Wow what a response! Looks like Caribbean Princess and Explorer of the Seas!

Well you guys are overwhelming me, I didn't realize I had this much of a following and, I certainly didn't think anyone would respond either via the poll or via email.

THANK YOU to everyone who has taken the time to vote and who has emailed me with get better soon wishes and asking questions about me and the cruises I am planning. You really touched me!

While I'm keeping the poll open for several more days, right now you guys think I should maximize my vacation and take the 9 night Caribbean Princess cruise in July and the 14 night Christmas cruise on Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas. After analyzing everything, you are right, this way I can still carry a couple of days over to 2011, and, have some really wonderful vacations in 2010.

To answer two repeating question in the emails I am receiving... No, I am not a travel agent, and, no, I have no plans to make this a group cruise. While any of you are welcome to book the same sailings, the purpose is for vacation, and, not to play hook up on a cruise ship. So, if you are looking for group rates on these sailing, I would suggest contacting your own travel agent or the cruise lines directly. I am not in any way, shape or form trying to form a group here. I am merely telling my thought process and asked for your input regarding what you would do if you were in my situation.

That aside, thank you to those who are genuinely concerned about my health. Yes, I know pneumonia isn't anything to fool with, and, I promise I am taking my medicine faithfully. I'm in bed as I blog so, I'm certainly not stressing myself out. I am on doctor's orders not to even attempt going to work for at least one full week.

For those inquiring about me personally. Email me, I will not discuss my personal details publicly. If you are sincerely interested in getting to know me, then make the effort to at least email me. And please only email if you're serious. And, yes, I do have a photo but, I will only send it out to those who send their photo first.

To the guy who sent an email of his private area. Nice, but, you would have a much better chance if you had been serious with me from the start instead of acting like a horny teenager. Apology accepted but, I'm just not interested in someone without an ounce of class.

For the person who sent me the link to the article about the elderly man who died on a cruise with Norovirus. Thanks but that could have happened anywhere, it is not limited to cruise ships!

Well, I'm tired, that's all for now. Thanks again to those who took time to vote in my cruise question poll. You're helping me make the right decision with my vacation time!

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Help me decide vacation 2010

After another restless night (I was coughing and pretty much miserable all night), I started looking into the various cruises I might be taking in 2010. An idea came to me that perhaps I will take two different vacations in 2010 instead of one long vacation.

Here are the two cruises I am thinking about booking in July, 2010.

July 2, 2010 aboard Princess Cruise Line's "Caribbean Princess". This is a 9 night cruise to Bermuda and the Caribbean which sails round trip from NYC. Since the 4th of July falls on Sunday in 2010, that means Monday is the legal holiday (even for the post office and banks). I would be able to take a 9 night vacation and still only use 5 days of vacation time.

Here is the itinerary:

Day	Location	Arrival	Departure
Friday, July 2, 2010	New York, New York	--	05:00 PM
Saturday, July 3, 2010	At Sea	--	--
Sunday, July 4, 2010	Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda	08:00 AM	05:00 PM
Monday, July 5, 2010	At Sea	--	--
Tuesday, July 6, 2010	San Juan, Puerto Rico	01:00 PM	11:00 PM
Wednesday, July 7, 2010	St. Thomas, U.s. Virgin Islands	07:00 AM	04:00 PM
Thursday, July 8, 2010	Grand Turk, Caicos Islands	01:00 PM	07:00 PM
Friday, July 9, 2010	At Sea	--	--
Saturday, July 10, 2010	At Sea	--	--
Sunday, July 11, 2010	New York, New York	07:15 AM	--

July 1, 2010 aboard Cunard Cruise Line's "Queen Mary 2". This is a 5 night cruise to New England and Canada also sailing round trip from NYC. Once again, since the 4th of July is Sunday, the 5th is the legal holiday, and, I would only need to take 3 days vacation.

And here is the itinerary for Cunard QM2:

Day	Location	Arrival	Departure
Thursday, July 1, 2010	New York	--	06:00 PM
Friday, July 2, 2010	At Sea	--	--
Saturday, July 3, 2010	Halifax	08:00 AM	05:00 PM
Sunday, July 4, 2010	Boston	12:00 PM	11:00 PM
Monday, July 5, 2010	At Sea	--	--
Tuesday, July 6, 2010	New York	07:00 AM	--

Interesting proposition. My family has been tossing around the idea of a Christmas cruise for 2010. Since everyone lives within 150 miles of NYC we are thinking about either taking Queen Mary 2 OR Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas.

