Greetings from the Liberty of the Seas

We spent a delightful day aboard Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas. This ship has it all. From rock walls and flow-riders to quiet corners for those who just want to get away.

This is a Freedom Class ship and until the Oasis of the Seas (another RCCL ship) she was the largest cruise ship ever built with 15 decks she accommodates more than 4,300 passenger and 1,300 crew members. She is big, bold and beautiful.

But what I liked best about here was the fact that she in multi-generational. There is something for everyone from age 1-101. There are all the things RCCL for which RCCL is famous: Ice Rink, flow-rider, best children and youth programs at sea. It would be hard for a family to go wrong on this ship. Oh yes, and the food was great.

If there is a down-side to this ship it is the fact that like so many of the contemporary (formerly we called them mass market) cruise lines they nickle and dime you to death. Don't take a cruise on this ship or any other that appeals to the mass market thinking it is all-inclusive. It is not. You will pay extra for specialty coffees (RCCL things Seattle's best is a specialty coffee), all alcohol drinks, soft drinks, specialty dinning rooms, room service during the late night hours and a whole range of other things. Understand this going in you'll have a great cruise.

If you have sailed on this ship tell us what you think.

It Makes My Blood Boil

Society generally assigns responsibility for decision making in stages. From birth through 16 your parents make decisions for you; from 17-21 (18 if you are female) you are granted some additional responsibilities in decision making that do not require parental consent; after 21 you are totally responsible for all your decisions be they wise or be they unwise. However, is there ever a time when because of advanced age and diminished capacity you are not responsible for your decisions? Are are there circumstances under which such responsibility is reduced, diminished or abrogated?

Before you answer consider this: The fastest growing crime in America is defrauding the elderly. Malicious low-life's take advantage of the elderly to access their savings and lines of credit through a whole range of schemes that include phony sweepstakes & lotto's, charities, and a wide-range of other schemes. When it is all said and done these people are out their money and have virtually no recourse to recover their losses.

Beyond the despicable human vermin who perpetrate these scams there is the seeming lack of concern on the part of financial institutions (I suspect that Western Union is used more than any other to transfer these monies) and/or law enforcement. I cannot believe that they cannot find and prosecute these vermin. To my way of thinking they are at least equally as despicable as pedophiles and deserve to be treated no better.

I don't want to limit the right of the elderly to handle their own affairs. I do think that something needs to be done to rid the earth of these human (I would call them animals but I don't want to denigrate the animals) parasites. What do you think?

Why I Choose To Cruise

"I need a vacation!" Ever said that? I have. In my more than 35 years as a Baptist pastor I have said it often. Usually it is nothing but a safe way of saying the pressures of day-to-date life at work or home is getting too intense. Often we say it in jest but I believe there is more than a grain of truth in it because, "I do need a vacation!" I mean a "real" vacation . . . not some weekend getaway but a real vacation.

I am convinced that there is a direct correlation between taking vacations and our physical and mental well-being. There has been a myriad of studies going back to the 1940's that indicate this is the case. However, I don't need a study to tell me that I need a vacation because my gut will do that.

I have discovered that my mind and body react to lifestyle stresses and that a vacation is good for both. That's why I need a vacation. However, I have also learned over that taking a vacation can create it's own set of stresses . . . especially if it is a "family" vacation. But I'll save that discussion for another day because right now I really do need a vacation and for me that means a cruise.

I choose cruise vacations because while most are not truly "all-inclusive" they are "just about everything is included" and there is something about the sea that beckons and calms. Coffee just taste better no matter what the brand from your balcony overlooking the vastness of the ocean.

I'm not talking about one of those amusement park cruises. Now don't miss understand, I am not denigrating those cruises. I still take those kinds of cruises but what I want is a real "golden age of sailing" cruise where I can enjoy good food and conversation; quiet walks and private moments with the love of my life; explore exotic ports of call with both new and old friends.

The more I think about not only do I need a vacation . . . I want a vacation! I think I'll give my travel consultant a call. Oh yea, that's me.

