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Hello Carnival Glory Cruisers! Who is all sailing on the Carnival Glory December 20th - 27th, 2020 out of New Orleans? This is a Christmas Week Cruise! 🎄🎅🛳️ Ports of call: Key West, Florida Freeport, Bahamas Nassau, Bahamas This is my 3rd cruise booked this year. My cruise in March was canceled and my cruise booked in September was recently canceled. Hopefully the 3rd time is the charm. 🤞🤞😁

Carnival Glory September 6 - 13, 2020 New Orleans Ports of Call: Key West, Freeport & Nassau Who's all sailing on this cruise?

Helloooooo, party people! Happy Monday and early Travel Tuesday! How is everyone doing? Whew! So I see I missed a post last week and I'm so sorry for that. I was having some internet issues and then tonight Baltimore turned into Niagara Falls and got poured on with rain, rain and tornadoes! Yeah... it got real here in Charm City. I almost lost To-To, but I'm glad to say I'm I'm safe and all is cruisetacular in my bachelor pad! So last we spoke, I told y'all I was getting ready for my next cruise aboard Carnival Glory. Well, I went, I'm back and had a blast! I don't even know where to begin. From losing my voice, to staying up with my fam 'til 4:30am eating pizza, to breaking my shoe because I danced too hard in the club one night, my most recent cruise was truly one of my better and more memorable voyages! Gosh, it's a blast cruising with family and friends, wouldn't you agree? I could tell you so much more BUT I think the following videos will give you a better first-hand recap than a few paragraphs in this post can. Check out these funny videos from my cruise! You'll REALLY see what a cruise with me is like, how my family cuts-up on a cruise AND why cruising with the Fords is more fun! ? Click here to see my entire album from the cruise on my Facebook Fan Page! The Pre-Cruise Show: Carnival Glory LIVE from Carnival Glory: The Party is Here! LIVE from Carnival Glory: I've Got Burnt Feet! LIVE from Carnival Glory: I Broke My Shoe LIVE from Carnival Glory: Let's Do Laundry Night Club Groovin' w/ CM3K Carnival Glory Sailaway, May 31, 2013 Karaoke Fun on Carnival Glory The Post-Cruise: Carnival Glory Atrium Party Aboard Carnival Glory And I have a BIG announcement to make! Next Thursday night, June 20, 2013, I will be hosting a cruise chat session ALL ABOUT BERMUDA here at CruiseCrazies! The details will be forth coming on the site this week, so stay tuned for all the details! As Always, you're cruisetacular for reading! Until we talk ship again next Monday, keep cruising and grooving, y'all! Much Love--Shon!

When it comes to cruising, many of you know I have no issues just letting it all hang out. Well, I do put my belt on to suck some of it in, but when it comes to deck parties and night-life on the high seas you can bet your bottom dollar that yours truly, his whistle and party crew will be in the house ready to BAA-RING DA NOISE! A conversation I had with a fan inspired this post and I hope the words I shared with her would also encourage you to jump out of your comfort zone and live life to the fullest! YOLO! So there I was a few months ago sitting in the karaoke lounge sailing on Carnival Glory. A fan of the blog approached and struck up a conversation with me. She was saying how she couldn't understand how I could get up in front of so many people and not seem to care what they thought of me; if they were laughing at me and even wanted to know how I "showed my face" around the ship the next morning. I simply told her this, "I stopped caring what people had to say about me when I realized no matter if I pleased 1 or 1 million, everyone was not going to like everything I did - which is fine by me. I also realize that I will never see most of the people on this cruise ever again in my life... so why not give them a show?" She began to nod and laugh. I said, "You only get one shot to live this life here on earth, so why not spend your days laughing hard, cuttin' a rug and showing others they too don't have to just sit there but can join in!" She soon grabbed her teenage daughter, brought her to the karaoke lounge and together they took the stage singing Coldplay's smash hit, "Viva la Viva!" I gave them both a standing ovation and the mother told me, "I did it because I took what you said to heart!" I have walked into many nightclubs on cruises where people aren't dancing and the mood needs to be that of a club and not a community music sitting center. So with all the dance floor space I see, I round up my crew, we jet for the floor and GET IT INNNN! Then before I know it, others are joining us asking if they can hang with us while we're in the club. That's when I realized that when cruising people can get so caught up into what everyone else is thinking of them, they allow strangers to hinder themselves from having a great time. Is that you? Stop that right now if it is! Yes, now I do know that not everyone is an extrovert and/or is comfortable with displaying goofy moments in poolside games, vocal abilities at karaoke or even their gaming skills in the casino, but I do know that we all have a chance to use a cruise to help us step outside of our comfort zone, wouldn't you agree? I mean come on, you eat all that food when everyone is looking (you may not even know it sometimes, but people are watching), so why not put on a show for 'em?! Next time you hit the high seas, don't let your shy and bashful side get the best of you - shine like the brightest star in galaxies and let the ship know YOU know how to bring the noise! As always, you're cruisetacular for reading and I have nothing but love for ya! Keep cruising and grooving--Shon!

