Travelin' with John

Monday Morning with Viking River Cruises 5/2/11

2011-05-02T09:16:00.002-05:00

Spring is still in the air! This is one of my favorite times of the year right there next to the college football season. The trees have their leaves on, the grass is green and the weather is just perfect. My garden is already planted and things are actually growing. I planted peppers, garlic, onions, potatoes, fennel, shallots, tomatoes, eggplant, lettuce and radishes. If everything produces I will be very happy. This week has been very tragic with all of the storms and tornadoes that have gone from Texas through the south. My thoughts and prayers go out to those families who have lost a loved one, their home or business during these terrible storms. I pray for your comfort and healing during this time. God Bless you all! Spring Break travel is in the books and Alaska is gearing up for what should be an awesome year to see her beauty. If you have not been to Alaska you should consider it this summer. You can check out my blogs on my journey to Alaska on the right hand side of the page under blog archives. Now I am craving pizza from my favorite pizza joint in Talkeetna. Mountain High Pizza Pie I sure wished you delivered Todd. With Alaska travel and Cinco de Mayo in the air I thought I would share a few of my favorite beer labels with you. My short list is Alaskan Amber, Real Ale's Devil's Backbone & Lost Gold IPA, Dogfish Head, Blue Moon, Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA, Full Sail Wassail and my old standby Guinness. One of these days I am going to tackle home brewing, but I will save that for another chapter of my life. Our River Cruise series moves to Viking River Cruises. One of the things that intrigues me the most about River Cruising is that it is a fantastic way to see parts the world from your very own floating hotel that takes you right to the center of these world famous cities. Viking River Cruises takes you to the rivers of Europe, Russia, Ukraine, China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Egypt.

Why River Cruising with Viking River Cruises

Viking River Cruises operates the world’s largest and best fleet of deluxe vessels built specifically for river travel. With extensive background in European river cruising, they are the most knowledgeable company in the business. Viking was the first to offer river trips in Russia, and their China management team has decades of experience helping travelers see China. As a result, more than half a million people have joined Viking on magical, enlightening journeys through these exciting places.

• Elegant, Comfortable Ships
• Spacious Accommodations
• Gourmet Cuisine
• Consistently Excellent Service
• Expert Planning & Execution
• Cultural Enrichment
• Great Travel Value
• Travel the World with Viking
• The World's most Award-Winning River Cruise Line

The Viking Fleet - Elegant, Comfortable Ships

Viking operates the largest fleet of their own river cruise vessels, and they are proud to offer you the best ships in each region where they travel. Most of the Viking ships were built during the past few years, and by virtue of their program of continuous improvement the rest have been recently upgraded or refurbished. Their ships are smaller than ocean vessels, so every stateroom has an outside view of the river and passing scenery. And the flat-bottomed shape of these ships ensures a safe and smooth ride with no worries about motion sickness. Viking ships are specially designed to navigate the world’s great rivers and provide convenient access to every destination along the way.

Viking accommodations—a warm welcome

When you are a guest on a Viking ship, your complete satisfaction is of utmost concern. From the moment you check in and find your luggage waiting to the time you disembark, you will feel at home. Comfortable staterooms stocked with amenities, helpful staff and connections with the outside world are just a few of the touches that mean so much when you travel with Viking.

Gourmet cuisine to complement your cruise

Dining is a very important highlight of any travel experience, but especially with Viking. Their chefs create a variety of delicious offerings featuring European, Russian and Chinese specialties—adapted for Western tastes—with fresh seasonal vegetables and soups prepared throughout your cruise.

The Viking standard of service excellence

Viking River Cruises provides a superior travel experience, from one end of the trip to the other. They operate our own ships and pride themselves on directly managing all aspects of your vacation, from the onboard cuisine to shore excursion lectures to ground transportation. This strong sense of commitment to excellent service sets them apart from other companies.

The Viking experience—scenery, history and cultural enrichment

Picture-perfect scenery surrounds your ship as it glides gracefully along one of the world’s great rivers. But the Viking experience is so much more—with a perfect combination of shore excursions, lectures, demonstrations and performances; every journey is a cultural adventure.

All-inclusive packages—another Viking hallmark

A frequent comment about ocean cruise lines is that so many things are not included. But with Viking, your fare includes just about everything—from meals, enrichment lectures and shore excursions to hotel accommodations on our “cruisetour” itineraries. A Viking vacation is an excellent travel value.

Viking River Cruises—a great travel value

However you look at it, a Viking vacation is an outstanding value. Viking guests never have that feeling of being “nickel-and-dimed.” All meals are included on virtually every itinerary, plus daily shore excursions, port charges, entry fees and so on. Check here for even more ways that Viking maximizes the value of your travel dollar.

Viking's New Ships

The Christmas Markets & Holiday Cruising

Cruising in Europe

As you can see Viking River Cruises sets it’s self apart from the other River Cruise lines. As a leader in the industry They have the highest customer service satisfaction rating with 99.8% of the customers commenting that Viking River Cruises has exceeded their expectations. Here is a link to my Viking River Cruise website. Here you will find information on all of the itineraries, rivers and online brochures to view at your convenience. What are you waiting for? Take a look at River Cruising. What a great way to visit the world with your spouse, your kids, your mom & dad or your grandmother or grandfather! Are you part of a group who loves history, art, wine, Christmas Markets or the traditions of other countries throughout the world? If you are, then River Cruising is for you! If you have any questions let me know. I would love to help you plan your next journey on a river cruise! Until we unite again remember to always love your Travel Agent. He needs lots of love, plus he is a real nice guy! Remember that my services, research and recommendations are always No Charge! If you know someone who travels send them my way. They will be treated just like family. If you have a group who wants to travel together let me know and you could travel for free. Traveling in a group is always more fun when you all share like interests! You will be taken care of. Keep your Cruisitude in check and most important is to always Travel Your Way!

Friday Afternoon with AMA Waterways 2/18/11

2011-02-18T17:00:00.003-06:00

Since we have last crossed paths we have gone from living in the frozen tundra to this remarkable spring like weather. I wish I could tell you that I am going to plant my vegetable garden, but I have a feeling that Mother Nature is going to lay another dusting on us before I can declare that Spring is in the air. It really is nice that we have gone from the low teens to the mid seventies in one week. I believe a Happy Dance is due in honor of this weather blessing. This week also brought joy and sadness. I call it the triple whammy! Valentine's Day, my wife's birthday and my oldest son's birthday all in the same week. My joy is that I get to celebrate with them, but my sadness is that I am getting older. Ok, enough of the personal stuff of the week. Just a heads up, there is still time and space available to get the perfect Spring Break trip reserved. The really cool thing is that Alaska is going to be a hot item this summer and there is still ton's of options. If you have been considering Alaska, you should really consider this summer. You can check out my blogs on my amazing journey to Alaska on the right hand side of the page. With Mardi Gras in the air and Spring Break just around the corner I though we would start this journey off with a nice Hurricane. My favorite is Pat O'Briens in New Orleans. You start out with 1 oz white rum, 1 oz Jamaican rum, 1 oz Bacardi 151 rum, 3 oz orange juice, 3 oz unsweetened pineapple juice, 1/2 oz grenadine syrup and crushed ice. Combine all ingredients, mix well (shake or stir). Pour over crushed ice in hurricane glass. Best enjoyed through a small straw. Garnish with fruit wedge if desired. Now sit back and enjoy your hurricane as you dream about your next destination. AMA Waterways cruise through the rivers of Europe, Russia and on the Mekong River. Sit back while we dissect AMA Waterways.

WHY AMA WATERWAYS

EUROPE

MS AMADOLCE, MS AMALYRA, MS AMADANTE,
MS AMACELLO, MS AMALEGRO, & MS AMADAGIO

Europe's newest and most state-of-the-art river cruise ships
Deluxe staterooms are 170 sq.ft. with hotel-style beds that can be set up as two twin beds or one large double bed
Junior Suites are extra spacious at 255 sq.ft. on the upper deck
Guaranteed share program for single travelers (Cat. B only)
Infotainment System in all staterooms with movie and music library and complimentary internet
Fine gourmet cuisine emphasizing local ingredients with fresh produce and seafood
Welcome Reception and Farewell Gala Dinner
Quality wines from Europe's most famous wine regions included with every dinner onboard ship
Open seating amidst elegant, yet comfortable surroundings
Grand Panorama Lounge with bar and dance floor
Aft Lounge for up to 35-50 Passengers - ideal for special group events/meetings
Daily entertainment onboard and/or on shore, plus nightly piano music and dancing onboard
Special highlights including folklore performances, lectures, theme dinners and local activities
Wellness Center with a fitness room and sauna
Beauty salon and masseuse
Sun Deck with whirlpool and walking track
Complimentary bicycles to explore town on your own
Elevator reaching four different levels: the Restaurant (Level 1), the staterooms on the Cello Deck (2), the Lobby and Panorama Lounge (3) and the staterooms on the Violin Deck (4)
Professional Cruise Director and expert local guides
All English language onboard
Non-Smoking Environment (smoking only on Sun Deck)

RUSSIA

MS TOLSTOY

Most luxurious and comfortable cruise ship ever built for Russian rivers; completely refurbished
Deluxe cruise accommodation in 110 sq.ft. outside staterooms (20% larger than other ships); triple staterooms also available (Cat. D only)
Jr. Suites are 220 sq. ft. with sitting area and two beds that can be put together; spacious Suites are 330 sq. ft. and have a dayroom, refrigerator and separate bedroom
Bathrooms feature a separate shower area, which is unique for Russian ships
Superb dining with all meals included in the elegant restaurant, which accommodates all guests in one seating without fixed seating arrangements
Quality wines or juice included with every dinner; complimentary bottled water in every stateroom
Welcome Reception and Farewell Gala Dinner
Charming Katrina Restaurant lined with panoramic windows; beautiful Kostroma Lounge and Neva Bar
Spacious Sun Deck and smaller Patio Deck—idea for cocktail receptions
Daily entertainment onboard and/or on shore, plus nightly piano music and dancing onboard
Special highlights including folkloric performances, lectures, theme dinners and local activities
Indoor swimming pool and sauna
Pushkin library, Tchaikovsky Hall, beauty salon and souvenir shop
Non-Smoking Environment (smoking only on Sun Deck)

PROVENCE & SPAIN

MS SWISS PEARL

Deluxe cruise accommodations with hotel-style beds that can be set up as two twin beds or one Queen bed
Junior Suites are 205 sq. ft. with separate sitting area and extra-spacious bathroom
Standard staterooms are 130 sq.ft. (Cat. D) to 140 sq. ft.; (Cat. A, B and C); Single stateroom is 115 sq ft. and Triple stateroom (Cat. D) is 180 sq. ft
Stateroom amenities include TV with movie on demand, minibar, safe, hairdryer and individually-controlled air conditioning
Gourmet meals with open seating arrangements
Complimentary wines from France’s great wine regions served during dinner onboard ship
Panorama lounge with bar and dance floor
Wireless internet (need to provide own laptop)
Wellness Area with fitness room, indoor swimming pool, sauna and solarium
Whirlpool on the Sun Deck
Library and souvenir shop

PORTUGAL & SPAIN

MS AMADOURO

Deluxe cruise accommodations with hotel-style beds that can be set up as two twin beds or one queen bed
Standard staterooms are 135 sq. ft.; Cat. A and B feature private balconies and Cat. C and D offer large picture windows
Stateroom amenities include TV, individually-controlled air conditioning, hairdryer, vanity with sitting area, and full length mirror
Gourmet meals with open seating arrangements and complimentary local wine and port wine are served with every dinner onboard
Sun Deck with two Jacuzzis, swimming pool and bar
Souvenir shop
Internet access
Elevator that reaches the Lower, Main and Upper decks

YOUR ONBOARD EXPERIENCE

Our mission is to deliver an exceptional vacation experience with everlasting memories onboard our elegant vessels. Our ships are the top river ships cruising Europe’s legendary rivers and the Russian waterways. Your holiday is as important to us as it is to you.

We will do our best to provide superior service to ensure your river cruise experience is a most pleasurable one. We continuously enhance our cruise programs and activities to make sure they are of the highest quality in each of our ports of call throughout Europe, Portugal and Russia.

The common language onboard our European vessels is English. Many of our staff is Hungarian and Slovakian; however, there are also several Austrians, Bulgarians, Croatians, Dutch, Germans, Portuguese, Romanians and Swiss employees with English as their common language. In Russia, aboard the MS TOLSTOY, our staff is mostly Russian and Ukrainian. Most of our passengers are American, Canadian and Australian.

We offer a full program of daily included shore excursions, as well as entertainment and educational options. This is your vacation, so it is always your decision to either join the excursions or to relax onboard and let the wonderful scenery float by. Our ships feature state-of-the-art public areas with great art work, new amenities and services, exquisitely decorated staterooms and gourmet dining; all of which provide an unparalleled cruise vacation. We pride ourselves on setting the standards in European river cruising.

DINNING & CUISINE

Our onboard culinary staff offers sophisticated menus comprised of wonderful soups, fresh produce, high quality choice cut meats, and fresh fish and seafood. Your Maitre d' always welcomes you to the restaurant with a bright smile.

Start your day with a lavish gourmet champagne breakfast buffet. Choose from a rich assortment of breads, croissants and pastries, a variety of fresh fruit, yogurt, cereals, and smoked salmon. Sample the delicious cheeses, cold cuts and local sausages, as well as our daily regional specials. An array of traditional breakfast items is also available from the menu.

Return from your shore excursion to a delicious lunch. Start with mouth-watering hot or cold appetizers, homemade soups, then choose from a selection of great entrees, finish off with a delectable dessert and complimentary cappuccino.

In the evening, be our honored guest for an elegant dinner or a traditional theme night with a feast of regional specialties. Enjoy delicious cuisine and complimentary free-flowing wines from the local vintners. Our kitchen crew knows how to orchestrate a truly memorable dining experience.

HERE IS A SAMPLE MENU

CLICK HERE

ALL INCLUSIVE ADVENTURES ASHORE

Our knowledge of Europe’s treasures and hidden secrets impart a unique and personal touch to our specially-designed itineraries. You will experience fascinating history and local traditions as you cruise past tranquil landscapes, alluring hamlets and magnificent hilltop castles.

Shaking hands with the Mayor and sharing a toast with the Wine Queen are just two distinctly unique experiences offered on our cruise through the picturesque Mosel Valley. Be our guest for special regional wine-tastings or a unique glass-blowing demonstration. Special arrangements have been made throughout your cruise for you to experience some of the most interesting sightseeing available.

Our enhanced shore excursion program gives you an in-depth, authentic view of the cultures and histories you will visit. You will discover the area's highlights, as well as places only the locals know about. Europe's most charming towns and their friendly people are waiting to welcome you with open arms.

A NEW EXPERIENCE EVERY NIGHT

As the stars shine overhead and the moon casts its reflection, romance and excitement fill the air along the riverbank. Toast your friends and savor our perfectly paired free-flowing regional wines as you share your discoveries and highlights of the day with your new friends and traveling companions.

After dessert, join us in the Panorama Lounge to watch local folkloric dancers perform an authentic Bavarian Schuhplattler or to listen to musicians perform classical selections.

Dance the night away with the locals at the many open-air festivals and events during the warm summer months. Your ship is docked close to the heart of each town and city so you can easily venture ashore to delve into the spirit of each city’s exciting evening culture, traditions and activities.

OUR SHIPS

CLICK HERE

TAKE A VIRTUAL TOUR

CLICK HERE

2011 ELECTRONIC BROCHURE

CLICK HERE

AMA WATERWAY VIDEOS

CLICK HERE

As you can see above AMA Waterways sets it’s self apart from the other River Cruise lines. They have one of the youngest and most state of the art River Cruise fleets in the industry. What are you waiting for? Take a look at River Cruising. What a great way to visit the world with your spouse, your mom & dad or your grandmother or grandfather! Are you part of a group who loves history, art, wine, Christmas Markets or the traditions of other countries throughout the world? If you are, then River Cruising is for you! If you have any questions let me know. I would love to help you plan your next journey on a river cruise! Until we unite again remember to always love your Travel Agent. He needs lots of love, plus he is a real nice guy! Remember that my services, research and recommendations are always No Charge! If you know someone who travels send them my way. They will be treated just like family. If you have a group who wants to travel together let me know and you could travel for free. Traveling in a group is always more fun when you all share like interests! You know you will be taken care of. Keep your Cruisitude in check and most important is to always Travel Your Way!

Saturday Morning with Uniworld Boutique River Cruises 2/5/11

2011-02-05T08:00:00.004-06:00

Wow, where has time gone? I awaken and all I see is snow and ice. Where am I and why is everything so white? I guess I have been in hibernation. Normally when you go into hibernation you came out smaller. For some reason I am somewhat bigger. Something is just not right. I know I can be a bear sometimes, but I had no clue I was part bear. I apologize to those who follow my travel blog. I had no clue this medicine the doctor was giving me during the fall would put me into a travel coma. I wont be going back to that doctor. Since our paths last crossed we have sold our house in San Antonio and now reside in the Northern Suburbs of Dallas. The dogs and I are getting back to normal now that we have been reunited with my wife. Living in two different cities for over a year was very challenging. My youngest son just completed his 2nd season playing football for Louisiana Tech and my oldest son has moved to Austin and went skiing for the very first time. Ok, enough of this hibernation stuff! It is time to get back on the road of sharing travel. Just a quick vacation update. There is still plenty of time to get the perfect Spring Break vacation reserved and there are still some awesome Cruisetours to Alaska this summer still available as well. With Spring Break just around the corner I thought I would start our 2011 travel off with a tropical Two Wheeler! This one is very simple! Take 2 - 3 ounces of your favorite dark rum (I prefer Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum) and pour over ice in your favorite glass. Top it off with the orange juice of your choice. Squeeze a little lime juice in it and stir. Now sit back and think about that vacation you deserve. Getting back to where I left off before I ended up in hibernation we were starting a series on River Cruising. One of the things that intrigues me the most about River Cruising is that it is a fantastic way to see parts the world from your very own floating hotel that takes you right to the center of these world famous cities. The first River Cruise Line we explored was Avalon Waterways. You can refer back to Avalon Waterways in 2010. I know this break in the action is for the bears! I promise 2011 will be a year filled with travel stories and travel information. I also promise to stay away from the crazy doctor's who prescribe hibernation pills! Our River Cruise series moves on to Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection. Uniworld cruises on the rivers in Europe, Russia, Egypt and China.

Why River Cruising with Uniworld?

River cruising with Uniworld offers an unparalleled level of convenience, as you often dock right in the heart of town, mere steps away from charming squares, magnificent cathedrals, and bustling market places. You’ll never wait in long lines to get on or off the ship; you’ll never tender into port; you’ll never spend long hours wave watching on a vast ocean (which is inescapable on larger cruise ships); and you’ll never experience rough water or motion sickness—only smooth and peaceful sailing throughout your journey.

Why is Uniworld so Unique?

Since Uniworld is under The Travel Corporation umbrella, they have been able to tap into their strong buying power and resources, as well as partner with several of their sister companies, such as Red Carnation Hotels, the award-winning five-star luxury boutique hotel collection, in the areas of hospitality training and management, food and beverage services, quality control programs, and design support. With the financial backing of The Travel Corporation, Uniworld has made significant capital investments—both in new ships and product upgrades—and has a fleet of nine company-owned and operated ships, as well as several charter partnerships.

Hotel Management and Hospitality Training with Red Carnation Hotels

Red Carnation Hotels shares their best practices, as well as provides cross-training opportunities on hotel management and hospitality development
Uniworld hired a professionally trained and formally educated butler to further enhance the luxury service standards onboard

Food and Beverage Program

Uniworld hired a world-class Food and Beverage Director who handles every aspect of food and beverage delivery
Ongoing enhancement to the food and beverage program are always being made with the focus on using the freshest ingredients from the local ports of call, as well as employing talented chefs who come from such places as London’s five star Le Meridian Piccadilly and Relais & Chateaux Hotels
Wine program developed by an award-wining European Sommelier based in London, England
Extensive Yearly Cooking Summit: Visiting local markets, cooking demonstrations and workshops, menu engineering and planning, and bakery and pastry classes, including special training for all pastry chefs at the world-renowned Valhrona Chocolate School, Lyon, France

Quality Control Programs:

Uniworld has developed an ongoing quality-control program to monitor all product delivery and services, including:
Operations Team in Europe with 30 employees based in Switzerland, Holland, and France—all 100% dedicated to delivering the Uniworld product
The Travel Corporation’s Quality Assurance
Third-Party Mystery Shopper Program

Design Support:

All of Uniworld ships have been designed and decorated by the design team from the Red Carnation Hotels
While each ship has its own unique personality and style, they are all designed with the same signature touches—luxurious and cozy décor, classic furnishings in rich fabrics, plush leather, and modern conveniences—all of which create an inviting atmosphere for a memorable experience.

Your Onboard Experience

Your Stateroom - One room… a thousand views

Handmade beds draped in the softest Egyptian combed cotton sheets, cashmere/wool blankets, and duvets. Choice of pillows, including down
Modern amenities include a flat-screen television with satellite, generous closet space, vanity with make-up mirror, hair dryer, individually controlled air-conditioning, direct-dial telephone, personal safe, and complimentary bottled water on all European ships
Beautiful bathrooms fitted with lavish robes, exquisite L'Occitane bath and body amenities, and luxurious towels from Christies of Manchester, the most renowned towel maker in Europe
Marble bathrooms on most ships*
Suites offer extra space, including sitting areas with sofas and chairs; floor-to-ceiling windows; and, on select ships, French balconies
All riverview staterooms and suites are serviced twice a day
Unpack once and make yourself at home!

