The Flagg Agency

Ask any travel consultant when they recommend getting to your cruise port, and they without fail will advise you to fly in a day early. You might be saying, “Why should you get to your cruise port a day early?”

Last year, when my daughter was preparing to go to summer camp for the first time, she read about a nightly ritual. On the daily schedule she saw the following entry:

10:15 pm – Devotional, Milk & Cookies

For weeks she thought about those cookies. She had visions of the type of cookies. She thought about how warm would they be; how cold would the milk be; how many would she get? She could feel them in her mouth, she could practically taste them. I think she was dreaming about those cookies. When we dropped her off thinking about all of the adventures she would have: Horseback riding, sports, leadership, team-building while we are sure all she thought about were those cookies.

Missed Hubbard Glacier Calving

Many of my greatest travel memories have been captured with my digital camera. I can go back and look at those pictures again and again and relive those memories. On the other hand, I have been at times so focused on looking at the LCD screen or through the viewfinder, I have missed living in the moment.

My daughter stands by the rock wall

As a cruise consultant who helps families choose the cruise of their dreams, I have had some questions of late about cruise ship safety. Current and prospective clients have been asking me “Are cruise ships safe for children?” With the image of Costa Concordia still fresh in their minds, I fully understand their concern.

One of the biggest appeals of a cruise vacation, especially for families, is the ability to spend time together. So much of our life is spent apart, or in traffic, or driving from one activity to the next. A cruise allows your family to spend special time together, splashing in the onboard pools, playing games on deck, enjoying delicious food in the dining room and exploring on shore.

I have some thoughts to share about the news media and the cruise industry. Before I begin, I want to stress that my thoughts go out to the families of those who are missing and who lost their lives as a result of the tragic accident of Costa Concordia on Friday January 13, 2012. I am reserving judgment and speculation on what actually happened and the aftermath until all the FACTS are released. With that said, I think what has been written and broadcast about the cruise industry in the weeks since the accident shows a lack of integrity by many of those in the media