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| MarkDale on Barcelona to Venice Cruise on … |
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This is a video of the 7-day repositioning cruise we took on the Norwegian Jade from Barcelona to Venice in April of 2012. We spent a few days prior exploring Barcelona and a few days in Milan, Italy at the end of the voyage. We met several other LGBT people on this cruise and made many new friends. Bon Voyage and Happy Cruising!
See our cruise photos:
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| Mediterranean Cruise | April 2012 |
For me, the last day on a cruise can be very depressing. I know that I will once again have to return to my 9 – 5 workday, plan the meals for the week and say ‘goodbye’ to new friends. For Dale and I, this trip was full of positive experiences that can only be felt on a cruise. We had our last meal with our new friend Gilles and his partner Gord where we shared our many memories over a few bottles of wine. We both agreed that cruising is about the community we build on board and the new friendships that we make. Since our experiences were so similar, I asked Gilles if he would share his thoughts. I will soon be writing about our trip and posting it in ‘News & Expert Advice’.
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by Gilles Marchildon*
To paraphrase Maya Angelou, people will forget what you say and what you do but never how you made them feel. Norwegian Cruise Line seems to have payed particular attention to Angelou’s words.
Travel provides opportunities to see incredible, breath-taking sights but there are only so many mountain ranges, ocean sunsets, church spires and castle dungeons one can absorb within a short period of time. These are often best revisited through pictures to prompt our recall.
It’s funny, though, that we don’t need pictures to recall the people or stories of a particular trip. For the vast majority of travelers, the bedrock foundation of a truly enjoyable and memorable trip are the people we encounter and the experiences we share. Humans are social animals and nowhere is this more obvious than on a cruise.
Cruises are often used to celebrate special occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries. They’re also opportunities for people to cut loose during the many zany on-board game-shows as well as trivia and dance contests, not to mention make friends at the bars.
Our Barcelona to Venice cruise (with stops in Sicily, Croatia and Slovenia) was our “in-between-birthdays” trip. My spouse and I celebrate our respective birthdays in mid-April and early May so travel between these dates is our annual gift to each other. We find a trip so much more meaningful and fun instead of splurging on extravagant gifts for each other. No gift-wrapping required!
Prior to our trip, we had put in a special request for birthday cake at one of our dinners. Except we got caught up in their “free-style” approach, forgetting to book a specific night. So it was that on our second-last evening, we finally remembered our request. We were at a table of fellow gay men whom we’d met (thanks to Norwegian’s promotion of a nightly “Friends of Dorothy” LGBT meeting). Near the end of the meal, a tentative enquiry was made with our cute Indian waiter. We weren’t really expecting that a cake could be produced on such short notice and at this late hour. Indeed, our chatty group, aided by 3 different bottles of wine on the table, was practically the last one in the grand dining room.
Well, about as fast as Dorothy could click her heels together and be swept back to Kansas, our table was surrounded by close to a dozen staff singing “Happy Birthdays” (yes – plural) and a jumbo cake landed among the wine bottles and first round of desserts. We had foolishly ordered desserts from the menu, not thinking that a birthday cake was realistic. Round two of desserts. Such is the hardship. We did our best, particularly aided by the ferocious appetite of one of our sweet-toothed fairies. Complementary digestifs helped us wash it down.
See? Norwegian’s efforts ended up being just as memorable as the splendours of the Adriatic cities through which we’d walked during the previous two days. Maya Angelou would just smile knowingly.
* Gilles Marchildon is the former Executive Director of Egale Canada, the country’s main LGBT advocacy group. He was also director of Winnipeg’s Reel Pride gay and lesbian film festival and editor of the city’s monthly queer publication, Swerve
Guest Blog by Gilles Marchildon*
The narrow walls seem full of secrets and unfulfilled yearnings. The hairs on my arms note the coolness of the air but my pulse is racing. Every corner rounded, every new passage discovered reward my eyes with fantastic sights. Curiosity and excitement propel me forward with my
companions.
Lest you wonder if I’m exploring a dungeon of depravity, let me state that it’s instead a fabulous fortress, the Diocletian palace. At the heart of the Croatian city of Split lies the former digs of a Roman emperor with delusions of grandeur – a trait likely inherent to all emperors. Diocletian might be barfing in his mausoleum, though, if he saw the veritable flea market that’s taken up residence in his once-regal dwelling.
Fortunately, the palace retains its majesty thanks to the abundant and impressive stone walls, towering columns and notable bell tower. Sprawling around the original palace, there is a maze of smaller structures all crammed delightfully into an old city where narrow passages connect to each other and offer fascinating explorations. As one companion remarked, it’s like Venice without the water (and far fewer tourists).
English seems to be understood by most restaurateurs and shopkeepers but it’s best to convert your Euros and US Dollars into the local currency, the Kuna.
Wandering in this picturesque town, it’s easy to forget that Split is the second-largest city of Croatia with a metropolitan area of about 468,000 people. As we park ourselves in an unassuming pizzeria just outside the tourist-trodden streets of the old city, we are rewarded with oven-baked pizza and pasta dishes that rival the best that Italy could offer. Obviously, the culinary culture straddles both sides of the Adriatic. Unfortunately, the success in our plates is not reflected in our wine glasses but you can’t have it all, I suppose. Still, it’s a gorgeous day and with full bellies, we enjoy the delicious people-watching. Who needs dessert with dark and swarthy Croatians?
