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observed during the sailing.
gets into the swim of things.
all the way down the path.
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Some nice notes from our cruise attendees: To all at Creation who made the cruise such a memorable event and to Steve, Danielle, Claire, Ted, and Hudson, Thank you for all your efforts, time, and attention. The cruise was truly wonderful, and though there might have been the occasional glitch, it went awfully well for a first time outing. That's because the organization was good and the participation of the guests was outstanding. I'm sure that for every Xenite on the Norwegian Dawn, there will be at least one suggestion to make a subsequent cruise 'better', however, this letter is simply to say what a great time we had. I trust that Steve, Danielle, Claire, Ted, and Hudson will get to read a copy of this letter because you guys were terrific! I know that it must have seemed daunting to think of a whole week surrounded by fans, but I hope that by the end you came to view most of us as people who do have lives but also a common involvement with the phenomenon that is Xena. I hope that we were not too much 'in your faces' as you were extremely gracious and giving of your time and yourselves. You were spontaneous and fun and put everyone at ease. I'd love to think that you had such a great time, too, that you will join those going on the "Second Annual Xena Cruise" whenever and wherever that will be. Thank you all, again. It was fantastic, and we can't wait for the next one! - Val & Joanne The cruise was wonderful! Who knew the Caribbean was so beautiful.;-) It took about a day to get accustomed to the gentle swaying of the ship...(and it hasn't actually stopped yet) but it was great for putting you to sleep at night. It seemed at first that Claire, Danielle and Ted were hiding out in their rooms whereas there were Hudson sightings daily. Think that must have been dependant on where you hung out. The dessert table at the Garden Cafe rocked! Virgin Gorda was amazing. Danielle and Hudson doing The Vagina Monologues was great. Danielle barely glances at the script. Apparently she wants to perform it in it's entirety rather than just parts and there was mention of letters to Creation about that. Steve Sears is funny as hell. Watching the person who won the banner at the auction roll it out in the Aqua dining room for Danielle to sign and seeing recognition dawn on the wait staff was trippy.<g> The Creation staff were very friendly and the Xena cast seemed
determined to ensure that everyone had a great time. The NCL staff
were fantastic, very helpful and friendly. Hanging out with old friends and meeting new ones.:-) On the whole it was a great time and leaving the ship was pretty depressing. I would have turned around and done it again in a heart beat. - Kim It was my first trip on any cruise line and I will tell anyone that the Dawn is the best. The Looks the best, Sails the best (in large waves you will not feel a thing) and the resturant food is great. It was nice being with the stars from xena (after all that was what got me interested at first), but it was the fun times I had with other xenites. Creation worked hard for this cruise and it showed. I am thankful to them for bringing us together. I made a lot of new friends and was able to put faces to web addys. It was worth the trip. I would also like to thank Melissa for her interest and time spent with us. - Debra Hey Kim...the cruise was great. Good times, good food, and good friends!!! I just got my land legs back today...an occassional swaying or dizzy feeling still but almost back to normal. I too would turn around and do it again in a heart beat. The ship was incredible. I miss my steward turning down my bed and night and leaving chocolates on my pillows; the pool girls constantly bringing me another rum runner or bahama mama drinks while I lay baking in the sun; the increadible vastness of the sea; the extraordinary sunsets; the awesome underwater world (the snorkling at St thomas and the virgin islands); snorkling with claire; dancing with Danielle; and dining with Hudson (and Lynda). I finally met Missy for the first time and found her to be brilliant, funny, attractive, and overall an extraordinary woman. - Michelle lol My favorite part was when you went back to the room at night and the bed was turned down with a mint on your pillow. (g) I sure do miss that. I had a great time and met a lot of wonderful people. I am hoping they have another Xena cruise soon. I will definitely go again. - Chris |
A CRUISEMATE'S JOURNAL
THE FIRST ANNUAL STRONG WOMEN OF SCI-FI CRUISE - 4/5 - 4/12 2003
Though, far from being a writer I will do my best to recount all the memories
from this amazing cruise. I guess the best place would be to start at
the very beginning...
SATURDAY April 5 - 3:00am - Time to get up, take care of the last minute packing, try to get the body moving with a quick shower, if that's at all possible at this ungodly hour of the morning, and head on down to LaGuardia Airport to catch the 7:00 flight to Miami. Jo-Ann and I checked in the luggage, cleared security (they wanted by shoes) and met our flightmates Rose and Lynn. Excited but still wanting our nice warm beds, we settled ourselves into our seats hoping to catch a few z's….but alas the excitement of the trip and for us the first time on a cruise ship kept us on full alert.
