Westerdam 10/22/05

[cands]

I sent you an email last week inquiring if you would like to join Dan & Tom, and Larry and me for a dinner table. The four of us now have confirmed "main lower" dining time and our reservations are cross referenced for dining together.

 

If you guys are so inclined, and haven't made other arrangements, we would love to have you join us.

 

David

 

David,

Sorry for not getting back to you. Time zone problems. Your mail arrived at work in the early hours of Saturday morning. It is Monday morning now. I have responded to your mail.

Our booking says Second(Late) as dining time. We believe this is at 8:30 in the lower dining room. Is this correct? What time is "main lower", or are they the same thing? We don't like to eat too early.

 

Regards,

Steve.

[daviddfld]

Hi Steve ...

 

According to HAL, Main Lower is the 8:30 seating on the lower level. Arrangements have been made for you & Chris, and Dan & Tom, and Larry & me for a table together.

 

David

[cands]

Hi Steve ...

 

According to HAL, Main Lower is the 8:30 seating on the lower level. Arrangements have been made for you & Chris, and Dan & Tom, and Larry & me for a table together.

 

David

 

Thanks for clarifying that, and thanks for arranging the table.

 

We're finally all organized. Our flights are confirmed, as are all the hotels. Chris's sister is coming to stay to look after our house and the two dogs while we are away, so that's a load off our minds.

 

Not long to go now......

 

Steve.

[mattandjoe]

Hello,

 

My partner and I booked this cruise a few months ago, but just stumbled across this website. We are both in our early 40s and have been together for 12 years. We look forward to meeting new friends and seeing new places.

[cands]

Hi Matt and Joe?

We have quite a group going now. That's 8, and we'll see who else comes out of the woodwork. We've got our own FOD party already:) .

 

Are you spending some time in Rome before the cruise?

It will be our first time there. We are really looking forward to it. We'll be there for 6 days. We're thinking about doing a day trip by train to Florence.

 

We'll probably catch the train from Cadiz to Seville for a look-see, and maybe train also from Casablanca to Rabat.

We've done a fair amount of research on the internet - it all looks pretty straightforward to do.

In Madeira, we're doing a full day tour by private minibus, organised by a poster on the main Roll Call thread for this cruise.

 

Chris and I are both in our 40s also, and have been together for 14 years. (must be something about settling down when hitting the magic 30!)

 

Where are you guys from?

 

Anyway, great to have you aboard,

Cheers,

Steve. (and Chris)

[mattandjoe]

Dear Steve,

 

Thanks for your response. Matthias and I (Joe) live just outside of Munich. Matthias is German and I am originally from the US, but have lived in Germany for the past 11 years.

 

We fly into Rome the morning of the 21st. Have you booked a hotel in Rome? I asked our travel agent for information, but as of yet have not heard a thing. Any tips would be appreciated as neither of us have been to Rome before. Also, did you receive any transfer information from the hotel to the ship in Rome?

 

Your day trip to Florence sounds nice, too bad you do not have the time for a visit to Sienna. We were there in June and really enjoyed ourselves.

 

Regarding the tours, we decided against Seville and Rabat due to the long commute times versus the amount of time actually in the city. At least that is how we understood the descriptions.

 

This will be our first "major" cruise. We have taken small cruises in the Greek Isles, the French and Italian Rivieras, but nothing like a transatlantic crossing!

 

Thanks again for your response, we look forward to meeting Chris and yourself on board the Westerdam, if not before in Rome.

 

Regards,

 

Joe, (and Matthias)

[cands]

Joe and Matthias,

 

Hi. We took ages to find a hotel in Rome. They were all so expensive. (This coming from Australians converting AUD to Euros:( )

We ended up using a website called www.venere.com to search for hotels. We are staying in a small 3 star hotel called the Apollo. It's close to the station. (but not too close - about a 15 minute walk).

We're going to catch the train to Civitavecchia about lunchtime on the 22nd. It's a regular service and takes between 45 minutes and an hour. I believe we then need to take a taxi to the port. (about 5 minutes).

