Costa Fortuna Seminar@Sea

March 8, 2009  -  Sunday

This morning Penney and I departed Nashville for Fort Lauderdale, WAY TO EARLY, but she insisted.    Good flight, but the woman sitting next to us must have had a late or bad night, she was a grump, so I took the opportunity to listen to some tunes while Penney did... what else?  pulled out the laptop and worked.   We arrived safely in FLL, went to baggage claim and stood back watching these crazy people running to the carousal to get their luggage.  I mean they were pushing and shoving to be right there almost on top of the conveyer belt.   Well we were in no hurry so stood back and waited for the crazy's to get through and we walked right up and got our ONE medium sized suitcase.  Penney is pretty proud of herself that she is learning not to overpack :)

Next it was out to the taxi stand to head to the pier, I am not sure if our driver didn't speak English or he too had had a bad night/morning as he never said one word either.  Hmmm it couldn't be us, it must be that these people were rude right?

So we get to the pier, terminal 21 and we see the ship... The Costa Fortuna.   It is a mid size ship, very clean looking and then we see the line to enter the terminal.  Oh my, after dropping our ONE bag, we proceeded to the line and it took every bit of 90 minutes to get through the outside line, then the inside line, security and oh yes, did I mention the line to board?    whew...  we are finally on the ship.

     

Our cabin is not ready yet, so we take this opportunity to visit the buffet, it is important to be able to tell our clients what choices and the quality right?  HEHE   Overall, I would say that the variety was average, but Penney found the flavor of the food very good.  Then she picked up her laptop and again decided to get some work done before leaving port.  So here we are, sitting on the deck of this nice cruise ship and she is working... come on, lets go explore!   Oh good, she is ready, so I will close this entry and write more later this evening,  

So here we are in our stateroom...    overall very spacious, clean, and good layout.  The bathroom is adequate for a cruise ship bathroom, here I am in the huge shower (yeah right, this is one of those that you can soap down the walls and then spin around to get clean :)

We were pleasantly surprised to find not one but two nice bottles of champagne in our cabin.  One from the vice president of Costa, Scott Knutson and another from an agent friend, Patricia Liebau, along with some nice fresh fruit.

 

Well we are about to head out for the life boat drill and then set sail so I am going to upload this entry... 

Bon Voyage! 

 

Good Evening, we were unable to upload this entry as the Internet connection was not strong enough so I will continue to write and will upload we we arrive in San Juan on Tuesday.   

We attended the cocktail reception this evening and met most of the S@S participants.   Very nice folks.   After, we had a great dinner, (well Penney did, while I got to watch)  our table mates are interesting and fun.   After dinner it was late and has been a long day so we came back to the cabin to call it a night.   Penney pulled out the computer to review her presentation for tomorrows workshops she is facilitating while I read my latest issue of Agent at Home  magazine.

 

March 9, 2009  -  Monday

The alarm came pretty early this morning, but after a nice nights sleep we awoke rested and ready for the day.  Penney showered and got out of the cabin early to meet her group and begin their educational workshop, I had room service breakfast in our cabin before joining her.   When I arrived there was a room full of professional travel agents learning and sharing with one another.  Typically Penney's sessions are about 2.5 hours long but these agents were so excited they kept going and at about 3.5 hours they finally broke for lunch, but many of them continued the discussion in the dining room.   Lunch today was in the Michelangolo's dining room and of course i was not served but the selections looked great.  Penney said her salad and fish were very good.

Next we went back to the conference room and Costa BDM, April Freeman, did a seminar on selling Groups with Costa.   Her presentation was very informative. 

This afternoon we walked about the ship, meeting and talking with many passengers.  Here are some photos we took...

 

the band was playing at the pool              the water slide was very busy today

Beautiful Chapel

      

The Atrium is beautiful with a unique display on the ceiling

   

We also checked out the Disco    and  the game room, i love air hockey!

Then we did a bit of window shopping...

    

The selection of perfumes was amazing,   as was the beautiful Murano Glass  and of course the Rum Selections

I also mad ea few new friends, can you find me?

Bingo anyone?

 

OK, it is time to get ready for the Captains reception and Gala Dinner, I will write more later.

