Love2Travel

Happy Memorial Day, Kareen. hope you enjoyed your weekend. I spoke with my friend, Janet, today and she is very interested in the cruise but looked at the single supplement of $4000 additional as too much extra..don't blame her. She is still looking for someone but has had no luck so far. She is open to talking with Marti to see if the two of them would click to make a match. So keep it in mind as time progresses and if Marti makes her decision to go on this cruise. BTW, what was Marti's first career and what kind of work is she pursuing at the present time? Janet was curious. I see more activity on the roll call on the CC board. Great! I will wait to see what we are doing before posting on the other side...so for right now I am just lurking Gail

Happy Memorial Day, Kareen. hope you enjoyed your weekend. I spoke with my friend, Janet, today and she is very interested in the cruise but looked at the single supplement of $4000 additional as too much extra..don't blame her. She is still looking for someone but has had no luck so far. She is open to talking with Marti to see if the two of them would click to make a match. So keep it in mind as time progresses and if Marti makes her decision to go on this cruise. BTW, what was Marti's first career and what kind of work is she pursuing at the present time? Janet was curious. I see more activity on the roll call on the CC board. Great! I will wait to see what we are doing before posting on the other side...so for right now I am just lurking Gail

Happy Memorial Day, Kareen. hope you enjoyed your weekend. I spoke with my friend, Janet, today and she is very interested in the cruise but looked at the single supplement of $4000 additional as too much extra..don't blame her. She is still looking for someone but has had no luck so far. She is open to talking with Marti to see if the two of them would click to make a match. So keep it in mind as time progresses and if Marti makes her decision to go on this cruise. BTW, what was Marti's first career and what kind of work is she pursuing at the present time? Janet was curious. I see more activity on the roll call on the CC board. Great! I will wait to see what we are doing before posting on the other side...so for right now I am just lurking Gail

kareen, tell me about your single friend who may be interested in the cruise. like you said if we could make a match, might be a solution for the single supplement issue. my friend is mid 50s, teacher, loves to travel, loves the theater and biking. she is very easy going and get along with everyone. we were in college together and she has been my best friend ever since. do you have any good tour books for the ports that you would recommend? i love going to Barnes and Noble and taking a stack of books and finding a big comfy chair to sit in as i browse through the guides. hmmm... now that is heaven! till later... gail

Hi Kareen... We are still considering. Have also asked another friend who is interested but she is a single and the single supplement may make it tooooo expensive for her. she is trying to think of someone who may be interested. We probably will not make a final decision till this fall. do you know if the cruise goes by the fjords in Norway? i think i read that somewhere but can't find it now. We also looked at a cruise that went to Wan..., Germany (port hours from Berlin) and Amsterdam (which we would love to see) but we decided this cruise was a better fit and timing was better. Paul has been teaching part time at RIT and he would not have been finished with the quarter in early May. I had read that you could not book the St Petersburg tours yet. Have you decided on Red October? Seems like the three Alla, Denrus and Red October all have good reviews. What have you found out about the tours? The thing I miss is that there is not as much activity on the Baltic boards for ports of call. I got spoiled reading the Med boards. Things have also slowed down for your roll call but then again it is still very early. But I need to plan- it is addictive. right now I will have to be happy doing my final planning and reading for this summer's trip to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons. Take care... Gail

Hi Kareen, Well, we are actually seriously thinking about this one. We have not been able to decide what itinerary for 2008. We had been thinking about Transatlantic, European River cruises, Canary islands, the med. Europe has been calling us again. We started looking at this one and it sounds quite nice especially with the overnights at a few ports. So, now I am in to researching the ports a bit. Paul tells me his family was originally from Latvia. Sounds like you have a nice roll call going on the Critic site already. I will let you know if we decide to book. It would be nice to see some familiar faces I also will say 14 days sounds mighty appealing. Hope you are enjoying your planning. It is oh so much fun. Say hi to Bob and Susanne and Harvey for us. Gail

Kareen... we are so happy for you guys. I know you were talking about doing a baltics cruise. this itinerey looks great. the overnights will be so nice for exploring. enjoy the planning. doesn't that make the trip last longer say hi to hubby and susane and harvey. Gail and Paul

Jackie... no problem. we understand. We will cruise together again sometime. you have not seen the last of us. When are you going to SA? Bet you can't wait to see the family and share first hand your land adventures. Take care my friend.... Gail ps. thanks for all your insight re transatlantic cruising

Both of the ones I mentioned are on the Navigator. The april run is 4/12/2008 (14 days). the fall is nov 10, 2008 for 12 night. I posted on the other site to ask for opinions and their seems to be pros and cons for both fall and spring. It would be soooo cool to cruise together again. There are actually roll calls started on CC for both of those cruises already. We are still thinking. We have not been on the Navigator but have been on the sister ship. Loved it. hmmmm....... what do you think? Will you still have sea legs after all your months Rving our best to tony... us

Thanks Jackie for the first hand experience. The price is what got us interested. At first, the number of consecutive sea days seemed a bit much but the more we thought about it- it would be pretty relaxing... a vacation unto itself. we are always go, go, go when we vacation- it would force us to slow down and relax. And with the Navigator, the ship is so large with a promenade- which we loved...it gives you more places to walk and explore. We love the feeling of the side walk cafe and street entertainers etc... The itininery leaves from FLL, Bermuda over night,4 sea days, Azores, sea day, Lisbon, Sevile, Spain, Melaga, Spain, sea day and then Barcelona. We may travel to Paris from Barcelona before coming home. Sounds like it is close to what you and Tony did.... want to repeat? Going in nov...leaves from Barcelona, Cartenga, Spain, at sea, Maderia,portugal. Canary Island, 6 sea days, Nassua, FLL. We were concerned about the weather at sea in the fall. May be cold on deck and seas may be rougher. Say hi to Tony... we miss you guys too. Gail

