P.S. To Cruise Adventure #8

This ends the current postings to the blog. I may try to upload a few pictures later but that will just be for my practice. No further travel posting will be forthcoming but I will notify you (if you don't mind) of when the blog will be active again. We are headed for Calgary in mid June and intend to do some alpine wildflower hicks so we may post something on that trip. Thanks to those who left comments!
Cheers
Rick and Judy

Barcelona Good Bye and Return to Windsor

It really is nice to return to a keyboard that is more than 4 inches and I can actually use without a microscope which is what it was like using the hand held that Chris had with him. If you received the first blog from Barcelona and could not decipher it, the problem was using the small screen and some of the things that the keyboard did on its own. Then it would not support spellcheck (or eye check for that matter. I did go back and correct it so if you want to see the actual posting you need to go to the web site.
Our last day was spent travelling the Gothic centre of Barcelona which is the oldest part of town where you can still see portions of the Roman defensive system which and now part of some of the buildings. The Cathedral was very impressive but in general the Spanish Churches are very different from the ones that you see all over Italy. Yesterday I mentioned the waiting for Chris and did not elaborate much on the whole area. It is a great place if you like crowded narrow streets and shops that are on a siesta in the middle part of the day. It was a national holiday weekend and there was wall to wall (or is it building to building in the narrow streets) people.
After just touring around, it was time for the mid afternoon beer in a sidewalk cafe. Only problem was that Judy had some specific ideas - not to crowded (like that was going to happen), in the sun, quiet. After walking for about 45 minutes we settled on the main street with about 8 lanes of traffic! However it was sunny and the beer was extremely cold. Brigitte went to work immediately talking to the people next to us (an oilman(?) U.S. but living in Copenhagen) and her must have overheard us talking about splitting another beer - I could not guess if Chris wanted another - but no sooner had we talked about this that 3 half liters of draft arrived courtesy of the couple! Apparently Brigitte does this all the time - talks to strangers (good for her!) and pets stray dogs but that is another story.
Dinner was near the Gaudi church where there are plenty of restaurants (bars) serving "Tapas(?) which are dishes of food on display and you just order various plates. It was a fitting end to the 3 great days we spent with Chris and Brigitte in Barcelona.
Yesterday we were up early for our 10 am flight. Chris and Brigitte we going to spend the day touring before taking the overnight train down the coast. The Delta flight back was uneventful but we they did have wine available and served both lunch, ice cream and a pizza snack on the nearly 9 hour trip. JFK was backed up and after easily clearing immigration, we were about 90 minutes late getting to Detroit.
I do have to say something about our transportation home. By the time we got to the baggage area (a long way from where the plane landed) our driver and his assistant were already loading it into the back of a beautiful black Mercedes. In fact he had 3 offers for driving jobs from other people while he was waiting for us. Now John was dressed in black and looks like a limo driver! Yvonne the assistant was flagging the luggage and spotted our bags from the name tags. All in all a wonderful pick up. Many thanks to our good friends who got us home in style where we had a chance to share a bottle of wine. But the best part of ending the trip with this limo driver and assistant is getting invited to dinner today! They are highly recommended to anyone needing a lift.

Barcelona Gothic Touring
I am having a bit of a hard time trying to use this little key board as I am typing with a pencil point. Today Chris and Brigitte were off to try and buy a ticket to Valencia for the next leg of the trip so we headed out and agreed to meet at the catheradel at 1. By the time that they arrived at 1:30 Chris had had it. The problem is that they do not have a intergrated rail system so you can't do one stop shopping. When they finally got it figured out, they realized that the credit card was back at the appartment with not enought time to take the metro back and still meet us. They were 30 minutes late and we were ready to move on and see the gothic cathedral.In any case we did meet up and toured. The biggest problem was that my camera electronics went out and I had no camera available for most of the day. Now that we are at the appartment, it is working fine. We did stop at a sidewalk cafe for a beer and Brigitte struck up a convesation with a couple who eventually sent over 3 half liters of beer! Good for her.
Now we are headed for Gaudi street and will have some dinner . After that it will be back here. We need to head to the airport tomorrow around 7 am. I will try a final posting sometime after we get settled. We are scheduled to arrive late Saturaday night. It has been a wonderful "20" days. As always cheers!

