We all grew up with the admonition - don't talk to strangers. It turns out on a cruise ship that is not the rule. We really weren't sure how it all worked. In a restaurant you would never (without an exceptional reason - like their tablecloth is on fire) strike up a conversation with the people at the table next to you. But on the ship, all those conventions went out the window. The day we set sail we headed up to the top deck to watch as we passed the statue of liberty and saw Manhattan fade into the background. The whole time we were standing next to a couple who were also taking pictures and taking it all in. After a bit we exchanged a few words - they were from Berlin - and chatted about the upcoming 10 days on the ship. We exchanged names but that was that and everyone dispersed and headed to their cabins to get ready for the first dinner.
The next day we saw them again in the pub and we moved to a table where we could all sit together. We had a chance to chat a little more and by the time we finished we had exchanged email addresses and talked about possibly getting together when we got to Berlin.
What a nice surprise it was on Sunday to get an email from them asking if we would be available the next day. He picked us up at our hotel and we drove to the city of Potsdam and spent the better part of the day there. It was spectacular. Truly. There is the Dutch quarter and a Russian colony of farmsteads, there are gardens, monuments and a palace. It was such a great day.
To top it off, we went back to their home in a Berlin suburb for dinner. Their flat was beautiful and gave us a good idea of the size of places we've been looking at in Bologna. It was a definite highlight of the whole trip and we can't thank them enough for being so gracious and kind. We hope we can return the favor some day.