Sovereign of the Seas At Last

In September, I headed back north to Cape Canaveral, where I wrote about earlier this past spring, to sail on Royal Caribbean’s Sovereign of the Seas for a Directors Summit for a large travel organization I belong to. This was a 4 night cruise to the Bahamas, and during that time, we spent a good deal networking and taking classes.

Since it was still Hurricane Season, I had to watch out for all the storms that were brewing during that time of year and of course, the most intense storm of the season named Ike was heading our way. Luckily for us, he went south and ended up in Galveston, TX and presented no problem to us except for more worry lines leading up to departure. As for sailing, the seas were fine and we did not have any issue there except a little roll every now and then.

The Sovereign is an older ship, built in 1988 and was the first of the Mega Ships now common in the industry and broke ground in many ways, including a multi-deck atrium and that it could hold a great deal of passengers. Many ships that followed used her as an example and she quickly became somewhat forgotten as newer cutting edge ships were being built. Although she has been sailing mostly 3 and 4 night Bahamas cruises lately, her time has finally reached an end.

In October, she will be sold to Pulmantur Cruises; refurbished and renamed, she will sail the European market as this is a great area for smaller ships. But, for me, I felt privileged to be able to sail on her because of her groundbreaking ways. It gave me a chance to reflect on how far the cruising industry has come, and for better or worse she still sailed proud.

Just before summer we decided to go to Cape Canaveral for a few days to check out Cocoa Beach and Kennedy Space Center. Now it has been quite a long time (1976) since I had been to the launch facilities; in fact the shuttle had not yet been built and the Apollo rockets were just starting to be moth balled, so to see what has changed over this time was going to be very apparent.


Another reason for going up there is that they have a growing cruise port named Port Canaveral (go figure) and I wanted to see how the access to the terminals are and how easy it is to get there. Since Port Canaveral touts its accessibility in all the travel trade publications and I have sent some clients on cruises through there, I wanted to see for myself if this was true.

Upon arrival, I was not disappointed. It is unbelievable how simple it is to get to the terminals and the layout is surprisingly non-industrial; for those that have sailed out of Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. Another benefit is the slew of nearby hotels that offer you a comfortable stay near the ocean before and after the cruise to unwind, while providing transportation directly to your ship while your vehicle stays safely parked (and free) at the hotel until you return.

We stayed at this delightfully tropical Radisson Hotel that was so close we were able to watch the ships depart in the evening. The pool area provided a secluded yet theme park type atmosphere with giant rocks, waterfalls and lush landscaping. This place is well recommended even if you are not going on a cruise but just want to visit the space center and surrounding attractions.

So speaking of Kennedy Space Center, we bought a one day ticket, which turned out to be good for an additional day (bonus) and spent them fully seeing all that we could. It is quite interesting, reverent, awe-inspiring and fun all in one location. Definitely take the bus tours and you are able to see multiple locations on the cape like the Vehicle Assembly building, the launch pads and the Saturn 5 rocket museum. All in all this made for a fun couple of days.

So if you are heading up there for a cruise (like I am in 3 weeks), or want to see something other than theme parks in central and western Florida, give this area a try. And one last thing, take some time to head up to Titusville to The Dixie Crossroads restaurant and try some of their famous Rock Shrimp. You will never look at regular shrimp the same way again.

West Palm Beach to Pensacola...

Ever drive all day and not leave the state? How bout driving from West Palm Beach to Pensacola. We are talking almost 10 hours of driving and the state does not change much until you are up in the panhandle.

In April, I spent the weekend in Pensacola and found it much different than when I used to frequent it as a child. When living in Alabama, these beaches were my families play zone. Miles of long, white, sandy beaches with no condos or encumbrances, and remarkably, much has not changed.

Thanks to Hurricane Ivan, I think it was, most of this area was pounded pretty hard and a lot of the beach houses did not survive. Although they rebuilt many of them, it should be a matter of time before they get hit again. If you continue to drive east, it becomes a vast moon type landscape just white sand dunes and beach. Quite surreal but definately interesting.

Two great spots I hit while I was there was a pub named McGuires in the Seville Quarter, where there was over $500,000 worth of dollar bills hanging from the ceiling which patrons signed and stapled; of course I could not resist leaving one of my own. See if you can find it (look over the bar). They had an awesome smoked prime bone-in ribeye that was then blackened and served with horseradish that was pretty tasty and their homebrewed Irish red ale was also pretty good too.

Another place I went was the Atlas Oyster House. Now I have heard of shrimp and grits, but have not ever had them until now, and man are they outrageous. I had to come home and recreate this dish, which I did with great success.

After that I was on my way back home with another 10 hour drive, but I have to admit that Florida is quite different from one side to the next. It has to be, but you have to get out there to see it...

Old Town Savannah

Right before the holidays, I went north to Savannah, GA for some work, and, since I have been through this historic city many times, I never really knew much about it. While being rich with history and an important location during the civil war, what I found out is Savannah was quite a haven during the golden age of piracy.

During my short trip, we ventured into the old riverfront section of the historic district. The streets were lined with cobblestone (not the fancy cobblestone you would see installed at a theme park) and the first night I had worn sandals. Big mistake since these stones stick up at odd angles and made walking somewhat more difficult. The old buildings are quite a site to look at, as this place is reeking of stories, tales and, yes, even ghosts. They say Savannah is the most haunted city and for that, I was quite intrigued. Let’s just say I kept a keen eye out for any thing strange.

The restaurants and bars were everywhere. Located up narrow flights of stairs, in basements and rum cellars, all oozing with historic atmosphere, we looked into as many as we could and stopped for many a drink along the way. One highlight was the Pirate House Restaurant which is connected to the

oldest house in the city. This is where a great deal of negotiations went on during the war and where a few people were shanghaied onto merchant ships if they had too much to drink. The incapacitated unfortunates would be whisked down to the rum cellar, through the tunnel to the dock and find themselves waking up on their way to many months at sea and unknown destinations. It is pretty amazing to find one having dinner on tables that have fed many an important figure throughout American history, and for this I enjoyed it quite immensely.

The city of Savannah is quite charming and full of activity. We did not have the time do as much exploring as we would have liked, but if you only stop there passing through, you can easily experience the surroundings without spending a lot of time, but try spending a few days by staying at a downtown hotel or local bed and breakfast (possibly haunted?) and you will enjoy this area with great admiration.