Copyright © by May DeLory
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2013 never looked so sweet. Cruise Deals & Air Steals! Save up to $1,000 on #cruises, PLUS up to $1,000 on airfare during this UNPRECEDENTED #sale! http://bit.ly/WWymoz Twitter account: @PrincessCruises
Free night at Key West Hyatt! Travellers who book by Nov. 30, 2012 and stay four nights at Hyatt Key West Resort and Spa through Dec. 30, 2012 receive one free night during their stay and free daily breakfast for two people. Guests must reserve with the offer code FRTIME. www.keywest.hyatt.com www.VISITFLORIDA.org
Nothing like taking in the Key West, Florida Hemingway annual festival to pick up a few tricks on how to pen your own romance script. Casa Antigua, renowned as Ernest Hemingway’s first Key West residence, is now a showplace with a soaring central atrium garden. July 17 – 22, 2012. www.hemingwaydays.net www.VISITFLORIDA.org
“The Bachelorette” 7th episode takes you to Prague in the Czech Republic for a whirl-wind 5-day romance journey of Krivoklat Castle, Sychrov Chateau, 5-star Aria hotel, mountains, fine dining and, most of all romance and music! ABC’s “The Bachelorette” June 25, 2012 at 8 – 10 pm ET/PT Emily Maynard and the remaining bachelors will compete for her love and affection and perhaps her hand! The Czech Republic is very popular right now with stunning landscape and affordable prices.; the rural landscape offers great cycle opportunities. Just think a bicycle built for two and you’re on your way to romance. Want to follow in their footsteps on love and romance? You’ll find the itinerary here: www.CzechTourism.com
What a blast sailing Princess Cruises’ Crown Princess to attend the inaugural Romance Summit cruise held the week of the 14th of February, 2010. Princess Cruises Department of Romance included “The Bachelorette’s” Trista and Ryan Sutter, destination wedding expert Lisa Light, love and personal etiquette experts Anna Post, the great-great-granddaughter of Emily Post who will be discussing romance etiquette; “The Dating Diva” Dee Frazier of The University of Dating, an authority on finding love at any age; and Princess Cruises comedian Kevin Hughes, who keeps audiences laughing with his comedic and insightful take on relationships. Kevin’s insider information on how smell plays a very big part in the mating game sure had me on the edge of my seat. http://bit.ly/QlgX45
Trista and Ryan Sutter of The Bachelorette, Princess Cruises’ special guests, were on the Crown Princess to renew their marriage vows. Hundreds of couples joined in the fun to renew vows of love and honour. You can still renew your vows on Crown Princess. The Sutters brought their two adorable children on the romance cruise. The kids were perfectly behaved. Some kids just take keenly to an ocean voyage. The ship set sail for the Western Caribbean and included the island of Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands, Roatan, Cozumel, and Princess Cays — the private island of Princess Cruises’. Princess Cays is beautiful with clean white white sand and crystal clear waters, befitting of waters of The Bahamas. A catered picnic and water activities were just two of the day’s highlights at the end of the cruise on Princess Cays. To say it was a big blow out island BBQ is putting it lightly. The food and drink were endless…just like the breathtaking beauty of the island. It was so much fun having an island all to ourselves. I love watermelon and there was a lot to go ’round.
I also enjoyed a couple of days in Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood at the end of the cruise. Highly suggest doing this sort of thing if you are the type to get the blues when the fun ends. Staying on land for a couple of days post cruise will let you down gently and of course after being on a cruise and having so much fun you are in my opinion more apt to get all there is out of a short stay on land. Consider tacking on pre/post cruise one or two days’ on land. Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood are well known for award winning sand beaches and wide oceanfront promenades which are ideal for walking and/or cycling. Walking in the sand is a healthy exercise for the muscles in the feet, toes and legs. Check out one of the best bike rentals in the area: http://www.mcruzrentals.com/
Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood are on the Atlantic side of the state of Florida and known for long stretches of spectacular and award-winning Blue Wave certified sand beaches. The Atlantic Ocean, extensive range of accommodation, excellent shopping at Neiman Marcus, Dillard’s and Macy’s, dining, world class cruise terminal and tourist attractions are but a few of the reasons travellers make the Greater Fort Lauderdale a pre-cruise or post-cruise destination. And just 23-miles north of Miami.
