*Maasdam - 50 nights departing October 30, 2015 rt FLL

[Hal&Rob]

Who else is going?

[voyageurx]

Hi,

My husband and I will be boarding the Maasdam in Civitavecchia after a week in Rome. Get in touch, if you are interested in doing some private tours or just meeting on board for cocktails. We just booked today, so have not done any research on the ports, though we have been to many of them previously. I haven't even determined whether there will be open seating available. In the past, HAL cruises of a month or less duration did permit open seating. I assume we will be advised shortly. Much prefer open seating.

 

Look forward to hearing from you,

Michael

[Hal&Rob]

Looking forward to meeting you at the LGBT meeting on board. You should have no problem with open seating. H&R

[voyageurx]

Hello again,

We, generally, prefer to arrange our own sightseeing using public transport or taxis. There are several ports that we have not visited previously (Messina, Palermo, Victoria, Cadiz and Cartagena). Would you two be interested in joining us in some of these cities? For example, I understand there will be many taxis outside the cruise terminal in Messina to drive us to Taormina, and, possibly, on the way, to visit the Roman Theater in Messina. You can email me at michaelfeldman729@yahoo.com. BTW, we both speak passable Italian and Spanish.

Looking forward to meeting you. We haven't signed up yet for the Meet and Greet. There seems to be a large crowd, including a lot of knitters and "crafters."

 

Michael and Robert

[Hal&Rob]

M&R,

Hal and I have toured the ports you mentioned already; but I'm sure some at the LGBT gathering might be interested.

We will be going to the first meet-and-greet to check it out but not the one after Rome - they tend to be too folksy.

Check the daily program for time and location of LGBT meetings. We're looking forward to seeing you there. . . . .Hal & Rob

[voyageurx]

The Meet and Greet group seems huge and I am not very fond of such large crowds; my husband likes these meet-ups so I will probably tag along for a short time.

 

I noticed your are friends with Ken and Fred. They will be over for dinner here in Pittsburgh tomorrow. We met them on a xAtlantic crossing and get together in Florida during the Winter and here in Pgh in the Summer when they visit a mutual friend.

 

From the Meet and Greet list, it doesn't appear that there are that many GLBT folks on this cruise. That has been our experience on our other HAL cruises, except for one (Australia, New Zealand). We have also noticed a rather high incidence of closeted men on HAL cruises. This is rather amusing as just about everyone has their number after a few days.

 

What do you plan to do in all these ports you have visited before? Perhaps you can give us some suggestions as to what to see when we meet. I assume that there will be a GLBT meeting notice shortly after departure from Civitavecchia. As Robert and I speak Italian and French and I speak Spanish, we tend to be somewhat intrepid when we visit Europe.

 

Looking forward to meeting you,

 

Michael and Robert

[Hal&Rob]

Give our regards to Ken & Fred. We met them on a Fort Lauderdale to Montreal cruise in 2012 on the Maasdam. Small Gay world.

As far as the ports we've seen; we play it by ear, have a cappachino, check-out the numbers, etc.

This will be one of many TA's we've taken. Hasta entonces . . . .H&R