Rome, Assisi, Paris, Amsterdam, Alaska, Seattle…where would you like to go in 2012? We are going, come along!

Life is what happens to you when you are NOT making plans! Join us on the Road of Happy Destiny. We all need something to look forward to and nothing beats traveling with a group of people wearing the “God glasses” who see the world in a totally unique way. Moving moments, obvious miracles, epiphany’s are all part of these incredible fellowship vacations. Don’t deprive yourself of this experience. There is so much joy in recovery, you just have to leave the house to get it. It’s an action program for thinking people! All events are exclusively for guests booked on the Gratitude Cruises. Updates at www.sobercelebrations.com 561-702-2312.

2012 Vacations, Click here

   People call all the time and say they want to book a vacation where there is no alcohol available in any way. That is not what real sobriety is about because if we want to drink, there is no place on earth we are safe. People who are spiritually fit can go anywhere, and I have done so with my sober tribe this May, June & July. We went to Italy, Greece & Africa and we saw miracles everywhere. Mainly we recognized that it was a miracle that we could go to these places when we were supposed to be dead from drinking. Traveling creates a new reality in your brain and if you are open to it, helps shift those old ideas around so you can discard them. Each trip is a renewal of spirit and a permanent fellowship bond with our travel family.  It seems the farther you get out of town, the more you live in the moment and get your head where your feet are.

     Running around Venice, Italy on private launches and water taxis was elegant, indulgent and thrilling. We were like Angelina Jolie & Johnny Depp in “The Tourist”! We even set out to the Daniele Hotel where we had sodas and basked in the luxury of this elegant hotel where we subsequently found out on the flight home was the same place the movie was shot. We were in our own movie.  Sobriety Rocks!

Venice Highlights:
The pillows at the Hotel Pappadopoli; Glass Blowing on Murano Island, the private tour of the Art Academy, having our guide take us to a quiet holy spot in St. Mark’s Basilica where the saint is buried so we could hold hands and whisper the Serenity Prayer; Gelato; Paul & Lisa going where they said they couldn’t because she is in a wheelchair; the view from the terrace at the Hotel Daniele; meeting two of the 7 members of the Venice group at a meeting and bringing a gang to read the pramble.

GreekIsles Highlights:
The statue of Achilles at the Achillean Palace on Corfu; The chapels of Mykonos and hanging octopus drapery; The glory of sunset at the winery in Santorini, the French Jazz Brunch onboard Norwegian Jade; the erotic soap souvenirs at Katakolon!

Kenya,Africa Highlights:
Hakuna matata (Swahili for “there are no worries”)
A spectacular safari in luxurious tents with polished wood floors, granite counter tops, four poster beds with mosquito netting and hot water bottles at night; being in a vehicle surrounded by the
wildebeests and zebras just beginning The Great Migration from the Serenghetti, Tanzania to the Mara in Kenya; Seeing Lions on their honeymoon; watching the sun rise while in a hot air balloon over the jungle; seeing 16 elephants walk with their family pass our vehicle and barely make a sound; the staff bringing a birthday cake and singing Hakuna matata to David; reading A Vision for You at our daily
meeting.

         I am bleeding gratitude these days and can’t believe what sobriety has brought me these 36+ years. It took over 3,000 photographs and am still eating them with a spoon!   I am so grateful my job is to help people get
away from reality so they can be reunited with their magic, with each other and God’s wonderful world.  I thought my life was over when I stopped drinking in my twenties. I had no idea it had only begun. God continues to blow my mind!

After nine glorious days of sober celebrations and over thirty five meetings and group events, I want to thank all of you who have kept coming back for 8 years and making the Halloween Cruise such an awesome event. With brothers and sisters from 20 states and 3 countries we totaled 1,073 years of sobriety. Way cool!

We began this year’s festivities with a wedding on the beach the night before sailing for Jason & Lorrie. I performed the ceremony and it was endorsed by heaven with a full rainbow at the end of the ceremony. 

(There are advantanges to having your officiant/sober sister/photographer with you on your honeymoon!)

We ended our events 9 short days later as Bill B. got a call with news of who will be starring in “The Lois Wilson Story, When Love is Not Enough.” It was incredible that Bill and his wife Bernedette were able to join us on our cruise with so much left to do for the movie.
Our “Studio 54 Stayin’ Alive” Group Costume was a hoot!

AWESOME SOBER DANCING! CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR OWN SANDY AND STEVIE B. CLICK HERE.

