Pre-Pilgrimage Letter #2 of 2
St. Paul Cruise, November 3, 2010
 Greetings!

It won't be long before we will be meeting you at the Airport in Athens. We are looking forward to it with joyful anticipation. As you continue to get ready to travel there are a few items we want to share to help you prepare.

Please remember to pray that Our Lord will bless you on the pilgrimage and open your heart and mind to learn and experience all that you can on this trip. Meditate on the Scripture passages that relate to the sites that you will experience. Let the Lord prepare your heart and mind for this great experience.

We are praying for you in advance that God will bless each and every one of you.
PeoplePeople You Will Meet
Some of the first people you will meet will be the American escorts, Jim & Cheryl Olszewski. They just returned from a Footprints of God Pilgrimage to the Holy Land with us back in January. They are excited to be serving you on this St. Paul cruise.

They are friendly and welcoming people, and will be armed with helpful information and experience to assist you along the way.


Fr. Scott Courtney is a delightful priest who has traveled with us before. He brings so much energy and vigor to our pilgrimages. We are sure you will enjoy his teaching, preaching and spiritual direction. Please be sure to thank him for being a priest!

We have put together a great team of professionals and guides who will help along the way. In Turkey, our local guide will be Okan. We became friends back when I was filming for the Footprints of God DVD series. Okan is very knowledgeable and fun, we are lucky to have him guiding us through while we travel through Ephesus, Istanbul and other Turkish sites.

On the optional Rome extension we have a dynamic duo that other groups could only dream of: Elizabeth Lev and Luca Maglietta. These two are so good at what they do, and are in such high demand, that they actually hand-pick groups that they want to work with. We are blessed to have them because of the long term relationships we have developed--and because our pilgrimages are always so much fun.

Elizabeth Lev is a well known catholic writer, art historian and author. She is engaging and animated. You are going to love her rapier-wit and deep knowledge of Rome and its culture through the centuries.

Luca Maglietta is a master of logistics when traveling through Italy and the eternal city. He successfully guided our three full buses through Turin in May of this year when we were contending with over one million other pilgrims. We are sure that he will serve our Footprints of St. Paul group group with style and grace--and a great Italian accent!
BusOur Buses
We will have comfortable, modern buses in all the countries we will visit. Our buses are very nice, and the drivers always keep them in great condition.

We do not reserve seats on the bus. Each morning all the seats are "up for grabs" or "first come, first serve." Most people like to rotate seats and move around on the bus during the pilgrimage. Once you have chosen seats in the morning-they are your seats for the rest of the day. But all seats are again open to everyone the next morning. The only exception is that we need to keep the front seats open for, the priests, escorts, speakers and guides so they can be near the microphone.

Also, please be respectful during the times on the bus when people with are using the mic, sharing their stories or important information about locations. There is a temptation to stop listening if a story is familiar, but others may want to listen and not be distracted.

For those who have a tendency to get car sick, please remember to bring some non-drowsy dramamine.
LanguagesLanguages
In Greece they speak Greek--the main language of St. Paul! In Turkey they speak Turkish. And for those coming with us to Rome, they speak Roman, (just kidding)--they speak Italian!

In the areas we will be traveling most people will be able to converse in English. Just remember to be extra polite though, and speak clearly, since we are in their country expecting them to speak to us in our language.
ShoppingShopping
We will limit the shopping during the pilgrimage-to save a LOT of time and hopefully get everyone back on the ship with time each day to catch your breath and rest before dinner. We plan to have at least one shopping stop in each country. The places we take you for shopping are 100% trustworthy, honest and reliable. However, we do not want to waste a lot of time in shops when there is so much to see and do, so please trust us.

It is wise to avoid buying expensive things from unknown or untrusted shops or vendors. Gold is often not gold, diamonds not diamonds and icons not authentic. Also, just use cash since it is not uncommon for "zeros" to be added to checks and credit cards forms.

Please do NOT wander into shops as we are moving through the sites. It causes great loss of time and makes it difficult to find everyone and get moving to the next site. We'll explain more when you arrive. Thanks in advance for your cooperation. 
DressFurther Notes on Clothing
As we might have mentioned before, Janet and I prefer comfortable travel clothes when we are on our pilgrimages. However, there are two dinners on the cruise ship where we will be dressing up a bit. These are not NOT black tie affairs, rather, what the cruise line calls "Country Club Casual."

Men may want to bring a sport coat and nice pants, and ladies a blouse and slacks, or a skirt. You can see the picture of us at the dinner from a 2009 cruise to give you an idea.
PilgrimagePilgrimage Vs Tourism
Just as a reminder, this is a pilgrimage and not a tour or vacation. The ship and hotels are clean and comfortable but they are not 5-star "Ritz Carleton" level, and while the food is good, we don't want you to arrive expecting gourmet.

We have made arrangements to make you as comfortable as possible at all times, but a pilgrimage may also have some hardships such as early mornings, new foods, hot weather, crude restrooms, differing personalities, and more.  Please keep this in mind and offer any small difficulties up to God with a song and a prayer.

We encourage prayer and singing along the way to enhance our spiritual experience. We are free to sing in most of our liturgies. You will be free to lead devotions, prayers, etc. along the way and on the bus if you wish. I want you to have a wonderful time and will do all I can to facilitate a deeply spiritual experience for you all.

I have been known to get choked up with tears in my eyes-still, after all these trips. But, nobody wants me to start singing-if I did everyone would cover their ears and run for shelter :)  But, there is usually a few on each pilgrimage who can sing well and lead us in song and the Rosary at various holy sites and during Mass.
VideoCameras, Videos & Virtual Pilgrimages for your Family Back Home
The hotels and the ship have internet-connected computers for use for a charge, and some of the hotels have wireless internet in the lobby and even in the room. The wireless availability can be spotty. However, the staff is very helpful and normally can get guests connected without too much effort.

Most pilgrims bring a camera or camcorder of their own to document their adventure. If you want to share links to your photo albums online when you return home please let us know and we will add it to the Past Pilgrimages page.

My wife Janet and I will be taking pictures and videos constantly during the pilgrimage and also discreetly during the Masses (yes, the celebrating priests have been given a heads up about this). Why do we film the trip? First, I minimize your need to take videos, especially during the Mass. Second, my pictures and videos are taken to produce the nightly Virtual Pilgrimage videos which I upload to my blog. Third, we use the pictures and videos for our final keepsake DVD (usually about 90 minutes long) which you will receive in the mail thirty days after you return home.

Lord willing--and technology willing-- we will be uploading about 5-10 minute video clips on my blog some days. Janet and I take pictures and record video clips throughout the day. At the end of the day, when it is possible, I will be creating movies on my MacBook Pro Laptop and uploading the video clips to my Blog so your family and friends back home can "join you" on the pilgrimage. Even if I am unable to upload the videos each day (or at all due to technology or time) I will try to keep everyone back home updated on our progress with some pictures and stories from the day.

Make sure you let your family, friends and parish back home know about the daily Virtual Pilgrimage videos at www.CatholicConvert.com so they can share the pilgrimage with you as you travel.

The cabins numbers have been assigned by the cruise line, and Jeanine and Sue are working as quickly as possible to get the information to you.  The travel packets will be placed in the mail over the weekend, so can expect to receive them before Friday the 29th. If you have any questions please email Jeanine jbliss@CTScentral.net, or Sue sbosak@CTScentral.net .
Or to reach them by phone, call 1 (800) 727-1999 x116 or x158, respectively .

God Bless you,
Steve & Janet Ray

Ps: If you haven't already seen the cruise line's informational sheets, please read them here.