Fattony

As noted, your checked bags will be tagged for Providence. Not sure UA could access them to give to you if you drove. Assuming that didn't affect your fare cost upwards. Maybe they'd give you a pass to one of the United Clubs for your long wait until the next flight.

Remember that at the airport there's an added agriculture check you have to take your luggage to. Like Hawaii. No big lines when we went, but that was maybe 4 years ago. You will line up transportation beforehand? A lot of cruise passengers may add to lines for taxis, and at the airport.

If you can't select seats online, you may well be able to do this by phone with the airline operating the flight. I've done that.

Copa, as noted, flies narrow body jets. Can make a difference for biz class seats. B.A. is far away. We took such a cruise. Sometimes you have to be willing to pay the cost of airfare or find a different cruise.

We know it would be hot and humid, and the ship would have a/c, but how much would the weather affect enjoyment of a cruise to the Bahamas in late June? I assume thunder storms could be a regular occurrence. This is a bit early for hurricanes, right (though not out of the question)? Would western Caribbean be any better? One of our group is 89 and uses a wheelchair.

Hoping to get a private van with a wheelchair lift.

Looking at a Carnival cruise due to arrive at Port Canaveral at 8 a.m. There would be 5 of us, including one elderly person in a wheelchair. Would a 2 p.m. flight out of MCO be pushing it? What about 4 p.m.? We'd be connecting to a 8:50 p.m. international flight out of MIA, though it may have to be on separate tickets even though on the same airline (long story).

This would be in mid-June. Likely thunderstorm season?

Residing in Fortaleza at present, but could leave from Rio, Santos, Recife or Salvador, in March to go to Miami, Ft. Lauderdale of Port Canaveral. Would fly back. This group did take a Princess cruise from Miami to Ft. Lauderdale about 5 years ago but that option doesn't seem to exist any longer. Wife took her parents on that cruise but they had to curtail the trip mid-cruise due to health reasons.

Any suggestions on where to start the search? I have looked at various sites and found nothing.

Ushuaia is scenic and walkable (well, with some rather hilly streets). Most people who take tours go on excursions to see sea lions or penguins. If you don't book a tour through the cruise line, you can find tours easily right in the central port. Lots of tour outfits. Note that the penguin island tour takes you just offshore from from the island (or at least used to). The only tour that lets you get onto the island requires a long bus ride from Ushuaia, followed by a Zodiac ride to the island and takes more time than is available to most on cruise stops. We walked Ushuaia on our on with a guide book. Lots of gift shops and King Crab restaurants (the crab was very expensive unless you got it in a stew, etc.).

While the port itself isn't in the best of areas. I think facilities for cruise ship arrivals have improved and while you probably wouldn't walk many places from there (even nearby downtown), many tourist sites and restaurants are easily accessible by taxi. Does the cruise line offer options other than the samba show? If you don't want to eat on board (price included, right?), you could talk with fellow passengers about going to a restaurant (maybe a churrascaria meat place if it appeals) together.

Historic Ilha Fiscal (free tours offered as I recall) is nearby as is a naval museum.

Yup. You will go through Immigration, wait for your bags at a baggage carousel (this is usually the longest delay for me), go through Customs (don't even have to fill out a form if you have nothing to declare, though you can get pulled aside for a check anyway; btw, you can shop at a big duty free store before customs).

After customs, you exit security, You go to a transit desk (other side of the escalator in front of you; "transito" means transit), get in the line for Gol, hand over your checked bags, and get the actual Gol boarding pass (yellow paper with a bar code). If somehow you've missed your connecting flight (2 hours is doable but isn't much), the Gol rep at the transit desk should put you on the next flight with available seats.

Then go upstairs, go through the door for domestic flights for your terminal (Terminal 1 for Gol, as I recall), go through security, and proceed to your gate. You may have to take a bus to get to your plane. Your flight to Rio is a domestic flight, without immigration or customs. On Gol you have to pay for anything but water from a large bottle, but for such a short flight that's not really a problem.

The

You're talking about accessing the Internet while in port? Accessing while on board the ship could only be done through the cruise line, wouldn't it? Internet access can be spotty in some remote areas. We used LAN houses in Ushuaia and Punta Arenas.