Your Dining Experience:

Dine in the only Zagat-rated restaurants on the river
On their boutique ships, meals are truly a feast for all the senses. From the delicious bouquet of a glass of perfectly aged pinot noir, to the inviting sight of candlelit tables draped in fine linen, to the pleasant sounds of friends engaged in intimate conversation, to the delicious flavor of each savory dish, Uniworld’s dining experiences have been designed to delight you. They are committed to going the extra mile to provide their guests with a truly remarkable dining experience, and they were recently acknowledged in ZAGAT* Survey for “Top in Dining”—the only river cruise company recognized with the “best of the best” in the cruise industry.

However, they are not content to rest on their laurels, so to take their food and beverage program to even greater heights, they hired Global Master Chef Bernhard Zorn, a 30-year industry veteran, as Uniworld’s new Culinary Director. Chef Zorn leads his team of executive chefs in preparing a parade of culinary delights using only the freshest ingredients, which are often brought onboard daily from local farmers markets.

Sumptuous buffets at breakfast and lunch offer an extensive array of hot and cold selections. Breakfast features crispy Belgian waffles topped with whipped cream and warm maple syrup, a dozen or more homemade breads and jams, an omelet station, and hand-cut seasonal fresh fruit. Lunch offers a delectable feast with salads, soups, carved-to-order roasts, and more. Evenings provide exquisite ambience with relaxed open seating. Each dish is flawlessly prepared using the finest ingredients—local meats and seafood along with tasty side dishes. Always included with dinner onboard are European fine wines and a selection of beer and soft drinks served by an attentive, caring staff. Of course, every meal concludes with a wide range of freshly prepared, decadent desserts that look every bit as delicious as they taste.
Uniworld also provides a variety of dining experiences including: al fresco “under the stars” and light-lunch dining—both on the sun deck; Captain’s Welcome Gala and Farewell Dinner; early-riser breakfast; and afternoon tea. Plus, Uniworld gives you the choice of dining on lighter cuisine with our Traveling Lite menu.

Uniworld spices up 2011 cruises with the Epicurean Adventurer Program

Uniworld offers lovers of food and wine an added-value to their river cruise with the Epicurean Adventurer Program. This program is designed to take guests deeper into the wonderful world of wine and its relationship with food.

Service - No request too large, no detail too small

At Uniworld, they treat their guests as one might treat one’s best friends and family, which means “no request too large, no detail too small.” Since Uniworld is a proud part of The Travel Corporation, a family-run business, treating their guests—and their team of staff members—as an extension of their family comes naturally.
Uniworld does all of this because they truly care about creating harmony both onboard and onshore in order to bring joy to the guests and ensure that everyone has the most memorable experience possible. This is their commitment to the guests, their staff, and their environment.

Uniworld's "Points of Distinction"

The only river cruise company to offer authentic “boutique cruising”
The unsurpassed style and elegance of Europe’s best river cruise ships
A USD $100,000,000-plus investment in five new ships and the remodeling of the entire existing European fleet between 2009–2010
An average ship capacity of just 130 guests
Luxuriously appointed riverview staterooms—many with French balconies, handcrafted Savoir® beds draped in fine linens, flat-screen televisions with satellite, and fine amenities
Bathrooms stocked with L’Occitane bath and body products and comfy robes
Exclusive services and amenities in all suites
A certified Global Master Chef leading a professional culinary team in the preparation of gourmet cuisine using the freshest ingredients, which are often brought onboard from local farmers markets
A distinctive wine program developed by Red Carnation Hotels’ renowned sommelier from their Relais & Châteaux member hotels
Complimentary fine European wines, choice of beer, and soft drinks during dinner onboard; bottled water in staterooms; and a 24-hour specialty coffee and tea bar
A variety of dining experiences: al fresco dining “under the stars” on the sun deck, light-lunch in lounge, Captain’s Welcome Gala and Farewell Dinners, early-riser breakfast, and afternoon tea
The best onboard and onshore staff in the industry, with decades of experience
Their very own dedicated European Operations Team, which controls all aspects of product delivery, including onboard nautical and hospitality programs and all onshore programs
Fastidious internal Quality Assurance programs with extensive training for all staff, along with ship inspections and third-party mystery shoppers, to ensure their guests always receive the highest-quality service
Captivating and always-included shore excursions—many exclusive to Uniworld—hosted by English-speaking local guides who use state-of-the-art Quietvox portable headset systems
Insightful onboard Signature Lectures
Exclusive Epicurean Adventurer Program on 16 itineraries
Airport transfers on arrival and departure days

2011 Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Video Collection

Take a Virtual Tour of the River Beatrice

Click Here

View Uniworld's 2011 Electronic Brochure

Click Here

As you can see above Uniworld is very different from all other river cruise lines because of it's partnership with Red Carnation Hotel's. Uniworld, together with Red Carnation Hotels, has totally redefined a new level of river cruising. They call it boutique cruising and they are the only cruise company that offers this experience. What are you waiting for? Take a look at River Cruising. What a great way to visit the world with your mom & dad or your grandmother or grandfather! Are you part of a group who loves history, art, wine, Christmas Markets or the traditions of other countries throughout the world? If you are, then River Cruising is for you! If you have any questions let me know. I would love to help you plan your next journey on a river cruise! Until we unite again remember to always love your Travel Agent. He needs lots of love, plus he is a real nice guy! Remember that my services, research and recommendations are always No Charge! If you know someone who travels send them my way. If you have a group who wants to travel together let me know and you could travel for free. Traveling in a group is always more fun when you all share like interests! You know you will be taken care of. Keep your Cruisitude in check and most important is to Travel Your Way!

The Greatest Cruises on Earth! 10/11-18/2010

2010-10-13T13:30:00.002-05:00

Come One! Come All! Join the Celebration of National Cruise Vacation Month! The Celebration is in full swing! This year, Fantasy Cruise & Travel - Cruise Planners has put together the Greatest Cruises on Earth in order to bring to you exciting specials on the best cruise lines around. We’ve got reduced deposits and onboard coupon booklets to category upgrades, complimentary dinners, shipboard credits and more! And it’s all happening from October 11 to 18, 2010, so don’t miss out. Make sure and invite your friends. If you refer someone to me and they book during the World's Largest Cruise Event you will receive a very cool gift card.

Join the fun at the World’s Largest Cruise Event by clicking the Big Button below! There are cool videos of many of the cruise lines! If you like what you see make sure and hit the Like Button! I would be honored!

If you're interested in more information, contact me at 866-488-0526 or visit Fantasy Cruise & Travel. Travel Your Way!

Thursday Morning with Avalon Waterways 4/22/10

2010-04-22T11:00:00.017-05:00

I am not sure how to explain my week. I can tell you that I had no idea that going to watch a college football spring game would end up putting me on my butt, but it did. As we get older we get smarter and we think we can take on any athletic challenge that is presented to us. I think I let my smartness get the best of me as I thought that I could go out and kick 30 yard field goals with a 47+ year old body! Just because my youngest son kicks for La Tech does not mean that his dad can as well! When the hormones kick in we become invincible and we can do anything! Wrong! While attempting to kick this chip shot I remember making contact with the ball and the next thing I remember is the grinding noise of my plant knee and I was now laying on the field with my knee cap on the backside of my left knee. I knew it was bad, but I really had no idea. I am thankful for everyone who helped, but I am most thankful for Pod (My Youngest Son) and Mr. Dan "the equipment man" for the calm thinking and the foresight to go check and see if any trainers were still in the field house. To my amazement Keith and some of his staff made their way to the field and Keith was able to put my knee back in place. I was in a lot of pain, but felt relieved when my knee popped back in place. They drove me to the training room and placed a compression sock on my left leg and fitted me with a knee brace and some crutches. I was so very lucky that things worked out the way they did. We made our way back to Dallas to David & Barbara's (Janet's Aunt & Uncle) house. This would become my home until we could figure out what the next step was. We are so grateful for this. I was also fortunate that Meggie (Janet's Mom) was here as well. To make a long story short, I had surgery a few days later to repair a torn MCL, ACL and a partial tear in the PCL. I also had a dislocated Patella and a 1.5 CM piece of bone broken off of my Femur and a torn lower thigh muscle. I am in full recovery wearing a flexible brace and will need to wear it for the next 12 weeks during the healing process. A special thanks to all of my family and friends for all of the support and guidance duing this time. I am a full believer that even though we are older that we are not always as smart as we think. My football career might be over, but my love for the game will never go away. Ok enough of me! Who wants to go to Alaska? Alaska travel is just around the corner and I thought I would start off with an Alaskan Pipeline. You take 1 shot of Yukon Jack and 1 shot of Amaretto. Mix equal parts Yukon Jack and Amaretto in your favorite shaker with ice and shake. Serve in your favorite glass with or without ice. Cheers and I hope Alaska is in your travel plans this year. One of the things that intrigues me the most is River Cruising. What a fantastic way to see parts the world from your very own floating hotel that takes you right to the center of these world famous cities. I thought what I would do over the next few weeks is break down the 5 major River Cruise Lines and really see what makes them stand out and what makes them the River Cruise Line of choice. The 5 River Cruise Lines that I will break down are Avalon Waterways, AMA Waterways, Uniworld River Cruises, Tauck River Cruises, and Viking River Cruises. This week I will start with Avalon Waterways. Avalon Waterways is part of the Globus Family of Brands. Some ask "Why Take a River Cruise?" Taking a European river cruise is a best-of-the-best situation: the best way to discover a destination in the best conditions. Whether your destination is Europe, Russia, China, Vietnam, Egypt or the Galápagos Islands, a river cruise is an experience of a lifetime and a uniquely pleasant way to discover and enjoy the area, region, or country you are visiting. The key concepts are life at a leisurely pace, comfort, admiring the scenery, well-planned itineraries, and plenty of opportunities to explore the delightful towns, villages, sites, and monuments on shore along the way. All the worries of transport, accommodation, and food are taken out of the travelling scenario, leaving only the best things to enjoy, savour, and explore. While making yourself at home aboard the vessel, you are well taken care of, allowing you to fully relax and unwind; thereby making way to admire the enchanting scenery, participate in a variety of activities, and revel in an astonishing array of culinary delights. Unpacking only once, you are unencumbered and truly free to take in the fantastic sites and activities without worrying about transportation, luggage, or accommodation. The river cruise routes highlight the intriguing and interesting ports of call along the rivers or canals, including authentic and sometimes sleepy villages, bustling towns, or capital cities. Schedules are unhurried and there is plenty of time to discover, or rediscover, ancient and modern history, marvel at the natural beauty of the landscape, and come into close contact with on- and off-the-beaten path destinations. European river cruises are well-organized and activity-rich, offering resplendent scenery and plenty of sightseeing excursions in a comfortable, relaxing, and welcoming atmosphere. Who is ready for a river cruise?

Some of the key highlights with Avalon are:

Sail on the Youngest Fleet – with ships averaging two and a half years in age, know your clients will be consistently sailing upon the newest ships on the European waterways. The Avalon Creativity and Avalon Affinity debut in 2009, and the Avalon Luminary and Avalon Felicity set sail in 2010 bringing our European fleet to 10 vessels.

Modern Contemporary Design – since our ships are so new, all of them feature state-of-the-art design and technology and modern amenities such as flat screen TVs in the staterooms which are 172 sq feet, mini-bar, large wardrobes and hotel style beds that can be configured as two twins or one queen with Egyptian linens. Wireless access is available on all ships.

Floating Room with a View – 85% of the staterooms in the Avalon fleet have panoramic sliding glass doors and French balconies, enhancing the view of the landscape from individual staterooms.

Delightful dining - from handcrafted cuisines that incorporate local flavors to choice of complimentary wine, beer or soft drinks with dinner, dining with Avalon is a true treat.

A staff focused on you! - With an average crew to traveler ratio of 4:1, know that your needs will be met. An English-speaking staff caters to you every step of the way.

A Cruise Director who cares - Avalon attracts best in industry Cruise Directors who focus on making each and every sailing unique, entertaining, and engaging.

Included sightseeing - don’t pay extra to experience the destinations you visit with Avalon. Expertly crafted excursions will enhance your cruise journey.

Fastest-Growing River Cruise Company - Avalon’s European fleet continues to grow with the addition of two ships in 2009 and two more are scheduled to launch in 2010. This brings the total to 10 luxury ships in Europe, and 65 vacations worldwide reinforcing our position as the fastest-growing river cruise company in the world.

Special Details and Extra Touches – since its inception, Avalon has offered fine dining with a choice of unlimited complimentary wine, and new for 2010 beer and soda, at dinner, thus setting the standard for dining on European river cruise vacations. For royal deck guests, continental breakfast is available to order the night before and have delivered to their stateroom.

The Best on Land Programs – because Avalon is part of the Globus family of brands, all land programs are arranged by Globus, the leader in escorted travel for more than 80 years. Europe land programs are what Globus does best, and your river cruise clients get the benefit of the most enriching excursions in each of their destinations, including audio headsets for all Europe shore excursions.

200 support staff in Europe & 32 offices worldwide – the Globus family of brands was born in Europe but is an international company. As such, Avalon benefits from an unparalleled level of support in Europe and all the worldwide destinations it cruises to including China, Egypt and the Galápagos Islands.

Avalon Waterways received the Condé Nast Traveler: Gold List 2009 award, Condé Nast Traveler: Top Cruise Ships 2009 award, Travel Age West Magazine’s WAVE Award for Best New River Cruise Ship (Avalon Scenery) as well as "Editor's Pick" for Best Overall Cruise Line for River Cruising and ranked #2 among the Top 10 Small-Ship Cruise Lines in Travel + Leisure's World's Best Awards 2009 readers' survey.

Travelers with Avalon Waterways gave our vacations a 98% satisfaction rating on post-vacation surveys.

Take a Look at Avalon Waterways for Yourself

Take a look at the advantages and features of taking a cruise with Avalon Waterways. You may want to begin with a virtual tour on three of our ships — the Avalon Scenery, Avalon Tranquility and Avalon Poetry. You can also view photos of our ships, watch an informative video, read testimonials from past Avalon passengers, or check the ship camera of ships that are currently sailing.

Avalon Virtual Tours - experience the Avalon difference by taking an online tour of three of our ships — the Avalon Scenery, Avalon Tranquility and Avalon Poetry.

Ship Camera & Locator - find a ship and view photos of the landscape from the deck.

Passenger Stories & Testimonials - read what past passengers have said about cruising with Avalon.

Avalon River Cruising Video - watch a 10-minute video about Avalon Waterways.

Avalon Ship Fleet - visit the Avalon Web site to see information and photo galleries of the Avalon fleet.

Avalon Interactive eBrochure - view the Avalon eBrochure anytime you want from your own computer.

What are you waiting for? Take a look at River Cruising. What a great way to visit the world with your mom & dad! Are you part of a group who loves history, art, wine or the traditions of other countries throughout the world? If you are, then River Cruising is for you! If you have any questions let me know. I would love to help you plan your next journey on a river cruise! Until we unite again remember to always love your Travel Agent. He needs lots of love, plus he is a real nice guy! Remember that my services, research and recommendations are always No Charge! If you know someone who travels send them my way. If you have a group who wants to travel together let me know. Traveling in a group is always more fun when you all share like interests! You know you will be taken care of. Keep your Cruisitude in check and most important is to Travel Your Way!

Wednesday Afternoon at the BEACH 4/7/0

2010-04-07T12:00:00.001-05:00

I love technology and I felt it was important enough to let you know about some new travel tools offered by Fantasy Cruise & Travel. I am super excited about this and I think you will be as well.

As a Cruise Planners Travel Professional, I am proud to announce a new feature just added to my website, Fantasy Cruise & Travel. This convenient booking tool offers you state of the art technology to research and book your Air, Car, Hotel and Vacation Rentals. This new tool will make your travel planning, with or without a cruise, much easier, and if you require additional service or help with the reservations, I’m just a phone call away.

This new tool includes special rates plus an easy-to-navigate format, making searching for multiple deals effortless. Here’s some of what you’ll find:

• Over 100,000 hotels worldwide, many of which offer specially negotiated rates
• Available 24 hours a day 7 days a week
• Lowest Hotel Rates – Guaranteed*!
• Incredible Air Rates!
• The Best Rental Car Rates!
• Awesome Vacation Rentals
• Destination Guides provided by Trip Advisor, the most popular and largest travel community in the world
• Road Trips - Enjoy The Freedom of the Road!
• And so much more

Available 24 hours a day 7 days a week, this one stop shopping feature offers all the services other travel websites offer without the hassle of searching through them all. This new tool includes special rates plus an easy-to-navigate format, making searching for multiple reservation deals effortless. So, call me to book your next cruise vacation, and then visit Fantasy Cruise & Travel for additional travel reservations beyond your cruise. Or, feel free to use this new technology for your non-cruise travel needs. Your complete vacation is just a few easy clicks away. Let me know what you think.

I encourage you to take a look at this powerful tool to book all your traveling needs. Your complete vacation is just a few easy clicks away. Thanks so much for all of your support and I look forward to working with you real soon.

*For details on the lowest hotel rates guaranteed, please go to my website above.

Monday Afternoon Tropical Dream 3/29/10

2010-03-29T14:00:00.000-05:00

This has been a roller coaster of a week! One minute it is raining and cold and then the wind is blowing like crazy and the sun is shining! At least the plants and trees are coming back to life. Even the grass is changing colors. Can I get a Woo Hoo? It is almost time to get the lawn mower out! I planted some wild tomatoes and some wrinkled peppers in some pots I have on the deck. These poor plants got their sea legs the first couple of days as the wind was blowing like crazy. Fresh salsa in the summer is where it is at. I am hoping for success this year Mr. Tomato and Mrs. Pepper! Pod is in full swing with spring practice at La Tech. Pea made his way to Ruston on Friday to spend some time with his brother. He got to eat a little crawfish and take in La Tech's first scrimmage of the spring. The showings on the house have picked up and this is a good thing! Now we just need some offers. You never know what I might agree to! I have been doing a lot of research and studying on Alaska this week. Cruise travel to Alaska starts in early May and extends to late September. Cruisetours are a very unique way to cruise the inside passage and then continue your Alaskan vacation traveling the interior of Alaska by rail. I can't wait for the day to get back to Alaska! As a Certified Alaska Expert I should be able to answer any questions that you might have. Onward we must go! Today is a sad day as this morning we will have to leave the Norwegian Pearl. Ho Ho Ho and a bottle of rum! Santa's run off to the Caribbean! He thinks about boat drinks and fun in the sun! Ho Ho Ho and a bottle of rum! What a journey this has been! It has been a tropical dream for me and what a great way to celebrate the end of our journey with a drink called Tropical Dream! The components for this masterpiece call for 2 ounces of Dark Rum, 1 ounce of Blue Curacao and 1 ounce of Pineapple Juice. Add some ice to your favorite shaker with the 3 ingredients and shake, shake, shake! Shake your booty! I couldn’t help but sing while I was shaking! After you have danced a jig, pour all of this into your favorite cocktail glass and plop a cherry or two on top. Now sit back and enjoy a couple of these as you dream about your tropical vacation. Remember I can make those dreams come true. Test me out one day. I bet you will be surprised as to what we can come up with. Ok, that is enough! Let's get on with our journey! It was a good morning, but a sad morning as we sailed into the Port of Miami. We did not have to pack anything because we had to leave our bags outside our stateroom at midnight last night. You keep a small bag for your incidentals and such. They collect your bags at night and then you pick them up when you disembark the ship. Since we all had late afternoon flights out of Miami we were in no hurry to get off the Pearl. We did have to be off by 10:00AM, but we still had plenty of time. Since we all live in different parts of the country we had agreed on a time to all meet for breakfast and have one last family gathering before everyone headed back home. I decided to order some different items this time. I had two eggs over easy, two biscuits with sausage gravy, hash browns and several slices of bacon. I could not end my journey without a couple of glasses of prune juice! What am I going to do without that when I get home? I bet I was the only one drinking prune juice on the whole cruise. I never saw anyone else drinking it, but my travel guide said to drink it so you could eat more food. Man did I eat a lot of food this week. We sat at two big tables and exchanged some of our favorite stories during our trip. After breakfast we had a picture fest and took different group shots. It was a little crazy, but the memories of those pictures will last a lifetime! For the most part we said our goodbyes during this time. I still wanted to walk around the ship and take in the last few breaths of my amazing journey aboard the Norwegian Pearl. There were people still swimming at the pool getting in those last few minutes of vacation time. I guess it is time to double check our stateroom one more time and head off of the ship. We made our way through customs and picked up our bags. We are now on our way to the airport now the fun begins. I will briefly explain as it is quite comical and took some very good travel agent to pull all of this off. Pea was on my flight on Continental through Houston and on to San Antonio. Pod was on American flying through Dallas to San Antonio and my wife was on Delta flying through Atlanta to San Antonio. Is that not funny? The cool part was that we all landed in San Antonio within an hour of each other. It was a blast getting to see and spend time with family that we don't get to see on a regular basis. Our family got to celebrate with my parents for their 50th wedding anniversary and that was best part of the trip! Spending time with my wife, kids, siblings, aunt, nieces and nephews was equally rewarding as well. Before I conclude my journey I wanted to touch on a few highlights on the Norwegian Pearl. I loved the ship and personnel that I came in contact with. The Freestyle cruising concept is the way to go in my book. The specialty restaurants were awesome! The Osso Buco at La Cucina with creamy parmesan polenta was my absolute favorite meal on the ship. The sushi and crème brulee 3 ways was amazing as well! The public areas are laid out well with plenty of room. I never felt like I was on top of someone else. I would highly recommend the Pearl for families with kids as well as couples with no kids. There are plenty of things to do for every walk of life! The Pearl is in the Caribbean during the fall through late spring and then she heads to Alaska for the summer. If you have any questions about cruising give me a shout. This journey is going to conclude, but that does not mean that other journeys are not on the horizon! I am not sure where the next one will take us, but I can tell you it will be fun! I appreciate all of you who have been following this journey and I would love for you to follow my journeys in the future. Until we unite again remember to always love your Travel Agent. He needs lots of love, plus he is a real nice guy! Remember that my services, research and recommendations are always No Charge! If you know someone who travels send them my way. If you have a group who wants to travel together let me know. Traveling in a group is always more fun if you all share like interests! You know you will be taken care of. Keep your Cruisitude in check and most important is to Travel Your Way!

