Mahogany Bay Cruise Center Roatan Honduras

Isla Roatan’s New Mahogany Bay Cruise Center

In the ongoing tug of war over amenities offered by the cruise lines, Carnival has unveiled, Mahogany Bay Cruise Center (MBCC) a $62 million dollar cruise center on the Honduran island of Roatan. The MBCC, which opened in December 2009, covers 10 private acres with 825 feet of pristine white sand beach with a beach volleyball court and many water sports opportunities. Cabanas are also available for rent.

Unique to MBCC is The “Magical Flying Beach Chair” which takes guests on a six-minute ride over the lush landscape, providing not only convenient beach access but breath taking views of the island and surrounding waters. All-day passes for the beach chair lift are $5 per person. Those preferring to walk can take an elevated pathway to the beach.

“The Mahogany Bay Cruise Center not only serves as a gateway to one of the Caribbean’s most beautiful islands but is also a destination unto itself, with a magnificent white-sand beach and a wide range of shops, restaurants and shore excursion opportunities,” said Giora Israel, senior vice president of port and destination development for Carnival Corporation.

MBCC has berths for two ships and has over 200 ship call days, bringing over 500,000 visitors to its sun-drenched sandy shore each year.

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Email: JEGTravels@gmail.com
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Grand Turk Cruise Center

Grand Turk Cruise Center

The Turk and Caicos Islands about 600 miles southeast of Miami have a new reason for cruisers to visit, the brand new Grand Turk Cruise Center. The small island of Grand Turk is a mere 1.5 miles wide by 7miles long. The 14 acre cruise playground was built to keep cruisers interested in Grand Turk--as if the pristine beaches and shimming turquoise waters aren’t reason enough!

Carnival Cruise Lines, which built the Cruise Center, also owns Holland America, Princess, Regent 7-Seas, Silver Seas, Costa and several other cruise lines that do not sail to or from the US.  The Grand Turk Cruise Center will host HAL’s New Amsterdam, Eurodam, Noordam and Westerdam; Carnival’s Liberty, Miracle, Destiny and Glory; Princess’ Ruby; Costa Atlantica and 7-Seas’ Navigator.

The center has a 390 foot pier, accommodating two ships, and offers dining, shopping, and sunbathing on the beach or by the pool; water sports rentals and FlowRider the surf machine.  Cruisers can shop in the 10,000 sq. ft. duty free shop or visit the 35,000 sq ft marketplace that houses, jewelry shops, clothing stores, locally crafted souvenirs and restaurants.  I am quite sure there must be a Diamonds International nearby; I believe it’s an unwritten law that each and every port must have at least one Diamonds International shop.

If you prefer to take it easy under a palm tree, the center offers two beach areas, with clam shell shade enclosures.  If you prefer a private poolside cabana suitable for up to four people, you can reserve one on the ship. The cost is approximately $130 for the day and comes complete with bar and food service from Margaritaville.  The pool is ringed with comfy lounge chairs and within ear shot of the upbeat music at Margaritaville. Active guest or those with beer muscles will want to try their skills on the FlowRider surf machine. This is a good place to hang out and ‘people’ watch. A word to the women…wear a one piece bathing suit on the FlowRider.

Enjoy the 70s party on the ship too much? Bust one too many moves on the dance floor? Try Spa Anani. The spa offers beachside massage services starting at $20 for a 15 minute massage and $50 for a sea mud facial.

If you would like to see more of the island before or after your Cruise Center visit just go to the front of the center and hire a taxi for a tour of the island. Note: Taxis are not metered so negotiate a price and tour prior to departure.

Hopefully the Cruise Center will enhance your visit to Grand Turk and not replace seeing the island and supporting local mom and pop businesses that are located away from the pier area. It’s important to give back to the islands you visit!

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Phone: 352.556.4437

Epcot’s International Flower and Garden Festival

Epcot’s International Flower and Garden Festival

Epcot will host the 18^th Annual International Flower and Garden Festival March 2, 2011 to May 15, 2011. Located in Epcot’s Future World and World Showcase, the festival will offer guests visual delights with spectacular topiaries, gardens and events that will have a decidedly Disney flair!