April 5 - 10:00am - We made it and planted our feet firmly on the ground in Miami, Florida. Now to find the transportation that would take us to the ship. We were told at as soon as we landed a car/taxi/bus would be immediately taking us to the ship but we ended up waiting at the airport until 12:30. Not very happy campers but made the best of the situation. Finally arrived at the ship about 1:15 where we stood in yet another line waiting to board the ship. The line I have to say moved pretty quickly, so there was not too much pain involved. After a trip through customs and our photos taken we were shown to our cabins. Wow…very nice, clean and so new and not as tight and cramped as we thought. Our cabin was on deck 5 with a nice sizewindow. Next time I want the larger room with the balcony and tub but this would more than do for us. Ok, luggage we weren't getting until around 5-7 o'clock so we were left with freshening up before we headed to DAZZLES for the cocktail party hosted by Creation.
April 5 - 4:15 ish - DAZZLES cocktail hour. It was like old home week seeing lots of old friends from previous conventions and catching up with the latest news. Of course the best was when the guests arrived who fit in so nicely in this warm atmosphere of fans and friends. Everyone was ready to party at this point and ready for the convention events to start.
We also had a mandatory boat drill which was something to see. Very simple procedure but you would never know it. If we had to wait for everyone to get to their designated area before we jumped in the life boats we would all perish for sure. They were still nonchalantly making their way after 20 minutes.
The rest of the night we spent unpacking and checking out the ship and the ships restaurants. There was no way to try and diet on the cruise because the food was endless and delicious.
SUNDAY April 6 - Our first day at sea we all joined together at the STARDUST THEATRE. First up was Missy Good who gave us the low down on her part in the Norwegian Dawn among her other stories about writing for our favorite show, Xena. Next was a special Creation day show starring Steve Sears and Hudson Leick. This was the first time some of us had seen Steve and boy was he ever funny. He talked about writing for the show and lots of behind the scenes stuff. Very entertaining man and would love to see him again. Hudson was Hudson, and you all know what I mean. She talked about her role as Callisto, and Fastlane. Great stories about her childhood as well. One was when she was a snotty 14 year old (her words) and he father was so mad at her that he broke a chair into pieces. She thinks he wanted to break it over her head. After he destroyed the chair she turned to him and said "Now that was very mature"…..She must have been a rip growing up….LOL.
After the show we had time to go back to our cabin or walk around the ship and check out the stores before we all met back again at the AQUA Dining room for the group dining.This was really nice because once again everyone was together as we were still trying to play catch up from the last time we all saw each other. The highlight of the dinner was of course Claire Stansfield, who was gracious to join us and visit all the tables, taking photos and signing autographs. This is one very very giving woman who never fails to give back to the fans and we so love her for it. After dinner is was back to the pool and once again wandering around the ship. It was huge and we wanted to check it all out.
MONDAY April 7 - Our first excursion to San Juan Puerto Rico and the first disappointment. When we finally disembarked the ship and made our way to the meeting place we were informed that there was to be a protest with the truckers on the island at 3:00 and no one would be able to get back to the ship. At first we all thought they were full of shit but it turned out they were not and all the excursions were cancelled. Tina, Adam, Lori, Ted and Steve decided to go on their own and I figured what the hell, I'll go with them since they had no intention of NOT getting back. So a group of us got in the cabs and off we went. The first place we went to was Castillo de San Cristobal which was awesome and wished we had more time to go through it. Next we did the walking thing for over a mile to the Castillo de San Felipe del Morro. Both forts we magnificent and we were really enjoying ourselves but the time was getting close to 3:00 and some of us wanted to head back. The rest went on to do some shopping and I have to say I'm sorry I left early. We later found out that the truckers strike was on the other side of the island and all the excursions could have gone on as planned. Once we returned to the ship we heard all the stories about guards with guns and how no one was allowed to leave the ship. After showering, off to dinner and just hanging out with friends for the rest of the night. We were a crazy and fun group and a lot of people on the ship couldn't quite figure out who we were or why we were on this cruise to begin with….so we had to explain. By the end of the cruise almost everyone on the ship staff knew us. What a fabulous crew this ship had. Everyone was so nice and so friendly. I would do this again with Norwegian Dawn in a heart beat. And the food………How can one stay on a diet with all this delicious food in your face no matter where you walked on the ship. Not me - impossible.
