mcpepe

No special occasion other than boredom at the lake and Fall is always a good time. Actually, we will then go to Philadelphia for a few days for a bit of history.

The other half loves history and I enjoy, also.

Wish that I were going to be here in Philly for your visit. But being my hometown I can recommend some great restaurants:

a.kitchen

Vedge

Talulah's Garden

Vernick

Le Cheri

Those are a few of my favs. Enjoy my city!!

 

And there is always a team of American academics who know all the intelligent stuff but who are hopeless on popular culture: they really thought Lady Gaga was a character in Macbeth !

 

Hahahahaha......this just struck me as so funny! :D Catching up on idle jottings. Been working incredible hours all summer. Got trips to take you know! Can't wait to go on Sea Dream again. :-)

Freelance but do the majority of my writing for Porthole. And I think you and I met on SeaDream last November! You were with your mom, I was with a friend. We did the wine dinner together, if I'm not mistaken.

Yes of course!!!! You don't have your name here so I didn't realize it was you. No one uses names here? I don't get it. :confused: Anyhow, yes Frank put together a lovely wine dinner! In fact I will be visiting the boys in Oslo in October!

Nice to see you here!

Very, very favorable! I should know--I wrote it! I've been a cruise writer for about 15 years now and absolutely adore SeaDream. It was terrific to be able to do a story that marks the line's 15th anniversary!

Haha! That's great!! Do you freelance or do you work for Porthole?

....and for your information mcpepe, Jim did a whole series of full cartwheels all the way from the TOYB to the Pool Deck after one too many tequilas !

No, it was'nt graceful either .... took out 5 guests along the way too !

What a guy !

 

Your upcoming Hurtigurten trip looks fascinating.

Please tell us all about it. Please.

Well, in planning my Scandinavian adventure, I knew I wanted to see the coast of Norway. I was telling one of my Norwegian friends I'd made on Sea Dream and he said, "Hurtigruten!"

I'm spending 6 nights in Copenhagen first. Hoping to secure the shared table at Noma and the shared table at Amass!

I researched Hurtigruten. They started off as mail ships traversing the coast daily. Now they act as local transportation, ferries, mail ships, UPS AND as a cruise line.

It's not high end luxury. I don't need that anyhow. There will be people on board for one day, several hours, depending on if they just booked transit point A to B. Some categories don't need to book a cabin.

I sail from Bergen, spending a night there, go up to Kirkenes as the furthest point, and come south to Trondheim. I spend another night in Trondheim before flying to Oslo. This will take 11 days. We stop at many spots, some quite briefly to a few hours. The hikingg excursions are what interests me. We get off at one port, hike somewhere and pick up the ship at another port.

I'm there for the scenery. We do sail past the artic circle. It will be late Sept/Oct so *maybe* I may see Northern lights, but maybe not.

It's quite an international crowd; I'm looking forward to meeting lots of new people. I speak Italian and English, few phrases of Spanish and French but I know a smile and hand gestures can communicate well!

Looking forward to staying in Oslo with my SeaDream friends too! I told them I'd cook Italian for them!

Yes, I am travelling alone. Yes, I do it often. Should be quite an adventure!

Hello all! Does anyone know if Hurtigruten expedition cruises do the ceremony for first timers crossing the Arctic circle?

Thank you!

Bless you my dear. Sheriff Joe says he likes your avatar picture. You, me, and Ho-Hum are the only ones who use our real photos. But wait......I forgot Trapper Zimmy the curly haired devil.:D Contessa Annie Oakley!:eek::D

Begging your pardon if I may, but my avatar is truly me as well, mid cartwheel in front of the castle at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando. Ok, so it was 15 years ago. But I can still do a cartwheel although it isn't very graceful! :D

And to keep a tiny bit in the theme of things; I love shooting at the gun range.

Hello gang!!

Well, Mom and I are coming back again to our beloved SD 2 on Dec 10, doing the b2b until Dec 22. Anyone joining us?

What I love so much about Sea Dream, besides the obvious are the wonderful PEOPLE, both crew and guests alike, I have met!:)

Staying in touch on FB is wonderful! In fact I will be staying with a wondeful couple I met on SD when I visit Oslo in October!

I could not have found a better second home than on SD. That's all. <3

Looking forward to meeting more of you on board!

I happily offer my two cents:

In the morning the trains leave Rome every 20 minutes. In the evening, every 1/2 hour. You rreally don't need to book so far ahead. I just looked for next week (and yes this is high seaason) and there is wide open availability in the lower price range.

