sharks48

If HAL has luggage service to the airport, use it. Not sure how it works internationally, but it's worth checking into.

There are public buses to the airport (two different lines - check their websites) which are convenient and easy. Can't remember the names off the top of my head, but you can find them by searching for "airport transport - Venice" or similar. The guidebooks also all have info on that, either in a book or on line (also check TripAdvisor).

We've done it twice - both times for FLL - and were completely happy with the experience. Really nice not to have to look for your bags in the terminal or fuss with them in the cab. They also printed our boarding passes for us, so, no worrying about that (we were on Southwest, so it matters when you check in).

Definitely would do it whenever possible.

Didn't know they had ziplining in GT! We've been there three times and never knew about it. We love ziplining, but I can't imagine it would be very good at GT, since it's so flat and so "scrubby". It's not a "pretty" island.

If you are ever on a cruise that stops at Samana in the Dominican Republic [i guess fewer and fewer ships offer that port now], do the ziplining excursion with Terry. The ship might have a zipline excursion, but it would probably be to the other course, which isn't as good, from what I've read. [Terry said the course also has hand-braking, i.e. heavy gloves and you slow yourself down as you approach the platform. Did that type of line once, in Roatan - really hard on your shoulders!] We've done Terry's tour twice now and it's fantastic. The DR board will have info, but it's "Tour Samana with Terry" [Google it!].

Just did the Woodwind trip a couple of weeks ago.

Personally, I wouldn't take a toddler on that boat. It has no "room to roam" and will, of course, be "tippy" for a toddler. They don't keep the boat in one spot, thus the ban on swimming near the boat.

Woodwind is an absolutely top-notch experience, but not for a baby. Even that four-year-old I'd be leery about unless she is really comfortable snorkeling. Dee is terrific with meeting the needs of her customers, so a pre-schooler who's comfortable in the gear would be well-handled, I'm sure.

That would be a pretty long walk. Take the bus. The station is right across from the dock [look for the Pizza Hut sign]. Costs $4 both ways [uS]. Easy to do.

Having done both, I would recommend Bonaire - specifically Woodwind. A quiet atmosphere with a small group [we had 26 the other day], no loud music, no "party" atmosphere. Just a fantastic crew that really care about their passengers. Two terrific snorkel sites, lunch, drinks [alcoholic or non]. They have all the equipment, even wet suits and rash guards, etc. Dee is fantastic, as is the rest of her crew. We've gone with them twice [just returned from a stop there] and can't say enough about how terrific our experience was. Doesn't matter if you're a first-timer or an experienced snorkeler - they'll take care of you.

Just returned from a cruise that included Bonaire. We did our second trip with Woodwind and cannot say enough about how wonderful our experience was - again! Dee and her crew are absolutely fantastic - very patient, concerned, enthusiastic, etc. They truly care whether you are having a good experience. We give Woodwind our highest rating - an "11" out of "10"!!

I did a search for this, but since I can't remember the name HAL gives to this I didn't have much luck.

In the past we have paid to have direct check-thru of luggage to our airline from the ship, so we left it outside the stateroom and didn't see it again until we arrived at the home airport. I can't remember whether we did this in FLL, but I'd guess we did.

Does anyone know whether HAL still does this and, if so, what it's called?

Thanks so much.

We loved our tour with Native Way a few years ago. We did the trip that included going to Rum Point, which was fantastic. Only slight problem was that a passenger left his/her camera at Rum Point and discovered that fact about five minutes out on the way back. The captain went back to get it and we ended up being very close to making the last boat back to the ship. But we loved the tour. Much less-crowded than the previous one we'd done with Capt. Marvin [which we also liked just fine].

Snorkeling - especially with Windwood. Or go over to Klein Bonaire and just hop in and drift snorkel.

So, where could one have a passport stamped in Venice? We're flying into Venice, cruising for one week, then going on to Lake Como and Florence, departing from Florence.

Sagrada Famiglia. Get tickets ahead of time on line, in order to avoid long lines.

Naples was one of our ports of call on a cruise a couple of years ago. Neither the city itself nor nearby ruins appealed to us. We took the boat down to Sorrento and just walked around and really enjoyed it.

Everyone seems to be recommending Capri, but we thought it would be too busy, so we chose Sorrento instead.

To TravelBugM: Our main interest is actually a trip to Florence. But we've been to Venice, Rome, etc. and wanted to add some other interesting places. We thought of Lucerne [which seems incredibly expensive!] or perhaps Paris [though it's not high on our list of "must-do's"]. Would love to do Bruges, but unless we did the Rhine cruise [and even then...] it would be just too much.

We have a "free" flight to/from Europe and are having fun considering the possibilities.

Thanks for the input, everyone! [Enjoy that Audi!}

Thanks for the answers so far.

Actually, we were thinking about taking a train between Basel and Florence, in order to view the Alps and to avoid airports. Anyone have thoughts on that?

Would love to hear from anyone who has advice on the feasibility of combining a Rhine cruise with some time pre or post in Florence. Specifically, which way to go [Amsterdam to Basel then Florence or the reverse]? Also advice on flying into/out of Europe, i.e. fly into Amsterdam and out of Pisa or Milan or vice versa? We'd basically be flying from NYC and would love to go both ways without a stop, if possible.

Thanks for any and all advice!

