roll call PG july 11 2007

[Zitdoc]

We are in!! Just give us a time. I think I'm diving as well so evening would be great.

[quiltersduet]

Hey everybody! TahitiGal just informed us that this is where everyone is hanging out for this cruise. We will be celebrating our 25th anniversary on this cruise and are looking forward to meeting everyone.

[ear_doc]

We would be pleased to say hello and share a 27th anniversary toast at tahitigal's meet & greet. ---Randy & Pam

[quiltersduet]

We got our docs today! All is in order and we've already started packing!

[Zitdoc]

yep, its about time to start packing. Dinner reservations can now be made. I'm about to start a mild panic about my passport though. I sent in my renewal over 3 months ago and still nothing. Oh well. I found out that you can expidite the renewal 2 weeks before you leave but that seems like it is cutting it close.

[tahitigal]

Anyone interested in a meet and greet. Thinking about gathering all the anniversary couples and all other interested who have been chatting about the upcoming PG 10 on July 11. Many of us celebrating 25 yrs and around. Thinking pre-dinner drinks July 12 after we leave Huahine?

 

Anyone interested?

Meet and Greet for PG on July 11 10 day

Everyone how about 6:30 in La Palette (observation lounge) on evening of day 2 for drinks? Since some of us come in late the first night, night 2 on the 12th would probably work better! How do we recognize everyone? Zitdoc, Anniversary Couple, Tahitigal, Eardoc, Quilters Duet, missing anyone? Tahitigal is Chris and Stan from Olathe, Ks. How about the rest of you all? I didnt get my docs yet? Anyone else?

Chris

[Anniversary couple]

We would love to meet on July 12. We haven't received our "docs" yet, either. We are busy trying to plan our dives for our pre-cruise on Moorea. Is anyone else going to be on Moorea before the cruise? By the way, we are Debbie and Howard. We can't wait for this cruise and to meet the lovely people we've been writing to on CC!:)

[Zitdoc]

Sounds good on the 12th. Would it be easier to get a head count on how many people we are looking for then arrange a table at the restaurant for that number? It is just my wife and I from our end. On another topic, I haven't received my docs yet either.

[ear_doc]

Our documents arrived today!

Sorry to hear some are awaiting passport renewal - that is such a mess lately. I think the State Department puts off processing as long as they can. I think they look at the expected travel date you put on the renewal form and send them to you 2 weeks prior. Hopefully you'll have them this week.

---Randy & Pam (Corpus Christi, Texas)

[Zitdoc]

The worst words ever spoken... Trust me I'm with the government. This passport thing is starting to stress me out. My wife finally called and placed an expidite order on the passports so I think we maybe okay.

[quiltersduet]

Two weeks until we leave for precruise on Bora Bora. Preparation is coming along nicely. Successfully tested the underwater camera housing in the neighbor's pool yesterday. The piles on our packing table are growing and shrinking as we decide what to take and what not to take.

 

We are looking forward to meeting everyone on the 12th. Are we doing dinner or drinks before dinner or both?

 

Dave & Christie

[Zitdoc]

My wife and I planned dinner at the Grill (I believe that was the one) for 7:30 and we figured an hour or so at the lounge and then time to dine. I'm sure we can change that if necessary but we wanted to place some reservations early. We also scheduled dinner at the main restaurant for the captains dinner which I heard was a must on the trip. This is our first cruise so If this was a bad decision, someone let me know. Oh my less than a month to bliss.

[tahitigal]

I think we are up to 8 that are on board (no pun intended) for group drinks at 6:30 on the 12th. Good idea, whomever suggested, we can probably move on to dinner and pull tables together if anyone interested. Anyone out there that sees this thread, join us! We don't know who we are but I'm sure we will figure it out!

Chris and Stan Tahitigal

Debbie and Howard Anniversary Couple

Dave and Christi Quilters Duet

Zitdoc and spouse

Randy and Pam ? Eardoc

[Zitdoc]

We are Annette and Rob. See you in Tahiti!!!!!

[cruznut1111]

Okay - Add Dee & Dick to the list for La Palette the 12th. Should be awake by then. We're planning a lazy day in Huahini.

 

The Tickets have arrived, the shore excursions and restaurants booked and I'm starting to think about packing.

 

Two things surprised me - no deck plan in the ship info booklet and sharing BoraBora with the Tahitian Princess on both days, plus last one in Moorea. I figure the ship is small enough we'll figure it out quickly. As far as sharing the port... at least it's not the Sapphire Princess:eek: . We were thinking we might eat at Top Dive or Bloody Mary's one night, but may have to reconsider.

 

I've been trying to find info on Bastille Day (Rangiroa) and the dance festival. Aren't we hitting the right time for that? Perhaps there will be special events.

