While cruising on the Carnival Magic while she was in Europe, I caught up with Carnival’s Senior Cruise Director John Heald. John is not just the man who puts together the entertainment and activities on the Carnival Fun Ships, but he’s also a husband and dad with a passion for cruise travel.

In the video, John gives a bit of insight about general cruising and how his outlook of cruise travel has changed since becoming a parent. We also discuss the Carnival Magic and the many offerings for guests on a Carnival Cruise.

To find out more about John Heald and keep up with his antics with Carnival Cruise Lines, be sure to check out his award winning cruise blog: John Heald Blogs. You  can also check out his page on Facebook for real time updates and behind the scenes fun.

The Carnival Magic sails out of Galveston, Texas. To book your cruise on this Fun Ship, visit Carnival.com or contact your favorite travel agent.

Alice Griffin is the author of the informative and inspirational book Tales From a Travelling Mum: Navigating Europe with a Babe-in-Arms. It is chock full of useful tips and advice on traveling with little ones. Alice was kind enought to answer a few questions for TravelingMamas.com readers.

When did you first develop a love for travel?

Growing up with parents who often spoke about travel and road trips they had taken with my siblings (I missed out there being the youngest!) I think my love of travel is deep-rooted. Really I have been dreaming of far-off places for absolutely as long as I can remember and when, at 23, I had the opportunity to spend six months in Japan – I was bitten. I haven’t looked back.

What inspired you to write this book?

When pregnant with my daughter all I ever seemed to hear was that independent travel with babies/children was a nightmare. I didn’t believe and I didn’t see why I should give up my love of the world when I became a mother – I wanted to share my love of the world with my daughter! We did our first trip when she was 8 weeks and at one-year-old we sold our house, gave up our main income and headed off on a long-term road trip. We have had such amazing experiences that I felt I should share them with others who might feel a little apprehensive about travelling with children. The result is a story about all the trips we took during the first two years of my daughter’s life and covers Greece, Norway, France and Spain by plane, boat and road. I guess you could say it is a travelogue interspersed with practical advice and tips.

Do you have one moment that stands out while traveling with your children?

I couldn’t pinpoint a specific moment, but just seeing my daughter enjoy the world, watching her interact with so many faces, cultures and environments – it gives me hope that she will grow into a compassionate and fearless young woman.

Do you travel without your children? If so, how do they cope when mum is
away?

As yet I have not travelled without my daughter.

What items do you always travel with?

A favourite comforter toy, a bubble cot and a small rucksack of toys and books to keep her occupied. Oh, and I always keep raisins on me for when all else fails!!!

Last thought about travelling with children:

Just that people shouldn’t be daunted by travelling with a baby or with children. Yes it’s different – but seeing the world through my daughter’s eyes has, so far, been magical. Embrace it and remember that if you manage to stay relatively calm you can defuse most testing situations. You will also be overwhelmed by the kindness and support of strangers when you travel with children!

You can learn more about Alice Griffin by visiting her official website. Want to purchase her book, visit Amazon.com to purchase Tales of a Travelling Mum.

Season 7 of American Idol was probably one of the more memorable for the CajunMama family. We really enjoyed Jason Castro’s performances and his choice of songs for most episodes. The 21-year-old artist sang a few numbers that were meaningful to us, including “Travelin Thru” (which should be one of our theme songs), IZ’s arrangement of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” (Hello, Hawaii), and “I Shot the Sheriff” (which brought Mr. CajunMama and I back to our honeymoon in Jamaica).

I’m a big fan of entertaining and talented musicians, so when Little CajunMama and I were able to get an interview with the Texas native while we were at Disney World we thought this would be the perfect opportunity to ask him a few questions about how he travels and where he went on family vacations as a kid.

Little CajunMama took time out from touring the parks so that she could get her list of questions ready for Jason. Yes, Little CajunMama asked the questions. If you are already familiar with TravelingMamas.com, then you’ll know we like to do things a little different with our Staycation Boycotts and Festivus Celebrations, so who better to conduct the interview than a 10 year old (soon to be the old age of 11).

We observed as TV crews went in and out with all of their camera gear. In fact, things began to run a little late as we patiently waited. When our allotted time came around, we went in to meet Jason, with Flip Mino HD at the ready.

Jason Castro is a very nice, polite young man, so big kudos to his parents for how they raised him. He was super sweet and was a joy to interact with. The video quality on YouTube is a little off (as is the sound), and I’m thinking that the Flip Mino HD isn’t going to make it on our On the Move Approved list like the Flip Ultra did, but I’ll save that review for another post. Here’s the interview, and if you can’t see it on your screen, this is the direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIDE6oh6zac

Also, if you aren’t already familiar with Jason’s talent (or even if you just want to listen to him over and over), we’ve embedded a playlist below the video for your listening enjoyment. We’d also like to send a shout-out to Jason’s fans at Castrocopia and The Dreadheads Forum. To learn more about Jason Castro, visit his Official Artist Site.

