Freedom of the Seas -Character Breakfast

Character Breakfasts are offered on Royal Cruises with Dreamworks characters. They are only offered on Sea Days, so this cruise only has one opportunity as there are so many port days. There is a nominal charge for this opportunity. I inquired as to why there was a fee for adults and was shocked but I suppose I shouldn't have been with the answer. When they first launched the dreamworks breakfasts everyone would sign up and there would be waiting lists. This is a good thing right? But unfortunately because there was no fee people would not show up and not cancel. So to stop this from happening and to make sure everyone got a chance to attend a nominal fee was added for adults. Here are some pictures of the menu.

The characters at the meal were Alex the Lion and King Julian from Madagascar. They did pictures with each table getting called up one at a time.They also had singing and dancing. The kids were so excited it was amazing to watch. My mom and I got great joy out of it as well. The way the characters and handlers interact with the people is so great.

Here are some of our character pictures!!

 Alex the Lion and I

 Alex the Lion with mom and I 

 King Julian and I 

King Julian with mom

On top of the character breakfasts they also have character meet and greets. I got to meet Alex the Lion and Po the Panda from Kung Fu Panda. There was also an opportunity to meet Puss n' Boots from Shrek but I missed him. You can get them to take your picture with your camera or they do also have photographers and you have the opportunity to buy photo's take of you on board.

Po and I

My breakfast was a bit rushed as part of doing my seminar at sea meant I had to attend class that day but here is a picture of my breakfast.

Yummy omelete

I can not wait for my next Royal Caribbean cruise. Hopefully on one of the newer/bigger ships. It's just to decide which itinerary.

Where would you cruise if you could go anywhere today?

Where you can find me:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephaniethetravelagentnextdoor

Website: http://www.exclusivetoyoutravel.ca

Email: slough@exclusivetoyoutravel.ca

TICO 500212282

55 York Street, Suite 803

Toronto, On M5J 1R7

Please keep in mind that while my head office is in Toronto I am a home based travel agent and I live in South Dundas and can service clients anywhere in Canada but I meet with clients in the SDG area

Freedom of the Seas - Naples

So here we are at Day 5 and in the port of Naples. This was another full day in port with us arriving at 7:00 am and the all on board scheduled for 10:30 pm. The cruise compass has daily activities and specials for spas/drinks etc that you may be interested in. So much you can take in at this port with Pompeii, Mt Vesuvius, the Amalfi Coast and Capri so close.
Of course being the President's cruise their was of course an excursion with him. This one was the Bourbon Tunnel & Naples Sights with Michael Bayley. Some of the other tours are the following: Exclusive Amalfi Coast, Postiano, Sorrento & Pompeii, Capri, Sorrento & Pompeii, Island of Capri, Naples City Sights, From Lemons to Liqueurs and Sorrento with Pizza Making for Families.
My mom was in so much pain that she decided to spend the day on the ship. We had scheduled the Taste of Sorrento & Pompeii (small group). So while she stayed on the ship I decided to go on the excursion which was eight hours. I am very thankful that the other people on this tour were very friendly and I never really felt alone.

 this port is populated so easy to go and explore

 On the way to Sorrento everything is built up the mountain

a view of the bay as we were winding ourselves up narrow roads

We started with a tour of a Sorrento farmhouse which was an old monastery. It is now a hotel/farm. The winding road to get to the top of the mountain were an experience in themselves. The roads in Italy are very narrow and if you suffer from Vertigo I definitely do not recommend this excursion. I do suffer from a fear of heights put happened to be on the right side of the bus to not have it bother me too much. When we got to our destination we were treated to a demonstration on how to make fresh cheese. We then got to try fresh cheese, bread, olive oil, meat and wine. The farms was full of lemons, olives, walnuts and animals. I bought a bottle of olive oil and a small bottle of leminocello.

 statue at the monastery

 making fresh cheese

 the plate of food we got to try

 they put these nets up to catch the olives as they ripen and the lemons

 walnuts waiting to be roasted

Outside the farmhouse

On our way back down from our stop at the farmhouse we stopped at a Lemonicello factory. As I had already bought some at the farmhouse I ended up buying chocolate. It was pretty good chocolate too. We then it made it the rest of the way down to the village of Sorrento where we had about an hour of free time. I wondered trough the shops buying some Sorrento ornaments featuring the lemon for myself and my mother and a a lovely scarf for myself.

this is the lovely wood shop we met at

Once we finished our free time we boarded back onto the bus to head to our tour of Pompeii. The ruins of Pompeii cover so much land. What is fascinating is how much ended up preserved after the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius covered the town. Our tour was special as we had virtual reality sets. At certain spots we able to stop and see what life was like before the eruption based on the ruins. It was a very unique experience. It made the ruins come to life. I would recommend this tour.

 a body that was preserved by the ashes

Once we were done we headed back to the ship. It was a very long day but so worth it. I am glad I went ahead on my own.

