Grumpy and Slinkie explore the Roman Empire

[jhannah]

What a wonderful trip to take vicariously! Thanks, and safe travels home.

[arzz]

Thanks Grumpy and Slinkie for letting me sail with you! Have a great trip home. We are very much looking forward to South America in January.

[RuthC]

Leaving for the airport at 3:20AM? :eek: Hardly seems worth going to bed when you have to get up that early!

I've been feeling sorry for myself that I have to get up at 4:30 to leave for a cruise soon. Now I'll stop with that attitude.

I've so enjoyed travelling along with you on these cruises. Perhaps someday I'll get to visit these places, too. I know I'll recognize them when I see them---and I'll think of you. :)

[Aussie Gal]

Grumpy and Slinkie,

 

Hope you have a safe trip home. I have loved reading your Europe posts and look forward to hearing about South America in a few months time.

 

Jennie

[Ziggy7]

Travel home safely! Thanks for taking all us hitch hikers along with you :)

[slgjhg]

Hi All,

 

Yuck??????? On our first visit we were at your hotel and stayed for 3 nights. It was fabulous! I am sorry you have to return so soon. By simply walking North you could discover one of the most fashionable areas of the city. I am sorry you didn't have time to explore Istanbul, it is a treasure.

 

Loved your travelogue as always.

 

Regards,

 

Shannon

[KathieKata]

Grumpy and Slinkie.......Thanks for the great trip! Where are we going next!! I'm addicted to your cruises more than you guys!! :D

Grumpy.....good to know that you DO SHOP occationally, but just didn't find anything this time. Hope the Fed-X truck can handle delivering you your American Express Statement!! :D Slinkie did some good damage along the way. But I must admit she has done worse in the past!! :rolleyes:

[Copper10-8]

Hope your trip home was safe and uneventful Grumpy and Slinkie!:)

[Grumpy1]

Hi, All

 

Slinkie and Grumpy are safely back in beautiful Naples, FL... WITH all of their luggage! The zip tie seals that Grumpy put on everything were still intact... no evidence of any internal luggage inspections. The custom's declaration showed an amount that should have required a duty payment, but the form was looked at and stamped and when presented at the baggage exit they were told "Follow the green line", which is the line for exiting with no further inspection... Grumpy wonders if they are mailing out bills now instead of collecting on the spot. All of the breakable items were still intact when the luggage was unpacked at home.

 

The biggest hangup on arrival in Miami was the sudden storm that rolled in with lots of lightning. That closed the baggage operations for an hour as they would not remove stuff from the plane until the lightning was out of the area. The baggage claim area is not the most comfortable place to spend an hour. No chairs or benches.

 

This morning, one of the first items of business was to head for Best Buy. Slinkie is the proud owner of a brand new Toshiba laptop. Grumpy will transfer files from the backup drive as soon as she finishes her backlog of 280 emails...

 

KathieKata... next up is the Halloween-dam cruise on the Westerdam. It's just a short get-away to meet some more of our CC friends and have some fun. The next "adventure" cruise will start in January.

 

Shannon... I didn't mean to imply that there was anything wrong with the Swissotel. It really is a fabulous place. Love that remote control cosole on the nightstand that lets you control the lights, set the A/C fan speed, set the alarm... probably more... and then there was the remote control that raises the TV up from it's hiding spot in the Marble top cabinet... We had a corner room with a wrap around window. It would have been better if the view were to the south instead of north, though. But I'll still take any balcony cabin on the Prinsendam over the Swissotel if given the choice...

 

RuthC... since we were in a time zone that is seven hours earlier than here at home, it meant the day was going to be 31 hours long. Any sleep we could get before leaving was a real bonus, as there was a two hour drive from Miami to Naples awauiting us at the end of the trip. As it was, we were up for 25 hours from the time the alarm went off until we hit the pillows here at home with just a few short catnaps on the plane. Grumpy is not used to pulling all-nighters anymore...

 

Jennie... You're about to leave for Vancouver, I guess. I hope you have a wonderful cruise on the Veendam. I wish we could see you in Tampa at the end of the trip, but we will be getting on the Westerdam on the other side of the state when you arrive. We certainly hope to see you again someday.

[RuthC]

Welcome home, Grumpy and Slinky. Thanks for the ride.

