I saw this on another board and thought it might be fun here. Perhaps we could introduce ourselves and tell general age (under 35, 35-65, over 65), kids, cruise experience (which ships, how many cruises)just we we get to know whether folks are past RSSC, Silversea or other to just know one another better.

I'll start. He who likes to scuba dive (HWLTSD) and I had our first cruise on the Home Lines Doric in 1980 and we weren't thrilled and never cruised again. Several years ago, HWLTSD had to quickly use or lose his vacation and I booked a last minute cruise on HAL in early December 2000. We had a lovely time and suite, were impressed with the clientale and the ship as well. However, we were not bowled over by the lines, food, extra charges and hands out for a tip. Service was satisfactory. We decided we liked cruising enough to try again and RSSC offered a special 2 for 1 the following year. We decided to try a 6 star ship since everything was included and it would come about the same as the "cheap" HAL cruise. This was on the Mariner in December, 2001. We were treated regally and loved our Penthouse suite. The crowd, at that time, was an older crowd (we were the babies in the 35-65 age group), but we had a great time nonetheless. The following December 2002, we took the XMAS cruise and met a number of you on the Mariner. We had an even better time since the social factor kicked in when we met a number of you folks. We booked a BTB PG cruise for March 2003 and met even more of you. We had such a great time, that we booked the VOF 2003 cruise. And this trip continued the wonderful experience..so much so, that we booked BAT and DOF for 2004, not just because of RSSC's fine service and cruise experience, but because we loved cruising with those of you we met.

The ability to cruise with friends, both known and "future" known, truly adds to the vacation experience. Our RSSC and CC friendships now extend to land adventures with some of you, email friendships or future cruise trip planning.

We have 1 daughter, all grown up (we had her when we were 12), have been married a long time and have a darling springer spaniel, aged 7.

Please join in, otherwise I'll feel quite :( foolish. <img border="0" alt="[Drinking]" title="" src="graemlins/062802drink_prv.gif" />

You did this so well, I will give it a shot. Bob and I took our first cruise about 15 years ago on the Norway. We loved our cruise and met lovely people, with whom we still correspond. We enjoyed the food, were not crazy about the itinerary, but never really made it back to cruise again for whatever reason. This coming June we will celebrate our 25th anniversary. To mark the occassion we began looking into cruising again. Friends of ours that own a cruise only agency suggested Radisson or Silversea as a very special experience to mark the event. So, we treated my parents and booked the trip last September (I am a brat and cannot wait to celebrate these events) :D Could not have been more pleased with the ship and the staff. Found lots of support and information on that other board. We are also in the 35-65 range. In addition, last fall had an opportunity to visit Oklahoma City for the weekend and were very pleased to meet the dolebludgers who showed us their city and let us leave our dog at their home while we had dinner!
We have a beautiful maltese Dino who is the joy of my life and the reason I don't plan more cruises. We are also planning a voyage in 2005 with friends. Andi - you should never feel foolish. You give great information. We hope to meet you one day. Oh, I forgot, we are originally New Yorkers, transferred to Connecticut and now live here in the midwest.

I like this too Andi! Should we also add what we do for a living or did do if retired?

I'm Robert. No cruise experience to speak of but as you are all painfully (lol) aware, my SO Paul and I are booked on a Navigator East coast voyage this October.

I am a native Angelino and paul is a native Vermonter. We live in the San Fernando Valley in North Hollywood. Me early 40's Paul late 30's (birthday today!).

Paul is a pastry chef at our local horse racing venue. I work in Promotions & Branded Foods at Warner Bros. licensing. Bugs Bunny vitamins, Fruity Pebbles cereal and Scooby Snacks dog treats, fast food kids meals, all the promotions you will see next month when the Scooby Doo 2 movie opens. You get the idea. Fun job.

I handle execution and some sales and oversee a small staff of 4. I manage in tandem with a peer who is responsible for the primary sales effort.

I've traveled pretty much all over, while Paul's first plane trip was to come out here for an internship at the Peninsula Hotel 8 years ago.

We have a couple of crazy cats, love to cook/entertain. Just got DirecTV and it is amazing. Who knew there was so much out there?!?

Love posting here and being part of the community. Interested in learning about the rest of you.

Happy cruising!

Andi,
What a nice idea!

Mark and I have been married 19 years, (I was not of legal age when we married) and have lived in northern Pennsyvania the entire time.

Our first cruise was on Carnival, on one of their oldest ships in their fleet. I remember crying halfway through the trip because we were having a terrible time and I wanted to go home. We vowed never to cruise again.
Then, a friend talked me into to sailing on the Song of Flower and the rest is history.

Mark will be retiring in 3 years and at that time we plan to move someplace less snowy :) We considered moving in with Tom and Marcie but decided that the west coast is too far from Europe and the Caribbean so we have decided to move in with Kimmi and John, who live on the East coast. If we want to go to Australia or Tahiti, we can alway stay a few months with Marcie and Tom or whoever will take us in. We also considered buying a Winnebago so we could live in that and drive it to ports and airports.

Andi: I love this thread! Tony and I had never cruised and were anti-cruise people..who knows why? We had a 30th anniversary coming up so i read many of the CC boards never thinking much would come of it. Then I read and read and read the Radisson board - knew I wanted this line and these folks - you can imagine Tony's surprise when I told him we were doing a back to back on the Diamond last Sept. Had great time and sad when first week people got off but a new group of wonderful ones got on - then we did DDD in January and finally met many of the posters. What a great time we both had on this trip! We have lived in northern Fl for 27 yrs I am from Ct Tony from Wisconsin - all kids grown 2 in Chicago, one in Santa Monica and one in Gainesville - 3 granddughters another baby due early April - we like to travel, garden, and have small pool in backyard where we live from March till Nov!!! We live arcross the street from a gorgeous beach with no high rise development - nice!! Joanna PS Karen you can park Winnebago in driveway....