[tahitigal]

We just got our docs too. Huahine Motu will be our first day which we will need after the grueling trip over. Late arrival and all. Brochure said it was 6.5 hours excurison but can't see how that would be if we arrive at noon and leave at 5? Math not my strong suit but ???? Anyway, should be fun and anyone late from other activities, I'm sure with group of 12 we'll be there for awhile.

 

Oh yuck,,,if other boats in dock then all pop restuarants should be really crowded, not the experience we're looking for or we would have gone on the Carnival to Bahamas! I agree with you, Cruznutt.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I wouldn't worry about sharing the ports with the TP--it really makes a very small ripple. The tour operators and shopkeepers will all be busy and happy, and it might be more difficult to rent a car spontaneously, but really you won't hardly notice.

[Zitdoc]

Looking forward to the meet up on the 12th pending the arrival of our passports. This has been nothing short of a nightmare!! We sent our passports in for renewal over 3 months ago and still nothing back. We finally called to expidite the request and hopefully should get our passports this week. Unfortunately, Regent will not send our cruise documents until we can give them our passport information. If worse comes to worse, the wife and I will drive to Washington D.C. and get them in person. If the government can screw something up they will.

Cruise tickets $14,000

Airline tickets $1,000

SCUBA class $300

Hoping our passports get here on time... Priceless!!

UGHHHHHHH

[quiltersduet]

Oh my God. We would be out of our minds Zitdoc! We are keeping our fingers and toes crossed for you.

 

As for the meeting on the 12th. We think the Captains welcome party will be that afternoon too. So we might have to adjust our meeting time until after that.

 

Dave & Christie

[Zitdoc]

There may still be hope. I've learned over the many years in privite practice that politics plays a heavy roll and hopefully my local congressman can step in to take care of the passport issue. It doesn't hurt that I help in his reelection. If not, I'm off to D.C. this afternoon to stand in line. As to the meet and greet, I thought the captains reception was in Moorea at the end of the cruise. Maybe someone can comment on that who has done this itinerary before. Thanks for the prayers and support. I fully intend on spending 10 days on a cruise ship drinking fancy umbrella drinks. The other catch is that until I have my passport, I can not get my cruise documents from regent. They promise me that there is nothing vital in those documents that I HAVE to possess before we leave for the cruise but at this point I trust no one, even regent.

[quiltersduet]

Good luck Zitdoc!

 

I think there is both a welcome and a farewell party. What I don't know is exactly when they are. Hopefully someone who's done this cruise can chime in.

 

Dave

[tahitigal]

Z-Doc

Oh my, I know how worried you are and our fingers are crosssed. What a fiasco this whole passport thing has been for everyone. Wear comfortable shoes for your line standing if they don't arrive soon!

 

If there is a Captain's Party on our meeting night, everyone make note to head up to the bar afterwards instead. Would be nice if they had given us some kind of schedule for planned activities.

 

Looking forward to meeting everyone. Our meet and greet group is up to 12 couples!

[Zitdoc]

Well, this story has a horrific beginning, a stressfull middle and a happy ending. My wife and I drove 6 hours to D.C. after cancelling my patients on tuesday. We went to the passport agency where 150-200 people were already in line an hour before they open, finally got to a window where a less than friendly agent of the government informed me that since my passport was already in "processing" that she can not do anything for me. She stated their was a "reasonable expectation" that my passport would arrive before we traveled. We left without our passports in quite a bit of rage. Fortunately, WE WERE IN WASHINGTON. It just so happens that there are other people in D.C. who I happen to support (Congressman Davis, Senator Corker, Senator Alexander). I CALLED THEM ALL. By the time I was back in my car and driving away from D.C., All three offices had called to give me my Fed Ex tracking # and according to that number we should receive our passports today by 3 PM!!!! Moral of the story, your elected officials do more than kiss babies. I was amazed at what they did to accomplish in 3 hours what Annette and I could not do for over a month. I also called regent who kindly agreed to send our cruise documents without our passport numbers (not something they like to do). Kudo's to regent!!! I think I need a fancy umbrella drink.

On a lighter note, It seems our meet up is still planned for 6:30 on the 12th on the top deck bar. If I am wrong, let me know. Thanks for the prayers.

rob

[Anniversary couple]

Congratulations on solving your passport problem! I can only imagine the stress you and your wife were under. Sounds like you two need a vacation! See you 50 feet under in Huahine.:D

[Zitdoc]

AMEN!!! Oh my gosh, I can finally start to enjoy the fact that in 12 days I am on a ship to paridise. I AM OFFICIALLY THRILLED. I should also add that my travel agent also used to work for a congressmen in D.C. and also made calls on our behalf. It is one more reason that I will always use a travel agent on vacations like this. Their support was incredible. As a side note, almost all travel insurance stipulates that they are not responsible for inproper or missing travel documents.:eek: