Imagination Entertainment on Windjammer Cruise

Entertainment On Our First Cruise 

What do you do for entertainment without a big band, or Broadway production? Ask a child. They can turn a cardboard box into a cruise ship, or motor home. That's what life onboard was like on our first cruise. Read on to learn about entertainment on Yankee Trader, a Windjammer Barefoot Cruise.

 

Windjammer Barefoot Cruise

Yankee Trader

Our first cruise was a 3-day trip to the Bahamas on a small sailing vessel which could travel under mast or by motor.  See our previous article, How Our Love for Cruising Started, for the beginning of the story.

Entertainment

Unlike the modern cruise lines that have all sorts of entertainment from small lounge shows to Broadway-style musicals, nightly entertainment would be provided by the Captain, crew, and passengers.  The "stage" was the upper deck which also served as the main dining room, bar, and meeting area.

In the center image at  the top left is our captain with his magical elephant.   You can't see it in the picture, but there is one of the passengers laying on the ground and about to get a surprise shower from the elephant.   Props for the entertainment was whatever you could find onboard the ship including towels and other supplies.   We had some creative crew and passengers.

Another event was the rowing contest where all the passengers grouped on the wooden platform beneath the main mast (their row boat).   I'm not certain they made much progress "sailing" but the beer that was flowing certainly kept the spirits high as they fought the high waves.

Thanks for Starting Our Amazing Journey

Captain Jon S. Helmick was the skipper on our first cruise.   We owe a great debt of gratitude to him and the rest of the crew for making our first cruise so special.   It is now more than 30 years since that first voyage and we can remember the events as if they happened yesterday.  That certainly says something about the dedication of that crew to providing a great experience for their guests.

We hope that your first cruise is as memorable as ours.   And for those that have been sailing for years, we hope that you have many fond memories like the ones we've shared here.

You haven't lived until you've Cruised ....

(Updated:  October 23, 2021)

We are feeling a little nostalgic as the first chapter of our professional travel adventure, as a Cruises Inc. independent contractor draws to a close.   We've begun the transition to our new franchise with Dream Vacations, another of the CruiseOne companies that are part of World Travel Holdings.  

Also we are excited because in just a couple more weeks we will be onboard Celebrity Apex with our fellow agents, owners, and associates for our 2021 National Conference.   One of the best parts of the conference is sharing stories from our adventures.    We hope that you have some memories to share and would welcome the opportunity to assist you in creating new ones as well.

 

National Plan A Cruise Month Promotions 

Cruise lines are offering special promotions and pricing on popular cruises to encourage consumers to plan their next cruise vacation now. We'll be featuring promotions on our website and social media.

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How Our Love for Cruising Started

click images to enlarge

Windjammer Barefoot Cruises

Yankee Trader 

Bahamas

Our Very First Cruise

Do you remember your first cruise?  If you've not cruised before, do you recall an early trip you took with your family?   Vacations are all about making memories.

As part of Plan a Cruise Month we co-hosted a special #FoodTravelChat last week about desserts,  and included many images from our cruises .  We thought it would be fun to turn back the clock to our very first cruise.  Looking through our old photos, we selected a few to use in this column.   The image on the left shows several images of the Bahamas, which was the destination of our short cruise.  It also shows the mast of our ship and a sister ship that was sailing with us. The images in the right photo were from the Captain's dinner which included a toga party and entertainment by the passengers and crew, including the Captain.

Yankee Trader

Certificate signed by the captain of Yankee Trader

Windjammer Barefoot cruises operated out of Miami, Florida back in the 80s when we took our first cruise.   It was normal for two ships in the fleet to sail together.  In our case the Yankee Trader, which we were on, was joined by M/S Fantome, the flagship of the fleet.   You can see her in the photos above as well. Yankee Trader was smaller than Fantome with a length of 179 feet and passenger capacity of 70.

We had no intention of going on a windjammer cruise when I went to a local travel show with a friend.   I filled out entry forms at various booths and to my surprise, got a phone call that we had won a passage on the ship.  All we had to do was get to Florida, and if desired pay for the stowaway night (which cost us $25). 

Toga Party & Captain's Dinner

Unlike other cruises on ocean-going ships, dress code on the Yankee Trader was very casual.  They didn't call them barefoot cruises for nothing.   Dressing up for the Captain's dinner meant putting on your sandals.  The night of the dinner began with a toga party.  The rules were that you needed to make your toga from whatever materials you could find and you must not have anything underneath the toga (and the female Purser checked to be sure).    Some of the people knew about the party in advance and were prepared.  We had not know but still participated.   My husband used a nightshirt for his toga and I used some sheets.   The winner of the event had been on the cruise the week before and had collected vines and other embellishments.

Dinner was a pig roast complete with all the trimmings. The Captain did the honors, carving the pig while the crew finalized the preparation of the other items.  To date we still remember this dinner party and the great time we all had.  This is what a great cruise is made of - memories that last for a lifetime.

It is sad that the current generation will never sail on these beautiful sailing vessels.  The fleet is gone and Captain Michael Burke, their founder, passed away several years ago closing the book on this chapter forever.

It was by chance that we took this first cruise.  We fell in love with cruising and the sea on this trip and the rest is history.   If you've not cruised before, we hope that you'll find a similar experience in your future.  We are certain once you take that first cruise, you'll fall in love like we did.