Movie ‘Stars’ Galore!

Disney will be promoting new release movies or DVDs in floral splendor. Cars, Toy Story 3 and Winnie the Pooh casts will be on hand, in flowery form, to remind everyone that they have new movies/DVDs to check out.

The main entrance will guests will be greeted by 7-9 foot tall topiaries of Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Lotso (Lots o’ Huggin) Bear of Toy Story Fame. Lotso will have the added touch of fragrance, not just the smell of the flowers but of strawberries. The area located between Future World and The World Showcase will be home to Pooh Bear, Eeyore and Tigger. The characters will be frolicking in the Hundred Acre Wood wildflower display. Cars fans will love seeing Mater and Lightning McQueen under the checked flag in The World Showcase.

The magic is everywhere!

All areas of the park will offer festival magic.  Fairies from Pixie Hollow will host a whimsical play yard for toddlers and small children ages 2-5. The kids can burn off some energy and interact with the Fairies. Innoventions West will be home to Bambi and the Butterfly Garden.  In the area located between the German and Italian pavilions Rapunzel will take up residence.

The Festival Center will offer merchandise for purchase (don’t forget this is Disney!), a stage area for well known gardening experts to offer lectures, an area where Disney horticulturalists offer tips and advice for you to use to in your garden. Attend a few demostrations and it will only be a matter of time until your garden looks like Epcot! 

Special Events around the park

3/25-3/27 Art in the Garden “Plein Air” artists.

4/15-4/17 I Dig Bugs

4/29-5/1 Fresh from Florida farmers market

TBA Disney Pixar Celebration

Flower Power Concert Series

Each weekend during the festival the American Gardens Theatre in The World Showcase flashes back to the 60’s 70’s and 80’s with the sounds from back in the day.  These wonderfully reminiscent concerts can be seen three times a night, 5:15pm, 6:30pm and 7:45pm.

Here is the scheduled line up (subject to change):

	Date	Performer	Known For
March 4 to 6		Jose Feliciano	Light My Fire
March 11 to 13		The Guess Who	American Woman
March 18 to 20		Chubby Checker and the Wildcats	The Twist
March 25 to 27		Melissa Manchester	Don't Cry Out Loud
April 1 to 3		Starship starring Mickey Thomas	We Built This City
April 8 to 10		Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr.	You Don't Have to be a Star (to be in My Show)
April 15 to 17		Juice Newton	Queen of Hearts
April 22 to 24		Ricky Nelson Remembered featuring The Nelsons	Poor Little Fool
April 29 to May 1		Paul Revere & The Raiders	Good Thing
May 6 to 8		Davy Jones	I'm a Believer
May 13 to 15		Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone	I'm Henry VIII, I Am

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Update on the Expansion of FantasyLand in the Magic Kingdom.

Disney Imagineers have revamped the plans for the FantasyLand expansion. They have scrapped plans for some of the areas that favored girls and added a ride and eatery that will please the whole family.

The original plans called for Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Tinkerbelle and the Fairies all to have their special areas in the new FantasyLand; those plans have been downscaled or scrapped altogether.  A new indoor roller coaster and restaurant are in the works now.

Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty will have a smaller meet and greet venue in what is now Snow White’s Scary Adventure.  A Snow White themed indoor roller coaster will offer guests a ride on mine cars that swing back and forth on the track.  

A new restaurant Be Our Guest will seat 550 guests offering counter service during the day and sit down dinner service in the evening.  I can imagine the sit down restaurant will offer some type of character interactions during dinner.

Tinkerbelle and her friendly fairy friends will find a permanent home in Disney Hollywood Studios, after leaving their temporary home in Epcot where they will reside during the International Flower Show this spring.

The plans are still on for Goofy’s Barnstormer, and  the Little Mermaid ride. The Little Mermaid ride will be a cornerstone of the new area, with “clammobile” type cars that move visitors thru Ariel’s world under the sea.  

