Merry Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas

One of our favorite cruise ships is Celebrity Constellation.  In preparing this column we searched the web for an image that had the grand staircase decorated for Christmas.   Click on the image to go to the album on Flickr.  Thanks to gailf548 for sharing these pictures of the holiday decorations.

Images like this usually stay with you for some time and when you close your eyes, you can sometimes see them again as if you were seeing them for the first time.

We've had the good fortune of being able to add other images to our memory banks this year.  Our major cruise adventure this year was a 12-Night Mediterranean & Greek Isles Cruise.   We've posted stories on our blog and pictures on our Facebook Fan Page.  If you've not read our posts yet, see Diary of Cruise with Chris to Greek Isles
for links to individual blog posts and the various photo albums.

One of the many highlights of that cruise vacation was visiting The Vatican during our pre-cruise stay in Rome.  Last night the Pope celebrated midnight mass inside St. Peter's Basilica.   The mass was broadcast across the world to millions of viewers. The alter was setup in front of the entrance to St. Peter's tomb which can be seen in this image.  This year's mass had a special meaning since we had actually been there just over six months ago.  See more images in our album: St. Peter's Vatican.


For those that have never been to Rome, we highly recommend adding this to your bucket list of places to visit.  We actually stayed in central Rome and explored the city by mainly walking from one attraction to another.   Our hotel was near the Roma Termini Train Station, so we transferred to the ship by train. Rome is one of those destinations which you could spend days exploring and still not see it all.   That shouldn't stop you from seeing the popular attractions during a pre-cruise stay.   Make sure to throw a coin into Trevi Fountain, so that you'll return one day.

Holidays are a time for family and friends and a good time to share vacation photos and stories. My wish for you this Christmas Day is that you are sharing the day with those that you love and care about, and who have mutual feelings for you. For those that are away from home, such as cruise ship crew and those serving their countries in the armed services, may the peaceful images in your mind help you to be close to those you love, if only in your heart and mind.

Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your lives by sharing our adventures and cruise industry information.   My blog and Facebook fan page are my gifts to you.  I hope you enjoy them.  Merry Christmas to all.