I found Mario s article very interesting. I ve only just been bit

I am Mario Salcedo, a resident of Miami, but Royal Caribbean International knows me as "Super Mario", their most frequent guest. Despite logging hundreds of thousands of nautical miles on Royal Caribbean ships during the last 12 years, I must admit that I was a "rookie" when it came to visiting the far-flung destinations served by the company's fleet around the world.
I have yet to explore many areas of the world where Royal Caribbean travels which is why I recently took my milestone 500th Royal Caribbean cruise from Barcelona , Spain to Dubai , United Arab Emirates. That was the second leg of a 70-day cruise experience to the Far East that began in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and ended June 24 th in Shanghai , China.
This was my first trip east of Turkey. I also have yet to visit Australia or Scandinavia. You've probably already figured out that I have a huge bucket list. I spend more time at sea than at home as I mentioned in my first guest blog for Royal Caribbean. This trip represents the most extensive "trajectory" of my cruising career, although certainly not the longest in duration. I boarded Voyager of the Seas after sailing on Liberty of the Seas for seven months.
I decided to take this around-the-world quest for a few reasons. First, I've never been to the Far East. Second, it was on the Voyager of the Seas , which has a lot of emotional significance to me as it was my first Royal Caribbean ship. Third, my favorite captain was on this crossing, Captain Charles Teige, and he persuaded me to do it.
I extensively researched cruise ports of call long before beginning avis rental cars sales this trip. My goal was to select shore excursions that maximized my exploration time in each of the ports. In Egypt I visited the Pyramids of Giza and the Egyptian Museum, where all the treasures of the Pharaoh are displayed. I also toured the city of Cairo and saw the Nile River. We did the transit of the Suez Canal and stopped at Aqaba, Jordan. A shore excursion took us to the place where Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was filmed. We were at Safaga, in the southern part of Egypt, and got to see the whole area of Luxor and the Valley of the Kings, where the Pharaohs created their civilization.
avis rental cars sales Voyager made several stops in cities sporting avis rental cars sales some of the tallest buildings in the world. avis rental cars sales I decided that climbing these buildings would be a choice activity. avis rental cars sales I was joined by Captain Charles Teige, the Master of Voyager of the Seas who had a few hours off from his busy schedule.
A funny incident happened at the top of the Marina avis rental cars sales Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore. We encountered a couple from Australia taking pictures of the breathtaking view of Singapore. Captain Charles graciously asked if they would like to have a picture together. Of course they readily avis rental cars sales agreed. Captain Charles then asked them if they were vacationing in Singapore. The lady replied that they would be sailing on the beautiful Voyager of the Seas scheduled to depart in a few hours that afternoon. The Captain, without revealing his identity, told them they had chosen wisely and wished them Bon Voyage.
Back on board that evening, Captain Charles (now dressed in his officer uniform) happened to be strolling on the Royal Promenade and was suddenly stopped by the same couple from Australia. Needless to say, they were quite shocked to recognize the gentleman that had offered to take their picture. We had no idea you were the Captain on Voyager of the Seas !" Captain Charles smiled and made a second gracious gesture by inviting them to his table for dinner the following night.
Cruising gives travelers the opportunity to sample a particular country. It's like the appetizer. It's a sampling process where you sample one island or one country or one destination in a day. If a particular place calls your attention and you really like it, then you can use it as a stepping stone for a more extensive land vacation.
I am often asked for advice by less-experienced cruisers, and always recommend doing your homework by researching each port of call in advance. Nowadays, the Internet gives you everything you'll ever want to know.
Several days later Voyager made her maiden avis rental cars sales call in Vietnam. The ride from the Phu My pier to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) took about 3 hours. Captain Charles, accompanied by his wife Isabella, and son Connor booked avis rental cars sales a private tour to the city and asked me to join them. One of the highlights was a visit to the War Remnants Museum which had on display many war artifacts and pictures depicting the horrors avis rental cars sales of war. It was a sobering avis rental cars sales and emotional experience that brought back memories of the Vietnam War, which took place when I was attending college.
Later in the afternoon the tour guide took us around the busy streets of Ho Chi Minh City with all the hustle and bustle of mopeds and outdoor markets. We spotted a modest looking restaurant named Phu 19-Nov-2000 and asked the guide what it meant. He explained that the restaurant became famous during President Clinton's visit to Vietnam in November 2000 accompanied by daughter Chelsea. We figured if it was good enough for the President then we should stop for lunch. The owner greeted and seated us at the exact table where the President had sat for lunch. On the wall just behind the table was a portrait of the President and Chelsea as they enjoyed their lunch. We ordered President Clinton s Menu consisting of noodle soup and vegetable rolls and we all agreed it was delicious.
