Cruise Month Mini-Series

When compared to a land vacation, cruising offers a number of benefits: 

• You can tailor your experience based on your budget, selecting specific accommodations, dining arrangements and even shore excursions. Most cruises already include dining, entertainment, and gratuities, offering options for even the most cost conscious traveler.
• Additional expenses may include drinks, casino play, spa treatments, shore excursions and shopping. 
• For those looking to indulge a bit more, many cruises offer additional premium dining options, entertainment and even exclusive spaces, such as spas, pools and restaurants. 
• A week onboard one cruise ship will offer you a chance to experience a number of enticing destinations, across the globe. In one week, many ships sailing through the Caribbean will bring guests to four exciting ports of call, whereas a land based resort only offers the same destination each day. 
• A cruise experience offers you the ability to experience as much, or as little of the world as you prefer. Cruises also offer the most flexibility in pricing, allowing all travelers the opportunity to cruise with their preferred budget in mind.
• It is one of the safest travel options in the midst of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

October is Plan a Cruise Month – a worldwide movement to learn more about, plan and take a cruise vacation. The campaign offers advice, special cruise line deals and promotions as well as experts to help navigate the many cruise vacation options available for every travel style and budget.

Before we get into our normal selection of general cruise vacation information, our mini-series will focus the large elephant in the room: COVID-19 and what it means to cruise travel.  We will also include posts on popular cruise destinations.  A recent Cruise Travel Report cited destination as the most important factor, for cruisers and non-cruisers alike, influencing vacation choice.

We are adding new content and updating past posts.  Bookmark this blog post and come back throughout the month for updated content. Be sure to follow us on other social media as well.  Where do you want to go?

BLOG POST LINK (click title)	Hover over link for Description
Announcing 2021 Plan a Cruise Month    (New)	Fall in Love With Cruising  (Updated)
Cruise Industry COVID-19 Response  (New)	3 Ingredients to Cruising Future   (New)
Reassuring Safe to Cruise  (Updated)	Coming Out of Hibernation  (Updated)
Healthy Cruising and the Royal Promise (New)	Keeping Cruise Ships Clean and Sanitary  (Updated)
Searching for Best Pizza at Sea  (Updated)	What Would Christopher Columbus Think  (Updated)
What's for Dinner  (Updated)	5 Ways to Enhance Your Cruise Ship Dining Experience  (Updated)
Dining at Sea - What's Your Favorite Food  (Updated)	Al Fresco Dining at Sea
Cruise Desserts	Searching for Best Chocolate Martini at Sea
Now Trending: River Cruising	Cruise Formal Nights Love or Hate
Ready For a Perfect Day at CocoCay  (Updated)	Ship Size Does Matter - Now More Than Ever  (Updated)
	Celebrity Revelation Beyond Expectations  (Updated)
How Our Love for Cruising Started  (Updated)	Imagination Entertainment on Windjammer Cruise (Updated)
Memories From Our First Cruise (Updated)	Washing Hands Prevents Illness
How Suite It Is on the River
Should My First Cruise be 109 Days or Less
Cruising With Kids	Keep Dreaming of Travel
Pirates Scientists Artists Ahoy	Anatomy of a River Cruise
Anatomy of a River Cruise - Safety First	Dining on a River Cruise
River Cruising - That's Entertainment
How Sweet it is With Chocolate	CDC Publishes Conditional Sailing Order
5 Tips to Stress Free Packing

 

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.

Connect With Us On

    
    

Sign-up for Exclusive Email Offers

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.

Where have you explored? 

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

Announcing 2021 Plan a Cruise Month

October is National 
Plan a Cruise Month

Explore the World of Cruise Vacationing
October 1 - 31, 2021
 

If you've ever thought about going on your first cruise, October is the time to begin that journey.



Fall is the Perfect Time for Vacationers to Plan a Trip at Sea  


We're joining with member travel agencies from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) across the US and Canada to host Plan a Cruise Month. Through a multi-dimensional campaign, the cruise industry has come together to help everyone fall in love with cruising by featuring unprecedented cruise vacation offers - from discovering new cruises and destinations to receiving the best cruise deals and promotions.  Visit Book a Cruise Month for additional details. 

Cruising is all about you. You can find adventure, culture and education or, relax the day away. Dine on fine cuisine. Indulge at the spa. Reconnect with family. Share romantic moments. All this, in the destination of your choice, for a few days, a week or more, on a cruise that's right for you.

In the digital age, some believe travel agents to be an unnecessary and outdated step in planning a cruise vacation, but this simply isn’t the case. To uncover the truth, here are three common travel agent myths, and the real facts.




Cruise Planning Resources

Dreaming about a cruise or land vacation?  Why wait for the postman to deliver a brochure?

Browse through "My Brochure Rack" on our website for current online eBrochures.


We have a special page with Cruise Line Videos for you to explore. Just click the cruise ship of your choice and watch the video for behind the scenes tours.  We'll also be featuring articles about cruising all month long in addition to our normal blog posts, so be sure to come back often to explore.

As the world continues to address challenges regarding COVID-19, the top priority for the entire cruise community—including cruise lines, travel agents, ports, destinations, suppliers and beyond—continues to be the health and safety of passengers, crew and the communities in the places we visit.     ~Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA)

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)

Connect With Us On

       

Sign-up for Exclusive Email Offers

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.

Where have you explored? 

