As many of you know, in mid October, Dancing Christians is going to San Juan Island at Friday Harbor for the 3 day Jazz Festival (17 of us already…if you want more info contact Ken Hoffman). Now at the end of October, come join us on a cruise that includes the other San Juan…...San Juan, Puerto Rico!

****** PLEASE RESPOND TO KEN HOFFMAN AT KHOFFMAN@CI.BELLEVUE.WA.US OR 206-227-5325 WITH YOUR INITIAL LEVEL OF INTEREST IN THIS CRUISE ASAP (yes, or maybe, and choice of inside or outside stateroom), BUT NO LATER THEN 5-22. ********

(Booking is done through the travel agency) We already have 10 people going, wow! Please refer this web page to potentially interested friends and relatives around the country.

THE CRITICAL ‘FACTS' AT THE START OF EACH CATEGORY PROVIDE A QUICK ONE MINUTE SUMMARY,

 The information is organized by the following categories:

FACT: A 7 DAY CRUISE TO THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN, WITH PORTS OF CALL at Nassau, Bahamas; San Jan, Puerto Rico; St. John/St. Thomas, Virgin Islands; and Half Moon Cay (HA’s private Island), Bahamas. This is a Big Band theme cruise, there will be many activities based around the theme.

I am excited to announce that I have just finished making arrangements for a group of up to 40 people (or more if there is interest) to have the time of their lives dancing away the day and night on a theme cruise featuring the unforgettable and the very danceable live music from America’s Big Band era. They even have dance lessons. But if you’re not a dancer, you will still love the music and have an all around fantastic time. Why, because of all the things you can normally do on a cruise: eating, sports (jog, workout, play tennis, …), live stage shows (musical reviews, magicians, …), eating, relaxing while you work on a tan, swimming, eating, endless variety of shore excursions, even our own private party if enough people sign up, and more eating.

On Holland America (HA) Lines ms Westerdam: Built in 1986, 1494 passengers, 789’ long, movie theater, lots of great food, 2 outdoor pools, sports deck, library, 2 live performance theaters, casino, lots of amazing food, spa, message, several intimate lounges and restaurants, 3 DANCE FLOORS, lots of fabulous food, and all the other wonderful amenities of a floating city. HA tends to be a more upscale cruise line catering to a little older crowd, rather then a ‘party’ ship line like Carnival.

FACT: Cruise departs Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 5pm EST, Saturday, October 28, 2000. Flight departure on Friday morning Oct. 27, returning late on Saturday, November 4^th. (See ‘Transportation’ details further down.)

Possible before or after side trips to Miami and the Florida Keys hosted by our own Michael Lozar, or Orlando and Disney World / EPCOT Center / MGM Studios / Kennedy Space Center. (See ‘Side Trips’ details further down.)

Don’t worry if you’re not in the Seattle area, fly into Florida from anywhere. Invite your friends and family from around the country to join you as well. Have a mini reunion!

FACT: I have temporarily secured 18 staterooms, a combination of 11 inside and 7 outside staterooms at mid ship on the middle passenger deck. This location provides great stability, plus this ship has stabilizer fins making for a very smooth ride. Both stateroom types are double occupancy (unless you pay the extra to have an inside single to yourself, add $254).

The inside stateroom (along the core of the ship) has a desk, closet, chest of drawers, stuffed chair, TV/VCR, 2 twin beds, and ¾ bath with shower. The outside stateroom (along the side of the ship) being about 20% larger, also include a couch, full bath with bathtub, additional storage, and of course a window. All rooms are on the same deck and section, located next door to or across hallways from each other. The great location and ‘togetherness’ combination was no easy task to accomplish at only 5 months out from the sailing date, most people book 9-12 months out to get great staterooms like these.

Room and roommate assignments will be made later, if you want a specific person (guy/guy gal/gal, unless your married of course) please try to discuss in advance and agree upon inside or outside stateroom, due to the cost difference and limited number of each staterooms I have reserved.

FACT: Typically you fly out on Friday morning around 8am, arrive about 6pm, then dinner, exploring, and adjusting to time change, overnight in a hotel and then leave for the ship about noon Saturday. All transportation Seatac to Seatac is covered in the optional airfare package. This includes a guarantee by HA to get you to the ship on time no matter what. Bad weather, missed connections, airline strike, etc. And you don’t want to miss the ship!!

While not recommended, unless you are a savvy traveler, you can probably save a couple hundred dollars, if you plan your own transportation. But you take all the risk of getting to the ship on time!! We have found prices as reasonable as $250 round trip on the Internet from time to time. And Best Western Hotel at about $30 person, triple occupancy, which includes ground transportation from airport to hotel and hotel to ship. You would have to take a taxi from ship back to the airport or sign up for a shore excursion package (like a bus street tour of Ft. Lauderdale) which drops you and your luggage at the airport at the end of the excursion.

If you plan to do a side trip you can alter your air package schedule for a $35 fee, or just book all your own transportation.

FACT: TOTAL PACKAGE PRICE WITHOUT AIR/GROUND TRANSPORTATION IS $649 FOR INSIDE STATEROOM OR $764 FOR OUTSIDE STATEROOM.

Choice of three ticket prices:

$510 Inside Stateroom

$625 Outside Stateroom, about $16.50 per day more then Inside.

$813 Deluxe Stateroom, we do not currently have any of these reserved. But they are available if you really want to travel in style and provide a place for the rest of us to party!

Additional charges:

$139 Additional port charges

Optional transportation arrangements:

$489 Air fare, pre-cruise night hotel in Ft. Lauderdale, and all ground transportation from/to airport, hotel, and ship.

