Heartgrove

I will proudly say that she gets them from my side of the family. Yes, when I had hair mine was curly too! My daughter (Lily's mom) is a mirror image to my mother.

Another activity to do in Hamburg is to ride the HADAG Linie 62 ferry. This runs from Landungsbrucken to Finkenwerder and is a good inexpensive replacement for the harbor sightseeing boats, Depending on the amount of time in port (or if you are spending a day or two in Hamburg), Miniatur Wunderland can be reached by Linie 6 bus. Around the corner is the Linie 111 bus that you can ride to Lanungsbrucken for the ferry.

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! We had our first freze warning for the season overnight. Currently it is 35 Degrees - and dark. I haven't posted photos of my granddaughter lately. Lily is just a real bundle of joy! Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

Terri, We are so sorry to hear about cancelling your trip. - Jack

We were in Stockholm on our Zuiderdam cruise in June 2017. We really enjoyed it as it included an overnight across from Grona Lund. The sailin and sailout are the best in my opinion. It takes nearly four hours to traverse. One point of interest is that due to the channel being so long, ferry boats have the right-of-way and other ship traffic gives way to them. The Zuiderdam at the Masthamnen Cruise Terminal We were delayed two hours due to the thick fog that morning. $$$$ The Stockholm skyline as we approached. Grona Lund Gamla Stan Statue of Gustav II Adolf, King of Sweden from 1611 to 1632. The statue dates to 1796 and was sculpted by Piere Hubert L'Archeveque. The Swedish Navy Band The Swedish Life Guards Two ferries preparing to overtake the Zuiderdam. The Stockholm Pilot Boat preparing to receive the disembarking pilot. Because the channel under Pilot authority is so long, the pilots live at a remote base at the opening of the channel.

@0106 Tina, sorry that you missed Ponta Degada this year. We are scheduled to have an overnight there next November on our MSC Transatlantic (they call it a Grand Voyage) so hopefully our seas are quieter.

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Here is a photo from yesterday while Sue and I had Sam out for his daily walk in the neighborhood.I'll post my pictures from Stockholm shortly. Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

Head of the Complaint Department - because nobody complains about HAL! That would be after leaving the job as "The Maytag Repairman." 😁

From November 2018 on the Circle Hawaii cruise aboard the Eurodam. This was port side outside the MDR and the starboiard side was just as full. I refer to it as the "overflow parking" as there are probably just as many inside the MDR. Hopefully I am still cruising when I need assistance! I know that my choice will be either a red DRIVE "Nitro" or a TRIONIC Veloped.

We had booked dinner in Il Viaggio a while ago. But decided this past week to also book Bonsai Teppanyaki and the Steakhouse. Getting close with 19 days to go!

Yes, MSC uses Steinwerder and there is not much there. We were on the MSC Preziosa last month to Scotland and Ireland and embarked/disembarked from there. Because there were three adults, we used taxis both ways to and from the Hauptbahnhof. The two fares were €32-33. But there was an hourly shuttle with MSC from the Hauptbahnhof for €10/pp. We had just missed one so elected to use the taxi in place of waiting an hour. I'm not sure if they were running it the day we disembarked.

So can a PCC.

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Have a great weekend! Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

Probably a port shuffle or even ship shuffle.

The alternative would be a day at sea or Kiel, but Ronne port fees for MSC must be cheaper than consuming fuel at sea. Surprised to sea that as Warnemunde is normally the next day after Copenhagen, or vice versa.