It Was Really Among The Best Years of My Life.

A week or so I spoke about my deciding to attend my 45th High School Reunion and how I arrived at the decision to attend. Since graduation from Pasadena High School 45 years ago I have graduated from three Universities and Seminaries. All three of these institutions hold reunions and Alumni gatherings but none has a hook in my heart like the PHS Class of 1965.

It is fascinating to me the impact that those high school years have had on my life. To be sure, I did not know all 470 of my fellow graduates who walked across that platform in the Old Memorial Stadium across from the First Baptist Church and I did not participate in every activity available in my High School days. And yet, I recall with fondness virtually everything about those days. I would not say they were the best years of my life but they certainly rank up there with the best.

However, since deciding to attend the October 30th reunion I have been thinking about the direction our lives (mine and my classmates) have taken since that night when we walked across that platform and received those diplomas.

Of the 470 fellow graduates of the PHS Class of 1965 forty-four of us (almost 10% of our class) have completed their journey and are no longer among us. Some died young. I often wonder their lives would have been had they not left us so young. Others fought and lost battles with disease and a few in tragic accidents. I feel diminished by their passing.

Many of us went on to attend colleges and universities. Most of us found careers in which we have been to some degree successful. Others of us have struggled with life. Some have been blessed materially while some of us have managed to "get by." High school sweethearts married and some of us are still married to each other today. Many of us became dad's and mom's and have now graduated to grandparents. We represent virtually every aspect of American society and culture.

But the irony of my life has been that in spite of all that has happened in our lives since that evening in May of 1965 and sometimes in spite of what has happened since my fondest memories are of those days spent with my 470 classmates at Pasadena High School and you the Class of 1965. If I remember correctly our class song was "Moments to Remember" and remember them we do. I can still hear the Four Lads as they sing the song.

What was it about those days of our youth that so embedded them in my life. Was it because it was a simpler more innocent time. I have often said that my father, (who spent his childhood in the shadow of WWI; As a youth endured the Great Depression and; As man flew war planes over Europe from 1943-1945 during WWII), lived in the "Best and Worst of Times." In contrast I believe my high school years and the years that followed were the "best of times."

I really don't know why those days and these people are so near and dear to me --- I just know that they are. It is one of the mysteries of my life that I feel this fondness toward people many of whom I only casually knew in those days and have not seen since. Maybe after the 45th reunion I will come away with a better understanding . . . but somehow I rather doubt it. What I do know is this: I am thankful to God that I began my journey in life with this group of people. I wouldn't trade it for the world. Perhaps that's it . . . it was during those years and with these people that i realized my journey in life had begun in earnest . . . maybe.

Travel Insurance - To Buy or Not to Buy

Most people don't buy travel insurance because they either don't believe their going to need it (a gamble) or they believe that their present insurance and credit card assistance plans will protect them. I wish that any of it were true. A careful reading these plans provisions may surprise you as to what IS NOT included. Even in the best and most generous plans there are serious gaps in coverage.

First, your employer provided insurance does not cover trip cancellation, trip interruption, missed travel connections, lost luggage and/or trip delays. These are common issues that Trip Insurances Plans addresses directly. It only takes one trip to the airport to realize that your trip can be ruined events beyond your control. Missed flights, delayed flights, cancelled flights or bad weather on travel.

Second, while your credit card assistance program may ARRANGE for emergency medical evacuation it probably does not cover the actual medical cost associated with the evacuation or the evacuation itself. Travel or Trip Insurance directly addresses these issues and provides 24/7 assistance as well.

Even when health insurance does cover "out of country" expenses it probably will require you to pay out of pocket for medical expenses and then apply for reimbursement and all the out of provider network provisions will apply. Medicare does not provide any coverage outside the USA!

Don't get caught unprepared. When your travel consultant recommends trip insurance accept their advice and get the trip insurance. They have seen the loss suffered by clients who didn't and they are trying to help you avoid a similar fate.

