Heartgrove

Good for you. One of our favorite ships, especially if Captain O'Driscoll is at the helm.

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Eva, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! @superoma Eva, our condolences for your father. Stay Safe! - Jack

Just an FYI for those that may be booking a hotel on their own. We were in Venice for a week last October and had planned on staying at the Hotel NH Collection on Murano but decided instead on a hotel on the Fondamenta Cannaregio. Good thing as one morning the fog was so thick that the vaporettos were not traveling to Murano or Burano until late morning. I am sure the fog affected visitors arriving or departing from hotels on those islands.

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Eva, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Woke up a bit earlier today. Sam has been fed and a trip outside. Now he is bugging for his daily walk. That seems to be a dog's favorite activity. Even Juno on the morning yjat we put her down still went for her morning walk. Off we go! Stay Safe! - Jack

We sailed on the Legend in January happy to not need to fly to a cruiseport. Prior to that sailing we also booked one of the two Legend cruises to Greenland this year. But after January's cruise we cancelled our cruise to Greenland for August. Not that it was bad as we had a good time. We just could not see sailing seven sea days with little to no activities, and then the first two ports in Greenland not having any excursions available. We have done previous cruises with many consecutive sea days including a Transatlantic but have been able to enjoy onboard activities. I am not familiar with the Epic but I am going to make a suggestion that will probably be pooh-poohed. I suggest looking at MSC cruises from Italy and that includes price. It is a completely different experience than MSC sailing from Florida. Being 4 star on HAL, the Legend felt comfortable with it's similar layout. But last October we sailed on the MSC Splendida from Genoa. We enjoyed it so much that we have a MSC cruise this September from Hamburg to the British Isles on a sistership, and plan on booking two different B2B MSC cruises next year before our 2024 Transatlantic on HAL. Our travel to Europe is normally for 30-40 days.

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Eva, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Stay Safe! - Jack

It is still scheduled to sail from New York for 19 months before the move to Port Canaveral. A lot could change in that amount of time.

Thank you for the photos of Lyon. My wife and I passed through Lyon last year while taking trains from Venice to Barcelona to board our Transatlantic last October. It is a city that I would love to return to spend more than just an overnight stay.

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Eva, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! @StLouisCruisers Thank you Sandi for starting us off each day these past few weeks! @aliaschief Happy Anniversary! We are considering a cruise next year before our 2024 Rotterdam Transatlantic that calls on Tunis. I'm trying to plan an additional cruise (or two) in the Med plus about a week in Italy before heading North to The Netherlands. A lot of variables which include how long we will be gone enter into the equation. #1 consideration at that point will be Sam. The vet will see him next month on a home visit because it is too hard on him to get into the car now. He has good days like today where he is peppy but then a day like last week where he fell down a portion of our stairs to the lower level. Stay Safe! - Jack

It appears that the Nieuw Amsterdam has a gap for not sailing October 28, 2023 to November 18, 2023. That would place your cruise right after the drydock. Like others have said before on this topic, the interior work may not be completed so some areas may be off limits. We sailed on the Nieuw Amsterdam right before the 2017 drydock on a five-day cruise to Nassau. No problems with that except the workers started tearing up the elevator lobby and stair carpeting at around 10:00 pm on the last night.

Thank you Sandi, thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Eva, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! @Cruzin Terri Prayers for Jim and his surgery. "Little Mini White Bites" is another nickname for White Castles. There isn't a White Castles nearby so every trip to Chicago I try to make a stop at one for 6-8 of them. Likewise for Sue although she prefers Culver's Pot Roast Sandwich. Add to this are stops for a dipped Italian Beef and square sliced Chicago Pizza. Stay Safe! - Jack

Good. There should be some modicum of style.

Thank you Sandi, thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Eva, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Happy Mother's Day to those who are moms! Stay Safe! - Jack

Probably a lot of vibration and movement being that far back. Those two odd-shaped staterooms with the bed on a 45 degree angle are different for motion.

Thank you Sandi, thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Eva, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Stay Safe! - Jack

Although not an Aft stateroom, we were on the Carnival Legend (sistership to the Spirit) in January with an adjoining stateroom (6239/6243) traveling with DSIL. We asked to have the balcony divider opened - but then had it closed that same day. Unlike HAL ships that we are accustomed to with three divider panels that only one folds onto the other, the Legend's panel was one piece that when opened blocked a good part of the railing.

The final payment date is on your booking confirmation documents, not your online account.

Thank you Sandi, thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Eva, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! The train museum that I am a member of had it's annual fund raiser this past Sunday. Sort of no surprise that I started feeling a bit under the weather yesterday and was hoping it was just a continuation of my East Coast allergies. Never had any when I lived in Illinois! I did take a COVID test which thankfully was negative, and no fever. Not feeling much better today so hopefully just a regular cold. I'll do another COVID test tomorrow to verify. Stay Safe! - Jack

We sailed aboard the Nieuw Statendam in 2019 on a 20-day Mediterranean Collector Voyage. I cannot remember the menus repeating plus the food was very good- and we would have loved to stay aboard for another 20 days! This was unlike my Coast Guard days where the cutter had two cooks onboard that alternated 24 on - 24 off. One cook was good while the other was really, really bad.

Thank you Sandi, thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Eva, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Stay Safe! - Jack

It was played on the MSC Splendida after we embarked while leaving Genoa. It made our first MSC cruise that much more memorable!

Thank you Sandi, thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Eva, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Stay Safe! - Jack

Perhaps HAL should be more proactive advocating expected behavior on holiday cruises with young passengers. They certainly know the demographics of the bookings and could send out an email to targeted passengers regarding expected behavior. Just think of all the emails we receive each week from HAL! One more might help a bit. That was terrible that the crew was to "just grin and bear it." There was just a recent posting on the MSC forum about a weekend cruise how rude passengers were yelling at the MSC crew. And they wondered why the crew wasn't happy!

We sailed on MSC for the first time in Europe last October and will be on the MSC Preziosa in September. Actually planning for two more next year (MSC Euribia and MSC Poesia ?) before our HAL Transatlantic! traveling home. It took me two years to convince DW that we should give it a try. For the first cruise we were in YC but will be trying Fantastica this time. Like previously mentioned by others we enjoy the interaction with the crew and passengers in Europe. In fact the YC dining room staff mentioned that we were so much more friendly than the typical European passenger, and had lengthy conversations with the YC director. After reading about what seems to be a difference wuth the US sailings aboard MSC ships, I may stick with our primary cruise company for US sailings.

Thank you Sandi, thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Eva, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Stay Safe! - Jack