Are "Fuel Surcharges" Legal????

[NYHartChapp]

I don't really care what the cruise lines do. Basically they can charge what they want. If you want to pay, then pay. If not, find another line, or don't cruise.

 

What I am much more disgusted with is the drastic increase in the price of food over the last 6 months to a year. Food is not a luxury item. I haven't seen that go down, since transportation costs have decreased.

 

Cruzin,

 

Get ready for ever higher food prices as more and more corn farmers direct their crop from food stuffs to ethanol producers.

[terrymtex01]

i have to say that after thinking for a bit about what mr is saying i agree to a certain extent. there are alot of different ways you can look at this.i do not think they buy fuel for years in advance maybe months and the cost is and has been going down for several months now..if they had a loss in money from fuel cost last year , as a new cruiser now i have to pay for it? to me it would eliminate alot of hassel if they just adjusted the cruise fare when the fuel prices jump way high.

 

You are paying the cost for what price they hedged the fuel for the time you are taking your cruise. That is why if you take your cruise next week, you will pay the fuel surcharge. If you take your cruise in March and the price of intermediate crude is below the amount specificed by NCL in Dec, then you will not pay the fuel surcharge. You are only paying for the fuel cost of the cruise you are taking.

 

The point that was trying to be made was when fuel cost were sky rocketing and fuel supplements were not being charged, there were no posts on here with people complaining the cost of their cruises were not going up to match the rate of the cost of fuel going up. And that was a period of at least a year, if not several years. Now fuel costs have been down for maybe two months, at least here in Texas, and people are asking why the fuel supplement has not been removed. It is because the fuel of the current cruises were hedged at a higher rate than what they can get them for today.

[raudacruise]

Nobody hedges 100% of fuel costs.

 

Agree 100%. Locking in high prices is just as bad as not locking in low prices. Worked in the energy (electric) market enough to see the 2-edged sword.

 

My question is how much fuel is part of the whole equation. They have personel costs (wages, insurance, ...). They have food/beverage costs (some of which can be recovered by raising prices of beverages and fee's for specialty restaraunts - but thats sort of what if scenerio). They also have to have some reserve dollars flowing into an account for ship refurbishment/drydock. I won't go into marketing/sales ... I just am interested in what the cost (maybe per pax) is on a ship.

 

I'll leave out port fees/taxes since those are already pretty much spelled out.

 

Probably never going to find this out but it would be interesting.

[nolaAlive]

Nolaalive,

 

So how did they manage it before prices went up? Just asking, not trying to start anything. With you, anyway :)..........

 

MrTractor<---------is a lot more fun when he's ON a cruise..........

 

Manage what? Unlike cruise air, you can book cruises years in advance. There is no way for them to accurately predict the variable costs like fuel that far out. If they hedge at all, it is for only a portion of the fuel costs over some defined period of time.

 

Before, the cruise lines were eating the additional fuel costs until they could absorb them no longer.

[mrtractor]

Did somebody hear a noise. I hope that was the sound of a door closing. Or was it a mind?

 

terrymtex1,

Excellent post. I'm guessing the lines try to hedge the best they can, but in an oil market like the one we've had recently it just gets away from them. I certainly DIDN'T hear anybody complaining about NOT paying extra fuel charges when the prices were running up.

 

So, does that mean that we who have cruised in the last year or so have paid for the extra fuel charges not paid by cruisers before us?

 

Maybe.

 

And now that fuel is much LESS than the $65 benchmark set by NCL and others, does this mean we will see not just a rebate of the fuel supplements but an additional discount? Afterall, the current price is more than 23% less than their own benchmark!

 

Not likely. I'm gonna go way out on a limb and say they'll keep the difference. That's just business.

 

So using an average of what the lines estimated their fuel charges would be, did the folks that paid the fuel supplement in the last year or so pay more than their share? Hmmmmmmm..........just wondering. :confused:

 

Raudacruise,

I'm sure the engineers have formulas for how much fuel the ships use. In fact, I think I've seen it posted recently about how much fuel is required in the typical cruise ship. I jsut don't remember where. The Queen Mary I, retired in 1967, required one gallon of bunker fuel, the heavy diesel that ships still use today, to move the ship just 13 feet! Think how much it took to transverse the Atlantic! So if you really wanted to take the time to do the math you could figure about how much fuel it takes to travel around 1,500 miles on a typical Caribbean run. You could figure about one gallon every 20 feet to give credit to new technology. Then add say 10% more for electrical generation, etc.