After the eighth and final segment of this cruise, I flew to Beijing, spent two days exploring the city and nearby points of interest, then flew home to Miami. After just one day of "vacation" at home, I set sail on Majesty of the Seas Bahamas cruise where I will spend the next three months onboard relaxing, scuba diving and planning the next exotic cruise experience.
avis rental cars sales Mario, it was pleasure meeting and travelling with you aboard the beautiful Voyager of the Seas from Barcelona to Singapore,. You are correct about Captain Charles, such a charming man. Hope to meet up with you again, one of these years, on another of Royal s lovely ships. Best wishes, Helen, Mama Monarch.
Wow thanks so much for your note. It truly was an honor meeting and getting to know one of the true Loyal to Royal cruisers ! I enjoyed our conversations and really hope we can do it again. All the best !
Mario great article. My wife and I were so proud to just reach Diamond Plus. We are both still working while at the same time planning on spending a good deal of our retirement (when it comes) aboard the fleet. For us any day on one of the ships is a great day. We are envisioning a round the world cruise as a retirement gift to each other. How would you plan an event like that?
My suggestion is to research their website and piece together a series of cruises or cruise segments that can take you to several regions. avis rental cars sales That s exactly what I did in my Liberty/Voyager 72-day cruise ending in China.
Mario, you are living the life that many of us Loyal to Royal types dream of! Congratulations on following your bliss and thank you for sharing a small part of your adventures with us. 500 cruises? Wowza! And to think I was proud for recently becoming a Diamond avis rental cars sales and completing my 11th onboard avis rental cars sales the Jewel last weekend!
I am always fascinated by the ongoing adventures of Mario, and my wife and I were truly blessed to finally meet him on our 4 night Get-A-Way on the Majesty the week of 9-10-12. I recognized him immediately, and while shaking his hand to meet, I related the story of our wedding ceremony that took place on the outer balcony of our Aqua Theater Suite on-board the Allure Of The Seas Maiden Voyage, and then our subsequent honeymoon immediately after on the Majesty Of The Seas. Mario appeared quite pleased to meet us as he exclaimed that he too was on the Allures avis rental cars sales Maiden Voyage ! From that point on every time I was within sight of Mario, he called out to Mr. Allure to greet my wife and myself.
A true gentlemen, i m sure Mr. Salcedo gets constantly bombarded by returning cruisers wanting to meet him I just wanted to extend a gracious thank you for taking time to visit with my wife and myself. Although quite a bit short of his cruising avis rental cars sales record having just recently hitting 43 cruise points each (Platinum headed to Emerald) we are on our way to much higher tiers as we have truly become Loyal To Royal as there is no comparison.
Hi Mario, your name sounds very Italian. Thank you for posting your blog, I found it so very interesting. With my husband and my work commitments it isn t possible to cruise as often as we would like, you are very lucky to have been on 500 cruises, and must have some great memories (and photos).
I am British but have lived in Rome for over 30 years, I am a Rookie with cruising my next one being only my fourth which is in 3 weeks on Voyager avis rental cars sales of the Seas. We will be in Asia for 14 nights. The first two days we will be staying in Beijing then on the 3rd day we will set sail. We will be visiting, Fukuoka (Japan) Jeju, (South Korea) Xiamen (China), Hong Kong (China), Ho Chi Miah City (Vietnam), 2 days Bangkok, 2 days Singapore. This will the first time we will be visiting Asia, on our other cruises we went to the Caribbean avis rental cars sales and two different Mediterranean cruises.
I think it is absolutely amazing that you just said your 500th royal Caribbean cruise while I m in the process of booking my measly 5th! I am so envious and wish I knew your secret! enjoy it, maybe we will be crushing avis rental cars sales together some day! of all the small itineraries, (ex. 7-10 days) which would you recommended? I recently sailed on the allure of the seas twice this summer, avis rental cars sales liberty a couple years back, and the enchantment about six years back. I m looking to book my honeymoon and am hoping to go on an awesome cruise. We wanted to do Hawaii, but were disappointed avis rental cars sales to see that there aren t any sailing close to our wedding date, Sept 28, 2013. Any advice for this time of year??
I found Mario s article avis rental cars sales very interesting. I ve only just been bit