 

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Today we are at sea, but are due to arrive in San Juan Puerto Rico at about 5pm.  Penney is hosting a conference call at 7pm tonight, so we will not have much time in port, but may go to dinner ashore or do a bit of shopping.   Today onboard there is a lot happening...  arts & crafts, art auction, bingo, Italian lesson, dance lessons and even a horse race.   After breakfast we went out to the pool area, but the rain spoiled our relaxing in the sun so we headed to the theater to listen to the SHOPPING GUY, Trey.  He shared where to and where not to shop in our next several ports.   We then visited the internet cafe

, l

because of high winds the connection was down, so i think we will take this raining afternoon to get some rest.  Penney keeps saying she has some reading to catch up on, but i think a nap is in my future :)   More later...

 

This evening was quite adventurous...   there was a storm here in San Juan, so the internet connection was low... Penney tried to connect to do her by-weekly conference call but could not get a good signal, she called in from her cell for a few minutes but as she was standing under an aluminum cover and it began to lightning she said adios.  I spent time people watching, which is always alot of fun.  Later we went to the show, which was really good, had a nice dinner and called it an evening. 

 

Wednesday,  March 11, 2009

This morning is a bright and sunny beautiful day in St. Thomas.  Many of the folks from our group are doing tours today, but as Penney has been here many times we (well she, you know how she is :) made the decision to go ashore and do some shopping.  There is a great mall area here at the pier,

There are jewelry stores, electronic stores, and of course many novelty shops.  It is a short walk to the skyride mall, which is a cable car that takes you to the top of the mountain and to a beautiful view of the port as well as many other nearby islands including St. Johns.  

This afternoon when we got back to the ship, Penney connected to the internet and had a video conference with her family.  It was nice to see the smiles of Kevin, Andrea and her mom, Winnie.   Also present were Andrea's friends Waide and Heather.   How fun, we showed them around the cabin and out the window to the port of St Thomas.  Here is a photo from my window, the Freedom of the Seas leaving port.

 

Later we enjoyed dinner, it was Italian night...  the food and company were great.   The waiters sang and danced for us, several folks in our group got in to the action too...

  

After we went to a pizza toss contest, fruit carving demonstration and dance lesson.  What fun.

   

Another enjoyable evening, but we called it a night about 12:30AM

 

Thursday, March 12, 2009  -  Dominican Republic

Today we are in the DR, but at a port that we have not seen before, there is really nothing here at the port, but some soccer fields and a terminal with buses, cabs and tour operators.   As we had not booked a tour we decided to just get off the ship and explore a bit. 

  

I was right, not much here  but the local bus/cab takes you to a small fishing village where there are some shops and restaurant/bars.

We came back to the ship and met some of our new friends for a nice Mexican Buffet... yum.   Penney has some meetings and work to catch up on so I will probably just do some more people watching :)    to be continued...

Busy Nana - Penney

December 17, 2008  -   This morning Penney (nope i didn't get to go today) went to her daughters to watch the new baby, Claudia, BUT she also had her other new grand daughter, Lydia...  at only 7 weeks apart she says it was like having twins.  Penney said they were both little angels and she was even able to get a little work done while they slept.

Claudia Katelyn 2 weeks       and      Lydia Izabelle   9 weeks

 

Later Penney found Lydia checking her my space account

Oops, busted...  sorry Nana

Claudia Katelyn... is here!

December 3, 2008 -  today, while Penney and I were attending the Home Based Travel Agent Expo in Las Vegas, Penney received a phone call that her daughter Crystal had been taken to the hospital and had given birth to her daughter, Claudia Katelyn at 11:57pm the evening before, December 2, 2008.   She weighed in at 7lbs 4oz and was 21" long.  Both mother and baby are strong and healthy.

Here is a picture that she received via email this morning.

Penney was bummed that she was not there for her birth but has a date to visit immediately upon her return home...  and you know what that means, I will get to stay in the purse while all the pictures are of the new baby.

