Roll Call!!! Oosterdam RSVP Alaska - Sept 3-10, 2005

[Bones]

We are staying in Gig Harbor prior to cruise and plan on going to Paradise Lodge if the sky is clear. Anyone else venturing up there before the cruise?

Dan and Ken

8045

[shipcafe]

The wife and I love The Pink Door, 1919 Post Alley, one of the prettiest and popular rooftop patios around, VERY gay friendly but straight welcoming (grin) no sign, just a pink door on this cute lil' alley off the Pike Place market, convenient to, well, touristy stuff. Nice bistro food, can be a tad pricey, but the service has always been great.

 

Thumpers is a casual-to-classy gay restaurant/bar in the Capital Hill district, also nice for conversations and meet-ups, around for 20 years! Yowsa.

 

Laura

 

Even living here I've never been to either! I've heard of them both, though, particularly the latter . . . .

[bepsf]

Well, I ended up booking a room at the Vance Hotel for the pre-cruise stay - seems rather chic...

 

...then rooms at the MarQueen for M&D and I post-cruise (MarQueen - go figure...)

;)

[Bones]

We are 8045, a large inside stateroom one deck below the Lido. I hope this is a good choice. Where are the rest of you hanging?

Dan and Ken

[bepsf]

There are a few of us on Upper Promenade - I have one of the aft-corner suites: 4185.

 

Glad you're there on Navigation Deck - may have to borrow your facilities when we dont feel like wandering all the way down.....

;-)

[Bones]

[

Glad you're there on Navigation Deck - may have to borrow your facilities when we dont feel like wandering all the way down...

 

Brian, you are welcome to use our facilities. We will be there alone in the dark

possibly hibernating.

 

Dan and Ken

[bepsf]

Hibernating?!?!?

 

Uh, uh - You're both coming outta that den and playing with the other bears if I gotta poke you with a stick! :eek:

 

Do I have to arrange a wake-up service for you two?

;)

[shipcafe]

Brian et. al :

On Friday evening I discovered a fantastic, cozy Italian restaurant right here on the Hill within a short distance from other bars, etc. It is now my absolute favorite restaurant here in Seattle and I highly recommend it. Not to mean the CUTE boys working there! haha

Anyhow, if you're up for that type of a place let me know and perhaps we can do dinner there before cocktails elsewhere?

[bepsf]

Steve--

 

That sounds perfect for the night before we sail -

Can you send me an e-mail? I have a couple questions for you...

bep_sf@yahoo.com

 

:)

[bepsf]

Subject: September 3 10, 2005 RSVP Alaskan Cruise update

 

Greetings Alaskan Cruisers;

 

Two months and counting for RSVPs 2005 Alaskan Cruise.

 

Many of you are anxious and excited to get your Alaskan shore excursions booked and we expect the excursions to be available for booking by early August. Shore excursions may be booked, on the Holland America web site, once you receive your cruise documents from your travel agent in the beginning of August. You have to wait to receive this information before you may book any optional shore excursions with Holland America. There are many excursions to choose from and Holland America has added additional excursions with a wide variety of activities. If you would like to preview the excursions, you can log onto the Holland America site and check the Alaska Destination pages at:

 

http://www.hollandamerica.com

 

Please be aware that the shore excursions can and sometimes do change.

 

The itinerary for our Alaskan Cruise is as follows:

 

2005 RSVP Alaska Itinerary

 

September 3-10, 2005

Arrive

Depart

Saturday

Seattle- scenic cruising Puget Sound

5:00pm

Sunday

at sea-Inland Passage

Monday

Juneau

11:00am

8:00pm

Tuesday

Scenic cruising Hubbard Glacier

Noon

4:30pm

Wednesday

Haines*

7:00am

3:00pm

Thursday

Ketchikan

7:00am

1:00pm

Friday

Vancouver Island & Victoria

8:00pm

Midnight

Saturday

Seattle

7:00am**

Itinerary subject to change.

**RSVP suggests no return flights prior to 1:00pm

 

 

 

 

*Please note that the original port of Skagway, on Wednesday, has been replaced by Haines. Haines is near Skagway and allows our guests to select and experience the same types of shore excursions that would be available in Skagway.

 

Hosts:

• Danny Williams
  
• Chi Chi
  

Theme Parties:

 

Here are some hints for our onboard events this should get your creative juices flowing.

• Bubbles & Boas Bon Voyage Party
  
• Singles Party
  
• Black & White Party - as fortune has it this is on formal night, but think of anything black & white.
  
• Long Johns Party prizes for the most creative underwear or costume, groups welcome.
  