 

Care to do the math? Let's see......5,280 feet X 1,500 divided by 20 = gallons consumed. Right? That's just under 400,000 gallons. Add 10% for electrical generation and you've got around 440,000 gallons. If a gallon weighs about 8 lbs, the tons of fuel are 440,000 X 8 divided by 2,000, right? That's around 1,800 tons of bunker fuel. Does that sound about right or am I off here somewhere. 1,800 tons is about 2% of the total tonnage of the average cruise ship, so that could be about right. But then again, I might be way off! Anybody know how much fuel the average ship carries? Anybody know what a gallon or ton of bunker fuel goes for these days? Anybody know what the average fuel consumption is?

 

MrTractor<-----------is pretty sure there is some intelligent life out there..............

[mrtractor]

I think you're right, nolaAlive. Cruises are priced well in advance. I'm not sure how far out futures on this type of thing go. But the lines probably don't try to buy futures out as far as a year.

 

But haven't you noticed that, even though the lines want you to think you'll get the best price on cruises if you book well in advance, that prices on cruises usually start to creep lower as you get closer to sail date. Does the higher prices the early bookers pay help to hadege against any increase in variable costs like fuel? Or artichokes? :p Don't cruise lines have something built in to cover variable costs like most big businesses? And again, now that the prices are coming down well below not just what the fuel supplement was meant to cover, but even below the original "base" fuel cost built into a voyage, won't they realize some extra profit there? Or because of the slowing economy, lower demand and higher capacity, will prices continue to fall regardless of fuel prices?

 

MrTractor<---------just asking.......:rolleyes:.........

[raudacruise]

Did somebody hear a noise. I hope that was the sound of a door closing. Or was it a mind?

 

terrymtex1,

Excellent post. I'm guessing the lines try to hedge the best they can, but in an oil market like the one we've had recently it just gets away from them. I certainly DIDN'T hear anybody complaining about NOT paying extra fuel charges when the prices were running up.

 

So, does that mean that we who have cruised in the last year or so have paid for the extra fuel charges not paid by cruisers before us?

 

Maybe.

 

And now that fuel is much LESS than the $65 benchmark set by NCL and others, does this mean we will see not just a rebate of the fuel supplements but an additional discount? Afterall, the current price is more than 23% less than their own benchmark!

 

Not likely. I'm gonna go way out on a limb and say they'll keep the difference. That's just business.

 

So using an average of what the lines estimated their fuel charges would be, did the folks that paid the fuel supplement in the last year or so pay more than their share? Hmmmmmmm..........just wondering. :confused:

 

Raudacruise,

I'm sure the engineers have formulas for how much fuel the ships use. In fact, I think I've seen it posted recently about how much fuel is required in the typical cruise ship. I jsut don't remember where. The Queen Mary I, retired in 1967, required one gallon of bunker fuel, the heavy diesel that ships still use today, to move the ship just 13 feet! Think how much it took to transverse the Atlantic! So if you really wanted to take the time to do the math you could figure about how much fuel it takes to travel around 1,500 miles on a typical Caribbean run. You could figure about one gallon every 20 feet to give credit to new technology. Then add say 10% more for electrical generation, etc.

 

Care to do the math? Let's see......5,280 feet X 1,500 divided by 20 = gallons consumed. Right? That's just under 400,000 gallons. Add 10% for electrical generation and you've got around 440,000 gallons. If a gallon weighs about 8 lbs, the tons of fuel are 440,000 X 8 divided by 2,000, right? That's around 1,800 tons of bunker fuel. Does that sound about right or am I off here somewhere. 1,800 tons is about 2% of the total tonnage of the average cruise ship, so that could be about right. But then again, I might be way off! Anybody know how much fuel the average ship carries? Anybody know what a gallon or ton of bunker fuel goes for these days? Anybody know what the average fuel consumption is?

 

MrTractor<-----------is pretty sure there is some intelligent life out there..............

 

 

Dude, that's why I asked. The fuel surchages are a very small fraction of what they are really paying for fuel for an entire cruise. So adding them on really doesn't recoup mismanagement of risk. Leaving them on - well that's just money that goes to the bottom line.

