Cruise Veteran Does a World of Good on Vacation
Atlas Travel International Vacation Consultant Susan Farnum Helps 27-Time Cruiser Make a Difference to Children in Haiti
When Donna and Ralph DeBlasio of Cranston, RI, booked their first cruise in 1987, little did they know how this type of vacation would change their lives and those of 230 young children in Labadee, a port town on the northern coast of Haiti.
In December of 2010, with 27 cruises under her belt (all of which have been arranged by Atlas Travel International Vacation Consultant Susan Farnum), Donna stepped off her second inaugural cruise, this time aboard Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's Allure of the Seas, and watched the pallets of school supplies being unloaded onto the dock in Labadee.
“This is all part of an effort that was made possible by a group of cruise enthusiasts who met online at Cruise Critic,” said Donna. According to the Cruise Critic website, they provide an interactive community for five million visitors who enjoy planning, researching and sharing their passion for cruising.
“We met online and live all over the US, Canada and UK,” explained Donna. “We call ourselves The International Critters, a term we took from the sound of the words ‘Cruise Critic,' and we decided among the 300 of us that we should do some good with our passion for cruising.”
According to this veteran cruiser, who has Diamond and Elite status aboard several cruise lines, The Critters' first project was on the inaugural cruise of Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas in 2009, when they did an onboard fundraiser and raised over $ 4,000. to donate to the Royal Caribbean Crew Fund, to help hard-working crew members pay their expenses away from home.
After that success, which was bolstered by the ship's Captain Wright offering to auction off bridge tours and wine tastings aboard the ship as part of The Critters' fundraising efforts, Donna and her fellow Critter, Elizabeth (Liz) Linnie from Scotland, decided they should also give something back when they planned their trip on the inaugural sailing of Allure, the newest and largest cruise ship at sea.
“We heard about the new school Royal Caribbean was building in Labadee (called L'Ecole Nouvelle Royal Caribbean),” said Donna. “We thought it would be great if we could bring a few boxes of school supplies to the children who had started at this school when it opened in October.”
What happened as a result of that humble idea could never have been imagined by the either the DeBlasios or Ms. Linnie or any of the 300 Critters around the world, two-thirds of whom were on the Allure of Seas inaugural cruise.
“We put the idea up on the online message boards at Cruise Critic and started getting great feedback,” said Donna. “I talked to some New England companies and told them what I was doing and they helped in various ways. By the time I left for Fort Lauderdale to board the ship, I had to have 24 boxes shipped to the hotel where we were staying for one night prior to our embarkation, which meant I had to convince Embassy Suites to store the boxes at no charge, which they were happy to do. FedEx was wonderful in giving me the shipping for free to help our cause. We had posted that any Critters who were bringing supplies should come to a drop off point on the ship on embarkation day, so Capt. Linnie and First Officer Donna could do the collection of donated items.
“By the time we were ready to hand over the donations,” she continued, “we had 40 big boxes of supplies, which included 230 beanie babies, one for every student. We had used all the money raised by the sale of our personally designed International Critters lanyards to purchase more school supplies in Fort Lauderdale, and for the purchase of globes for 8 of the 12 the classrooms. One member brought a 3-foot Christmas wreath to hang at the school, others brought ornaments to give the children for Christmas gifts and we were able to bring the school a fully outfitted first aid kit. I was overwhelmed by the generosity of people.”
The wealth of donations necessitated some quick talking with the Royal Caribbean onboard Guest Services Staff to secure additional space, as the supplies were not going to fit in either the DeBlasio's or Ms. Linnie's stateroom. In addition, with so many unexpected supplies, Donna and Liz had to fill out scores of paperwork for customs and they wanted to accompany the shipment to the school to assure everything went directly to the children and their teachers. Special permission had been given for Donna and Liz to visit the school and so four hours after they unloaded the pallets from the ship in Labadee, the two women made the very bumpy ride in an old truck that delivered the donations to the school.
“I'm from a big family,” said Donna, who is semi-retired and still works part-time in accounting, “but I was never able to have my own children and I would do anything for kids. These children live in a very poor country and their country has been hit by such devastating times. I just wanted them to have crayons and paper. I never expected to make the delivery that we did.
“The children are so beautiful,” she continued, “and their teachers were so grateful for the supplies we brought. We found out that one of the things that they wish they could teach is music. Many of the children love music. There are students in kindergarten through fifth grade and the older children sang to us and greeted us in both Creole and English. It was beyond my wildest dreams.”
In December 2011, accompanied by her husband Ralph, Liz and many of their fellow International Critters, Donna will return to Labadee on a “First Birthday Cruise” aboard the Allure of the Seas and they are planning to bring musical instruments to make the school's dream of teaching these children music a reality.
While the cruise was emotionally rewarding, according to Donna, it was also exhausting. So, when Donna and Ralph returned, they decided to relax. Five days later, they took a river cruise in Europe to visit the holiday markets.
“We don't usually afford back to back trips like that,” said Donna, “but it's something my husband has always wanted to do. It was great…because we just went for us and the markets were beautiful. We decided, though, that we like warm weather cruising better.”
After 27 cruises, including 2 inaugural sailings aboard the world's largest ships, what is Donna's favorite cruise? “We loved the Royal Caribbean Cruise to Singapore, Bali and Australia,” she said, “and since Italy is my favorite destination, our Mediterranean Cruise was wonderful. And we took one to Rome, Greece, Turkey and Egypt…”
Donna says that her husband is a bigger cruise enthusiast than she is, but that's hard to believe. “We don't really go for the ports or shore excursions now. We go for the ships. The ship is the destination for us. There is so much to do on board ships like Oasis and Allure that you really never want to leave. We want to do the Allure 's first birthday cruise this year because one week really wasn't long enough to see everything.”
Atlas Travel International is grateful to have wonderful and giving customers like the DeBlasios and is proud to have dedicated and experienced consultants like Susan Farnum, who has not only helped the DeBlasios travel by sea over the past 27 years, but she's worked on one to three trips each year for them and she's been referred to many of their friends.
“I can't say enough about Susan Farnum,” said Donna. “She offers real professional service, the way you'd like to be treated and she always makes you feel like you are the only client she is working with.”
For more information on an Atlas Travel International cruise vacation, call the Atlas Travel International Vacation Team at 800-878-8626 or contact Susan Farnum at susan.farnum@atlastravel.com.