Monday Morning Painkiller 3/22/10

2010-03-22T11:00:00.000-05:00

It has been a great week! My wife came home for a couple of days! Boy will I be glad when this house sells so we can see each other daily instead of every other month. I have faith and my thoughts are positive that it is going to sell real soon. Can I get some more positive thoughts? Together we can make this happen. I am thankful for my father in law this week. I am not a very mechanical/repair type of person and he came over for a few days to help me with a couple of repairs. I had some sprinkler heads that my mower killed and a crazy door bell that was playing hard ball. The sprinkler head replacements ended up being fairly easy and the spray alignment ended up being quite wet. Now for this stupid door bell that was another story. We spent one night and half of another day tracing wires from the door bell transformer in the attic to the door bell itself. One place we did not look until we were about to call it quits was the carbon monoxide detector in the upstairs ceiling. There were a couple of wires loose and once those were tightened the stupid door bell worked. Why would a home builder run the door bell connection thru the carbon monoxide detector? I have no clue, but I am very thankful for my father in law making everything all right. Thanks Papaw! Pod started spring practice at La Tech this week. They had three practices and with a new head coach and a new offensive coordinator they have a whole new system to learn. Their spring game will be April 10th in Ruston. This week I spent more time learning and researching the River Cruise segment of travel. This is such a wonderful way to see the world from your very own floating hotel. I am very excited about River Cruising! I had some bookings this week in Alaska! Can I get a Woo Hoo? Alaska Cruisetours are the way to go in Alaska. You really get to see the beauty of Alaska from the ship and by rail to the interior. My two favorite Alaskan towns are Ketchikan and Talkeetna. Talkeetna is where you get to see Mt. McKinley and eat the best pizza in the world at Mountain High Pizza Pie. Pizza and Alaska Amber Ale! Nothing is better on a beautiful day in Alaska. Ok it is time to continue with our journey on the Norwegian Pearl. As always we need a nice beverage to start our journey off with and this morning we are going to sip on a Painkiller! You start off with 3 ounces of Rum (Pusser’s), 2 ounces of cream of coconut, 1 ounce of pineapple juice and a healthy splash of orange juice. Sprinkle Nutmeg and add 1 Maraschino cherry. Fill your drink shaker with lots of ice. Add you Pusser’s rum, Coco Lopez, pineapple juice and orange juice. Shake well, add a cherry, sprinkle with nutmeg and grab a straw! This will take any pain that you have away for sure! This was originally made in the British Virgin Islands – Pusser’s is the official rum of the Royal British Navy. This morning we are anchored just a short tender ride to NCL's private island Great Stirrup Cay. It is a little overcast this morning, but I am in hope of some sunshine! We cannot get off of the Pearl until 10AM so we had plenty of time to eat breakfast. Since I am a huge fan of breakfast I am going to eat too much as usual. I start off with smoked salmon, cream cheese and capers on a toasted bagel. Then it is on to those crispy waffles with warm banana compote, country potatoes and a side of crispy bacon. This is all washed down with strong coffee and my two glasses of prune juice. I am glad I started breakfast early. That was a ton of food, but I am happy! I am looking forward to just chilling on Great Stirrup Cay! I am sure what to expect from a private island that has been made up to look like a tropical paradise. Great Stirrup Cay is part of the Berry Islands and is located 62 nautical miles from Freeport, Bahamas. It is an exclusive port of call featured on NCL's Caribbean and Bahaman itineraries. Our tender boat ride will take about 10 minutes to get to the island. The tender boat goes right up to the beach and you walk right off on to the sand. It looks pretty cool and the water is very clear. I just wish the sun would stay out. We staked our claim around a couple of picnic tables and a couple of hammocks. There were plenty of things to do and some of our choices included snorkeling, parasailing, kayaking, volleyball or just soaking up the sometimes available rays of sunshine. I elected to walk around the island and explore some and chill in the hammock. Don't laugh, but after a few hours I was getting pretty hungry. I know my breakfast should have carried me through to the next day! They had a beach barbeque and it smelled mighty fine. They were grilling burgers and dogs and were even baking pizza. There were lots of fruit choices and condiments to go with burgers and dogs. I made my plate and picked up a couple of beers and headed back to our picnic table compound. I waited my 30 minutes after I ate and headed to the water for a little swim. It was a little cool, but the water felt good to me. Off in the distance you can see a storm coming in so we decided to call it a day at the island. With this storm coming in the trip back to the Pearl was going to be interesting as it was getting pretty rough. As we got close to the ship we had to wait for the tender boat that was ahead of us. They were having a hell of a time getting close because of the high waves. This is not going to be very fun and I was a little scared. It felt like we were on a trampoline and the gangway was going up as we were going down. We were able to get back on the ship, but if was not much fun doing that. I am more of a let me off at the pier person, but I am aware that some of these big mega ships cannot get into some of these ports. I hope the seas calm down for the others that are still on the island. Overall I was not impressed with Great Stirrup Cay! I hope NCL will invest some money into her. She does have potential, but I was not impressed with her as she is now. I was going to go to the free seminar on Detox for Health and Weight Loss, but I figured I would just keep drinking prune juice and I would be just fine! I am going to head to the pool and order a bucket of beer and enjoy my last afternoon at sea. They had sail away music going and the bikini scenery was looking good! I think I am getting ready to get hit! HaHa! What a great afternoon this has ended up. Do as much or as little as you want. It is your choice and the options are endless! The last night on the Pearl was going to be a food extravaganza. Not only were we celebrating my parents 50th wedding anniversary, my dad's 70th birthday, but we were celebrating my brother in laws 50th birthday and my brother & sister in laws 5th wedding anniversary! That is a lot of celebrating! Our pre meal beverage would be at Maltings Bar. They were hosting the 2 - 1 martini's tonight. I was going with the lemon drop and I was not disappointed. Tonight we were going to eat at Lotus Garden. It is like a PF Changs. I had met Jasmine who was my server during my sushi event yesterday and she served at Lotus Garden at night. She was the most incredible customer service oriented person I had met on the Pearl. I was so impressed with her that I told her our last dinner was going to be at Lotus Garden and she made sure we were seated in her station. Ok, before I get started don't laugh at me yet, but I ordered a lot. There was a $15 cover charge for eating at the Lotus Garden and I was going to get my monies worth. I ordered crispy spring rolls, crispy crab won tons, fried calamari and barbecued ribs for my appetizers. I love this eating and ordering concept! For my meal I ordered Singapore street noodles, lemon pepper shrimp and hot & spicy schezwan beef. Then for dessert I ordered crème burlee three ways. The flavors were green tea, red bean and ginger. All I can say is oh my! What a food event this was and I am so stuffed and in a major need of a wheel barrow! The food was so awesome! There are way too man food choices for a 7 night cruise! I was going to go watch the movie, but I needed to go walk around the ship. After several laps I was feeling a lot better. The show tonight was a late one and we went to the Second City "Scriptless" Adult Comedy Show! This show was awesome and the improvisation was incredible. This day and night have been indescribable. What a day it has been and so many memories! My heavenly bed is calling me for one more night. When we awaken tomorrow I will be back in Miami and I will be happy and sad. Good night to all! I appreciate all of those who are following! Leave me a comment sometime. I would love to know who is reading! Until we unite again remember to always love your Travel Agent. He needs lots of love! Remember that my services, research and recommendations are always No Charge! If you know someone who travels send them my way. If you have a group who wants to travel together let me know. Traveling in a group is always more fun if you all share like interests! You know you will be taken care of. Keep your Cruisitude in check and most important is to Travel Your Way!

Monday Evening Blue Lagoon 3/15/10

2010-03-15T14:00:00.004-05:00

It has been an awesome week! We started off with the wet crap and the week ended with sunny cloudless skies. I can't believe that we actually touched the 80's. I guess I have to say Spring is in the air since we have now sprung forward. Look out patio here I come. Lighter later equals more time outside with a glass of red wine. Pod starts spring football practice at La Tech and one of my passions besides helping you with your travel vacations is my love for college football. I can't wait. March madness and St. Patrick’s Day are here as well. I am not a huge college basketball fan, but come tournament time and I am at point at the TV. It should be an interesting Final Four. Who is going to win? Leave a comment below. I think West Virginia is going to win! Last week I spent time learning more about River Cruises and will expand and break those cruise lines down in the near future. Summer travel and cruising bookings are pretty hot right now. There has even been interest in getting holiday travel set in place for the end of the year. Alaska was on my mind this week as I completed my education on Alaska and became a Certified Alaska Expert. If you have not been to Alaska yet make sure you add it to your bucket list. Cruises and Cruisetours take place from early May until late September. You can go from 7 to 14 nights or even longer in some cases. The choice is yours as you can cruise and then add a land portion to the interior of Alaska before or after the cruise. It is an awesome way to see all of Alaska. On top of that the best pizza in my book is made in Talkeetna. Mountain High Pizza Pie is the bomb and I cannot wait to get back for my fix! Todd makes the best pizza, calzones, hummus and serves ice cold Alaskan Amber. The cruise lines that sail in Alaska are Princess, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Holland America, Cruise West, Silversea, Celebrity, Norwegian Cruise line and Regent Seven Seas. Alaska is so cool and there are so many options to choose from. If you need help with your Alaska journey give me a call and leave your worries to me. I need a drink! Day 6 on the Norwegian Pearl is going to start off with a Blue Lagoon! What the heck is in a Blue Lagoon besides crystal clear water and white sand? Here we go! Take 2 parts premium vodka, 1 part blue curacao, 1 part lemonade and a couple of cherries. Pour the vodka and curacao over ice in your favorite highball glass. Fill to the top with lemonade, top with the cherries, and serve. With spring in the air get your groove on and make a Blue Lagoon. Day 6 is a sea day. That means we will not be stopping until tomorrow when we reach Norwegian's private island called Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas. Last night was a long night so I sleep in a bit. The restaurants are open a little longer for breakfast when you are at sea. I was not sure what the day would bring, but I was starving. We ate breakfast at the Summer Palace. I had my normal of smoked salmon on a bagel with cream cheese and capers. I can't forget my prune juice and coffee. I did add these golden waffles with this warm banana compote that almost put me on the floor with yumminess. I just thought I was going to go lay at the pool. I need to go walk the interior of the ship and burn some of my breakfast off. If I have not mentioned it yet my dad is a blackjackaholic! He is good at it and when the casino is open he will most likely be there. During my walk I made my way through the casino and I see my dad not playing blackjack, but standing next to a wheel of fortune slot machine with a light flashing above it. What in the world is going on? He just hit 2K on this slot machine. Now that is what I am talking about! I need some of that luck to rub off on me. Some of the things I could choose from this morning included rock climbing, bowling, trivia, crazy golf, Texas Hold'em, bingo and a Burn Fat Faster seminar. I should be going to that one but elected hit the library for a while a write. I know boring, but I needed some quiet me time. After some good writing I headed out to find the rest of the family who were soaking up the rays at the pool. That is the cool thing about a cruise is that there are so many things to do for everyone. You can do as little or as much as you want. It's your vacation! I know I should not be talking about food again, but it was after 12 and I was a tad hungry. Don't laugh, I love food! I was going solo today for lunch as I would be sampling the all you can eat sushi at the sushi bar. There is a $15 charge for this and I was glad to pay it. There were a few people at the sushi bar so that meant my rolls would not take very long to make, plus I got to watch these sushi masters make my rolls. I ordered a spicy tuna roll, a godzilla roll, a dynamite roll a glass of white wine and a shrimp tempura roll. You heard me four rolls and I and going to stay here a long as I have to. I will finish them all. They are all really good and I am in sushi heaven. After I am done they bring me three flavors of mochi ice cream and the only way I can describe it is like eating a frozen gummy bear with ice cream in the middle. I think I need a stretcher! I am going to hang at the pool this afternoon, play some ping pong and watch Pea & Pod play in another soccer tournament. Later in the afternoon we went to the Champagne art auction. They have several of these throughout the cruise and there is art being sold from world class artist. Opening bids start at $100. Some of the art sold for thousands! That was amazing to watch. Daylight is almost over and it is almost time for our pre dinner tradition of the 2 for 1 martini at the star bar. I still think it is one of the best bargains on the Pearl if you like martinis. Pear Pleasure was my martini of choice again. What a great way to finish off your afternoon and get your mood right for the evenings activities. It is nonstop action! Dinner would be at the Summer Palace tonight. My meal would start off with an onion mushroom tart and chilled strawberry soup. The main course was surf and more with lobster, filet minion and grilled shrimp and a side of mushroom risotto. Desert was a lemon cream pie. Oh know I never should have had dessert. I forgot at 10:00 was the all chocolate buffet. I am in bad trouble. I guess I cannot worry about that now. We decided to waddle down to the Garden of Geisha show. It is a show featuring flying circus acrobatics. It was really an awesome show. I was still waddling even after the show as we headed for the all chocolate extravaganza. I am not kidding you they have transformed the entire garden cafe to this amazing chocoholic paradise. You name it in chocolate and they have something made with it. The chocolate sculptures are beyond belief. I think I sampled about 10 different things. I am in a chocolate coma! I have requested a wheel barrow, but I am not sure they are going to accommodate me. Where is my prune juice? I thought I was going to waddle my way down to the Bliss Lounge and rock the night away, but my dance moves would not have been very pretty. It has been an awesome day and my heavenly bed is calling my name. Tomorrow we will take a tender to Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas. This is a private island owned by NCL. I am really looking forward to the crystal clear waters. Good Night! I appreciate all of those who are following and if you know someone who likes to travel I would be honored if you would forward them a link to “Travelin’ with John” Make sure and tell me who is going to win the final for in the comment section below. Until we unite again remember to always love your Travel Agent. He needs lots of love! Remember that my services, research and recommendations are always No Charge! If you know someone who travels send them my way. You know they will be taken care of. Keep your Cruisitude in check and most important is to Travel Your Way!

Monday Afternoon Coco Cabanatini 3/8/10

2010-03-08T13:00:00.008-06:00

I start this afternoon with a birthday wish to Pod. My youngest son has turned 19 and even though I will not be able to celebrate it with him, he will be in my thoughts. Enjoy your round of golf and your rib smokin' adventure in the Sunshine State today! Happy Birthday Pod! I hope you have a wonderful day! I sit here and wonder why and the heck do you write three blogs! I have been thinking about this for a long time. I write Travelin' with John, College Football Dad and Cookin' with John. You know what? I would not trade the experiences that I get to share with you all for anything in the world. This is what keeps my world spinning! It also keeps me balanced! I am thankful for my family, friends and business associates. I am honored that I get to share my life with you and thanks for the opportunity to share. I have been spending a lot of time researching River Cruises or what they call small ship cruising. I am very fascinated with this type of travel. Even though River Cruises can take place in Russia, the Galapagos, China, Egypt and Vietnam I am concentrating my studies in Europe. The rivers you can travel in Europe consist of the Rhine River, Main River, Moselle River, Seine River, Rhone River and the Danube River. You can start with the Windmills, Vineyards and Paris in the spring and then move to the Christmas time on the Danube. It is so fascinating that you can see so much of the world from your floating hotel that can take you right to the center of the city. No mega ship can do that. The main players in the River Cruise market are Avalon Waterways, AMA Waterways, Uniworld and Viking River Cruises. I have some very educating videos on my website for you to look at when you have time. I think you will be in awe at this awesome way to travel in Europe. If you have been on a River Cruise send me a note or comment. I would love to know your thoughts about your experience. In the future I will break down each one of the River Cruise lines. This way you can get a good feeling about your River Cruise options. I know it is 5:00 PM somewhere in the world so let's start or journey off with a nut from a tree. HaHa I must be the nut that fell from the tree! It's ok to laugh! Day 5 on the Norwegian Pearl is going to start of with one of my wife's favorite martini's! "Coco Cabanatini" tell me what you are made of? Ingredients consist of 1 Part Malibu Coconut Rum, 1 Part Banana Liqueur, 1 Part Half & Half and 1 Part Goldschlager Cinnamon Liqueur. I will leave the parts up to your liking. Then add all parts together in shaker with ice. Shake and strain into your favorite martini glass. Garnish with banana slice and cinnamon stick if you desire. Cheers! Day 5 on the Norwegian Pearl would begin early as we are in Tortola (B.V.I). One of the cool things about NC is you can order room service 24/7 and today we would take advantage of that service. Even though we could order whatever we wanted off of the breakfast menu, we kept it simple with coffee, muffins, toast, croissants and my prune juice. I don't know what to think about this prune juice, but it has been a great help! Yesterday we were in the US Virgin Islands and now we are in the British Virgin Islands. What is the deal with these Virgin Islands? Tortola is the largest and most populated of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands which form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. Local belief is that the name was originally given to the island by Christopher Columbus, meaning "land of the Turtle Dove". In actuality Columbus named the island Santa Ana. The Dutch settled, and dubbed it Ter Tholen, after an island off the west coast of the Netherlands. When the British moved in the name was altered to its present day form of Tortola. The BIV are serene, seductive, and spectacularly beautiful yet still remain remarkably laid back. Whether you are in to water sports or swimming you will find beautiful white sand beaches and clean warm waters. One of the most popular things to do while in Tortola is to visit the Baths on Virgin Gorda. These huge rock formations are scattered about the beach and in the water. Some are almost as large as houses and form remarkable grottoes. We decided to take a half day Catamaran sail and snorkeling at Sandy Spit on the Mystique. This is a brand new shore excursion in Tortola and not too many people new about it so even though it held 36 passengers there were only six other people on this excursion besides our group. The Mystique would depart Road Town at 8:00 AM as we would head to Sandy Spit. Sandy Spit is an uninhabited islet of Little Jost Van Dyke Island in the Caribbean, sitting midway between Sandy Cay and Green Cay. We are headed west down the coast line with Tortola on the right and St. John Island off to the left. The water is absolutely beautiful! We did run into some head wind which made it fun for those sitting on the nets in the front on the catamaran. Let's just say that they got a nice soaking. We just passed Great Thatch Island and are now headed north to Sandy Spit! Thank goodness we had bread products for breakfast as this excursion served unlimited rum punch and pain killers along with some snacks. Our mid-morning snack had are motors running even though we were sailing! Life is good. As we approach Sandy Spit we all are outfitted with a mask, snorkel and fins! We are anchored about 50 yards from the most beautiful crystal clear water I have ever seen. This island is only 1/2 acre in size. With the currents constantly changing the sand is always changing positions. I guess that is why they call it Sandy Spit. After about 45 minutes of snorkeling and walking around the island we headed back to the Pearl and Road Town. The music was jamming and the rum punch and pain killers were flowing. I would call that the brunch of champions! The 4 hours that we spent on the catamaran was well worth the $79 per person rate they charged us. Once we made it back to Road Town we shopped for awhile and headed back to the Pearl. She would be departing Tortola at 3:00 PM. What an adventure! When you go to Tortola I would highly recommend this excursion. The afternoon would be spent at the pool and watching Pea and Pod play in a soccer tournament on the basketball courts. Some of the things we could of participated in was line dancing, ping pong, bingo, rock climbing, bowling, Nintendo Wii on the big screen and trivia just to name a few. We elected to chill and enjoy the awesome sunshine at the pool. As the afternoon is winding down the night is still young. The Star Bar was calling our name with 2 for 1 martini's. Tonight we had the Lemon Drop and the Coco Cabanatini! What a great way to start he evening. Freestyle Dining gives us the opportunity to eat when and where we want at whatever time we want so we hit the casino for some blackjack. I actually did ok and have some extra funds to play some more later. Dinner tonight would be at Mambo's. Mambo's is a specialty restaurant with a $10 extra charge. It is a cross between southwest/tex-mex. They start you off with a complimentary margarita. There were too many options for me so I ordered several things. Don't laugh, but I ordered southwestern eggrolls, pulled pork taquitos, lobster tacos, baby back ribs and caramel flan! Oh my gosh! My taste buds are completely satisfied, but my stomach is getting bigger. I need to go to the walking track and put in a few laps. After a few slow paced laps we head off the catch the late showing of The Second City's 50th Anniversary Celebration. It was hilarious and the improvisation was just awesome. The super late night adventure was the White Hot Dance Party at the Spinnaker Lounge. Everything is white with fog, snow and ice sculptures. Pea & Pod took the bed sheets and made white togas. They were hilarious looking, but fit the white semi dress part just right. Pea & Pod stayed until the end and my night was ending. This had been an awesome day and my heavenly bead was calling my name. Tomorrow will be a sea day so we will have plenty of time to relax tomorrow! Not really! There are too many things to do onboard the Pearl. I can't wait to see what day 6 brings us on this awesome journey! I appreciate all of those who are following and if you know someone who likes to travel I would be honored if you would forward them a link to “Travelin with John” Until we unite again remember to always love your Travel Agent. He needs lots of love! Remember that my services, research and recommendations are always No Charge! If you know someone who travels send them my way. You know they will be taken care of. Keep your Cruisitude in check and most important is to Travel Your Way!