The construction of the new FantasyLand is well underway and will be opened in phases beginning late 2012.  ToonTown will be closing soon to make way for the expansion.

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Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas to Recieve Upgrades

Liberty of the Seas gets a face lift

Liberty of the Seas,  one of Royal Caribbean's 160,000 ton ships, is in dry dock on Grand Bahama Island, where she will stay until 1/30/2011.  The Liberty will be enhanced with “Oasis Class” features. The updates will bring the Liberty (and in March the Freedom of the Seas) up to Oasis Class standards with upgraded features and amenities.

The updates include a 3D movie theatre, poolside movie screen, infant and toddler nursery, technology enhancements and new beverage and snack venues.  

The DreamWorks Experience includes a 3D theatre, in room movies, character meals, parade, photos and Adventure Ocean activities with your favorite DreamWorks characters.

The deck area will be enhanced with a larger than life poolside movie screen to watch first run movies and sporting events.

Beginning late April 2011, step back in time to 1978 with your white suit and boogie shoes and enjoy Saturday night fever: The Musical.

Parents can enjoy the ship while their little ones are being cared for by well trained professionals. The Royal Babies and Tots Nursery has specially designed programs with Fisher Price and Crayola products to interact with your babies and toddlers.

Experience a silly musical puppet show with ImagineOcean! Puppet show. The cast uses black lights and a stage set as the ocean floor. A great show is for adults and children.

The barber shop on the promenade will be closed to make way for The Cupcake Cupboard, a 1940s style shop where cruisers can enjoy sweet cupcakes.  The shop will also offer cupcake design classes and private decorating parties.

Award winning Royal Caribbean chefs will teach you the basics to help you create a delicious meal at Chefmakers Cooking Academy. The classes take place in a real galley on the ship. The best part is you do not have to clean the kitchen!

Try new wines or your old favorites at Vintages Wine Bar. This hip bar is the perfect place to enjoy a pre or post meal drink.

Technology enhancements will add interactive touch screen feature to ship directional signage. The signs will include information on restaurants and activities.  In stateroom technology will add features to make it easy to reserve excursions or make dinner reservations. The Wi-Fi service is being upgraded to allow for better internet connectivity with your personal laptop.

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Phone: 352.556.4437

How to Get Cruise Discounts and Deals

Cruise Discounts and Deals

Looking to cruise and looking for a good deal? If you plan in advance you can save some money and have the vacation of your dreams!

Each cruise line has its own weekly specials that can save you money, they also offer discounts for police, fire, military, seniors and residents of certain states.

If you plan in advance you can find some great cruise deals. As with any special price, the price is lower for a reason, because historically not as many people cruise the Caribbean in early January or September, October and November. Alaska cruising during shoulder season will save you money. Shoulder season is between the off season and peak season. For Alaskan cruising it is May, early June and September.  The weather may be a bit colder but you aren’t going to Alaska to swim! Explore a month early or later and save some serious cash!

We recently took advantage of the Police and Firefighter discount on our January Monarch of the Seas cruise. It saved us a considerable amount.  Somr military discounts don't require that you are currently active duty, they simply ask for a copy of your DD214 to show that you served your country. Resident and Senior rates are available year round. Let your travel agent know what state everyone in your cabin is from, there may be a discount.

The cruise lines will require proof that you are indeed eligible for the discount. The Military discount will require proof of military service such as a DD214, Honorable Discharge form.

Make sure to let us know what discounts you may qualify for! Don’t miss out on great savings!

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Phone: 352.556.4437

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique

Every girl should look like a princess and the Fairy Godmothers-in-training at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique know just how to do it. Whether you choose the Cinderella’s Castle location or the salon in the World of Disney Store in Downtown Disney, your little princess will be pampered from head to toe. The boutique offers multiple hair styles, nail color, make-up and a total package including Disney Princess costume and photographs.

Girls 3 years old and above can choose from 3 hair styles, Fairytale Princess, Disney Diva and Pop Princess, in 3 available packages.

