Brown Cafe Cruise Thread

[Old International]

Are you afraid of a little snow? Besides, it's Alaska. I want some dark, so I can see the Northern Lights.

 

[klein]

Are you afraid of a little snow? Besides, it's Alaska. I want some dark, so I can see the Northern Lights.

I live in it ! Northern Lights and all ! I wished snow and lights would go away ! We got 6 months of winter, too long for me, to enjoy a wintery trip !
It just snowed here a few weeks ago, in June.
Give me a break ! LOL

Btw :
This is the lowest I ever seen cruise prices advertised for :

Carnival Imagination

Sailing Date(s): Jul 2010, Aug 2010, Sep 2010, Oct 2010, Nov 2010, Dec 2010,

Departs From Miami, Florida visiting Key West, Florida; Cozumel, Mexico

Prices : $169 $189 N/A $419

No balcony left... but suites go for $419 ! 7 day cruise !!!

 

[pkgdriver]

Last time I checked the Imagination did 3/4 day cruises.

 

[klein]

Last time I checked the Imagination did 3/4 day cruises.

I can't imagine going from Maimi to Key West, all the way to Cozelmel back to Maimi in 4 days.... but you might be right with 5. I didn't do any further research on that.

 

[cheryl]

Speaking of Cruises, I am calling Amy in a minute to ask about a late season cruise to Alaska, in 2011. I have to have a solid date by November 2010, so I can pick the vacations. Any takers?

Tony and I are interested in any excuse to take a cruise. The one thing that might hold us back is that we've cruised Alaska twice before, both in mid summer. We lucked out both times and the weather was very mild. We only got a little rain and the temperature was warm enough that the kids on the ship went swimming as we cruised by glaciers. We've got pics of our daughter in the hot tub with glaciers in the background. I imagine that in late season the weather could be quite different...

Let us know what you find out.

 

[Old International]

I will- Amy was out on friday, but will call be back on Monday.

 

[bigbrownhen]

My in-laws did the Alaska cruise in early June a few years back. They had the same experience as Cheryl and Tony. Great weather but I don't know about the northern lights that time of year.

 

[UPS Lifer]

Speaking of Cruises, I am calling Amy in a minute to ask about a late season cruise to Alaska, in 2011. I have to have a solid date by November 2010, so I can pick the vacations. Any takers?

I did an Alaskan cruise The week before Labor Day and that is about as late as you want to go. Fortunately the weather was great, BUT at the College Fjords or Glacier Bay we were all bundled up.... and I mean bundled. The sun was setting about 10 minutes earlier each day. I recommend you get a balcony and you can really enjoy the Fjords from your room. You can go in and out of the balcony and the room and not be bundled up.

Also the stores are starting to close down and you can get great deals in some areas. By mid September the stores are closed down for winter.

One more thing about the Northern Lights. They are tied to sun spot activity. There has to be a solar flare to get the lights. Besides the immediate activity (when a flare comes up) approx. a month later you will get the same conditions for Northern Lights.

 

[klein]

Checked out my princess cruiss going to Alaska, with my discount:

Price below is for 2 people sharing a balcony room (total price per couple).

Cruise Total $2,726.40
Transfers $163.80
Gov't Fees and Taxes $146.80
Total Price (CAD ) $3037.00
Balance Due (CAD) $3,037.00

(Canadian Dollars)

ItineraryPort / Sail date September 14th, 2011 !!

1 Anchorage (Whittier), Alaska 8:30 PM
2 Hubbard Glacier, Alaska (Scenic Cruising)3:00 PM-8:00 PM
3 Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska (Scenic Cruising)10:30 AM-8:30 PM
4 Skagway, Alaska7:00 AM-8:30 PM
5 Juneau, Alaska 6:30 AM-4:00 PM
6 Ketchikan, Alaska 10:00 AM-6:00 PM
7 At Sea
8 Vancouver, British Columbia 7:30 AM​

Gives you an idea, anyways.​

 

[moreluck]

HELGA'S DIARY ON A CRUISE SHIP

DEAR DIARY - DAY 1

All packed for the cruise ship -- all my nicest dresses, swimsuits, short sets. Really, really exciting. Our local Red Hat chapter decided on this "all-girls" trip.

--------------------------------------------------------------
DEAR DIARY - DAY 2

Entire day at sea, beautiful. Saw whales and dolphins. Met the Captain today -- seems like a very nice man.

