Conference at Sea

October is the time of the year for our annual CruiseOne sales conference. This year the convention was held aboard the Norwegian Cruise Lines beautiful Pearl for a 5night cruise to Cozumel, Mexico and Grand Cayman. The Pearl is a 93,530 ton ship designed for Freestyle Cruising with innovative amenities such as a four lane bowling alley, rock climbing wall and two very Deluxe Owners Suites each measuring over 535 sq, ft. with commanding views of the ship and the surrounding scenery.

The Pearl was built for truly free style dining that features anytime dining in 10 unique restaurants, 3 of which have an additional charge. They are Cagney’s Steak House, Blue Lagoon, and LeBistro. The free style no charge restaurants are the Summer Palace, Indigo, Lotus Garden, Mambo’s/Latin Tapas Restaurant, La Cucina Italian Restaurant and The Garden Café. We ate in Cagney’s Steak House and the tuna was spectacular, I definitely would suggest a meal at this restaurant. We also dined at the La Cucina Italian Restaurant and the seafood marinara sauce was outstanding with lots of shrimp, mussels and calamari. We enjoyed more traditional dining in the Indigo, great lamb chops were served the night we ate there, and the Summer Palace. The Summer Palace is a more dress up restaurant, no jeans are allowed. The Garden Café offered a wide selection of entrees and side dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food was very well presented and always looked fresh and was tasty. A big hit was the ice cream counter that served free ice cream all day and offered a wide selections of flavors

Entertainment is a great part of cruising and NCL has some of the best. They feature the Jane Ryan dancers who always put on a fabulous show. Norwegian also offers the Second City Troupe for comedy and they offer several show during the cruise.

Our first stop was Cozumel and I marveled at the improvements in this port over the years. We berthed downtown and as you walked off the pier you were close to the shopping and also near Carlos and Charlies, a hang out for many cruise passengers. The stores were very modern and offered a lot of good merchandise. We did some shopping for Christmas ornaments, didn't find any, guess we were too early.

Our next stop was Grand Cayman and as usual we had to tender into the port. With the large tenders the lines were very short and we arrived on the island very easily. This is another island that has seen many improvements over the years. They are still upgrading some of the side streets and when completed, it will be a great place to visit and shop. We were successful and found the Christmas ornaments we were looking for. Both Grand Cayman and Cozumel offer some of the best beaches for swimming and snorkeling.

Attending a conference on a ship is the way to go. The facilities and meeting rooms on the Pearl have all the audio visual equipment needed to put on a first class conference. CruiseOne had over 400 attendees on the ship and they were able to accommodate this large group for their meetings. There were several smaller meeting rooms for the break out meetings.

The classes we attended covered such topics as Luxury Cruising, Blogging, and destination cruises in the Far East, Australia, and New Zealand. Executives from all the major cruise lines gave presentation covering all their ships and destinations they sail. Each cruise line has several new ships entering their fleet over the next several years. It was interesting to note that from now till 2011 there will be 39 new ships entering into service with an additional 78,000 plus new berths. It was reported at this conference that approximately 15% of the U.S. population has taken a cruise. The addition of all these new ships will open up some new and exciting ports all over the world for passengers to visit.

The annual conference is when the sales awards for the past year are presented. We were fortunate to recive an achievement award for our cruise sales over the past year.

For more information on a meeting or conference at sea call Bill and Joan Aselage at CruiseOne, 904-278-1105 or toll free at 877-365-3159. Visit our web site at www.cruiseone.com/jaselage or e-mail us at jaselage@cruiseone.com

The Girls Take to the High Seas!

For the second year, we organized our Girls Cruise. Bill opted out of this trip (I wonder why?) and Joan hosted more than 70 women from across the county.

This was a special trip because two of the cruisers were our daughters – Kay & Maria. Kay traveled all the way from Indianapolis. Maria lives in the Jacksonville area. All of us met in Port Canaveral and we spent three fun days on Royal Caribbean’s Sovereign of the Seas.

This ship is special. Two years ago, it underwent a complete renovation. Its face lift was fabulous. The public areas are warm and welcoming. The ship now boasts a Johnny Rockets, Seattle’s Best Coffee and Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream.

Our itinerary kept us moving during the three days. The first stop was Nassau. Even though the weather was rainy and gray, it didn’t damp the spirits of these women. Almost everyone got off the ship and explored the famous straw market or toured the beautiful Atlantis Resort. Our second stop was Cocoa Cay – Royal Caribbean’s private island. The sun shinned on the group as they enjoyed a day of swimming, sunning and snorkeling.

The food on this trip was incredible! Each night at dinner, everyone raved about the delicious five-course meals and excellent service. The casual dining area has a variety of stations where diners can sample foods from around the world. Our favorite was the pesto mashed potatoes!

