Master Table of Contents, A Tale of Three Cruises (Galaxy, Mercury and Millennium)

[llmoyer123]

...i know you've heard it so many times that it's redundant, but i stumbled across your celebrity review, and have enjoyed them immensely! my sister is a published writer (a very good one, i might add!), so i credit myself on knowing good writing when i experience it (smile)!

 

your first cruise review (co-starring kris) was my/our very favorite, though the other were great also. i've printed all three out (i've discovered that they take 45-60 pages each, single spaced without the pix, and with the margins broadened to the fullest extent possible.....giggle). i read them poolside and DH is reading enjoying them more leisurely on the treadmill each night. he asserts that it makes that hour of "dreadmilling" almost enjoyable.

 

we sail on the summit (our first celebrity cruise after four or five carnival cruises) on 7 january 05, and your reviews have certainly fanned the flames of anticipation!

 

selfishly, we wish you and kris would fit in a quickie (cruise!) this late fall on the summit. we'd appreciate a review of that ship before we board!

 

in closing, i almost didn't post, but in the end i had to add our accolades to piles you've already received.

 

thanks,

linda (and jeff)

[Mike&Nancy1539128145]

Theories, theories....who cares!! We want reviews!! :)

[chesterh]

Linda - I very much appreciate reader’s comments. They can be invigorating. Witness Nancy’s post above, which inspired me to spend the afternoon writing and posting Part 45. There is also a utilitarian function to making a reply – it keeps the thread floating around up where someone else might stumble on it. Nice to know that the stories can make the treadmill a more enjoyable place to be…

 

Although we have communicated and I already know the answer, I wanted to give you the chance to plug your sister’s book. So I ask, “What book did your sister write?” I already have it in my Amazon.com ‘wishlist’, to be ordered when the list is long enough to qualify for free shipping.

 

To all - My communication with Linda was interesting. She wrote to tell me that she had discovered that I had taken a cruise on Summit. Linda wanted all of the details, and wondered why I was holding out. A few emails were needed to establish that I hadn’t overlooked a voyage…

 

Nancy, now you have more. I still looking for theories…

 

All the best,

chesterh

[Mike&Nancy1539128145]

You think my comments are invigorating, Mike calls them something else. Hmmm....

 

I get to go read a new review. Can someone help Chester out on theories please?

 

Linda, I'll help with the plug too. Who is your sister and what book did she write?

 

Nancy

[JimnKaren]

I hope for you, Chesterh, the worst weather this autumn. Then you will be "forced" to stay inside an write.

 

We sail on Summit in 8 weeks and one of the ports is St. Thomas, this will be my 8th stop there while cruising. I am running out of ideas on what to do. Not being much of a beach person, nor a shopaholic, my choices are somewhat limited. Any suggestions?

 

Jim

[chesterh]

Thanks for the sentiment, Jim. Unfortunately, I am just about out of material and don't expect a renewed supply for some years -- I'll have to pick another topic...

 

So Linda, we're waiting. If you don't name the book, I'll be forced to spill the beans.

 

chesterh

[llmoyer123]

So much for coy.

 

Since you're twisting my arm, my (wonderfully gifted) sister, Jo Ann Beard, wrote The Boys of My Youth (Little Brown).

 

(Chesterh, this is almost as good as a pitch on Oprah's Book Club!)

 

I'm traveling to New York to visit her on Saturday. I definitely won't be signing on to Cruise Critic because if she catches wind of the fact that I'm so blatantly plugging her book, she'll shoot me dead!

 

Now, onto Chesterh and his threats to leave us high and dry:

 

First he reveals to all of you that I'm a ditz who somehow, in a late-night Cruise Critic search, mixed him up with Chessbriar and came up with a whole Summit cruise that (he asserts) he never took.

 

Then he disappoints us all by telling us that our days of waiting for his literary tidbits are nearly at an end.

 

And lastly he caps it all off by threatening to "out" my sister if i don't fess up.

 

I'm thinking Chesterh is as cranky about the end of his offerings as are his readers!

 

Chesterh.....

You NEED to write; we need to read.

Think of this like the Field of Dreams. If you build it, we will come. JUST KEEP BUILDING US FIELDS OF DREAMS.

 

Don't you dare stop!

[Mike&Nancy1539128145]

Chesterh.....

You NEED to write; we need to read.

Think of this like the Field of Dreams. If you build it, we will come. JUST KEEP BUILDING US FIELDS OF DREAMS.

 

 

I couldn't have said it better.

 

Thanks Linda for giving us the plug. I won't rat on you.

 

Nancy

[chesterh]

Linda, everyone understands that the excitement of cruise planning can sometimes cloud normally clear vision. You are among friends here.

