Note: printed information will NOT be made available for this
convention and there is no $3 pre-convention fee as has been done
in all previous conventions.
The original 2010 convention plan to do a New England Cruise has
been abandoned and it looked like there would not be a convention this
year.
The Spoon Collectors of Southern California (SCSC) has stepped
into the breach and has made arrangements for a spoon convention to be
held on the Carnival Splendor which will be visiting the Mexican
Riviera.
The Carnival Splendor is Carnival fleets newest, largest and perhaps
their most luxurious cruise ship. I have been on a previous cruise on
this very large ship and it presents a most stable ride and a
very enjoyable cruise experience. After significant bargaining and
planning, we have been able to secure a limited number of cabins
at bargain prices. However, we must ALL register for the cruise through
the website below or Carnival reserves the right to refuse some of the
amenities which are necessary to conduct the convention including the
spooning rooms and other items they have promised. Therefore, if you
plan to attend this convention you will have to follow the guidelines
in this email and we reserve the right to NOT accept convention
applications from persons who deviate from these guidelines.
THIS IS A LIMITED TIME OFFER.
Carnival is only bound by our agreement until March 16, 2010.
The Splendor will leave the Long Beach, Calif. dock on Sunday,
September 19, 2010 at approx. 5:30 PDT.
The first day will be at sea and we will have convention activities in
a private room.
The evening of the first day, we will have a group dinner.
The second day will be at sea and we will have convention activities in
a private room.
The third day we will visit the port of Puerto Vallarta.
The fourth day we will visit the port of Mazatlan.
The fifth day we will visit the port of Cabo San Lucas.
The sixth day we will have convention activities in a private room.
The evening of the sixth day we will have a group dinner.
The seventh day we will return to the port of Long Beach,
Ca.
Included in the cruise price is your stateroom including all taxes and
port charges, all the food you want to eat for 7 days, transportation
to Mexico and back to Long Beach, spectacular musical stage
presentations, numerous options for dancing or singing, a casino (which
I don't recommend), gym, pool, shopping and the opportunity to have a
very good time.
Because of the grim economic circumstances, we have been able to
negotiate some tremendous bargains. This convention will be less
expensive for all participants than either the fabulous San Diego
convention of two years ago or the Las Vegas convention of last year.
Among the benefits I have been able to negotiate includes a $75.00 per
cabin credit (that you can spend any way you want including tips), a
special bottle of champagne and chocolates, and a free 8 x 10
convention group photo.
RATES:
Inside cabin for $488.79/person or $977.58 for two
Ocean view cabin for $ 588.79/person or $1177.58 for two
Balcony cabin for $718.79/person or $1437.58 for two
All cabins have a $75.00 credit which will show on your final billing
Those who are traveling without a companion will have a surcharge which
you can see by clicking the registration link below. A $500 charge will
be placed on your credit card when you register and the balance will be
charged to your card on July 1. See the website for cancellation and
other changes. Trip insurance is available for those who desire
it.
CONVENTION CHARGES:
I have tried to keep the convention charges as low as possible.
For those registering before March 16:
Couples -- $65 (only one goody bag)
Singles -- $45
For those who register after March 16:
Couples -- $150 (only one goody bag)
Singles -- $100
The reason for this is we have to get a number of cabins before the
March 16 date and those who help will be rewarded.
For anyone who tries to register without using the special
Vacations-to-go group registration website, we RESERVE the right to
refuse your registration, as this may impair our agreement with
Carnival. That means that even if you are on the ship, you will not be
able to attend the convention.
I know that any date chosen would not be acceptable to everyone, but
the reasons for choosing this particular sailing were:
a. The weather in Mexico is normally very good this time of year
b. It does not interfere with the Jewish holidays
c. Most children are back in school.
d. Carnival was willing to negotiate on the rates.
e. October rates were almost double the September rates
REQUIRED TRAVEL DOCUMENTS
The US government REQUIRES that you have certain travel documents.
1.If you are a US or Canadian citizen, you will need either a. passport
OR b. an official birth certificate and a state issued identification
(drivers license). In addition, if you have changed your name and the
name on the birth certificate does NOT match your drivers license, then
you may need some type of documentation to prove that the birth
certificate belongs to you (exp. marriage license, court issued
document etc.).
2. If you are NOT a US or Canadian citizen other rules may apply and
you should contact Tyler at the phone number below before registering
for the cruise.
Carnival reserves the right to refuse boarding to those who do not
comply with the US government regulations. Consult with Tyler if you
have any questions.
CONVENTION PLANS
At this time we have not finalized all of the convention plans, but we
will try to include the following activities:
1. A private spooning room on sea days (during the day).
2. An auction with a limited number of lots (more details will be
provided in the future)
3. A silent auction for less expensive spoons or jewelry or small
antiques
4. several talks and slide presentations on various aspects of spoon
collecting
5. a convention goody bag with souvenirs
6. spoon exhibits
SAFETY
Many of our spoons are quite valuable. Every room is equipped with a
safe and many spoons can be stored in the safe. In addition, for those
who are bringing large numbers of spoons, we are trying to make
arrangements with the purser to store larger items. The spooning room
is in an enclosed area but there will be no 'official' guards. This has
not been a problem in the past.
EXHIBITS:
Everyone is ENCOURAGED to do a display of your choice. There will be NO
charge to make a spoon exhibit. The spoons WILL NOT BE JUDGED in a
competitive manner. It is NOT necessary for your exhibit to have
expensive spoons. Choose a subject area which you like and show
us what YOU like about spoon collecting. Try to make your display 'fun'
and 'informative'. The spoons and associated materials should fit
in a 24 x 36 inch area and they will be covered by a thin piece of
plastic sheeting. We will not have display cases. One of our members
will be on duty to supervise the spoon displays during the viewing
hours. Please consider doing a display as it makes the convention much
more fun for everyone.
Vacations to go has set up a special secure website for our group.
Click to see this site which has additional information about the
ship and registration form for the ship cruise. Credit card
information is uniquely encoded and you can enter it without fear.
If you need further information about the cruise you can contact our
cruise group co-ordinator, Tyler at 1-800-680-2858 ext. 7462. If
you do not have access to a computer to register yourself or have
trouble with the registration process, you can also contact Tyler
directly by telephone. Our group name is SCSC.
If you need information about the convention:
Wayne Bednersh
email: souvenirspoons@yahoo.com
If you wish to talk to me, send an email with your phone
number
The Convention fee should be sent to our treasurer by check payable to
(Spoon Club of Southern California) please DO NOT ABBREVIATE THE NAME
as the bank objects to abbreviations.
Barbara Bucsis (treasurer), Address will be sent to you when you
register or by sending me an email
We reserve the right to make changes and alterations to the convention
schedule if required. Carnival reserves the right to make changes to
the cruise and ports of call for any reason. (This is standard
for any cruise line and any cruise)
CHERI AND I HOPE TO SEE YOU ON BOARD THE BEAUTIFUL SPLENDOR ON
SEPTEMBER 19.
WAYNE BEDNERSH
President SCSC
Those with email lists of other spoon collectors are requested to
forward this email to anyone who might be interested.
If you would like to give a talk to the group, please contact me so we
can discuss your ideas.