A Carnival lover does Princess- Again

[CruiseFever]

After a bunch of Carnival cruises we decided to try sister company Princess last March for spring break. In the end of the process we were able to make some direct comarisons between Carnival and Princess and look at the Princess cruise experience through the familiar eyes of a Carnival cheerleader (me).

Here then is our second attempt at a Princess cruise which I thought was important in order to lend credibility to the conclusions drawn from the first one (Like was it a fluke or the way they do it?)When its all said and done we'll draw what I belive will be a more accurate comparison between the two lines which I hope will be helpful to all our Carnival friends

The following is based on our 26 June 2004 cruise on the Caribbean Princess and will be published in parts as they occur when the cruise is in progress. To get started some background information is in order.

This cruise is the second of a series of one on one cruises with me and one other family member. The first was on the Golden Princess in March of 2004 with my daughter Whitney and I. This one is with my daughter Sydney and there's one in October with my wife Lisa on the Star Princess before we bring everyone together for a full family cruise in December on the Diamond Priincess.

This series came about quite by accident. Normally we all go on a Spring Break cruise each year. This year with Sydney (the oldest) going off to the University of Kansas as a freshman spring break dates didn't like up right and Sydney was in spring training for the university rowing team so she couldn't go anyway.

What was initially viewed as a bad deal has turned out to be a great way for me to spend some quality time with each of the kids. The best of the series though will be the Fall cruise with my wife Lisa, our first vacation without the kids since we had them.

Each one of the series is special with its own itinerary, ship and flavor. This one, on the new Carribean Princess, in its Innaugural Season, promises to be one of the most unique of any of our cruises so far. This ship is simply one of the the latest and greatest in what the cruise industry has to offer and the early reviews indicate she is everything she's been advertised to be and more.

Before we get on with the final stages of all that though, lets turn back the clock to the planning stages of this cruise.

What follows is a condensed version of the complete travelog which appears on our website which will include photos, digital video and interviews with fellow passengers as the journey progresses.

Just days remain now before this cruise begins so we'll get right to it by starting with our air transporation arrangements.

One note to remember is that this an account of our journey, done our way, intended to entertain and inform. If you're looking for advice check out Dr Phil, right after Oprah, weekday afternoons.

If it's specific cruise related advice you're hungry for then [url="http://www.cruisecritic.com"]www.cruisecritic.com[/url] is THE best source you'll find for the very latest information.

Come along as we begin our journey
We'll be flying from Kansas City (MCI) to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) a day before the cruise, a practice we follow religiously for a number of reasons.

First, travel day from our Midwest home is a long one no matter which airline or scheduled flights we take. We want to begin our cruise refreshed not all tired and worn out. A night?s hotel stay in the port city takes care of that and usually is well worth the money. For this precruise hotel stay we bid on and won the Wyndham at the airport through Priceline.com with the help of Amber on [url="http://www.biddingfun.com"]www.biddingfun.com[/url]. We like the close by location and will be staying a few days post-cruise on the beach so seeing the ocean right away is not a top priority.

Second, we like to be some of the air travelers with flexible travel plans that the airlines look for when a flight is overbooked. With the flexibility offered by our relaxed schedule we can opt to take a later flight on one of the legs of our trip from MCI to FLL (which usually connects in Atlanta, Detroit, Chicago or Dallas, depending on the airline). We're rewarded, compensated or bought off (call it what you will) with travel vouchers that often represent a substantial chunk of the next cruise's air cost. On our last cruise earlier this year when Whitney and I sailed on the Golden Princess, we ended up the trip with $400 each in travel vouchers ($800 total), enough to buy air for all four family members for our December holiday cruise.

Going a day early can really pay off and being some of the "lucky" ones is not all that hard if you plan ahead

Traveling in a day early, as mentioned, provides us with the necessary flexibility to take a later flight. Sometimes that flight might be a few minutes later at a different gate or several hours, even the next day later. At some point we have to weigh what we'll get out of it against the inconvenience.

