Travelers Dominion

The Royal Caribbean Fan Blog

"If it doesn't move, it's a hotel." - The Royal Caribbean Fan

If it moves, it is a hotel.

It was scarcely 5:30 in the morning, the October morning sky was still pitch black. The Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina afforded a sweeping view of Port Everglades, the 17th Street draw bridge and beyond them the condo lined channel leading to open water. Bleary eyed I managed to drag myself to the balcony and turn on my camcorder then flop in a chair. My son and daughter surprised me entirely by waking up as though it where Christmas morning. Ben emerged first and marveled at the twinkling cityscape. Vicky, two years his senior came out next. The show I had promised them for weeks could be seen at the two mile bouy outside the channel. The Oasis of the Seas was holding station awaiting the harbor pilot, her bow facing the port. With all the lights forward of the bridge dark while at sea she was almost invisible. The ship began to make her way into the channel. Midway in the channel the Oasis slipped behind a block of condos and hotels. Vicky asked again where the ship was and her brother pointed to the condos and replied "If it doesn't move, its a hotel."

Oasis of the Seas arriving in Fort Lauderdale

The morning ahead would be the culmination of decades of following cruise travel that began with scouring old editions of Sea Classics, touring historic ocean liners to watching the Love Boat depart the Port of Los Angeles. The adventure that started two days ealier as we began our drive to Florida was more than just a family vacation. Here I was about to have the classic "family vacation" but also share a deep personal love for cruising.

In 2019 Royal Caribbean International began to celebrate its fiftith anniversary. The first scratch built cruise line, which decades earlier had eletrified the emerging industry with the first purpose-built caribbean cruise ships sailing out of Miami was the first I sailed on. During the next year I am going to share my experience of cruising and how from that I began the Royal Caribbean Fan in 1999 from a single HTML webpage. I hope you enjoy the journey as much as I have living it.

Oasis of Dreams Rehearsals - The Royal Caribbean Fan Blog.

When the ocming of Oasis of the Seas was announced to the world, one of the first features highlighted was the Aqua Theater. Situated at the very end of the ship, the seating bowl spills outward from the end of Boardwalk. The Aqua Theater hosts more unique features in one location than most new cruise ships do through their entire design. As the name implies the theater is centered around a large diving pool. Three tiers of diving platforms flank the pool on two sides. A trampoline emerges from the adjacent stage and adds a different dimension to what the show offers. A "fly gallery" allows actors to fly into and out of the area, even emerging from under the water. Under the water are three stage platforms. These rise above the water to allow for the entire stage space to be used or sink quietly for dramatic effect.

In our video here, you see the Aqua Theater from a deck ten stateroom balcony over Boardwalk. The cast is rehearsing a few hours before a show. The video screens were being replaced on this cruise so you might notice they are missing from the right side of the theater house. As a people watcher this view was one of the attractions of the cabin. Love Royal Caribbean?

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From the Blogs

The Sum of All Pitches: Travel Give-aways Judged.

Not all that is golden...or plastic....is gold.

Not worth the plastic it was printed on.

What of the product the company was selling? Was the company legitimate? Is anything they sell worth anything to anybody? Is it a scam? Researching the company and details reveals several things. First, in the strictest legal definition the company and its product are not a scam. It is the very precise way everything is presented and how the contracts are written that keep this company from straying into legal trouble. For some people who can afford to buy and deal with the limitations and complications that seem systemic to this sort of product it can be a favorable arrangement. However for many people these situations can be problematic commitments of money which they are never able to gain the promised travel.

The most telling thing to my mind was that the walls of the office are coated in pictures of people when they buy the memberships. Yet there are none of people at any of the travel options the membership provide. Indeed, we were told repeatedly that we could not and would not be able to review a sampling of the travel options. I can find nobody online blogging about their latest travel club trip. And in truth I can find virtually nobody who will openly admit they have such a membership. Likewise, in reading about those who bought and later attempted to get out of their contracts, virtually nobody does.

Are there alternatives to these clubs that provide the sort of travel options and value but without the financial strain and obligation? Absolutely. The entire premise of this companies product was that it gathered endless options for travel at prices only possible for the reasons they explain to you. Yet most travel agencies and agents can book through wholesale companies and through industry promotions that give you every means to travel when you want and the way you want too.

My own advice? Avoid these booths like the plague. You should not have to pay money just to hear a sales presentation. You should not have to sit through a sales presentation to receive an actual “prize.” No prize should be so rigged as to seem intended to be more hassle than it is worth. You should never have to commit so much money for a membership for products or services you cannot review in detail.

Do I have a horse in this race? Certainly, but so do you. These companies have a choice to present things professionally and without pressure or masking the insanity of their self-serving contracts and financial systems. Shop carefully, ask questions.

Have you dealt with timeshare pitches? Share with us in the Travelers Dominion forums!

Getting Hitched Freestyle: Norwegian Cruise Line to offer legal weddings at sea. (NCL)

One of the draws to cruise travel is the romance of being in love and at sea. An almost cliché image is that of a ships captain performing a wedding for passengers. However with few exceptions, captains have been prohibited from doing so. The reasons range from simply keeping the busy ship masters from being bogged down by passenger requests to the basic legality of doing so. Most lines offer the ability to get married onboard a cruise ship before it departs, but these tend to require the bride, groom and guests to rush aboard and finish within an hour or two.

Enter Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) who will offer legal weddings at sea, performed by the ships captain beginning in the fall of 2015. For an added price which includes the services of a wedding planner and cake among other ceremonial trappings, couples can be wed. The line is also offering ceremonies before the cruise beginning and at select ports of call. One can also enjoy a strictly symbolic ceremony which has no legal standing. The marriage licenses for weddings at sea will be from the Bahamas and are recognized as legal in the United States.

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