Cancun Is Calling While the Snow is Falling

To my midwest peeps... The temperatures continue to drop, and the snow is falling turning our area into a wintry playground. If that gets you down, call us to help you get some vitamin sea instead! Whether you're thinking of an all-inclusive resort, a cruise, a Disney or Universal visit, or simply a vacation rental by the ocean, at Cruise Planners, we are your land & cruise experts and can help you "seas" the day and beat the pending old man winter blues. Winter is just beginning. Let us help you plan a great getaway for January or February when the cold is at its worst! Call 317.776.1733 or visit our website at www.icanshowyoutheworld.vacations We'd love to help you find the perfect winter getaway.

More Than Just Cruises!

I just returned from Beaches Turks & Caicos, and the AMEX More Knowledge Conference. During the conference, I was able to update and renew my Certified Specialist status for the Sandals & Beaches Resorts, and expand upon my first-hand knowledge of that particular resort, which goes a long way when talking with clients and potential clients about their vacation experience desires and needs. Attending on-site conferences, seminars and tours is an important part of continuing education within my chosen profession, just as it may be in yours.

I'm pleased to be a certified specialist, as well as a WeddingMoons Certified Specialist, which I first earned at Sandals Royal Bahamian, where I also had the pleasure of serving as best man in a wedding! Feel free to ask about that one!

Many people get easily confused by the name of my franchise - Cruise Planners. They tend to think that selling cruises is all we do... but it isn't. Did you know that my personal selling mix is actually about 60% LAND vacations, and only 40% CRUISES? I sell a lot of all-inclusive resorts, Disney & Universal vacations, honeymoons, rail, golf, and more... all in addition to the cruises that I sell. Please don't rule me out for your next vacation just because you see Cruise as the first word in the name!! Your business and referrals are greatly appreciated! You can learn more about what I do, and what I can help you with at: www.icanshowyoutheworld.vacations and it would be awesome if you would like my business page at

facebook.com/showyoutheworld

Unlimited Diving is Included at Sandals & Beaches

Diving anyone? PADI Certified? Unlimited diving is included. Not yet certified? You can get Sandals certified for a year at any Sandals resort for $100. Full PADI certification also available. #beachesturksandcaicos

Something for Everyone at Beaches Turks & Caicos

Here are things you can amuse yourself with at Beaches Turks & Caicos on your next all-inclusive vacation:

On land: Volleyball, Soccer, Tennis, Shuffle Board, Table Tennis, Billiards, Outdoor Chess, Pool Tables, Basketball, Board Games and Croquet.

On the water: Kayaks, Windsurfing, Snorkeling, Aqua Trikes, Hobie Cats, Paddleboards, Underwater Vision boat. Scuba Diving with Unlimited diving for certified divers. For those who wish to experience scuba diving for the first time, PADI Discover Scuba course is offered for a nominal fee. This course will be valid for one year and will only allow you to dive at all Sandals and Beaches Resorts.

For the little ones: Camp Sesame - a spacious air-conditioned building with Nannies and Counselors to cater to children from ages 0 – 11 months, 12-24 months, 3-4 years. Camp Sesame is equipped with cribs, swings & rockers. Children’s Swimming pool with canopy, separate play area, kids playground, arts & craft & more! All nursery & babysitting staff are trained in child care. Camp Sesame is found in both the Caribbean Village and Key West Village. Sesame Street Live parade every Tuesday evening, plus assorted other Sesame Street character breakfasts, meet & greets, and activities.

For bigger kids & teens: Scratch DJ Academy ‘DJ 101’ is the exciting partnership between Beaches and the New York City-based Scratch DJ Academy. Combining copyrighted curriculum and hands-on training; ‘DJ 101’ offers aspiring music enthusiasts the chance to learn how to mix, blend, scratch, and beat juggle. There's also the X-box® Play Lounge -a partnership with Xbox that brings the most exciting and powerful gaming experience to the Resort. The state-of-the-art Xbox Play Lounge features the Xbox video system exclusively and offers gamers and families the chance to play the hottest XBOX games.

More water! There are 10 pools, plus an on-site water park featuring 10 slides, a lazy river, and bodyboarding wavemaker.

For yourself: Fitness Center, Saunas, Spa, and more.