Little boys over 3 years old have their own special, The Knight Package, which includes hair styling as well as a sword and shield.

Prices range from $14.95 for the Knight Package to $239.95 for the Castle Package that includes hairstyle, makeup, nails, photos, Disney Princess gown (of your choice), crown, wand, shoes and princess sash.

Let your child be the princess or knight you know they are!

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Phone: 352.556.4437

HOG Ride

Saturday January 22, 2011

Speckled Butterbean Restaurant

It was a chilly morning by Florida standards but then again, it’s been a cold winter. It was 54 degrees when we headed out to Crystal River Harley to start our ride. In the 30 minutes it took to head up 19 to the dealer, it dropped to 48 and the wind started to kick up. I stayed nice and warm though, my daughter Kristy was visiting, so I drove the ‘Ladies of Harley vehicle’, taking lots of pictures along the way. 

It was “kick stands up” at 10:00 am for our 14 riders and with Steve as road captain we headed out to Webster and the Speckled Butterbean.  The cold weather was not a deterrent, everyone was decked out in leathers, and some had heated vests to ward off the chill.  We snaked around the winding back roads, the Spanish moss waving in the wind, through Citrus, Hernando and Sumter Counties.

We arrived at 11:30 and enjoyed a delicious homemade buffet of all the country favorites, mash potatoes, fried okra, fried chicken, meatloaf, salads and ice cream and cobbler for dessert. 

Our HOG chapter loves to eat and all our rides seem to begin or end with food or at least ice cream! We had a great time with great people and look forward to our next ride.

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Much Anticipated Changes to Royal Caribbean's Crown and Anchor Program Announced

January 21, 2011

Royal Caribbean announced its new and improved  Crown and Anchor loyalty program today.  Cruisers have been speculating about the changes for a month or more. Two new tiers added are Emerald and Pinnacle Club. The Emerald tier will be between Platinum and Diamond. The Pinnacle Club, as indicated by its name, will be the top tier, reserved for those guests with 700 cruise credits or more.

Royal Caribbean has leveled the playing field and now offers one cruise credit per night, with double the points for suites. Previously, you received a cruise credit for every completed cruise, whether it was a 3 night cruise or a week long cruise.  

Emerald members will enjoy some new benefits including higher balcony and suite discounts and a personalized welcome gift.  Pinnacle Club members will be honored for their incredible loyalty with special discount, gifts, and onboard perks.

Check out Royal Caribbean’s Crown and Anchor website for full details. 

Crown and Anchor Membership Changes


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Disney's Animal Kingdom VIP Safari Tour of the Savannah

VIP Safari Tour

Would you like to take Disney’s ultimate wild animal adventure? See the Animal Kingdom in a way never seen before. Walk carefully over rope bridges and thru dense underbrush to get an up close visit with giraffe, massive Nile crocodiles patrolling the jungle riverbed and other animals wandering freely in there savannah habitat.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom now offers VIP Safari’s over the savannah. The tour is three hours in duration. It is designed to give you the feel and experience of a true African safari. Your visit will include a trip to a private safari camp.

The cost is $129 pp in addition to the park entrance fee. Call (407) WDW-TOUR or (407) 939-8687 to book your adventure. This tour is for ages 8 and up.

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Monarch of the Seas Cruise Coco Cay

Monarch of the Seas Cruise
Part Three Coco Cay


Steve and I woke up to the sound of the anchor dropping shortly after 7:30am.We were happy to be spending the day in Coco Cay. We went to the Windjammer buffet for breakfast and it was relatively empty. Everyone must have been up late the night before enjoying the nightlife. I have to say for a smaller ship there is plenty to do, both day and night!

The seas were slightly choppy, which made the walk on the gangplank to the tender a bit of a challenge. It was like the walkway in the funhouse, up and down and you had to keep your balance, move forward and not hit your head on the bulkhead.  There were only a few of us on the tender. It was still a bit too chilly out for some folks, I would think any northerners would have found the 60s warm!

