True West Historical cruise interest forum

[Sheldon M Perlin]

To all of you folks who would like to be added to the list of interested parties for our upcoming cruise to Alaska (The last frontier) please use this forum to add your Name and e mail. Tentitive date will be July 2010 and will try to coincide with or very close to the Soapy Smith event in Skagway. Skagway is on our port of call list. We have a blog "Western Cruise" and a discussion forum put up by Jeff Smith called "Historic Alaska cruist for True west". You may add you name to this forum, or you may contact me by e mail at [e-mail] or [e-mail]. We are generally available 24/7 at toll free# 1-877-724-2483.

[Sheldon M Perlin]

Hello again, I have been showered with questions about cruising, the ship, costs and other info. I will attempt to get alot of this info posted right now. Normally we conduct a cruise nite for a question and answer period and obtain a sign up sheet. Since we are so spread out, This Forum and my web page will have to suffice. OK. Time to sit back and read. Here is a photo of your ship. She is a floating palace. Some of the staticts are as follows; She was built in 2004, Her gross tonnage is 115,875 , she is 945 feet long and 122 ft wide. Her passanger capacity is 2670 double occupancy passangers, her crew size is 1,100. She has 1,337 staerooms and suites of which 960 are outside, with 748 of those having private balconies. Folks, this is a BIG ship. All staterooms feature private bathrooms with showers, individually controlled air-conditioning,twin beds that convert to queen, some have additional bunks for childern. most have refrigerators and spacious closets, hair dryers and private safes. You will have turndown service and of course TV and phone. Once you board you will be taken to a whole new world of living. For those of you who have never cruised before, you will be blown away. There are photographers to take your photos (you gotta pay for them) and servers to take care of your beverages.
your boarding time will be 12 noon to 3pm on 07-04-2010 The ship departs Seattle at 4pm. Once aboard you can go directly to lunch and start enjoying your vacation. Your state room should be ready by 1pm or so. you will also be required to attend a mandatory lifeboat drill. It is for your safety and is required. Runs about 20 minutes, this happen in port and before you set sail.. In the dining room you will be assigned a table and your wait staff will stay with you every nite, Your room steward will keep your room tidy and will assist you in any way they can. Gratuties are highly recommend to your room steward, your head waiter and the assistant waiter. Once you see how hard these folks work for you, you won't mind the gratuity. Please do not miss the nightly entertainment in the Theater it is fantastic. The casino is amazing for you gamblers out there.
We need to start the booking process. The time is now.. Please call us or Email with the required information in order to get your cabin. If you need air fare and transfers from airport to the seaport please let us know, as air fair is an additional charge.
We will need: Your real names, Date of Birth, if your are a past Princess cruiser,your physical address,your email address,phone#, how many plan to travel and their info i.e. names, dob, etc. (all pricing is based on double occupancy), your credit card information. This information is required by all cruiselines. Security is high on the ships. Also your valid passport number if you plan on using a pass port, other wise you much carry with you a photo id and a certified birth certificate.
Please contact me at 1-877-724-2483 or email me at [e-mail]

[Sheldon M Perlin]

Good Morning Bo, Actually since the cruise will be a Loop cruise, meaning leaving a US port and Returning to a US port a Pass Port is not required. A photo ID i.e. drivers license, will be required and a certified copy of a Birth certificate. I am calling Cruise lines this morning to check on the gun bit and at that time I will get the latest updates on Passports.

[Sheldon M Perlin]

absolutly, as long as it is up to date.

[Sheldon M Perlin]

I gonna check for you on this, But somehow I feel it may scare the crap out of the other passangers and we will have a mass jump overboard problem..LOL Don't build up your hopes.

[Sheldon M Perlin]

Hi Gayle,
Cruise line restrictions are a bit different then air line restrictions, I understand you can travel with guns as long as no ammo and they are in checked luggage and the airline is informed. However on a cruise ship, guns may be a problem. I am checking on that this morning. We can arrange flights also But I will still need info on how many will be flying together and from what airport would be best for everyone. In most cases,even tho we can do, the majority or our travlers make there own airline reservations. The good part about the travel agent making the arrangements with the cruise line is that they guarantee to get you to your ship on time. I will have that info for you today...

