Island Princess to Hawaii 23Oct05 - "Family" Roll Call

[bobbyd6363]

Hello there!

I am the only "family" member of my group sailing the Island Princess to Hawaii 23 October 2005 and I was wondering of there were anyone else going?!! :) We already have a thread going under the Princess Cruise Line Meet and Mingle but it would be nice to meet and mingle with my gay counterparts!

IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE?!

[Ed&Gary]

Take heart Bobby, I have always met other gay family on every cruise I have ever taken. They may not be in here, but you will find them on your cruise. I'm going on Dec 7th on the Island P to Hawaii

[bobbyd6363]

Hi ed and gary! Thanks for the post! I usually find a few "family" members on every cruise! LOL! I will be looking!

[zguyturbo]

Hi Bobby, My partner and I are on the 9/23/05 sailing. We haven't found anyone either going the same date as us. Have a great one. We just love Hawaii.

[bobbyd6363]

zguyturbo - HI! You should wait a month and go with us!! LOL! I am the only "family" in my group of 20 something people! HELP!! LOL!:)

[Ed&Gary]

Hey Bobby is your group going on ship tours or renting a car at the port. I'm looking into the car option myself. It seems to A. be cheaper and B. I don't have to go on a bus with a bunch of folks, and C. I go where I want. cheers ED

[bobbyd6363]

Hi Ed!

We have booked all our own excursions. We have a group of 20 people and we typically book our own excursions so we can have private everything. I dont like doing the cattle car tours the cruise lines put together! each port we have a different tour operator picking us up and taking us to our excursion.

Here is what we have planned:

Hilo - Private Volcanoes Natl Park tour

Kona - private snorkelling trip includes dolphins, black sand beach, snorkelling

Kauai - Private ATV excursion with stops at waterfalls for swimming

Honolulu - private 20 person mini-coach, driver and tour guide included andwe set our own schedule. I have set up stops at pearl harbor, a waterfall, private beach, lunch, north shore and Dole plantation

Maui - we are gonna get a day room at a hotel up in Kaanapali (Spell?) and spend the day on the beach.

 

Let me know if you want info on the tour operators I can give it to you! Hey you should join us! We have room for 5 more people and GOD i need more family! I AM THE ONLY ONE!!!

Bobby

[bobbyd6363]

Thought I would bump this thread to the top to see if any other "family" were going with us!:D

[Ed and Jim]

We're going November 7 2005. Perhaps we should all just pick one date and charter the ship!

 

 

Ed and Jim in Flagstaff

[wtevrfltsurbt]

Hi there!

Well, I don't qualify as "Family" but am doing the same cruise as you all are (AND I'm in San Diego too!) so please please please post your reviews for all of us who will be sailing after you ok? I am dying to see pix of the balcony on Dolphin deck, but doubt there are any out there at this point............

 

Thanks!

Happy Cruising!

Thought I would bump this thread to the top to see if any other "family" were going with us!:D

[bobbyd6363]

Hey guys!

No problem! As soon as we get back you will definitely be seeing my review of our cruise! DAMN doesnt look like any "family" but me are gonna be on our cruise!

[bdjam]

Hey guys – I just returned from the same trip and had an excellent time. I posted a review over on the Princess boards – give yourselves about three hours to read it because it’s pretty long! While we didn’t meet many gay passengers (the FOD meeting didn’t happen until near the end of the cruise and then was attended by – no one!) there were a number of gay crew members we met and spent time with. Some call the ship “theirs” and will be continuing on the Hawaii runs after their various vacations…so you should be well taken care of.

Let me know if you have any questions about this great itinerary and ship…

[wtevrfltsurbt]

Don't stress! It's is still a couple of months away, and could be that some are not confortable posting here on the board but may attend the FOD gatherings on the ship. Read the Patter, the times are posted there, but I don't know how often they are held. On the Celebrity Mercury they had them every other day and the times and locations were posted on the daily sheets. Regardless, have a great cruise and meet great people and have a great time!

Hey guys!

No problem! As soon as we get back you will definitely be seeing my review of our cruise! DAMN doesnt look like any "family" but me are gonna be on our cruise!

