As part of my continuing education in the travel industry, I attended the Travel Weekly Cruise World 2010 conference at the Fort Lauderdale Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale from April 03 – 06, 2010. The entire conference was educational, interesting and had some light moments. Fort Lauderdale is a very important port for cruises from Florida.
In attendance were approximately 1300 participants from the US and as far as Canada and about 168 suppliers. The suppliers included but not limited to airline companies, cruise companies, tour operators, and Tourist Board representatives from different countries.
The conference was a good opportunity to network with other travel sellers and catch up with new travel techniques and trends in the industry. It also gave me a chance touch base and share some wonderful moments with old friends. It was impossible to attend every session, so I was very selective on what topics to focus on to get the maximum benefit from my attendance. Some of the participants had obtained Caribbean cruise deals to sail on the ship after their inspection.
One of the high lights of the conference was the ship inspection that was conducted in conjunction with Cruise Line International Agency (CLIA). I wanted to inspect the Royal Caribbean Cruise line Oasis of the Sea but was bitten to it by my fellow travel agents. I guess it was the first choice of everyone who registered for ship inspection. That is the price I paid from procrastinating, as I registered somewhat late. I was fortunate to register for the Freedom from Carnival Cruise, Star Princess from the Princess Cruise Line and the Westerdam from the Holland America Cruise Line. This was an exciting and fun experience as you are being educated in an entertaining environment.
I was fortunate to pass very close to the Oasis of The Sea, as it was in port for the ship inspection before it began to cruise the Caribbean. Now I fully understand the hype about the ship. I think it is huge, magnificent and attractive. It was difficult to miss the ship as it stood tall and towering above everything in the Fort Lauderdale harbor. The port was modified to accommodate the mass of a floating resort which has taken the industry to new heights. As a result, Fort Lauderdale stands out as one of the outstanding ports for cruises from Florida to the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and cruise to Europe.
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