On that Golden cruise I mentioned, we also ended up with a food voucher for $50 because our next flight would not be leaving for several hours. We've had flight changes that gave us a free night in a hotel too. The trick is to know that the gate attendants have a lot of authority to grant lots of goodies, you need to be one of the people they deem worthy and be in the right place at the right time...something that is not all that hard to do

Before each flight or leg of a days air travel, we check in at the gate, even if we've printed our boarding passes at home. The main reason is to check and see if the flight is full. If it is or not we offer our help should they need someone to take a later flight. Here's how that conversation goes:

"Is this flight full?"

"Oh yes, completely full"

"If you need someone to take a later flight we might be able to, we have flexible travel plans and will be sitting right over there. There's four of us, if you need four seats let us know or even if you need just two let us know, we can split up" (Point to closeby seats in waiting area)

Special Note: Get them to "bump" part of your party and really cash in due to the extra inconvenience

Then it's a matter of keeping your eyes and ears open to the events that may unfold which present you with the opportunity to cash in. They may motion to us to come back to the counter or they may announce that the flight is overbooked and that they are seeking volunteers with flexible travel plans (us!) to take a later flight.

Pounce! It's payday!

To increase chances of this happening we book flights with connections that are close in time to each other. If the initial flight runs behind and it is the airlines fault, say due to an equipment malfunction, they'll make a deal. Be careful on this one though because if its a weather-related delay causing the whole air travel system to bog down then you're on your own and that can backfire.

And flight delays or missed connections are another good reason to come in town a day or more early. A breakdown in equipment in Denver can affect flights in Florida.

Coming up- more on pre-cruise hotel accommodations, ground transportation and killing time the last week before the cruise

Happy Cruising

Chris
[email]Chris@LifeIsCruising.com[/email]
[url="http://www.LifeIsCruising.com"]www.LifeIsCruising.com[/url]

Next up:
Caribbean Princess 06/26/04
Star Princess 10/24/04
Diamond Princess 12/22/04
Sapphire Princess June '05
Caribbean Princess 09/17/05
Carnival Valor 10/30/05

[Cotton]

You never cease to amaze me. That brain of yours stays in 'overdrive', doesn't it? Looking forward to "....the rest of the story." [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

"Laissez les bon temps rouler!"
Festivale 1987
Carnivale 1988
Mardi Gras 1989
Pacific Princess 1990
Norway 1994
Holiday 2001
Holiday 2002
Holiday 2003
Sensation 2004

[bombero]

We are also on the C.P. 6/26. We would like to meet you. We are Roger & Karen and we are in C306. Please give us a call, so we can get together.. Roger...

1985 Carnival Carnivale
1986 Carnival Festivale
8/01 HAL Maasdam
10/01 Ocean Princess
4/02 Golden Princess
9/02 Celebrity Millenium
11/02 Celebrity Horizon
9/03 32 day land trip, Costa Rica
4/04 Carnival Glory
6/04 Caribbean Princess

[Catrin]

Oh Chris..
It is that time again!

Time for your wonderful vacation... and time for some of the best reading on the CC message boards....

keep it coming!
Cathy

[img]http://w1.511.telia.com/~u51102888/anims/animal2/dolphin.gif[/img]
Ecstacy October 1992
Destiny October 1999
TRIUMPH May2003


Triumph May 2004
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;05;15;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]
[url="http://community.webshots.com/user/catrin0917"]http://community.webshots.com/user/catrin0917[/url]

[CruiseFever]

Thanks all, this is going to be a fun one for sure, much more to come.

Roger- check the [url="http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=927093444&f=969097554&m=943104752&r=455106752#455106752"]Roll Call[/url]for that sailing and sign in please!

Happy Cruising

Chris
[email]Chris@LifeIsCruising.com[/email]
[url="http://www.LifeIsCruising.com"]www.LifeIsCruising.com[/url]

Next up:
Caribbean Princess 06/26/04
Star Princess 10/24/04
Diamond Princess 12/22/04
Sapphire Princess June '05
Caribbean Princess 09/17/05
Carnival Valor 10/30/05

[GottaLuvCruising]

Chris - you crack me up! Your creative writing is so enjoyable. Anxious for the rest of the story and I hope you have a wonderful time!

