Thank you Olivia, Marcie, and Todd.
I will talk to Jan about it, but the Westin
looks mighty nice.

Jim - that process that Todd just went through was essentially the same exact process I went through to book my room for $60. Bidding For Travel is a truly amazing website for people who want to book hotels for cheap using Priceline! Good luck!

Masaki

JAN AND I ARE IN!!
Thanks to everyones help we now have reservations at The Westin LAX for 11/11/04
That worked slick.

Does the Westin have a shuttle bus that drives around the airport picking up customers as they arrive?

Congrats, Jim! At this rate, there's going to be a bunch of us at the Westin from LCT! :)

Masaki

Are we going to need to dress up on this cruise?

You look dressed up now Jim. I think on these 7 nighters there are combinations of Country Club Casual, Semi-formal/Formal. Perhaps 1 or 2 semi-formal/formal. That is an interesting question as maybe it will not have the formal due to the itinerary....oh I don't know. Maybe Ngaire does? I will email the office to find out.

Yea I figured we would find out sometime before sailing.
Personally I am not a big fan of dressing up on a cruise. :(

Me neither Jim....but in your picture you look appropriate for semi or fomral.

I'm guessing 1 formal night, 2 informal nights and 4 casual....just a guess!

Oh my! Time to get a tux!

Maybe we could just sit out on deck by the pool or something.
They will never miss us!! <img border="0" alt="[naughty]" title="" src="graemlins/naughty.gif" />

Todd, you definitely don't need to get a tux unless you want to for other reasons (the Oscars at some point in the future, maybe?!) You will see a 50-50 split, maybe even less for the tux. At any rate, neither of you has to worry. Todd looks great in his dark suit (as I can attest) and Jim looks great in his suit (from his avatar!) Besides, Ken never wears a tux on-board that I know of. (Of course, the only time I was with him was when tux was not required, but as I remember, Ngaire says he does not like them!) I say do what you want, but don't feel pressure! We will definitely not be with "world cruisers" on this cruise who like that kind of thing or just think it is expected on that kind of voyage.

OK! Maybe it's the Navy Blue suit for me! Thanks Olivia.

If we book MINT Tony will bring dark suit - Joanna

What do you mean IF Joanna??? :D

Ok Ok Ok. Maybe the suit, but I'm going to wear my topsiders!!! <img border="0" alt="[jam]" title="" src="graemlins/jammin.gif" />

Hey everyone,

Peter went the dinner jacket route, but I got all his things (dinner jacket, pants and shirt...all wool or cotton for the shirt, no polyester stuff) at [URL=http://www.etuxedo.com. He looked like a million bucks and did not have drop that much cash (all three came out to less than $300, shipping included). Marc Richards who runs the website is very helpful and I could not beat his deals, brick or mortar or internet!!

All,

I will detail more in my journal, but the following may be of interest for you:

RE: What and where to fly into: We flew Jet Blue into Long Beach, which is the closest airport to to San Pedro, where the Los Angeles Port is.

RE: Where to Stay - I mentioned this on another thread, but the Sheraton San Pedro worked out fine for us. Not too swanky, but it is 5 minutes away from the World Cruise Center and they run a free shuttle over there! They claim they are remodeling and will have the Sheraton's equivalent of the Westin's Heavenly Beds soon, who knows!! We paid $99 for a Club Level which includes continental breakfast.

RE: Canopy Tour - The tour operator is the same one RSSC uses. When I had contacted them independently they basically told me that they were the same folks who were doing the RSSC one and just to go with RSSC. The difference was about 5 dollars (I think, I'd have to check my notes) and if you do the RSSC sponsored tour, they are on the hook to get you back to the ship on time. It's a first class outfit, though, so if Todd gets the big group independently with them instead of RSSC, I'm sure there will be no hitch. I just thought I would let you guys know.

Did you have any guest speakers on board?

Oh if it's $5 difference....I'll go with RSSC....less planning!

Hi Jim B,

Yes we had two, one a financial planner from Merrill Lynch and an Anthropologist, they were great to socialize with but Peter and I didn't think the talks were up to par. More of that in my journal...

Todd,

Let me dig up the quote from Vallarta Adventrues and I will let you know...It may have been $5 - $10 difference. Given the big gang, it sounds like they will need 3 Army Trucks (I kid you not, that's what they use for transportation!...It has seat belts, tho!!)

