Time Transitions.....

After checking into our hotel room around noon on Monday Peg and I were completely exhausted and as much as we wanted to start doing things, it wasn't physically possible. We rested / slept for a couple of hours but the noises of the day and the paper thin hotel room walls prohibited us from falling soundly asleep. By late afternoon we found ourselves on the rooftop pool soaking up the 85 degree sun, and trying to imagine how early in the day it was back home. After a short swim we decided to put on some walking shoes and take the water shuttle over to the central island of Venice. We were instantly amazed by the water access ways, the bridges, the local shops, and the people. Imagine a city with no cars, only boats of all types. The most popular boat of all is the Gondola. We had to do it, so Peg and I jumped into a Gondola for a quiet ride through the canals of the city and a residential area. We learned it costs 30,000 Euro to build a Gondola (we actually went by a Gondola factory). We also learned that a 90 square meter apartment costs approximately 500,000 Euro in Venice. Venice is a city that is built on water so if you do not have a boat, your only choice is to walk. Peg and I walked and walked until we could not walk anymore. Many of the walkways / streets are very narrow and some of them were so narrow and empty they appeared at first to be unsafe. We actually found the entire city was very safe and easy to get around in though. They say when you go to Venice, you simply get out and walk! As the pictures show, that is exactly what we did. We ended up going back to the hotel Monday evening abou 8PM local time by shuttle boat. Peg laughed at me as I was falling asleep sitting up on the shuttle (head bobbing) with people staring at me wondering...what's with this guy? We slept for 12 hours and didn't awake until 9:30AM Tuesday. When you travel as far as we did you find yourself wondering NOT what time it is, but what day it is!

Cars, Planes, Buses, and Boats

While the landscape over France proved to be mostly green farmland, we quickly found ourselves over mountains that easily compare to the Rockies. The mountains north of Venice were all snow packed but the scene quickly changed as we headed into the valley surrounding Venice. We were happy to see our bags made the entire trip with us, and before long we were on a 5 minute walk down to the pier where the water taxis were all waiting for us. It took us about 30-40 minutes by water taxi from the airport to the Hilton on Gudecca. As you can see in the photos above, our taxi ride away from the Marco Polo Airport was very much like a shore excursion in itself. It was 80 degrees and humid, it was 5AM in Chicago, and we had now been on just about every mode of public transportation you can imagine in the previous 12 hours but most importanly we were on vacation, and nothing else seemed to matter.

The Long Hauler...

Sunday afternoon we made it to the airport in plenty of time and I was happy we had plenty of time because the security lines in terminal 5 have just a bit different flavor than the typical security lines. This wasn't much of a surprise considering the 100's of people in line represented almost as many countries! We boarded early, squeeezed into our seats and before knew it, we were on our way. Time seemed to fly (no pun intended) as we were served dinner, watched a movie, and tried to fall asleep. Before I knew it, it was daylight and we were circling the Charles DeGaul airport over Paris. The pictures here were all taken at the same time. Peg felt she needed the large sunglasses to hide her eyes! The trip to this point was stress free but the CDG airport was an experience to remember. They bus people between terminals at CDG and the departure monitors have no apparent sequence to the flights listed. Have you ever looked at 200 flights listed on a departure monitor with no apparent order? We gave up looking for our flight and depended upon the departure card we were given in Chicago. We headed for terminal 2F and got lucky because that was at least the correct terminal. After getting in another line to have our passports reviewed, we finally got to our gate where they put us on another bus to the plane. We had 90 minutes between flights and not a minute to spare! With a sigh of relief, a seat in 12A and B, and sleep depravation, we were on our way to Venice, Italy.

A long time in coming....

Well, the day has finally arrived. Our bags are packed, the plans are all made, and now we await our ride to terminal 5 at ORD. For all the travelling I have done, it it hard to believe this will only be the second time I have stepped foot into the international terminal at O'Hare Field. Our flight leaves at 5:15 PM local time which will land us in Paris at 1:30AM Chicago time. Of course it will be rush hour in Paris by then (8:35AM there). After a short stop in Paris (and bus ride from terminal 2E to 2F) our next plane takes us to Marco Polo airport in Venice, Italy. Who would believe that for us to get to our hotel, we now must get into a speed boat (locally referred to as a water taxi) for a 30 minute ride to Gludecca (one of the many islands which make up Venice). The Holland America Oosterdam will be awaiting there in port but the people already on the ship from the previous cruise are spending the night on the ship before they disembark on Tuesday morning. After our long journey, Peg and I are hoping for enough energy to visit the canals of Venice in our first Gondola ride. After one night in a hotel Peg and I will again jump into a water taxi and motor over to the embarkation pier and check into our stateroom on another dam ship. We again will spend the night in Venice before leaving for Dubrovnick, Croatia. I wish I could tell you I know all about each of the places we will be visiting but I do not. I can hardly spell the names of the countries we will soon be walking around in. I can also tell you though that there will be plenty of pictures, lots of film footage, and endless blog posts. This is truely a trip of a lifetime and it will not go undocumented. If you are reading this, I invite you to check back often for updates. Peg and I have never done anything like this, we have never been to any of these places, and we can today only imagine what is in store for us. We wish every one of you was going on the ship with us, but this blog will have to do. Please do come along...through the words and pictures I will do my best to share along our journey through the Mediterranean Sea.

