Okay, try setting your computers to view by thread instead of by date.

You'll find this option at the top right just above the message dates.
It will at least organize replies with the original posting.

Laura

--- In Renaissance_New_Board@egroups.com, "Laura  Nielsen"
<lpnielsen@h...> wrote:
>

I can't wait for this topic to get up and running...the more info the
better!  The uppermost question in my mind at this point in time (of
course tomorrow will be another story!) is:  Does anyone know what
time the flight departs JFK and what time it is expected back?  We
don't have lots of flights to choose from at our home airport and
I'm "figuring stuff"!

--- In Renaissance_New_Board@egroups.com, "Laura  Nielsen"
<lpnielsen@h...> wrote:
> Hi there,
>
> Toni I believe you are on this cruise, anyone else from this board
> going?
>
> Looking forward to a wonderful time.

This is going to be the official "Celebrate Cajuncruisers Birthday"
cruise....you guys have a great time without me!!!!!!   :(

At 08:59 PM 8/27/2000 -0000, Karen wrote:

<We will be on the 9/10 R5 sailing Dover to Barcelona with stops in
England, France, Spain, Portugal and Morroco. Looking for suggestions about
exchanging currency. How much cash would you suggest for any single day in
port? Major purchases would likely be a on a credit card, but I know we
will likely need money for tips, taxis, and small purchases.


This is OUR experience:  we've never worried about how much do we need this
day ... true, you're going to need more different types of currency than we
ever did on a cruise because generally we were using the same currency for
at least several days on end (we've done the Lisbon-Barcelona and
Athens-Istanbul cruises).  The odds are you won't need that much CASH
unless you prefer to do cash transactions.  Purchases and meals, for
example, can be done via credit card in most places.


<Also, what is the best way to exchange money? I know ATMs provide the
best rate, but how convenient is that if you are planning to take a Ren
tour? Is there enough time before more tour departures? Are ATMs located
on/near the piers? Are there usually long lines trying to get to them?
Would you suggestion some of all currencies while still here in the states
or convert as you go?>

Our experience with ATMS was in major cities, where they are everywhere.
Once we were on the cruise we almost never needed them.  Again, our
experience may not be typical ...  We changed money in Athens on our last
day and had more than enough to carry us through the greek island part of
the cruise -- bearing in mind that we were on the short-short 5 day only
cruise.  We had enough left over that we converted the remainder to Turkish
lira while we were in Istanbul.

(Also, with our two cruises we were staying in hotels in Lisbon, Barcelona,
Athens and Istanbul and you may have a different problem now that Ren is
using the ship as a hotel where it used to use hotels as a hotel.)

By the way, let me interpolate a general comment about ATMs while we're on
the subject:  we personally found it impossible to use an ATM in Turkey.
It may have been our bank -- we use Marine Midland, which is now HSBC, and
perhaps this bank isn't common down there (although we had no trouble in
Athens).  It may have been that my pin is only 4 digits and the machines
there didn't like that.  You may want to check with your bank to see if
they can anticipate any problems while you are in europe.


<Ren does not do conversion on the ship, right?>

Wrong.  Unless they've changed since last February!  However, they may not
change to the local currency.  For example, on our Lisbon-Barcelona cruise
last October they would change dollars for pesetas (we had a few moroccan
stops but those guys were all delighted to receive US dollars).  But on our
Athens-Istanbul they only changed to US dollars as I recall -- probably
mostly because the local currency, especially in Turkey, is so volatile.
Again, they love dollars.

This won't be true in your case so they may well have french francs,
british pounds, etc., available along the way.  On the other hand, this
would be a terrible burden for them since they really are NOT a bank and
there's only so much room to store money on the ship.

It looks like you should have a really neat-o trip!  Do tell all when you
get back!

Mura Kievman
<mura@...>
Mura
<mura@...>

We will be on the 9/10 R5 sailing Dover to Barcelona with stops in
England, France, Spain, Portugal and Morroco. Looking for suggestions
about exchanging currency. How much cash would you suggest for any
single day in port? Major purchases would likely be a on a credit
card,
but I know we will likely need money for tips, taxis, and small
purchases.

