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December 9, 2009

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WHERE'S JOHNNY JET?                    Twitter Cruise (Part 1)
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Ahoy there mates! This week I'm writing about a seven-night Caribbean "Twitter" cruise that my dad and I recently took on the Crown Princess.

TWITTER CRUISE
A few weeks ago I was invited to partake in the first-ever Twitter-only press trip. It was hosted by Princess Cruises and they invited ten fairly popular travel tweeters (@Galavanting,@Cajun_Mama, @CruiseCritic, @EveryWhereTrip, @ARoadRetraveled, @NancyDBrown, @ExpertCruiser, @BrilliantTips, @Trazzler) and their guests. I signed up not only because I'm all about the Internet and wanting to be a part of a first in social media, but also because it was my dad's birthday and we were hitting destinations we've both never been. The best part? All that was required by us tweeters was to send three tweets a day and write one blog post about anything we wanted related to the cruise, positive or negative. Easy as can be—and if you are following me on Twitter (@JohnnyJet) then you know I tweeted about both. NOTE: I wasn't required to write this story, but the cruise was such a memorable experience I just couldn't keep it to myself.



SEABOURN TO PRINCESS
To be honest (which I always am—almost to a fault), I didn't have very high expectations of this cruise since the last ship I was on was the ultra-plush Seabourn Odyssey. FYI: Although I wrote about the new Oasis of the Seas megaship two weeks ago, I went on that cruise a week after this one but I flip-flopped the stories since that was more newsworthy. If you don't know much about cruising (as I didn't until recently), Seabourn ships are as luxurious as they come, the equivalent to a Four Seasons Hotel. Princess Cruises is a notch or two below, considered a premium line similar to a standard Hilton hotel. Both lines are owned by Carnival Corporation, which also runs Carnival Cruises, which are a step below Princess—so I guess one could compare those to an extended-stay budget hotel.

TWITTER-SIZE PARAGRAPHS
Since this was a Twitter cruise I will try and keep each paragraph to 140 characters to keep with Twitter's theme, which makes for quick reading.

CROWN PRINCESS
The Crown Princess is three years old and holds 3,000 passengers and 1,270 crew members.

CRAMPED?
You would think that with a ship that holds 4,000-plus it would feel cramped, but honestly it never felt crowded except during the muster drill and when getting on and off the ship in each port.

CRUISING
My dad original declined my invite, saying cruises are for couples, but I told him that wasn't entirely true and I arranged for twin beds.

CRUISING IS FOR…
Cruises really are for everyone, from romantic getaways and family vacations to bachelor parties—in fact the best two bachelor parties I've ever attended were on a cruise (Carnival).

WHO WAS ON OUR CRUISE
You just have to find the ship that meets your needs. For example, you wouldn't want to take little kids on Seabourn, but you would on Princess or Carnival. On this cruise I met people who were on every kind of holiday you could imagine. From birthday parties to anniversaries, from honeymooners to people actually getting married on the ship!

ARRIVAL
Our seven-day Crown Princess cruise left out of Port Everglades, Florida, which is right next to the Fort Lauderdale Airport so it was very convenient to get to (they offer free shuttles to and from FLL and MIA airports).

Our itinerary was as follows:

- Saturday (11/7): Fort Lauderdale
- Sunday (11/8): Princess Cays 0900–1600
- Monday (11/9): At sea
- Tuesday (11/10): Grand Cayman 0700–1600
- Wednesday (11/11): Roatan, Honduras 0900–1700
- Thursday (11/12): Cozumel 0800–1800
- Friday (11/13): At sea
- Saturday (11/14): Florida, arrive 0700

TIP: No matter which port you are departing from it's always a good idea to arrive a day or two early since cruise ships won't wait for you and delays happen.

CHECKING BAGS
When we arrived at the ship a bunch of thug baggage handlers checked our bags—I would've given them a better tip if they hadn't basically demanded one but I guess they are used to dealing with a lot of foreigners (our cruise had a large portion of Europeans) who don't tip so I guess I can't really blame them.

LUGGAGE TIP #1: Remember to put the bag tags that the cruise line sends in advance onto the bags you are checking, and always carry onboard all your valuables/medicines....

LUGGAGE TIP #2: I always thought you had to check your bags, but if you are a light packer (like me) there's no need to. Just carry them on and off the ship so you don't have to worry or wait.

CHECKING IN
We showed up at 2:40 p.m. and there was no line to check in and the ship was sold out. In fact, I couldn't even buy a room for one of my friends who really wanted to go, and this wasn't a special cruise. (No one knew this was a Twitter press trip.)

CRUISING IS THE BEST VALUE
What really surprised me is that when I called to buy a room they said that not only was our cruise overbooked but the next three weeks were sold out as well—maybe a sign the economy is bouncing back? But definitely proof that cruising is the best value around since room, food, and entertainment are all included.