Here it goes. Paige and I have been married almost 3 years and in fact celebrate our anniversary with you fine folks on the MINT cruise!

I am 35 and Paige (I robbed the cradle, is 29). We have 2 children, Garrett (2.5) and Braeden (4 months).

I have cruised 4 times to date on I hate to say Carnival. Paige has cruised twice. Our last Carnival cruise was when we knew we needed a huge change in cruise lines. (I think you all can imagine why)

As for occupations, many of you know mine. Paige is a R.N. who works part-time. As of the end of this month, we are moving back to NC (my home state - GO HEELS) for me to start a practice.

Hope that isn't too much info. By the way, a fact that many of you will find quite shocking - I love heavy metal music! The heavier the better!!

Anthony

Andi-

You really are an organizer aren't you. Cute idea!

I took my first cruise in 1974 for my 16th birthday. It was on a Costa ship - The Flavia. I had such a good time dancing before dinner I missed dinner and got there just in time for my special cake. The family has never let me live that one down. My 2nd cruise was on Carnival's first ship Mardi Gras - we were a family of 5 in a tiny (& I mean tiny) cabin but we had a blast. I did several week-end cruises over the years and then got away from cruising and into skiing.

In 1999 I introduced my workaholic husband Kent to cruising and we having been taking 1 a year since. He loves it as he can truly get away from it all. We've sailed on Enchantment of the Seas, Mercury, Sea Princess, Radiance of the Seas & Millennium and all have been good experiences in various ways. We are looking forward to our first Radisson cruise and Bermuda. Kent's into fishing so I am trying to get him hooked up to fish.

We are in the 45-60 range (me at the bottom him at the top). I have a 16 year old son and 4 step-kids 24-35 and 3 grandkids. We live in Franklin, TN with all the country music stars but both grew up in S. FL. We met in Denver, CO and have been married 8 years. We both work in the TV industry.

Glad to have found this fun board and hope to be able to do a group cruise with all of you sometime.

Kathy

OK - I'll chip in here. In my late 50's (OUCH!) First cruise was about 10 years ago on Norway. Sailed through a hurricane & loved it & I was hooked. TA kept saying to try Radisson. He was never wrong on his recommendations, so "graduated" from being HAL regulars to the Mariner Baltics cruise in 2002. That was it. Hooked on RSSC. But still managed to fit a HAL cruise in with the kids which was very good. But I doubt I'll do HAL again.
Kids. My son is 25, has a degree in Sports Broadcasting, but works as a banker. My daughter is 29 (EGADS!), degree in early childhood Ed & teaches reading. Both kids live Out East on Long Island. They are cruise fans now too.
I am a lawyer for a Medical/Scientific products company, having formerly been a scientist. I am HOPING to retire in a few years - maybe 3 - 5, and then CRUISE CRUISE CRUISE

Gil is too modest to say this - but he's an ace biochemist turned general counsel. He's worked with some of my heroes in the industry so I just HAD to mention it. :) :) :)

Jan and I dated for 5 years and have been married 38 years September 24th 2010. We are both from Miles City, but lived in Colorado Springs for 14 years before moving home in 1986. I am a Realtor and Jan is CEO of the Montana Health Network.
Our first cruise was on Jan's brother's honeymoon The Commodore MS Caribe in 03/22/1980. I thought it was ok, but Jan really disliked it. That is why it took until 02/15/03 and the Paul Gauguin. Now it was her idea to go on the Norwegian Dream (ICK) 02/22/04 and we WILL cruise again November 12th 2004 Mariner "MINT" cruise and again February 2005 on the Diamond "ADRIFT" cruise out of San Juan. Since I wrote this we have been on one more cruise and another one scheduled for Januauary 2007. Voyager "PARTY" and Mariner "AMAZON".
Update: We are booked on "LAMB" 12/03/07 Auckland New Zealand to LAX.
2nd UPDATE: We are booked on "FUN" March 11th, 2009 Western Caribbean aboard the Seven Seas Navigator which we have never been on.
3rd Update: We will be on "PARIS" December 2nd 2009. aboard Amadeus MS Amacello 12 day Europe land & river cruise.
4TH Update:
We are booked on Princess Sapphire Princess for a family 7 day cruise. Alaska Inside Passage. Seattle to Seattle.
Also are booked on Mariner 14 day Rome to Fort Lauderdale cruise 11/20/2011
Now booked AMA Waterway Amsterdam to Zurich and Mariner Istanbul Turkey to Rome.
We like to golf, vacation, and Football is our life!! (ok maybe just mine).
Both Jan and I are committee members of the Montana - North Dakota All Star "BADLANDS BOWL" Football game played the 3rd weekend in June. Odd years in Miles City MT and even years in Dickinson ND. It is non-profit and we donate to Special Olympics. We have 34 graduated high school seniors players from each state.

Mariner "MARINER" 10/07/2013 Istanbul to Rome
AMA Waterway MS Amacello "SANTA" 12/06/2012 Amsterdam to Zurich
Mariner "SPLASH" 11/20/2011 Rome to Fort Lauderdale
Sapphire Princess "SALMON" 07/10/2011 Seattle to Seattle
AMA Waterway MS Amacello "PARIS" 12/02/2009Paris to Amsterdam
Navigator "FUN" 03/11/2009 Western Caribbean
Mariner "LAMB" 12/03/2007 Auckland to LAX
Mariner "AMAZON" 01/09/2007 Fort Lauderdale to Manus Brazil
Voyager "PARTY" 12/27/2005 Fort Lauderdale to LAX
Diamond "ADRIFT" 02/15/2005 Southern Caribbean
Mariner "MINT" 11/12/2004 Mexican Riveara
Norwegian Dream 02/22/2004 Western Caribbean (Ick)
Paul Gauguin 02/15/2003 French Polynisia
MS Caribe 03/22/1980 Eastern Caribbean

"ACE Biochemist?"

