Viv0828

We just hired a cab, negotiated a price and off we went. The cabbie took us to the most popular sights, explained some of the histoty and waited for us when we hiked. The 4 of us had a great, private inexpensive "tour"!

We got off the Oosterdam on November 16. We had anytime dining and never had to wait more than a few minutes for a table for 4 or 6. On gala nights DH and DS both wore dress shirts with a tie and they were ushered right in.

Things musta changed??

The problem with a balcony is that what you want to see is always on the other side of the ship - LOL! We had a balcony but there were only 2 of us and we still went to one of the upper decks where we could go from side to side of the ship when we were in a scenic area.

We did that cruise several years ago and we too really enjoyed it. The many ports were wonderful. We also enjoyed the three days in Lima. Highly recommend!

On our cruise last week many men were wearing a dress shirt with a tie and nice slacks. Didn't look too different than last spring when many of the guys hung their jackets on their chair back and ate dinner in a dress shirt and tie.

We just grabbed a waiting cab to go to the rainforest. We negotiated a price with the driver before we left. I think we were gone about 4 hours. That does not leave a lot of time for exploring San Juan.

I think with young kids I would explore the forts and the city.

We cruised on the oosterdam and when we disembarked at port Everglades on November 16 they had a faster moving global entry line that we used. However, we had to wait for some folks without global entry but it only took them 10 minutes or so longer than it took us. (We would have stayed with them but we were curious to see how much of a time saver global entry would be)

I was really happy to see the change to the dress code for a different reason. I am always cold so the idea of wearing a dressy gown in the chilly MDR was impossible, even with a wrap. On our last formal night I wore long pants with a long sleeved dressy sweater, long underwear under the sweater and a wrap. I realize I am not typical but wearing a gown and freezing had little appeal for me.

And for us, our phones are our clock, our alarm, an emergency light and our kindle.

We always buy the $25 data roaming package on my phone. Of course, Verizon put it on both phones so we had to call them and get a credit for dh's phone when we got back.

We have a hobby called geocaching and we use data roaming for additional help if we are stuck. We also use it when we are in port and too lazy to find free wifi to download our emails and iMessages (we don't have regular texts since everyone in our extended family and most of our good friends have iPhones).

While folks using the ship's internet wait an eternity to download a day's worth of messages and emails, it takes us maybe 2 minutes if we have a good port cell signal. Then we turn off the data roaming, answer some of the emails, and turn the data roaming back on and send them.

Of course, this only works in port with a smart phone. It is not suitable for a trip with a lot of sea days or if you need to use an actual laptop or a tablet without cell service. At sea, we do keep the roaming off and the phone in airplane mode.

Maybe you can find a similar animal on eBay. I know it's not the same but it's a thought?

We went to Anguilla round trip from Margot. It was an expensive day but we got our geocache in our 81st country. It cost us $61 each for the ferry including fees. You need a passport. The ferries from Maribor leave every 45 minutes and take about half an hour. The taxi cost us an additional $100. The wifi at the Anguilla ferry dock was excellent.

We hired a cab driven by Magic and he was a wonderful guide and even went geocaching with us. Next time we hope to see more of the island. We had a short port day in st Maarten- only 8 to 3 but visiting Anguilla was doable.

This thread is making me nostalgic about my dad who died 15 years ago. During the Vietnam War he too relayed calls from service men to their families.

I remember Dad and a couple of Ham buddies would do this from somewhere near LAX. I haven't thought about this in years so thanks for bringing it up.

He was K6SUZ.

There are several banks near the pier. We used our ATM card.

We found the best Chinese restaurant while wandering around Rome. It was a nice change from the usual Italian food.

We are renting a golf cart on grand Turk and will zip around the island. We did this on Catalina island in California and had a blast!

We are going on a 21 day b2b. Leaving our car at the airport would cost over $200. A one way car rental both before and after is about $50 each way. We are renting cars!!

I take a pic of my passport and store it on my smartphone

I tell anyone going on a trip anywhere to bring prescription anti nausea and anti diarrhea meds. Even if you are on a ship with a doc, who wants to deal with trying to call him or her if you are sick at 3am.

We flew condor from Frankfurt to Los Angeles this spring returning from a transatlantic. It was pretty cheap and we were able to upgrade to lay flat business class for 300 euros each. What a deal! Beware - many Condor flights go only once or twice a week.

I would check a one way car rental price to lax and another one back from the port and compare them to shuttle service prices before making a decision.

This may be a really dumb idea but maybe you could use a thin layer of spray adhesive and sprinkle on some glitter?

Great review. Especially enjoyed the Reykjavik pics.

We have been a couple of times. We go down the beach a ways and there are lots of trees and plenty of shade and plenty of loungers.

IPP.

Thank you so much for your answer.

Aloha. Viv