Here is the Explorer of the Seas itinerary:

Day	Location	Arrival	Departure
Sunday, December 19, 2010	Cape Liberty, Bayonne, N.j.	--	04:00 PM
Monday, December 20, 2010	Cruising	--	--
Tuesday, December 21, 2010	Cruising	--	--
Wednesday, December 22, 2010	Labadee, Haiti	08:00 AM	05:00 PM
Thursday, December 23, 2010	Samana, Dominican Republic	08:00 AM	05:00 PM
Friday, December 24, 2010	Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas	08:00 AM	05:00 PM
Saturday, December 25, 2010	Cruising	--	--
Sunday, December 26, 2010	Bridgetown, Barbados	08:00 AM	06:00 PM
Monday, December 27, 2010	Roseau, Dominica	08:00 AM	06:00 PM
Tuesday, December 28, 2010	St. Johns, Antigua	08:00 AM	05:00 PM
Wednesday, December 29, 2010	Philipsburg, St. Maarten	07:00 AM	05:00 PM
Thursday, December 30, 2010	Cruising	--	--
Friday, December 31, 2010	Cruising	--	--
Saturday, January 1, 2011	Cruising	--	--
Sunday, January 2, 2011	Cape Liberty, Bayonne, N.j.	07:00 AM	--

And here is the Queen Mary 2 Itinerary:

Sunday, December 19, 2010	New York	--	06:00 PM
Monday, December 20, 2010	At Sea	--	--
Tuesday, December 21, 2010	At Sea	--	--
Wednesday, December 22, 2010	Grand Turk	08:00 AM	01:00 PM
Thursday, December 23, 2010	Tortola	09:00 AM	06:00 PM
Friday, December 24, 2010	St Maarten	08:00 AM	06:00 PM
Saturday, December 25, 2010	At Sea	--	--
Sunday, December 26, 2010	Curacao	09:00 AM	02:00 PM
Monday, December 27, 2010	Grenada	09:00 AM	06:00 PM
Tuesday, December 28, 2010	Barbados	08:00 AM	06:00 PM
Wednesday, December 29, 2010	St Lucia	08:00 AM	06:00 PM
Thursday, December 30, 2010	St Kitts	08:00 AM	06:00 PM
Friday, December 31, 2010	St Thomas	08:00 AM	05:00 PM
Saturday, January 1, 2011	At Sea	--	--
Sunday, January 2, 2011	At Sea	--	--
Monday, January 3, 2011	New York	06:30 AM	--

I am very fortunate that the company where I work automatically closes for the entire week between Christmas and New Year's so it's like a bonus week of vacation. And, other members of my family who are still in the work force and not retired also have this same great benefit with their respective companies.

Additionally, since Christmas falls on Saturday in 2010, that means my company will use December 24th as the holiday, and, therefore, the Christmas cruise will only cost me 4 vacation days on Royal Caribbean and 5 days on Cunard.

Vacation Carry Over

So, if I take the QM2 sailing in July, I will be able to carry an additional 2 to 3 days vacation into 2011 or no extra vacation days in 2011 if I select Caribbean Princess for the 4th of July in 2010 and QM2 for Christmas.

Confused yet? Help me decide! Vote in the poll (found in the upper right hand column)

On the right hand column you will see that I put up a poll. If you'd like to give your opinion of which you believe is the best vacation combination - based only on the choices I have presented, please take a moment to vote.

The polls is open for the next 10 days but, realistically, I'll probably book by next Monday or so.

So I Have Pneumonia, I'm Using My Time To Plan Vacation 2010

Well, I did to myself good this time - I went to my doctor after work. In a near panic he sent me for x-rays, I have pneumonia. Gee, and, I just didn't think things could get any better, now I get to stay home (I fought tooth and nail not to be admitted to a hospital) for the next week to two weeks to try to get healthy again.

The jerk had the nerve to send me flowers today. I refused them. I wonder if he realizes that I REALLY don't want anything more to do with him?!

So, what am I doing to entertain myself? Planning my next vacation of course! After thinking long and hard, I decided that next 4th of July I will be on a cruise. But, where? So many choices! Alaska has long been on my "bucket list" - I blame "The Love Boat", ever since I saw that episode of The Love Boat where they went to Alaska I wanted to go too. Then again, there are some really great cruises right out of the greater NYC area. Princess has a good one leaving on July 2, 2010 for 9 nights to Bermuda and the Caribbean. Then again, perhaps I will take my two weeks and take a cruise in Europe.

I have to tell you that it is my deepest hope that I am going with someone special and not just another vacation with my friends or family. Then again, a scenario like "Sleepless in Seattle" could be romantic... Think about it, meet on line (well ok she snail mailed him in the movie) but still the same concept, and, then picking a spot on the ship to finally rendezvous.

Yes guys, we girls, even at my age long for this type of romance. We also realize that most of you don't have a clue how to be romantic and that is why we get all bent out of shape when you just bring us flowers or send us a card for no reason. (I know girls, like that happens without some type of fight between you, right?) But, just imagine, out there, in cyber-space, perhaps there is that one guy who gets it.

The guy who is fit but doesn't live at the gym, who is good looking but isn't all about outward appearance, who has class, manners, oh hell - the whole package - afterall, I am daydreaming here. So why not go for everything? Yes, I want the impossible - are you out there??

I have a year to find out...

Our last day in London, feeling much better

Finally! I'm feeling much, much better, and, my dear sweet love is also much better today. So, we did some sightseeing today including the London Eye. We booked a Pimm's Flight and it was wonderful!

We also took a river cruise on the Thames. Now that was nice! It was relaxing, romantic and informative. I never knew these "touristy" things were so much fun. I have always avoided tours such as these thinking they were silly and most of the times simple rip-offs. I am very glad to tell you this was not the case with these two attractions. The river cruise gives you a different perspective of the city, and, offers some great photo opportunities.

Tomorrow we head for Paris via the Chunnel and the Eurostar. We splurged a bit and booked Leisure Select class, but, it is only a 2 hour and 15 minute journey from London to Paris, and, I am sure for such a fast trip we would be just as happy in Standard class. Regardless, my love is determined to spoil me and he is doing a fine job.

I'm not sure how much time I will have to blog tomorrow but, I will try to write something. As for the remainder of today, we are taking a break for now, and, then heading out for a bit more sightseeing, having dinner at The French Table which has come highly recommended from nearly everyone we've spoken to about recommended restaurants. And thanks to an outstanding concierge at The Goring Hotel we were able to exchange our La Cage tickets for this evening.

On the mend, today we did some sightseeing

Foregoing our evening out last night, my love and I stayed in, made love and rested. This morning we both woke feeling better than our past few nights. My fever broke, and, while my love is still running a temperature, color has returned to his face, and, his temperature is down, not yet below 99 but, at least on the way down. So, cough drops, nasal spray and tissues in hand, we went out and took the double decker tour bus. While it's was a very pleasant temperature while walking about London today, riding on the open part of the bus proved to be too cold, especially for a couple still fighting relatively bad colds, and, we opted to sit on the lower deck that is enclosed.

I should tell you this is not my first time to London, but, this is the first time I ever ventured to take one of these truly touristy tours, and, much to my surprise. It was great! We began our tour at the Victoria Station/Grovenors Garden location. On the tour we passed Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and other landmarks throughout the city. The great advantage of this tour was we could hop on or hop off as many times as we liked, and, opted to get off and explore the London Aquarium. It was a lot of fun, and, strangely enough a bit romantic as we kisses in front of the shark tank. For that reason alone, I will always cherish with great love and affection the plush toy shark my love bought for me as a momento of our time in London together. Feeling a bit hungry, but, didn't want anything heavy, we found a Japanese restaurant called Ozu located very close to the aquarium. It was good, but, it was the tea that really hit the spot.

By this time, we were both really feeling tired again, and, hopped on the tube and proceeded back to the hotel. We napped in each others arms for a short while, and, now heading out again for the evening. I will post again tomorrow and, Wednesday we head for Paris! Ooolala!!