Tips on Thursday - Love Happens

You’ve dreamt your whole life of that special day where everything is absolutely perfect.  Did you know that Cruise Planners can help you plan the most idyllic destination wedding, whether it is on a cruise to the Mediterranean or at an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean?  It’s true!  We can take care of all your travel needs and ensure a dedicated wedding planner is on location to handle every last-minute detail. 

With exclusive shoreside wedding packages in over 20 beautiful destinations, your special event can be customized to suit you and your intended.  To name just a few, locations include Miami, Ft Lauderdale, the Bahamas, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Rome, Santorini and more!

Weddings, vow renewals, commitment ceremonies, anniversaries, you name it – we do it!  Tell us your hopes and dreams and we will simplify the process for you so that you can simply enjoy your special day.  With packages designed to fit all party sizes and budgets, your Destination Wedding or Honeymoon is simply a phone call away.  To learn more, please visit my website or call 317.776.1733.   

stopher's stuff - Universal Reflections

While on my recent sojourn to Florida and the Caribbean, I enjoyed a day at Universal Orlando Resort – well, actually PART of a day, not the entire day.  I was there specifically to complete the on-site portion of the Universal Specialist Program for travel professionals.  Another program designed to better understand the destinations that we sell, and thereby boost our individual business for a particular destination.  The Universal program includes an online and an on-site portion… I’d completed the online portion last summer.  Now it was time for the on-site. 

  

The last time I had been to Universal Orlando was in 2007, with my family.  On that trip we’d stayed at the Nickelodeon Suites over on World Drive, near Walt Disney World.  This time I was staying at Walt Disney World at Disney’s Old Key West Resort – and was going solo.  I arrived at the Universal Orlando parking garage in my rental car at around 8:50 am, knowing the parks opened at 9 am.  My plan was to visit Islands of Adventure first, and then head over in to Universal Studios Florida afterwards.  By the time I got to the park entry, passing through the CityWalk area, and enjoying looking around to see what was the same and what was different from my last visit, it was a little after 9 am. 

As a park, Islands of Adventure hadn’t changed a whole lot, with one large exception… and entire new land had been built… the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  Though I will say that new land itself, wasn’t all completely new, as part of The Lost Continent was area was given up for this new land.  The Wizarding World boasts two different roller coaster experiences that were existing attractions, simply re-purposed for the Potter theme.  Dragon Challenge was formerly known as Dueling Dragons – and Flight of the Hippogriff was formerly known as The Flying Unicorn. 

Full disclosure time – and go ahead and let your jaws drop in disbelief if you so choose – but I have never read a single Harry Potter book in my life.  Nor have I seen any more than about 20 minutes of one of the films when it aired on television.  That’s it.  I am not a Potter fan, nor do I plan to become one.  But I did have interest in seeing the land for myself.  I wanted to know what I sell, and be able to answer questions that my clients might have.  So when the opportunity to visit the parks presented itself, I jumped at it.  And I will say, that even though I am not a fan, and I do not know the different storylines or backstories behind the various elements of the land itself – it was beautiful .  And I believe, very well executed.  The folks at Universal Creative apparently got it right, because I definitely heard a lot of “high praise” from guests all around me, oohing and ahhing at the various shops, backgrounds and scenic elements throughout Harry’s community.  I knew some of the characters from magazine articles and conversations with friends, but the backstories... no.

The Hogwart’s castle that they created, which sits high atop the feature attraction, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey was simply stunning.  I loved it for its beauty and grace as a thematic element to the land.  Many of the folks at Universal Creative were once Imagineers for Disney, and were certainly trained well in the art of the show, and the theatrical immersion that comes across so well in many theme park environments.  The Wizarding World of Harry Potter definitely comes across well in its immersion.

Now to get to the actual attraction, and my experience with it - I had read and heard many things prior to my visit, including get there as quickly as possible in order to minimize the wait time, otherwise expect a very long line.  I did just that, and was pleasantly surprised to see just a stated 10 minute wait.  Now the reality is my wait time was a little less, since I got into the Single Rider line, but in the end, it turned out to be more, simply because it took me about 10 minutes just to finally decide to ride it after I stood inside the center of the queue area watching the video which demonstrates what the ride technology actually does.  Let me just state emphatically that I love roller coasters, and I don’t mind many different spinning rides (though Mission: Space at Epcot did make me very nauseous) – but I’m not one to jump up and down about being turned nearly upside down…backwards.  And that’s what the video was showing.  So hemmed and hawed for a while, trying to decide what I would do.  Ultimately my curiosity won out, and I did go on the attraction.  However – I will say – that as an attraction, it did not in the end make me nauseous – but I just didn’t like it.  I didn’t care for many of the thematic elements included, nor did I care for how very dark and foreboding the overall attraction was.  I can see how fans of the series might enjoy the attraction, but I didn’t.  And that’s okay.  It just means there’s one less person to be in line ahead of you the next time I’m in the Islands of Adventure park.  Oh yes, and one more thing... with my apologies to the die-hard HP fans out there... I didn't like the Butterbeer either.  

