What we are NOT looking forward to on our Canada/New England Cruise in September 2017

I remember our first cruise - it was almost 16 years ago.  It was a combination square dance cruise, a wedding for good friends, and a 50th Anniversary celebration for my parents.  We knew nothing about the whole process - we just knew that we were off to the Caribbean in November, and wouldn't that be fun.   It seemed that was all we needed to know.  It was organized by someone else and we just got on the plane and then the ship. 

 

We had a great time - but it is hard to compare that first cruise to our last cruise in February - so many things have changed over the years.  We like the changes - dressing up every night for dinner is no longer necessary, for those who don't want to.  For those that want to dress up, you still can and you won't feel out of place.  Packing is certainly easier.  Dining is different too, you can have the standard table, or you can dine when you want.  When we are with a group, dining at the same time is nicer for everyone.  A great opportunity to reconnect at the end of the day and make your plans for the evening.

We are planning a 14 day Square Dance Cruise through New England and Canada in September 2017.  This is my thing, and I'm very hands on, and know exactly what's happening and how it all works.  In the internet age, it is so much easier to get information, I can probably even show you a view from my cabin.  I'm an avid researcher and love to know all the details.  I read ship reviews, port reviews and research "fun and different" activities.  In Dominica this year, we organized a river tubing excursion, it turned out to be the same excursion from the ship, for less than half the price.  There are hundreds of options for excursions apart from the ship, but you need to have done your research ahead of time.

As a vacation, a cruise offers great value, meals are included (even room service), transportation from port to port, entertainment and excellent service.  Sometimes, you can swing a drink package or an On-Board Credit to offset the extra costs.

I thought I would share a few of the things that I am NOT looking forward to on this cruise, so if you decide to join us, you will know what to expect.

1. NOT having to go to the store, cook, or do the dishes.

In my house, I am the chief shopper, cook and bottle washer.  I always say that if I knew then, what I know now, things would be different.  (Probably not, though, as I really like to cook and I really like to be in charge - I could just do without the dishes).  I do, however, on a cruise, love to go to the dining room every night and have oodles of choices and it just arrives in front of me with no other effort on my part other than reading through the menu.  If you can't decide, you can always have both - ask my nephew who couldn't decide which steak entree he wanted, so the waiter brought him both. (Next best part is leaving the table without paying!)

2. NOT having to make the bed or tidy the bathroom.

As a teenager I worked as a chambermaid (do they still call them that?) in the summer.  We lived in a tourist town and next to waitressing, this was the next best job, you were done by 2:00 and off to the beach we'd go. I have made my share of beds and cleaned my share of bathrooms.  I still like to make the bed every morning, even when someone is still on the other side.  On a cruise the room stewards are like the shoemakers elves, twice a day they they make your bed and tidy your bathroom and you rarely see them!  You just come back to your cabin and it's clean again!  This is one of my favourite parts of a cruise vacation.

3. NOT having to pack/unpack every day.

Unlike a bus tour you are not really responsible for your own luggage.  Most of the vacations we plan for groups involve staying in one place for as long as we can without changing accommodation.  I hate packing and unpacking. For me a cruise is the ultimate solution, you leave your luggage outside the ship, check-in, head up the gangplank and you're on board.  Later in the day your luggage appears in your room (again - it's like magic, it's just there!)  Once your luggage is in your room, you unpack and don't have to worry about packing again until you're getting off the ship.  Our Canada/New England cruise is 14 days of NOT packing and unpacking and numerous stops along the way!

We are getting ready to leave our luggage behind and get on the ship!

4. NOT having to worry about what we'll do tomorrow (or how we'll get there)

There is always something to do on a cruise - the staff makes sure that there is something you can do all day long, everyday.  You can do as little or as much of what they have planned as you want to.  Once you're in port for the day - they provide you with multiple options for excursions or you can explore on your own.  It's completely up to you.  If you're part of a group, you can always find someone who is interested in the same things you are.  If you're coming with us - we will plan group excursions and participate in group activities and of course we'll be square dancing on the sea days. 

5. NOT being disappointed with the view.

Not all hotels have a view - even when they say they do.  On a cruise, your view changes daily and on a sea day it changes hourly as you travel along.  Even if you have an inside cabin, the view is only steps away, as you head out to the deck to see where you are now.  Truthfully, one of my favourite things is to get up early in the morning to see where we are.  I did that this last winter in the Caribbean, I woke up at about 5:00 one morning and opened the curtains, so I could lie and watch the scenery go by.  It was blue sky, blue water, and islands passing by.  When you wake up in port it is always different from the day before.

 

St. Kitts

St. Thomas

 

We hope you will think about joining us as so you can find out what you are NOT going to enjoy! 

