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The article stated that dishes were broken in the altercation...guess that will happen during a banana cream pie fight

Have a great cruise! #jealous

Happy Anniversary, too! My wife and I are celebrating 18 next week (hmmmm...she was teaching when we got married, so I guess we are in on the trend, too).

I earn 30 days/year, and can carry up to 60 days on the books. In addition to that are Federal holidays, most weekends, and random days granted off. However, if I am outside of the local area those days, it counts against me.

We have two sets for everyone in our family, color-coded of course. They a) help us to keep everything straight for all 6 of us and b) make organizing the luggage pretty easy. Also nice to have a cube with shirts, one with socks/unmentionables, etc.

Got them about 3 years ago, and can't imagine traveling without them now.

All this for a cheap soccer/football joke  Don't get me started on cricket/baseball @Traveler

@PPIT841 Sorry for the thread hijack!

9 hours ago, hayley_bopp said:

Again, we invented the game, therefore, the correct name is football

And, as Americans, we made it better by changing the shape of the ball and introducing the forward pass....Happy Independence Day! 

Please don't flame me, I know "football" is "soccer" in other parts of the world not setting off fireworks tomorrow. I couldn't resist the joke 

13 hours ago, hayley_bopp said:

If you're a football fan, the Camp Nou stadium is well worth a visit. 

I didn't know the NFL had a team in Barcelona 

Agree with all of the above, have a great time in Barcelona! Just when we thought the outside of Sagrada Familia was the most impressive thing we'd seen, we went inside and saw how the light through the windows made amazing color-scapes on the floor and walls...we could have filled an entire memory card with pictures!

Disney Magic last May for the Western Med. Loved it so much that we took a Greek Isles (RCCL) cruise in November with the whole family, and then just did MSC Seaview (Western Med) this May, just her and I, for my wife's birthday (won't say which one, but a significant milestone) and our fini trip in Europe. And YOLO booked a cruise on Mariner for next June with my wife and her sisters/husbands.

Have a great cruise! Love all of those ports!

We really enjoyed our cruise on Rhapsody last November, the crew was very friendly and helpful! If Elvis is the cruise director, you will really enjoy him!

I would look into the express bus from Piazza Roma to the airport. The piazza is a short walk from the cruise terminal (or shorter monorail ride), and I am pretty sure there is a luggage storage area there if you want to spend a few hours in Venice. There is not much to do outside of security at the airport, when we had to kill 4 hours there last year, we just sat on our luggage and connected to the free wifi until we could check our luggage (about 3 hours before flight). 

I took a very similar cruise 3 weeks ago, stopping in Barcelona, Palma, Ajaccio, and Genoa (Portofino).

Barcelona- we hired a private guide for a half-day walking tour that went to Sagrada Familia and through the Old Town where the Romans established the city. Then we walked the Rambas. Sagrada Familia is NOT to be missed, it is unlike anything you have ever seen in your life, both inside and outside. Book tickets in advance, and expect it to be very crowded. La Rambas is a large pedestrian zone, and as touristy as all get out, but well worth the people watching. Don't stop for a meal there, you'll pay through the nose for low-quality tourist trap food and gigantic beers or sangrias. Getting around was pretty easy. From the cruise terminal, there is a "Cruise Bus" that takes you from the ship to near the Columbus Monument, and from there you can catch a cab or walk a couple of blocks to the Metro, which is very easy to use, and there is a stop right at Sagrada Familia. Word of warning- La Rambas is one of the most likely places in Europe to get pick-pocketed.

Palma- The catherdral is breath-taking, right on the water and made of sandstone instead of limestone like all other churches in Europe. The stained glass inside is amazing, and there is a Gaudi altar inside (a very close copy of the one from Barcelona). We also took a 3 hour e-bike tour that rode along the waterfront and up to the castle overlooking the harbor, found it on TripAdvisor (Green Tours Palma, I think). Overall, Palma is a nice city to walk around and find a good bite and beverage. It is a little more complicated to get from the port to the city center, in that you either have to get a cab from the terminal, or walk a little bit to get to the bus stop (not too bad, but I don't hablo espanol).

Ajaccio- We just walked off the ship, which docks right in town, and wandered the city. We were there on a Sunday, so not a lot was open. There is an open-top bus tour that takes you on a 90-minute-ish round about of the town and surrounding bay. There is a TON of Napoleon stuff (his birthplace) if that interests you. 

Genoa- Once again, we just wandered the town. The aquarium is an easy walk from the cruise port (which by the way is the most attractive cruise terminal I've ever seen from the outside). There is a street lined with palazzos that reminded me of Venice without the canals, and a cathedral with a bell tower and terrace you can walk up for great views. We didn't go to Portofino, but I understand it is reasonably easy to get to.

This is a bucket list cruise for me!

2 minutes ago, Skid said:

Thank you for your service.

Thank you...right now I am surfing the boards while I watch the movers box up all my stuff for the next chapter, thinking about cruises is more fun than moving!

On 5/27/2019 at 2:49 PM, Sweety said:

 

Thanks to @twangster, I will be booking an Alaskan cruise in 2021. 

 

My wife told me we were in dry dock after next summer until my oldest graduates from high school and I retire from the Air Force in 2023, but I may show her those pics and convince her that Alaska should be our 20th anniversary vacation in 2021. 

Glad that I got to sail out of Venice while I still could! That canal is incredibly busy and those little boats have no chance except for being more maneuverable than the huge ships. Tough to do in the confined space of the cruise ship basin, though. 

Also, glad I saw this two weeks AFTER my MSC cruise! 

17 hours ago, Traveler said:

Another way to get to Rome from the port is to take a short bus drive (or walk 20 minutes) to the train station and take the train to Rome (around 17 $ each direction) it will be much cheaper than any other option but just make sure to buy tickets online and to take the train that will bring you at least 2.5 hours before all on board (Italian train might have delays).

I just did this a few weeks ago. If you can, check the port load at Civitavecchia (such as on www.cruisett.com ) to see how many ships will be there the day you arrive for expectation management. When we were there, 7 ships had docked that day! Needless to say, the train was overstuffed like you read about. There is a shuttle from the ship to the port entry, but we found that it was not efficiently run, so we ended up walking from the ship to port entry (about 10 minutes) then another 5-10 to the train station. Not a bad walk, but we were dragging our luggage with us (disembarkation day). Be sure to know what station you are getting off at: San Pietro for the Vatican or Ostiense for most of the other sights. Termini is the main train station, and is a bit away from the main sights, but right on both Metro lines.

Let me know if you find ice cubes in Europe!  I've been looking for 3 years!

Man, that picture of Cobh harbor makes me want to go back! 

I've done 2 Western Med cruises (albeit not on RC) and been on the Rhapsody out of Venice for the Greek Isles. We've enjoyed all of the cruises and most of the ports we've been to.

Barcelona and Venice are easier (and cheaper) to get from airport to port and vice versa than Rome (Civitavecchia). All of the ports are well organized, though. Sailing out of Venice is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Rhapsody is an older ship, but the crew is fantastic, my 3 youngest girls (7, 5, and 3 at the time) loved Adventure Ocean, and we still found plenty to do.

It depends on what you want to do/see. The Greek Isles cruise lends itself to be a little more laid back, while a Western Med cruise would be go-go-go to see everything. Italian ports tend to be at least an hour from where you want to go (Rome, Florence, Amalfi coast, etc). 

Here's a live blog from my Rhapsody cruise in November: 

Ah..maz...ing! Great pics, I especially love the one with the floatplane in front of the ship. One of my (half-joking) potential future careers is Alaskan bush pilot.

And crap, I can feel my wallet opening for a future Alaska cruise...

I just got off a cruise in Rome (Civitavecchia) Wednesday, so I can also speak to questions about that port, in addition to @Traveler‘s great info. Also cruised out of Venice and Barcelona. 

Awesome idea @Traveler!!

So I’m sitting on my balcony drinking coffee right now and realized that I am in the port I embarked my first ever cruise (Barcelona on the Disney Magic), docked behind the last ship I was on (Rhapsody of the Seas, I see you @Jaymac Radio) while on my current cruise (MSC Seaview). It’s a bit surreal. Anyone else have an experience like this? I know the frequent RC cruisers probably have this all the time. 

On 5/1/2019 at 1:58 PM, Jaymac Radio said:

I Am On The Rhapsody  TA Right Now!

I'll see you in Barcelona! I just realized that Rhapsody arrives there the same day my cruise makes port... I'll wave from the Seaview as we pass

On 5/3/2019 at 4:43 AM, ThyriC said:

In terms of Amsterdam, you MUST eat stroopwafels.

+100,000,000 on this, I'd eat them morning, noon, and night if I could