PATJUD

Heyyyyyyyyyy all. Well - It's all official now. I've gotten all the paperwork on the changes from John. I also had to make another change. I had put down late or second dinner seating (8:30 PM) because I saw that most of you had done so. Jeeeeeeeeeeeeesh guys - Louise and I NEVER eat that late and have never done so on a cruise. I had to ask John to change us to the early seating (6:00 PM). To eat at 8:30 PM, we would have had to get some food between lunch and dinner and I hardly need to do that. I know there was talk about getting us together for dinner at a table but Louise and I have talked about it - 8:30 PM for us is a real "killer." I like to do breakfast as well as lunch when possible in the main dining room so maybe the early diners and the late diners can do breakfast and/or lunch together. lashl - Late Seating JohnG -Late Seating Rogue-Late Seating Zebra - Late Seating SailingRose - Late Seating Rat - Late Seating JoeyandDavid - Late Seating Cruisetarp - Early seating Eddiesgal - Early Seating PatJud - Early Seating Maybe - those of us that have "Early Seating" can still be seated together when final arrangements are made with Celebrity

I just received the paperwork from John and the price that I got was the price given for the Concierge Category on the day that I first booked for this cruise back in May. So my question has been answered officially in writing. I didn't have to pay today's price when upgrading. Judson

OK CRUISECRAZIES, I just talked with John and have dealt with the upgrade to Concierge and all in all, it's about a $500.00 increase over the original booking. Oh well - What's $500.00 - LOL!!!! That's on about $40.00 a day - 4 Grey Goose Martinis less per day. So that's done. He had sent me an email last week as a follow-up to the one that I sent to him but somehow, it got lost in the AOL "NEVER NEVER LAND" otherwise known as "spam." Anyway - all booked into 8148 now up there with "RAT," "JOEY," and "CRUISETARP." Judson

It's not that Celebrity is "bad." Having never sailed on one of the Celebrity ships and after constantly seeing their TV ads and reading that Celebrity was a cut above Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Princess - I didn't find the "hype" to be true. It might have been the "infinity." It's not a new ship but it was a nice ship. I went with expectations based on what I had seen and read - My expectations were higher than what I found. I won't be sailing on the "Constallation" with the same expectations that I had about "Infinity." Don't get me wrong. I'm excited about our November cruise - It's to the places that I want to go and it's a two week cruise. I've never been to some of the places that we are going and I've never been on a two week cruise. And all of you are new people to us so look at all the great things we've got going for us on this cruise - YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! To bad that it's 413 days, 5 hours, 22 minutes, and 40 seconds away at this moment - LOL!!!! Judson Oh yeah - I tried to call John this AM but his message states that it will be tonight before he's back so I'll call again in the morning - Tuesday.

I hate to say this - and I know it's difficult to judge a cruise line from one ship, however - The "Infinity" was the first and only ship from Celebrity that we've sailed on. I would put Carnival, Princess, and Royal Caribbean ( the ones we've sailed on ) ahead of Celebrity in every category. Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed the Alaska cruise and the "infinity" did not lessen the great experience but this particular Celebrity ship fell short of my expectations based on advertisements. This is not a complaint - just a statement based on this particular cruise. Knowing that the "Constellation" is a sister ship will not make a difference in my excitement about our 13 day Southern Caribbean cruise. If something should happen and I don't take an upgrade to the Concierge category, I won't be upset or disappointed. I will know exactly what to expect as I checked out all categories of staterooms on the "Infinity."

Yeah - That was my thinking. The category that I had on the "Infinity" was ok for a week but two weeks is pushing it.

HA, HA, HA - HHHHHMMMMMM - Would you believe that I had not been looking at the square foot size of the staterooms but the price. I now realize that the difference in the Concierge and the just under Concierge size is 20 sq ft - 171 sq ft v. 191 sq ft. Believe it or not, that's a good bit of room. Judson which cabin stateroom class did you have on the infinity? The person you spoke with at Cruises inc is not correct!!.... the whole idea of group booking is confirmed pricing...we have availabilities all catagories and prices.. We had 2A on the "Infinity" and I made the mistake of comparing price with other cruise lines we've sailed. The 20 sq ft difference is quite a bit of difference.

