It’s a new year, you (hopefully) have a new training budget and vacation time, and I hope you’ll consider SQL Cruise Caribbean 2015. It departs Miami, FL on Saturday, February 7, 2015; stops in Saint Maarten, US Virgin Islands, and Bahamas; and returns to Miami on Saturday, February 14, 2015. In between, there are hours of in-depth SQL Server training!
5 Reasons to Board Norwegian Getaway for SQL Cruise
Have you checked the weather report lately? It’s 9°F/-12°C currently, where I am. I, for one, am looking forward to escaping to the Caribbean.
Small group training. You’ll be learning in a room with less than 30 people. This means eye contact with the instructors, whom you’ll know by name by the first day. When you raise your hand to ask a question, it will be answered. And your fellow cruisers are also industry veterans with years of experience to draw from.
From fantastic instructors. Learn about execution plans from Grant Fritchey (blog | Twitter), who literally wrote the book about them; learn how to be the best DBA from Kevin Kline (blog | Twitter), a long-time data professional with loads of great career advice; and learn about virtualized SQL Servers from David Klee (blog | Twitter), who is both a Microsoft SQL Server MVP and a VMware vExpert.
Shameless plug: I'm one of the instructors, too, and I'm stoked. "Automating: The Effective DBA" is a session on tools you can use to automate your job – freeing up time for new projects, upgrades, and maybe even catching up on all those SQL Server blogs! I will talk about one of my favorite tools, SQL Server Agent, along with overviews of tools like SSIS and PowerShell.
"Restore Methods for Database Recovery" is one of my favorite topics. Restoring databases can be straightforward, or you can employ special features and commands to do things like restore to a specific point in time, or bring part of the database online at a time. I love talking about how to keep your data safe and highly available, so I'm really excited for this session.
Office Hours. Imagine if you could take one of your favorite instructors, sit her down, and have a beverage with her while picking her brain about topics from what it’s like to be a DBA at a Fortune 500 company to the latest features in SQL Server 2014, career planning, the consulting life, work-life balance, and more. That’s Office Hours. These are some of the best hours on the cruise.
Friendships. Your fellow cruisers will be lifelong contacts for you. You will help each other solve problems and find jobs. And maybe go on the next SQL Cruise together.
Bonus: rock climbing wall!
Ready to pack your bags?
Go to http://sqlcruise.com/registerme/ to get started. At only $1,395 for the training, plus the cost of the cruise (lodging, food, and beverages are all included), this is a bargain for a week of SQL Server training!
Are you already busy that week, or looking to travel further? Consider SQL Cruise Mediterranean in June 2015!
Jes Borland is a Premier Field Engineer - SQL Server for Microsoft, where she is a trusted technical adviser, deep technical support, and teacher for her customers. Her experience as a DBA, consultant, and 5-time Data Platform MVP allow her to help the business and the IT teams reach their goals. She has worked with SQL Server as a developer, report writer, DBA, and consultant. Her favorite topics are administration, automation, and performance. She frequently presents at user groups, SQL Saturdays, and other community events. She is also an avid runner and chef.