Big Red Bus and Barcelona Touring

Barcelona issue a beautiful city.We have been here for for 2 days and have been running today seeing as much as we can. Spent yesterday in Montserrat and it is an extremely interesting place. Today was the busiest day. We rode the big red bus and saw the Gaudi park, and then raced to the dancing fountain display. Went got back here around midnight. More postings later but this hand held is very hard to type on.

Marseille Day

This will be the last posting from sea as we are scheduled to get off in Barcelona tomorrow and then stay for the 3 days of touring with Chris and Brigitte. We just returned from about 6 hours of "do it on you own" sightseeing! We actually encountered tours from the ship as we moved about. We needed to shuttle bus in to the city as we are docked about 4 miles from the main part. From there we took a city bus to Notre Dame, a massive church on the high point overlooking the city. It was built on the foundation of an old fort with another church on top of it. Quite impressive. The city views were very commanding as well. Rather than walk down we opted to use our return bus ticket to get back into town so we could head in another direction. We went up the main street for about 45 minute walk and reached the gardens, also located on a hill with a memorial on it. Of course by then we were getting hungry and thirsty so we stopped in a little sidewalk cafe and had beer, wine and a light snack; then headed back down to the old port. We did get off the beaten path a bit but it was just another interesting way to arrive downtown. There was another protest going on so it took quite to navigate the crowds and catch the bus back to the ship.
So the cruise is over except for the departing. Our opinion is that although the weather has been really great; no rain on the entire cruise, we still prefer the fall crossings with the port days up front and then the sea days to relax. This way we have had 4 port days in a row! Until next time...

Touring Rome On A Sunday

Pushing 6 pm local time and we returned from the full day in Rome. Considering how far it is to get to Rome, we needed to be on the bus by shortly after 8 am and for the sleepy heads that was accomplished with few problems.
We did Rome on Your Own which means that they take you there and bring you back and everything in between is on your own. The bus guide was quite good and funny and gave n excellent into to the places that we might want to visit. Having spent time in Rome on 2 previous visits we were off to some of the lesser places. They dropped us in St Peter's Square but the pope was conducting services today and St Peter's was closed until 1-2 pm which meant long lines and little time to make the departure. we decided to go to Castel S. Angelo which is the old fortress looking building at the beginning of the street to the church. It has had many uses in the past starting in Roman times but more recently used as apartments for various popes who built on top of the old Roman structure. It is where he went in times of political problems. At any rate it was quite interesting although a bit confusing with all the ages of the structures.
After that we headed down the Tiber - walking of course - into the Trastevere district which is just south of the Vatican. We were headed for the first Catholic church built in Rome called Santa Marie in Trastevere. A very impressive church. You think that you have seen it all and then the next church produces surprises. Lunch in a little cafe behind the church (gnocchi again) with wine and beer and then a walk back to the Vatican. The lineup was still long so we strolled the streets and looked in the shops.
Last night was Country Night and we did some line dancing and a few other things including an very good singer. Now the Italian opera is coming from the Atrium just outside this room. Judy is already back in the cabin taking a shower and will probably be asleep by the time I get there. All this before we crack open our new bottle of wine. Liverno walled towns and farm house lunch tomorrow. Cheers.

Sardinia Port Day

We have just returned from our port day in Cagliari, Sardinia after spending the day ashore. This was a new sop for us so it too a few minutes to get all the appropriate maps and directions but once that was done we were off to the town. Our first stop was the old Roman Amphitheatre which is one of the best examples of 2 nd century building in the area. It was not constructed so much as hewn out of the limestone rock into the side of the hill. The only problem was that they hold modern concerts there (originally seated 10,000) and then have constructed platforms and put in new seats. A bit of a disappointment from that point of view. From there it was up into the old walled city and wandering the narrow streets. We stopped at the Torre di San Pancrazio which was a Pisian designed tower. Of course we had to climb to the top (only about 5 stories) but it afforded the best views of the city. I think the pics from there will be good. The Duomo was next, the "oldest" preserved church but there was a wedding going on so we did not spend much time there. We wandered to the Bastione Saint Remy which affords good views of the city where we met the Radovich's again and just sat and talked a bit.
The afternoon was spend wandering and looking at some of the other towers as we made our way out of the walled city, stopped at a really old (closed) church and settled at a sidewalk cafe (again) where we enjoyed the wine the beer and the local pasta. Very good break before coming back to the ship.
After a rest we will enjoy drinks on the 17 th deck before getting ready for dinner and the country western night. We need to relax a bit as tomorrow we visit Rome. The bus leaves around 8 and returns at about 5:30 so it will be a long day. Oh I should tell you that be had our first gelatto. Excellente! Cheers!

