ROLL CALL: 2/25/07 Caribbean Princess

[Tim-n-Rick]

I wish Ricky didn't have to work Friday so we could be there for one or both of the Bon Voyages! (He says being spoiled and stamping his feet) :(

 

Greg - you did a great job on your new site. I'm sure we will all migrate there for future cruises.

 

I have a site of my own I'm working on to debut so I know how important getting the word out is.

[Boytjie]

Here is the list that I started to keep. I'm not sure if any "late-comers" need added to the list:

 

Max & Bob, Christopher, Tom, Mike & Gary, Bill, Ken & Kip, and Mark & Donny.

 

If you are talking about the 8:15 Champagne Catamaran excursion, count us in too.

 

We will be dropping off a Hertz rental car and when I called a few weeks ago they said they had a shuttle to Port Everglades.

 

It looks like JetBlue flights between JFK and Ft. Lauderdale are on back schedule, I just hope all the luggage makes there it otherwise we'll be shopping like crazy at Target and CVS.

 

We are flying in Friday night and staying with a friend. Can it be Friday already, please!

[Boytjie]

This may have been asked and answered before: how casual can one dress for dinner Sunday night? Would lugagge be in the cabins by 6-7 pm?

 

What are the rules for carry-on luggage? Less limiting than getting on a plane, I hope.

[thulewx]

Sigh - I should have known - last-minute booking means I can't reserve any excursions, plus I had to go thru Princess to allow printing of boarding pass.

Plus, I won't get my RSVP package until after I get back so no pin, but will bring pass to Alibi's for drink discounts, etc.

But I did get the last of my costume delivered today - now have to dye the shirt (Rit is so much fun :( ) and hope I don't end up with blues skin after wearing it. Need to finish the mask today and try it all on at the same time to see if the effect is truly frightening :eek: .

 

Just trying to do my part to break the 1000 post level - does that mean we all get free cruises?

[thulewx]

Generally, great leeway is given to dress codes on Sunday. Your luggage is normally in your cabin 2-4 hours after you board, but since we normally bring 4 times :eek: the normal amount, in can take longer. Some don't get it until after dinner, so if you have swim trunks you want to wear or other clothing items, bring them in your carryon.

As far as carry-on - all you can manage. But the porters can't help you on to the ship, no matter how cute they might be. Some people actually bring their own luggage on board as carry-on, just as you can opt to take your own luggage off on disembarkation day - as long as you can handle it, it's ok.

Oh - for those with LOTS of extra luggage, they also frown on having your luggage lifted onto the ship by helicopter crane - too much drama ;) .

You know who you are...:D

[monumax]

If you are talking about the 8:15 Champagne Catamaran excursion, count us in too.

 

Sorry I missed you guys. Glad you have reserved the Catamaran excursion. That makes at least a Lucky 13 in our merry band!

As far as dress for dinner on Sunday, no shorts, tank tops, or T-shirts are to be worn in the main dinning rooms, but would be OK for the Horizon Court. I have heard that Princess is very prompt at getting luggage to rooms, so you should have your clothes by dinnertime. You can put most anything in your carryon.

[Hobie]

Since I just booked last week I guess that I won't get anything from RSVP either.

 

I still don't have my Princess booking number so that I can print out boarding pass, etc.

 

How about luggage tags for last minute bookers? Just get one at the cruise terminal and write in the information?

 

Getting real excited!

[QUALITYINLIFE]

Hey everyone, well just a few more days! I need some help here...

 

I am going on this cruise and would really like to make new friends, and BEST of all connect with an already established group of guys who travel well together!

 

I am a lot of fun, single!, quality, good looking ( well my Mom thought so ),49, 6'1", brown hair, blue eyes, goatee, moustache,quality, grounded and make a wild Martini! I live in Los Angeles, originally from Ohio ( and also lived in New York many years ago) . I can talk about anything and have incredible hands; give a great massage....and...!

 

Anyone looking to make a new fun buddy, look me up! I am Robert in cabin C612 ! I don't especially like solo travel. Thanks.

(You can also e-mail me directly at Gr8guyla@aol.com.)

 

HUGS.

 

Robert

[Boytjie]

Sorry I missed you guys. Glad you have reserved the Catamaran excursion. That makes at least a Lucky 13 in our merry band!

