John and Diane's Amazing Round the World Aventure

[mamag]

I wanted to add my Thank You to all the others. I came to the party late but, what a wonderful two days I have spend reading from page one about all of your adventures. You would make excellent travel writers. Again, thank you.

Lynn

[Johnny B]

April 24 – Day 111

 

THE BIG APPLE! This is the city that has everything – shopping, plays, sightseeing, Ground Zero – anything you want to do you can do here. So what did we do? We took the subway to Queens! I would be willing to bet lots of money that we are the only passengers on this ship who spent part of the day in Queens.

 

Why did we do that? A good question. It has to do with the fact that next to Shea Stadium is The Billie Jean King Tennis Center, anchored by Arthur Ashe Stadium. It’s the tennis capital of the U. S., and where John is concerned, it’s the most important tourist site in New York.

 

How do you get to Queens? It’s easy. You take the number 7 subway from Times Square to Shea Stadium, get out and walk to the right. We passed the box office and then Arthur Ashe Stadium, but everything was closed. We began to wonder if this had been an exercise in futility – but NO! After walking all the way around the main stadium, we found the gift shop – yea! It had 2007 U.S. Open tee-shirts, but even better, it had 2008 U. S. Open hats! After our little shopping spree, we walked around the outside courts and saw some folks hitting and talking lessons – John was enchanted. This was the fourth of the four “grand slam” locations that we have visited. We saw the finals at Wimbleton in 1984, have visited Roland Garros in Paris (site of the French Open), and when the ship was in Melbourne we visited the site of the Australian Open, and now we have seen the fourth in the series – the U. S. Open. Now, of course, the goal is to actually go to those opens when they are being played

 

We took the subway back to Times Square, wandered around with wide-open eyes, looking like the tourists we are, and got some lunch at a New York pizza restaurant. All our friends were eating at the Carnegie Deli, but it was 2:00 by then and we were starving, so we went to the first place that looked good.

 

At 4:30, we hosted a sailaway on deck six aft. It was great fun, and we sailed by the same places we saw at 6:00 this morning when we sailed in. We saw The Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Ground Zero, The Empire State Building – it was spectacular. If I haven’t learned anything else on this cruise, I have learned that there is absolutely NOTHING like approaching a city by sea. It is marvelous.

 

So now we have two sea days before Ft. Lauderdale, and except for the fact that our sofa is loaded with luggage almost five feet high, we plan to enjoy every minute of them. We have two days of trivia, two nights at the table with our “dining family,” and two days of incredibly beautiful weather as we sail down the East Coast. It’s rapidly coming to a close, but we’re going to keep enjoying every minute.

[cruznon]

Thank you both for allowing all of us to travel with you. It has been a glorious journey. Thank you for your generosity. May you enjoy these last days and have a safe journey home to the Golden State. I shall miss checking in to read of all the exotic places. This has been a joy!

[cruzinnluvinit]

Thank you both for allowing all of us to travel with you. It has been a glorious journey. Thank you for your generosity. May you enjoy these last days and have a safe journey home to the Golden State. I shall miss checking in to read of all the exotic places. This has been a joy!

I sense the twinge of sadness. You have so many memories to look back on for the rest of your life. Some of us will never leave this hemisphere or even this country. I am now able to say I have been to the Caribbean and that was great. I have also made it around the world through you, thank you John and Diane.

[memoe]

I logged onto your page a few months back when I was trying to find out about HAL...I have read everyday with great anticipation of the next port.

I can only wish that my husband and I can afford (time and money) to do this some day.

I have enjoyed reading about all the wonderful things you did on your well deserved trip (my best friends are teachers)

Thank you so much for sharing with all of us and best of luck to you on your future endeavors.

[boneslides]

I wanted to join everyone else in thanking you for taking the time to post about your truly amazing adventures!! It has been exciting to travel along with you and "see" the sights thru your writing. You have brought the world to life on my computer screen and for that, I sincerely thank you. May your memories of this fantastic voyage bring you pleasure for many years to come. Have a safe journey home to California and again, thank you for taking us all along with you!:)

[onthegogirl]

I picked up our friends Bob & Beverly at pier 92 for a day in the Big Apple. We were looking for "that deli" but one of us thought it was the Broadway Deli, another the Stage Door Deli. Actually we had a lovely meal about a block from the Carnigie Deli. You had a beautiful day in the city, weather couldn't be better. I feel I have been along on the cruise with my friends because of your wonderful posts. They were surprised when I knew they had been to Malta.;) Thank you so much for your efforts.

[Eliger]

John and Diane, I want to add my thanks for sharing your world cruise tour with us on the Cruise Critic site. I have been following your adventure from day 1. How exciting it was! And you had the skill to put this in a way that made everyone want to know about your next day in port or at sea.

 

Thanks again:)

 

Gerry

[scaaty]

John and Diane,

 

I too want to add my thanks to you for sharing your wonderful voyage with us. It was fun traveling the world through your thoughts and words.

 

Do let us know if you will be posting your pictures at a public site where we can also see your wonderful voyage.