Monday Afternoon Hypnosis 3/1/10

2010-03-01T12:30:00.003-06:00

What a strange week this has been! Where has this month gone? It seems like yesterday it was the first week of February. I hope this year will not keep that same pace up or I will age faster than intended. I know I am sort of old already, but let me stop every now and then and smell the peppers! (I mean Roses) My food senses have been going wild! I love to play with food and I have been cooking some insane food! Check out "Cookin with John" for some great recipe ideas. New recipes are updated weekly. My wife is back in Big D full time while our home in San Antonio is looking for the perfect home buyer. I know everyone has different things that they believe in and those beliefs are their own. I had a friend of mine on Facebook who recommended that I go to a Christian book store and buy a statue of St. Joseph and bury it in the yard and your house will sell pretty quickly. I was not sure of this as I thought it would be sac religious, but I was very wrong as I researched this process. I went out and bought my very own St Joseph statue with a burial bag and buried him in the yard. The instructions say to bury him head first facing the street with his feet facing the heavens. Then you say a prayer and then your home will sell. Once your home sells you de- earth St. Joseph and you place him in your new home. I have never heard of this and I am willing to believe! I will keep you posted of our progress. The Travel Business has been all over the place. There has been a lot of interest and quoting, but not very many bookings this week. I love what I do and will always have a positive "Cruisitude" If you want a non biased hard working travel agent to take all of your researching headaches away; I have one to recommend to you. All kidding aside if you have travel questions or need recommendations I am here for you. As a Cruise Planner and a Tour/Resort Specialist you will be in good hands. Test me out sometime! I bet you will be very impressed. It’s time to get your beverage on as we get ready for day 4 on the Norwegian Pearl. I decided to go the martini route today. Are you ready for a "Hypnotize Me"? Your ingredients consist of 3oz(s)Ketel One Vodka, 1 oz Strawberry Vodka, 1 oz Hypnotiq (Hpnotiq is an exquisite blend of premium vodka, natural tropical fruit juices and a hint of Cognac), 1 oz Strawberry Liqueur, 1 oz Grape Pucker and 3 Drop(s)Dry Vermouth. Did I say all liquor? Take your favorite martini shaker and fill with ice, then add all of the ingredients and put the lid on. Get your groove on and shake your bootie! Take your favorite chilled martini glasses and pour. This is one potent drink and now I know why you are hypnotized after you drink this. I guess I can officially say I have been hypnotized! That was a crazy drink! Day 4 on the Norwegian Pearl begins with a hop, skip and a jump on deck 7! This walking and prune juice is going to get the best of me! I must keep going. Our port of call today is St. Thomas. Can you say paradise? We decided to eat breakfast at the Blue Lagoon Cafe. It is a 24 hour a la cart cafe. My breakfast consisted of a croissant scramble, hash browns, bacon and prune juice. It was simple and hit the spot. St. Thomas is known for shopping and Magen's Bay. St. Thomas is a shopper’s paradise. Havensight and Downtown Main Street are the prime shopping areas. The beaches in St. Thomas are known worldwide. National Geographic has rated Magen's Bay one of the top 10 beaches in the world. Although all the beaches on the island are public, there is a charge of $3 to enter Magen's Bay. Morning Star beach is also lovely, well worth a visit and it tends to be a little less crowed. Taxis are available on the pier and generally charged per person. There are no meters in the taxis so negotiate the fare in advance. We decided to go the taxi route and venture out and see what St. Thomas was all about. We were very lucky and hooked up with a local driver named Ever-Ready. He does a 3 hour tour of the island with many stops and photo opportunities. The island of St. Thomas is 3 miles by 12 miles. There are no manufactures on the island. They also have one of the world’s largest saltwater to freshwater conversion plants as there is no fresh water on the island. Medical care is free to all of those who live on the island. They are still in the re-building stage from the last four hurricanes that have hit the island. Most of the people cannot afford to rebuild their homes as the costs are too high. The Governor is in charge of the island. We went to Blackbeard’s Castle and to the St. Peter Great House on the World Famous Mountain Top. The St. Peter Great House provided great views of Megan's Bay, St John’s and St Croix. We were able to take some breath taking photos from here as well. One thing that the St. Peter Great House is famous for is the Banana Daiquiri! I am not sure what all of the ingredients were except a lot of dark rum and fresh bananas. It was just awesome! I am glad that we took the 3 hour tour of the island. Ever-Ready was a wealth of information as we developed a true appreciation for the island. We head back to some of the shopping areas and check out some of the local bargains. There were some great deals and everything was a little crowed as the Oasis of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas, Carnival Liberty and the Costa Atlantica were all in port. We decided to go back on board the Pearl to eat lunch. Why spend extra money when all of your food is included with your cruise? You can come and go to the ship as long as she is at the pier. After lunch Pea, Pod and I decided to walk around the pier area for a while. We found this small beach hut bar with live music and Caribe Beer buckets for $10. Good music and a good cold beer! What could be better? St. Thomas had been awesome and with so many things to do on the ship we headed back. We decided that the pool was calling our name. We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at the pool. Pea and Pod played in some of the pool games with the cruise staff. It was pretty funny watching some of the stunts they did. Sailing on a cruise ship makes it so easy to visit all of these different ports of call and you only unpack once on your floating resort. Before dinner tonight we were going to visit the Star Bar. From 6 - 7 they offer 2 for 1 martini’s and in my opinion one of the best drink deals on the ship. I had a Pear Pleasure, Pea had a Cocotini and my wife had a Raspberry Fruitini. This was just an awesome start to a great evening. We met back up with Pod and headed to Indigos for dinner. My meal would start off with a potato goat cheese tart and some chicken french onion soup. Then it was off to tilapia topped off with a lemon butter sauce and capers. Dessert was this yummy chocolate cream cake with a warm chocolate sauce. I am in food heaven! I think I need to take a walk. All of this food is getting a little heavy. The show tonight is Sea Legs, A Showgirl Revue. Showgirls perform to the music of Frank Sinatra and Beyonce. Then it is off to the Caribbean Deck Party for Hot Dancing under the stars. It is shake your bootie time! For those of you who know me I am a terrible dancer and shaker. It was fun to watch though! Our night ends at the blackjack table. I broke even so I was ok with that. Wow, what a day this has been. As you can see you can do as much or as little as you want. It is your vacation and the choice is all yours. St. Thomas I thank you for allowing me to visit and see the true beauty of the island and the people who live here. I think next time I visit St. Thomas I will visit the St. Peter Great House again and then go hang out at Magen's Bay. I heard they make some awesome pizza beachside. My heavenly bed is calling my name. Tomorrow we are headed to Tortola (B.V.I) I can't wait to see what day 5 brings us on this awesome journey! I appreciate all of those who are following and if you know someone who likes to travel I would be honored if you would forward them a link to "Travelin with John" Until we unite again remember to always love your Travel Agent. He needs lots of love! Remember that my services, research and recommendations are always No Charge! If you know someone who travels send them my way. You know they will be taken care of. Keep your Cruisitude in check and most important is to Travel Your Way!

Monday Morning Melon Madness 2/22/10

2010-02-22T07:30:00.003-06:00

What a week it was last week. My youngest son Pod was home from college for a few days. He was on Mardi Gras break. I had never heard of such, but when you go to school in Louisiana they have their own holidays. We also celebrated my wife’s birthday and my oldest son Pea's birthday as well. When they have a birthday I always get older. It was awesome having everyone in the same house for a few days. The US Olympic team has done well so far and it has made for some interesting TV viewing. The business has been a little wacko this week. The waves are still rolling in during "Wave Season". I have never seen so many specials and deals. It is just crazy! This is the year to pull the trigger on a cruise. I have been attending webinars, social networking, researching River Cruises and brainstorming ideas for potential group travel. My brain is on fire! One good thing about being in the travel business is that every cruise line and tour company that I work with offer training on all of their products. I attend 3 to 6 training sessions every week so I can stay on top on my "A Game" as your travel resource expert. Test me out sometime. I bet you will be impressed. Let's get this journey started off with a Melon Madness. Since the sun shining, why not some summer fruit? Here we go! Start with 1 1/2 cups seeded and chopped watermelon; 1 1/2 cups seeded and chopped honeydew melon, Juice of 2 limes, 1 cup of vanilla nonfat yogurt and 1 cup of ice cubes. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into your favorite melon madness glass and enjoy! It’s really not too bad. I will make this again for sure. Day 3 on the Norwegian Pearl starts off with a early trot, I mean fast walk around deck 7. This will give me time to get my mind right for our first port of call. I have never been to Samana before and was pretty excited to step on her soil. Samana, Dominican Republic is a destination for nature lovers and adventures with green mountains, long beaches and turquoise waters. Samana is the largest city on the peninsula otherwise known as Santa Barbara de Samana and is a port town that overlooks the country's largest bay, Bahia de Samana. The town was destroyed by fire in 1946 but was rebuilt to include resorts, hotels, bars and restaurants. Some of the things that you can do in Samana are visit Playa Rincon, considered one of the best beaches in the country. You can also take a walk on the "Bridge to Nowhere". If you are feeling really adventurous you can take a trip to Cayo Levantado or Bacardi Island where they used to film the famous 1970's Bacardi Rum commercials. We are not getting off the ship until 10:00 AM, so I have plenty of time to go eat breakfast. I meet Pea, Pod and my wife at Summer Palace for a little sit down breakfast. I had such good luck with the smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers, bagel and prune juice on day 2 that I ordered it again. Don't ask me why I am ordering prune juice, but in one of the travel tips for cruisers that I read, it said that two glasses of prune juice during breakfast aids your digestion. I guess it is your morning jump start before you take advantage of all of your food options during the cruise. We are tendered in Samana. If you do not know what tendered is it means the ship is anchored off shore because there is no natural port or it is too shallow to dock. You will be taken ashore by smaller boats. At 10:00 we head down to deck 4 and catch or tender to Samana. We are going on our own in Samana and do not have a planned excursion. The music is playing and the local dancers are strutting. This is a grand welcome! We hooked up with some other family members and hired a local driver named Carlos to take us around and show us the sights. It made it nice that my sister-in-law could talk the language and negotiated a great rate for us. Our first stop was at a cigar shop. Pea and Pod got to turn green as they tried their first Dominican cigar. It was pretty funny watching them try to puff on a cigar. It made for some pretty cool pictures. Our next stop was going to be a small waterfall. We drove through a section of town that did not look very safe and lots of people in the streets. Our driver told us that most people in Samana are very poor and have nothing, not even running water. I was a little scared, but was still excited about seeing a county that I have never been. Our driver pulls off the side of the road and our driver says follow me as we make our way through children and locals down this trail in the woods. Ok, where are we going? As we started down the trail there were some street vendors selling local beverages so we grabbed a few beers and started on our way. We crossed several streams and after about 15 minutes we arrive at a beautiful waterfall. It was really cool. We took several pictures and headed back to our van for our next attraction. We told our driver that we wanted to go to a beach and hang out for a while. We make our way back through town and down some crooked roads as we make our way to Coconut Beach. There were several other vans there and looked like it was a good mix of tourist and locals. Carlos walks us down to an area that is less crowded and he has some chairs setup for us. There are several vendors around trying to sell their goods and for the most part they are not too annoying. Carlos has friends who have a small restaurant close by and they offer us beer and pina coladas served in pineapples all topped off with rum. We found out that they had some lobsters and snapper that they had just caught and they offered to grill them for us. There was a cost for this but it was very minimal. This is what I was wanting, but had no clue I would find this in Samana. While we waited on our lobster’s we got to watch my wife get her hair braided. It took multiple pina coladas with several top offs of rum, but she did it and she looked awesome. Pod bought a hat made from banana leaves and when he put it on he looked like the Statue of Liberty and Gilligan. Pea bought some tiki man for good luck. They set a table up in front of us as we take in the tropical waters. Grilled lobster, snapper, plantains and rice is all served beach style. Wow was this amazing and I am stuffed. Tropical fun in the sun! This has really been a great day in Samana. We make our way back to the pier to catch our tender back to the Pearl. Words of advice, if you visit Samana, don’t buy a hat made of banana leaves as it will be confiscated at the check point. It gave us some great photo opportunities and it did not cost that much. It was a legit hat though! We are now back on the Pearl and head to the pool for some sunning and a few tropical drinks. Relaxing at its finest! After a few fruity rum drinks the hunger urge sets in. A little snack won't hurt since we are not eating at La Cucina until 8:30. I make my way to the Garden Cafe and make me an international cheese plate with figs, dates and a French baguette! I think figs and dates are in the same family as the prune as they as well aid with digestion. At least that is what my cruise tip book told me. Ok, I think I need to go take a walk before dinner. I know there are still areas on the Pearl that I have not seen yet. Taking a cruise is awesome! I am super stoked about dinner tonight. We have elected to eat at La Cucina. There is a $10 charge per person for this specialty restaurant. When you take a cruise you do not have to pay to eat at the main dining rooms or the buffets. The specialty restaurants give you a choice for something different and there is a small charge. They were able to accommodate our group of 15 at one table. This was nice as most of the specialty restaurants cannot seat that large of a group. My dinner started off with beef capriccio topped off with shaved parmesan cheese and fried calamari. Then it moved to cheese tortellini with an alfredo sauce and osso bucco served with creamy parmesan polenta. I'm heaven! Oh my, did I mention that the red wine was flowing as well. Cappuccino and Tiramisu finished off one heck of a meal. The wait staff and restaurant management were so attentive to our every need and truly made our experience so worthwhile. We missed the comedy show Sharkbait, but we were able to make it too the Spinnaker Lounge and groove with Roots Link as they paid tribute to Motown. This has been an incredible day, I am dog tired and I can't wait to lay in my heavenly bed. I was somewhat concerned when I first saw Samana and she does have some rough edges that need to be smoothed out. I truly enjoyed my time in Samana. Over time I feel that that NCL will pump some dollars into the local economy and everything will be alright. Tomorrow we will be in St. Thomas. I am looking forward to see what day 4 brings us on our amazing journey. 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 or even followed me. Hang on for day 4 as we visit St. Thomas. Until we unite again remember to always love your Travel Agent. He needs lots of love! Remember that my services, research and recommendations are always No Charge! Keep your Cruisitude in check and most important is to Travel Your Way!

Monday Morning French Kiss 2/8/10

2010-02-08T06:00:00.005-06:00

This is going to be a crazy week! The Saints won and are the new Americas's Team! Who Dat? I am very proud for the entire state of Louisiana. Football is over and I need to find a new addiction. NASCAR starts back up, the Olympics are starting and the ultimate day of love ends our week. Watching the Daytona 500, the Olympics and sharing a romantic dinner with a loved one! What could be better? The business could be busier and with this being "Wave Season" I am confident that my ripples will turn into the high seas. All kidding aside! If you have ever wanted to take a cruise or you are a veteran cruiser, now is the time to be making your bookings for 2010 and 2011. All of the cruise lines are offering something spectacular during "Wave Season" I bet you will find something to your liking! Plus a cruise makes a great Valentine's gift. As always our journey starts off with liquid refreshment and in honor of Valentine’s Day we are going to start off with a French Kiss! I remember those days! HaHa! Who is ready or a French Kiss? Here we go! Take 1 1/2 ounces of Orange-Infused Vodka, 1 1/2 ounces of White Crème de Cacao, Grated Orange Zest and a sprinkle of Cocoa Powder. Pour the Vodka and White Crème de Cacao into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake briskly until the shaker is frosted. Strain into a martini glass, add a White Chocolate Hersey's Kiss and sprinkle zest and/or cocoa powder on top. There you have it! The French Kiss! Day 2 on the Norwegian Pearl starts off like everyday should when I am at home but does not for some reason. Why does it take a vacation to get up and go exercise? It has got to be all of the food that you eat on a cruise ship. I hit the gym around 7:00 AM and it was all most full. My exerciser of choice was a stationary bike and I hit her up for 13 1/2 miles in one hour. When I got off that thing I could hardly walk. It was like I had cramps in both legs. I need to exercise on a regular basis, not just special occasions. Today is a sea day. What does that mean? It means that we will not be in a port and will be cruising all day. The main dining rooms stay open longer for breakfast on sea days. Today, breakfast would start at the Summer Palace on deck 6. When I cruise I like to get waited on for breakfast and dinner. I save the buffets for lunch, snacks and late night food. Coffee, prune juice, smoked salmon with cream cheese and capers all served with a toasted bagel. The smoked salmon was awesome. Pea my oldest son had these amazing waffles with this warm banana compote. It was really good. Breakfast is over and now I have choices. The Norwegian Pearl has many to choose from. Look at the selection! Trivia, Yoga, Rock Climbing, Bowling, Swimming, Gaming Lessons, Poker Tournament, Sushi & Sake Demonstration, Nintendo Wii, Slot Tournament, Synchronized Swimming, Pub Crawl, Line Dancing, Basketball Tournament, Soccer Tournament, Martini Tasting, Bingo, Pilates, Beer Tasting and the list goes on. These are just some of your options during the day besides lying by the pool reading a book with your favorite fruity rum drink. I set out to explore this amazing ship so my head could stop spinning with my choices. I started out at the casino so I could get my casino card and the very generous casino coupon booklet. It had free pull, a free play, but a $10 chip and get $20 along with several other incentives for casino play. I made my way to the Stardust Theater to see what it looked like. You can enter the theater from deck 5, 6 and 7. Most of the Broadway and Vegas like shows will be performed here. I had better get up to deck 12 so I can spend some time with the family at the pool. The pools are broken up in an adult only and a kid friendly one. There is even a water slide! After a little time in the sun it is time grab some goodies form the Garden Cafe. Here we go again! Now I am dealing with food choices. You name it they have it. They had salads, pizzas, soups, breads, cheeses, sushi, burgers, brats, pastas, Chinese, sandwiches and desserts of many different nationalities. These are just a few of your choices. I decided to keep it simple and have pizza and sushi! I know two extremes, but two of my favorites. Now I am really stuffed. I need to walk some of this lunch off. I am headed off to go look at all of the paintings that they have setup to look at before the art auctions and even might sneak in a glass of champagne. The rest of the afternoon will be spent catching some rays at the pool and play some ping pong with Pea and Pod. Then it was time for Pea & Pod to put their big boy pants on and climb a wall. The Pearl has a rock climbing wall that soars further than I care to look up and they thought they could climb it. Pod went first on the most difficult one and got about half way up and down he came. He then attempted the medium one and made it to the top. Pea started off with the difficult one as well and after 5 minutes and only half way up called it quits. I called it nuts! As the afternoon starts to wind down my food senses are starting to get excited! We are celebrating my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary tonight. We decided that tonight was the night to get dressed up and celebrate. On NCL you never have to get dressed up if you do not want to. That is what Freestyle Cruising is all about, but we decided to for this special night. We are going to eat at Cagney's tonight. This is one of the specialty restaurants and there is a $25 per person charge to eat a Cagney's Steakhouse, but in our case because we were traveling as a group it was one of our amenities. If you are traveling as a group, make sure you call your travel agent and have them block group space for your group. The cruise lines all offer amenities for groups. You will be amazed what we can do for you. Sorry about that. I needed to explain the amenities part. I have been looking forward to eating at Cagney's Steakhouse. Before dinner we had been invited to the Captain's cocktail party. It was very cool getting to meet the Captain, but no shaking hands. I thought it was sorta weird and I understand the germ thing. We had 15 people, so we had to sit at two separate table’s right next to each other. After a few glasses of wine and many toasts to my parents on their incredible longevity of their marriage, it was time to order. The really cool thing about eating on a cruise ship is even though it is off of a menu you can order as many items as you want. If you can't decide between two appetizers then order them both. If you can't decide on two entrees then order them both. I think you get the picture. I started off with a jumbo shrimp cocktail. The shrimp were huge! Then it was off to a couple of crab cakes and the Cagney's chopped salad. Are we full yet? Nope, it is entree time. I ordered the 10 oz fillet and fries with truffle oil and parmesan cheese. I wish you could see the big smile on my face! Dessert consisted of a cheese plate with three cheeses drizzled with honey. A few more glasses of wine and a glass of champagne and I have just experienced food perfection. It was just a perfect evening to celebrate with my family and my parents. I am really full! The evening continues to the Stardust Theater for the comedy show and would end at the casino playing blackjack with Pea, Pod and my dad. It really has been an awesome night and my very comfortable bed is calling my name. Tomorrow we will be in Samana, Dominican Republic for day 3 of our journey. I am not sure what to expect in Samana, but we are looking forward to visiting her tomorrow. 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 3 as we visit Samana, Dominican Republic. 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!

Monday Morning Bon Voyage 2/1/10

2010-02-01T06:30:00.001-06:00

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!

