Upcoming Ship Inspections!

I'm so excited!  The confirmations have been sent out for the March 23rd ship inspection on Navigator of the Seas and I am a part of it!  I had initially tried to get in on the February 16th ship inspection.  But it filled up before they got to me.  I'm thrilled to be getting on board before too many of my clients sail dates come around.  I hope to become a regular wealth of information once this is done.  The day before the ship inspection, I'll be attending a luncheon in Houston with my Royal Caribbean Business Development Manager. This is also very exciting for me since I have never met her after a year and a half of working with her.

But mostly, I'm excited to see a virtual balcony in person.  Recently, a friend and I discussed the concept of virtual balconies.  She could see no point in them and thought getting a cabin with a virtual balcony would be a total waste of money.  She always gets inside cabins because she prefers them.  I talked her into getting a balcony cabin once and she really disliked it.  Meanwhile, I've only ever been in one inside cabin and while it wasn't claustrophobic as I expected it to be, I still am a balcony girl and would never pay to be in an inside cabin if given any other option. So for me, I think with as much as I currently know about virtual balconies, it would just help me to keep from feeling closed in while not paying a full balcony price. But maybe I'll get on board and find out that my friend was totally correct.... Or perhaps I'll discover a huge advantage that I can pass on to clients.  We'll see.

Regardless of what happens with the virtual balcony debate, I intend to take tons of pictures and explore every nook and cranny of Navigator while on board for 5 hours on a Sunday before she sets sail. So here's the question. What do you want to know about Navigator of the Seas before you book a cruise to sail the Western Caribbean out of Galveston this summer?  I have two opportunities to find out from the experts during that weekend and 5 hours on board to see for myself and photograph for you everything you are interested in seeing.  I currently have a number of people booked on board who haven't yet reached their sail date.... including me, my mom, 3 aunts and 2 cousins in June. So I'll be going to all the cabins I have booked to get pictures of their cabins to send to them.  But again, I'll have access to a wealth of information. So what do you want to know?

Didn't book through me but still interested in finding out a thing or two?  Well, I still care about you.... and maybe I can help you in ways that your current travel agent can't.  Or God forbid, if you booked it yourself using no travel agent, I can certainly give you more information than you are going to get otherwise. All I would ask is that the next time you plan a vacation you remember who can get you answers.... even if you are located in a different city! This is the electronic age folks!  You don't need to be within 20 miles of me to utilize my travel expertise and booking a cruise costs exactly the same no matter how it is booked.  The cruise lines pay my fee.  If you do all the work yourself and don't use a travel agent, it just means the cruise line makes more money.  But the savings do not get passed on to you.  So, book through a pro.

Now, here's more news regarding ship inspections.  In April, I'll be visiting Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas, Celebrity Constellation, Royal Princess and Holland America's Zuiderdam all in Miami and Port Everglades.  So, if you want to know anything about any of those ships, this is your chance to get answers!  I won't have quite as much time on each of these ships just because there are too many ships to visit in a short period of time.  But if there is anything specific you want answers about or photos of, let me know.... I'm your answer girl!  Additionally, for a solid week, I'll be in Ft. Lauderdale at a cruise convention meeting with countless cruise line representatives and attending classes, seminars and lectures.  If there is something you want to know, I can get you an answer!  That offer also goes out to all of my travel agent friends who can't attend.  I'll get you any information you are interested in as long as you are willing to reciprocate when you visit a ship or a trade show that I'm not able to attend.

So send me your questions!!!!  I'm here to help!  That's right - I only think of you guys... You're my reason for being.... ahem...  smeyers@placesuwillgo.com