Jewel of the Seas 4/15/2007

[MarylandBob]

Hugh,

 

Thanks for information.

 

Juan,

 

Thanks for your help.

 

We're still in the planning stages for all of these ports.

 

Spring weather finally arriving in the East today, YEAH!:)

 

Best regards,

Robert and Jerry

[rienreiter]

Robert and Jerry:

 

I found some information for you back on the main roll call thread.

 

Here's a city map of the city of Le Havre: http://perso.orange.fr/lehavretourisme/plan_ville.pdf

 

You will need to zoom in the map and the train station is in section E5 (or 5E depending on your logic). It is shown as Gare SNCF. That's the train station in Le Havre.

 

When I was on the Celebrity Constellation transatlantic last April, the ship docked at the Quai Pierre Callet in the Bassin de la Manche (section D7 or 7D). Look it up in the map and it should give you an idea of how far it is from the train station. It is a quite a few blocks away but look at the map so that you can draw your own, personal conclusion.

 

In case you may also be interested, the website for the Office of Tourism in Le Havre is http: http://www.lehavretourisme.com/

 

Hope this helps you some,

Juan

[leoandhugh]

Juan, Robert and Jerry, You are absolutely right about where the cruise ships dock - right inside the entrance to the harbor and across from where the cross Channel ferries dock. That map is fine but rather misleading in that it is a good 20/30minute walk and through an industrial warehouse neighborhood with lots of truck traffic. Much better to take a cab; as I said there are always plenty lined up as you get off the ship and also there is a tourist office right inside the warehouse building as you come off the gangway - lots of brochures and timetables available every time we have been there. Hugh:)

[rienreiter]

Thanks for chiming in again Hugh. Your input is valuable to someone here.

 

Take Care,

Juan

[rienreiter]

Hello Everyone:

 

Where's everybody? I think Robert and Jerry are having bad weather this weekend.

 

I have gone one whole day without posting. Not normal of me to do that. Specially for someone who considers himself addicted to Cruise Critic.

 

Anyway, I wanted to share some information with you that I have found through my research on the ports.

 

1) City map of Cobh with important landmarks.

This is a city map of the town of Cobh showing the most important sights that may be of interest to the tourist. On the website, you may also click on the appropriate number to read on that particular sight. I'll be taking this map with me to guide me duing my afternoon sightseeing on my own. Website: http://www.titanic-trail.com/map.htm

 

2) Visitors Guide to Bruges

This comprehensive, 46-page guide has been put together by the tourism council of Bruges. It is quite complete and covers every aspect of interest to the tourist. Not only can you print it, you can also order it from them. I have printed myself a copy but also ordered one. I don't know if it will arrive here before we leave though. There are several maps in this guide. Website: http://foto.brugge.be/dl/bzen.pdf

 

3) City map of Bruges

I have printed myself a copy to take with me. Notice that there is a taxi stand at the main town square. You can take a taxi here back to the ship. Wherever you see boats on the map, this is a place to catch a canal tour. You can also see where the train station is in comparison to the town center. You can see that you have quite a few blocks to walk. Website: http://foto.brugge.be/dl/plattegrond.pdf

 

4) City map of Zeebrugge

I did not see the location of the train station on this map. It might be outside of the immediate port area. Website: http://foto.brugge.be/dl/zeebruggeplan.pdf

 

For those of you may be going on your own, I hope that you find this information useful.

 

And guess what? 4 WEEKS TO GO!!!

 

Juan

[MarylandBob]

Hi Juan,

 

Yes, we're FROZEN after our latest Arctic blast leaving a thin coat of ice and snow and some very windy, cold temps. I could only think of lounging on the ship yesterday morning as I shoveled snow and chipped ice.

 

Thanks for the research and tips for touring. Getting down to the wire so it's defintely time to finalize plans and fill up the iPod with music!

 

Cheers,

Robert and Jerry

[JMHinSEA]

Hello to All!

First of all, Steven and I are still interested in meeting Bob & Jerry and SD Dan and his partner for dinner Saturday evening in Fort Lauderdale, so guys hit me with an email (dwntwnseaguy@hotmail.com). Thanks :)

Secondly, do you realize that we set sail on the day the Titanic sunk?

I found this quote from the first officer that I saw online quite interesting :)

Titanic made two stops before heading off to New York. The first was at Cherbourg, France, where she picked up Trans-Atlantic mail and 274 more passengers. The following day she stopped at Queenstown, Ireland, to take on more mail and a further 120 passengers.

A small number of passengers left the ship at Queenstown, including crewmember, John Coffey who smuggled himself ashore amongst the mail sacks. No one can be certain whether Queenstown born Coffey was having second thoughts about the ship or whether he had signed on with Titanic with the sole intention of getting a free ride home. It was at Queenstown that Titanic's chief officer, Henry Wilde sent a letter to his sister expressing his misgivings and saying, "I still don't like this ship, I have a queer feeling about it". Henry Wilde was to lose his life three days later.

