MacManiaTM 3.5
Experience

TESTIMONIALS

I have taken my family of up to eight people on all four of the MacMania cruises so far. We have toured such places as Alaska, Hawaii, the Caribbean, and the Baltic. I have never spent money or time more wisely. The cultural and technical learning on these cruises is beyond what I'd hoped for. The people we've met along the way are unforgettable. The Mac pros are simply great! My only regret is that we will not be able to participate on the next MacMania because of logistical conflicts. Hopefully there will be many more.

Steve Ragatz, M.D.
<neon8s at execpc.com>

Thanks Neil for getting it ALL right! After signing up almost thought I might have to miss the cruise because I was having a problem walking. Found that I missed out on very, very little compared to the wealth of everything that I did. Your organizational skills are amazing Neil, even down to the smallest detail like finding a great roommate for me, and gifting us with wonderful dining partners. Don't know how you knew that we would all mesh so well. Loved our fun times together at dinner and our various serious discussions too. The seminars were just the best! But how could they miss with the amazing staff of instructors; the elite of the computer/photography world.

Dorothy LaPoint
<dlapoint at sbcglobal.net>

Thank you again for organizing such a wonderful trip. It's rare to find someone who keeps up with all the details of a trip so that we don't have to.

The courses were great. Jack Davis and Chris Breen were spectacular and exuded energy to all of us attending.

I can highly recommend you and your team as doing a spectacular job. Thanks for the memories and knowledge.

Robert Lemke, D.D.S., M.D.
<LEMKE at uthscsa.edu>

First, the cruise and everything that went along with is was wonderful. We both had a great time, and can not believe how smoothly everything seemed to go.
     With regard to your digital photography class, I can't tell you how favorably impressed I was by the professionalism and commitment to teaching a great class that Bill Durrence displayed. It was easy to see that he is a great photographer, but putting across his ideas, theories, and the real how-to-do-it stuff is not easy in a teaching situation. He had obviously taken a great deal of time and energy (both physical and psychic) to prepare and present a cogent, interesting, and — perhaps most important — useful course. My husband and I have taught for many years, lead both numerous field trips and tours, and I have taken a number of computer seminars so we are very familiar with the problems and perversities of all of this. Bill gave one of the best sets of classes that I have ever had the opportunity to enjoy. He had an excellent course outline, stuck to it, made sure that the members of the class were keeping up with him, and still was able to let us ask questions and distract him, as will happen in this type of situation.

For me the best part of the seminar was the critiques of both my pictures and those of my classmates. What a wonderful learning tool. The competition was great fun also.

I never felt that the techniques, theories, use of the camera etc. were too advanced, nor did Bill move through the material too quickly to prevent the class from keeping up. Certainly the questions posed in class would indicate this. The bottom line for me is that I got far more back in useful information and knowledge than what I spent in dollars for the symposium.

These cruises are great and I have mentioned them to several of the people at the Apple Stores that I frequent. We had a great time, and would like to do it again, so keep us in the loop as far as future trips. Finally, many thanks for getting us to St. Petersburg — it was fabulous.

Ann Frazier <siannfraz at aol.com>

Michelle and I are so thankful for Geek Cruises!! We get to spend a wonderful vacation doing what each of us love. She gets to hang by the pool and the hot tub and I get to "geek out" with some of my Mac heroes such as The Woz, Leo Laporte, and David Pogue.

As the owner of small Mac consultant/tech company in DC/Baltimore, I spend my days helping others with their problems and setups. It's the rare occasion where I get to sit down and have someone teach me the things I'm interested in. Geek Cruises gives me the opportunity to learn some new things and get a groovy vacation at the same time. We've been to places that we might not otherwise have gotten the chance to had it not been for GC. It's just to cool to be able to sit on your private verandah with your PowerBook, overlooking the cities of St. Petersburg, Stockholm, and Helsinki just to name a few.

Cruising beats every other form of vacation and Geek Cruising certainly beats them all. :)

This was our third Geek Cruise and we're looking forward to 300 more!

Clayton Lewis,
Apple Certified Help Desk Specialist
<clay at themactech.com>

We just keep coming back! Baltic Blast was our fourth Geek Cruise. The main attraction to me has been the high quality of instructors made available for the topics I have an interest. I have been attending various Photoshop seminars for 6 years, but have found the particular close contact and communication interchange with the Geek Cruises' instructors to have been the most valuable experience in my developing understanding of Photoshop.

Tom Grollman, M.D.
<grollman at verizon.net>

My son Jonathan is a computer hobbyist (euphemism for geek). One day, while checking the website of our favorite tech guru, Leo Laporte, Jonathan discovered an announcement for the MacMania Baltic Blast. The cruise was a 10-day excursion around the Baltic Sea. We were not disappointed. My wife Brenda, whose household handle is "techno turtle", took several classes and really enjoyed them. After attending the iTunes class by Chris Breen and the iMovie classes by David Pogue, she was very enthusiastic about pursuing some creative projects. In fact, she created an iPhoto slide show with background music before completing the cruise!

We give the MacMania Baltic Blast courses two thumbs up. It was quite a thrill to meet Leo Laporte. Leo was very accessible and gracious as were Chris Breen and David Pogue. On most evenings, one or more of the guys were available for personalized help or just good geek conversation. So, beginner or expert, if you want to hone your Mac skills and have some great fun, check out MacMania!

Jonathan Weeks, M.D.
<mfmdoctor at mac.com>