Jewel of the Seas 4/15/2007

[rienreiter]

Hi Dan:

 

Yes, I have signed up for the Meet & Mingle. I signed up about 2 or 3 weeks ago and at that time I was #92. Last I heard late last week we were up to 95.

 

I only sign up for the Meet & Mingle when I travel alone as I usually travel with my partner and perhaps some friends. Last time I cruised alone on Celebrity Constellation there was a lot of family at the Meet & Mingle and about 100 Cruise Critic members in attendance.

 

I see that you know Robert and Jerry. It's good to be cruising with friends.

 

I'm really looking forward to this cruise (as I look forward to all of my cruises). All places will be new to me with the exception of Bruges which is beautiful and last time I visited was so long ago that it will be like going for the first time.

 

Juan

[JMHinSEA]

Hey SD Dan, good to see your post on the board.

Hotmail deleted all of my emails I was saving so was unable to send you guys any more emails.

 

Steven and I would love to have dinner with you guys on the evening of the 14th. We get into FL later afternoon and we are staying at a hotel downtown on Las Olas Blvd. Any one else want to join us?

 

Also, we are more than happy to have a sail away meet and greet of "our own" in our cabin. We have a grand suite so should be plenty of room on the balcony.

[rienreiter]

Hi John:

 

Sure looks like we are all getting more and more excited about this cruise as the departure dates gets closer. I know I am.

 

Nice of you to offer your Grand Suite to hold "our own" Meet & Mingle. I have stayed in one of those before and indeed it is quite spacious. For the size of cabin, the balcony is not that large though (my opinion only). It is only as deep as the standard balconies. But it is double the length as you have two sliding glass doors coming out to the balcony. You'll love your Grand Suite. And the bathroom is among the largest I've ever seen on any suite at sea. Don't forget that you'll also have access to the Concierge Lounge for unlimited free drinks!;)

 

Juan

[SDDAN]

John, I am glad to hear from you guys again. I finally found this thread. Tom and I will arrive in Fort Lauderdale on American around 5:00 AM on Saturday. Jerry and Bob were also thinking about meeting for diner that night so as we get closer to our trip we can coordinate the details.

 

We are staying at the Emabassy Suits on 17th St.

 

Take care and say Hi! to Steve,

 

Dan

[rienreiter]

On Valentine's Day it will be 60 days to go! Double reason to celebrate that day.

 

Have a great weekend everyone,

Juan

[lyonrm]

Hello everybody

 

 

We are looking forward to meeting and getting to spend a wonderful 12 fun full days with you all here real soon. Donnie and I also wanted to let you know that on every cruise that we have been on in the past we were able to make arrangments to were our F.O.D. group could dine together every night in the dinning room. All we need to do is get the people together after we board the ship and request the seating arrangment for the early or late dinner. We have always enjoy getting together for dinner after our F.O.D. get together every night so if any other of you are interested please let us know so we can all can plan on making this happen for us all on our April 15 cruise.

 

Russ & Donnie

 

Houston, Tx.

[JMHinSEA]

Hi EVERYONE!!!!

 

Steven and I arrive into FL around 5 pm so would love to join you guys for dinner. We are late diners by nature (around 8) so if that's too late for you guys, we'll be fine. We are staying at the Riverside Hotel on Las Olas. The last time we were in Fort Lauderdale we found this wonderful restaurant on Las Olas, and of course I cannot think of the name of it now. I'll have to try to find it.

 

I think it would be GREAT if we converged upon the head maitre d' the first day and asked for a table together. I've read on cruise boards that slipping him a $20 does wonders. We currently have a table for two because we were afraid of who we might end up with.

 

Here's yet another thought. If anyone thinks that we just want to go ahead and work this out in advance, all we need to do is notify our respective travel agents of the parties names with whom we wish to dine. So, I'm going to volunteer that if you are up for this idea, send me an email - dwntwnseaguy@hotmail.com with your information including booking number and passenger names, and I'll be happy to get the ball rolling by contacting my TA and giving her the information and then contacting all of those who respond with the same information to relay to their TAs. I'm going to assume we all want the later dining - yes? :)

 

Secondly, we do want to have a sail away get together in our cabin, so if you would like to attend, please send me an email with your names and cabin numbers.

 

Call me crazy or bored or without a life :) BUT I was ALSO thinking it would be a heck of a lot of fun for each of us to share a PHOTO of us from another cruise. I know I have a couple of Steven and me that I'd be willing to share even though I always hate how I look in photos :) So, if you like THIS IDEA send me a email with the photos and names and I will compile and share the photos by email to all those who respond.

