Fred&Lily

Actually I get several versions of links depending on the shared status:

For example these all work for me.

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipP6HBCXPAtLF1o-zq4txkZAOL7ZAzxybiLRXA5VMWQ6ckHqHSn1LbKg3Og9nL7V9g/photo/AF1QipNwQ2AA-8FuxSgSXk5i305iIEoIwIfL3Ew_oYeA?key=VEtCd1AyTG1rdXA3RExRQWN0UmVpeVBJSU85Szdn

https://photos.app.goo.gl/VrWe3ILQR3xqOSNh1

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/J0i3QdmiUE76tGYhDbTIomg-IpbXwXc0JGP5jlalDkkaz8nQimWa6-eyx9-XOymqYtq-K4z7snFBQ9Xk41TXOHNnVlMO5FOyYtH9xT0E5jZ1-UghR3YR0NHc27z5AD_DDzdAWFqa3_0hQLjmUamZvIH8lDLcClpSLYVfkDtF0u_JhrastP3jjmPHuyPH9vOQpaBcu2a3BQVxD0AywlRS2HS_K1jidsB8We3kBgAyrKVucIh47cYvzHP5pf5vyZ6FAhwhziei4HMMe8SFtRrfLouefbCV9S1iLgGF8mVID-CG-kPfixwGhgLbjm4xVt-ArHXxYcVFV1GF8Y9TrGwqM9_GYKNYUFE774TBZuW7mSXjeQLjwrdprFjxpRpGNK2cj7UGt6Ga_wV4e6WRqTeiupe84P8livZV-kP_-hPx2M9gToWei2e2rljtpJxZ9Je9-O87985iM5tyNG-w_H0f7sodWS8OiSyfvlWEbaEG0LlP8HLksdWH2L29vpdj81IarQsrzgtlTlvts9TVDlIimPt4WbamgsuK2cS0g6EeknNOnjARh5zCSE7AkZWunjBmIIF2MEuHHNruY6dXYV6sEwi0JBOoH8_Bgfp3hUNaU1S8Tz_pL_vCLAwy8qbTCZEalP_YImaeyNgK98qvgQOhFGmQ54_RUMsIf2Ko=w1024-h670-no

Help!

I'm trying to post pictures from Google Albums the way I used Picasa years ago and it just doesn't work.

I do get to the share link of the picture - it looks like this mess below - but how do I insert it into a posting when I click on the little yellow mountain? It says Please enter the URL of your image:

http://

I do paste in the whole link and everything just disappears....

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMq4_LhLmG_xKP9wVEJUmEEp_fMdlK9WlNH_UMVcd0KRswaQejS6QFR-redMan3Zg/photo/AF1QipNZ_2dSEK29RnR2EKoTu3e0Mei_f_q0HlvoVS0-?key=Q2J5SEhOUlVIbXJvVWs1VkhYWmpHNzVwSDBQRGRB

Would appreciate it if some kind person could explain.

If you check the ports for Celebrity Summit in January using cruisemapper.com the picture is this:

13 Jan Departing from San Juan, Puerto Rico

14 Jan 09:00 - 18:00 Basseterre, St Kitts Island

15 Jan 08:00 - 17:00 St Johns, Antigua

16 Jan 08:00 - 17:00 Castries, St Lucia Island

17 Jan 08:00 - 17:00 Bridgetown, Barbados

18 Jan 08:00 - 17:00 St Georges, Grenada

20 Jan Arriving in San Juan, Puerto Rico

• Regular Fare = $0.75 (with one bus transfer = $1.50)
  
• Students = $0.60 (with one bus transfer = $1.20)
  
• Ages 60-74 = $0.35 (with one bus transfer = $0.70)
  
• People with Disabilities, on Medicare, or 75 years and older = FREE
  
• Exact change only accepted! (quarters, dimes, or nickels)
  
• Operating hours: Monday – Friday 5am – 9pm;
  Saturdays & holidays 6am – 8pm
  
• https://sanjuanpuertorico.com/bus-routes-map/
  

It's .35 cents exact change if you're a senior. Take # 53 which runs from the Isla Verde Beach to Condado to the terminal right beside the cruise port.

