NEW SMOKING POLICY ONBOARD ROYAL CARIBBEAN SHIPS July 24, 2007

Vitality Wellness Program Continues To Bring a Breath of Fresh Air Fleetwide

MIAMI, July 23, 2007 – In time to help guests set their New Year’s resolutions for a healthier lifestyle, Royal Caribbean International announces a new smoking policy onboard its ships, effective January 2008. To bolster the cruise line’s new Vitality wellness program, recently debuted on Liberty of the Seas – the newest vessel to share the title of the world’s largest cruise ship with sister-ship, Freedom of the Seas – Royal Caribbean is increasing smoke-free zones by designating all staterooms and one lounge on each ship in its fleet as non-smoking areas. The new policy will go into effect aboard 18 of the line’s 21 ships initially, with Legend of the Seas, Rhapsody of the Seas and Splendour of the Seas following suit with the 2008 summer season.
“Feedback from our guests was a driving force behind the new Vitality program and our focus on wellness,” said Alice Norsworthy, senior vice president, Marketing, Royal Caribbean International. “Results from online polls as well as input from all of our international offices worldwide, show very strong support of the new smoking policy. These changes reflect a more contemporary approach to healthier lifestyles and will significantly improve the cruise vacation experience for our guests.”
Currently, smoking is prohibited in guest hallways and corridors, restaurants, entertainment venues and most of the ship’s interior public spaces except for designated areas in bars and lounges. The new policy will add all guest staterooms and suites, and one bar or lounge on every Royal Caribbean ship onto the roster of smoke-free spaces. Guests wishing to smoke may still do so from starboard outer decks, in designated areas in bars and lounges, and on stateroom and suite balconies. Ashtrays are available in designated smoking areas or by request through stateroom attendants. Violations of the smoking policy will result in cleaning charges to the guest’s onboard account and may also be addressed through the line’s Guest Conduct Policy, details of which are available both online and in all staterooms.

Royal Caribbean’s Vitality wellness program was designed to encourage and introduce ways for guests to achieve a better balance in their lives. The program presents healthier lifestyle choices across every aspect of the cruise experience, including fitness classes and spa treatments, onboard and land-based activities, shore excursions, and healthful drinks and food selections. Guests have the choice to try one or two elements or enjoy the total Vitality wellness experience to begin a more balanced approach to healthier living.
Royal Caribbean International is a global cruise brand with 21 ships currently in service and three under construction. The line also offers unique land-tour vacations in Alaska, Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe and New Zealand through its cruisetour division.

What’s happened to air travel? July 22, 2007

I often say – if people didn’t need to get on a plane, I could sell a lot more travel.  You hear the horror storries of terrible experiences, long layovers, missed connections and sitting on the tarmac and you just think… sorry for them, so glad that’s never happened to me.  Then it happens to you.  Suddenly you think everyone needs travel insurance afterall and getting one that would assist you along the way would be priceless.

I had been at a large travel convention in New Orleans.  My flight home was on time, which was unlike my nightmare flight coming into the convention where I sat in my home airport for 8 hours waiting for a flight that would get me to the convention, missing the best dinner of the trip.

 So here I am thinking, this is going better. I even got the exit row. The first leg is one hour, nine minutes to Dallas.  After about an hour the pilots voice comes over the speaker and tells us that due to storms in the area we can not land.   I had been trying to sleep because I was very sleep deprived from convention life, and had pulled the shade on the window.  At this news of storms I opened the shade and gasped a loud gasp right along with the woman next to me.  Did we see lightening, dark scary clouds?  No… we saw the ground and clear skys with a few puffy white clouds in the distance.  We felt lied to in that instant. 

This common experience brought my neighboring seat partner and I to share our trip experience thus far, which included that we were both at the same convention.  Her husband was sitting next to her.  We were both travel agents.  If it wasn’t for my new friends this experience would have been much worse.  They were headed for Portland also, so we stuck together through it all. 

So our story included being detoured to Oklahoma City for refueling.  They let passengers that had this stop as they final destination off, but told them, sorry no luggage.  We were told we were 12th in line for fuel at one point.  We were never near a gate, just sitting in a line of planes on the tarmac.  They brought snacks onboard, and told us they didn’t have enough for everyone, so just take some if you need it.  I was pretty glad that I had decided to go to the breakfast buffet at the hotel and really ate a lot of protein for some rediculous amount – like $23 for breakfast.  I did finally eat in Dallas about 10 hours after we left New Orleans.

