The MAGIC Begins NOW

It has been a LOOOOOONG 55 days since I was first able to book my sailing on the Disney Magic leaving out of Galveston, TX for a 7-night Western Caribbean itinerary – but the day has finally come!!!  My lovely bride and I are currently in Houston, TX, getting ready to head back over to the airport to catch our bus down to Galveston.  We’ll soon be going through the boarding process, and then heading across that gangway onto the beautiful Disney Magic, the first vessel in their fleet.  How fitting that this, our first Disney cruise, is aboard their first ship.  Just as our first Disney theme park experiences were in the original Magic Kingdom – Disneyland. 

© Disney 

Full disclosure, of course, I am a travel professional selling through my franchisor, CRUISE PLANNERS, and from time to time do include information about my services in my blog posts.  This is a business research and building trip.  It is a FAM, or familiarization trip, offered to travel professionals so that we might experience first-hand the ships & itineraries for ourselves, so that we can then have a better understanding of what we sell – and of course, to be able to sell even more of it.  But beyond the deeply discounted price, there are no special perks that I’m receiving as a result of going on this voyage. With all that said, I am so very excited about this sailing.  I have expectations certainly, but am excited to watch and see how the stories I’ve been told; the research I’ve done; and yes, even the information that I’ve shared with my clients ) comes to life for my lovely bride and me.  So I’m trying to put off any pre-conceived notions or ideas about the legendary service, the food, the accommodations, etc, etc and just see how it all plays out for us.  

Our western Caribbean itinerary includes stops in Grand Cayman, Costa Maya and Cozumel.  We’ve picked out some fun-sounding port adventures, and we are excited to get out and explore a part of the world that we haven’t personally been to yet.  The best part is that we’re doing it together.  (The last adventures I went on were solo, so it will be nice to share this with her as well).  Another fun thing is that we are – gasp – NOT taking the kids along.   What with school schedules and all, we just had to leave them at home.  Ah the joys of being a travel professional and having to work on a cruise ship! ;-)

So, I will be sharing about this experience in the week ahead, but really not until AFTER we return home again.  I will be taking lots of pictures, and documenting our journey.  Lots of information will be coming here in stopher’s stuff.  I’ve pre-loaded several items to broadcast throughout the week while we’re on board.  Hopefully you’ll enjoy those, and then return to read more about our MAGICal adventure thereafter.  I do try to include a variety of  information on this page.  Yes, it’s heavily Disney, but there are other nuggets about cruising, and other destinations as well.  So thank you, stopher’s stuff readers for stopping by and checking out what I have to share.  I know that some of it won’t appeal to all of you, but hopefully most of you will find something appealing and then tell your friends about me as well. 

In the meantime, I'd love it if you would like my Facebook page, or follow me on Pinterest, or on Twitter, or circle me on Google+ or simply check out my websites:  www.neverlandadventurestravel.com  and www.neverlandadventurescruises.com.  

October is National Cruise Vacation Month!  The cruise lines are offering some of the BEST deals of the year throughout the month, but the absolute best deals will be offered between October 21-27 - National Cruise Vacation Week!   You can learn more about that here. As a member of CLIA (Cruise Line International Association), I have access to all of the different lines and their specials.  So if you'd like to go somewhere in the months ahead and need some help with it all, I'd be delighted to help you out.  

Until next time,

The Excitement is Full Blown

What an exciting day today is!!  The excitement has been building and building, but by today it is absolutely full blown - I'm absolutely ready to burst!  My lovely bride and I are busily scurrying about with final last minute preparations, as we fly to Texas tonight in order to head out on our western Caribbean cruise on the Disney Magic!  If you can't tell yet, we are so excited. Just like those old Walt Disney World tv commercials that showed a family trying to sleep the night before... and it's the parents who are more excited than then kids - that's me right about now.  

There’s been a lot of things going on as I’ve been preparing for this journey.  But now it’s finally here!  Stay tuned to stopher’s stuff, as there will some great photos and information about the sailing soon. 

Until next time,

Cruisin' It

When looking back to see what my last actual “stopher’s stuff” entry was – I see that I began it this way… “I am not complaining about being busy!  What an exciting feeling it is to be busy week in and week out, and hopefully it will continue and only get busier!”  And I saw that the date of that entry was August 27^th.  WOW!  More than an entire month has gone by since I specifically wrote a “stopher’s stuff” update – and that statement remains so very true.  I have been so busy, in so many ways.  But it’s all good, and I truly am not complaining about it, just commenting. 