 

So, just by who I see on this post, we've got the following group so far!

 

Robert & Jerry (originator of the thread) from Maryland

Juli & Marianne - Phoenix

Russ & Donnie - Houston

Juan - Where do you live?

Paul & Wayne - Boston

Dan & Tom - San Diego

Steven & John - Seattle

Have I missed anyone?

 

Now, boys and girls - get on the stick and SEND ME your information for 1) our sailaway party in GS cabin #1032 and

2) photo album of our group for distribution and 3) group dining arrangements. Only if you want to, of course :)

 

CHEERS!!!!!!

[MarylandBob]

Hey Everyone!

 

Our group is really growing and it will be great to have so many family onboard. Glad to see our good friends from San Diego, Dan and Tom, joining the thread. We met on our last transatlantic cruise in October 2005. They are wonderful guys and it will be nice to see them again!

 

Dan, it truly was tough watching the Indy (formerly Baltimore) Colts win the superbowl. The Ravens should have beat them in the playoffs to shut up all the diehards in B'More who can't let the Colts go but the Ravens just didn't get the job done. Oh well, there's always next year...

 

I'm sorry I haven't gotten back to you yet with our arrival plans in Florida. We will be arriving via American Airlines into Miami on Saturday evening around 5:45 p.m. We are staying at the Miami Marriott at Biscayne Bay. We will drive up to Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday and return the car at that airport. We would love to get together with you and Tom and whoever else is interested for dinner although I know most of you will probably be arriving in Ft. Lauderdale.

 

I am glad this cruise is getting closer. I just started a new job last Monday and I think I will be ready for some extended relaxation in April. Jerry and I still plan on returning on the day of disembarkation. We both have to get ready to go back to work. I still haven't researched any tours but I plan to get started on that very soon.

 

We too will likely host something in our stateroom. We've booked a Grand Suite #1534 and Jerry's birthday is April 21 so I will probably have a little celebration--everyone is invited! We're registered for the M&M, did that a while back, just waiting for documents to arrive.

 

Will keep in touch with everyone more frequently as the cruise gets closer. Stay warm, it's brutally cold here in the East and BIG snow is forecast for Tuesday.

 

Best regards,

Robert and Jerry

[rienreiter]

Hello Everyone:

 

Wow! Big posting day today. I guess it's the anticipation and the excitement.

 

First of all John, you'll never guess where I live but I'll leave that until the end of this posting to keep you guessing. You started a new job this past Monday and you need a vacation already? Funny that you said that because I was laid off in Sept. of 2005 after 25 years with a major corporation and spent 11 months enjoying myself and traveling as much as I could. I got called back to work by my old employer this past October which is great because one of their benefits for people who have been there longer than 15 years is 6 weeks of vacation every year which is very uncommon. But the funny thing is that after 11 months of vacation and only 4 months back in the real life of working, I really do feel like I need a break already. People look at me like I'm crazy but it's true. That's why I am really looking forward to this cruise. I am also flying back home the same day that we disembark. Haven't purchased my flight back home yet.

 

I also have registered for the Meet & Mingle. There should be at least 100 by now, if not more. It's funny that so many people keep mentioning about cruise documents. I have never received any cruise documents for any RCI cruise and I've never been asked about them either upon checking in.

 

We'll have to come together to celebrate Jerry's BD. There's nothing like a celebration at sea.

 

If you guys are interested in getting together to form a table for dinner, I'm game and open to that idea. I've done this once before on one of the cruises where I went without my partner and it worked out quite nicely. The way to do it is by cross referencing or linking our cruise reservations numbers. This ensures that we are all seated together. No need to head over to the maitre'd on boarding day to arrange it. By linking the reservations numbers through our travel agents, we will all be seated together. I'm a late dinner person also.

 

If there's a sailaway get together, I will be there!

 

I'll have to look hard for a picture that I can post or send. Our computer decided to commit suicide this past November and every digital picture that I had is history. I'll have to search for a "favorable" picture taken after November to share with you guys.

 

So you want to know where I live? Ft. Lauderdale of course! 15 minute drive from home to dock at the most. My partner and I would love to join you guys for dinner on Saturday night but I will have out-of-town relatives visiting. They are coming down to see me off. They are intrigued by this thing about going trans-atlantic on a ship vs. an airplane. Never mind the fact that none of them have ever stepped foot on a ship so they have no clue what they are missing. So if anyone has any questions about Fort Lauderdale, let me know and I'll respond as best I can.