 

You might want to go re-introduce yourselves to some of the neighbors---you're away so much they may not remember you! :D

[serendipity1499]

Slinkie & Grumpy..Thank's so much for letting us Cruise along with you..We enjoyed seeing the sites through your eyes & hope someday we'll be able to take a similar cruise..

 

Once again as with all your travelogues, I've downloaded all 26 pages of your posts & will re-read them when I can convince DH to book another cruise..

 

In the meantime welcome back to Florida..:)

 

Betty

[Aussie Gal]

Grumpy and Slinkie,

 

You are so right. We are off on Thursday morning for our big adventure up the Amazon via Vancouver. I have loved reading all your posts. We stayed at a beautiful Swissotel in Quito and it was certainly luxury plus but it doesn't beat a verandah on a ship.

 

Have a great C.C. get together on the Westerndam. I think you board the ship on the day we arrive in Tampa, the 28th October. We will be flying to San Francisco that day for a few days.

 

Jennie

[fizzy]

My plans to tour with the group organized by Grumpy fell apart in the terminal as all of the buses drove away leaving NADA ! As a single traveler, I had planned to spend the day touring all of the sights not visited on HAL shore excursion. Not to be , due to the absence of a tour guide after a 30 minute wait. I headed for the taxi to take me to my hotel @ 8:30 in the morning !!! Never thought a room would be prepared at that hour but it was a chance I took rather than schlepping around the city with 2 suitcases !!! The search for the hotel was a two taxi deal and you can well assure that this gal---who has traveled alone for 50 years (but not with a cane ! ) had a few doubts about the destination and if/when I would ever reach it !!!! Hotel Arena ! WONDERFUL when I reached it dragging my smaller suitcase up the cobble street hill while the 2nd driver dragged the larger---all the while trying to convince me that I should pay him on the spot ! NOT ON YOUR NELLY ! I paid him 1/2 when I reached the inside of the hotel. After all, I had paid the first driver who, out of sheer frustration,because he could not locate the hotel in the maze of one-way streets in the Asian Side of the city,had taken the 7 Euro fee and then transferred me and my luggage to another cab !! Upon focussing on others in the lobby, I saw 6 or 7 ( can't remember) Prinsendam cruisers. I was given a wonderful corner room in a quiet corner. I proceeded to sleep on and off most of the day and then dined at the hotel. Glad I got sleep in the daytime because the courtyard became a nearly all night soccer game ending only about 1:30 in the morning when I heard tears from a child FINALLY !!!!! Driver arrived promptly the next morning to take me to airport wshere I sat for 4 hours before standing for2 hours before boarding. Had forgotten to pack Lancome cream in check-in luggage and so some rather furtive woman/girl took it---but not before I had slathered an extra layer on my face ! I should have swabbed it out into the garbage, but she set it aside for herself and I did not want to fool around with them !!! They all seemed very yhoung and nervous. As it was, my suitcase was one of the last 3 on the carousel in JFK !!! The other 2 belonged to a couple who were scrutinized by the "authorities" because they had a one-way ticket home from Istanbul having been in the hinterland of Uzbekistan visiting a Peace Corps daughter and then rented a car to drive to Istanbul ! My gosh, the Turkish Security could not understand !!!!Needless to say, I was sure glad to see my driver at the airport after about 29 hours of travel time ! In a day or so, I suppose my memories of the Prinsendam will re-focus, but right now I am still trying to get back on schedule.

[Grumpy1]

Fizzy... so glad to hear that you made it home safe and sound. I really felt bad about our driver not showing up. When I talked to the manager of the company later, he said the driver had been going back and forth between the terminals. I doubt that very much, because we would have seen him while we were out there waiting and checking every placard being held up by drivers/guides. Besides, a good driver knows what ships are at which dock and where to pick up the passengers.

 

The cabbie that took us to our hotel tried to rip us off, too. He didn't start the meter, which told me he has going to try to overcharge us. When we got to the hotel... about 5 minutes or less... I asked him how much and he pointed to the meter display, which had the numbers 35 followed by some letters and a couple more numbers. I handed him 10 euro, which was way more than what the trip would cost on the meter. It should have been about 3 Euro, but I was feeling generous. He tried to tell me it wasn't enough, but couldn't tell me the amount. We got the doorman involved, and he had tried to tell the doorman that he needed more because he had paid the guy at the terminal that got the cab for us and helped load the bags. I told him I had tipped that guy already. After a couple of minutes the cabbie decided to settle for the 10 Euro and drove off. The doorman shook his head and said they try that all of the time and a lot of the people have no idea how much it should cost so they pay.

 

Slinkie's carryon passed inspection in Istanbul, but she ran into the same problem with cream in Frankfurt. She had a tube of Neosporin and a tube of Hydrocortizone cream in her purse. She put a dab of each on her hand which seemed to satisfy the girl that was checking that it was medication and within the guidelines and she let her keep it. It should have been in the checked luggage, though.

 

We certainly enjoyed meeting you and enjoyed our "over the backyard fence" chats on our balconies. You didn't miss much by not being with us on our tour. We went to mostly the same places that you went on the HAL tour the day before. I'm not sure if your tour went inside the Blue Mosque and St. Sophie or not. We did and found them both to be quite impressive. There isn't much to see at the Hippodrome, and at the Grand Bazaar our guide tried his best to steer us into a particular jewelry store and a carpet shop. We looked around the jewelry store but didn't buy anything and refused to go in the carpet store. We saw some areas of the Grand Bazaar that we didn't see the day before, but it was still the same merchandise so it was not anything special.

 

About that cane... you're supposed to use it to poke those cabbies in the stomach to emphasize your point when your arguing with them...:D

[hammybee]

 

About that cane... you're supposed to use it to poke those cabbies in the stomach to emphasize your point when your arguing with them...:D

 

Ohhhhhhh. I always thought one used their cane to poke the otherside.

[alsas]

I KNOW I AM SHOUTING BUT YOU ARE AN AMAZING TOUR GUIDE. thank you thank you thank you. I wish you were comming on the world with us. Happy sailing. Alsas

[Grumpy1]

I KNOW I AM SHOUTING BUT YOU ARE AN AMAZING TOUR GUIDE. thank you thank you thank you. I wish you were comming on the world with us. Happy sailing. Alsas

:o Awww, Thanks... We're going to settle for 66 days on Prinsendam next year, but the world does sound like a really nice voyage. You'll just have to muddle through without us.:D

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Grumpy and Slinkie:

 

Please allow me to offer my belated "thanks" for yet another of your wonderful cruise journals. I always go back to savor and re-read them, because they offer so much information and insight. Your travel threads are a major reason why I consider this HAL board to be "my" neighborhood. :)

[fizzy]

Now I no longer need a cane. Had arthroscopic surgery on knee at Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC on Thursday. Used cane only on Friday and Saturday morning. Removed ace-bandage Sat. afternoon, and am walking fine . Only 3 band-aids on my knee ! Surgeon laughed when asked, "When can I drive?" He replied, "You have been walking , cruiseing, climbing (Switzerland) and driving since July first with more pain than you are going to have beginning today when you come to !" So, off I go again ! No more limpling across the Lido deck for me. And I will prance through Ephesus next time ! Just watch me ! And, I will spend time seeing the sights of Turkey.

[Grumpy1]

Now I no longer need a cane. Had arthroscopic surgery on knee at Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC on Thursday. Used cane only on Friday and Saturday morning. Removed ace-bandage Sat. afternoon, and am walking fine . Only 3 band-aids on my knee ! Surgeon laughed when asked, "When can I drive?" He replied, "You have been walking , cruiseing, climbing (Switzerland) and driving since July first with more pain than you are going to have beginning today when you come to !" So, off I go again ! No more limpling across the Lido deck for me. And I will prance through Ephesus next time ! Just watch me ! And, I will spend time seeing the sights of Turkey.

Fizzy, that is great news! So glad to hear that all went well! We hope to see you again sometime, somewhere on somedam ship:D

[josephone]

Hi Fizzie, Grumpy and Slinkie

 

I found this thread by accident and loved reliving our great trip. Thanks again Grumpy for arranging the tours!!!

 

Fizzie, we are delighted to hear that you are so much better. It is amazing what happens to our lives when pain goes out of it.

 

Have a happy warm fall!!!

 

 

Josephone