Scenes From An Italian Restaurant

Isaac tells us every great cruise has great wine. And when you have a google of fine wine, you have a Wine Pull. It’s a first-time SPS event, and best of all, it’s duty free.

The Pull features over 50 bottles of wine carefully chosen and donated by SPS families and friends. Each bottle will have an assigned number and will range in price and kind.

To play, stop by the Wine Pull table in the cafeteria. Provide your bid number and select a numbered cork. You then take home the corresponding numbered bottle.

We have everything from Boone’s Farm to Purple Passion (just kidding). The wine selection is actually quite outstanding. We have Hess, Irony, Franciscan, Ereth, Kim Crawford, Privada, Artemis, Sonoma-Cutrer, Estancia, Caymus, Luigi Bosca, Tilia … also six delicious wines from Australia, three magnums of La Vieille Ferme from the Rhone Valley and more.

Thanks to Kelley Funk and Elaine Lyons for being master wine-os.

Cost: $25 per pull

Toga! Toga!

Our selection of offshore excursions is simply the best. We’re most excited about the after party, because we’ve been told by certain Kindergarten parents that 11 p.m. is the new 7 p.m.

This year’s party is at the home of Pat & Carey Linson. Sign up at check-out for $10 per person.

Light food provided by the Well, and the leftover drinks are making their way from the ship somehow.

Transportation is not provided although we recommend walking or sharing a ride with a designated driver who has a good sense of direction.

Destination: The home of Pat & Carey Linson, 432 W. 68^th St.

Tour guides:

• Pat & Carey Linson
• Helen Owens & Matt Whalen
• Jill & Dave Hathaway
• Susan Williams
• Spring & Tom Duncan

Cost: $10 per person

Do the Lido Shuffle

Get ready for the return of a popular SPS auction-night tradition, with a nautical twist (or knot, if you will). It’s been called “heads or tails” and “hi-lo” in the past. But those auctions didn’t take place on the high seas. This year, think top or bottom deck, better known as the Lido Deck and the Poop Deck.

To play, just purchase a sticker for $5 at the sign up table in the cafeteria or from one of our fabulous crew members. Like all cruises, no cash is needed. Simply provide your bid number, and off you go.

The emcee will announce the start of the game during the live auction. Those playing on the Lido Deck will put their hands on their heads. And those playing on the Poop Deck – well, you can guess where to put your hands. If you correctly select the proper deck, you win the round and remain standing while the game continues until one lucky cruiser is left standing. The $250 cash prize will certainly make a nice down payment for your next cruise vacation.

Here’s a nickel’s worth of free advice. Go with poop every time. You can’t go wrong.

Sail On. And Show Up.

Are you a procrastinator? Do you enjoy putting things off? Don’t sweat it. We still have room for you on the SPS Patriot.

You may turn in your reservation forms to the school office as late as this Friday.

Or just walk in Saturday, with bags of cash, wearing an eye-patch, all pirate-like. Scorsese.

Please Adhere to Our Strict Dress Code

All good institutions have a dress code. McDonalds, the Power & Light District and even the SPS Patriot. With our voyage only 10 days away, it’s time to have a serious conversation about the dress we expect from our esteemed guests.

Some of you may be tempted to throw on a Hawaiian shirt and call it a day. Come on folks, is that seriously all you’ve got?

The SPS Patriot demands creativity, eccentricity and peculiarity. In the spirit of making our cruise the most interesting trip in the world, here are a few ideas to spark your mind’s eye:

• The son of a son of a sailor

• Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood

• Crockett and Tubbs

• The Fonz jumping the shark

• Love Boat vs. 8 Is Enough Family Feud All-Star Special

• Sandra Bullock from Speed 2: Cruise Control (the best movie ever made)

• Tom Cruise has a pretty awesome last name

• Kurt Russell as Jungle Boy in episode 19 of Gilligan’s Island

• Kurt Russell as Dean in the movie Overboard

Now that we’ve got your creativity churning, you’ll have no trouble coming up with something outstanding. We’re expecting big things from you!

Here’s Your Chance to be a VIP

Do you like winning? Duh. Buy a VIP Sweepstakes ticket before it’s too late. For the low price of only $50, one lucky winner will get to choose any live auction item, before the live auction begins. That’s right, the winner gets the pick of all the live auction items.