Interesting point about Sienna. Would you suggest going there instead of Florence? We have seen so little of Italy, but don't want to feel like we are rushing from place to place. We were going to spend the whole 6 days in Rome, but thought it would be quite easy to catch a train to somewhere else for one of the days.

 

We really like experiencing train travel in other countries, so we don't mind the longish trips from Cadiz and Casablanca.

 

Well in exactly 8 weeks we will be just about to land in Singapore on our way to Rome - not long to go now.

 

Are you spending some time in Florida at the other end?

 

We get straight off Westerdam and on the Celebrity Summit for a 14 day Panama Canal cruise, ending in Los Angeles on November 20th.

 

Best wishes to you both.

Steve ( and Chris )

[daviddfld]

Hi Matthias and Joe ...

 

Welcome aboard from David & Larry from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

 

Larry & I will be arriving Rome on 10/19, spending three nights at the Hotel Edera. I'm not sure exactly where it is located (Larry did the hotel planning).

I didn't want to stay near the train station. It's convenient, but I don't like the area much. We will not be doing the train to the port anyway, because we always have WAY to much luggage to handle. Someday when we grow up, we may learn how to pack for a long trip like this!

 

We are thinking of trying to get a group together for transportation from Rome out to the port. It is possible to purchase transfers to the port (about $95 per person), but you must meet at the 2 hotels that HAL uses for their accomodations ... the Visconti Palace or the Grand Parco di Principe. If we could get 4 or 6 persons to do the run to the port it would cut down on the expense. If you are interested let me know. I've also got feelers out on the "straight" thread for this sailing.

 

I've gone on too long ... you can contact me at cinddhayes@comcast.net of you would like to pursue the transportation thing.

[mattandjoe]

Hi David and Larry,

 

Thanks for the hotel and transfer information. Just getting around to booking hotel in Rome. Will let you know within the next two days about sharing transport costs. Thanks again and see you on board, if not the van/cab to the ship!

 

Joe and Matthias

[daviddfld]

Hi Matt & Joe ...

 

The thread for this cruise that has postings from both gay and straight couples is titled:

Westerdam Transatlantic Rome to Ft. Lauderdale; October 22, 2005

 

It can be found in the Holland America section. C'mon over and say hello there as well. There's is some good information to be found there as well. Don't be shy ... nobody has bitten yet!

[daviddfld]

As clarification, the thread can be found in "Roll Calls - Holland America".

 

David

[MarylandBob]

Hello everybody!

 

I'm Robert and my partner is Jerry. I just stumbled across this website a few days ago; I use another site called cruisemates.com and there was a post referencing this site. I've posted a few messages on the main thread in the Roll Call section.

 

It's good to see so many family aboard. It should make for a great trip. I remember once when we were on the Statendam for a Mexican Riviera cruise, there were so many of us that we took over the club a few nights. No one cared and in fact, I know everyone, not just those in our party, had a blast.

 

Jerry and I will be celebrating our 25th anniversary on this voyage. I'm in my late 40s but I'll let Jerry tell you his age when you meet him--he's a little older than me. We live between Baltimore and Washington D.C.

 

We sailed on this ship in April 2004 soon after its maiden voyage. We were on the round tripper from Venice and sailed to Croatia, Turkey, the Greek Isles and Malta. You guys will like this ship, it is beautiful. I believe it has a champagne and martini bar, I think someone was inquiring about that.

 

We are arriving in Rome on the morning of the 20th and will stay at the Marriott Courtyard near FCO airport. The best deal I've found on transfer service from the airport area to the pier is 120 Euro. The company is rome_shuttle.com and the contact is Elena. If anyone wants to share a ride, we'd be happy to do so. We are also planning our escursions and are interested to know what you guys are doing. We typically tour independently rather than book ship's tours--you can usually see more for much less. We are confirmed for late dining on the first level.

