cruise3sixty update: A Look at the Week Ahead

We have arrived safe and sound in beautiful Fort Lauderdale and now it’s time to preview what’s ahead of us in the next seven jam-packed days.

TUESDAY

While the conference doesn’t officially begin until Wednesday, we’re going to start things off tomorrow with a tour of the beautiful Queen Victoria. One of only three ships in Cunard’s fleet, the ship is known for her elegance and her graceful splendor. Her unique facilities are amongst the most modern you will find and yet she has a special ambiance evocative of great liners past. With luxurious marbles, woods and rich fabrics she exudes elegance and is adored by her crew and passengers alike. We’ll have plenty of photos and video from the ship, plus we’ll be having lunch in the stunning Britannia Restaurant and will certainly share our menu with you.

WEDNESDAY

The next day, the conference kicks off with a full day of educational seminars and cruise line updates. Discussions will include cruise ship safety, interacting with suppliers, hosting events at sea and the first of three lunch-time General Sessions. The general sessions typically include panels featuring cruise line executives discussing the latest trends in cruising and updating us on their lines’ newest ships and itineraries. Then, each session ends with a motivational or comedic speaker to inspire us all to greatness. Each day we’ll post more specifics on the panels, what they told us and the fun we had with the keynote speakers.

THURSDAY

The learning continues with more seminars and classrooms. Thursday will focus on Alaska, two new cruise lines joining the CLIA fleet, General Session #2 and the first day of the trade show. We’ll break down the specifics of each of those in future posts. That evening, it’s one of our favorite events at the conference – the Hall of Fame Dinner. This festive black-tie event features the induction of the new class of Hall of Famers, plus cruise-style entertainment from several lines. In past years, we’ve seen Blue Man Group, Broadway’s Megan Hilty, American Idol finalist Kimberly Caldwell and many, many more great entertainers. Who will be there this year? You’ll know as soon as we do!

FRIDAY

As we head into the weekend, we’ll focus on another specific destination – The Baltic. Plus, we’ll meet with the folks from the Vancouver Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. This meeting has two purposes – one is to stay up-to-date on all the happenings relating to cruises sailing from Vancouver (it is one of the two main ports for Alaska cruises). The second purpose is to prepare for next year’s cruise3sixty. Every third year, the conference moves to the west coast so we can focus on Alaska sailings. We always look forward to visiting Vancouver and we’ll spend part of Friday planning for next year’s trip. In addition, we’ll meet with our friends from Holland America Line and learn all about their brand new ship, ms Koningsdam. Friday’s lunch will also see the last of the three General Sessions.

SATURDAY

The big highlight on Saturday will be our tour of a ship headed to Galveston later this year – Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas. There are quite a few ship tours on Saturday but we selected this one specifically to be able to bring a preview of this ship to our Texas customers. It says something about Galveston when the cruise lines are bringing more ships and replacing the ones that are already there with even larger vessels. We’ll have photos, videos and even lunch at the lido deck buffet so we can tell you all about the food too! Saturday will also feature more classroom training and interaction with our cruise line suppliers.

SUNDAY

A good chunk of our final full day will be spent onboard the Carnival Conquest. While the ship is empty between voyages, we’ll have time to tour her staterooms and public rooms, plus grab a bite to eat on the lido deck. As with our other ship tours, we’ll have plenty of photos and videos to share. Speaking of eating, we’ll also be attending a classroom discussion called “Eat, Drink & Cruise” which ought to have some interesting insights on the culinary aspects of the industry. Those of you who enjoy themed cruises (such as wine & food tastings) will want to watch for our updates from this seminar. It promises to be delicious!

MONDAY

Before we head to the airport and back to Houston, we’re going to squeeze in one more ship inspection as we visit the Celebrity Equinox. We’ve toured several Celebrity ships at past conferences and they’re always stunning. Plus, this tour will feature a plated lunch in one of the main dining rooms. We especially appreciate this kind touch, as the waiters & waitresses that take care of us typically volunteer to work on their day off so that we may better sell their product. Of course, you’d never know that they did this – they smile and treat us as if we were full-fare passengers. There are certainly worse ways to wrap up a full week of fun and learning.

That’s a small glimpse into what lies ahead. We’ll have several updates each day — be sure to bookmark www.premiercustomtravel.com/cruise3sixty for all the updates in one place (all blogs, Tweets, Instagram photos and YouTube videos will appear on this page).