Saturday Morning Trick or Treat 10/31/09

2009-10-31T06:19:00.005-05:00

Are you kidding me? The last two weeks have been a little more productive in the travel business. Hoo Ya! I am hoping that I finish the year with a bang! Remember to always love your travel agent. "College Football Dad" has been at home watching college football while Pod has been on the road for a few weeks. It's pretty hard to watch on the tube or ESPN 360. I am not a good TV watcher when Pod is on the field. I do a lot of pacing. Our weather has been hot, cool, hot and cool again. I wish Mother Nature would make up her mind. Royal Caribbean has her big new ship The Oasis of the Seas getting ready to hit the water's in November. You have got to check this floating city out! When you have time make sure you check out my website and biz page. We have a ton of year end specials and early booking specials for travel next year. You will also find great tips on travel. How is your Cruisitude? Mine is doing just fine! I know, enough of the business stuff. I thought I would save this part of our trip for Halloween. Before our journey to the dark side begins, let's do a little Trick or Treat! It is Halloween, so why not. Are you ready for the Trick? Start with 1 oz. Amaretto, 1 1/2 oz. Vodka, Vanilla, 1/2 oz. Triple Sec, 1 dash Grenadine and fill with Orange Juice. Pour vodka, triple sec, amaretto, grenadine into a tall glass filled with your favorite ice. Top with orange juice and stir. Take four or five small Halloween candies, and stick them on a skewer. Place skewer on top of glass. I told you it would be a Treat. There you have it, a Trick or Treat! Our night is going to start with one of the stupidest things I have ever done. I have been convinced by our traveling party that we need to do a night kayak excursion in the pitch dark. How stupid do you think I am? Well I guess pretty stupid! They keep telling me that it is going to be so awesome looking at the water glow as you paddle. I guess that could be cool, but in the dark? Vieques is known for one of the best Bioluminescence Bays in the world. What the heck did you just say? Bioluminescence who, what? Bioluminescence is the phenomenon where light or glow is created by a living creature by internal chemical reaction. Approximately 80% of all marine life creates bioluminescence to some degree. This is done to achieve different survival strategies which include mating, predator avoidance and feeding. When a particular species of plankton concentrates in very high numbers in rare areas around the world, the results are stunning. The Bioluminescent Bay is located in the Mosquito Bay area in Vieques and is, perhaps, the brightest in the world! With over 750,000 tiny dinoflagellates per gallon of water that light up when they are touched! Imagine a lake full of Tinker Bells fairy dust! Pure magic, the experience is actually indescribable. So here is the deal! We all meet at Blue Caribe Kayaks for the details of our journey. The sun was just starting to go down and I was getting a little nervous not knowing what to expect. Can I take a cooler? We are given a life jacket and a whistle. Why in the heck do I need a whistle? Ok, now it s beginning to make sense. I am getting in a kayak in the dark and in case I get lost I blow a whistle. This is not starting out good. If I am lost in the ocean who is going to hear me? I just got my first glimpse of the kayaks that we will be using. It has a preformed area for your butt and feet. Whose butt did they use to make that mold? I am supposed to fit which part of my butt in this thing? Why do you sit up in the air instead of down in it some? It looks pretty wobbly to me. My two sons are with me so I better suck this up and get in the van. It took about 20 minutes of driving through the jungle before we reached our departure point. I know why they call this Mosquito Bay. I was getting bit left and right. I guess when they told us not to use Mosquito spray with DEET in it because it could damage the critters in the water that we would have a mosquito problem. As I am standing there with the rest of the group including my wife, two sons, mother, brother, sister-in-law and her mom and dad I realize that I do not see any water. We are in this jungle area with who knows what type of animals and they tell us that we are going to shove off through this small opening of mangroves. I am really thinking snakes and spiders now. Pea and Pod get their kayak and the tour helpers shove them out into the darkness. I kid you not, you cannot see anything. Ok, that looks pretty easy. The only problem is that I weigh a little more than they do and I take up more room in my kayak and I have a water proof camera around my neck with this stupid whistle. It comes to my turn to walk out in the mangroves for my shot out in the dark. I take my position and there I go. Through the jungle in to the wide open ocean I head. Why did I get pushed so hard? No more than 10 feet and I had already fallen out of my kayak. This is not good! I could still stand up, but barely. Every time I tried to get in the kayak it kept moving. I finally was able to get in by sliding on it with my stomach. There is no telling how many bruises I am going to have. This is going to be the longest two hours of my life. All of the sudden Janet comes shooting by and I about fall out again. Something has to be wrong with my kayak. I have finally got some balance and the moon is out and I can see a few people and the tour guides said to follow them out. It was really cool to see your paddle and the other kayaks with this light glowing with every move you made. We were going out in to the bay for about one mile and they would let us get in the water for about 15 minutes before we headed back. Do they know we are in a bay that goes into the ocean that has sharks in it? This has to be a bad dream. I started to paddle and was doing ok I thought. It seemed like I was always going to the right and the harder I paddled the worse it was. Pea and Pod would circle back every so often to check on me. I was in last place for most of the time and I still had my whistle. It was a close competition with Janet and Carol at times. I did catch up to Janet and Carol for a little bit. They kept laughing at me and the next thing I know Carol (mom) has fallen out. I made my way over to help, but what the heck was I going to do? When you are in water over your head and your kayak will not stay still, it is a task that I cannot complete. If I fall out again I am sure that a shark or something will eventually get me. Remember it is dark and there is salt in the water. Thank goodness one of the tour guides was close by and helped her get back in. It seemed like forever but I finally caught the rest of the group as they were all swimming in the middle of the bay making water angels. They had tied all of the kayaks together. I had made it this far, so I better get in and experience this Bioluminescence thing first hand. I knew I could get out of the kayak. I had no clue how I was going to get back in. Every movement you made with your arms or legs would light up with this blue glow. It was really cool to see, but I was still nervous about my re-entry into my kayak.. Well it is that time and I am not feeling good about my chances. I tried several times and could not do it. It would be nice if they had some steps to help you get back in. HaHa! With two tour guides and a few desperate attempts I was able to get all of me back in. We had paddled out in a bit of a head wind so the return trip would surely go faster. Wrong! I was having paddling issues and it did not matter how I paddled I kept going in circles. How do I get out of this paddle spin? Really, how do you paddle in circles? Pea and Pod came back to check on me and I said more cuss words than I even knew were in my dictionary. They tried to be encouraging, but I was not in the mood for it. Why is everyone laughing at me? I finally got my alignment corrected and started to make some head way. Every now and then I would still just go in circles. I could not figure this thing out. My brother (Donnie) came back to check on me and he could not stop laughing at me either. It served him right for laughing because a few minutes later he fell out of his kayak. He was able to get back into his pretty easy though. I think I got a lemon kayak. Can I return mine for a new one? I told everyone to leave me alone. Every time they came to check on me something happens. Sure as shoot I fell out again. I guess I am going to just hang on and swim with this darn kayak. I saw one on the tour guides off in the distance so I blew my whistle and they helped me get back in. This was it. I have had enough of this. I have got to get past this mental thing I have going on with my kayak. It seemed like several more hours, but the next thing I knew I had made it back to our pick up point. Thank goodness the wind kept me on the right course. I thought for sure I would end up out at sea. As soon as I got close enough I jumped out and got to shore as fast as I could. I think I have died and gone to heaven. I have my feet on the ground. My family finally got to see me in an environment where I am not very good at and they have never laughed so hard in their entire lives. We piled back in to the vans and everyone talked about their experience. I did not say a word. I was still in a kayak coma! I needed a beer in the worst way. 20 minutes later after our return we found this burger dive and I chugged more beers than I could count so I could get my nerves back in check. I was glad that I did this, but I will never do this again. Everyone else said it was one of the highlights of their trip. I really would highly recommend this trip, but make sure you get a kayak that is formed to your butt shape! If you ever want to take a trip to the dark side call me and I can give you all of the details and help you book your trip. I am going to end our trip here. What a blast we have had. I hope you have enjoyed this ride with me in Puerto Rico/Vieques. I am not sure where our journeys will take us next, but where ever they are it will be a fun ride. 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 our next wild ride. 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!

Thursday Afternoon Toasted Fisherman 10/08/09

2009-10-08T12:30:00.001-05:00

Wow! What a week this has been. Well actually two weeks. This College Football Dad going to a football game in the middle of the week last week has me a little screwed up. I am catching up though. Our weather is so bizarre right now. We had about six inches last weekend and most of my mulch has left my yard. I wonder if insurance covers that. I wish the cool weather would just set in and let fall be fall. The biz has picked up some. This coming week is the big grand daddy of all week in the cruise biz. Every cruise line has year end specials that will blow you away. You will probably see a ton of commercials from the cruise lines starting this weekend and continuing through the following week. Check my website out next week and I bet you will be surprised. I will also be hosting a Virtual Cruise Night on the 14th. Come learn about cruising! Cruise Planners will be giving away 3 FREE cruises. Make sure and check out the Six Degrees of Cruisitude during the week of October 12th - 19th and register for the cruise give away! If you are into social media networking check out my biz page when you have time. Ok, enough business! Let’s have a drink and some fun. With the upcoming week being the World’s Largest Cruise Event, I thought we would make a “Toasted Fisherman”. I have been a toasted fisherman before, but how in the heck do you drink one? Here is the scoop. Take 1 shot Crown Royal, 1 shot Amaretto, 1 shot Sweet and Sour. Then splash a little 7-Up. Mix all of the ingredients over the ice of your choice, stir and serve with a cherry! I can do without the cherry, but now you have a “Toasted Fisherman”. Our day is going to start in Fajardo (fah-HAHR-do). This is where our high speed people carrier will take us to the island of Vieques. We are going to spend a few days on this very little virgin island. Isla de Vieques is 55 square miles and has less than 10,000 inhabitants and not many visitors until now. The beaches are just gorgeous and the water is crystal clear. The Island is about 21 miles long by 4 miles at its widest point and it is located between Puerto Rico and St. Thomas, just 6 miles from the south-east coast of Puerto Rico. The reason you probably never heard of Isla de Vieques was because this magical island on the Caribbean was not a popular vacation spot since this small island was primarily under the control of the United States Navy. After years of protests the Navy finally discontinued their military practices of bombing and weapons’ testing and left the island on 2003. We had rented a van and a house on the island. We would have to make several trips to the rental house as everyone in our group with luggage could not go at the same time. We looked like the Beverly Hillbillies. We had stuff hanging out everywhere! The house we had rented was beautiful. It was two stories and sat on this magnificent cliff that overlooked the Caribbean. It also had this huge outdoor kitchen and this amazing infinity pool. We over looked the W Hotel which was located at the bottom of the cliff. This hotel is one of the very few on the island. One of the perks of the house that we rented was that we could use the facilities at the W Hotel anytime we wanted. We would spend a couple of afternoons in their pool drinking pina coladas and playing a little water vollyball! After we all got settled in it was time to get a cold one and hit the pool. All I can say is wow! After several hours in the sun, we decided to head into town and find a grocery store. The grocery store was an all in one food and liquor sort of place. We were able to get just about anything we needed to be able to keep the pickiest of eaters and drinkers satisfied. With our outdoor kitchen came this amazing outdoor bar area. As the sun was going down the first evening we got this awesome cloud display. I swear it looked like the Michelin Man. Really it did! The next morning we are going to go explore some of the hidden beaches. These beaches are so hidden I guess you could hang out naked if you wanted. I didn’t, but you could have. Some of the beaches on our list to try and find were Green Beach, Blue Beach, Red Beach, Esperanza Beach, Black Sand Beach and Playa Grande Beach. As I stated earlier we would have to find some of these beaches. You have to drive through jungle down dirt roads and hope that the map you have is giving you the right information. Once you find one and you make your way to the water you will be treated to the most amazing water and scenery. Every beach we found we were the only ones there. It was pretty weird. It was like we were stranded somewhere and no one knew where we were. We had our snorkel gear and got to see some wild looking fish in the very colorful coral. My youngest son Pod and a friend of my brothers (Kendal) decided to go out pretty far and around the corner of the rocks to where no one could see them anymore. It was pretty rough where they were and even though Pod was a lifeguard it still scared the crap out of me. Did they not remember that these beaches were used for weapon and bomb testing by our Navy up until just a few years ago? Who knows if all of those things exploded? After what seemed like a lifetime they reappeared and finally made it back to shore. We did not bring enough beer for that emotional rollercoaster. Our evening would take a major twist. We were going to do something that will scare the living sh*t out of you! Excuse my language, but it is true. It is so bizarre that I will write about it all by its lonesome next week. The next day will be our last full day before we head back to Puerto Rico. Since some of us are foodies we decided to make a very special meal with some local cuisine. A couple of us headed down to town were the fishermen were coming back in with their catches. We were on a journey to get some fresh hand caught Caribbean lobsters. Wow, did we hit pay dirt. This one guy had just caught 12 lobsters and we bought them all along with some snapper. It was going to be a grill off. These were the funniest looking lobsters. They do not have any claws, but they have this long antenna looking things. Since I was the griller tonight I was in charge of getting the lobsters ready. I would need an adult beverage before I could start this process that I really had no clue what I was doing. I had to de-head 12 live lobsters while they made very strange high pitched noises. As I struggled a bit in the beginning I started getting the hang of it. Kendal was in charge of taking each head one by one and throwing them off of the cliff. We could not stop laughing as he would use a towel and cover them while these antenna things kept moving. It was one of those funniest home video moments. The lobsters and fish are cleaned and are put up for safe keeping. The ladies made all sorts of appetizers’ to help us with our white wine. The fish and lobsters hit the grill at sunset. We also had an awesome shrimp alfredo pasta with salad and bread. What a way to end our last night in Vieques. After my belly is full I sit at the edge of the pool with a glass of wine in hand. I reflect on our trip so far and how lucky I am to be able to travel with family and friends! This island will stay on my list as one of my favorite destinations. I hope to come back and visit soon. I will end our journey here. Make sure and check back next week as my journey will take you into the darkness of no return. I hope you have enjoyed this ride with me in Puerto Rico/Vieques so far. 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. You really are going to be surprised what happens next. Hang on for the wild ride. 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!

Friday Afternoon Fruit Basket 9/25/09

2009-09-25T13:40:00.001-05:00

What a week! It has been crazy. After several months of triple digits we get this cold front that comes in with rain for several days. Don't get me wrong I love the cool rainy weather, just not all at once. It is also great college football weather. Don't worry, be happy! The biz has gone ok this week. I am still networking and marketing like crazy. I have been getting things ready for October 14th. This day is deemed as WLCN. In the cruise industry it is the World's Largest Cruise Night. All cruise lines have super duper specials for those who book a cruise on that night. At Cruise Planners we do things a whole lot bigger. We have taken it to another level and are having a WLCE. Did you get it right? We are having the World's Largest Cruise Event. It will start October 12th and last the full week. Not only will I have the cruise lines specials, I will also have exclusive specials only from Cruise Planners. I will be hosting a virtual cruise night on the 14th. Cruise Planners will be giving away 3 FREE cruises. Stay tuned for more information on the Six Degrees of Cruisitude, October 12th - 19th! Now that the business news is out of the way, let's go have some fun. Since we are going to a party why not take a Fruit Basket! Here is what is in our Fruit Basket. We have 3 parts Crème de Banana, 2 parts Coconut rum (Parrot Bay) 1 part Triple sec, 1 part Blackberry brandy, 3 parts Orange juice, 2 parts Pineapple juice and 1 part Apple Juice. Mix all of this in a pitcher or fish bowl. Pour in to your favorite glass with your preferred type of ice. Garnish with any fruit that you have on hand and enjoy. Now that is one heck of a Fruit Basket. As I stated earlier we are going to a party. Since we are from Texas and we are in Puerto Rico why not have a Texarican Bash. Each family was responsible for making a dish and our dish of choice was grilled chicken wings several different ways. We named our cooking team "Team Lime in the Coconuts" We even made team shirts. The day started off with a trip to the local Wal-Mart to get our supplies. I know we have a lot of people coming to eat, but we filled up the back of the van with Wal-Mart bags. It was quite a funny site. We had one grill and Capt. Charlie would tackle putting a second grill together. For some reason it took a long time to put it together. He must have been missing some parts. HaHa! The cooking would commence inside and out. The ladies were making all kinds of goodies inside. First Mate Annie made these amazing salt cod fritters. It is a lengthy process and so worth the wait. Pea and Pod would eat most of these before they would come out of the kitchen. They are so good! Annie & Annie also made these cigar shaped corn bread and cheese things called Surullitos. They were awesome! The wings were marinating and the fire was getting hot. Homemade Pina Coladas are flowing and the wine is chilling. Let's start the grilling. I filled the grill completely and still have more to cook. I guess we will have to eat as we go. I know this group all too well and there will not be much food left. Ricardo (Annie's Uncle) would be my taste tester. It was a blast cooking cooking with him! We had a great day of food and just spending time with family. Manatí is such an awesome place. We cannot thank Capt. Charlie and First Mate Annie for opening up their home to us. Tomorrow is going to be a Sea Day. Swimming with the sharks! We are going to take a catamaran out of Fajardo. It will be fun to watch Capt. Charlie. He will have to be a passenger on this trip. I bet he sails her for a bit though. Fajardo (fah-HAHR-do) is the hub of the majority of recreational boating in Puerto Rico and a popular launching port to Culebra, Vieques, and the American and British Virgin Islands. It is also the home to the largest Marina in the Caribbean, called Puerto del Rey. We meet up with the rest of our party and get signed in with the Captain and crew. It looks like it is going to be a great day. The sailing will last about 5 to 6 hours and all of our food and adult beverages are included. We plan on doing some snorkeling once we get out in the deep blue yonder. Our ships name is the Barefoot IV. She is a 48' Hatteras. I guess that is because our Captain sails her with his bare feet. This is going to be like the Pirates of the Caribbean. I wonder what treasure we will find? It's time to board, the music is pumping and the open water is waiting for us. As we head out of the marina we get to see all of the other boats and some of the hotels up on the cliffs. It was just beautiful. We are headed for the small uninhabited Icacos Island. We will throw anchor here, swim and chow down on some food. The crew prepares different types of food while we are sailing and of course it is unlimited adult beverages. I will never forget Pea's face when he took a sip of his rum with a splash of coke. It was a Kodak moment! The catamaran has steps that drop down at the end of the boat into the water. This is how you get in and out of the water. It’s called swim out and swim in. The water is crystal clear and so far there is not a shark in sight. After a swim and a trek around this very small island we board the boat and feast on the food that the crew has prepared. We had salads, sandwich stuff, local fruits, an awesome tuna salad and a few other island specialties. An open bar and make your own drink thing was very nice. They did make several batches of Pina Coladas for everyone during our lunch. The anchor is lifted and we head out to the open waters. After about 30 minutes of sailing around they drop anchor in the middle of the Atlantic. It is snorkeling time. I had an underwater camera and I hope I could get some good photos of Pea & Pod underwater. The fish where very colorful and the coral was very wild looking. Pea & Pod were crazy as they would dive down about 30 feet and look up to the top. Then it started raining, but when you are already wet what difference does it make? I got some great pictures and had an awesome time with my family. We load back up and fill our drink glasses with our favorite rum. It's smooth sailing back into Fajardo. What a great adventure this day has been. The day is still young and we are going to go to Ricardo & “Pichi’s” condo in San Juan. They live here part of the year and have invited us to their home for dinner. Their condo is beautiful. We had more adult beverages and an awesome meal which consisted of these awesome appetizers, yautia soup, salad and filet of beef. Our family thanks you so much Ricardo & "Pichi" for being such gracious hosts. What a blast it has been so far. I am in love with Puerto Rico. Tomorrow we will leave Puerto Rico and head to the island of Vieques. You don't want to miss the next few issues as I will run into my worst nightmare. Our journey will end here for now. I hope you have enjoyed this ride with me in Puerto Rico so far. 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. You really are going to be surprised what happens next. Hang on for the wild ride. 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!