[nolaAlive]

 

But haven't you noticed that, even though the lines want you to think you'll get the best price on cruises if you book well in advance, that prices on cruises usually start to creep lower as you get closer to sail date. Does the higher prices the early bookers pay help to hadege against any increase in variable costs like fuel? Or artichokes? :p

 

I have especially noticed this on NCL. I have 3 balcony cabins booked for a Christmas cruise. After final payment, NCL lowered the price of the cruise by about $1800 and refused to budge on a partial refund or OBC. Other cruise lines at least will do one or the other or both.

 

The lesson learned there was to NEVER, EVER, book a cruise on NCL in advance. Wait for the last minute prices and you will come out thousands ahead. You might even be able to afford a cocktail on board.

 

Never again will I be an artichoke on NCL. The last minute stowaways make out like bandits.

[mrtractor]

raudacruise,

 

Dude. Dude? Dude!!! Who you callin' DUDE?!!?!? HAHAHEHIehheieieeee......

 

Let's do some more math here. 2,000 passengers pay $77 each for the "Fuel Supplement" or whatever they're calling it........

 

........THAT'S AN EXTRA $154,000 every time a ship leaves for a 7 day cruise........

 

That's a LOT OF DANGED BUNKER FUEL! And now that prices have gone down, that's either money that is going right to their bottom line on EVERY 7 DAY CRUISE. Or, if they bought futures, it's money that is going right in the pockets of the smart speculators who sold the lines the commodity futures related to this fuel. Either way, WE PAY!!!

 

 

NolaAlive,

It think this is a subject for another thread. But you're right. We booked far in advance for our recent Star cruise. In the end, not only did the line not want to rebate us any money, but they gave the johnny come latelys a better shot at moving up to better cabins. I'm thinking I'll wait until pretty close in to book next time. It's hard when you're going with a group and you want to make sure you get a good cabin. But this time we're not going with anybody but ourselves, so we might be booking 48 hours before the ship leaves! Bringing this back to the subject at hand, does this help to mitigate ALL variable costs, or is it just one of those "capacity controlled" situations like the airlines. In order to fill seats, they start giving away tickets. But as the plane fills up, the prices go up! There is so much capacity on ships these days, and with fuel prices going down, down, down, they ought to be giving away cabins on cruises soon!

 

MrTractor<----------could possibly be the recipient of one of those gifts this winter if the timing and price is right.....:cool:......

[nolaAlive]

raudacruise,

 

Dude. Dude? Dude!!! Who you callin' DUDE?!!?!? HAHAHEHIehheieieeee......

 

Let's do some more math here. 2,000 passengers pay $77 each for the "Fuel Supplement" or whatever they're calling it........

 

........THAT'S AN EXTRA $154,000 every time a ship leaves for a 7 day cruise........

 

That's a LOT OF DANGED BUNKER FUEL! And now that prices have gone down, that's either money that is going right to their bottom line on EVERY 7 DAY CRUISE. Or, if they bought futures, it's money that is going right in the pockets of the smart speculators who sold the lines the commodity futures related to this fuel. Either way, WE PAY!!!

 

 

NolaAlive,

It think this is a subject for another thread. But you're right. We booked far in advance for our recent Star cruise. In the end, not only did the line not want to rebate us any money, but they gave the johnny come latelys a better shot at moving up to better cabins. I'm thinking I'll wait until pretty close in to book next time. It's hard when you're going with a group and you want to make sure you get a good cabin. But this time we're not going with anybody but ourselves, so we might be booking 48 hours before the ship leaves! Bringing this back to the subject at hand, does this help to mitigate ALL variable costs, or is it just one of those "capacity controlled" situations like the airlines. In order to fill seats, they start giving away tickets. But as the plane fills up, the prices go up! There is so much capacity on ships these days, and with fuel prices going down, down, down, they ought to be giving away cabins on cruises soon!

 

I think I will leave that as a futile exercise for you. I did start a thread on the subject not long ago and there were a few sympathetic responses. However, there were more ground and pound, mean spirited, and evil posts from others until they succeeded in getting the thread locked and left to float away.

 

But you are correct. The early overpayment by some helps to cover up a multitude of sins. The price reductions are to cover whatever costs they can, and it is clear the cruise line is willing to cut prices rather than mothball a ship. There are also penalties to a cruise line if a ship doesn't sail full. This doesn't lead to good customer relations with those who tried to plan ahead.

 

Airlines cancel flights all the time and switch you to a different flight, without any compensation, unless mandated by law. They have also reduced capacity by reducing the number of flights they offer, so they are pretty sure the plans are going to fly full.