You really DO want to use the Freccia trains....Frecciaargento or Frecciarossa. Those get you to there in 1.5 hours. the regional trains take over 3 hours.

I know the usual Sea dream crowd is used to first class <g> but it's so unecessary for that short train ride. I've take this train trip and the economy freccia trains are lovely. Plus, there are way more economy carriages than first class.

Lastly, I've been successful in using the Trenitalia website to book my train, and print out my eticket.

Remember with the Freccia train you automatically are given a seat reservation. Youu need to look a the "carrozza" number which tells you which carriage your seat is located. And it's generally marked on the platform the correlating spots for the trains.

Rome restaurants:

Ragno D'Oro on Via Silla. Neighborhood spot, no tourists. Not fancy. Awesome.

Ambasciata D'Abruzzo - Parioli district. Go hungry!

Florence recommendations: (given to me by a friend who lives there and owns a winery!)

LUNCH:

INO: via dei georgofili 7. Located between Uffizi museum and the Arno river (Via dei georgofili is where the mafia bomb was exploded in the 90s) amazing PANINI. Can't miss it!!! Best sandwiches ever in Firenze. Very good for a quick luch.

LO SCHIACCIAVINO: Via Verdi 6 Amazing sandwiches nearby piazza santa croce and very good wines too!!!!

MERCATO CENTRALE DI SAN LORENZO: They just renewed this indoor city market, amazing spot to visit. At the first floor HUGE choice of different kind of small and easy going places where you can have food. Can't miss this!!!

Fiaschetteria NUVOLI: Piazza dell'olio 5. Typical VINAINO near by the Duomo square. Underground, crowded but fun, easy going Tuscany food, definitely NO good wines.

DINNER:

Best Tuscan food ever in Florence downtown: LA BUCA DELL'ORAFO. Via dei Girolami 25. Right by Pontevecchio, amazing trattoria. Few tables, reservation needed.

I 13 gobbi: via del Porcellana 9/r Very typical and nice tuscan trattoria near by santa maria novella square. Very good wine list.

IL MAGAZZINO: piazza della passera, amazing location for this typical tuscan trattoria specialised in trippa e lampredotto. If you like this kind of food that's good. Wines OK.

LA VECCHIA BETTOLA: via Ariosto 34R, just outside downtown, one of my favorite trattoria in town, very casual, crowded, you sit next to other people. Good wine list.

To have a dinner with a beautiful view: 15/20 minutes away from Florence downtown: Osteria del Milione Via di Giogoli 16. No good wine list.

In Fiesole: La reggia degli etruschi, via san francesco 18. It'ok. Really amazing view, good wines.

HAVE DRINK:

You should definitely get a drink-aperitivo (NO DINNER!) at SESTO ON ARNO, piazza ognissanti 3. You can't miss the view from the rooftop bar. AWESOME.

Hotel continentale, vicolo dell'oro 6R amazing view, with a nice view. My favorite spot for aperitivo.

Also, can't miss a stop at I PROCACCI, via Tornabuoni, the luxury shopping street, is now owned by the antinori family, but is so typical and old style. Popular for truffle sandwiches. I won't get there for lunch but just for a quick snack.

Enjoy Italy!

I usually always book directly with most vacations but with Sea Dream I agree with most above that using the TA gets the spa credit and the refund check in the mail after we cruise.

As far as upgrades, going up one of 3 decks total makes no difference to me. I do spend so little time in my cabin on Sea Dream that I don't even see paying for the suites to be advantageous.

Enjoy your cruise!

Hello all!

Looking forward to exploring the Norwegian coast on the Nordnorge Sept 25th. this voyage is an expedition voyage. Has anyone done the hikes? What can I expect? I'm so excited to meet lots of new people from all over!

Any advice or tips would be most appreciated also!

Ooooopppps Maria - DSNY on the brain! We are SDreaming two weeks prior to you so there will be a care package at the desk waiting for you! Doing DSNY cruise two weeks after your SD cruise....my life is sooooo complicated! FPeebles gives her best as well as my spoiled SD children!

Hello Dsnydrmr and FPeebles.....thank you SO MUCH for the candy care package waiting for me in my cabin!

The family had a tremendous vacation as always and we booked yet again for December!

Just bumping this up to see if anyone is joining my family and me on SD II on March 12?

We fly into STT on Friday, March 11. Are staying overnight at Paradise Cove Villas and Suites.

