I have settled in on my home-away-from-home on cruise ship the Amsterdam and we headed south from Los Angeles to our first stop, Puerto Vallarta Mexico.

We had two full sea days along the way which were Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The ship festively decorated with 50 Christmas trees adorning all the decks of the ship. On Christmas Eve about 100 crew members formed a choir and held a candlelight service singing Christmas carols from around the world for the passengers who are onboard. On Christmas morning there was eggnog and cookies for everyone as Santa Claus arrived here on the ship! That evening everyone dressed in their Christmas fineries for a formal dinner and caroling and dancing until wee hours. There were many family groups and others just meeting new friends and renewing old acquaintances. It was great fun.

On Saturday we were in Puerto Vallarta. Puerto Vallarta was a fishing village until about 20 years ago when it became a popular beach destination sport for North American vacationers. Fishing is still popular here as a trade as well as for sport. It rained in the morning, then we had a sunny afternoon which was great beach time in this tropical resort area. In the evening a cruising entertainer friend, Janine Gardner, performed her hilarious comedy act. Of course it’s not all fun and games, somewhere in between the events, I talk to people about the options of planning a future cruise with us and have sales targets to meet, reports to send in to my main office in Seattle, presentations to prepare and present.

Sunday was a day at sea. The weather was hot and sunny. In the evening a party was held for the 142 people already on board and staying the cruise around the world. The other 1100 will be boarding the ship next year – January 6, 2010 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.