More like Ace VENTURA biochemist.

But I DO know Dr. James Watson quite well - and had one of the thrills of my life when his wife showed me his Nobel Prize.

This is fun...just learning about each of you is sort of an "ah ha" moment...like gosh, should have guessed that! Anyway, here's my turn.

Tom (my DH) and I took our first cruise in 1988 or 89 - at the time we didn't really pay attention, but it was our first mistake...or good luck perhaps - we booked a 16 day Seabourn cruise on the Sprit. It was a wonderful cruise and we met some amazing people, but when we returned to Florida Tom wasn't that anxious to plan another cruise so we continued our land vacations for several years. In 92 while we were on the Big Island for 4 weeks our friends at home were planning a cruise - 3 couples, close friends were doing a 10 day HAL Caribbean cruise....at the last moment they asked if we'd like to join them. We paid top dollar for a suite - didn't know about looking around for a better price etc., but we had a great time cruising with friends and you might say the hook was set! We continued doing 10 to 20 day cruises with this group over the next few years.

In ‘97 we received a brochure from HAL for a 64 day cruise around the Pacific Rim...to my complete amazement (one evening after dinner and a bottle of wine) my DH said, would you like to do that for your (this was a big one) birthday? In a nanosecond I said yes and before he could change his mind, I called an agent first thing the next morning and booked it!

His golfing buddies actually started a pool betting on which port Tom would fly home from! I documented his trip by sending them a photo of him standing at the bottom of the Gangway with each location sign! LOL - he made it the entire 64 day.

After that trip a 10 day cruise just wasn't worth the effort - we started to book 30 days+ trips. We’ve cruised around South America, 3 trips to the South Pacific (Nuku Hiva each time!) – also Australia and NZ and 2 Mediterranean cruises - #3 coming up this fall.

Cruise vacations are just right for us - Tom "doesn't do shore" and before the end of our voyages the ship's crew knows that and takes marvelous care of him while I see everything there is to be seen at every port.

At home we live the typical Florida retiree lifestyle, golf & tennis and lots of visitors. Tom's daughters live in Virgina, my daughter lives in NJ - some of you know I'm about to be a grandmother for the second time, the end of March.

We have two wonderful miniature poodles(Maggie and Mollie) who are 15 and 14. We also have a marvelous pet sitter who moves into our home to care for them when we are gone. Our "girls" are getting older and more fragile so we worry about them when we plan each cruise, but they are always wagging their tails when we come home again.

We did our first RSSC cruise last fall and are firm converts – can’t wait to board the Voyager in November.

I was trying for a number of years to find the "right" vacation. I'd usually end up coming home more stressed out than when I left - mostly due to my inability to plan a good vacation. I once slept in a "pill box" in Tokyo...

A colleague of mine suggested that I take a Celebrity cruise (Caribbean itinerary on the Millenium). My only previous experience cruising was on the QE2 (this is a really long story that involves a singing & dancing skeleton in my closet), and I was somewhat skeptical that I'd like Celebrity. Overall, it was a nice experience, but I still felt "stressed" when I came back. Oh and my feet really hurt from standing in line so much.

The next few experiences were like Goldilocks trying to find that bowl of porridge and bed that were "just right." So I tried Royal Caribbean - too big. Then Crystal a few times - too stiff. [I also first started to notice the nickel-and-diming on Crystal.]

I was ready to give up on cruising but noticed that what I thought was an obscure cruise line called "Radisson Seven Seas Cruises" was the #1 cruiseline in Amex Platinum's readers' poll. Huh? I asked around and no one had ever heard of RSSC. Not even my TA (at the time). So I did some research and booked the July 2003 Mariner sailing in Alaska. Well, I finally found the cruiseline that fit "just right." For the first time, I felt like I went on a vacation that managed to soothe my soul. Each successive sailing on RSSC has just gotten better and better.

And of course I've met many of you on board (and on the boards) because of RSSC - this is the best part! Also met Ngaire who's the world's greatest travel consultant. Wow! I can actually say that "in public" now! :eek:

When not cruising, I live in central NJ (where it's currently colder than in Antarctica) am managing partner of a management consultancy that I co-founded this past June. More importantly, I'm trying to raise 2 cats (Emily & Charlotte) all by myself and avoiding the potholes on Route 1 whenever possible. I have a number of bad habits, such as drinking too much scotch and smoking too many cigars. I won't mention my age, but you can find a clue in my alias "lchoi98."

I don't write (or spell) as well as my beautiful wife, so she will do our introductions.
This is a great post and what Ngaire and I had in mind when this fourm was created.
I am ging to make it a "Feature Topic" for a while. It will stay at the top of the fourm.
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to meet ya'll.
John

Andi...this was a great idea though I usually lurk and have not posted much...

Chuck (my husband) and I have been married for 9+ years and live in Alpharetta, GA which is a northern surburb of Atlanta...Chuck is a creature of habit...likes to go to the same places and is not adventurous...we have a 29 year old daughter (yes I do claim her as mine) and in fact she just got engaged last Wednesday...

I did several cruises in my single years on Costa, Royal Viking and on Crystal...Chuck had also cruised many times prior to my meeting him and had always enjoyed it...

We did do a Crystal Mediterranean cruise prior to our wedding and he loved it...the only other cruise we have done together was a weekend cruise on Carnival with my brother & sister and their families and he made me promise never to go on Carnival again...

Last year he did show me a Radisson brochure on a Canada/New England cruise with a stay in New York but we never booked it...he said this was something that he would like to try...

