Haljo1935

You know, @RuthC I agree I am blessed!! It was interesting to see the changes, and there have been some, between visits. An area I was able to walk last time was fenced off this time and I'm sure there will be more. Happy to load you up with additional pics if you're interested.

Thanks for your support; it was disappointing, but we did have a lovely trip.💖 I think there are actually crackers on that plate, just stacked. Not that 2 is really much better in this case... I do have more pictures to post and appreciate you coming back to see them - sorry it's taking so long to get them all posted.😩

Looks like so far all "Takers," no "Leavers."

You can request the flight be ticketed. That request is sent to HAL and comes with some conditions, but you are allowed to do it.

Thank you. We will leave her in good condition for you.

Nov 3 we attended the wine tasting. It started slow, but I think every table they had set was full by the end. Nothing crazy or exciting. We did not go to the Italian one or the Premium one. Funny thing, a woman was pushing everyone so she could get in first. We ended up at her table where we had the pleasure of listening to her complain about the heat from the window. She moved all her glasses over in front of her husband to keep them out of the sun. Should have waited her turn and someone else would have gotten the baked wine.🙄 What's up with these lines and why can't I get rid of them?🤔

This was an anniversary cruise that had been delayed a couple times. We have celebrated different occasions (birthdays, anniversaries, vow renewal) while cruising w/HAL, so we knew to be sure the occasion was noted in our booking. While the bubbly isn't necessarily the best, the cake is great and together it's the gesture we appreciate. And who doesn't enjoy a massage at sea? Our dinner in the Pinnacle did not end with that fabulous chocolate cake - ok maybe it will show up in our cabin like DHs birthday cake earlier in the year. It did not, nor did we receive a spa gift card as we have in the past. We did receive this lovely message. Is this new for HAL or unique to this ship? Not saying it wasn't touching, but it kind of felt like a let down given our previous experiences. 20231107_140828.mp4

Nov 8 was to be Salerno, but the evening of the 7th we received word we would be going to Sorrento, a tender port, instead. This was the 2nd port change to our itinerary; the 1st being Split, Croatia substituted for Olympia, Greece. We had an excursion booked for Pompeii and since DH was so disappointed when Olympia was canceled, I really wanted Pompeii to happen. We scrambled to reach the tour operator to advise them of the port change and get confirmation they would meet us at the new port. We finally heard from them early the morning of the tour, so tender ticket line, here we come - we're going to Pompeii!! We got #5 which put us on the 2nd tender; 1-3 were called in one group and 4&5 in the next one. Our weather forecast was not ideal for an outdoor excursion, but if the operator didn't cancel, we weren't either. From our vantage point on our balcony, it seems there's a sliver of clearness trying to pop through the clouds. As you'll see, the day cleared nicely. Hello, Sorrento! Why don't I take this picture at every port? Do all the cars in Sorrento look like this? Look at the red foliage coming down the cliff - so cool. The building at the top is not fully compete. There are a lot of buildings like that. After waiting for 2 people that didn't show, we were finally ready to go. We're going to Pompeii!! It's kinda a "pinch me" moment as DH was not w/me when I went a few years ago and he has wanted to go as long as I've known him (more than 30 years). A very short walk to the van and we're off - to Pompeii. 🤭 I have so many pictures of my own plus what DH took; if I over edit and you want to see something, just ask. We paid the tour company when we booked to cover the transportation, driver and local guide and had to bring cash euros for Pompeii; that portion was 19eu pp. We paid our local guide who gave the money to the Pompeii guide; she bought us skip-the-line tickets and we said goodbye to our local guide, who we met back up with later. Our new-for-now guide led us through the entrance then took us off to the side to give an overview of what was planned and show us a map of the full site and which portion we would see. There is so much still not excavated (about 1/3); what we saw was only a small part of the other 2/3. I think she said we saw 10%. We came out (ended our tour) at about the same place we started except higher so we were looking down on the location where our trek had begun. Original "graffiti " etched in the walls at the theater - the color is original - isn't it amazing?! This is not original - it was a gift. Men's bath house w/original frescos (they may not be as vibrant in my pics, but they were incredible). We saw a multi room house with gardens. This would have been the lower level w/another level above the columns, making this a large house. Some of the streets have marks in them, kinda of like an address. The streets weren't named, so markers were sometimes used to identify certain buildings. These are the original streets; the sidewalks are not original. I wasn't able to get the front of it - this is a well/fountain in the middle of a street where people would get water. There are grooves worn in the sides from the ropes lowering & raising the water buckets. Again, the streets (large stones) are original. Even on a rainy off-season day, the crowds still flock to Pompeii. Our guide shows renderings to help us visualize key buildings. This is a cast, not actual remains. This is an adult female, so it showcases how small the people were and how horrific their deaths were. She appears to be trying to cover her mouth. The ash and lapilli (pebbles) are original. Apologies they're not cropped. Excavation is happening everywhere, but overall it is very slow. There's so much to do and it's expensive. Now there is concern that the recovered areas are eroding due to exposure to the elements and human traffic whereas the uncovered remains are still protected, so perhaps some areas may stay unearthed in order to protect them. Anything wood is a reproduction. This column is original pre-dating 79AD. This is on the wall of the bookstore - I don’t know if it represents something. You can go on your own to Pompeii, but I liked having a live guide (vs self guided) who can answer questions and adjust the tour, if necessary. For me, it's all incredible to see, but wouldn't mean as much if I didn't know what I was looking at or had no one to ask questions of. I wouldn't go w/o a guide and I sure wouldn't go unless I could skip-the-line; that was worth 19eu. Our tour lasted about 2.5 hours; it was supposed to be 2 hours. The tour we booked was Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast and Positano. The full day was scheduled for 8 hours. Some in our group were anxious about making the tender so we cut the day a little short. We also lost some up front waiting for the 2 passengers that did not show. Some of the time we lost could have been used to get souvenirs at Pompeii, even 15 min would have been nice, but we went straight back to the van. Pictures of the Amalfi Coast & Sorrento will be in a separate post; Positano has been posted. Hey, y'all - I went to Pompeii and it was fabulously amazing!! I would like to go to Herculaneum.