--------------------------------------------------------------
DEAR DIARY - DAY 3

At the pool today. Did some shuffleboard, hit golf balls off the deck. Captain invited me to join him at his table for dinner. Felt honoured and had a wonderful time. He is very attractive and attentive.
----------------------------------------------------------
DEAR DIARY - DAY 4
Won $800.00 in the ship's casino. Captain asked me to have dinner with him in his own cabin. Had a scrumptious meal complete with caviar and champagne. He asked me to stay the night, but I declined. Told him I could not be unfaithful to my husband.

--------------------------------------------------------------
DEAR DIARY - DAY 5

Pool again today. Got sunburned, and I went inside to drink at piano-bar, stayed there for rest of day. Captain saw me, bought me several large drinks.
Really is charming. Again asked me to visit his cabin for the night. Again I declined. He told me, if I did not let him have his way with me, he would sink the ship. I was shocked.

--------------------------------------------------------------
DEAR DIARY - DAY 6

Today I saved 1600 lives.

Twice .

 

[Old International]

Still working with Amy. Looks like 2900.00 double opp, sailing on a Wenesday, sailing northbound. Slightly higher going South. The Saturday northbound is 3200.00, double. Both are balconies, in the higher decks.
Still waiting on Holland America prices. Also it is very early in the game, as we haven't even set a date, other than September.

 

[stevetheupsguy]

Something Tony said in another thread got me thinking. Why is it that all of a sudden we're looking for the very cheapest, most inexpensive venue? I mean, I'm all for saving a buck or two, but at what cost. That being said, I think we should look for a cruise that gets us all there and maybe save some money as a group. Or maybe we can find something here in the good old U.S. and put some money back into the economy. Wouldn't a group picture in front of Mt. Rushmore, The Grand Canyon or at Yosemite National Park be cool? How about a ski trip? Any of these things could be planned and could happen anywhere in the country. Let's start thinking about this again, and maybe we'll come together on something. Just trying to think outside of the box.

 

[fethrs]

I'd like to do a road trip and football game. Meet some bcers and see a different part of the country. I do realize that not everyone would be up to that, but we can work something out.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I would love to see what $1B gets you these days---Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

 

[tonyexpress]

I would love to see what $1B gets you these days---Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

Actually that would be $1.3 billion to you sir!

Originally estimated to cost $650 million, the stadium's current construction cost was $1.3 billion, making it one of the most expensive sports venues ever built.

 

[over9five]

I don't usually brag, but come to New England and you can see this!

 

[ajblakejr]

I'd like to do a road trip and football game. Meet some bcers and see a different part of the country. I do realize that not everyone would be up to that, but we can work something out.

I am very glad you mentioned this...
This is the only event I would be interested in as a social event.
An NFL game...tailgating.

The other kind of event I would love to be a part of would be a huge volunteer effort...meeting and building a huge block of homes as part of Habitat for Humanity.

Something we could all look at and say..."I was a part of that!!"

 

[fethrs]

That would be someting to consider Aj, but I bet there will be those that don't want to spend time "working" even though it is a volunteer project.

 

[tonyexpress]

Something Tony said in another thread got me thinking. Why is it that all of a sudden we're looking for the very cheapest, most inexpensive venue? I mean, I'm all for saving a buck or two, but at what cost. That being said, I think we should look for a cruise that gets us all there and maybe save some money as a group. Let's start thinking about this again, and maybe we'll come together on something. Just trying to think outside of the box.

Steve you may have noticed that I quoted the part of your post that I agree with... and still believe that as a group a cruise is our best option!

While an NFL game in another State would be fun or traveling to some of the sights here in the USA would be nice...It's not a cruise vacation where all the meals, travel and other things are taken care of providing a lot of flexibility for a group. This is not to say that we can't arrange something other than a cruise on a different thread and see what interest we get..

We (rather Steve) made this happen once for the first B.C. cruise and we can do it again! We have a base of cruisers from this first cruise and I hope most, if not all of them would want to repeat...

Personally I think we should do another Caribbean cruise. They are fun in the sun, a good value and are probably the most likely to get the most people going...

First things first... we need to pick a Month...April worked out well last time and we should pick a month that a majority of us can go...

Then we can look at Itineraries and hold something...

Do we need a poll on when people can go??

 

[moreluck]

Well, one time at band camp.....