Joanandjoe

WELCOME BACK!<]

We leave Hamilton at 6, so maybe we'll arrive at6 the Cut at a decent hour. We're such early birds that being out on deck at 6:30 or so is quite possible.

Of course, if you want to do Florida to the Bahamas the right way, sail on Imperial Majesty, the cruise line that owns the glorious Regal Empress.

We'll add our twist to point # 2. Send the kids off to summer camp, then vacation without them. Every parent deserves a break from being a parent.

Thanks for the great suggestions, Boba and Lisa. Keep them coming! We've assembled a group of about 30 people from the cruise on another CC cruise board. Most of us plan on using bus passes and Bermuda Heritage passes, and few (if any) ship's tours. Your suggestions as to what to do in St. George sound great. Did you find any beach glass on the beaches? The suggestion about being on deck as the ship goes through town cut sounds wondeful, but we'll have to wake up early. The ship leaves Hamilton, bound for St. George, at 6 a.m.

Another sad maritime accident. Marvch was a bad month for the maritime industry, with at least five accidents that had a loss of life, and other accidents (such as the river boat in the Columbia River) with no loss of life. Let's hope and pray the April and all subsequent months are better.

We'll be on board the Celebrity Zenith on Mothers Day, 5/14. It will be a sea day. Let's hope they do something special for the wonderful ladies who raise our kids! Has anyone been on a ship on Mother's Day? If so, did the cruise line (or Celebrity in particular) do anything special? Joan deserves special treatment, but I don't want to duplicate anything the cruise line does. Joe

Next movie in the ship's screening room: Titanic. Seriously, folks, someone must have been to Bermuda more recently than our 1968 honeymoon.

Have a great trip. We love your animation!<]

With a group cruise to Bermuda on April 20, and our cruise there on May 13, there are a lot of Crazies who would appreciate tips on what to do and where to go. Some board members must have cruised there already, or had recent "land" trips. C'mon, Crazies, share your experiences!

Precisely, that's why I can't stand to watch him. He is very arrogant, and how can you fire someone who doesn't work for you in the first place? As I mentioned, we were both in the same graduate school class (Wharton Graduate School, U. of PA, 1966); but I don't think I ever met him.

How wonderful that he's back. Can you get him a stateroom on the ship? Enjoy both vacations!

Thanks, Sue. If we win, we'll find some way to pay you back.

Have a great trip!<]

Have a great cruise, Jeff. We'll have to muddle through without you for awhile, and it won't be easy.

As well as Carnival Corp. handled the Princess fire, that's how poorly they handled the relaunch of the Carnival Sensation, which has returned to the fleet after serving as emergency housing for Katrina survivors. The ship failed CDC inspection, and was held up for seven hours while repairs were made. They arrived late at their first port, Nassau, causing cancellation of some shore excursions. Then they tossed three couples, including one couple celebrating the husband's return from serving in Iraq, off the ship. See http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-strande...0,4919505.story They may have a ship called the Valor, but they certainly didn't respect the valor of the veteran who was forced to leave the ship.

To paraphrase Lincoln, it just proves that Carnival can foul up some things all of the time and all things some of the time but not all things all of the time. They have handled this well, assuming that the spread of the fire wasn't their fault in the first place. Their relaunch of the Carnival Sensation is more typical. See our new thread.

Everyone is guessing Royal Carib., so I'll say Navigator of the Seas*. What is it about the picture that makres everyone choose that cruise line, on which we haven't sailed? * In honor of the fact that, when we sailed on the Radisson/Regent Seven Seas Navigator, people asking us about the cruise confused it with the Navigator of the Seas. All three Regent owned ships--Navigator, Voyager, Mariner--have a Royal Carib. equivalent. Confusing, eh!

