Now Freestyle Certified

Wow, 2 posts: 1 week. I'm on a roll!

I'm just excited, because we just earned Freestlye Certified status from Norwegian Cruise Lines. Here's the press release:



Norwegian Cruise Line is proud to announce that Carmen Shirkey is among the first to graduate from its new online travel agent university, NCL University. This progressive, state-of-the art online school is geared to deliver an enhanced level of knowledge and insight into Freestyle Cruising - NCL's popular style of cruising, as well as NCL destinations, NCL ship programs and operations, and many other behind-the-scenes elements not available anywhere else. Each graduate is required, within one year, to earn a minimum number of credits through a choice of accredited courses and electives. The rigorous curriculum includes testing at every level in order to move forward.

Norwegian Cruise Line's online university opened its virtual doors in 2008 and is one of the most innovative and successful programs available to travel agents today. With thousands of registered students and growing, NCL U plans to expand its training from the interactive experience of its online program to a continuing educational experience that includes a Ph.D. @ Sea program aboard its ships.

At NCL, we highly recommend the use of a travel professional when booking an NCL cruise, says Andy Stuart, Executive Vice President, Global Sales and Passenger Services. "With NCL U, we are investing in our travel partners' product knowledge, marketing and sales skills so our guests will know they are relying on an expert who knows our product inside and out."

By earning NCL U's Freestyle Certification, Carmen is considered among the most qualified and expert representatives for NCL's cruise product. Contact Carmen at carmenandjim@cruiseshipcenters.com.

That's in ADDITION to our Princess Commodore status, earned late last year, and our completion of Carnival University. We've got a lot of cruise info in our heads!

Thursday 13 v. 68 Cruise Ship Lingo

Thirteen Pieces of Cruise Ship Lingo Do you know your starboard from your aft? :) 1. Always refer to your vessel as a ship not a boat. 2. The ship is always female. It's a "she" or a "her" 3. "Port" refers to the left side of the ship. 4. "Starboard" refers to the right side of the ship. 5. "Aft" refers to the rear or back of the ship. 6. "Bow" refers to the front of the ship. 7. A ship has decks not floors. 8. A ship has staterooms not rooms. 9. "Tender" is the vessel that you take to and from the shore when the ship is at anchor in a port. 10. The "bridge" is the place where the Captain and his crew steer the ship. 11. The "brig" is the ship's jail. 12. It is a "Purser's Desk" not an Information Desk or a Front Desk. 13. I can help you put this knowledge to work by helping you book a fun, cost-effective cruise! (Can I beg a little more?) Click on that big ad over there on the right to get to my Website.

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Thursday 13 v. 64 Princess Cruise Facts

Thirteen Things Carmen learned about Princess Cruises while earning her Commodore status 1. Princess Cruises sails to the Galapagos. One of my dream destinations. Sign me up! 2. Princess is big on the balconies - it has the largest proportion of balcony rooms. 3. For those of you who enjoy scrapbooking, like me, they have a Scrapbooking@Sea program. 4. They feature Movies Under the Stars, with a 300-foot LED screen, where they show first-run movies. 5. They also use the LED screen for Playstation II tournaments, showing the Superbowl, etc. Did I mention the 300-foot LED screen? 6. The Caribbean and Europe are their most popular destinations. I'd like to go on a Mediterranean cruise. Sign me up! 7. They have some exotic destinations on their list - Asia and Australia are a few. 8. You can package your air and any hotel stays with Princess, making it a seamless vacation purchase. 9. Very few people get seasick on cruises. Good news for me. 10. You can chose traditional dining (set time, same table each night) or Anytime Dining. 11. You don't have to go buy the new formal dress, as there are other options, unless you really need an excuse to go buy a new dress, in which case, I'm giving you the excuse on a silver platter. There is at least 1 formal night offered on each 7-day cruise. 12. No Princess employee is allowed to pass a passenger without saying "good morning" or something along those lines. Customer service is an obsession at Princess. 13. If you sign up for my 7Seas list, I can get you some awesome deals on Princess, some of which, I'm not allowed to advertise. You can sign up at my Expedia CruiseShipCenters Website (and win a cruise in September.)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

I'm a Commodore (not the singing group)

I don't know if anyone noticed the new little button over there above the picture of Jim and I, but it certifies that I am a Princess Cruise Commodore.

I suffered through some serious training to get that certification. I had to complete more than 25 online courses, which equaled about 45 hours of my time. I learned about the Princess ships, I learned about the Princess destinations, I learned about the Princess Scholarship@Sea program, I learned about the Princess dining options, I learned about the Princess staff policies - basically, I am an expert in all things Princess Cruises. I even got a little write-up on inRich.com after I submitted my press release.

I think I'm going to start participating in the Thursday 13 again, so my first in a long time may be the interesting things I learned in this course.

Another new thing on the site is below the fold in the right-hand corner. It's my MyBlogLog widget. It's a site that I found to help you monitor all your blogs, your blog stats, your blog friends, etc. If you'd like to become a member of my community, sign on up!

Barbados Memories

Here are the Barbados pictures I promised. Enjoy.

Did you know that Barbados is a major cruise port? Visit www.cruiseshipcenters.com/CarmenandJim to find a cruise there. Sign up for our email newsletter, and be entered to win a free cruise.

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

Back from Barbados. It was lovely, and I'll post pictures when I can come up for air. :)

I told you that when I got back, I'd have BIG NEWS. My news is that Jim and I are now cruise ship consultants! You know how much I ~heart~ travel, and I just thought we could share our passion with the planet!

If you even think you might want to cruise in the future, I encourage you to join our new 7Seas (TM) list. Basically, it's free to be a member, you'll get deals that I can't even advertise (and you should see these deals!) Plus, if you'll notice the ad to your right, above our new cute pic, is a promotion to win a cruise a day. Anyone new to sign up to our list is entered to win a cruise! Woot! Woot!

"How do I do this?" you ask. Click on that big flashy ad, which will take you to our new Web page, and sign on up! I hope someone I know wins a cruise, because that would be the best!

You can also enter by clicking over to our Website, www.cruiseshipcenters.com/CarmenandJim.

I also have a Facebook group all set up, should you want to join - I'll be posting interesting cruise info over there, and probably some here as well!

Believe it or not, I have more big news on the way, but it's still a little premature to say. So stay tuned!