jcl410

While riding the trash n from Anchorage to Seward, I received an email from RCI saying the the Radiance of Seas had a propulsion issue overnight, and her top speed is reduced . Boarding is proceeding as normal, but the email implied we might be leaving late.. I will update when I hear new news. Aloha, John

The train station is 13-16 miles away by car according to Google maps.... All the routes take about 20 minutes.... The airport is North of the city off of I-95... The train station is northwest of the city in a suburban part of the city. Aloha, John

No one really explained why that particular hotel is/isn't a good choice. First off, the hotel is not actually in historic Mayport, but rather Atlantic Beach... Their web site focuses on the fact it is the closest hotel to the Navy base at Mayport. There isn't anything interesting within walking distance. It's about 16 miles to the port, and kind of out of the way for most people driving to the port . What direction are you coming from, and will you be just spending one night pre/post cruise, or do you plan to spend time in Jacksonville? Aloha, John

DC to Boston by bus? What time does the bus leave? D o you have to change busses? Amtrak has an over night train that costs less than $40 pp. (If you book early enough.) You get a lot more space on the train. Aloha, John

Which ship are you on? If I remember correctly, the Carnival Legend doesn't dock until 10:00am, while the Vision of the Seas docks at a more normal time. It's about a 20 minute ride to the airport, so it doesn't take too long.... I'm a conservative cruiser, who doesn't take his own bags off... For the Vision, I would want the flight to leave after 1200. (2pm for the Carnival ship.) Aloha, john

When I had training in the financial district, I ended up staing near Times Square, as I found there more activities after class. I would take either the 2/3 Express subway to Chambers ST, then hop on the local (#1). In your case, you would get off at WTC-Cortland. Total time should be 20 minutes +/- Aloha, John

It will largely depend on what channels the ship subscribes to.... For example, in the Caribbean in summer, it's normal to see the Caribbean Cricket matches on TV. Aloha, John

I'd recommend linking the reservations and getting two tables with the same wait staff. People could then switch up where they sit night by night. Aloha, John

I've been on a bunch of RCI cruises since 1996. I took my first MSC cruise i March. It was a 13 day transatlantic from Brazil to Portugal.... The vast majority of the passengers were from Brazil and Portugal. good things 1) fresh pizza and fresh pasta were excellent 2) overall food was on par with RCI (The buffet menu on MSC didn't change much from daya to day, though) non-complaints: 1) all announcements were done in 5 languages 2) no wash cloth in bathroom - I expected that, knowing i was a European line, and they were supplied by my cabin attendant 3) production shows were mainly danced based, with a few songs in english/spanish/portuguese. talking to our table mates from the UK, this is normal on their European itineraries as well, due to the number of languages spoken. The productions themselves were fine. complaints - 1) free water hard to find.... on our cruise, free bottled water, coffee and tea was provided in the main dining room only.... Outside of that, the only free water was in the Buffet. Unlike RCI, bars will not pour you a glass of tap water. 2) related - Because I didn't have a drink package, my card showed the default USA Free water/dining room.... Half the time when I'd order a drink, the bartender would say "Your package doesn't cover that.", and I'd say, "I know, I want to buy one." a minor annoyance, but it got tired. (Many of the bars I frequented eventually figured it out.) 3) drink packages - they don't offer a soda package, which is what I get on RCI. They do have a non-alcoholic package, but it requires both people in cabin to get it.... My wife doesn't drink a lot, so we didn't get any packages... I cut back on the number of diet coke's I drank, and we ended up spending less than if we had bought any packages. 4) Trivia games were painful to sit through because of the multiple languages, and the fact they were mostly held by the pool... I would travel on MSC again ... if ... the price was right, and a unique itinerary. Aloha, John

May i ask what size sensor your camera has? (or is it 35mm film?) Trying to decide between my 18-135mm or 55-200mm lens for whale watching with my APS-C Canon camera. (~1.6x crop factor for the lenses) Aloha, John

