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Hector: If I don't get another couple by tomorrow when I leave for Newark, I will call Freedom Tours and sign us up for the 10-14 van. We will connect on the EOS and I'll let you know any changes to our plans. Toni

Thanks, Martha. Hopefully we will be able to meet on the seas one day. Thanks for the well wishes! Toni

Debbie, so sorry to hear of your loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Toni

MaryLou: Yes, we will definitely get cheesecake also. One of my favs. Howard: I love musicals and know I will thoroughly enjoy my first Broadway experience. Glad to know others have enjoyed it; we are very much looking foward to it. Looking forward to the nice weather and seeing all these new sites will be enjoyable. Thanks for all the Bon Voyages, everyone!

Debbie, I am TOTALLY looking for GREEN, instead of desert brown, and won't even be upset if we get rain... we rarely, if ever get those here. I am even happily packing my rain coat and umbrella. LOL. For us, we are leaving in 5 days and flying into Newark and spending the next day in NYC. We will be eating wonderful "deli" sandwiches at "The Carnegie Deli" and then walking over to the Gershwin Theatre to see "Wicked". After that... we will fly by the seat of our pants!

Thanks for the weathercast, MaryLou. I was looking up those 10 day forecasts also to get a better idea of what to pack. I just need to find the right clothes in my house because we are still wearing sandals, tank tops, shorts. My daughter told me to get out my jeans and I looked at her like I've never heard that term before.... LOL... I'll be working on it. I'm sure I'll be packed by Monday night, since we fly into Newark on Tuesday. I will enjoy every "cool", "green", rainy(??? maybe) moment on the trip. I better pack a couple umbrellas! Les's tux is cleaned and pressed, if only I could get the same done with my dresses... Have a nice cruise, Howard. We hope you have fair weather and a lovely time!

Thanks for your help with packing, everyone! Sounds like I don't need my babushka or gloves this year. We were just in WI last week and with higher humidity, we seem to stay warmer. My sister was actually cold and she lives there. Hahaha. I'll watch the weather internet site to see what they forecast when it goes closer to us leaving. We are packing for my father-in-law's funeral this week. He passed away this morning. It's only been a month since he was diagnosed with the Stage 4 cancer. When we get back, I will just leave the suitcase out and add a couple more! We are definitely getting to the final countdown. Can't wait to meet everyone! Hi MaryLou! Good to see you checking in and being such a great member to our booster club! Hope you and Jim are doing well at this point. Great news about the shrinking of the tumor. We'll keep praying and hope it will continue shrinking. Rose, glad you made it back and that you had a great anniversary cruise. What a Mr. Nice Guy you are married to.

Are you all packing and getting ready for our cruise??? I'm at least thinking about which suitcases to bring. Wonder how cool it will get in the Northeast.... Do I need a stocking cap and gloves? The high in July in Halifax was supposed to be about 67 degrees. Sweatshirts and sweatpants? Sweaters? Any of you who have been there before, can you let us know what kind of clothes to pack? Thanks for your help!

Looks like a winner! Enjoy.

If he doesn't need a jacket, he definitely won't wear one. What did you wear to Chops? Is Portofino's about the same? Good luck, shopping, Rose! Hope you find something you like at a price you like! I'm waiting to see what the weather is like. I have a couple long dresses I wear when it is a bit warmer... usually for the Caribbean, but if it's still mild, I may bring them. I'm just getting excited to be able to pack a suitcase soon!

Regarding suit and tux. Les has a tux but I don't know if he'll bring a suit too since we're going to Portofinos and the men have to wear a suit jacket. Regarding long or short dress.. it just depends what I fit into that week....LOL... I have a calf length cocktail dress, a long black one, a calf length sparkly gown I wore for my daughter's wedding and I have velvet pants and a sparkly long sleeve top. I will have to see what the weather will be like on the internet about a week before we sail to see which ones to pack. Of course, I'm all for buying something new if I find a great sale!!

39 DAYS!!!! Luggage tags arrived this week. Whoppee! We made reservations for Portofino's the first night. It's usually not very crowded that night because everyone is touring the ship and those traveling all day are really tired. We made reservations at Portofino the first night. It's usually not crowded. Most people are settling in and forget about the specialty restaurant that night. We found that to be true on other cruise lines as well. So, we took advantage of the opportunity. Our reservations are at 7 p.m. We also made excursion reservations for the Maine Foodie Tour in Portland. It is a walking tour and you have a tour guide and stop at various venues and taste their wares. That's at 10:30 a.m. Lasts a couple hours. We're also considering the lobster boat tour there. I'm going to check on that today. We will be in NYC at the broadway play on Wednesday but we have tickets for the matinee at 2 p.m. I guess it lasts a couple hours. If we aren't meeting for dinner somewhere that night, we'll probably eat in NYC and then catch a train/subway/bus back to our hotel. I just want to know how everyone is getting to the cruise terminal on Thursday and what time you are going? I have a few phone numbers for reservations by independent drivers or companies but just wanted to know what everyone else is doing. Also, what time would you recommend we go to the cruise terminal? The tickets say 2 p.m. but I know most other cruise lines start earlier. What do you RCI people recommend?

