TheSkipper

Permission to come aboard from The Skipper! Glad to have you join all of our "Sailors". May will be a great time for your next cruise and we too love to drive to the port when we can. Which of course, only happens when we sail for the West Coast. Welcome Aboard,

We've cruised six times on the dam ships--and enjoyed them all! <] We have cruised on several HAL ships, Ryndam, Maasdam, and Oosterdam. My wife's favorite line. I like the chairs in the main dining room covered with white slipcovers the last formal night. But there is not much to do, other than the casino, after 9:30pm on HAL, IMO. HA is still on my list of cruise lines to try. Maybe next year.

Never cruise without my Swiss Army Knife with it's dozens of blades and gadgets. Always need a sissor, screw driver or something.

Hello All, Finally downloaded all the pics from the camera and made a photo show of the Dawn Princess cruise. To view, go to: http://www.photoshow.com/members/edwynn/all When you reach my home page, click on Dawn Princess. Enjoy.

We are looking at the Ryndam. Have heard lots of good things about Regent, but no personal experiences. The only thing upscale from Celebrity we have done is Silver Seas which was fantastic, but bring money. Very pricy.

Shari2, I remember that Infinity sailing too. That's where you told me about CruiseCrazies!!! Paul, Thanks for the review. The Regal was a great ship. We recently returned from the Dawn and had the Anniversary balloons outside our cabin and the cake as well. Nice touch. Welcome aboard CruiseCrazies.

Hi Joey, Can't help you on this one. But, I thought you said you were going to downgrade the cabin and upgrade the cruise line?? Looks like you forgot the downgrade side of this equation! All that aside, sounds like you have found yourself a spot you will enjoy. I've been searching the net today also looking for a deal on Holland America for next October. 10 days out of San Diego. Thinking of using them for my next Group Cruise in January 09 and I've never sailed with them and would like a "preview" them before I set up a Group. I'm sure someone here will have the answer to your balcony question.

Andy, The Diamond Princess is one of our all time favorite ships. You will love her.

I guess our pick would be South America.

In the luxury class: The Silver Wind In the "Real World" class: The Diamond Princess

Thanks Cheryl, Will pass on your message to Roe. Of course she has always been beautiful in my eyes.

Linda: Loved the pics and video for two major reasons. First one: We had just disembarked the Dawn Princess the day you took the pics of her heading back out to sea. Second: We are taking a group of 69 people on the Spirit is January. Gonna download some of your pics for our final group meeting before our sailing to build a little more excitment. Great job.

Mercedes: In Photo Show the name of the musical piece and artist appear on the next to the last slide. I'll take a look and get back to you. Glad you liked it.

Damn, just made the cut for my Group Cruise that departs on January 25th. I'd have had 69 people all over my back. I remember when Hotels tried this. This is a major bummer

Hi Crazies, Finally got around to making a photo show for our Crown Princess cruise out of Brooklyn. Includes some shots of Grand Turk for those of you who were asking about this Port of Call. Just follow the link below: http://www.photoshow.com/watch/rw8cB5Ms Enjoy

Congratulations Jenn. It will get here sooner than you think. I've got one booked out into December of 08.

An outstanding review. Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us.

Follow link below for pictures of Genoa, Italy taken during our Legend of the Seas Cruise. http://www.photoshow.com/members/edwynn/all/hd6yJ3mY

Hi Guys, Sorry Princess did not work for you. But, that's why there are so many cruise lines to choose from and each of them have their "niche." We have cruised both of these lines many, many times and some of the things you mentioned I never picked up on. Selecting the right cruise line is a very subjective thing. You know what is important to you and you can be the only judge of what is "right" for you. I found more difference between ships of the same line than between the lines themselves. Our recent Dawn Princess was a real mixed bag. Perhaps the worst Princess cruise we have ever taken, but our Room Stewardess was one of the best we have ever had and the Production Shows were the best we have ever seen aboard ship, but, our waiter and asst. waiter while very good at their jobs had zero personality, and the party hosted by the Captian for the 20 most traveled couples aboard was the worst I've ever attended, so go figure. A couple of little touches you did not mention for Celebrity is being greeted at the gangway and escourted to your room and "real plates" at the buffet not plastic junk. A minus for us on Celebrity is the lack of laundry rooms, especially on long cruises, makes packing a lot more difficult. So all this being said, I'm glad you got to make your own comparison and arrive at a decision which is right for you. I'm exploring Oceana and Altimara now for future cruises. I think you would enjoy Silver Seas, but their pricing is kind of out of sight these days. Welcome home!

As others have said cruising is far less hassle. Almost everytime we do a land vacation at some point one of us says "we should have taken a cruise." We spend a precruise week in Orlando this past spring and it cost us far more than the cruise which followed.

We pass. Too many cruises and too many pictures already.

I'm packed except for last minute items about two days before the cruise. DW waits till the last possible minute (the night before departure). Drives me nuts. However, I'm the one who usually forgets to pack something. On our cruise two weeks ago it was dress black socks to wear with my Tux. Easily taken care of aboard ship in one of the shops. On one cruise I discovered I'd packed a black suit instead of my Tux, how dumb is that? I'm always excited about cruises, even after 50 sailings. Just filled out my Fun Pass for the Carnival Spirit and that makes me feel much closer to boarding.

Wishing you Calm Seas and Following Winds. Have a fantastic time.

Cheryl is correct. The irons and ironing boards are free, but must be used in the Crown Princess laundry rooms.

We too sailed on the Crown Princess. Yes, there are irons and ironing boards in the laundry rooms. As a recall washing machine was .75 per load, same for the dryers. Will check with DW and see what she says. You also have to buy your soaps, etc from a vending machine unless you bring your own.