Ms Understood

404 for us to Canadian Arctic/Greenland. Never heard any noise at all.

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Helen

We saw the lights on our recent Canadian arctic/Greenland cruise. An announcement was made each night that the crew thought they were worth getting out of bed for. Once up on deck the ship lights were turned of and the display was fantastic!

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Helen

The same is true in Los Angeles: if the date is not good for you the jury coordinator will just reschedule you. Not a big deal, happens all the time.

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Helen

Like it or not, the world is full of "other" people. If you wish to assure yourself that you will be spendng your time with only your "kind" of people, it is probably best that you do it at home where only you control who is allowed in. Otherwise book a wonderful cruise and try to adjust to the presence of the "others" who are also on their own wonderful cruise and just as entitled as you to enjoy themselves.

I sympathize with the situation of unruly guests whether they are young, old, fat, smoking, slow-moving and/or drunk but really SS cannot pre-screen behaviour, can they?

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Helen

Have used Shore trips for the Caribbean and was very satisfied. As xcomet said they keep in contact with you. At one port I couldn't find my guide, called shoretrips they had me on the line while calling the guide and spoke to both of us till we connected. [matter of being at opposite ends of meeting area] lol

 

FYI "Shore Trips" and "Private Shore Trips" are 2 differnt companies.

Have used Shore trips for the Caribbean and was very satisfied. As xcomet said they keep in contact with you. At one port I couldn't find my guide, called shoretrips they had me on the line while calling the guide and spoke to both of us till we connected. [matter of being at opposite ends of meeting area] lol

 

FYI "Shore Trips" and "Private Shore Trips" are 2 different companies.

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Helen

I have used them several times in the past for different ports and have them booked again for my upcoming Riviera cruise. I agree that they are very responsive and professional. We have always been pleased with the guides they have provided.

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Helen

Private Shore Trips is a middle man not unlike Viator. I have used them lots of times and always been pleased both their responsiveness and with the guides they have provided us.

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Helen

I have used them on 2 different trips.(Crete and Croatia on one trip and Amsterdam and Rotterdam on a different cruise) They are actually the middle man but with one exception we found the guides and itineraries they arranged for us to be very well done. The one exception was more a matter of a less than compelling guide rather than any problem with the tour itself. I also have a friend who has used them in different ports and reported similar good experiences. I would recommend them as very dependable and the guys here in the US offices are very quick to respond to questions and concerns.

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Helen

"...............helped by his spouse who led the way shouting things like "bring out your dead" and "inválido" (she insisted on using the singular since her husband wasn't a cripple; he just walked funny) and other helpful phrases."

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Helen

DubrovnikLady, Thank you so much for all the info you provide. We will be there November 9-10 with Azamara and I was wondering if you know whether Buza I or Buza II will be open or do they close for the winter? Also I was going to book Nautica or Proto for dinner. If you are familar with those restuarants would you pick one over the other? I know you wont recommend a restuarant but hypothetically would YOU elect one over the other?

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Helen

Coolgma, check Trip Advisor.com. There is a wine bar listed as the #5 thing to do in Dubrovnick:

"Traveler Description: D'Vino Wine Bar has an impressive selection of fine domestic and imported wine available by the glass, bottle, and in tasting servings"

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Helen

Thanks for both the video and the directions. We will be there in November and will give it a try! (I copied and printed the directions)

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Helen

All very good points, however we often look for private excursions not to save a few bucks but to avoid the big bus syndrome. Especially in Europe the big busses cannot get as close to the sites as a van can, so more time is wasted walking. And I have never been on a big bus tour where we were not perpetually waiting for someone to return who was busy shopping while the rest of the punctual folks cooled our heels and lost even more of our short time in port. So everyone must decide for themselves what your priorities are and book what works for you.

Big Guy, we also went to Il Dolfino. Its family run and the food is wonderful. Loved it. we did not use RIL tho . Each time we are in Italy we use easitalytours.com and have never had a complaint. They are of course a much smaller company than RIL and therefore probably a bit more responsive to what their customer wants rather than what "everybody" does.

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Helen

We just returned from Celebrity Infinity and we booked privately with Gastineau Guiding. We had a fantastic day. We had 20 people so Harv and Marv was out of the question. we had the boat to ourselves and we were the first to arrive at the whales bubble netting. We were the boat "out front" for this spectacle. The big boats (ship excursions?) were way back from our position.Well worth it and highly recommended.

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Helen

I dont think it said. Just the reporter getting herself a pair of designer glasses and how cheap it was. I also wear a complicated RX which usually costs me $300+ for the lenses and then several hundred more for the frames so $30! Wow! Worth a try. we will not be able to as our cruise ends in Shnaghai and our flight departs at noon so not gonna work for me but good luck to you.

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Helen

Jan, I am not sure about HK but the "famous" eyeglass market is in Shanghai. They will make the glasses while you wait and cost is less than $30 USD! Its near the main train station. Read about it in the LA Times a few weeks ago.

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Helen