StaRed

I set the phone back in its cradle and with a sigh of irritation I leaned back in my chair. The custom shower tile was going to be late…even later than it already was. Delays are a part of custom home building, but this particular job has had hiccup after hiccup, and frankly this little gem of good news is not going to be received well by my client. Deciding to put off that impending phone call for just another moment, I instead began opening up the mail. Bill…bill…bill…junk…bill…junk…big manila envelope. Hmmm…it’s from our lumber supplier. Frowning in puzzlement, I slid out the glossy brochure and a letter that was addressed to myself and my partner-in-crime and “boss,“ my husband Scott. Dear Scott and Stacey, Congratulations! As a thank you from SmallTown Lumber Company, we are pleased to announce that you have qualified for our end-of-the-year “SmallTown VIP Giveaway!” As a top customer, you are one of our “SmallTown VIP‘s!” As a token of our appreciation, we’re giving our largest customers an all-expense-paid “VIP” dream vacation! This “VIP” vacation includes a 7 night Alaskan cruise, airfare to Seattle and all transfers. Please contact our corporate travel agent for scheduling and details. From everyone here at SmallTown Lumber, we thank you for being a “SmallTown VIP!” I believe I read the letter a dozen times. Is this for real? Yes…the return address is correct. Yes…I recognize the signature on the bottom of the letter. Holy cow…this is for real!! I started thumbing through the glossy brochure in amazement. The photos showed an enormous ship silently gliding through channels of sheer cliffs and snow kissed mountains. Happy looking people dotted the outside decks pointing in amazement at the beautiful scenery. A bald eagle majestically soared through the unbelievably blue sky in the background. The plume of vapor from a whale erupted from the glassy surface of the water. Bright white icebergs were dotted all around the ship’s hull. Wait…ICEBERG’S?? Reality hit me like a face full of arctic water. Uhhh…me…on a cruise??? I’m too young to go on a cruise…I’m only 28!! We’re too active for a cruise!! We’ll be bored!! What if we get seasick??!! Why, I’ll surely feel trapped! Oh. My. Gosh…What if the ship hits one of those iceberg things? What if it sinks??!! I can’t swim in freezing water! A mental image of Scott and I running together in panic, hand in hand just like Jack and Rose flashes through my mind. Ok, enough. I snapped myself out of my dramatic little daydream and snatched up the phone to call Scott to tell him the news. He had the same reaction as me, while we were overwhelmed with gratitude and disbelief at the generous gift…we just couldn’t shake the, “Oh goody…a cruise,” state of mind. While we love to travel, we’d never even considered taking a cruise before. Knowing we could not turn this down, I called the travel agent to get the details. By the time I hung up, we were booked. June 6...a ship called the Diamond Princess….balcony room…Seattle round trip to somewhere called the “Inside Passage.” A cruise. We’re going on a cruise. Blinking a few times in shock, I started thinking of all the planning and research that was ahead of me. Me, on a cruise? In six weeks??!! Little did I know, I was about to become “The Accidental Cruiser”…. To be cont'd...

Hi there, We are thinking of going on a group cruise on RCI in 2014. We've never done a group themed cruise, just a regular one. We always rebook while on board in order to get the reduced deposit and the OBC offered for on board bookings. The cruise we are contemplating is a music-themed cruise with several Texas bands on board, and the private website says to call their TA for booking. From what I have read, they have not chartered the entire cruise, just blocked off a large portion of rooms. Now my question is this: can we purchase a RCI Next Cruise certificate on board our already booked 2013 cruise and use it with this outside TA in order to get the OBC that comes with the NCC? Or can we just reserve the cruise while on board, get the reduced deposit and OBC, then transfer the booking to the group cruise TA? Or are we not able to do either and have to book with the TA and therefore lose the OBC? Am I making any sense? I hope so! Thanks! -Stacey

HI there! I've been on several RCI cruises and I can tell you that the formal nights are usually more semi-formal than FORMAL. There will certainly be some who are in full-on formal wear like tuxedo's and evening gowns, but for the most part the women are dressed in a pretty dress or a nice skirt or pant suit and the men are usually in slacks with a tie with or without a sport coat, suits seemed a little less common, especially on our last cruise. The point is, you're on vacation. You'll never be turned away if you are dressed respectfully. If you don't want to dress up at all, you can always go to the Windjammer for dinner where the dress is casual every night. Have fun!