Pretty much everything else about Islands of Adventure was the same as my last visit.  Although The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman over in Marvel Superhero Island had been updated, and I was sure to ride that one to see how it was different.  I really enjoyed that one, just as I did the last time I rode it nearly 6 years ago.  I wish that Disney had an attraction similar to it, as it really is a cool attraction.

Over in Universal Studios, more has changed since our last visit, as the new Transformers attraction is getting closer and closer to completion.   Since our visit, the Jaws attraction has closed, and the real estate it once sat upon is currently under construction bringing a “bridge” between the two parks with some sort of Harry Potter connection (I’ve read about it online, but don’t recall exactly what it will be at the moment - something having to do with a Hogwart's Express or something to that effect);  Back to the Future The Ride made way for The Simpsons Ride; Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit  debuted; and Despicable Me Minion Mayhem replaced the old Jimmy Neutron ride.  PLUS they have a cool new nighttime water & laser show on the central lagoon called Universal’s Cinematic Spectacular, which I might have enjoyed seeing had I stayed there until nightfall.  It looks really cool, though I know I would stand there comparing it to World of Color at Disney California Adventure way too much.   

While in USF, I did enjoy the Lucy: A Tribute exhibit (I have been a die-hard Lucy fan since I was a very small child...and now my kids are as well.  We love watching "I Love Lucy" every Sunday evening with our dinner, going through episode by episode, as they were originally shown on tv all those years ago).  I also had a nice piece of pizza at Louie’s Italian Restaurant in the New York section, but I really didn’t ride anything.  I had no real desire to. Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit looked really cool, and in retrospect I wish I had ridden it, but alas, I did not.   While I really like the backlot feel of the New York and San Francisco sections, I must admit I don’t care for Universal Studios Florida as much as I do for Universal Studios Hollywood.  The Hollywood park is different, in that it sits inside an actual, functional, movie studio whereas the Florida park only simulates one.  Plus I have an affinity for the Hollywood park, as I worked there in high school – it was actually my first paying job back in the summer of 1987.  So for me, USF just falls a bit flat.  Of the two Universal Orlando parks, I much prefer Islands of Adventure. 

Alright, I’m going to call it quits for now, but will write more about my Florida adventures in the next installment of stopher’s stuff.

Until then make it a great week! 

Destination Today: Places to See Before You Leave This Life: Denali National Park

Getting in to this travel world on a professional level has been interesting and fun.  Being a die-hard Disney traveler, I know an awful lot about the various domestic Disney theme parks, resorts and destinations; and a good amount about the international locations as well.  But this whole business venture has challenged me about so many other destinations.


Prior to the creation of Neverland Adventures Travel, I used to pride myself on having been to 44 states within the U.S.; to Canada & Mexico; and having traveled a lot for both of the companies that I worked for over the past 19 years.  But I always lamented over not having yet taken trips to Europe, South America, Asia or Africa. I've dreamed of those places many times, but always figured I'd get to them... someday.  Fast forward to today, and here I am selling those destinations and so many others.  Time to take a crash course in destinations, as well start sampling them for myself - thus I've entered the world of FAM (familiarization) travel available to the professionals within the Travel Industry.  But FAM trips take time and effort on the individual professional's part to accomplish, time that isn't always a resource in plentiful supply when clients want to know about a possible destination they're interested in visiting themselves.

