Shawn Power- Your Trusted Cruise & Tauck Tour Expert

25/10/2024

For the past 5 years myself/my business have sponsored/"gifted" an individual to attend each of the several "3-day" events LifeApp puts on each year and afterwards I often receive a Thank You/Testimony letter from the participants and the results are truly life changing!! Teresa Penner & Jonathan Penner and their entire group do an AMAZING job at helping people transform their lives in a positive way no matter what area they're struggling in... so proud to support LifeApp and their "3 Day" events as they're truly life-changing... I hope you get to experience one of these special weekends yourself in the near future!! :-)

16/10/2024

If you don't already use "Apple Air Tags" or something similar when you fly to board your Cruise or Tauck Tour, check out this article which gives you some reasons why I STRONGLY suggest you never travel without them!!

And here are 2 more examples of weird experiences my Sister had while flying/it would have been a lot of time wasted if she didn't have "Apple AirTags" or

30/09/2024

Thanks Lisette Thurman & Regent Cruises for a fabulous dinner tonight at “Le Bistro”… so appreciative of the Great partnership I’ve enjoyed with you guys over many years!! 😃

28/09/2024

Hard to pass up a Lobster Roll 🦞 when in PEI!! 😋

24/09/2024

No doubt this is too many pictures to drop at once 😂 but after spending a week on the Beautiful Greek Islands of Syros, Paros & Naxos I wanted to give you a glimpse of them in case you’re wanting to find a Greek Island (Or 2 or 3) to spend some relaxing time on before/after your Cruise in this area from Athens… with their easy Ferry system here it’s a simple add on to your Cruise!! Alright, now I’m off to Quebec for a “Canada & New England” Cruise to NY for my company’s annual conference… going to miss that warm Greek weather!! 😉

09/09/2024

I was VERY hesitant to recommend the "New" Crystal Cruises to my valued clients when they relaunched mid-2023 after going out of Business 1.5 years earlier! But, as I could see lots of their loyal guests were back sailing with them & the reviews were Great... AND, once I saw they ordered 2 New ships... I figured it was time for me to get back onboard "Crystal Cruises" to see if I should be recommending them to my clients again along with the other "Luxury/Small Ship/All Inclusive" Cruiselines that many of my clients sail on. So, I did just that last month and here are my thoughts on my recent sailing with the "New" Crystal Cruises! https://www.shawnpower.com/crystal-cruises-review-crystal-serenity/

18/08/2024

Like the first couple of times I experienced it, REALLY enjoyed the “White Pass Rail” train ride in Skagway yesterday during my “Crystal Serenity” Cruise in Alaska… such a Beautiful/Scenic/Historic excursion… no wonder it’s the most popular excursion in all of Alaska! And what a Great meal at “Tastes” onboard “Crystal Serenity” last night!! 😋 Pulling into Sitka now and it’s another blue sky/sunny day… should be another Great Day up here in “The Last Frontier”!! 💯😃

17/08/2024

Awesome meal onboard “Crystal Serenity” last night at legendary Master Chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s “Umi Uma” restaurant!! 😋

16/08/2024

Very cool to meet Manfredi Lefebvre d'Ovidio onboard “Crystal Serenity”! Not everyday you get to hang out with a billionaire who has 40+ years experience in the Cruise industry between successfully running and selling Silversea and then successfully resurrecting Crystal as the Chairman of “A&K”. Nice to chat with him about how he brought some of Silversea’s most popular features to Crystal like Butler service for all rooms and bigger rooms, etc. plus knowing he sees a Very bright future ahead for Crystal!! It was great meeting famous Celebrity Chef “Nobu” onboard Crystal last time I sailed on them but as I’m a true lover of Cruises I think this meetup today tops Nobu!! 😂

