Monday Morning Bon Voyage 2/1/10

The New Year is here and it is time to hit the road or high seas and journey out into this awesome world! I took some time away from my travel blog and I am ready to kick her in gear and have some fun. Since I am in the travel business we get to provide vacations that will provide memories that will last a lifetime. I had the honor of putting one of those trips together for my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary and what a blast it is going to be. Before I get into the details, I thought we would take a look at what this thing called “Wave Season” is all about. It is the busiest cruise booking time of the year! Between January and March, tens of thousands of Americans a day will lock in their voyages for the rest of the year. This is your time to book the best itineraries, the best stateroom locations, and the best rates. There are so many awesome deals right now. It is probably cold in your world right now, so get out of the cold and get your cruise booked and start dreaming about how much fun it is going to be. I bet it will warm you up pretty quick! I always like to start my journeys off with a unique liquid libation and today’s journey will start off with a Bon Voyage! Are you ready for it? You start with one shot of Gin, one shot of Tequila, one dash of Lemon Juice and one dash Blue Curacao. Add the shot of Tequila and shot of Gin over ice in your favorite Souvenir Icicle glass. Then mix a dash of Lemon Juice and dash of Blue Curacao. Stir lightly and set sail. Best when drank with a straw. As I stated earlier, I was in charge of putting together a journey that would bring family and friends together to celebrate my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary. We chose the Norwegian Pearl as our floating home as we toured the Caribbean. With 12 unique restaurants, 24 hour room service, 11 exciting bars, bowling alleys, rock climbing wall, casino and awesome entertainment, why would you not choose the Norwegian Pearl? Our group would consist of 15 people. One good thing about taking out group space is that you also lock in amenity points. Everyone in our group would get $125 on board credit, a bottle of wine and dinner for 2 at a specialty restaurant on top of great stateroom rates. Pea & Pod would be traveling with my wife and I as well. We were not sure on Pod until the last minute. We were not sure if his football team would be in a bowl game or not. I bought trip insurance and it would have covered him if he could not have made it. This would be my first experience with NCL and I could not wait to experience Freestyle Cruising! As a travel agent I spend a lot of time educating myself on any and everything related to travel. NCL has one on the best Universities for travel agents and I am proud to say that I am Freestyle Certified with a Silver Shield with NCLU. Ok enough of that stuff let the journey begin. My journey would begin with a flight from San Antonio to Miami very, very early in the morning. A word of advice is to make sure you allow yourself enough time to get to your departure port and I would highly recommend that you arrive the night before. The ship will not wait for you if you are late. We arrived in Miami at 10:45 AM and hooked up with some other family members who were on the same flight. From the Miami airport it was $24 flat rate for a cab to the Miami Cruise Terminals. I thought it was reasonable with four of us in the cab. It was like clockwork. Within an hour of arriving at the Cruise Terminals all 15 of us arriving from many different places were now all together. To see the excitement in my parent eyes is where my memories start. Luggage is checked in outside and it time to get checked in and get on this awesome looking ship. I wanted to do something a little special for my parents and with the help of Terri Burke at Cruise Planners Home Office I was able to get my parents set up with VIP status. I was able to tag along so I could experience this as well. Thanks again Terri! They have a VIP lounge set up as you first walk in the terminal and this is where you get your photo taken for security. Your credit card is swiped for on board charges and they give you a Freestyle card for your stateroom and to use throughout the ship so you do not have to carry cash or credit cards while you are on board. We meet the Karan Arora the head of Concierge. He would take us to the Pearl and was very kind to our family. As soon as you go through security you are handed a glass of champagne or orange juice and your journey starts. We boarded the Pearl around 12:30 and staterooms would not be ready until 2:00. This would give us plenty of time to wander around and check things out. I am impressed already. Eventually everyone made it up to the pool area and we ordered a couple of buckets of beer and gathered up some food from the Garden Café and Topsiders Grill. I had some sushi, different chesses, chicken wrap and some veggies. I am starting light so I can bring on the heavy stuff later. Get ready to gain some weight. There are way too many choices. What a beautiful day in Miami with the sun shining, hanging with family and a cold beer in my hand. This is Just Awesome! Around 2:00 we head out to find our stateroom. We were staying in #9528 in a balcony stateroom. When I first made our booking we were in an inside stateroom, but with a good travel agent they will continue to monitor the pricing for their client and if the pricing falls will move their client into a better stateroom. This was the same case for two others in our group, so it worked out well. We had four adults in our stateroom and it was a little cramped at times, but we did not stay in the room except at night. Around 3:00 we start getting our life jackets ready. Before the ship sets sail everyone has to participate in the Muster Drill or some call it a Life Boat Drill. At 3:30 we make our way to the theater and they show us how to put on the life jackets. It is pretty funny watching everyone do this. Life jackets are put back up and off to Deck 12 for our 4:00 departure. With our drinks in hand the Pearl start’s her journey with the horns blowing. Let the fun begin! With a group of 15 it is hard to all eat together, but this would be one of those nights that we would as we were also celebrating my dad’s 70th Birthday! I have a little time to explore the public areas before dinner, so I can get my bearings for the remainder of our journey. Tonight we are going to eat dinner at The Summer Palace. This is one of the two main dining rooms you can eat at. We were seated at two table’s right next to each other. The good thing about Freestyle Dining is you can show up at whenever you want. You might have to wait for 10 minutes, but it sure is nice to not have to eat at a set time. I am the wild one when it comes to food in the family. On a cruise ship you can order several different things so you can try a little of whatever tickles you’re fancy. I ordered a couple of appetizers, salad, some really good strawberry soup, cheese tortellini, and dessert. I consider myself now stuffed! The dining staff came out and sang Happy Birthday to my dad and it was very nice! Our evening would continue to the Stardust Theater for the South Beach Rave show. The day had started early so this would be it for the night. I know I am a wimp. Live a little will you? Day 2 will be a sea day, so I will have even more time to wander and learn about this truly remarble ship. I truly appreciate all of you who are reading and following. Please leave me a comment sometime so I know who is reading. I would be honored if you share this with a friend. Hang on for day 2 on the Norwegian Pearl. Until we unite again remember to always love your Travel Agent. He needs lots of love. Keep your Cruisitude in check and most important is to Travel Your Way!