bennybear

We’ve had aft cabins on several cruises and love them unless there is rough weather. We’ve had a Neptune on the Nieuw Amsterdam and it was absolutely incredible with a massive wrap around deck. We had a lovely cabin on the Zuiderdam, through the Panama Canal. It was also slightly larger than a regular balcony. We have been on deck 8 and there was some noise and at times smells. I believe on deck five on vistas have more shade and coverage.

Good morning and thank all! Ooh @cat shepard that wine, I’d love a taste! A great quote! Thanks for the great photos of Rio, it’s on my list! Cinquo de mayo is also the anniversary of DH’s retirement, time has flown! @ger_77 how exciting for your family! I’m envious, we now have direct nonstop flights, but is is a long way! Hopefully the little one will sleep part of it. They’ll have a blast! I agree with you about the coronation. For me, I had utmost respect for the late queen, she will be my last. I think the time has come to move away from the monarchy here, although I have a lot of respect for our Governor General, Mary Simon. I did like that the king met with indigenous leaders yesterday. I too will likely watch highlights. @Nickelpenny congratulations! Now a new chapter begins! @kazuhugs today! Slowly spring beckons!

@St Pete Cruiser Aloha! So glad you are out of hospital! Enjoy hopefully a few days in Hilo, we had amazing Thai food there, Tina’s Garden cafe, highly recommend the nut salad with pineapple and anything else, There’s a market by the water as well as waterfalls nearby and botanical gardens. We have a friend with an AirBNB there, I thought for a moment you were there, lol!

Me thinks there is a vast difference in rough seas and being in the Bering sea in a storm. After watching the deadliest catch tv show about fishing for crab, it’s a different world. I think one needs to set their expectations accordingly.

What a fabulous article, brings back many great memories. We were blown away by Genoa, and loved the Ducal city of Urbino. Many years ago we had a Canadian television show with an Italian Canadian chef, David Rocco. He combined his love of cooking with visits to some of these more off the beaten path places, and inspired us to visit further afield. And to further add to the discussion of the lagoon, we stayed in a rural area midway between Venice and Trieste. We were able to take a boat tour to some of the many fishing huts that lined the lagoon. It was totally fascinating, we had no idea of their existence, but some families had them for generations. Amazing food in that area, our son was fascinated to see a mantis shrimp on a seafood plate! It made it very easy to visit Udine, another ducal town. There is a fascinating town, Palmanova built in a star shape! So much to see off the beaten path.

Congratulations on the gold! I am so enjoying the photos, brings back lots of memories, something that never goes bad or takes up much room! Hope I can play trivia on your team some day!

IMO it’s always nice to make a situation known to those who can do something about it. No guarantees, but if you don’t ask, that’s a guarantee that nothing will change. And in person, sometimes there may be some more accountability. YMMV

Good a day and thanks all! I miss my DB dearly! @marshhawk i hope you enjoy Canada and Alaska! Safe travels! @kazu how thoughtful of your sister! It sounds like your pooch arrived at exactly the right time!

@smitty34877 sending gentle hugs and wishes for improvement. Sometimes things are unspeakable, wishing you well! @Cruising-along what a lovely cabin! Enjoy!

Another consideration if your cruise is in the fall, storms have at times made ships late into port. If that flight is a good connection, perhaps consider staying overnight at the airport and spend the day in Rome. We’ve done that in the past and enjoyed an extra day in Rome without rushing for the airport. There is a Hilton attached to the airport in FCO. That way you can easily fly out the next day.

Wow! Gorgeous! Will make the wait worthwhile

Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit! @kazu sending hugs as you remember Jose! I love leis! Lovely scented plumerias are often used. Love the vintage photos of Hawaiian royalty with leis on horseback

Circumnavigation of Japan during cherry blossoms

The best of the best IMO is Kyoto, it is so serene. Tokyo is amazing as well but it’s a city with nearly the population of Canada. So one ancient city of geishas and temples, and the other the world’s largest city. But there are beautiful temples there, and not to be missed is the Imperial Palace. Would it be possible for you to route through Kansei airport? It is very near Kyoto. It is also an international airport. If not, we enjoyed the Tokyo Hilton Shinjuku, pricey but with a view of Fuji from the top floor. If you can upgrade to the level that includes the lounge they have a lovely breakfast, and afternoon tea and drinks and snacks in the evening. The service is unbelievable. The concierge was simply the best. I am wishing you the best what ever you decide, happy to answer any questions.