Well - I did call the Cruises Inc. number but of course, I had no idea who I was talking with. I didn't want to do any business that way. I got an answer to the question that I had - I was told that if I made a change in stateroom categories, the change would be with the price on the day I made the change. As I said - I didn't do any business with the person that I talked with at Cruises Inc. I'm going to wait and talk with John tomorrow. I don't know what our group's inventory is. I don't know if there are any more Concierge Class Staterooms available for our group. The whole ship could be sold out as far as I know - LOL!!! I'll have to repeat - I was surprised at the small size of the stateroom that we had on the "Infinity." I didn't know anything about the difference in Concierge and the stateroom just below Concierge class having never sailed Celebrity before. I surely would have thought that the price paid would have purchased more - LOL!!! The old saying still applies: "We live and learn."

Yep - I have my "Monday To Do List" right here in front of me. A call to John is right up there on top. I want to discuss an upgrade on the November 9th CruiseCrazies cruise. Judson

No - I did not ever get a response from John's office. I called several more times and got an answer machine. I did not leave my name and number again. I did that on my first call and sent an email expressing my wishes for a conversation. I'll just wait for John to return and talk to him. I hope everyone has a great weekend. Judson

I would like to read some thoughts and information about this cruise from those that have done it. How about the ship, the ports visited in the Bahamas, and the tours or plans that you made in the ports? Thanks. Judson

Jackie, I LOVED the "Mariner of the Seas." That has remained my most favorite ship of the ones that we have cruised on. However - it was early in our cruising career - LOL!!! The only ship that we had been on prior to the "Mariner" was the "Inspiration." Our cruise on the "Mariner" took place between two of the hurricanes that Florida suffered through in 2004. "Mariner" had to stay in the Caribbean on that cruise for 3 extra days as the hurricane hit at the time we were to return and Port Canaveral was messed up again as it had been in the hurricane of a couple weeks before. When Florida was clear, Royal Caribbean had to bring us back into Miami and bus us back to Port Canaveral as we had driven and our car was at the cruise terminal parking lot. This was the BIGGEST cruise ship that I had ever seen - they said it was as long as the Empire State Building was tall - JEEEEEEEEEEEEEESH!!! I haven't cruised on a ship that large since then. Even with that many people on board, I never felt crowded. I loved the shopping area - the largest I've seen on any cruise ship. I loved that HUGE multi level area down the center of the ship. The staterooms were also large without having to book a larger more expensive stateroom. And as I remember it - I thought the food was also good. So - I liked the "Mariner of the Seas." Now - 6 weeks on a cruise ship - that would take some serious thinking. Up to now - We've never done more than a week - not counting the extra days on the Mariner. Our CruiseCrazies cruise will be the longest that I've ever booked. As I stated before, the group that we've been cruising with seems to need to return to work within a week. Can you imagine that??? What were they thinking??? I don't have to do that. Judson

Joey - John is out of the office until September 22nd so I haven't had the opportunity to speak with him but I will. I did like the Alaska cruise. There just wasn't enough time in ports. I know that's always the problem. I want to go back to Alaska with Princess Line and do the one week cruise plus the one week land tour from Anchorage to Fairbanks with a couple days at lodges around Mt McKinley. I want to do this land trip by train. The weather in Seattle was unusual - no rain and warm - during the days that we were there. Our driver told us it was the best weather that Seattle had seen all Summer. So likewise - Alaska was a bit warmer as well. Louise was quite comfortable with the layering thing. One short sleeve polo shirt and a light jacket and LONG pants (LOL) was enough for me. It rained the day we were in Sitka but we didn't stop our plans - we went right along as planned. That was the only port where we had rain. Now - there were some guys on board ship that were wearing shorts from time to time. I had not expected to find that the glacier ice was blue tinted. That was a surprise to me. Judson

Good Morning Quiet People, Things have been quiet for the past couple days here. I've emailed and tried to call John's office to discuss upgrading for this cruise but haven't heard back from them. I know he's out of the office but I can't get a response from the person left in charge in his absence. I may just have to wait till he returns on the 22nd of the month. This time last week, Louise and I were doing our Alaska thing. It was quite a trip. Now I'm thinking - "Can I wait till November of 2009 before getting on another ship and going somewhere?" I don't have anything booked between now and then - LOL!!! It may just be a quiet stay at home 418 days between now and the CruiseCrazies cruise - let all that travel money gather up for a BIG blowout next November. I hope everyone is having a good week. MaryLou - I see you are having the same thoughts about "quietness" that I am. Judson