Also, what is the best way to exchange money? I know ATMs provide the
best rate, but how convenient is that if you are planning to take a
Ren
tour? Is there enough time before more tour departures? Are ATMs
located on/near the piers? Are there usually long lines trying to get
to them? Would you suggestion some of all currencies while still here
in the states or convert as you go?

Ren does not do conversion on the ship, right?

Many thanks,

Karen

Our travel diary and lots of photos of Tahiti from our R3 cruise in June

are available at http://www.alhull.com .   I've also created a
screensaver with 100+ pics
which is available for download at http://www.alhull.com/screensaver

The download file is 9.3MB and takes about 30 minutes using a 56K modem
with a decent connection.

And just for grins, if any of you are cat lovers, a few grab shots of my
two beasts (Boris and China)
and at  http://www.alhull.com/cats

Anyone heard from REN when they actually will have the "new" web site
up?

Regards,

     Al

Hi there,

Toni I believe you are on this cruise, anyone else from this board
going?

Looking forward to a wonderful time.

Their site is located at www.cruisemates.com, not the same site as
Cruise Critic  click on message boards to your left and you'll find
one for Ren under Cruiselines.

> I think your suggestion, Laura, is a good one but I have a question
about
> CruiseMates.  Is the same as cruisecritic.com or something else?
If
the
> latter, could you give us the URL?  I'll be sure to check them out!
>
> Mura Kievman
> <mura@s...>
>
>
> Mura
> <mura@s...>

Hi Elaine,
Suzy & I are going Istanbul/Venice Sept 6.  Is that the one you're taking?

Hal Bickham


> [Original Message]
> From: <Homesellers@...>
> To: <Renaissance_New_Board@egroups.com>
> Date: 8/27/00 10:12:06 AM
> Subject: Re: [Renaissance_New_Board] Help!!
>
> Thanks Shirley.. You are right that it is kind of cool to get the
messages
> instantly ... I can wake up to multitudes of messages every morning...
Anyway
> as of now we are joining you on two Istanbul tours.. Have you or Jan come
up
> with anything on the Black Sea ports?? Maybe Ren is the more dependable
> source there... Ken and I are in the middle of 'seven closings in seven
> days'.. And after that   n o t h i n g..  Perfect timing for the cruise..
> Incidently, the 'you've got mail' can be a little distracting!!      See
> y'all soon.. Elaine Greeson
>
>
> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> Renaissance_New_Board-unsubscribe@egroups.com
>
>
>



--- Halbert Bickham
--- bickhal@...
--- EarthLink: It's your Internet.

Renaissance has a deal going with Radisson, the only 3-star or better hotel
at JFK.  The rate is $125 per night, plus tax.  Not bad!  If you call
Radisson and do not mention Renaissance, they quote $189.00.  Some of the
operators  either really do not know are play dumb about the Ren deal!  We
have not stayed at the Radisson at JFK before, but we are booked for our next
pre-cruise stay at JFK.  We stayed at the Hilton (no longer a Hilton, I
understand), and it was fair at best.  Ramada has gotten terrible review on
the Ren and Cruise Critic message boards.

Sincerely,
shibin

At 05:11 PM 8/27/2000 -0000, Laura wrote:

<I have had some correspondence with Paul Motter at CruiseMates.  I wanted
to let you all know that CruiseMates' Ren Board gets the attention of
Renaissance.  Apparently they have a communication going with Ren's
emarketing group.  I think if we all take a moment to post a note regarding
our dismay at the demise of Ren's board on their site it will come to the
attention of Ren's management.  It may also be another good site to ask
questions, etc.  I, myself, visit often.>


Hi everyone.  Thanks to cajuncruiser and SKIBLUMSKI I found you pretty
quickly!  Glad I did.  Even though we aren't planning anymore cruises right
now, I checked the Ren board several times a week just to see what was what
and if I could make any suggestions or talk about our experiences.  I
couldn't believe they were really going to do away with it but it looks
like they have!

I think your suggestion, Laura, is a good one but I have a question about
CruiseMates.  Is the same as cruisecritic.com or something else?  If the
latter, could you give us the URL?  I'll be sure to check them out!