 

December 5, 2008   Today Penney went to see Claudia, and sure enough I didn't even get taken out of the car but Penney did show me all the pictures (bless her heart). :)

    

 

December 6, 2008  -  Again today Penney visits with Claudia, sure that she will recognize her... sometimes she (Penney) is so delusional.

As with most 4 day olds, Claudia slept most of the time.

 

December 10, 2008 -  Nana Penney goes to her daughters house today to help out.   While babysitting she took the opportunity to take a few photos, who Penney, hahaha!

Claudia tried to hide, but Nana persisted...

  

Homebased Travel Agent Expo and Luxury Expo in Las Vegas

December 2, 2008 - Las Vegas

This morning Penney and I are flying out to Las Vegas for the Homebased Agent and Luxury Expo at the Mandelay Bay Hotel and casino.  I am writing this entry as we will hit the ground running as the show is actually starting this morning.   Once we arrive we will head to the hotel to check in and then immediately register and hope to get into a class or two this afternoon.  Tomorrow and Thursday will be really busy as Penney is working a booth at both shows with friends & colleagues Mike and Sue Goldberg.

Penney has been contracted to consult on a new travel agent website called Agents Sharing Knowledge.  This site is a reference tool for travel professionals, including social networking, discussion groups, classifieds, as well as supplier promotions.  The website, www.agentssharingknowledge.com  is still a work in progress but is soon to be one of the top visited sites by travel professionals.   She will also be working with them on the educational opportunities such as webinars and conference calls.

Well I am going to close this entry and get some rest as I know when we land Penney will be running my legs off (or should i say wings?)

 

December 3, 2008  -   Whew what a day we had yesterday.  We have run all over this HUGE hotel, had several meetings, and even ran into a couple of educational seminars before collapsing into bed at nearly midnight.    This morning we were up early and running to the show floor to begin a day of talking with travel agents and suppliers BUT first Penney received a call from her son-in-law to tell her that Crystal her daughter had had a beautiful baby girl last night.   I will do a new entry on the baby a little later tonight, when we get some pictures. 

As we arrived at the showroom floor, there were tons of wonderful travel agents waiting to get in to talk to the suppliers.   When the doors opened they began filing in and Penney started talking (as usual).  She was/is excited to share with the agents all about ASK and they were eager to hear about all the things to come.  It was a long day, and I didn't get to talk to many of the suppliers or friends I had made at the last show but I did meet a few new folks.

Penney and I had our picture taken near the ASK banner to send use in some email promotions... hmmm, do you think she may be using me for my pretty smile?

December 4, 2008 - Today was another long day at the show, however, because Penney was anxious to get home to the new grand baby she was able to change out flight to an earlier one and we are on the flight home now.  We met so many great agents, and talked with many wonderful suppliers as well.  Overall, a very good trip, although Penney is kind of a drag (maybe she deserves to be called Granny after all) as we didn't see one show, go out to any clubs or even do any gambling while we were in VEGAS... VEGAS BABY and what did we do... work!  there is something wrong with that!

I guess I need to sign off as Penney is nagging to get her hands on the computer to do...  you guessed it more work!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

November 27, 2008  - Happy Thanksgiving

Today we spent Thanksgiving with Penney's family.   Her wonderful husband, Kevin, mother, Winnie, and several of her kids gathered around the table to share a great traditional turkey dinner.   After dinner everyone retreated to the living room where we share stories and some laughs before heading back to find some yummy dessert.

Much of the afternoon was spent ooo'ing and awww'ing over the newest addition to the family, Lydia.   It was very interesting to watch so many grown adults making over this 5 week old baby that doesn't do much except eat and sleep.   Although, you know Penney she captured every move on the camera :)

    

  

Lydia says...   enough already!

Celebrity Solstice welcomes Lady Bug and travel professionals

November 19, 2008

Celebrity Cruises brings the BEAUTIFUL new Solstice to Florida to begin Caribbean Cruising.   They have generously opened the ship to many travel professionals for inspections as well as 2 night pre-inaugural cruises.  Penney and I were invited to sail from Nov 19-21, 2008. 

What an AMAZING VESSEL!   This is no ordinary cruise ship, it is a destination of its own.   As we walked around and took everything in, Penney snapped tons of photos, but I must tell you they just do not do justice.   You have to see to believe.

