Charlie ~ Chicken of the Sea
by Linda Coffman
Page One | Page Two
A pressing Dilemma
What's a chicken to do when there are TWO cruises to choose between? Poor Charlie... who'd have thought this would happen? Knowing he couldn't disappoint either of the Lindas who'd invited him (Coffman and Hall), he called on his cousin, Chester to fill in on one ship. Charlie's such a diplomat -- he could provide the answer to World Peace, if only someone would consult him.
Charlie decided the Renaissance Cruises' R1 with its non-smoking and all adult atmosphere would be more his style, so Chester happily went off to Miami with the Halls and Charlie flew (passport under his wing) to Greece. He was relieved it wasn't grease -- as in fried you-know-what!
Chester had a swell time with George and Linda on Royal Caribbean International's Grandeur of the Seas and has offered to pinch-hit whenever a cruising chicken is needed in the future. We aren't quite sure what happened... but George nicknamed him Chester the Molester! Neither of them are saying WHY. But take one look at Linda... well, the situation needs no further explanation! Chester's apparently one fresh chicken. 
So MANY Ships...
With summer winding down, Charlie wasn't done cruising -- no, not by a long shot. And his final cruise of the summer was to be special. I mean, how many chickens do YOU know who get to spend their final summer vacation on the luxurious Crystal Symphony with Mary Ann Rizzo? We hope he'll still want to cruise with us peons.
And what a RECEPTION he got. First, Mary Ann outfitted him in his very own logo tee-shirt and then there came a knock on the door... What's this? Pizza! Topped with Charlie's favorite -- CORN! Courtesy of Bob Hoover.
And there was more... a basket of Charlie's very own EGGS. Oops. Guess we all should have paid more attention -- a LOT more attention -- to Jacki's claim that "Charlie" is short for Charlene!
Charlie's Itinerary
If you've followed this saga so far, you must have realized that Charlie's cruising companions are all online cruise buddies. Some of us have met and cruised together but some of us haven't. What we all have in common, besides cruising, is that we're former Prodigy Afloaters -- we were all members of the original Prodigy Classic service which ceased to exist in October 1999.
Instead of brooding over the loss of our online service, the Drews, Hoovers, Harleys, Coffmans, and Halls mustered on Celebrity Cruise Line's Zenith to Bermuda. 
Smooth Sailing... Linda
PS -- One valuable bit of advice. If a Turkish Customs Agent wants to inspect your rubber chicken... two words: LET HIM.
Back to... Page One
A peek at Charlie's... Photo Album
Cruising to Bermuda
- Beautiful Bermuda -- Pink sand and sparkling water. A cruise is the ideal Bermuda get-away.
- Bermuda -- Probably the most popular misconception about Bermuda is that its a Caribbean island. It isnt.