Port Everglades, Florida / Crown Princess
Port Everglades welcomed its first cruise ship in 1931. Today, Port Everglades is one of the busiest cruise ports in the world with 12 cruise lines and more than 45 cruise ships. More than 3.6 million cruise passengers choose the greater Fort Lauderdale and the city of Hollywood as their cruise departure seaport. The Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport (FLL) is approximately a 15 minute car ride from the cruise terminal with direct highway access via 1-595. Major cruise lines such as Cunard, Holland America Line, and Princess Cruises call Port Everglades home. The deep water port and short entrance channel can entertain cruise ships such as Royal Caribbean International’s “Allure of the Seas” or “Oasis of the Seas” each ship capable of carrying 5,400 passengers. Cruise ships sail from Port Everglades not only to the Caribbean but to Italy, Spain, Peru, Panama Canal, Canada, and Alaska and just about anywhere you can think of.
Cruise weddings are on the rise as just about any sort of ceremony and reception can be built into a cruise budget. In April of 2012 Cunard Line will begin to offer couples the chance to be married on an ocean liner, while Princess Cruises has been in the wedding business for many years. In February 2010 I attended Princess’ Romance Summit aboard the Crown Princess with special panel guests Trista and Ryan Sutter of The Bachelorette. The Sutters christened the Ruby Princess a couple of years’ ago during a ceremony to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary. The Love Boat captain, Gavin MacLeod, was part of the special Ruby Princess celebration. MacLeod is an expert when it comes to knowing what couples want and need for a cruise: “People need an escape to dream about,” says the Love Boat captain. MacLeod believes Princess delivers with the services of an in-house Princess wedding department. http://bit.ly/QlgX45
Crown Princess Ship
One feature exclusive to Princess is the use of camcorders to televise the wedding ceremony live from the ships’ wedding chapel so friends and family back home can help celebrate the big event. Wedding guests don’t even have to sail with the happy couple as a wedding guest can attend the ceremony on-board and then leave the ship before it sails. If you haven’t quite got your sea legs for an onboard wedding ceremony but eager to sail away beneath an endless moon for the honeymoon you may wish to check out Bonnet House in Fort Lauderdale. Bonnet House was recently visited by Martha Stewart and profiled by her magazine. The house was designed and built in 1920 by Chicago-born artist Frederic Clay Bartlett. I marveled at the splendor of the 35-acres gardens that take the visitor back to the heyday of Florida’s natural flora and fauna. Nowhere else in Florida will you see scampering monkeys and elegant swans. One of the finest orchid collections in all of the continental U.S. is to be found at Bonnet House http://www.bonnethouse.org/ . The day we toured the grounds a magnificent wedding party glided by with the bride and guests in elegant sarees. Bonnet House will close the grounds for a wedding ceremony if requested.
I believe the best reason to tie the knot or renew marriage vows on a Princess Cruises ship is because of the intimate dining opportunities and exquisite pastry creations of the chefs. It seems just about any wedding pastry dream can come true.
FYI
www.princess.com Telephone 1-800-774-6237
http://www.princess.com/romance/
http://www.westinftlauderdalebeach.com/ Wedding Co-ordinator at the Westin. Hotel overlooks the Atlantic Ocean. 10,192-square-foot ballroom for groups of up to 1,053 people. 2nd. ballroom 8,376-square feet for 842 people. Sunrise Terrace, 5,500-square feet, romantic Altantic ocean views.
http://www.lasolasboulevard.com/ Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This place rocks and is sexy cool! I love this shopping/restaurant/art galleries/sidewalk cafes/clubs neighbourhood. Use Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi and get off at stop #9 and walk up 9th Ave. to the main area. You’ll feel the hot vive.
www.hollywoodbeachmarriott.com Not too far from Fort Lauderdale is Hollywood Beach, Florida. Outdoor dancing right on the beach. We let the warm ocean breeze tease our faces as we enjoyed crab cakes while dining at Hollywood Beach Marriott.
www.sunny.org Download iVisitLauderdale App to your iPhone and visit for your free cellphone & iPod LCD wipe.