[Joanportia]

Chris,
Your tips and years of traveling make for a well written symphony with well orchestrated dance steps. Your writing and sense of detail are superb! Your "airport fugue in any major key" is brilliant! I will remember your tips and perhaps use this airport advice to help off set a future cruise one day.

Thanks for your time and sharing!!

Joan

Sail on.............

[img]url=http://www.animationlibrary.com/Animation11Food_and_Drinks/Cold_Beverages/Tropical_drink.gif[/img] [img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=800080&cdt=2004;10;17;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]
"INSPIRATION"...Long Over Due......

[serene56]

Chris: I love when you take cruises.. for one-it makes me feel like I am on one as I read. I am looking into an Alaska cruise onPrincess and cant wait to read everything you have to say. Thanks.

Living on Earth is expensive,
but it does include a free trip around the sun every year.

Going NOWHERE
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=000080&cdt=2004;10;22;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]



Miracle, February 13, 2005
Legend, October 22,2004
Voyager August 31,2003
Victory September 22,2002
Regal Empress,June 2001
Sensation,August 2000

[mayrashke]

Chris, That was good info. I have never been bumped;maybe now I will offer to if the flight is full!! Look forward to more info.

Valor Jan.23/05(W.Caribb.)-we are all going and are very excited!!!!!!!!!!!
SeaPrincess Jan./01(W.Caribb)

[robbyxoxo]

[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]Chris...ur a crafty dawg...props to u for usin all ur God given skills to save some bucks$.....i dare say after this cruise u may finally have to admit that Carnival takes a back seat to other cruiselines in areas such as service and dining....ur a cruisin fool...but im down with that...[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] peace

[Salty Dawg]

Chris,

Where is the equality in your cruise strategy?

Let's review:
Chris & DD, Whitney
Chris & DD, Sydney
Chris & DW, Lisa
Chris & the family

Do you notice the common denominator in this factor???

It appears the Mrs. is entitled to two cruises, one with each daughter,
sans dear old dad. After all, someone has to stay home to hold down
the fort.

But just so you don't feel you are not a part of the experience...
you can still pay for their cruises! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

[jeepgirl30]

Chris,

I've volunteered several times but was never actually bumped. I'll try your suggestions next time and see what happens!

Imagination 3/2003

Days until Sensation...

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=00ffff&cdt=2004;6;12;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]

[SuzieQK]

Chris,
have a great vacation,always look forward to your reviews. We travel almost every year free a/c bumping. Ain't it grand!?!

SuzieQK
RCCL Sovereign O'Seas '96
NCL Leeward '97
Carnival Destiny '97
Carnival Destiny '98
Carnival Triumph '00
Carnival Paradise '01
Carnival Pride '02
RCCL Navigator of the Seas '03
Carnival Glory '04
Carnival Fantasy '04
My Miracle Cruise '05
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=111111&cdt=2005;3;27;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]

[voyagerfl]

We've Bumped about 3 times.
The best one was in San Juan, after our Sothern Carib. cruise on the Inspiration in 1996.

We volunteered, we ended up staying an extra day and night in San Juan.
We got Hotel, $300 flight vouchers & Food vouchers.

[steveNcindy]

Chris, have a great cruise. Looking forward to your reviews upon you return.

Carnival Legend 02/04

Our Cruise Pics
[url="http://community.webshots.com/user/stevencindy"]http://community.webshots.com/user/stevencindy[/url]

[CruiseFever]

Just as flexibility is important in air travel so it is with Ground Transportation (GT). In the Fort Lauderdale area, as is typical of most cruise ports, there are a number of options from which to choose to get us from point A to point B. The trick is to discover which is the most cost effective. That doesn’t always mean which is the least expensive; there are other factors to be considered.