Happy Labor day, cruisetacular peeps! Ready for another story from this summer's highs seas adventures? Alrighty, here we go. This one comes from when I sailed Carnival Glory from Norfolk with my family and friends. If you watched The Post-Cruise Show: Carnival Glory on my YouTube Channel, you may remember me briefly talking about this story. But just in case you missed it, this is what went down... So there we are. Night one of our cruise having a blast and we decided as one big group we would perform "We Are Family" to break in the family and friends reunion cruise. After putting in our song number and fighting over who was gonna sing lead, we were ready... well kinda. So this was "Karaoke Live" meaning you did karaoke with a live band and not a track (which all of us thought was cool). We got there about 20 minutes after it started and saw the clock ticking closer to the end time of the karaoke. Then they called a group who didn't show up. They called them again and THEN they called my family! We were so excited! This was it, we thought. I ran right on the stage after seeing my friend Metria by the door, grabbed the mic, signaled for my crew to come on up and then... then I ALMOST popped someone with a backhand! Remember that group that was called and never showed? Well guess who came on the stage out of nowhere? Yeah... and guess what the karaoke hostess told us? That they're gonna let that group go; they would be the last ones for the night, and she was sorry... Excuse me? There are few things you don't tell me on a cruise and not being able to perform karaoke with my family is one of them! The hostess and I had a brief one-on-one conversation (where I was very calm) and she explained to me there was nothing she could do because the comedy show was about to begin approximately 15 mins later. I was persistent. I pretty much said, "So you won't allow one more 4 minute song? I don't mean to be inconsiderate, but that still leaves roughly 10 minutes for transition for the comedy show." She wouldn't budge. We were so upset. We all wrote about it in our post-cruise surveys, and we truly thought how all that went down was all the way wrong and ALMOST deserving of a backhand, LOL! What do y'all think? Well perhaps no backhand, but I thought Carnival could have made that up to us some kind of way. Despite helping other groups (we didn't know) with their songs that evening at karaoke, it wasn't the same performing karaoke without my fam (which rarely happens since we only cruise once a year all together). Anyway, we got over it. We're in better spirits and as many of you know, I don't dwell on the bad for too long (but I did dance on my soapbox for a few hours, hehe). Nonetheless, life has taught me a lesson I share with my friends a lot. You know it's never the problem that's the issue, but it's the perspective you have and take towards the problem. Even when the DJ stops the music, keep grooving because life is one big party that never stops... that is if you want to join in! Note: The title of this article and use of the term "backhand" as used above are used for humorous purposes and not meant to be interpreted as a threat or any related actions to Carnival Cruise Line or any of its affiliates.

Many of you may remember a post I wrote earlier in the year talking about one of my cruising, elastic best friends. Yeah, those swimming trunks are still around as a high seas sure thing for me, but I almost forgot to tell you all about another one I have. If you follow me on Twitter or watched a few of my YouTube videos, you may already be hip to which BFF this post is about. I am a HUGE hot sauce LOVER! If you didn't know, hot sauce and I have a thing going on (let's just keep this between us, okay?)! I douse it on just about everything - popcorn, spaghetti, and even fried alligator (yes, I do eat fried alligator)! It also adds a nice kick to a sandwich I have from time to time. I'll never forget when my family and friends sailed Carnival Glory at the peak of summer this year; I showed up a little late to the dinner table one night BUT for very good reason - I turned back to my cabin to get my bottle of hot sauce (I don't play)! And I'm glad I did because that bottle of hot sauce got passed around more than the salt and pepper! LOL You can even see my bottle of hot sauce likes to photo-bomb photo shoots onboard, too! One of the main reasons I LOVE sailing from ports closer to my home - Baltimore, New York and Norfolk - is the very reason that I don't have to fly. Meaning I can bring my bottle of hot sauce without extra drama, ya know? Now don't get me wrong, I love flying , but I'm not a fan of the liquid ounce restrictions. When I fly, I pack light so I never have to check my bags (which means everything I bring has to get through security... including the liquids) Many may find it inconvenient not being able to bring an expensive bottle of cologne, that "special" bottle of shampoo or even a bottle of hot sauce... oh wait, did someone say hot sauce? LOL Yeah, I always shed a tear when I have to part with my bottle of hot sauce for a few days... but the FIRST thing I start doing once I'm on "the other side" of security is the hot sauce collection raid! When I went on my last cruise, a coworker of mine knew I was gonna need/want my hot sauce while away, so she went to a fast food joint and grabbed a few extra packets of the addictive stuff for me. Then it hit me: that's how I'll get around this! So now I literally hit every fast food restaurant inairport concourses collecting hot sauce with NO SHAME to ensure I don't have to go without it when sailing the high seas... ever! I know... it's odd... it's strange... but it's me! Stay tuned for an introduction to another cruising BFF of mine soon! Keep cruising and grooving until we talk ship again! Much love always--Shon.