Sailing The Mediterranean

Another bit of a late noon report but since yesterday's report we have been at sea just enjoying our last sea day before we hit 4 ports in a row. We managed to get to the dining room for breakfast and had the pleasure of eating with one of the guest artists aboard. The other guests turned out to be a retired teacher from Windsor that worked with Roy. Radovich (?) by name. We had a nice little review because they sail with one of Judy's former sorority sisters and he bowls with Joe Stomp who I see often. Our teaching paths never crossed.
Line dancing was OK but Judy wen to the cooking demo and we can now try a full Italian dinner. I needed more practice line dancing as tomorrow is the big country night. We also attended a lecture on the historical places in Rome which was a nice review. The afternoon was spent at the art auction and at the pool. Tonight is formal night with the "Farewell Party" and champagne waterfall since it is the last sea day. However there will be another art Wine party in a few days. So it will be another late night. Tomorrow we are ashore in Sardinia and we are looking forward to some pasta and wine. Cheers!

Gibraltar - What A Rock (Walk)

Noon report for today is a bit late as it is pushing 4 PM local time. We are set to sail within the hour. Actually with the time difference, the noon report is actually being sent early in the morning. At any rate here is the report for today. We were ashore before 9 am and just returned and no tours for us. No we did it the hard (healthy) way by walking.
We started with the 2-3 mile walk to the 100 ton gun. It is one of those hugh "big bertha" type things only the English version. Before we finally arrived at it, we had passed through the centre of town, and out the South Gate where the Trafalgar Cemetery is located. The battle was actually fought in Cadiz Bar which is where we were yesterday. At any rate this is the place where the dead were buried if they were not just dumped over the side which was the normal practice. There are the marines and sailors that died from their wounds. At any rate I took lots of photos to pass on the the NOAC. After the visit to the gun, we returned to the cable car lift. We waited about 40 minutes because 2 ship's tours were there before us and it is not a continuous running lift but rather an up and down cable car! At any rate we were at the top by noon. However the clouds rolled in and it was awhile before the coast of Africa could be seen. Of course Jude (Norm take note) was afraid of the apes so we had to be careful where we went.
After taking the needed pictures we headed for the Siege tunnels at the north end of the rock but did not go it this time as we have been in them before. After that it was a stop at the WW2 tunnels which have just been opened for touring but having been in the tunnels before we carried on. By the Turkish Fort and on down the mountain. We only bought a one way ticket because we knew where we were going to be and to walk back to the lift was harder than the walk down. After that, and this is always the best part, we stopped in an off the main street British Pub and had fish and chips and of courser the local beer! Cold and tasty. More than one in fact! That was followed by walking the commercial district and a then the mile walk back to the ship.
Tomorrow is our last day at sea and then come the last 4 days which are all port days. We should be good and tired by then. As always, cheers!

Cadiz A Place To VIsit

We have been in Cadiz for about 8 hours and just returned to the ship after spending the day ashore. We had a good time exploring this city that is only 1.7 kms long by 1.2 wide. We were beginning to doubt if there was enough to see here and perhaps should have taken the train to Seville but it really worked out. Being so small we were able to walk around the entire place seeing the forts and guard towers as well as the walls which were built hundreds of years ago. The gardens were very interesting and of course just walking on the old narrow streets was a blast. This city has it right with tour maps and painted pathways so you never get lost (?) and get to see what you are interested in. We did visit the main cathedral but chose to use our euros on the bell tower climb. Again it was the highest point in the city and afforded wonderful views and photos of the entire city. After that it was just more wandering and visiting the churches and old plazas.
Of course we did stop in a plaza for a local beer (2 in fact) and a glass of wine (2 again). They of course serve olives with that so we split the dish of olives (44 to be exact). Total cost with tip was only 10 euros. A bargain at any price. We did encounter an American women buying chamos (?) at a framers market stall. They are deep fried pastry sold by the kilo. She wanted .7 euros worth (the minimum) and proceeded to get her calculator and figure that it was $1.12 "American". She did get the minimum but all I could think of was that is probably why American travellers get a bad name.
We did do a few "videos" for the videos but Judy had had 2 glasses of wine so it took 2 or 3 tries and she forgot to turn the thing off. I did a short one of her after 2 drinks. In any event a very nice place for a day visit on a cruise. So Judy has gone to the pool and then it will be sailing time as we proceed to Gibraltar where we will be tomorrow. Cheers to those in the cool weather. It was 75 and sunny today!