September was filled with a variety of different meetings.  Meetings with clients and potential clients; with vendors and potential vendors;  with experts in fields such as web design, SEO, advertising and so much more.  And that’s just on the business side of my life.  When you factor in all of the regular family things, and Scouting things, plus the extras here and there for both family and Scouts – and yes, WOW is definitely the case.  I felt at times like I was running on auto-pilot, while other times I would feel like I was trying to climb a hill in my car and was a) nearly out of gas and b) close to overheating the engine.  But here we are at the end of one month and the beginning of another – and I made to the top of the hill without running out of fuel or overheating!  That’s a good feeling. 

October will be filled with a different variety of things.  First and foremost – October is National Cruise Vacation Month according to CLIA, the Cruise Line International Association of which I’m a member.  It is the second largest cruise “sale time” of the year.  (The largest comes in January – March with what’s known as WAVE Season and all of the best deals are presented).  But being the second largest, October still features a great deal of terrific offers and discounts.  It also features the “National Cruise Vacation Week”, during the third full week of October or October 21-27 that will have the most and best deals of any single week throughout the entire year.  I will also be hosting a “Cruise Night” during that week where people can come and learn about cruising, have some fun, capitalize on some great specials only available during that week, and possibly win some prizes.  I’m looking forward to hosting that event! 

But October will also be filled with a different bit of fun for my wife and I as well.  We’ll be setting sail on the Disney Magic for a fun-filled, 7-night voyage through the Western Caribbean.  We’re really looking forward to it.  To getting to see and experience the ship for ourselves, and better be able to talk about it when we return; but also to be able to have some down-time.  Some alone time together.  And some fun in the sun.  So be sure to watch for featured information about the ship and our voyage in a couple of weeks.  We’ll be taking lots of pictures! 

Until next time,

 

One Year Ago Today...

It's hard to believe that it's already been a full year since my first, inauspicious (read that - lame) post (and just to prove it, here's a link to that very first post).  

A lot can, and often does, change during a year's time.  Since then, I've posted more than 300 entries - some still lame, some not-so-lame, and others somewhat ok. Along the way I had major technical issues with the website host forcing me to change venues for the blog, I've had fun experimenting with formats and looks to the blog, and several features have been introduced, and /or retired based on changing thoughts and ideas about what I'd like to present or talk about. Some things I'd like to bring back, while others I would like to introduce in the coming weeks and months. 

Certainly during that time changes happened both personally and professionally.  Personally we said good-bye to a beloved family member, as my wife's father succumbed in October to his battle with cancer.  Professional, just about a month after that first post was made, I was laid off from my full-time job of 11 years, and made the decision to pursue my then part-time passion in a more full-time manner.  Thus what began as something to earn some extra on the side became a full-time gig, as we launched our business full-time.  We also switched the host agency that I was working with for a Franchise that we acquired with a national name-brand provider of cruises and vacation packages.  

During the year I went to the Caribbean on a cruise and to Hawaii to explore and check out Disney's new resort there - Aulani (for newer readers, check out the labels to the right on the home page, and search for Aulani to read various entries about the resort and check out photos I took while there.  It is a GREAT resort, and definitely one you should consider visiting).  Trips to California and Florida rounded out the past year, while more cruises and trips are in the works for the coming year.  

I've had fun sharing the variety of Disney trivia, facts and photos with those of you who have chosen to follow along.  I appreciate the readership, and the comments along the way.  I look forward to spending another year sharing and posting - and working to interject more personal anecdotes and information into the blog.  I hope you'll continue to follow along, and perhaps, even bring some friends along with you.  Because really - Disney parks are meant to be shared by family and friends.  In the next year I'm hoping to have some additional entries by guests, who will also share their own love of the parks with  9you - and perhaps their photos and memories of days gone by too.  

So - thanks again for following along and sharing my adventures.  Just as Peter Pan never wanted to grow up - neither do I.  He's always been one of my favorite characters, and Peter Pan's Flight has always been a favorite theme park attraction... which is a big reason why I chose to use Neverland Adventures in the name for my travel business.  

Until next time,