Viv0828

I would sail royal Caribbean more of the ships were smaller.

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We got onboard a ship in Singapore. We then turned on our GPS and realized there was a geocache 500 feet away that we just had to get. Retrieving our passports was not easy and took awhile. We finally got them, walked off the ship, found the cache and reborded. Finding the cache and rebording was easy, getting off was quite a process.

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Whether the OP's reaction is reasonable or not can be debated. But sometimes in the name of excellent customer service a business can bend a bit and help out a customer even if they are not obligated to do so.

Years ago we had an Alaska airlines flight booked. I though it was tomorrow instead of today. So we missed our flight and I called the airline in a panic. The nice lady on the phone laughed and changed our reservation to the next day at no cost. Of course she could have charged a change fee but she didn't. Because of that we fly alaska any time we can.

Sometimes bending the rules a bit can pay big dividends.

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We print out a map from geocaching.com but you can go to google, put in the name of the port, a map will usually pop up and you can enlarge or shrink it and move it around till it shows what you want to see and then you can print it.

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We did this when we were in our mid 60's and loved it. We took a cab there, the guides put together a group of maybe 10 of us and off we went. The guides used each person's own camera to take pics. We had a blast. We also have good water hiking sandals which helped.

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Can you book the cruise with the husband and your wife with the wife of one of your Hawaiian friends? Generally only one half of a couple has to be Kamaina to get the discount. Then once onboard you could switch cabins, similar to what families with kids frequently do.

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I am a little confused. Whether you spend $500 on private excursions or ship's excursions, you are still spending $500 on your cruise.

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Kindle for reading, the clock app for current time and alarms, flashlight when necessary to see, the geocaching app that we use in port, and a few off line games

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Cabs usually line up at the port. Many times there even is a dispatcher. We ask for a driver who speaks at least a little English and we tell him what we want to see. Since we geocache we frequently print out a map with sights and caches on it so that makes it even easier.

One time somewhere in Mexico we told a cab driver to take us to some waterfalls (cataractas) we had read about. Apparently he misunderstood and took us to a brand new excavation site. It was one of our most fabulous excursions ever!

We have never had a problem or felt ripped off. We always negotiate a price in advance. A few cab drivers have not been real friendly but I have heard that about tour guides as well.

Enjoy!

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We rarely spend anything onboard except gratuities and sometimes an Internet package. We spend most of our money ashore - mostly on cabs that we hire to see the sights.

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We only use our credit card for large purchases in Europe like hotel bills. We use an ATM and get 4 or 500 euros at a time. This keeps the fees down. It works for us.

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We hired a random cab to take the 5 of us to Ephesus. We did have an optional short stop at a carpet factory on the way back. We told them upfront we wouldn't be buying anything and they graciously let us take photos of the place and even encouraged our grandkids to sit at a loom for photos. Since we didn't buy anything we left a nice tip for their graciousness - so different from the stories you usually hear.

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We have never booked a shore excursion. We read up on the port, decide what we want to see, grab a cab, ask for additional sightseeing suggestions, negotiate a price and off we go! This gives us the freedom to stay as long or short a time as we wish as each sight, stop unexpectedly if we see something that looks interesting, and grab some geocaches along the way. Works for us! We have never been even close to returning late as we really keep track of time.

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We post pics on FB when we have cheap or free wifi. When we have free wifi we text with our kids and grand kids for free since we all have iPhones.

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The extra stuff we bring takes up almost no space and if we didn't bring it and needed it, we either would have to do without or spend a whole port day searching for it No thanks!

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We traveled for 2 months on land in Europe this summer squeezing a 10 day cruise in the middle. We each had a 20 inch carryon and a backpack. No problemo!

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Prescription anti barf and anti diarrhea meds.

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For us, clothes are not the problem. It's the cosmetics, the meds, the laptop, the cords and chargers, the gps, etc, etc.

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That last shirt pictured is the one from Magnjm PI

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We only carry on so no info from us but our DD and SIL buy whatever Costco carries and they seem pretty satisfied.

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DH's fave aloha shirts are the Reyn Spooner ones made out of Spooner Kloth which is a poly-cotton blend and can be hand or machine washed and never need ironing.

And you won't stand out in Europe in an aloha shirt unless it is totally garish as many men there wear them.

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There is an aloha shirt that Tom Selleck wore in Magnum PI. It was red with parrots and flowers. Magnum PI was a huge hit in Europe and you see local folks there wearing that particular shirt a lot

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We are in the Balkans. You should see all the men in aloha type shirts - and they are not Americans. You see aloha shirts all over the world nowadays.

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Stories about good customer service are always nice to hear - no matter who the company is.

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Another option is to fly to anchorage or Fairbanks, rent a car, do your own land trip for as long as you wish and drop the car off at the port you depart from. We did that and had a blast!

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