ROOM RATES
To give you an idea of the prices, here are the rack rates: our mini-suite goes for $899 per person.

-Less expensive room options included:
-Balcony room: $649 per person
-Outside room with a window: $559 per person
-Interior room without a window: $449 per person.

DON'T PAY RACK RATES
Prices are based on double occupancy, but if you go through a travel agent or broker you can usually get it for MUCH cheaper. Some cruises are so cheap it literally costs more money to stay at home (I've seen some for as little as $35 pp a night).

CHECK-IN TIP: The agent told me the busiest time to check in is usually 11:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. (most boats depart around 5 p.m.).

WELCOME ABOARD
Getting our room key was quick and when we walked onboard two friendly Aussies welcomed us and pointed our way to the bank of elevators closest to our room.

FINDING OUR ROOM
It was a little confusing at first, as we walked through an art gallery, but we eventually made our way to the Dolphin Deck (9th floor). It also took me about a day to get my bearings but I rarely got lost. My dad… not so much.

OUR ROOM
Our mini-suite was pretty sweet. It had twin beds with plush duvets and lovely pillows, plus a pull-out couch that could sleep two.

TV
Two flat-screen TVs with almost every channel I get at home plus on-demand programs, webcams and ship information.

INTERNET
Princess does have satellite Wi-Fi but it's expensive, like on all ships. Plans ranged from $0.35 to $0.55 a minute.

NO SKYPE
They block Skype because they say it takes up too much bandwidth, but I was able to get onto a similar service using another VOIP application.

BATHROOM
The shower/tub in our room was just like a standard hotel's, with decent water pressure and good-quality towels.

BALCONY
We had plenty of closet space, a laptop-size safe, and balcony with four deck chairs.

COMPLAINTS
The windows are soundproof but the walls/floors aren't. I could occasionally hear a baby cry next door and the neighbor's toilet flush.

EARPLUGS
The sounds didn't bother me since I wasn't in my room much and when I sleep in the same room as my dad I use earplugs (he snores like Yogi Bear).

SMOKING SUCKS
My only real beef about the room is that Princess allows smoking on decks, so when I went out there or left the balcony door open I could smell smoke from the chain-smoking neighbors.

9th AND 10th FLOOR COMPLAINTS
The decks on these two floors jut out so there's no covering. If you like more privacy or shade from the sun, request a room on the 11th floor or higher.

ROOM OBSERVATION
You can barely hear announcements when in your room, and if you are in the bathroom you can't at all since they only play them over the hallway speakers. That's perfect for those who want to take naps, but not so good if you're working like me and always like to be informed.

ROOM TIP
If you have a bunch of electrical gadgets that need charging all at once bring a power strip (I use Belkin's Mini Surge Protector) since there's only two slim outlets.

CHANGE OF COURSE
As on every cruise ship the captain has the right to change itineraries, so instead of going to the Bahamas last we went first as Tropical Storm Ida was brewing in the original path (Gulf of Mexico).

ROUGH WATER
Thanks to Ida, the water was pretty rough the first two nights, but every experienced cruiser I met said that was unusual for the Caribbean.

SEASICK
I didn't get seasick once, nor did my dad, and out of the 20 people in our group only two felt a tad seasick during those nights (it was calm during the day).

MIND OVER MATTER
I'm usually prone to seasickness, but I actually was able to trick my mind into finding the rough water soothing instead of a nuisance while I was in bed (that's when it was at its worst).

SEASICK MEDICINE
Don't get me wrong: If the water had been that rough while at dinner it would've been difficult to play tricks on my little influential friend. TIP: I met with the ship's doctor and he said the only medicine that really works is Promethazine Teoclate. It's by prescription and they carry a ton of it on board.

SEA AIDS
Unfortunately, he said all those other gadgets like patches and wristbands are really just gimmicks. The best is Promethazine Teoclate.

SMOOTH WATER
Note when the water is calm it's smooth sailing: When we first set sail I didn't even know we'd taken off—it's that smooth.

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Copyright 2009 JohnnyJet, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Pictures From

The Trip

 

Crown Princess

 

Tweeters

 

Real Tweets

 

Crown Tweet

 

Tweets Dressed Up

 

My Dad

 

He's a Flirt

 

Lobby

 

Hallway To Room

 

Our Mini Suite

 

Our Bathroom

 

Our Balcony

 

Sunset

 

Dusk

 

Our Routing

 

BYE BYE Florida

 

Crown Princess Pool

 

MNF W/ My Dad

 

Baggage

 

My Dad's B-Day

 

2 TVs

 

Live Cam

 

Muster Drill

 

Mustering In Casino

 

Balcony Open

 

Neighbors

 

Internet Rates

 

Ship Doc

 

Only Meds That Work

 

Captain and his Mates

 

Our Turn

 

Headed For The Bahamas

 

On Tender

 

Eleuthera

 

HOUSEKEEPING

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