 

I'll look for future posts here to learn more about transfer and tour options. You can email me directly at 48izhot@adelphia.net. I don't always get to my home email every day so if you send something and don't hear back right away it's only because I haven't read my mail.

 

Again, it's great meeting all of you online and we look forward to seeing you soon.

 

Best regards,

Robert

[cands]

Hi guys,

I sent you a mail about what we're doing in all the ports. (save you reading through both threads to find it all).

 

Well, we have our own FOD group already. When they have the meeting on the ship, we'll already know each other :) .

 

Steve.

[MarylandBob]

Steve and Chris,

 

Thanks for your message; I've sent you a reply.

 

I must confess I'm way behind in doing my homework planning for this trip so I need to get busy. Thanks for your insights on the various ports. We have been to Rome, Gibraltar and Portugal (Lisbon, not Funchal). I think we are going to take the train to Seville, there is a place there Jerry wants to visit. I'm looking forward to all those wonderful sea days!

 

Best regards,

Robert

[cands]

Robert (and Jerry),

 

I got your response, thanks. I looked up the Alhambra. It looks amazing, but I think much too far for a day trip from Cadiz. (its in Granada). (Is that the place Jerry meant?).

 

The ship docks in Cadiz at 7am. There is a train to Seville at 8am and another at 9.00. It takes about 1 hour 45 minutes.

The 8am train has more features and costs 18.50 euros (economy) or 28.50 in first class. The 9am train costs 8.65 euros in economy only. (not that price is a real issue, just letting you know). It would be best to try and get the early train.

 

Returning services leave Seville at 13:23 or 13:55. (There is one that leaves at 15:30 but it doesn't arrive back in Cadiz until 17:15, with sailaway at 18:00!)

 

So the very worst we could do is about 3 hours in Seville, but probably closer to 4.5 hours if we catch the 8am out and the 1.55pm back. That would also leave enough time to have a quick look at Cadiz in the afternoon.

 

Steve.

[MarylandBob]

For the last week or so, the CruiseCritic message boards have been nearly impossible to access. I guess that's why there are so few new posts. I have trouble getting in and if I do get in, it takes forever to open a page and most times, the system times out or the page is displayed blank.

 

Steve, I think we might like to tag along with you guys on your trip to Seville. Alhambra is in Granada, much too far for this trip. We are also thinking about joining you and the folks from Canada on your tour in Madeira. It seems to include quite a lot for the price.

 

I'm going back to cruisemates.com for messages as that site functions much better than this one right now. I posted my email address in an earlier message so you can communicate to us that way as well.

 

I can't believe the trip is only a little more than a month away!

 

Happy packing!

Robert and Jerry

[lkushnerid]

Good Morning Guys,

David has filled in for me as I was away for a while and returned to a busy scheduele.

Our group is getting quite large and cocktail hour should be fun every evening!:D So far I think we have ten:

Chris and Steve

Dan and Tom

Robert and Jerry

Matthias and Joe

David and Larry

Any of you lurkers want to post?

Have a great day, we are in count down mode as I am sure everyone else is.

Regards,

Larry (and David too)

[cands]

For the last week or so, the CruiseCritic message boards have been nearly impossible to access. I guess that's why there are so few new posts. I have trouble getting in and if I do get in, it takes forever to open a page and most times, the system times out or the page is displayed blank.

 

Steve, I think we might like to tag along with you guys on your trip to Seville. Alhambra is in Granada, much too far for this trip. We are also thinking about joining you and the folks from Canada on your tour in Madeira. It seems to include quite a lot for the price.

 

I'm going back to cruisemates.com for messages as that site functions much better than this one right now. I posted my email address in an earlier message so you can communicate to us that way as well.

 

I can't believe the trip is only a little more than a month away!

 

Happy packing!

Robert and Jerry

 

Robert and Jerry,

 

The site seems to be working a bit better now. Good news about Seville and Madeira.