See more videos at www.youtube.com/bluemoonsnow

Our wonderful Keynote Speaker Jack C. not only delivered a very powerful message of experience, strength, and hope, but days later he was the perfect officiant for our impromptu private costume contest. When the crowd chanted the Flip Wilson “Here Come the Judge” as he entered the room, Jack surely rose to the “Laugh In” occassion and could not have been a more wonderful sport.

The fellowship and giggles on excursions was always there as folks rode underwater motorcycles, toured fortresses, went aerial trekking, parasailing, snorkeling, shopping, and spelunking.
Our honeymooners won a free cruise at bingo and were chosen as one of the three couples on stage for the Love and Marriage Game which they won! When given the bottle of champagne, they graciously gave it to the couple married 60 years. Love and service is our mantra!

We saw the movie “Gotta Dance” which Peggy B. was in and several of our cruisers performed in the “Gotta Dance” routine the ship now has on all cruises. The 12 Step Trivia Game was priceless~!
One of our cruisers brought her beau this year who proposed to her with a heart shaped diamond ring! Congratulations Joanne & Don! Celebrations galore as we had meals fit for kings and laughs fit for a happy and joyous vacation. Next year this Halloween trip will be on the Inaugural Halloween sailing of Oasis of the Seas. While no rooms are left for the general public, I have rooms for our group. Call me to book asap to get yours! All events are exclusively for Gratitude Cruise guests. 561-702-2312

Plan, plan, plan! It’s easier to take the time to plan your wardrobe out then to haul a heavy suitcase through airports and try to find more closet space in your cabin on any cruise! If you have booked any type of Suite, take anything you want as you will have plenty of closet space in your cabin and will only have to pay the airline freight depending on who you fly. If you have a Balcony, Oceanview, or Interior Stateroom and you have a roommate, let’s get down to “outfits!”
On a 7 Night cruise you have two formal nights; Black Tie or Dark Suit for the gents, and Cocktail Dresses/Suits or Gowns for the ladies. If one of those formal nights falls on Halloween, you have a “Costume Optional” night which we always take on the Halloween Gratitude Cruise. (This year I have a kooky hand made day time costume too!)

Lay out your clothing for 7 nights first:
Two formal nights, five nights of smart casual, meaning no flip flops or tshirts in the dining room. Pick one nice looking outfit for each night and match the shoes/handbags/stockings/socks to each. Guys, shirts with collars only and no jeans. Try to use several items several times (like black slacks) with different outfits and mix it up with different tops/jackets/jewelry. I used to cruise with 15 pairs of shoes but have it down to about 5! Plan on strong air conditioning on the ships and ladies bring a wrap of some kind. If you want to stay in shorts you can eat a the buffet anytime. You need a bathing suit cover up to eat at the buffet also.

Pick a day time outfit for each day. Choose light weight clothing that you can layer according to temperature. I found it overwhelming hot in Alaska in June and freezing on a ship in October. The layering worked wonders. Match the shoes, tops, accessories etc. with each outfit. Bring one extra outfit for bathing suit port days on tropical cruises as you will be changing when you get back to the ship to go to tea time or exploring. Bring sunscreen and the type of travel bag that stays secure on your body and leaves your hands free to take photos, like a sling bag. THAT’S IT!!! No, don’t bring another outfit “just in case!” Make your decisions now, not later.

I find if I roll up clothing, it is less wrinkled and packs easier. I keep formal wear in a lightweight suiter in my suitcase. If you have a cloth suitcase, make sure you line it with black garbage plastic bags. I’ve had my clothing completely water destroyed by the airlines in my London Fog cloth suitcase due to inclement weather at connecting airports. I have one good lightweight hard suitcase now and a hand scale from www.magellans.com for $9.85 that tells me when I’ve hit 50 lbs!

Carry your cosmetics on flights. Buy snack size tiny baggies and put everything you will need for a week individually and mark them with a sharpie. Squeeze a weeks worth of lotions & potions into each one and take two tubes of travel toothpaste. Ships have shampoo and soap. You can have a bunch of these baggies and up no space or weight at all.

You can take your laptop to have WIFI in your cabin on most ships. However unless you have to work continuously, leave it home. On most ships there is an Internet Cafe. You will get a per minute price and I find it more economical to buy one hour blocks. There is no such thing as DSL at sea, only sloooooooooooowwwww satellites, so bring your email address list with you as you’ll be home before your address book loads on your screen at sea!

Above all else, KISS….Keep It Simple at Sea! It’s a vacation for fun, relaxation and getting away from reality like nothing else you’ve ever done, so enjoy it! 84% of people have never even taken a cruise and are missing this phenominal experience. You are one of the lucky ones! Embrace the adventure!