 

Hmm, I think I have a "queer feeling" about the Jewel, but in a good way!!!! :)

By the way, we are STILL planning on having a sail away party in our cabin starting at 3:30! So, we would love to have ALL of you join us. We will, of course, have a champagne toast in memory of the Titanic as we sail away across the pond on the anniversary of her demise and arrive in the very port where she left prior to that fateful moment!

Cheers!!!!!

John & Steven from Seattle!!!

[JMHinSEA]

Hello again Everyone!

I meant to include this on my last posting but forgot so here goes!

We are going to be bringing some great and fun DVDs to watch and welcome as many as we can get into our GS to enjoy with us.

Among the DVDs we will be bringing are.....

Keeping up Appearances: (Hyacinth does a cruise on the QM2)

HILARIOUS!!!

Grey Gardens (Big Edie and Little Edie Beale) If you've not seen this, you MUST join us - bizarre and addictive!!!

Are You Being Served? (Another BBC gay fav!)

So bring the popcorn! (By the way, where DOES one get popcorn on a cruise ship?) :o

[rienreiter]

So bring the popcorn! (By the way, where DOES one get popcorn on a cruise ship?) :o

 

To be honest with you, I don't ever recall having seen popcorn on a ship. How about nachos and cheese sauce?

 

Juan

[BlondyX]

JMH, thanks for sharing the Titanic info. I think that's pretty cool. I, however will not share that tidbit with my partner until we are well on our way. ;) We will definitely have a drink in her honor.

 

I can't believe we are only 26 days out! We are looking forward to meeting everyone!

[JMHinSEA]

Hi Julie, didn't mean to scare you - tee hee!!!

I'm sure there are those who would prefer NOT to know this trivia. However, I just thought it was interesting that we're leaving on the day the Titanic sunk and our first port of call was the last port of call before that doomed day.

Makes me all that more interested in the Titanic Trail in Cobh actually :)!

Regarding popcorn, I do remember that Holland America provided popcorn for the movies. However, on the HAL ships, the movie "theatre" is a multi-purpose room not specifically designed for movies. As I'm sure most of you know, on the Radiance class, movies are shown in a true movie theatre style venue. Hmmm, do you think if we bring microwave popcorn we can ask the kitchen to pop it up for us? :p

[MarylandBob]

Hello All,

 

Interesting factoid on the Titanic history. Jerry insists though that he will not pull a Leonardo DiCaprio and hold me over the bow of the ship while I scream "I'm King of the World!" Maybe I should bring the Titanic DVD and we can have a special screening in honor of the anniversary.

 

John and Steven, I sent you an email regarding dinner on Saturday, the 14th. We're looking forward to your champagne sail away get together. Don't forget too, that we'll be celebrating Jerry's birthday on the 21st in our stateroom. Everyone is invited!

 

Looking forward to seeing everyone soon.

 

Best regards,

Robert and Jerry

[rienreiter]

Hello All!

 

Can you believe it? Three and 1/2 weeks to go! I can't believe it. And when I booked this cruise in December I thought it was so far away. I think by then all of you were already members of this roll call thread. Was I the last one to join? I think a couple of others may have joined after me.

 

Hi Juli, hadn't heard from you in a while. Are you and Marianne all ready?

As much as I am intrigued by Titanic and its history, I cannot believe that I did not think about this until John mentioned it. We will be sailing on the 95th anniversary of the sinking and as John has indicated, our first stop will be Titanic's last stop. I wonder what kind of commotion I will set off if I mentioned it on the other roll call thread. Would be funny to stand back and watch people react. But I agree with John, I am sure that there are those who would prefer NOT to know so I think I'll keep my mouth shut.

 

Did any of you notice when someone on the other roll call thread asked if we will be passing icebergs?:eek:

 

John, the movie theare in the Radiance class vessels is stadium style too. No one in front of you will block your view in any way.

 

Robert, I admit to being guilty about doing that Leo thing. I think I did it a couple of times but its old stuff now. I doubt that anybody still does it. Unless its somebody that has never been on a ship where you can go to the very front tip which you can do so on the Jewel. Thanks for the invite to Jerry's birthday celebration. We shall come and help him celebrate and make this cruise a memorable experience for him.

 

Juan

[BlondyX]

Ok, 4 cruises and have never been able to do the "King/Queen of the world". Looks like I have a mission on the Jewel. (I'll do it late at night, so I won't embarrass anyone)

 

Juan, I think we are ready but I'm sure there will be lots of last minute scrambling. I really wish we could have taken advantage of the $155 4 day to Oslo. But with RCCL not wanting to change flight and booking our non-changeable hotel with Priceline, we won't be able to. That's okay though, gives us an excuse to do another Cruise. The fjords of Norway looks like it would be great!

 

I saw the iceberg question :rolleyes: .

 

I still don't have docs. :( I booked through Orbitz and have spent the last couple days trying to get them to email my edocs. They said 24-48 hours from yesterday, so they have until tommorrow morning to arrive or I will once again raise hell. They said my paper docs would arrive on 4/10 and I leave 4/12 for TO. That was cutting it a little too close for me.