15/08/2024

I have to say, so far it definitely feels like the “old” Crystal onboard “Crystal Serenity” as the staff are super nice and efficient as always, the food is VERY yummy, etc. BUT I’m loving that the “new” Crystal reduced the capacity on this ship by 300 guests as even though we’re full it does NOT feel at all full (Crystal never felt busy on any of my previous Cruises with them but reducing capacity by 30% while the ship & crew stayed the same size is a dramatic improvement in the overall “quality” of onboard space/enjoyment/feeling of exclusivity!!) and it’s Great that they’ve added lots of bigger rooms like the 530 square foot “Sapphire Suite” that I’m staying in… for sure one of the nicest Suites I’ve stayed in over all my Cruises and my Butler is making sure everything in the room is to my preference/is making my stay Very comfortable so no doubt once onboard yourself you’ll enjoy some of these improvements that the “new” Crystal has implemented!! 💯😃

13/08/2024

This time 20 years ago I took my 1st ever Cruise & today I get on my 86th sailing... it's definitely been an Amazing 20 years exploring the World through the super fun Cruising Industry!! 🙂 Looking forward to boarding this Cruise ship today, "Crystal Serenity", on an 8-night sailing to Alaska to check out the "New" Crystal Cruises! No doubt I enjoyed my several Crystal sailings pre-Covid before the old version of the company under old ownership went out of business, but like many, I wasn't overly confident in how they would do under their new ownership with the "A&K Group" since they relaunched last year? But now that they're a year into it & reviews are looking pretty great and they have even ordered 2 new ships, things are definitely looking up for "Crystal Cruises" again so I figured it's time for me to check them out to make sure the product is as good, if not better, then pre-Covid to see if I should be recommending them to my clients again so ideally it's going to be a positive week of "research"! 😉 And as an added bonus, Manfredi Lefebvre D’Ovidio (Executive Chairman of A&K Travel Group) is onboard this sailing so looking forward to hearing his vision of where he sees "Crystal Cruises" is headed in the years to come! So definitely expect some updates from me regarding Crystal Cruises over the next little while! 😉

06/08/2024

Have you ever dreamed of “jetting” off to the far-away/Exotic lands of Africa to experience an Africa Safari and see the “Big Five” (Lions, Leopards, Rhinoceros, Elephants and Buffalo) as well as all the other amazing animals that Africa is known for? BUT, you don't know where to start when it comes to figuring out the best option for you to experience this part of the World? If so, check out this blog post https://www.shawnpower.com/africa-safari-options-africa-safari-river-cruise/ which will show you some of the best "Africa Safari" options that you can take!

Have you ever dreamed of "jetting" off to the far-away/Exotic lands of Africa to experience an Africa Safari and see the "Big Five" (Lions, Leopards,

31/07/2024

Recently I did this Tauck Land Tour & Safari https://www.tauck.com/tours/kenya-tanzania-rwanda-mountain-gorilla-trekking in "East Africa"/Trekking to see "Mountain Gorillas" in Rwanda and it was an AWESOME Journey!! Here's my full review https://www.shawnpower.com/africa-safari-kenya-tanzania-rwanda-mountain-gorillas-tauck/ of what that trip was like to help you see if you want to get it added to your "Bucket List"! ;-)

...but this time I'd be adding in a "Trek" to find Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda!!

03/07/2024

Well, today was definitely a VERY special day for a travel lover like me… what an AMAZING experience “trekking” to find Mountain Gorillas 🦍 in Rwanda!! 🇷🇼 And “trek” we did… 2hrs to find them, hung out with them for 1.5 hours and then 2hrs back… all through some VERY dense jungle and up a VERY steep hill!! With that said, we were 5 of our group of 21 who chose a more active trek, the other 16 had to hike much less to find them/were done 2 hours before us so many different fitness levels can still take in this experience! But either way, seeing these powerful creatures glide through the jungle so easily as we had to work hard to get through the thick brush (Literally, our “trackers” had to “create” paths for us with their machetes!!) was so impressive as was watching them eat, play together (The baby was SO cute!! ☺️), beat their chests, “talk” to each other, etc. And because we found them in a small space/not out in the open we got REALLY close to them at times as they simply go where they like, we don’t seem to bother them at all… they’re definitely the ones in control as one of them reminded me when he was going by and gave me a little push on the shoulder reminding me who the boss was… WOW!! Seeing all the animals I did in Tanzania 🇹🇿 and Kenya 🇰🇪 the past 2 weeks was truly, truly incredible but the Gorillas 🦍 in Rwanda 🇷🇼 were the highlight of this unforgettable “Tauck” Tour for me!! Impossible to capture the specialness of this unique experience in pictures/on video so I truly hope if you have the means to make it here you do one day as no doubt a trip like this will last with you forever!!!!!!! 💯👍🤩