 

Russ and Donnie, glad to see your post. It's been a while since you last posted so I wondered if you were still on board with us.

 

Juan

[rienreiter]

If I keep posting the way I'm going, I'll be up to 800 posts by the time our cruise comes around.

 

Havent' heard from BlondyX (Juli) in quite a while. I know that she has been posting on the other board.

[rienreiter]

Just went online to check on any price changes. Nothing so far.

[rienreiter]

Hello Everyone!

 

Have started to do some homework for sightseeing and touring information and have come across the websites shown below. I did not do any research on Le Havre as there are too many possibilities on places to go. I hope that you all find this useful.

 

Regards, Juan

 

COBH / CORK (IRELAND)

The Titanic Trail

http://www.titanic-trail.com/index.htm

County Cork Guide for Cobh and Cork City

http://www.cork-guide.ie/index.html

Cobh in Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobh

Cobh Chamber of Commerce

http://www.cobhharbourchamber.ie/index.html

Things To Do in Cobh

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Ireland/County_Cork/Cobh-296403/Things_To_Do-Cobh-TG-C-1.html

Things To See and Do in City of Cork

http://www.iol.ie/~discover/orksee.htm

Tour of Cork City

http://www.foundmark.com/Ireland/Cork-Kerry/Tours/CTour.html

County Cork – Towns and Map

http://www.county-cork.com/cork_map.htm

Blarney Tourism

http://www.blarneytourism.com/touristinfo.html

FALMOUTH / CORNWALL (ENGLAND)

Falmouth

http://www.cornwall-online.co.uk/carrick/falmouth.htm

Cornwall Online

http://www.cornwall-online.co.uk/Welcome.html

Falmouth

http://www.cornishlight.co.uk/falmouth.htm

Falmouth Attractions and Tours

http://www.totaltravel.co.uk/travel/west-country/cornwall/lizard-peninsula/directory/attractions

Tours of Cornwall

http://www.toursofcornwall.com/tours.html?gclid=CN_rlPeeqooCFSQVgQod6gU_rg

Cornwall Guide

http://www.cornwalls.co.uk/

Cornwall in Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornwall

Visiting Cornwall – County Council

http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=127

BRUGES (BELGIUM)

Bruges, The Official Website

http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=127

Bruges City Guide

http://www.timeout.com/travel/bruges

Bruges Sightseeing Guide

http://www.directline-citybreaks.co.uk/sub_page.cfm/title/Bruges%20Sightseeing/section/General/editID/563

Bruges in Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruges

Bruges Travel Information

http://www.trabel.com/brugge.htm

[JMHinSEA]

Hi Juan, thanks for a fabulous research job!!!!

This one post alone will keep me busy for a while :)

 

By the way, Steven and I love Ft. Lauderdale,almost moved there but didn't quite work out for us. We are in Seattle but do hope to move to a warmer and sunner climate one of these days.

 

So far, we're thinking that we are going to make arrangements for excursions on the port OUTSIDE of the cruise lines. I've come upon several different tour companies/taxi companies that offer private and personal tours. Also, in some ports, it seems easy to reach destinations of interest inexpensively via train.

 

I know on our last cruise we booked just a ship's shore excursion in every port and we quickly grew weary of getting on and off the bus and, I hate to say this, but we grew even more weary of our fellow passengers. I don't understand why people go on cruises if all they ever do is complain about how they don't like things in different countries and how it's not like "home". I say, "Then stay home please and let the rest of us enjoy!" :)

 

So far I've received one email from a good looking couple (you know who you are) about the group dining. So, if any others are interested, read my previous long winded post :)

 

I'm sure this thread will even get busier in the weeks head.

 

Cheers!

John

[rienreiter]

Hi John:

 

I think this thread is getting busier already now that we are 60 days away and I'm sure that, like you said, it will get busier as the date gets closer.

 

We may have the warmer and sunnier climate but we also have the hurricanes. Don't forget those. Luckily, we didn't have any last year.

 

Haven't decided on any tours yet. Still doing my research. And I do know darn well what you mean about how people complain. I agree with you, why don't they stay home if it is not like back home? That's the point of travelling; everything IS supposed to be different.

 

I am still looking for that "suitable" picture. I'm sure I'll come up with something that I can share before the end of the month.

