Ships Come and Go at the Port

Monarch of the Seas at Port Canaveral

Port Canaveral is gaining a new home ported ship next weekend, and will be losing one next year.

First, Saturday's gain. 
The New Disney Fantasy will be officially welcomed to Port Canaveral with a Sail-a-bration at Jetty Park next Saturday.  The Sail-a-bration is timed to see the Fantasy off on her 'maiden' boyage from the port, and will include prizes and entertainment.

I'm sure a good time will be had by all.  We've attended these Sail-a-brations in the past, and they're fun. 

Particulars:
DISNEY FANTASY SAIL-A-BRATION

Saturday, March 31, 4:00pm to 6:00 pm
Jetty Park
Admission: Non-perishable food item for the Central Brevard Sharing Center


Now, the Sadder News
Royal Caribbean has announced that they will be transferring the Monarch of the Seas to the Pullmantur fleet next year.  So, Port Canaveral will be losing their Sovereign Class ship.    

Her final sailing as a Royal Caribbean ship will be on March 29, 2013.

Even sadder is that no replacement ship for the Monarch has been announced.  However, the Port and Royal Caribbean are reportedly "in discussions" regarding the line "retaining a two-ship presence" here.

Oh, yes, please!
And can we have a Vision or Radiance class ship?  Or, maybe even a Celebrity ship?  OR BOTH?

A Treat - and a Travel Alert

Monarch of the Seas at Port Canaveral

Cruisers sailing on this Friday's sailing of The Monarch of the Seas may have an extra special treat, courtesy of NASA. 

The  Space Shuttle Endeavor is scheduled to lift off on its final mission - ever - at 3:47 pm.  Aim to be on board by 2 pm at the latest for a premium view of an event of a lifetime.  Be sure your camera is in your pocket, purse, or carry on.  You won't want to miss the opportunity to capture this historic event.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Expect unprecedented traffic on your way to the port.  If you are driving in the day of the cruise, be advised that you would be wise to allow an absolute minimum of  two to three extra hours of drive time from any direction.  And, truthfully, it's difficult to say if even that will be enough. The roads will be all jammed, especially the Beachline from the airport all the way to the port.

We Sail Today!

Some persnal notes for today - Sailaway day! It's been SO long since we curised that I hardly know how to act, but today's the day!

We'll be on the Monarch of the Seas, with our good friends Sue and Dickie, and it will be three days of relaxing and catching up. Everything's ready. Bob and Marilyn are here to mind the house and Walker, and I've got my Bon Voyage to Me T shirt ready to wear.

Dickie informed me he brought his nautical tie clip - the one from my store with the cruise ship on it - but doesn't intend to dress up. Does THAT make sense??? Why bring it if you don't intend to wear it? We'll see. And Sue brought everything but the kitchen sink, as usual. The two of them are such fun. It's going to be great to cruise with them again.

They were really pleased with the way our little magnet door markers turned out. These come in handy for my guy, too, who can never remember his cabin number. Since all the doors on those long hallways look pretty much alike, I 'mark' ours for him with a pretty magnet. Here's a pic of the ones I did for this trip ... one for each of our two cabin doors. They'll be a nice little keepsake afterwards, too. This is just one of several designs available for personalization in my Zazzle Gallery. (There's buttons and shirts, hats, bags, and other things, too)

Well - time to get in gear... first, breakfast at our favorite pre-cruise spot - The Sunrise Diner. So, now IT BEGINS.