 

See you real soon,

Steve (and Chris)

[SDDAN]

It's great to see the group growing. I am really looking forward to Rome and the cruise. Welcome Robert and Jerry and Mathias and Joe. Tom and I live in San Diego and have been together for almost 30 years.

 

I am leaving tomorrow for a short visit to relatives in Colombia South America. I will return to San Diego on September 20th, and hope that by then I can spend more time in the internet planning for the three days in Rome and the cruise. We will arrive in Rome on October 19th. We will be staying at the Rome Cavalieri Hilton located in Via Alberto Cadiolo.

 

Hope we can coordinate transportation to Civitavecchia together. Larry offered to share the services that they found but I haven't contact them yet.

 

Anyway is great to have an extended family group in the cruise.

[lkushnerid]

Hi Tom and Dan

and Greetings Guys,

 

David and I arrive on the 19th at 1:10 PM via Air France. We originally thought you guys were taking the train from Rome. If you want to share a car, let David know. He is handling that, my job was the air and hotel "stuff", we share responsibilities:D . Contact us by email or give us a call, you should have our numbers.

Enjoy your trip to Colombia,

Hi To Tom,

Larry and David

[cands]

Hi guys,

Does anyone have any info on bars in Rome.

We thought we might venture out on the Thursday or Friday evening for a drink and to check out the local 'talent'. Anyone interested in meeting up for a drink?

I at least now know how to ask for a beer:

 

Una birra, per favore;) .

 

Ciao,

Stefano.

[daviddfld]

Hi guys,

Does anyone have any info on bars in Rome.

We thought we might venture out on the Thursday or Friday evening for a drink and to check out the local 'talent'. Anyone interested in meeting up for a drink?

 

Hi Guys ...

 

Larry & I arrive on Wed 10/19. It would be fun to do a little night life while in Rome ... if we can stay awake long enough!

 

Haven't researched any Rome nightlife. Our hotel in nearby the Colosseo.

 

David

[lkushnerid]

Boun Journo Stefano y Christoph and everyone else,

 

I was searching on Google and there are apparently many bars and restaurants to choose from, we do miss the "gay village" which is July and August only.

I guess we could meet at a central hotel and then go for drinks and dinner or meet up at one of the bars in city center. I will have to research the list a bit and see if I can figure it out or if anyone has a suggustion, please post it. We were at the Hanger Bar years ago and I do not remember being special but it was not bad.

 

Ciao for now,

Lario y Davide:)

[cands]

Hi Guys,

Larry and David, Your Hotel is only about a kilometre from ours. The Hanger bar is about half way between our hotels. There seems to be another one quite close to your hotel called 'Sphinx'.

I don't know how up to date the information is on www.gaymap.info website I was using.

 

Our Hotel, the Apollo, is in via del Serpenti, right near via ****onale. (this site won't let me put the name of the steet in - in English Nationale, but spelled with a z) Are you still staying at the Edera. From what I can tell on the map, it's next to the Piazza Vittorio. Is that right?

 

Dinner and a drink or two sounds great. None of us will probably want a real late night. You guys will probably still be jet-lagged, and Chris and I don't party hard any more:( , but it would be nice to at least check it out.

 

This site has some interesting info on it:

http://www.pinkagenda.com/travel/rome.html

 

Is anyone else out there interested?

 

Steve.

[lkushnerid]

Boun Journo Seniores,

We have a blind date.:D (execpt we know what each other looks like!)

I cannot find any info on the Sphinx so I would opt for Hanger Bar, I think from what I can remember it is a pretty casual, kind of local hangout. We could meet there and then have some dinner. Or if you are sure the Sphinx is still open we can meet there. I would like to avoid "dance or discos" so we can chat, we can do all the dancing we want "on board" after the old folks go to sleep! I do not think the disco will be very crowded on this passage.:)

 

Anyone else care to join us?

 

We have yet another tropical storm heading this way "Rita", were hoping luck will be with us once again and she will spin away, this whole storm season has become extremely stressful and we cannot wait to get away.

Hope all is well with you guys,

Ciao,

Lario y Davide