raven82

Had my 2nd Moderna 8 days ago and other than being just a little tired (and that might not have been from the Vaccine, traveled to see Granddaughters the week before the shot) it was like I didn't even take a Vaccine. Very Easy. Wife had her Pfizer 2 nine days ago and same thing. Both very easy (we are 65) Ready to Cruise in August.

In 4 weeks we will be going on our MSC Cruise New York, Bermuda, Europe. Not stopping our 2-3 Cruises a year pace.  I question the way this issue is being pumped. 

That's the way to Roll Dancer Bob, we'll start traveling like that once my wife fully retires, for now it's 2-3 Cruises a year.

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It was cold and heavy rain in Marseille but it's still France and we dove into it and they cancelled Malta but we'll use that as a good reason to take the same cruise again. We never travel overseas in the summer and we've had cold and rain in London, Paris, Dublin, Beijing, Hamburg etc. and we will take that every time over the heat and crowds in the summer.

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Hi tenpin,

We had a great time on The Costa Mediterranea even with some rain cold and rough seas that come with Cruising The Med in early March, no big deal. Going to do an Adriatic Cruise probably with Costa next. Love how Costa is everything Italian.

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Got it [emoji106]🏻 you know your Drum Corps. I was with The General Butler Vagabonds in the 60s & 70s and was surprised to see The SCV logo. (The 27th Lancers is my all time favorite but love SCV and The Cavaliers too among others)

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Looking to take public transportation to Harvard from Black Falcon.Any suggestions would be appreciated

Just wanted to ask you Tony after seeing your Avatar where you with The Santa Clara Vanguard?

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We do not have cable, we have no contract cell phones, do not drink or smoke. We fix almost everything ourselves. We do not eat out (okay occasionally but it's rare) and we just do not spend money on much of anything else. No private schools for the kids, no starbucks, we drive our cars for as long as they will go (one on 6 years and one on 11 years now and looks like it has another 11 in it. God bless honda.), no country clubs or fitness memberships (just excercise outside)-- but most people do not live like this. Most people trade in their cars every three years and end up with huge car payments every month. Sure, new cars are nice and so is eating at restaurants, but we have decided to cruise instead and everyone has a right to spend their money how they darn well please. And when people make comments to us about cruising 3 or 4 times a year I also find it super annoying. "I don't say wow you traded in you three year old infiniti suv for a new acura suv, how do you afford it?"

Going out to EAT is like torture for my wife and I no matter where we go, we learned a long time ago that Eating Out Increases Your Waistline while Decreasing Your Bank Account. Even if it was Free we still wouldn't do it except our Kids and other Family and Friends enjoy it so we go along with it when we have to. We hit the Buffet on any Ship we are on and then head for the Dance Classes, Games, Concerts, Exercise Classes and other Activities. And one more thing, not only do we not blow a bunch of money "Dining" we always weigh a few pounds less when we get

home after every Cruise and every Vacation. (We do like our German Cars but we buy what we can pay cash for)

Wow, we were so lucky. We boarded the Mediterranea on March 10 and had great weather every day. Malta is definitely a place to go to, so I hope it works out for you next time. We also liked Costa and would definitely use them again if they have an itinerary we like.

And yes, I got used to the Italian way of things...I can't drink regular coffee anymore, it tastes like warm dish water...I bought an espresso machine and some Illy coffee :)

We were really looking forward to Malta because as kids we always heard about The Malta Conference, The Maltese Falcon etc so it was this mysterious place we wanted to see. We just did a 2nd day in Palermo which we also really liked and now we have an excuse to take COSTA again and this time pick up Malta. We've been on brand new ships like Ovation of The Seas and some new Carnival ships but The Mediterranea was that unique fun European style Cruise that we really loved.

We just finished a Med Cruise and are now going to do an Adriatic and Baltic Cruise, keep us posted especially about St. Petersburg that we are really looking forward to seeing.

South Korea RCL Ovation of The Seas

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We were on The Costa Mediterranea last month and it was cold, rainy and rough seas that actually prevented us from going down to Malta BUT We will go with COSTA again without thinking twice. COSTA was fun, full of life, great shows and Very Italian. We will take Costa religiously every Winter/Spring to get a good dose of Italy right after Chinese New Year and before we go to England and Spain each year 🇨[emoji1182]🇹 🇺[emoji1215][emoji1045]🇸

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Living in the New York City area we've taken visiting family or friends out to dinner and to a Broadway Show and then we realized that every 2 times we do that we pretty much have the price of a 7 Day Cruise for both of us. Cruises are more fun, the food and entertainment are just as good and we don't have to sit in our car in Saturday night NY traffic and listen to someone tell us that the Broadway Show, Restaurant and Drinks were.......OK.

We go on 2 Cruises a year now and once we are fully Retired we'll go on 4-5 a year, like many here we don't waste money and always worked hard and really believed in 401Ks for decades at our jobs. We went 13 years one time without ever taking a Vacation. Cruising is just like Exercising, Eating Your Vegetables, Starting your Own Business, Running a Marathon, Watching Public TV, Learning a Language or going to the Top of The Eiffel Tower, 92% Dream about it and Talk about it and 8% do it.

I had a similar incident as BRUIN STEVE, we ended up on a Green Bay Packers fans/players cruise. Apparently they sail Freedom of the Seas (or at least used to, not sure if they still do) every year after football season. Not a big issue but we are HUGE Chicago Bears fans. It was even worse that year since they had won the Super Bowl. On the plus side I did get to see a Super Bowl ring up close which was pretty cool.

 

 

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Grew up in Pittsburgh but owned a business in Green Bay for 27 years and always liked the unique old NFL relationship Bear & Packer Fans had, Chicago fans visiting Lambeau Field always knew to buy the Packer fan on your left and right a beer during the 1st Quarter then you made a friend and drank free for the rest of the game no matter who won. Same rule when Packer fans go to Soldier Field.

No theme cruise stories yet but was one of 5 Westerners on an all Chinese Cruise on RCL The Ovation of The Seas and loved everything about it. Favorite Cruise so far.

2016 October, yes it was in the industrial port but there are a few shops selling tourist souvenirs and alongside there were taxis. We wanted to go into Marseilles and got a very grumpy driver who was telling us how awful it was lots of refugees and showing us photos on his phone of Aix etc and how pretty that was.. all whilst driving very fast out of the port.

 

 

 

He muttered to himself all the way into town, which was lovely and not full of refugees at all as we well knew

 

 

 

We got the taxi as the port shuttle was one every so often (hourly?) and whilst we sere 10 minutes ahead of time they said they had left because it was full.

You're right No Refugees in Marseille, in fact it is a very nice French Port City. We loved everything about it. (Thanks for the great advice before our Cruise)

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Been to London several times and went to most that has been listed on this subject but the most enjoyable early morning was when I ventured out to see Abbey Road Studios, did the Beatle Crossing and then went to The Imperial War Museum and had lunch with what I think were older local residence that just liked the museum restaurant. Visited London a few times in the 1990's and liked the city but for some reason London last year seemed much more enjoyable and welcoming. Very Impressive (Somebody said dusk was perfect for going on The London Eye, Totally Agree and The London Eye is a Must.)

Last week on The Costa Mediterranea we had to cancel our Malta stop but the seas were rough and it was understandable. Extra Day in Palermo and now we have an excuse to go back and pick up Malta on our next Cruise. Dissapointed but that's Cruising, The Sea and Mother Nature. Loved the Cruise just the same. My 5th Wife's 4th

One thing my wife just pointed out is that eating even a small amount of yogurt every breakfast can greatly reduce or eliminate stomach and GI problems. She is a Food Safety Scientist PhD so I take her advice plus we have never been sick while traveling all these years.

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We stayed at Chick n Basic near The Christopher Columbus Statue which is also the bus stop to the Ships. Hotel is clean and stylish in an Andy Warhol kind of way with a great breakfast and perfect coffee. Nice Staff too.

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I force myself to be patient with other Travelers and I know that I do something stupid once in awhile but the ONE thing I just can't be patient with is people that get in The Buffet Line (which we use a lot because we are not on the cruise to spend hours dining) and they hold 35 people up by taking forever to decide if they want this item and take a step and take forever for the next item. If they are not sure if they want carrots or green beans they should go to the back of the line and use that 20 minutes to figure out which one they want or call a family member back home for some advice. Very annoying and inconsiderate, maybe it's because of my Army Days but I always try to be considering of the other hungry people in line behind me so I move with a purpose.

On Cruises when it is warm or not frigid cold I go out about 5am on the balcony and listen to my radio (I don't care if I can't understand plus the music cool) watch other ships go by and look at the lights on the Coast of other Countries. Then lay a towel on the balcony floor and do Yoga and my Push Ups as the Sun comes up. Favorite Moment was on The East China Sea (Ovations of The Sea RCL) while doing my exercises at sunrise a Korean Fishing Boat goes by and the fellow old early bird guy on that boat was doing his morning workout too, we both laughed and waved to each other. "Brothers Forever" These are the little moments that keep me signing up for future Cruises.

We're both 61 and we pay even closer attention to getting to bed early, eating right and not missing our Vitamins about a week before we Travel and we are even more fanatical if we are going on a Cruise. So far it has worked. I think we have to be Travel/Cruise Athletes and prep ourselves to be as strong as possible before we take on these Trips thousands of miles from home.

In Central New Jersey I just finished doing our driveway. Five days ago we were on the Costa Mediterranea out of Barcelona. It was great all you have to do is understand that it is an Italian Company and then roll with it. Rough seas 2 nights and Malta was cancelled because of rough seas. Can't complain about 2 days in Palermo. To us Barcelona is the 3rd best City in Europe just behind London and Paris.

Has anyone cruised into Marseille on Costa (we are on the Mediterranea) recently and do they have a shuttle bus into the city or do you just follow the green walk also with Costa?