Mura Kievman
<mura@...>


Mura
<mura@...>

Upon the advice from someone on the  old board,, we booked at the
Holiday Inn JFK 135 is the rate for Ren passengers (you have to tell
them you are with Ren, or it is higher) Also, it was suggested to
join their priority cllub beofre calling, and with that membership
they will upgrade  you to a suite upon arrival if available.
Supposedly they are usually available.  We have not stayed there yet,
as we fly out on the 25th of Oct for Venice/Athens.  Hope this helps.
Helaine Morrow

We are on the Athens to Mahe repositioning trip for the Ren VII which
leaves JFK on 10/15.  We're flying in on 10/12 so that we can have a
few sightseeing days in NY before flying to Frankfurt and Athens.
Does anyone have the name(s) of a nice hotel at JFK (or near with a
shuttle) in the price range of $135 to $180?  Someone told me about
the Pan American but I've also heard that it's not such a nice hotel,
it's just a place to spend the night.  We get in at 10:30 pm on the
12th so we need something close.

Thanks.  Anyone on the same cruise with us?

If you do not want to receive email from each individual post, here's
what to do.  Or if you've chosen the web only option you may change
that too.

Click on My Groups (upper left corner).

You will see an option on the right to do one of three things on a
pull down menu.

Get individual email.
Get a daily digest.
No email/web only.

Once you've selected which option you would like you need to click on
save changes.

I hope this will provide you with the option that best suits your
needs.

Laura

Can anyone reccomend a NICE rest. at JFK. After we check in at 5:30
for our !!:30 flight to Venice, we want to DINE, if possible.  It can
be at another terminal, as we can take the airport shuttle. We have
the names of some available, which we pulled off the JFK site, but
they do not have any descriptions.  Any suggestions would be
appreciated. Thanks, Helaine

It's great to have a new site. We will be on our second cruise with
Ren. We had a very good time on our first. We did most of our tours
on
our own with another couple. Ren is expensive and rigid. Ren staff
will not help you with this. Just look for the vans and taxis at the
port and BE SURE to establish the cost up front. It is better to set
your own program. Always bargain with the merchants they will give
you
a much better deal when they know you are not there with 100 other
Ren
cruisers for 30 minutes and they have to pay a % to the tour operator.

Regards to all of you who found the new site. Power to the people.

Nina&Lewis

Thanks Shirley.. You are right that it is kind of cool to get the messages
instantly ... I can wake up to multitudes of messages every morning... Anyway
as of now we are joining you on two Istanbul tours.. Have you or Jan come up
with anything on the Black Sea ports?? Maybe Ren is the more dependable
source there... Ken and I are in the middle of 'seven closings in seven
days'.. And after that   n o t h i n g..  Perfect timing for the cruise..
Incidently, the 'you've got mail' can be a little distracting!!      See
y'all soon.. Elaine Greeson

So what's with this site? It keeps saying that I haven't
been "approved" yet. What might that mean? And I'm suspecting that
that's why I can't access all the rest of the menu...like the rest of
the members. I'm still thrilled to have this site...I guess that it
just needs a bit more "fine tuning"????? What do you think.

Laura; thanks for setting up the site...hope that you don't get
discouraged with all of the questions. This is fun, actually. I just
have never had "membership" in anything be so delayed. Guess that it
is just a blow to my ego at this point.!!!

Helen in Tucson

Absolutly  .....  But crew will have to do it  .....  unless you
carry some tools with you.    Have a great trip      Bob S.


--- In Renaissance_New_Board@egroups.com, tahiti_dec23rd@w... wrote:
> Hi, R_N_B,
>
> This might be the very first 'real' question.
>
> We having two cabins next to each other and we were told that the
> balcony partition can be removed.
>
> Is this true?
>
> thanks   Chuck

Hi, R_N_B,

This might be the very first 'real' question.

We having two cabins next to each other and we were told that the
balcony partition can be removed.

Is this true?

thanks   Chuck

That's really strange.  Let me get in there and try to figure it out.

I'm replying at the top of the message, but in past ones I've just deleted
the original message in my reply.