That is very good news for us West Coasters!! Woop!

Don't know if any of you are considering an Alaskan cruise this summer, but my parents are and I found this today on RCI for a southbound, Seward to Vancouver on Radiance: $449 interior $699 ocean view $449 interior!! That's pretty darned cheap and very tempting for us...now we're thinking seriously of going, too. This is for the June 15 sailing. A few other dates also had this crazy cheap price, as well. I don't know about the rest of you, but to ME this is a whole lot of bang for that buck! Just thought I'd let you guys know what I saw today! - Stacey

I have a roll call started over on the other "Everyone's a Critic" page, but so far nobody has joined me on it! Weird! If I do get anyone on there, I'll for sure pull them over here. The chat bar is a cool sounding feature. But honestly, I'm getting so tired of all the rude people over there who like to hide behind their laptop screens and talk to others the way that they do. I'm sure I'll be popping in here more often from now on! And I'm not advertising or anything, but I got to thinking of a way to garner more interest in your CC FB page. On FB, have you ever heard of "The Craft Show"? http://www.facebook.com/thecraftshow It's a networking only page and they hold free daily and nightly what they refer to as "cruises" (yes...ironic) where the "captain" will close the FB page to outside comments for about an hour and post links to some of the businesses who sign up. Literally hundreds will participate in these cruises (Craft Show has 29,000 likers as of today)...and the point is to visit and like the featured pages. I believe sign up starts about thirty minutes prior to a "cruise", and they advertise the sign up time as a status update during the day. I also have a business page, and it wasn't uncommon to grow literally a couple hundred likes every single "cruise" I participated in. I went from a few hundred likers that I gathered over a years time to over 1500 in about two weeks of participating in "cruises". It's a great FREE way to get more visitors and more exposure to your page. Because the more who like you, the more will see your status updates. Feel free to message me and I can answer any questions you may have, I'm not real sure if I was totally clear on all of that! Oh, and I'm not affiliated with The Craft Show, but what they offer is just a really great resource for those of us wanting to gather likers! And likers will garner more visitors here! I hope I didn't speak out of turn or offend you. I just got to thinking a while back when I saw you post to share the FB page to all of our friends that a Craft Show "cruise" is just what you need!

I know, right? Or maybe sort of like when I'm distracted and I accidentally pull up to the grocery store when I actually meant to go to the drug store...so like they pulled her in and was like, OOPS! This ain't Miami! I'm just so curious as to the WHY! I just hope hope hope this means something new for Galveston departures.

Hi there! Anyone else see this last week? On the Mariner's way to Miami for drydock, she made a very quiet stop at Key West. Pulled in, docked, turned, pulled back out...the visit took seven minutes. To date she is the largest ship to visit Key West, and rumors are that RCI wanted to test Key West for a Voyager class ship. Hmmm...why the "secret" stop? Perhaps a new port for us Galveston cruisers?? Inquiring minds want to know!! Here she is in four different port cam shots... This makes me excited! I'm really hoping for new Galveston itineraries...or, dare I wish, a year round RCI ship for Galveston??

Hi all! I haven't been on here in quite a while, but I wanted to check in and start a new roll call. We currently have a group of 8 friends sailing on the Mariner this next March. This will be our second time on her, but we have a couple going with us where it will be their first cruise ever! They are so excited! I am VERY excited to see the drydock changes that she just had done. We were recently on her about two months ago, so it will be fun to compare the changes. We are currently booked in a Promenade view room - and this is our first time trying this class of room out. We've done oceanview, balcony...and now we wanted to try something different. Already got a price drop too! An astounding $5.30!! I'll try not to spend it all in one place. No, I didn't really call my TA for the $5... Anyway, just throwing this out there to see if anyone else is considering this sailing. - Stacey

Getting excited! We just paid our balance for the cruise! We have room 2310 adjoining with friends of ours in 2312. 76 more days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What...isn't everyone three hours late for appointments and throws fits of epic proportions? Must be just me and Foxy... kidding. What a spoiled child. Good for RC!!

Oh I agree...sort of like the squeaky wheel getting the oil! I certainly didn't mean to imply that ALL elite members run around screaming, "No Wire Hangers!!!" to their room stewards. And yes, I agree with your feeling that their life must be insecure. That's why I just roll my eyes and laugh to myself. Hey - it's a vacation! Short of the ship sinking, I'm going to have a good time!!