 

Thanks again!

[Cruising-along]

John and Diane, we can't thank you enough. You did a fantastic job of detailing your wonderful journey with interesting facts sprinkled with humor. I loved it all.

 

I second the request to let us know if you will be posting your pictures. That will be the icing on the cake. :)

[DesertDogs]

Thanks for taking us along with you on this great adventure! We have been following you since day one - what a great ride it was!

 

Thanks again!

[ybarber]

John and Diane:

 

What a wonderful treat you have given to all of us CC'rs - thank you for taking the time to tell us all about your Voyage. I can only dream of what it must have been like and the wonderful memories you will cherish and the new friendships that you have developed.

 

I too appreciate the significant financial outlay you had to have made in order to post these messages from around the world. Just know that all of us who lived vicariously through you as you described the various ports of call you visited appreciate you very much.

 

I too look forward to seeing the pictures, and hearing more about your trip in the days and weeks ahead. I hope that your transition back to your normal lives is a smooth process - and that your reunions with family and friends back home is joyous.

 

Best Wishes and Welcome Home!:)

[friend of Eeyore]

Echoing the thanks! I've been reading since the beginning, and have thoroughly enjoyed traveling along with you.

 

Please do let us know if/when/where your pictures are posted.

[2552phxcrzr]

Another thanks from another fan. Had a terrific time "virtually" traveling with you as we commuted to and from work -- I read the printouts aloud while my husband does the driving.

[Scrappy cruiser]

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us. It's been great to follow along. Best wishes for a safe journey home, for you and your luggage.

[las313]

Add my thanks for a great trip along with you, It's been such fun. Almost like being there. Safe trip home.

Louise in FLA:)

[Peggy Sue]

Thank you so much for sharing your world cruise with us .. I have enjoyed reading every installment. Through your written words I have experienced places that I knew very little about and now have a desire to go and check things out for ourselves.

 

We learned so much through your updates ..not only about the places you've traveled too, but what the overall cruise expereince is like as well.

 

Bravo .. Thank you!

 

Safe travels home .. Enjoy your reunion with your family!

 

If you are planning on a post-cruise update with a link to any pictures you may like to share rest assured I'll continue to be your #1 fan!

 

Thanks again,

Peggy

[sanibelsandals]

John & Diane,

Thank you for taking me along on your adventure! Through your eyes I saw places I haven't yet visited that are on my wish list and I've added quite a few more 'must sees'. Your travel journal has been fantastic! I'm so sorry that your trip had to end! Welcome home! May all your days be filled with wonderful memories of this Grand Voyage!

[altosax]

John and Diane,

 

For me, it was Around the World in 2 days. Luckily, I just

found this journal yesterday and finished reading moments ago. A wonderful read. A great weekend.

 

Thank you immensly for sharing.

 

It makes we want to call my HAL PCC Monday morning and book something, anything, for as soon as possible since I am recently retired and no longer restricted to 3 to 5 weeks of crusing per year. I might even want to inquire if there is still space available on the 2009 World Voyage :-)

 

As I am now a solo traveller, I am curious, other than the dance hosts, did you notice if there were many/any solo male travellers aboard on such a lengthy journey?

 

Welcome Home. Thanks again.

[Deb C.]

Altosax:

If you are interested, here is a website of a solo traveler that was on the World Cruise +. http://megavoyage.blogspot.com/

Jeff was on the Amsterdam for 216 days. I think you will enjoy his pics!:D

Deb C.

[Johnny B]

Altosax,

There were several single men on the WC, although they were significantly outnumbered by the single ladies (hence the dance hosts). I know that there is space on the 2009 WC, since one of our guests at dinner was Cindy, the future cruise consultant, who commented that WC sales were slower than usual (probably the economy) and that HAL was considering lowering prices for 2009.

 

We've been unusually busy the last couple of days - right now we're in Ft. Lauderdale overnight with a flight home to sunny California tomorrow - but after a couple of days of R & R at home, we're both going to write a concluding entry.

 

Thanks to everyone for all the kind words.

[Bargeo]

This has been like a wonderful novel that I couldn't wait to read every day. Thank you so much for taking me along on a trip that I will probably never experience in person. It was a joy!!!!

[Rebecca33]

I also wanted to add my thanks to you both.. What a wonderful journey it has been even for those of us at home..

 

Thank you for being so generous with your time and your experiences.

[VAPERSON]

:) Many thanks for taking us along on your wonderful voyage. It has been my dream to sail around the world, so I have looked forward to reading about your adventures every day. Hopefully, my husband and I will be able to do this when he fully retires. Your descriptive writing style made everything come alive! Have a safe trip home and continue to have exciting adventures.

[Ides of March]

John and Diane:

 

My congratulations as well.

 

Your efforts to date have been primarily for our. the followers, benefit. In future you will enjoy a priceless asset that will allow re-enjoyment at will especially as memories dim. This I found to be an unexpected bonus.

 

Many thanks for your efforts from:

 

Ides and Grux