Zuiderdam RSVP 2008

[RMS Olympic]

I too got confirmation. I am just glad I have something....a charge to my credit card...which they ran through on the Caribbean Princess....back in Feb.

So I have the cruise confirmed, air paid for, and reservations (under deposit) for a three night pre-cruise at the grand resort in Ft lauderdale. I just hope that RSVP is back running on all 8 cylinders by then. I intend to question the status of things while on the Rome trip in August. I just wonder who is running the show right now. There are too many details that need to be coordinated for the Rome trip or it could become a real mess.....but then it may fall under Holland Americas hands and be just like any other cruise except with all gay and lesbian passengers.

Now to figure out what tours to take next February...something physical, something wet, something hot.......yes I am talking about off the ship....shame on you for where your mind went.

Tom

[Typhoon1]

Who's on First these days at RSVP ?

[MattInFLL]

Not sure who's on first - but certainly plan to make it to home... :) (with Ralph of course).

 

I was charged last month - would have preferred the delay :)

 

I hear our ports require some planning - but not yet in that mode. Need to get through finals first... only another week or so.

[RMS Olympic]

Best of luck on the finals...know you will do well...remember you are not just another pretty face...ya got brains girl...use 'em. Also tell Ralph that he needs to buy you a cruise if you do really well......remeber there is the Rome trip.......if there is still a Rome trip.....

[berwynbobby]

:p :cool: ROB + ROY (from Philadelphia/New Hope area) are looking forward to seeing you all (many again--since we were on Que Rico on this ship + on MS Westerdam for the Panama-Costa Rica trip with many of you)!

How I missed this blog I cannot say... We are in cabin 5131, with friends we just took to Williamsburg last week, John + Joey, bears from Myrtle Beach in 5129.

At this point it looks like we know about two dozen fellows, as well as our buds, Janet + Maria.

Notice that Trappr John has a lapse time clock on the RSVP Cruiser website, with month, days, minutes + seconds until we all depart-- IT WILL BE HERE BEFORE WE KNOW IT? --Rob (berwynbobby@yahoo.com) of Rob-Roy

[RMS Olympic]

Tom in Lansdale...we're neighbors....

I get first dibs on Janet and Maria for dinner in the Pinnacle restaurant on board. They are fine ladies!

[berwynbobby]

On both the cruises we shared with them, we were their "dates". Hope Maria is watching this blog!:D :D They WERE our Christmas card (as 2 couples "with balls all around") in 2004! In 2006 we planned the private excursions togehter... And this time the two of them INSISTED we attend this cruise (and "Screw future retirement funds"!) Now that is close for folks that live in an entirely different part of the country than you or us.:eek:

[berwynbobby]

We usually are invited to a group party in Blue Bell a few days before the cruise. In any event, hope we meet the "neighbor":rolleyes: prior to the cruise.

 

By the way, Roy has a coworker in Medford, NJ, who is seeking a cabin mate for this cruise. In all your notes you only mention your name. Are you looking to meet people and/or seeking a roomy?

[2cruisinchiks]

Boys, boys, boys!!! Wow, do we feel important???!!!:)

 

Rob, Maria fell in love with Tom's biceps and brilliant mind on the last cruise, but if I can get over it, you can too.

 

I am still trying to reel her back in. I bought an elliptical, but it will be a long time to get in shape to have her do those double takes on me.

 

I just wish that she could stop calling out his name at the most inappropriate times, if you know what I mean.

 

It will be great to see all of you and I really can't wait. We are going to Ptown for family week (we have a goddaughter and godson) and I guess Rosie will be there.

 

Anyone else going???

[berwynbobby]

Hope we can work this one out...PINNACLE OR BUST!

[Typhoon1]

Will RSVP still be around in February?

[monumax]

Will RSVP still be around in February?

 

So, if RSVP does go under and cease to exist, how many of you will be signing up for one of the Atlantis cruises in Jan-Feb-March? I see they have announce several new cruises for 2008 on their updated website.

[Typhoon1]

I certainly wouldn't hesitate to cruise with Atlantis. Some of our friends have and enjoy it.

 

We just fell into the RSVP mold years ago, and then continued year after year.

[Typhoon1]

Thanks for your email to Antonio. He has probably already responded to you but I wanted to let you know that despite some recent poor stock performance at PlanetOut, RSVP Vacations continues ahead with strength and excitement. All our published 2008 cruises are sailing as planned. No plans have changed and RSVP continues its 20-year history of offering the best Gay and Lesbian vacations for our community.

