Baaaaaaack Again!

Just wanted to say thank you for your patience as I am finally back on-line.

Roger and my adventures on the Celebrity Mediterranean Cruise was incredible. Although the numerous ports and sites were breath-taking. Having so many friends to share our day's stories and laughter made it absolutely priceless and something I so look forward to sharing on the Mexican Riviera Cruise with all of you. I had all intentions to connect onto the ships internet during those sea days but seemed to have been distracted from meeting up with friends for a sunset cocktail on the fantail of the ship, participating in special interest workshop, keeping my spa treatment appointment, soaking in the sun, attending a wine tasting, shopping on the promenade, attending tea time with my niece and nephew, playing cards on the Lido Deck with my buddies, taking a kitchen galley tour with the Ship's Executive Chef, dining in the Specialty Restaurant Wine Room with my Foodie Friends and yes I didn't even make it to the ship's fitness club, unless you can count walking on the running track as I headed out to the Revelation 'Edge of Night' Lounge with a moonlit view on the sea. Oh yeah, the excuses goes on and on as you will see once on board!

I am so very excited about sharing the cruising lifestyle with you on this upcoming Spring Cruise. You can stay as active as you like or find that relaxing low key hang loose approach to cruising it your style . Our Carnival Spirit is going to be a Fun Ship to share some great time together and I'm back on line for those who wanna connect. Ahoy mates, I'm baaaack!

The photo that I have here is from Harry's Bar in Venice. And yes, I did have a Peach Bellini grazie (thank you)! It was buono (yummy)!

Blog Downtime...October 29th to November 23rd

Ahoy mates … I wanted to let you know that the Friends and Fun Mexican Riviera Cruise Blog will be down for the period of October 29th through November 23rd. Roger and I will be on yet another cruise. We will be traveling on a Mediterranean Cruise with 82 of our friends and family during this period. The Celebrity Cruise Summit will have internet access but until I access this service on the ship, I won’t know exactly what I will be able to do, so please bear with me.

For your emergency access to me during this time, I have two email contacts that you are welcome to send me messages. They are dianamdavis@cox.net and LadyDiDavis@gmail.com . I’ll do my best to check them every few days, unless of course I get stuck at the Champagne or Martini Bar. Thanks again for your understanding!

Bon Voyage,
Diana

Helpful Travel Items... Catalog, please?

Here's a few of my favorite travel resources that might be of interests to you. I particulalry like the Magellan's and Travelsmith particularly for those comfort travel items we enjoy for our home away from home. I personally am a catalog gal verses the internet shopping woman. So I would order a catalog to look at first. But, you make the call and do what works for you.

Also there are other resources such as Territory Ahead, Orvis, REI, Land's End, Eddie Bauer's and still more, I'm sure. But, here's a few to get you started. If you have another great resource. Make a comment and let us know on this blog I'm sure all will appreciate a new tip!

Happy Packing!

Photo provided by Flickr: malias

Very Brief Survey of Mexico

MEXICO FACTS

Official Name: Estados Unidos Mexicanos (United Mexican States)

Area: About 761,604 square miles, making it the 14th largest country in the world

Populations: 103 million (2004 estimate), the 11th most populous nation in the world

Population Density: 137 per square mile (US = 80 per quare miles)

Highest Point: Pico de Orizaba, an extinct volcanic peak is 18, 555 feet high

Lowest Point: 43 feet below sea level near mexicali in Baja California

Number of States: 31, plus Federal District

Language: Spanis is the official langauage, but many Indian lanaguages are also spoken.

Major Industries: Oil, mining, electronics, auto manufacturing, textiles and tourism

Major Agricultrual Crops: Cotton, coffee, wheat, rice, beans, and soybeans

Turism Industry: Approximately $8 billion per year

Information provided by: Larry H. Ludmer, Cruising the Mexican Riviera and Baja

Photo provided by Flickr Esparta.jpg

Cell Phone --- staying in touch…by Karen

My girlfriend and fellow cruise travel buddies, Karen and her husband Buzz will be joining us on this Mexican Riviera cruise. Karen and I go way back, yup she even goes back longer then my association with our Hawaii friends and even Roger. But that’s yet another story. Anyway, I met Karen when I worked with the City of Irvine and one of Karen’s main responsibilities with the City was telecommunication which also included our City’s phone system. I asked Karen to help me out and share her expertise and wisdom in trying to get me a connected with the use of our Verizon cell phone during this cruise. And I thought the following information might be helpful to all of you as well. As there are so many different cell phone carriers these days, be sure to check with your own carrier before you sail so that you can stay connected. Here are some general guidelines and tips that Karen shared with me….Diana

· It does NOT require a special phone to make/receive calls in Mexico. Your same phone today will work there. This should include Ensenada and most port towns, but as you stray from the port areas you will possibly have sporadic service they said.

