Although we adore Voyager, after our Baltics cruise and Norwegian fjords cruise, and are booked on the Paul Gauguin for PIP in May of this year and the Mariner for MUSH in August, 2006, we are going to try out Silversea Whisper in November. It is the Western Caribbean Classics cruise, beginning on Nov. 21: 10 days - Ft. Lauderdale, Cozumel, Belize City, Santo Tomas (Guatemala), Roatan Island (Honduras), Ocho Rias (Jamaica), and George Town (Grand Cayman), plus three (count 'em, three!!) wonderful days at sea. We found this the most interesting itinerary for a cruise over Thanksgiving and much more intriguing than the Voyager itinerary for the same period. Thanks, Olivia, for encouraging us to look at the SS itineraries. The ship looks (in the brochures and on the website) like a smaller version of the Mariner and Voyager. Why don't these two fabulous lines just merge and thereby offer us a greater choice of itineraries?

Any of the LCT'ers interested in joining us on this cruise? Anyone already booked? Please let us know.

Cheers, Fred

Freddie, I saw this itinerary and thought it sounded very interesting for a Caribbean cruise. Before we try SilverSeas, we need to use our open booking discount on Radisson. At some point (if Ngaire will stop enticing is with new endeavours (Africa, New Zealand, Galapagos) :D , we will consider SilverSeas and this itinerary.

Donna - We were in the same dilemma - go on Silversea or skip ROAR?? - ROAR but maybe not MUSH??. So we finally just made the most logical decision and decided to stick with both ROAR and MUSH and still take the Silversea cruise in November. Of course, the result is that I will probably never be able to retire, since we are spending all of our retirement $$$ on cruises. But who knows what tomorrow may bring? (Sounds like some Broadway musical song, no?) We hope to live into our 90's and have a few dozen more cruises; but if that does not happen, we want to have experienced as many wonderful cruises with delightful people as we can. Frankly, we never know what will happen. Although we don't want to squander our retirement, we have known too many people who deferred far too much until retirement and then did not live to enjoy the things they had hoped to enjoy. Thus, we are trying to achieve that extremely difficult balance of living for today while still reasonably providing for tomorrow. If any of you has any good hints for doing so, we would enormously welcome them. My cancer episode last December quite dramatically reinforced for Pat and me the reality of all of our mortality (something that we baby-boomers do not easily accept). Fortunately, thanks to God and talented surgeons, I dodged that bullet; but I learned most emphatically that we are indeed mortal. (Good Lord, I have turned this cruise promotion into a diatribe on mortality - how utterly self-indulgent and morbid of me. Of course, I am too lazy to try to edit it to make it more suitable.) In any event, we look forward to eating Thanksgiving turkey (along with foie gras and caviar) on Whisper in November. Cheers, Fred

I wish you would post more often - I LOVE reading your posts...the content does not matter... just your words!!! Joanna

Freddie, you are going to love the Silver Whisper. We are getting off in FLL as you are getting on. We are on the 11/11 Eastern Caribbean cruise from Barbados.

Even though we won't be on the same cruise this time, we are joining you on the MUSH cruise.

If you have any questions about the Whisper, ask away. We are on her again in 4 more weeks doing the Med.

Freddie, I agree with you. We have had health scares too (although not as serious as yours) and are coming around to your way of thinking. Experience is a great teacher. I'm looking forward to meeting you on MUSH.

I "ditto" Joanna's comments. Your posts are a delight to read.

Congrats Freddie! Would love to hear your views about the Silver Whisper after you get back.

Masaki

Freddie -

Let's all have a drink on PIP about spending our retirement money now while it's still fun to cruise and while we can.

We'd join you on the SS sailing but our cruise cards are full at the moment. Pip, MUSH and Monte Carlo/Dover with some land stuff in there somewhere. Besides, I don't want the dogs to think we're the petsitters and the petsitters are their owners!

Fred,

As a fellow baby-boomer whose husband is a bit in front of the demographic (he was born during the war), I concur about the delicate dance of having fun while we are still capable of it, versus being prudent about the future. We are working through planning this year, with our financial advisor, and every year, we say to him, "should we do this trip to, [tahiti|greece|etc.]?", and he says, "sure, why not?"

