Pre-Cruise in Fort Lauderdale

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Fort Lauderdale Here We Come

We always fly to the departure port at least one day early to avoid any stress from flight delays or cancellations. Our flight had been rescheduled from afternoon to 7:15 AM by the airline, so we decided to add another night's stay at a local hotel by the airport. It is a good thing that this happened because by early afternoon it started snowing which would have most likely caused delays for us.

We arrived right around lunch time and took their shuttle from the airport to out hotel.

Le Méridien Dania Beach at Fort Lauderdale Airport - Marriott

Lunch is Served

Le Meridien is a gorgeous hotel close to the airport and port.  The only downside is that it is pretty isolated unless you have a car or want to Uber around town.   Therefore our meals were at the hotel.

After checking in with the hotel we went up to our room to drop off our luggage and then came back to the lobby to have lunch with agent friends we met when we arrived.  

We decided to split an order of BBQ wings.   They were so good we decided to have them again for dinner after our cocktail party.   We originally had planned to have dinner in their Tequila Library restaurant, but when our group grew in size we'd have to wait too long to be seated, thus we changed our plans.

Visit Lauderdale Social

The Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau hosted a cocktail party for our conference at the hotel the night before our cruise.   Whenever your travels take you to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, we highly recommend you pay a visit to their website for a list of attractions, activities, nightlife, food and other entertainment.

This was our first social gathering as a group since the pandemic began.  There were hugs and smiles all around as we greeted each other and rekindled relationships.  Thank you to the convention & visitors bureau for hosting this great event.

Saturday Morning

Part of the excitement of a cruise vacation (or conference in our case) is the anticipation.  In all the years we've been cruising (more than 30) there has never been a more anticipated cruise than this one.  Our conference had been scheduled for last November on the brand new Celebrity Apex, but as you know, her deployment was delayed due to Covid-19.

The day has finally arrived!  It's Saturday morning and we are all gathering in the lobby of the hotel awaiting our shuttle departures for the port.  Here are some images from the hotel.   This is a great location if you are sailing out of Fort Lauderdale or if you need a hotel near the airport.   

#2021TogetherConference

Mini-Series

Click on the image on the right to continue our mini-series on Celebrity Apex and our national conference cruise.   Our ship was only 65% full but the crew was at 100% staffing.   This is a great time to be cruising.

Cruising has always been the best vacation value and it still remains so.  Also, it is one of the safest things you can do right now.   The cruise line controls the  environment and with new protocols in place they have been providing safe vacations for thousands of guests for several months now.

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2021 Together Mini-Series

November 12 - 20, 2021 

Dream Vacations’ National Conference is held annually aboard a cruise ship during a weeklong cruise. This years conference was held on Celebrity Apex. We learned about the newest offerings from cruise and land, as well as new business techniques from the Dream Vacations corporate team and other Dream Vacations colleagues. It was great being "Together" at sea on one of the newest ships in the industry.  Bookmark this post to read all about our conference and what it's like cruising again.

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Get Ready to Sail on Celebrity Apex
Pre-Cruise in Fort Lauderdale

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Get Ready to Sail On Celebrity Apex

It's National Conference Time 

Each year World Travel Holdings has a national conference for all Cruises Inc., CruiseOne, and Dream Vacations travel professionals. Last year our conference was held virtually due to Covid-19. It was to have taken place on the brand-new Celebrity Apex, but the ship was grounded like the rest of the cruise industry. Finally we are all back together in person for our annual event. We are still holding it aboard Celebrity Apex which has just come over from Europe to begin her Caribbean season out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 

Follow along on our social media platforms for an inside look at the ship and how the crew of Celebrity Apex hosts their largest group to date. We have over 800 people in attendance making up 45% of the ship's capacity on this sailing. Tonight we will be kicking things off with a preconference cocktail party at Le Méridien Dania Beach at Fort Lauderdale Airport . Tomorrow morning we will take a shuttle to the pier and board our ship for the next 7 days.

#2021TogetherConference

The theme for this year's conference is Together.   What a fitting theme since this is the first time in over 18 months that we are able to meet face to face with each other.   Normally we'd also have had regional conferences in addition to our national event.   As travel professionals, we are always continuing our education on the products we sell, destinations, and other industry knowledge.  Being together gives us the opportunity to network with our peers as well as others in the industry from our various travel partners.

We flew into Fort Lauderdale this morning and it's already great to see our friends in the industry, shake hands and give hugs to each other.   This will be an emotional week for all of us.  We are thrilled to be sharing it with you, our loyal readers and new followers.  

 

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CDC Updates Requirements for International Travel to US

The CDC’s updated COVID-19 testing requirement for international travel to the U.S. go into effect Monday, November 8 …

Statement
On October 25, 2021 CDC amended its January 25, 2021 Order, titled, “Requirement for Proof of Negative COVID-19 Test or Recovery from COVID-19 for All Air Passengers Arriving in the United States.” This amendment updates COVID-19 testing requirements for air passengers 2 years or older boarding a flight to the United States, depending on COVID-19 vaccination status.

Effective November 8, 2021 at 12:01am EST (5:01am GMT), before boarding a flight to the US from a foreign country, all air passengers- 2 years or older – are required to present a negative COVID-19 viral test result, within a time period based on their vaccination status (see table below), or present documentation of having recovered from COVID-19 in the last 90 days. Air passengers will also be required to confirm in the form of an attestation that the information they present is true.

Time Period for Testing for Air Passengers to Obtain a Negative COVID-19 Viral Test

Type of Air Passenger (2 years or older)	Number of Days to get a COVID-19 Viral Test Before a Flight’s Departure to the US
Fully vaccinated	No more than 3 days
Not fully vaccinated	No more than 1 day

For the full list of requirements and exemptions, please review the language in the Order.

Resources

• CDC COVID-19 International Travel
• Requirement for Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination For Air Passengers
• Travel Assessment
• International Travel Information for U.S. Citizens, U.S. Nationals, Lawful Permanent Residents and Immigrants
• Non-U.S. citizen, Non-U.S. immigrants: Air Travel to the United States

 

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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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Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday afternoon at 4 PM Eastern for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat