Sunday Afternoon Sangria 5/31/09

I have put this off for way too long and now I am officially blogging! Wow, I hope I know what the heck I am doing! Jeremy, Curtis, Tanner, Help! Here we go! Let me start by introducing myself. My name is John Nelson Jr and I am the owner of Fantasy Cruise & Travel. I am one of the newest full service travel agencies in the San Antonio area. I have always had a passion for travel and helping my family find the best deals with the right destination, either by plane, cruise ship or their own car. Now with that being said, you are probably wondering what the heck is he talking about? Helping family, so what! What about me and my travel needs? I will go into further detail here in a minute. A little bit about my intentions with my blog. I want this blog to be informative, interactive and a place where you can come ask questions and make comment's. This is where we can all learn about the wonderful world of travel. Not just cruises, but all travel. I don't know it all. I am still learning and what a great resource for us all to do that. I am not going to lie. I will also be using this to market my business. When there is something that is too good to pass up, I will let you know about it. I will also be blogging about many different travel destinations around the world along with various cruise lines, tour companies, all inclusive resorts, group travel, travel tips and the new ships that are still being built. I am very fascinated with why people take cruises that are longer than 14 days. I am excited about the opportunities that River Cruising offers. I will spend some time with my absolute favorite destination Alaska. The most INCREDIBLE trip in my lifetime so far. I hope we have followers who can share and comment about there travel experiences. OK, enough of that for now. Who am I and where did I come from? I have the most wonderful supportive parents who are retired and live in The Villages, FL. I also have the most incredible in-laws. Their support has been so special and I cannot thank them enough. I am married to the most amazing women, my high school sweetheart and my best friend. Janet and I have been married for 27 years and we have 2 incredible sons. My oldest Tyler is living in San Marcos, TX working in the ISP Tech Support industry and attending school. My youngest Matt just finished high school and will be attending La Tech. He will be kicking the football for them this fall. I have to mention my two amazing dogs Cubby (Chihuahua) and Abe (Dachshund) They rule the house! I have been in the Reprographics business since I graduated high school. My mom started a printing business in 1981 and I have been working in this business ever since. Janet started in the business in 1984. Thomas Reprographics out of Dallas bought our company in 1997. Janet and I relocated to San Antonio in 2002. I took over the San Antonio and Austin operations and Janet took over our digital departments in San Antonio. As some of you know, 2008/2009 was not a good year for the Reprographics business overall and in October 2008 my position was eliminated with Thomas Reprographics. It was very tough to take after being in the industry for 28 years. Life is too short to get angry about it. Several things about Thomas Reprographics before I go on. Janet still works for them as a Learning Coach/Special Projects Leader and absolutely loves what she does. I have never seen her so focused and happy. The Thomas family is such a great family and I am blessed to have worked side by side with them and have learned what running a business is all about. They are a great company to work for and I would highly recommend them to anyone. I have a lot of great friends that still work there and a lot of long lasting memories. So walk forward and I look at this as a new beginning in my life. I thought about it for a long time, going back in forth with getting back in the business or doing something different. As I stated above, I have always had a passion for travel and the decision was made. I had researched travel franchises until my friends and family had enough. Make a decision will you! When the opportunity presented itself to start my own travel agency, I knew it would be the perfect mixture of customer service, learning, sales and making new friends. I started Fantasy Cruise & Travel in October 2008 by purchasing a Cruise Planners franchise. Cruise Planners home office is located in Ft Lauderdale, FL. My training started in November, 2008 at our home office along with a ton of training hours online. Everyday there is something new to learn. Becoming a certified expert with the cruise lines and tour companies takes many hours and I am very passionate about being your travel resource. I am super excited with my decision and being a business owner has far, far exceeded my expectations. For those of you who have read this far, I appreciate you sticking with me. I think I need another glass of Sangria. I would love to hear from you and would appreciate any advice or feedback you might have to offer. If you have any suggestions or things you would like discussed please email me at johnjr@fantasycruisetravel.com

Cheers for now,
Travel Your Way!
John