 

 

 

We look forward to seeing you on board the Zuiderdam on February23 2008 – if not sooner!

 

 

 

Thanks for your inquiry.

 

 

 

Jefferson

 

 

 

 

Jefferson Coombs

Vice President of Marketing & Sales

RSVP Vacations, a PlanetOut Inc. Company

1355 Sansome Street

San Francisco, CA 94111

[M&D]

Not meaning to cause worry, but it's best to know what's going on...this is from the San Francisco Chronicle:

 

Verne Kopytoff, Chronicle Staff Writer

Saturday, May 12, 2007

 

 

After becoming the dominant media company for the gay community, PlanetOut Inc. is now just trying to survive.

The San Francisco owner of Gay.com, along with the Advocate and Out magazines, disclosed this week that it will run out of money before the end of the year without an infusion of cash.

The dire situation is a consequence of PlanetOut's declining subscriptions for personal ads, a shortfall in advertising revenue and trouble booking passengers on its gay-oriented cruises.

A dismal first-quarter earnings report on Wednesday hammered the reality home. Virtually every piece of the business needs fixing, according to management.

In the report, PlanetOut said it lost $6.9 million in its fiscal first quarter, compared with a $132,000 loss a year earlier. Revenue totaled $16.8 million, down from $17.6 million during the same period a year ago.

Spooked by the results, investors sent PlanetOut's shares tumbling 33 percent over two days to close Friday at $1.64, the lowest point since the company's initial public offering three years ago.

"This is deeply disappointing and concerning to me and the rest of the management team," Karen Magee, PlanetOut's chief executive officer, said in a conference call with analysts Wednesday.

"We've got major work to do at PlanetOut to generate the healthy revenue growth and solid earnings performance that I believe this company is capable of producing."

Magee, who joined the company in 2006, described the problems as years in the making. A turnaround, she said, will take up to 24 months, during which the company plans to fix creaky technology, reorganize and sell some assets, including its adult publishing business.

Allen & Co., a consulting firm, has been hired to explore various options.

PlanetOut is under the gun to come up with an additional $15 million to meet the terms of an existing loan, or face default.

If it's unable to get the financing, the lender could foreclose on PlanetOut's assets, a potential death knell.

The company, which had $11 million in cash and short-term investments at the end of the first quarter, said it would run out of money by year's end without additional financing.

Magee laid part of the blame for PlanetOut's poor performance on its RSVP travel agency, which offers cruises to destinations such as the Caribbean.

Passenger occupancy has been less than expected and, as a result, the company has had to offer steep discounts to attract travelers and pay penalties to cruise lines.

Separately, PlanetOut's advertising sales, both online and in print, have been disappointing. Subscriptions to online personals have also lagged amid growing competition from other gay-oriented Web sites in addition to social networking giants MySpace and Facebook.

In a note to investors, Richard Ingrassia, an analyst for Roth Capital Partners, said it's possible that PlanetOut would sell its travel business. Overall, he said, the company is still unchallenged in terms of reaching the gay demographic.

This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

[RMS Olympic]

I called RSVP yesterday to ask questions.....the rep I got on the phone was frank in stating he did not have too much information. I was told the Rome trip I am booked on is fully paid by RSVP to HAL...so its a go. As to 2008 cruises....he said they have not been told to stop selling....and bookings are coming in. The rest of the line up is to be put on the web site in June. Said they are all busy with the QM2 cruise right now.

I am going tp speculate that once a cruise is chartered the penalty is huge if they as a corporation cancels.....so Planet out is already committed to the Zuiderdamm. Of course this is all mute of the company shuts down by the end of the year.

Right now I am wondering what kind of staff will be on the remaining cruises.....if the experienced staff leaves RSVP.....it will have an impact on the cruise....

I will see what the Rome trip is like.....if what I experience and see and hear becomes a mess....then I will consider looking for a different cruise in Feb...whether it be an Atlantis charter, Pied Piper or a mainstream.

In the mean time I wil hope for the best. To think in the past RSVP were usually sell outs.......perhaps the economy is a greater impact on all this than I originally thought.

[monumax]

I've noticed an interesting change on RSVP's website. It used to be you could check each cruise to see the price and availability of the cabins. NOW, it just shows the price of the different cabins and tells you to check with RSVP or your travel agent for the availability. That way you can't tell by looking whether it is selling out or not! Sneaky! :cool:

Max

[Typhoon1]

Hi guys, I also went to the RSVP future cruise sails on the Caribbean Princess. According to my notes, here is what they said RSVP was thinking about for later in 2008. The contracts were not signed as of a month ago.