We have just received cancellation for January 12th - one night pre-paid pre-cruise stay at the Verdanza Hotel booked through Hotels.com

We have just received cancellation for January 12th - one night pre-paid pre-cruise stay at the Verdanza Hotel booked through Hotels.com

I believe you should consider "the base price" as the lowest inside cabin category with no packages or extras included. Where the promotions get confusing is the add-ons. The upper suites, clubs, drinks packages, specialty and spa extras are where you loose sight of reality and the deceptive practices go unnoticed.

Cruises are always on sale just like mattress sales! Expensive advertising promotions are seldom good deals and the absolute worst deals are found in full page national newspaper advertisements.

Always ask ..."why are they promoting this?"

Full page national ad rates are usually $100,000 or more and TV ads by the minute run close to $250K.

A few year back I paid $299 for an Alaska 7 day cruise - it was last minute internet deal but with the bar set so low it's fun to bottom feed.

I believe that using chip + PIN credit cards is the solution. I won't use a cc in any business that doesn't have a chip reader. Europe and Canada seem to be ahead of the US in changing over to chip enabled cards. When I do travel in the US and Caribbean I carry quite a lot of cash and cover the big items - hotels, flights and cruise by pre-paying.

Sorry for being a bit flippant, but I was looking at the OP's question about a cruise to New Zealand on top of a 24 day US to Australia cruise. If any medical emergency should arise for Lillysoma and her husband, the hospitals in NZ and OZ would treat them without any question of payment. Speaking as a Canadian I'd add that the New Zealand medical system is even better than ours. The cost of any prescription drug in NZ is $5 even if it costs thousands of dollars in the US.

In terms of risk assessment, I travel without any insurance because I can self insure the cost of cancelling or changing plans or quickly booking a flight home should the need arise.

As a Canadian I enjoy the exact same medical coverage that US members of Congress give themselves. If I get sick anywhere in the world I'm covered by Canada's government single payer system up to their cost equivalents and that includes Med-Evac from anywhere. Our greatest risk is actually falling ill in the Good Ole' US of A.

How's that for irony! Don't get sick in the US if you're an American. My answer to the OP is don't worry at all about medical risk in New Zealand and Australia, it's free down there!

Taken 17 cruises and many, many trips around the world with never once buying medical or travel insurance. It's my belief that living in FEAR is worse than any possible apocalyptic outcome.

I often use a fake address in Michigan and always BS the birth date and income. Particularly get annoyed at Sweepstakes that are only open to US residents.

In August of 2014 I booked a last-minute Alaska to Vancouver cruise - so last-minute it was just $299 p/p inside. It meant getting to Anchorage quickly which was YXU to YYZ to YVR to ANC and thinking with all those connections it will be a miracle if our luggage arrives at ANC. Rushing through Vancouver airport into US pre-clearance we didn't need to re-check luggage. The US agent pulled up pictures of our luggage on a screen and said, "Are these your bags?"

Simple, quick and greatly relieved to know our luggage made it. So it seems bar coding and tracking all the luggage is where the anti-terrorism dollars have been spent while passengers still get herded around like cattle.

One more quickie: I share the same name as a well know Australian criminal, different birth date but our wives are both named Lily. I know all about secondary questioning!

In the evenings there is an old Spanish tradition of walking with the whole family along a public promenade, arm in arm with children and grandparents.

In Old San Juan, starting right at the cruise dock is the Paseo de la Princesa. Stroll slowly right to the fountain and the wall gate at the far west end of the harbor. Men should wear long pants while ladies should be in a long skirt or dress. I know this sounds a bit silly, but circle the fountain, browse the little vendor stands and be cordial to all you encounter - - no rushing the process.

The teens that are dating are locked arm-in-arm, girls in short mini-skirts.... grandma wearing black strolls a short distance behind. They do this in all the Spanish towns, even in Cuba.