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

Remembering 9-11 Twenty Years Later

President Proclaims Patriot Day, Day of Remembrance  

By a joint resolution approved December 18, 2001 (Public Law 107-89), the Congress has designated September 11 of each year as “Patriot Day,” and by Public Law 111-13, approved April 21, 2009, the Congress has requested the observance of September 11 as an annually recognized “National Day of Service and Remembrance”. President Biden officially proclaimed September 11, 2021, as Patriot Day.

In his remarks, the President said "Twenty years ago, the United States endured one of the most unconscionable tragedies in our country’s history. The cowardly terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and onboard United Flight 93 cut short the lives of 2,977 innocent people. These attacks tore a hole in the heart of our Nation, and the pain of this tragedy still remains. Each year on this somber date, we remember the horror and bravery shown that day, just as we remember how we came together, united in grief and in purpose. Each year, we renew our solemn vow to never forget what happened on September 11, 2001, or those who lost their lives. 

 On Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance, we honor every life that was taken too soon. We honor the first responders — firefighters, law enforcement officers, emergency workers, and service members — who answered the call of duty, and the brave civilians who rushed into action to save lives that day. Their courage embodies the American spirit and resilience, and their heroism continues to inspire new generations of Americans. ”

View our WTC Memorial Album on Shutterfly

During our pre-conference stay in New York in 2013, we decided to revisit the site of the World Trade Center.  The site was quite different from the last time we were there.   Rebuilding of the towers was moving along nicely.  The 9/11 Memorial fountains had been completed.  Click on the link above to view the album.

click on images to enlarge

Remembering 9/11/2001

As President Biden said, we vividly remember where we were on 9/11.  Each year we recall where we were when learning about the terrorist attacks.   We were on the inaugural voyage of Norwegian Sun, thousands of miles from home in Paris, France.   Our tour bus was filled with our fellow passengers, the majority of whom lived in New York.  The transatlantic cruise, we were on, was originally scheduled to conclude in New York but ended in Boston instead.

What was to have been a celebration of our 25th Anniversary, quickly became a very unique experience as we observed the hospitality and caring from so many people across the globe as our journey home continued.  Today as we celebrate our 45th Anniversary, we once again reflect on the moment we learned about the events unfolding thousands of miles away from where we were. 

See our article from 2011, FDNY May We Never Forget, on the 10th anniversary, as we recalled our journey back to New York to visit the site of the World Trade Center attacks.  Should your cruise vacation plans include New York, we recommend spending some time at the WTC Memorial and other historic sites in the city.

A World United

As we watched the twentieth anniversary remembrances we couldn't help but reflect on how the world was united right after the attacks twenty years ago.   Patriotism was at an all time high.   We had first-hand experiences  of sympathy and concern in every port of call we visited.    We met people who had taken strangers into their homes when planes were grounded.  The entire world was united.

Twenty years later, the world is facing a different crisis and we need to remember 9/11 and once again stand together in a common cause to defeat a different enemy.  This time it's a virus which is attacking our very way of life.   Once again, the first responders are on the front lines.   Let's not forget the heroes from 20 years ago and let us honor their memory by working together so that our current first responders don't have to be remembered for their sacrifices.

Connect With Us On

       

Sign-up for Exclusive Email Offers

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.

Where have you explored? 

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

Starting July 7, 2021 our new time will be 4 PM Eastern

Royal Caribbean Execs Honored by ASTA

Richard Fain, Chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group

Richard Fain Honored

The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA), which advocates on behalf of the travel agency community at all levels of government, honored its most active members for their participation in this mission at the 2021 ASTA Global Convention in Chicago, IL last week. 

The ASTA Advocacy Dinner, which takes place each year during the Global Convention, was held at the historic Palmer House Hilton in downtown Chicago on Tuesday, August 24th.  Top industry leaders and travel professionals were on hand  for an inspiring evening to celebrate ASTA's influence in shaping the policies affecting the retail travel business today. 

During the Advocacy Dinner, ASTA bestowed a rare honor and celebrated Richard Fain, Chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, with ASTA’s Lifetime Achievement Award. This marks only the fourth time that ASTA has given this award in fifteen years. 

 “The board of directors voted unanimously to bestow the 2021 Lifetime Achievement award on Richard Fain because of his obvious belief in and affection for the travel advisor community,” said Zane Kerby, President & CEO of ASTA. “Royal Caribbean’s protection of commissions, $40 million zero-interest loans for travel advisors and quietly hosting first responders in the wake of the Surfside Condominium tragedy, are just a few of the reasons that we’re honored to present Richard with this award.”

Royal Caribbean Supports ASTA

Vicki Freed, Senior Vice President of Sales, Trade Support & Services at Royal Caribbean International, honored ASTA’s Advocacy efforts by donating $100,000 to ASTA’s advocacy mission on behalf of Royal Caribbean Group. Richard Fain added an additional $100,000 personal donation to support ASTA’s mission to protect and defend travel advisors. 

Vicki Freed Also Honored

Royal Caribbean Group, Vicki Freed, and Richard Fain have been strong supporters of travel advisors for years, and especially throughout the pandemic. Vicki Freed and the entire Royal Caribbean organizations have been instrumental in the industry return to service.  Besides the efforts recognized by ASTA, in bestowing the award to Richard Fain, Vicki Freed and her team have kept travel advisors updated and  in fact Vicki Freed just held her 70th Coffee Talk with travel advisors today. 

It is fitting that the next morning, Vicki Freed, received, for the fourth consecutive time, ASTA's Partner Representative of the Year, during a general session of the ASTA Global Convention.

Connect With Us On

       

Sign-up for Exclusive Email Offers

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.

Where have you explored? 

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

Starting July 7, 2021 our new time will be 4 PM Eastern