Sailing to Spain!

We are back at sea after spending the day ashore yesterday. We did not get in until 2 pm and sailed around 10 but that was plenty of time to see a few things ashore. Having been there before, we had an idea of what we wanted to do. After walking to town - about 15 minutes - we stopped at the "I" place and got a map and directions. We ran to catch a #31 bus which took us 1/2 way up the mountain to the Botanical Gardens where we spent some time just wandering around. Then we took the "ski type lift" across a deep valley to the top of the mountain to a little village and wandered around there for awhile. That was the start point for the basket sled ride down the mountain. Ma did not want to try it so we opted to take the 2 mile lift down the mountain, bypassing the local bus transportation. We finally ended up in the farmer's market and then wandered to the waterfront where we sat and had a local beer and some local made wine. We just sat there and enjoyed the sun which was finally trying to break out of the clouds where it had been all day. We got back to the ship around 7:30, just in time for a shower and dinner.

Little entertainment yesterdy because of the late sailing but they did have dancing under the windy stars where we practiced our new found talents with the waltz and the cha cha! Can't belive we did that but the instructor was so good that we can at least make a pretense!

A time change led to a late morning again - can't seem to wake up early. We did do our deck walk and finally watch a talk on how they do shows onboard. Interesting stuff. Tonight will bring the Captain's Party for Princess cruisers (usually weak drinks!) and then a show. We need to read up about Cadiz. We decided not to try to go to Sivelle

Short Sea Day

Today is a short sea day as we are expected to be in port in about 2 hours. We were sleepy heads again today and have been just relaxing for the past little while.
Yesterday we spent most of the afternoon at the art auction but did not see anything that was even interesting. After getting ready for dinner, we watch a magician - again - very funny - and then stopped by for the glass of wine. Dinner was surf and turf. The show was a Broadway singer. She was good but the show was only 40 minutes.

This morning Judy again won a free cocktail because of her answer to the question of the day which I submitted as usual. We have already answered today's question. We tried to book a tour for Liverno but the one we wanted had limited capacity and was sold out. So we have booked a Tuscany tour with visits to 2 medieval towns and lunch. It was one of the tours that we had been looking at.
We are about 30 miles from Madeira travelling at about 12 knots. We had really slowed down in the night. Last night the sea was very calm and I hope that my night pictures of the moon and sea turn out. Time to go get ready for a shore day. We have been at sea for just under 7 full days! Show me the "LAND"!

Sunday At Sea!

Sunday at sea and the ship keeps moving. Actually this noon report today is about 5 hours ahead of noon in Ontario as we changed time zones again. That was 2 days in a row. I think that the ship is playing games with us because I noticed that the sunset is at 9:00 pm tonight and that is way too late for our present position. I guess that since tomorrow is a port day they do not want people too tired. As we meet people they all comment on how tired they are every time breakfast at 8:30 this morning and we had 3 waiters helping us at breakfast. Point is there was nobody there. We did go to the 9 am service which included a few songs and a couple of "inspirational stories". After that it was line dancing which was very poor. The girl knows nothing and does not make any bones about it. However the ballroom dance class taught by the cruise director was excellent again. It was cha cha day and the way he breaks it down and shows the dance is enough to make even the poorest dancer (like me) get out there when the real music starts. Jude is now doing her puzzle and resting before lunch. We just finished a 40 minute walk - about 2.5