This past November was my mother-in-laws 80th birthday and we were trying to think of something very special to do for her and something that she would not do for herself...she loves to cruise but would never spend the money for Radisson not that she could not afford to...so Chuck and I took her and our daughter on a 7 day Radisson cruise over Thanksgiving...it was wonderful and we upgraded both cabins to Butler so that it would be extra special for her...Chuck just loved it...sitting on the balcony listening to music and just watching the world go by...I will say that I have not seen him so relaxed in so long...

While on this cruise he said that we need to do another one with lots of sea days and for longer...so here we are planning on the November 19th Mariner Canal Cruise...

Andi a brillant idea. Ken and I have been married for 23 years (2nd for both of us - we got it right the second time) I dragged Ken on his first cruise (Carnival) now I cant keep him off the ships. We had been on 40 cruises before we began this "cruise thing" four years ago.

Ken is also a firefighter for the City of Dallas for over 30 years. We also have had a personnel consulting firm for 25 years called Brown and Keene. Hence the name for the cruise business. Everyone asks me who "Brown" is. My ex partner I bought out 7 years ago.

We LOVE cruising and travel of any kind. The more we do the more we want to do. One of the neatest parts is meeting everyone. Many of the people I have met will be friends for life.

I was born in New Zealand and immigrated by myself to the States at the tender age of 19, pretty scary really. Ken is from Dallas and we live in Dallas, Texas, have two children and two grandchildren.

My favorite Grandchild/cruise story when my grand daughter was four years old she went on the Mariner. When she got home she said Radisson Seven Seas is the best ship much better than Disney. So I asked why. She said "because of Signatures of course". Still confused I asked her to explain. "Well Grandma Ngaire they have the best macaroni and cheese in the whole world"

Ken and I say when we get too old we will jump off the front of a ship together - what a way to go - but not a Radisson ship!!!!

HAHAHAHAHA That was very funny, Gil!!!

My turn! My wife, Penny, and I decided a Caribbean cruise would be a wonderful way to spend Christmas 1994 with our sons, Patrick and Danny (then 15 and 12). We loved it! Our next two cruises were also with the boys, and it was very bittersweet to leave them home when we cruised the PG last month to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We live in Los Gatos, California, a small town between San Jose and the ocean. I'm a lawyer (bad word these days?), and Penny is recently retired from 30 years in high tech. Our goal is to be able to do a cruise a year, maybe more after we BOTH retire. I've enjoyed the cruise board (both past and present) so much, and we made wonderful friends on our PG cruise that we hope to make longtime cruising partners.
Tim

Andi,

What a terrific idea!

Alan (Mr. NYFEDS) and I have been married for 35 years (I was in pre-school at the time - Alan is WAY older than me!). We have two daughters, ages 31 and 27. We are the grandparents of one beautiful granddaughter. We moved to So. CA from NY 34 years ago.

Alan is a Sr. Claims Adjuster for Allstate and I am an Executive Assistant at Crowne Plaza Hotel in Orange County, CA.

We never thought we would want to cruise and did so, only as a last resort, for a "safe" vacation on a cruise to Alaska, after 9/11. We were just awestruck at how magnificent the ship was (Navigator) and how incredible the service was on-board. To add to the experience, we met some really wonderful people while sailing; the most special being Ngaire and Ken.

While on our Alaska cruise, we immediately booked our next trip, which was VOF, where we had the time of our lives with truly some of the best people we have ever vacationed with. Our sailing on the Voyager along with our first-time experience going to Europe was magical for us.

We are now hooked on cruising,

I happened upon the cruise message boards purely by accident. My staying on the boards is attributed to the really wonderful people who frequent them each day and add so much to my learning about destinations I had only dreamed about until recently. I'm indeed very fortunate to call so many of you my friend.

I think the age group should be "35 and under" I do not like moving into this next group :D :D
John and I have been married 12 years and we really were babies, at least by all of my friends standards. We went on a reallllyyyy old boat (Seabreeze I think?) forgot the line, but it was built in the 40's, beautiful teak, etc. Then, went on many Carnival cruises. Have to admit I enjoyed them. We always had a blast, even with the ridiculous lines and not being able to get a chair at the pool (my biggest pet peeve!). Oct 01 we decided to celebrate and go over to Europe and incorporate a cruise. We got the shaft from REN. two weeks prior to cruising!!! So, I did some really quick research and found RSSC. I had never heard of it and was not familiar with any of the luxury lines. Since it was right after Sept. 11th, there weren't very many people on the Navigator (I think in the 200 range?) so we REALLY got special treatment. Needless to say, there was no turning back. We have been on every boat with the exception of the SOF :( and I can honestly say I loved them all. We met Ken & Ngaire on the first trip and then many others since then. I love the connection I have with so many I have met/have not met. Regardless of our walks of life, none of that seems to matter when we discuss what fills ours lives with enjoyment ;) We live outside of Ft. Laud, John grew up here (born in Phillie) and I grew up in SC. We don't have any 2 legged children, but we do have 2 4legged ones. Paco (chichi) and Heidi (minpin) are both 12yoa. Heidi is our lovable PITA who has diabetes and requires an insulin shot EVERY day. Guess what an ordeal it is for us to go on vacation??!!! We are both in law enforcement, John-Robbery/Homicide and me-Sex Crimes/Child Abuse (I know, real uplifting!). And, most importantly, we will be retired in less than 4 years. At which time, John wants to work on RSSC and I want to work for Ngaire!
PS-Anthony, how hard do you like it?? John is in 2 bands, one mellow, and one, very hard!!

Anthony, John's new CD "The Days In Between" is really good. I highly recommend it. John/Kim: Is Opus Sun the mellow band or the hard one?