Coco cay is having some work done; the tender ports are being enlarged to accommodate more tenders. They are setting up to host more than one cruise ship at a time on the island.  There are literally hundreds and hundreds of lounge chairs available.  When ships like Monarch are in port there is more than enough room for another ship too.

We took a nice walk to scope things out, found two lounge chairs and set up camp.  Lucky for us we had entertainment too! The bar server was driving a golf cart with a trailer/cooler hitched to it. That guy didn’t stand a chance against the loose sand. He no sooner drove down to the water’s edge when he was axle deep in sand. He called for backup from two other bar servers, who apparently have never driven before. They managed to jack-knife the trailer, but after some digging and tugging were able to move it about 10 feet, where it became trapped again. The driver took time to sell a few drinks and then the patrons put their shoulders into pushing and moved him, oh maybe another 5 feet, finally several more beach goers helped him back to a path up to solid ground off the beach.

It was too cold for us to swim so we had fun people and nature watching for a few hours. Our fellow passengers were disembarking the ship and swarming the beaches…our cue to head back on the ship. As we were walking away from our lounge chairs, we passed the bar server driving his rig back to the beach, where he was promptly buried in sand. Ah fun times!

Once back on the Monarch we had lunch and headed to the pool. There were maybe 6 or 8 others around the pool but no one swimming. It was as if we had our own private pool. We alternated between sun tanning and swimming. Towards the end of the afternoon a handful of bar napkins blew in the pool. They disintegrated and made swimming a little uncomfortable, if not creepy, when someone would say “why is there toilet paper in the pool?”  It was late in the day and the masses were back from Coco Cay, so we headed up to deck 12 to have some pizza and ice cream and sit on the deck there to watch the sun getting ready to set over Coco Cay.

Another great day!

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Monarch Cruise, Nassau Bahamas January 2011

Monarch of the Seas Cruise

January 7-10, 2011

Part Two

Nassau Bahamas

We enjoyed smooth sailing from Port Canaveral to Nassau. We disembarked with no real plans for the day. As we were walking up towards Festival Place, the entry point into Nassau, we decided to take a guided tour. We were lucky to bump into Kendrick Curry, our guide. He looked neat and polished and gave us a great tour of Nassau and Paradise Island.

There were 11 of us in his van, six Americans and five Russians, who spoke almost no English. We all had a great time with Kendrick. We took a leisurely ride up Bay Street past the shops and straw market, cruised by the pink Parliament Buildings and down to Lighthouse Beach to stop and dip our toes in the water. The nights had been a bit chilly lately so the water was cool but still beautiful to view.

Kendrick pointed out the highlights along the way; we saw Eddie Murphy’s private island and other interesting spots such as the ‘fish fry’ area were the seafood restaurants are located. We passed a Segway tour, which looked fun but a bit dangerous in the Nassau traffic.  Speaking of dangerous, we saw more than a few tourists on scooters. One woman was actually holding on to her driver crying, she was so scared. I don’t think I will venture out on a scooter in Nassau anytime soon, the traffic is crazy.

We saw some beautiful churches on our way to Fort Fincastle. We toured the fort which is located on the highest point of the island; it was built as a look out for the British troops in 1793. The Fort was never attacked, its cannons never fired in battle and it is now one of the more popular tourist attractions. Located nearby is the Queens Staircase, 65 steps carved out of the limestone walls by slaves from the island between 1793 and 1794.  The area is beautiful and worth the effort to visit. In addition to beautiful views and limestone walls, you will find local vendors similar to the ones at the Straw Market on Bay Street.

We rounded out our tour visiting Paradise Island, where Anna Nicole Smith and John Travolta had houses. We spend a half hour visiting The Atlantis Hotel and Casino, we lost $20 on the video poker game and tried to look around the grounds but were stopped by security at all entry points. Unless you are a guest of the hotel or pay the per diem rate you cannot enter the grounds. It is a beautiful hotel though and very popular.

We met Kendrick in front of the hotel near the gorgeous fountain and took the quick ride back to the port. It was a nice afternoon spent with a Bahamian, who was proud to show us his country.  If you are planning a visit to Nassau let me know and I will give Kendrick a call and have him give you a tour of the island. You will enjoy it!