miles.
    Yesterday afternoon was cleaning day which meant that we needed to do a wash. Everything looks good again. However we were a few minutes late for the tea party where needless to say we drank tea until all the big silver pots were empty. After dressing for dinner we headed to the lounge for a magician and a singer in a 40 minute preshow. We could not bring ourselves to going to the art gallery but we will do that tonight as there is an art auction this afternoon. Dinner was scallops and crab cakes and the show after that was a great song and dance production. It was a "new" one in that we had not seen it before and it was very upbeat with lots of high energy routines. Tonight the main show is a singer. We did not win the free cocktail yesterday as we did not come close to the "number of eggs used every day on this ship" with the answer being 5500. We do have the right answer for today's quiz so we will see if our answer is pulled.
Tomorrow is Madeira in the Canary islands. We get in at 2 pm and sail at 10. We will just wander ashore as we have been here before. We travelled about 400 miles yesterday and have about the same to go which means we will slow slightly overnight. Cheers from the Atlantic Ocean!

800 Miles to Maderia!

Time again for the noon report. Before going any further I must admit that we almost missed the dance class today - and it was at 10:30. The problem actually was yesterday. We spent the afternoon at the art auction. Judy saw a nice painting - original of course - the day before in the gallery when we were having some wine - and it came up for bid. During the break she was down looking at it and really liked it for an opening bid of about $1500. The auction started after the break and the auctioneer turns to our side of the room and says I have your bid. At the time I was doing a puzzle so not really paying attention. Next it is going twice and I realized that he was looking our way. Judy says yes I bid on it and I figure well it is a big ocean they will never find the body! SOLD! DAMM! It turned out the a lady in a tier below us had actually bid. Close call but I can see what is going to happen sometime in the future.
Anyway all that pressure made me a little tired! So we decided to spend some time in the sun and then back to the cabin to get ready. There was a comedian (very good) that was doing another routine. We heard him the first night and we have seen him on other cruises. So that was a 7 pm show. After that it was the art gallery "looking at art" and enjoying the free drinks - any scam you can find. We actually met a very nice couple and so chatted with them for a few minutes while having another wine.
Dinner followed and with the "Ma" having had 3 glasses of wine she was quite talkative at dinner. She had to tell her "American climber story". Then it was off to the Salsa and Latin American party so we spent some time dancing. That Latin stuff is quite tiring! But it was fun! That was followed by the "Canada Day Party" at 11:30 where they played music from across Canada -Adams, BTO, Twain, Hip, etc. So by the time we got back to the cabin it was after midnight!
That is why we hardly made breakfast this morning. We also turned the clocks ahead last night. We will be doing the same today. So today being Saturday, we "decided" to sleep in. Tomorrow we have line dancing (and another time change) at 9:30 so we better put in a wake up call! This morning the dance lesson was the Waltz and they are having an afternoon tea party with dancing so we need to get to that. And these are the relaxing days at sea! Hope everyone is enjoying your weather as it continues to be warm here. Cheers!

Friday 18 April 2008

Time for the noon report. If the date of the message is earlier than about 3 pm it is because we lost another hour last night and will do the same tonight. By the time we finish the late show and then visit the venues, we seem to never get to bed. Then we loose an hour. No wonder we don't get up early in the morning.
Yesterday afternoon was spent just laying in the sun as it was a great day. Ma managed to fall asleep and get a very nice tan/burn while doing so. I was busy here in the computer room and then could not find her as she had moved so I went off to hear a singer.
Last night we went to a painting demonstration and they insisted on serving wine to us again. They must figure that we will buy on of those $20,000 pieces. Ma of course has found one that she likes but it is out of our price range! We also had the special order gnocchi las tnight and then discovered that it was on the menu at the Caribe Cafe for lunch. It was Italian lunch with about 10 different types of pasta. Very good.
Yesterday we answered the question of the day and the ma's card was pulled so she gets a free cocktail! They have changed how they distribute winner's prizes from previous cruises. So tonight we may try the cocktail or go to the Art Gallery party - again! Tonight is also salso night in the Fusion Club and since we have been to the lessons (again today) we feel that we might be able to actually do the dance. Besides who will see! Line dancing class was a bit of a bust as the instrucor was a new one (again). SOmeone from the class actually ended up teaching a new dance and that was better than what the cruise staff did!
Oh the noon position puts us just over half way to Maderia. We get there on Monday afternoon. So the weekend has started. I guess we will take it easy! Time to go back to the auction to see if we can win something!

