What do you think? Tom Kerr asks for your input on fundraising cruises
Shipmates:
I need your feedback about future group cruises with other Marines.
A few of you have told me you are ready to go again, almost anytime, anywhere. But others have expressed reservations unless we can come up with new itineraries. With most cruise ships leaving from Florida, it is hard to find a trip that visits ports of call other than the same Caribbean Islands most of us have seen before.
Another question is the best time of year to cruise. I will do my best to find an affordable trip that offers a new itinerary and perhaps from a different port. To help my search, I would appreciate your responses to the following topics.
If you are not interested in future cruises, then no need to go on. Thanks for reading this far. If you look forward to traveling on these cruises with Marines in the future, or if you think it may be a possibility, please continue.
1. What is most important to you in a future cruise? List all that apply.
— Price
— Ports of Call
— Travel Dates
— Where the ship sails from
— A particular ship or cruise line
2. If limited to the Caribbean, what Islands/ports would you most like to visit?
3. What length of cruse would you prefer?
— Four or five days
— Seven days
— Ten to twelve days
4. As an alternative to Florida, which other ports would you consider sailing from?
— New York
— Baltimore
— Norfolk
— Charleston
— New Orleans
5. Realizing that it may be a bit more costly, how interested would you be in the following?
— A Bermuda cruise leaving from New York or other East Coast port
— A 13-15 day Panama Canal trip from Florida to California or reverse
— A 10-13 day cruise from South Florida that visits the deep Caribbean, to ports such as Barbados, Aruba, Curacao, Granada, Cartagena, Trinidad and/or others
— A 7-day cruise leaving from San Juan that visits some of the above ports
6. How likely would you be to book a bargain priced trip sailing between November and mid-December?
7. Knowing that it takes a minimum of eight cabins to receive group benefits, do you feel you could find others, friends or family, to go along on any of the preferred trips you have indicated?
8. How likely are you to book a 2010 Marine Group Cruise?
9. Any other comments you wish to add?
As you know, these trips began as fund raisers for the Florida Mustang Chapter and the USMC Combat Correspondents Florida Chapter. Members of the Chosin Few have joined us on two occasions. One of the perks of group cruising is the “TC” which stands for tour conductor. The TC is an award of one base fare per every eight cabins booked. Rather than take this semi-freebee for myself, I pay full fare and divert all TC awards to an overpayment account. After the cruise, I take the overpayments, deduct any admin and cruise related expenses, then divide what’s left between the sponsoring organizations. I also add a personal donation. I do not undertake this effort to make money from Marines, but out of the desire to afford Marines the opportunity to enjoy one another’s company on a reasonably priced trip while making a contribution to the sponsors supported charities. Over the past four years, these cruises have generated close to $4,000 for the Mustangs, CCs and Chosin Few. Some of the organizations to benefit include the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, The Wounded Marines Fund, The Injured Marine Careers Foundation, The Chesty Puller Statue Fund, The CC’s Gladys McPartland Scholarship Fund, and various other Mustang and CC projects.
I believe most of us have enjoyed these trips together and many look forward to future cruises. But lately, I seem to be rolling the ball uphill in trying to find the trips that will attract the most participation. I need your help. That’s why I ask you to please give me your thoughts about the above questions. [Just copy and paste questions above] into an email addressing any of the topics and send to:
Tom Kerr at tripstogo@cox.net