Next up Part Three~Coco Cay

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Our Monarch of the Seas Cruise

Royal Caribbean’s Monarch of the Seas

Our Monarch of the Seas Cruise January 7-10, 2011
Part One

We left Weeki Wachee, Florida at 8:00AM on Friday for our weekend cruise on the Monarch of the Seas. It was an easy 2.5 hour ride over to Port Canaveral. It was by far the easiest port for embarkation; the parking garage had plenty of parking close to the terminal and lots of port employees to guide you thru the embarkation process.  We checked in quickly, with only three people in front of us, had our pictures taken and were on the ship by 11 am.

We did not check our luggage pier-side so we just wheeled it up to the Windjammer with us. We enjoyed our lunch looking out the window at the brand new Disney Dream. What a ship that is! I will have to cruise on The Dream just to give a ship review (then its work related!).  

We met a nice couple at lunch, also from Florida, this would be the theme of the cruise; everyone it seemed was a ‘local’. The Monarch, was one of the largest ships to sail in 1991, but by today’s standards, is considered a smaller cruise ship at 73,000 tons.  This makes the ship perfect for quick weekend get-a-ways for anyone who is within a few hours drive of Port Canaveral.  The ship is nice and comfortable with wonderful staff and plenty to keep you busy!

Even the band members were cold!

We dropped our bags at our ocean view stateroom.  There are not many balcony staterooms and the staterooms in general were not as up to date as the brand new ships (no flat screen TVs)  but the bed was comfortable and the room was always clean thanks to Dion, our cabin steward.  The bathroom of course was smaller than I would like, I was accosted by the shower curtain each morning. I haven’t found a cruise ship bathroom that I like yet. I will put out a new bulletin when I do!

It was a very cold day by Florida standards, too cold to swim so we toured the ship for the afternoon. The one good thing about a smaller ship, we never got lost once, that’s a first for me.  We toured the ship and found it looking great. We began our exploration in the Centrum the open multilevel area in the heart of the ship. This area holds the Guest Relations, Excursion Desk, Shops, Ben and Jerry’s, Café Latte-tudes, Crown and Anchor Desk. This area had some comfortable seating to give you a place to sit and enjoy the changing view while enjoying your latte or ice cream.  

We worked our way around the ship walking from deck to deck to see what we had in store. The Sound of Music Theatre is large and there were not many view obstructions.  We toured the Ship Shape Fitness Center with the hopes of working out at some point but that never happened. I guess Sorrento’s pizza called my name louder. We had pizza for an afternoon snack there most days. This is where the ice cream was located so it was a fun spot in the afternoon.

The pool area was nice and never seemed too crowded.  The bar staff was always close by to bring you the drink of the day.  We had the pool area to ourselves the day the ship moored at Coco Cay, we visited the island for half the day and came back to the pool around noon. It was heaven. My only complaint was if I had to hear Ricky Martin sing about shaking his ‘bon bon’ one more time I was going to jump ship!

Dinner was very nice in Claude’s dining room, our waiter Albert, his assistant waiter Sweedon and the head waiter, Mustafa were all very attentive, more so than on any other ship we have sailed. We had a large table and almost every other person seated with us was from Florida, most from within a 2 hour drive. Ed, a senior from our area has been on the Monarch nine times since November, two others have been on the Monarch many times in the last year.  When the wait staff from other areas of the dining room walked by they greeted our tablemates by name, often stopping to give them a hug and ask how they were doing.  I thought Ed should be the mayor the Monarch! We enjoyed everyone’s company very much. Albert, our waiter, told us a joke each night and Mustafa, the head waiter, gave us the weather report for the next day. They really made us feel right at home. The food was delicious too!

We enjoyed the music and shows in the theatre and lounges. We did not make it to the disco or the deck party but a table mate went and enjoyed learning some new songs and dances, he learned the Superman and Stanky Legg dance; maybe I am glad I missed that one.  

We had so much fun and this was only day one!

More to come….