@AncientWanderer I haven’t forgotten Your request. We spent two weeks in Japan broken up with 11 days pre cruise and 4 nights post in Tokyo. We found it to be the perfect balance, and we worked up to Tokyo a city of near the same population as our country of Canada. We visited the imperial palace, and the wisteria flower gardens there as well. It was surprisingly easy to navigate, and the people were friendly and helpful. I am a bit of a fairweather sailor so chose to fly both ways, but my cousin took the ship back to North America. I think it can be quite rough, and I was just not up for that. YMMV. As we had never been to Japan before all the ports were new for us. we thoroughly enjoyed Sakaiminato and Kochi as well as ports on Hokkaido, Aomori and Hakkodate. Kanazawa allowed us to see the amazing villages of Shirakawa Go We highly recommend you spend several nights in Kyoto, There is just to much to see to make a day trip feasible, We also really enjoyed Hiroshima, surprisingly, It is a very modern vibrant city with beautiful parks and great food as well as the peace park and museum. The island of Miyajima is worth a visit , so we spent two nights there. We also spent a night in Himeji, and a couple of nights in a small onsen town, near where they raise the waygu beef, it was wonderful and gave us a sense of the countryside! Please ask any questions you may have! I got a couple of guides from the library to see wha ti was interested in seeing and that helped me plan. Miyajima

good day and thanks all! We also enjoyed Eidfjord! @cat shepard you made me laugh out loud, our first German Shepherd was named Thor, the Norwegian God of thunder, and you guessed it!

Nothing is certain in life or in cruise itineraries, perhaps you could consider cancel for any reason insurance. And check those warnings because they can negate coverage. I suggested a cruise that offered two of the three places you wanted to visit. But now you state China is your priority, not visiting Taiwan and Korea. You also may want to start your own thread with your specifics for more feedback. Best of luck.

Have you visited Japan before? If not do yourself a favour and spend at least a week, preferably more with at least four nights in Kyoto.

We had a China, Taiwan to Japan cruise booked a few years ago. Due to a political situation we chose to just go to Japan and we were rewarded with one of the the best cruises. We enjoyed a circumnavigation of Japan during cherry blossom time and it was wonderful. It was so good we want to do it again, with South Korea and perhaps Okinawa. To the OP, also suggest some time precruise in Japan, we adored Kyoto. We very much enjoyed HAL as we chose by itinerary. Most other cruises were several days shorter, 12 or 9 instead of 14. We found it perfect as a good way to get a good sense of the country. It could also be combined with another 14 day cruise to some other Asian countries for a more in depth experience. We had booked a cruise with Celebrity that was cancelled a year ago, the number of cancellations would make me nervous, @nolafrankYou could hedge your bets and do a Japan cruise that includes South Korea and Taiwan. For me that would be the perfect solution.

@marshhawk sending hugs! It’s so difficult saying goodbye to a faithful friend! I would be remiss if I didn’t add that my DD’s DFIL had surgery yesterday for his femur so hopefully things should improve for him soon. And a repeat, but happy to share any info on Japan ports, our circumnavigation was one of our absolute favourites and DO try the pumpkin curry, it is surprisingly yummy.

Good morning and thanks all! I just want to say thanks for all the wonderful kind messages, they are greatly appreciated. Feeling stronger each day! I adore pumpkin curry! I read quickly yesterday, but just wanted to respond that the Japan circumnavigation we did in 2019 was one of our most favourite cruises ever. So if you have questions about ports I am happy to help, We found combining the cruise with two weeks on a land trip to be perfect. HAL for the itinerary and cost shone, and was thoroughly enjoyed. So please don’t be dissuaded.

Just wanted to jump in and say happy birthday to @dfish Debbie! sorry I think there was another birthday, please forgive me! I have appreciated the good wishes! Thanks to so many for all the kind supportive words! @St Pete Cruiser yikes! At least Hilo is a good place, maybe rest and recuperation there after! And you can see the volcano! And enjoy some malasadas!

Very late today, and scattered. The book Thief is one of my most favourite books, our book club loved it, it sounds very strange but it is an excellent read! Highly recommend! ANZAC day is very important, we saw quite the memorial to some of the soldiers on Crete, who had to be rescued by submarines! I am glad to hear some good news Edi, happy birthday to Geri’s DH @ger_77 hope he doesn’t get side effects from the shingrix for his birthday, but I know you’ll celebrate well. @kazu love the dog toys, and hope tomorrow goes as well as possible! @marshhawkso hard to make these decisions, but when they no longer want to eat it is a sign. Big hugs! Hope the Mohs goes well and the melanoma surgery for your DSS My apologies if I missed anything, life has been insane, yesterday my DD’S FIL was airlifted into a trauma centre after an industrial accident. Praying he does well with multiple injuries, he just lost his wife a few months ago. My biopsy results were not good, so I have been preparing for surgery tomorrow. I am hopeful it was caught early, appreciate prayers.

It’s actually quite pleasant here right now! Plus 15 Celsius aka 59 Fahrenheit, it beats standing outside in subzero weather. The aurora is most active spring and fall. Last night the data was absolutely incredible and they could be seen much further south. Camera picks up much more than your naked eye, and some aurora photos you see are enhanced a lot. The photos I posted had absolutely no editing. We have seen them when the odds were only 30% and even much less. You can see how far the strong showing went on the map below.

Good morning and thanks all! Genocide is so senseless and Terrible we must not forget. @cat shepard glad you like the new fridge! What kind did you get? @cruising sister panic attacks are so strange, I think it’s our bodies way of telling us we just cannot. Happened to me only once as I was about to board a 747, needless to say DH had to go onto the tarmac to get our luggage offloaded. Our DD had recently been in an accident and I couldn’t leave. We had wonderful aurora last night, it was cloudy but we went for a drive and we’re well rewarded. Some really looked like celestial beings, it was truly wonderful.