Sunday Afternoon San Juan Cooler 9/13/09

2009-09-13T12:30:00.000-05:00

Sometimes it takes forever to catch up. My goal is to write once a week. I did not achieve this last week. I was still putting my pieces back together from my road trip to see Pod play at Auburn in his first college football game. I promise to get back on track. One real good thing that has happened over the last few days is "Rain" It has actually rained for the last 3 days. I think my plants and grass are still in shock and they are not sure if they should grow or not. The business has been ok, but could be better. Marketing and networking is fast and furious and as always I keep my Cruisitude and Traveltude at the highest levels. How is yours? Let's get started! It’s Sunday afternoon in Puerto Rico, so why not start off with a San Juan Cooler. Here is the skinny. Take 3 oz Dark Rum (Bacardi), 3/4 oz Dry Vermouth and Pineapple Juice. Fill your favorite drinking glass with your ice of choice, add Bacardi Rum and dry vermouth, then fill with pineapple juice and serve. Stir and add a squeeze of lime and you are all set. Now that is one heck of a cooler. Let's go travel. Our day will start off with a trip to the El Yunque National Forest. We hope to hike one of the trails in the El Yunque rain forest. Here is a little history on El Yunque. El Yunque National Forest, formerly known as the Luquillo National Forest and the Caribbean National Forest, is located on the island of Puerto Rico. It is commonly known as only El Yunque, a Spanish approximation of the aboriginal Taino word "Yu-ke", thought by scholars to mean "White Lands". However the lightning storms that occur there was to the Spaniards the sound of a giant hammer hitting an anvil (yunque in Spanish). It is also the name of the second highest mountain peak in the Forest. El Yunque is the only tropical rain forest in the United States National Forest system. We stopped at this combo store/grilling meats place. It was painted with many colors and the guard dog was hanging out on the roof. We all got various meats on a stick. We needed to fill our bellies before we took our multiple mile hike into the rain forest. As we made our way into the National Park we decided to stop at the visitor’s center and check things out. We watched a quick movie and looked at the many exhibits about the park. This National Forest has so much history. It's time to hit the trails. We load up and head to one of the many trails in the park. We pick La Mina trail. Our goal is to get to La Mina falls. It will take us about 30 to 45 minutes to get to the falls with about a 1/2 mile drop in elevation. That will make our trip up a little bit longer. It is very cool walking down these trails. You have to be careful as everything is soaking wet and you are under all of the foliage. There are mushroom things growing on trees and little bitty creatures hanging out on the leaves. I hope we get to see the Little Frog called a Coqui. It is a very popular creature throughout the island and enlivens the evenings with its timid “ko-kee” from which it get its name. The Coquies begin to sing when the sun goes down at dusk, singing all night long until dawn. The male Coquí sings - not the female. There are a lot of streams along the way. It was very peaceful during our hike. Everyone was ready to jump in the cold water once we hit the falls. There was a huge water fall with little pools of water to sit and chill. It was really incredible. We just hung out in the water and did some people watching. Uphill we must go. I will admit that it was harder going up than coming down. After our hike uphill it was time for a nice cold cerveza. If you get to visit Puerto Rico, El Yunque is a must thing to do. Do not miss this very unique place. Our next journey is going to take us to the logo of the Bat. I would call it liquid gold. We are going to tour the Bacardi Rum factory. Hoo Ya! There is nothing like a little rum in the morning. Our tour will start off at Casa Bacardi. Where did this bat logo come from? It is a cool logo, but sort of strange on a bottle of rum. During our tour we found out where the bat came from. "With the development of the new Bacardi rum, in 1862 Bacardi purchased a tin roofed factory building in which he planned to start a distillery. In the roof of the building lived a family of fruit bats, considered to be a good luck omen in Cuban mythology. To this day, the official logo of the Bacardi Company bears the likeness of a fruit bat in flight." We watched a movie on the history of Bacardi. I was really amazing that Bacardi started. Starting with an idea in 1829 to where Bacardi is now is incredible. It has grown to become the single largest company in the alcoholic beverage industry. We got to see a demonstration of how a Mojito is made. They had several interactive areas including computers to use that you could video yourself and send an email to family or even yourself. We made our way to the gift shop. They had so many different rums that you could buy that are not sold in the states. We bought a couple to take back with us to Texas. Now it was time for the morning tasting. Rum in the morning will get your mind spinning. With our tour we all received a coupon for 2 tastings of any rum drink we wanted. I do not encourage drinking for under aged kids, but Pea was 18 and in Puerto Rico the drinking age is 18. I got to share my first adult beverage with Pea. He did make some very strange faces though. The Bacardi Rum Factory is a must see when you visit Puerto Rico. The day was still young and we had brought our suits with us. I think everyone was ready to chill around a pool somewhere. Since we were not staying at a hotel, this presented a challenge. We said what the heck, let's just act like we are staying at the hotel and we just came back from the beach. That is exactly what we did. We headed to the Embassy Suites in San Juan. We walked straight through the lobby directly to the pool. Just act like a tourist. We had no problem getting in. I know we are not the only group of people who have ever done this. Don't get mad at me. It was like going under cover. It was an awesome pool and they also had white sand beaches that the ocean waters rolled up to. We had the best of worlds, a swimming pool and salt water with white sand. The outdoor bar was very convenient to the pool. This made it easy to eat lunch and share several adult beverages with family and friends. As the late afternoon approaches we pack up our gear and head to our cars. Manati was in our future. Charlie & Annie would create some more Puerto Rican specialties for us. Sharing good wine and food with family and friends is always a wonderful thing. Nothing could be finer! As the night goes on, I reflect back on the things we have done and what we still had ahead of us. Puerto Rico is a country of such great history, and I get to sample so many new and unique foods. My journey will end here for now. We still have many places to visit and things to do. You do not want to miss our next few issues as I will journey to places that will scare the crap out of you and me. I hope you have enjoyed this ride with me in Puerto Rico so far. I truly appreciate all of you who are reading and following. Please leave me a comment sometime so I know who is reading. Tell me what you like and what you don’t like. I would be honored if you share this with a friend. You really are going to be surprised were our journey takes us next. Hang on for the next ride. 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!

Thursday Afternoon Tropical Tease 8/27/09

2009-08-27T12:45:00.002-05:00

I don't know about you, but I am sick and tired of no rain and triple digit temperatures. In Central Texas it is like being Sleepless in Seattle, except we are Scorched in San Antonio. School has started in this neck of the woods. It seems pretty quite in the neighborhood. The business has been a little quiet this week, but networking and marketing are still a must. As our travels take us down south I thought we would start this afternoon off with a Tropical Tease. There is nothing wrong with being teased and how can you go wrong being teased in the tropics? This tease starts off like this: Take 2 oz Dark Rum, 1 1/2 oz Midori Melon Liqueur, 1 oz Banana Liqueur. Fill with Pineapple juice and pour directly into a Hurricane glass with ice. Shake, do not stir. Garnish with a lime wheel. Sounds like a winner to me! Cheers! Let's go travel. Our travel is going to take us to the Caribbean. From Alaska to the Caribbean sounds like a great plan. We are headed to Puerto Rico for some fun in the sun. Here is a little history on Puerto Rico before we get started. Located in the northeastern Caribbean, Puerto Rico formed a key part of the Spanish Empire from the early years of the exploration, conquest and colonization of the New World. The island was a major military post during many wars between Spain and other European powers for control of the region in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. The smallest of the Greater Antilles, Puerto Rico was a stepping-stone in the passage from Europe to Cuba, Mexico, Central America, and the northern territories of South America. A possession of the United States, it consists of the island of Puerto Rico plus the adjacent islets of Vieques, Culebra, and Mona. Puerto Rico has a mountainous, tropical ecosystem with very little flat land and few mineral resources. We start our journey off in San Juan with a late afternoon arrival. San Juan is Puerto Rico's capital. It is the second oldest European-established city in the Americas, after Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic. We are lucky that on this trip we will be with family members who have lived and grew up in Puerto Rico. This is going to be exciting for Pea & Pod! They have never traveled out of the states before. With most of my family growing up in Texas and the others in Puerto Rico, we decided to call this "The Texarican Bash"! Capt. Charlie and First Mate's Annie and Annie would be our private tour guides over the next 10 days. My brothers wife is Annie and her mom and dad are Charlie and Annie. Now that you have been introduced, let's roll. Everyone has finally packed into the cars with way too much luggage. We are headed to the El Condado beach area for some rum and pina coladas. El Condado is an oceanfront, tree-lined, vibrant pedestrian-oriented community in San Juan. A primarily middle to upper class community, El Condado is located east of the historic colonial district of Old San Juan. One thing about the bartenders in San Juan is the rum flows very freely in whatever the rum drink of your choice is. After several fruity rum drinks, we figured out pretty quick that we needed to get something to eat before heading to the home that we would be staying at during most of our trip. Charlie & Annie live in St Petersburg, FL, but also own a home in Puerto Rico. They were gracious enough to share their home with us. It is located in the town of Manatí. It is about 40 miles from downtown San Juan. Manatí is known as "La Ciudad Metropolitana" (metropolitan city) and "La Atenas de Puerto Rico" (Puerto Rico's athens). Manatí was founded in 1738 by Don Pedro Menéndez Valdéz. It was the ninth town recognized by the Spanish Crown in Puerto Rico. As a result of its cultural eminence, it began to be called the "Athens of Puerto Rico" during the early part of this century. We would arrive in the dark, so it was hard to see how beautiful this place was. That would have to wait until in the morning. The house over looked the ocean from it's hillside location. The view was just incredible from the outdoor patio area. A cup of coffee and the cool tropical breezes was a great start to an awesome vacation. The first couple of day we stayed in the Manatí area. Hanging out at the beach was a must and this area was loaded with many choices. Los Tubos was our choice. The water was a light blue and very clear. This area attracts divers and surfers. The waves were incredible. You could body surf all the way into shore. I would get started, but for some reason I kept sinking before I got there. Must of been the extra beer and rum. The beach festival was going on while we were there. There were local bands playing music day and night. We cooked several meals at the house. We got to try several new things we had not eaten before. We had salt cod fritters. plantains, mofongo and tostones to name just a few. Annie and Annie are both great cooks, so we were treated to some awesome meals and homemade pina coladas. Mofongo is made from fried green plantains or fried yuca which is mashed and seasoned with garlic, olive oil, and pork cracklings or bits of bacon and tostones are a side dish made from sliced green (unripe) plantains which are cut either length-wise or width-wise and are twice fried. Pea and Pod even liked trying these new dishes. Pea's favorite was the salt cod fritters. Annie made these from scratch and is quite the process. It requires a ton of soaking in fresh water to remove all of the salt and it is well worth the wait. After a few days at the beach it was time to head to San Juan to explore this city. There is so much history here. Today we were going to explore Fort San Felipe del Morro. Fort San Felipe del Morro, officially known as Fuerte San Felipe del Morro, sits atop a high promontory overlooking the entrance to San Juan Bay. It is the result of the efforts of many different Spanish engineers over a period of more than 200 years and is one of the largest forts built by the Spaniards in the Caribbean. Although the foundations were laid in 1539, the six-level fort was not considered completed until 1787. During World War II, the U.S. government added an annex of its own design on top of the fort. This massive structure suffered countless attacks from the likes of Sir Francis Drake in 1595 and the Dutch fleet in 1625. In 1898 American ships fired on it during the Spanish-American War, destroying its lighthouse, which was later restored. This place was so cool to walk around. There is so much history here. To see all of the hidden passages and cannons is just mind blowing. Walking on the lawns where the soldiers once marched was very overwhelming. When we were getting ready to leave the rains came down. The rain made it very slippery trying to get down these massive steps. We had climbed up and now it was time to come down. We had defiantly worked up an appetite. As some of you know I am a food junkie. Anytime I can check out a place that some of my favorite Food Network chefs have been, you must go check it out. The place is called La Bombonera in Old San Juan. It has been around for over 100 years, and today it’s still one of the most popular places with locals and visitors to grab a quick snack or a hearty meal. Famous for its Mallorcas; a buttery bread that is grilled and sprinkled with powdered sugar and filled with your choice of ham, egg, and cheese, or even plain. I have to tell you a funny on Capt. Charlie. We learned on this trip that Mallorcas really has two meanings. Not only is it grilled buttered bread that is sprinkled with powdered sugar, it is also a process of using baby powder on the lower extremities. Capt. Charlie, I hope you don't get mad at me, but I had to share. This is too funny! Baby powder and powdered sugar! Let the sprinkling begin. The food and coffee was really good and I highly recommend you add this to your things to do in Puerto Rico. Now we are off to explore more of Old San Juan. We got to go in the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista. The Cathedral of San Juan Bautista is a Roman Catholic cathedral. The cathedral is one of the oldest buildings in San Juan, and is the second oldest cathedral in the Western Hemisphere; construction began in 1521. The cathedral contains the tomb of the Spanish explorer and settlement founder Juan Ponce de León. It was very impressive just to be inside of this cathedral. A lot of the streets are made of cobblestones. The cobblestone streets are very narrow. They are quite spectacular to look at. We checked out many of the shops along with the many old buildings. The architecture here in Old San Juan is just beautiful. We made our way to the end of one of the streets. Upon our arrival we see all of these pigeons. These birds are everywhere. People have feed in their hands and these pigeons are eating from their hands. It was very cool to watch until Pod pulled off an amazing stunt, so we thought. The photo opportunity would be perfect as he threw a penny in the air and scared the crap out of the thousands of pigeons. They took off everywhere as I was trying to photograph the Carnival Triumph coming into port. The picture was taken at just the right moment. What we found out shortly after was not good news Janet was the victim of many pigeon droppings. I mean many! It just so happens that she was aware that Pod was the culprit of this crappy stunt. After many laughs, and tears we had Janet all cleaned up again. It was pretty funny! I think I will get a long distance slap when she reads this. We continue to explore Old San Juan. It has been a great day in this historic city. Back to Manatí we go. I am sure some rum and wine will be in our future tonight as we chill on the outdoor patio and get ready for our next adventure. We have many more places to explore on this beautiful island over the next few days. Some of the places on our list are the El Yunque rainforest, the Bacardi Rum plant and a catamaran snorkeling trip. Then we are off to the Island of Vieques for a few days. I hope you have enjoyed this ride with me in Puerto Rico so far. I truly appreciate all of you who are reading and following. Leave me a comment sometime so I know who is reading. I would be honored if you share this with a friend. You are going to be surprised were our journey takes us next. Hang on for the next ride. Until we unite again remember to always love your travel agent. Keep your Cruisitude in check and most important is to Travel Your Way!

Monday Morning Muscle Milk 8/17/09

2009-08-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

Our journey up north has ended. Alaska & Seattle, I promise I will be back. I know your beauty will always be there. It is now time to head south. Before we get to far south I am going to make a pit stop along the way. For those of you who have been following my blog I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I would be honored if you shared or even became a follower of this blog. As I stated in the beginning when I started "Travelin' with John" this would be writings about my past travel adventures, new travel adventures, travel news, travel events and lots of fun stuff along the way. This is one of those times where we are going to have some fun. Janet and I have been blessed with two amazing kids. I guess I will call them Pea & Pod! Tyler (Pea) & Matt (Pod). For brothers who are 3 years apart, they have an amazing relationship. We are very thankful for that. Both Pea & Pod were great athletes growing up and they still are. Pea played a little baseball and then ventured into soccer. I say a little of baseball because I wish he would of stayed with it. He was really very good and with a father who played for the NY Yankees, he had some good stuff in his genes. No, not me! My dad was the big man on campus! While I have several things from my father's Yankee days, the thing that stands out the most with me was the $5.00 contract he signed with Topps! I know $5.00 was a lot of money in the early sixties, but come on $5.00 for a baseball card contract. I am very proud of my father and what he has given me to pass on to Pea & Pod. Anyway, Mom & Dad pushed Pea to play soccer at the same time that Pod was. I guess we did this so we could be at the same sports facility without traveling all over the city. I hope that now Pea is over 21 that he won't get upset, but the first year he played soccer I thought he was going to be a ballet dancer. Sorry Pea, I had to say it. Those spinning dance moves were quite stunning. Now let’s talk a little about Pod. The first year he played soccer at the ripe age of four I remember that he played on a coed team. I recall that the focus was hanging with the girls instead of getting the ball into the goal. Where did he learn that from? As the years continued, both Pea & Pod had tremendous soccer careers. Pea played on several premier club teams (Classic Elite) along with playing 2 years on the varsity soccer team at Clemens High School. I remember on his sixteenth birthday he broke his ankle during the game while attempting a steal. It was so sad to see, but at the birthday dinner after the game at Hooters, he sure was a hit with the Hooter's girls. You rock Pea! Hooters girls serve some awesome naked wings! You know, low carb wings without batter. Naked is a cool word when used with food! Dad, calm down! Pod also played on several premier club soccer teams (Texans & Hammers) and started as a freshman on the varsity soccer team at Steele High School. When you go to a brand new high school, possibilities are all around you. Playing sweeper on the soccer team you take many hits on the defensive end and you get a ton of chances to take all of the free kicks. Back to this being a new high school, possibilities presented themselves when the head football coach (Coach Mike Jinks) asked Pod to come out and tryout as the kicker for the football team. What? When I first found out about it I was excited, but said Oh No! These kids are twice the size of Pod. As a family we agreed to let Pod play after the coaches said you are on the team. Since this was a new school they did not have a varsity team during Pods first year. They started out with a JV team and would start their varsity games in the second year of the school’s existence. Pod played soccer one more year and then decided to leave the only game he knew and pursue the new game that he now loved after his sophomore year. His soccer coach was none too pleased, but eventually gave in. When I say gave in, it took him a full year to get over it. Pod attended several training camps during the off season. He started working with Chris Boniol the Ex Dallas Cowboy kicker at the end of his sophomore year. This sure was a blessing in disguise. Chris and Pod would soon develop a relationship that would push him to a different level. Chris has been a great inspiration to Pod and we are very thankful that Chris has taken Pod under his wings. Janet and I were not sure what was going to become of Pod kicking the football, but at the beginning of his junior year we knew that we might have something special going on here. I guess we were lucky to be part of a team that had a head Coach that believed in the importance of special teams. He preached that this is how you win ball games. You have to have the offense and defense, but if your special teams are not spot on, you will not win in the end! Character and the will to win will move you to the other side. Pod was blessed to have one of his best friends be his holder for every one of his kicks in his entire high school football career. Not only was his holder a great person, a great team leader, he was a great quarterback. This is where chemistry must become united and they were sure united. Mr. Holder/QB, I wish you the best of luck with your Engineering Career at Texas A&M. I hope your speed gets you a spot on the track team. With the help of Chris Boniol and the confidence of his head coach, Pod had one heck of a junior year. Decisions had to be made. If Pod could move on to the next level what would we do? How do we do this? After many hours of research we decided to partner with NCSA. They work with potential athletes and guide them through the recruiting process at the college level. Let me preface that there are no guarantees that any high school athlete can even play at the next level. NCSA (Matt Webb) becomes Pods mentor and works with him on a weekly basis. They work with you on how to communicate with college coaches and what to do every step of the way during the college recruiting process. We had no idea if Pod would play at the next level. We had people tell us it could happen, but the reality was probably not real. There are only so many spots available. One of the biggest undertakings that Pod and I did was to produce 100's of game videos, along with personal hand written letters from Matt to send to the special team coaches. It did not matter whether it was D1, D1AA, D2, D3, or NAIA, we sent them out. This was all part of the process. To get exposure you must expose yourself. It was not long and during the spring of Pods junior year he had many letters and phone calls from coaches. I remember the first coach that contacted Pod was from Georgetown University in Washington DC. This was really cool. I am not going to lie, I was very proud! One of the things that potential college football players have to do is to attend as many summer camps that they can. Most college football programs put on a football camp during the summer for all ages. You pay a small fee and this is a legal way for coaches to get to evaluate you before you start your senior year in high school. Some of the schools that Pod attended their camps or visited their campus were at University of Houston, Louisiana Tech, SMU, Kansas State and LSU. Pod preformed very well at all of these camps. While he liked University of Houston, the one school that he fell in love with was Louisiana Tech. Even before he stepped on the field in June 2008, the small town sensation that Pod felt in Ruston was just right. The Pizza at Johnny's Pizza and the chicken at Raising Canes was all part of the magnet that pulled so hard! Janet and I sat on the side lines and watched all of these kids kick hundreds of balls. We had a warm fuzzy feeling when Coach Dooley comes up to introduce himself to Janet and I during the afternoon session of the camp. Pod was really kicking his rear end off. Coach said he was very impressed with his ability and his character. What other camps is he going to attend this summer? We answered, but were not sure if that was the right thing to do. There were about 50 plus kids at this camp. They were not all juniors or seniors. There is some training that goes on here, so there are kids from 7th grade up to seniors. After the camp was over the special teams Coach Russell comes up and states that Head Coach Dooley would like to visit with us in his office in a few minutes. Ok, this is good, but not good. What in the heck do you do now? What do you say? Once in Coach Dooley's office I guess my breathing picked up to levels that were noticeable by others, especially Pod. Coach Dooley talked to us about the school and the vision that he had with the football program. He was very impressed with Pod and knew that he was going to some other camps over the summer. He would stay in touch and was very interested in Pod and knows he has the potential to fit within the teams program. If my breathing was not heavy before, it was heavier now. A coach of a D1 program is interested in Pod. Are you kidding me? Pod would make it to several more D1 schools over the summer before his next visit to Louisiana Tech on July 19th, 2009. Janet, her parents and Pod would make their way back for another visit to the campus. Coach Russell and Coach Dooley met with them that morning and offered Pod a scholarship to play football at Louisiana Tech. One thing the Coach Dooley told Pod the first time they met in his office was to make sure he was committed and go see what else is out there. This is what Pod did and when he verbally committed to Coach Dooley he knew in his heart that this was where he wanted to be. Pod would go on and have an awesome senior year. His team made it in to the third round of the playoffs where they would lose to the eventual state champion in 4A. Not bad for a 3rd year program. We became very close to Coach Russell who made several visits to our home during the football season. Pod and Coach Russell hit it off from the beginning. As Pod's senior year moved forward, he took an official visit to the school with Mom and Dad at his side along with a game day visit to attend one of the football games. These were all awesome and we got to meet some great people and the families of the 2009 recruiting class. February 4th, 2009 was approaching very rapidly. This was National Signing day for potential college athletes. That morning Pod was assigned his time slot to fax his paperwork to the university. With most family members present Pod signed at 7:00AM and the fax was on the way. Coach Russell called shortly after and welcomed Pod to the football program. It was official! Pod was going to play football at Louisiana Tech. I am emotionally spent! The high school was having a grand celebration as 5 other have received football offers in various divisions as well. The TV stations were there and it was a little over whelming to see my youngest in this awesome situation. We celebrated with a party that afternoon at our house with Gumbo, Muffalatas and King Cake. All of these are Louisiana favorites. Pod had several teammates and friends over to join the celebration. Later that evening, he had to do an interview with the ESPN radio station out of Ruston. It was live and it was very impressive to hear your son as poised as he was on the radio. Is this real? Will you pinch me? As I have stated before, Pod developed a special friendship with Coach Russell that will go further in life than just being a Coach who recruited him. Pod received a call one afternoon from Coach Russell after the recruiting process was over and he let Pod know that he would be leaving Louisiana Tech and was heading to Texas Tech to take on the special teams duties. Pod was devastated! Coach Russell told him that he will do well at Louisiana Tech and keep his head high. This was a stepping stone for him and his family, as he wants to coach in the pro ranks one day. Coach Russell is very special with our family. He does call Pod every so often just to see how he is doing. How are you doing Hayden? Pod pressed forward as he would now be working with a new special teams Coach. It is important for Pod that Coach Dooley is very passionate about special teams and attends all special teams meetings. Coach Dooley says it is a very vital portion to the team’s success. Pod has now graduated high school. He will spend his entire June working out and kicking. You probably wonder how I came up with Monday Morning Muscle Milk. This is the drink of choice for Pod and Louisiana Tech. I am sorry if you were expecting a new drink recipe. There will be more of those as our travels take us way down south. This is a pre-made product for athletes who want to add additional vitamins and nutrients to their bodies after all of their workouts. For those of you who know Pod, he needs some help on the weight, this will help. Pod drinks Muscle Milk daily. Pod checked in to Louisiana Tech in July. He took a couple of classes (Sociology & Dance Appreciation) in the summer session part two. He worked out with some of the team under the direction of the strength and conditioning coaches. They run in the morning and agility's in the evening. You tell me if you can do this! On Fridays you have to run 21 (110's) in under 17 seconds per 110 with 30 seconds in between. If you puke, it must be done standing up and no hands on the knees. If you do puke and touch the knees, you start over! Each position has different times, but no matter what, this is pure hell in my book. Two a days in full pads have started and the first scrimmage this weekend is on the books. Penciled in as the starter as a freshman we are so very proud of Pod's accomplishments. His never give up and his never let anyone tell him he cannot do something, has been a true inspiration to me. I started a new travel business last year and I use this as my motivation to keep going forward. I am so excited to make our first road trip to Auburn University to see Pod either make his first college football kickoff and or his first college football field goal in front of 92k. To be really honest with you I am scared to death and will have 3 pair of underwear on. If you are in front of a TV on September 5th, make sure and tune to ESPNU at 6:00PM central time to watch Pod. Pea has been so supportive of Pod. It makes me so proud as a dad! Our next journey will move us into the south. We might even move into the Deep South! I thank you for reading my story and promise to bring you more drink recipes and travel adventures. Some of them could include a few football road trips along the way. Jeremy my friend, I look forward to sharing a few beers with you in Auburn. Thanks so much for everyone’s support. If I can ever be of assistance with your travel needs please let me know. I promise it will be the best experience you have ever had! Until our paths cross again, make sure you always Travel Your Way!