• Polar Ice T-Dance - faux fur anyone?
  
• Fireball Leather Party - think hot.
  
• Mounty T-Dance - Yum!
  

Entertainers:

 

• Leslie Jordan - Like A Dog On Linoleum
  
• Lorna Luft - Songs My Mother Taught Me To Sing
  
• Paul J. Williams - Comedian
  
• Amy Armstrong & Freddy Allen - Cabaret (Hooray!!!!! --B)
  
• Jonathan Rayson & Dan Chouinard - Cabaret
  
• Eric & Sagiv - Balancing act, human bubble, dancers
  
• Debra Dozier Speaker: Naturalist
  
• Luke Yankee Speaker: Diva Dish
  
• Lois Carlson Speaker: Financial Advisor
  
• Ingu Yun - Country Dancing (SF cruisers will know Ingu from Sundance Saloon --B)
  

Weather and suggested deck/excursion attire:

 

Temperatures range from 40F to 70 F during the day and drop into the 30s and 40s at night. Heres a list of suggested additional items to include when packing for your Alaska Cruise:

• Lightweight waterproof jacket
  
• Wool or fleece sweater or liner
  
• Turtleneck or a comfortable protective long sleeve shirt
  
• Comfortable footwear suitable for hiking and walking in wet conditions
  
• Good socks
  
• Warm hat/rain hat
  
• Gloves
  
• Sunscreen
  
• Travel umbrella
  
• Good camera with extra batteries and variety of film speeds
  
• Spare memory card and battery for digital cameras
  
• Travel-size binoculars
  
• Sunglasses
  

 

Web Links for general port information:

 

 

Juneau: http://www.traveljuneau.com/index.cfm

 

Haines: http://www.haines.ak.us/

 

Ketchikan: http://www.visit-ketchikan.com/

 

Vancouver Island & Victoria: http://www.tourismvictoria.com/

 

RSVP is busy putting the final touches on this exciting cruise and we will send out a more detailed email to you next month.

 

 

 

In the mean time be happy and enjoy the summer!

 

RSVP Vacations

2535 25th Avenue S

Minneapolis, MN 55406-1234

800-328-7787 Ext 1

www.rsvpvacations.com

[shipcafe]

Brian : I just shot one off to 'ya.

 

 

 

Steve--

 

 

That sounds perfect for the night before we sail -

Can you send me an e-mail? I have a couple questions for you...

 

bep_sf@yahoo.com

 

:)

[etoile]

I'll be there! I just got confirmation from RSVP today that I will be working as one of the sign language interpreters on this trip. I have only been on one other cruise (and I wasn't working) so this will be a new experience! I have lots of reading up to do on HAL and the Oosterdam. I have no idea what category my cabin will be, or where on the ship...it's wherever RSVP puts me! :D

 

I am really excited about this trip though. I'm coming from Fairfax County VA which is right outside Washington DC. I can't wait!

[bepsf]

I'll be there!

 

I am really excited about this trip though. I'm coming from Fairfax County VA which is right outside Washington DC. I can't wait!

 

Etoile--

I'm so glad that you're coming with us!

 

Please stay tuned here so you can meet us sometime that week - or drop a note on 4185 and we'll find you!

 

Do you have any idea if Father Tim will be chaplain on this cruise?

[etoile]

Unfortunately I don't know - I don't even know who my co-interpreters will be! (I've heard they are both women, though.) But I'm sure if you drop a note to RSVP they can tell you.

 

I'm SO excited to be going on this cruise! I've never been on a gay cruise before. My wife and I were on the Galaxy in October 2004 and there were no other easily-identified lesbians at all. (We are probably not easily identified ourselves, though...) There was a teenager who looked like she might be but that was it.

 

So this is going to be an absolute blast for me! Can September hurry up and get here?

[shipcafe]

Hi Everyone,

 

A friend of mine from the gym will be going on this cruise as well. I just told him this evening about this roll call and have directed him to the link. Perhaps he'll join in or at least join up for the pre-cruise gathering!

[bepsf]

Steve--

 

We can always use more new friends...

Be sure to invite him to dinner w/ us Fri nite!

[shipcafe]

I most definitely did. He already mentioned keeping the weekend clear for any possible pre events. :)

[Gary Omaha]

Hi! Gary and Michael here from Omaha. (Yes, Omaha!) We'll be on the RSVP Alaska cruise. We're very familiar with Seattle but have never cruised before. Advice, including pointers to other spots on Cruise Critic, are appreciated. Also, what's this about a Friday night event? We have heard nothing about it. (We'll be in Seattle mid-week.)