02/07/2024

Great day in Rwanda 🇷🇼 where we enjoyed a VERY scenic 2.5 hour drive from Kigali to the “One & Only Gorillas Nest”… no wonder they call Rwanda “The Land of a Thousand Hills”… it’s so lush here and the hills and valleys are gorgeous… totally surprised by the Beauty of it here… very nice!! 👍 💯 Speaking of “Beauty and Very Nice” the “One & Only Gorillas Nest” is over the top impressive… I’ve stayed in a lot of nice hotels and resorts over the years but it’s definitely the first one I’ve stayed at with a starting price of $7,000 USD/night… you literally want for nothing here!! For my clients doing this Tauck Tour you’re in for a major treat your last 2 nights of your tour!! 🤩 We took in some lectures tonight from a Tracker and Gorilla Dr. to prepare for tomorrow morning… it should be a GREAT day, can’t wait to meet these impressive creatures in real life!!! 💯😀

01/07/2024

After getting my morning “wake up call” from the hippos 🦛 outside my tent at the “Fairmont Mara Safari Club” in Kenya 😉 (Truly a unique and fun experience!!) we took a flight to Rwanda 🇷🇼 which is Country # 91 for me to visit… always exiting to check out a new place and Kigali is quite a nice city with wide streets, big sidewalks, it’s very clean and as I took a walk around to check out the some sites/“Hotel Rwanda”, etc. I got LOTS of smiles so friendly people for sure! Tomorrow is a big day though as we head to the “One & Only Gorilla’s Nest” Resort which will be our home base for 2 nights for Wednesday’s Gorilla 🦍 trekk… should be a GREAT couple of days ahead!! 💯😀 And Happy Canada 🇨🇦 Day to all back home!! 🎆🎇💥 🤩

30/06/2024

A hot air balloon flight at dawn over the vast grasslands of the Maasai Mara in Kenya 🇰🇪 observing the early morning rituals of wildlife… followed by a Champagne Breakfast in “The Bush”… not a bad way to spend a Sunday morning in Africa!! 💯😀

29/06/2024

After a relaxing day at the “Mt Kenya Safari Club” yesterday (Which included some time at the onsite animal orphanage, a visit to a “spinners & weavers” shop supporting local single mothers and a very tasty dinner last night) we flew to “Masai Mara” today (Where we’re staying in tents… with that said, “Fairmont-Style” tents!! 😉) where we started off our time there with a visit to a “Maasai” school and a game drive (Saw 4 Cheetahs 🐆 hanging out together!!)… now, time to get to bed for my 4:30am wake up call for our Hot Air Balloon ride in the morning!! 😉

27/06/2024

Another fun day “on Safari” with Tauck in Africa… it started with a “small plane” flight from Amboseli with a game drive as soon as we touched down in the “Mt Kenya” area where we saw some Rhinos so have our “Big 5” completed!! 🙂 From there, we visited the Equator, had a yummy lunch and then arrived at the “Mt Kenya Safari Club” Fairmont hotel where A LOT of famous people have stayed over the years… amazing history here!! That was all capped off buy a fabulous “Dinner in the Bush” tonight where the cooks really know how to grill their meats!! 😋