March 30th - Sao Paulo Brazil to Lisbon Portugal

[Mikey2611]

I am booked on the above cruise. I am a mid 50's gay male, single and would be interested in discussing a possible share. Prefer my age or younger. Cruise cost is about US$1200 inside cabin. Would consider sharing with gay male from Canada, USA or Brazil.

 

Also interested in chatting with other gay men/women who may also be booked on this cruise.

 

Also interested in hearing from anyone who knows the "ins and outs" of staying in Sao Paolo for a couple of days prior to the cruise and then getting from Sao Paulo to Santos Cruise Ship terminal on the day of the cruise. Looks like it takes a couple of hours and isnt easy to arrange.

 

Any comments appreciated. Private messages preferred.

 

Mike

[mike@sea]

Hi Mike,

 

we, very good friend of mine and me, both mid 40´s and Germans, are booked on same cruise. We have not yet decided, what to do prior the cruise but after some investigation it comes down to 2 options. One is to fly straight to Iguacu for 3 nights in order to see the falls. Problem here is airfare. I work for an airline but we do not have a "private travel" agreement with TAM yet. Not sure if it will be finalized till then. Regular fares from GRU to IGU is way too high for my taste. Another downside is the yelllow fever shot recommendation I came across. Iguacu was clearly stated as "strongly recommend"...

 

Second option is a beach resort town near Santos, called Guaruja. It is supposed to be very nice and not far away from Santos port ( about 20 minutes or so by cab ). Hotel recommendation there would be the Sofitel. Their prices are not finalized for their summer season yet, according to their reservation, so I did not get any good rates, other than the way too expensive ones on their website.

 

This option to me personally is the preferred one, because it would give me time to relax, adjust and get over jetlag and would not give me the headache of another flight and several check-in/check out situations with airlines and hotels.

 

Transporattion from GRU to Santos or Guaruja should not be too bad, unless you go friday evening and return sunday evening, when everybody else tries to hit the beaches. I assume it is not more than 2 hours at the most. I will however find out in December when we get off the Radiance in Santos and head straight to the airport.

 

Mike

[Robb]

I have been posting on the other 'roll call' for a while now. My partner and I just got back from a transatlantic cruise this past Saturday so I am in the middle of tons of laundry right now getting ready for back to back cruises on the Freedom in only 8 weeks.

 

I (Robb) am 61, retired and my partner (Tony) will be 50 soon. He is a doctor at a rural hospital near Louisville. We just celebrated our 27th anniversary on this last cruise. Had a great bunch of straight folks to help us celebrate-most from here on Cruise Critic and our table mates who were all from England.

 

Unfortunately we will not be able to fly into Brazil early, due to his work schedule, and will be arriving on sail away day. Sure hope the flights go well, would hate to miss this cruise.

 

Mickey2611, join us on the other roll call. Seems like a great bunch. One of the couples on this cruise we have traveled with before- Seahags--HELLO Eileen and Jim. She and her husband were with us on a cruise May 2007 in the Medit. We have 3 cruises booked with them now.

 

take care,

Robb

[Mikey2611]

Thanks for the responses guys.

 

I have tentatively booked a hotel for 2 nights (the 28th and 29th) in Sao Paulo having been told this is a big and exciting city with lots of gay life. However I gather that getting from Sao Paulo to Santos for the Cruise is not easy unless you hire a car. Hiring a car for 1 person is too expensive but for 2 or 3 would be reasonable. Its about a 1 1/2 hour trip so I am told. I dont know if you could simply slip back to the airport and get a transfer/shuttle with RCL...my travel agent is asking.

 

If anyone else is contemplating staying in Sao Paulo, please get in touch with me - we could share some expenses.

 

I will likely travel alone on this cruise - unless of course I find a compatible travel mate in the meantime. If anyone wants to explore that opportunity it will cut the cruise costs from $2300 to half of that...cheap by any standard ( inside cabin)....

 

Hope to hear from you..PM if you wish.,