Aruba

The Terrace Houses were, for me, the highlight of the visit to Ephesus. They are not always open however. I highly recommend spending the extra money to see them, if they are open when you are there.

One can only dream...:rolleyes:

Thursday, Feb. 10, George Town, Grand Cayman

On previous visits to Grand Cayman we had snorkeld, or visited Stingray CIty to pet the rays, and once we took the nickel tour of the island, including a visit to Hell.

I'm sorry, is this a real place? Or do you mean the tour of the island was hellish?

We have seen Seven Mile Beach, which is great, but we are not ones to lie in the sun much, so we chose a new offering from HAL: The Reef N Rays trip, that combined snorkeling with a visit to pet the rays.

I did the same tour in January -- awesome! And for HAL, very reasonably priced. I think it was $39 for adults.

We gaggled with our group at the tender area, and were led across the street to the back of the mall to a bus marshalling area, to find ... no bus. Our local tour rep shouted a few things into a cell phone, and a couple of minutes later an ancient school bus appeared.

Again, same thing happened to me in January. To make matters worse, the driver was incredibly rude, nasty even as people were boarding...then he proceeded to sing hymns -- into a microphone -- the entire drive to where the boat was. The 10 minute drive felt like 30.

But seeing the rays (even if we couldn't feed them ourselves) and the beautiful corals and tropical fish was thrilling. A wonderful excursion.

To Dave or anyone else who has stopped in Key West: are there bicycles available for rent anywhere near where the ship docks? I've docked in KW twice before but sometimes if you're not looking for something you don't see it... Thanks.

We will be boarding Ryndam (with Ricki :)) on Feb 20 and will do the first half of your 2-week voyage, so will eagerly await your posts. Bon Voyage!

Not worth the hassle since -- as I said -- it is meaningless for anyone over 200 days.

I'm looking forward to the day when I can say that also. ;)

This may be their trade secret...like how the IRS decides who to audit. ;)

Of course...and we had been sent flowers too, I had forgotten that.

I'm curious how the calculation of days based on on-board or pre-cruise spending works. I'm seem to end up with more days than I think I'm entitled to (not that I'm complaining).

I understand that if the guests staying together in a cabin spend $300 you each get 1 bonus day and if you spend $600 you earn 2 bonus days. But...if you spend $350 say, does that earn you 1 day or 2 days? Based on the days I've earned, it looks like it may be 2. Unless there's something I'm not understanding...

I'm sorry, did I read that right -- "graves"? Did you mean "groves"? Or are there really graves on Princess Cay? Talk about an unusual shore excursion...

I was in an OV room on the Promenade deck of the Ryndam just one cruise before it went into drydock, at which point the room became a Lanai room. I knew that was going to happen before I sailed, so spent some time envisioning the upcoming change and wondering how I would feel about it. Thanks to the OP for the excellent summary!

Personally I don't think I would request another room on the Promenade deck, but it has nothing to do with the Lanai rooms. EVERY morning I was awakened, very early, by the hoses that were washing down the deck, the chairs, the lifeboats or whatever. I am a heavy sleeper but, wow, was that ever loud.

We like the specialty martini glasses, especially the deep blue glasses with the long, curved stems. We broke one not too long ago and, even though I've seen similar glasses in stores, I haven't bought a replacement. I'd rather get another pair on the next Princess ship. Those glasses will come with memories that Crate & Barrel can't match.

PS - I also will take 2 or 3 sheets of stationary and envelopes from the room and use it for letters during the year. It surprises people when they receive a "Written at Sea" letter. I usually begin, "This wasn't REALLY written at sea..."

We like the specialty martini glasses, especially the deep blue glasses with the long, curved stems. We broke one not too long ago and, even though I've seen similar glasses in stores, I haven't bought a replacement. I'd rather get another pair on the next Princess ship. Those glasses will come with memories that Crate & Barrel can't match.