50th Birthday Celebration on Carnival Imagination

Charlie's wife and family join him in a celebration of his 50th birthday aboard the Carnival Imagination out of Miami. This is sure to be a great trip, 50 of his family and friends visiting Key West & Cozumel together to share in this milestone.

Stay tuned for details, pictures, comments and critique of the carnival Imagination! We're sailing with the group, we'll report first hand experiences.

Want to celebrate a milestone on a ship or at a resort (all-incusive resort celebrations are great fun)? Milestone celebrations come in many shapes and sizes. we can tailor your special occaision to fit your dreams and budget.

Contact us if you are interested, you'll be surprised at how easy it can be and the great value cruises and all-inclusive resorts deliver.....many times less than that party you are thinking of throwing.
 

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Electronics On-Board - Do We Want them?

My recent trips on NCL EPIC and the Disney Dream both featured the latest in on-board technology. Both were very user-friendly and either useful or just plain fun.

The EPIC by utilizing an iConcierge app lets passengers access their accounts, events, schedules, as well as make dinner/show reservations and peruse excursions...in fact you can even contact other passengers anywhere on the ship.
Although I think this is really cool and could be helpful on a ship this size I opted not to contact others in our party using this app. It requires always having your cellphone or iPad with you, something I try to avoid so much to the sometimes grumbles of others I was not reachable every minute of the vacation.There's just something about carrying around my electronics on vacation that did not appeal to me. Am I in the minority? Maybe so, but truthfully I don't care....I'm on vacation!!!!! I did however like the account balance feature, checking balances was very easy and alleviates the need for piles of receipts I usually accumulate on cruises, (not that I ever reconciled them anyway, they just pile up and I would discard them at the end of the week, too tired to be bothered with looking and sure I'd be missing some anyway).

A much more useful electronic wonder on the ship are the interactive touch screen maps by the elevators. These I used (a lot...big ship), you simply touch where you wanted to go (specific restaurant, bar, lounge, etc) and the screen would reveal a map with directions on how to get to your desired location both written directions and visual mapping....really cool, really helpful.

Disney on the other hand uses their electronics for pure fun. They have worked the electronics into activities, advertised for kids but also engaging for adults. The interactive artwork in the stairwells and common areas take shipboard scavenger hunts to a new level, something that really has to be experienced to be appreciated (we'll book you on it, contact us at www.ShipAhoyCP.com). Interactive artwork, video characters that recognize and talk to you at dinner...really cool and very entertaining, now these are electronics I can roll with!

There are other inroads of electronics being made on other cruise lines too, most including iPads. Some for enrichment programs, some for shipboard activities so I do not mean to single out theses two lines, in fact they are my favorite lines at the moment.

The question arises however, is this what passengers really want?
Personally I like to cruise because it lets me get away from electronics! Not being attached to my cellphone, iPad, laptop & voicemail is actually quite liberating. It actually promotes family time, something that has been dwindling lately due to the electronic bombarded environment we live in.

I'm not totally against them, my idea of vacation may be a bit old-fashioned but to me when I'm on vacation I am escaping the daily grind...electronics are part of my daily grind, I can do without them once in awhile. Vacations are not cheap so why not stop and smell the roses so to speak, looking into a device all the time takes away from the interactions that make vacations great.

What do you think? Electronics yay or nay? I'd like to hear how everyone feels about this.

NCL EPIC - The Most Entertaining Ship at Sea

Our much anticipated trip on Norwegian Cruise Line's EPIC finally arrived. The much ballyhooed ship was finally ours to experience. I have to admit she lived up to her reputation and even measured up to all the hype surrounding her launch last year. I am skeptical when a new ship comes out, the necessary fanfare and promotion of the new ship , while necessary for the cruise line sometimes just builds passengers up for a let down because expectations are set to high. THIS IS NOT THE CASE WITH THE EPIC.

I'm not very impressed by the look of the ship, the profile of the ship reminds me of a big moving building, clearly not as elegant looking as a Disney or Royal Caribbean ship but in reality how important is that to your cruise experience. Norwegian concentrated more on the passenger's experience and rightfully so, the activities, amenities, entertainment, food and the like are what makes a memorable experience not how the ship looks from the dock.

This is a great ship to sail on. The restaurants offered a good variety of dining options (some for a small fee), we did not have a bad meal all week, something I cannot truthfully say about some other cruises we have been on. The pool deck was spacious with plenty of longing area options included some much needed shade areas, there is only so much sun you can take sometimes so a nice spot in the shade for a quick power nap is always a welcomed option.

The entertainment on this ship is clearly head and shoulders above the rest of the cruise industry. Norwegian's focus on entertainment is right on the mark. This ship is all about entertainment, quality top-notch entertainment. We traveled with a group of 15 of various age levels, all in the group had the same opinion even though each preferred different venues, amazing entertainment. The surprising thing about this is it is not just limited to the name branded shows, The Blue Man Group, Cirque & Legends which were excellent and left you wanting more, you just never want them to end. The other ship entertainment makes this ship special. The Blues & Jazz club with Slam Watson, a spectacular performer and entertainer, one could sit and listen to set after set of his sow and love it more each time, this usually does not happen on cruise ships. Even the often annoying daily grind of the pool deck band heard on other cruise ships (Carnival for instance, I like reggae music but not for 4 hours a day for 7 days in a row), was re-worked on this ship. The duo entertaining us on the pool deck while mostly playing hispanic themed songs (well, understandably, we sailed from Barcelona) mixed it up enough that you never got tired of hearing them, they performed classics as well as current tens (Shakira, my favorite), they always left you wanting more, you actually could not wait to hear them the next day, this is something I have never experienced on a ship.

