Shipmates,

As I am sure many of you know, during our last reunion in Jacksonville, the members decided to have our 2018 reunion on a cruise from the east coast. The committee made up of Dan Higgins, Ron Bekech and Toad Schwerha reviewed possibilities from a number of locations including Charleston S.C., Galveston, Texas, and several Florida ports. They also researched most of the major cruise lines.

In late August, after next falls schedules became available, a selection with the best scenario of cost, amenities and ports was made. The cruise is for 5 days out of Ft. Lauderdale departing on 10 November (near the end of hurricane season) on Celebrity Cruise Lines ship Celebrity Infinity. There will be two port visits, first at Cozumel, Mexico and second Key West ,Florida. We are using the travel agency "Vacations To Go" to book the cruise. We have group reservations for all classes of cabins with discounts and should be made under Thomas Jefferson SSBN618 or Dan Higgins. All cabins are double occupancy and includes a $50.00 on board credit plus one choice out of several additional packages that you can make during booking (we did the beverage package) and Cindy did s good job of explaining the options. For all the group bookings the association gets the cost of 1 cabin back for each 8 in the group after the cruise.

I would like to emphasize that getting your reservation in ASAP is important as the group booking can only be held for a short time. The group discount rate right now includes a military discount, and a summer discount (only available thru 5 September 2017. You can book for $100.00 per person to obtain the discount rates with final payment or cancellation to be completed by July 26, 2018. Discounts available vary based on when the reservation is made, so it is impossible to give you the exact cost of your double occupancy reservation. As an example Ann and I booked a balcony room for about $1300.00. The least expensive inside cabin would be about $950.00. Those shipmates that provided $100.00 to the association to commit to the cruise last year, will receive a check from the association refunding their money.

Hurricane Harvey has impacted booking as Vacations to Go is in Houston. Their phones went back up yesterday, (31 August). The agent handling our group booking is Cindy Kryk. She can be reached at (800) 338-4962 Ext. 7247 through 6:00PM CST or through the Vacations to Go web site and asking Cindy to call you back. You should mention either Dan Higgins or TJ. I recommend getting the booking done early for the best booking deal, keep in mind if you have to cancel as long as you do it before 26 July 2018, no harm no foul. If you feel you may need to cancel, we all know stuff happens, purchase cancellation insurance to limit financial impact.

I look forward to seeing you next year! If you were a shipmate at any time on SSBN/SSN 618, even if you have never attended a reunion, you are welcome. We all like sea stories and would enjoy meeting, listening and telling some with you. If you have a question, call. Let�s go cruising.