew and those serving their countries in the armed services, may the peaceful images in your mind help you to be close to those you love, if only in your heart and mind.

Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your lives by sharing our adventures and cruise industry information.   My blog and Facebook fan page are my gifts to you.  I hope you enjoy them.  Merry Christmas to all.

Merry Christmas 2010

Azamara Journey Discoveries Lounge

Merry Christmas

As I gaze out the kitchen window this morning, I see a white blanket of snow covering the ground and nearby trees.   The snow began falling late last night just in time for a White Christmas.   Looking at the untouched snow, everything looks quiet and peaceful.

Images like this usually stay with you for some time and when you close your eyes, you can sometimes see them again as if you were seeing them for the first time.

We've had the good fortune of being able to add other images to our memory banks this year.   The tree in this picture decorated one of Azamara Journey's lounges. The crew had just started decorating for the holidays on the final day of our 12 Night West Indies voyage.

We had hoped that they would have decorated sooner, but they told us it was too early. The voyage following ours would be the first one that had the holiday decorations.

Allure of the Seas Glass Elevator

Prior to our Azamara Journey cruise, we were onboard the Allure of the Seas for a pre-inaugural cruise to nowhere.   This picture of the glass elevators shows some simple holiday decorations.

Decorations play an important role in helping people get in the holiday spirit. For the cruise ship's crew, the holidays are business as usual as they go about assisting passenger's needs.

We sometimes forget that they are away from home for long periods of time. We had dinner with the Captain of the Azamara Journey one night. We learned that he was heading home after spending three months at sea away from his family. He was excited to be heading home for Christmas to spend time with his young child and wife.

Holidays are a time for family and friends. My wish for you this Christmas Day is that you are sharing the day with those that you love and care about, and who have mutual feelings for you. For those that are away from home, such as cruise ship crew and those serving their countries in the armed services, may the peaceful images in your mind help you to be close to those you love, if only in your heart and mind.

Trunk Bay, St. John USVI

People read this blog from all over the world, so I don't know if you are looking out your window and seeing snow like I did, or perhaps a sandy beach that has just had the tide wash back out to sea leaving a peaceful image of untouched sand.

Whatever images you are seeing, may they sustain you and bring you peace on this Christmas Day.

Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your lives by sharing our adventures and cruise industry information.   My blog and facebook fan page are my gifts to you.  I hope you enjoy them.  Merry Christmas to all.