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Traveling, Europe and Sex to Cure Our Colds

My bags are packed, my car service is ordered, my new love interest has called me no less than 10 times in the past 48 hours, and, my cold is as bad as it was yesterday. I'm going to the doctor this morning, and, then to the pharmacy to arm myself with everything I can to help this rotten cold clear up from my head and chest. I'm dreading this flight tonight. Didn't think things could get worse for me, guess again? My love interest also now has a cold. Amazing how many people either had, have or are coming down this cold.

We vowed that we are going to throw our original itinerary out the window, and, just rest up in London for a few days. If we feel up to it, we'll do some very light sightseeing tomorrow and take one of those double decker bus tours, however, I'm sure jet-lack coupled with my cold will get the better of me, and, since my love's cold just began last night, he'll probably be feeling worse tomorrow. More likely than not we will probably spend tomorrow in bed. (Turns out sex is good for a cold: click here for more information)

I have no idea what we're going to do about our show tickets, I'm sure by tomorrow night my new love will be very much under the weather and, making him (and me) go out in the rain which is forecast tomorrow for London would be crazy. I'm sure we'd both end up with pneumonia and, no show is worth it.

So, we spent last night rearranging our Eurostar (train) tickets and, pushed our departure to France back until Wednesday, and, as a result we wouldn't have as much time in Spain for me to meet my loves family and friends but, we will get as much done as we can.

Off to the doctor for me. The next post will be London!

SWF 42 - Traveling, Overpacking and my Christian Louboutins - once again I feel like Carrie Bradshaw

I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing that I'm worse today, and, feel like death warmed over. If it means the cold is at it's peak, then it's a good thing. If it means I could still feel this way tomorrow, I'm in trouble since I am flying tomorrow night. Fever is up, bad chills, stuffy head, running nose, the works. You know the feeling. I stayed home from work.

So now that you have my health update. I am beginning to get things ready to pack for my trip, and, I'm the type that always over packs for any vacation. One thing I will never travel without is at least one pair of Christian Louboutin shoes. I LOVE his things, and, since they are so very expensive, I only buy one pair per year, usually during a heavy duty clearance sale. I'm having a hard time deciding which pair of CL shoes to pack. I have that wonderfully fun pair of pink petal sandals, AND, I actually have the perfect dress to compliment them. However, I keep wondering if black peep toe pumps wouldn't be more versatile. I suppose I could pack both, but, I always have it in the back of my mind, what happens if my luggage gets lost or misplaced? Will I ever see my shoes again?

I haven't had a chance to wear the pink petal sandals yet and this does seem to be presenting itself as the perfect opportunity. I have to laugh at myself, this seems so very Carrie and Mr Big (referring to Sex and the City in the Eposides where Carrie is wisked away to Paris by Aleksandr Petrovsky only to be chased down by Mr. Big at the end.) Alas, I know my own Mr. Big will not be chasing after me, and, I am ok with that since he will always be part of my life with or without my love interest. However, it doesn't make this trip any less romantic or exciting.

So how is this overpacker going to manage to make a decision? Right now, I don't have a clue but, once I figure it all out, I will let you know!

Almost Vacation Time!

Well it's almost vacation time for me, and, I'm excited. I am heading to Europe to see my newest love interest. He has an amazing itinerary lined up for us. We are meeting in London and will end up in Barcelona all over the course of two weeks.

Yes, I will be posting the entire time. Have computer and WiFi, can travel! My journey will begin via British Airways in their Club World (business class) section. I hate overnight flights, but, it's all part of the adventure. Luckily, Club World is fairly nice, I don't believe I'll get a full sleeper seat but, regardless, it will beat being in the sardine class in economy.

So upon landing we will spend a few days in England, then we are taking the Chunnel via the Eurostar to Paris for a few more days, and, then finally on to Spain. This is truly going to be an exciting time. I've been to Europe before, but, being able to travel with someone native to a country I am visiting brings an added amount of excitement, especially since I have a budding relationship with this person.

I believe our main concentration will be the city of Barcelona, where my special friend lives. I've been to Barcelona, and, cannot wait to return to this very beautiful city. I leave on Friday evening on Friday (June 30).

Did I mention I'm excited? :D