Cow Butt Stateroom – Awesome

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How clever!  Royal Caribbean sure knows how to put a positive spin on a stateroom dilemma…

There is an inside stateroom on the Freedom Class ships of Royal Caribbean that has a window to the Royal Promenade.  This stateroom is located directly above the Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream shop, stateroom #6305.

As it turns out, when you look through the window, you have a wonderful view of the backside of two life-size cows that sit on top of the ice cream shop!   Seeing this as a bit of a disadvantage to the passengers booked in this stateroom, so Royal Caribbean decided to make it something unique and sought after.

Royal Caribbean has coined the stateroom, the “Ben and Jerry’s Sweet”.  The decor is cow-themed, of course.  From the sheets to the pillows to the wall hangings to the towel hooks.  Fun!

Check out this video for a tour of the room!

The best part is the complimentary ice cream at Ben and Jerry’s for two guests, once a day on the cruise.  The rumor is that the stateroom also includes access to the Concierge Lounge (for passengers over 18 years old), which is otherwise only available to passengers who book a suite.

What a creative way to market this less-than-desirable location!

Shown on the deck plan as a normal stateroom, this is a real insider tip.  If you are a Ben and Jerry’s lover and tend to book the inside category, this stateroom is for you!

Happy Sailing!  🙂

 

7 Must Haves for Your Next Cruise

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Do you keep those “must haves” always ready to pack when you vacation?  My husband and I do.  I thought I would share with you those items we take with us when we cruise.  Feel free to comment on anything you feel is a neccessity for you!

  1. A simple luggage scale or a digital luggage scale.  It helps with getting your bags balanced out so you aren’t trying to rearrange at the airport to avoid overweight bag fees.
  2. A travel-size alarm clock.   Cell phones work great when you are on land, but not always good to have them turned on while you are sailing.   Check with your mobile phone provider before turning your cell phone on at sea (or in a foreign country for that matter).
  3. A power strip.  With all of today’s electronic gadgets, you need a way to keep them all powered up!  There are very few electrical outlets (typically only one, maybe two) in a stateroom on board, so you must make the most of the one you have.
  4. Sea sickness meds.   You will find that very few get sick on board due to motion sickness.  This is because of the great stabilizers these large cruise ships have underneath.  Most of the time you can hardly tell you are on a ship!  Never hurts to be prepared though.  My husband has an iron stomach.  I, on the other hand, take Dramamine just in case.  I hear sea bands work great, too.
  5. Ear plugs.  In case your neighbors are noisy.  Enough said 🙂
  6. Packable tote bag.  You may need to take a few things ashore with you for that beach day like a book, sunscreen and underwater cameras.  Or you may have too many souvenirs to fit into your luggage and need the extra packing space on your way home!
  7. Night light.  If you book an inside stateroom, there are no windows and it is almost completely dark.  You will need a little light just to get to the bathroom.  Ours is the Blackout Buddy that doubles as a flashlight.

These items, for us, just make our cruise vacation a little bit easier.

Happy Sailing 🙂

 

Master Cruise Counsellor

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Here I am, a year and a half later, excited to be sharing my news of advancing from an Accredited Cruise Counsellor to a Master Cruise Counsellor.  Yay!!   It was both a personal and a professional goal to move forward through the CLIA Academy.  I received the MCC designation by completion of a comprehensive program of cruise sales training and product instruction, delivered through a combination of extensive classroom training, personal cruise experience and visiting several ships.  This is both fun and rewarding for me, to make a business out of doing something so fun!

A special thanks to my husband Jason for his support (both technical and emotional) along the way.  I have been able to combine my love of cruising with the small business world to help family, friends and new clients experience a great way to vacation – on board a cruise ship!  Thank you to all who have trusted me with your cruise vacations.

I also want to thank those of you who refer me to their friends and family.  As I have said before, this is truly the best compliment.  I look forward to planning many more!

Next goal……..Elite Cruise Counsellor!

Happy Sailing 🙂

 

I Love Good Surprises!

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Guess what?  I just saved six of my clients an average of $250 each for their upcoming cruises!

I had the pleasure of telling several of my clients that I was able to take advantage of new lower cruise pricing for their already booked summer cruise vacations, yay!!  I love delivering good news, especially when it involves saving my clients some hard earned vacation money.

One of the things I do for my clients is keep an eye on their cruise rates after they book in case there is a price drop.   The biggest savings so far happened this week for my clients in Tennessee.

A family of four, Mom and Dad in one stateroom, and the kids across the hall, a whopping $620 for the two staterooms.  They are sailing in July, so final payment hasn’t been made yet and the cruise line adjusted the rate when I called to ask.  Fun!

I was also able to save a co-worker over $300 for her stateroom and over $400 for her cousin’s stateroom, wow!!  This isn’t something that happens every day, so to make it happen for several of my clients all at once is really awesome!

A lot of this depends on the time of year and the itinerary.  Sometimes there is a need for a sale to fill the ship.  I’m just happy it happens once in a while, I love to surprise my clients!

Happy Sailing 🙂