What? Autumn again!
I’m having a hard time recognizing that September is already here and the holidays are on display all at once in the stores! It was bad enough when they started Christmas displays in the stores before Halloween but they are now showing up in August! Before you know it, “Christmas in July” will have an entirely new meaning!
I am sharing news about some classmates in this edition so stick around till the end!
Here’s your “Cruzin’ Into 75” Reminder
Margaritaville At Sea - Beachcomber sailing from Miami!
(previous emails can all be found on our website)
**BREAKING NEWS!
The Beachcomber has released their sail dates for the remainder of 2027 and they will make Galveston, TX their home port for the last half of 2027 and return to Miami in early 2028. Their plan for the ship is to permanently utilize dual home ports. I just find that interesting because it’s gotta be a big logistical nightmare having two home ports!
UPDATE- We have 12 of the 20 group cabins booked full of fun loving people!
PRICE DROP - There’s been a significant price drop for the Ocean View cabins from $979 down to $699!! I have requested a contract amendment and if we get it, the Ocean View cabins that will be offered at that rate are on deck 1 or 2 while all our group cabins are on decks 7 & 8. The interior cabins have dropped to $599 from $699 and they will likely also be offered on the lower decks. This is where I usually get a cabin because I’m never in it except to sleep and shower! We’re not meeting up at cabins anyway so no biggie if you book a lower deck. Anyone interested in this reduced rate, let me know for when our agent Cathie gets back to me.
As expected, the other cabin types have increased in price. A balcony is now $1279 so but group rate is still locked in at $1119.
ITINERARY
May 15 - Sail From Miami
May 16 - Key West 7am-3pm
May 17 - Day at Sea
May 18 - Georgetown Grand Cayman 8am - 4pm
May 19 - Ocho Rios, Jamaica 8am - 4pm
May 20 - Day at Sea
May 21 - Nassau, Bahamas 9am - 5pm
May 22 - Miami Disembark
This is YOUR 75th BIRTHDAY CRUISE, not a High School reunion cruise. So feel free to invite your family or friends to celebrate with you. I did!
Our Group Name is called “Jamie Burns Group” GROUP ID# 4859
Call 800-814-7100 EXT# 149 to book your cabin(s) with Cathie Chery.
FINALLY - You have until January 15th to finalize your booking. Any unsold group cabins will be made available to the public then at the current rates.
Need a Hotel in Miami?
This is my suggestion if you need a hotel the night before the cruise in Miami. First, it is in a safe, upscale neighborhood, has an onsite restaurant/bar and is just one block from the FREE Metro Mover that can take you to the nearby waterfront Bayside Marketplace.!! So fun for one night in Miami!
You would need to Taxi, Uber or Lyft from the airport to the hotel. It's 15-25 minutes approx. $30
-OR-
You could also utilize the Metrorail Orange Line from the airport ($2.50) directly to Brickell Station and a short walk to the hotel.
Prices are about $251.00/KING per night for early booking as an IHG member . Also, as a member, you can request early check-in and secure the best rates. They additionally offer Luggage Hold.
It's only 2 miles to the cruise port from this hotel so transportation cost by Uber, etc. would run $15-25 in downtown Miami directly to the cruise terminal.
145 SW 11th Street Building 1, Miami, Florida 33130 United States
(305) 860-3874
I would suggest you use your IHG membership to book this online now for the best (refundable) rates because they have a generous cancellation policy if you change your mind.
AIRFARE FYI - The best rates for Airfare from NY that I found was JFK (or LaGuardia) to Miami on Jetblue, Delta and American.
Now Let’s Hear From our Classmates!
I know many of you are not using facebook but I still do and I am sharing some cool news from a few of our classmates.
Don Demola is super excited about this news and asked me to share his invitation.
A little background first. Did you know Don was a professional ball player and pitcher for the Montreal EXPO’s? He’s even got his own Wiki page!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_DeMola
So you gotta know that he’s been in touch with Bob Costas all these years through their love of baseball.
One of Don’s charity projects has been supporting The Firefighters Charitable Foundation. Every year they hold a huge fundraiser to support their mission “to provide much needed financial assistance to individuals who have been affected by a fire or disaster, to support other disaster or prevention related charities and institutions, and volunteer fire departments” This is above and beyond their participation in the annual Marine Corps Toys For Tots program with the Farmingdale Fire Department.
After many, many years of asking Bob Costas to be the guest speaker at this Annual Gala, Don finally caught Bob in a sweet spot of no longer calling the World Series and still residing in NYC before snow-birding it to California for the winter. So Bob is the guest speaker for 2026!
Don tells me his friend, Frank Tepedino, is the current President of FFCF and a retired New York City Fire Patrolman and a former Major League Baseball Player who Don actually pitched against when he was in the EXPO’s and Frank was with the Yankee’s and the Braves.
If you wish to attend this event and support their fundraising efforts it’s being held on November 4th at Westbury Manor and seats are $250. A full table seats 10.
This information is not yet published so I can’t provide a link. I do know that both Tom Hammill and Jim Scandariato are planning to attend.
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Steve Clisset is still making music! And writing songs! Steve is a recipient this year of a Global Music Awards Honor. Congratulations Steve!
He has been playing solo for years around the Bolder, Colorado area and has now reconnected with two musicians that he collaborated with in the “distant past” and they are loving playing their music live. In the past, Steve also had the honor of playing at the Library Stage at Lincoln Center in NYC! Who knew?
You can hear the song and other music here;
Yet Another Unique
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Roger Eckstein has had his own recognition this year. Roger has made a serious career out of guns and knives. He’s been a prolific writer, contributing editor to magazines on the subjects and author of several books most notably “A Shooter’s Guide to Home Defense” and “A Shooter’s Bible Guide to Knives.” He has the distinction “of being one of the most prolific writers of in-depth tests and evaluations of firearms and knives to emerge over the past 25 years” and this year, as staff corespondent to Knife Magazine, was recognized as an Honorary Member by the Liner Lock Syndicate. I had to look that one up but a liner lock is a folding pocket knife with a side-spring metal liner that springs inward to keep the blade open safely.” Congratulations Roger!
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Okay. I’ve been at this all day and I’ve gotta wrap this up. Monday Ron and I fly into JFK and pick up that car we transport twice a year to and from Miami. Since this is the return trip we don’t get to add on any visiting while using his car so we’ll squeeze in dinner in Brooklyn with Ron’s eldest nephew and family and then keep heading south on I-95.
For those of you going on the cruise, I’m planning on sharing cruise excursion recommendations in my next newsletter. I can tell you now that’s not happening till sometime in November because we’ll be gone pretty much all of October doing a wrong-side-of-the-road trip (months in the planning) of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Ron’s driving! Wish us luck!