 

They also know last minute business travelers will pay last minute gouge-your-eyes out prices to get to where they need to go. There usually aren't so many last minute cruisers who can cruise on a moments notice.

[rickechambers1@aol.com]

When the cost of fuel doubled itself, I found no cruiselines that doubled their prices. Compare what you paid for a cruise 15 years ago to what you pay now. Compare what you paid for a car 15 years ago and what you pay now. Granted, it's like some airline websites that show a fare and then add in taxes on the final page...annoying to me...but the final price is the final price. Buy it or move on. It is business...not a non-for-profit. And the shareholders deserve every measure of profitability that can be gained. The consumers have choices and will ultimately decide. People also say the same about airline baggage fee's now that the fuel prices have dropped. I assume that once the $8 billion lost is recouped that fee's will diminish.

[raudacruise]

raudacruise,

 

Dude. Dude? Dude!!! Who you callin' DUDE?!!?!? HAHAHEHIehheieieeee......

 

Sorry, couldn't help myself :D. Lots of bashing going on and wanted to calm things down (or not).

 

Let's do some more math here. 2,000 passengers pay $77 each for the "Fuel Supplement" or whatever they're calling it........

 

........THAT'S AN EXTRA $154,000 every time a ship leaves for a 7 day cruise........

 

That's a LOT OF DANGED BUNKER FUEL! And now that prices have gone down, that's either money that is going right to their bottom line on EVERY 7 DAY CRUISE. Or, if they bought futures, it's money that is going right in the pockets of the smart speculators who sold the lines the commodity futures related to this fuel. Either way, WE PAY!!!

 

 

I agree, WE PAY. But I'm guessing the $154K is really a drop in the bucket in terms of what the fuel costs really are. I'm not defending them. I'd really like to know up frigging front what the price of my cruise is going to be.

 

The airlines are suffering. Guess what, you can't get a straight answer from them on what its really going to cost when you finally get on the plane.

 

I can see landing gear surcharges coming in the future. :D

[falken]

I agree, WE PAY. But I'm guessing the $154K is really a drop in the bucket in terms of what the fuel costs really are. I'm not defending them. I'd really like to know up frigging front what the price of my cruise is going to be.

 

NCL spent 193 million on fuel in 2007, 164 million in 2006, and 119 million in 2005. Divide that between all of the ships, of course.

[mrtractor]

Interesting stats, falken. Can that be put that into terms of passenger miles or days or whatever. I think NCL has launched a number of new ships since 2005, haven't they? And their ships are getting larger. Lower fuel cost per passenger, too. More and larger ships means more fuel costs. Or did I miss something there? So if their capacity was 8 ships at average 2,000 pax per ship, assuming they would be on the water and average of 325 days per year, that's 8x2,000x325 or 5,200,000 passenger days per year. Increase that to 10 ships with 2,300 passengers for 350 days per year (newer ships spend less time in drydock) and you get 8,050,000 passenger days per year. That's an increase of 54% in capacity. Add 54% to 2005's $119,000,000 in fuel costs and you get a little over $184,000,000. Not far off of the $193,000,000 2007 fuel costs. However, increase that by another 30% to $249,000,000 for 2008 and some of the fuel surcharge looks a little more justifiable.

 

But then mulitply 8,050,000 passenger days by $11 per day in "Fuel Supplements," and that adds another $88,550,000 to the coffers!! That puts the fuel cost down below 2007 levels, doesn't it?

 

I don't know if this math is all accurate, but I'm just trying to bring this back to the original point. If fuel is a part of the cost of a cruise, let it be part of the price they advertise. That was the point of the Florida AG in requiring that pricing be more fair and uniform. Allowing the lines to add charges any time they feel like it brings us right back to where we were before the agreement, doesn't it????

 

MrTractor<---------doesn't mind a little "futile" excersize once in a while..........

[nolaAlive]

Futile, feudal, or fueltile? :)

[nolaAlive]

Do I think it is right? No way.

 

Is it legal. Sure is. They can add any of the following fees if they want:

 

Daily Use of Telephone $1.95

Resort Fee: $10.00

Shop Disposables: $3.00

Entertainment Fee: $4.00

Environmental Fee: $5.00

and many others.

 

These are just examples of what I have been charged by various businesses.

 

 

(these are just a few

 

 

A cruise ship could charge, for example...

 

Price to have a plumber clear whatever your should not have flushed: $500

Add inconvenience fee for passengers on same vacuum line: $5000.