Yes, I'm sure they had some long days. They are very talented. It would have been great fun to have a contest with the passengers voting. I wanted to get these out before Thanksgiving and am excited to see what they give us then.

It was real!! I wish we could have gotten a better picture. During one trip through, it had a piece cut out.

Salerno was canceled and Sorrento substituted on Nov 8. We went to Pompeii, which I'll cover in a separate post, and made the drive to Positano, but only stopped at the lookout. It was beautiful. The day started clouded over and rainy, but sure turned out to give us a beautiful blue sky. On the way, we saw this carved tree with a sign for the WWF. I don’t know if a member carved it or if they sponsor it, but it was cool. Pardon the glare, we were in a moving vehicle. This is the lookout at the stop; there are 2 stands to buy stuff. There's a statue before the gate overlooking the water. I got local made lemon candy, sun dried tomatoes for making sauce, and some olive oil. I had them give me a cherry tomato 🍅 as a snack.

Finally here posting some more - so sorry for the delay. You know, sometimes Life just has other plans. Thought I'd share some of the Halloween art from the talented bakery chefs that we saw as we meandered toward a table that night. We were so surprised to see all this; it was hard to take good pictures as so many people wanted photos. Of course, that's the night I didn't have my phone, so all these are courtesy of DH. This is a small portion of what was on display. You may need to zoom in to see some of the details - especially the bread spiders, detached fingers and the graveyard. There were a couple pumpkins, but I think this is the only one he was able to get a pic of. Fingers and ghosts and ?? Spiders, crosses and other bread items

Thank you!

Adorable! We were on that sailing, too, and sadly did not find a single ducky. Glad you found a great one!!

Best laundry service ever! Agree w/others that rolling then stacking clothes into the bag will allow you to get a LOT in there. Since the bags are cloth, they won't tear. We've packed so much in them, laundry has been returned in 2 baskets. Special requests are honored - just include a note. Sometimes you'll receive a note back from the very proud laundry team. Basket was on the bed; we moved it to the sofa. This is where we found the garment bag

Never heard that before.

That's a very pretty drink - please tell me it tastes at least as good as it looks🫣

Nice to see they're still doing that. Been a couple years since I've been on Princess, but I enjoyed those; always made me think about where else I could go.

Pretty sure that closet is bigger than some NYC apartments.

Time to ditch the pork chops!

Um - did he bring his own roll of giant size paper towels? Be prepared- always bring a spare for time spent in pen #3.

Honestly that resembles the disaster known as Vancouver. Last time I took Princess out of Galveston that was not my experience. That was also pre-covid right before they quit sailing from there, but geez - that's enough for people to question their choice. 😞

Ooh - being a pro in that dept, what grade do you give her and what's the score on her vest? She does not know who she's messing with...

Yes, were are, too. Happy to have good company.

Thank you - we're excited to see her changes and will do our part to leave her in good condition for you.