Well now, let's see..I met my wife Erika and proposed to her 10 days later. We were married 6 months later and all that happened 37 years ago.
If you don't know us, my wife is the Saint, and I'm Peck's bad boy. We have two small dogs who rule this house with iron paws. One is a poodle and the other is a Havanase puppy given to us by'Crazy Gretchen'. (Gretchen is a case history for some psychiatrist needing a subject for PHD)
I am just 4 years old, and married to a substantially older woman. I can't give out her age, suffice it to say that when dinosaurs roamed the earth, she knew them!

We love cruising, and the Irish people we meet -not to exclude others, it's just that the world is either Irish, or those who wish they were. We came back from DDD and became devoted friends to so many people.

I have started to build a substantial harem along the way, and only need lots more money to keep them all in the fashion they want to become accustomed to. For some arcane reason, all the members of the harem have developed a strange fascination for collecting gold jewelry! I do not understand this fetish, I just let them get on with it.

We live in a beautiful house that accomodates all types of visitors (hint Karen and Mark) who do not need to park their Winnebago out front (save your money for other things!)

If we haven't met you, hold on, we'll try to correct that problem - I'll do my best that you won't regret having to had wait.

Marty (aka Guiseppe Gianneschi)

Gosh, I always wanted a forum to post my memoirs while I could still remember them, how big did you say this server was John??

I'm a fifth generation Californian, born in Monterey. My dad is still in Carmel, he took up golf in his 50's (not THE 50's) and shot an 86 the week before his 87th birthday!! I pray I have his genes (well, of course I do, but you know what I mean).

Age-wise I'm running somewhere in the middle of the pack. Single, possibly pending something more permanent (I mean LEGAL), but then again...

My first cruise (?) was spending 3.5 months onboard a ship as a Sophomore in college, round the world, fabulous in every way other than the "cruise experience" (we "got" to change our own sheets every couple of weeks or so and had to bargain with the crew for toilet paper). My second time was a Princess cruise in the Med with my Mom after I graduated from cooking school in Paris. While I couldn't really say anything bad about the experience, there was nothing truly great either. It was like being able to go to Denny's and being able to order anything or eveything on the menu. Not bad, but also not good...( I did, however, meet a "Master of Wine" from London who was lecturing on board, we went on to date for some time until he became a British MP and didn't have enough time for his "Yank" girlfriend).

THEN...skipping many years...tra la...I found Radisson (this is back to my cruise memoirs, the real "dirt" you have to get from me in person) and the rest is continuing history: 3 Diamond, 5 Song of Flower, 1 Voyager and now the Mariner! Two ships left to go...

Oh, I recently moved to Orinda, CA, a bedroom community of San Francisco, close to my Alma Mater, Cal. I have been a faithfull Bear fan, suffering through MANY years of humiliation at the hands of the Pac 10. I work, well, daytrade, to cruise, reside off/on with a S/O and ALWAYS with two VERY significant cats, live to eat, drink more wine than I probably should (but I'm TRAINED in the field!) and in the past year have met some of the nicest, most wonderful people in the world who I'm very proud to call friends. :)

My husband Marty and I seem to be the oldest of the pack. We got married in college and have been married to each other for 47n years. He is a retired pharmacist and I am a partner in a market research business. We have 3 daughters, 5 grandchildren, and a wonderful tabby cat who adopted us 9 years ago.

We have our own power boat (Grand Banks)and do a lot of boating in the San Francisco area. We also have 2 cars that we show in car shows and enjoy driving.

We travel as much as possible.We have chartered boats in many parts of the world. We have cruised on many different types of ships.We have even taken 2 Windjammer cruises. We went on a Blue Lagoon cruise in Fiji.We have been on the PG and did a Transatlantic trip on the Diamond. Last summer we went on the Crystal Harmony to Alaska.
We prefer RSSC and are taking the VTC cruise in April. A few years ago we took the whole family on a 7 day Disney cruise.

My husband has had a few medical problems of late. He has a new hip and a new knee. I am trading him in a piece at a time. Perhaps I will end up with a 30 year old. Next year he has to replace the other knee and hip. He isn't much of a dancer but he is a great story teller.

Looking forward to meeting as many of you as possible.

What a great topic!

Four weeks before our 20th anniversary, my honey asked if I had anything planned. I didnt. He suggested we investigate cruising; I sneered (silly me).

I stumbled on a TA/cruise specialist, who asked what I thought were really bizarre questions: what was our favorite local restaurant? (Castagna or Higggins) our favorite hotel? (Four Seasons Chicago) She recommended RSSC right off the bat.

A couple of days later we booked the Navigator to Alaska. Wow.

Really wow.

So long as the kids are so young (16, 13, 7) and David's vacation time so scarce, we're fortunate to be able to cruise every other year.

We ski, hike, read, collect old rocks (visit archeological sites). See a lot of theater, listen to a wide variety of music.

I find such charming, witty, and intelligent "conversation" in Radisson cyber-space! And I **SO** look forward to meeting you all in person some day.

What a wonderful topic! I've loved reading about you all. I'll try to make this brief (but probably won't succeed).

(Petlover) Marcie & Tom Matassa
Fullerton, CA
marciematassa@adelphia.net

I had a very traditional "Leave it to Beaver" up bringing. Born in Memphis,TN and grew up in Tulsa, OK. On my Father's side.I actually have kind of a blue ribbon pedigree - I had nothing but a wonderful life! My Father was a senior Captain with American Airlines so I virtually grew up traveling. I took my first airplane ride when I was only 3 weeks old.

Due to the airlines and the fact that my Father was a U.S. Air Force Lt. Colonel, we moved often eventually settling in Southern California. I graduated from Palos Verdes High School in 1967, and from Colorado State University in 1971. My only real claim to fame (all by myself) was my success selling real estate in Southern California for 25 years where I was ranked amongst the top realtors in California.