· To use your existing phone in Mexico (or make any other international calls actually) you must add International Dialing to your features before you leave. This does not cost extra, it just allows you to dial 001-1-XXX-XXX-XXXX to make a call from your phone when traveling internationally, including Mexico or Canada.

· Simply call Verizon and ask them to add this feature to your phone. It will allow you to make/receive calls in Mexico or any country for that matter....for the appropriate charges.

· SO, the big message is....when you Dial from Mexico or another country or you Receive calls from the U.S. to your phone you will incur Roaming Charges of approximately $0.99 per minute. Other long distance charge may apply, so it's important to speak with a representative in Hawaii so those folks know what their full costs might be. From phone to phone if we are keeping track of each other, it's just the $0.99 per minute.

· Additionally, if one is using their phone aboard the ship, the charges are much higher. That rate is $2.49 per minute because the ship requires that rate. For purposes aboard the ship, Verizon suggested that text messaging might be a better way to go. Those charges in Mexico (or in waters traveling to Mexico) are part of your text messaging bundle in your calling plan package (if you subscribe to text messaging). You can add that feature if you don't have it and it's about $5.00/ month I think for a certain amount of messages per month.

· The bottom line for the Hawaii folk is to update their features on their cell phones to add International Dialing capability so they can make/receive calls in Mexico. They should check with Verizon when they add this feature to be sure they understand all the costs and options. Of course, when they come to America (as my Uncle Arthur in Honolulu calls it). They just use their phones as usual and whatever calling plan they have takes over. Our Verizon plans include Hawaii for free, so I assume theirs does as well.

Photo provided by Flickr Gaetan Lee

GROUP CRUISE PRICE DEADLINE…September 25th

It’s fast approaching for our deadline …September 25th 2008 . What deadline? What are you talking about?

Well, our Friends and Fun Mexican Riviera cruise group rate will be unavailable soon, so get in touch with our travel agent Alex quickly! This friendly reminder is to say that our group price will not be guaranteed after this date, although you still will be able to sign up. As you know, prices continually fluctuate as many times as we seem to breathe in and out these days. So if you have a friend you’ve thought of inviting or perhaps a family member who might enjoy this cruise…now is the time!

Remember you can forward this Friends & Fun Mexican Riviera cruise blog link to those interested in getting more detailed information. And of course contacting our Travel Agent Alex is you’re best bet. So if you’ve been on the fence…place that deposit down, save your money for the margarita and souvenir sombrero! Ole’ mi amigos, we’ll see you on board!

Photo provided by Flickr:drooooo

Be With Who Makes You Smile

This week, I wanted to take this opportunity to extend a very special “Thank You” to each of you for joining us on this 2009 Mexican Riviera Cruise. Daily we are given options in our lives including who you choose to travel with. Please know that your decision to join us is not something I take for granted. I personally appreciate each of you for being a part of our group. Your time, effort and generosity to participate in this cruise are valued as much as your friendship; both to those that I have had the pleasure to know for years and those whom I look forward to meeting for the first time.

So allow me to take this moment or two to introduce you to our current members of our cruise group below (stateroom number in parentheses). These are individuals who have made the commitment to place a cruise deposit. Our deadline is September 25th as you know. And through my experience in planning group cruises you can bet that there’s a few who will join us at the last minute. So heartfelt thanks for your participation and welcome aboard to each of you who makes me smile.
Fondly,
Diana

"Do what makes you HAPPY. Be with who makes you SMILE.
LAUGH as much as you breathe and LOVE as long as you LIVE."
Author Unknown

As of Saturday, August 30, 2008:
Naomi Carter & Carol Sakai (6243)
Maxeen Shea/Joyce Chinen (6239)
Charmille & Walter Abe (6253)
Florence & Thomas Alford (6251)
Darlene & Mike Aoki (6245)
Willy Ching (6263)
Jean Gillman & Joan Cliffe (6255)
Sheila Wensel & Jean Myers (6249)
Euphemia & Richard Nagashima (6163)
Jeannette & Robert Sylva-Pereira (6235)
Karen & Buzz Vaughn (6260)
Joan Yamanaka & Joyce Spoehr (6247)
Marty Bryant (6172)
Sandy & Ken Mohr (4206)
Janice Wagner & Sharon Larner (4211)
Julie, Benjamin & Jeff Schatz (7203)
Perry Soderberg (7172)
Michael Tiffany (7170)
Sean Hagerty & Andrea Babby (7296)
Steve Blancarte (7263)
Fumiko Miyasaki & Stacy Miyasaki (7268)
Reagan Miyasaki (7272)
Diana & Roger Davis (7303)

Photo provided by Flickr.Andreia. "Lips"