Is This Still A Vacation?
The Lafayette College football team had a bye week this past weekend and we were doing only one high school football game because of Celtic Classic. It was the perfect formula for my wife and I to take a rare in-season vacation. We love to cruise when we can and, in particular, we love to cruise on Royal Caribbean. We chose a Sunday to Sunday cruise on the Allure of the Seas, a magnificent 6,000 passenger, 2,500 crew “city”. I did the Lafayette-Penn game in Philadelphia Saturday night, rushed home, loaded the luggage in the car, and drove to Newark for our Sunday morning flight. That’s enough about me and my vacation. There was someone much more interesting on the ship.
I met Mario Salcedo. As a child, Mario came to Miami in the early ‘60’s with his parents when they were forced to leave Cuba. Soon after, he became a naturalized citizen.
Royal Caribbean refers to him as “Super Mario”. You see, Mario has been cruising nearly full-time since 1997 – about 50 weeks a year. By the end of this year, he will have taken over 500 cruises of various lengths. He is already booked for the next two to three years. A small travel agency in Cincinnati does his bookings, even though he calls Miami “home”. “Home” is a small condo where he stays about two weeks a year.
I had a chance to chat with him a bit on my vacation. Mario told me he does not have time to “vacation” – he is always cruising. I tried not to grimace. He estimated that he spends about $10,000+ a month to cruise for a total of $125,000+ a year. Despite what you would think, he does not take the most luxurious accommodations, but instead opts for the Junior Suite. He always has the same room, so he can keep his clothing there until he decides to go onto another ship.
Mario was a finance executive, retired at 48, and still maintains a few clients that he can serve while on the pool deck. (Are you sick yet?) When he decided to “test the waters” to see if he would love cruising, he tried six back-to-back cruises, sampling every major cruise line, every type of ship, and many itineraries. He chose Royal Caribbean. He has sailed on Royal’s Liberty of the Seas over 100 times.
Because he is so loyal, there are perks attached. He receives a free cruise for every 50 completed, has a concierge and private club at his disposal, gets on-board ship credits and more. How does Mario keep from getting bored? He is a scuba diver, a salsa dancer, a percussionist, and he loves to interact with passengers and crew. He even played Santa Claus this past year, handing out gifts to the children on board.
Most of us can only look forward to one or two vacations a year. “Super Mario” never knows when his vacation will end!!
NFL PICKS FOR THIS WEEK (9-6: Last week; 40-23 overall 63%)
CLEVELAND
TENNESSEE
BALTIMORE
ST. LOUIS
NEW ENGLAND
SEATTLE
GREEN BAY
NEW ORLEANS
GIANTS
ARIZONA
SAN DIEGO
DENVER
SAN FRANCISCO
ATLANTA
