Cruising!

Honestly, I have never been a huge fan of cruising. I always thought cruises meant dining with herds of people at a buffet and ridiculously expensive drinks by the pool. Not to mention, I am prone to sea sickness so the thought of being on a moving ship for 7 days sounds like torture. When I was 18 my grandparents took my entire family on a cruise to Alaska. It was a once in a lifetime trip and truly spectacular. It made me re-think cruising all together because, well, taking a cruise was the perfect trip for my family. The cruise provided every family member with something to do, from kids clubs for the young ones to a high end fitness studio and spa for the adults... there was never a dull moment. Every time the cruise came into a port we had excursions set up for the day, one for everyones individual taste. We would go our separate ways in the morning and meet back on the ship in the afternoon. For example- my dad, brother and I spent one day helicoptering over glaciers then landing on one and hiking across it in glacial shoes. My younger cousins were too little to participate in this active excursion so they went dog sledding that day. It was the perfect setup!  On top of that, we had a designated dining time each night ensuring that at 6:30pm every single night our entire family of 14 would be dining together- no waiting for a table, no arguing over what time to east or where to go to dinner- it was all planned for us! I think my entire family would agree that we will always have the best memories of that cruise to Alaska.

Glaciers in Alaska

Hiking glaciers with my dad and brother.

Off-roading with my mom.

So when I started working at Liberty Travel, my one cruise to Alaska provided my sole knowledge of all cruising. Two years later, I can tell you exact deck plans on several of the newest, most modernized ships on the seas.  One of the best opportunities I have had since working in the travel industry was being invited to go on the inaugural sailing of Norwegian Cruise Line's brand new ship, the Breakaway! I had been doing so well with the company that my "area leader" had reached out to invite me on the sailing, I was so honored and thrilled- a free cruise?!?! YES PLEASE. People always say that with the newer cruise ships "the boat in itself is a destination." We were on a cruise to nowhere so the ship really was the destination, but I could 100% see why people love cruising. The ship was incredible! From the activities to the dining options and nightly entertainment, The Breakaway is a truly innovative ship. I was beyond impressed with the top deck that had a full blown water park, as well as the ice bar in the middle of the ship. Really an ice bar on a boat?!?!?  Because the inaugural sailing was for travel professionals to experience the ship first, everything was complimentary so we spent our days attempting to experience every single activity, show, restaurant and bar that the ship had to offer. On the last day of the cruise I stepped off the ship blown away by how amazing the Breakaway was and knew all of my cruise clients just had to experience this ship for themselves!

In the ice bar on the Breakaway!

I bet you're wondering why the sudden desire to write about cruising? Well, just last week I was invited to the "culinary reveal" of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines' brand new ship, The Quantum of the Seas, setting sail this fall from New Jersey. Going into the event I wasn't too sure exactly what a culinary reveal was, but O-M-G am I so happy I attended this event....beyond words. The evening started in one room where we were offered appetizers and champagne. Following that room we moved into the presentation where RCCL execs welcomed us and explained their new era of dining, what they are calling dynamic dining. The focus of dynamic dining is to allow cruise guests to experience a variety of dining options while onboard at no extra cost. For those who don't know, every cruise ship offers several complimentary dining options, but then also has speciality restaurants such as a steakhouse or upscale Italian restaurant at extra charge. However, Quantum of the Seas will offer different restaurants at no extra cost, and we got to experience samples from each of the seven restaurants, plus the speciality restaurant- Wonderland. Following the presentation we were taken to a large room sectioned off into different restaurants which each offered their highlighted dishes for us to try.... this was not a good night to be on a diet! My friends and I completed the entire loop of restaurants trying every single dish and every single shot that was paired with it. Some highlights- mint crusted lamp chops from Chic, bacon roasted scallops from The Grande, a reuben turnover from The American Grill, and the Italian Anitpasti from Jamie Oliver's Italian kitchen! Just when we thought it was over we were taken into the specialty gastronomic dining restaurant, Wonderland. This was quite an experience...starting with the "dessert shots" of alcohol infused orange and key lime jellies. From there it only got better... disappearing noodles, dry ice wasabi bites and finally, the white chocolate pop rock dessert. The event was brilliantly done and was by far one the most exciting travel events I have been to. RCCL gave us all a real taste for what to expect from Quantum of the Seas and we all left the event looking SO forward to experiencing the ship this fall!

Lamb Chops

Bacon wrapped scallops

Specialty shot, can't remember what it was but we really liked them ;)

Jamie Oliver's Italian Kitchen

Liberty gang, waiting for Wonderland

Dining room table in Wonderland

Me and my good friend Josh- you'll be hearing much more about him when we go to MACAU in 3 months!

Jelly "dessert" shots

Have you ever been on a cruise? Try one out for yourself, even if you never imagined yourself on a cruise, I am telling you these new ships are quite the experience :)