You are right Todd. If that is all it is different we might as well go with the cruise line.

Todd,

I just read through my notes from Vallarta Adventures. My question to them was how much would they charge from the PV Pier to their office (where you get "loaded" onto the army truck). Their reply was "you might as well book the tour with your cruise line, because that price includes transportation from/to the pier".

Their price was $65.00, and apparently there is an extra 10% off if you book online. RSSC's tour price was $75.00. You do make a stop at their office which from my calculations was about 5 minutes away...a very long walk. If you all hired cabs to get there, it may be about at least $5.00 one way. Of course if you get 4 people to a vehicle or 6 to a van, than may help economics, but my own personal feeling at that time was that the $10.00 of not having to do the extra cab flagging/bartering was worth it.

I would also vote for booking through RSSC if the difference if $10 and it gets us out of dealing with the hassles of worrying about transportation and such.

Masaki

Yes I think we should do the RSSC thing!

Editing to add that I don't really see any excursions on RSSC site for Los Cabos that interest me. I was just there for Christmas and don't need a tour....but was really interested in Parasailing....perhaps I will look for a tour company that does that...or any advice??

Yes, I vote for RSSC too, then we margarita chickens will be sure that we will not leave without you! Of course, maybe they will leave without US if we don't find our way back to the ship! Oh, my daughter may join me on this cruise, so I guess I will have to behave!

Todd,

I visited xploraloscabos.com before I went on the cruise and they had a variety of tours, land and sea for Los Cabos, but now their webiste isn't up...maybe they have maintenance going on right now? My Frommer's guide also listed them as a good resource, and they didn't strike me as a fly by night operation (the webiste was too nice)

Olivia - how old is your daughter and can we collectively corrupt her? ;) Come on - we're joining MINT so we can meet the REAL you!

Masaki

Masaki, my daughter for the MINT cruise just turned 27 yesterday, (March 21, first day of spring!) She is so much different than the one who is going on VJ7 (22) with me, Marcie, Lawrence, and many others. This one is definitely a keeper too, but much different! She works for the family business, and after a bit of time it takes getting to know her there, all agree she is a champion! My younger daughter is vociferous, this one is quieter. Marcie will get to know both of them, and since she is a mom, I'm sure she will love both of them, as we moms can forgive, forgive, and bite our tongues! They do not seem to be from the same family is what I am trying to say, but both are looking forward to meeting all of you! Especially since mom talks so much about her cc friends (it doesn't matter the venue, cc or lct)

Olivia - I'm sure we'll all love her! Looking forward to meeting her and the rest of you as well. Just out of curiosity, what IS the family business?

Masaki

Masaki, Seafood!

JHP
You just can't wait to have a steak on your trips, huh? LOL

San Pedro Hilton is the best place to stay.

However, it's not a Hilton anymore, it's The Marina Hotel. Stayed there last month. It overlooks the marina, as the name suggests. Nice little restaurant in the lobby.

They also drive you to the pier.

Maybe Ngaire can arrage for a group rate?

There is a hotel across from the Pier, but I think it's a Best Western. Location is so-so. Holiday Inn is on a very noisy street.

Good place to eat is 22nd Street Landing, around the corner and up a block from the hotel. Mostly seafood, right on the Marina.

We would love to join you, but we've been to Cabo three times in the past year, so looking for new ports.

Hi Bob & Frances:
A group of us have already booked the Westin LAX through priceline.
We also hope to find someone who will take us as a group to the ship on Saturday.
Ngaire said she is not flying in until the day of the cruise.

Ship's leaving Friday.

Oh yea. I knew that. Opps!

Jim - good to know that we won't be leaving you on the dock on Saturday. :)

Olivia - seafood?? How tempting!

Masaki

Decided to book our airfare last night.
Looked at all the discount sites, and then went directly to Delta and found them the lowest! :ohmy: Sure hope we don't have any problems down the road cuz they are not refundable.
Figured they would not be any cheaper later. in fact thought that with the current higher fuel costs, which will hit the airlines soon, the prices will go up.

Did you give your TA the mini bar set up you would like to have at time of booking? <img border="0" alt="[Drinking]" title="" src="graemlins/062802drink_prv.gif" />
Our is that something we do later?