Pre-Cruise Entertainment Reservations

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Wow!  I can now officially say that my husband and I are celebrating his 40th birthday with both his parents AND my parents aboard Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas, yeah!!!  We are very excited and look forward to sharing this big event with our family.  One of the cool features of this new ship is that it allows you to select the shows you want to see ahead of time.  This is due impart to such a large number of guests sailing that there wouldn’t be room for everyone at every performance so reservations are now suggested for the shows.  It doesn’t cost more, just reserves a space for you at that particular showing.  They have some very exciting options for live entertainment.  We will see the eight time Tony Award-winning Broadway musical “Hairspray” as a matinee on one of our days at sea.  Another evening we will see “Frozen in Time” the spectacular ice skating show performed by The Oasis of the Seas International Ice Cast, which features top-rated figure skaters from around the world. On another night we will see “Come Fly With Me”, a visually stunning show that combines the unique aerial, dance, gymnastic and vocal talents of Royal Caribbean’s amazing cast.  On another evening we will be wowed by the performance of “Oasis of Dreams” at the Aqua Theatre featuring Olympic and NCAA champion athletes from around the world, including divers, synchronized swimmers and gymnasts.  This vacation promises to be full of fabulous entertainment.  We’ve been awed before by Royal Caribbean and look forward to all this voyage has to offer.  Can’t wait for our adventure to begin!  Happy Sailing!  🙂

Hurricane Season

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There are a lot of good deals to be had for cruise vacations in September.  There is a reason for that.  Hurricane season is June 1st through November 30th.  September has historically been the most active month for hurricanes coming in from the Atlantic Ocean.  This season is shaping up to be no different.  This past week we have seen hurricane Earl wreak havoc on cruise ship itineraries.  A lot of changes were made to many voyages.  Some went even so far as to change their entire route from the Eastern Caribbean to the Western Caribbean.  That’s something to remember when selecting your cruise vacation. You may get a great deal, but just remember to be flexible in case a hurricane ends up in the path of your chosen voyage.   Buying trip insurance is always a great idea, but in this case, it is up to the discretion of the cruise line to make decisions based on what will keep passengers safe and insurance will not cover changes in itineraries.   I have a co-worker that  actually missed one port and was kept out at sea on her ship for two extra days in 2003 because the port of Miami was closed.  Guess there are worse things than being stranded on a cruise ship safely away from a hurricane :)  Happy Sailing!

Need an Excuse to Cruise?

Anniversary Cruise June 2009 092How about to celebrate?  What’s happening in your world that you would like to celebrate?  My husband and I are celebrating his 40th birthday this year with a cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas.   Last summer my parents took our family to the western Caribbean on a Carnival voyage to celebrate their 40th anniversary.  There is a really fun trend toward cruising to celebrate a life event.  Family reunions, birthdays, anniversaries, retirement, job change, holidays, girlfriend getaways and many other reasons that one can find to celebrate.  Cruise lines love it, too, when you bring big groups of fun people onboard, they WANT to help you celebrate.   We booked Jason’s birthday cruise over a year in advance thankfully.  The prices are now around $800 more per couple, so it pays to plan ahead and it gives all of those going a chance to save their pennies.   Why not consider the next big event in your life a reason to cruise??   Happy sailing!

Where is Your Dream Destination?

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If you could cruise anywhere in the world, where would it be?  Let’s put some parameters around this or you would get my answer, a World Cruise, of course!!!  So let’s say anywhere from 7 to 14 days.  There are so many places to choose from!  My first thought goes to the Society Islands.  Princess Cruise Line has a 10 night itinerary that I must do someday.   Bora Bora, Tahiti and Moorea all ring my umbrella drinks, exotic island bells.   While the cruise pricing is reasonable, the airfare is a little outrageous for someone flying from the midwest, but it’s definitely on my “bucket list”.

There are so many other places that I dream of as well such as the Mediterranean.  There is a vast array of itineraries in Europe it will be hard to choose.  Greek Islands, the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, some itineraries even go to Egypt!  Not to mention the French and Italian Rivieras, Barcelona and Gibraltar.  Northern Europe would be another amazing place to visit.  St. Petersburg, Russia, the Northern Lights seen in Norway, the Norwegian Fjords, Copenhagen, the British Isles and so much more.

Gosh, I could really get carried away dreaming of far off destinations.  I look forward to the day when we can make the trek around the southern tip of South America.  Visiting Argentina, Chile, Brazil and the Faulkland Islands along the way.  Hmmmmmm….

Okay, enough about my dreams.  What are yours?  Happy Sailing 🙂