I'm a creature of habit. I often order the same entree from favorite restaurants because I know for certain that I'll like it. What if I order something else and I don't like it as much? Neurotic, much? The "perks" that we get for being members is just a side benefit, I suppose, to repeating simply because we know we'll like it and we know we'll enjoy ourselves. Honestly, I never even thumbed through our Crown and Anchor coupon book we received on our last cruise - probably silly on my part, but oh well. I don't feel that just becuse I may or may not be a diamond,emerald, platinum or if I'm likened to some other expensive shiny object in any way makes me better than cruisers at a lower level. Sure the free drinks, free upgrades and such are certainly much appreciated and wonderful to receive, but I find that some members that are "higher up" on the cruise scale tend to act a bit like spoiled royalty. Yes they have spent a lot of money with the cruise lines over the years, and yes they deserve the perks they receive - but in all reality just because you spent more doesn't really entitle you to act rudely to others who are "beneath" you, does it? And that's my point - heck yes I'll enjoy perks, but I refuse to let it go to my head. And no - we're not elite by any means with a whopping four cruises under our belts. For instance...once on a Princess cruise, my husband and I went to the internet lounge to check email. There were signs posted that the internet lounge wasn't an actual lounge and that the seating was for guests who were actually using the facilities. I assume this was because there were a limited amount of computers but several people wishing to get on-line. A woman and her grown daughter came walking in holding their photographs from what I assumed was a past formal night. The woman plopped down at an empty computer just as someone else was walking up to use it, and her and her daughter proceeded to ooo and ahhh over their photographs... and not get on-line or even attempt to use the computer of which they were hogging. After about five minutes, the Princess employee came over to very politely remind the woman that the computers were strickly for those who were using the facilities, and could she help the woman get on-line and use the computer? The woman screwed up her face, dug in her pocket and fished out her black colored elite level sea pass, slapped it on the table and just glared rudely at the employee. She was clearly telling everyone without a word spoken that she deserved to be there more so than anyone else. The employee just appologized and walked away. The woman and her daughter took their sweet time and hogged those seats for another 15 minutes while they discussed their plan for the next day in port. My point? She was rude simply because she felt she was better than every other person in that room just because of the color of her sea pass. So silly. I realize that most people are not nearly as rude and this woman was - but I do see the Little Napoleon complex rear it's head from time to time by a few elite cruisers, and I honestly find it amusing.

Here it is...right from the RCCL site... http://www.royalcaribbean.com/dealsandmore/featuredCruises/selectLandingPromo.do?promoCode=130822

I saw it advertised on x today....Only I believe it just said the Allure - balcony upgrade from an inside. I didn't read the details because it would just depress me because I can't do anything about it until our place sells. Sigh.

A woman in her late 60's to early 70's dressed in a thin satin camisole tank top with NO bra and totally sheer pants (thankfully, yes to the underwear) who was dirty dancing by herself on the dance floor while her husband filmed her with his VHS recorder. And this happened EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. I shudder to think what happened to those home movies.

Debbie - I noticed that you live in Tucson! My husband and I live in Texas, but we are from Scottsdale (met and were married there in 1998) and my sisters and their families live in Chandler (my parents are "roughing it" in Laguna Beach, CA). Small world! We're in AZ quite often and we miss it and our friends and family so much. My husband is a fireman who is currently trying to get on in the Metro area so we can move "home". My 3 yr old nephew has been battling Stage IV Neuroblastoma this past year (scanned as NED twice now, YAY!!, and is currently undergoing immunotherapy at PCH - he's just the second child to be given immunotherapy at PCH, ever!) and going through that situation long distance has really made us want to be closer to them. We're all very close anyway - but being apart from them during that whole nightmare has sealed the deal for us. Scott has an interview with the Casa Grande FD on March 25...so we have our fingers crossed!! Good to meet a fellow "Zonie"!

Ok...review posted!! Royal Caribbean...Voyager of the Seas... Or if the link posts...Here it is! http://www.cruisecrazies.com/forums/page/reviews/browse_reviews/_/royal-caribbean/voyager-of-the-seas/amazing-time-r413

Click here to view the cruise review

Hi there! We just returned from the March 6 sailing of the Voyager OTS and us and our friends booked while on board for next year on the Mariner! We are: Stacey and Scott - 34 and 33 Friends are: Gayle and David - 58 and 57 (going on 34 and 33) So excited to get back on the water!