 

No problem, I don't remember mentioning that we booked it. 13 is my lucky number.

 

You can put most anything in your carryon.

Let me rephrase that: how much carry-on can you carry on?:D

[Boytjie]

Walter & Greg - thanks for the heads up on the thermal suite. It does not seem worth it. I'm already cancelling our Rasul mud treatment because of feedback from people on the Princess board. Now just down to a reflexology session.

quote]

 

Matt, what feedback did you get? We are booked for it but now I am having second thoughts.

 

Maybe I should cancel and go for massages? (If any slots are still available.) I haven't read any rave reviews about cruise massages yet. What's the buzz on that?

[RMS Olympic]

1. Thulewx....Phil, I have RSVP button for you...all you have to do is show up at the Cubby Hole and I will turn it over to you. Exactly what you do with it.....remains to be seen. If you are arriving early, let me know.

2. Hobie.......day room........da shame da shame......all alone.... well you can come over to Pinapple Point and use my room to sit and rest, shower and scrub the plane off if you like. They Will have a small layout of food for a quick knosh...coffee, bagel etc. I intend to depart between 10 and 10:30 to board early...as a Platinum member. So I make the room available to you if you desire.....although I will plan on leaving early so whether you get a cat nap will be up to you.

Quality of life......dont worry...I intend introdue you to as many people as I do with Christopher. We just sit like spiders and then I do the introducing...what fun. If you like you can join Christopher and myself on Tuesday at the steak specialty restaurant if you haven't already met up with new friends by then.

Tom aka bertha

[Hobie]

Tom,

Thanks for the kind offer. Let me figure out my schedule and I'll let you know.

Tom, you also will be introducing me to many people!

Quality of life: I'll send you e-mail. I live in Long Beach. I look forward to meeting you on the Caribbean Princess.

[WalterNY]

On the RSVP Diamond Princess to Mexico my massage therapist told me that they had airlifted male masseurs in for that voyage in order to accomodate demand.

 

Here's a tip. Call the spa to confirm the massage, and, if you like, ask for a masseur (vs. masseuse). I myself prefer a deeper more aggressive massage.

 

I thought the massages on board were attentive and terrific.

 

 

 

Walter & Greg - thanks for the heads up on the thermal suite. It does not seem worth it. I'm already cancelling our Rasul mud treatment because of feedback from people on the Princess board. Now just down to a reflexology session.

quote]

 

Matt, what feedback did you get? We are booked for it but now I am having second thoughts.

 

Maybe I should cancel and go for massages? (If any slots are still available.) I haven't read any rave reviews about cruise massages yet. What's the buzz on that?

[LeonardAndJohn]

Leonard and John in 1987

 

ARGH! Why does this drama happen before a vacation? Anyway, if anyone emailed me at john@singact.com your email has gone into la la land awaiting the silly servers to get repaired!

 

Please resend your email (including the directory) to jrpactor@aol.com or johnrichardpetersen@cox.net.

 

We are here in South Orange County California and the weather has been rainy and cold, after a couple of days of high 80's and summer like weather.

 

PLEASE come up and introduce yourselves if you see us or walk by our room!

 

We got the red outfits, the bingo outfits, the tropical outfits...not sure we will get to Super Hero's before we leave!

 

Please note: I consider myself a "social moron" and am rather shy and find it difficult to go up to people and say HELLO. Many interpret it as my being ALOOF or a Jerk. We are both really great guys with hardly any gay friends since we don't do bars, etc. But we are working on that!

 

Excited but frustrated that my emails are 'LOST IN CYBERSPACE'

Leonard and John in 2005 in Queenstown, New Zealand

[Hobie]

Leonard And John, Welcome. I live in Long Beach and work in the City of Orange so we are almost neighbors!

I will be saying hello to both of you!

 

I just got my Princess booking number but can't do anything with it because it is too late to submit the immigration forms. Since no immigration form, no boarding pass! Cannot book excursions either. I wanted to wait list the Champagne catamaran and guess that I will do that when I board.

 

I am instructed to print the forms and bring them with me to the cruise terminal. I guess that my boarding process will be a little bit slower because of that.

 

I can hardly concentrate at work! One of my partners (law partner!) is boarding the Diamond Princess this Saturday for Mexican Riviera cruise. Allready this morning, I have been down to her office three times to talk about our cruises and she has been down to my office twice! Neither one of us can concentrate on work!

