Twitter chat at CruiseWorld touches on dream trips, 'travel addiction'

By Rebecca Tobin

FORT LAUDERDALE — The #TWchats on Twitter held in conjunction with CruiseWorld was one of the biggest TWchats to date, with 227 active contributors and a reach of more than 16 million impressions.

The chat played off of a concurrent session at CruiseWorld titled "Travel: An Addictive Industry," and the chat asked tweeters when they had been bitten by the travel bug — and common warning signs that they were "addicted to travel."

Ken Muskat of MSC Cruises and one of the participants on the CruiseWorld panel tweeted that you might be addicted to travel if "a half-packed suitcase lives permanently in your bedroom."

"You've exhausted the pages of your passport with dozens of stamps," tweeted @AtlasTrav_Molly. "Striving to get every page in your passport fully stamped," Seabourn tweeted (the line later tweeted another sign: "booking a future cruise while you're on a cruise!")

Azamara Club Cruises CEO Larry Pimentel, one of the co-hosts of the chat, said he'd been bitten by the travel bug when his grandmother introduced him to National Geographic. "It wasn't about going distances, but turning pages," he tweeted.

@TravelMaestro tweeted that she inherited the travel gene from her mother, @ICoachTravel. "She opened [a travel agency] when I was in college, and I was hooked for life."
Participants were asked to pick one ship for a ship inspection. Some participants found it hard to choose: "With so many new, exciting and innovative new ships debuting, who can choose just one?" tweeted Cruise Planners. And @avidcruiser wrote, "I've been on more than 100 ships. Maybe I'd opt to see more river cruise vessels."

From the river cruise segment, both Guy Young, the CEO of Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection, and Viking Cruiseswere active on the chat.

When participants were asked to name their dream job in the travel industry, @uniworld_guy tweeted, "I already have my dream job working at @uniworldcruises."

Many, if not most, of the participants seemed satisfied with their career path, another of the CruiseWorld panel discussion topics. "Like everyone else — living my dream job — except wish all my flights were first class — dreaming!" joked @JeanNewmanGlock.

The chat referenced the #FoodieChats community during a tweet that asked participants to name their favorite bar or restaurant at sea: @foodiechats retweeted @CruiseNorwegian's comment that "Ocean Blue by @GZchef on #NorwegianBreakaway is pretty spectacular."

Sometimes the chat was serious, as when tweeters were debating locations for a dream cruise, land vacation or river voyage. ("Cruising through the South Pacific for months stopping at tons of tropical islands, then ending with New Zealand & Australia," suggested @kidtravel.)

Or why booking through a travel agent was a smart idea. "Travel planning keeps getting more complicated, which is why the advice of an expert agent can make all the difference," said Travel and Leisure. "Because of the added value and personalized service," said @AvoyaTravel.

"We care," @travellori tweeted. "That's why."

But often the chat took a lighthearted turn, such as a conversation between @AtlasTrav_Molly and @PrincessCruises, where the cruise line sought to convince the agent: "Haven't you heard that calories don't count on cruises?" "Gamechanger," she tweeted back.

And in response to the question about a "dream cruise," Holland America Line retweeted a comment from @VikingRiver: "Isn't every cruise a dream cruise?"

"We agree!" @HALcruises said.