Okay, I'm gushing here a bit about the entertainment but really it is that good. I have to hand it to them, as someone that has enough cruises under his belt to compare they are doing things right. The DJ was one of the best I heard on a ship and he had the famed WHITE HOT PARTY , well white hot for hours Again Norwegian lives up to the WHITE HOT PARTY hype they promote, it is a party without competition from the other mass market cruise lines.

Water slides, bowling alleys, gigantic video screen, Howl at the Moon lounge, the list goes on and on of the things to do on this ship but without the top-notch entertainers and staff this would be just another cruise ship.....clearly it is not just another one, it is a special ship. How will Norwegian top it? Already in the works is the Breakaway, a sister ship with just announced entertainment to rival the EPIC, more top shows, (even taking Slam from the EPIC), added slides and experiences on the pool deck, celebrity chef....WOW!

Have you been on the EPIC, I'd love to hear about your experience. If you have not and want to sail on her, contact us our travel website is www.ShipAhoyCP.com we are a full service travel agency and will help you find the vacation that is right for you. If you see an ad on this blog page feel free to contact us about the cruise or vacation you are interested, it costs you nothing and we are more than happy to answer any of your questions.

Home again !!!!

Working on a recap of our fantastic vacation aboard the Norwegian Cruise Line EPIC. We saw and did more in the last week and a half than I can ever remember doing on a vacation. I will post pictures and blogs as I sort it all out. I think I' break it into sections; Ship experience Ports of call Excursions Be back soon! Don't forget to follow us on Twitter and YOU Tube @ ShipAhoyCP, on Facebook our rampage is ShipAhoyCP too and of course our website www.ShipAhoyCP.com.......coming soon we will be on Pinterest

Barcelona is turning out to be everything it is said to be. The food is really good, tapas while still what I believe to be an overpriced (in many restaurants) tasting menu are varied but delicious. To my surprise yesterday I ate baby eels even though the waiter, that did not understand my half-Spanish or just did not know how to tell me, said they were calamari. It feels like we walked for 2 days already but each of has taken in sites we never saw before, the city is beautiful. I am not an architecture buff but there are so many interesting buildings here they sort of just pop out at out and make you take notice. They run the gamut from medieval churches to 70s, -80s kitsche. A highlight so far has been the tour buses, tacky as it sounds they are a great way to take the burden off the feet and to keep multi-generational families together while enjoying the tour narration. I know many travelers frown on hem but if you are in a city you have never seen before and want to get around, getting a feel for a city these tours are great.

We're Off!!!

So we're off!!! Sitting aboard our Air Canada regional jet, comfy, half full, relaxed, ....the way Flying used to be! I'm sure that will change by this evening when we board a jumbo jet for our flight across the pond to Barcelona but for now, sit back and relax. At least as much as I can with my antsy son next to me wide awake with anticipation of the 10 days of family fun we have ahead of us. Amazingly, anyone hat has been to Barcelona has nothing bad to say about it, really! That never happens, there is always a curmudgeon or two with something to complain about, I hope what we hear is all true...even one step further, I hope no one in our group is THAT person. Barcelona will be great I am sure but the real experience will be our much anticipated sailing on the Norwegian EPIC on the Mediterranean although I am not sure if the kids are looking forward more for the ship or for France and Italy. My guess is they will have a blast on the ship and a surprisingly (for them) experience exploring countries they have only read about in books, studied in school and have seen on television.

European Vacation...with the Family

Every time I see European Vacation I think of the Chevy Chase movie hopefully the trip we are about to embark on does not urn out the same way.

The anticipation of our first family trip to Europe has reached a fever pitch. Now that the kid are out of school they have focused on trip preparation and at the same time have peppered me with more questions than I can answer. Their curiosity is refreshing to see, so many things now just don't phase kids anymore, the information/Internet age has kind of dulled the senses a bit.

Vacations however are real!!! They will be living the experiences now, all the reading and Facebook items about destinations just do not immerse you in the sights, sounds and culture of other countries. This will truly be an experience they will never forget, we will be writing family history, giving them something they will surely share with friends present and future and probably talk about it to their children one day.
Our trip will start in Barcelona, after a short stop in Toronto. We'll spend 3 days in Barcelona living out of a rented apartment with other family members and friends. Nothing like just jumping in and experiencing a world-class city right off the bat. Anyone I have talked to that has visited Barcelona has fallen in love with the city....we can't wait.

We will cruise aboard the Norwegian EPIC (www.ncl.com/EPIC), a destination in it's self. Funny but when was the last time you heard of travelers taking on Europe for the first time with their only concern being not enough time to enjoy everything on the ship (sounds like a revisit may be in the works).
Stops in Rome, Florence, Naples, Cannes & Marseilles will keep us busy and will surely be a senses overload!!!

Some may say traveling with the family & friends (our party numbers 15), may not be too relaxing but really I could not think of a better way to do it, nothing like sharing an experience that we can share for a lifetime. I'll take note of any tips we may need to share.
Look out Europe , we're on the way!!!!

My plan (and hopefully I can stick to it) is to blog daily when I can (hopefully before partaking in umbrella drinks and of course local wines) and of course we'll be taking pictures constantly.

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