Where you can find me:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephaniethetravelagentnextdoor

Website: http://www.exclusivetoyoutravel.ca

Email: slough@exclusivetoyoutravel.ca

TICO 500212282

55 York Street, Suite 803

Toronto, On M5J 1R7

Please keep in mind that while my head office is in Toronto I am a home based travel agent and I live in South Dundas and can service clients anywhere in Canada but I meet with clients in the SDG area

Walt Disney World 2019 Rates

So every year Disney will release the next years availability and prices. It has been confirmed that 2019 packages will be released on June 19th 2018. Most years this has been done in June or July.
To book a Disney Vacation requires a $200 USD deposit and final payment for the vacation is due 30 days before your travel date. The nice thing about Disney is that if a promotion comes out such as a room discount, free dining or play, stay & dine as long as their is availability and the booking qualifies then your booking can be adjusted for the better price. There are some resorts that are normally excluded from discounts so you can make your decision fairly easy.
Now the only issue for Canadians dealing with Disney directly is the fact that you are paying in US dollars and you never know what the exchange rate will be. Canadian suppliers do offer Disney packages as well, when you book the rates are based on the current exchange rate so no guessing games or gambling going on. Deposits are almost always higher than $200 and are often based on a percentage of the overall cost of the package. As well come suppliers charge a change fee when promotions come out, although I do work with a supplier I prefer who do not and whose cancellation policy is a bit more flexible than Disney's.
So if you want to go to Disney in 2019 and would like help booking your vacation as well as making/navigating dining, fastpass + and other extra's you are interested in then get in touch.
Keep in mind it is not too late to book 2018 vacations as there is still half a year left. The fall will see the Mickey's not so scary Halloween party and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party and the Food & Wine Festival and much more.
Toy Story Land is scheduled to open at Hollywood Studios at the end of June. Pandora is still going strong a year later at Animal Kingdom and the Guardians of the Galaxy have a dance party at Epcot. If you are looking for regular Disney updates than keep in touch  by following my various posts on my blog and Facebook.

 Cinderella's castle

photo courtesy of Disney.com

New Toy Story Land
photo courtesy of Disney.com

Where you can find me:

Where you can find me:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephaniethetravelagentnextdoor

Website: http://www.exclusivetoyoutravel.ca

Email: slough@exclusivetoyoutravel.ca

TICO 500212282

55 York Street, Suite 803

Toronto, On M5J 1R7

Please keep in mind that while my head office is in Toronto I am a home based travel agent and I live in South Dundas and can service clients anywhere in Canada but I meet with clients in the SDG area

North Dundas Business Expo

The Saturday after my return from conference I participated in my first trade show. I have done a few vendor/craft events in the past that were not as successful.
This was the North Dundas Business Expo. The event was held at the local arena with large booths available on the arena floor and small booths and tables available upstairs in the community room. It was great participating in an event this size and getting to know some of the local business people in my area.
Lisa Williams of Main Street Clothing has been very supportive of my business and she helped join Dundas Women in Business as well as the North Dundas Chamber of Commerce. I am very thankful to belong to two great business groups.
I met many people looking to travel and people who filled out ballots to win a trip for two to the Grand Palladium White Sands Resort & Spa, Riviera Maya, Mexico. The contest closes November 27th 2018 and the draw takes place December 3rd 2018. If you live in Canada excluding the province of Quebec take a moment to enter for your chance to win the trip as well at my website www.exclusivetoyoutravel.ca In the comment section be sure to put my full name Stephanie Lough as there are two Stephanie's.
Some of the great business that were at the expo on this day and who you may want to take a moment to check out yourself:

On the Bend Sugar Shack - He makes the most amazing maple butter
Biemonds - Their fresh cheese curd is too die for!! Especially the flavoured one's I understand they are done Fresh Thursday afternoons
Winchester District  Memorial Hospital Foundation - they help raise funds to so our hospital can keep up with the growing needs of our community
Habitat for Humanity - Getting ready to build a brand new home in Williamsburg for a local family
Seize the day - A new daycare option in Winchester check out their summer camps for this summer if you are looking for care for your children
BMR and country treasure - The owners have embraced our community and even lend out a cotton candy machine for local events (Swim teams, scouts etc..)

There are so many more I can name and stay tuned from more events as North Dundas like to keep ourselves in the spotlight. I hope to be included and feature more of their upcoming events here on my blog.

my booth at the expo

Where you can find me:

Where you can find me:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephaniethetravelagentnextdoor

Website: http://www.exclusivetoyoutravel.ca

Email: slough@exclusivetoyoutravel.ca

TICO 500212282

55 York Street, Suite 803

Toronto, On M5J 1R7

Please keep in mind that while my head office is in Toronto I am a home based travel agent and I live in South Dundas and can service clients anywhere in Canada but I meet with clients in the SDG area

Freedom of the Seas - Civitavecchia (Rome)

Day Four of our cruise found us in the port of Civitavecchia which is an hour and half drive from Rome. Once again there were many excursions to chose from. The Presidents excursion was a visit to the Pope's private apartment & summer estate, Colosseum visit & lunch at the cost of $489 USD per person.
Here is a list of the other excursions that were available for this port. Also to keep in mind that the excursions can change depending on the time of year. The list this time is as follows: Exclusive, Best of Rome, Rome, The Eternal City, Pope's Summer Residence, Vatican Museum & St. Peter's Basilica, Imperial Rome & Colosseum Arena, Imperial Rome, Discover Renaissance Rome,  Roman sightseeing by Ape Calessino, Taste of Rome for families, A Taste of Rome, Rome City Sights, A Taste of Rome (small Group), Rome in a day, Passage to Rome, Navigate through Rome, Rome on your own, train transfer by Roma express, Italian Beach transfer, accessible panoramic Rome and last but not least Italian countryside and olive oil taste.
Once again because of my mom we chose the Rome city sites which was a guided bus tour with 45 minutes in St Peter's Square.It is an hour and half each way to Rome.

