orpitasingh: SeaTweetup II Social Media Cruise Recap

Over?the last 4 years, I?ve had the fortune to help?plan and co-host?a social media cruise each fall.

Cruising with 100s of other social media marketers, speakers, thought leaders, and entrepreneurs over the years has made a huge difference in my success as a social media marketer.

I now have a network of friends who openly give each other feedback, share information, and provide support because we shared life experience together.

Compared to the previous 3 social media cruises I?ve co-hosted, the VIP treatment on SeaTweetup II for our group of social media enthusiasts was unmatched.?? This special treatment was thanks to our awesome planning committee & Sponsors: Bacardi, Miller/Coors, Visit the Bahamas, MTN Communications, Norwegian Cruise Line, MDG Advertising, & CruiseDeals.com.

All of the social media cruises have been successful thanks to the fact that they attract fun, smart individuals who form relationships that last long after the cruise.

SeaTweetup II Recap

I arrived in Miami on Thursday the day before SeaTweetup II.? The EPIC Hotel in Miami hosted the #Seatweetup Bon Voyage Party.?? I got a room at the EPIC Hotel Miami and had a hard time leaving my luxurious room to head over to the Norwegian Sky.

Bon Voyage Party via @SoulofMiami

SeaTweetup Day 1:?

The minute we arrived on board the Norwegian Sky, the onboard staff and Miller/Coors roped us off an area near the pool loaded with food and beer!? Yep, VIP.

SocialBuzzTV and SoulofMiami Photo

This was the first time I met many of our #SeaTweetup cruisers face to face.? ?While enjoying a few beverages and grilled shrimp, I learned the family story behind @ShipMateApp from Mike [ Biz Dev].

The Miller/Coors food pairing was also when I?realized that we had Twitter celebrities with our group.? @Abuznego and @Boris305 were on?#SeaTweetup representing the @Marlins social & marketing team.

After a couple of hours of free beers and conversation with new friends, it was time for the Muster Drill.

After the Muster Drill, we met up on the upper aft deck for the sailaway tweetup.? We witnessed one of the most beautiful sunsets as we got in our last tweets and Facebook updates.

Heavenly Sunset as we sailaway from Miami

Soon after, we had our 1st Cocktail Mixer sponsored by CruiseDeals.com.? ?Everyone received a SeaTweetup T-Shirt with space to have new friends write their Twitter handles.? With the free cocktails, a great way to quickly meet everyone!

We ate dinner each night as a group? rotating spots to get to know as many in our group as possible.?? After dinner, we headed to the karaoke bar to watch the other passengers on board the Norwegian Sky show off their skills [or lack of].

SeaTweetup Day 2:

Day 2 was the day I was looking most forward too.?? We were schedule to go to Norwegian?s Private Island, Great Stirrup Cay.? Norwegian Cruise Line has recently invested $20 million in enhancing the island and our plans was to experience all it has to offer.

Thanks to our sponsors, our plans were to have 2 private cabanas stocked with Miller/Coors products, a private bbq, and to swim with the stingrays.?? Thanks to a tropical depression, the waves were to big to tender.? So we had to stay at sea on Day 2.

While a disappointment, we did not let it get us down.? We were still able to discuss the future of social media marketing poolside while enjoying complimentary Miller/Coors beverages.?? We also worked in a few games of Ping Pong, Blackjack & Craps.

Ping Pong Photo Norwegian Sky

Later on day 2, we had our 1^st social media marketing session.? @IamJeffCohen @SocialBuzzTV @jackiej04 @AlcantaraMedia @AubreySwanson & @RichTucker [that?s me] presented on Search engine optimization, ?growing focus on images in social media, Facebook Promoted Post tips, and much more.

Social Media Cruise Sessions

After a fast paced social media session?of course there was another 1 hour open cocktail party sponsored by Bacardi!

SeaTweetup Day 3:

Nassau, Bahamas.? @VisittheBahamas picked us up in private motorcoaches to take us to The Retreat Bahamas National Trust for a traditional Bahamian breakfast.

We were blown away with the amazing welcome we received from the Travel Bahamas team.? The breakfast of conch stew, grits, and fruit was delicious.

Instagram photo by pkk002

After breakfast, we toured the gardens and learned more about the Out Islands of the Bahamas [see video below].

From there, we toured 3 local museums/art studios.? I?ve been to Nassau 10 times and this was the first time that I did not go to Atlantis or shopping nearby the ship.?? It was nice to finally see more of what Nassau has to offer.

Bahamas Art Tour Photo

Here is a group of us enjoying Coconut Milk with Bahamian Artist Antonius Roberts in front of his studio:

Group Photo with Coconut Milk

After the tour of Nassau, our friends at Senor Frogs had section reserved for the #SeaTweetup crew.

Pic at Senor Frogs

After setting sail, we joined up again for a combo cocktail party and social media roundtable discussions.? @SociallyBrenda kicked things off with social media B2B presentation followed by a Q&A with @FashionWeekNYC.?? The open discussion finally turned to the future of Google+ and the ROI on Facebook ads.

What could be better?? Cruising with a group of people are as equally as passionate about social media as I am.?? No matter what your passion, cruising with a group of people who share it is one of the best experiences in the world.

Email me if you have an idea for a group cruise: rtucker [at] cruisedeals.com

Special Thanks to @K_mcglinchey and @MarisaScime from the @CruiseNorwegian Social Media and PR team for joining us and participating so actively on the planning committee.

Special Thanks to the #SeaTweetup?planning committee for your efforts and for allowing me to be part of the team!

SeaTweetup planning committee: @SoulofMiami @ThePumaGirl ?@IamJeffCohen @roriffc @SocialbuzzTV @AubreySwanson!

Some more of my favorite SeaTweetup II Photos:

@LavishSM gets engaged on SeaTweetup!!

Engagement Photo

We gave away a cabin through a Facebook sweepstakes and @businessbragger was the winner.? I?ve given away close 15 cruises over the last few years and this was the first time I got to cruise with the winner:

@BusinessBragger