Over the past few months I have gone through various training courses with the various cruise lines that I market and sell, as well the land providers and other destinations, and I've learned a lot about the geography of the world that I never learned in school.  Not physical geography of the land - but rather PORTS OF CALL, and the numerous attractions to be found in and around those port cities.  Which has led to me do additional research on various "must see" attractions, in cities and destinations around the world.  While researching some of those attractions at my local Barnes & Noble store, I found this interesting little book standing on the shelf.   "1,000 Places to See Before You Die - A Traveler's Life List", by Patricia Schultz.  I was intrigued, and so I picked it up.  After thumbing through for just a few moments, I realized I must have this book.  And over the course of the past few hours, realized that I would incorporate a new feature into stopher's stuff, using this book as a guide - inspiration, if you will, for me, but also for you.  Places that Cruise Planners~Neverland Adventures Travel can help you get to, either by land, air or sea.  But even if you just plan it yourself, destinations of some historic, geographic, or visual significance that will enrich your life for having visited.


So welcome to the first installment of DESTINATION TODAY: PLACES TO SEE BEFORE YOU LEAVE THIS LIFE.  I'll be sharing destination information in the vein of the aforementioned book, without using or abusing the source material, all the while going in no particular order.  The book breaks down the world in the following chapters:

• Europe
• Africa
• The Middle East
• Asia
• Australia, New Zealand & The Pacific Islands
• The United States of America & Canada
• Latin America
• The Caribbean, The Bahamas & Bermuda

Today we'll take a look at Denali National Park in Alaska.

Mount McKinley, 20,230' is the tallest peak in North America, is the primary attraction in Denali National Park.  The mountain is named after the 25th US President, but is also referred to locally by indigenous Athabascans of central Alaska as Denali.


The park is located about 125 miles south of Fairbanks is accessible by car during the months of May-September.  The Alaska Railroad operates from June - early September.  The best times to visit are June for the wildflowers, or August & September for the fall foliage.


This 6 million acre park is filled with grizzlies, moose and golden eagles, and contains vast tundras of subarctic splendor.  The glaciers, massive peaks of the Alaska Mountain Range, as well as McKinley itself keep visitors returning year after year.  Throughout the summer you can enjoy 16-20 hours of daylight each day to take in the dazzling scenery as you cam or enjoy North Face Lodge.  Numerous plane and helicopter sightseeing excursions are available to get up in to the back country, not accessible by car or rail.  You might also enjoy the 365 mile rail journey aboard the Denali Star, which takes you from Anchorage to Fairbanks, traveling through frontier towns of Wasilla & Takleetna, along with numerous "middle-of-nowhere" stops along the way.


This is a national park not to be missed, and can be added as a land or cruise tour to many Alaskan cruise itineraries.

WOW it's Wednesday... So Much Going On

Wow. That's about all I can think of to verbalize at this moment - wow.  I arrived home last night after being gone for 16 days - staying in 6 different hotels & resorts, including 1 cruise ship. During that time I was in 3 different states and 1 other country, 1 ocean and 1 sea. I had a great time but was very, very, very, very busy much of that time. I'm not complaining mind you, just relating where I've been for a while, not having time to pay much attention to this blog or my website. It's all good though, as over the course of the next couple of weeks I hope to get lots of fun new content, links, and photos posted. It will take some time, but I'm looking forward to reliving the last couple of weeks through the updates to come. 


If you haven't already figured it out either here, on my website, or via Facebook - my wife and I took the plunge to expand our Disney-centric travel business of Neverland Adventures Travel, by acquiring a franchise within the Cruise Planners network of travel professionals.  That step has opened up literally thousands of destinations around the globe that we weren't really able to touch previously.  Hundreds of ports & destinations; cruise itineraries; land tours and so much more.  But even with all of that fun new stuff that we're able to offer, we're not turning our back on the Disney side of the equation. In fact, I made the intentional decision when determining how I would proceed with the Cruise Planners team for a website, that I would go ahead with a separate website just for that business while maintaining what we already had with Neverland. So even though they are already linked together, there is a separate domain for the Disney focus (www.neverlandadventurestravel.com) as well as the cruise focus (www.neverlandadventurescruises.com).  Additional domains have been secured as well, in order to provide fun new ways to reach us, as well as expand the information available about land tours, group packages, and much, much more. 


New trips for 2012 are already on the horizon, and I'm sure to be away from home for extended periods once again as I go and familiarize myself with various destinations.  As a good friend of mine told me last night, "you're living the dream".  Whether or not that's true, the ride so far has definitely been fun, and I am looking forward to "playing" around even further as additional avenues and phases of our plan start to come together.  Thanks for hanging out with me and reading along.  Inviting a friend or two would be appreciated as well.


Cheers.