Princess Saphire Trip February 2009

It has been a while since we visited the Mexican Riviera, with the price of flights to LAX and the convenience of cruising out of San Pedro, it was just too hard to pass up for much longer. We arrived early at the port (around 10:30 AM) and were invited to sit in a lounge for coffee or juice before boarding. It wasn't long before we were on board and started roaming around the ship. It was Valentines day so the atrium was decorated for the holiday and the crew had the entire ship in ship-shape. Peg wrote a review for our fellow CruiseOne agents and also sent it off to Priness. Here are excerpts from the trip review:

THE SHIP: Our favorite features of the Princess Saphire are: The Horizon Pool (AFT) this is a great spot to hang out and relax. This was also the location for the sail away party; what a fun and festive time!! The Solarium spa area was also great and a relaxing place to go, we really enjoyed the steam rooms and sauna. Most of the time we had the whole spa area to ourselves. There is an extra charge for the Solarium but since we went every day, it was worth the cost! The Princess Sapphire is a beautiful ship and in great condition. The only negative was: no

MUTS (movies under the stars).

SERVICE: The service was great on every aspect of the ship. We had the traditional dining (early seating). The experience was great, both with wait staff service & the company of new friends we met on board. One of the best features of cruising for us is exchanging stories of the day with our dinner companions. I was talking with other passengers on the ship that had the anytime dining. Everyone I spoke with had nothing but good things to say about the anytime dining. Princess seems to have this down pat & does a very good job, so for the clients who want a little more flexibility; this is a great option for them. It’s up to us agents to advise our clients how it works (especially the experienced traditional cruiser).

FOOD: Every meal was very good to excellent. Room Service was EXCELLENT; I’m not sure if we were close to the kitchen or what but we ordered coffee and cereal every morning & it was delivered in about 5 minutes! That needed cup of coffee was there in record time! We were also fortunate enough to enjoy the Balcony Champagne Breakfast what a wonderful treat; it’s was a surprise gift to us that we thoroughly enjoyed. It made me aware of what a nice gift for me to provide my clients. We actually didn’t have a balcony but we enjoyed the breakfast just as well!!

CABIN: We had an obstructed view cabin. The bed was comfortable and the cabin had ample space. I selected this category cabin because it offers light & glimpse of outside but was about the same price as the inside cabins.

ENTERTAINMENT: The Princess dancers and Singers were marvelous. Even the people at our dinner table kept raving about how talented the performers were. We especially enjoyed the piano bar with Roger Carr singing and playing the piano. The entertainment included a great mix of comedians, music, dancing, and juggling! Over the course of the week the entertainment was like a huge variety show!

PORTS: We stopped at the usual 3 Mexican ports for a 7 night cruise (Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, and Mazatlan). We highly recommend the Premier Yacht experience in Cabo. We rode in the comfort of very few people (the excursion is limited to 24 passengers) and saw too many whales to count! We also enjoyed fun in the sun and on the water in Mazatlan and P.V.. The weather was a bit chilly the first and last day at sea but sunny. The water is also a bit cooler than the Caribbean but still much warmer than LAKE MICHIGAN!!

To summarize, we had a Great cruise…..As an agent located in the Midwest (Chicagoland), the Mexican Riviera is a great alternative for my clients. Now with several newer mega ships sailing from Los Angeles and San Diego, this will enable me to offer more options than the typical Caribbean. The flights to LAX are very reasonable most of the time, with hourly flights R/T from ORD.

Farewell To Friends

After a 5 1/2 hour flight from HON to SAN and then another 4 1/2 hour flight from SAN to ORD, Peg and I have just completed our journey home. We walked in the door, realized we were back in the real world, and I decided I wasn't quite ready for the real world so I am writing one last blog entry that will officially end our vacation. If this is the first time you are seeing this blog, you need to scroll down several stories to the one that begins the vacation. The stories are in chronological sequence and were recorded as the days went by. The vacation entries start with our flight to San Diego and finishes right here. In between these entries, you will see a number of pictures that document our adventure. The pictures help illustrate the stories and show what it was like to be on this vacation. What probably is not perfectly clear in the pictures and stories is that we met and dined with 8 other people that we have never met in our life. The group is shown in this photo but the picture doesn't justly depict the fact that these are some of the best people you will ever meet. In our 10 days together we shared stories of life, of children, and other cruise experiences too.

One night in the theatre we saw comedian Norm Crosby on stage (now 80+ years old). He drew an analogy of how people on a cruise (that know nothing of each other) will sit together and talk, and by the end of the cruise become best of friends. He compared this to two similar people who pass each other on the sidewalk, look down, and wouldn't give each other the time of day if they asked. There is something about being on a ship.....

To Joe and Cookie, Ray and Denny, Chris and Janice, Jim and Donna, Aloha friends....and Mahalo for helping to make our dream vacation so wonderful!

Leaving Honolulu

We spent the remainder of Wednesday lounging at the hotel and enjoying the great views of Waikiki from our hotel room. We started packing for the long two day journey home. Our vacation was starting...... to come to an end. We flew Hawaian Airlines back to San Diego and I am sitting in the San Diego airport at this moment waiting for our flight back to Chicago. It took 5 1/2 hours to cross the Pacific via 767 but 5 1/2 days via Radiance of the Seas. The voyage is one we will never forget. We will likely never get the same opportunity again.