dani negreanu

We were also watching our grandkids for the last 4 days... First time their parents "took a break" from "parenting" and flew to Rome. Both have never been there. We stayed at their home, and it was not easy. Since the eldest suffers from a serious allergy to nuts, we were under strict orders not to dine out with them. So their grandpa made with them pizza on pita bread, and they enjoyed it very much. Another day he improvised hamburgers on a toaster... When we told our son, he asked: "what next? pizza in a 'finjan' "? We had a mini-crisis when the eldest broke down in tears when he saw his mom on video, missing her dearly. In hindsight, all the parties decided that it should have been better if the parents started with a 2 nights "disappearance" and not straight on with 5 nights, so that the kids will gradually adapt.... Besides this episode, they enjoyed their grandpa soft and comfy tummy 😉 And, today, were very happy to get their parents back, with some gifts too 😁

Lovely picture of you two, G & S 🌼

+ 1, John @Ozark_Kid + 8, @LucasLikesToCruise + 1, Joy@derorim @HBE4, one of our friends here, M8, is sending you his sincere condolences too.

Thank you, it will be much appreciated. @HBE4, I'm always at loss of words... not only in English, also in Hebrew. I think it stems from having a mother tongue, which I no longer use and quite forgot, and then learning a brand new and difficult language.... So please forgive me if I've chosen to multi-quote, among the many beautiful and moving posts above, the ones which I wish I could write myself. RIP, Mrs. HBE4.

Beautiful buildings, like the red brick, thanks for sharing.

May be worth to mention that not all ships arrive and leave at the same time. Nevertheless, we splurged for a DIY ship sponsored tour, which left us very early in the morning in Oia.

🙏 it was not. So sorry about the stress you're both going through. As parents, we feel so helpless when we can't wave a magic band and rend our kids healthy again.

I wouldn't skip Santorini. The colors, the contrast between sea and red mountains. Amazing. Must see at least once. We've been there twice. I wasn't impressed with Mykonos. Would not bother to return. Ephesus - the same, I even try to find itineraries which do not include it. OTOH, Acropolis is Acropolis. Granted, crowded, but still... I've only been to one side of Crete (Heraklion), but I wouldn't mind a stop in Chania. Crete is beautiful.

We also liked to go to Ohr Yehuda ("ours" was Antebe; Exodus doesn't exist anymore...), but the traffic is horrendous, so we gave up years ago. It used to be that you knew when the rush hour is, and plan accordingly. For example, after 10am it was "plain sailing". Not anymore. All hours are "rush hours".... Rare to find shawarma from lamb here. Too expensive.

Today (24 Celsius) it was DH's turn to spend the day with a middle school friend, who is visiting from Miami. I took the opportunity to "take away" lunch from a modest and very old establishment (1974) of Yemenite food in my previous neighborhood (we moved 3 times in the same city...). The "shawarma" was enjoyed with fries and cabbage. Bliss.

If you're thinking about a Sukkot cruise -- 1) make sure the days spent in Israel are not holiday days (i.e. Sukkot eve or Simhat Tora). 2) Sukkot is one of the busiest times in Israel, and especially in Jerusalem. Everyone is on holiday, and the roads, already to capacity, are clogged with holiday makers... If you only hold American passports, you need to pass the border control and get the ticket to keep with your passport. Same with Israeli passport holders, without the ticket.

+ 1 . If there are other cabins available in the same category, I'd switch.

Agree 100% 👍

Agree. I was just trying to find the "fine line"... mainly when it involves/involved posters who participated frequently, and most of them were not elderly or sick. The most example come to mind was [she still is, bless her] -- Island lady. She entertained us with her and Bucky's trips from a rented house to another, and suddenly ["cold turkey" ?] she stopped posting, at least in this thread. I tagged her, out of concern, and she graciously replied that the "lockdown thread is no more relevant to her". Fair enough, and since then she wasn't "mentioned" anymore. "davekathy" stopped posting along with Island lady too. Or "Domino D", who was really a very active poster, and... puff! Lately, since he posted about a very sick dog of his, there was concern. At least he came back 8 months later, updating that he's swamped with work, never to post since. BUT, when the frequent posters knew that Mimi ( @jagsfan), Greg ( @Sea Dog), Graham ( @grapau27), Bonnie ( @BonTexasNY) , Mark's daughter ( @h20skibum) have operations/health problems [apologies for the shortened list] , or when almost all of us had a "close encounter" with Covid, I think it was acceptable to express concerns and wish full recovery. Again, for me the "key word" is "fine line".

Interesting indeed. That's a first, only Greece, Egypt and Israel. To be on the safe side, I would take the late March one (25th). You never know with the weather. Right now, here, very sunny, 24 Celsius....

Apex, 6 & 16 October 2023, has one day stop in Haifa, and overnight in Ashdod (3 days in Israel).

Hump, starboard, no noise. Jewel & Radiance.

When we cruised on Anthem's 1st year, the shows were We will rock you (WWRY), Spectra and the Gift. I've read the same opinions about Gift, like Helen's ( @FromSea2ShiningSea). Actually, it was unanimous that WWRY is one the best shows and as of Spectra -- the "jury" was "divided"... I decided to book the 3 shows, mainly because we don't go to other shows/comedy, trivia, quest, love & marriage, which necessitate a good command of English, not to mention my shy DH's participation.... I said to myself: "I'll see nice costumes, dance, effects -- I really don't mind if the story 'doesn't make sense' ". It is free, I don't have to be anywhere else, just give it a try. I rest my case 😉

38th week and he suggested induction??? I can understand 41th-42th, may be, if "nature" is lazy...

So sorry, @George C, that you're experiencing the same mediocre food we had on Beyond. Glad we didn't pay for any specialty dining. Greg @Sea Dog, I've spoken with the F&B manager [when asked by sheer chance about my opinion], detailed all the missing things in Ocean View, mainly only chicken, no beef, no sea food, no fresh fish. It seems that all they've done was "dully noted"... 😢

John, I'm speechless, the translation is spot on, not only "word for word", but in spirit too !! Thank you. I admit not being "phone savvy" ... My son downloaded some "translation" features on my IPhone. Just checked it, seems it is only for "conversing" with someone by typing the text in Hebrew and showing it in Greek, for example (that was for our cruise to the Greek Islands).

+ 6, Debbie & Eric, @Sunshine3601 + 1, like the new fireplace too I'm quite torn between asking about our friends here, who didn't post for a while, and between thinking that we've been "together" for a long time now in this thread.... therefore,..... hopefully "they" know by now that we're here for "them", and "they" can "come and go" whenever they feel like it. Quite a dilemma... What are everybody's thoughts?

@BonTexasNY Bonnie & Jack, מזל טוב מאחלת לכם עוד המון שנים ביחד בבריאות ובאושר

So sad, and so very true.

I can highly recommend taking the Alilaguna from Marco Polo airport. We're going to stay for the 2nd time at Hotel Fontana (https://www.hotelfontana.it/en/), a mere 3 mins walk from the San Zaccaria stop, no bridges, no steps involved. It's not a luxury hotel, but the location and convenience cannot be beaten. Venice is the "star" for us.