I'm happily married to Tom, my soul mate and my best friend. We had completely different upbringing, he from Manhattan, NY and me from Tulsa, Ok. Tom worked for many years as a management consultant through out the U.S. and the world. We spent months apart from each other but were always in touch (Andi and Doug have it easy compared to the years we went through with me in California and him in places like Bombay, India for 6 months!). Luckily, due to Tom's job we were able to travel and see the world. We visited fabulous places such as Hong Kong, Bangkok, Indonesia, Spain, and France. As for cruising, this was brought about by me. I wanted to give it a try so in 1992 (?) we went on a fabulous Mediterranean cruise on Orient Lines. Our first Radisson cruise was VOF (Voyager October 1 ' 03 from Venice to Rome)

In 2003 Tom retired. Upon his retirement, I did the same. For the past few years I have spent most of my free time caring for my wonderful Mom who suffered from dementia and my love and devotion to animals. Unfortunately, my Mom passed away on May 1, 04. This has freed up a lot of my time allowing us travel that we could never have considered before. Daughters Gina (27) and Jill (24) are grown. Gina is happily married and doing well living in San Jose. Jill graduated in 2003 from the same college as Gina (U.C. Santa Barbara) and is now gainfully employed and living back home. Jill's moving back home put a new twist to our lives.We were getting pretty comfortable living with just us and our pets but all and all.it's working out great. She is a marvelous house and pet sitter while we're away! Without Jill living at home, this would not be possible as there are few people I would consider trusting our pets with!

I'm blessed to be married to a fabulous man who puts up with my whims. I'm the planner who plans the trips and cruises. He has an easy-going disposition and great sense of humor....living with Tom is never dull! Our hobbies are simple and consist of watching the Lakers, U.S.C. Trojans, and the California Angels, and of course some fine dining, good wines and our after dinner Sambuca! Tom enjoys playing poker at local casinos, day trading and golf in-between our travels . Our HUGE upcoming once in a lifetime trip is in January when we will be on the Voyager Around the World Cruise for 3 1/2 months!

Life is good! I feel very blessed to have a loving husband, 2 wonderful daughters, 5 critters (2 dogs: Mattie & Mr. Magoo and 3 cats: "Famous Amos"-my avatar, Bo & Barney). I'm thankful for our good health and the ability to travel and meet so many great new friends! Our door is always open to anyone who is in our neighborhood

What a great way to welcome newcomers to the group! I've been reading posts for a while on the "other" cruise board so feel like I know some of you ... but thank you as a newcomer for the bios!

On our end ... we're both in our 30s and live in Hawaii. I was born in Japan and my family moved to the US when I was 1. My citizenship is still Japanese and I live here with a "green card". My family originally lived in NJ as my father was doing his training in Newark and when he finished, we moved to Hawaii and have been here since. I went to college on the east coast and then came back to Hawaii to do medical school. Went to training in family practice in Sacramento, CA and now am back in Hawaii to practice. I got married 2 yrs ago to a classmate from medical school (who just happened to have gone to the same high school as me) and we practice together.

No kids as of yet but we do have "children" of the furry type - 3 cats. Shadow is our black domestic short hair (DSH) rescued from the SPCA, Ashley is our grey domestic medium hair (DMH) from a pet store, and Ahi is our white Himalayan from a friend who was a breeder.

Our first cruise was for our honeymoon in 2002 on Princess. Immediately fell in love with the atmosphere of cruising and have, like Lawrence, continued to look for the best possible "fit" for us. Since then, we have cruised on the RSSC Navigator and found RSSC to be a great fit for us - meeting wonderful people, smaller ships with less lines, and an upscale but relaxed atmosphere.

I hope to meet all of you on a future cruise or when you visit Hawaii!

Masaki

Penny was born and raised in England and immigrated all by her lonesome at the tender age of 18 to New York and I was born and raised in Nebraska and we met while living in Brooklyn, New York and were married in England in 1971. At the time she was into computer programming and I was a private secretary to the chairman of the board of a major railroad.

Eventually I got into railroad freight sales and the company transferred us numerous times. In 1992 after 28 years of railroading, Penny and I started our home based business as Manufacturers' Representatives selling load cells, strain gauges, non-contact ultrasonics, close tolerance machined parts, springs, wire forms, metal stampings, and freight, for various companies.

We have three daughters, a 3-year old granddaughter and a 5 mo. old grandson who fortunately live nearby. Our youngest is a special needs child who lives with us and requires specific caregiving therefore it is a challenge for us to get away but when we do, it's "Katy bar the door" because we're ready to rock'n roll.

Neighbors got us into cruising on Royal Caribbean -- Bermuda & Panama Canal; Princess to Alaska; Celebrity to Carnival Rio and the Caribbean and thence PG on 3-15-03. Next planned trip is the June 26 sailing of the Voyager -- Capt. Dag's way of Norway. We are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to jump on board.

As a side light, one of the more memorable times of my life was being single and working for the Government in Washington, DC in 1963....the March on Washington, the first sub-orbital space flight and parade of astronauts and finally President Kennedy's assassination. At the time I was in a very active Marine Corps Reserve Infantry outfit and we were activated to march in the President's funeral procession. To this day, I can still hear the grinding of the caisson wheels, the dirge of the funeral drum and the muffled cries of those lining the streets.

Penny and I have cruised with Andrea & Doug, Todd & Jaime, Pat & Al and we had a super time and still stay in touch. We're certainly looking forward to not only renewing acquaintances but making new ones as well. We hope it is you.

