15 June 2009 by Don.

Summer is here but the temperatures have been mild…

Cruisers are back booking more cruises than ever…

MCC case studies have been submitted…

My next cruise has been booked…

and,

It’s Monday…

All is good!

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26 May 2009 by Don.

OK,  My excuse of being too busy has been overused and now it’s time to get back to the blog and other unfinished task.

The next cruise has just been booked and I’m counting the days - or maybe I should be counting the months - over 6 (bummer).  But even with the cruise that far in the future, I’m already enjoying it.  If I’m not on a cruise, I like to think and dream about the next one.  I like to research and plan.  This next cruise (like all of them in the past) will be the best of the best.

Thanks to all who have registered recently - knowing that someone sometimes reads this page is encouraging.

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9 February 2009 by Don.

Sorry, I’ve fallen down on keeping this blog current.

The winter has been cold (but that’s as it should be), and the forecast has been gloom ($$$) but signs of spring are appearing.  Just as I know the weather will warm, I know that the economy will recover but the time is not for me to know.

For now, and we all must live for NOW, life goes on!

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28 October 2008 by Don.

I’ll always remember that first time.

It was early on a Sunday morning when I finally arrived at the dock in Maui.  There she was, all decked out for a party, waiting for me.  Although I was late, the greeting was warm and welcoming.  Her classic figure aroused man’s second oldest passion within me, and it was love at first sight.

I was no youngster but was naïve and not sure what to expect.  She, though only a little younger than I, had been around.  She knew the facts of life and she knew how to please someone like me.

We cruised the Hawaiian Islands for a week and by the time it was over, I was hooked for life.  I’d been hooked on my wife for 26 years, this was a new affair.

–

I’ll always remember that first cruise with my wife.

It was early on a Sunday morning when we finally got to the dock in Maui.  There was the SS Independence, fresh and bright with flags flying from stem to stern.  Although we were late, the Second Officer, greeted us at the gangplank and escorted us aboard.  She was a classic ocean liner from the golden age of travel.  “Man’s Second Oldest Passion” has always been the sea and I knew that we were going to enjoy this vacation

This was our first cruise, purchased on a whim at the suggestion of good friends.  The SS Independence had just turned 50 years old.  The Indy, as she was lovingly referred to, had, for years, shown a good time to royalty, film stars, politicians, and common folks on transatlantic crossings between New York and Italy.  Now, after several other careers, she slow steamed around the Hawaiian Islands for the American Hawaii Cruise Line.

My wife and I cruised around the islands on Indy and by the time the week was over, we were hooked on a love affair with cruising.

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4 October 2008 by Don.

I sell cruise vacations.

No, that’s not exactly true - Cruise Vacations sell themselves.  That’s why people try to buy them from the internet.

I have to admit, I did exactly that for my first cruise but I learned very quickly that the best way to buy a cruise (for the best vacation experience and the best prices) is by working with a Cruise Specialist at a Travel Agency.

I have the training, knowledge, and experience to help individuals and groups search through the dozens of cruise lines, hundreds of ships, and thousands of itineraries to select the cruise that’s right for them.  And I find prices that make a cruise the best value for their vacation dollar.

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30 September 2008 by Don.

Now, 45 years after leaving Mount St. Joe, I have finally stepped off my career path into a job that most people only dream about.  As I left high school, I was not one to look far into the future and my plans only extended as far as college and an Aerospace Engineering degree.

On graduation from the University of Maryland, I accepted a commission in the Air Force and headed to pilot training.  A year and a half later, I was flying the O-2A in Vietnam.   There I was awarded the Air Medal (with thirteen Oak Leaf Clusters) and the Distinguished Flying Cross (with Oak Leaf Cluster) as a Forward Air Controller.
With my combat tour over, I became a T-38 Instructor Pilot teaching in the advanced phase of Undergraduate Pilot training before accepting an assignment as the weapons compatibility engineer for the F-111 for which I was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.

With almost 11 years in the Air Force, I changed to civilian clothes and moved with my wife, Kathy, to the Arnold Engineering Development Center as a Test Engineer in the Four-foot Transonic-Wind Tunnel.

The desire for expanded career opportunities took us to Denver and Martin Marietta as a Systems Engineer.  In the 10 years there, among other projects, I was responsible for the configuration management for the development of NASA’s Manned Maneuvering Unit that now hangs in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

Though Denver was beautiful, the desire to be closer to my family roots brought Kathy and I back to the east coast with TASC (The Analytic Sciences Corporation, later purchased by Northrop Grumman).  With offices close to the Washington beltway and doors securely locked, I worked for 18 years as a Systems Engineer on challenging but frustrating government contracts.  For several years, my offices were close to the Air and Space museum - yes it’s a small world.

That brief history brings me to a point two years ago when, with my wife’s encouragement, I decided to retire from Northrop Grumman.  With freedom to do whatever I wanted, I looked at all the places I’ve traveled, and the things I like to do, and then listened to an invitation from my travel agent to capitalize on years of vacation experience.

I’m now an Accredited Cruise Counsellor selling cruise vacations on all the major cruise lines and European river cruises. For me, it’s a dream job.

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