[bdjam]

Don't stress! It's is still a couple of months away, and could be that some are not confortable posting here on the board but may attend the FOD gatherings on the ship. Read the Patter, the times are posted there, but I don't know how often they are held. On the Celebrity Mercury they had them every other day and the times and locations were posted on the daily sheets. Regardless, have a great cruise and meet great people and have a great time!

On the Island Princess cruise I was on, there was only one FOD gathering and it was held late in the cruise. My suggestion is to ask for one early in the cruise if you want to attend one. Go directly to someone on the Cruise Staff – requests made at the Purser’s desk tend to get sidetracked.

[bobbyd6363]

bdjam - thanks for the info! Yeah I read your review and loved the detail! So no one attended the FOD meeting?!

 

wtevrfltsurbt - thanks for the note! I always seem to run into gay crew members on the cruises I have been on and hope to this time too! :)

[bdjam]

bdjam - thanks for the info! Yeah I read your review and loved the detail! So no one attended the FOD meeting?!

I described this incident in the FOD thread, but the only person who showed up was a little old lady who thought the gathering was a continuation of the Sing Along Wizard of Oz that they had shown earlier in the cruise. When she found out what was really going on, she filed a complaint at the Purser’s desk…while in tears.

[bobbyd6363]

bdjam - wow! So this lady was mad about the FOD meeting being unattended by FOD's or that she didnt get to sing? Homophobic maybe?

[Ed and Jim]

Actually the Sing Along Wizard of Oz might have been fun! :)

[bdjam]

bdjam - wow! So this lady was mad about the FOD meeting being unattended by FOD's or that she didnt get to sing? Homophobic maybe?

She was mad because she felt that Friends of Dorothy should not be used to identify a gay mixer event…homophobic, probably…

[bobbyd6363]

bdjam - WOW! What a close minded old lady! I love talking to those type people! I love to see them get all mad and flustered and trap themselves into saying stupid stuff when they KNOW they are wrong! Oh well!

[Ed&Gary]

Hey Bobby, going into my TA on Friday to see if partner and I can change our Dec Island cruise to the Oct 5th one. If the cost doesn't jump much we'll take it. I will let you know.

[bobbyd6363]

Ed&Gary - we are sailing the Island Princess on 23 October but if you guys sail on Octover 5th thats perfect cause we can get some really fresh info on the Island Princess from you guys!

One of my group noticed that for our sailing date that the Island Princess inside cabins had skyrocketed in price but mini-suites were cheaper than the inside cabins! GO FIGURE!

[Ed&Gary]

Well, I couldn't wait and I called my TA and we got the Oct 8 cruise and low and behold its less than our December trip. We were'nt even going at Christmas and its still less. Well I don't know how fresh the info will be, we're getting off (the boat) while your getting on. The old 2 ships in the night routine. I make it a habit not to take my laptop or use theirs when I go on a cruise. I feel to connected to the darn world as it is and cruises are a time to forget about all that stuff. My most important decision is should my martini be up or over, one olive or two. We're looking forward to the trip due to Garys' health. This may be our last cruise, but we've said that 4 times now and we have so far squeezed in another. Lets keep everything crossed. Cheers

[Jerry & Kirk]

FYI about FOD meetings....

 

Just in case you guys missed my post after returning from the Island Princess last Jan, there were 5 FOD meetings (I like to use the word "meeting" instead of party...sits better with the cruise companies).

 

When we boarded ship I went in search of the CD to put in a request for 2 meetings. Well, he was impossible to find but I did run into an assistant CD, named Tim. Tim was great, not only did he schedule the meetings I requested but he scheduled 3 more meetings without anyone having to ask for them.

 

Tim showed up on the first meeting with Alice, another assistant CD. The two of them acted as hosts and made us feel very comfortable...meeting for the first time. As a bonus, we were served complimentary unlimited champagne throughout. Sooooo, don't be shy, ASK for a meeting!

 

J & K

[bobbyd6363]

Thought I would bump this thread to the top and see if any "family" had booked with us yet!:)