Natiional Conference 2014 in Review

Can You Find Me?

We've just returned from a very successful CruiseOne Cruises Inc. National Conference on board the new Regal Princess.  Our sailing was the inaugural North American sailing to the Eastern Caribbean.

This was our largest conference ever with more than 900 franchise owners, agents, and families attending.

Pre-Cruise (Ft. Lauderdale)

Water Taxi Tour

Shortly after arriving in Ft. Lauderdale, Saturday November 7th, we boarded a Water Taxi for a private tour of the yachts and mansions along the Ft. Lauderdale canal system.

Our guide provided background information about the properties and boats we saw along the way.   The tour is very informative and a good way to pass the time before your cruise.

Renaissance Hotel Ft. Lauderdale

Our pre-conference activities were based out of the Marriott Renaissance Hotel Cruise Port which was walking distance to the water taxi.

Following the water taxi tour, we had time to freshen up and then had a welcome cocktail party which was hosted by Crystal Cruises. 

Several of us went to dinner at Bimini Boatyard Bar & Grill which was just across from the hotel.   Despite having tables empty, we had to wait to be seated.   The food was fantastic, but we weren't crazy about the wait since we were hungry after traveling earlier that day.  

Our day had actually begun at 4:00 AM so we were really starting to drag.  Following dinner, we went back to our hotel room and went to bed.

We had prearranged transfers from the hotel to the pier, so after some breakfast, we boarded a shuttle to the port.

Welcome to Port Everglades

The town rolled out the red carpet for us with this sign at the entrance to Port Everglades cruise terminal.  As you can see, there is a lot of traffic entering the port.  Make sure you allow enough time when embarking from here.

It wasn't long after this photo was taken that we got our first glimpse of Regal Princess which would be our home for the next 7 nights.

We will update this article with links to additional stories and photos about our National Conference Cruise on board the beautiful Regal Princess.  Be sure to visit again or better you follow us here and our other social media sites to stay up to date on the latest cruise industry news and reviews.

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Count Down to National Conference 2014

Regal Princess
It is hard to believe that we are just one week away from our 2014 National Conference: GROWTH-Gaining Relationships and Opportunities Through World Travel Holdings. That means we are also one week away from seeing the brand new Princess Cruise's Regal Princess as she sails for the first time out of Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Join Us Live from Regal Princess

Our Blog, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter followers will have the opportunity to join in the excitement as we bring you highlights from our National Conference onboard the brand new Regal Princess. If you don't already, please follow us on Twitter: @ChrisPappinMCC Pinterest: CruiseWithChris Pappin and Facebook: CruiseWithChris Pappin Cruises Inc.

We will be sharing content with you throughout the conference...

Making a Difference

In return, we have a favor to ask of you...

As many of you know, our Conference and Corporate charity is Make-A-Wish®. Together we have raised over $200,000 from our fund raising efforts at our National Conferences in the past. Last year alone, we surpassed the $100,000 mark and made history by having a Marathon@Sea run by Sean Tolkin, Director WTH. The National Conference is a great opportunity for us to see firsthand how we can come together and be part of something bigger.

Our goal is to continue our record breaking fundraising efforts and to surpass our goal of $75,000. There will be many opportunities during our conference to raise money for our cause, including a Zumba@Sea-Dance for Wishes. Each dollar we raise together will help kids like Bizzy, age 13, who wished to go on a Mediterranean cruise. You can learn more about Bizzy on the donation site below.


Celebrity Cruises has sponsored our Zumba@Sea efforts this year and will be helping us have some fun during the Zumba event, which will be held on Thursday morning on the ship. WTH/Celebrity will match dollar for dollar up to $5,000 in donations made from the Zumba event.

You Can Help Too

Many of you have asked how you can get your family and friends involved in our efforts to help grant the wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions – AND HERE’S YOUR CHANCE! We have a group donation page that you can access using the link below.

If you are interested in supporting this great cause please make a donation using the following link:   
      http://friends.wish.org/100-100/page/CruiseOne-CruisesInc./Zumba-Sea.htm 
Any amount will help us reach our group goal of $5,000 for the Zumba event.

Thank you to Celebrity Cruises & World Travel Holdings and all of YOU for helping to make kids like Bizzy a little happier.   Thanks to the Make-a-Wish foundation for all that they do for kids.

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...