Thursday, October 30, 2008

The deals!!!

OMG...oh my gosh. The cruise deals.

$99 for a 3 to 4 night bahama cruise. Why am I not taking advantage of this????

a) have I just plain lost my mind?

b) I'm an idiot?

or

c) is it that I have no moolah to spend on my favorite past time?

Yeah...it's C. And that just sucks.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Cruise prices...

I just got an amazing email from Cruises Only. I've booked through them before and they
do a great job. Good prices, good selection etc.

Anyway, there are shorter cruises out there right now for $99 to roughly $169. Yeah...that's amazing!! Apparently the economy being in the toilet is good for the consumer regarding travel prices.

I think we should jump on the bandwagon and book a cruise. Who's with me????

Happy sailing,

Mary

Monday, October 20, 2008

Coming down from a cruise.

I have a good friend who is like a brother. His name is Jimmy and he lives in 'Nawlins.

I just talked him into a 3 day cruise because he really needed to get away from his life for a few days. He is a Carnival cruise line devotee and he took the Imagination out of Miami. The Imagination is an older ship that got a bit of a makeover.

He booked an inside stateroom because why waste the money when it's a short cruise! He said it was very clean and there were lots of new additions. (He phoned me while the ship was still at port in Miami.)

This morning I sent him a text message that went something like this: "hey, did u have fun?"
and "Are u awake?" I didn't hear anything. Then about an hour later I got the reply that I knew, without hesitation that I would get in return.

"Cruise was great, just don't want to leave the ship."

This is something that all of us cruise addicts will say. The last evening of the cruise you get this feeling of doom. You still have a good time but you just feel icky. You have to put your luggage out the door by midnight, so packing up all the fun things you bought is also tough. (bring bigger luggage...) It's just knowing that your excellent time onboard is coming to a close, and that's hard. REALLY hard.

When you leave the port...oh my gosh I could just cry. I can't explain how rotten I feel after leaving the ship...but knowing I'll be back helps a little. Not much...but a little.

Happy sailing,

Mary

Thursday, October 9, 2008

What? What's that? A cruise possibility??

YES!! Our good friends Tim and Mary were over for dinner last night. (mahi mahi, chicken and steak)

We started talking about cruises and I got them all excited about it. Next thing I know, we're planning an eastern Caribbean cruise for Jan. 2010. Plenty of time to plan, save money and oh...save money!

I am so psyched! On the downside, I really should go to travel school so I could book them and make money, but not right now anyway.

OH HAPPY DAY!

Mary

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

The daily grind....and I'm not talking coffee

Hey there,

Well, it's Tuesday. Not even hump day. Tuesday has nothing going for it except it's not Monday. This day is "let's dump all the work on the secretaries" day. I'd alert Hallmark for this one but I think other secretaries might stone me and I bruise easily.

I actually got out my calculator and figured out how much I have to save each month for an alaskan cruise. Curses...that beautiful new house is eating up all our money. I know, I have no complaints really. I have a wonderful husband, great kids and family. But I want a cruise and the goblins are after me. (cruise goblins) They put it in your head that you can afford one.

I refuse to put it on credit. I did that once and it sucked plain and simple. I had to pay on it long after the vaca. No good.

Ok, now I'm rambling so I'm not going to subject you to any more of this...for now...

Happy sailing,

Mary

Monday, October 6, 2008

Why I love cruising day 2... aka... grab that deck chair early!

I love the first full day at sea. It's relaxing, beautiful and there are endless possibilities.

  • Wake up around 8am. Throw on work-out clothes and bring your towel. Either walk on the jogging path or go to the gym. Throw your towel on a lounge chair by the pool or forget it. You'll never get one. (yes, they say not to do that. I go with the other 2000 folks who do it)
  • Go to the buffet, sit on your balcony or go to the dining room and enjoy a wonderful breakfast. I can honestly say that Royal Caribbean has the best bran muffins in the world. You cannot beat fresh fruit on any cruise ship...yummy.
  • Hit the shops and check out that day's deal. Maybe play bingo and win a free cruise.
  • Throw on your bathing suit and lay on your lounge chair. There are a multitude of waiters who are happy to hand you a frozen daiquiri, bucket of beer, etc. Or belly up to the poolside bar and chat with others.
  • Add more sunscreen. That hot Caribbean sun and being in the middle of the ocean will bake you fast. Take a dip in the saltwater pool but don't forget to shower off - there are many fresh water showers next to the pool.
  • Go eat lunch! Get out of the sun and enjoy lunch at any of the dining venues.
  • Back to the sun until 3 or 4pm.
  • Take a nap.
  • Now primp! It's the first formal night and you want to look your best. I suggest an updo in the hair salon and perhaps a pedicure for the ladies. (or the men...this is 2008 after all.) There are two formal nights so i save my best for the second one. IF you are on a NCL cruise, you can forgo formal attire IF you wish. I recommend it..it's fun and you can get awesome pictures!
  • Take your obligatory pic on the way to the dining room. If you like it you can buy it.
  • Enjoy a wonderful, wonderful dinner. Make a grand entrance all dressed up.
  • Cruise ships have awesome entertainment. See the show after dinner.
  • Go back to your room and change. (i recommend this)
  • Go to the Casino, Disco or just hang out under the stars and have a drink.
  • The next day you'll be in port, so enjoy this day!!
Happy sailing,
Mary

