Disney Aficionados

The Royal Caribbean Fan Blog

"Long Live the Queen." - The Royal Caribbean Fan.

The year after I visited the Fairsea at the Port of Las Angeles I had the chance to visit the legendary Queen Mary at her home in Long Beach. The ship was ordered in 1929, served as a troop ship during World War II and eventually was retired and became a hotel in 1967. My trip was part of a YMCA field trip to see her and the Spruce Goose, the mammoth plane built and flown once by Howard Hughes. The Goose was housed in a large dome next to the Queen Mary and after touring it the group walked over to the massive ship looming in the air at the pier. I had seen the Queen Mary used as a set for numerous movies and TV shows. Usually my mother or father would point out that it was the Queen Mary being used again. After awhile it was easy to pick out that it was her, be it the dining room, the bridge or promenade decks.

Actually boarding her lead to a tour of the onboard museum and a space which was actually a pool which looked over one of the ships propellers. Seeing a huge propeller, green and dark under water, while actually on ship was a unique experience. Walking around the top promenade lead to the chance to climb into a WWII quad 44 mm anti-aircraft gun. The same sort as armed ships all through WWII, including some ships my grandfather had served on. However the highlight was spending time on the bridge, with the classic brass ships telegraphs, ships wheel and the wooden deck and décor. It was legitimately awe inspiring looking back. The visit became a favorite story of mine. For years afterward I would collect old editions of Sea Classics and read about the time the ship rammed a British cruiser, sinking it and the famous people who had traveled on her. The ghost stories would be highlighted on TV. The ship would come up when people spoke about cruising. Every time I was able to proudly say I had been there and knew the ship.

Heaped on top of the still fresh memories from the Fairsea I almost felt as if I had been on a cruise or a trip across the ocean. From that point forward I always felt like I was simply burning time until my “next” cruise, even though it would be over ten years as an adult before it finally happened.

"Saxonia, Long Beach and the Love Boat" - The Royal Caribbean Fan.

"Love Boat soon will be making another run
The Love Boat promises something for everyone
Set a course for adventure!"
~Charlie Fox / Paul Williams

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One of my favorite TV shows to watch when I was having sleep-overs at my grandparents or great aunts house was the Love Boat. Another Aaron Spelling gem with corning plots and ensemble casts of guest stars I recognized from watching entirely too many old movies and "re-runs." The implied maturity of some things was utterly lost on my young mind. I was more interested in the ship, captains table dinners, etc.

In 1983 friends of my parents took us to the cruise terminal at the Port of Los Angeles. They had taken a honeymoon cruise aboad the Sitmar Line "Fairsea." The Fairsea was a Saxonia class ocean liner built by Cunard in the 1950s. She was intended for passenger trade between the UK and Canada. Like most ocean liners she was sold and rebuilt as a tropical cruise ship.

Fairsea was moor at the east terminal. Back in those days you could actually walk right onto a cruise ship without passing through any security, which is exactly what we did. For the next four hours we walked all around the ship, even visiting the stateroom my parents friends had staid in. Years later when I learned what "turn around day" was like for the crew I understood the curiously unhappy look the steward gave as six people showed-up while he was stripping bed sheets off the bed.

Over the four hours we were on the ship I saw every public space, bar and even the small arcade for the kids.

It was standing outside leaning on a wide teak wood railing along the lowest pool deck that hooked me on cruising. The railing was warm though not hot from the sun. There was a cool breeze. And looking out over the water around the port I decided I wanted to take a cruise. Everything around me just resonated.

The day ended with walking around the late "Ports-o-Call" shops south of of the terminal. There, we ate dinner at a restaurant seated at a table along the waters edge. Around five p.m. the Fairsea, brightly lit, sailed by. Half an hour later, none other than the Pacific Princess passed by, her white paint seeming to glow. Hanging along the side all the way to the waterline was a mass of streamers from the traditional send-off celebration. It was like seeing a childhood myth emerge from a TV screen. It was a real ship, there really was a Pacific Princess. That I knew the show was mostly filmed on sound stages was beside the point.

My first cruise would not come until August of 1999, but that day was the time and place which hooked me on cruising.

From the Blogs

Craft Brewing on Carnival

The new Vista class set sail with it’s own contribution to the list of things you can do at sea, featuring the first IMAX theater at sea. However for those especially keen on enjoying a drink, Carnival has partnered with Concrete Beach a craft brewer based in Miami. They will guide the creation of unique brews on the ship itself, rather than stocking a shore-bottled beverage.

The Sum of All Pitches: Travel Give-aways Judged.

Not all that is golden...or plastic....is gold.

Not worth the plastic it was printed on.

What of the product the company was selling? Was the company legitimate? Is anything they sell worth anything to anybody? Is it a scam? Researching the company and details reveals several things. First, in the strictest legal definition the company and its product are not a scam. It is the very precise way everything is presented and how the contracts are written that keep this company from straying into legal trouble. For some people who can afford to buy and deal with the limitations and complications that seem systemic to this sort of product it can be a favorable arrangement. However for many people these situations can be problematic commitments of money which they are never able to gain the promised travel.

The most telling thing to my mind was that the walls of the office are coated in pictures of people when they buy the memberships. Yet there are none of people at any of the travel options the membership provide. Indeed, we were told repeatedly that we could not and would not be able to review a sampling of the travel options. I can find nobody online blogging about their latest travel club trip. And in truth I can find virtually nobody who will openly admit they have such a membership. Likewise, in reading about those who bought and later attempted to get out of their contracts, virtually nobody does.

Are there alternatives to these clubs that provide the sort of travel options and value but without the financial strain and obligation? Absolutely. The entire premise of this companies product was that it gathered endless options for travel at prices only possible for the reasons they explain to you. Yet most travel agencies and agents can book through wholesale companies and through industry promotions that give you every means to travel when you want and the way you want too.

My own advice? Avoid these booths like the plague. You should not have to pay money just to hear a sales presentation. You should not have to sit through a sales presentation to receive an actual “prize.” No prize should be so rigged as to seem intended to be more hassle than it is worth. You should never have to commit so much money for a membership for products or services you cannot review in detail.

Do I have a horse in this race? Certainly, but so do you. These companies have a choice to present things professionally and without pressure or masking the insanity of their self-serving contracts and financial systems. Shop carefully, ask questions.

Have you dealt with timeshare pitches? Share with us in the Travelers Dominion forums!

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