TUESDAY April 8 - 8:30 am we are on our way for our second excursion. This time with Claire and Danielle, snorkeling in St Thomas. Things got a little hairy for awhile at the beginning of this excursion because first we were all supposed to be together on one boat going, and the next thing we find out that there will be 2-3 boats. This did not sit to well since we all wanted to do this together on one boat. We adjusted (no choice) and off we went but without Claire and Danielle. I have to say we definitely were not happy campers at this point at all. MUTINY was the cry from all aboard. Alas on the great pirate ship sailing behind us was Claire and Danielle. They missed the boat. Mutiny was called off but which boat will they come on was the question of the day. Yippy they're coming on our boat……but we felt bad about our friends. Wonderful women that they are, did swim to the other ship once they got their sexybodies in the water. I know I'll never show my body in public again after checking out these two gorgeous women. Be still my heart. Snorkeling was great, so I was told and no I didn't do the snorkeling because I ended up taking all the photos. Hey someone had to do it. We had a great time singing, drinking, taking more photos with Claire and Danielle and just having a hell of a time. It was indeed over much too quickly. Back on shore we checked out all the stores and picked up some souvenirs. That night both Hudson and Danielle treated us to the VAGINA MONOLOGUES hosted by Steve Sears. They did some new segments which was outstanding. Danielle just blows me away every time I see her especially when she does The Flood. Hudson was a riot when she performed The Angry Vagina. It was so Hudson and a perfect part for her. What a great day and night for all us fans.
WEDNESDAY April 9 - once again 8:30 we're off for our next excursion. This time it's to Tortola to the Virgin Gorda Baths with Hudson and Ted. First a boat to the island, then a bus (crazy ass drivers kept my heart in my mouth….lol) then a climb down to the baths through some rough terrain. Well only rough if you're trying to film this at the same time….which I was attempting to do. Finally reaching the bottom we just stood there in awe. It was the most beautiful place I've ever seen and one perfect day. Hudson and a few of the others took off for the water, the rest hung out on the beach, Ted went off to I have no idea where, and a few of us were building in the sand trying to win the sand competition. Suddenly it got very dark and started to really pour leaving everyone scrambling for shelter. Shelter, ha, they had this covered area that everyone made a mad dash for but it rained so heavy that it was coming through the roof. It lasted maybe 15-20 minutes and then the sun came shinning through once again. Back to the beach we went but alas it was almost time to leave. Again much too short, but we had to get back to the ship before it left without us. After dinner we were back in the Stardust theatre for yet another brilliant performance by Claire, Danielle and Ted reading from the SUBTEXT VIRTUAL SEASON OF XENA. Claire played Xena, Danielle played Gabrielle and Ted played Aphrodite, Argo and everyone else. It was hilarious and I hope they perform this at another future convention. Claire and Danielle had me rolling. Steve once again hosted this and just continued to crack us up. Before he brought out Claire, he was telling us about the time Claire gave him and everyone……oops better not tell that one.
THURSDAY April 10 - A day at sea with a full day of Xena. We watched a bunch of videos, had the auction, the trivia contest and the highlight once again was Claire, Danielle and Ted performing once again on stage. This time it was the celebrity panel where first they came out individually to talk for a few minutes, then all came out together to answer any questions that we may have had and always wanted to ask. Questions varied to the show, their parts in the show, the present and their futures. After that they stayed on stage to take photos and sign autographs. You want to talk about giving people. They don't come any more giving than these three. They really really made our cruise the best and we love them for it…especially Claire who went out of her way to make us happy. Group dining again in the AQUA restaurant but this time we were pleased to see not only Claire again but Danielle and Ted. More photos and more chatting as they made their way around the room talking to all their fans.
FRIDAY April 11 - Bummer of a day. We were supposed to go to the Grand Stirrup Cay but a front had arrived and they were afraid. The last time a front came in this bad everyone ended up stranded on the island overnight so they weren't taking any changes this time. I don’t know…. stranded overnight, on the beach with Claire. Not a bad deal in my book……..lol So we filled up the day at the pool, eating of course, and just having a lot of fun with each other. Hung out with Claire in the casino for awhile…….took some video of the ship……had dinner and met Claire at DAZZLES for a night of Karaoke. Then it was time to get our luggage packed and outside our door before midnight. Our cruise was just about over.
SATURDAY April 12 - Everyone met for our last breakfast together and began planning when we would all see each other again. Brooklyn in August here we come. Then went back to our cabins to await our color to be called which told us it was our turn to leave the ship. Once we retrieved our luggage some of us hung around outside still chatting away with old friends and some new ones and reliving the memories of the while they were still fresh. Sadly our bus came to take us to the airport and home. Our wonderful week was now officially over but with us for always will be the fun, the laughter and all those fantastic memories that will be with us for many many years. Thank you Creation for the best convention ever.
Other highlights I failed to mention:
Awesome time in the Spinnaker Lounge with Claire and Danielle. I wonder if Danielle remembers anything. Boy was she feeling no pain but was having a jolly old time dancing up a storm with everyone. Then there was the fabulous stage shows that the cruise put on. The dancing was great and they really put on a great performance for a packed house. They also had art auctions on board, games, 4 fantastic hot tubs that were so fabulous that once you got in you never wanted to come out. I'm sure I left out a million things so I hope everyone else can fill in what I missed.
- Victoria
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