Thinking about a transatlantic. Just wondering how are the seas in the spring vs the fall? In general what would the at sea temps be like in November or in April? Looking at either a Barcelona to Florida in Nov or a Florida to Barcelona in April. We are looking at the itineraries for the Navigator of the Seas. Thanks for anyone willing to share personal experience. Gail

Joey says...."not enough money or time"..... isn't that the truth! have a nice weekend! Gail

Well Joey... it is still on the list just not ready to commit at this point in time. Waiting to see about the RC Voyager itineries. Not all posted yet. We do love those ships especially for all of those sea days. But the transatlantic you and Tonia have chosen is tempting. Time will tell. still researching possibilities. Isn't is tough to have so many choices Any other fellow Millie Med cruisers ready for a reunion cruise yet???? You will have a wonderful and relaxing time. Enjoy the anticipation and planning. Gail ps Paul says hi to you and David

Joey Have you ever considered sailing transatlantic on Royal Caribbean? /we love the voyager class ships with their promenade- great cafes and side walk entertainment. The 2008 are just coming out and they are sailing from Barcelona as well. we have cruised a few times with RC and enjoyed both times. Just a thought. we are looking at these ships as an option- especially with so many sea days. Gail

Joey The price is phenomenal....not sure. how is the weather that time of year? Do you know if the seas are rough? We will think about this one. as you we were already considering the Canary Islands and we really do want to do Barcelona again. Are you still working on a group rate? Keep me posted. thanks. Gail ps. I would probably have picked the same one- sailing into Miami. cuts the air fare cost.

Diane Thanks for the info on the Pride of Aloha. that is what I had heard. I am disppointed because after island hopping and taking flights from one island to another on our last trip to Hawaii, we thought this would be so relaxing. But, we love to cruise and do not want to have a bad time. For us having seen the islands-this would have been one of the parts we would be looking forward to. I've seen the Napali Coast by Helicopter. Beautiful. would have loved to see tha lava flow into the ocean but I think we will pass. I wish another line would do the same itinerary. oh well. Take care and again thanks for sharing. say hi to lou.... Gail ps Kauii was our favorite island. must have been nice to spend a week.

Joey, Sure that would be great. What line? Tonia... BTW, Canary Islands are off the coast of Africa. Suppose to be great weather all year long. Will keep you posted, Tonia. Gail

Diane... I just noticed that you guys have been on the Pride of Aloha. This is another option we were thinking about but have not read the best reviews. What did youys think? We have been to Hawaii before to all the ports- but thought it would be a more relaxing way to visit again. plus we have FF miles to get us there. let me know.....thanks Gail

Wow.. nice to hear from all of you. We are thinking about this as an option but propbably not until fall 2008. Was hoping to find a cruise leaving out of Barcelona- nice city to repeat but the 2008 listing shows cruise to the Canary Islands leaving from South Hampton, England instead. Well, been to london- nice city also. Still just thinking. have a few other alternatives we are also looking at....one that is a RT out of Rome and goes to Turkey, Egypt etc My problem... can't make up my mind but the researching and thinking about things is always so much fun. Hey, we could have a reunioun cruise of the Millie 2006 gang! Wouldn't that br a blast! Gail

I was looking at a cruise on the Voyager of the Seas. It is a 11 day cruise leaving from Barcelona to canary Islands, Portugal etc. Looked interesting and the price was not too bad. Just wondering if anyone out there has any first hand experience touring these islands? Thanks for any information anyone is willing to share. time of year we are thinking about is the fall. Gail

Like Tonia stated we only had one day of rockin and rollin- it was a sea day. I would also recommend the restaurant that Tonia mentioned in Florence. It was terrific. Congrats on your big wedding anniversary. What a specail way to celebrate. You will not be disappointed. I also agree on the smaller crowds being a plus of traveling to the med in the fall. We shared private tours in many ports...an excellent option to save money and get a more personal experieince. remember ask away... Gail

Hi there and welcome to the crazies board... Great cruise. wish we were going back again. We were two of the crazies who went last year and had a ball. As far as weather, we were impressed with how nice it was. Virtually no rain and for us- who are from the northeast, we thought it was pretty balmy most of the time. Joey and Tonia might have a different opinion coming from sunny southern california. We visited with friends who had a balcony room and we sat outside in the early evening- light coat did the trick. Like joey said- ask away if you have questions. happy planning! Gail and Paul

We certainly do not relax on our cruise... we do not want to miss anything So....we like to stay for a few days post cruise.... that way I don't get so depressed about the cruise being over. Then if i can, I like to take a day off after I get home.. believe me I like to stretch the vacation as much as I can. I am lucky and get a pretty good amount of vacation every year. Gail

Charlie... thanks for your reply as well. I had been looking at Viking. glad to hear you would recommend them. If you decide to go down the Nile, i would highly suggest the add on to Petra Jordon if it is offered. We were there Oct 2007- it is amazing !!!! Gail

Thanks Skipper for your input. glad to hear you were not disappointed. That makes me feel great. i had not looked into the Uniworld line...now I have another to bookmark . i was surprised to see many lines include airfare as well as excursions. And thanks for the heads up regarding headphones instead of small groups. i had read about the headphones. i am so pleased.... but overwhelmed to look at all the choices. i need to read more about Europe to make some decisions about where we would want to go. What time of year did you go? Gail