Here's the Scoop

Hey, I've had a few people ping me interested in finding out how to get an LDS tour guide for cruises they plan on taking. I'm sure there are many ways to do this. I can only speak to what we did, though.

I really don't mean to turn my blog into an advertisement for a tour company, so maybe what I can do is at least give you some general info on how to find an LDS tour guide.

The way our tour worked was we did a search on "LDS related tours," "LDS cruises" or "Book of Mormon tours" you should find several companies that offer good tours.

How ours worked was we booked our tour with the tour guide company who bought out dozens of cabins on a cruise ship. The ship was just a normal cruise ship, heading to our ports of call. However, they registered with the ship so that we could gather in conference rooms and such.

The tour company had an orientation meeting before we left in which they introduced us to the host couple that would escort us throughout the cruise. They also gave us useful info and tips.

Later, they met us at the airport in Florida and we all boarded a bus that took us to the hotel. They gave us more immediate info the next day as they bused us to the cruise ship. Then, throughout the cruise, they'd tell us where to meet to get more info and how to get to the tour sites.

They would arrange for and buy tickets to the venues and such. It was really nice to have someone else figure out how to get to everything...

Also along for the cruise was a professor from BYU. While we were at sea, he'd give fireside chats. Once on land, he'd follow along with us. The local tour guide would explain the sites. Then, our LDS guide would say, "That was one opinion, now let me give you an LDS perspective of this site..."

(He wasn't disparaging in any way. I don't mean to imply that by what I just wrote. He was just trying to be clear.)

It was actually quite interesting to get two points of view on the sites.

Part of the fun was getting to know other LDS couples during the trip. Some groups of couples got together every night to play games and such. Sadly, there's something about cruise ships that is very calming for me - I would be sleepy by 9-10 pm every night (considering I'm normally up to 11-12, that was very early for me), so we missed out on a lot of the evening fun and games.

But, we had a great time. If you've never been on a cruise, you REALLY ought to go. I never thought I'd be a "cruiser", but I've been on 3 now and it's been great every time!

Back On Board

Wow! It's been quite some time. It's been a very busy year. And, I probably set my sights too high for the blog. Great plans can be intimidating... It's better to just stick to the feasible and keep it moving.

I've been told that there are other struggling writers out there that might find it interesting to read of the attempts, trials and travails of a fellow struggler. The kicker is that it seems to me that to make the current status make sense, it has to be put into the context of what has been attempted. Writing up a grand summary of that would take more than a blog, probably be too lengthy to hold people's attention, and is a daunting task to undertake.

Add to that the constrictions that 1) I don't like naming people or companies by name in blogs, and 2) I don't like saying negative things about others, especially in blogs, and I'm really stuck on what I feel I can say. The reason for this is that when it comes to getting published, it's very difficult to do item #1 above, without following that up with item #2. Anyone who has gone through the experience knows what I mean. (And, I've spoken with several...)

My first bit of advice, then, to any new writer is, "Write for the enjoyment of writing." Any expectation fulfilled beyond that is unlikely and should be considered "gravy."

I, for instance, really enjoyed writing - up until I tried to get published.

Once the rejection letters started coming back, as much as I had expected it and prepared myself for it, it slammed my enthusiasm. It took quite a while to get up the interest again. Eventually, I had to set the "publishing" conundrum aside and focus on simply enjoying storytelling again.

And so, here I sit, attempting to move this blog along. I believe the next entry will be a highly scaled-down summary of the past efforts moving up to the present, so that future blogs can be more current. If anyone has specific questions or items they want addressed, drop me a line or post a comment. I'd be happy to let you know what I've tried, what has worked, and what has not.