 

The book order has been placed. I'm sure Kris will read it first. I know better than to get between her and an unread book...

 

I'm taking the day off to keep an eye on the roofers. Maybe I'll try to do some writing, although the noise distraction makes it more likely a video day.

 

All the best,

chessbriar -- oops, I mean chesterh

[llmoyer123]

i can't believe you are taunting us again with that "...big yawn and stretch inserted...perhaps, if the roofers concur and the wind is blowing in the right direction and the muses are generous, i may just jot down a few words for y'all."

 

worse, we're all now waiting with bated breath! you do have a following, you know.

 

do you realize that henceforth, whenever anyone searches for chessbriar's posts, one of yours will now pop up too? there will be a legion of confused cruise critic subscribers joining me.

 

write and tell me if kris enjoys the book. the piece that brought jo ann the greatest claim to fame is one telling of the massacre of her friends at the university of iowa some years ago by a disgruntled grad student. that earned her national acclaim, a piece in oprah, and a feature in the new yorker. however, the stories featuring her sister (that would be me!) are my favorites. (perhaps 'featuring' is over-stating it a bit, but still...) she takes a bit of an artistic license with our childhood, but i've found that the rush of seeing my name in print has reduced my angst over that.

 

personally, though, i'd prefer you didn't waste time reading it until you finish the cruise documentary.

 

now, back to keeping this thread on-topic. give into the cadence of the roofers at work and write us another chapter please.

[blindone]

Hi Chester-- Looked everywhere for your e-mail addie from the past but no luck. We are back from the Canada cruise and it was wonderful. We had great weather except for Monday nite when we ran into Ivan!! Cat 1 hurricane winds and gusts over 100. Seas were 30 ft., too. We were on the 4th deck midship with a window. Fun to watch the waves. The Jewel handled the seas just great. We never missed a meal and most of the passengers didn't either as the diningroom looked full. We missed Sydney because of the storm so got to Quebec at noon the day before we were scheduled so we had a day and a half there. Beautiful city. The cruise up the Saguenay River was the highlight of the trip. Saw lots of Beluga and other whales. Some seals, too. Foliage just barely turning, though. Halifax is another great port along with St. John. We took a 7 hour excursion around Quebec which was very good. The rest of the ports we did on our own. Cool at nights so we couldn't use our favorite place, the aft deck, until we hit Portland on the way back. This is a cruise I highly recommend. It's a 10 day one as the 7 day ones don't go to Quebec or up the river.

 

Good luck with the new roof. We went through that a couple of years ago.

 

Nancy

[chesterh]

Just a quick post before bed...

 

Welcome back, Nancy. I'll expand the welcome tomorrow night when I'm not holding my eyes open.

 

I actually did finish a video today. Writing was impossible, Linda. Between the roofers pounding, the dogs barking at the roofers, the birds screeching at the dogs barking, and the cat needing reassurance that the dogs meant her no harm, it was kind of distracting.

 

 

Here is a 'mood' video in somewhat the same spirit as "Baltimore Bridges" (attention imme ). It chronicles the evening departure from Old San Juan, passing the beautifully lighted fort -- del Morro.

 

For best enjoyment, first turn out the lights and imagine yourself on deck, as the sun sets and the ship slowly leaves the harbor.

 

Click here for the San Juan video (Windows Media 9, 5.6 MB, 2:37, stereo sound). View at the original size (320x240) for best quality picture.

 

All the best,

 

chesterh

[RodPat]

Chester, loved the video. We will be on the Century in November and will leave San Juan at night. Thanks for the preview. Pat

[CINDON]

chesterh,

 

I don't know if you remember us or not but we were about the third or forth to post a response to your first (Galaxy) review. We have enjoyed your writings very much. We too have sailed on the same ships as you and would very much like to compare notes. Cindy and I do have one question for you that we would like a simple answer to. Just by naming the ship with no reasoning, between the Galaxy, Mercury and Millenium which one did you like best?

[chesterh]

Nancy, I’m thrilled that your cruise was enjoyable. I don’t know how I would deal with 30 ft. seas, but I’m willing to find out. I hope to take a New England cruise some day. Seems like the new perspective on the geography would be interesting.

 

New Hampshire’s White mountains are so named because of their appearance from the sea. It seems that the predominant rocks reflect sunlight in such a way as to make them appear white when viewed from the distant sea. Early settlers incorrectly assumed that they were snow-covered year-round. Some thought they were covered with diamonds. They should have been visible from the waters off Portland – did you see them?

 

One of the only real vacations Kris and I have taken (besides a couple of cruises) was a four-day trip to Quebec City. It is a neat place, and I’d love to go back. I brushed up on my high-school French during the 6-hour drive from home, though it proved to be an exercise in futility. I couldn’t understand a word when we got there, but it didn’t matter a bit.