 

Why We Like To Travel As A Group

Why We Like To Travel As A Group

We’ve been planning group vacations for our dancing (and occasionally our non-dancing friends) for the past few years.  We’ve learned a lot along the way, some good, some not so good, but mostly we have learned that travelling with a group is a lot of fun.

As the organizer I’ve learned that for me it’s a struggle to spend other people’s money.  I want everyone to have a quality vacation, with lots of experiences.  However, quality and experiences cost, and I struggle to balance that since I’m not only spending my own money, but asking others to spend their money.  There are a lot of things to do when you travel, but sometimes as a group you can have a more interesting experience. 

     

The benefits of group travel far outweigh any negatives.  In most cases, someone else almost always does the bulk of the work.  Which is nice for those who are uncomfortable with the planning part, or like Steve, just enjoy the surprise of what we are doing tomorrow. 

A group of travelers together means that unexpected waits in airports are less stressful with others, than perhaps by yourself.  The person in charge of your group can find out what happened, and what’s going to happen next.  The more experienced travelers in your group can ease the minds of the less experienced.  We have also found out, through personal experience, that a plane will wait when they know that a group of 10 or more travelers are coming on a delayed flight from somewhere else.  They won’t wait for one couple, but they will wait for a group.  We’ve even been fortunate to have a personal escort through customs and security for our group of 26 coming home from Paris last summer.  For anyone of us who had been traveling alone, we would have missed our flight from Montreal to Vancouver.

It’s fun to be a crowd within a crowd.  We had over 40 people to New Orleans a few years ago, and planned our trip carefully, something to do every day, but didn’t fill up the entire day, so people could enjoy the City of New Orleans at their own pace as well.  It was nice to walk down Bourbon Street and run into others from your group.  At the end of the day, we’d meet back at the hotel for a nightcap and compare our days.  What a great way to find out who had done what.

 

Sometimes your travel partner isn’t interested in all the same things you are, but you can usually find someone who would want to go with you.  Last winter in the Caribbean, my friend knew her husband didn’t want to back into port to check out the spice shop, but she knew that I would go, so we left our husbands behind as we went on a trip to buy spices.  Win-Win all around.  In France last summer, three of us were able to take an excursion to a pastry class without our husbands, while they went with another group to a museum and a third group went shopping and took along another passenger from the ship who wanted to go shopping but didn't have anyone to go with.  Being part of a group means there is always someone to do something with.

 

 



Overall, the benefits of travelling with a group of people far outweigh any negatives.  Think about joining us sometime, it's better in a group!

Square Dance Updates June 6, 2016

Good Afternoon!

 

Regular dancing for us is finished for the summer, but we’ve got lots of things going on for the next few months!

 

Chase the Fun in Chase, BC – Friday, June 17 – Sunday, June 19, 2016

 

Harbour City Hoedown, Nanaimo, BC – Friday, June 24 – Sunday, June 25, 2016

 https://www.dropbox.com/s/rf8jc6oleoulcuy/Harbour%20City%20Hoedown%202016.pdf?dl=0

We’re organizing a golf tournament during the Festival in Penticton – contact us for more information!

 

Circle 8 Ranch – August 19-21, 2016

 https://www.dropbox.com/s/f4eftdsm6z0dil5/2016%2008%2019%20Circle%208%20Ranch.pdf?dl=0

 

Our Bus Trip to the Royal Romp in November is filling up quickly – if you want to join us, make sure we get your name as we only have room left for 4 couples (we are limited by bus space and hotel rooms available – don’t miss out).

 

 

September 2017 – Canada/New England Cruise – we have confirmed dancing space and times for our sea days. Think about joining us!  The Celebrity Summit is a perfect sized ship for a group, with just slightly over 2000 passengers, it is easy to run into your travel companions for a visit, or a drink, or a meal.  We will be having the 6:00 dinner seating with Round Robin seating (which means you can sit at different tables with different members of our group each night, you won’t be restricted to the same table and the same people).  Dining like this is a great way to get to know everyone you are travelling with. 

 

Please remember, if you're going to one of these dances, especially the out of town ones, send us a quick note or mention it to me (not Steve) so we know you're coming.  That way if we plan anything other than the dance, we will be sure to include you.

 

 

Follow Steve on Facebook J

https://www.facebook.com/steveedlundsquaredancing/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

 

(You don’t actually have to be on Facebook to follow this link)

 

 As always, if you need more information on any of these, let me know.

 

Thanks
Lynnette

 

 

 

Mark your calendar....details to follow

 

 

Friday, June 17 - Sunday, June 19, 2016

Chase the Fun, Chase, BC

Steve will be calling the Saturday afternoon, and the Saturday evening dances.  We had a great turn out from the Lower Mainland last year, let’s see if we can do better this year.