For this, like any cruise vacation, we begin by sketching out what our GT needs are. Not how we’ll go about getting there but where we need to go. We start with a story of what is going to happen to us from the time we leave home until the time we return home. See if you can figure out the GT needs for this scenario:

We’ll fly out of our local airport to Atlanta where we’ll connect with a flight that takes us to Fort Lauderdale. As soon as we land we will need to get to the US Coast Guard office where Sydney has a recruitment interview. She’s thinking about joining the Coast Guard that could be a really cool move for this college sophomore. She had a great freshman year at The University of Kansas but grew weary of the college scene rather quickly. Should be an interesting meeting.

After the Coast Guard meeting we’ll head back to the airport area to our pre-cruise hotel, the Wyndham for the night. Depending on time available and how we feel we might go out for dinner or just get something to eat at the hotel. The next morning we’re going to want to be at the port rather early, probably around 10AM just because we like going early and being one of the first to board. On the way we’ll need to stop by the Publix grocery store on 17th street for some sodas and other provisions not offered on the ship.

So to outline our GT needs, they are:

· Transfer from home to airport
· Transfer from airport to Coast Guard office
· Transfer from Coast Guard office to hotel
· Transfer from hotel to someplace to eat dinner
· Transfer from dinner place back to hotel
· Transfer to Port, stopping by grocery store for embarkation

The popular choices in Fort Lauderdale are

· A taxi- that will work for every leg of our GT needs and is convenient. Using Yahoo’s map and driving directions feature, a conservative estimate of the cost of GT using a cab would top $100 total
· A limousine service- not really practical at all- a possible good choice if the GT need was to go from the Fort Lauderdale airport to, say, a hotel in Miami AND a high value was placed on making the GT a luxury experience. Often it is thought that because a limousine seats 8 to 10 passengers that it will accommodate them for a transfer on a cruise vacation. Not safely. The storage space is often inadequate for the amount of luggage even 4 passengers might have. I used to recommend this option a lot but finally ran into an honest limo company owner who told me flat out I was wrong and that’s why. Still, if a limo is a good application for you I still recommend Limos Of Miami or Absolute Limousine as two reasonably priced and efficient companies serving the area.
· Tri-rail trains- Florida has a great system in place if you want to take the time to figure it out- I don’t think most vacationers want to though- I sure don’t. I’m just not a big van of public mass transportation. I think I will take the wrong transfer and wind up in a bad part of town where I will be someone’s lunch
· Super Shuttle/ Airport Shuttle- these rates are posted like typical cab rates and might be a good selection for a trip with limited GT transfers going to covered areas
· A rental car- Advantages- a flat rate for the day, most with unlimited mileage. The size vehicle is easily customized to the size of your party. Shuttle service is often offered that is convenient from the airport or to the cruise port. Disadvantage- You have to drive

I went with the rental car and reserved a Ford Focus through Budget Car Rental for $23 for the day. It will be plenty big for just the two of our luggage and us and it affords us the flexibility to make our transfers happen on our own schedule for a fixed rate. Upon arrival in Fort Lauderdale, an Budget shuttle will pick us up and take us to the car. When we’re ready to go to the port, we’ll drop the car at Budget’s 17th St office and be shuttled by them to the pier.

That takes care of our pre-cruise GT needs. But what about after the cruise?

Our ship comes back to Port Everglades on a Saturday. The day before, on Friday, my wife Lisa and other daughter Whitney are flying down to spend a couple days with us, celebrating the Fourth of July on the beach watching fireworks. We did this on New Years Eve after our Holiday cruise on the Carnival Legend (awesome ship) and had so much fun it just seemed like a natural idea….and a nice consolation prize for the family members that didn’t get to go on this cruise.

We’ll have them take a cab from our friend Will at Castro’s Limousine Service (954-593-9052) who runs a fleet of Ford Excursions ($8 per person) to the Holiday Inn on the beach. We stayed there post-cruise in December so they know the lay of the land and should have a nice part of the day Friday and Saturday on their own before we join them post-cruise Saturday morning.

From our two Carnival Legend cruises and one Golden Princess cruise out of Fort Lauderdale I know that there are plenty of cabs available. That would probably be a good choice if all we were doing was going to the hotel, hanging around, then going to the airport when we finally go home.