 

While you were gone, one of the Sunday papers featured an article about the Jewell of the Seas. Sounds like a nice vessel.

 

Welcome back. Our new roof is almost finished. When I look at it, I see the equivalent of a 10-day cruise in a suite… So what’s next, besides winter?

 

Pat, thanks. I don’t suppose many people have stumbled on the video (click here for the San Juan Video). Make sure you are up on deck for the departure. I was amazed that I was practically alone up there for a beautiful passage.

 

Cindy and Don (CINDON) – Of course I remember you. I have a memory like – you know, those animals with the long nose – what do you call them? In fact, checking back, you were the very first to post a response way back in chapter 1, and deserve much of the credit for inspiring me to continue. Later, you even thanked Kris for her supportive role. Frankly, she doesn’t much mind how I choose to spend my time as long as dinner is on the table every night.

 

You asked for a simple, unadorned answer to your question. You must realize how extremely difficult it is to comply. I never use one word where more will do -- at least not in writing. In conversation, getting a word out of me is an accomplishment.

 

My answer: Galaxy

 

I posed the question to Kris. She has only two possible answers, whereas I had three.

 

“Which ship did you like better, Galaxy and Millennium?”

 

“That’s a trick question. They were completely different experiences.”

 

“I know. Just answer the question.”

 

“When’s dinner, and what are we having?”

 

“You can’t answer a question with a question.”

 

“But…”

 

“Which one?”

 

“Galaxy.”

 

“OK. We’re having cheeseburgers at 8:30.”

 

“Arrrghhh…I hate cheeseburgers. Why can’t we have something good?”

 

“Because we’re not on a ship, and I’m the cook.”

 

“It’s not fair.”

 

So there you have it. If you want my reasoning (or Kris’s), just ask.

 

All the best,

 

chesterh

 

p.s. Did I mention the new San Juan video?

[Mike&Nancy1539128145]

I keep trying to watch the new video and can't get it. It loads, but nothing plays. This is my third day of trying....not that I'm whining or anything!!!

 

Help out the idiot please.

 

Nancy (I was tempted to sign Mike's name, but figured I couldn't get away with that.) :rolleyes:

[chesterh]

Nancy - The video is in the same 'format' as others I've done, which I assume you've been able to view. Try this:

1. Hover your mouse cursor over the link to the video
   
2. Click and hold the right-most mouse button
   
3. Choose "save target as" from the resulting pop up menu.
   

You will be prompted to pick a location to save the file. Put it on your desktop just to make it easy to find.

 

Now, close Internet Explorer and double click the icon for the video file you just saved on your desktop. See what happens... Then tell Mike to quit signing your name to messages.

 

If anyone else who can normally watch these videos is having a problem, please let me know and I'll try reconverting the file. Could be a glitch on my end.

 

chesterh

[Mike&Nancy1539128145]

Thanks Chester, I was able to watch it that way. I've always been able to watch your other videos and not have to ask for help. I don't get it. But hey, if you are even considering the idea the glitch could be on your end, I'm running with that one. :D

 

Any itchy fingers been getting a work-out lately? Not that I don't love the videos...I do. Have I mentioned how much I like to read?

 

Seriously, the video was great!! I'm going to have to wait till dark and come back and watch it again. Pretty spectacular stuff.

 

Nancy

[chesterh]

For the record, two more chapters have been posted:

 

• Part XLVI - Stainless Oasis (New 3/27/05)
  

• Part XLVII - The Making of Young Men in Black (New 4/2/05)
  

Three to go...

[chesterh]

Another chapter posted:

• Part XLVIII - Nassau Revisited (new 4/17/2005)
  

Two to go...

[newtocc]

Chester, once again you da write'in man, Thanks!

[chesterh]

Newt, you're the top Notophthalmus on the boards -- thanks.

 

I just noticed that the link to chapter 48 (above) is bad. Here is a corrected notice:

Another chapter posted:

 

Part XLVIII

-

Nassau Revisited

(new 4/17/05)

 

Two to go...

Sorry for the mistake.

 

chesterh

[chesterh]

Chapter 49 was posted on May 29, 2005. One to go...

 

Part XLIX - Homeward Bound

 

chesterh

[chesterh]

Chapter 50, the final chapter of the third story in the series, was posted on June 2, 2005. The fourth story (Cruising With the Mothers) will begin in September, 2005 -- assuming there is something to write about...

 

Part L - Epilogue

 

 

chesterh

[chesterh]

Last call for reading the original Galaxy story online. I will be removing it from my website on June 19 (Father's Day), in anticipation of the amended version in the book.

 

 

For notice of availability, send an email to:

 

At your option, see you next cruise,

 

chesterh