Hi,

I have been lurking for about a month now. I must say this is the greatest board I've ever seen! Or perhaps I should re-word it to say the nicest people who make it such a great site.

We are Judy & Bill from South Bend, IN.

In my former life I was a travel agent (specializing in international & luxury travel) and an airline employee (yuk). Shortly after 9/11 I quit the airline job, took a year off work and got a dog, Max, a big, grumpy standard poodle. Last year Max got a sister, Lucy, a happy, bouncy standard poodle. Too busy with the dog kids for a paying job. I also volunteer as a CASA (court appointed special advocate). I currently have three cases involving seven children.

Bill has a land developement company as well as an excavating company. He works at least six days a week.

We have traveled pretty much all over the world. I did a Norway cruise about 20 years ago and hated it...the song, "Hot, Hot, Hot" constantly blared over loud speakers, very crowded, etc. I thought I hated traditional cruises. I meet friends from all over the country in the Caribbean for Windjammer cruises, which I love because of the sailing and casualness. Bill doesn't like them because he has a bad back and there are no cushy places to sit. I also love luxury travel.

We took Celebrity's Infinity from San Diego to Fort Lauderdale (trans-canal) a few years ago. We had a Royal Suite and the cruise really exceded our expectations. Last year, over the New Year, we took Celebrity's Mecury from San Diego for an 11 day Mexican Riveria cruise. We also had a Royal Suite but this time the service was horrendous pretty much throughout the ship. Having been in a service based industry, service is very important to me. I wrote Celebrity to complain about specific instances that one wouldn't even expect from a MacDonalds and they sent me back a form letter. At that time, I decided it's time to switch to a more upscale line. So we're booked on the Navigator on February 8th.

Sorry about the long intro!

:lct: