RayColey

That one cruise I found seems perfect - Florence, Rome, Amalfi, Corfu, Dubrovnik, Venice... Really seems to hit some high spots.

It's pretty hard to find a single individual in the Atlantic Ocean. 900 miles of ocean is a huge search, and with no PFD, a person would be about impossible to spot...

As I recall it, Costa gave them a refund plus some bucks and a free cruise upcoming...

If you're doing the fjords in July, weather should be quite nice. There is always a chance of fog, but temps should be mild. I hope you like sunlight, because you'll get about 20 hours of it each day!

Andi, I'm still working on that one, and Yuki's right with me - as long as she can also get to Florence.

John, we have Venice penciled in every time we're in the Mediterranean! My ideal cruise would include Venice, Istanbul, Kusadasi, Athens and Dubrovnik. Too bad they don't offer that one!

A number of years ago, I was on a bus going from Santa Marta to Barranquilla (Colombia) and a pickpocket tried to lift my wallet. The other passengers on the bus stopped him, beat him up and threw him off the bus (the bus didn't stop moving for this operation, either). That was a time when crime was not tolerated in Latin America. Should be a time we return to.

They need to get into a new line of business. Like, say, training cheese hostesses.

When there is a stopover in Boston, I make sure we go to Noname's. It's pretty close to the cruise ship pier, too.

It seems like the latin american drug cartels have spawned a criminal culture that has more power than the governments that should be controlling it. Anarchy is a pretty ugly thing when viewed up close; I hope that the international community will begin to seriously work together to put an end to the scourge.

MaryLou and Jim, have a wonderful time on the Silhouette... Keep an eye on Crazie.

These problems probably came about after Costa officials who were removing mirrors from the good ship "Mishappance" said, "just break 'em all up"....

Jenn, Probably a little more time - it took us about 15 minutes to walk to South Station, and Faneuil Hall is another 10 minutes beyond that. However, South Station is also a Tee stop, so you could just hop on... invest in a map, too!

Probably not, just for Bermuda. We'd like to see other ports.

Depends. From the US, we'll generally skip the extra days, but for cruises in Europe we inevitably spend extra days on either end.

I have to second the tips about hand washing. I always take along something like Airborne, just to keep my immune system working at top speed...

My first reaction is to say "Angelina Jolie", but I would probably miss my mouth with the fork. After thinking about it a little, I'd like an informed newscaster, maybe Brian Williams or a sharp comic, say, like Jay Leno.

We have seen here on CC how the crud gets to all...

As usual, it's reactive - not proactive. They should think of these things before people die from the chaos that Concordia had an abundance of. Also, the muster drills should address the potential for the ship listing to one side.

I think that both Carnival and Costa would have to get a little more serious about passenger safety. From what I've heard, I think I would be sticking with Royal Caribbean and Princess.

Wow. Look how close she is to the shore!

I agree that it will probably be salvaged. To scuttle the ship involves either moving the ship to deeper water or letting her rust in coastal waters (which are too shallow, anyway - she ran aground, right?) If the ship were to be moved, then it is effectively halfway to the salvage facility - once having lifted her, she can be moved a distance without much more trouble than to move her a half mile. I don't think that Costa can sail her again - probably not even Carnival.

I have to agree with the Mediterranean voters. Our first cruise was Athens-Santorini-Rhodes-Kusadsi-Istanbul. I wouldn't have missed any of them for the world. Our last cruise was Lisbon-Gibraltar-Cartegena-Malta-Spit (Croatia)-Venice. I could have lost Gibraltar and Cartegena and not missed any sleep, but the others should be must-sees. If I had to pin down an absolute favorite, Venice would be my choice. You have to be careful, though, of when you go to this or that attraction in Venice. St. Mark's between 10 and 7 is only for those who like lots of people and not enough deodorant.

My first trip to Miami was in '58. Miami Beach consisted of sand plus about a half-dozen one and two-storey motels. Downtown Miami was sleepy and slow-paced. There were a number of signs that read "Se Habla Espanol". By 1975, the sand in Miami Beach had been replaced by wall-to-wall hotels. Downtown Miami was definitely not sleepy and everything moved faster. By 1995, you couldn't get to the ocean in Miami Beach without going through a hotel. Downtown Miami had signs that read "English Spoken Here". Three years ago, I had to use my GPS to navigate the causeways and freeways.

We generally park at the pier when we use Baltimore, since it's convenient and pretty close to the cruise terminal. No bad experiences there that I've either had or heard of. When we go to New York, we park at a hotel and take a shuttle.