GoodAsGold

We had a wonderful obstructed view cabin on the Golden. I believe it was E707. All it had in front of the window was some very thin scaffolding and a little "deck" for crew members. In fact, it seemed like we had our own balcony, which we couldn't walk out onto, of course. :) One time when we were in port a crew member was checking a meter out there, so it's good not to be undressing then. :eek: We were very happy with this midship cabin that happened to be less than an inside cabin that week.

When I booked our obstructed view stateroom on the Princess Star I was very curious about just how much (if any) view we would have. I was very pleased with the view from our room and I thought I would share a couple of pics.

 

 

 

Our room was Category HH (one of the least expensive outside categories) and described as being "partially or fully obstructed". We were on the Emerald deck and our cabin was E211 (E212 on the other side of the ship would probably have the same view.)

 

As far as the stateroom itself, I thought the layout was the second best we have had on any of our previous cruises - Disney has very large rooms with two bathrooms per standard stateroom. Our stateroom on the Star had plenty of closet/storage space right outside the bathroom which created a nice dressing area.

That name Kieron Buffery rings a bell. You mentioned NCL. We were on the Star back in '05 to Alaska. I wonder if he was the cruise director then. I can remember the name---but not him! :rolleyes:

Here's another vote for Kieron Buffery. I'll admit I've only been on one RCI cruise on the Vision. Don't remember the cruise director on that one but I do remember we didn't like him. But we were on two NCL cruises with Kieron and thought that he was great. Personable, performer and took care of guests. They had a glow stick party. Asked him for some glow sticks for my son. He said that they were out but had some delivered to our cabin the next day. Quite nice. So far of all of our cruises (not that many) he's our favorite.

I'm with you! :p

How in the world do you remember these folks???? I've forgotten their names by the next week (if I've remembered it that long).

I remember him on another cruiseline many years ago. Does anyone know if he worked somewhere else besides RCI?

Easy choice : GRAHAM SEYMOUR

does anyone know if he is stil with RCI and if yes, which ship?

 

The only thing I regret about cruising with him is not having bought his DVD. We really enjoyed the entertainment and even my husband made the effort to be awake for the "very scary morning show".

UPDATE: I checked this out on Priceline and the insurance is only for covered reasons such as illness, injury, etc. So if you had gotten the Crowne Plaza you would have been stuck with it. The insurance wouldn't have covered that according to this statement:

Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption: If you or your traveling companion has to cancel or interrupt your trip due to a covered reason (e.g., unforeseen sickness, injury, illness or death) the cost of your hotel room purchased through this site will be reimbursed. Travel Insurance is for emergency situations such as those described above only, and cannot be used to cover the cost of a trip that is cancelled for any other reason. Please see the Description of Coverage for full details.

I booked the Doubletree through Priceline (name your own price) and got two rooms for $75/nt each. I also called and they said I could leave my car even with the pre-paid Priceline rate. It was $199 for the park and stay package and another $143 for the second room on their website. Thanks for saving me all that money!

 

Beware, though - there are two 3 1/2 star hotels in the San Pedro area on Priceline - the Doubletree and the Crowne Plaza. I took the $5 per room per night travel insurance (another $10 total) in case it gave me the Crowne Plaza instead of the Doubletree.

Oh, you were so lucky to get the Doubletree on Priceline! If I just knew I would be guaranteed to get it, I would cancel my $143.10+ tax booking with them and bid through Priceline. I'm just not willing to take the chance, though.:( Oh, well. At least I'm booked with them.

Bon voyage and have a great stay at DT!

Thanks everybody. I continued my research. Holiday Inn said they didn't have parking available and the other nearby place, Vagabond Inn didn't have very good reviews. I finally checked out Priceline for the first time and ended up getting a Doubletree room for $100! I called Doubletree before I 'named my price' on Priceline and confirmed that, yes, I would be able to use the parking while on my cruise. I'm all set and very happy with the price. I sail on Sat. 12/20.:D

What I like about the Doubletree is that you aren't required to book the more costly Park and Cruise package in order to park free. We have stayed there three times (all won via Priceline bid) and parked free for 10, 7 and 4 days at a time while we cruised. I will be staying there again in April, but this time I booked directly through the hotel because I'm not sure I can get it via Priceline now. Crowne Plaza seems to be the hotel won more these days. Anyway, they assured me that the parking is still FREE. We arrive usually in time for dinner, so they shuttle us over to whatever restaurant we want within around 5 miles. We always eat at the Acapulco on the water.