The official duty free limit is 1 liter of alcohol per individual 21 or over... If you are over the limit, and truthful, the officer MAY let you pass with out paying any duty. Aloha, John

Royal ships use Type F outlets. They have a 3rd ground wire in the top and bottom of the socket... Type C and Type E plugs will also work. Aloha, John

I have an airsense 10, and it comes with a power brick that converts AC power into DC to plug into the CPAP machine..... If you also have an AC brick, take a look at the text on it...most will say Input:115-240VAC 50/60Hz. In that case, you can use the 240 volt European plug with a plain/inexpensive plug converter. Aloha, John

I only speak English, but my wife speaks Spanish.... The two of us did an excursion in Las Palmas in Spanish (and Portuguese). It worked OK, but only because my wife could translate.... Once, when I was by myself, I rented a car and drove to Mt. Teide. I road the cable car to the top, an the views are Marvelous! There's a rental car place right in the port. (You will need an International Drivers form from AAA.) Aloha, John

Because different countries have different rules about what can and cannot be imported in to the country, I think the cruise lines just adopt the "no food" rule to make it easier.... That being said, in the USA certain foods; like baked good; are perfectly fine to be imported. (My sister in law routinely brings us pastries from Ecuador when she visits. The rules are made by the US Dept. of Agriculture. The biggest sticking point for many foods is "proving" where the food originated from. Aloha, John

To follow up, and answer my own question..... We used the Guarucoop taxi service from GRU airport to Santos... They have a booth on the sidewalk outside the terminal (covered) where you pay for the taxi up front. The cost was a little less that $100US. The trip takes about 2 hours because much of the route is on surface roads going through Sao Paulo. (But the scenery in the hills afterwards was great!) Aloha, john

As of 2000z, 31 March, the USA website is up to date, with the same information as the UK site. Hurray! Aloha, John

Yes, I got an SMS message this morning... As of 1645z, the USA web site still shows the testing requirements. Since we both got the message, and the UK website says no test (for those 12 and over) I'm not going to test before getting to Santos. Hopefully by then, all info will match. Aloha, John

Here is the link from the US version of the MSC website..... Scroll down and click on the appropriate destination/voyage type https://www.msccruisesusa.com/health-and-safety-measures Aloha, John

>>Thanks for asking. At what time is the earliest to embark in Santos, Brazil? We're on the same cruise.... My paperwork says that my check in is from 1300-1400. I'll probably leave the hotel around 1200... (At least it's not as late as Star Clipper lines; they don't START the check in process till 1630!) Aloha, John

Hi - We will be arriving in Lisbon, Portugal after a transatlantic cruise... Our flight out is after 1700. I'm trying to determine when to have a car pick us up. Our paperwork says that disembarkation starts at 0700. I'm no rush to be the first one off. This is our first MSC cruise. Does MSC give you a speciic time to get off, or will it be a free for all? Since we are calling at the Canary Islands as well as Madeira, will we clear immigration prior to docking in Lisbon? Regardless, what's the average formalities ashore like? Would a 0900 time be reasonable to tell the driver? Aloha, John

No, I booked directly through the MSC website... I ended up calling MSC and they just emailed me the documentation with no problem. Aloha, John

All - I'm at the 20 day mark for my 3 April cruise from Santos to Lisbon.... The USA MSC website shows a link to send an email about the reservation, but when I click it, the web site "hangs up", and I end up closing the browser.... In addition, if I click on web check in, and navigate to "travel documents" I get an error message that says try later... Am I missing something, or what? Aloha, John

Yes, the Comedy Club is small.... It would not surprise me that it's sold out... You can keep checking to see if any spots open up, it won't hurt. When we were onboard Harmony in December, there were a number of no-shows for the show, and quite a few folks waiting in the standby line did get it... Aloha, John

Oops - I forgot to ask my second question: MSC requires a COVID test prior to embarkation. Does anyone know where I can get a test (and report) on Sunday afternoon, or Monday morning? Aloha, John