Cheers! Ray

Wow! I am LOVING this thread - as it's so interesting to learn more about the people you've been chatting with for so long!
Mark - my hub - and I have been married almost 30 years (Yes - I was 11 when we got married ;) )...live in a suburb of Philadelphia where I work as the creative director of an ad agency. Mark (who's now on permanent disability with Parkinson's) was in radio and TV News (working for all the major stations in town) - but he was the behind-the-scenes management type. We have two daughters (age 25 (married) and 23 - who has just moved back in after college while she looks for a full time teaching position. (You don't expect them to move back in, do you?)
As everyone who sees my avatar can guess, we are very much a basset hound family. We have two (Morgan and Chloe)...and our married daughter has two - which she brings over to visit quite a lot. When they are all in our backyard, it looks like a herd of short cows! (And I am trying to talk Mark into how much we need a 3rd basset in the house!) Anyway...our first cruise was on HAL, for our first anniversary. We enjoyed it a lot. Then we switched to RCCL - and travelled with friends...with family...on our own...for at least 6 cruises. In fact our last RCCL cruise was about 4 years ago. My inlaws took all their kids and grandkids on a cruise to celebrate their 50th. Even my parents came along - making it about 24 in our group!
Last year, when I had been working for my company for 20 years, my boss wanted to send Mark and me on a cruise. Since we had been on so many "regular" cruises, I asked if I could take his contribution and contribute some on our own to "bump up" to a luxury line. After much internet research - and the discovery of the cc board - we chose Mariner's New Year's cruise 2003. As much as we enjoyed that cruise - I think our 2/7 Navigator cruise was even better. It's hard to believe that I have only met ONE person on this board in person. I feel like I know so many of you so well already!

This thread is so amazing! What a varied and interesting group.

I took my first cruise 12 years ago when my parents took my sister and I on HAL. I was hoooked! My husband Steve and I then took several trips with a group from Domaine Chandon (sadly the group no longer exists) on Princess and Crystal. My experiences with those lines were colored somewhat by the fact we were with a large group of spakling wine lovers and were supplied with endless parties and extra ammenities not available to a "regular" passenger. We were scheduled to sail on The PG for our 5th anniversary but my daughter came along and put a slight delay in our cruising schedule. Since her birth we've sailed on Windstar in the Mediterranean (a unique and relaxing experience, one I'd gladly repeat), Celebrity to the Carribean (my sister got married on the trip, she's hooked too), Disney (got to get the daughter hooked on cruising too!) and then two wonderful trips on RSSC; Mariner through the Panama Canal and the Paul Gauguin for our 10th anniversary (only 5 yeaqrs late!). We're returning to Celebrity this summer because I want to travel with my sister and her husband and RSSC is simply out of their budget. It will be my 10th cruise!!

My husband and I have been married for 10 years, we're both in our late 30's, our daughter is 5. I'm originally from Michigan and have lived in Kentucky, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. My husband is from New York and has been in Texas for 15 years. I'm a physician (pathology is my specialty) and Steve is a mechanical engineer who is now "retired". Actually he's a great at-home-dad to our daughter. We live in McKinney Texas which is near Dallas with our two cats, a hermit crab and a turtle who showed up in our pool one day. We're currently building a house which is driving me absolutely crazy. I really need a cruise!

I am 40 and single. I was born in Houston, moving overseas very quickly thereafter for a brief stay in Norway, then on to Yorkshire, London and the Netherlands. My father was in offshore drilling. We moved back to Pennsylvania when my father died in '76. I have two older brothers, 13 and 16 years older than me! So I really am the baby in this family.

I attended Carnegie-Mellon University for Psychology then Pitt for my graduate degree. In between HS and college I became a competitive ice dancer. I loved it, but the politics were so widespread and insidious. Add to that the fact that such a very small percentage of people actually "make" it in sports, and I decided to go back to school.

I turned professional and began teaching ice dance, which I did until I became too busy in my "other" career. Right out of school I worked as a polysomnographer in a sleep lab for several years, then with mentally retarded adults, before settling on my current career, grief counseling.

My first cruise was on the Rotterdam when I was a (as my mother tells the story) screaming baby 30 some years ago. My second was on the France (which became the Norway) in the 70's.

In the 80's and 90's I cruised quite a few times on NCL, Costa, RCCL and Disney. In 1998, as my "finally un-hitched" present to myself, I splurged and sailed on the PG...well, as the story so often goes, I was hooked.

I started planning for another PG trip not long after that, but wanted to find a new travel agent...I did a search on the internet, and found the one, the only, the wonderful Ngaire. Little did I know at the time how incredibly lucky I was.

Funny/ironic story - I was already hooked on cc, and thought Ngaire would also enjoy it, so I e-mailed her a link. She had trouble opening it at first and said that she appreciated it, but really didn't have time for that stuff. HA!

I have been on the PG twice, the Navigator twice, the Voyager once and the Diamond. Making the rounds, I will be on the Mariner for MINT.

I currently live in McMurray, PA (about 25 minutes south of Pittsburgh). I have two beautiful Ragdoll cats and a 2 year old Husky named Niko. For anyone who hasn't cruised with me yet, be prepared to see his portfolio when you do!! I have no kids, so my pets are my "kids."

I am so fortunate to have met many of the wonderful people on this board, and I can't wait to meet the rest of you!

Yes, my participation on the CC board is due to Sheri. When you think about in reality if you like this board it would not be here if Sheri had not started me in this direction in the first place. THANKS SHERI!!! After working with Sheri for years I finally met her on the VOF. I had to twist her arm to come on that instead of going back to Tahiti for the THIRD time. She loves Tahiti. Now I dont like the idea of her cruising without me along.

It is such a pleasure to meet people you have already developed a relationship with prior to cruising. So many of the people I have worked with first and then finally meet them on a trip. That is just simply fantastic. These boards do the same thing. The relationship develops on line and then when you meet on a cruise it is really wonderful.

This idea is so popular(yeah Andi) I suggest we start yet "another" separate topic so we dont lose this thread. We or my technical gurus actually, can move this thread over to the new topic. New members can enter their bios or not as they chose. It will be fun before cruising together to go back and read these and get re-acquainted with our backgrounds before meeting each other.

Kimmi,

Where can I find the CD. I like music that is typified by gropus with terrible sounding names (although in truth most lyrics are about socially conscious issues if you can understand them) like Hatebreed, Pantera, etc, etc.

