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The National Spelling Bee Reminds Me of Cruising

Written by T.I. Cruiser on May 29, 2009 · Leave a Comment

I was watching the National Spelling Bee last night and one of the words was Goombay. Of course, this immediately made me think of one of my favorite cruise ship drinks the Goombay Smash. This prompted me to look up the recipe for the drink. So, if any of you are currently going through cruise withdrawal maybe you can whip up a couple of these this weekend to bring back that cruisin’ feeling.

Goombay Smash

3/4 fluid ounce bacardi spiced rum
1/2 fluid ounce bicardi light rum
1/4 fluid ounce apricot brandy
1/2 fluid ounce coconut cream
2 fluid ounces pineapple juice
Blend all ingredients together, pour over ice and garnish with pineapple slice

Teenage Boy Goes Overboard on the Carnival Fantasy

Written by T.I. Cruiser on May 27, 2009 · Leave a Comment

This is the subject that I purposely stayed away from this year. After the last couple of incidents the cruise industry really talk of public relations at, and I didn’t feel the need to pile on. However, just this past weekend another passenger has fallen overboard a cruise ship. This time the person involved was a young adult.

At approximately 9:45 PM Sunday night passengers witnessed an 18-year-old boy fall over the rails of the Carnival Fantasy. The passenger was identified as Bruce O’Krepki from Hammond, Louisiana. The Carnival Fantasy was about 165 miles from Key West when the passenger went overboard. O’Krepki who is from Hammond, Louisiana had just graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas high school and was on board with a number of recent graduates. Currently the fantasy is on a seven day cruise which originated in Louisiana and makes stops in Key West and Nassau.

The statement from the cruise line indicates that the Coast Guard as well as the crew of the Fantasy participated in search and rescue operations until about 2:50 AM when the ship was released. After which, the ship continued on sailing to Key West where it docked somewhere around 1 PM Monday afternoon. Even though the ship had to leave in order to fulfill its obligations to the rest of the guests, the Coast Guard is continuing the search through Tuesday using helicopters, a C-130 airplane, and a Coast Guard cutter. The Carnival Fantasy’s current cruise wraps up back in New Orleans on Saturday, May 20.

At this time no one is reporting any details on what caused the teenager to go overboard, but I do feel comfortable saying that falling overboard a cruise ship is not a normal occurrence. This unfortunate incident is just another reminder that even on vacation we must still be on guard against accidents. Over the past year it seems that these types of accidents are becoming more and more common on board cruise ships, a trend that is seriously damaging the reputation of presentations. Those of us who are experienced cruisers already know how difficult falling overboard may be, but new cruisers really have no way of knowing. Here is a blog post I wrote a few months ago about falling overboard a cruise ship, please take some time to read it if you’re new to cruising.

TIC Celebrates Memorial Day

Written by T.I. Cruiser on May 25, 2009 · Leave a Comment

bald eagle head and american flag TIC Celebrates Memorial Day

In honor of Memorial Day I would like to take a moment to thank all of those who have given their lives to protect out freedom. For many of us Memorial Day provides a three day weekend away from the stresses of our everyday jobs, but all too often the true meaning is lost. So, I am here to ask you that while you are out in the backyard barbequing, lounging by the pool or enjoying your day in whichever way you see fit please take the time to remember the true meaning of the day. If at all possible at 3 p.m. stop whatever you are doing to participate in the “National Moment of Remembrance” .

Here are some other ways you can honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice so that we can enjoy the personal freedoms which allow us to do things like throw pool parties, backyard barbeques and just about every other moment of enjoyment that we take for granted.

by visiting cemeteries and placing flags or flowers on the graves of our fallen heroes.
by visiting memorials.
by flying the U.S. Flag at half-staff until noon.
by flying the ‘POW/MIA Flag’ as well (Section 1082 of the 1998 Defense Authorization Act).
by renewing a pledge to aid the widows, widowers, and orphans of our falled dead, and to aid the disabled veterans.

As a symbol of the gratitude I have I want to link to a blog post I previously wrote on cruise ship military discounts. If that article helps any of you lessen the expense of taking your families on a vacation, it was the least I could do for a group of people that do so much.