Monday, October 31, 2011

Do You Need A Passport...

The 2012 Cricut Cruise is departing and arriving at the same port, Galveston Texas, so it is considered a closed-loop cruise. At this time a passport is not required for "closed-loop cruises". What this means is that if you are a citizen of the United States you can use a government-issued birth certificate and laminated government issued picture ID, denoting photo, name and date of birth (ie drivers license, military id, etc). The birth certificate MUST be a certified, meaning having the state seal. You can NOT use a copy of a birth certificate. I used this method last time and it worked okay but this time I will be obtaining a passport because there is less hassle.


On the last cruise I had to show the id when we were all getting ready to board the ship. Once they issued my card for the ship I didn't have to have the identification anymore because it is used when you re-board the ship after being docked. Anytime you leave the ship be sure to have your ship card and driver's license or other government issued identification on your person. To be on the safe side I did carry a copy of my birth certificate with me when leaving the ship and had the original locked in the safe in the cabin.

If you need to obtain a passport for the first time please visit HERE.

If you need to renew your passport, visit HERE.

If you need to replace a lost or stolen passport then visit HERE.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Waiting On Class Information

I have had several questions about the classes on the cruise and the sad answer is...I don't know *okie waits for a smack upside the head*. The classes will be made available on Cricut.com shopping website and you will be able to pay for them there. I haven't seen an official release of what the classes are or who the instructors will be this go around.

I will say that last year most of the classes were fantastic and the projects were really great. This is a picture of my BFF Karen working on her Sand Bottle project. We weren't able to get them finished during the class time but we had time at the nightly crop to finish up projects.

The classes will be scheduled during days the ship is at sea as to not interfere with anyone wanting to go ashore when the ship is docked. Last time we had two classes a day but I think this year it will be up to the individual. I can't wait to find out the information about the classes and instructors and I will post the information as soon as I receive it.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

2012 Cricut Cruise Planning is Under Way!

Hello my happy cruise lovers! I know I haven't posted on this blog in sometime but I will be posting more often now that the information for the 2012 Cricut Cruise has been released.

I remember last year I had so many questions and could find so little information about what it was all about. Please feel free to ask questions on the blog posts and I will answer them to the best of my knowledge *okie thinks that might not be good since she has limited brain activity most of the time*.

For now I thought I would post some of the basic information about this years cruise. This years cruise is a Western Carribbean and the cruise line is Royal Carribbean and the ship is Mariner of the Seas. The ship will be departing on April 1st and returning to port on April 8th.

The Itinerary is as follows
April 1 - Depart Galveston, Tx at 4:30 pm
April 2 - Cruising (Cricut classes will be on this day)
April 3 - Cozumel, Mexico Arrive at 7 am and depart at 4pm, ship docked
April 4 - George Town, Grand Cayman arrive 10 am depart 6pm, ship tendered (gotta ride a little boat to shore)
April 5 - Falmouth, Jamaica Arrive 8 am depart 5pm, ship docked
April 6 - Cruising (Cricut classes will be on this day)
April 7 - Cruising (Cricut classes will be on this day)

Prices
*Inside cabin - $639 based on double occupancy, add a third person for $379 each (no option for a 4th person at this time). This cabin is approximately 158 sq feet.

*Outside cabin (window that doesn't open) - $809 based on double occupancy, add a third or 4th person for $409 each. This cabin is approximately 161 sq feet.

*Veranda (cool little balcony) $959 based on double occupancy, add a third or 4th person for $469 each. This cabin is approximately 190 square feet. I believe the balcony is about 40 square feet. I will have to check for sure.

Each person will be charged an additional $95 in taxes. The gratuities (what is paid to the cabin stewards, wait staff etc) is $82 for each person. This is not optional, you will be charged. Tipping your cabin stewards individually is up to you. Karen and I left each one of our stewards an extra $20 each on the night stand because they were so fabulous in taking care of our needs.

Airport/Ship transfers are $77 round trip of flying into Hobby and $82 round trip if flying into Houston Intercontinental.  This will provide your transportation from the airport to the ship and then from the ship to the airport.

Dining is included in the price, however there are a few specialty restaurants available where you are charged and extra $15-$25 per person if you would like a more intimate specialty dining experience.

The deposit for the cruise is $250 and the final payment is due by January 13th. You can cancel without penalty before final payment. Since the drawing isn't until January 31st for the winners of this years Cricut Cruise I am not sure how that would work if you won but I will be asking that information and posting later. Payments by credit card and check are accepted.

They do have Travel Insurance available and the prices range from $79-$160 per person. There are several reasons for the variation in prices and you can obtain that information when you call to book if this is something you are interested in. I know some of the issues covered are medical problems, if you miss the boat *okie thinks she has missed a lot of boats in her life*, cancellation.

I will be posting a little more official information when I talk to Toby on Monday. For some reason people in Utah have a hard time understanding my Okie accent and she didn't get my email address right again *okie still isn't sure why people have a hard time understanding her when she understands herself quite well*

If you would like to find out the information or start booking your cruise please contact the person below:
Cruise & Travel Masters
CONTACT: TOBY NASH
801-268-4470 or 800-264-0557
M-F 8:30am-5:30pm MST


Airfare is NOT included in the price but Toby can help you book that as well if you prefer. 

Now about the Cricut classes - 
Those will be purchased through Cricut.com and the information for those have not been posted yet. They will be a separate charge from the cruise itself. I don't have the information on the specifics of the instructors or projects yet but will be posting as soon as I get the information.