Dear Mr. CEO,

I sincerely hope that this email reaches you personally, as I am extremely grateful to the entire crew and staff of the Odyssey DC for a wonderful family experience last Saturday, November 5.

My husband and I were fortunate enough to enjoy brunch on your DC cruise last August. We had such a good time that we immediately decided this would be the perfect way to celebrate several family milestones: my mother's 80th birthday, and my aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary. We made reservations for 15 of our family members (including two from Connecticut) to enjoy your brunch cruise last Saturday.

In addition to mom's birthday and the anniversary of my aunt and uncle, our oldest son decided to propose to his girlfriend - and wanted to do so on this cruise with his family around him. We notified your staff of this wonderful event, and many things just fell into place. We were warmly greeted at the ticket office, and I was assured that the surprise proposal would be handled after birthdays and anniversaries. Our photo was taken before boarding - and this is a wonderful full-family remembrance of a great day.

Upon arriving on board, Desiree introduced herself and began working her magic. She was delighted to learn (secretly!) of the marriage proposal, and we immediately felt that she was part of our family celebration. Many of our guests commented afterward on how attentive, pleasant, and delightful she was - she is truly an asset to the Odyssey family. She personally assisted my mother to the restroom, suggested a special drink for our pregnant daughter-in-law, and made our out-of-town guests feel extremely welcome to DC. Desiree was assisted by Elvira - and between the two of them, all of our needs - and more - were wonderfully taken care of during the entire cruise.

When the Executive Chef heard that our son was going to propose marriage with the diamond ring in a Cracker Jacks box, he asked Desiree to bring it to him. At the appropriate time, the band leader called our future daughter-in-law up front, another staff member had a chair ready for her to "collapse" into once she realized what was going on, and Desiree stood nearby with the Cracker Jacks box centered on a lovely glass platter, decorated exquisitely with chocolates, strawberries, whipped cream, etc., all around it. All of the people in our section of the boat were part of the marriage proposal, and it - indeed - will be in our hearts and memories forever ... enhanced by the incredibly wonderful and attentive Odyssey staff.

Although I have completed the customer survey that was sent to me online, I also wanted to personally thank you and the entire crew of the DC Odyssey for helping our family enjoy a fantastic day last Saturday. My mother felt like a queen, my aunt and uncle were thrilled and our son and future daughter-in-law were overwhelmed with how everyone gladly took part in their special day. We had hoped that the cruise on Saturday would be as nice as ours was in August - and it was not only nice, but absolutely perfect in every respect.

Thank you and your extremely "customer-oriented" crew and staff for creating family memories that will last a lifetime. We look forward to many more special times on the DC Odyssey.

Sincerely,

Karen
Cruise Date: November 5th, 2005

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