 

See you all soon!

Glenn

[MattInFLL]

Buck n Jeff - the 2007 guide to Port Everglades says that they run a shuttle *from* the port to the rental car center at FLL airport. It does not say they run one *to* the port from the airport. I think it is up to the individual companies. A taxi will run you $10-15, and since the rental car center is one of the parking garages right in the airport, it is an easy walk back over to terminal 1 for a taxi. It's probably your best bet.

 

Boytjie - I had a range of reactions to my Rasul question, and I always take everything with a grain of salt and just look at the trend. Only a couple were really positive about the experience. The others made it sound like you are in a small, sterile room, and if you are not given proper instruction on using the steam/rainshower thing, you can end up sitting there in cold mud - and it seemed to be often... One person said the shower area was tinier than in her cabin, and that's pretty small. Frankly it seems like if you just want a different place to hump while being covered in mud, go for it. If you want something romantic, pop for the "ultimate balcony dining" instead. But since I missed the cut off for cancelling on line, I am going there the first day to check out the room and make up my own mind before I cancel.

 

As for massages and treatments - in all my cruises, I've always had good luck. And they are well aware that gay guys want massages by guys....but for some of the other treatments you may have a woman.

 

OH - and don't worry about booking spa appointments on board. There are always openings as long as you go the first day... and if you are willing to do it on a port day, they are wide open.

 

Max, as for carry on - generally, anything about regular carry on size is going to be fine. They do not act like the airlines. For example, I will probably have a carry on size suit case and a small back pack to carry on. Once it looks like the bag is too big or you are too overloaded, they are going to want you to give it to the porters.

 

Standard tip for any cruise - have your bathing suit and something to wear for dinner in your carry on, just in case your bags don't get there until after dinner. Dinner the first night is always casual, but shorts are almost never allowed in the dining room for dinner. And unlike the airlines, you can lock your luggage before handing it to the porter. I always just use the "zip ties" though, and put a nail clipper in an outside pocket to clip them open.

[kenth59]

Hi All. I made a few goofs! Apologies to Kent, Andy, Kip and Ken for flubbing their info!! I owe you a drink.

 

Walter, I'll get you a copy out this time.

 

If you didn't get a copy and wanted to be a part of the directory let me know today.

 

Is it Friday yet?

Hi Tim,

No apologies are neccessary, you have taken on a big task and created a great directory. Just look forward to getting it so that I can print it out! :)

 

Monumax - as of right now we are booked on the 8:15 excursion also, just waiting to see how Andy's knee is going to be before we make a final decision.

 

Hope everyone has a great day and look forward to seeing and meeting you all soon.

Kent

[kenth59]

Hi All. I made a few goofs! Apologies to Kent, Andy, Kip and Ken for flubbing their info!! I owe you a drink.

 

Walter, I'll get you a copy out this time.

 

If you didn't get a copy and wanted to be a part of the directory let me know today.

 

Is it Friday yet?

 

Hey Tim,

 

No apologies neccessary, you took on a huge task to put it all together and did a great job. Just waiting to get my copy so that I can print it out! :)

 

Monumax - as of right now we are booked on the 8:15 excursion also but are still waiting to see how Andy's knee is before we make a final decision.

 

Hope everyone is having a great day and look forward to meeting everyone soon.

Kent

[Cruisydave]

ok, here's my 2 cents worth....

 

i spoke to princess today and the woman said 1:00 pm boarding. they don't let you on early. that was her story and she's sticking to it. (she was very nice btw.) and when my friend came back on atlantis a few weeks ago, he was still waiting to disembark at 11am. so they certainly weren't letting people on that ship too early either. the princess agent said it's about unloading the ship more than anything. these new ships are huge, and with all the people and luggage, it just takes time.

 

but as greg said, it's a matter of timing. i've gotten on earlier than that, previously, so it's really hit and miss.

 

as for getting from airport to terminal (having dropped off your partner), my advice is a cab. it's remarkably close. really really close. like a mile or 2. can't be but a couple of bucks. and it's faster than a shuttle....if there even is one.

 

the directory is awesome, (even with it's mistakes, (which i didn't notice)). thanks again for that, and i look forward to meeting all of you.

