Thanks, everyone, for the suggestions. We have decided to stay with our Oct. 15 Diamond cruise, and now I am so excited. When we were considering cancelling, I think I was having a knee-jerk reaction because we loved the second week itinerary also. But now -- even before signing on and seeing these suggestions -- we are getting excited about planning the land part of our journey, probably a little time in Rome and then who knows what. Denise, I definitely will check out your specific suggestions. We have been to Tuscany but didn't have enough time there. We are going to have the best of all possibilities open to us now -- a wonderful Diamond cruise combined with a wonderful land trip!

Beth, thanks for the encouragement about being on the final cruise. I know how you loved the Song -- and that's how we felt about it too. The difference here, for us, will be that we never have sailed on the Diamond so don't have that already-existing affection for it, but that won't affect our enjoyment of this special cruise in the least. In fact, I may not feel as weepy as I might have on the Song, so that's even better maybe!

Thanks again, everyone. No doubt I'll be back to you for recommendations in Istanbul (pre-cruise) plus Rome and environs post-cruise.