We also have a beautiful summer cottage here as well, and I yearn to spend more time there, and put time into maintaining it. The working, and making money, really cut into vacation time! We may forego the "big trip" next year (we'll see how it goes--there's one beckoning right now), and if so, perhaps just do a warm week in February--unfortunately RSSC nor Silverseas has the right week for us, so we might just end up in Cuba or somewhere like that.

Freddie, congrats on the Silversea plans! Sounds like a nice itinerary, and I'll be very interested to hear your thoughts on Silversea. As much as we love RSSC, and we definitely do, we are drawn to smaller ships (two of the four cruises we have under our belts were on the 180-passenger Song of Flower), so Silversea is on our radar for consideration.

Your philosophy of live for today while keeping a reasonable eye on tomorrow mirrors my philosophy as well. I must say, however, that I don't know when a thoughtful consideration, such as yours, of that very serious issue has left me laughing out loud. You DO have a way with words!

Fred, I love your philosophical musings, and I'm glad you didn't go back and edit them out!

On a similar note, when we kids were young, my Mom and Dad used to always talk about someday going to Rome. They married young and had kids right away, and we struggled financially for all of my growing-up years. My parents had never traveled anywhere (except Niagra Falls for their honeymoon), and our family vacations usually entailed driving to the Grandparents' house, or doing a little local camping. But they were eternal optimists, and were dead serious that they were going to eventually make it to Rome...they had a specific savings account, and filled up a scrap book with brochures, pictures, articles and other stuff about Rome. They eventually saved up enough money, but then they kept putting off the trip to do things for us kids -- take us to Disneyworld, or send us to Girl Scout Camp.

Then, in the late 60's, my Dad lost his Aerospace job when the industry crashed, and it took him over a year to find another one. They had to use up most of that savings account just for groceries during that year of poverty. Once he finally found another job, they immediately began building it up again, and cutting out more pictures for the scrap book. Sadly, only six months later, my Dad died in a car accident. My Mom used to always say how much she regretted that they didn't take the trip when they could have.

This is the reason that, the moment I was old enough and had enough money, *I* took my Mom on her first trip out of the country -- to Rome. It was magical, and very meaningful. And now, here we are again, about to take another magical trip to Europe. This is why I love traveling with my mother. I don't want her to ever again regret NOT going somewhere when she had the chance.

Well shoot, I went way off-topic, didn't I? Oh well...I do love hearing about all the luxury cruise lines, and their differences and features. I'm sure you'll have a splendid time on your Silversea cruise, Fred, and MAJOR kudos to you for spending your time and resources LIVING life, rather than waiting for it!! :)

Freddie
I agree with your way of thinking. In 2000 I lost 6 good friends - including best friend from high school and my best friend from college. They were only 56. That is when I decided not to wait until full retirement to travel. Yesterday I had to bury another friend, age 58, who I had known for 35 years. She was the hostess for my wedding reception & my baby shower.
And then when I found out I have arthritic knees, the doctor told me to do it now. I might be eating cat food and living under a bridge in my old age, but I plan on having beautiful memories.
I am looking forward to your Silverseas experience, but they are a difficult reach for me. Their single supplement is a killer. But I am like Priscilla. I like the smaller ships. I am already missing the Diamond.
LeeAnne, you are lucky to be able to travel with your Mom. Mine is so afraid of dying in a foreign country & my sister & I having to go through the ordeal of getting her home, she has refused all invitations to go with me. She is 88 & as sharp as ever & would love to see these places. I have now given up trying to get her to come with me.
Boy, I really did get off topic. Sorry

LeeAnne and Betty - To the extent either of you was "Off-topic" (which you really were not, since I raised the whole issue of traveling today when we can do so), your comments were so charming and touching that even the most hard-hearted board-rule Nazi could not object to them. (And we are so lucky that, unlike CC, our board-ruler is the delightful Karen, who is both soft-hearted and wise in her use of her Delete Post power.) Betty, you are so dead-on (no pun intended) to suggest than when we reach the point that we can no longer travel for physical reasons, it will be marvelous to have a grand store of warm memories, rather than a bitter and sad cache of regrets for journies never taken and lands never seen. So let's all launch into a rousing chorus of "Cabaret", particularly the part about Elsie being "the happiest corpse they'd ever seen". Cheers and Cruise On!! Fred

