dougburns

You can do a lot of walking, which you and Victoria like to do, and see most of the sights. A walk thru the Villa Borghese gardens, down along the Tiber to Castle San Angelo, lunch at the rooftop of the Atlanta Star hotel ( Les Etoiles ) overlooking the Vatican, then back across the Tiber and up to Piazza Navona and the Pantheon, then back to the Spanish Steps and tea at Babington's Tea room at the foot of the Spanish Steps. Also nice to go to Piazza Navona in the evening to people watch and go over to see the Pantheon lit at night. A walk along the Via Veneto around to the Palace and down to Trevi Fountain is also nice. For the Colesium and such I'd get a private tour. For lunch we liked Piperno and the rooftop of the Atlanta hotel. Dinner any where you go is going to be very expensive. Example: my dinner alone at the rooftop of the Cavelieri( la Pergola; had a great talk with Heinz Beck, the chef ) was @ $400 USD without wine, but it was once in a lifetime and it was excellent. In any case, I'd check the latest edition of Frommers and also check Tripadvisor relative to restaurants, because things do change. Rome is a fun city for touring for sure. Enjoy!

Bob&Victoria; I would use romecabs and get a minivan. Miss Lynn and I have used them and we travel heavy as you do. Very good service. You do have to pay the driver in euros though, so have cash in euros available. No credit cards. We stayed 2 nights at the Rome Cavalieri (concierge level) prior to the cruise last Nov aboard Spirit. As far as hotels near the Spanish Steps, we have stayed at the Intercontinental and it was OK, but don't accept a room on the street side, because it will be very noisy. It and the Hasler, plus all of the hotels in that area are very expensive, but the location is great. Food in Rome is also very expensive any where you go.

E-mailed Capt Corsaro. He will only be aboard Spirit for a few days( Rome-Barcelona ) and then back to Whisper. He will do the world cruise aboard Whisper. All of the suites from Owners thru Silver are waitlisted for the Rome-Barcelona cruise.

It appears that your cruises have been on larger ships. The Cloud would be quite a change for you and you might want to consider the Silver Spirit to start with on Silversea. The staterooms are larger and there are more venues than on the Cloud. Whichever you choose you won't be disappointed. You will normally find a very international group on Silversea and it's a great line.

Have done several crossings on SS and Regent. The Spring crossings are generally smoother than the Fall crossings, but it's always a crap shoot. We've never had a rough Spring crossing though. As far as the Pool Grill in the evening goes, it can be a bit windy and the gals often get chilly. The food is great though and the same every night, as was stated. IMHO they should do the Hot Rocks thing on the Pool deck, vice deck 10. It would be much more pleasant. Temps on the Spring crossings are generally in the low to mid 70s during the day; occasionally a bit higher. Enjoy!

The statement about the Pool Bar/grill opening time aboard Spirit is incorrect. When we're aboard I have a couple of cups of coffee in our stateroom with my bride ( coffee is always hot and fresh from room service ) and then go to the pool deck with my paper @ 0700 and have a cup and a cigarette there while I read. If you want specialty coffee go to the Panorama Lounge and they are open early.

No coffee spot as on Seabourn and Regent. You can get anything you want at the pool bar/grill, Panorama Lounge, or room service. My favorite is the veranda area outside of the Panorama Lounge- very relaxing. The coffee is good on SS IMHO.

Looks like the smog hasn't gotten any better over the years in HK. Sooo much burning of wood and coal in mainland China. Hope you and Debbie had a great time roaming the area and that my guide helped. Have a wonderful cruise; will enjoy following your posts. Happy Easter!

Dieter; Hope you have a wonderful time in HK (use the report I wrote and it may help ) and also a wonderful cruise. Look forward to reading your reports.

Wes; Hope you have a great cruise, but it won't be the same without the energetic Ida. Please pass our best to both Davids ( Englishusa and Bilsand ) and Capt Sangiocomo. We're off to London for our 40th anniversary, a wedding and a visit with Emmy in a little more than a week. I'll pray for good weather for you and you do the same for us.

Don't know what all the fuss is about. We've had 24 cruises with Raddison/Regent and SS and have always had to surrender our passports on boarding. As has been stated, it really helps when the ship has to clear customs at various ports. Don't recall ever hearing of anyone having a problem regarding their passport as a result.

The climb to the top where the observatory was would be quite arduous for most folk. You can get a very good panoramic view of the entire site with a much less arduous climb. Going up the trail from the lodge area stay to the left and it will bring you to a raised area( @ a 100 foot climb ), which will afford a wonderful view. The old trail across the peaks that connected the different sites for the message runners enters MP there. Don't forget to see the sundial down in the site; it is fascinating for both time of day, celestial and season marking. It's amazing that they could be that accurate in their day.