Noon report is a little later today as we had a bit of trouble with the computer reading my card. All ok now. Our noon position today was about a third of the way across the Atlantic after doing another 500 sea miles and I was thinking what Christopher Columbus would say if he say this thing with 2500 passengers doing nothing but eating and drinking and sleeping all day.
Yesterday was interesting as we went to the art auction. This cruise has about 5 current painters on it so they are selling original works. Yesterday at the champagne auction (Now you see why we go!) they sold about $125,000 of art in 30 minutes - all originals by the same person. The highest bid was $30,000 and with that you got a hug from "Judith" the artists wife. Another $25,000 went in lesser pieces. Having gotten into the Princess art buyers data base (Judy won a free lithograph last year) we got a special invite to view the art in the gallery which of course is open to everybody. So we did go down there before dinner and viewed the art and of course in true fashion (Buck pay attention) we had our free wine and before dinner nibblies! Why buy wine when you get these perks! Anyway we may go view the art again tonight.
Things are a bit calmer overall today and I don't mean the sea. The highest waves have been moderate so it has been a smooth crossing to date. Sun is out and Judy is up near the pool. Yesterday (past 2 days ) I have been a bit off. Not enough to skip the Mexican lunch or dinner but still a bit off. Today the Caribe buffet featured "American BBQ" so we had ribs and shrimp for lunch. I may head for a dog and fries for the afternoon break! Tonight we asked if we could have a side of gnocchi as we missed it yesterday. Of course we can!
Show last night was Motown Review. It was good but not great. However we also saw a magician/comic and he was very good. So they have lots of entertainment on this ship; more than the last one we were on in the fall.
I guess for Mike and Doreen I need to comment on the dance class. No line dancing today but after our 2 mile walk we went to the class and learned the swing. Now that is the dance that is fast and has kicks in it! I will let you fill in the rest of the picture. No one needed medical attention! As far as photos are concerned I need some help with that. You can email them but I am not sure if I can post them here. Thanks to the people who have posted comments. Nice to hear from folks back home!

Wednesday At Sea!

Noon position report time. We are about 2400 miles from Maderia having made just over 500 miles in the last 24 hours. Yesterday was formal night so we had our photos taken again. Then when they are posted we stand and talk about what lovely pictures they are to total strangers! Some Fun!
We discovered that on this ship there is a speciality buffet which is themed. Yesterday is had sushi, fried rice,sweet and sour pork, etc. Today is Mexican Day so we may try lunch there if the dining room is too full or the menu doesn't appeal to us.
Last night at dinner there were 2 couples celebrating 40 years. The other couple had their 40th in January and of course ours will be in June. We did know that the special dessert was coming because we had arranged it through Penny our travel agent at CAA. Thanks to Penny!
After our walk yesterday we tried to do the same a few minutes ago but the sea spray has covered the deck so after 1 turn we decided to head inside where Judy is now reading. We did manage to get to breakfast today and actually sat with a couple that leve about 5 miles away from us in Florida. There are a lot of Florida and California people on this trip.
I wanted to add some photos today. They do have a card reader but I need help to upload as the message says can't do it for security reasons.This morning we went to line dancing. It was basic as we had a different instructor. The one slated for the session has been sick and it is a bit confusing as she did things slightly different than yesterday. We then stayed on for ballroom. Today was the salsa lesson so now I can "move those hips" with the best of the dancers with new knees and hip pins! Last night after a very good singer performed we did stop in the Club Fusion and caught the last to the New Year's Party and did a few dances. By the timewe returned to the cabin we had had it. This might explain the tired feeling for the last few days! Oh I hope that shuttering was a wave and not a torpedo!
Noon report finished. Weather remains in the 70's althought it is humid and overcast!

Tuesday At Sea

This is the noon report from sea. We are currently about 300 miles from Florida, about 3000 miles from our first port of call.
The day started very early yesterday with a 4 am wake up call for the 6:20 flight. We were sitting at the Smith terminal where there is nothing open and nothing to see. While we were in Washington doing one of those new puzzles and we almost missed the connection to Florida. Arrival was good except standing at the luggage claim and no blue strapped luggage pieces to be found! Finally a Princess rep came over and told us he had our luggage. It had arrived on an earlier flight. The cab ride was an adventure as we waited about 15 minutes to get into the port. They were checking id's and it was worse than trying to cross at the tunnel!
Ship arrival and boarding went well. Buffet was first on the agenda. The rest of the time was spent trying to get to know this ship. We have never been on this class before and all the bars and venues are in different places. Needless to say we were very tired from the day.
All the table mates showed up which is always good. We have 2 couples travelling together from California and a mother and son from England. Dinner was the prime rib which was excellent.
We had a time change last night and with the travel and all we were still in bed at 9. Hated to miss dining room breakfast but sometimes you need to sacrifice. Buffet for breakfast! Line dancing (beginnes class) and then an artist demo with one of the featured art auction painters and finally a 2 mile walk around the deck finished the morning. We do have the normal range of afternoon activities with formal night tonight. We will be able to post pictures to this account so that will be better than I could hope for.

Packed And Ready

We finally finished packing! With this crazy cool weather in Windsor it is hard to believe that we are only taking light clothes but we think that the southern route across the Atlantic (to the Canaries) will be a lot warmer than what we feel right now!
Our taxi pick up time (Chris) is 8:00 pm, a bit later than we had originally scheduled but plans are made to be changed.
So another adventure (and trip video) begins!

Schedule of Our Cruise

It occured to me that here we are talking about a cruise and people who look at this do not know the details of what we are on about.
We have been cruising with the Princess Line for a few years. We started in the Mediterranean going from Venice to Athens. Since then we have been through the Panama Canal, crossed to england from New York; have done 2 crossings from rome to the U.S.A. and visited Russia and the Baltic as well a last fall's autumn colour trip from quebec City to fort Lauderdale. we have been trying to cruise twice a year!
Here are the details of Cruise #8 - Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona - 16 days on the emerald Princess.
We leave Fort Lauderdale on Monday April 14
Apr 15-20 At Sea
Apr 21 Maderia Portugal (Canary Islands)
Aor 22 At Sea
Apr 23 Seville (Cadiz) Spain
Apr 24 Gigraltar
Apr 25 At Sea
Apr 26 Cagliari, Sardinia
Apr 27 Rome
Apr 28 Livorno (Tuscany)
Apr 29 Marseille, France
Apr 30 Barcelona - Off ship
We have been to a few of these ports in the past but there is always lots to see and do.
Once off the ship in Barcelona, Chris and Brig will be waiting for us and we will spend the next 3 days touring Barcelona with them.
May 3 We fly back home while Chris and Brig continue touring Spain.

We managed to do a few things in preparation for the trip. This is still a work in progress and with my well known dial up, it is a bit "slow" to say the least. We will be into full prep in a few days as we are getting closer to the departure date on Sunday. We will be staying overnight at Detroit Airport because of the early flight on Monday.
We have been researching the stops that we will be making. we have been to some of the ports before so we have a good idea of what is located in each. We did decide to take a "Tour" in Rome. We have already booked the "Rome on your own" trip. To get to the train station, then take the train to Rome and then end up far from St Peter's is a bit much. The bus will drop us right at the Vatican and we can then walk from there.
The other place we are considering a "Tour" is in Liverno. I wanted to go see a few small towns in the Tuscon Hills but Judy wants to do the"boat tour" to the hard to get at cliff communities. The appeal is the boat as well as the Lunch on your Own which means good pasta and a bottle of Chianti! A bit of a split decision there.
For those who think that we don't eat enough on these cruises, (BUCK), you should know that our balcony room is near the aft stairway and 2 decks directly below the buffet! So needless to say we will be hitting that area frequently for those mid afternoon snacks and of course the ice cream. Pizza or sausage and fries are on my list of things to eat.

Start of Cruise 8

This is the start of our upcoming trip to the Mediterranean. We leave next week from Detroit. We will be sailing from Fort Lauderdale, ending the trip in Barcelona 16 days later. As we prepare for the trip and move to the the ship we hope to post to the blog every day.