[etoile]

I was all excited because I got a big envelope from RSVP today, but it was just the brochure and DVD my coordinator had promised me. I was hoping for cruise documents! No idea if I even get those.

 

I'm not sure what my plans are for Friday night. Because I'm coming from the East Coast, I have had to take Friday off so I can fly in the night before...leaving DC at the crack of dawn on Saturday might get me to the boat on time, but I'd be way too tired to work! So I will be there on Friday, and an interpreter friend of mine (who worked the RSVP Caribbean trip in February/March) is planning to meet with some of the deaf clients from the cruise she worked, so I might join her for that because then I could meet those who will be my clients! But other than that I have no plans.

 

It would be lovely to meet some CC'ers sometime during the week, too. I have not been very active on the boards so I'm not really great friends with anybody, but it would be nice to have an idea of who the other guests are so I'm not by myself the WHOLE time!

[bepsf]

Welcome Gary and Michael!

You should all expect your documents within a month of sailing - if you don't have them in hand by mid-August, you need to get on the phone w/ your TA! (Etoile, you'll need to work directly w/ RSVP on this...)

RSVP generally hosts a Bon Voyage Party the night before sailing. Time and place generally aren't announced till a few days before sailing, so keep an eye on your e-mail.

I strongly suggest arriving Friday afternoon at the latest - it's just too exhausting traveling to the port city the day of departure. It's much better to be fairly well rested when you arrive at the ship - plus you want to look good for the photographers! ;)

If you have ship-specific or cruising questions in general, the HAL CC boards are a wealth of knowledge and the folks are generally very nice and can help answer some general cruising questions - including ideas of items that you might want to bring with you to help make your cruise more comfortable. There are also some great pictures of Oosterdam on Steve's website: www.shipcafe.net

And of course, I would be more than happy to help answer your questions here.

:)

[etoile]

Oh my, I had forgotten about the embarkation photographers! We saw them when we took our first cruise but we didn't know what that was all about so we bypassed them. Later we saw the photos displayed onboard and we were sorry we missed them!

 

I watched the DVD from the 2/20/05 trip...oh boy! This is going to be so cool. My wife and I watched it together, actually, and we both agreed that we simply must take an all-gay cruise sometime so we can hug and kiss in public without feeling worried. (I usually don't, but she can be a bit shy in that department.) What we'd really like is a mixed cruise that is half gay and half straight-but-queer-friendly...we don't really feel the need to go all gay, we just want to hold hands hug and kiss whenever we feel like it! But I digress...

 

I am really looking forward to this so much now. Is it too soon to figure out what to pack?! I should probably put together a list of questions for my coordinator so I can avoid sending him a ton of e-mails...LOL! :D

[mdbearcub]

Hi Everyone,

 

Ken here - the other half of Bones (Dan).

 

This will be our first "Gay" Cruise. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm not looking forward to all the "Queens with an Attitude". You all know what I mean. I'm more of a Bear/Bearcub - friendly, but sometimes a bit shy and to be honest, a tad afraid of "Queens with an Attitude". I just hope that everyone leaves their "Attitude" at the door.

 

I want to have fun - I want to enjoy myself - and help others enjoy themselves.

 

Anyway - do we have enough Cruise Critic folks going so we can have a CC Meat & Mingle?

 

I'm not sure about that as it seems there really aren't many of us going on this cruise.

 

So - soon we'll get our documents - soon we'll be flying to Sea-Tac.

 

Soon to meet new friends.

 

hugs,

[etoile]

Westminster?! I went to Western Maryland College! Well, back when it was called that, anyway. I still can't bear to call it McDaniel. We will definitely have to meet up now that I know you're a local!

[mdbearcub]

Etoile,

 

It's been McDaniel for a few years now. Dan's younger sister Sharon is an Alumnus of Western Maryland too. I'm originally from Long Island, New York and I earned my BS degree from SUNY @ Geneseo, NY. I came down to Maryland in 1989 on a detail for work and ended up staying. That was good since I met Dan in late 1989 and we've been together since.

 

hugs,

[etoile]

Yep, it's been McDaniel since...2001? I remember they had discussion forum sessions throughout the Baltimore/DC area (the one I went to was in Tyson's Corner) because a lot of alumni were very upset about the change. A year or two ago I started seeing a WMC bumper sticker around my town (Vienna, VA) and that inspired me to write to the bookstore manager to ask if there were any old WMC stickers stashed away somewhere that I could buy. He sent me five, for free! So I now proudly have a WMC sticker on my car.

 

How wonderful that you've been together for so long! I am 24 and my wife is almost 37; we have been together since early 1998.