Introduction
I usually write the reunion reports but this time I have to get some help as I led and planned the 2006 Cruise Reunion and obviously I am biased. So I have asked all my classmates that cruised with us to add to this report to try to capture all our observations and impressions. I will however, give everyone an outline of the Cruise Reunion and as much supporting details so you can enjoy some of the special activities here on the web site.
At the end of the surveys and promotion, we had a small but active group of classmates coming on the cruise. This was a challenge for Kathy and me, to make this short three-day cruise to the Bahamas not just another short cruise… It had to be different and it had to be fun and it had to be memorable.
Our creative juices began to flow with two months to go before sailing. We decided we would keep some ideas and activities quiet so they would be more fun when we introduced them during the cruise. Other activities were out in the open and one I kept quiet even from Kathy so she could enjoy the moment with everyone else as well. So we have the makings for an interesting couple of months worth of emails. Oh yes, I selectively would email some of our non-cruising classmates with a tidbit to break their hearts for not coming with us!
I take planning seriously and when I was finished I had assembled a binder of all our activities and paperwork. When this was finished I was ready. I wish one of these were available two months earlier. However, we have one now. It's basically my "How to do a Reunion"!
Captain's Call (Our own daily cruise news brief) |
 |
|---|
When we all had checked in and were onboard our Cruise Plan and activities started. The plan called for a morning under your cabin door delivery. In that envelope would be a daily cruise news brief outlining the days major activities both on board the ship and special activities for Mineola '63 shipmates.
Also inside the morning delivery would be each day's section of the Sixties Trivia Contest, three 50 question sections with weighted scoring for each cabin team to complete at their leisure. Our Grand Champions were Janet Petersen and John and Kathy Piccoli (friends of the Petersens that also came on the cruise) that jumped to an early big lead but were challenged by an impressive last day run from Kathy Madden and Marianne Schiralli.
Sixties Trivia Contest More Info...
Having become a Golden Shellback in my Navy days I thought it would be fun to come up with our own version of the "Crossing the Line" ceremony (crossing the equator) on our ship "Majesty of the Seas". We selected our own Queen Neptuna, Marianne Schiralli, and with assistance from King Neptune's clerk Davy Jones. Queen Neptuna with tiara and trident was guided and supported throughout her three-day reign ending in initiating our group from slimy pollywogs to their new status of "Mustang Seahorses of the Deep". Much documentation was generated for this activity as we all left with our Seahorse Certificates. The Queen Neptuna Legend was as much fun for Kathy and I to plan and put together as it was for everyone enjoying their initiation.
Queen Neptuna Legend More Info...
 |
Return to Gilligan's Island |
|---|
I thought we needed a theme for this small group of shipmates. I needed a theme that harkened to the sixties. So I thought about it and then Gilligan's island came to me and over a few Manhattans… I began to envision my first mate as Gilligan… I saw me fitting the Skipper pretty well and then the rest was easy. This required a bit of a sell to Kathy as you can imagine but results speak for themselves. This was our signature moment! We all have new "Other identities" which I am sure will surface again in February. It was great fun. At least I hope so.
Return to Gilligan's Island (The TV Show episode) More Info...
Now this was my surprise for everyone. Kathy and I had discussed this and I was not sure I wanted to do it. I have been retired a while and uniforms have a bad habit of getting smaller when packed away for years. Would I look ridiculous? I was warned about this on the home front! So I contacted the Naval Uniform Store and had a new white dinner jacket sent and then the search began in earnest through multiple boxes in storage to find and assemble my "Dinner Dress Whites". Our second night of the cruise was the formal night on board the ship. For that occasion I became Captain "Pete" Petersen again. It was a good feeling for me to be a Naval Officer once more in uniform if only for the evening. I even had requests for pictures with Japanese tourists that evening in the lobby that had mistaken me for being the Ship's Captain… and at least one member of the ship's company! The Japanese tourists weren't picky even after I explained I wasn't the ship's captain, they still wanted pictures so a few were taken.
 |
Awards and Recognition Dinner |
|---|
Our last dinner on board the Majesty of the Seas was our Awards and Recognition Dinner. Queen Neptuna made presentations of "Mustangs (Seahorses) of the Deep" Certificates and received her own certificate of recognition of Her Royal Majesty's benevolent reign during our cruise. The Captain and Skipper gave the First Mate (and Gilligan) a handmade Mustang Seahorse of the deep to remebor the cruise and all the hard work. Our Grand Champions of the Sixities Trivia Contest received gifts from the ships store and the Skipper was surprised with a ship's T shirt and cap. It was the beginning of parting once again and the beginning of thinking about another reunion.
Summary
So this was our offering to make this cruise different… We tried to make it fun … I hope we have some supporting evidence here and lastly we did our best to make it memorable. I hope we did well there too.
Both Kathy (Gilligan) and I thank all who came with us for the wonderful time we had both planning this cruise and in enjoying each others company. Shipmates Forever!
Carl Petersen (the Skipper)
Shipmate Observations
Carl didn’t leave out much. Yes, the cruise was definitely “different, fun and memorable”. How Carl came up with all these ideas was amazing. He did a terrific job organizing our crew. The Trivia contest was a hoot and really tough. Don’t know where Carl came up with some of this stuff, especially when Marianne and I never heard of it. However, we got real excited on the last day because we came up from nearly last place to almost winning. Second place was good for us – we were pleased. Somehow, the team with three people won – who would have thought. As you can see by the pictures, our “Return to Gilligan’s Island” was very fitting. The funniest part is when other passengers would stop and watch us, some even volunteering to take pictures of us. I know “Gilligan” was a natural for my part as first mate but a MAN?!?!? Friends tell me that Carl really looked like the Skipper.
For our initiation to cross over the line we all had to sing the Gilligan’s Island song to Queen Neptuna’s satisfaction. Well, here we are in a lounge singing our hearts out and again other passengers were stopping to see what entertainment they were missing. Thank goodness Gene and Phil were singing loud – they made us proud as Choristers.
It was interesting when other passengers insisted on pictures with the “Captain” even though Carl would tell them he is not the ship’s captain. Well, he looked good enough to be the Captain – anyway, our very own Captain at our table. We presented Carl with a “Majesty of the Seas” cap and T-shirt to thank him for the wonderful job he did organizing the cruise. Tuscany – here we come!
Kathy Madden
Ida and I love to cruise. We had not been on a cruise for a few years during the intermission caused by my health problems. We were not positive the cruise would be right for us. Boy were we wrong. We had a wonderful time. The cruise was excellent. Carl and Kathy are to be commended for all the wonderful planning that went into this event. We thought our cabin was among the best we have had versus previous cruises and the group events were fun. I could have used a little less trivia.
The Gilligan part went extremely well as acting skills are not present. I particularly enjoyed the response we had from other passengers who figured out what we were all about even pointing to individuals and exclaiming the role they were portraying was hilarious as well as the Japanese passengers taking Carl for the ship’s captain and when he explained he was not they did not care just take the picture captain. What a wonderful group of people we are. That had to be the best part overall.
Phil Meringolo