 

all i have to do now, is finish this week's work, and do ALL of next week's work and then i'm free!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

david

[Boytjie]

Buck n Jeff - the 2007 guide to Port Everglades says that they run a shuttle *from* the port to the rental car center at FLL airport. It does not say they run one *to* the port from the airport. I think it is up to the individual companies. A taxi will run you $10-15, and since the rental car center is one of the parking garages right in the airport, it is an easy walk back over to terminal 1 for a taxi. It's probably your best bet.

 

I just spoke with Hertz again. Last time I was in Ft. Lauderdale the rental car center was a few miles away from the airport but now it is at the airport. I was told that the airport runs shuttle busses to Port Everglades starting at noon and that they pickup at the rentral car center. Also, representatives for the shuttle are at the rental car center starting from noon to answer questions and one just has to find one of them.

 

Re. Rasul:

Frankly it seems like if you just want a different place to hump while being covered in mud, go for it. If you want something romantic, pop for the "ultimate balcony dining" instead. But since I missed the cut off for cancelling on line, I am going there the first day to check out the room and make up my own mind before I cancel.

 

Well, now that's an image to carry around... humping in the mud. I guess we can both check it out and discuss on Sunday. The dining did sound kinda fun to do.

 

As for massages and treatments - in all my cruises, I've always had good luck. And they are well aware that gay guys want massages by guys....but for some of the other treatments you may have a woman.

 

OH - and don't worry about booking spa appointments on board. There are always openings as long as you go the first day... and if you are willing to do it on a port day, they are wide open.

 

Thanks for the info, it's good to know. If I had to choose between spa treatments or going ashore I think going ashore will always win (for me). I can get a massage in New York anytime, I can't get to a Caribbean island as easily. :D

 

Walter: Thanks for the massage info too!

[Tim-n-Rick]

David, I have an idea. You show up early and setup your bar and serve adult beverages to us until they let us through the gates. Be sure to pack a tip jar! :)

 

45 more minutes and I can enter full vacation mode!!!!!! Holy Mary Margaret I didn't think I'd make it.

[Schusize]

I was on the Caribbean Princess last week. There are many hot crew members including one petite deck boy (Australian, about 5'6", blond) that will be wrecked by all you boys going on Sunday!

 

Several of the servers were a little worried since this the first time most of them have experienced an all gay cruise. I told them not to worry because "the gays" usually tip better but be prepared for some whining. The entire crew had to watch a training DVD on what to expect. I looked for that on the MUTS but it never came on…Ha!

 

The 2 young Australian girls, Lauren and Kristi that ran the 2 GLBT meetings we had, hoped that the "whining" would not be as bad as the old people that week.

 

So you guys, be good to the staff. They really worked hard and I never saw one without a smile. Oh I wish I was back on that boat...just to admire Steffan, Augusto, Cristi, etc., etc, again!

 

PS. Elena at the Crooner's bar makes the meanest Chairman of the Board martini. I'll write a full report to post shortly regarding all the little things.

[thulewx]

Will definitely be at the Cubby Hole Sat. night - thanks for the pin (although I must have at least a dozen of them laying around somewhere).

I also plan on being at the port NLT 10:30-11:00, regardless of what the Princess people say. Tom - you want a ride?

Regarding the massage services - last time I went, HAL brought 6 extra male masseurs on board for our cruise - I had 2 massages and they were both very good, albeit a bit expensive).

 

Getting Excited!!!

[CadillacRon]

Hubby and I did a couples rasul therapy thing on the Disney line. Staff didn't raise an eyebrow as they led us to a private all-tiled room that had a steam, shower and mud applying area. Yes the space was intimate, but so were we!

They provided all kinds of muds and scrubs for us to rub on each other. We supplied our own "personal potion". Our skin looked great after the treatment, even though our faces were flushed!;) I'm not sure what Princess offers, but we will make sure it is a private couples thing and not just an attendant applying mud.

Maybe we can get the hot blond "petite" Austrailian pool boy to join us. As far as the petite reference, I'm 5'6" and have never been called petite. Maybe because I'm loud and clumsy I seem larger!:p

Note to gods: still waiting for the directory. Maybe someone will forward their copy? xoxo ron

[mikec5426]

Maybe someone will forward their copy? xoxo ron

 

Ron-

 

What is your e-mail? I am sure one of us friendly guys can forward a copy to you. :-)