[Bungalo Bill]

Pards, I would highly recommend leaving the shooting irons at home. The cruise lines have a metal detector and baggage x-ray at the entrance into the embarking area just like the airlines do. At least the one in San Francisco does. You do not want to put your guns in your checked luggage. The risk of theft is too great. It is unfortunate but true that not all the baggage handlers are honest people. I lost a pair of binoculars out of my luggage when disembarking at the end of the cruise. Who thinks to check his luggage when picking it up on the dock on the way home? This happens all too frequently on airlines, too. Many a traveling police officer has lost his checked weapon to a miscreant baggage handler.

[Sheldon M Perlin]

Thank you Bungalo, we just got off the phone with Cruise line security and the special events dept. I have to burst everone's bubble.. No Weapons of any type allowed, be it replicas,Plastic,real, or otherwise. Holsters are ok but the hog leg that fills it is taboo..It is very true about what Bungalo is stating, theft on an item like that,although rare,it possible. Cruise line security also stated that not even police officers can bring a wepon aboard.

[Bungalo Bill]

I was pretty sure it was taboo, but didn't know for sure. It's the world we live in. Ah... the good old days.

[Sheldon M Perlin]

OK gang, It's time to get serious. After much research I found a lovely cruise on a fantastic ship that will get you guys to Skagway on July 8th 2010, this date should coincide with Soapy Smiths death. Here are the details at this point.
The ship is the "Sapphire Princess". She will depart Seattle on July 4th 2010 and arrive back in Seattle on July 11th. Her ports of call will be: Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, Tracy Arm Fjord, and Victoria BC. Included in this itinerary are 2 days at sea. To start with I will block off 16 cabins (32 people) double occupancy. I will reserve a combination of inside, ocean view, and balcony state rooms. I can also arrange for air fare from most cities. Right now I have pricing from LAX and Phoenix. Pricing as of today for the cruise which includes all taxes and port fees and includes transfers from air port to The ship is as follows: Inside cabin $1062.71 pp
dbl occ. Ocean view is $1512.71 pp dbl occ. Balcony is $1862.71 pp dbl occ. these prices are subject to change until I get some definite commitments at which time I can lock the Prices. Deposits will be 20% of the fare. Final payments will be due at a later date. Air fare from LAX is329.00 PP RT (includes everything. From Phoenix is $359.00 PP RT. These prices are set up in conjunction with the cruiselines, that way you are guaranteed getting to your ship on time. For those of you not flying a reduction on total cruise fare will go down by about 48.00.
I will need from all of you who will be traveling, the following..(VERY IMPORTANT):
Real Names, Dates of birth, Passport#s if avail, contact information, Method of deposit payment. A credit card is recommended. Also are you a past guest on Princess? If you would like to keep your personal info private, Please e mail the info to [e-mail] or call us toll free at 1-877-724-2483. I am also putting this update shortly on our web site: www.cruiseplannersofflorida.com. On that site you will find additional information about the ship..

[Sheldon M Perlin]

For those of you interested to see what your ship will look like and information about the ship and dining venues click here. Do not fill out any info once you get to the page, just click around to check out the info you wish to see.

[Sheldon M Perlin]

Bo, If you drive directly to the port the price will be a bit cheaper because we will remove the airport transfer fees. So figure on your price of 1464.71 and yes that is per person.
Keep in mind BO that this is almost all inclusive. Incudes all of your meals (unless you decide to dine in a specialty resturant) Alcohol is extra. All entertainment is free. Keep in mind I will give you a 50.00 onboard credit that you can use on the ship for extras. But for the most part once you go aboard everything is included except for alcohol, the specialty resturants, and sodas. The regular resturants are still fantistac, there is free pizza, free ice cream, free buffetts. burgers, dogs, fries. So much is included with your cruise fare that you'll gain 10 pounds in food alone. She is a Beautiful ship. You can do as much or as little as you please. The entertainment aboard is Las Vegas style and quality. I have been able to put aside 8 ocean view cabins. They will go fast. If something comes up and you are not able to cruise, we can refund your cruise fare 100% if you cancel 75 days or more before the sailing, unless you obain travel insurance..

[Sheldon M Perlin]

Here is the latest. I have blocked off 16 cabins, The ship is selling cabins fast so I grabbed what I could. I have 4 inside cabins, 8 ocean view and 4 Balconys. I have locked in the price. I can hold these cabins for 40 days so please act fast. They will go on a first come first served basis..I will try and obtain more space if possible..