boone2

we missed the elevators and climbed the rock by accident:o:D Still found the train OK and walked off some of the cruise food Not for the mobility challenged though

Terry

May I ask what happened with the anytime dining. We are sailing on the Caribbean in April and plan on doing anytime dining!!

It may have changed as it was in 2008 but we had long long waits every night and they even ended putting us to eat in traditional dining room which was not full at all. As I say it will probably have changed. Just didn't create good memories

Enjoy your cruise. There's no such thing as a bad one

Terry

We were going to do the MP tour as part of our 29 day SA cruise on the Star this year. I was very worried about acclimatisation to altitude in such a short period and it's alot of money if you get sick. I then started researching and found we could book return airfares and hotel accommodations in the Sacred valley for 6 days for the price of the tour which is what we did. We made it a separate vacation and we had a fantastic time, one of our best vacations to date. Yes we had to pay extra for the site entrance food and train but it was all very affordable and we could absorb the culture and other Inca sites in that time, and no we didn't get sick, I just got very short of breath on stairs - and there's alot of climbing in the sacred valley. Whichever way you decide to do it you will have the most wonderful experience

Terry

The Ruby was amazing, but I think the Star might be my current fav. Not for the amenities... It hosted the best, most helpful, most pleasant staff I have ever encountered. They were such a lovely team! (and the guest really felt it, too!)

Have to agree here. Loved all our cruises but the crew on the star made it so special From the captain down. Least favourite was the Caribbean because the anytime dining was a nightmare.

Terry

One place we didn't book a guide for was cinque terre and most fortunately for us RIL provided one for us. There is no way we would have found our way around in the most efficient manner or made the most of the beautiful area. We managed Pompei and Heraculeum independantly with Rick Steves. Could have easily managed the Amalfi coast without one although one was provided. Love RIL and will use them again for the 4th time next year

Terry

We are spending 5 days in Sydney in Feb 2014 and plan to buy the 7 days multi pass for the public transport. You can use it to travel on the train to the Blue Mountains and the public ferries for Manly. It looks to us to be great value for $61 for the week

Terry

our last 3 cruises have been on Aloha deck, we have just got off the Star SA 29 day and specifically chose the same location, aft, (704) to be one flight of stairs to Horizon to get our coffee water or snacks, close to the elevator ( and we didn't hear any noise), close to the aft pool and a few doors down from the laundry. Yes I do like the Caribe balconies but the convenience of this location wins hands down for us.

Terry

did this on the Ruby TA with another roll call member in October, had such fun, of course the Beverly Hills Iced teas we took along to lubricate our vocal cords really helped:D:D:D

Terry

We have just returned from the Ruby TA and I booked a tour using RIL for Cinque Terre. I used RIL for our Med cruise 2 years ago based on recommendations from CC and found them to be wonderful. This was the only tour I personally booked from our roll call but used private tours others had booked so had alot to compare to. I have to say that although all tours were enjoyable this one was the best. Our tour did not include a guide but when we were picked up we were told a guide had been included. I later found out that this was complimentary because of our previous bookings. Our driver Mike was so personable and knowledgeable as was our guide Lucca. We had a great day and certainly wouldn't have enjoyed it or got as much out of it without the guide. We also had time for a visit to Pisa on the way back to the ship. We were shocked to see that the following day the Cinque Terre region was devastated by torrential rain and mudslides, found the video on youtube and couldn't believe we had been standing there less than 24 hours previously. Thank you RIL once again for a great day.

Terry