Msc Opera 2-26-05

[Benitad]

Excellent, Rae! We'll look out for you. Any identifying tattoos?

[bitskid]

No tats, but easy to identify - both short and blonde and from Minnesota. Just think of the accents from "Fargo". :)

 

Rae

[bepsf]

Oh, Nice!

 

More competition for the waiters!

;) :rolleyes:

 

Welcome to the club, Rae - Looking forward to meeting you and your friend tomorrow!

[Benitad]

What a spectacular time we had... People, RUN, don't walk, to make your Opera reservations before the show leaves town! The food, the service, the company, the cabins ... Oh, my!

 

Brian (bepsf) -- Your Highness Mister Opera, that is -- and John and Tuggers (Gail) ... thanks for a great sailaway party in your suites. Meeting the baseball players was great. Plus the view down below was spectacular;) And I am NOT talking about the whales, either!

Withoutadoubt we had the best, most raucous and entertaining dinner table on the ship! The tablemates certainly make the dinner, so don't be shy about asking to change if you're bored.

Brian, you have GOT to change your avatar ... it does not do your awesome presence justice!

Gail, Miz Queen Bee, you were great with our table arrangements; look forward to hearing from you on your organizational skills this week.

Embarcation was a piece of cake; unfortunately, they pretty much had to drag us off the ship kicking and screaming at the end!

BTW, the taxi betwen Ft. Lauderdale and the port cost $6 a person, so don't be hoodwinked. We almost ended up paying $20 had we booked online, although to be honest I didn't research whether that was one way or roundtrip.

Anyone with questions, ask.

[bepsf]

Miss Dodd--

 

Thanks for the company and the advice!

It was fun meeting you and your friends...

 

- And remember, what happens on board stays on board!!!

:D

 

BTW - who was at Captains Table w/ you and the other gals?

[Spudd]

Sorry we didn't meet up with you! I read your message, but in the stress of the departure, totally forgot to write down where we were supposed to meet. Oh well, sounds like you had a blast without us anyways. ;)

 

I agree, the ship was fabulous.

 

Pros:

- Nice sized ship

- Fun animation team

- Great shows

- Good food

- Nice cabins

- No announcements - this ruled

- No pushy sales pitches, this also ruled

 

Cons:

- Ice cream only available at limited times and had to be served to you. Coming from Carnival we found this to be a disadvantage, LOL.

- In the evenings there was nothing to eat if you were hungry after dinner but before the midnight buffet (well, except for room service)

- Buffet was closed on Friday night, which was annoying since we had missed our restaurant time so we had to order room service.

- Itinerary we felt could have been better. Arriving in San Juan at 7pm meant a lot of shops were closed, and the fort was closed, and we couldn't really go to the beach or the rain forest.

[Benitad]

Brian, that photo is so much more YOU!!!

 

At the Captain's table were we four girlfriends, on one side of Capt. Manza were Joey and Yolanda -- celebrating 35 years of marriage and their THIRD cruise since November (one on Lirica and the second on Opera), then developer Jeffrey/Geoffrey Knowles and his beautiful wife Rosa, and a lady sitting on the other side of the staff captain (I was on one side) whose name I didn't catch. And the Hotel manager, the delicious staff engineer Mario (Maresca?) and another officer whose rank and name I didn't catch either. It was extremely entertaining, and the Caravelle's assistant maitre d', Pasquale, was nice enough to save my place card for me as a souvenir. The staff captain, a little on the plump side, worried he'd shoot the captain with his top vest button if he ate another bite! We were serenaded by the Paraguayan trio, with Olivia accompanying. All in all, the icing on the cake!

[bepsf]

Ah, yes - Jeffery and his wife are a delightful couple - they were two down from us...

 

 

Mmmm - you didn't have the pleasure of Nevin at your table - how sad...

;)

 

Thanks much for the pix today - truly enjoyed seeing them!!!

 

Gail left me a message at the office Sunday - she's safely on Millenium...

 

Tell the ladies that Mr Opera says "Hello" - and please stay in touch!!!

I'll send my personal e-mail address tomorrow...

 

Ciao, bella!

[ravendreamer77]

Just dropping in to say it was a pleasure meeting you! It was great to have you as a tablemate! At the Captain's table, I was between the chief engineer Francesco Casa and hunk Antonio (First Mate, I think). I enjoyed Jeffery and his wife too. You are right, the people you meet really make the cruise! I showed a pic of all of us from our L'Approdo table to my boss and she thinks she might know Mr. Art. Now she is berrating me for not taking note of last names LOL! Details, details......just couldn't be bothered with them while having so much fun!:D P.S. If you have a website or e-mail for Art, I would appreciate the contact info so we can put this "I think I know that guy" thing to rest. My boss knows everyone in S. FL so it doesn't surprise me in the least that she recognized him! ravendreamer77@yahoo.com

 

 

Ah, yes - Jeffery and his wife are a delightful couple - they were two down from us...

 

 

Mmmm - you didn't have the pleasure of Nevin at your table - how sad...

;)

 

Thanks much for the pix today - truly enjoyed seeing them!!!

 

Gail left me a message at the office Sunday - she's safely on Millenium...

 

Tell the ladies that Mr Opera says "Hello" - and please stay in touch!!!

I'll send my personal e-mail address tomorrow...

 

Ciao, bella!

[eroller]

What a spectacular time we had... People, RUN, don't walk, to make your Opera reservations before the show leaves town! The food, the service, the company, the cabins ... Oh, my!

 

 

 

Benita,

It sounds like you had a blast, and I had no doubt you would! ;) I hope to meet up with you sometime on a future cruise (MSC of course!) ... or maybe even in and around Atlanta!

 

Thanks for the fun review.

 

Ernie

[Benitad]

Ernie, having you there would have completed the circle. Our table was awesome ... and oh, was Brian suh-weet. Adorable. personable. beautiful. thoughtful. And what baby blue eyes! (Yes, Brian, I am gushing again, watcha gonna do, bad boy?! you know it's true!) Ernie, you should have met him. You ought to. I certainly am glad I did! One of those people you want to have on the other side of the confessional. Brian -- don't ever try blackmailing me with all the secrets you got out of me by plying me with gancia champagne!:rolleyes: Ernie, send me your e-mail address and I'll send you the photographic evidence of an awesome time!

Benitadodd@yahoo.com.