Hush money for not broadcasting on the ship, much less Internet, who did it, and what it was: $$$$ Priceless.

[sfo2008]

MrT, seems the FL attorney general caved on their original 1997 settlement

 

read about caving here: <http://www.elliott.org/blog/florida-attorney-general-announces-sellout-settlement-with-royal-caribbean/>

 

Here's the original settlement press release: <http://myfloridalegal.com/__852562220065EE67.nsf/0/32973A68E1B5BC5C85256435004EF6B1?Open&Highlight=0,norris,1997>

 

Seems like they CAN now surcharge you if they tell you in advance, it is horrible in terms of consumer price shopping though.

 

Also, to clarify, I support the mandatory tips, my point was I would prefer to see those rolled into the price quote since they are basically part of the fare and if NCL is doing $10/day and XYZ CL is doing $14/day I want the total price of my vacation to be clear.

[mrtractor]

Eric, I figured you'd have the chapter and verse available. So, the Florida AG caved. A POLITICIAN CAVING!!!!??? I'm SHOCKED!!!! :eek: SHOCKED!!!! :eek:

 

And Gitlin had it right from early on in the thread.......It just takes a while to sink in to ol' MrT's hard head!

 

Fuel surcharges are perfectly legal as long as they are disclosed before purchase.

 

They could charge a "Bigfoot Protection Surcharge", and as long as they clearly advertise it before purchase it would be perfectly legal.

 

The only time fuel surcharges are illegal is if the line tries to make them retroactive.

 

You should shop for cruises like you shop for everything else: considering ONLY the final bottom line price. Then it doesn't matter what they call the fees and surcharges.

 

So this means that the Razzle Dazzle Play is "back in the play book."

 

sfo's point about tipping goes directly to the point. Now that it's "legal" to advertise one price and then start throwing all sorts of things on top of the "base price" like tipping, it makes it harder to really understand the cost of your cruise and do comparison shopping. And in the case of tipping, are they getting around the rules again by saying you can take it off your bill? Maybe they could take port charges off by saying, "Well, the Captain might decide not to stop at those ports." I like sfo's idea of doing like the EU. Make the bottom line the bottom line.

 

I think I'll start a thread on something along the lines of "What 'Supplement' is next?" I still like the "Artichoke Supplement." Those things can get really expensive, you know!!!! HAHAHEIEIHEHHthetheeee.....

 

As usual, CC has been a great resource for getting an answer to my question. It was fun talking to all of you. Even when we don't agree. I guess I'll stop picking on you guys now and try to get some work done.

 

Gotta make enough to pay for the "Vacuum Cleaner Bag Supplement" on my next cruise! Thanks to everyone who responded.

 

Well, almost everyone...........:p................

 

MrTractor<--------finds that artichoke leaves get caught between his teeth......AHEHEAIEHIEEHeeheheee.......:rolleyes:.............

[AdoptAtty]

Actually the settlement I'm thinking of had to do with retroactive application of the fuel surcharge. I only remember because I had purchased a Carnival Cruise and after purchase was informed, oh, by the way, you now owe MORE money than you agreed to. Then our AG stepped in, than you Bill McCollum .....

 

 

The office of the Florida Attorney General issued the following news release:

Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that his office has reached a resolution with six cruise lines over the imposition of a retroactively-imposed fuel surcharge on cruise passengers. Carnival and its five subsidiary cruise lines have agreed to refund approximately $40 million to consumers nationwide who were charged the fuel surcharge after they had booked their cruises. Other affected cruise lines are Holland America, Princess, Costa, Cunard and Seabourne.

 

I'm not saying I like it, but as long as I know ahead of time what I'm looking at, I think that is fine. I also think it is legal. I can see what the total price is, and can take it or leave it. I'm not buying something and then being told... oh wait, we decided to increase your price.

[mrtractor]

Again, at the risk of beating this poor dead horse to a bloody pulp.....

 

In light of that agreement, aren't today's cruisers paying for the fuel increases incurred on cruises taken by the people who got refunds? In other words, if I booked a cruise after this agreement, am I paying more for the fuel supplement than it would actually cost because the cruiselines couldn't collect from the people who are cruising on those ships and whose bellies were full of expensive oil they didn't pay for?

 

The way I see it the lines are now saying: "We don't know how to manage the risk associated with this variable cost. So we're going to add a charge up front to every booking. That's now legal! Weeeee!!!Then if the cost of that essential component of our business doesn't go up too far, we'll give it back to you.