Unless you're staying at the lodge in Machu Picchu, which is very expensive, you will overnight in Cuzco before the train ride to Machu Picchu. The train leaves very early in the morning and returns fairly late at night with meals each way on the train. Then you'll spend another night in Cuzco. No flights out of Cuzco after dark. Doubt they will ever have an instrument approach into Cuzco due to the terrain. Flight delays into and out of Cuzco are not unusual.

We did the tour thru Regent in 2005 post cruise. You will fly into Cuzco, which is higher than Machu Picchu(@11,000 ft), whereas Machu Picchu is @ 9500 ft. We stayed at the Monesterio hotel in Cuzco for a night( book a room with oxygen if you want to sleep without getting a headache ), then rode the Orient Express train to Machu Picchu. You should be OK with a cane or walking poles. The train ride back and forth takes @ 2-3 hours. Keep in mind that there is no instrument approach into Cuzco and flights between there and Lima are often delayed as much as a full day. If you're doing the trip pre-cruise plan accordingly.

Yes, they do charge for Wi-Fi unless you're in a Royal, Grand or Owners suite where you get 2 hours/segment free. 250 minutes is $85 and 1,000 minutes is $250.

Rough night last night, but that will give folks an incentive to get off today. We're just about to arrive in FLL to end this wonderful cruise. Cloudy and windy, but fairly warm(72F) at 0630. And now the great exodus begins! More about the cruise when we get home. Have a great day all!

Sunday and another beautiful day at sea with smooth conditions, light winds, clear skies and temps @ 70F at 0700. Unfortunately, today is packing day(SOB). It's been a wonderful cruise and I think a great time has been had by all. Miss Lynn and I didn't go to the BBQ, but a good time was had by all who did, as Wes posted. We ate in the MDR, because Miss Lynn gets too cold on the Pool deck at night. Had a nice dinner with the Olives, Bette Whitehead and Alex Diamond, who is a very interesting guy. Tonight is dinner in La Terrazza with Wes/IDA, Dieter/Debbie, the Kents and David. More later!

It's Saturday and we're on the way to FLL with calm seas and mostly clear skies, as is normal on this route at this time of year. Temps right now in the high 60s, but it should be warm today and the sun worshipers should be happy campers. Last night we had to turn around and head back to Bermuda to offload a sick pax; bad case of flu with complications. We didn't pull into the port, but offloaded the guy to the pilot boat. Smooth ride all night. Wonderful news last night and long overdue IMHO. Gustavo, who has been the maitre'd in both

La Terrazza and le Champagne for some time has been promoted to Asst. Restaurant Manager effective 13 Dec. Maybe Wes can post his pic for you all. Gustavo has been with us on every cruise on this ship and he's absolutely top notch IMHO. We have the Pool BBQ tonight, so hopefully, the weather will hold. Unfortunately, tomorrow is packing day, but it's been a great cruise and we've renewed lots of friendships and met lots of great new folks. Did the sail away from our front balcony last evening with @ a dozen friends. Very interesting departure thru the narrow slot entry to the St. George harbor. Maybe Dieter will post some of his or Bob's pics. Off to breakfast now. Have a great weekend all.

Nice quiet night last night for a welcome change. Dinner with Wes and Ida, then off to the Panorama for dancing. Lynn and I lasted till @ 0045, while Ida stayed until 0230. Great night for sleeping and Miss Lynn did until after 0700 this morning. Today is overcast with temps in the low 70s and @ 15 kts of wind. Tonight is dinner with Paolo and tomorrow we pull into St. George, Bermuda with the last formal night that night(Fri). Sat is the Pool BBQ, weather permitting and then it's packing day(SOB!). I'm enjoying the sea days, but I think most folks want to get to Bermuda to regain their land legs. Miss Lynn is managing to do away with our OBC in the jewelry store aboard. I'm certainly not leaving any behind. Any questions, fire away and we'll put our heads together to give you an answer. Have a great day all!

