RFFC: The Ports!

Taking a Run For Fun Cruise(RFFC) gives you the opportunity to run in exciting locations. During the port stops, you also have a chance to explore the places you are visiting either on your own or with a group excursion. Lets take a look at where RFFC can take you in 2015!

RFFC Caribbean February 2015- There is still time to book last minute to take a romantic Valentines Vacation with RFFC! Booking Info found here.

The February cruise starts out in Fort Lauderdale which will be a warmer climate for a lot of folks! You have the option of participating in the A1A Marathon which offers a 5K, Half Marathon and Marathon on February 15 (Sunday). Come in a couple of days early, enjoy FLL's nice weather, take the water taxi around to see the sites or head to the beach! Board the Regal Princess on the 15th (after the race) and be on your way to 3 Caribbean ports.

Wake up Feb 16 to Princess Cruise Lines private island, Princess Cays. I have never been to Princess Cays but I have been to RCCLs private island in the Bahamas and boy is it beautiful! It is so peaceful, the beach is plentiful and you can just relax. RFFC has something special planned for you at Princess Cays, take part in the Princess Cays Team Challenge and the Bahama Mama Relay!

With a day at sea under your belt, you will feel refreshed as you take on a 5K along Charlotte Amalie Harbor on Feb 18. Enjoy the rest of your day taking in some of the beautiful beaches that the USVI have to offer. Magen's Bay is often listed as one of the top 10 beaches in the world. Interested in more adventure then relaxation? Try SCUBA Diving! We took a Discover SCUBA class at Coki Beach Dive Club during our visit and had an amazing experience. If you have never seen the world underwater, I highly recommend it!

 Take a dive in St. Thomas

On the 19th, sail away to St. Maarten, the smallest two island nation in the world! That's right, you are in for a 2 nation treat with half of the island being French and the other being Dutch! Begin your morning with a 5K or 10K along the beautiful boardwalk. Ready to take on a full day? Visit Maho Beach where you can see the planes landing at SXM airport, a fun family adventure. Visit the French side of the island for lovely shops, cozy little restaurants and fantastic beaches. We spent a day roaming the shopping on the Dutch side ending up at a lovely beach bar and finished our day in some lovely loungers.

 A beach bar along the Board Walk in St. Maarten

RFFC Alaska June 2015- This cruise to Alaska will surely be filled with adventure, book today!

Begin your journey in Seattle where you can take part in the Rock N Roll Seattle Half or Full Marathon on June 13! Enjoy the rest of the day/ night exploring such an amazing city! All Aboard June 14 to head out to a ton of amazing port of calls in a place truly different than the rest of the United States.

Ketchikan is the first stop June 16. RFFC has partnered with a local running club for a morning run. Alaska's 4th largest city, Ketchikan offers salmon fishing, native totem poles at the Totem Heritage Center, visit Alaska's Rainforest Sanctuary or wander around the picturesque Alaskan town.

June 17 sail towards the Tracy Arm Fjord. The views will most definitely take your breathe away. Keep your eyes out for an array of wildlife that call the Park home including harbor seals, wolves, bears and many birds. Continue on to your next stop in Juneau. RFFC has teamed up with  Ultra Marathoner Geoff Roes for a run you wont forget in Alaska's capital. Afterwards, take in a whale watching tour, dog sledding, Glacier Gardens and more in this city with an abundance of area to explore.

*Photo via Princess.com

June 18 lands you in Skagway, a town that began with the Gold Rush. Take the railway to experience the Yukon, stay in town to learn the history of the Gold Rush, or take a flight to see the beauty of  Skagway from above.

June 20 fulfills the Jones Act  by stopping in Victoria, BC Canada. Enjoy a night time run before seeing some of what Victoria has to over. Check out the beautiful butterfly gardens or Beacon Hill Park, visit the Craigdarroch Castle, or have a drink or two at an in town pub.

In choosing the Caribbean or Alaska, you can not go wrong with a Run For Fun Cruise. The ships are beautiful, the planned activities are plentiful and the ports just WOW you.

Make sure you visit RunForFunCruise.com for additional information and to get any questions you may have answered. Don't forget to tell them that LIVE from the Lido Deck sent you.

Want to take an EPIC Runcation? RUN FOR FUN CRUISE

You may be wondering what a Runcation is... By definition, it is a weeding. Well, that is nothing do to do with Runcation I am talking about! A Runcation is vacation where you go running! My first Runcation will be to Walt Disney World in February where I will be running the Disney Princess Half Marathon.

Now I love to travel but cruising is my favorite way to travel. I have found a Runcation that suits both my needs, Run For Fun Cruises. I came across Run for Fun Cruises a couple of months ago but was disappointed to find that it was the same week as my half. I followed them on Twitter to stay up to date with future cruises and found that they were offering another trip in June!

The RFFC is offering two trips in 2015. The first in February is for the beach bunny interested in running around the Eastern Caribbean. This 7 day cruise onboard the Regal Princess runs from February 15-22 and offers stops at Princess Cays (cruise line private island), St. Thomas,  & St. Maarten. This cruise offers fun in the sun, sand and the chance to shake off the winter blues.