If you’re looking for a relaxing three or four days away, then consider a trip on this ship. The food, service and stops make it the perfect escape – if only for a few days. For more information on this trip or to organize your own group cruise, check out our website at

www.cruiseone.com/jaselage. You can also contact us at (904) 278-1105; toll free at (877) 365-3259 or at jaselage@cruiseone.com. CruiseOne - Get On Board!

Cruising the Caribbean on the Caribbean Princess!

Big Screen, Big Buffets and a Big Time

After our activity packed cruise to Asia, we decided to take a more relaxing cruise this fall. From September 2 - September 9, we spent seven days aboard Princess' Caribbean Princess. Our itinerary took us to three ports of calls including St. Thomas, St. Maartin and Princess Cays, Princess' private island.

This was our first trip aboard this particular Princess super ship. Our balcony cabin gave us a private perch to enjoy the view whether we were at sea or docked in port. The Sailaway Buffet was not to be missed. It included a wide selection of seafood including shrimp cocktail, lobster claws, king crab legs and smoked salmon. At night, passengers had the chance to enjoy a five course dinner. Princess offers Personal Choice dining or traditional dining so everyone had the chance to eat incredible food at the time most convenient to them. Once dinner was over, passengers could enjoy Broadway shows, comedians or dance in one of the many lounges. Those who wanted a more laid-back evening could watch a movie on the Caribbean Princess' huge outside movie screen. What's better than watching some of your favorite movie stars under the Caribbean stars?

Our three diverse ports of call had a little something for everyone. While in St. Maartin, it's definitely worth taking a bus to the French side of the island. There you can peruse the fabulous shops, eat French food or buy unique wines. In addition to wine, you should definitely buy any liquor on this island. Prices are low! There is only one word to describe St. Thomas -- SHOPPING. Spend your vacation money here on beautiful clothes and extraordinary jewelry. If you prefer to be outside instead of inside, take a water tour. Exploring this island by sea will give you the most breathtaking views of the Caribbean. While on Princess Cays, you can either relax on a hammock near the water or speed by the shoreline while riding a waverunner. While there, the Princess staff will provide a delicious BBQ buffet. Whatever activity you choose, your day on Princess' private island will be one to remember -- unless you fall asleep underneath a palm tree.

The staff aboard Princess cruises are professional and pay close attention to detail. The cabins are spacious, the service is extraordinary and the food is always delicious. Princess cruises gives passengers unique activities including movies under the stars (on certain ships) and the chance to experience the champagne pyramid. This is an elegant event and a great photo opportunity.

If you want to experience the Caribbean, check out our website at www.cruiseone.com/jaselage. You can also contact us at (904) 278-1105, toll free at (877) 365-3259 or at jaselage@cruiseone.com. CruiseOne - Get On Board!

Cruising to Japan, South Korea and China

Welcome to our blog. Here is the site where you can learn about the cruising adventures of Bill and Joan. As your premeire CruiseOne personal travel experts, we will take you to those extraordinary destinations that you dream about visiting.

Our most recent trip was a fabulous 14-day sailing adventure with two days in Osaka and one day in Nagasaki Japan. After enjoying the sights, we sailed to Puscan, South Korea for a one day stop. Our trip continued as we sailed into the Yellow Sea and stopped in Dalian, spent two days in Xingang with a trip to Beijing, and enjoyed two days in Shanghai, ending up in Hong Kong, China. Our trip took us to some of the greatest wonders of the world including the Great Wall of China, Tiananmen Square and a visit to the Atomic Bomb Museum and Peace Park in Nagasaki, Japan.

Aboard the beautiful Holland America Statendam, we experienced delicious five-star dining, star studded broadway shows, and relaxing afternoons by the pool. We even had the chance to sample kangaroo steaks. Don't worry, it taste like beef.


After our cruise, we spent two extra days in Hong Kong. There, we experienced the fabulous shopping and cuisine of the city including a wonderful dinner of Peking Duck.

This once in a lifetime trip gave us the opportunity to see some of the most fabulous sights in this ancient part of the world. If you've never been before, put this trip on your travel wish list. We've included some of the pictures from our 14 day adventure.

Stay tuned. We will soon be boarding the Caribbean Princess. We'll be cruising the Eastern Carribbean with stops in St. Maarten, St. Thomas & the Princess Cay. The Caribbean Princess is one of the largest ships in the Princess fleet. You won't want to miss our private tour of this prestigeous ship.

If you want to experience the world, check out our website at www.cruiseone.com/jaselage. You can also contact us at (904) 278-1105, toll free at (877) 365-3259 or at jaselage@cruiseone.com. CruiseOne - Get On Board!