Our cruise ship Radiance of the Seas slips in between the mountains, glaciers and fish to dock us in a little port built up with rocks. The port is ready with a platform full of new helicopters. There is not even one doctor in this town and medical attention is a two hour flight away. Pregnant women are required to leave town two months prior to giving birth. It’s still a frontier town and charming to pieces.

I went to a farm where I did something I have wanted to do forever, I did glass blowing. I made a beautiful snow, blue magic feather and gilded paperweight which will be shipped to my home. Then we had a home made brunch from all the ingredients in the Jewel Farm garden. 33 staff live in the baracks there and grow their own food.
The air tingles with crisp promise of more northern adventure. Although the guides sait last ngiht that we wouldn’t probably site any whales, our group saw 5 Orcas and a humpback with a baby who did tricks for us. Although you can only see Mt. McKilyey 30% of the year, we saw it clearly the first day. Today we snuck into Icy Straight Point and the sun blazing on the streets is so unusal we know how truly blessed this trip is as it is rarely sunny this long. I stayed onboard and slept the morning away in elegant luxury. The internet and cell phone connections come and go. AT&T seems to be the only carrier that works in these remote areas. My phone is dead for sure!
We have our meeting at 5:00, formal dress tonight and our Private Coketail Party at 7:00. Life is that good!

So my cell phone alarm clock rang at 7:30 this morning and I got up and got dressed in long johns, hat, mittens, etc. and went into the elevator as the sun blazed its morning song through the ship I am on which is 50% glass. I didn’t know that my cell phone reverted to east coast time and I had awakened at 4:30 am until some folks in the same daze got on the elevator!
I went back for a few hours rest to preparare for my excursion. Nothing could have prepared me for taking a helicopter ride in the Juneau, Alaska Icefield. They have been studying the effects of the icefield’s glacier system here since 1946.
We were given glacier boots to put over out boots, instructed on how to board the helicopter, and squeezed in for a ride to heaven. The temperature today was 67 and hot hot for everyone. We climbed up over the majesty of the white blanketed mountains until we got to the the south end of the icefield and landed on Mendenhall Glacier. As we flew over the blue topaz pools of water which signifiy a glacier, it was apparent we were traveling back in time. Nestled in the middle of the glacier were about twenty white huts where 15 people, mostly in their twentites, taking care of about 100 sled dogs. Our guide met us wearing no shirt. It had snowed up there yesterday so it was pristine. Our dog sled was all hooked up and ready for us to go for a ride. The dogs were so responsive and much leaner than I thought they would be. Our team came in 8th in the Iditarod this year. Some dogs have competed as much as 9 times in the race. Gee and Haw are the two commands they respond to. Gee being right and Haw being turn left please! As we took turns riding in different position, we watched as an avalanche went crashing down. The sound echoing through the glacier was as old as time itself. This is North America’s fifth largest icefield which blankets over 1,500 square miles of land and stretches nearly 100 miles north to south and 45 miles east to west. The whiteness was blinding. I took lots of pictures and videos, but could not really tell if the camera was on, as nothing was visible.
Sober Dog sledding on a glacier…WOW…take that one off the bucket list!

I am sitting onboard Radiance of the Seas sailing thought the Alaska morning. Wish I could load some pictures, but alas, nature is so powerful here all machinery is helpless. My new camera is shy, my cell phones won’t send pictures and I can barely tweet! It’s truly living in the moment! I just found this computer onboard with some time to spare before 10:00 am meeting.

Our tour guide for the previous four days on land was one incredible German woman who has lived in raw Alaska for a long time. She is about 36 years old, lives in a cabin with no electricity, and has to chop her fire wood and haul water to her cabin which has no lock on the door. She volunteers to help the mushers for the Iditarod every year, has biked not only the Iditarod trail, but 4,000 Alaska miles. She is from another time and place. As a farewell gift I bought her a book titled “Gold Rush Women.” We all signed it and I think she will enjoy reading it on the long winter nights. She was good friends with Susan Butcher, the only women to win the Iditarod three times in a row. The Iditarod is up there in world class races with the Tour de France. It’s an 1,159 miile dog sled race.
We are blessed with so 65 beautiful alcoholics on this trip! Two women have only two months of sobriety each and they will get an earful from our gang! Many volunteered to be sponsors at sea and all are willing to carry the message any time of day or night wherever we are.
Today we cruise Hubbard Glacier and have a fancy black tie dinner tonight. Ain’t life grand?