January is the time when people look back at the past year and make resolutions for the year ahead. This day last year, we loaded our first post on a WordPress.com travel blog. We started TravelingMamas.com with a few dollars and a little bit of common sense (we trademarked the name). Along the way – 438 blog posts later – we’ve grown into what you see today.

Each of us feels blessed to have TravelingMamas.com as a fun and rewarding outlet. We four have full editorial control of what content we feature, and our goal has always been to help mothers and travel researchers find useful and practical information to plan how to spend their hard-earned money.

Over the last week, we all dug through our old photos, emailing to each other and laughing at how goofy we all look (may perms never come back in style). We recalled our times together on trips, and now we are planning our next getaway so we can all bond in person! Hawaii last May was truly magical.

Here’s a little reflection of our first year that gives a brief background on how we came to this moment. Thanks for sticking around through our first year; we really appreciate the support. We absolutely love hearing from readers, and making connections with other travel bloggers and travel-industry folks means the world to us! We look forward to seeing what 2009 will bring for the Traveling Mamas. Onward and upward!

If you can’t see the video, here’s the direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5UboFwF2AQ

And Mamas – I MISS YOU! Thanks for making 2008 a rocking year of travel blogging. Here’s to 2009 and the Year of the Traveling Mamas. I hope ALL mamas out there start planning their travels now, both with their families and their mama friends.

Like the music? The song featured is Everything I Need by Chris Michols. His entire album can be downloaded for free at ChrisMichols.com.

And special thanks to Terry Shibao of Digital Imaging Plus, who took the great photos of us at the Westin Maui.

Alan Rider, a traveling dad, shares with TravelingMamas.com an inside look at his inspiring site, XTRORD.com and how it came to fruition. He and his wife of 16 years are the parents of Sky, a 10-year-old adventure lover like his dad. They reside in a really small town in northern California.

Have you taken your family with you on your travels?
I’ve been fortunate to be able to take both my wife and son on many of my work trips over the years. But Sky and I just had our first real father-son trip a couple of months ago — to an American Le Mans Series sports car race at the historic Laguna Seca Raceway near Monterey, CA.

Besides spending quality time with your son, what else made it memorable?
Going in I thought he’d be all excited to see (and hear) these million-dollar race cars up close, as he has a ton of toy versions. But when we got home and his mom asked him what his favorite part of the event was, Sky told her “We had ice cream bars at the race track!” Gotta love 10-year-olds!

How does your family feel when you travel solo?
I typically fly over 100,000 miles a year so we’re all kind of used to it. That said, I do try and minimize the impact by making my solo trips as short as possible — I’ve been known to fly across the country and back in 48 hours to do a story!

Recording our parts in The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd Copyright Alan Rider

How do you make things easier when you are away?
Unless I’m in some remote jungle, I’m pretty fanatical about calling home twice a day to check in. I think it helps all of us feel more connected.

How did you come up with the idea of Xtrord.com? What is the purpose behind it?
As a former disc jockey and long-time travel writer and magazine editor, I’ve been fortunate to have had an awful lot of really cool adventures over the years. With that background, I eventually got tired of reading stories on the same old tired vacation destinations and activities. So I launched XTRORD.com, the world’s first guide to truly “extraordinary experiences.” Of course, there’s something deeper going on here too, namely the deeply-held belief I gained from a near-fatal motorcycle crash that life was meant to be lived to the fullest. And that’s the real purpose behind the website — to encourage and inspire people to go out and do all those things they’ve always wanted to do.

How do you define “extraordinary experiences”?
Good question. The experiences we feature run the gamut from unique to quirky to downright mind-blowing. We’re talking real once-in-a-lifetime adventures here, things it’s pretty much impossible to walk away from going “Yeah, I guess that was sorta okay…”

The definition of an “extraordinary experience” also has two other important aspects. First is “doability” — specifically, is this something an average person can do? The second is “affordability” — is this something someone of ordinary means could afford? The point here is that having a truly extraordinary experience is no longer limited to the supremely physically fit or the super-wealthy. There are tons of experiences on the website that your kids or your grandmother could do equally well. And even if it means you have to start a simple exercise program or save your pennies for a couple of years to make it happen, well, that seems like a small price to pay to live out your dreams.

Thanks, Alan, for sharing a little of your life with our readers. That’s what we’re all about at TravelingMamas.com: Inspiring You to Explore. If you have a unique experience to share with Alan, he can be reached at info at XTRORD.com.

Disclaimer: I bugged the poo out of this poor man until he broke down and graciously agreed to answer these questions. Before you read this, pretend you are Wayne and Garth and repeat to yourselves, “We’re not worthy”.

Chris Brogan is a Strategist/Advisor of Enterprise Tech and Social Media. In other words, he’s the Shiznit, The Man, or whatever name you want to call him, but I’m pretty sure he prefers Chris. He’s also a Traveling Dad and founder of Dad-o-Matic, a place for dads to share thoughts and ideas about parenting. Chris also educates people about technology and the practices around it with his personal blog, ChrisBrogan.com.

