After releasing major upgrades to 1Password, 1Password touch, and AllBookmarks 4.0 in 2009, the Agile Web Solutions team decided it was time for some R&R! Many of us have never set sail on the seas, so a five-day Royal Caribbean cruise to Cozumel, Mexico and Belize City, Belize sounded like the perfect opportunity to relax, brainstorm, and get away from it all! As proof that we did actually take a vacation for once (while never straying too far from our customer support duties), we present some photos of a most excellent time had by all.
The Agile team members above who came along, from left to right, are: Chad Seldomridge, Jamie Phelps, Roustem Karimov (co-founder), Dan Peterson, Dave Teare (co-founder), Gita Lal, David Chartier, and Marty Skinner.
We sailed out of Miami, FL on January 25, 2010 on Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas, a beautiful 138,000 ton boat ship with 14 decks of relaxing, swimming, sunbathing, fine dining, exercising, dancing, and even ice skating goodness. Before you ask: no, Apple did not check with us before scheduling its iPad event during our vacation. Yes, we still feel a little sore about it.
The Navigator was described by some as "Las Vegas on a boat." I haven't been to Vegas yet, but I'm inclined to agree. This is the Royal Promenade on Deck 5, a collection of shops, bars, restaurants, and even some passenger cabins up above.
Three from Agile's team—Chad Seldomridge, Jamie Phelps, and I—took a dolphin "excursion" at the Chankanaab National Marine Park in Cozumel, Mexico. We got some training in basic signals that our dolphin, Lissy, would know, and we got to "shake hands" and swim with her for a couple of hours. We agreed that it was one of the coolest experiences of our lives.
Royal Caribbean's Stateroom Attendants can brighten your day with a couple of towels and a pair of sunglasses.
Of course, what Royal Caribbean cruise is complete without a little work? Dave, Roustem (pictured) and the rest of the team occasionally sat down to check in with the support staff that proudly manned the bridge of the Agile Pearl of the Seas back home (that's a little customer support + cruise humor there). We even managed to do some brainstorming, some company planning, we squashed a few bugs, and answer some support questions to make sure we didn't get too comfortable with margaritas at 11am and the free ice cream station by the pools.
All in all, it was an incredible trip, and the first cruise for most of the Agile team. We returned refreshed and raring to build all the great things we plan to bring you in 2010. Gita, Marty, and I actually don't have much time to settle back in at home. We ship off next week with fellow Agile ninja Cindy Compton for Macworld Expo 2010! Hope to see you there!