(Updated:  October 22,  2021)

Yesterday my husband and I signed paperwork to purchase a Dream Vacations franchise.  We've been part of the World Travel Holdings host agency since 2005.   Those that know us, are aware that cruising is our number one favorite mode of vacation travel.   It isn't the only travel option our clients enjoy, so the name change will help identify the wide-range of choices we can help with.   We are Travel Memory Makers and we enjoy every minute of it.

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I recently completed extensive training and have become Travel Safety Verified. As your dedicated Travel Advisor, your safety is our priority, and it's our job to ensure you have the necessary information you need to give you confidence and peace of mind when making your future travel plans. Click the link to review our Travel Safety program with valuable resources that will answer many of your questions.

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Returning to Cruise First-Hand Account

In the 61st edition of Coffee Talk with Vicki Freed this morning, Royal Caribbean shared first-hand experiences from a travel agent guest, Beci Mahnken, who sailed on the first sailing of Adventure of the Seas from Nassau Bahamas.   

Recovery - Just Around Corner

As Beci, and the group of associates traveling with her, began their trip they were filled with weird emotions.  For months, just like us, they were engaged in "removal of dreams" as they processed cancellations.  They were very excited to get back to cruising as it signaled to them that recovery was just around the corner.  Journey with them as they embark on this 7 day voyage from Nassau. 

Bahamas Check-in

The cruise out of the Bahamas was with fully vaccinated crew and guests.  The test before traveling went away, so the only requirement was to complete the Bahamian Health Visa.  Completing this was easier than they had expected.  You fill the visa out on your phone by entering your information and uploading a copy of your vaccination card.  

There's about a 3-4 hour approval process.  

At your designated check-in time you show your vaccination card and passport.  An antigen test (nose swab) is done and you are taken to another room where your passport and documentation is checked.  The waiting time is about 20 minutes in this room.  You watch for your email to be posted which indicates a negative test.  Once this is completed you board a shuttle to the ship.

The main takeaway was that the entire process was seamless / easy with no stress.

Crew Happy to See Them

While the crew were all wearing masks, you could see the smiles through them as they greeted the guests onboard.  With  the limited capacity on the ship, the crew outnumbered passengers.  Walking around the ship they were greeted with "Welcome Home" and "Welcome Onboard".   They too are travel professionals in their own right who's main job is to help make dreams come true.  They missed doing that just like we missed putting our guests on cruises and land vacations.

Staterooms were cleaned twice a day, just as usual.  There was lots of emphasis on cleaning throughout the voyage.  Ships have always put emphasis on keep the ship clean and sanitary even before the pandemic.

Muster 2.0

One of the most noticeable changes in the embarkation process was the new and improved muster drill (safety briefing).   No longer to do you need to put your vacation on pause to gather for the safety briefing.  You simply watch the video on your phone's app or in your stateroom then at your leisure check-in at your assigned muster station.  

There you are given a 1-1 briefing of how to put on your life jackets and you have the ability to have any questions answered.  This is very helpful, especially for first time cruisers.

Once you've checked in, you'll have sticker placed on your card indicating completion of the briefing. We've been told that this modification to the briefing is here to stay even if some of the other protocols go away,

Onboard Experience

Since the ship sailed at 30% capacity it was like having the entire ship to yourself.  There were signs posted around the ship reminding guests about social distancing.  One change were elevators were limited to one group (maximum 4 guests) at a time, so you might have to wait awhile for an elevator.   It did beat being crammed into the elevators though.

Dining

There were a few changes with dining.  You could dine with anyone linked to your reservation.  Paper menus were on the table but if you weren't comfortable with that, there was  a QR code that you could scan to view an online version of the menu.

You are probably wondering about Windjammer (buffet).   The same great selections were available. The only difference was that the crew served you. This was also true at drink stations.  They saw this as  an improvement over having everyone's hands on the serving utensils as was the case in the past.  

Entertainment

The same wonderful shows as expected from Royal Caribbean's production company.  Some rows / seats were blocked off to allow for social distancing.   The same was true in the Casino where some machines were closed and tables had limited seating capacity.

Perfect Day at Coco Cay

All the thrills and chills of Royal Caribbean's private island awaited them as they arrived at Perfect Day at Coco Cay.  They decided to splurge and purchased on of the over water cabanas for the day.

The food was amazing including Filet Mignon, Lobster Tail, Chicken and Grouper.  They ate to their heart's content and enjoyed the cabanas immensely.   They highly recommend Coco Beach Club - it was worth the money to them.

Overall Experience

Experiencing the ship at 30% capacity was amazing! The crew was very friendly and attentive. Everything you expect in a cruise experience was there. They won't hesitate to book their guests on Royal Caribbean ships out of the Bahamas and elsewhere. 

Thank you Vicki and Royal Caribbean for arranging this opportunity to learn about the experience onboard Adventure of the Seas as you return to cruising. It is comforting to see all the attention to detail that has been put into taking care of our guests onboard your ships as you resume operations.

So What are YOU Waiting For?

Contact Me to Get Back to Cruising

Adventure of the Seas - Nassau Voyages

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Where have you explored? 

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