Bowden, Westman, And Eberstein To Join Us On The 2009 Low-Carb Cruise To Mexico

Meet Bowden, Westman, and Eberstein on 2009 low-carb cruise
A couple of weeks ago I was excited to tell you about The 2nd Annual Low-Carb Cruise coming up January 19-24, 2009 leaving out of Galveston, Texas on the luxurious Carnival Ecstasy ship. A group of 35 of us had a fabulous time in February this year on this exact same cruise down to Cozumel and Progreso, Mexico and it was simply amazing. We met so many people and built lasting friendships with people who are passionate about the healthy low-carb lifestyle. That's why we wanna go back again in 2009.

Just in case you are wondering, yes, you CAN eat low-carb on a cruise with a little guidance and we'll have three amazing low-carb experts on board to help provide that direction for you while you enjoy some fun in the sun on your low-carb vacation getaway. That's right, there will not one, not two, but THREE BIG LOW-CARB EXPERTS on board the ship providing seminars and one-on-one sessions with the people who attend. WOO HOO!

Dr. Jonny Bowden, Dr. Eric Westman, and Jackie Eberstein have all agreed to come on board this excursion with us to share their immense wealth of knowledge and experience about the healthy low-carb lifestyle. I've blogged so much about all three of these people that I feel like they don't need any introduction. But for those of you who haven't heard of them, allow me to introduce you to them now:

DR. JONNY BOWDEN, PhD, C.N.S.

He is the author of the must-have book for anyone going on a low-carb diet entitled Living The Low-Carb Life where each of the major low-carb plans are evaluated and compared so that you can choose the one that's right for YOU! Jonny's most recent books on Fair Winds Press have been very popular as well, including 150 Healthiest Foods On Earth, The Most Effective Natural Cures On Earth, and his upcoming release in June 2008 The Healthiest Meals On Earth, a cookbook featuring the healthy foods he wrote about in his first two books. This man is an incredible speaker and motivator on the subject of diet, health and weight loss as you will find out very quickly and will be a welcomed voice on this low-carb cruise.

DR. ERIC WESTMAN, MD, M.H.S.

As one of the world's leading researchers on carbohydrate-restricted diets, Dr. Westman has taken the knowledge he has observed in his study participants and is now applying what he has learned to his own patients who come to see him at his Durham, NC-based Duke Lifestyle Medicine Clinic with such serious health issues as obesity, diabetes, and worse. He is in my estimation one of the kindest men I have ever met in my life and is so very accessible with his time treating his patients like human beings rather than a statistic hurrying them through his office like some number. You'll immediately notice exactly what I'm talking about from the time you meet Dr. Westman and I'm thrilled to have him joining us on this cruise down to Mexico.

JACQUELINE EBERSTEIN, RN

The late great Dr. Robert C. Atkins was fortunate to have a nurse like Jackie Eberstein by his side for three decades as he treated patients with his world-famous low-carb nutritional approach. She really knows all the ins and outs of this way of eating so well that I consider her the foremost authority on the Atkins diet today. She was the co-author of the book Atkins Diabetes Revolution (with Dr. Mary C. Vernon) and has frequently defended the healthy low-carb lifestyle in columns and articles in the medical media. Anytime I have a question from a reader that leaves me stumped, Jackie is always there to provide her unique perspective and it is such an honor to have her join us on this special get-together on the Carnival Ecstasy.

Isn't this AWESOME?! And who knows, there may be even more low-carb experts who will be hopping on board this cruise coming up in January 2009, so what are you waiting for (you never know)? GO SIGN UP right now so you won't miss out on all the fun and excitement we're gonna have. Christine and I will be there as will Amy from "Eating Low," Christin from "The Journey On," Amy Dungan (Sparky's Girl) from "Healthy Low-Carb Living," and so many more. I think the best part about this year's cruise was all the NEW people I'd never met before. And most of them will be coming back again in 2009.

The original deadline for having the first $50 deposit per person was May 6th, but we have been granted a slight extension for those who have not yet signed up. If you sign up by next Wednesday, May 21, 2008, then you will still only be required to put down a $50 deposit per person or $100 a room (after May 21st, the first and second deposit will be due of $200 per person or $400 a room). If you get your first deposit in on time, then your second deposit of $150 isn't due until September 8, 2008 and then the remaining balance is due on November 6th. The total cost of this cruise is a very affordable $400 each which includes all your port charges and taxes. And the man who organized our cruise for us this year gave us a room credit of $75 that we could spend on anything we wanted on the ship. That was COOL and very unexpected!

I've been getting many e-mails from people telling me they REALLY want to go on the cruise, but they didn't know how to sign up. Here's how: it should be booked through Vacations To Go through our cruise agent Amelie Richards and you can contact her directly with any questions about the 2nd Annual Low-Carb Cruise by calling her toll-free 800-514-9986 ext. 7583 anytime Monday through Friday from 8am-5pm CST. Or you can e-mail her Amelie at arichards@vacationstogo.com. If you have any questions for our cruise leader, her name is Becky Regandy and she can be reached at xregandyx@yahoo.com. I appreciate all the hard work she put into this year's cruise and she's doing a superb job again for the one in 2009.

