Published: March 20, 2008 08:48 pm         

Tansi cruisers tour Western Caribbean

They bobbed through the western Caribbean, watched the flying fish, shopped Key West and Cancun and sailed back home to Crossville. The "First Fun and Fundraiser Cruise," sponsored by the Lake Tansi Exchange Club, completed a seven-day Western Caribbean tour beginning and ending in Charleston, SC, aboard the NCL Norwegian Majesty.

With 185 Crossville passengers aboard, the cruise entertained the February travelers and raised money for Cumberland County charities.

Betty and Roger Quast, Tansi residents, organized and managed the project for the Exchange Club. Betty, a former travel agent, used her career expertise to pull off this most successful trip and club fundraiser. "Who doesn't want a little adventure in February, "she said. “I had worked with the NCL Company for many years, so it was a pleasure to deal with them and manage this project for our cruisers and the Exchange Club, "Betty remarked.

On February 22, three plush Provost coaches owned by Premiere Bus Lines in Knoxville, TN, arrived at Forte's Restaurant parking lot and loaded 140 of the travelers for the comfortable trip down to Charleston. With Bus Mothers, games and Forte's lunches aboard, the caravan departed at 7 a.m. for the trip to Charleston.

Thanks to Betty’s organizational skills, arrival at the Best Western Charleston rewarded the passengers with a lovely reception provided by the hotel and a good night's sleep

The following day, the cruisers boarded the NCL Norwegian Majesty in Charleston Harbor and were soon off to Georgetown, Grand Cayman for the first stop. Many excursions were offered by the cruise lines including snorkeling with the stingrays, glass bottom boat or submarine rides and visits to the famous Seven Mile Beach. Since we were tendered into the middle of town, many elected to just explore, shop, and taste some of the local food. But, at last, our day here was over and it was time to board the ship for our next stop.

On Wednesday, we bounced by our next intended port of Cozumel. Because of rough seas, we could not safely dock or tender into port, however, the crew quickly made arrangements for other activities to keep us busy on board. A Red Hat luncheon was quickly planned and enjoyed by all who attended.

We arrived in Key West early Thursday for shopping, exploring and, of course, a visit to Sloppy Joes and Margarita Ville. Key West has many interesting sights, including Truman’s Little White House, Hemingway’s home and the Southernmost point of the U.S.

The spectacular sunset was enjoyed from Mallory Square with eclectic artists providing free entertainment. We would like to give a “Great Big Thanks” to the many volunteers who helped with this project, the Best Western Charleston for providing a beautiful reception and accommodations, Premier transportation for the smooth trip to and from Charleston and the many extras they provided, Forte's for the delicious breakfast and box lunch, the Cumberland County Bank for loaning us the name tags lanyards, and, of course, Norwegian Cruise Lines for the lovely cocktail party on board and the many other amenities they provided to make our cruise as carefree and wonderful as possible. But most of all, we would like to thank the cruisers that made our “First Annual Fun and Fundraiser Cruise” so successful. We all have many memories to talk about until next year.