Come along with us on the August 21, 2008 Cruise-Chat Member Cruise! Bring your friends and family too! This cruise is for everyone who wants to have fun in the sun and meet those you've chatted with on-line - but have never met in person. You don't have to be a cruise-chat member to come along!

The Cruise

The cruise is on Carnival's Inspiration, leaving from Tampa on a 4-day run to Cozumel and back. The itinerary is:

Day
1 Tampa, FL depart at 4:00pm
2 Fun Day At Sea
3 Cozumel 7:00am to 6:00pm
4 Fun Day At Sea
5 Tampa, FL arrive at 8:00am

This cruise is also about charity, and giving to a worthy cause. A portion of your cruise fare will go towards a yet-to-be selected charity. Carnival will contribute to the charity too!

So lets get going and start making the bookings! I've made mine! Contact our official agent for this member cruise, Cruise Fanatic (aka Jan) at sailawaytravel@yahoo.com and let's get the ball rolling!

I just emailed Jan for a quote. It's a bad weekend since it's fall move-in for campus housing, but if the price is right, I'll be there.

More details!

These are based on double occupancy.

Inside cabin (Cat. 4A) $297.16 per person. $197.16 per person for 3rd and 4th persons.

Outside cabin (Cat. 6A) $347.16 per person. $227.16 per person for 3rd and 4th persons.

Balcony cabins $697.16 per person. $267.16 per person for 3rd and 4th persons. (Cat. 11) Balcony cabins on Fantasy class ships are at a premium because there are so few of them.

All prices include port and tax.

We will be adding $20 per person to each price for the fund raiser which will be matched by the cruise line. Please check with your tax preparer for requirements about claiming this on your taxes.

We will need a deposit of $150 per person.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dave Beers,

Also - Jan will be away this weekend and not by the computer. Don't expect any responses to booking requests until Monday.

Everybody,

I have edited the prices in the previous post to show what it will cost for 3rd and 4th persons in the same cabin.

I just e-mailed Jan with my request. Let's get some more onboard.

penny3333, you have got to make it! How ironic you and I should finally meet on something other than a Princess ship!!
I've been checking out Inspiration on the Carnival website and it looks like lots of fun.

Come on, everybody!

I'm getting ready to head out on another trip, and will email Jan when I return. There's still a slight chance that my husband's school calendar will not cooperate, but we'll worry about that if and when it happens -- and it would be only one day anyway.

You lucky ducky's living so close to walk out your back door and jump on a ship. To far for us to come out, but maybe someday something will happen for us West Coasters. Ya all have fun now ya hear

Will definitely try to get in on this one!! My only problem is we ask for time off in 3 month blocks so I won't know if the time is approved until about 2 months before the trip. THAT is mainly why I wait til last minute to book them. BUT since it's less than an hour drive to the port for me I will definitely try!!!

Dave and Jan!

THANKS for getting us a date!

Plenty of time now for all to plan

Wouldn't a online e-mail-form be the best way to book this cruise, so you can get the right details as fast as possible?
Like the form for the German member cruise?

quote:

We will need a deposit of $150 per person, which is MUCH less than usually required.

I am actually stumped for words.

This is not less than usually required. It is exactly the same.

This rate is the same if anyone called and booked. It is not a group rate.

I am so dissapointed.

quote:

Originally posted by IslandCruz:

quote:

We will need a deposit of $150 per person, which is MUCH less than usually required.

I am actually stumped for words.

This is not less than usually required. It is exactly the same.

This rate is the same if anyone called and booked. It is not a group rate.

I am so dissapointed.

Sorry to continually disappoint you over this. Frankly I don't see why anyone would be so crushed over a deposit amount. Those were my words about the deposit. Since we normally do longer cruises I was thinking of higher deposits when I made the post.

I have removed those words. Any other parts of the post that need to be dissected and analyzed?

Folks, I apologize if I sound annoyed at times. Putting a group cruise together is a lot like herding cats and can be exasperating at times - one sometimes can feel like they have a "kick me" sign on their back.

Reminds me of when I was elected post commander of my VFW post. What it really meant was that I got to do all the work!

baby doll,
I agree it's a long way to go for a 4 day cruise; that's why I'm going to make a whole vacation out of it and spend some time in the area after the cruise.

Just food for thought. Come on! We need you!!

f-mattox,

My friend Hugh gave some great info on the hotels in the Tampa area. He is an amazing man - born in the UK, sent to NY State as a boy to escape the war, joined the U.S. Army and fought in Europe, graduated from Oxford after the war, and ended up in Tampa.

Dave, Sorry if that came across wrong. Am in no way dissapointed with you or have been. I meant with Carnival for not giving us a better rate. It is not bad, just thought they might cut us some slack. Sometimes the typed word comes across different than intended. Thanks for all your work

IslandCruz

What a colorful life; I'll bet he's got some stories to tell. Bring him along.

And thanks Dave, I got the information and responded on the other thread.

Rick
(maybe we should get use to using our real names--mines Frederick, but I go by "Rick")

quote:

Originally posted by IslandCruz:
Dave, Sorry if that came across wrong. Am in no way dissapointed with you or have been. I meant with Carnival for not giving us a better rate. It is not bad, just thought they might cut us some slack. Sometimes the typed word comes across different than intended. Thanks for all your work

IslandCruz

Forget it...we all sometimes forget that typed words have no inflection. Plus I am going through some workplace issues which probably are affecting my mood.

quote:

Originally posted by f-mattox:
What a colorful life; I'll bet he's got some stories to tell. Bring him along.

And thanks Dave, I got the information and responded on the other thread.

Rick
(maybe we should get use to using our real names--mines Frederick, but I go by "Rick")

Rick it is!

I'll ask Hugh if he wants to join the cruise. Indeed he has many stories. And he is also a cruiser, although he prefers HAL. He also likes a well-prepared gin and tonic in the evening - so he would fit in well.