I "third" the recommendations for the BW Olimpia at PRoma.

We stayed at the BW Olimpia for two nights last September before our cruise. Right at PR and the "people mover" to/from the ship. It was fine and we would stay there again.

Just returned from a cruise that included GT.

We had gone with Blue Water Divers previously and absolutely would recommend them. Had a great time, with only four snorkelers in the boat.

This time we wanted to try snorkeling from shore and didn't want to go far, so we went South from the pier. We went as far as the rocks sticking out of the water, when we met some snorkelers returning toward the ship. They said it was too rough beyond the rocks [and around the point to where White Sands is, which we'd read here on CC was much rougher than the area on the pier-side of the island]. We decided to just get in before the rocks, seeing other snorkelers out there. There really was nothing to see, unfortunately. We had also read here that snorkeling from shore in GT isn't great, which is what we found to be the case.

Next time, I would again go with BWD or perhaps Papa John, which might be easier, given no taxi is required, and they have good reviews here on CC, too.

ISA: So glad to see you back! Your info is fantastic - so sorry that some people evidently don't appreciate it....

I have another question for you. We were thinking we'd go to Jan Thiel Beach by bus, but might want to consider going to some west side beaches by bus. I can't find the thread that has info on that, so I'm wondering whether you can help us. We don't really want to spend "all day" on a bus, but we thought perhaps Blue Bay might be doable. Could you tell us which bus we'd want to take for that?

I'm still a bit confused about the two kinds of buses, but I guess we'd figure it out once we're there.

Again, thanks so much for all the terrific help you provide.

Thank you so much!!

Does it make sense to walk across to Punda to get a cab to, say, Jan Thiel Beach, rather than getting one from the pier? Specifically, does this save any money? We're also considering taking the public bus, since we have plenty of time and that can be fun. But I was just curious about taking a cab from that side of town.

I've enjoyed reading all of your info on Curacao and found it very helpful.

Thank you!

Brad: Not sure about the policy at Chank in re the dolphin swim, but my guess would be you'd have to pay park admission, unless it's included in the cost of the dolphin swim.

That snorkel beach in Roatan WAS West Bay Beach [not West End - sorry]. We went to the very end of the beach, down by the huge rock wall, at the suggestion of our cab driver. We had told him we were concerned about snorkeling near the beach clubs because of a fatal accident there with the boats coming in and out [one ran over a snorkeler]. He assured us the end of the beach was perfectly safe and he was right. We even managed to find a bit of shade down there and the snorkeling was really good!

Just my two cents' worth....

In Belize, you should seriously consider a ship excursion for snorkeling. We went to Goff's Cay [a tiny island] and were picked up right at the ship and taken there. No long tender both ways and also trips in and out on the snorkel boat. I don't think they do GC anymore, but I think there are other excursions right from the ship. we loved this snorkel trip.

In Roatan, we booked with Rony and got his father as our driver. We did the South Shore zipline and then he took us to a beach [maybe West End?] that was nearby. This was a beach where a snorkeler got run over by a boat a couple of months before. We discussed this with our driver and he took us to the very end of the beach [near a big rocky area] and said to snorkel there, as it would be away from any boat traffic. The snorkeling was very good. No shade here [or very little] - we try to stay out of the sun as much as possible. I don't remember the price, but we thought it was very reasonable. There are lots of bars and people nearby, so no worries about being alone.

Haven't snorkeled in Costa Maya, as we'd read it wasn't really that great unless you go out on a boat. We like to snorkel from the beach mostly, so we made this day [the two times we were there] non-snorkel days. There's not much to CM.

In Coz, we've gone down to Chankanaab Park twice and really liked it. [see their website.] It's easy to get a cab down and back. The most-recent time we went [about two years ago] the snorkeling was very good, although a group [led by someone from the park] came through and they were a bunch of true beginners and kind of ruined things with their flailing around, etc. But we were ready to get out anyway. Had a great time both times.

We always take our own gear. We bought "travel fins" and are considering not taking them in November when we go, as they're still pretty heavy. We figure we may just rent them there. We also have inflatable vests. On some excursions they require you to wear a vest and even a deflated vest will do. We bought wet suits a couple of years ago and have found that we really like using them. I'm really thin and tend to get cold quickly, so the wet suit helps a lot, as well as helping buoyancy [don't need a vest then - even for a scardy-cat like me!], and providing sun protection [no more sunburn on the back of the legs!]. They're kind of a hassle to tote around, but we think they're worth it.

You can find info on any of these ports at the "Ports of Call" boards. That's how we found Rony, who was highly recommended there.

WLTC: Thoroughly enjoyed your review! We got off in Barcelona the day you embarked.

We had problems getting to our hotel, as the cab had to keep trying another route to get around the marathon! We, too, loved Barcelona.

Loved the "macaroni" sign. We are always on the lookout for unusual signs when we travel and have a good collection of them.

We, too, love to play trivia and really enjoyed Dave. Our "team" ended up winning quite often, so we had several bottles of champagne [even one at 9 a.m.! - which we saved for the later trivia] and lots of little prizes. Great fun!

The Nieuw Amsterdam is a really nice ship and, since you liked her, you may someday want to consider the Noordam. She's our favorite. She has a separate [huge!] library and that entire area up top is devoted to the Crow's Nest. She doesn't have all those "private cabanas" that waste so much space.