We've booked into the Overlander Motel

www.overlandermotel.com

250-679-8633

(see attached flyer for complete dance information)

 

Friday, June 24 - Sunday, June 26, 2016

Harbour City Hoedown, Nanaimo, BC

Mainstream with some Plus Dancing in Nanaimo

Steve Edlund and Steve Noseck calling on Saturday

Dancing all weekend

(see attached poster for information on the whole weekend)

Limited to 100 dancers and 30 RV’s

For more information:

Bob Simpson

250-751-4444

bdsimpson@shaw.ca

 

Sunday, July 17, 2016

Abbotsford Grand Squares Sunday Dancing

1:30 – 4:00 PM

Mainstream Dancing in an air-conditioned Hall

 

Thursday, July 28 - Saturday, July 30, 2016

Canadian National Square Dance Convention, Regina, SK

 

Wednesday, August 3 – Saturday, August 6, 2016

Penticton PeachFest

(see attached registration form)

http://www.peachfest.com/squaredancefesti.html

 

Friday August 5, 2016

9 Hole Golf Tournament at the Penticton Peachfest

Tee Times starting at 8:00 AM

St. Andrews by the Lake

111 St. Andrews Drive, Kaledan, BC

Limited space – get in touch with us early!

Lots of bragging rights available!

 

 

Friday, August 19 - Sunday, August 21, 2016

Circle 8 Ranch, Cle Elum, WA

If you're looking for something fun to do, on short notice, head down to Cle Elum this weekend and join Steve and Steve Noseck for some great plus dancing!

(see attached registration form)

 

http://circle8ranch.net/

 

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Spokane, WA

 

Saturday, October 22, 2016

Star Country Squares

Knox Presbyterian Church – 3701 32^nd Ave, Vernon, BC

Plus Dance 2:30 – 4:30 PM

Mainstream Dance 8:00 – 10:00 PM

 

Friday, November 4 – Sunday, November 6, 2016

Royal Romp, Vancouver, WA

Bus Trip from Surrey, hosted by the Edlunds and the Brendzys

Everything is included (Transportation, Hotel, Dance Fee, 2 Breakfasts, 2 Lunches, 2 Dinners, and all gratuities)

Contact us for more information – Space is limited and filling up very quickly, make sure you don’t miss out.

 

Friday November 18, 2016 (Date to be confirmed)

Royal Swingers Muffin Madness

 

Saturday, November 19, 2016

SSW Hawaiian Dance

Brookswood Hall, Langley, BC

 

Saturday, December 31, 2016

Our New Years’ Eve Dance

Brookswood Hall, Langley, BC

This dance always sells out!  Tickets will be available October 1, 2016.

 

 

Saturday, February 4, 2017

Eastside Squares, Kirkland, WA

with Steve Noseck

Pre-Rounds are from 6:30 – 7:30 PM

Plus Dancing is 7:30 – 9:30 with one Round between squares

Juanita Community Center, 13027 100^th Ave NE, Kirkland, WA 98034

 

Friday, March 10 - Sunday, March 12, 2017

Plus DBD Weekend, Kennewick, WA

With Randy Dibble

 

Saturday, April 8, 2017

SSW Happiness Dance

Kennedy Hall, Surrey, BC

 

Tuesday, May 31, 2017

SSW Hoedown Night

Brookswood Hall, Langley, BC

 

Thursday, July 6, 2017 – Saturday, July 8, 2017

BC Festival 2017

Cloverdale Fairgrounds

Surrey, BC

http://bcfestival2017.weebly.com/

 

 

September 10 – 24, 2017

Canada/New England Square Dance Cruise

Our next big group trip will be a 14 Day Cruise through New England and Eastern Canada on Celebrity Cruise Lines.

 

We have confirmed dancing on our 5 sea days.  We will be dancing in the afternoon in the beautiful Revelations Lounge at the very front of the ship.  It has a large dance floor that will be just perfect for us. 

 

Remember the sooner you book, the better the pricing – this cruise only goes 3 times in the fall and fills up quickly – book sooner rather than later for the best pricing, the best choice in cabins.  Deposit is 100% refundable until June 2017.

 

(see attached poster for more information and pricing)

 

Saturday, November 18, 2017

SSW Hawaiian Dance

Brookswood Hall

 

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Eastside Squares, Kirkland, WA

with Steve Noseck

Pre-Rounds are from 6:30 – 7:30 PM

Plus Dancing is 7:30 – 9:30 with one Round between squares

Juanita Community Center, 13027 100^th Ave NE, Kirkland, WA 98034

 

April 2018

Tokyo, Japan

 

Saturday, April 18, 2018

Westsyde Squares – West Kelowna, BC

Westside Senior Centre

3661 Old Okanagan Highway, West Kelowna

Mainstream Dance

Roast Beef Dinner at 5:00 PM, followed by a Mainstream Dance