>From: caclays@...
>Reply-To: Renaissance_New_Board@egroups.com
>To: Renaissance_New_Board@egroups.com
>Subject: [Renaissance_New_Board] Re: How Do We Use This New Board?
>Date: Sun, 27 Aug 2000 01:43:19 -0000
>
>--- In Renaissance_New_Board@egroups.com, lpnielsen@h... wrote:
> > I have the settings set to allow all members to view other member
> > profiles.  I cannot seem to get in without it knowing I've set it
>up
> > and, therefore, it allows me into everything.  Please let me know
>if
> > you continue to have problems and I will get some help.
> >
> > Also, when you go to post something it may take a few minutes to
>show
> > up on the board.  You also have to be sure that when your message
> > comes up asking if you are sure that you want to post it, that you
> > click on send message.
> >
> > This is going to take some getting used to.
>*********
>I'm trying to reply to your message but don't know if I should type
>at
>the beginning or the end of your message.  When I look at the message
>page, the only things underlined at the far left are Main Page,
>Messages, Post and Calendar.  Members is not underlined and will not
>allow me to pull up any information.
>

________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com

--- In Renaissance_New_Board@egroups.com, lpnielsen@h... wrote:
> I have the settings set to allow all members to view other member
> profiles.  I cannot seem to get in without it knowing I've set it
up
> and, therefore, it allows me into everything.  Please let me know
if
> you continue to have problems and I will get some help.
>
> Also, when you go to post something it may take a few minutes to
show
> up on the board.  You also have to be sure that when your message
> comes up asking if you are sure that you want to post it, that you
> click on send message.
>
> This is going to take some getting used to.
*********
I'm trying to reply to your message but don't know if I should type
at
the beginning or the end of your message.  When I look at the message
page, the only things underlined at the far left are Main Page,
Messages, Post and Calendar.  Members is not underlined and will not
allow me to pull up any information.

Maybe some of us should send this site to Matt and REN to let them
know there is a site we can communicate AND they have no control
over!!!

I have the settings set to allow all members to view other member
profiles.  I cannot seem to get in without it knowing I've set it up
and, therefore, it allows me into everything.  Please let me know if
you continue to have problems and I will get some help.

Also, when you go to post something it may take a few minutes to show
up on the board.  You also have to be sure that when your message
comes up asking if you are sure that you want to post it, that you
click on send message.

This is going to take some getting used to.

First posting 10 minutes ago did not seem to work, will try once
more,
sorry if it will be a duplicate, can't seem to figure it out.

Have a nice day..and lets not try to bite a persons head off if we
don't disagree with what they are saying.

Is there anyone out there who is familiar with the ins and outs of
how
this board works?  For instance, I tried to pull up "Members" but it
doesn't seem to be a category that I can access even though I am
registered.  If someone can give us some navigational tips, I'm sure
it will be greatly appreciated by all.

I kept a listing of many of the e-cruisers we contacted through the
Ren board prior to our Tahiti trip together.  I will send this new
address to all of them.  We need to get the URL out to as many people
as possible in order for this board to be of value.

I think we all need to see just what REN is going to do with their
new
site when it comes up and see if they're going to be providing better
content, a decent FAQ, etc, that may actually make the message board
unnecessary.  This e-group is a good idea in the interim, but I'm
withholding judgement until I see what they come up with.

     Al

--- In Renaissance_New_Board@egroups.com, lpnielsen@h... wrote:
> but I really need your help. I have no idea what I'm doing with
this
> board.  I was also feeling the symptoms of withdrawal due to the
> demise of Ren's board last night which is why I decided to set up
> this board for all of us to utilize.
>
> If anyone has any suggestions on how to make this work in an
> efficient manner I am very open to your comments.
>
> Let's get to the questions and discussions :-)
>
> Laura

but I really need your help. I have no idea what I'm doing with this
board.  I was also feeling the symptoms of withdrawal due to the
demise of Ren's board last night which is why I decided to set up
this board for all of us to utilize.

If anyone has any suggestions on how to make this work in an
efficient manner I am very open to your comments.

Let's get to the questions and discussions :-)

Laura

What a wonderful idea!  I am still hoping that Ren will put a new
message board on their new website (get rid of all the old and cranky
messages first) but this sure will keep us going until we find out if
they intend to do so.

For those of you who have communicated with me directly prior to our
Tahiti trip in May, I am using a new e-mail address for the purposes
of this board, but you can figure out who I am!  The other e-mail
address still works also.

On to Athens and Mahe in October!

Please support the new Renaissance message board!  WE NEED A FEW GOOD MEN AND
WOMEN!

SHIBIN