Hi all,

weather absolutely beautiful. Have met up with Eileen and Joan Opera is splendid Other DE cruisers onboard.

Elaine xx

Elaine.............glad to hear you made it! Is Alli still on the train?

Phil........CK1 is aftershave...Calvin Klein. A bit like ding dong but it is splashed on rather than guzzled!

Both will keep the mozzies at bay I imagine!

hi phil,
a long night no one on line no ding dong i bet you were thinking you were allalone in the universe.your ship in dry dock is taking its time to have its refit !!!!!!!what a sight when its all repaired.we will all join you for a celebration balcony cruise.
i take the daily mail off and on it must have been one of my off days i never saw the amsterdam offer ..what wasit? you better have your plaster off before then you might need two arms!!!!!!!

well it looks like tension rising waiting for tickets,i think the powers that be just like playingb cat and mouse with us and keeping us on on a piece of string.mine didnt come untila week or so before hand so have faith all of you it will happen and you will all have a super time.
carol

Is Alli still on the train?

Not yet!

Leaving home NOW!

Bye folks

good afternoon cruisers
to everybody sailing this week have a lovely time.
hi phil sorry that you had no one too talk to in the night, I was awake but not on line. might be in bristol this week, I will wave at all the blocks of flats if I pass by . do you have a flag on your balcony? my son visited on thursday and brought me a bottle of ding dong, he said he thought I would like that better than flowers. sorry luci bye for now vivien

Hi all
This is a question to all you cruisers that have been on the DE cruise already. How did you all meet up, was it by accident or was it on the first night. Were you all allocated the same dinner table or did you share with people paying the full price. That would be very interesting. I am just wondering how I will meet people like Rosie and Floeey who are both on the same cruise as me. I cant wait to go on my first cruise. Having looked at the picture gallery it looks like everyone (bar the odd one - no pun intended) had a brill time. Roll on the tickets arriving, if its 10 days before I should receive them possibly Wednesday or Thursday this week. Rosie and Floeey let me know when you get yours then I can start panicking.
All who are on their cruise at the moment have a brill time.
May B

Hi May B,

I was on the Opera on 21st May.
What we found was that all the single DE ers were sat together on one table at dinner, with some others who were sharing cabins on another table closeby. Some of us had requested second sitting and some first but we all were put together on first. My advice would be to go to the table allocated for the first night at least even if it wasn't your prefered time.
We all found each other by either knowing something about what each other looked like or just looking for folk traveling on their own who looked willing to talk to others. The transfer from the airport is also a good way of identifying folk if several flights are on one transfer. The Lirica like the Opera is a big ship in terms of "I'll be on the sundeck waving us off" isn't enough to identify yourself to others because 2000 other folk, most of whom do not speak english, are doing the same. By the same token, once you do know some faces it doesn't take long to find someone on the boat to chat too at any time. We exchanged cabin nos early on and could just make a quick call to see where the meeting place/time was to be if we intended sharing a taxi for a port stop etc.
You won't be on your own, just keep your eyes and ears open and you'll find others with like minds.
I know you'll have a great time.

Hilary

he may b
i returned from the opera last week,
i had some luggage labels printed for the case with 'holidaytruths ' and d* on.
somw of us actually got talking on the plane, we were sat together by coincidence, and then when you get to your arrival airport you are waiting together to board the coach to th ship.
we were nearly all put on tables together and the waiter knew we were with r*** for some strange reason!
joe

Hi mb85, I would suggest you post on your forum or send a PM to others you know are going and arrange a place to meet up as that is what quite a lot of people are doing. Those of us on the Melody 4/7 have got to know eachother quite well on line and I doubt we will have any difficulty.

Phil - I'm so pleased you have Amsterdam to look forward to. For a cheap hotel, if no-one in the 'short break' forum can help, why not have a look at Teletext as there are quite a few on there. I'm so sorry you are still having trouble with the coven, I'm lucky as my lot mainly come round to cut the grass or take me shopping, though my daughter does ring me most days to make sure I'm OK. I do the occasional bit of baby-sitting of course, but I quite enjoy that.

PS A word of caution as regards full price. Not all DEer who have not been on this forum have paid equivalent prices! £650 was what one lady was stung for! Poor thing. She did seem to enjoy herself however once she'd recovered from the shock. If you are there Iris, hello from me, hope you got home safe and sound. :-)

Hilary

Hi Joe,

Don't know if you've seen this website but it has some great pics of the spaces on the Opera. I just found it the other day.

http://www.cruisereviews.com/MediterraneanShippingCruises/Opera2.htm

It would be good to get a copy of the DVD from Cliff but hopefully this will keep you going and give you some pics to show the kids. It fair took me back!

Hilary

poor woman - I hope she at least had a balcony suite for that money, as well as dinner at the Captain's table every night. It just shows what can happen to those who haven't had their resolve stiffened by this forum

Hi everyone I am on the 18th July cruise { Melody} and allthough it as qute awhile yet am beginning to stress out abit. Could I ask Scarlet or anybody else who have allready cruise on the Melody a couple of questions at the risk you might call me abit dim. I know about either a credit card or a cash deposit is taken when you board but the casino I presume uses euros? Also this is my first time cruising and it is many years since I have taken a holiday abroad but we do only need a valid passport and no visas, am I right?
Thanks for your help.

, sorry.

Luci - recently I've had a couple of Private Message alerts by email (one just now), yet when I check my inbox I have no new messages. Is it me? Or are there some problems?

Juliet

It wasn't me Juliet, honest.

You're quite right Pat, I DID think it could be from you. Will Pm you shortly.

Hi,

Regarding what to use in the casino on Melody - you can't use your credit card for exchange for tokens - you must use cash - my hubby used Euros - also , don't forget you need some cash onboad if you wish to tip the cabin maids, waiters at the end of the cruise.

Also, on melody, when you book your trip they full out an embarkation slip for you - you don't need special visa

Have a great time!

hi Hilary,
Thanks for the info on the opera.It looks rather posh. Does anyone know if there are similar types of photos of the Armonia? I hope it looks as good!It'll do for me!!!!!!!!
ann

Hi Ann,

This site has got loads of pics and info on Armonia
http://www.magwa.co.uk/armonia/armoniaphoto.htm

Magwa hasn't done a review - she said it was v similar to the Lirica, which she reviewed, link at top of page with link to her Melody page too.

I put some others on the useful links, telephone numbers and info thread
http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=19279&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=20

Hope this helps. If anyone finds any other info out there, do let us know !

Thanks, J.