Spikesgirl

I seem to remember someone asking a similar question and the answering was, yes, all you had to do was ask the steward and he would rig something for you, complete with rod and curtain. I would give Princess or your TA a call and ask.

We took an indepednet for this port and we did indeed do Loch Ness (my family's castle sits on the edge - Urquhart) and then went to Cawdor Castle, we did it the opposite of the tour buses and it wasn't too crowded. Had a wonderful lunch there and enjoyed our tour. It was hard to imagine that someone actually calls it home for several months out of the year. The gardens were especially lovely and not crowded at all.

Drop me an e mail at charliekirby@comcast.net for our travel journel to Scotland.

Charlie

Very nicely done! I can't wait for the next installment!

Charlie

I have degenerative spondilolthesis. On good days, I can walk fairly normally, on bad days, it just doesn't behoove me to even try. On our last cruise (to the British Isles - I used a cane duirng the trip) I was amazed at how folks treated me and my DH, whom the Brits tagged as my caregiver. Doors were open, special lines offered, employees ushering me past lines of other patiencely (or not) waiting folks, etc. My only complaint, in France, I was called 'priviledged' instead of disabled. Gotta say, most days, I ain't feeling too priviledged! Still they seem to treat their disabled with a lot more dignity (and less hostility) than we get at home.

Cahrlei

We are just off the Grand and there was no laundry special offered. This ws the first time that I hadn't seen it, but it seems to be more and more of the norm. My advice is to just use the laundry service and cut back on another part of the trip (a half day excursion instead of a full day, something like that). I love not doing laundry n the ship, but having the clothes back clean and pressed, already hung on hangers and ready to go! But be warned - it's habit forming!

Charlie

The funny thing is that when you get home, the pineapple here won't taste the same. That's because on the islands, many places actually use juice pineapples, which are much sweeter than regular pineapples.

Picking them up at the airport is a little more expensive, but it's the easiest way. There are also many companies that will ship free to the airport, so you can just pick them up curbside. Don't try to buy them in the store and carry them on board - agriculture will take them from you. They need to be from 'authorized' vendors.

Charlie

I'm not sure I can give you great words of wisdom beacuse it's unlikley that anything can keep a ship entirely stable if the seas outside are acting up. We were on the Grand Princess and were amazed at how smooth it was as we usually sail on the smaller ships. Even with stabilizers, they tend to have more movement, but the navigator and captian will try their best to steer out of rought waters if they can.

I would invest in some seasickness meds and go with the hopes of calmer seas.

Have a good (and stable) cruise

Charlie

For us, the dive boots fit inside our fins. We brought along our own equipment because we have corrective lens in our masks and there was a degree of comfort in using our own stuff.

NY City Girl - Ooo, your poor husband - those urchins are nasty things. of course, scraping up against coral isn't fun either. Those rip currents can be brutal - like you my DH also was a life gaurd and he struggled with the currents at time - I was happy paddling around shallows as I'm not as strong a swimmer as he is. he did say that he thought afterwards that I had made the right decision. We did have two more dives after that, so I didn't feel shorted at all.

Charlie

We did the drfit snorkel in the morning because it often rains in the afternoon - sure enough, it started raining as we were heading back to the ship and the people loading up to leave didn't look really happy. It only rained for about an hour, but we had gloriously sunny weather when we went.

A word of advice - take along hard-soled dive botties and dive gloves. You should be grabbing coral, but there are times when it's not an option. They have black spiny urchins that you don't want to grab or step on without some protection.

When we went, a typhoon had just passed through and the captain gave us an option in one spot of snorkeling,but warned that it could be difficult and that we needed to stay very close to him. Some of us opted out and paddled around by a motu until they got back. sure enough, the one person who decided to go off on her own ended up bloodied and grumbling. Everyone else came through just fine. Moral of the story - listen to your captain, but don't miss out on this experience. It really was incredible.

Charlie

If the feeling continues, you might want to have a doctor check it out. Usually it will go away pretty quickly. I had it when we diembarked in Sydney and the druggist recommended taking some Dramamine for it. Cleared everything right up and I never had it again on the trip or since.

Charlie

I have a husband who is 6'5" and around 250 and he had such trouble in the regular cabin bathrooms that we have bitten the bullet and gone to suites. The cost is worth him being able to have a comfortable shower and not contort around when he's trying to shave. If they can upgrade, I would.

Cheers,

Charlie

It's been interesting to watch how the drive from Hilo to VNP has changed over the years - when we first went, much of the drive was obscured by cane fields and 'Kapu' signs. Now the fields are cleared and there are homes instead, but there's not another national park that offers to its guests what Pele offers to her visitors!

One suggestion would be to stop either at the visitors center across from Volcano House or at the Jagger Museum so that you can learn a bit about the park before venturing off into it. Also make sure you take some time to hike down behind Volcano House - the paths are well marked and you can take a short or slightly long walk, but the views are incredible and the sounds of the forests wonderful. It reminds you of what Hawai'i is all about.

Charlie

The stupid little chime they sound (on Princess) when making an annoucement. Every once in awhile, we hear it on land and it give me goosebumps - as well as the urge to look for a railing.

Charlie

We loved our aft room on the TP - we opted for the OS and it was great. It was hard to see around the divider to check out the balcony beside us, but it looked to be a good side. My DH loves to watch ship wake, so he spent a lot of time just staring over the railing.

We also like watching the islands fade in the distance, not because we didn't have fun, but because we got to see them just a little longer than most people. Got some great shots from there, but do remember to remove the lens cap of your digital camera before getting caught up in the beauty - we left one just off shore in Bora Bora.

Don't remember much vibration and didn't get seasick as long as I took the medicine as prescribed. It was a great cabin and we will book it again on the next trip.

Hope this helps a little.

Charlie