My High School Reunion

In a few weeks I will be attending my high school graduating class's 45 year Reunion. Unlike the previous reunions, none of which I attended except the 25th, I will be attending this one.

I suppose the main reason for not going to past reunions was that I only received an invitation to one. Yep, you guessed it, it was the 25th -- the only reunion I ever attended. But I doubt that was the real reason why I didn't attend, albeit it is hard to attend meetings you don't know about.

But even when I did finally get the invitation I fought a battle within myself as to whether to attend or not to attend. Seems like a simple thing doesn't it. Either you do or you do not want to attend. Well, it wasn't that simple for me.

I really did want to attend. However, at some level because I'd never received an invitation (I was a pretty public figure then and easily located) I felt a little "unwanted." Now that was a paranoia on my part perhaps born of my own insecurities.

Then there was the was the corollary to the paranoia that kept telling me that no one at the reunion would remember me. After all, I was pretty vanilla in those days. Additionally, I was pretty sure my best friend in High School wouldn't be there. Not only would no one know me I figured I wouldn't recognize anyone there. After all they were all getting old now. No, when the invitation arrived I'd send it back with the biographical information and be done with it.

Well, the invitation arrived and with a little encourage from my wife to "man up" I filled out the forms, signed the checks for the fees and mailed it that same day. So much for the battle.

The day of the reunion came and we checked into the Houstonian Hotel and had an absolutely wonderful time. To be sure some folks didn't remember me but many did. My best friend wasn't there but I made some new friends. But more importantly an odd feeling came over me that was a mixture of joy and regret that produced as resolution to not equivocate next time I had a chance to see the people with whom I shared some of the Best Years of My Life.

So I am all registered and paid to attend the 45th Reunion of the PHS Class of 1965 and I still have some of those old anxieties. But I am nervously, no excitedly, looking forward to October 30 when once more in spite of the 45 intervening years I shall be magically transported back to a simpler and wonderful time we called our high school days at Pasadena Senior High.

If your a PHS class of 1965 alumni visit our class web page and register for this years reunion. Make this one less thing about which to have regrets. http://www.classreport.org/usa/tx/pasadena/phs/1965/

I hear more and more people saying that the "bad" economy they just can't afford or are afraid to take a vacation. Instead, they are opting for close to home trips commonly referred to as "Staycations." These, in general mean taking a picnic lunch to a local theme park, zoo, historical site, etc. I don't want to minimize these because they are certainly things that you should avail yourself of as often as possible. But the truth is, they are just that, local attraction available on virtually any day at a moment's notice and not "real" vacations.

I can't do to much about the "fear" factor related to job security and it's affect on vacations but the economy itself should not deprive you and/or your family of a real vacation. For example, if you normally fly to your vacation destination why not eliminate the cost of airfare by selecting a destination closer to home and use the money saved on the airfare to upgrade the destination.

One thing you could do is consider a cruise vacation! With the exception of the "heartland" we all live within driving distance of some port of embarkation. For example, people in my area (Southeast Texas) have the cruise ports of Galveston, New Orleans, and Biloxi which are all within less than a day's drive. These offer cruises of 4, 5, and 7 day duration and a choice of itineraries.

You might even lower the cost by getting together with family, friends, neighbors, church groups etc and forming a cruise group. Sometimes "the more the merrier" really is. Especially if it adds value and lowers cost.

Cruising not your thing. Why not plan a trip to the "Big Easy" (New Orleans) or San Antonio with it's River Walk, Alamo and Mission Tail. Or how about one of my favorite places, the Texas Hill Country with it's Wine Tail. The view from the Driftwood Winery's tasting room is one of the best sunsets in Texas.

Is the economy down? You bet it is! Does it have to rob you of a real vacation? Absolutely not. Call a travel consultant and let them show you how you can still have a great family vacation at a great destination while not breaking the family budget. Texas Cruise and Travel can help you with that as well. Check us out at www.texascruiseandtravel.com.

BTW - Now is the time to start planning that 2011 vacation.