A Princess Salute to Veterans

Support Our Vets:  Sail on Caribbean Princess

Credit: View of Caribbean Princess

Kudos to Princess Cruises for implementing a great idea.  They're saluting our veterans in great style next month on Caribbean Princess.

You can join them for an extra special four day cruise, but you'll need to book now, as the ship sails on November 5.

The cruise line has paid a LOT of attention to detail on this one, and the plans are quite extensive.  Here are just a few highlights:

• A 'Stars and Stripes Sailaway'
• Donations to the Operation Homefront and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund for every cabin booked
• A $50 on board credit for active and retired military 
• Guest speakers including a decorated war correspondent, and the man who announced the end of World War II in Europe
• A "red white and blue" formal night (!)
• Veterans History Project assisting with the recording of personal experiences for the Library of Congress
• Special guest list that reads like a military "Who's Who."

There's more.  Lots more.  I teared up just reading about it, and thinking about the men and women who'll be there.

Visit princess.com/veteranscruise  and see for yourself.

Veteran Button

American Flag Button

Thank Veterans Button

If you are able to cruise on short notice, and would like to join in honoring those who've served, do it. You're sure to meet a few real  honest to goodness heroes.  Just DO IT. I wish I could. It's sure to be a very special few days.

Princess Cruises Sweepstakes

Win a Free Getaway on Princess 

 Golden Princess in Hawaii, By Gabriel Millos,
via Wikimedia Commons

Here's another opportunity to win a free cruise.  This one is offered by Princess Cruises.  The contest has one grand prize of a four day cruise for two on a Princess Cruise Ship.  There are a bunch of daily prices, too.

The winner of the grand prize will have their choice of a four day cruise for two from either the east coast (from Ft. Lauderdale) or the west coast (from Los Angeles' San Pedro harbor.)  The best part that the on board accommodation is actually in a balcony cabin!

Daily prizes include Oakley sunglasses, popular books, and a piece of wheeled luggage.

So, here are the basics:

You can enter  up to three times a day.  Although the contest started in September, it continues through October 20, so there's still time for you to get in a good 30 entries or so.  Bonus entries are also available, giving you even more chances to win.

You'll find more details on the contest website - the Need to Escape Sweepstakes page.  That's where you enter, too.   The grand prize winner will be notified in early December, and must take their free cruise by mid November of next year.

As for the ship that the winner might be sailing on, it appears there will be two possibilities on each coast during that time frame.  Four night cruises out of Ft. Lauderdale are offered on both Ruby and Caribbean Princess, while the Golden and Sapphire Princess are home porting on the west coast at that time.

Good luck, and happy cruising!

Kudos to Crown Princess

Crown Princess: Heroine in the Med

With all the turmoil  in Syria, it was bound to happen.  Desperate Syrians are fleeing the utter horrors ravaging their homeland crowded by any means available.  158 of them piled into a small boat in an attempt to escape by sea.  Not surprisingly, the packed boat didn't' make it to their destination.  But the refugees did - courtesy of a cruise ship.

Crown Princess by UrbanCowboy89, CC

A call for help went out from the Italian Coast Guard, who had received word that the boat was adrift some 100 miles out at sea.  That call was answered by the Crown Princess, which was in the midst of a Mediterranean Cruise.  It meant the cruisers aboard would miss their stop at the port of Corfu.  But what is that compared with human lives, 64 of them women and children?

Crown Princess diverted to the location of the stranded boat, and brought all aboard.  What a relief that must have been to those refugees to be on the comfortable big ship, where they received food and water!  Medical attention, too.

The Princess cruise ship met up with Italian naval vessels that took all but one of the people from the small boat to Syracuse, Sicily.

Watch a short video of the dramatic rescue video here.  Note the very pregnant woman dressed in brown being helped onto the ship.  The last frames of the video show the same woman being taken onto the helicopter that airlifted her to a hospital.  Her baby was born shortly afterwards.



My favorite part of the video, though is the little girl reaching for what appears to be a hamburger.  I can't help but wonder how she will remember these events years hence.

Kudos to Crown Princess for coming to the rescue once again.  That's right, this isn't her first rodeo.  She's rescued boaters and sailors in distress before, and she's not the only cruise ship that has done so.  It just doesn't always make the cut for the TV news highlights, so most people don't realize how often it does happen.

TS Arlene Heads for Mexico. Princess - not So Much.

Arlene Heading for Mexico

Well. 2011 Atlantic Basin hurricane activity has started. Tropical Storm Arlene, is on her way to somewhere near Tampico, Mexico.  The terrain around there is hilly to mountainous. Copious rainfall in such a region can mean life threatening flash flooding and even mudslides.  Arlene is first on the list of  2011 Hurricane Names... let's hope we don't get too far through that list this hear.

Hurricane Hunters have been flying into the storm, and  found maximum sustained winds of 50 mph this morning.  It's expected to make landfall early tomorrow. 

We are keeping the people of the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, San Luis Potosi, and Nuevo Leon, in our thoughts.  There are Hurricane Watches and Tropical Storm Warnings posted for these area.

 Princess - Not So Much 

Meanwhile, in case you haven't heard, Princess Cruises has cancelled previously scheduled stops at Puerto Vallarta for the remainder of the year.  This news came out a few days ago.  The US State Department has a travel warning posted for the Mexican state of Jalisco, which includes Puerto Vallarto.  The warning cites drug-related violence. 

Mazatlan has seen its cruise ship port calls curtailed recently, as well.

So, if there is a Mexican Rivera cruise in your future, it would seem itinerary options are narrowing considerably.

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