Colorado Springs, CO.  Cruise vacation specialists.

Hi everyone! Crystal and I just got back from our Cruise Planners conference in Florida and our 3-day mini cruise to the Bahamas aboard Holland America's brand new ship, the Eurodam. We had a wonderful time and learned a ton about the cruise business. There were nearly 300 other franchise owners from around the country and their depth of knowledge and experience about the cruise industry was frankly a little intimidating.

But when other owners found out that Crystal and I were the newest of the newbies at the conference these people couldn't have been any nicer and more helpful. Hopefully we'll be able to repay the favor to the newbies at next year's conference.

I was testing out my new iphone and its ability to take pics and immediately upload them to my website for viewing. It all works as advertised but its not the most convenient way to take pics. In any event, if you'd like to take a quick look at a few shots I took, click on this link; http://gallery.me.com/ric.rooney/100008

My favorite, although it's a little hard to see, is the moonlight ocean pic I just happened to catch one night when Crystal and I were out on our veranda balcony.

I think this new cruise business will be a natural fit for us here at our Atlantis salon. If you've been in the store recently you no doubt have noticed the new 50" flat screen TV in the lobby. We can now run informational cruise videos that showcase ships and cruise itineraries from around the world.

We should have the rest of our new 'Red Carpet Cruises' corner set up in the next week or so. When we do, you'll have a complete library of cruise literature and videos to peruse. We also plan on starting monthly 'Cruise Night' events where we'll try to have reps from various cruise lines fly in and answer questions people have about cruise vacations.

Obviously Crystal and I are partial to cruises (we were married on an Alaskan cruise). And even though most of you are already aware of what a great value a cruise vacation is, you can get an even bigger bang for your buck when you travel as part of a group.

Group bookings, which start at eight cabins (16 people) qualify for GAP (Group Amenity Points) credit when booked through an authorized travel agent. GAP credit can be redeemed for all kinds of special treats and amenities for the group. Anything from ship board credits (dollar for dollar for anything you buy on the ship or any shore excursions), to free bottles of Champaign delivered to your room, cabin upgrades, private cocktail parties, and much more. We'll be organizing a couple of Sun Spot cruises this year for our members.

That's it for now. Crystal and I have a couple of cruises to book for customers!

Ric

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