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These cruises depend upon freeper interest and participation to continue.

I don't know what has been considered in the past, but one thing that might be tried to improve participation, if it hasn't, is to convince a big name guest speaker to go along (perhaps by paying for his/her cabin). That would certainly be a draw. Whether or not it would be enough, I have no idea. It's just something to consider if it hasn't already been.

You sound like quite a sea-lover!

You bet! As a teen, I was in Sea Scouts. I also worked on fishing and sightseeing boats as a teen. When it came time to join the service, I chose the Navy. I sailed a 29 foot sloop for a while. My wife and I have been on numerous cruises on 8 different cruise lines. And to top it all off, as I mentioned above, we are in the early stages of designing a yacht to retire to.

Yes. It would be a safe bet to say that I am a sea lover. As far as I'm concerned, the most wonderful sound in the world is the sound of waves breaking off the bow and nowhere on Earth are the stars as beautiful as they are at sea. And, that's not to mention the scuba diving. The only reason that I can see for living on land, is so you will be better able to appreciate life on the sea.

P.S. Well there is one sound that would be better than the sea. "Mr. and Mrs. Clinton, you have the right to remain silent." :-)

The reality is that booking speakers of any note on a week's cruise is impossible. They are working people like us, laboring each day in their conservative jobs in D.C., the great cities of the east and west coasts and in media land. They can't and won't get away for a week's cruise with a limited audience on board. We couldn't pay the high fees they would command for such a length of time

On this cruise we'll present some good informative and interesting programs and will rely on our own freeper talent to do so. Our programs and workshops last cruise were fantastic and we didn't have a big name speaker at all.

However, FRN's regular yearly national conferences, such as FRiva last year in Nevada, always feature a prominent speaker and very professional workshops. The speaker at FRiva was Laura Ingraham, noted TV pundit, radio talk-show host and no-holds-barred tiger.

The cruises are an extra dollop of cream on the FR pudding........ a little more laid back, giving freepers an opportunity to meet and interact with each other, exchange political ideas and experiences and have some great fun in a relaxed atmosphere.

I enjoy reading your "sea tales" and your interesting plans for a future home on the bounding main. Let us know how things are going from time to time. With your sea-going experience, if you're able to make a future FRN cruise, we'll personally pipe you aboard and dub you "First Admiral of the Freep"!

Leni