En route back to our cruise ship’s tender boats, we follow our intuition and make a detour up a hill in a residential area. At the top, a splendid view of the city and harbour greats us. Fortunately, we discover steps that lead us back downtown more directly.
During our jaunt along the waterfront, we make friends with a small posse of adventure-seeking French cyclists joined by a Venezuelan acrobat. The locals seemed wary but once we break the ice, a couple young girls are only too happy to make their acquaintance. Glad to have been of service, guys.
Views, food and friends: we savour Split three ways.
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* Gilles Marchildon is the former Executive Director of Egale Canada, the country’s main LGBT advocacy group. He was also director of Winnipeg’s Reel Pride gay and lesbian film festival and editor of the city’s monthly queer publication, Swerve.
Just booked the Norwegian Jewel from NYC to the Bahamas 10/22/11. I have not sailed NCL Since the Norway in 2003. Any advice on the Freestyle dining…any MMOB members along for the ride, too….
One of you met the love of your life on MeetMeOnBoard. That is a story I’m sure all the members would enjoy hearing. If you have a great MMOB tale please drop me an e-mail so I can include it in a future article about how the members use the site.
In our recent membership survey we asked you specifically how you use the various features on MeetMeOnBoard and which additions you’d like to see in the future.
Since the survey we’ve added a forum, complete with MeetMeOnBoard Roll Calls so you can post your cruise there for people to find you.
Of course all of you who have booked an upcoming cruise and posted it on your profile know you are automatically connected with everyone who is also listed on that cruise through our Cruise Mates feature. This is yet another reason you should tell your friends who haven’t signed up on MeetMeOnBoard yet.
I’d like to hear from members who absolutely love a particular feature of the site. Are you a HUGE fan of the new and improved Cruise Calendar — the only LGBT cruise calendar in existence?
Do you love to read the latest cruise news in News & Expert Advice? Are you growing to love the new Forum or is the Muster Station a place you just can’t resist?
Are you meeting folks from the site on the ships and forming friendships? We certainly hope so. After all, that’s why we started the site–to connect LGBT cruise travelers with one another before setting sail. Since then we’ve grown into the largest LGBT cruise travel social network, thanks to you.
Let me know what you love about MeetMeOnBoard features, where’d you’d like to see the site grow in the future and if social media and mobile apps are a direction we should embrace next.
Can’t wait to hear your stories. Please send me an MMOB mail or e-mail michael@meetmeonboard.com.
Thanks,
Michael Bradbury
MMOB Director of Marketing
Suite with Balcony | Photo: NCL
Norwegian Cruise Line has announced two new industry leading Freestyle Cruising ships for delivery in 2013 and 2014. Called “Project Breakaway,” each of the 144,017 gross ton vessels, the largest passenger cruise ships to be built in Germany, will have approximately 4,000 passenger berths and a rich cabin mix.
Project Breakaway ships will each have 1,024 balcony staterooms and 238 mini-suites set in rich paneling with warm tones and accent colors. Each balcony stateroom has a king-size bed (that can be separated) with a pillow top mattress set against a chestnut leather headboard cushioned and tufted to make reading and sitting up in bed more comfortable. Each room has a sofa bed with additional storage, a built-in 26-inch flat screen television and LED lighting surrounds the perimeter of the ceiling to give the room warmth. There is also a full-size closet that is easily accessible with sliding doors. The staterooms are energy efficient, utilizing key card access to control lighting in the room.
Source: NCL
We are cruising on the Norwegian Spirit Oct 30th 2011 for the Halloween cruise out of New Orleans….We love cruising on halloween…..who else if going? Hope to meet you on board and have a great time.
David and Ed
djguy327@yahoo.com
going on the transatlantic crossing May 7th on the epic. looking to hook up with FOD
Partner and I are cruising Norwegian Epic for Western Mediterranean on 5/29/2011. Flying into Barcelona from Indianapolis.
Anyone else?
I am not going on that cruise but I was on the Epic back in October and it is an awesome ship. Hope you like it.
Don
I hope you post a review about your cruise. We are booked on the August 28th Epic cruise with the same itinerary. I have read ALL of the 400 reviews of the new EPIC, but will look forward to the reviews pertaining to the Mediterranean ports. Enough already with the bathroom layout situation! We have an aft-balcony penthouse, which will give us access to the private suite area clear on the other end of the ship but the walking is always needed, right? Enjoy the cruise and let us know what you thought of the ports, and excursions.
Will do! Agree…enough with the bathroom layout! 
Just finished booking a few excursions, and really getting excited. We’re counting down the days, and will definitely be posting our review.
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MarkDale, 
Bruce, and 
rogerbeto are discussing. 
jmburge, 
steven, and 
Donh44 are discussing.
rogerbeto 11:58 am on May 8, 2012 Permalink |
Great video guys and the music was perfect.. Sure makes you want to go back. What camera were you using?
Roger
MarkDale 3:23 pm on May 8, 2012 Permalink |
Thanks for the compliment Roger. I shot it in HD but usually don’t upload it in HD since the files get way to large. The video camera I have is the Canon HD Vixia HEM300.
Bruce 9:22 am on May 9, 2012 Permalink |
Great photos and video. It was nice to meet you and the rest of the others on the cruise. We had a fun time.
MarkDale 10:25 am on May 10, 2012 Permalink |
Great meeting you guys too. When are we doing it again?