The second sailing on the Ruby Princess is for the cruiser looking for adventure. Join RFFC June 14-21 sailing from Seattle to Alaska including a stop to see the Tracy Arm Fjord! Other stops include Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway & Victoria, BC Canada. This cruise offers amazing once in a lifetime wild life excursions!

Now what makes these cruises a Runcation? You go on fun runs of course! Each cruise starts out with an optional Half or Full Marathon. The A1A Fort Lauderdale Marathon or the Rock & Roll Seattle Marathon take place the Saturday before the cruise departs. Then, throughout the cruise, the RFFC team has set up group runs on board and in port to take in the sights!

Look for upcoming posts that go into greater detail on the RFFC, ports of call and the ships being sailed!  For more information visit Run For Fun Cruise's site. Call or email them for more information, just don't forget to tell them that Amanda Causer with Live from the Lido Deck sent you!

250 days !!!

250 days until we sail on the biggest cruise ship  in the world! We have never had to wait so long to cruise! The ship is a destination in its self so that's also going to take a lot of research. We don't want to miss a thing!

What do you do to pass the time between booking your cruise and embarkation day??

Ray-Ban 4148 Caribbean Sunglasses - Black/Crystal Green (Google Affiliate Ad)

Just booked Oasis of the Seas!!

I am very excited because we just booked our first cruise on Royal Carribean. After our first cruise I was all about Carnival and loved the service we received. Since then, it has been declining every cruise and we were interested in trying a different line. A few months back my boyfriend and I watched a special on the Oasis and we were amazed at how big she was and all that the ship had to offer.

We have been looking for a while but decided to go ahead and book. We choose a superior ocean view balcony stateroom. OUR FIRST BALCONY!! This class of ship (there is also the Allure of the Seas) offers Central Park view and boardwalk view balconies as well which look over those areas inside the ship. 

We are doing the December 14 Eastern Caribbean sailing to Nassau, St Thomas, & St. Maarten. Yes, places we have already been. However, we didnt get to experience much in those places so we are very excited to revisit these islands. I am not thrilled with the time in Nassau and we may consider staying on board that day to see everything the ship has to offer us, with hopefully shorter lines. 

Our itinerary is

December 14- Fort Lauderdale

December 15- Nassau 7-2

December 16- Day at sea

December 17- St. Thomas 10-7

December 18- St. Maarten 8-5

December 19- day at sea

December 20- day at sea

December 21- Fort Lauderdale

Make sure you subscribe so you dont miss out on our planning process!

Eagle Creek Travel Agent Organizer (Google Affiliate Ad) 

Carnival Victory: St. Maarten

Arrive at 7, Board by 4:30, Sail Away 5

St. Maarten was our favorite island that we visited. There was so much to do so close to port and the atmosphere was very relaxing. We did not have an excursion planned for this day. We walked off board into the port area and found the area for the water taxi for the left. I believe it was $4 each way pp or $6 pp for an all day bracelet that was good for as many rides as you wanted. The water taxi stops at two different areas and then comes back to the port. You can also walk the board walk area down to where the water taxi lets you off. We bought the all day pass and were on our way. The water taxi was a beautiful ride, very short at about 5 minutes. We got off and walked around the boardwalk. There were quite a few local restaurants as well as places like Hard Rock Cafe and a McDonalds. Once we were towards the end of the boardwalk we went back a street to the main shopping area. St. Maarten has tons of jewelry stores as well as outlets like Ralph Lauren/ Tommy Hilfiger type places. The shopping street is one way and you must be cautious of vehicles driving down when crossing.

After a couple hours of mostly looking and some souvenir shopping we walked back to the boardwalk to a nice little beach bar with 2 for $3 beers. We stuck with Carib, it was very light in the hot sun, but they also had American beers available for the same deal. Eventually we went to find a vendor to get some loungers at the beach. The first guy we walked up to was great!! $15 for 2 loungers, an umbrella, and 4 drinks (alcoholic). What a deal!!! I believe we were in Great Bay. There had been a recent storm so the water was full of sea weed which was a little unnerving to walk through at first. The sea weed had also washed upon shore some but it was a beautiful area. The water was not crystal clear blue water as in the other ports but I am sure you could easily find this in other areas on the island. There was a nice row of rocks that jetted out into the water that we climbed up on to see some lovely pelicans diving into the water. The area was just so nice, very relaxing.

After laying out we decided to finish up shopping but walked two streets up instead of one. This was a local street with markets and a lot of people. There seemed to be some sort of festival or something going on, there were a lot of school kids. Anyways, it was packed with people and we felt quite uncomfortable so we headed back to the first street. We decided to take the water taxi back which took forever! So make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get back to the ship! After about 20 minutes the water taxi was there and it was packed! We had to stop at the second drop off point before we could head back to the port. Once back at port, the line was very long but it didnt seem to take too long to get back on board. It was kind of sad, our last port. Tomorrow we would be back in Puerto Rico and heading home.

The top of St. Martin is French, the bottom of Sint Maarten is Dutch. It is a two nation island.

This is sign is found in the shopping area.

Behind these trees is the lovely beach bar we visited.

The ship from the Great Bay.