This evening we had a cocktail party in the Sky Observation Lounge.   Dondra Ritzenthaler welcomed us and introduced her staff, including Cris DeSouza and Bo (silly Penney didn't get her last name).   Also at the party were Mary Clegg and Lisa Wilson from NACTA.

Penney had dinner in the main dining room with the above, but she didn't invite me... she said that I needed some rest, but truth be told, she loves Celebrity's cuisine so much she wasn't about to share.

She did invite me to accompany them to the Cellar Masters which is a very unique wine bar, where you can taste several different types of wines.

The show was fantastic and everyone is having  terrific time.   Tomorrow is another full day so I will sign off for now.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

This morning I woke up early to see the sunrise, hear the waves crashing and feel the warm wind blowing.  What a gorgeous day!

There is so much to do and see today...   after dragging Penney out of bed, we went for breakfast and to the Building Bridges Session with Dan Hanrahan, President and CEO of Azamara Cruises and Celebrity Cruises, and Dondra Ritzenthaler, Sr Vice Pres of Sales Azamara Cruises and Celebrity Cruises.   They shared information on their marketing campaign, the latest company updates and did a Q&A.

Next we were onto visit some staterooms.

The first was a Sky Suite

 

Then was an oceanview veranda

 

But the Penthouse is the best...

       It is very spacious and nicely decorated.  There is an open bar area, full dining table, living room with sofa and chairs and a 52" plasma tv.  there is a half bath for guests.  All opening onto a lovely verandah with a jacuzzi tub.

Then onto the bedroom...   with another 52" tv

             

And look at the walk in closet...

     

You won't believe the bathroom...    it is larger than most inside cabins on other ships!

With another jacuzzi tub...

And look at this shower, hmmm  I wonder how many people could fit in this?

We then walked around the rest of the ship enjoying some gelato along the way.   Here are several pictures of this beautiful ship by a friend of Penney's, Jane Vickery.

Then off to a meeting on Celebrity CruiseTours.   They have so many different itineraries and destinations.   I think I need to talk Penney into one of those for our next adventure.  Maybe Australia or South America.

At this meeting they raffled off invitations to the Blu specialty restaurant for tonight... no Penney nor I won but Penney's friend Jan Shaughnessy did and invited us to join her.   Yep, even I get to go :)

This afternoon while Penney visited with other agents, I took some time to enjoy sitting on the veranda and write my blog.  

Well enough work for the day...   we are off to dinner.

Friday, November 21, 2008   1:21am

Yes, i said 1:21am!   We met Jan for dinner at Blu, we sat with some new friends, Jim and Nancy.    Dinner was really good, although as normal i didn't get much :)  Penney seemed to enjoy herself.  Below are some pictures of the restaurant and even some of the FOUR courses they tried.

Lucille Carter was at the table next to us...  always having a good time.      

After dinner we wandered through the spectacular shops onboard, marveled at the Solstice Diamond, which is a diamond only available on this ship.  It is cut so there is a perfect 5 point star exactly in the center.   Needless to say, Penney did not purchase one of these for me.

The show was quite good, it swas called Pulse and was kind of a throw back to the 70's and 80's with the wild outfits and fun music.   At any moment I was expecting to see the Brady Bunch Kids run onto the stage.

There was music playing all over the ship, people dancing and enjoying themselves.   Penney, Jan and I headed to the martini bar and found a nice place to sit and talk for awhile, well they talked, and I had myself a yummy chocolate martini.   Also, Penney did limit me to just one.

So now you know why I am writing this at 1:20am!   Tomorrow we have to disembark and head home, so I guess I need to call it a night.

Well here we are at the Fort Lauderdale airport, our flight is at 10:55am, but the disembarkation process, the bus transportation, and even the airline check in and security went so smoothly that we are 3 hours early for our flight.

I am going to do some people watching, my favorite sport, catch up on emails and publish this blog.    I hope you have enjoyed traveling with us on the Solstice and will follow us on our next adventure...  which i think is LasVegas...  but between now and then we have Thanksgiving with 'the family' which can always be an adventure too... so stay tuned!