Ted, Many of the WC passengers are repeat. I'm not sure of the percentage but I'm guessing maybe as high as 60%. To some it is their winter home. If it's January, I must be on the WC.

Tom and I got on in LA at the St. Regis Hotel gala party the night before boarding not knowing a soul! I remember looking at Tom saying "Well it's you and me kid!". It was obvious that many of the passengers knew each other from previous WCs and here we were, a couple of virgins not knowing anyone. Well, this didn't last long. When everyone started sitting down for dinner we just grabbed 2 seats at a table for 10. Ironically, the other 8 at our table were also first timers and from that night on, life long friendships were formed. (in fact we'll be with some of them for the next 3 days in Las Vegas).

It was actually good that our first 5 (or was it 6) days on the cruise were sea days. It gave us a chance to meet others and may not have been quite as easy had we been port intensive right off. I think there is a bit of a closed society with some of the previous WCers but that is the way they wanted it. Tom and I both made the attempt to interact and initiate conversations and found that 90% of the previous WCers were very open to new acquaintances and friendships. The other 10% wished to remain more isolated which was fine with us. We also became friendly with many of the segment guests. I found them refreshing and a very welcome addition.

As the days and weeks progressed the fact that you may or may not have been on a previous WC became pretty meaningless and insignificant. I consider myself quite "approachable" which may have helped as well. For someone who is shy and may not take the initiative to meet others, the story could sound different. As with any group, there will be some that you click with and some that although very nice, you may not have much in common with. It was very common to smile and say good morning as you got into elevators or passed in the halls to complete strangers. This friendliness was contagious! :)

There is one thing that I never did understand...those that NEVER got off the ship. We would be in absolutely fantastic ports and some would always remain on the ship (often playing cards on deck 5) and never leave the ship. NEVER! These passengers were not infirmed either, they just chose not to leave the ship. Many were paying "single supplements" too! Oh well, maybe they had been there so many times before that it was just ho-hum to them. Pretty expensive card games! I could offer them our CA home for 4 months at 1/2 the price! :D (then there was the sweetest man that we adored....93 year old Dr. Lloyd Tinkle, a retired law professor from Sioux City, Iowa, that was one of the first off the ship and never skipped a beat!)

As for sea days, just go with the flow (as if we have a choice!) Enjoy the sun by the pool, read a good book on your balcony, enjoy the great guest lecturers, go to the cooking or dancing lessons or whatever. There will be LOTS of activities to chose from, should you be interested. My problem was often having to decide between option A,B or C! :woh:

I'm hoping that Peggy will offer her insights as well as she's been on several RSSC WCs!