PS: Pea & Pod, thanks for being my guiding light in life! I love you! Dad

Saturday Morning Satin Sheets 8/8/09

2009-08-08T06:00:00.002-05:00

This has been a very interesting week for sure. We thought we had our house sold and then we don't. Life is too short to dwell on the past. Do the right things, continue to move forward in a positive direction and good things will happen. I am a firm believer. I will jump to my sales side for a moment. I promise I will get back to the story very soon. We really do have some great specials going on right now at Fantasy Cruise & Travel along with some great travel tools to make things super simple. If you know someone else who is also looking for a great travel agent to personally take care of everything for them, please pass them my information. There will always be a gift from me for a referral. For those of you who are Facebook fans, I would love for you to become a Fan of Fantasy Cruise & Travel. There is lots of information at your fingertips. If you tweet on Twitter you can also find some great information. Just look for cruisetravelguy. When you make it over to Facebook, make sure to search for Fantasy Cruise & Travel. If for no other reason, you get to see these funny pictures of a Pink Flamingo. You heard me! It's me stylin' like a Pink Flamingo. I officially became a member of The Pink Flamingo Club this week. You have to look at the picture for an explanation. I also need to throw out a special thanks to Heather at Travel Impressions. As always, I need to check your Cruisitude. How is yours going this week? Mine is strutting! Just a quick thank you for everyone’s support! I am in a better place because of you. OK, now back to the good stuff! With this being Saturday morning I thought I would start it off with Satin Sheets. Pillow talk? Don't leave me! It's going to get good now. Even though I do not own a pair/set of satin sheets, I can sure enough make one. Got you thinking for a minute, didn't I? You thought I was going off on a different direction. Well I am! Are you ready for Satin Sheets? Here is the silkiness of it. Take the following: 1 oz Kahlua, 1 oz Bailey's Irish cream, 1 oz Chocolate liqueur (Godiva) Ice & Milk! Combine Kahlua, Bailey's, and the Godiva chocolate liqueur over ice. Add milk to fill the glass and stir or shake. Now that is a way to start off this Saturday morning. You gotta love Satin Sheets! Especially in the summer. Even though the Alaskan portion of our trip is over, our Seattle portion is just starting. The disembarkation from the Princess Coral was very easy. As soon as we got off the ship we boarded our bus for our 3 hour journey into Seattle. We have never been to Seattle before and were looking forward to seeing this grand city. Our bus takes us to the Seattle airport. This is where we will get our rental car. We are going to be exploring the Seattle area for the next 3 days. Our home base for this trip will be in Woodinville. This town is north of Seattle by about 20 to 30 minutes. Our hotel of choice was the Willow Lodge. This is a Washington wine and culinary resort. This lodge is ranked #80 in the world and #12 in the US & Canada by Travel Leisure Magazine. They also had Fireside Cellars where you could sample some of Washington States wines or eat at the Barking Frog. The Barking Frog is a casual bistro featuring country fresh Northwest cuisine. Right next door is The Herbfarm Restaurant, rated in the top 50 restaurants in the world by Travel + Leisure magazine. According to Gourmet magazine, “you’ll be glad you booked a room at the luxurious Willows Lodge next door after one of The Herbfarm’s fabulous 9-course dinners”. Enjoy! Even though the Herbfarm was not open during the week we were there I hope to come back and experience this amazing place. This place was awesome. It was just far enough away, but so close to everything we wanted to do in Seattle. We were stuck right between three wineries and one brewery. Go figure, me next to wineries and breweries. You bet! The wineries were Columbia Winery, Silver Lake Winery and Chateau Ste. Michelle. The most incredible architecture and landscape I have seen. I have been to Napa several times and I would put Chateau Ste. Michelle and Columbia Winery right up there. Please do not get Columbia Winery confused with Columbia Crest. Oh, and the wine tastings were awesome. We spent a couple of hours at each winery. Washington State really has some good wines. You should check them out. We were also right next to Redhook Brewery! It is one of the nation's most highly-regarded micro brews. They actually have a restaurant at Redhook Brewery. We ate there for lunch one day. It was called Forecasters Public House. We had some appetizers and burgers (awesome) while I sampled a few of the brews. Janet stuck with the wine. I had the sampler tray which consisted of six different beers. Very nice beers! The other cool thing was we got to go on a tour of the brewery. All for $1.00, woo hoo! We walked around the different stations and sampled some more of the beers as we toured. Janet does not drink beer, so for some reason I got two each time. Do I hear a nap? Can you believe this though? All of this within 20 minutes of Seattle! Our morning started off with a trip into Seattle to visit the World Famous Pike Place Market. I am in heaven. We wanted to see all of it and needed some food for our bellies. You have to have energy to walk around this place. We had heard about Lowell's and it did not disappoint us. We ate on the second floor called "The View Lounge" We had a great view of the water. This place was buzzing! We had the most incredible breakfast. Now we were fueled for our adventure. I could not wait any longer. There were so many options. Janet choose the pancakes and I had there special breakfast sandwich. It was so worth the wait to get a table. You have to try this place. I had to go see them throw the fish! We headed off to The World Famous Pike Place Fish Market. The seafood was so fresh! Once you pick out your fish the fish monger on the front side takes your fish and throws it to the guys behind the counter. This was really cool. We continued to watch for a while as the fish kept flying. Pike Place Market is awesome. There were so many things to buy and look at. They had more fresh seafood than you could ever imagine. Italian markets were they had so many fresh varieties of pastas, tons of fresh vegetables, and so many different flowers to choose from. Can I live next door? What a special place. I wish every city had something like this. Did I mention the original Starbucks is across the street? Well it is. Number 1! This is where I first became a lover of the Pike Place Roast. The best stuff ever! Take a real good look at the original Starbucks logo. You will not see it anywhere else and something is exposed. I am not kidding, take a look for yourself. There are so many different places and shops. I am still in heaven. After several hours of walking around we had worked up an appetite for my wife’s favorite comfort food. Clam Chowder! We did not have to look far until we found the cream of the crop. The Chowder House! It is located at the Alley of Pike Place Market. This clam chowder has won first-place awards everywhere in the country and is the only chowder to have accomplished this fete on both coasts. We are still in heaven! We spend a few more hours walking around Pike Place. Now it is time to head back towards Woodinville. We are not only food, travel, and wine junkies, we are sports junkies. On our return to the Willows Lodge we stop at the University of Washington. I wanted to go look in Husky Stadium. Did not know how I was going to do that, but upon arrival it looked like there was a soccer camp going on. We just acted like parents and we were going to pick up our child. We walked around on the field. It is a beautiful stadium. Tonight was going to be a movie night, so we picked up a bottle of wine and some local sausage and cheeses and headed back to our room. What a day it had been. The next day we headed back down to Pike Place Market to do it all over again. It is still just as awesome as it was yesterday. We still had two stadiums to go look at, so we took off on our 2 mile walk towards the Seattle Seahawks and the Seattle Mariners stadiums (Safeco Field). We lucked out again on the Seahawks stadium (Quest Field). They were having a youth football camp. We walked right through the gate and walked around for a bit. An outdoor football stadium is the only way to watch a game. Even though we could not look in the Mariners stadium it was still an awesome site. Now it is time for our walk back. This time we caught one of the local transit buses and got part of the way back. Now it was time to sample another favorite food of ours. Oysters! We choose The Brooklyn Oyster & Seafood House. We sat at the bar where the oysters were located at. That is what they call an oyster bar! They had a special of six different oysters times 2. This made it perfect for us to get to try some different oysters from the Northwest region. After a couple of dozen oysters and a couple of beers and Janet's glass of wine we were set to see more of Seattle. This was going to be our last night in Seattle and we wanted to make it special. We selected Palisade's on the opposite side of Elliott Bay Marina. This place was incredible. We got there a little before dark so we could see the sunset and you do need reservations for this restaurant. We had a great table overlooking the bay with the city of Seattle in the background. You cannot believe the view. We were going to take our time and enjoy the last night of our trip. The food was outstanding. The wine was good. The crab cakes were to die for. Oh my goodness! I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone. It's a keeper for me. As our trip slowly comes to an end we reflect on the awesome memories that we have made. I would highly recommend that you don't wait until your 25th wedding anniversary to experience Alaska and the Northwest. We are headed back to San Antonio and we know our family and dogs will be glad to see us. What a bucket list trip of a lifetime. Now that is a tongue twister! I hope you have enjoyed this ride with me to Alaska & Seattle. I truly appreciate all of you who are reading and following. Leave me a comment and share this with a friend. I would love for you to become a follower. You will be surprised were our journey takes us next. Hang on for the weekly ride. Until we unite again remember to love a travel agent. Keep your Cruisitude in check and always Travel Your Way!

Tuesday Afternoon Texas Prairie Fire 7/28/09

2009-07-28T12:40:00.003-05:00

The week has started a bit more active. This is a good thing! Remember to tell your friends and neighbors to love a Travel Agent too. We always need love. It also helps keep our Cruisitude on track! If you have been watching the news lately, you know that in South Texas it is hotter than H E double heck. No rain in sight and triple digit temps. Watering restrictions to boot! It is like we have a barrier around us. Oh well, what are you going to do? While researching for this week’s beverage, I said what the heck. I might as well just join the heat and sit on the porch for a while. The only rain I am going to get is the sweat off of my forehead! So, let me introduce you to a Texas Prairie Fire. No, the grass is not on fire yet, but it could at anytime. It won't be long and we really will have Texas Tumbleweeds blowing down the street. Get your fire extinguishers out. Here is the skinny. Get your Tequila of choice (Mine is Cabo Wabo out of the freezer), Lime juice, and Tabasco sauce. Pour a 3/4 shot of Tequila in shot glass, top off with lime juice, splash in Tabasco sauce, and shoot. Are you on fire yet? Just a little kick to remind you that summer is here and is on fire. Our journey continues out of Ketchikan on our way to Vancouver. So sad that our days are coming to an end, but so filled with memories to support me for a lifetime. Our trip has two nights left and we hope to make the most of them. The Princess Coral will cover 506 nautical miles on this part of our trip. Our travels will take us past Prince Rupert, British Columbia. This is where the Canada wilderness starts. They say on British Columbia’s North Coast you don’t control nature, you pay attention to her every mood. As we continue our travels at sea, we head into the Hecate Strait. This channel of western British Columbia, Canada, separates the Queen Charlotte Islands from coastal islands off the mainland of the province. The scenery is quite spectacular.
It made it really nice that we have a balcony and could just sit back with a glass of wine and chill. There is nothing quite like this experience, along with the view. As we leave the Hecate Strait, we make our way into the Queen Charlotte Sound. Soon we will be heading into the Queen Charlotte Strait. From there we continue into the Johnstone Strait. For unexplained reasons, Killer Whales like to rub the smooth rocks along the shore at Robson Bright. This part of Johnstone Strait is very popular with researchers studying the behavior of Killer Whales. I did not see any here like we saw in Juneau. We cruise past Vancouver Island for quite a long time and will be in Vancouver in the morning. As I sit on our balcony, I have time to reflect on some of the many things we did on the ship. The Coral has so many things to offer everyone. The food was fantastic. Go on a diet before you cruise, so you can eat as much as you want. They will keep feeding you until you say stop. We chose Anytime Dining. We wanted to eat on our schedule. After a few evenings of dining we found the perfect table for two. All I had to do was tell them what time we wanted to eat and they told me when that table was available. It was so easy to do. I highly recommend this option when you cruise. Our waiters took great care of us. They always remembered our names and what we liked. We ate at one of the specialty restaurants. The restaurant we choose was Sabatini's. This evening would take about 2 hours as we would go through tastings of Italy. I think we ate 15 different items. Way too much food and worth the very small up charge. Most mornings we could not wait to see what the drink of the day or the activities were. Most of our evenings would start off with that special drink at the martini bar. There were way too many combinations and it was a cool way to people watch. During our sea days when we were not on our balcony, we played bingo and competed in many of the fun events that took place through out the ship. There were so many things that you could participate in. It was up to you how active you wanted to be. They had things for all ages. We enjoyed the wine tastings, along with the behind the scenes tour of the kitchen. The shows at night were awesome. The midnight buffets were spectacular. The unlimited pizza was heaven! I wish this could be my house. Alaska is the most incredible place in the world. I would hope if you have never been that this is on your bucket list. I want to add it back to my bucket. Our last night on this grand ship ends with great food and wine as we sit at the back of the ship and remember all of the amazing things that we did. As we wake up this morning we are presented the beautiful view of Vancouver.
Vancouver is awesome! I hope to come visit her again. After breakfast we await our turn to disembark the Coral. Even though this part of our trip is coming to an end, we are going to spend a few days in Seattle. I hope you have enjoyed our journey so far. I sure have! Travel Agent Love! Remember a trip like this is possible and I am here to help. Until we hookup again in Seattle, Happy Travelin' and always Travel Your Way! How happy is your Cruisitude? Mine is grinning ear to ear!

Wednesday Evening Watermelon Crawl 7/22/09

2009-07-22T14:00:00.000-05:00

Onward our journey goes. My week has started off on the quite side and somewhat slow. I know you want to go somewhere? You know how to get hold of me. Since we are in the middle of the summer, I thought we would jump start our Wednesday evening off with a Watermelon Crawl. Who? A what? A Watermelon is made for eating in the summer evenings on the back porch with family and friends. I know the adult version can sometimes have a bottle stuck in it for added flavors, but crawl around with a watermelon? Are you crazy? I guess so because this summer evening drink is crazy! Here are the details. Pour 1/3 Southern Comfort, 1.5 oz Amaretto, 1/3 Watermelon schnapps, Orange juice, Pineapple juice, in your favorite glass with your favorite type of ice, squeeze a lime, and stir. Let me know what you think. It’s not too bad! My Cruisitude has been good this week so far. How has your Cruisitude been this week? Leave me a comment about it. We are headed down the Alaskan coast. This stop is going to be our last port of call. Give it up for Ketchikan! Ketchikan is known as the "Salmon Capital of the World." The Misty Fjords National Monument is one of the area's major attractions. It is named after Ketchikan Creek, which flows through the town. Ketchikan also has the world's largest collection of standing totem poles, located at three major locations: Saxman Village, Totem Bight, and the Totem Heritage Center. I was excited about our arrival to Ketchikan, but at the same time a little weak at the knees. Janet has convinced me that I needed to get into a float plane that takes off and lands in the water. Fly up to the Misty Fjords National Monument, land and take off in some more water up in the mountains out in the wild. I am not real sure of this, but I am doing what she wants me to. Have you seen how small these planes are? We start off our morning with our usual early breakfast, and as normal I eat more than I will need for the day or so. I guess this time it was a good thing in case I got stranded out in the wild. As we get off of the ship, our first view into the town is quite picturesque. The houses and shops are quite colorful and charming. There is even a rain gauge that measures liquid sunshine. The big Ketchikan sign states "Alaska’s First City"! It is really neat looking. We will have time to explore the town when we return from our flight with Island Wings. They pick us up right on time and take us to the dock to await our float plane. There were many float planes taking off and landing. I did not see any air traffic control towers, but I am sure they monitor it from somewhere, I hope. Our plane lands and makes its way over to the dock. Our pilot is Michelle. Her helpers tie the plane to the dock and she gets out, greeting us and introducing herself. She was extremely nice. There were seven of us on this plane. Being a gentleman as I always am, I let everyone else get on first. What a mistake that was. I am already shaking in my boots and now I have to sit next to the door that does not have a lock on it. Are you kidding me! This is just great! We were all given headsets with voice communications between Michelle and ourselves so we can chat in flight and ask questions as we fly. My first question was can we lock the door? She laughed and said that at 140 MPH the door is not going to open. I took the answer like a man, but still wasn’t totally convinced. We taxi out into the water (I guess that is what a float plane does) and get in position to take off. So far this is sort of cool. The next thing I know we are in the air and I just hold my camera in hopes of not needing any air sickness bags. I guess eating too much breakfast had my stomach a little uptight. We flew right over the town and our journey had begun. At this point I am in awe of the surroundings, but not totally sure I made the best decision to fly in this plane. Maybe I should have gone on the totem pole tour or the duck tour. I heard the lumberjack show was good also. It’s too late now and I don’t see any parachutes around. As we fly around for 45 plus minutes I concentrate on taking pictures of the most unbelievable scenery I have ever seen. We are approaching a pretty good size body of water up in the Misty Fjords and then we are told that this is where we are going to land. What will this be like? I am not going to lie, I was a little scared, but Michelle did a great job. She floats the plane to a small shoreline so we can get out and smell the air and stretch our legs. I was in great need of some fresh air. This is cool, I am going to be the first one to get out and touch land. Not so cool when you have to walk on the float like a gymnastic on a balance beam and hopefully not be the one that falls in. We all made it safely to shore. This was truly quite spectacular and so peaceful. We spent about 30 minutes exploring our little part of shoreline. It had such calmness about it. It's time to head back to Ketchikan. Still the gentleman that I am I let everyone else get on first so I can get my seat back. The really cool thing on the way back was that Janet got to sit in the co-pilots seat. Now I wish I was sitting somewhere else in case she hit a pedal or the special "open the door" button. I am not sure if this was up there with being the whale watching Assistant Captain, but it was real close. She was smiling ear to ear. Coming back into Ketchikan was awesome as we flew right over the Princess Coral. She is a very beautiful ship from above. As we taxied up to the dock I look back at this amazing excursion that we took. All kidding aside I would highly recommend a float plane trip out of Ketchikan. To be honest I am super excited to be on land and I think I have worked off my breakfast. Michelle gave us a great local tip for a great burger and fish-n-chips. She recommended the Burger Queen which was not a far from the ship. A whole lot better than the King! She told us to order at the Burger Queen and then walk across to the Arctic Bar and sit on the patio. They would bring our food over to the patio. See it pays to ask where the locals eat. I ordered an ice cold Alaskan beer as we watched the float planes take off. Very cool! Our order consisted of a bacon cheese burger, fries and some fish-n-chips. The food was fantastic and I would highly recommend this place the next time you are in Ketchikan. One quick note about the Arctic Bar, it is also the home of the Happy Bears and those bears were very happy! Look close, you will know! It is time to head into town and check things out. There are so many shops on Creek Street. As you shop you walk on these old wood walkways while you are over the creek. There are even people floating in tubes in the creek. We continue to walk around and head to the harbor where some boats are. This is where the Sea Star is that was on the first season of The Deadliest Catch. They had a gift shop on board that we could board the ship and look at. Those boats are really small. They look big on TV. No wonder it is the most dangerous jobs in the world. It has been a long day. We head back towards the ship and stop at this very unique wine shop. I was surprised at the selection of wines in Alaska. I order a couple of glasses of wine as we reflect on this great day. It was really amazing. You know me I need a couple of bottles to take back on the ship. Back on board the Coral, I pour a couple of glasses of wine. It’s time to head to our balcony and chill for a little bit. As we pull away from the docks there is some activity around the ship and I guess it is the Coast Guards responsibility to make sure we get out into open waters. Their boats would go from the front of the ship to the back of the ship. They were also equipped with machine guns. Pretty scary looking, but I was glad they were there. As our last port of call comes to an end we are now headed for Vancouver where we will end our cruise journey. I hope that Alaska is on your bucket list. I will never forget this trip. I guess I am getting ahead of myself. We still have a day at sea left. Ketchikan is truly a unique place. I hope to visit her again soon. Who knows what is up next, but I bet you will like it. Thanks to those who are reading and following! It is greatly appreciated. Remember to share your Cruisitude and show some love to your travel agent. If you like or dislike what you have read so far leave me a comment below and make sure and share this blog with your friends. Until our trails cross again, Happy Travlin' and make sure you Travel Your Way!

Fuzzy Navel Friday 7/17/09

2009-07-17T12:00:00.007-05:00

Well the week is almost over. What a week this has been! My youngest son left for Louisiana Tech. He is getting ready to start his college football career. Kick your butt off! My Cruisitude has been on fire! What about yours? If you love your travel agent send him some love! With it being Friday I thought we would start the afternoon on the calm side and build our way up, so why not a Fuzzy Navel. Are you crazy? No, it’s summer time and it is hot! Here is the skinny! Grab your favorite glass with your favorite type of ice and pour peach schnapps and OJ. Stir, squeeze a lime and you have a Fuzzy Navel. If you want to start your afternoon on the heavy side, pour in some vodka and you now have what is called a Hairy Navel. Your choice, but have fun! Down the road we go. Are you ready? Our destination is often described as America's most charmingly situated state capital. It's wise to note that the references refer to the surrounded-by-nature (mountains and ocean) aspect of the city. The only way in or out of town is by air or sea. No roads lead to this city. You guessed it! It’s Juneau! Gold put Juneau on the map in the 1880s, though the mining camp had several other names before prospector Joe Juneau got his to stick. Gold remained the mainstay until the mine was shut down in 1944. Juneau became the political center when Alaska became the 49th state in 1959. Wake up sleepy head a new day is here. When I first looked out of our balcony into the harbor it was foggy, overcast and misty. This was OK with me. I love exploring and taking pictures in this type of weather. This day was very special to me because Janet's main goal on this trip was to see wildlife and whales! Whales, are you kidding me? Will we get blown away? We need nourishment for our journey so we head out to get some breakfast. It is amazing the amount of selections that we have for food. I know that there are 1900 people plus staff on this boat, but what an undertaking. Stuffed to the gill and with enough in reserve for hibernation, we get ready to waddle off of the ship. We made our shore excursion with Shore Trips. No big groups for us. We meet our driver at the pier and he takes us to the Auke Bay boat harbor where we will meet our Captain for the day. It takes about 25 minutes to get to Auke Bay boat harbor and we meet the other couple going with us. I am not kidding 2 couples and a Captain. A little travel agent speech, book your shore excursions with the independent operators like Shore Trips uses. The cruise lines like to scare you about missing the boat and you are on your own getting back. Come join our big group of people where you fight for viewing rights. Sorry to get off track, but it is just not right. Don't get me wrong. I love groups, but the ones that I am associated with. The captain gave us a brief overview of our boat as we get ready to head out in search of the whales. Our whale watching excursion begins in beautiful Auke Bay. It is still foggy and misty. It is awesome going into the unexpected. Janet is now in Assistant Captain mode and on the move. She has already become friends with the Mr. Captain and is now worked her way to his assistant. We make our way through the fog and mist and now we can see what lies ahead. It was a little choppy, but not too bad. We cruise around for a bit and we see a few blowing streams of water in the distance. We know you are there. Oh Mr. and Mrs. Whale, where are you? All kidding aside we saw many whales. There were Orcas and Humpbacks everywhere. Janet was like a kid in a candy store. She stayed in with the Captain and spotted for him and then would come out on the back of the boat and get a close up. The boat was not huge, but big enough to make us feel like we would not tip over. The Humpbacks were defiantly bigger than we were. As an amateur photographer my photo opportunities were incredible. I love the low hanging clouds and mist. While it might look spooky, it was so surreal. We cruise along the shorelines of Admiralty Island, known as the "home of the bears". It boasts the largest concentration of Alaskan Brown Bears and nesting Bald Eagles in the world. We saw many Bald Eagles and nests on the shores, but no Brown Bears. They are so amazing! While cruising around we get to see two beautiful lighthouses, Point Retreat Lighthouse and Sentinel Lighthouse. Then we see a buoy off in the distance and I would call it a Kodak moment. There are seals on this buoy and they are just chillin'. Hopping' on, and then hopping' off. What a site! The next thing I know is a Bald Eagle out of nowhere lands on the buoy and is hanging out with these seals. You have to be kidding me! What a photographer's dream! I think I need a beer. I am still out of breath and off in a short distance we see some Orca's. Can it get any better than this? I don't think so! The 3 hours in the water have gone by so fast, but has left us with some memories that will be with us for a lifetime. It is time to start heading back to the boat harbor. I take a moment to reflect on this grand morning. We are blessed to have a place like this to go and the ability to share the same space with these amazing creatures. We make it back to the harbor and are met by our driver who will take us back to the ship. We were not scheduled to go to Mendenhall Glacier on this excursion, but we asked if we could stop for a bit and our driver was very accommodating. The Mendenhall Glacier is 12 miles long and 1-1/2 miles wide where it stretches across the Mendenhall Valley. Its ice can be 400 to 800 feet deep. It is located about 12 miles from downtown Juneau. We walked around for about 20 minutes and took some great pictures. It is an amazing site and my pictures do not bring out the true beauty of this glacier. It’s time to head towards the ship and wander around town. Our driver drops us off at the Alaska Cannery and Smokehouse. There are way too many things to sample. Salmon cooked 500 ways. Just kidding, but cooked and smoked with many different flavors. Very yummy! As we have built up a tremendous thirst, we could not leave Juneau without stepping foot and sitting out butts at the bar of the Red Dog Saloon. First, a brief history about the old girl. Founded during Juneau's mining era, the Red Dog Saloon has been in operation for decades. For a time, "Ragtime Hattie" played the piano in white gloves and a silver dollar halter top. Later, in territorial days, the owners would often meet the tour boats at the docks with a mule that wore a sign saying, "follow my ass to the Red Dog Saloon." The Red Dog Saloon has been recognized by the Alaska Legislature for its longevity as the oldest man-made tourist attraction in Juneau. We find a couple of seats at the end of the bar and I order an Alaskan Amber. Janet is not a beer drinker, so she had a soda and let me sip my beer while I enjoy the old time feeling in this historic saloon. The shops are calling and Janet is now in her zone. It has been one heck of a day so far. Juneau is an awesome place to visit. I hope to come see her again one day. What is up next? Maybe some Happy Bears! I love HappyBears! Make sure and hit the follow button and you will find out automatically when I write my next blog. Until our trails cross again, Happy Travlin' and make sure you Travel Your Way! I would love for you to leave a comment below. One more thing! How is your Cruisitude today?

Thursday Afternoon Tire Swing 7/9/09

2009-07-09T08:54:00.013-05:00

Keeping with the drink theme, I thought I would find a very unique drink for today’s blog. There really is a drink called a "Tire Swing". Here is the scoop! Mix Amaretto, OJ, 151 Rum, crushed ice and blend. Pour it in a mason jar and find an old tire next to a lake or river and sit back and relax. Sounds like my kind of drink! Let our travels begin. A place exists in Alaska where the past lives on, where the cries of "gold in the Yukon" still echo from steep canyon walls, where the sounds of bar room pianos and boomtown crowds ring out in the night. A place where the romance and excitement of yesteryear linger around every street corner, every bend in the trail. That place is Skagway! One strange note about Skagway that you will not believe. Skagway makes it into the Guinness Book of World Records for Most People Tossing Eggs: 1162 on July 4th, 2008. That is a lot of eggs and must of been fun. We awake in Skagway and check out the scenery from our balcony. It is misty and a little chilly. We could not see too much except a lot of rocks on a hill that had most of the names and dates of the ships and their arrivals painted on them. It was cool! We head off to catch some breakfast and fuel up for our 7 hour adventure today. We are going to take the White Pass train into Canada. We really did not know what to expect, but we were really excited as this was our first shore excursion during our cruise. We disembark from the ship and walked down the pier until we spotted our tour company that we had signed up with. They check us off the list and we board the train for our adventure with our group. It was a pretty old set of trains and I am not going to lie, but I was a little nervous. I checked my Cruisitude at the front door so I was good to go. Our journey started off through some of the town and before no time we were headed down the track into the woods and were blessed to see some of the most amazing scenery that we have ever seen. We traveled by so many waterfalls and steep cliffs. There were old tunnels and some very old bridges that the White Pass trains used to travel over. Those bridges were spectacular to look at, but how in the heck did those trains not fall off of the tracks? Those must of been some very brave train drivers and the train conductors must of had some unruly passengers to deal with. Our train journey of 3 plus hours ended in Canada. You had to take your passport on this trip and they collected our passports to verify who we were and then they allowed us off the train for the next portion of our trip. Some people would either take the train or a motor coach back to Skagway. Our journey would continue into Canada. We were lucky and made our shore excursions with Shore Trips. This allowed us to travel via motor coach with a much smaller group of people. We only had four other couples with our group. If you use the cruise lines shore excursions you are in very large groups and cannot ask the bus driver to stop every time you want to take a photo of something. In our case we could stop whenever anyone requested. We are now headed into the Yukon where we will view Emerald Lake and visit the very quaint town of Carcross. As we head to Emerald Lake we stop at several other lakes and with the mist and fog we were again blessed with some very awesome photo opportunities. We work our way past more beautiful scenery as we arrive at Emerald Lake. I am not sure how to explain this lake besides it is incredible. It almost looks like you are in the Caribbean. The water is Emerald in color and we were just in awe of this lake. The photos I am taking do not do this great lake justice. You just will have to see this lake in person. It is finally lunch time and we arrive at Caribou Crossing. This is a cross between barbeque joint, gift shop, museum and a Husky race team kennel. I know it sounds really touristy, but it was not. The barbeque was very good. Yes, I am from Texas and I know barbeque, so don't laugh. The chef must of been from Texas. The Alaska Amber was excellent as well. The museum was very informative bringing us the history of the Yukon and the knowledg of the animals that were in this region. Janet had been waiting all day to get to this point of our trip. She could not wait until she got to be up front and personal with some real Alaskan Huskies. These dogs were incredible. Not only did we get to see them in action, we got to go in the kennel and actually pet some of these amazing dogs. Even though they were waiting their turn to get hooked up and dash through the woods pulling their sleigh, they were still very gentle and loving. This is something that Janet and I will never forget. As our time winds down at Caribou Crossing we get ready to head to Carcross. On our way to Carcross we stop to view the desert. I said that correctly. Carcross is also home of the smallest desert in the world. There were snow mobiles cruising across the sand. It was truly unbelievable. We make our way to the town of Carcross. Carcross, originally known as Caribou Crossing, is an unincorporated community in the Territory of Yukon, Canada and is located on Bennett Lake and Nares Lake. It has a population of 431 (June 2008) and is home to the Carcross/Tagish First Nation. This was the first nation in the Yukon Territory in Canada. Many of its citizens now live in Whitehorse. There were many shops and the little post office was amazing. We travel back towards Skagway and pass again through the Canada/US border again. It is passport time again. We stop at a few more waterfalls and finally make it back into Skagway. It is still misty and a little foggy when we arrive at the pier. It is time to get rid of our damp clothes and grab a glass of wine. What a remarkable day this has been. Skagway and the areas around here are a must visit while you are cruising Alaska. I will end this part of our trip here. We head to Juneau next. Oh my, do I hear the sound of whales? This once in a lifetime trip has been incredible so far. Until we cross paths again, Happy Travlin' and make sure you Travel Your Way! One more thing! What is your Cruisitude?

Margarita Monday 6/29/09

2009-06-29T16:51:00.017-05:00

As the summer heat invades the other 49 states, it's time to talk about my favorite state. Margarita's are allowed! If you want to cool off in the summer, Alaska is the place to go. Cool weather and amazing sites. Now that is a Cruisitude feeling! We arrived Whitier around 3:00 in the afternoon and once we got off the train it was only a short walk to the terminal to start the boarding process for the largest ship I have ever stood next to. Man was this thing huge! She only holds 1900 passengers and I can not imagine what these new mega ships coming out that hold 5300 passengers will look like.
The boarding process did not take nearly as long as I thought it would. They took our pictures for our ID card, took some photos in front of some fake canvas, ran our carry on bags through the x-ray machine, checked our IDs and, now we are officially on the Princess Coral. We are staying in a mini suite and, we head of to find stateroom 721 on the Caribe deck. We are greeted by our steward and were amazed by how much room we actually had. Even though it had been a long day we were so excited to actually be on the ship. We had some champagne and got ready for the muster drill. The purpose of a muster drill is to prepare passengers for safe evacuation in the event an emergency occurs while on board the ship. You get to drink champagne and then they expect you to remember how to get off the boat if there is an emergency. I think Janet has it down pat. Go to the balcony and jump. Actually the muster drill went off without a hitch and did not take very long. We now know how to evacuate if there was a real emergency. Now it is time to party! We had selected anytime dining, but on the first night you eat dinner at whatever table is available when you arrive at the main dining room. With anytime dining you can eat anytime the dining room is open or at one of the speciality restaurants. You can be seated at a table with other passengers or just get a table for 2. That is what we did most of the time. It was very cool and simple. We ordered a bottle of wine and went through the many courses of food off of the menu. The food was very good. The other cool thing is they will cork the wine you have left over and bring it to you the next night. They keep track of it by your room number. Now in our case we did not have any left for the next night. What a great evening. The next 2 days we would be at sea.
College Fjord and Glacier Bay were our next two destinations. This would be scenic cruising only. This would allow us to utilize our balcony or go to the top of the ship and view the many wonders and the awesome wildlife. Some background on College Fjord and Glacier Bay. College Fjord is located in the northern sector of Prince William Sound. The Fjord contains five tidewater glaciers (glaciers that terminate in water), five large valley glaciers, and dozens of smaller glaciers, most named after renowned East Coast colleges (women's colleges for the NW side and the men's colleges for the SE side). College Fjord was discovered in1899 during the Harriman Expedition, at which time the glaciers were named. The expedition included a Harvard and an Amherst professor, and they named many of the glaciers after elite colleges. Glacier Bay is in Southeastern Alaska.
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve includes nine tidewater glaciers, and four actively calve (shed) icebergs into the bay. Wildlife in the area includes bears, deer, mountain goats, whales, and waterfowl. Glaciers descending from high snow capped mountains into the bay create spectacular displays of ice and iceberg formations.

In the last century the bay's most famous glacier is Muir Glacier.In 1879 naturalist John Muir found that the ice had retreated almost all the way up the bay, a distance of around forty-eight miles. No roads lead to the park and it most easily reached by air travel. Despite the lack of roads, there are over 300,000 visitors per year, most of them on cruise ships. Now that you have a little of history, you can not believe how spectacular the Fjords and the glaciers are. The ice displays so many different colors.

While we spent most of our time viewing the Fjords and glaciers, it did not keep us from exploring the Coral and participating in the many activities and events during the first two days. Let's see, we had a class on how to make martini's, played bingo, putt putt golf down the hallways, wine tasting, sampling reindeer chili, and champagne brunch on the balcony as the glaciers passed by.

It is amazing how many things they have for you to do if you want to. You can do as much or as little as you want. I will end this part of our fantastic trip here. I will pick back up as we pull into the ports of Alaska. The adventure so far has been unreal, and we have not even stepped off of the ship yet. Until then, Happy Travlin' Travel Your Way! How is your Cruisitude?

Tuesday Evening Tequila 6/16/09

2009-06-16T12:00:00.004-05:00

Now that the Alaska cruise season has started, I thought I would share our adventure's on the trip that Janet and I took to Alaska in 2007. It is a trip that is still fresh in my memory and I will never forget it. We elected to cruise with Princess on this trip. We were celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary and could not think of a better destination than Alaska. So we decided to do a wilderness tour for 5 days before we caught up with the Princess Coral in Whittier (Near Anchorage) We started off our trip from San Antonio with a long flight to Fairbanks through Minneapolis. It’s a long ways to Fairbanks. Packing for the trip was even more difficult because you had to have one bag for the ship and one for the land portion. When we arrived in Fairbanks they took our bags for the ship and told us that our bags would be in our cabin when we boarded the ship in 5 days. I hope I see my clothes again! We were just staying one night in Fairbanks and catching the train to Denali in the morning. Since it stays daylight in Alaska forever, we had no problem checking out Fairbanks. Neither one of us slept at all with the anticipation of our journey starting in the morning. Morning arrives and we take the motor coach from the hotel to the Princess train. Most of the cruise lines all have their Double Decker trains all hooked together. We were seated at our assigned table on the upper deck and had the most amazing view from our domed train. They had a specialist on the train who gave us the history of the different areas that we were traveling through. We were able to get up and walk around the train. They had an area at the end of train that you could go outside and see the views from there as well. As you can see Janet is a Happy Camper! It was really awesome. About half way through the train ride our table was called to go down to the dining car where we ordered breakfast and watched the most amazing scenery go by as we sipped our coffee and juice while we waited for our breakfast to be served. After breakfast we went back to our upper deck table and watched the beautiful scenery pass by. As we arrived in Denali there was a small lake off to the left side and we saw our first Moose playing in the water. Well I think it was playing!
We have now arrived at the Princess Lodge at Denali National Park. This is so cool! Hoo Ya! We get off the train and we are just about 1/2 of mile from the lodge. Once we get to the lodge we walk around a bit. It is a huge place with several restaurants and shops. Our favorite place was the Base Camp Bistro. It has the most amazing decks that looks over the river and mountains in the background. We liked it so much that we ate lunch and dinner there. They had this most incredible appetizer. It was an Alaska Crab Pot. It had crab, artichoke hearts, sherry cream, celery and loads of Parmesan cheese served with toasted Parmesan baguette slices. I am drooling! As we were eating lunch we kept seeing these Mewgulls flying around. There was a group that had just finished eating and their table had not been cleaned yet and all of a sudden here came the Mewgulls and stole the french fries. Crazy birds. We spent the rest of the day walking around the many trails around the lodge and visiting the Denali National Park Museum. It was really breathtaking. We awoke the next morning for our 65 mile trip into Denali National Park. We elected to upgrade our tour to the Tundra tour that would take us even further than the Natural History tour. We saw, Grizzly Bears, Moose, Caribou, Dall’s sheep and many other wildlife. Way too cool! Can not explain the rush when a Grizzly Bear comes right up to the school bus that we were on. I would love to spend more time here, but we are now off to the Princess Mt McKinley Lodge. Oh mountains here we come! Mt McKinley is a very strange mountain and only likes to show her beauty once every so often. We take a motor coach form Denali and arrive at the Mt McKinley lodges. They were spectacular with many restaurants and shops. They also had this amazing deck that looked out over the area where Mt McKinley is supposed to be, but nothing but clouds blanket her. We walked around some of the trails around the lodge. The funniest thing is the warning signs for the bears while you are on the trails. They show you six bear types and what to do if you see that type of bear. One bear type has you lay in the fetal position, another has you start clapping and yelling. I can tell you that if I ran into a bear no matter what type, I would not take time see what type it was nor figure out what I was supposed to do. I would be running like hell as fast as I could in the opposite direction. We had several meals, drinks and played cards in the bar that looked out over the deck waiting for the glimpse of seeing the mountain. No such luck on day #1. The next morning we take a motor coach to the small town of Talkeetna. This place is so cool. It has old shops, restaurants and a super tiny grocery/package store. We found this awesome pizza joint called Mountain High Pizza Pie and I have to tell you that besides my mom's pizza that this was the BEST I have had anywhere.
Those of you who know me know I love to eat and I love pizza. Oh yea, the beer was good too. When you finish your pizza you need to walk around a while and make room for pie at the Road House Cafe. Sweet Perfection! Not to take away from desert, but we found the city hall while walking around and they were selling shirts for the Moose Dropping Festival the next weekend. How bizarre is that? I guess they have a Moose Dropping toss, like in Texas they have the Cow Chip toss. Too Funny! We head back to the lodge in hope of seeing a glimpse of the mountain, but nothing but clouds. We have a few drinks and toast the mountain and still nothing in sight. We are bummed that we can not see this mountain. Are you really there or you just a myth? Off to bed we go and it is still daylight. It never gets dark in Alaska and this makes sleeping quite interesting. We wake up the next morning and pack our bags as we are heading to the Princess Coral today. We put our bags outside for the staff to pickup and we head to the big deck to see if maybe she might show a little and oh my gosh. There she was in full view and not a cloud in the sky. Janet was smiling from ear to ear. She was so excited! Almost like being in a candy store. She took video and I snapped tons of pictures. In a matter of 15 minutes she was gone. The clouds had taken over Mt McKinley and she had vanished. We were so blessed with the perfect timing and the view that would last us a lifetime. So Unbelievable! We jump on the motor coach back to Talkeetna where we will board the train down to Whitter to board the Princess Coral. The train will take around 6 hours to get to Whitter. We have a great table to see all of the awesome scenery as we reflect on our first trip into the interior of Alaska and what an experience it has been. We are very excited about our first cruise to Alaska. I can tell you this much, I fell in love with the area's of Alaska that we have visited and I will return again. I will end here as our land portion of our trip has ended. I will continue my next story on this fantastic trip as we review the various ports of call. Until then Happy Travlin' Travel Your Way!

Sunday Afternoon Sangria 5/31/09

2009-05-31T13:00:00.009-05:00

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