It was my pleasure to meet a real a cruising legend

FRIDAY, JUNE 1: How would you enjoy spending 50 weeks a year cruising?

For Mario Salcedo, it’s his way of life.

On both my cruises back in April, “Super Mario” (as he’s affectionately know by staff on Royal Caribbean’s ships), was on board.

You could find him most afternoons at his table near the bar poolside.

He is a cruising legend. When we were on board the Oasis of the Seas some of the staff were all twittering that Salcedo was on board.

Why is he special?

He has done more than 600 cruises, of which more than 500 on Royal Caribbean ships and more than 80 on his favourite ship, the Liberty of the Seas.

On the promenade on the Liberty there is a photo of Salcedo with the crew.

Cruisecritic.com has an extensive article on him, which is well worth reading.

I feel fortunate doing three cruises a year, but to do 50! That would indeed be a dream life.

Seat sale

There was a seat sale that ended on Monday to most of the east coast of the US which we sent out an e-mail alert to our newsletter subscribers.

Air Canada still has one on to Toronto for $375.59 round trip, including taxes and fees.

Those tickets must be purchased by June 6 and travel must be completed by October.

One-way fares start as low as $107, but that does not include any taxes or fees.

Delta Air Lines

The Maynard H Jackson Jr Terminal opened at the Atlanta airport just prior to Bermuda Day.

The new facility for Delta airlines is Terminal F and has 12 gates and connects to Terminal E.

The airline is also running a special on the Boston to Bermuda route for $300.

A summary of the deal states that Delta can decide to end this sale at any time but the good news is there are no minimum or maximum stays and there is no must travel by date.

You’ll have to buy this deal on Delta’s website (www.delta.com) or your travel agent to get the tickets for $300. If you buy it through Delta over the phone the cost is $325 and at a Delta ticket counter it is $335.

United bonus miles

The airline is celebrating the Star Alliance’s 15th anniversary with 15,000 bonus miles contest.

The Star Alliance is a group of 25 airlines which includes United, Air Canada, US Airways, Lufthansa, SWISS and Air China among others.

To enter the contest you must register at www.united.com/star15.

Then members must fly qualifying flights on any Star Alliance member. Winners will be selected based on the number of Star Alliance airlines they flew on for miles accumulation eligible flights during the promotion.  Promotion period is from 14 May 2012 and 14 November 2012. Ticketing period is from May 14, 2012 through November 14, 2012.

The only sticking point is tickets must be purchased in the US, so if you are there and buy them, you qualify. The promotion code for this contest is TB4M36.