Last night we booked a 10-day Canada & New England cruise on Princess Cruises’ Ruby Princess (Voyage R439). We start the cruise with an overnight onboard in Quebec City, and leave the following night. We make our way east to ports in Quebec, PEI, and Nova Scotia. Then we head down to Bar Harbor, Boston, and disembark in New York.

This cruise will be our first Canada & New England cruise, and is one we’ve wanted to do for some time. We plan on arriving in Quebec City a few days early so that we can relax before our cruise and enjoy the city. My great-grandfather, Alcid Germain, was born in Saint-Gabriel in Quebec, but unfortunately it isn’t close enough to include a visit this time. That will have to wait for a future trip.

We’ve sailed on Ruby’s sister ship Emerald Princess before, so we know what to expect onboard. After our cruise on Royal Princess later this year, we may be a bit spoiled, but I’m sure we’ll feel at home on Ruby pretty quickly. Only 498 days to go…

In case you’re looking to book a cruise and don’t have an agent with whom you normally work, let me recommend Simon Duvall. Simon is one of the hosts for the weekly Cruise Chat on Twitter. We’ve booked our last couple cruises with him.

Here is our complete itinerary if you’re interested.

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Episode 9 of the TechEd Countdown Show is now ready for your viewing pleasure! Rick (@RicksterCDN) and Joey (@JoeySnow) take us on a tour through the TechExpo at TechEd North America in New Orleans. Sorry TechEd Europe attendees, this episode is all North America.

The topics they cover in this episode are:

• Exhibitors at the TechExpo. (List of companies at the TechExpo with both numbers)
• TechEd sponsors. (List of sponsors with booth numbers)
• Special shout-out to Splunk (booth 228) and Thycotic (booth 1903).

You can always find The TechEd Countdown Show over at Channel 9, but why not just watch it here? Enjoy!

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Episode 8 of the TechEd Countdown Show is now ready for your viewing pleasure! Rick (@RicksterCDN) and Joey (@JoeySnow) are in the Green Screen studio for this show which means Special Effects! You’ve never seen beignets so large!

The topics they cover in this episode are:

• TechEd North America Foundation Session list
• Details on the Microsoft Store at TechEd North America
• Windows Phone App for Channel 9 events

They point out something I didn’t realize about the stores. There are two separate stores. The conference store will be the same as we’ve come to expect from earlier TechEd conferences. This store is where you can buy books, Microsoft clothes, and other Microsoft-branded items. The Microsoft Store will be a pop-up store where you can buy the same gear you will find in a regular Microsoft retail store.

The Windows Phone App is available now in the store. Look for Ch9 Events. This is a Channel 9 branded version of the EventBoard app that was already in the store. You will be prompted to setup an Eventboard account, and once you have that you will be directed to the Channel 9 site to link your Channel 9 account with Eventboard. Once you do that, you’re ready to go add your conference and start working with this very handy app. If you’re not using Windows Phone, check the app store for your device of choice for Ch9 Events.

You can always find The TechEd Countdown Show over at Channel 9, but why not just watch it here? Enjoy!

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I’m a bit surprised that I’m due to be upgraded. Since my domain is a Friends & Family tenant, I figured I would be at the back of the line for upgrades.

Hopefully my experience will be a bit better than Tony Redmond’s that he blogged about. He posted a follow-up with a happy ending to his issues, so hopefully I’ll get there as well, albeit at the time of the upgrade and not a few weeks later.

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Here are the latest changes to my TechEd Hotels page. Four hotels have been added to the sellout list, and two move back to the available list.

We’re approaching the three week mark until Teched, and only a few days are left before the conference rate is no longer available. If you haven’t booked your hotel yet, time is running out! You must book before 5 PM CDT on May 14 to take advantage of conference rates. After that you’re on your own.

These hotels are now sold out:

• Hotel Modern
• New Orleans Marriott
• Renaissance New Orleans Pere Marquette
• Wyndham French Quarter

These hotels are now listed as available again:

• Hampton Inn & Suites New Orleans – Convention Center
• Westin New Orleans Canal Place

Update: According to the TechEd account on Facebook, only the following hotels are still accepting bookings. Why are there others still listed on the registration page? Good question. Perhaps a timing issue. As always, your mileage may vary….

