Announcing
          The next USS Andrew Jackson Reunion
                      January 22-29, 2012
                       7-Day Cruise on the 
                          Ruby Princess
            Sailing to the islands of St.Thomas,
                 St.Maarten , Grand Turk,
                    and Princess Cays!               

Below is the first letter sent out by email to crewmates that we have valid email addresses for at this time.  If we did not reach you by email, please send us your email address, and we will get you on our active list.  Know anyone else from the AJ who may not be on our list?  Please send that address to us at patiopapa37@yahoo.com

January 31, 2011

Hi Shipmates and First Mates,

ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

We wanted to let you know how our plans for the next A.J. Reunion are coming along.

In 2010, Aurelia and I, on purpose, went on four cruises; one each on Carnival, Celebrity, Princess, and Holland America.  After having enjoyed all four cruises, we have chosen Princess Cruise Lines as the “winner” for our Andrew Jackson Reunion Cruise.  Princess Cruises is the cruise line that we felt the grand majority of you would be most pleased and comfortable with. Carnival normally offered the best prices, but the clientele left very much to be desired.  The other three cruise lines were slightly more in cost, but offered so much more in atmosphere and comfort.

We originally had planned on a reunion date of October or November 2011.  We have changed the date to 22Jan2012.  The reasons are that the Caribbean had many hurricanes and tropical storms in 2010, and many ports had to be skipped due to rough seas.  In addition, January is one of the coldest months of the year in the U.S., and you probably would rather get away to the sunny Caribbean in January than in October.  Cruise fares are reasonably priced in January, the holidays are behind us, it is before the cruise lines up their rates for spring break, and most of our kids are usually back in school.

We have decided to again use Vacations To Go as our travel agency for this cruise.  They worked with us on our previous reunion cruise, and we were very happy with their fares and professionalism.  We prefer that everyone use this particular travel agency.  There are many reasons for this, but particularly because it enables us to make the arrangements for dinner seating, special private events, as well as group functions and meetings.

We have chosen the Ruby Princess, the newest ship of the Princess Line, and a truly gorgeous ship she is!!  From the Captain on down, the crew treated us better than we have ever experienced before on the 24 cruises we have taken together.

The Itinerary for the Ruby Princess is:

                                  Port                               Arrive             Depart

2012  Sun  Jan 22  Fort Lauderdale                                        5:00 P.M.

          Mon Jan 23  Princess Cays, Bahamas    9:00 A.M.        4:00 P.M.

          Tue  Jan 24  At Sea

          Wed Jan 25  St. Maarten                      10:00 A.M.      6:00 P.M.

          Thur Jan 26  St. Thomas, USVI             7:00 A.M.       4:00 P.M.

           Fri   Jan 27  Gra.Turk,Turks & Caicos 1:00 P.M.       7:00 P.M.

          Sat.  Jan 28  At Sea

          Sun  Jan 29  Fort Lauderdale                7:00 A.M.

We love the interior of the ship which is beautifully designed in an Italian Modern décor.  We will be requesting early dining, ie., 6:00 Traditional Dining, and would like to have all of us dine at the same time.  There are, of course, other options for dining other than the main dining rooms.  Many details like this will become available as we near sailaway.

For costs, as of this writing, Inside Cabins begin at $699 per person, Ocean view from $799 Per Person, Balcony from $1,099 per person, and Suites from $1299 per person.  There are better rates for past guests, and may be lower rates for citizens of certain states. 

***There is right now, an early booking bonus of a free On-Board Credit of $50.00 per cabin on select categories, AND MILITARY personnel qualify for an additional onboard credit of $100.00 per cabin on select categories.  Onboard credit means that your onboard cruise account will be credited a certain amount when you embark the ship.  Aurelia likes to think that it’s free $$$to shop with, while I like to consider it a few extra rum and cokes during happy hour!  When you book, be sure to ask for these credits, and how to apply for them. (For the military credit, Princess requires you to fax or mail copies of your USN DD214 to them.)
 
PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE PRICES DO CHANGE, AND THE CURRENT RATES REFLECT THE EARLY BOOKING PRICES.  PRICES CAN CHANGE ON A DAILY OR WEEKLY BASIS.

Aurelia and I will be arriving in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, Jan. 21, and spending the night at a hotel near Port Everglades.  We strongly advise anyone coming from an area that could be affected by snow and ice, to arrive in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, Jan 21. Like we did on our previous cruise reunion, it will be great to meet up early and enjoy an evening out and celebrate with a precruise dinner!

We are here to answer any and all of your questions. I’m sure you all have questions about the ship and ports. Please call us and we’ll talk!