This will be THE low-carb event of 2009, so book your reservations NOW!

Jimmy Moore's Photos & Memories From 2008 Carnival Ecstasy Cruise To Mexico

Christine and I on "dress up" night on the Carnival Ecstasy

I've always heard the old adage that you'll "need a vacation from your vacation" and now I know what they mean! Man, I'm so tired right now after spending about a week traveling to the port in Galveston, Texas, being on a five-day cruise with some of the most entertaining and fun people I've ever been around, and then returning home sunburned with a couple of cuts on my face (I'll explain in a minute!) and completely wiped out! I think Christine and I went to bed at 10:30pm last night and didn't wake up until after 9:30am this morning. WHEW!

But it was such an amazing week and I am so glad we had this opportunity. There were about 35 people from our group on board the Carnival Ecstasy and this was our second time on this particular ship--the first time was 13 years ago on our honeymoon when we cruised down to the Bahamas. This time was WAY better because we had people to enjoy the experience with and we kinda knew what to expect because of the prior experience. I've got nearly 200 pictures from the cruise, so CLICK HERE to see them posted as a set on my Flickr page.



From the time we got on the ship until we stepped off, it was nonstop luxury. People were constantly at your beckoning call and anything you needed was provided for you to make sure you enjoyed your cruise. I was so impressed that we had the chance to meet people on the staff from over 50 different countries around the world. What a cultural melting pot this was and they were very well-trained to treat the guests with the highest respect. I was quite impressed (and that's not easy to do since my standard for service is generally pretty high having worked in customer service for most of my life!).



Although it was vacation time, I did manage to get in a little workout time in the Spa area where they had elliptical machines and even some weights. But the ceilings were so low it was impossible to lift anything above your head unless you were sitting down. It wasn't a big deal because I didn't exercise every single day on the trip. This WAS a vacation, ya know? :D



In Cozumel, Mexico, Christine and I did the horseback through the Mayan ruins excursion and it was, er, um...painful to say the least. They should have warned us that we'd need a cup before hopping up on those horses. OUCH! Add to that the major sunburn I got and the fact that they gave away free beer and regular soda, but not water and diet soda, and it wasn't such a fun time. But I'll know better for the next one.



Okay, about the bandages, here's the deal. It was the last night of the cruise and I was up on the stage singing some karaoke of the Run DMC hit from the late 1980s called "You Be Illin'." Yes, I know a white dude rapping a song like that is kinda weird, but stay with me here. In the middle of the song, the CD started to skip and the karaoke lady was ready for me to step off the stage. I told her that I didn't need the lyrics or the music and that I'd rap the last verse on my own. And so I did!



When I was finished, everyone was clapping and I was so excited I jumped off the stage and my face landed right into the TV stand. A very SHARP one at that! Little did I know I had just cut my face open above my eyebrow and on the bridge of my nose and was bleeding profusely. I could tell something was wrong when everyone started gasping, but I was totally oblivious because I wasn't in pain at all. Everyone was passing me napkins and ice to stop the bleeding and the karaoke lady kept looking over at me to see if I was okay. I even got up on stage one more time to sing "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees before the night was over. But I crawled off the front of the stage this time. LOL! I bet nobody there will ever forget that night of the cruise! By the way, those cuts are already healing up very nicely. There may be some small scars. Battle wounds of some good times. ;)



Our stop in Progreso was cool because the beaches there are so beautiful and the stuff you can get as souvenirs there were about half the price of what they were in Cozumel. I loved being able to barter with these vendors and you could tell they do this all day everyday for a living. But if you hold out long enough, then they'll sell you the merchandise at the price you want to pay. NEVER pay the asking price. NEVER.



In Cozumel, we saw this heavy Sterling Silver cat pendant with personality and Christine was having a hissy fit over it. They wanted $125 for it and I declined. He then offered $100 and I declined again. I countered with an offer for $50 and he then said $55. We bought it! It was a pin in the store, but they took it down the road to their workshop and transformed it into a pendant in about 30 minutes. Christine LOVED it and it's a very complimentary piece to just about everything she wears now. :)



Dinnertime was always a real treat! Not only did you get to experience some of the best fine dining you could possibly imagine, but the entertainment portion had us all going each and every night. That's Ailsa from the UK whooping it up with Becky laughing and enjoying themselves. Like I said, it was loads of fun and I only wish that more of you could have been there to join in on the festivities!



Actually, you CAN join us in January 2009 for another cruise that we'll be announcing in May or June, so be looking for details about it. You'll be surprised how affordable this is and I am working on getting some special guests in the world of livin' la vida low-carb to join us next time. Start saving now because you WON'T want to miss this chance to mingle with your fellow low-carbers and have a most excellent time! See more photos and memories from the 2008 cruise in this thread at my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Discussion" forum. ENJOY!