The two hotels that we have stayed at in San Pedro are the Double Tree Inn and the Crowne Plaza. Both have stay, park and cruise packages that include free shuttle to and from the cruise terminal. When you back out the cost of parking, the breakfast etc, the room cost is often marginal. Our fav is the DTI but there is nothing wrong with the CP. You may care to bid on Priceline as rooms can often be had in the mid-$60 range. Good luck.:)

Yes, if you just bid in San Pedro, the only 3 star hotels are the ones near the port. I've won bids there three times in the past for what used to be the Marina Hotel (now the Crowne Plaza).

Does any one know If you bid on the area San Pedro is it only hotels in San Pedro that they look. We are thinking of bidding for a 3 star but donot want too far from the port.

Exactly. If I know ahead of time that we'll be expecting some "extra" movement, much as we do when an airline pilot warns us of upcoming turbulence....then I feel more prepared and act accordingly. If that means bracing myself or just sitting in a safe area, then at least I'm ready for the worst.

Trouble is, these pleasure cruise ships just don't have heavy items and furniture bolted or tethered down like you would see on a Naval ship. First of all, movement of the type that happened on the Crown is very rare (although rough seas and nasty weather isn't.) I realize that boltings things to the floor might not be practical or aesthetic on a beautiful cruiseliner. But, on the other hand, there needs to be a happy medium. When you look at the amount of unforeseen rolls/lists that have happened in the recent past, it might be a good thing to look at fastening things down more securely.

The thing is, when you're in a storm or sailing in rough seas, you're ready for the ship to move around a bit. The crew takes precautions and puts away breakables, stack up the lounge chairs, people are advised to stay in their cabins or indoor public areas, and so on.

 

This came right out of the blue on a clear day right after leaving port.

 

Nobody was prepared for something like that.

I saw this on the Princess site courtesy of a CC member, Casshew:

Back in 1982 Sam Elliott was in our town making a movie with Tom Selleck. It was called Shadow Riders based on a book by Louis L'Amour. Anyway, I heard the film crew was staying at the local Holiday Inn. So, one day after work I picked up my 6 year old twin girls and we kind of hung out in the back parking lot area of the hotel close to the prop truck. We were sitting on the curb just kind of watching the activities, when all of a sudden I looked up at a motel annex of the hotel and there walking along the outside corridor was Sam Elliott! He came down the stairs and proceeded to stroll back and forth in front of us. He would look over with kind of a coy smile and then we would continue to pace back and forth. I just sat there and pretended not to be thrilled. He was wearing a pair of shorts and sandals. No shirt. Finally, he stopped and I started to ask: "Are you....?" Before I could finish, he said "Yep". I then went on and told him that I had recently been watching a "low budget" movie of his late at night on tv called "Lifeguard". He laughed and said, "Heyyyy...that was one of my favorite movies!" Oops. :rolleyes: Anyway, I asked him if Katherine (Ross) would be coming to town. She was then his girlfriend. He said yes in a day or so. We both also laughed because so many people had hoped to see Tom Selleck, but he wasn't in any scenes in our area, so wasn't anywhere around. No problem! I would much rather have seen Sam Elliott!

I am so proud that I didn't gush and ask for his autograph. I just treated him like a normal guy. In fact, I was almost tempted to ask if he and Katherine wanted to come to our house for dinner. But, I wasn't brave enough to ask! :D

Last August, on The Conquest, we met Sam Elliot and his family. He's been in several westerns on TV and in the movies. He had a great supporting part in The Big Lebowski.

They were on there celebrating his 60th birthday; and for 60 he's really well muscled and obviously keeps in shape.

Mrs. B thought he looked familiar. "Dosen't he live in near us?" "No dear, that's Sam Elliot". "Who?"

Maybe Hilary Swank?

Maybe someone here can help me out. We were at Razoo's on Bourbon Street a few months ago and there was a girl there with an entourage.(ie: bodyguards,friends etc.) Haven't yet identified her. Anyone? The one in the tan jacket...

 

http://community.webshots.com/photo/335414197/368663511LqgDnd

On our last cruise on the Sun Princess in '03 we sat at the same table as an actor named Jerry Houser. He played "Oscy" in a movie called "Summer of '42". Does anyone remember it? Came out in 1971. Gary Grimes played "Hermie", the boy who had a crush on actress Jennifer O'Neill.

Anyway, Jerry Houser also played Marcia Brady's husband in the Brady Brides on tv. He also does a lot of voice-overs for cartoons, etc. He and his family were at our table with some neighbors and their son. Nice guy.

Years ago I was on a cruise and met a baseball player who had his family with him. He and his family were really nice.

 

Thats the only time we met someone famous.