3rd Annual PhotoTips Cruise
and Photography Workshops
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This is the official announcement for our 3rd annual cruise and workshops and we are cordially inviting you to be apart of the fun and learning. As always, we make our announcements far out to allow people to place their small deposits and pay it out over time. (The only way I can afford to do this myself). Here is everything you need to know....
When and How Long: Cruise sets sail on June 30, 2014. Duration is from that Monday on June 30th and until we dock back in port on Friday July 4th.
How much: Starting price is $449 a person. Deposit at this rate is only $100 per person to book your cruise!
Where we sail out of: Cruise sails out of Miami, FL.
Who own the cruise ship? Norwegian Cruise Line.
Here is what the trip looks like:
What about hotel for the day before? I strongly advise you to at least come into town the day before the cruise to avoid any travel delays with flights making you miss your cruise. So at least come into town on Sunday and stay the night in a hotel. While you can Google Map any hotel in the area and stay there (and I will provide you some options at the very bottom of the page below), I am going to suggest that you stay with me. I will be staying at a Courtyard by Marriot hotel booked through the cruise line. Our Cruise Agent can tell you all about it. It sits on the beach in Miami just a stones throw from popular South Beach, but just out of it so as to avoid the traffic and noise. They have their own section of beach, a private pool, and even have a Carrabba's Italian Grill located in the lobby. Price is about $200 a night for a king and includes transportation to the port and cruise terminal. Coming in on Saturday and staying 2 nights is a great way to get your relaxation off to a good start. That's what I am doing. Here is a picture...
What about transportation from/to airport/cruise terminal? You can either take a cab or use a shuttle service. There are few hotels in the are that offer complimentary shuttle service, so you will need to arrange that on your own. To take a Yellow cab from the airport, just head to their stand/area and book a trip to the hotel for about $30 flat rate fee. At the hotel, they can call you a cab from the front desk. A shuttle service that you can book all your trips in advance is: Super Shuttle. Call them at 1-305-871-2000 to reserve and ask questions. You can book online at this link as well.
What is the workshops? Depending on how many people book, you will be divided into two teams. Your team will be assigned a workshop day. Your workshop will start at 4PM giving you most of the day to do anything else that you want to at whatever port your workshop day is on. It will be a special round table discussion on business. We have tried this before and there is a ton of great business changing information that comes out of this. Simply call me for more details. This feature of the cruise not only allows you to improve your business, but if you have registered for an EIN number, most of your cruise will be considered a tax write off. Our round table lasts for 2 hours and at 6PM we head to dinner together where we can continue to talk shop through our meal. How awesome is that?
What about a photo-walk? Our trip comes complete with a Photo Walk opportunity (Opportunity means you are not required to attend). This gives us all a chance to shoot together. This happens on Wed. during our Nassau stop. We will exit the boat together in the morning and make our way to Fort Charlotte about a mile and a half away. We will shoot street photography along the way. To enter the fort is only a $5 fee, and we can tour the location and shoot it in whatever artistic way we can find. We will take our time wandering around, and then take a more leisurely and less organized trip back so as to allow for shopping along the famed Bay Street shopping district and straw market. We meet up officially again at Senior Frogs located next to the cruise ships. It is a fun bar/restaurant that will both entertain you and offer you an adult beverage and/or meal if you are so inclined. (Try the fried Conch). We will provide you a map to the location and we actually pass it on the way. So getting lost coming back should not be an issue.
So what should my trip calendar look like?
- Arrive in Miami on Saturday or Sunday. Stay wherever you like or stay with me. Coming on Sat. allows you to see the sites, shop in South Beach, or just hang out on a beach or poolside and relax. Sunday night will have our routine Meet and Greet before the cruise so that cruisers and those that live in the area can all meet and share a meal together. Meet and greet will be at the Carrabba's Grill located in my Hotel Lobby. (Details to come).
- Board the cruise ship on Monday and sail out around 5PM. At 6PM we will have a designated meet point on the ship to assign you to your workshop day, and hand out a schedule of events for trying to group our meals together, etc.
- Tuesday has us at Grand Bahama Island. Do whatever you want, go to any excursion you want, find a spot at a beach, or shop. When I officially book my excursion for this day, I will email blast it to all that are signed up so that you can choose to hang out with me on that excursion or decide to do something else on your own. Tuesday at 4PM features the first round table workshop. You may or may not be assigned to this date. If you are not at this one, you will be assigned to the next one.
- Wednesday has us at Nassau. This is our official group day where we have our Photo Walk and shopping trip, along with the stop at Senior Frogs. Attendance is not a requirement. In fact if you like to snorkel or scuba dive, you may choose to skip this as Nassau has some of the best diving and snorkeling options in the Bahamas. At 4PM we have our second round table workshop. If you were not at the first one, you will be at this one.
- Thursday has us at NCL's private Island paradise called Great Stirrup Cay. This is a free day as it is a day I will be spending privately with my wife and some close friends from our home town. But it has all manner of things to do, including free beaches, and an open buffet. Plus excursions like parasailing, Wave Runner riding, or snorkeling. Eat your dinner meal at your leisure, but be done by 9PM because we have a special "Fare Well" cocktail party to say good bye to all the new friends you will have made and for me to personally thank you for coming, plus give you a sneak peek to the next one. (You pay nothing additional for this.) *!*
- Friday we arrive back in port, and you are on your own to unfortunately return to a "normal" existence, and head back home. Make sure to bring back souvenirs (I love coffee mugs)
I still have some questions: You can simply pick up the phone and call me at 1-405-703-0704 and I will answer them all. You may also call our dedicated Cruise Agent Andres Brito at 1-877-416-9722 extension 4305 and tell him you are calling about the "PhotoTips Cruise". He is the only NCL cruise person you should be having a conversation with. Ever. Period. No matter what. Seriously. Not even kidding.
SIGN ME UP!
The sign up process has a specific order that must be followed for all of this to work right. So make sure that you follow the step by step instructions outlined below.
- Book your deposit by placing a down payment for as little as $100 a person. Do not do this online. You must contact our dedicated Cruise Agent to do so. Make your best deal with any on-going promotions, and ask all questions to him. His name is Andres Brito. You may call him at 1-877-416-9722 extension 4305. Tell him you are calling about the "PhotoTips Cruise". If you have taken a previous cruise with NCL, make sure you let him know and give him your "Latitudes Rewards Number". If you don't have one, it's OK. You will get one soon. Make sure to ask him what the last date is to have your cruise paid for. Also ask him about the hotel I am staying at if you choose to stay there as well. He will handle that too. Once you are booked, you will receive a conformation email containing your Reservation Number. You need to report that back to me on the registration form below.
- Head to NCL.com and click on the "Register" link at the top of the page. (Can't find it? Call me.) Follow that process and you will be assigned a "Latitudes Rewards Number". You will also be able to assign your just booked cruise to your account. Don't wait to do this. Do it immediately. I need that number as well, and your online account is the way in which you will book excursions, along with making payments on your cruise.
- Fill out the registration form below in it's entirety. This information allows me to prepare, and ensure that NCL gives us our group perks once we get 8 cabins or 16 people booked. (This is how we get the cocktail party plus other things included.)
Here are a list of other hotels in the area to consider:
6/18/2013 10:07:00 AM