Princess also can be found on:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PrincessCruises
Twitter: http://twitter.com/PrincessCruises
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/princesscruises
Hollywood Beach, Florida
Princess Department of Romance members:
Spend a few days in Hollywood, Florida pre/post Princess cruise and dance the night away by the ocean beneath the stars (free!). The sound of the ocean waves are sooo romantic.
Dee the Dating Diva http://www.theuniversityofdating.com/about.html
Tina B. Tessina, Ph.D.
http://www.tinatessina.com
http://www.romancetravelexaminer.com/
http://www.romancetravelexaminer.com/
www.destinationbride.com Yes you can do it yourself. Lisa Light will co-ordinate an entire weddingor just give you expert tips to ease away some of the stress of doing things yourself.
More information:
Mahogany Beach, Roatan (Western Caribbean)
Mahogany Beach, Roatan
Princess Cruises / Princess Cays, Bahamas
There are many unique spots to begin the honeymoon on Crown Princess’s Western Caribbean cruise. Try a cute-as-a-button cabana rendezvous. While everybody is attending the catered private island picnic no one will suspect activity inside one of these colourful cabanas is anything but tea-for-two!
Check out Metro Golden Mayer’s 1960 romance film: “Where the boys Are” starring George Hamilton; and Yvet Mineaux; with songs by Connie Francis. Fort Lauderdale, Florida location. http://youtu.be/bC_oE8FXFCQ
Additional Information for unique places to visit and things to do in Florida. Wedding on a bike anyone? Or wacky weddings? West Jet has it. http://upmagazine.com/story/article/10-wacky-weddings
http://www.westinftlauderdalebeach.com/ Wedding Co-ordinator at the Westin. Hotel overlooks the Atlantic Ocean. Seconds to sand beach! Outdoor and indoor pools. Highly suggest the Westin for a holiday with all the bells & whistles. Check for Valentine and March Break deals. Follow their twitter account for up-to-the-minute hotel special offers…’cause Westin’s got ‘em.
www.VisitHollywoodFl.org/cruise
www.sawgrassmills.com Designer shopping for fab deals!
http://www.offshoresailing.com/ Florida, USA. Steve & Doris Colgate’s Offshore Sailing School, America’s #1 Sailing School! Captiva Island wedding anyone? So romantic and peaceful.
www.FloridaStateParks.org Visit Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, Fort Lauderdale, FL ideal for wedding photography or a romantic canoe ride.
www.bonnethouse.org Wedding steeped in plantation-style Florida history: art, the ocean, cool breezes and flowers galore for memorable photographs.
www.galleriamall-fl.com Designers fashions that won’t break the bank. (Just one of the watertaxi stops.)
http://www.watertaxi.com/watertaxi/fort-lauderdale/ See the rich & famous waterfront homes by water taxi in the day or beneath the stars. On/off at several watertaxi (on the water) stops.
www.mcruzrentals.com Wedding on a bike in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Just about every style of bike is available, including the famous Segway. Located in Hugh Taylor Birch State Park in Fort Lauderdale at the Beach Entrance (five minutes’ drive north of Westin Beach Resort hotel). Just ask for us at the gate. 3109 East Sunrise Boulevard Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33304 954-235-5082
http://www.upmagazine.com/story/article/wacky-weddings
www.CzechTourism.com “The Bachelorette” 7th episode June 25, 2012 ABC. 8: – 10: pm ET/PT Emily Maynard and the winning bachelors.
Crown Princess ship
Enjoy an elegant honeymoon breakfast in one of the intimate dining rooms on the Crown Princess. www.princess.com
Photo credits copyright © by May DeLory
