1shipshape

You are going to be keeping me pretty busy, I see. Sounds great! I do want to catch that ice skating show everyone talks about and get on the ice myself... if my back is good at that point. I love to play games! Maybe they have Sequence or Rummikub. I play all kinds of them. Great idea, Debbie!

I've never done a slot pull. Sounds like a great experience! Make a Wish Walk... do we do that on board the ship or in our local area? I've never seen it done, so more info, please. Howard and Cindy: Wishing you congratulations on your son's upcoming wedding. Hopefully we will get to meet you onboard in the future. Keep us posted!

Anything you have in mind for me to help with this shindig... let the planning begin!

Thanks, Keith! Hope this works. Now, how can I get rid of all the crazy Red X images where there should be pictures? You're the best! Even my IT hubby couldn't help me out. Toni

Just finished viewing the great photos of the Explorer. Thanks, Mary Lou. I am even more excited now. Can't wait to get on board and explore the Explorer! I know there are some experts who have sailed the Explorer and can tell us about all the nooks and crannies.

Thank you so much for your review. We appreciate it so much. Great details for anyone doing a northern Europe cruise! Also, this was a pleasant NCL review to read instead of many that are not so pleasant on that cruise line. Thanks again!

Now that most of the travel agencies no long supply cruise tags, do you wait to get to the port to get yours and then just fill it in by hand?

Ok, how do I get my "cruise ticker" to work here?

MaryLou, Thanks for the info about the skating rink. I will be sure to bring pants... I trust sweat pants for ice skating and definitely socks will be in my suitcase. I always bring them for hiking.

Hello Souxieque! You are a well seasoned cruiser. Welcome to Cruise Crazies. You might be able to help us out on a lot of information many of us are looking for on the various cruise lines, various ships, ports of call, etc. Join us on "The Daily Dock" if you get a chance. We'd like to hear more from you. I see you have an upcoming cruise with Carnival. Enjoy!

Sounds great, Ed! Do you speak Italian? I have been on the gondola ride at the Venetian... nice. I would like to join in on the singing of "O Sole Mio"... I know you are all laughing at my spelling. Can't wait to hear what you think of the Ruby. We've never done Princess yet. Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Carnival. My friends only take Celebrity. How long is that flight over there?

I think the expensive part is the air fare and that only continues to get worse... they are nickel and diming us to death! Even though we are within a day's driving distance to San Diego or Los Angeles, we are not too thrilled to only be able to go to Mexico. We wish there were more Pacific Coast cruises on all the cruise lines from San Diego that stop at Monterey, San Francisco, Portland, OR, Seattle and then south again. Even if it went to Vancouver... our cruises have stopped in Victoria many times and there is only so much to see in Victoria... how about some other port?

Oh that is SOOOO lovely, Howard! 40s sounds a bit on the cold side for us. Do you think I will need my babushka, gloves, scarf, and long undies????

I still have to fly all the way from Phoenix to get to Seattle or Anchorage or Vancouver to do the Alaskan cruise again. We just don't live close enough to any port that goes where we want to go... somewhere cooler... and a chance or rain, maybe. We don't mind since we only get a handful of days with some precipitation. Looking forward to our next Alaskan cruise, a Land/Sea tour hopefully in 2012 for our 20th Anniversary!

I'll ask my friend who sails exclusively with Celebrity and see what she says. I think they have mainly stayed in suites so I'm not sure if she can help you out, but I'll ask.

Thanks for your review. We wouldn't care for those photos either. Especially with our grandchildren on board with us. Sounds like you had a fun time in the Caribbean!

Sounds wonderful! Some day maybe the suite will be our home away from home, like yours. Alaska was our first cruise and we totally fell in love with cruising! We hiked by Mendenhall Glacier and saw a mother bear with two cubs. We hiked up on Mt. Roberts in Juneau and also saw many whales on our whale watching excursion including one breeching right next to our boat! We like to do the repositioning ones also. Just like you said, cheaper and you get more bang for your buck. I'm glad you posted your review about NCL. Yours is one of the first positive ones I've read so it gave us a different perspective. Maybe it's because you had a suite. It might have made all the difference.

Oh me, Oh my... MaryLou, I just read all the information on each of the ports you have posted already and I am so excited I am frothing at the bit. Thank you so much for taking the time to write all of this information and post it for us! I know we will be giving you many more thank yous for doing all of this planning. I am sure we will be gathering more Crazies who will be joining us as time goes on. I'm excited about the new look for the t-shirts! I think VP of Wardrobe is a great designation for our designer! Thanks for doing that for us, Howard. Also, thanks to Hector for introducing me to my color entries! I don't want to spend too much time getting excited about New England/Canada right at the moment because it might take away from my starry eyes for our Eastern Caribbean cruise this November. Martinis: Hmmmmm... I have not had the pleasure of enjoying many, but DH has some recipes and he has tried concocting some of the chocolate ones at home. His first attempts were so strong that it was like pure 100% alcohol. Then he modified them. Not too shabby. Actually enjoyable. I would like to try many of the other flavors you all have mentioned. Maybe I better have DH take out that recipe book and our martini glasses and get busy!!!! Toni

Ooooohhhhhh! Aaaaaahhhhhh! Fireworks are exploding in my taste buds in anticipation of that sweet lobster. I've read about many people renting cars to go to L.L.Bean. Do you think it's worth the trip? I've also heard about lobster rolls. I'm unfamiliar with this territory so if you've eaten these, would you please explain what they are? Just the quaintness of the towns is going to be amazing.

I am SO EXCITED I am jumping into my hiking shoes right now! My mouth is also doing the salavating trick due to all that lobster info. We did whale watching in AK and had one breech right next to the boat. Hopefully we will get to see some in Bar Harbor, Maine!

Nature is sooooo amazing, don't you agree? Can't wait to see all these spectacular water events!

International territory for us! Can't wait to explore it. Would love to get some good pics of the lighthouse at Peggy's Cove. People always called my mom "Peggy" even though her legal name was "Margaret".

I'm looking forward to speaking with the locals to hear their Bostonian accents!!! Also, I read that you can get some of the BEST lobster lunch and dinner deals any where on the coast. Hiking some of the trail sounds great especially before the lobster to work up an appetite and after the lobster to work it off.

Since we live away from the East Coast, we haven't done much of the Caribbean. The other factor for us is that we live in warm and sunshine year round so we like to venture to cooler places. I have looked into the Northern Europe cruises to Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia... cooler climates. Some day, though, I have always dreamed of visiting Switzerland and Vienna, Austria. My husband would like to do the Panama Canal and Australia, New Zealand.. I would love Hawaii. I'm looking forward to another cruise and land tour to Alaska in the next couple years. We've only done Eastern and Western Caribbean. I know there is so much more to explore.

Best wishes to all who are sailing this week. Sending you blue skies and calm winds and smooth sailing. Let us know the details upon your return.