We still have rooms at our listed price.. those prices are frozen for us.... Concierge is the way to go... OK Joey Back in May when I originally booked - the listed price on this site for Concierge Class was $2165.92PP. Today the listed price on this site for Concierge Class is $2191.92PP. When you say that we still have rooms at "our" listed price - which of those 2 prices are you talking about?? Will I be able to upgrade at the $2165.92PP rate since that's what it was when I originally booked? John is out of the office at a conference until September 22nd.

Thanks all, Alaska was great but I was glad to be back at home. I agree with Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz" when she says "There's no place like home." In looking back to one of the places in our discussion and where stateroom numbers for this cruise were listed - it appears that most of you already knew enough about this class Celebrity ship to book a Concierge category stateroom. I wish these categories had been discussed somewhere. Jeeeeeeeeeeesh - it didn't dawn on me until too late to read the stateroom measurements and compare them and I've been on enough cruises to know better - LOL!!! I wonder if I upgrade to Concierge class I will be able to get it at the price it was when I originally booked this cruise or if I have to book it at today's price. The prices have increased since booking. Judson

GREAT!!! What a wonderful cruise this is going to be. Judson

Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyy everyone, I returned from Alaska after being gone a week and a half and discovered that I could no longer access CruiseCrazies. I've been back and forth with Jason and he has been working on it. He finally suggested that if I was using AOL, then I should try another browser so I did and here I am. I have no idea why AOL is refusing admittance to CruiseCrazies. It makes no sense at all to me. Now - Alaska was a great trip. It wasn't as cold as I had been led to expect but it seems that the NorthWest from Washington up through Alaska is experiencing a warm streak. Everyone in Seattle has been excited over their warm and dry weather for the past week. We did have rain while in Sitka and Ketchikan. I had not sailed on a ship of the Celebrity line. I thought I had chosen a stateroom similar to those that I have had on Princess, Royal Caribbean, and Carnival. The "Infinity" stateroom was VERY small and when I say small, I mean small. The "Infinity" and the "Constallation" are sister ships. I had chosen the same category for the Constallation cruise that I had booked on the "Infinity" and I will not be happy at all in that category for two weeks. I'm going to have to call John the first of the week and discuss it with him. I will have to upgrade to Concierge Class. I just didn't know Celebrity when I booked the "Infinity." As I said - that category on other ships had been a good size. Judson

Thanks all, Wish you were all going with us as a group cruise. We're flying out of Atlanta Wednesday morning for a couple days in Seattle before boarding ship Friday. Everyone be safe. Judson

Hello all, I hope everyone had a great Labor Day Weekend. I hate it for those that had to return to work today. Jest remember - at some point in the near future, the workers will be retired and having the time of their lives. Judson

HAVE A GREAT TRIP!! If we see "The Mercury" - We'll wave. If you see "The Infinity" - wave at us. Judson

Howard Do you use a DVD or a CD to download your pictures??? I first download them from the camera right on the hard drive, then back them up on DVD's. I have used CD's in the past, but the DVD's hold LOTS more pictures. Thanks Howard I didn't know about using DVDs to save the pictures taken on the camera. I appreciate that information. Judson

Howard Do you use a DVD or a CD to download your pictures???

HA, HA, HA - Now that's funny. I think I get the picture - LOL!!! Yep - I went out an bought a good digital camera for this trip too. I'm not usually into taking pictures. I've got a 2GB card in the camera and a spare 2GB card. I think I can take an awful lot of pictures with that. Now I just have to figure out how to handle them when I get home with them. I'm not sure about dowloading that many into "My Pictures" on my computer. How do the rest of you guys handle the pictures that you take with digital cameras?

OK!!! Alaska cruise people Do you remember seeing anyone wearing shorts during the time they were on ship??? I know - not off ship or outside on deck - BUT how about times when you're on ship and not going to be outside??? Judson I know - I know - You all think I'm nuts. I'm loving the fact that we're going to Alaska and terribly excited about it but please - How about shorts??? - LOL!!!!!