We, my new friends and I managed to get a reservationist to list us on a plane going to Seattle, just incase we missed the last flight to Portland.  When we finally got into the airport in Dallas we ran to the Portland flight which was delayed, but it was also oversold by 20 something and we weren’t getting on that one.  So off we fly to Seattle.

 When we arrived in Seattle it was 1-2AM and the flights to Portland didn’t start until 6AM.  We booked the 7:30 or something and started to look for an inexpensive hotel with airport shuttle.  Three of us working on this and it still took a while.  We settle on a place that had a sofa bed in a separate room and shared the cost of the room.  Yes – I said we are now close friends.  In the morning had a good breakfast at the hotel - strawberries on waffle with whipped cream.  When we got to the airport we were able to catch an earlier flight and off to Portland,  door to door – 24 hours to get home.

What I learned from my trip:

1. Always call the airline and check to see if you are delayed.  I didn’t do that on the way down and  I should have.  Sitting in the airport for 8 hours was silly.

2. Make sure your cell phone is completely charged, and don’t leave the charger in the hotel room as you leave, or it will die on you while you are on hold for 45 minutes trying to get through to an airline to change your flight.  ( I did get my charger back, or someone elses, the hotel even sent me an extra one – said they had a room full of chargers)

3. Trust your gut.  I wouldn’t have shared a hotel room with just anyone, but I instinctly knew this couple were just great.  In fact she joined the agency I use right after this ordeal.  Reaching out and remaining friendly really helped this be less of a nightmare.  I was so thankful to be in an exit room though. If I had my super long legs in the regular seats that long, I would have died.  The flight from Dallas to Seattle was worse, I had this monster size guy infront of me that put his seat back to fit, and his weight pushed the chair back farther than it should go, pinning me.  My knees were killing me after that flight. Plus person space issues had been violated, so I was pretty fed up.

So how to fix this mess.  I don’t know.  Don’t travel during summer storm season? Don’t go to Texas?  Don’t use American Airlines? Don’t book flights with tight connections? Don’t go anywhere, just watch the travel channel and live through others? 

Well, I’m going to continue to travel and remember that even while this nightmare was happening it was more of an adventure and a race to see how we were going to get home – a puzzle.  And everyone in my house knows I LOVE PUZZLES.

It’s Crystal Clear to Me July 8, 2007

I’ve been on quite a few cruises to date (23) but when I sailed on the luxury cruise line Crystal I got a little spoiled. 

Why pay the big bucks:

1. The bathrooms on the Crystal ship had two sinks, two mirrors, tub/shower and did not feel crowded.

2. Phone in the bathroom – warning… it’s possible for roommate to call you from the bathroom to the bedroom.  She scared me to death late at night one evening.

3. Wonderful – large size toiletries – 5 different things, at the time Aveda products, they said that was changing though (different brand)

4. First night in the dining room, all women are individually escorted by gloved waiter, very nice.

5. The chargers at the table were gorgeous, a gold plate with the detail of maps from different parts of the world, and we all wanted to buy one.  The $75 price tag stopped me from doing so – but made me appreciate them even more.

6. First morning at the breakfast buffet – the waiter that took my tray to table (service everyone gets) asked my name and then used it every time he saw me.  Now my name is easy and I’m 6 ft. tall, so first I wasn’t impressed, but then I watched how he did it to almost everyone.  He was an amazingly friendly guy – with an amazing memory!

7. At lunch time they had themed buffets outside on sailing days.  Most of the time I avoid buffets, but we were told that we had better check it out.  It was amazing; the food, the decor – again the friendly service.  We went to all of them after that and they were wonderful.

8. The food – top notch, everywhere, all of it. 

9. Entertainment – smaller theater, as it’s a smaller ship, but very impressive talent, and costumes that were so detailed and grand. The ”wow” factor was there on most numbers.  Smaller production -but didn’t miss anything, as the talent was so good.

10. Guest lecture on my sailing was a sports writer from Sports Illustrated.  I’m not into sports, but he had so many fun stories that he was very interesting and entertaining. There was a couple other events during that sailing, a political – former ambassador or?? Memory failing me, but I remember enjoying him as well.  Loved these – and have only had anything similar in Alaska or Panama Canal cruise, but those are directed toward the destination and you can only hear those just so many times.

11. One of the other benefits of traveling in luxury is the people you meet.  Everyone is so interesting – and the conversations were so diverse.  They all have a story if you can get them to tell it. We met very young retired people – I loved hearing their stories.  Some really talented people.

So basically I loved sailing on Crystal and would highly recommend it.  No downside.  Great value for the money.