 

Is it April 15th yet?

Juan

[rienreiter]

I forgot to say that back on the other or main roll call thread there are a couple of guys who are travelling alone but they have not posted here so I don't know if they are not family or are just not aware of this thread. One of the guys has mentioned that he will be joined by two other guys.

 

By the way John, I will be in cabin 8580.

 

Juan

[rienreiter]

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

[BlondyX]

Hi Everyone!

 

Wow this board has grown in leaps and bounds in the last week! Although it seems my DP and I are definitely in the minority. Where are all the women???

 

Having said that, we are up for sail aways or table sharing or whatever! That is if you guys don't mind the women hanging about! :)

[BlondyX]

Juan, I meant to ask if you were able to find a reasonable air fare yet?

[rienreiter]

Hi Juli:

 

This thread has grown lately but then you have been absent for a long time too. Welcome back.

 

I am kicking myself in the behind for not having purchased my plane ticket a couple of weeks ago. I am going to be buying Amsterdam-Miami on April 27 and Miami-London in October as we are flying to London in October for a few days of sightseeing and then sailing back to New York on the QM2. Buying this round trip is much cheaper than buying two one-ways. I am looking at British Airways as they have a class called Premier Economy. It's between Business Class and Coach. There's a 37 inch pitch between seats and it is quite comfortable. Well, two weeks ago, the price for all flights was $1350. Last weekend it went up to $2800! That's more than double. I have been able to bring it down to $1500 if I buy London-Miami-London and then buy the Amsterdam-London ticket separately for only $84. Doesn't make sense, does it? That's like charging $1300 for the Amsterdam-London flight which is regular coach and between Amsterdam and London is only 1 hour.

 

I saw on the other thread that you are happy with your flights. Good for you. RCI's website doesn't offer a flight package for those living in south Florida so I have no idea what RCI would have charged me to fly back. I would have had to call them to find out but I felt more comfortable looking for airfares separately anyway.

 

Have fun in Vegas!

 

Juan

[BlondyX]

Wow that is really high! The round trip does sound more reasonable.

 

Back on the QM2 sounds great, I considered doing something like that too, I'm anxious to hear how it is. Have you sailed Cunard before?

 

As long as DP is able to get here and doesn't get snowed in, we will have a great time in Vegas! Thanks!

[rienreiter]

Hi Juli:

 

Last night must have been my lucky night. Just right before I retired to bed I decided to take a look at the British Airways website and my flights came up at $1482 for Amsterdam-Miami on April 27th (via London) and Miami-London in October on Premium Economy both ways. So I immediately bought my tickets. Now I am definitely ready to go. All I need to do is sit back and wait for April 15th.

 

I have sailed Cunard before but only once. Last Labor Day weekend the QM2 had a short 4 day cruise out of New York City and we decided to go. We liked the ship so much we decided that we did want to do a transatlantic on the QM2 If you are interested, QM2 is doing the same thing again this year 2007. On Memorial Day weekend (May), 4th of July weekend, and Labor Day weekend (September). All are short cruises. For those of you who are not sure if the QM2 is up your sleeve, this is a great opportunity to try it out.

 

Juan

[BlondyX]

Juan, glad you were able to get your air. Huge difference from $1500 to $2800!

 

I'll have to look into QM2 for that Labor Day trip. I should be on the east coast by then, could be perfect timing. She looks like a beautiful ship!

 

We need a remote with a fast forward button to get us to April 15th just a little quicker. (I'm sure the people who have to pay taxes would not share our enthusiasm for that). They need a cruise!!:rolleyes:

[rienreiter]

Juli:

 

You should look into the QM2. It really is a beautiful ship.

 

I'm with you on the remote with the fast forward button to April 15. Can't wait!

 

Juan

[rienreiter]

I'm not willing to let our thread get lost in the 2nd. page.

[rienreiter]

In case anyone is interested:

 

Facts about Amsterdam Schiphol airport

 

Distance to Amsterdam from the airport: 12 km / 8 miles

Number of low-cost airline routes: 71

Web address: www.schiphol.nl

Nearest major settlements: Haarlemmermeer (4 km / 2 miles)

Haarlem (14 km / 9 miles)

Zaanstad (18 km / 11 miles)

Leiden (23 km / 14 miles)

Nearest airports: Rotterdam (43 km / 27 miles)

Eindhoven (121 km / 75 miles)

Niederrhein (124 km / 77 miles)