Ten Days Away!

I can't believe I'm finally saying this, but next Thursday Bryndi and I will be heading to Florida to get ready to go on our "royal" getaway! As I mentioned before, the ship doesn't leave until next Friday, May 14th, but we're flying into Florida early Thursday morning to spend the day in Fort Lauderdale with our friends Marla and Bryan before we leave for the cruise. I am so, so, SO excited that it's almost here!! I'm looking forward to everything from the plane ride, to our time in Fort Lauderdale, to the actual cruise itself, to our time in the Bahamas, to our day in Miami after we get back from the cruise. I know that it's all going to be absolutely AMAZING, and I could not be more pumped to take this trip!

I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you, my faithful blog followers, for reading my blog and posting your comments throughout these past six weeks. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading what you all have had to say, and I am incredibly grateful for all of the tips and words of advice that you have offered me as I get ready for my first cruise! This was my first blogging experience and I have really enjoyed it. A lot of that has to do with all of the great comments and feedback that I received from all of you, so thank you!

I feel very prepared for this cruise now, and am more than ready to go! I've got my base tan, my beach play list, I know what I'm going to take with me, and I have a pretty good idea of what we're going to do while we're there! Thanks again to all of you for being a part of this journey with me, and I can't wait to share my cruise experience with all of you once we return!

Oil Spill in Gulf of Mexico: Not Affecting Cruise Ships Yet

According to an article found on cruisenews.com, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that recently occurred in the Gulf of Mexico is not affecting cruise ships departing from ports in New Orleans and Mobile, at least not this week. The article mentioned that the Carnival ship, Triumph, will turn around in New Orleans on May 1st, while the Carnival Fantasy successfully departed with passengers from Mobile on April 29th and will return as scheduled on May 3rd.

A Carnival Cruise lines spokeswoman stated that "captains navigating our ships sailing from Mobile and New Orleans may opt to deviate course slightly to sail around the affected area. However, we do not anticipate any changes to the scheduled itineraries and associated ports of call as a result."

In addition, a notice was posted on the port of New Orleans' website that the Southwest Pass, which is the main route for ships traveling between the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico should be open and free of oil through Friday evening. Even though some oil could reach the channel by Saturday, the Coast Guard has indicated that ships will still be able to use this route without needing their hulls cleaned. To view the full article, visit http://www.cruisecritic.news/news.cfm?ID=3838

It's nice to know that cruise ships take into account all information that they are presented with, especially in crisis situations such as this one, and that they are flexible and willing to make changes to itineraries and travel routes when necessary to ensure they safety of all passengers onboard. Reading this article I realized even more how alert and aware captains of cruise ships, as well as the entire cruise leadership team, must be, and how important it is that they keep well informed of any and all crisis situations or potential crisis situations that they may be faced with before, during, or after each ship's voyage.

Themed vs Non-Themed Cruises

After discussing the poker-themed cruise in yesterday's blog posting, I decided to look a little more closely at themed cruises for today's post. I talked to Bryndi about this, as she went on a Looney-Tunes themed cruise with her family when she was younger, and I also talked to a co-worker who took a Disney cruise with her family a few years ago. Here's what they had to say.

Though Bryndi said she doesn't remember too much about her cruise since she was pretty young when she went, she said that it was a lot of fun and that it was great for families with young children. She also mentioned that there was a lot to do and that there were characters roaming about the ship the whole time, which was great for entertainment and photo opportunities. Their ship was called the Big Red Boat, which I find enjoyable. :)

My co-worker who went on a Disney cruise a few years ago with her husband and young son said that they really enjoyed their experience, and that it was exactly what they wanted at the time. She said that they were on land at the Disney World theme parks for half of the time, and then on the boat which made a voyage to the Bahamas and back for the rest of the trip. This sounds like the best of both worlds to me, since I'm such a huge Disney buff, but I know that it wouldn't be much of a relaxing vacation as I'd be trying to do and see as much at the parks and on the ship as possible. It sounds like a really great vacation though to go on at some point in life, and has just been added to my bucket list.

Moral of the story: if you want a high energy, action-packed vacation, or if you have little kids and want plenty of activities available for them, go for the themed cruise. If you're looking to relax and get away from it all, however, a themed cruise most likely isn't for you. Avoid the themed cruise and treat yourself to the calm, island getaway that you deserve!

Poker Cruise Comes to World's Largest Ship

According to an article obtained from USA Today, Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas, currently the largest cruise ship in the world, will be hosting the fourth annual Ladbrokes Poker Cruise which is set to take off from Fort Lauderdale, Florida on January 22nd, 2011. This 5,400 passenger vessel will take guests on a seven night voyage to exotic locations including Falmouth, Jamaica; Cozumel, Mexico; and Ladabee, Royal Caribbean's private island in Haiti. While on this cruise, guests will have plenty of poker playing opportunities made available to them, all while traveling to some of the most beautiful places in the Western Caribbean.

The article mentioned that gamblers particularly love "larger-than-life-venues," which is one of the main reasons why so many flock to Las Vegas year-after-year to try their luck in some of the most extravagant and beautiful hotels and casinos in the world. With that being said, it only makes sense for a major poker tournament to be held on the biggest cruise ship in the world. The Oasis of the Seas is larger than the next largest cruise ship by 40%, and is designed around seven neighborhoods. Futhermore, this ship boasts a 1,380 seat theatre which featured a live production of Broadway's Hairspray (as was discussed in one of my previous blog posts) when it first set sail in November of 2010. The ship also features an outdoor AquaTheatre, an ice-skating show, a two deck spa, two dozen eateries, and much, much more.