 

June 3-17. Baltic cruise on a 780-passenger ship, which I think could be the Royal Princess. This cruise will be start and end Amsterdam and consists of two combinable 7-day cruises.

 

Aug 24. Venice to Barcelona cruise.

 

Halloween. Mex Riviera cruise.

 

Thanksgiving 2008. Tahiti on a clipper ship.

 

I hope they post details soon.

 

And there won't be anymore contracts signed for awhile. I listened to the Planet Out financial report webcast, and the CEO stated they had suspended signing any contracts other than those already announced until they could get their financial house in order.

[MattInFLL]

Well the word in Minneapolis is that Paul Figlmuller... (I can't spell his name) was let go... I hope they get their act together in time for next year, as it is the only cruise I can go on with my school schedule. Summer people don't have to worry - those ships are paid for already. Planet Out should move the operation to their headquarters in San Fran and hire a travel marketing expert and get on with it... it would take so little common sense to know that booking QM2 for a transatlantic had disaster written all over it.

[Typhoon1]

Matt:

 

I hope that didn't come as news to you. Paul was let go late in 2006. PlanOut continued to insist it was his decision to return to school. Some staff members cofirmed he was indeed dismissed.

[MattInFLL]

Yup, it was news to me... at any rate, he and his 3 husbands bought a huge property/mansion and plan to renovate it.. a friend took a tour. So his ego may have been bruised, but his wallet seems to be intact.

[RMS Olympic]

Gee, I cant even find a rental........guess I am just not blessed. LOL

As for this cruise, I find myself thinking I should play it safe and look for another cruise. even though a contract was signed......should Planet out shut down later this year and operations fold I wouldn't want to base my vacation plans on a what if. It will be interesting to read comments about the Queen Mary 2 cruise and if it will shed some light on what to expect on each subsequent cruise. Now if I had a husband......going to Law school, and we lived in Ft lauderdale...who would care if the cruise was a bust.....

[Typhoon1]

Yup, it was news to me... at any rate, he and his 3 husbands bought a huge property/mansion and plan to renovate it.. a friend took a tour. So his ego may have been bruised, but his wallet seems to be intact.

 

I met the 4 of them on board the Westerdam and remember jokingly asking him whose bed he sleeps in most often.:confused: :confused:

[dendren]

Gee, I cant even find a rental........guess I am just not blessed. LOL

As for this cruise, I find myself thinking I should play it safe and look for another cruise. even though a contract was signed......should Planet out shut down later this year and operations fold I wouldn't want to base my vacation plans on a what if. It will be interesting to read comments about the Queen Mary 2 cruise and if it will shed some light on what to expect on each subsequent cruise. Now if I had a husband......going to Law school, and we lived in Ft lauderdale...who would care if the cruise was a bust.....

 

RMS... I really don't think you have to worry about the Zuiderdam cruise. A couple of good signs of late, despite the planet out financials, are that a friend of mine was recently asked to join the crew for the Zuiderdam cruise as one of the foks heading up the country dance nights. Another friend spoke to RSVP a day or two ago and was given some tentative info on 2008 cruises after the Zuiderdam (including Mexico Oct 08 and Summer Baltic). Looks like RSVP is moving forward, just cautiously. However... I wouldn't be surprised to see Planet Out try to sell off RSVP to someone else soon (take a looky at this article here... http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=1819 )

 

I just hate to see you stressing over this cruise being cancelled when I really think you have nothing to worry about. Let the corporate bigwigs do the worrying, we just need to sit back and enjoy the cruise :)

[RMS Olympic]

Stressed...no, anxious yes, saddened.....definitely.

I see that RSVP will be using Star Clipper In Tahiti late 2008...that will be a sell out believe me. If I didn't already have a trip planned for this year to Tahiti I would jump at it. If RSVP moves forward into 2009 I think going smaller will make a much better niche for them. Baby bommers will go after smaller ships . Princess and now Azamara cruises have smaller ships...easier to fill.....not to mention I would prefer a bit more upscale without breaking the bank.

If RSVP is put up on the selling block.......I think Carnival Corp should buy it. They have the ships...they would cut out the midle man and all they would have to do is set aside a series of cruises each year. We are already doing gay cruises on Princess, HAL, Cunard,Carnival....and heaven knows Carnival Corp knows the cash cows that gay cruises are.

I feel like writing Planet Out and making the recommendation. As new owners, all they would have to do is pay the RSVP staff and advertising...they already handle the ship end of the gay business......

In the meantime....I am sooooo ready for the Rome trip.......no more stress baby......I'm red ta go!