bennybear

Thanks for taking us along! Sounds like you had really lovely weather. I’m slow reading so wanted to respond about some of the ports. We really enjoyed visiting the fortress in Hakkodate and enjoyed the very fresh crab for lunch. It’s a short reasonable taxi ride.

Good morning and thanks all! @seagarsmoker Bon Voyage! @Heartgrove glad you went to urgent care, you don’t want an anaphylactic reaction! @cruising sister hoping little Murphy holds her own! @aliaschief wondering what flavours, lol! @luvteaching and @kazu hugs, love the caring sharing! We were blessed with some swans.

As always with Insurance the devil is in the details. We just got a new card that only requires 70% of the trip to be charged to it, for cancellation insurance. So that may be helpful in the future. But we always have a year round medical coverage that has trip interruption and cancellation as well. @Haljo1935 that dinner looks wonderful!

Lol! Great minds think alike! I even like the duck wraps at Boots in LHR. But best of all was the ramen bar and sushi chef at the ANA lounge in Narita

The Trulli are very cool. We had the pleasure to stay in one. As is Matera and a visit to a Masseria. In Bari itself, there are ladies who make orchiette, a hand made pasta that is delicious.

Good morning and thanks all! Really appreciate all the wonderful photos of the port, although some aren’t loading for some reason. @grapau27 happy birthday, Graham! @tupper10 agree with your sentiments and that song. I also echo your suggestion to: @Cruzin Terriyears ago, we had a similar response from Amex when they said a flight cancellation due to a fire in the Rome airport would not be covered. DH insisted they send us the forms and surprise they paid our claim. Sometimes it’s worth pursuing as the first answer of no is designed to put people off. The eagles and swans are back on the river, hope to get some closeups later with the big camera. IMG_3168.mov

The pretzels are good!

I agree, people have trouble finding things as it is. They can choose to read all, some or none. But it’s nice to have one place with so much good information. I appreciate bring consulted.

Also try really hard to see the Gallery Borghese, this small museum has the most amazing sculptures. You do need a reservation. We have found more authentic restaurants by avoiding those with multiple language menus, and asking locals. There’s a great thread on CC about all things food and wine, that you may find useful.

Lol! Even our DGD has to have truffle salt🤷‍♀️

Coming from Canada, West jet has direct flights from Calgary to Paris and Barcelona. So you could fly into Paris and take the train or a low cost flight to Nice. We really like the area around Aix en Provence. And as we also love Italy, we throughly enjoyed Imperia. We actually find the food and wine even better in Italy. We love Greece and the islands and have spent several months there, a cruise only gives you a tiny glimpse. We tend to plan trips that involve less moving locations, so would also recommend a week perhaps in Crete. You can get low cost flights from many places in Europe, recommend Chania or Aghios Nikolas.

And then there’s FRA and CDG😂. I’ll take LHR as long as it’s terminal 5

We stay in a lot of suite hotels, Hilton, Marriott brands have all had microwaves. I think some here seriously underestimate popcorn addiction. But for me the bagged stuff doesn’t cut it, I need real butter, preferably Irish and Italian black truffle salt…. But on a cruise my tastebuds are usually happy.

Enjoy Rome! Visit Campo di Fiori and wander a little further for some nice restaurants!

Good morning and thanks all! We visited Oban many years ago, DS needed to see a Dr and the RX was free, such are memories when travelling with children. It is a cute port that has the ferry to the isle of Skye. @ger_77 glad you are home safely, quite a rude introduction to winter especially when I see some dailylites with temps in the 80’s! @kochleffelsafe travels! I am so happy you are home safely, may the healing progress quickly. we have a friend having similar surgery in a week so that is very encouraging.

Thank you so much for all your hard work, I had a blast following along. But the food looks amazing in the tamarind, drool! I’m glad you are home, safe and sound with dear Ivan!

@Cruising-along sadly it is just from one day! Some parts of our city got over a foot! It’s normally plus 9 Celsius and it’s been minus 14. BRRR. I’m not used to it, but I put the down comforter in the bed and it’s cozy. @JazzyV so glad you had a thorough appointment. Praying they get to the bottom of things quickly so you can ditch this pain!

Good morning and thanks all! We had an interesting experience on St Lucia, jellyfish stings. @RedneckBob I used the local spiced rum applied topically and in under a week you couldn’t see the stings, DH applied internally, and his marks were still visible nearly a month later. @rafinmd sorry for your difficulties, I think Cancer is like playing the game Whack a mole! Just something I’ve always been told, to get your bone density at the same place due to the machines calibration. Don’t know if that’s different in the US? @kochleffelhope you do get that upgrade! They are hard to come by. @StLouisCruisers ooh on that chocolate orange! I think I see Seaborn in my future, lol!

I would! Don’t wait too long as they are first come, first served. Also have a deck plan available as you usually get a choice.

Good day and thanks all! @Overhead Fred happy birthday! @Seasick Sailor happy anniversary! @smitty34877 so sorry to hear Tana is not well, I too hope you can find some more normalcy and calm soon. Good news on the oil cleanup. @kazuwelcome home, sorry that it was such a mess and now another loss for you! Hugs. @dfish hope you can get an early date for your tests and surgery! @JazzyVi am so sorry to hear you are in so much pain! @cruising sisterhope you recover quickly from your shots, good news on the stress test. @Cruzin Terriglad you got an appointment! Always best to see your own doctor. @aliaschief Bon Voyage! Thanks for sharing your wonderful Montreal experience, I think it’s time for another visit! @Haljo1935safe travels tomorrow ! Hoping @ger_77is safe and sound, we’ve had nasty weather here. I’m just waiting for our new mattress to be delivered. A talented artist painted one of DH’s photos!

I posted this link above, but it seems many would prefer to speculate. Agree It’s always best to go to the source.

You meet them face to face

Good morning and thanks all! @Seasick Sailor thanks for seeking an answer. I too like the daily thread, I am wondering if for a good compromise they could not close it until the end of the following day. That would allow those who are not able to read until later to still comment without making the current one too confusing? Right now it’s closing pretty quickly in the morning. And remembering we have people from down under part of our group that don’t usually read until much later. And a few members on Hawaii time part of the year. @Vict0riannhappy birthday to your son, I too love Mexican mole sauce so that’s what I was thinking! Sorry about your DSIL, hope her insurance will cover her to postpone. @Cruzin Terri I am sorry for your disappointment, but in my experience it is better to wait until things improve and then the replacement trip has been even better. Hoping your DH feels better soon. Well we have the four letter word for our forecast today, Sigh!

With the aft wrap, you have the best real estate on the ship. I’d just enjoy that!