I wonder what it would be like to be on this poker cruise next year. Would it be crazy with gamblers seemingly overtaking the ship? Or would it really not be very noticeable unless one headed to the casinos and certain areas of the ship where poker is going to be played? Have any of you been on any themed cruises like this before? I'd love to hear your thoughts if you have! Even if you haven't, I'd love to hear your input about traveling on a themed cruise in general!

To view the full article, visit http://www/usatoday.com/travel/cruises/blog.aspx

Tropical Weather

I was curious to see what the weather is currently like in the Bahamas, as I'm sure it won't change much between today and two weeks from now when we're there. I'd like to share with you what I found. In addition to looking at the current conditions in the Bahamas, I also checked out the weather in Fort Lauderdale, as well as Miami, as we'll be in Fort Lauderdale the day before we leave for the cruise and Miami after we get off the ship at the conclusion of our cruise, to see what these temperatures look like as well.

According to bahamas.com, the high tomorrow for Nassau, one of the stops on our cruise, is 85 degrees Fahrenheit, while the low is 69 degrees Fahrenheit. It's supposed to be mostly sunny tomorrow, and remain that way for almost the rest of the week. On Sunday it's supposed to reach 88 degrees, which is the highest high temperature that I saw listed, while the lowest low temperature that I saw listed is 69 degrees. I am thoroughly looking forward to enjoying these balmy, island temperatures! With the forty degree weather that we experienced here in Cleveland today, 88 degrees and plenty of sunshine is looking even better than ever! To view the full weather report, visit http://www.bahamas.com/vacation-planning/weather/nassau-paradise-island

I also visited weather.com to take a look at current weather conditions in Fort Lauderdale and Miami, and found pretty similar temperatures with what I discovered for Nassau in the Bahamas. It's supposed to reach 83 degrees Fahrenheit in Fort Lauderdale tomorrow, and the low is only 67 degrees. The weather report for Miami showed the exact same temperatures as what was listed for Fort Lauderdale tomorrow. It's official...I'm more than ready to say hello to these eighty degree temperatures and sunny, clear skies!

A Beach Playlist: Must-Have Songs for Your I-pod

With the cruise just around the corner (we're just over two weeks away now!), and summer rapidly approaching as well, I figured it's only appropriate to discuss our favorite beach/island songs. We all have those songs that put us in a great mood because they make us think of summer and/or going to the beach, and these songs are certainly must-haves for your i-pod when taking any island or beach vacation. These songs are also great even when you're just enjoying a summer afternoon at home, or surviving a cold winter day in Cleveland and dreaming about summer.

Below you will find some of my favorite beach songs, listed in no particular order, that I will be sure to put on my i-pod before heading the Bahamas in two weeks. In addition to sharing my summer songs with all of you, I'm asking you to let me know some of your favorite beach songs as well! Please post some songs that you would make sure to include in your beach playlist so that way myself, and the rest of the blogosphere, can be sure to have the best summertime playlist imaginable!

1. Hey Soul Sister-Train
2. I'm Yours-Jason Mraz
3. Summertime-Kenny Chesney
4. Kokomo-The Beach Boys
5. Escape (The Pina Colada Song)-Rupert Holmes
6. Island in the Sun-Weezer
7. Summer Breeze-Seals and Croft
8. No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem-Kenny Chesney
9. California Girls-The Beach Boys
10. Summer Boy-Lady Gaga
11. I'm in Miami, Trick-LMFAO
12. Welcome to Miami-Will Smith
13. Vacation-The Go-Go's
14. Walkin' On Sunshine-Katrina and the Waves
15. Celebration-Kool and the Gang
16. Hotel California-The Eagles
17. Soak Up the Sun-Sheryl Crow
18. Heatwave-Martha Reeves and the Vandellas
19. Fun, Fun, Fun-The Beach Boys
20. Love Shack-The B52's

Illness Outbreak On Celebrity Cruise Ship

What happens when gastrointestinal illness strikes a cruise ship? Where do you go? Where do you turn for help? Passengers on board a recent voyage of the Celebrity Mercury learned the answers to these questions through a firsthand experience this past February.

According to an article on usatoday.com, over 400 passengers and crew members on board the Mercury suffered from upset stomachs, diarrhea, and vomiting caused by an outbreak of norovirus on the ship headed to the Caribbean from South Carolina. The ship, carrying 2,600 total passengers, left on February 15th, 2010. Celebrity Cruise spokesperson Cynthia Martinez said that "only 31 passengers were expected to be in isolation in their rooms when the vessel makes its scheduled arrival in Charleston on early Friday." The crew has conducted enhanced cleaning of the ship to prevent further spreading of the illness, she said. An extra doctor and two nurses were brought on board in St. Kitts, in the Leeward Islands, and sailed back to Charleston.

Health officials have reported twice as many norovirus outbreaks than normal this winter in South Carolina, the state where Mercury departed from. Officials report that the virus can stay on surfaces like door knobs and handrails, and that it can spread quickly. According to the Center for Disease Control, there were two cases of norovirus outbreaks on the Celebrity Mercury last winter. The agency reported 15 total outbreaks of gastrointestinal virus on American cruise ships in 2009. To view the full article, click here: http://bit.ly/chTFmX

Though I'm BEYOND excited to go on my first cruise in just a few short weeks, illness outbreak on the ship is one thing that I would say I'm worried about if I absolutely had to pick something that made me nervous about cruising. I'm sure that Royal Caribbean does a great job keeping their cruise ships clean though, and that illness outbreak isn't something that I need to be too worried about. I would be interested to see if they have a crisis communication plan designed for illness outbreak though. I hope they do! Have any of you veteran cruisers experienced the spread of illness on any of your voyages or do you know of anyone who has? If so, how did they deal with the situation? How did the cruise line handle the crisis?