Sign up for a VIP entry with your auction reservation, or purchase one at the auction itself. Entries will be on sale until 8:45 p.m., right before the start of the live auction.

$50 for a condo in Breckenridge. $50 for a trip to Ireland. $50 for the front row at the Christmas program.

Do it, Doug.

Join Our Team

Have you ever dreamed of sailing the ocean blue and seeing the world, port by port? Do you look like Leonardo DiCaprio or Kate Winslet? If so, do we have a deal for you! (Did somebody say “deal”?)

Your next exciting career challenge is at sea with the SPS Patriot. With innovative amenities such as onboard kickball and underwater basket weaving, how can you go wrong? If you are looking to boost your career to new heights, join our award-winning team today. Our compensation packages are among the best in the industry.

The experience of travelling to exciting places; the chance to work with a fantastic group of people from all over the world; and the ability to explore new paths on the open seas. More than 1,000 people have already selected the SPS Patriot to be their employer of choice, and so should you.

We are now accepting applications for several glamorous positions, from auction runner to sanitation technician to cleanup crew, and everything in between.

The ship cannot sail without a full staff. Contact Carrie Rouchka to learn all about the wonderful positions awaiting you aboard the most spectacular ocean liner in the world! It’s better than a hot stick in the eye.

Happy Valentine’s Day to Us!

We love to receive suggestions from our loyal passengers. After receiving a captivating recommendation from Fr. McCaffery, we are very pleased to announce our voyage won’t be a regular ole’ cruise after all.

Your Come Sail Away auction is now  “Come Sail Away With the Stars!” Which “stars” will be joining us, you ask? Are you sitting down? Glen Campbell and Nicki Minaj have agreed to join us on board, and will be singing what is sure to be a breathtaking duet.

That’s all we have to say about that.

Stay Hungry, My Friends

On board the SPS Patriot, we take our food very seriously. So seriously, in fact, that Frommer’s ranks our dining experience as the very best in the world, among cruise ships of course. (Seriously. It’s on Wikipedia.)

Therefore, when our friends at Noodles & Company offered to support our school auction, we found ourselves between a rock and Giglio. Would our head chef approve? Would kids throw the noodles on the ceiling to see if they stick?

Noodles & Company wasn’t willing to give up that easily. They knew that a partnership with the SPS Patriot would do for noodles what David Beckham did for britches.

And, besides their food being darn good, they made us an offer we couldn’t refuse. Visit Noodles & Company this Thursday from 5-9 p.m., mention St. Peter’s and 25 percent of the cost of your meal will go to benefit our school auction. It works at the Plaza and 76^th & State Line locations.

Did you know they sell adult beverages, too? Grab a DD and head out with everyone you know. Spread the word. And stay hungry, my friends.

We Get By with a Little Help from Our Friends

Ticket revenue is important but we can’t keep the lido deck shipshape without help from our sponsors. Thanks to the following groups who have graciously agreed to subsidize your fun:

Auction Sponsors:

• Applebee’s                                       
• The Funk Family                                
• Missouri Bank
• Ann Hyde Realty                              
• Commerce Bank                                 
• Twin Financial
• The Sullivan Foundation                         
• David and Laura Safley                    
• Reller & Co, CPA
• Madden McFarland Interiors      
• Dunn Family Foundation              
• Greg Gignoux Family
• EPR KC                                              
• R.E. Miller Insurance

Advertisers:

• Arbor Tree Care                                                                                              
• Lathrop & Gage
• Pediatric Associates                       
• Rockhill Pet Clinic                             
• Costentino’s
• JCLC Homes                                      
• Resources Of KC                                 
• Country Club Bank
• US Engineering Co                                     
• Hollyday Aesthetic Spa                     
• White Orthodontics
• National Bank of KC                    
• Manz, Swanson & Mulhern             
• VanSant Mills Funeral Home

In-Kind Donors:

• U.S. Food & Service                         
• Trezo Mare                                          
• The Roasterie
• Brookside Market                           
• Apple Market                                       
• EmChamas
• Garrozzo’s                                       
• Applebee’s                                            
• The Well
• Pierpont’s                                       
• Café Trio                                             
• Kokopelli
• Costentino’s                                               
• Patrick’s Bar and No Grill                          
• United Beverage
• Boulevard Brewery