Don't the Web site include maps of the routes? If not, look at sites like *************. Don't know how the ship would avoid the Beagle Channel unless it went all the way down to Drake's Passage, which would seem strange. Some larger ships can't get into some of the Chilean fjords. We ran into this with the Star Princess. A smaller NCL ship leaving Buenos Aires at the same time as the SP could, and had a longer itinerary. Some people prefer larger, newer ships on trips through potentially rough seas.

Have you contacted the cruise lines?

It will likely be unpredictable. The captain decides whether to even try to get to the Horn. In our case, in March about 5 years ago, on the Star Princess, the ship got close enough to CH to see it but captain decided not to go around it. Roughest weather on the trip was later, after Punta Arenas, as we hit a storm coming from the Pacific. Seas high enough that the decks were closed. My wife gave me Dramamine and I slept a lot. Did go to the dining room, and just told myself to not look at the high seas, though once in a while my wife would exclaim, "Look at that wave!" A few people got seasick, but no widespread problems that I was aware of. If you want predictable seas, this isn't the trip to take, but I think there are actually rougher seas elsewhere. CH is famous (and many picture the HMS Bounty in "Mutiny on the Bounty" as it unsuccessfully tried to round Cape Horn to get to Tahiti, and finally turned around and went via the Cape of Good Hope. Seas to Antarctica would scare me more.

OP, what would be the cost of changing your flight? $25, mentioned by one poster, is exceptionally cheap. I've found $150-$200 the norm, except on Southwest, which doesn't fly out of MIA (and even then you'd likely have to pay any fare difference). Not sure where you'll store your bags, but you may be able to check in with your airline early. I always want a longer connection time, at least if I can use an airline club or tour outside.

Yes, I meant Guarulhos (GRU) airport.... Garudas was actually an airline from the past...:o

Thank you so much for the info:)

Garuda is still the national carrier of Indonesia, as far as I know.

Hope you post your experience. We may need a shuttle that could accommodate someone with a wheelchair, but that's far from certain and wouldn't be until next year. Not sure if Cometa bus could. I certainly couldn't take the public transportation option, with a change of transport, if I had much luggage.

Yes, ATL is very big but you won't be walking through the entire airport, since there is the train between terminals. You could still have a bit of a walk within a terminal but nothing that should take too long (in most cases). DTW even easier, due to the size of the Delta terminal (and with a train), but ATL not bad. Look at the airport map in your Delta magazine (or on a Web site) beforehand, so when you know what gates you'll be landing at and taking off from (always subject to last-minute change), you can plan your connection route.

That would mean setting a deliberate policy that wheelchair users must not travel with the rest of their family - they can sit with father or mother, not both; or with one child, while spouse looks after the other; or with one son while the other sits on his own somewhere else.

 

Which may be a policy that has to be done, if there's a good purpose to it. But if the only purpose is to allow a few passengers the right to sit one row further forward than they otherwise would, is that really worth deliberately splitting families?

No airline guarantees all members of a family or other group can sit together, and Southwest is especially clear on this as they don't allow seats to be reserved in advance (though some early-boarders try to "save" seats for others who, for one reason or another, have much lower boarding numbers). Same deal with kids. We've all seen large families trying to board early because there's one child.

And BTW, not all wheelchair users are unable to board aircraft on their own. My wife used a WC to get to the gate. The airline involved (Delta) asked if she needed WC assistance to get to her seat, as that would require a different type of WC. My wife did not need that. We were flying business and first class so had early boarding, anyway. And pre-assigned seats so early boarding wouldn't give a "better" choice of seats as in the case of Southwest.

That would mean setting a deliberate policy that wheelchair users must not travel with the rest of their family - they can sit with father or mother, not both; or with one child, while spouse looks after the other; or with one son while the other sits on his own somewhere else.

 

Which may be a policy that has to be done, if there's a good purpose to it. But if the only purpose is to allow a few passengers the right to sit one row further forward than they otherwise would, is that really worth deliberately splitting families?