Hey, everyone! Happy Monday and Memorial Day! To all the service men and women THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! You have helped keep this amazing nation safe and my freedom a humbling privilege. Again, from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU! Okay, so I was initially planning on talking about my cruise on Carnival Glory this week... but I saw the news just like y'all did this morning. Now you may remember just a few short weeks ago, I was on Grandeur of the Seas. I posted pics and videos from my time aboard and had a BLAST! And I was saddened to see that nearly 3.5 weeks later after I disembarked her, she was now sporting a blackened aft and damages. Just in case you haven't heard, at approximately 2:00am on Monday, May 27, 2013, Grandeur of the Seas had a fire occur in the mooring area of the ship. No one was injured. No one died. You know, these incidents are isolated and has anyone else notice that no one has died in any of the cruise ship headlining stories? Seriously, this is amazing and nothing less than a miracle from God! AND they are all getting flown home, a full refund and a free future cruise! So I want to just say I will be praying for the passengers and crew of Grandeur of the Seas as well as making sure to lift ALL cruise ships in my prayers! Whew! We've been having a pretty interesting 2 years, wouldn't you say? You know 2012 was Titanic's 100th year anniversary... I guess she's coming back for ALL the ships? LOL jk jk I'll be keeping tabs with what's what on this particular story and know y'all will too! Maybe we'll have even more insight as the week progresses? Do y'all think the media will soften the blow on RCI versus the TKO they gave Carnival earlier this year? Well, in other cruise news, I am on Carnival Glory this week, so be sure to follow along on Twitter for live updates from me. AND I won't be blogging on The Cruisetacular Weekly while sailing, BUT I will blog from The Ocean Escape! So be sure to stay connected with your boy - you know I Iove interacting with y'all! Thanks for always reading along! Until we talk ship again, keep cruising and grooving! Come sailing with me on Carnival Glory this week, vicariously! I wanna hear from ya! Send me a tweet, I'll reply back... promise!

So I'm at that stage in the cruising game where I am in between cruises. You know that point where you remember the last and get pumped for the next? Yeah, that feeling... that's what I'm loving right now! So many of you may remember the cruise I took back in February aboard Norwegian Jewel. I took one of my BFFs - TMT - with me for her first high seas adventure. In fact, that's her in this pic as well as another friend we met onboard, our girl Pat Montano! Back in February we did a cruise to nowhere (CTN) and guess what I'm doing in just about 2 weeks from Norfolk, VA? Yup! You've guessed it! A cruise to nowhere... but aboard Carnival Glory. This time around TMT won't be with me, unfortunately, BUT my crazy, loud and hot mess of a family and friends WILL (pray for me... no seriously pray for me now)! I love these types of cruises and some people ask me what a CTN is. The convo tends to go a little like this... My Neighbor: "So Shon, you're going on another cruise?" Me: "Yup! And I'm so excited!" My Neighbor: "Where ya headed this time?" Shon: "Oh just out to sea for the weekend - nowhere basically!" My Neighbor: "Um what? What kind of cruise is that?" Well let a brotha school ya... It's the kind of cruise where you cram everything in, eat whatever you want, get a good workout in at the gym and sleep as little as possible (at least if you're sailing with me - as TMT is testament to). You just have a great time for a few days at sea. Seriously, I walk on THESE cruises in particular not knowing a soul and within the first 20 hours, new friends are joining me at karaoke, in the nightclub and even for a late night bite aboard. What are YOU waiting for? Try a cruise to nowhere today! PLUS you'll have the BEST bragging rights at the office on Monday. Everyone will ask how your weekend was and guess what you can tell them? YOU WENT ON A CRUISE! Bam! In their faces... I mean, oops, forgot to invite ya? And they're very inexpensive! You know, I HIGHLY recommend these special and rare voyages for individuals who want to try cruising, but may still have some reservations (yes, pun is intended). Go sail for 3 days and 2 nights, come back and then book a world cruise! Okay, maybe not a world cruise but these sailings will help you enjoy longer cruises if you're a newbie trying to get into the cruising game! Try a CT today and maybe our paths will even cross on the high seas! Have you ever sailed a CTN? If so, what was you're favorite part about it? If not, what's your excuse? Keep cruisin' and groovin' until we talk ship again next Monday--Shon!