@Cruzin Terri Terri, we were in Venice and Florence this time last year. It was comfortable warm but in Venice we had a little rain in the evening one night. Expect crowds around All Saints Day, November 1st as it is a national holiday. - Jack

Photos of Rostock, DE along with Bad Doberan and Warnemunde on our 2017 Baltic Sea cruise. We purchased a Mecklenberg-Vorpommern Day Train Pass for traveling the area that day. The train station is a very short walk from the pier. My original plan was to go east by train to Ribnitz-Damgarten but we missed our connection by two minutes. Plan B had us travel west to Bad Doberan (Bad = Bath in German) to see the steam tourist train that uses city streets. After that we headed back to Rostock for lunch and a walk around the city center. Then to Warnemunde which is a very nice beach town before reboarding and back to Copenhagen. Sorry about the duplicated photos at the end. HAL Zuiderdam at Warnemunde, DE The adjacent train station to the cruise dock. Our missed train to Ribnitz-Damgarten. An engine of the Molli Railway in Bad Doberan. Although old technology, it was actually built in 2008! A street-side strawberry stand. An abandoned local government building in Bad Doberan that was a subject for Sue's artwork. Back to Rostock Sue's traveling partner taking a break. And back to Warnemunde. Sue on our SS balcony And leaving Warnemunde On to Copenhagen

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! We have been to today's port city, Rostock, Germany, on our Baltic cruise. The port for cruise ships is actually Warnemunde, DE. It is a quick 15 minute ride by DB train to Rostock. I will post my photos later. It is 20 days until our next cruise aboard the Carnival Venezia. Looking forward to comparing "Carnival Fun Italian Style" with cruises on MSC. Have a great weekend! Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

It depends on which ship and what port you are referring to?

We have sailed on the Splendida and last month on the Preziosa. The beds were not overly firm but very comfortable. What I like in the Deluxe balcony rooms is the 2 feet plus at the foot of the bed to walk through. Unlike other lines that you need to walk sideways.

Attached are photos of the same stateroom balconies on the sister ship, MSC Preziosa. I am standing on our balcony on Deck 11 looking forward to 10087 and 10089. The cropped photo shows more detail of the dividing wall. You will not have a view forward because of the bulkhead. The balcony does have that amount of sq. ft. but it is mostly enclosed.

Just head for the port when you leave your bnb. You will probably be allowed onboard when the ship is ready and the priority passengers are through. Can't forecast a time but certainly before your 1:00 pm scheduled time. We embarked from the Pier 12 terminal back in 2019 when we were on the Nieuw Statendam. But on a MSC cruise last year when we were just doing a port call we used Banchina 25. It just depends on what other ships are there that day.

We just returned from a MSC cruise to Scotland and Ireland. We called on four of the ports that you are scheduled for. Edinburgh and Dun Laoghaire (for Dublin) are both tender ports that can easily be reached using public transportation (bus and train respectively) and much cheaper than an excursion. Stornoway you might want to try for an excursion. It will be a long tender ride as the new pier won't be completed by then. The town is small, and Callanish Standing Stones are located after about a 45 minute drive on the island. We had booked a Viator excursion originally but then MSC finally offered a 2-1/2 hour excursion so booked it instead. Cobh (for Cork) is something for you to decide on. Our ship docked in Ringaskiddy instead of Cobh. It is the container port for the area so nowhere to walk to. We used the ship's excursion to Kinsale and Charles Fort which was well worth it.

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! Just returned from NOT having lab work for tomorrow's doctor appointment. Normally I call the lab the day before to make sure that the doctor had put in the orders. He had changed one of my meds so is seeing me after three months on the new med. No orders on file so fasting and getting up early is for naught. I'll call his office later to make sure that I even need to come in. Next appointmernt with lab orders is January. We haven't been to today's port. I would like to do a second cruise on the Baltic as some now go to Latvia and Poland iin place of St. Petersburg. Our first cruise in Europe was on the Zuiderdam and I always feel that it was my favorite cruise with Captain Wouter van Hoogdalem. Everything "clicked" on that trip. Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack

Thank you Rich, thank you Debbie, thank you Vanessa, thank you Ann, and thank you Dixie for all your work. And thank you everyone for being here! I have a doctor's appointment on Thursday so I need to have a fasting blood draw. My plan was to go today - but overslept. Oh well! In Scarlett' O'Hara famous words: "Tomorrow is another day." 😁 Stay Safe, and prayers for those in need. - Jack