We have bigger plans than that

We’ll disembark the Caribbean Princess probably about 9:30 or 10:00 without much problem. From there Budget will pick us up again and take us to their 17th street location to pick up a car, this one a Ford Explorer, to accommodate 4 people. We’ll need that because
· There’s a chance that Sydney might be taking the test for getting into the Coast Guard,
· We have a total of 5 meals to eat someplace there,
· I bought tickets online through Ticketmaster for the Florida Marlins vs Tampa Bay Devilrays game on Saturday night
· As long as we’re in driving mode, I want to drive around and become more familiar with the area, checking out hotels and restaurants recommended by CC members and neighborhoods where we might live some day

This one will cost more because it’s two days and a larger car but it still is the cost effective way to go as it provides us with unlimited ground transportation at a reasonable cost which we know up front.

That’s another factor I like about rental cars, pre-reserving limousines or taxi’s that you can get rates for in advance; it’s easy to budget for them. Regular taxicabs are iffy on being able to pin down the exact cost. When planning I like to get as many good, hard numbers as possible. This goes along with wanting to plan as much as possible right up to and after the cruise because once on board that’s where the planning stops. The only plan for on board is for each member of our party to have the fabulous cruise they dream it will be. Getting them there in as painless a manner as possible is my job. Once on board its up to each one of us to make it a great vacation.

Next up we’ll talk a little bit about hotel accommodations; what the experts suggest and what we did

Happy Cruising

Chris
[email]Chris@LifeIsCruising.com[/email]
[url="http://www.LifeIsCruising.com"]www.LifeIsCruising.com[/url]

Now Playing-
Caribbean Princess 06/26/04

Coming Attractions-
Star Princess 10/24/04
Diamond Princess 12/22/04
Sapphire Princess June '05
Caribbean Princess 09/17/05
(CC Hounds Group)
Carnival Valor 10/30/05
(CC Vampire Group)

[imlulu]

Chris,
You have everything thought out!!!!! I like the freddom of a renting a car myself. We have a late flight back on our upcoming cruise and am thinking of renting a car for the day. There will be 4 of us and we have been to Tampa before. My dh could care less about planning. He tells me to let him know what day he needs to be ready for the airport! :-)

No longer cruiseless...donations still accepted! Miracle 2/2005

Last cruise
Sensation 2/17/03

[CruiseFever]

We booked our first cruise entirely through the cruise line (Carnival) thinking they own the ships, they should know what to do and when to do it.

They did.

Our flights, transfers and the sailing all came off without a hitch and our obsession with cruising was born.

Shortly after our obsession with cruising was born came our second child, my obsession with planning.

I look at the cruise as the starting place, an unfinished work of art waiting for the final touches, touches that will make it a masterpiece or a poster for sale at Wal-Mart; nice to look at but not much depth.

Booking the cruise is the most important stop on the road to a Fabulous Cruise Vacation but the road leading to it and away from it are equally important. A wreck in either area can ruin the whole thing.

My job is to not only reduce the possibility of any wrecks but to make the drive a pleasant one.

If Step one is the cruise, step two is a pre-cruise hotel stay. We did not have this on our first cruise and by the time we made it to the ship after our long travel day it was naptime. In addition, I didn't really care for being a part of a huge herd of passengers pushing and shoving to get on board. Once was enough.

By the time our second cruise rolled around, also out of Miami, we'd discovered the Cruise Critic message board and became empowered with the belief that we could make our own airline and hotel reservations. We did just that added two days to the beginning of our vacation that allowed us to explore Miami, South Beach and the surrounding area as well as plan flight times that were convenient to OUR schedule, not some master plan hatched by the cruise line.

Everything was going just fine until we came back from that cruise, went back to the Cruise Critic message board to report about our trip, and discovered that there was a better way to book the hotel room.

The scary and intimidating Priceline.com

We read of people who stayed in very nice 4 star hotels for less than we paid for our Best Western 3 star (at best) hotel and paid less than half what we did.

That's a lot...and worth investigating.

