Archive for May, 2007

Speed Bumps in Road to Alaska

Patricia May 24th, 2007

Sea Socks ‘07 was so easy to plan, I never would have expected what just happened.  Never, it never crossed my mind as a possiblity.

Princess Cruise Line has canceled the May 7th (plus a few more) sailings of the Dawn Princess.

(Deep Breaths.)  I spent much of yesterday demanding to speak to ANYONE at Princess who would tell me why they were doing this to me and my knitters.  I tried to explain to anyone who would listen that if I were them, I would not disappoint THIS group of knitters.  But alas, they did not listen.

I then imediately called a meeting of my Brain Trust (I recently, yesterday, promoted them from ‘Cruise Staff’ to ‘Brain Trust’ — there’s no increase in pay, unless you double their zero salary, but much more prestiage).  Amy, Erin, and Chrissy to the rescue, all of them helped me pick a new cruise, which frankly, I think is even better.

Ahem, announcing the New Improved (better than 4 days) Sea Socks ‘08!!!

Now, departing Seattle on May 9th on Celebrity’s Infinity.  (Celebrity is a sister company to our friends at Royal Caribbean — and they know us now.) 

Highlights:

  • 7 night cruise!
  • Ports include Victoria, Ketchikan, Juneau.  There will be scenic sailing at Hubbard Glacier and through the inside passage (remember the much promised protected waters?)
  • This is an amazing ship: Built in 2001 (three years younger than the Vision); Nearly twice the crew for the same number of passengers as the Vision; and at 91,000 gross tons, she’s about 10% larger than the Vision of the Seas.
  • Amy, Chrissy, Erin, and a soon to be announced 4th celeb/knitter/teacher  Brenda Dayne will be on board — as well as Michael and I.
  • Need more details: http://www.mycruiseplanner.us/ccs/9980

The booking enginge above is going to be taken down, until I get it up and running with the new information. 

Everyone currently booked on the Dawn will be called over the next few days to discuss the options.

I’m truly excited about this new option for our Sea Socks cruise. 

Booking for Sea Socks ‘08 is OPEN

Patricia May 13th, 2007

Yes, the booking is now open for the 2008 Sea Socks group. If this year was any indication, next year will be amazing. I’m committed to bringing you the same high quality support and fun experience. Mama E promises me MORE of her sparkling personality.

So, how to book? You can follow the little link up top that says “Book Now” OR you can click here and use the group id “seasocks” to get in. If you need to call me, please do so. I’m in the office from 8am to 8pm PST Monday through Friday, but I will be taking calls Sunday, May 13th after noon.

We expect this cruise to fill quickly, so please come and join us.

Sea Socks ‘07 Check your e-mail

Patricia May 9th, 2007

If you signed up on the ship to have your e-mail sent to the group, it has been sent.  I got a few e-mails bounced back to me, so PLEASE check your e-mail and send me a note if you didn’t an e-mail from me with the attachment of blogs and e-mails.

The other highly important information that was in the e-mail is reproduced here for all to see.  If you wish to be added to the Sea Socks ‘07 list, please just e-mail me and I’ll add you.  I’m going to be sending out more e-mails this week.

Wow, what an amazing trip home.  In case you aren’t privy to the fun, I literally got home yesterday — it is a LONG trip home from Seattle to San Francisco via Ft. Lauderdale.  So, back in the office today!  I have tons to catch up on, as I’m sure all of you do too, so I’ll try to keep this in short bullet form — since I’m a little known for being long winded.

For those who handed me forms for Sea Socks  ‘08:

    I’m booking your cabins today.  You should have a confirmation either late today or tomorrow.

For those who want a cabin on Sea Socks ‘08:

    Because I know (or I was told many times) that many of you either missed me on the last day OR you needed to go check the family calendar, I’m extending the savings offer until the end of May for my Sea Socks ‘07 folks only.  Now, I will warn you, I’m opening booking up to the rest of the knitting world on Sunday, May 13th, so I expect cabins to go quickly.

Do you have photos to share?  Oh, all the photos.

    It was suggested to me that we should use the power of Flickr and tagging for the photos.  So, the official tag for all the photos is “SeaSocks2007″  If you tag all your photos in Flickr with that, everyone who does a search will see everyone’s photos.  I hope to have my own photos up by the end of the week.  In addition, if you aren’t using Flickr already, it is a great tool and is free unless you need the “pro” tools.

Keeping in touch:

    Attached is the much asked about names, e-mails, and blog lists.  If there is something amiss, please e-mail me and I’ll fix it.  I’m going to try to post it on the Sea Socks blog with a password also.  This way there is always a place to get the most updated information. 

Speaking of the blog:

    I’m going to be slowly morphing the blog into the wrap up of Sea Socks ‘07 and the beginnings of Sea Socks ‘08.  I hope you will continue to watch that space for new and exciting information on this and other knitting cruises.  I fully plan on this week’s podcast to discuss the cruise, so I encourage those who enjoyed the past podcasts to listen to this one too.  In addition, I will be adding a page with everyone’s blog who attended ‘07 as an ongoing feature.  This is both for the traffic and in case someone might want to ask a Sea Sock Veteran questions.  If you don’t want to be listed, let me know.

    Oh, and the blog address as a reminder is:  www.mycruiseplanner.net/seasocks

Finally, did you lose anything on the cruise?  If you think you left something onboard please call Royal Caribbean’s Lost and Found department: 800-256-6649.  I have a few things that were handed to me in the course of the cruise too (um, all needles), so if you think you lost a needle, e-mail me too and I’ll check my personal lost and found.

Again, I thank you all for coming on the cruise with us.  Erin, Amie, Eunny, and I are thrilled you were there.  Handouts and a pattern update will be coming in another e-mail.  And as always, suggestions for next year and any other cruise, please let me know.

Thank you again,

Patricia and Michael

Welcome Home

Patricia May 7th, 2007

Wow, Sea Socks’07 was a blast, wasn’t it?  I’m thrilled to be heading home myself (but mostly to begin the prep work on Sea Socks ‘08, right?)  All the way home on the flight, I kept thinking of things we could do better, bigger, and how to top this year.  Needless to say, I have to get cracking.

Now, I’m sure everyone will be posting their photos on flickr and I’ll be sending the blog/e-mail lists around soon.  In addition, I want to ask that you watch this space as it morphs from Sea Socks ‘07 prep to Sea Socks ‘08 prep.  This way, we can continually add to the FAQ, as some of those cruise questions will never change.

I had a blast with everyone.  I can’t wait until next year.  Thank you all for joining me, Eunny, Amie, and Mama E on this adventure.