• Astor Crowne Plaza
• Intercontinental
• The Blake Hotel
• The Sheraton New Orleans

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Episode 7 of the TechEd Countdown Show is cued up and ready for you to watch! Rick (@RicksterCDN) and Joey (@JoeySnow) “broke the news” about the presenters for the TechEd keynotes in New Orleans and Madrid. Of course, by the time the show was posted, the news had already broke because Microsoft sent out an email yesterday (on Tuesday) letting everyone know that Brad Anderson will be giving the keynote. Better luck next time guys.

They also talk about the conference parties and provide some useful tips and tricks. For example, if you are in New Orleans and are heading to the Closing Party at the Superdome, take note:

• Leave your conference bag at your hotel. Do NOT bring your bag. You do not need it.
• Do NOT bring your conference badge. As Rick says in the video, “Friends don’t let friends bring their conference badges.”
• Do NOT lose the sheet of paper with party details and your wristband. Do NOT tear off the wristband until you’re leaving for the party. No wristband = No party for you!
• No manpris! (Thank you, Joey!)

The third topic they cover are the community outreach events where everyone will have a chance to give back in New Orleans. Check out the TechEd blog post about opportunities to help both on Sunday before the conference as well as during the week, similar to what was done at TechEd 2012 in Orlando.

Finally, they touch upon the TechEd achievement badges. Once again, check out the TechEd blog post for more info.

You can always find The TechEd Countdown Show over at Channel 9, but why not just watch it here? Enjoy!

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I almost missed this with the announcement of the Closing Party events, but the TechEd blog has some new information about the Conference Store at TechEd North America. Denise Begley blogged last night about the store that will at the conference center, and Microsoft is definitely stepping up this year with a whole new experience, bringing their retail store to TechEd.

In the past the store was limited to books, Microsoft-branded items, and small hardware items like mice, keyboards, and webcams. This year they’re bringing real hardware like the Surface, Windows Phones, and more. We’re getting our first Microsoft Store in St. Louis (its grand opening is coincidentally on the day I get back from TechEd) so this will be a sneak peek for me.

Check out the blog post for more details including store hours.

Spoiler Alert: The store opens on Sunday, June 2 at noon. Plan to be there for the best selection.

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hmerinomx / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

Wondering where the TechEd North America Closing Party will be? Well, wonder no more. The TechEd website has been updated, and Denise Begley has blogged about the party. We’re going to the Superdome!

The Superdome is, of course, the home of the New Orleans Saints, but I like to remember it as the place where the Green Bay Packers won Super Bowl XXXI.

Here are the details from the blog post:

Get ready to experience an incredible night as TechEd transforms the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for the Closing Party. Part of the dome floor will be covered in field turf where you can attempt a field goal, try your luck at a quarterback pass, or cheer on your friends and colleagues. Experience a fabulous line-up of great local music—listen, sing along, or dance the night away.

A favorite icon in New Orleans, recent renovations have made the Superdome one of the top ten domed stadiums in the country. Host of this year’s Super Bowl XLVII and home to the NFL’s New Orleans Saints, the Superdome welcomes TechEd attendees as their VIPs for the night. It’s sure to be an exciting and memorable celebration!

The venue for the party has been a topic of discussion for some time. We were at Mardi Gras World in 2010, and I had a hunch we’d be at the Superdome this year. To be honest, I’m not sure how many other indoor venues there are in New Orleans that can accommodate that many people.

Want to know what the folks at TechEd Europe will be doing at their party? They’re going to be at El Paseo de la Gastronomía for Country Drinks. Check out the blog post for more information.

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Registration for The Krewe Meet N Greet at TechEd North America opens today at 12 pm EDT. You will need to know the event code to use on the Eventbrite registration. You can find the code on the event post at the new website for The Krewe (http://iamkrewe.org).

If you need a little help with figuring out when 12 EDT is in your time zone wherever you might be in the world, head to the Event Time Announcer for the event.

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I just picked up a new Fitbit Flex to replace the Fitbit One I lost a couple months ago. While I was setting it up with my account, I started poking around and looked at the groups feature of the Fitbit site. I know several people who are in The Krewe and going to TechEd that have Fitbits, so I created two groups for people to join. Feel free to join either one or both.

I’m not sure we really need a place to talk about our Fitbits, but I like the ranking of members. This way we can see how we stack up against each other without having to add everyone as a friend on the site. of course, if you want to start a conversation there, feel free, but we’re not really wanting for places to connect (Facebook, Twitter, Channel 9…) are we?

Think you can come out on top and have the most steps of anyone at TechEd North America? Join up and let’s see!

• The Krewe Fitbit group
• Microsoft TechEd North America Fitbit group

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