There are several online resources I consulted to make sense of it all. BiddingforTravel.com is one and BiddingFun.com is another. Fellow CruiseCritic member and founder of [url="http://www.biddingfun.com"]www.biddingfun.com[/url] Amber Bllecher tells us,

"The most important thing to remember is research[I]before [/I] you bid. Know what hotels are in which zones at what levels"

Huh?

Zones? Levels? It all sounds so intimidating...but it does not have to be and taking the time to understand how it all works, even briefly, can reap considerable rewards.

Now, Priceline is THE way we book hotels, there's simply no better pricing available.

The one thing I do not like is that on priceline you don't know for sure what hotel you'll get until you place a winning bid. You can narrow it down but you don't find out for sure until the bid is accepted.

This is where Amber's advice is pure gold.

On this cruise we're booking a pre cruise hotel and want it to be close to the port and airport. Our flights bring us into town just the afternoon before the cruise so there's not any real reason to book a beachfront hotel in Fort Lauderdale plus I've not stayed at an airport hotel around there for quite some time and I thought it would be nice to have some experience in that area.

We placed a winning $40 bid on the Wyndham at the airport. It looks to be a good hotel and I've been a big fan of the Wyndham chain for quite some time so I'm happy.

Since that booking though, our post cruise plans changed to include bringing my wife Lisa and daughter Whitney down to Fort Lauderdale to join us post-cruise for a Fourth of July holiday. This is a result of coming in under budget on our last cruise and this one so far...so planning really can pay off!

They'll be coming down the night before our ship comes in and while they are familiar with the area, we decided to try really hard to get the Holiday Inn for the post cruise hotel as we'd stayed there in December as a family before our Carnival Legend cruise.

So I did my research but didn't feel really confident that a priceline bid would get me the Holiday Inn. Thanks to general information on Amber's site I WAS able to narrow down the selections on Hotwire.com, which sports a bidding system somewhat similar to Priceline.

To me, the big difference between the two is that hotwire generally gets more specific on which property you'll likely be bidding on but costs more. Not as much as "the other guys" which include Hotels.com, CheapFares.com, Orbitz.com (good for air for me though), Travelocity and the like. Hotwire gives more detail on what the different star ratings mean and with the help of Amber's site I was able to get the Holiday Inn for more than I would pay on priceline IF I got it but less than the other guys and surely less than booking direct with the hotel.

In this case, while I wanted a decent price, I was also very interested in getting the hotel I wanted and Hotwire offered the opportunity to get it.

Next comes the last step in planning pre and post cruise....filling the gaps.

Happy Cruising

Chris
[email]Chris@LifeIsCruising.com[/email]
[url="http://www.LifeIsCruising.com"]www.LifeIsCruising.com[/url]

Now Playing-
Caribbean Princess 06/26/04

Coming Attractions-
Star Princess 10/24/04
Diamond Princess 12/22/04
Sapphire Princess June '05
Caribbean Princess 09/17/05
(CC Hounds Group)
Carnival Valor 10/30/05
(CC Vampire Group)

[*christina*]

I always enjoy reading your posts. I had the pleasure of seeing the Caribbean Princess up close and personal as she was docked opposite us while we were in St. Maarten. I have to admit to a bit of balcony envy. The balconies on the CP seemed to be much more spacious than those of the Triumph. A good number of them were large enough to accomodate a nice sized table and 4 chairs. Some even had chaise lounges on them. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time.

I need to book another cruise. I think I have PCD.

Triumph June 2004
Jubilee July 2002

Time till Triumph on 6/5 [img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=00bfff&cdt=2004;6;5;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]

[dickinson]

Thanks for your posts Chris. I enjoy curling up to my computer to read interesting stories! I think you are providing a lot of good information which will be a tremendous help to many travelers. When is the next installment? [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]

Mardi Gras 4/1988
NCL Norway 8/1990
Sensation 8/1996
Sensation 4/9/2000
Paradise 2/1/2002
Triumph 1/31/2004

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=00bfff&cdt=2004;9;5;15;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]
9/5 Paradise- Panama Canal