In a statement released this morning (3/28), Princess Cruises says that the damage assessment of Star Princess following last week's fire is completed and that the ship will be taken out of service until May 15. That means that the rest of Star Princess' Caribbean season is canceled -- April 9, 16 and 23 departures -- along with its Atlantic crossing on April 30. "Passengers booked on these cruises will receive a full refund of their cruise and non-refundable air charges," the announcement reads. "We will also provide passengers with a future cruise credit equal to 25 percent of the cruise fare paid on these sailings." The ship, which is now docked at Grand Bahama Shipyard in Freeport, will sail out this week to Lloyd Werft, the Bremerhaven shipyard that's known for refurbishment work. Star Princess will return to service on May 15, where it will depart from Copenhagen for its first European cruise.

We'll report back in, K & R. Let's hope you have better luck on Celebrity than on NCL. Enjoy the gulf coast. Siesta Key is a pretty place, quite near Joan's sister's place in Sarasota..

Not even the possibility of winning a cruise could get me to watch my grad school classmate; but some of you might watch and win! This is the episode that brought the NCL ship into the path of the infamous "rogue wave". _________________________ Tonight, Donald Trump's NBC-TV series "The Apprentice" showcases Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Jewel as candidates are required to develop a 30-second commercial promoting Freestyle Cruising, the line's signature flexible dining program. The episode airs at 9 p.m. (Eastern and Pacific). Commercials will be judged by NCL's President Colin Veitch and the president of GSD&M, the line's advertising agency. Here's the juicy part, though: After the show has aired there will be a nationwide contest for viewers that asks three questions. The grand prize winner will receive a trip to New York with first class air, three nights at the Trump Hotel, and a cruise out of New York on Norwegian Dawn or Norwegian Spirit (the two ships NCL has based in the Big Apple). Prizes for the runners-up aren't too shabby either -- sans the perks of air and hotel, 10 folks can also win a seven-night cruise to anywhere NCL ships sail. To enter, visit NCL's Web site -- but remember, the contest won't be live until after the conclusion of the hour-long program. The contest, a "micro-media" presentation on the site, runs from March 27 until April 3. We'll try to save you the trouble of reading the excruciatingly long list of rules and restrictions that's almost impossible to read in the first place by noting that only legal residents of the U.S. and Canada (minus Quebec) qualify to play. Once you answer the questions on the site you are automatically entered. Luddites can mail their responses on a 3 x 5 card in an envelope to NCL headquarters; entries must be postmarked by April 3.

In what probably won't surprise many, Princess quietly announced today that its April 2 cruise on Star Princess, slated to depart from Port Everglades, has been canceled. According to a statement, the line notes that "Following a preliminary assessment over the weekend of the damage to cabins aboard Star Princess resulting from last week's fire, it has been determined that additional out-of- service time is required. We are therefore regretfully canceling the ship's April 2 voyage. "We sincerely apologize to passengers booked on this cruise for any disappointment and inconvenience this may cause. Passengers booked on this sailing will receive a full refund of their cruise and air fare. We will also provide a future cruise credit equal to 25 percent of the cruise fare paid on this cruise." As always, stay tuned for future developments.

Congrats, Howard, and thanks for the translation, Keith & Rita. I wouldn't have guessed what DDM was in 100 years, much less 100 days. I can sympathize with Howard regarding long waits. We booked our 5/13/06 Zenith cruise in February, so we were under 100 days when we booked. 47 to go. Our 11/25/06 Noordam cruise, on the other hand, was booked on 8/2/05, 480 days in advance. 237 down, 243 to go. Almost halfway there! Halfway on Thursday. Joe

Jason, is this a new development? I thought that Celebrity had exercised the option, and announced the names of the ships, more than a month ago. The jury is out on whether we'll try such a large ship. Our cruise on the Noordam in November will be on a 1,918 PAX ship, about 500 PAX larger than the largest ship on which we've sailed. I took Joan to see the ship from the Jersey side on Saturday. Her reaction as we rounded a bend and the ship came into view was: "wow, it's huge!" That was from a mile away, for a ship much smaller than the solstice ships. We have qualms about 1,900 PAX; more so about nearly 2,900. Too bad: we like X and HAL.

Jamaica isn't on our list of top places we want to visit. Having a ship that large visiting Montego Bay pushes Jamaica even lower on our list.