As 2013 comes to a close its a great time to reflect on the years events and plan for the next year. 2013 was a big year for me, it marked the close of my career in corporate world and the start of my full time gig as a Travel Agent. The year had its up and downs, starting with the loss of our dog, an illness scare with my mother, meeting Nascar champ Brad Kesowloski, winning a trip to Walt Disney World, our daughter graduating elementary school and moving to middle school, losing a dear friend to a long illness, and a great year of travel.

Here are the highlights of our travel adventures of 2013

January 2013 – Western Caribbean Cruise on Disney Cruise Line

I hopped on the Disney Wonder for some Disney training. I had a great cruise and loved experiencing the ship. Even with 5 days on one of the smaller Disney ships I still didn’t get the ship covered and could use another 5 to get acquainted better. At our stop in Grand Cayman I did an island tour with some of my co workers, we got a good overview of the  island with stops at Hell, the Turtle Farm, and by popular demand a rum shop. In Cozumel we experienced a rainy day that cancelled our beach day so we took advantage of the low crowds and snagged a cheap island tour with a stop at a tequila makers house, some Mayan ruins and when the sun peaked thru and the rain stopped a quick stop at the beach.

    

March-April 2013 – Spain on Azamara Club Cruises

My husband and I got the opportunity for a trip of a lifetime in March. We set sail with Azamara Club Cruises from Seville, Spain for a historic Holy week voyage. In Seville we got to see some of the great processionals and tour the historic cathedral. At our next stop in Gibraltar, UK we took a cable car to the top of the famous rock for breathtaking views and ended the evening with a concert inside St Michaels Cave. We finished the cruise in Barcelona visiting the unfinished La Sagrada Familia and shopping our way thru La Rambla. The ship was amazing, the service top notch and the itinerary was perfect for visiting Spain. This was one of the best vacations we have ever had and we cannot wait to plan our next Azamara Cruise

May 2013- Walt Disney World, Florida

In the winter my company ran a sales contest to increase Disney sales. I had a tremendous start to the year with WDW bookings and I won. My prize was a trip to Walt Disney World for a few nights and tickets for 2. We added some days on and bought 2 more sets of tickets and made it a family vacation. As part of the prize I got my pick of resorts and while it was a tough decision, I had to go with the Grand Floridian.  It’s the most expensive hotel and since I was a kid watching the Tanners in Full House go to WDW I have wanted to stay there. The resort was lovely we enjoyed it and the Theme Park View room was the best place to watch Wishes over the Magic Kingdom. My kids loved the turn down service and chocolates on the pillows. We headed over  to Boardwalk Inn to finish up our trip (hey when it’s on my dime it’s gotta be more affordable!). We loved the Boardwalk, the clown pool was a big hit with the kids and I loved the laid back feel of the resort. In the parks New Fantasyland was officially open and we loved checking out all the new details and finally riding Under the Sea. We have often went to Walt Disney World in late May for Memorial Day but this year was different. The crowd descended upon the parks for the 24 hour event on Friday night and never left. It was near nightmarish crowd wise and we can normally handle some heavy crowds. We skipped a lot of things because lines were too long but we did get to spend more time at the resort relaxing but did manage to fit in on yearly visit to Star Wars Weekends.

July 2013- Cruise to Nowhere, the Great U Turn, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line      

This July we got the opportunity to tour the newly refurbished Granduer of the Seas from Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. The ship calls Baltimore home so it’s not too far of a drive for us. We stayed a few days in the DC area to make it a long weekend. Royal Caribbean is known for their support of Travel Agents and one of the ways they show their appreciation for us. RCCL invited agents onboard for a one night cruise to see the renovations from new paint and carpet and some new stateroom categories like staterooms featuring floor to ceiling windows. They offered up some unique entertainment including Mo5aic, from America’s Got Talent show. The ship took us out into Chesapeake Bay and barely into the Atlantic before making a big U Turn to head back to port during the night.

July 2013 – Omaha, Nebraska

Yep, that’s middle America. For vacation. Sorta. When we told Jeremiah we won the trip to Walt Disney World and were going again this year his first response was we are still going to Nebraska, right? So why Nebraska? Are we big Huskers fans? Well Matthew is. Do we just love corn that much? Nah. Matthew has several siblings that live in Nebraska so we decided to go out for a visit. My in laws drove out a few days before us and met us there. We spent a great week visiting with family and seeing the area. Some highlights were enjoying a Runza for the first time (and many times that week!), a visit to the FBI, visiting University of Nebraska Stadium, and exploring the Omaha Zoo. The weather was great, unusually cool for that time of year and the scenery was beautiful. We will definitely be back for another visit.

 

September 2013- Walt Disney World, Florida

I got to take a trip back down to WDW for a few days to meet up with some co workers for a retreat. Working from home for a company with agents all over the US is very different and it was great to meet some fellow agents for the first time and hang out in the parks. It was also a great chance to do some solo touring and we were there for the opening of Disney’s Princes Fairytale Hall. September is my favorite time to visit the parks, we usually go every year and although it’s very hot, the low crowds and great deals make up for it. I also got to ride Pirates of the Caribbean alone on one of the last ride of the night on Talk Like A Pirate Day! Arrr!!!

November 2013- Las Vegas, Nevada


This was more work than fun travel, but no on believes me when I say that. Our yearly convention with the Signature Travel Network (the large network our agency belongs to that negotiates special perks for our clients and reviews destinations and suppliers on our behalf to approve them for clients) is in Vegas every year. As this was my first full year as an agent I decided to go and soak up all the information I could. This was  also my first visit to Las Vegas, and I will say I was not too excited. I’m not a gambler, I don’t drink, and I can barely stay up past 11 most nights! I do like to visit new places and I’m a big fan of CSI so I wanted to see some of the spots I’ve seen on TV (minus the dead bodies) in real life. The city was hopping, I loved flying in and seeing it all lit up from the sky. The first night my travel buddy Rae and I stayed at the Flamingo. I just loved the decor which was a mix of modern décor and photographs of Vegas in the olden days. I moved over to the MGM Grand for the conference and it was well grand! A complaint often about Disney hotels is the size of the resorts, even Caribbean Beach pales in comparison. The walk to the convention center from our room was 15 minutes at a good pace. The convention itself was great, although exhausting with 14 hour days, and I got an opportunity to meet a lot of new destination specialist and network with travel suppliers all over the globe.

December 2013- Hard Rock Riviera Maya, Mexico


A few months ago one of my fellow agents asked if I would like to visit Mexico in December. Hmm its cold and often snowy in Tennessee in December, heck yeah I want to go soak up some sun! Nikki and I were invited to come down and tour the new Hard Rock Riviera Maya all inclusive resort located near Cancun. The resort is still undergoing the transformation to a Hard Rock property but it was a great time to visit as we could see all the changes taking place and we were on hand for the official re branding. The resort is beautiful and sprawling. It is split into two sections one for families, La Hacienda, and one for adults only, Heaven. There are a variety of restaurants to dine in, beaches to sun on, lagoons to snorkel in, and unique entertainment in the evenings. From water shows to fire shows there is something going on to keep you entertained. With mid 80’s temps and plenty of sunshine it makes a great destination for a getaway in the dreary days of winter.

  

Wow I had a busy year! This is not normal for me, we do travel often but usually only a 2 or 3 big trips a year. I got really spoiled in 2013 by traveling every few months to new destinations, I can’t wait to see what 2014 has in store for me.