 

As long as YOU CAN ONLY SPEND IT ON OUR SHIPS.

 

Oh, did I mention that if the price of that variable cost goes down, we get to keep the money? Have a wonderful day aboard the MS Gas Guzzler of the Seas and don't forget Super Jackpot Bingo starts at 2:00PM hosted by your Assistant Cruise Director Dimitri!"

 

Sorry. I'll stick around just a little longer to help clean up all this horse flesh.....:o..............

 

MrTractor<----------thinks the "Towel Animal Supplement" is justifiable as long as knows about it ahead of time and gets one every night before bed.......:D...............

[Suni99]

Mr Tractor please stick around as I think you have valid points and agree with alot you have to say, I think some people are missing the point you are really trying to make. Also please call FL monday morning and get this all straightend out,hehe

And....yeah if they decided that they are going to refund our Fuel Sup on near future cruises , i think its bs thats its going to be given as an OBC, I paid for it if your gonna give it back , then give it back,putting it on OBC is not giving it back for they know we will somehow manage to spend it on their "product" so in reality they are still keeping it.:mad:all they are doing is putting it back on an account(reservation) that we paid for but they own.

[mrtractor]

Thanks for your kind words, suni99. I don't expect you to agree with my perspective. I'm me and you're you! Besides, it's a lot more interesting and fun if you don't!!!! CC can get so BORING. The same tedious threads about food or towel animals. I just thought I'd try to spice it up with a still controversial topic. Not everyone saw that as a positive. :rolleyes: As long as people don't start namecalling or using foul language then we're all great friends! If anybody wants want to take a shot at old MrTractor, they'll hafe to get in line. There's plenty of people ahead of them!

 

I'm glad those posts got poofed. I figured they would. Besides, it's not fair to have a battle of wits with an unarmed man! HAHAHHEHEIEHieieiehieheieieeee..........

 

OK, back on topic........

 

You know there are darn few people who can go on a cruise and come off spending less than the $22 per day fuel supplement on their onboard accounts. (Although I met some folks on a cruise once who made it a sport to do so!) Basically, that just covers the autotipping. But I agree with you.

 

On principle, they should REFUND the money, not offer it as an onboard credit. That money is spent every week, but it's constantly replenished by the next weeks bookings. So it's a pretty constant number, right? It's this huge slush fund that they collect interest on and can basically do anything they want to with.

 

We all know that with the economic downturn, some lines are going to be hurting. What happens if one goes broke with all that fuel surcharge money? Do the creditors split it up? Does it get refunded to the passengers? Do the executives stuff their suitcases with it and fly to Rio?

 

Uh, oh. There I go asking dumb questions again. Sorry.

 

MrTractor<---------won't be around much longer..........but is having fun while he's here!.........

[Whippets]

Hi Jerry,

Just wanted to say hello to you and Barb and hope all is going okay with her.

 

As for the fuel supplements, auto tipping, etc. towel animal tax..... I am hoping that the fuel supplement will be reduced, dropped or something. I just filled up my SUV for $1.68/gallon about an hour ago. NCL needs to negotiate lower fuel costs, period!

 

Hope to see you on the sea sometime!

 

Diane

[mrtractor]

Hi Diane!

Barb is doing GREAT! Just goes to prove that miracles can happen. Even when you associate with bad people like me! hahiheiiheieeeee........

 

We're getting our gas here at $1.659 now. I still think that's about a dollar too high! Is there a way we could get one of those big beautiful cruise ships to pull in at our local gas station? Of course, I'd be tempted to try to stowaway on it!

 

When is your next cruise??? Seen Snorkelinbarb lately???

 

MrTractor<---------still has his impressive bowling trophy that he won with the help of Whippets!!!.........

[Whippets]

I'm with you, let's gas up a ship and stow away! Expecially if it is somewhere warm!

 

What wonderful news about your DW!!!!!!! We all had her in our thoughts and prayers when we learned things weren't going well. Will you two be sailing again anytime soon?

 

DH and I just got off the Gem last Sunday. Did the Western Med. Probably one of the best vacations of my life! Loved the itinerary! Had a great CC Meet and Greet, 40 people and we put together some great excursions.

 

SnorklinBarb and her DH are doing fine, trying to stay warm with this cold snap! (we even had 17 degrees here this morning in NC!)

 

Take care and give our best to Barb!

 

Diane

 

(I know this is off topic..........)