I can't wait to see many of the staff who I just adore!

We are celebrating Mom's 70th bday onboard, every night. :D

I look forward to meeting new guests; we've met the nicest people and have stayed friends on social media.

Can't wait to be back on my ship!

Ooooopppps Maria - DSNY on the brain! We are SDreaming two weeks prior to you so there will be a care package at the desk waiting for you! Doing DSNY cruise two weeks after your SD cruise....my life is sooooo complicated! FPeebles gives her best as well as my spoiled SD children!

Aww thank you! Enjoy your cruises..you will be missed! We really enjoyed meeting you, your lovely wife and adorable son. But then again, I've only met such nice people on our cruises so far!

Hello all!

Lucky enough to be sailing *again* on Sea Dream 2. Having met so many wonderful people, both from CC and elsewhere, I'm just wondering if any of you will be with us this time around?

That sounds good. Our flight lands around 4:30pm.

I can't seem to upload a photo of mom and I. You can find me and friend me on social media (FB) Maria Picariello Pepe and see what we look like!

Anyone up for a glass of wine tonight at the Ritz Carlton? Mom and I don't get in till almost 4pm.

I will be bringing a few special bottles with me. Can't wait for this cruise!

Hello John and Mindy and Judi and Carole!

Looking forward to meeting you. You really don't need to pack anything special. Everything was very relaxed. I was more active than on other cruises, taking advantage of the hikes offered. For that reason I do plan on bringing more stuff to get sweaty and dirty in.

Can't wait! Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello gang!

My Mom and I sailing again very soon! Who else is with us sailing from STT on SD2 on Nov 28? We'll be at the Ritz Carlton the night before. Anyone?

Can't wait to see many of the crew who I've stayed in contact with on Facebook.

SeaDream did it again....another one of ten absolutely MAGNIFICENT voyages! Our heartfelt thanks to: Jaime,Michelle,Hayden,Frude,Pablo,Zoltan,Enos,Louie,Jerry,Severin,Mukesh,Goran(you rock brother!)Goran J.,Reyn,Christian,Ponce,Kristian B and Fernando. You guys are TREMENDOUS! You really made our DS1's 21st birthday special. We can't get back soon enough to see you once again. Sudesh and Tomasz raised the bar with an amazing menu. Tomasz deserves a round of applause for his paczki,pierogi and golambki...dziekuje bardzo! Thank you to SD1 for allowing us to bring candy to the crew as it's always wonderful to see Petre,Rachel and Silvio. Did I mention that it was MAGNIFICENT? See you real soon!

All the people you named are certainly the same people who helped make my mom's and my cruise so special as well! And yes, it was MAGNIFICENT!! Soo wonderful meeting you and DW and DS!! Hugs to you all! Next time I'm asking for pierogi! ;-) haha!!

Hey....Don't forget about seaslug II as I prepared seaslug 1's poolside chair. It was a pleasure to meet you and mom and look forward to our next yachting adventure....ciao!

Hey there!!! I certainly did not forget about your loving attention to SeaSlug 1! LOL Please give C2 my email address; it's in my signature, just below my name. I'd love to get those pics he took as we sat on the trampoline in the water!

Also...notice another little thing in my signature?! :D

Week #2 of my back to back well underway. Posting this from Carambola beach on St Kitts.

I love Sea Dream so much. Mom and I continuing to have a wonderful time.

Another great group of guests as well.

I've been hiking every chance I can, which has been quite often, either organized tour or with Hayden, our club director. They've been awesome.

Tonight we anchor in St Barts and mom and I are sleeping under the stars. Awesome.

Continuing to have a perfect week.

Fpebbles has redeemed herself, engaging in less strenuous activities, determined to earn back the seaslug card. My mother has surely earned her sea slug card and is happily esconced poolside daily..Next to fpebbles and her lovely family.

Seadream is exceeding my expectations. The staff are a joy. Such nice, nice people. The food is great. The yacht is clean. We're having a fantastic time! My mom and I were joking around trying to come up with something to "complain about"..we decided it's the capers. Lmao they're just too big. It's exhausting cutting them into smaller pieces! Bwahaha.... :D @@

But seriously, I can't imagine going back to another line.

Aboard SDII with fpebbles. Having a glorious time. She claims to be a sea slug..with the shirt stating so. I'm here to state she's being way too active to be a sea slug and am tearing up her sea slug card!:D

My mom Lorraine and I will be there! Going to St Martin in the morning. See you onboard! :D