Yesterday I attended the closing dinner for Cruise 360, where awards we're handed out to industry professionals. I immediately found out i was vastly underdressed, wearing just a long-sleeved button-down shirt and khakis, while the great majority of other attendees, which numbered in the hundreds, (thousands?), we're wearing suits, ties, evening gowns, etc. The irony is at sign-up, on the first day, not knowing what to wear, I wore a suit and tie, while everyone else was dressed down.
Upon being seated at the Windstar table, (where I was invited by my friend, Melissa), I met several of the other folks at the table. Coincentally, three of the ladies, travel agents from Illinois, I believe, we're people I sat with at breakfast that morning. (just conincidental-nice ladies-but everyone sat at random tables for breakfast-and we we're actually assigned to be at the same table for dinner). Besides Melissa and these three ladies, there was also sat a real celebrity in the travel industry, Gloria Bohan at the table. (her husband was also at the table) Who is Gloria Bohan? the founder of Omega World Travel-while that might not be a household name. Cruise.com is, which she founded as part of Omega World Travel. She was named the one of the top female business owners in the country, and literally was one of the first to see the internet's potential for booking cruises. (If she did nothing else othe then reserve Cruise.com as a URL, wouldn't that be enough?) Mrs Bohan also happens to be the Godmother of the ship I will be cruising on next week, Windstar's Star Legend.
Other then that.
(1) We had typical banquet food. Undercooked carrots and parsnips, along with meatloaf, which I don't eat much meat-so I didn't eat. (Judging from the others reactions-it doesn't look like I missed much. And typical banquet service, which is to say substandard (The staff forgot to clear half the table's plates before desert)
(2) Awards to three professionals, (1) An older female travel agent whose speech was "short and sweet", and said she was "short and sweet", so I just remember her as "short and sweet" (2) Someone I forgot (3) The President of World Travel Holdings, who did a lot for the business.
And Entertaiment-which was to say-mind boggling
(1) Royal Caribbean flew THE ENTIRE CAST OF MAMMA MIA from the Allure of the Seas to perform several numbers for us. To hear the singer belt out "The Winner Takes it all" was just mind blowing. And nobody was immune from clapping, stomping, dancing, convulsing, etc to 15-20 performers doing "Dancing Queen" and "Waterloo". After that performance, all hundreds (if not thousands) of attendees we're....WOW
(2) NCL brought out the faux Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons from their upcoming production of Jersey Boys. Similarly, nobody was sitting down to "Walk Like a Man" and "Oh What A Night". Again WOW
(3) Last (and least to be honest), Celebrity came out and did their show called Topper. Before the show, Celebrity's director of entertainment came out and explained how she carefully choregraphed the show for Celebrity's guest's. A Giant X appeared was assembled on stage (Celebrity's symbol), and 12-15 performers came out in top hats, strange dresses, butterfly wings, etc, and performed Pompeii's "Bastille" Christine Aguillara's "I am beautiful" , and Pink's "Raise your Glass". As one who has travelled on close to 40 cruises and seen many shows...I would say, that was definitely another one.
(THE PIC HAS MY FRIEND MELISSA ON THE LEFT AND MRS BOHAN ON THE RIGHT)