$42 Air taxes

This is tour group pricing, ticket prices are 45% off the standard fare price, and 29% off the lowest currently available non-group fare. Prices are based upon double occupancy. Single occupancy inside stateroom $764.

TOTAL PACKAGE PRICE WITH OPTIONAL AIR/GROUND TRANSPORTATION IS $1180 FOR INSIDE STATEROOM OR $1295 FOR OUTSIDE STATEROOM.

The price of your ticket includes EVERYTHING! All things previously mentioned, including tips, room service (love that breakfast in bed or 2am snack), etc. It includes all of your meals and in-between snacks as well as all your onboard daytime activities and fun, nighttime parties and entertainment. (To/from ship transportation, organized shore excursions, alcoholic drinks on board ship, photographic services, dry cleaning, and unique items like that are extra.) Plus you'll get a relaxing voyage to some of the most exciting and exotic places in the world. You'll find a cruise ship is a floating resort, with all the things a fine resort has to offer and more. You can just lie back and be completely pampered. Or go non-stop, dine like never before, and enjoy one great show after another. Let your cares float away!

FACT: DEPOSIT OF $300 TO HOLD YOUR SPOT, 100% REFUNDABLE UP TO AUG 14^TH. I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO BOOK BY MAY 26^TH. IT IS ONLY $300 AND YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOOSE IF YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND BEFORE AUGUST 14^TH.

BY MAY 26^TH, IF WE DO NOT HAVE AT LEAST ONE $300 DEPOSIT FOR EACH ROOM (that means 20 people), THE ROOMS WILL BE LOST. THE ONLY ALTERNATIVE IS FOR ME TO MAKE THE REMAINING DEPOSITS, AND CARRY THEM UNTIL ENOUGH PEOPLE BOOK, AND I’D RATHER NOT!!! Help me out here, to hold some rooms! So, if you don’t book by the 29^th, and I don’t take it out of my own pocket, then your stateroom will not likely be in the same area as the rest of the group. However, later you could get a room somewhere else on the ship until it fills up. Remember that the rooms closer to the bow and stern do go last, but they go last because then are smaller then our rooms and subject to rocking / up & down movement. But they will cost the same as the ones I have reserved.

FACT: TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT, CALL MELODY AT CRUISE HOLIDAYS IN BELLEVUE AT 425-453-7696 or 800-253-0116 or cruise4u@earthlink.net. Tell Melody that you are with the Ken Hoffman / Dancing Christians group. Do NOT call Ken Hoffman to book your cruise.

Final amounts are due to the travel agency by August 1^st. Until final payment, you do not have to decide on which type of stateroom you will have (unless you want a single), or whether you will use the optional airfare or make your own air and ground travel arrangements. However, as a group we will be trying to figure this out between now and August 1^st.

If you are worried that you might have to cancel after Aug 14^th, you can purchase, ONLY at the time of initial booking, Cancellation Protection Plan. This waives the cancellation fees and allows you to cancel up to 24 hours before departures. The cost: Inside Stateroom about $70, Outside about $85.

FACT: There is the possibility of going down a few days early or staying a few days extra to do a little sight seeing.

1) Michael Lozar’s family is in Miami and Michael has offered to do the tour guide thing around the greater Miami area, including a day out in the Florida Keys. A FEW of us could even stay with the family. Miami is less then an hour from Ft L. Expect temps in the 70-90 range. (Don’t worry hurricane season ends early October.)

2) Some of us may wish to go to Orlando and see one or more of the following for a few days before: Disney World / EPCOT Center / MGM or Universal Studios / Kennedy Space Center / Sea World / Cypress Gardens. Orlando is about 5 hours drive from Ft. L. For side trips of longer then a day or two, it has been recommended to do the side trips before the cruise. Otherwise they can tend to be a bit of a let down after the euphoric high you have coming off the cruise.

PLEASE LET KEN HOFFMAN KNOW IF YOU HAVE AN INTEREST IN A SIDE TRIP.

FACT: The Cruise arrangements are being handled by Melody at Cruise Holidays, she is a veteran of some 20 cruises, and very knowledgeable. If you want more details then this email or the web site can provide, please contact her in Bellevue at 425-453-7696 or 800-253-0116 or cruise4u@earthlink.net. Be sure to ask for the Holland America Caribbean Cruises Catalog for September 2000 to December 2001 or pick one up at your local travel agency. It has tons of info in to about cruising on HA and this cruise. Or use HA's web site, which is even more extensive.

We are looking at holding an INFORMATIONAL MEETING with former Holland American Staff and frequent cruisers to answer any and all questions on Sunday afternoon May 21^st or 28^th somewhere in the greater Seattle/ Bellevue area.

PLEASE LET KEN HOFFMAN KNOW IF YOU WOULD BE INTERESTED IN AN INFORMATIONAL MEETING.

DINNING: Our group has chosen the second seating for dinner, about 8:30pm. This avoids rushing back from shore excursions and straight into dinner. For those days at sea, it also allows you greater flexibility for your afternoon and early evening activities. There is usually 1 Informal (jacket, no tie) dinner night, 2 formal dinner nights where even a tux / evening gown would be appropriate, and 4 elegantly casual dinner nights (no T-shirts, jeans or shorts). However, I know we'll want to dress up anyway, to look good on the dance floor after dinner!

I NEED HELP IN COORDINATING THIS MAJOR EVENT, IF YOU HAVE A HEART FOR SERVING, I WOULD SURELY APPRECIATE A HAND!!!!

Many thanks for the assistance I have already received from Krisse Arthur and Donna Hibbard in getting this trip researched and off the ground.

IN SUMMARY: Well, it’s going to a resplendently wonderful and unforgettable experience. Come and join Michael Lozar and me (email coordinators for the Dancing Christians Email List), and see the world without having to leave your hotel behind!