No airline guarantees all members of a family or other group can sit together, and Southwest is especially clear on this as they don't allow seats to be reserved in advance (though some early-boarders try to "save" seats for others who, for one reason or another, have much lower boarding numbers). Same deal with kids. We've all seen large families trying to board early because there's one child.

Also, regarding regular yellow taxis vs. the more expensive pre-paid ones (sometimes erroneously referred to as radio taxis), the yellow taxis belong to a given cooperative whose contact info is painted on the back fender. Their hard-working Rio drivers are mostly family men just trying to make an honest living for their wife and kids by getting you to your destination efficiently and pleasantly, not some rogue scam artists routinely preying on tired, unwary tourists. Don't be misled by any ridiculous mumbo jumbo elsewhere about the pre-paid taxis being the only way to get "peace of mind" on arrival.

IMHO, a bit strongly-word (e.g., blanket characterizations of the morals of the taxi drivers) I think, but, especially during the during the day I wouldn't hesitate to take a metered taxi, as long as I had Brazilian Reais (the taxis you get from in front of the terminal; the rogue taxis often lurk up the road). I have never seen anyone say that a radio taxi is "the only" way to go. Some people feel they get newer vehicles and generally feel safer with them, but that's their business (no more need to slam them than to slam taxi drivers). The main advantages are that you know your fare in advance and can pay by credit card. But you will definitely pay more than with a metered taxi.

Only problem I ever had with a taxi in Rio was one driver who refused to turn on his meter (this was not a ride from, say, the airport to downtown, for which there are flat rates), but I just got out and got another taxi. I take taxis all the time in Fortaleza. You don't need to tip (if you do, it's greatly appreciated), and drivers will often round the fare down to the nearest Real. It is best to have bills no larger than R$50 (i.e., not a R$100 bill unless you are going a very long distance). Drivers don't always have much change.

For the relatively short distance involved, and the fact that you may have several bags with you, I'd take a taxi vs. a combination of bus and taxi. Your money, so your decision, of course.

p.s. I just happened to see a Globo TV bit today about a family that won a trip to Natal. Showed them on camels, not riding on the top of the camel, but sitting in basket-like seats on the side of the animal. Not sure if it'd be comfortable, but you could check when you get there. When I was in Natal about 6 or 7 years ago, the big thrill was sliding down the tall, steep sand dunes along the beach.

Some posters seem to be addressing the famous Carnaval celebrations, which take place nationwide at the end of Lent. Carnatal-- which I have to admit I thought was a typo until I looked it up on the Web-- seems to be a pre-Christmas celebration unique to Natal. Activities seem to start at 17:00 each day, though I didn't see a detailed agenda at http://www.carnatal.com.br/agenda/2014/12/04/carnatal-2014/ Never been to Carnatal, but people of all ages certainly go to Carnaval events. That being said, if you ship departs that evening, I agree you don't have time to attend the events., though you could keep looking at the Web site and ask your ship's activities desk for more info. Do ask about likely traffic jams so you leave enough time to get back to port.

BTW, no biggie, but the plural of Real (hey-all) is Reais (hey-ize). "R" is often pronounced as an "h" when starting a word. (e.g., hee-a-day-janeiro). If you book a flat rate "radio taxi" you can pay by credit card at the airport when you book it, but for regular metered taxis you should have cash, and preferably bills R$50 or smaller.

Definitely check again. The week after NYE isn't anything like New Years week (for anything through Friday the 2nd and maybe until Sunday the 4th, I'd expect not only a requirement for a deposit but also a minimum-stay requirement), but I'd sure want to make sure of my booking so I didn't arrive and be told, "Sorry, there must be some misunderstanding. We don't have your name here . . ." Could even be an inexperienced employee.

What hotel is it? A major one?

Envoy class seats on the A330 were fantastic but I don't know that those on their other widebody aircraft compre. We used the A330 to fly between the U.S. and Brazil. Even better than biz class on Delta's 767-300s and 767-400s (and they were quite good). Both truly lie-flat. Better than United's lie-flat biz class. Angle-flat we had on AA in biz class not nearly as good.

Really important to verify the type of aircraft before traveling. Good you've done that.