Starting tomorrow, Disney Cruise Line is accepting bookings for early 2020!
There are new itineraries, including departures from New Orleans in Louisiana, visits in Puerto Rico, and a Hawaiian Island cruise! There will, of course, continue to be cruises departing from Florida and California.
Image from disneytravelagents.ca (not available to non-agents, sorry!)
Are you interested in travelling on a Disney Cruise? You can contact Jennifer Desmarais through Orleans Travel. jennifer.desmarais@orleanstravel.ca
Take a look at the incredible instructors and the amazing seminars being offered!
I have met a couple of these instructors at Can-Con in Ottawa and I was incredibly shy and quiet around them very impressed by them. To have the opportunity to have a one-on-one session with even one of these instructors – where you can cover anything from a critique, worldbuilding, pitching practice (no, not baseball!), or simply get general writing advice – is worth it’s weight in gold.
The seminars themselves are extremely comprehensive and include writing exercises and Q&A time with the professor as well as instructional time.
The cruise allows for a guest to accompany their writer, with a nice discount. Children aged 12-17 can also attend seminars with parental guidance.
Please bear in mind that the prices listed are in USD but they include things like WiFi, gratuities, and transfers to/from the Houston WX hotel, all things that are not normally included in cruise pricing.
There are only a few tickets to the conference left! What are you waiting for?
The Liberty of the Seas from Royal Caribbean. Image from Wikipedia.
Are you interested in cruising? You can contact Jennifer Desmarais through Orleans Travel. jennifer.desmarais@orleanstravel.ca
If you act fast enough (before July 31), you don’t have to pay a deposit or payment until August 15th! The cheapest inside cabins are waitlist only at this time, but there are still some reasonably priced cabins left.
So if you would like to meet some superheroes, and would like to cruise the Bahamas for 7 or 8 nights, or Canada and New England for 7 nights, this is a perfect vacation for you!
If you are concerned about the price of a cruise being too expensive, remember, cruise prices include the accommodation, your meals, and activities on board the ship. So take the total cost, divide it by the number of nights, and try to find another vacation that is that good a price!
If you are interested in booking a Disney cruise vacation. You can contact Jennifer Desmarais through Orleans Travel. jennifer.desmarais@orleanstravel.ca
Disney announced the other day that their Transatlantic cruise from Port Canaveral, Florida to Dover, England will include a stop in Sydney, Nova Scotia. I’m rather excited about this, for obvious reasons. (Yay Canada!) You can check out the full itinerary here.
On top of that, the price is ridiculously low for a Disney cruise. Fourteen nights, and…well, you’ll just have to look at the price list here. Yes, that’s in USD, unfortunately. However, yes, that is for two people. No, it doesn’t include airfare.
Yes, it leaves on Ottawa Comic Con weekend, because it is the Disney Magic, heading over to Norway for its Frozen-themed cruises in May, June, and July. It’s also going to do a nice little tour around the British Isles. There are also itineraries in the Mediterranean, departing from Barcelona, Spain.
Want to go on a Disney cruise? I sure do, now that I’ve done my research for this post! You can contact Jennifer Desmarais through Orleans Travel. jennifer.desmarais@orleanstravel.ca
You may not have heard, but the popular convention Wizard World is hosting a 3-day convention on a cruise ship December 2-5, 2016. The Norwegian Sky will depart Miami and go to Nassau, Bahamas, but I’m sure you’d rather hear about the guests.
Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusters), Barry Bostwick (The Rocky Horror Picture Show, “Spin City”), Sara Underwood (“Attack of the Show”), Billy Martin (lead guitarist/keyboardist, Good Charlotte; artist, “TMNT”), Phil Ortiz (animator, “The Simpsons,” “Muppet Babies”), cosplayers Jackie Craft, Abby Dark Star and Zen Dragon. Additional celebrities and creators to appear aboard Wizard World Cruise will be announced in the coming weeks. (source and source)
Tickets go on pre-sale April 19th at 12 noon EST, and general sale April 20th at 12 noon EST.
Prices start at $749.00 USD per person, not including airfare or a $299.00 USD per person booking charge from the cruise company. However, the base fare seems to include photos with the celebrities, all meals onboard as well as open bar, a special cruise-only gift item, and access to all Wizard World events on the ship. Here is the link to the official price list. Please note, the prices are in USD!
If you are interested in booking this cruise, please let me know, and I will get you registered in advance so that the tickets can be bought quickly. You can contact Jennifer Desmarais through Orleans Travel. jennifer.desmarais@orleanstravel.ca
Are you a fan of The Walking Dead? Star Trek? Music, comedy, and general nerdery? There are three cruises that might peak your interest that are about to set sail.
This cruise is completely booked, with a waiting list, however, it is one of the first of it’s kind, and thus deserves a mention. For three days, January 15-18, 2016, you would sail from Miami to Nassau, Bahamas with four stars from The Walking Dead, on board the Norwegian Pearl. The website contains all sorts of interesting information, and if you think you might be interested, check out The Waiting List requirements – you have to be on it before December 1st!
Star Trek
The Norwegian Pearl is busy with Fandom bookings; it is also the ship for the Star Trek cruise! January 9-15, 2017, you can sail from Miami to Cozumel, Mexico, to Nassau, Bahamas, and back to Miami, with legendary actors like John de Lancie and William Shatner. Check out the itinerary – it looks fantastic!
Music, Comedy, and General Nerdery
The JoCo Cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas is a convention at sea! Jonathon Coulton, Paul and Storm, Imogen Heap, and others are performers and featured guests on this cruise, which is taking place February 21-28, 2016, departing from Port Canaveral, Florida. Ports of call include CocoCay, Bahamas; St Thomas, US Virgin Islands; and St Maarten.
There are many other geeky or Fandom cruises. Let me know what you’re interested in, and I’m sure we can find something for you! There’s even a crochet cruise! 😉
If you are interested in going on any of these cruises, or others. You can contact Jennifer Desmarais through Orleans Travel. jennifer.desmarais@orleanstravel.ca
Norway is a beautiful country full of geeky opportunities. Tons of movies were filmed there, including “Empire Strikes Back” (in Finse), “Die Another Day”, “Eight Below”, “G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra”, and “Captain America: The First Avenger” (in Svalbard), parts of “Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince” (in Rauma), “Ex Machina” (in Norddal and Luster), and “Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows” (in Mardalsfossen). Of course, “Vikings” was shot in many locations in Norway, including Sokndal, Bjerkreim, Gjesdal, Forsand, Aurland, and Stranda.
Note: Svalbard is an island much further North of the continent, and would probably be a trip all on it’s own.
And that’s not even counting Oslo, Norway’s capital. One of the best comic book stores exists there: Outland. They have everything you could possibly want, including Lego, board games, comic books (obviously), and collectibles.
Akershus Fortress is also located in Oslo. It was used as the model for Arendelle’s castle in Frozen, and Norway’s building in Epcot is a replica of the Fortress.
For History buffs, Norway is an amazing place to visit. They have museums, carvings, and historical centres all over the place. I read through this website, a mom and her six year old son’s trip to Norway was beautifully written.
