We took the Transatlantic cruise on the Diamond during the 2000 election fiasco. I loved the small size. Because of the hull design it was a very smooth crossing.

Hi everyone. I've been out of pocket for several weeks--would you beleive working in Hawaii!!! (Life is hard sometimes). I read about the Diamond the other day. I guess we have booked one of the last cruises for the Diamond--Rome to Venice on May 21. Wonder if that's a good thing or a bad thing???? If the crew's already buying up things in the gift shop, maybe it's not a very good thing. Any thoughts?

Hi pwolftx, from across the way in Dallas --

I think being on one of the last cruises will be very special. Before this last round of cancellations, we were booked on what looked as if it would be the Diamond's final cruise. I had the same reservations you do about whether that was good or bad, and a number of people reassured me about how special the final cruises are. Several people from this board sailed on the Song of Flower in its final weeks and had the most wonderful time -- lots of special events and dinners, farewell gifts, long-time crew members back to make it special, etc.

Hawaii, huh? Sounds pretty nice too.

I would love to be on the final cruise. When Suzanne told about her experience on the Song of Flower, it brought tears to my eyes! I really will miss the Diamond.

pwolftx

I did a crossing and they were almost giving away some things in the gift shop. 3 t-shirts for $10, etc. The one that blew me away was the large, $450 egg pendant that they sell on the Baltic cruises. Only $75. I didn't buy it, but my family has t-shirts from nearly every country where RSSC docks.
I think most RSSC clothing was about 75% off.

Pwolftx,
I agree that being on one of the Diamond's last cruises will be a very special experience. The Diamond is special and the crew wonderful.

Betty

Pwolftx and Priscilla, we are right aroung the corner from both of you in Keller.

We wish we could have sailed the Diamond before it retires, but it wasn't to be. RSSC has really gone over and beyond the call of duty, by offering us a $700 credit per person for us to sail on another ship sometime this year. Now we are trying to decide where.

Any suggestions?

Peggy,

Are you still going on NINJA?

Thanks everyone, I think I agree that this will be a really special cruise. We've been wanting to sail on the Diamond for years, I'm glad we had the accidental good luck to book a cruise in May--we almost decided to wait until September for the Med cruise. Maria--yes, we're still going on NINJA--wouldn't miss it. On our cruise in the Baltics last year, we booked two future cruises onboard because we thought the onboard booking was such a great idea. We just decided to do them close together. That way we can justify doing one more later in the fall, right?

My husband and I, too, loved the Diamond and booked it this year to be sure we got another chance before it l;eft the fleet. Alas, twas not to be. We will be taking the October 22nd Monte Carlo to Athens cruise as well as some of you, staying a few days in Athens as well at the end. My husband was looking forward to Istanbul(I've been there) but maybe another time.
Donna

Peggy,

Oh good! We had been booked in that same Diamond itinerary( different date though) and it was a tough decision to make between the Med and Iceland/ Norway. You were lucky not to have to decide and be able to take both!

Donna

I will be on this cruise, as well as Priscilla & John and Mike & Carol. We will be setting up a place to meet during the Sail Away party.
Our group is growing. Yea.

Betty
Since I'm fairly new to this forum, can you explain about the "Sail Away Party"? Sounds like a great way to meet everyone.
Donna

Donna, I just saw your post and am looking forward to meeting you on our Oct. 22 cruise. The more the merrier! You asked Betty about the sail away party. Unless I misunderstand, she is talking about the party RSSC does while sailing away from port on embarkation day. My (limited) experience has been that it is on the pool deck, where a number of senior crew members are introduced, the band is playing, and champagne and hor d'oeuvres are available. With any luck, we'll all be able to figure out a location to meet at the party that first day so we will recognize each other from then on.

I notice that you are from Kansas City. I grew up near Wichita and have relatives in the Kansas City area. Kansas City is a relatively undiscovered gem, in my opinion. Lots of beautiful areas around the city.

I'm looking forward to meeting you!

Priscilla

After I posted the reply, I realized what betty meant,although I had never heard the term. We were very dissapointed at not being able to be on the small, intimate Diamond. We found that, on a ship of that size, it is so easy to meet other people. Now I see that being on the Voyager will allow me a chance to meet friends from my one and only "chat room". I'm looking forward to meeting you all.

I'm originally from Boston and my husband, Larry is from Newark. he came to Kansas City to work with his late wife, then I came with my late husband. Two Easterners transplanted to the Midwest and loving the area.

Is anyone going to Nice ahead of the cruise or staying later in Athens? We got a good deal at the Grand Bretagne using Starwood points.

Donna

Betty, Priscilla, Donna (and anyone else), Alan and I will be boarding the Voyager in Athens on Oct. 30 as you disembark. Maybe we'll have a chance to say hello? I'd love to finally meet some LCT board members in person!

Donna (southernlady), I would love to meet you too! As time approaches and everyone knows airline and pre- and post-cruise schedules better, let's try to put something together in Athens if possible.

Donna from KC, great to hear back from you. KC can use some transplanted Easterners, and I'm glad you're enjoying the Midwest. You asked about pre- and post-cruise in Nice and Athens. We are thinking about flying to Nice several days ahead of the cruise and spending some time in Provence, maybe in a smaller town so we can see the countryside and soak up some the of wonderful Provence atmosphere we have read about. I need to do some serious research to figure out how and where to do that. Another option is to stay right in the Nice area, or go to Cannes possibly. I've made a quick check of Monte Carlo hotels and they look pretty pricey, so I don't think we will stay there unless it is for the one night immediately prior to the cruise. As for the end of the cruise, we may end up staying in Athens one night. We spent two or three days in Athens several years ago and saw the major sites (which are fascinating), so most likely we will limit our post-cruise time there. However, my initial research indicates that we would need to fly out of Athens earlier than we can plan for on disembarkation day in order to catch an overseas flight back to Dallas, so we may stay in Athens for that day and leave early the next morning. Obviously this all is in the early stages of thinking right now. I need to take time to do some research!

Editing to say that if anyone has any recommendations for pre-cruise in Provence, I'd love to hear them.

Priscilla - a wonderful town to stay in Provence is: Aix-en-Provence. My daughter spent a year there, and we visited her. We stayed in a former 13th century abbey that was terrific - right in the heart of town,...reasonably priced (at the time!) . We took a bus from Aix - switched buses in Marseille - and ended up in Nice. Not a bad ride at all. [/LIST]
Might be: Hotel des Augustins

Donna from KC - Welcome and hello! My family is on 007 and will be sadly leaving the Voyager as you board. I am from St. Joseph MO and it's nice to see another "local" on this terrific board. My sister is a transpanted Midwesterner to the East Coast so we're keeping the population balanced at least! I'm so glad to hear you're enjoying KC. Lived there for a number of years and really loved it. Hopefully our paths can cross at some point.

Donna, my southern lady. That would be great. Everyone is telling me not to waste my time in Athens, but I haven't decided what I am going to do yet. All I really care about seeing is the Acropolis but I need to do look at my book on must sees. It would be great to meet you before you board. I sure hope it will work out.

Bobbi, thanks for the Aix-en-Provence recommendation. I will check it out!

Betty, besides the Acropolis, I would suggest you go to the Archaeological Museum in Athens, too. We found it very interesting.

Betty and Priscilla, we don't have our plans yet but are considering coming in only a day early. Alan has been to Athens but I haven't. I would like to see the Acropolis and of course you guys! I'll keep you posted on our plans. Hope this works out.

Donna
This will be so much fun - juggling the 007 group as they disembark and meeting you all as you embark. Wouldn't it be nice if all our problems could be so much fun to figure out? We will manage.

Sue,
Glad to see that there are more mid-westerners cruising out there. I must say that before I moved here, I thought that the country stopped at St. Louis, picked-up slightly at Vail and Aspen and then there was nothing but California before the Pacific. KC was a very pleasant surprise! By the way, I used to love cooking, now I just love eating, but my husband has taken courses in wines and collects them and, yes, we have seen "Sideways".

We are planning to spend some time in Athens and hope go be able to take a day trip or two outside of the city. I have heard of a great, but little known museum, only open on weekends(other days by appointment) and, since we dock on Sunday, plan to visit it at that time. It is the Vorres Museum of Modern and Folk Art in Attica. I also got a recommendation for a great restaurant-Aigli(with different spellings) in the National Garden. Also there is the Old Tavern of Psara's in the Plaka for a casual meal.
These recommendations came from very fussy friends, so they must be good.
Donna(the Boston transplant)

Pricilla: I second Bobbi's recommendation on Aix...We stayed in the same Abbey - it was a great spot, very well located.

The flower and food open air markets nearby are wonderful. We sampled tapanades and other goodies one morning!