Hi everyone, Yes, Les and I would still be interested in Portofino, since we've never been on this ship. Also, the 21st is fine for a quiet day for us, too. Thanks for all your help with these details, Rose.

Hector and Debbie, thanks for the information on the Freedom Trail. Do you know how long it will take if we take one of the guided tours? We'd like to have time to eat in Boston, too, maybe at the sandwich place or another place. How do we get from the ship to the Boston Commons? I'm glad we are touring with some experienced people who know Boston! Any help is appreciated. Toni & Les

I'm having Les take a bit of time tomorrow to look into what to do where. We're under two months til Sail Away and we need to get in gear. Just too many interruptions the past few weeks with Les being so sick. He is finally on the mend! I got him to stay home these 2 extra days... miracles never cease. So, I gave him some "Honey Do's" for tomorrow. I want to look into a Whale Watching tour in Portland probably. I've been looking into Boston a bit. I don't know if we need any reservations for the Freedom Trail but I need to investigate further. I looked at the Royal Caribbean site tonight for their menus for Portofino and Chops. Their wine packages seem very pricey. Beringers White Zin... $138 for 5 bottles... that's crazy. We pay $19.99 for a six-pack at Costcos. They'll have to live without our business in that department. I told Les we'd have to drink in each of the ports... he said we'll just buy a bottle to drink before coming aboard again... LOL.

Lovely, lovely, lovely. That tour of Halifax has me more excited than ever! Thanks for the link, Rose. MaryLou, thanks for finding that for us! I got 2 new meds for Les last night. One was a stronger pain med which allowed him to make it through the night without a trip to emergency. Also a new antibiotic. He went back to the doctor today and they sent him for a scan. Nothing showed up on the scan. They "think" he might have passed a kidney stone already. However, he is still burning terribly and still in a lot of pain. He is scheduled to visit his doctor again on Monday. I'm encouraged just because this is the first day he has wanted to eat in three days! I'll keep you all informed. I'd like to whale watch somewhere. Anyone have any recommendations which port to do that in? Toni

Rose, I believe Les and I are scheduled to go with the Crazies that day. Don't remember what we're doing though in Halifax... tour, lunch??? I made reservations for Saint John, New Brunswick for a tour for Les & I, Hector, his wife, and Debbie and her husband. Hope I've got this right. It's late. Please excuse me if I make mistakes tonight. Les has been sick this whole week, gone to Dr., had fever, chills, has some type of UTI has not slept since a bit Mon. nite, and is in excruciating pain. I just picked up new meds tonight. If this doesn't work, we'll have to go to emergency. Rose, I'll send you shuttle service numbers when you decide on the hotel and it gets a bit closer to the date. Congrats on a wonderful surprise cruise for your 27th anniversary! What a great guy you must be married to for all those years. I'm sure we'll get all the details worked out in the next few weeks. Looking forward to meeting everyone. Toodles!

Rose, I believe Les and I are scheduled to go with the Crazies that day. Don't remember what we're doing though in Halifax... tour, lunch??? I made reservations for Saint John, New Brunswick for a tour for Les & I, Hector, his wife, and Debbie and her husband. Hope I've got this right. It's late. Please excuse me if I make mistakes tonight. Les has been sick this whole week, gone to Dr., had fever, chills, has some type of UTI has not slept since a bit Mon. nite, and is in excruciating pain. I just picked up new meds tonight. If this doesn't work, we'll have to go to emergency. Rose, I'll send you shuttle service numbers when you decide on the hotel and it gets a bit closer to the date. Congrats on a wonderful surprise cruise for your 27th anniversary! What a great guy you must be married to for all those years. I'm sure we'll get all the details worked out in the next few weeks. Looking forward to meeting everyone. Toodles!

Hi everyone, Just wanted you to know that the Country Inn & Suites by Carlson are in the same area that the Residence Inn and I believe a Courtyard by Marriott is in the same area too. Country Inn rates have been very good lately too. We had to do a coin toss. Hope you all get want you are looking for. I've been more frantic about getting a shuttle from the hotel to the cruise terminal. Got some good info and I'll see if it all pans out.

Thanks for the review, Rose. I'd love to take my grand kids on this ship. Sounds like a winner!

Yes, Hector, there is a website. www.samlagrassas.com. You can do a pickup order. Might be fun. Do you know if we dock at the Black Falcon cruise terminal in Boston? I believe there is another one also.

Welcome back, Rose! Hope you had a great time. We'll be anxious to read details. I know you and MaryLou are close and you'll help us all to have a great time!

Yes, it was on this weekend, Rose. It's a sandwich place. They also make homemade clam chowder. They are only open at lunch 11 to 3:30. Sounds like a fun place for lunch!