Joanandjoe

I'd like to add a few words to my post yesterday, and Joan's today. As much as I like seeing the three Park West lithos on our walls (and, as was the case with Keith and Rita, they did cost more to frame than to buy), the local art work we've bought in several places is much more memorable, and is a wonderful reminder of trips to Alaska, Bermuda, Dublin, Paris, DC, Philadelphia, Mexico, and other places. It's hard to remember the cruise on which we bought the Park West pieces (was it the Rotterdam or the Horizon?), but it's very clear where we bought the local art work. Just the ones I mentioned above bring back memories of seven different trips. Joe

We are "museum lovers" who "collect" art by looking at it in museums. How many people go to Orlando and go to the art museum? How many people can give you a detailed description of the art musuem in Lubbok, Texas? How many people visit Luxembourg and go to the state museum (BOTH floors!) twice? Who organizes a decent tour of the Bermuda Heritage Museum and gets a group of six to spend an entire morning there? WE DO! If you want a reminder of your trip, a bit of art from a local artist may be a better bet than the on-board auctions. We bought four prints at the Bishop Museum in Alaska for $20.00 (total for four). We carried them home, and had them framed with the descriptive paragraphs on the back. They grace our home, and I remember Alaska each time I look at them. In Bermuda, we found a portfolio of 8 prints, replicas of sketches done in the 1800's. The $10.00 we paid the museum for the 8 prints helped enrich the museum, and I believe we will enjoy some of the prints for a long time. A local artist was having a "relocation sale" at her studio, and we bought two prints for $15.00. The bright colors and native scenes will light up any room. I framed a hand-woven item we bought in Mexico, and the donkey still seems to bray. I'm skeptical about tying up large sums of money in art ...

We bought some art from Park West 4 or 5 years ago, but wouldn't do it again. Back then Park West accepted bids of $40 or $50; so who cared if the art was worth it? We had great souvenirs. Now the minimum bid is much higher, and we wouldn't bid without first doing some intenet research into the value of pieces by artists we like.

sewut51, there's no such thing as a typical kid; each one has likes and dislikes. Had we been able to travel with our older son when he was 10 (which we couldn't do because of his handicapped brother), he would have loved going to a Maya ruin or a folkloric performance, would have hated going to a beach or going kayaking. Best of all, he would have loved trying Mexican foods. Other kids would have been just the opposite. You need to tell us Crazies what he likes.

BadBucks, welcome to this crazy board. Post often, and soon you'll go from inside to outside, to balcony room. This isn't the biggest cruise board, but it's the friendliest.

Bon voyage, pacruiser, and be careful. Cruising is like eating potato chips: once you have one, you'll want more.<]

It's on the HAL board, under the name "One of MANY packing lists", started by LLSullie. My post, at 12:58 p.m. yesterday, is currently the last post (and is still there), about 4 threads from the bottom of page 1. If no one else posts on the thread, it will probably slip to page 2.

CUatC, welcome to this crazy board. Post often, and soon you'll go from inside to outside, to balcony room. This isn't the biggest cruise board, but it's the friendliest.

Actually, I wasn't trying to antagonize anyone: this really is the best packing list. After I posted it, however, I started to think about whether the post would stay.

btate, welcome to this crazy board. Post often, and soon you'll go from inside to outside, to balcony room. This isn't the biggest cruise board, but it's the friendliest.

We just posted the following on the HAL board of the other CC board, in a thread about packing lists: "This is the one we use: http://www.cruisecrazies.com/packing_list.php It's not just a great packing list; it's also a list of things to do before you leave home." The question is: will this cross reference to Cruise Crazies be allowed to stay, or will it be removed? I hope it stays, and that we get lots of new members from it. P.S. No peeking before you answer the poll.

Bon voyage, teacha50. May your cruise on the Celebration give you cause for celebration.

Bon voyage, sashapoo73. Have a wonderful trip!

Seagoing, if you're sailing the Nautica, you've almost certainly left home already. Bon voyage, and tell us all about it when you get back home. In particular, tell us about your reaction to the size of the ship, the size of the staterooms, the food, the (almost) no smoking policy, and the ship's excursions (if any) that you've taken. We've heard a lot of buzz about Oceania; now we can get the real scoop.

We read that too. Again, they're doing this because they think it will induce more people to cruise.

Thank you, K & R. We weren't exactly thrilled that the Zenith was unable to go from Hamilton to St. Geroge; but the grounding of the unfortunate Crown illustrates the reasons for closing the port. You've made us feel better. The Crown is onfortunate because it went from NCL to NCL's soft adventure line, Orient; then back to NCL, and soon, to Fred Olsen.

Joan and I have made it abundantly clear that we do not like big ships, glitz, and gimmicks such as surfer parks. Nonetheless, cruise line execs. are not crazy. They put this stuff on ships because it attracts an audience. If a 3,600 PAX ship were sailing most of the time with 500 PAX, instead of 4,200 including kids, the executives would have different types of ships built.

I remember well this tragedy that occurred three years ago, in November, 2003. I'm not sure why Sailing lisa posted it now.

JMZOUZOU, welcome to this crazy board. Post often, and soon you'll go from inside to outside, to balcony room. This isn't the biggest cruise board, but it's the friendliest.

Bon Voyage, mildavis, and have a wondeful cruise. As you can see, there are a lot of Alaska fans on this board, with a lot of suggestions. We hope the suggestions add to your awe and pleasure in seeing "the great land".

Eva, welcome to this crazy board. Post often, and soon you'll go from inside to outside, to balcony room. This isn't the biggest cruise board, but it's the friendliest. You'll be glad you were "recruited" by Cheryl.

TopRCDawg, welcome to this crazy board. Post often, and soon you'll go from inside to outside, to balcony room. This isn't the biggest cruise board, but it's the friendliest.

You're lucky that your suitcases haven't been damaged by Homeland Security, which requests that bags be left unlocked, and has the right to open the bags.

We'll add to our previous post that some of our best "buys" were free. When we were in Iceland, we picked up balls of volcanic rock (pumice) on a beach, and they were the most appreciated gifts we've ever given. 10 years after that trip, people still have them on display. On our recent Bermuda trip, we brought back pink sand, which we packaged in large and small bottles*. Had our ship's repositioning in St. George not been cancelled due to bad weather, we also would have brought back beach glass. We did buy genuine Bermuda shorts. The point for us is to bring back something unique, not just tee shirts. We usually try to bring back some local foods and/or beverages, but only in small amounts because the stuff is usually heavy! As Belafonte sang is "Jamaica farewell", the rum is fine any time of year. * "Poor" Joan had to drink the rum from the small bottles, so we could fill them with sand. Tough job, but someone had to do it.

DUH so why not a thanksgiving cruise.. school closes thanks giving..... and i know you aint scared of missing day after "christmas Sales" Believe it or not, Joey, some of us like to spend holidays with the non-cruising members of our family. That's why our next cruise starts two days AFTER Thanksgiving. The other problem is travel. This year's cruise starts the Saturday after Thanksgiving, in NYC. Fine, no plane travel over a busy weekend. Next year we saw two mouthwatering itineraries for the Saturday after Thanksgiving: one from Barbados, one from St. Thomas. We decided that this wasn't possible: we don't want to fly at that time. Unfortunately, neither cruise line has a good cruise for ustwo weeks earlier, when the date would be perfect: most of our desired ships are doing nonstop transatlantics then. Subject to change, we doubt we'll be on a cruise ship in 2007. We simply can't find the right itinerary at the right time and price. If we love the Noordam, which has 500 more PAX than the largest ship on which we've sailed, we might change our minds.