Anthony

...and Ngaire...in case I haven't said this to you yet....THANKS FOR TWISTING MY ARM SO HARD!!!!! :D

This is such a wonderful idea! I have loved reading about everyone! Forgive me in advance - I'm long-winded.

I was born and raised in St. Joseph MO, vowing never to live in this "one horse town" as an adult. My parents loved to travel, and Dad's job (37 years with IBM) made that possible. Went to the Universtity of Kansas (go Jayhawks!) and settled down in Lenexa KS working in sales. Spent a summer in Hickory NC evaluating a new job, loved the area but couldn't focus my life around Winston Cup Racing ;) , so moved back to KC and started working for a wire rope company in customer service. Within 2 months they transferred me to (guess where?) St. Joseph MO.

Got married, divorced, and now live with my S/O Tim and our 5 adopted cats. 2 were planned, and 3 were abandoned under our stairs when they were about a week old.(Sunshine, Dinah, Bo, Cleo, and Shy) Age wise early 40's. Other than working as a database admin and in gov't sales, I'm active at church and in civic organizations, and drop in on Dad (he's 73) most days after work for a quick chat and a glass of wine. (okay - maybe more than one

What a nice idea!I've really enjoyed reading about the various backgrounds of my fellow travelers!
I was born in Cuba and emigrated with my family( for obvious reasons) to PR in 1961. My husband Bob is from Atlanta and we met while working for Merck, the pharmaceutical co( he still works there) . I'm now "retired" from the corporate world and spend my time planning trips!
I took my first cruise when I was 18, aboard the Carla C, a Costa ship. 3 girls and I were in a quad for which we paid $400 each! Pretty outrageous when you consider the size of the cabin and bathroom( tiny!).Since then I've been in 12 cruises , 2 of which have been in Radisson( Navigator to Alaska and Voyager to Baltic). Bob's first cruise was during our honeymoon , a transcanal aboard the Royal Princess.
We have 2 children: a boy 14 and a girl 9.
Last year on the Voyager we had the pleasure of meeting some people from the boards(Ngaire and Ken, Anne and Gary (adrenn) and Mary Ellen and her husband(m'ellen)). We're looking forward to meeting the rest of you soon!

Hi. I'm afraid we still have lurker statis but my thanks to all of you who have welcomed us first to the Radisson cc board and now here. We have cruised for many years but never on Radisson. Larry and I have been married for 42 years. We met on the blind date from hell and were engaged six weeks later. We have two grown, married children who live nearby in Palm Beach County, Florida and a recently married grand daughter in graduate school in Denton, Texas. We relocated here from Maryland in January 2003 after being snowflakes for four years. Larry still goes back Monday to Thursday to his office there where he is the CFO and vice president of a computer management firm. I retired a year ago from being a senior management analyst/major acquisitions specialist (that means anything over $1B)for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/ DOC after being diagnosed with cancer and am now happy to announce that as of my last check-up, I am cancer-free. One day we will be on a Radisson cruise (I am especially interested in going on the Diamond after reading all your comments). Until then, I shall happily lurk. You all give me a smile and a giggle every morning. My special thanks to Karen for her help. I'm sure when we finally meet, you will be as lovely as you seem to be.

I have been a lurker on CC for about two years. With all of your good comments about the PG I blindly booked Tahiti for two weeks last February. “A trip of a lifetime”, to say the least. My wife, Susan and myself, Bob have been on multiple Princess ships, till we went on the PG. Princess is now a happy, never to be done again ship. We Met Ngaire on the two week trip. I am hooked, but alas, with a older home here in St. Louis, “the money pit” our travels will be planned by year, not by month, like some of our friends here on the board. But as they say, anticipation is part of the trip. My wife is a transplant coordinator at a major hospital here. I own a small printing company. We have four cats, inside, one that adopted us outside. That is about it. I am enjoying this new group. Thanks all for starting the new page.

Thank you, Andi, Karen, John, Ngaire...all of you, for this wonderful board....and what a great thread!

I was totally hooked on traveling after spending my junior year abroad in Florence in the late sixties! When Jack asked me to marry him ;) (20 plus years ago)and move to Brasil, that was it! From the excitement of Rio we moved on to the Middle East. Living in the Middle East gave us the incredible opportunity to travel the world! Just to get home was an Around The World airline ticket. Oh those were the days..... (Right, Andi! :D ) And after seeing all that sand for 2 years, I was thrilled to move to the ocean in Boca Raton :cool: !

I grew up in the hotel business so when our affiliation with Radisson hotels in the early nineties resulted in the opportunity to take a cruise on the Diamond, we couldn't resist! Loved the ship, loved the service, the food and the whole experience! Did a few HAL ships after that and adored the huge suites but the RSSC cruising experience is the best for us! Except for SOF, have sailed on all the RSSC ships, and each one becomes our new favorite! We are somewhat conflicted however since we also love land travel....and can only work in so many trips a year! So many places to go...so little time...so little money!

Jack and I are still involved in my family's hotel business and I also sell real estate. We have a precious Havanese who totally controls our life! We've shown him for the past 2 years, but are considering his retirement shortly.

Our work keeps us (way too) busy so we cherish the diversion, excitement and treasured experiences of travel! I love the planning and anticipation of every trip. And I love sharing and learning from all the wonderful people on this board! Thank you, all!

Anthony, the cd Lawrence is referring to is the "mellow" one. He is most proud of that one, he thinks the "hard" one could use some technical fine-tuning. It was done a few years ago, before they had all their new-fangled hi tech equipment. I actually love to hear him play rock, they are excellent live. They do shows here and there and it's always alot of fun. Me and the other wives are the groupies :D
Pantera, huh? Pretty good. Do you like any new stuff?