For those of you in the blogosphere that haven’t heard of Chris, consider this your introduction to one of the Gurus of Social Media. He’s been married since 2000 and has two children that he knows of, one 6 years old and the other almost 3. He and his family make their home in Northern Massachusetts. Chris also travels extensively throughout the year, schooling the masses on all things tech and social media and is working on his next book. He also recently brought up the question of how Tourist Bureaus can reach bloggers during a visit to St. Louis, and this topic has generated some big buzz in the travel industry.

Do you travel without your family a lot? Does your wife travel without the family?

Almost never in both cases, at least not in airplanes. Funny timing, as my wife is about to take the kids on a solo trip up to Newfoundland.
 
What does your wife think about this (you traveling)?

She and I have a good relationship around my travel. When I’m home, I’m VERY home. I play with the kids a lot. I take my daughter to school often. I take them places and do all that fun dad stuff (plus the hard parts). It ends up being a balance. And this job I love, so I’m overall much happier. When I was home more often but in a crap job, I was a far less engaged dad.

Do you take family getaways? If so, where is your family’s favorite place to go?

We haven’t done it a lot. I think I’m a scaredy cat of how it’s going to be to wrangle all the kids in some delightful foreign location. We do lots of day trips and the occasional overnighter up in New England. But then, I haven’t had a “real” vacation in forever.  

Do you and your wife ever get a chance for a romantic escape?

We can measure those opportunities in hours, not days.

Any tips for our female readers on how to make a Dad’s life easier when they travel? Any tips for the dads out there?

For both sides of the gender, my thought is this: be very clear. If you’re into peace and quiet on a beach, and your spouse is into gambling at casinos, the time to discover these things isn’t while shuffling for the credit card to book a flight, and even worse when you’re at the destination. Another idea: families on vacation are fairly tightly knit. If there’s a way to give mom and dad solo trips of a few hours, where the other spouse wrangles, that’s a nice way to double-dip on the sense of a vacation.
 
What is your pet travel peeve?

Power. I’m a business traveler. I need power strips everywhere. Yes, I can bring one (and often do), but I’m frustrated that hotels haven’t rigged themselves even more appropriately for today’s gadget-laden traveler.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

Newfoundland. I’ve been twice, and it’s like Ireland over on this side of the ocean. It’s a great mix of Canada’s best people, a rustic scenery, cold weather (which I prefer), and a different pace of living.

Thanks so much to Chris Brogan for taking the time to answer these questions for TravelingMamas.com. After reading through his answers, this man is in SERIOUS need of either a romantic getaway or a family vacation at an all-inclusive resort where he and his wife can relax while the kids have fun. If you are interested in social media, then visit his site at ChrisBrogan.com. He is one of the most awesome Social Media Gurus and is active on Twitter.

And for those of you who “get it”, Mariska Hargitay.

Chanize Thorpe, a freelance travel writer/editor, is a Traveling Mama who lives in New York with her husband and three children. She has traveled the world and has agreed to share some of her insights on being a mama and traveling.

How did you first become a Traveling Mama?

My dad was in the military so I’ve been traveling all of my life. Even after I left home for college, I had “itchy feet” and would find myself packing my suitcase to go somewhere every 3 months. That never changed, even when I had children!

When you travel solo for work, how do you deal with leaving the kids and hubby?

At first I used to be a wreck. I’d have this prolonged good-bye and then my children would start crying as if they’d never see me again. It was awful. Finally my husband told me that the more I make a big deal out of it, the worse it would get, so I stopped the drama on my end. I’ve got a good support system, my husband and grandma tag team it while I’m away, and they all know the routines I have in place, so I don’t worry any more.

Is there any advice or tips you can give a Traveling Mama about to embark on her first solo/girls getaway?

Make sure you leave a plan for whoever’s watching the kids. I make a menu for my grandma so she knows what to cook while I’m gone (that eliminates McDonald’s for dinner every night), we go over the girls’ chores for the week, I leave my itinerary with her as well as numbers for hotel, airline, etc. Leave no questions unanswered.

You are a freelance travel writer, so you’ve seen a few places around the world. Is there a special place Traveling Mamas could go to renew their vows or for a second marriage?

It’s no secret that I am in love with Aruba. I’ve written so many features on the island I’ve stopped counting. It’s really one of my favorites. To me, a vow renewal on an island with the sand in your toes and a tropical flower in your hair is the ultimate. Pick a place that has a vow renewal ceremony package so you’re not stressing out about all the details. You just pick package “A” or “B” and it’s easy peasy.

If there were three things you could take with you on a trip, what would they be, and why?

I take a tunic top that works for day and night, I take my gold Cole Haan Air Jane shoes for the same reason, and an exercise band because I’m trying to keep my routine going while I’m on the road.

Do you have any final advice for a Traveling Mama about to embark on a journey?