Mebert

frostboy64, Thanks for your review of the Fascination. I'm sorry that you had a so-so time and that the port of Cozumel was changed so suddenly. I hope that there wasn't anything that you wanted to see specifically in Cozumel. As far as your dining experience goes, I'm curious to know if you arrived in the dining room late. It's really rude of the wait staff to rush you during dinner. I hope you let them know about your negative experience on your comment card or it will never change. I hope your next experience on Carnival is better. Maybe if you tried a newer ship you might have a better time.

Rat, Your Summit photos were great and I liked the slide format too. I was able to sit back and enjoy the photos without all the usual clicking. Thank you for sharing them.

nlb1050, Congratulations on your Southern Caribbean booking. I know that you're excited. What ports are you going to visit?

The Skipper, Thanks for keeping us abreast of your cruise activities. It helps us who are left ashore have a virtual cruise along with you. Congratulations on your lunch with the captain and your "most travelled passengers" status. I hope you enjoyed the experience. I look forward to reading more about your cruise.

I don't have much to add to the Port Canaveral transfer but I remember sailing the Carnival Fantasy from there and had no problems from the airport. It took less than an hour to get to the pier from the airport. I remember having a much easier time getting to Port Canaveral than getting to the port of Miami, even though it's a shorter time getting to the port Miami from Miami International. However, my experiences had to do with the shuttle service provided by the cruise line.

denese96, To Cruise Crazies.

I've seen some brief coverage of the Freedom on television. Suzila, When are they going to have "Godfathers" of ships. I would love to do that job myself.

GottaCruz, Thank you. I don't know if I can stand the anticipation anymore. It gets worse each time. It seems that I'm booking further and further in advance, making my wait ever longer. JoeyandDavid, I can't wait to hear what you do in Athens. I've never been there. Come back with all the good news.

JoeyandDavid, Keith & Rita, schatje, rogue, Joanandjoe, Shari2, and timecop, Thank you for your congratulatory messages. Now you have to help me survive until that cruise which is so far off. JoeyandDavid, Which ports do we have in common? I can wait to mimic some of your activities in port.

jrmendez63, Bon Voyage and have a great cruise. May you have smooth sailing.

MichelleBooth, Bon Voyage and have a great cruise. May you have smooth sailing.

JoeyandDavid, That sounds like a very desirable cruise. Now to get to Auckland, New Zealand. This is going to be expensive all around.

eagle forest, Bon Voyage and have a great cruise. May you have smooth sailing.

SherryB, Bon Voyage and have a great cruise. May you have smooth sailing.

Joanandjoe, Bon Voyage and have a great cruise. May you have smooth sailing. You are going to be missed.

TravelBug, Bon Voyage and have a great cruise. May you have smooth sailing.

Joanandjoe, Thanks for the interesting article, although it was a little distressing to see some of those old classic ships abandoned and anchored off shore. I don't think I could look at a video about the salvaging of those ships either.

I was searching for an exciting cruise in April and I thought I had found it with a balcony on the Carnival Legend to Bermuda. I checked out Carnival's site and they are building a new ship that will debut in 2007, the Carnival Freedom. The Freedom will sail out of Civitavecchia, Italy with stops in Naples, Rhodes (Greece), Izmir and Istanbul (Turkey), Athens and Katakolon (Greece), Livorno (Italy) and back to Civitavecchia with an overnight stay to check out the sights in Rome. The fare was far better than the one I had paid for my European cruise in 2005. I could not pass it up. The Freedom will make stops in four ports in two countries that I have never visited but always wanted to and it will also give me a chance to explore Rome again without having to book a hotel. This works out perfectly for me. I really regret not sailing to Bermuda and exploring what it's like to have a balcony but I just can't pass up this opportunity to continue seeing Europe. Maybe I'll do Bermuda in 2008 unless Carnival does northern Europe.

edluch, To Cruise Crazies.

tee3871, To Cruise Crazies.

cannon fodder, To Cruise Crazies.

The Skipper, Thanks for your real time report for the Coral Princess. I hope you enjoy your passage through the Panama Canal. It must be very exciting.

longboysfan, That was quite a detailed review and gave us some insight as to all the positive expectations on the Galaxy. It sounds like you had a great time and I look forward to having a similar experience on a Celebrity ship in the future. Oops! I forgot to thank you for all the time you put into that excellent review.

JoeyandDavid, Last summer the exchange rate was about the same in Europe. I did not make any major purchases except for some Venetian Glass. I basically stuck with the inexpensive souvenirs like tote bags and limited my dining to the ship. I did have to get some melon gelato though.

Thank you for your wonderful welcome back notes. Although I feel I could live on the ship forever, it's really nice to come back home and receive such nice messages from friends.