We are on that cruise on the Navigator in November. Has anyone made this trip at that time of year and was there lots of good food and activities? I checked and it is almost full so lots of people wanted this trip.

Anyone else on this trip?

Hi Food - welcome to LCT. I see that no one answered you, but, I do know we have MarnaLou and I Travel Now on that particular cruise. Maybe they are off cruising.

I live in Ventura County and I am going on the ship for lunch the day it's in Port Hueneme to visit them.

Look for posts titled SPINN. We give our cruises acronyms - South Pacific on Navigator November.

Lynn and I did basically the same itinerary on the Mariner in 2003. We left from and returned to SFO; 26 days of heaven. Our cruise was a bit earlier; 21 Sep-17 Oct. It was perfect all the way with calm seas and clear skies. Temps were in the 80s most of the cruise; cooled a bit returning from Hawaii to SFO, but not too much. Our cruise was full all the way. Depending on who your Cruise Director is, you should have a lot of special events. By the time of your cruise Fabrizzio and Guseppie from the Diamond should be aboard. Lots of sea days, but they have a lot of fun events like the equator crossing. You're gonna love it! If you have any specific questions, please fire away.

Yes, George and I will be aboard for the LA - Tahiti leg. Then we're jumping ship for the Marquesas cruise on the PG.

Do you love sea days as we do, food consultant? I love crossings and have yet to be bored on a cruise ship. There is always something to do and I bring needlepoint and a good book but the days just seem to evaporate all too quickly.

Just this morning I realized (thank you Margo)that the King Tut exhibit and we will be in LA on the same day so I bought tickets for 11/7. Great way to start a fun trip.

Hi Food Consultant! I'm so glad you are joining us on the Navigator...I think we will have a nice group of LCT passengers.

My husband and I took this cruise 2 years ago, we were onboard with Dougburns and his report covers some of your questions. There are many sea days, but there seems to be plenty to do. Often it's hard to choose between several good lectures or activities. Obviously we liked it well enought to book it again. But, we truly love sea days and the chance to really relax.

Please let us know if we can give you any other details.

Marna Lou, what time did you reserve for Tut? I think I'm going midafternoon, but have to double check.

Kathy, so glad to know you'll be coming on board for lunch. Can't wait to meet you!

Margo, 11am - 12pm entry on November 7. Did you say you have tickets for the 6th?

You will want to arrive an hour before your rentry time at LACMA. Parking is a bear. Wear comfy shoes too!

Margo, I will need you to request me to come on board to join you, I think. Will have to find out from Ngaire. i'd meet you all at the Tut thing, but, I will be in Rome when you leave.

Marsha...I have ticket for 3 PM entry on Nov. 7. We arrive in LA in the morning at 11 am (I hope!)

Kathy...I think Ngaire has to fax RSSC your name, date of birth and passport number. We are dining with old friends in Honolulu and that's what we had to do last time we were there. Seems to me they had some kind of form for all of that.

Maskai and Amanda...could you have lunch with us on the Navigator on the Friday after Thanksgiving? Of course Marika is invited to!

I will have Ngaire take care of this - thanks, Margo.

Kathy...it will be so much fun to have lunch on the Navigator. I know I don't have to give you a tour, but finally, WE get to meet!

Aloha Kathy:

I don't want to disappoint you, but last year we stopped in Port Hueneme on the Pacifc Coast cruise, and did the RSSC Request Form for my sister and her family to join us for lunch.

We were told that they could join us at the Port of Los Angeles, but NOT Port Hueneme. Apparently it is more of a military base than anything, and the security there is extremely tight. As a matter of fact it is the ONLY time I've ever had my handbag THOROUGHLY searched before being able to reboard the ship.

Things may have changed, but this happened last May.

We were really disappointed as my sister and her family live in Thousand Oaks and we so wanted to share the "Mariner" with them. We ended up leaving the ship, she picked us up and we went to her house for lunch!

P.S. You can get the RSSC form from Ngaire. You have to provide the name, birthdate and driver's license or passport # for each of your potential GUESTS. I guess they do a security check on each on-board guest prior to issuing an okay, if the Port requested allows it.

Margo - but of course! I'll have to let Ngaire know to put us on the guest list. :) Now, how is that going to work with the passport for Marika? Hmmmm ...

Welcome food consultant!

Masaki

Kathy and Masaki...I just sent an email to Ngaire letting her know that she will be receiving this information from you. There's no hurry right now, but as I remember, everything must be done at least 30 days ahead of time....so I guess we have about 100 days!

Aloha Masaki:

No need to worry about Marika, when they see her birthdate, they won't require her to have an ID. (Unless she already has a passport!!)

P.S. What a lovely name.

Thanks, Island Girl for the info. I live in Thousand Oaks/Westlake Village too.

Well, if that is the case we can have a backup plan, I have cruised the Navigator before, so may not be an issue being a prior passenger with enough clearance time. If so, we can always have lunch here back at my house, but, I think the hours the ship will be in port are post-lunchtime.

Island Girl - thanks for the info. Julie Harris from Ngaire's office informed me that I'll need to get them a copy of her birth certificate. :) And thanks for the compliment on her name!

Masaki

Food Consultant,

Welcome to LCT!!! I just got back from French Polynesia on the PG and I've also been on the Navigator. You are going to love both!!!!

I have to say that the Navigator is still my favorite ship (haven't sailed on Mariner or Voyager yet).

You all are going to have fun on SPINN with Marna Lou and Margo!!!!

Hello all South Seas travelers! We are also booked on the 26 day cruise on the Navigator this Novemeber. We booked over a year ago! We heard the ship is completely booked too.
Would be nice to meet you all during the trip.

Bill and Mary Ann

It will be lovely to meet you, Bill and Mary Ann. We'll have to have a meet-and-greet after the muster drill.

Mary Ann and Bill, welcome to LCT and the Navigator South Pacific Voyage! It will be fun to meet "Internet" friends onboard. I guess we'll have to start planning that meet-and greet!

I think we have at least 4 couples who have checked in here.

Thank you MarnaLou and ITravelNow! Will look forward to the meet-and-greet after the fun muster drill.
Margo, were you on the 2002 Circle the Pacific trip on the Volendam? If so, we think we may have met you briefly.

Bill and Mary Ann

Yes...we were! Can you give me some clues - how did we met? Were you with the Cruise Specialist group? Did you do the overland to Xian? Please help me remember.

We were traveling with the Golden Bear group on the Volendam. We met you through a mutual friend, Bob Alspach.
We recently did the 2005 HAL World Cruise with Cruise Specialists and really enjoyed the hosts, Tom and Ellen, as well as their parties and tours!
Looking forward to meeting you again!

Bill & Mary Ann

Bill and Mary Ann:

I remember Bob, in fact, we still receive email from him once in a while, especially when he's reporting on a recent cruise.

Tom and Ellen are great people. I've always enjoyed cruising with them.

Can't wait to see you again...but you may have to reintroduce yourselves! Maybe I'll remember by November.

Hi Margo,
Yes, Bob is a good writer and friend.

Will have to pick a place and a time to meet on the Navigator.

Mary Ann & Bill

It's always fun to meet right after the muster drill - does anyone have a suggestion of a good place?

Sure wish is was November already...then hurricane season would be almost over!

Hi Margo,

How about meeting in the Galileo Bar, deck 11, after muster drill? November will be here before we know it!!

Bill & Mary Ann

That sounds great...Hope all our LCT cruisemates will be there!

We will be there too. Look forward to meeting you!

Count us in!

Sounds like we have at least a party of 8!