This is one evening you can keep the kids up until 10. Strolling the Paseo de la Princesa is a lovely experience.

Take a taxi to one of the big casino hotels along the Condado or Isla Verde Beach and drop your bags with the Bell Captain or Porter - whatever the call them now - go for a long walk on the beach or venture into the casinos. The El San Juan Hotel is my favorite and you can kill a few hours in their magnificent lobby bar. Also walk over to the Intercontinnental, the Verdanza, Embassy Suites or go a block east to Ritz-Carlton and the Courtyard Marriott.

Back in the day.... way back to January 2010, we were on Celebrity Millennium 10 day southern Caribbean out of San Juan. The CD was named Artie Anderson and he ran an afternoon program called Guest Glee Club where anybody who wanted to sing came to the lounge where Artie handed out music, sorted us into base, tenor, alto and soprano and ran us through old American Songbook favorites like Oh! Oklahoma, Getting to Know You, Wouldn't it Be Loverly, etc... accompanied by piano. Of the seventeen cruises we've enjoyed over the years, that Glee Club was my highlight.

Just wish Celebrity could revive the Guest Glee Club before our next trip on Summit in January.

Nowadays a Travel Agent is just an order taker. Useful if you aren't good with computers. Booking flights, stock brokerage, banking and ordering books and stuff are better done without the human middleman. The services they offer do have a cost and all the OBC, comp'd upgrades and hand-holding you receive is paid for by you!

Back in April - I won't say which ship - I looked at ordering a future cruise and discovered the price to be awfully high. Questioning this price against what I knew the on-line price would be later this year, I was told flat out their policy was to protect their preferred TA's.

So there really is a two-tiered marketing system and undoubtedly the TA's will always be around to serve the stupid and the rich.

Just booked a room for one night post-cruise in January 2018. It's one of the few places along Isla Verde Beach that doesn't have the three-night minimum stay enforced during the San Sebastian Music Festival.

For just one night pre-cruise I always search for the cheapest possible nightly rate in the 00979 zip code - it's all close to the Isla Verde Beach. Dress up in the evening and walk over to the El San Juan (Hilton) and spend the money you saved on a couple of their Mojito's.

We bought mid-week Detroit to San Juan return for January 12 - 23 on Spirit Airlines where the Spirit web site says $133 each way... but really!!!!! You can't cruise without luggage which is $60 there and back. Security fees, US - International Departure Tax and Passenger Facility Fees seem to be the bulk of the cost. Total for two pax $652

Gambling that the Spirit pilots work-to-rule problems will be settled by January.

My recommendation is you go with the preferred airline and don't worry about the cost of the shuttle back and forth to the Port - it's only $15 p/p on one of several services. QLS 888-757-0021 or Lasser Transport 954-624-6005 are both reliable.

Typically we fly to MIA when using A/A and always use FLL when flying on Spirit.

Be careful and avoid a one-flight-daily airline no matter what the savings. Go with the carrier that has several direct flights each day!

We're back home now after this April 15-22 cruise on Divina which was on the whole one of the most enjoyable of the 16 assorted cruises we've taken.

Met many interesting and agreeable people. Leslie and her mother Joan being two of the loveliest fellow travelers!

December 23rd will cost you about $1,326 for an inside cabin for 11 days while December 16 is a 7 day cruise for just $383. Judging by your questions you haven't tried MSC yet but are considering jumping in at a premium time and rate. I love Divina and would sail on her anytime.... but for you I'm tempted to say, "Don't do it without trying a 7 day cruise on her first".

Your April 22 sailing is sold out with only some balcony suites remaining. I just found out the April 8 and April 15 itineraries are also sold out.

If you're okay with using Amazon, Uber, Priceline and TripAdvisor and can do your own research and booking for flights and hotels, then I suggest NOT using a TA. Planning and executing that plan is part of the travel adventure.

I've come across TA's that are so clueless they can't find half the islands in the Caribbean on a map!