Wed morning 0600 and it's still rocky; wild ride again in 901 thru the night. We went thru the front @ 1600 yesterday; the wind shifted 180 deg and the winds died down a bit, but the seas continued to be rough(@ 12 feet). The captain turned to the northwest(290) right after we went thru the front and we're continuing on that course for Bermuda this morning. Showers forecast for this afternoon. We have the galley lunch today at noon. Tried to dance before dinner last night, but it was not good, so we gave up. Hope things smooth out thru the day. As Wes said, the Thai dinner was excellent, but the soup would really light your fire; especially the broth. A good time was had by all. Now that I can see outside, it's partly cloudy and the winds appear to be less than 15 knots, because there aren't many whitecaps. Hopefully, King Neptune will continue to calm the seas for us. Internet has been much better all the way across the pond; no dropouts or slow downs, especially early in the morning. Dinner with Wes and Ida tonight in le Champagne and a group dinner with Paolo tomorrow night in the MDR( the 2010 maiden crossing group ). Formal night Fri and a Pool BBQ Sat. More later. Have a great day all!

Well, no dancing last night. It was like Mr. Toad's wild ride all night. This morning we're still in it with high winds and seas @ 10-12 feet. Hopefully, we'll exit the other side of the front sometime today. Still @ 1800 miles from Bermuda. Last night it was cocktails in Panorama with Wes&Ida, then on to le Champagne where we met the Blosers and the Olives. Very nice dinner and then off to our stateroom. Not many folks about this morning and I imagine there are a few seasick pax. The doc will be busy today. More later; off to breakfast with David Kennedy and Wes.

Another nice morning at sea; temps @75F. Wind is picking up a bit, but the seas are still comfortable. Capt Pontillo has veered a bit south on the way to Bermuda to avoid the bit of weather ahead. Smooth sailing so far. We have 470 pax aboard. Very nice ceremony for the Olive's vow renewal last evening in the O Lounge( a very good venue for it ), followed by dinner in the MDR for 8. Had fish and chips to start the meal, as requested by the wedding couple. After dinner it was off to the Panorama for dancing, but many folks went to the show, as Wes indicated in his post, and the place was basically empty. Miss Lynn and I gave up and left. No sooner got back to the stateroom and shed the formal wear than Ida called to say the fun was starting in the Panorama. We didn't go, but I guess a good time was had by all, as indicated by Wes' pics. Hope the weather and seas hold. Have a great day all!

Relative to my comments above regarding the bar tenders, Francis(Pool bar) will get off in FLL and will be relieved by Rodriego(long time SS bar tender). Sonny will remain on board and he works all of the bars, including the cigar lounge.

It's Sunday and another beautiful day; clear, calm and @ 70deg F at 0500. Ever since we lost the island affect swell it's been wonderful, as has been our experience on past west bound crossings. Miss Lynn and I got some dancing in before dinner last night and had a dinner for 2 in the MDR; first time we've had dinner alone this cruise and it was nice for a change. After dinner back to the Panorama for more dancing to Alfredo's music. We were waiting for the crowd to arrive for disco at 2300, but it was a bitter disappointment. Guess all of the disco crowd got off in Funchal. Wes actually danced a couple of dances with Ida last night, but then he folded, as usual. Ida held up the Army end though. Mike Witte said the show was even dead last night. As for the CD for Dec, I believe Mike Witte will still be aboard. I believe the bar tenders will still be aboard as well, but they will probably change stations in FLL. Right now Francis is the Pool bar tender, alternating with Sonny. Both are very good. Don't go to the Bar, so I can't comment there. In Panorama the bar tenders rotate quite a bit. Tonight we have a vow renewal for a British couple( Beryl and Allen Olive ) who have been married 54 years. They're doing the ceremony in the O Lounge, because they can no longer do it on the bridge. Lots of thing have changed since the Concordia accident for all cruise lines. The crew can't even have hard liquor in their quarters; only beer and wine. Emmy is arranging the vow renewal and bought all of the flowers in Funchal; a very generous gal! Tonight is formal night, so we'll all be dressed in our best bib and tucker for the wedding ceremony, which we're participating in. Hopefully, someone will take and post some pics. Have a great day all. The internet is hanging in quite well. A word of caution for cell phone and I-pad users: when you're aboard the ship you have to connect through the ship's pay wi-fi to make a phone call regardless of who your carrier is. What a rip off!

Now that Wes&Ida are safely aboard I can relax about posting long descriptions of what's happening. Wes does a much better job and with pics. Tomorrow(Sunday) Emmy(the wedding planner) has set up a vow renewal for our neighbors in 902. However, this captain(Pontillo) will not do the ceremony on the bridge(bummer). They're doing it in the O Lounge instead. We are now clear of the island swell influence so that things are steadying out a bit; to bouncy for dancing last night, but Ida and Miss Lynn are ready to go tonight, conditions permitting. Partly cloudy skies and temps expected to be in the low 70s. We played a bit of a trick on Wes and Ida yesterday when they boarded, but I'll let him tell you about it if he chooses. Two time changes so far and 4 more to go. Have a great weekend all!