Views on the drive to Rome

A church

 Statue

 Vatican

 My mom at the Vatican

 Me at the Vatican

 Pigeons

Coliseum

We saw many of the bug sites however you can not see the Trevi Fountain from the bus because they are no longer allowed to go down where it is. We stopped at the Vatican where we could tour the grounds outside. Unfortunately a tour inside was out of the question in that amount of time. This is where VIP tours come in handy. With this tour we got back to he ship earlier which allowed us a bit of a break in the afternoon before dinner.

Some tours were longer as this was a longer stay in port

Where you can find me:

Where you can find me:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephaniethetravelagentnextdoor

Website: http://www.exclusivetoyoutravel.ca

Email: slough@exclusivetoyoutravel.ca

TICO 500212282

55 York Street, Suite 803

Toronto, On M5J 1R7

Rainbow Girls

The first weekend in May as an advisory board member for the Ottawa Assembly of the International order of Rainbow for girls I got to attend something I had never seen before. The city of Barrie managed to set up their very own Rainbow Assembly. I got to travel to Barrie with my oldest daughter and one of the other girls from our Assembly to see and help this take place. Girls and advisers from all Canadian Assemblies came to lend a hand.
So you are probably wondering what exactly is Rainbow. The International Order of the Rainbow for Girls prepares girls for responsible and purposeful adulthood through character and leadership development, encouraging unselfish service and higher ideals in life, and promoting teamwork and effective interpersonal communications. My oldest daughter Victoria has thrived with this organization. She has no problems with public speaking. She can stand up and read at church, lead a Rainbow meeting or speak her mind at scouts and present at school with confidence. I wish I had learned these skills at an early age and been comfortable with these things. I am still not comfortable addressing large crowds and I am 44 years old. I am so proud of what this organization has taught her about being charitable as well. It helps me to know she will walk the right path in life.
Rainbow has produced some phenomenal woman.
Our very own Chairperson and Supreme Chaplain Luanne Walton works with the Canadian Department of Justice as a Senior Consultant in Constitutional Law. My daughter would also like to be a lawyer one day and she has great footsteps to follow in.

 All the girls that came to help Indigo out

The new Barrie Assembly know as Indigo Central Assembly

I am really looking forward to this summers adventure when Victoria and I had to Virginia for our very first Supreme Assembly which includes Rainbow from all around the World as this is an International organization!!

Want to learn more ask me stephanielough@gmail.com or check out our website http://www.canadaiorg.org/

Airports and Air Transat

So of course most vacations can not start without a visit to an airport. We were flying out of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport in Montreal, Quebec. It is a little over an hour away from my home. I am a little closer to the Ottawa airport but there are far more direct flights available out of Montreal, so it is worthwhile to head there. We were flying Air Transat. They have 3 level of seats: economy, plus and club class. When my mother and I flew to Barcelona we upgraded to plus. It let us check into the airport in minutes while economy were in line for an hour or more. We were allowed 2 checked bags each although we still only did one each. We were given a comfort pack which included a blanket and earphones.
For this trip I decided to treat myself to club seats and I will tell you I do not think I will ever go back to economy. The seats are twice as big which is awesome with my size. The legroom is great as well. There are 12 seats and for that they have a dedicated flight attendant.
Our seats had blankets and eye masks. We were offered earphones, socks and other items. I had a Chef Vezina beef dinner on the way to Punta Cana and a turkey dinner on the way home. Also in club you get served on real china with real glasses. Normally club seats would also get off the plane first but not in  this case at they loaded and unloaded at both airports in the middle.

 my blanket bag and personal screen

 relaxing in my seat

my after lunch drink

The Montreal airport has lots of shops as well they have a great play area for the kids to burn off some steam before being trapped on a plan. Especially when having to get to an airport 3 hours before a flight. They also had a gorgeous piano which Mandy tested out.

Kids area is sponsored by Air Transat

 had to test out the slide

small structure but lots of fun

Coming home we were in the new part of the Punta Cana airport which has air conditioning. They did have a few shops and restaurants and of course duty free. They also had a pretty great play area for the kids also.

 Rules for the play area

 cute little structure

 the playhouse was a big hit with the kids

loading from the middle of the plane

Where you can find me:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephaniethetravelagentnextdoor

Website: http://www.exclusivetoyoutravel.ca

Email: slough@exclusivetoyoutravel.ca

TICO 500212282

55 York Street, Suite 803

Toronto, On M5J 1R7