 Telephone # is 941-493-7488 and email address is patiopapa37@yahoo.com

We would love to have a great turn-out for this reunion.  None of us is getting any younger,

and we are losing more crewmates every year. 

Our agent is: 

Eulina Manuel
Travel Counselor
Vacations To Go
emanuel@vacationstogo.com
US and Canada: 800-338-4962 ext. 7662                       

Hours: Mon-Fri: 7am-3pm (CST)

On the internet, please visit www.vacationstogo.com   for much more information.

For example, you can read all about the Ruby Princess by clicking at the top of the home page on Cruise Ships and Ratings, then scroll down to Princess, and click on Ruby Princess.  This takes you to a page with all kinds of data on the Ruby!  Also, you can look at their information about Princess Military Discounts, etc.  This is an excellent website, and has a very useful database of cruises.

Please call us before you book your cruise so that we can keep track of all attendees, and can maintain an accurate set of details with Eulina and Princess.

Our best regards,

Doc and Aurelia

News   Flash    News       Flash       News

We have booked our Pre-Cruise Hotel !

Right now….(February 28),and we have no idea for how long….we are able to get a special rate at the Hampton Inn….the Park, Stay, and Go Rate of $149.00 plus tax.  This is especially good for folks who will be driving into Fort Lauderdale. Normal rate is usually about $30+++ more.  

We have researched for hours for the best hotel at the best price in the best location.  Frankly, there is no hotel that offers great rooms near the airport and/or Port Everglades for a “cheap” price. Prices are fairly high in that area due to the large number of cruise ships on Sat and Sun going to the Caribbean, and it is also JANUARY in sunny south Florida!  So…. Search on your own and book, or join us if you’d like, for the Saturday night pre-cruise fun and sea stories. 

Facts:  Hampton Inn Ft. Laudeerdale Airport North Cruise Port

2301 SW 12^th Avenue

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315

1-954-524-9900

The hotel is a member of the Hilton family of hotels, and has a good reputation for a nice place to stay.

Some additions to our first Announcement:

1. We have been asked by a couple of crew members why we have asked all attendees to book with our selected cruise agent, Eulina Manuel with Vacations To Go.

The main reason is that if we can book sixteen cabins or more with Vacations To Go, they will refund more than $1000.00 to our cruise reunion Treasury which can be used in the future for another reunion. 

Vacations To Go is an excellent cruise and travel agency.  Their website has one of the best search tools available.  Their prices are hard to beat, and their service is excellent.  We like the way that we have a confirmation of everything almost immediately emailed to our mailbox.  We have used several different agencies over the years, including one nationally known group, a couple of local agents, and a couple of other web based agencies.  We love the multitude of information available on the website, but also love the one-on-one personal interaction over the phone.

2.  We strongly advise you to purchase travel insurance.  At our age, it’s a good idea just in case of anything unforeseen.  You can purchase your insurance through Vacations To Go, or through Princess Cruises, or you might be interested in checking out www.insuremytrip.com

which offers many options for you to choose the best plan for you and your specified coverages.  

3.  There will be 2 formal nights on this cruise.  Men are expected to wear a sport coat, suit, or tuxedo, or your former military uniform.  Lots of luck fitting into that old uniform!

4.  We have received lots of positive return emails and phone calls.  It sounds like we’re going to have a great reunion!

5. VERY IMPORTANT:  We have had many of our e-mails returned to us because the address is no longer valid.  Please, if you know any other AJ crew members, please send their addresses to us.  We hate to leave anybody out due to an invalid email address.  If you correspond with any former crewmembers, and they did not receive an e-mail from us, please have them contact us, or go to www.USSAndrewJacksonReunion.com 

6. Denny Olson has also updated his website at www.ssbn619.org, and the USSVI website has been corrected. Thanks so much, Denny!

7. Let us know when you have booked the cruise.  We have started compiling a list which we will post on the website for all to see who will be attending.  We will have a registration form on the website, or we can email one to you, or if needed, send one to you through the USPS.  A $20 registration fee is requested to help us cover all the expenses involved with the reunion.

8.  Don’t wait too long to book, as the Early Booking pricing will not last long.  There are always fluctuations in pricing, but earlier is usually better than later, and cabin choices dwindle as time goes on.

9. If you are thinking of traveling alone, in order to save money, we will try to hook you up with another crew member traveling by himself. 

Best Regards,

Doc & Aurelia McAllister

Patiopapa37@yahoo.com

941-493-7488

963 Harbor Town Dr.

Venice, FL 34292