Mary229

We have never owned an ATM card. We bring some currency and use credit cards. We have never had a problem on a cruise.

We have only in recent times started using shore excursions. So far the best was Iguazu Falls - a 4 day intensive. On recent cruises I have become a big fan of the city tour with airport transfer, it is just a great way to kick back before the airpot hustle.

NCL, Oceana, Royal, Princess, HAL, Carnival,AMA, American

I call it customization.

@VMax1700 is it Starlink? If so, do you find it superior?

See you there. We will be boarding in Vancouver.

@VMax1700 thank you for posting your journey. We will be on the Rotterdam next September for this exact cruise and this is very helpful. Could you mention, as you go, which ports provided free or paid shuttles? Thank you. I am bookmarking this thread for planning.

Some of your OBC could have been attached to a special fare which you are now trading in for a cheaper fare. I have had this happen and I have a very hard working TA. Sometimes the TA has gotten something in lieu of the OBC such as a dinner. Somethings are very dear and others are very cheap to HAL

I always keep a bandaid or two in my wallet. One hack, not for cruising but office, is using tape. I have taken care of many paper cuts with scotch tape.

It depends on the port but many popular ports are reported to be very lenient

As recently as this spring San Juan and St Thomas had shuttles. The San Juan was free, HAL provided. The St Thomas was for a small fee provided by the port authority

In threads I read I always read your posts and I have never found them offensive. You have knowledge, please keep sharing it. (Some people who start threads think they own the thread and that is just not true. )

Right, I should have been clearer. On some ships there is a button that pushed allows you to hear non-essential announcements in your room

Not an apple product. Apple Watches are called Apple Watches https://wearholic.com/is-itouch-watch-an-apple-product/

Besides my prescription medication: Benadryl - it is multipurpose, a sleep aid, a motion sickness remedy and for congestion. Calcium antacid tablets, pepto bismal. Hydrocortisone for rashes or insect reactions. I also bring a dental repair kit. I also bring my favorite herbal tea and Vitamin C, D and bcomplex. All of which were suggested by my physician.

On some ships there is a sneaky little button on the headboard which allows/disallows all announcements.

They will likely add excursions. The shutdowns were hard on the tour industry and many guides moved on to other occupations. And then it has become much easier for a guide to go independent. It is more important than ever to book early if it is a must do excursion. Be sure to also check the private excursion sites for alternatives.

So many dwell in the past and don’t recognize the benefits of the now. We didn’t have internet and phone calls to shore were $30 a minute. The rooms were tiny. You had to eat at a specific time with a specific set of people. The menus were much smaller with few to no choices. And it was expensive. For the inflation adjusted prices I paid on Princess in the late 80s I certainly could sail Seabourn or other luxury line today. And we now have an abundance of cruising styles.

Yes there is a method to do foils only but it yields the blended gray look for those of us who toy with the idea of letting it go. I tried it one summer and it looked fine but decided I didn’t want the gray look yet. (Once my hair is evenly grayed I would quit coloring. ). I am going to my stylist tomorrow, I will try to remember to ask her the name of that method.

20 minutes, 20 minutes. I think this time you actually do have cause for legal action. 😂 I enjoy PEI every visit. I hope you did too. is this your first visit to the Canadian Maritimes?

Some places are expensive and the expense is hiring a highly paid guide. We found we were capable of doing the same things by ourselves. The minimum wage in Norway is over $25 an hour and your talented guide certainly doesn’t work for the minimum

I will get busy then😉. I do write reviews for excursions on the HAL website but I may have to up my game. As a long time road warrior I was, at one time, a star reviewer on TripAdvisor, because I always noted the details. People may differ on judgments about quality but everyone wants to know certain small facts (for hotels it was coffee pot and coffee, safety of parking, tub or shower, etc…). Shore excursion writers are always trying to create allure not facts, I promise to focus on the details. Now do I get the job, HAL?

I have noticed they have started doing so on many of my shore excursions. I would also like them to state the number of participants per vehicle. When I grow up I want to be the person to write the descriptions 😁

For small communities I have found that the only difference between ship and private tours is the size of the vehicle. The roads have capacity limits and small busses are likely used both by independent tours and ship tours. The private tour may be slightly more customizable but with only 2 hours for either I can’t imagine they are that very different. The half hour difference likely can be accounted for by the ship tour including the tendering and the private not. This is a case where I would not be that choosey. Private tours are particularly beneficial for long tours and in depth tours.

You can report posts if you would like, click the ellipsis and report. i, however, disagree with your assessment but I am not a moderator.