Friday, October 3, 2008

WHY I LOVE CRUISING...

These are the reasons I love cruising-in no particular order:
  • Planning the cruise, searching for pictures, living/breathing everything about the ship
  • Reading ship reviews, signing up for the meet and mingle and talk with others cruising on MY ship at that time. Meeting new friends in advance of the cruise.
  • Leaving on a jet plane to fly into whatever port and relax the night before we sail away.
  • Ah..taking the shuttle to the port and seeing the large ships in the distance and the excitement mounting.
  • Get the paperwork out of the way, make our way to the gangplank and step onto the ship. Trying all the time to NOT stoop down and kiss the floor.
  • Checking out our stateroom and giggling in delight. Checking our table in the dining room and deciding if you want to change it.
  • Heading to the buffet for a quick bite before changing into our bathing suits.
  • Lying by the pool, frozen drink in hand and realizing that our vacation has started!
  • Taking a shower, get dressed and decide where to eat for that first evening.
  • Checking out the ship for awhile, then hitting the disco or karaoke lounge. Dancing til dawn.
That's just day ONE...more to follow!

TGIF , Zycam and new ships!

Thanks GOD it's Friday. This has been the loooongest week ever.

On a good note, I bought some Zycam nasal swabs to try and get rid of my cold. Lo and behold, I woke up this morning feeling amazing. I am sold on these for sure! woohoo!

New ships are coming soon: Ruby Princess, MSC Ochestra, and Celebrity Solstice. I believe that Ruby Princess will be here next month and the Orchestra and Solstice in December. There are a lot of new ships being builts or in the works although I wonder what the economy will do to them.
Let's keep our fingers crossed. By the way, you can see these new ships at: Ruby Orchestra and the Solstice .

Now if Princess, MSC or Celebrity want to send me to see this new ships...please by all means email me!!!

Happy sailing and TGIF!!!

Mary

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Royal Caribbean, a cold and Me

Hi there.

Today Royal Caribbean aka RCCL has a great sale going on. They are offering onboard credit and half the usual deposit amound if you book between now and the 12th.

I went to the site and did some chopping, (cruiseshopping as my friend coined it) finding some great deals. Now, we're really wanting to go to Alaska. Don't get me wrong, the caribbean is a fave of mine, but Mike's ultimate destination is Alaska. So I'm sitting here sniffling with a cold coming on, popping meds and zycam and decide to take a peek at the deals.

I looked at different cruise ships, southbound and northbound and there are some real good deals. To quote Stewie Griffin on the Family Guy "Oh, this is so good it just HAS to be fattening." But then I remember. Oh yeah. New house, mortgage, huge tax bill. Dammit, no money!

Another dream bites the dust...for now. Let's give it 3 months and see where our economy is. (and hopefully not in the toilet.)

That's it for now,

Mary

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Cruising 101!

You're never too old for Halloween

Good morning!

I'm getting ready to send a package out to my daughter and it's
somewhat nostalgic. I did that when she was in college, but now that
she's teaching in Connecticut, well that's further away from home and
she's on her own now. You're never too old to receive some Halloween
goodies right?? We both LOVE Halloween.

This am in my in-box were many cruise deals in time for Halloween.
Funny how they market it that way and as soon as Oct. 1 rolls around, here
they come! Some have actual Halloween cruises with costumes and all, some just
use Halloween as an excuse to discount an older ship and lure people in.

NCL right now has some very good deals, as does RCCL. Sorry for the acronyms.
RCCL has $100 off staterooms, half off deposit or $125, and pre-paid gratuities.
Not so bad huh? NCL has $300 off which is a good score too.
Now if I could only get them to send me FREE cruise certificates...hmmm...better work on that.

If you're looking for any deals, feel free to contact me. I'm not a travel agent at all, but I like to keep up on what's discounted.

Happy Sailing.

Mary