Don & Diana - Now that I have wiped the tears off of my bi-focals (invisible bi-focal lines on the lenses, of course - I am, after all, a vain baby-boomer not too happy with the whole aspect of aging) brought on by LeeAnne's and Betty's genuinelly touching posts, I can address your wonderful Whisper cruise in the Med in a few weeks. First, we are dreadfully envious. Second, we will indeed be asking you a million questions about the ship after you return. Olivia (JHP) has given us some excellent feedback on the SilverSea experience already, all of which makes us utterly eager for the cruise in November. One issue which intrigues us is the seemingly inconsistent policy of requiring patrons to buy wine from the premium wine list when dining in the specialty restaurant, Le Champagne. Although it was not a deal breaker for us, it seems to be contrary to the SS all-inclusive policy. We will welcome your comments on both the policy and the restaurant itself. Be nice in Nice and have a great cruise. Cheers, Fred

Freddie: I will look forward to your review of the November Silversea cruise - I will be interested in the cruise line but far more interested in reading your review - I envy people who write with a "flair" and you do it in spades!!! Joanna

Betty,

I'm so sad to hear of the recent loss of your friend. {{{{Hugs}}}}

Thanks Lee Anne. Been a tough week.
It has been so strange. I was telling my husband today that they say the men die first, but with my friends, it is always the woman. And they were all so young. And all unexpected. So LeeAnne, we sail away as long as we can.

In the sixties and seventies, when we were financially able to travel for 3 weeks in summer, and having an elderly Jamaican lady as a housekeeper to look after our daughters, we would spend time in various European cities. In Venice, we met a couple in their seventies who were on their first vacation out of the U.S. They were from Pittsburgh. He took about 15 pills a day and was restricted as to eating. We said that we would dine together and arranged to meet about 9 p.m. "Oh no. I have to be in bed by 10 !) He was a very wealthy man. A glass manufacturer who wanted to ensure that his sons were capable of running the business before he travelled. Now this is a great pity. BUT. chacun a son gout !.
Aren't we cruisers lucky to have foresight ?
Just a thought.

Freddie,

I'd love to try Silversea one of these days. The itinerary you chose really looks perfect. Todd and I both enjoy the sea days. Sometimes I think I enjoy them most of all. I'm always so stressed about work. Nothing relaxes me more than sitting on the balcony with a glass of wine and just gazing at the water.

I definitely agree with the other posters, please don't ever stop sharing your thoughts with us. You write beautifully. I always feel like September 11th changed my view of retirement planning. We still try to put away as much as we can, but we no longer allow it to keep us from enjoying life today. I often wonder how many folks who died that day had postponed living their lives while they waited for a retirement which never came. Enjoy every moment of your cruise. (And please write a full review when you return.)

Betty - I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Kathy

Yes, life is short and sometimes you have no clue how short. My daughter came home from college this weekend and a girl in her dorm (19 or 20) passed away on Thursday morning. Wednesday the girl got real sick and started throwing up and just figured that it was some kind of flu, by that evening she started losing motor skills and the paramedics came and rushed her to emergency, and by late that evening she went brain dead. Christy said that she heard that they thought that there was some genetic defect that had never been discovered.

OH so sad - none of us know what is around the corner - I work at a church so see and hear so much sadness - you do need to live NOW! Joanna

Freddie, please keep typing and typing; I LOVE reading your posts.

When my son was young, he went to a small private school; the headmistress's daughter was the secretary. This secretary started throwing up ond day, and then her organs simply started shutting down and she died. They said it was a very obscure virus.

Our next-door neighbor died several years of inoperable brain cancer; she wasn't 50 yet. (The neighbor on the other side simply didn't wake up one morning, but she was 99.)

Mark has had several health scares in the last few years, so we have decided to go while we can!

I have also become almost compulsive about travel after losing many people dear to me too early (60's) in the past few years. Plus my dear mother when she was 86. Had I known cruising in her last 2-3 years, I would have had her with me in a minute, and she would have loved it. Just go, if you are so inclined, as it doesn't get any easier than making the one phone call. Freddie, looking forward to cruising with you and Pat! (As well as Joanna again, Pam on PARTY and ROAR, and Don for whatever he decides!

Words often said, but oh so true - Carpe Diem!