 

 

I leave for Toronto 3 weeks from tomorrow so my vacation starts then! YIPPEEEE!!!!

[rienreiter]

Hi Juli:

 

I can't believe that 3 & 1/2 weeks before the cruise you still do not have your cruise documents. Have you registered online and printed your Set Sail Pass? If so, this is all that you will need. They will not even bother with your documents. However, having them on hand is part of the excitement and anticipation of the cruise.

 

I have never received documents from RCI. I have only received eDocs and still they have never asked for those. I just use my Set Sail Pass and am ready to board.

 

See you soon! I'll be thinking about you guys on Sunday morning as I wake up from my last land side sleep. You arrive in Miami around 10 AM, right?

 

Juan

[BlondyX]

Juan, yes we get into Miami at 9:55 am. We leave TO at 6:50 so I'm thinking we shouldn't be delayed with that early of a departure and it is a direct flight.

 

No, still haven't gotten cruise docs. Not even the edocs. they promised Tuesday I'd get them in 24 to 48 hours, and as of right now it's about 44 hours. If I don't get them by noon, I'll be back on the phone. I did register online and have printed the set sail pass. Good to know that will be enough. Still would feel better to have something on hand.

 

I leave for TO 3 weeks from today! YAYYY!! We can't wait to meet you, you have been a wealth of information and I for one have really appreciated every little bit. :)

[rienreiter]

Hi Juli:

 

I'm really looking forward to meeting you and Marianne also. I'm glad to hear that I have helped you with information that you have found helpful.

 

Juan

[Boston RN]

Haven't posted in awhile but have been reading boards. Wayne and I are looking forward to this adventure. Unfortunately I don't get into FLL from Boston until 1050 pm Sat night so will not be able to join you for dinner. Wayne is flying into FLL from St. Pete and staying with friends. We will meet up on Sunday morning. We have booked one excursion in Ireland and are going to discuss other ports Sunday. Friends are meeeting us in Belgium to show us around. I'll reread the posts re the various ports. Definitely up for the sailaway party. It's snowing as I write this.Ugh See you all soon...Paul

[rienreiter]

Hey Paul, it has been a long time since you last posted. Glad to hear that you guys are still on. I also am looking forward to meeting everyone else.

 

Juan

[leoandhugh]

Juan, I gather that you are thinking about doing Cobh on your own. If so, do not miss the museum on the pier in an old railway station. It is kind of like Ellis Island in reverse, the story of the Irish migrations to their new world and the conditions in Ireland that made them leave in the first place. I may have mentioned to you that when Leo and I were there last we did a day trip to Kinsale, a charming seaside town with a history tied to the sinking of the Lusitania.

Which further reminds me, when Leo and I were crossing on the Norway, from Newfoundland to Cobh, we crossed the spot where Titanic sunk and Norway stopped at noon that day, and everyone observed a moment of silence; it was an anniversary of the day she sunk!

Will check in with you again before you leave; sounds like you have a lively gay group going there. Hugh

[rienreiter]

Hi Hugh:

 

I will be doing Cobh on my own as, travelling alone, I was not about to start advertising that I was travelling alone and was looking for travelling companions. If others offer their tours to be joined by others is one thing but I am not about to force myself on others. I will be doing an RCI morning tour of Cork but will be on my own in Cobh during the afternoon. Already have a planned route to see locales associated with Titanic and Lusitania during my walk in Cobh (Queenstown). I know which museum you are talking about. I'll try to make it if I still have time.

 

Can you believe that we will be sailing from Lauderdale on the 95th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic and the Jewel's first stop will be what was Titanic's last stop (Cobh / Queestown)?

 

Juan

[BlondyX]

Juan, we booked most of our tours through RCI, but you are more than welcome to join us anywhere we go!!! :)

[rienreiter]

Hi Juli:

 

Thank you very much for your kind offer. I have booked all of my tours through RCI. As a solo traveller, setting up private tours is too expensive so I limit myself to the ship's tours or on my own. I saw that on the main roll call thread there were plenty of invitations to join private tours but being somewhat a shy person I decided against it.

 

Maybe we will be on some of the tours together. You never know.

 

Juan

[lyonrm]

Hello everyone

 

 

Well it is only 17 more days untill we set sail to Amsterdam. We can't wait to meet you all and spend time getting to know you. Last April 06 we sailed from Ft Lauderdale to Barcelona on a 12 day cruise and the first day just walking around on the ship we met so many family members that you wouldn't beleave it and none of us knew anybody before getting on the ship. At least we know the ones of us who have posted on this site will be onboard but we are sure there will be many more to come. We love sailing and have found that on the longer cruises there tend to be more of our family members to sail than on the short cruises but that is just what we have notice on past cruises. Has anyone thought any more about changing there table setting for dinning together at night ?

 

Russ & Donnie

[rienreiter]

Hi Russ and Donnie:

 

Can't believe that we are barely two weeks away. Thanks for the tip on the extra family members that there may be on board.

 

Juan