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.

 

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Should My First Cruise be 109 Days or Less

What's The Right Cruise Length for  First Time Cruiser Most people start with a short cruise We can safely assume that your first cruise will be substantially shorter than 109 days, unless you have your heart set on seeing the entire World on your first cruise. Typically, a first time cruiser wants to see if they like cruising before booking a longer cruise.  That is a wise decision. Let's explore some possibilities.
You Don't Need to Figure This Out Alone
The typical first cruise is 3 to 5 nights in length.  This is long enough to give you a taste of sea days as well as days in port. From the image above, you can see that there are still many choices in that range. Itineraries include The Bahamas, Eastern and Western Caribbean from the east coast, with west coast destinations including Baja California and Pacific coastal cruises.
	The length of cruise will impact the departure city and the destinations that can be reached from there. You'll find that most of the 3-night  East Coast cruises will depart from Florida and go to the Bahamas.   As you increase the number of days, you'll open up more possible destinations and also departure ports. Don't feel that you are restricted to 3-5 days in length.  When we began cruising 30 years ago, our first big ship cruise was 7 nights in length.
FACT - Cruises have a higher percentage of satisfied customers than any other vacation experience. Ask your CLIA-affiliated travel agent about cruising. Chances are, he or she will recommend a cruise vacation from personal experience.   SUGGESTION - Take their advice!
We Love Helping First Timers - Ask Us
So far we have talked about several decisions that narrow the cruise sailing selection:  type of cabin, departure ports, destinations, and length of the cruise.  There are still more questions to be answered in order to determine the Best Cruise for You. We cannot emphasize enough that planning the first cruise properly will determine if this is your first and only cruise, or if you'll fall in love with the best vacation around and continue to plan many more cruises in the years to come. Click This Link to See a Sample of 3-5 Night Cruises
If you found this information helpful, spread the word and subscribe to our blog.  We are writing a complete series of articles for National Plan a Cruise Month You may also be interested in our eSavers Newsletter

 

Click the banner above for the latest cruise 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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Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat 

Should My First Cruise be 109 Days or Less

What's The Right Cruise Length for  First Time Cruiser Most people start with a short cruise We can safely assume that your first cruise will be substantially shorter than 109 days, unless you have your heart set on seeing the entire World on your first cruise. Typically, a first time cruiser wants to see if they like cruising before booking a longer cruise.  That is a wise decision. Let's explore some possibilities.
You Don't Need to Figure This Out Alone
The typical first cruise is 3 to 5 nights in length.  This is long enough to give you a taste of sea days as well as days in port. From the image above, you can see that there are still many choices in that range. Itineraries include The Bahamas, Eastern and Western Caribbean from the east coast, with west coast destinations including Baja California and Pacific coastal cruises.
	The length of cruise will impact the departure city and the destinations that can be reached from there. You'll find that most of the 3-night  East Coast cruises will depart from Florida and go to the Bahamas.   As you increase the number of days, you'll open up more possible destinations and also departure ports. Don't feel that you are restricted to 3-5 days in length.  When we began cruising 30 years ago, our first big ship cruise was 7 nights in length.
FACT - Cruises have a higher percentage of satisfied customers than any other vacation experience. Ask your CLIA-affiliated travel agent about cruising. Chances are, he or she will recommend a cruise vacation from personal experience.   SUGGESTION - Take their advice!
We Love Helping First Timers - Ask Us
So far we have talked about several decisions that narrow the cruise sailing selection:  type of cabin, departure ports, destinations, and length of the cruise.  There are still more questions to be answered in order to determine the Best Cruise for You. We cannot emphasize enough that planning the first cruise properly will determine if this is your first and only cruise, or if you'll fall in love with the best vacation around and continue to plan many more cruises in the years to come. Click This Link to See a Sample of 3-5 Night Cruises
If you found this information helpful, spread the word and subscribe to our blog.  We are writing a complete series of articles for National Plan a Cruise Month You may also be interested in our eSavers Newsletter    Click the banner above for the latest cruise 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. Choose Cruise Month (click for mini-series) Follow Us On          Sign-up for Exclusive Email Offers Where have you explored?  Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat