Dirk

For Hamburg I would highly recommend to do a boat tour on the Alster and/or a harbor tour, for more information see the following link: http://www.alstertouristik.de/English/home.html The port is very close to the inner city and publish transportation is very good. And don't miss the newly built "Elbphilharmonie", the brand new world class concert hall very close to the port. https://www.elbphilharmonie.de/en/tours And if you love sea food, try the "Limen Fisch Restaurant" http://liman-fisch.com/en/# Enjoy your stay in Hamburg. By the way, the appropriate way to say "hello" in Hamburg is "moin"

I've checked the german website, the same room would be 1,799 EUR (=1,954 US-$), almost the same like on the US website.

We always are on MyTime Dining and never had problems in getting a table for two. Never had to wait more than 5 minutes, even during peak times.

Are this programs where you can watch the dolphins in their natural surroundings or is this about dolphins living in captivity? Please keep in mind what you are doing to the dolphins, it's not their natural behavior to swim around with tourists and drag them through a swimming pool and being touched by anybody. They are forced to do so. In capitivity dolphins have a much lower survival rate than in wildlife. For more information I recommend the following website: http://us.whales.org/issues/swimming-with-dolphins

I agree 100%. I find it a bit disrespectful to eat in the theater, not only to the artists on stage but also to the the seat neighbors. There are enough places to eat on the ship, so there is absolutely no need to do it in the theater.

I've been to some of this great ports, so here is my view: - Rome: The biggest problem could be coming to Rome. The ship will be in the port of Civitavecchia, which is approx. 70 km away from Rome city centre. A guided tour will probably go to Rome per Bus, another choice could be the train. But the trains in Italy are not very wheel-chair-friendly. The best option could be a guide private tour in a car, but this id definitely also the most expensive one. And don't forget that Rome is located on 7 hills, so it is not very flat and always an ups and down. - Naples: The port is is in walking distance to the city centre. -Barcelona: The port is about 3km away from the city centre, there are shuttle buses wich bring you to the city. The station in the city is close to the "Ramblas", the main shopping street in Barcelona. -Palma: same as Barcelona, also a bit outside the port. Public restrooms could be a problem in any of this cities, as well as public transportation.

During peak times one has to wait a little bit longer for an elevator, so what? I am on vacation and have all the time in the world and who cares if I am coming 1 minute too late? I will never understand why people are on stress mode when being on a cruise ship. So, when you have to wait make the best of it, gives you time for some social studies and people watching :-)

I did western Med in late September 2016 and would not hesitate to do it again, even October would be fine. The weather had been absolutely fantastic, only had 30 minutes of rain and a quick thunderstorm in Mallorca.

Watch out for the attached sign. There you can exchange currency, shouldn't be a problem on a Sunday. Have you any Euros? The exchange rate for the EUR is much better than for the US-$, they charge an extra 10% fee for Dollar exchange. If you only need some money for tipping, you could use your Dollars, people are always grateful for that.

I would not hesitate to do the Med in October. Last year we did the western late September and early October, temperature always was in the low 80s. In Mallorca we had 1 hour of rain, besides that 13 days of sunshine.

I would prefer May, June or September. July and August are very hot. Two years ago we spent 3 nights in Rome after our cruise and since then I know why the Romans leave their city every August. I also would spend sone nights in Venice. Moist of the tourists are staying only a few hours in Venice and the city is totally packed during daytime. A whole different experience late at night and during early morning hours, you will love it. And July/August is also high season for the "Meltemi"-Winds in Greece, which can last several days and may reach 8 Bft. The greek isles are definitely worth a visit, especially Santorini is an absolut highlight and should be on everybody's bucket list!

I love reading on a cruise, especially while sitting on the balcony or by the pool. I prefer the old style with a "real" book. On my last cruise I've read six books, four of them from the ship's library. And I always leave purchased books in the library, so other folks may enjoy the books also and I don't need to take the books home. The bars are not a good place for reading, when I am sitting at a bar (especially the R-bar on Navigator) I prefer people watching :-)

I've just checked the actual prices for my "Canarian and North Africa" cruise out of Southampton (Sep 29), the package would be 51.02 EUR (= 55$). And according to the website this is the price including 20% discount. A bit expensive for a 14 night cruise, so I think we will do it without the drink package. I have never spent that much for my drinks on my recent cruises.

My next cruise is on the Navigator ( September 29th to October 12th 2017)

Don't worry Mason. We can do that when I am back home, please send me your adress via message or email me: [email protected]