Freddie,
I just read your post.. how the hell did I miss it.. and I salute you..for speaking out.
As a ROAR founding camp .. jungle girl.. who had to give up our"spot" ( am I doing Leopards again gals?... there..due to hubby with prostate "C" problems.. I hope that when it all comes around we can join in.. even the Mushy was on the books.. but it is very hard for us to make the long term plans, and I haven't posted this before.. but just didn't want everyone to think we are total flakes..We are just trying to get through all this and I am thrilled that you are a survivor.. thanx for good words..

Hang in there, Claudia and thanks for sharing. I recently had a scare of my own but it was just that, a scare. Ok, so long term plans are out for you right now, look at the short term and find the most fun thing that you and hubby can do. Then, go do it! I think you are coming to the brunch in May, right? I hope so. Look forward to meeting you. I always enjoy your posts.

Claudia - Being a survivor is nice, I have to admit (when one considers the alternative). We are devastated that you will not be with us on ROAR; but MUSH is more than a year and a half away - with luck, all of this will have resolved itself by then and you can join us on MUSH to celebrate! We decided to book the dreadfully pricey Seven Seas Suite to celebrate my survival (get it? - Survival - Seven Seas Suite - all "S" words) for MUSH so that we could entertain all of our wonderful LCT friends (and then, of course, throw them all out when they got too roudy). So, you see, there will be champagne (and single malt scotch) on ice for you if you can join us on MUSH. My former boss's husband last year went through treatment for prostrate cancer. He had the radioactive implant done one afternoon and that same evening went to a charity fundraiser for the beautiful garden of which his wife was a docent with a bag of frozen peas tucked discreetly into his pants. It does change one's view toward frozen veggies, does it not?! Good luck. Cheers, Fred

Frozen peas.. oh dear...
should I start packing?
Thanx for the uplift!

Oh, Freddie, you make even a serious subject fun. I am laughing at the bag of frozen peas in the husband's pants. LOL. Ok, I know this is a serious subject and I'm supposed to be mature, but after 3 meetings in a row today all in the name of doing good...as in, I don't get paid for this...I needed your funny words. Claudia, hope they made you laugh, too!

Freddie - You are an absolute delight. I love reading your posts.

Claudia - All the best to both you and hubby.

I presume when I read DH (pertaining to hubby) it means 'dear heart' and not something else?

Freddie,

I always find your posts to be among the best on the board. The frozen veggie story was too funny.

I'd be willing to bet that your incredible sense of humor has played a major part in achieving Survivor.

Claudia,

Wishing you and your husband, Al, well. You are so upbeat and I am sure that this is helping Al get through this difficult period in your lives. I, too, am really looking forward to meeting you at the brunch.

Freddie, Your frozen peas story is a hoot! Congrats, survivor!

Claudia, best wishes to both you and Al.

Betty

Claudia,

Al's a real fighter and I look forward to him getting better.......... and traveling lots more in the cabin next to you guys and sharing bottles of wine, champagne and Grey Goose!

CJ

Fred, you are a hoot, and I can't wait to meet you and Pat.

Claudia, didn't know that news about Al, so wishes go out that all will be well and you will be not only on MUSH, but ROAR as well.

SO much attention has been focused recently on breast cancer with women. It is only right that we should also focus on prostate cancer with men, as it is a big killer along with heart and other problems among men. From what I know, and I don't even have a husband, early detection is the key, as there are cures, but you just have to have the test to know you need it, just like breast cancer.

This is the first I have heard this news. Claudia, please tell Al that he is in my thoughts and to get well soon.

Claudia - didn't realize that you had cancelled ROAR. Sorry to hear about Al's problems - hopefully he makes a quick recovery and we'll see the 2 of you on MUSH!

Masaki

Freddie,

We were on the Silver Whisper July 2004. We boarded in Venice and ended up in Rome. It was absolutey the most wonderful cruise and ship we have ever been on.

We are trying Radisson for the first time this June, so cannot wait to compare them.

Freddie,

I posted my reply about the Silver Whisper prior to reading all your posts.

We found out in November that my husband, who is only 54, had Prostate Cancer. He had a radical prostatectomy with the nerves spared in January. He is doing great now and fully recovered.

When we first found out, we could not believe something like this could happen to him. It has changed our lives and things that bothered us before, don't anymore. You just get a whole new outlook on how precious life and your family are.

My husband is going to start speaking for Prostate Cancer and how important it is for men to get a physical every year and have their PSA checked.

Thank you for your great posts.