Ljanski

Did Royal just drop Juneau for the Ovation of the Seas June 6 stop ??? The port schedule still has them from 13:00 till 22:00 docking in Juneau, but the Royal app does not show Juneau anymore.  What’s up ???

We had a group of 4 do taxi tours in both ports.

In Ushuaia, if you walk to the end of the pier and reach the first street, go to the left and in about 100 yards you will see a taxi terminal across the street on the right. We walked up and asked "Who speaks English?". About 3 guys there pointed at one guy and we told him what we wanted to do - go to Garibaldi Pass and see the Lakes, and the best sights. We asked what car he was driving and it looked OK, we asked how much and he said $140 for all of us. We replied $120 and we were off. We actually stopped several times for pictures, went to 2 lakes there, and stopped at a restaurant for cappachino and bathroom breaks. The cappachino was outstanding. The restaurant served the tour busses - which weren't there yet. When we got back - we gave the driver $150 and he was very appreciative. We went to lunch at a restaurant called Tante Nina which had the very best King Crab. Hint - order the natural plate and later shopped the main street.

In Puerto Arenas, as you exit the port building there are a lot of taxi and van guys standing around. We did the same as before - and had several choices. The one we picked had a brand new car and we were off to Ottway Bay to see the penguins. I think we paid $120. Could have had a van for the same price. Important to find a good English speaker who an relate what travelers want to find out. The guy we found once worked on cruise ships as a waiter On the way back, we stopped at the cemetary which was very nice. Our driver suggested a restaurant for lunch which was excellent. I think it was called Sistinos - it was about 4 blocks from the pier building. Tablecloths and excellent cassarole seafood dishes. I had 2 appetisers - 1 scallop and 1 King Crab dish. Great bread. Worth going to.

All in all, good trips and way cheaper than the Cruise lines offer.

MRJulius - - you've got it right.

I stayed in cabin 1138 and friends had 1130. Your drawing and observations are correct.

Although - the balcony on 1138 really doesn't have anybody staring at you. Best looks like 1140, but 1138 is right up there!

Just spent 2 weeks in on deck 11 in # 1138 and can reassure anyone there are no issues to worry about. The balcony is odd shaped adding about 4 feet on the right side which makes the balcony much bigger than normal.

The overhang from deck 12 covers about 1/2 of the balcony for 1138 and there is sun to be had as well as shade if you need it.

No issues with noise ever! No issues with smoke ever!

No basketball court on 12 - that is way up forward. The only use deck 12 gets above this room is for sun bathing. We did have a banging noise during the night when we had a real wind storm outside - but I think that came from deck chairs banging against the railing in the storm. Never happened again though.

All in all the room was great. New everything and the shower was nice. Could have had more water pressure.

Sorry - I have pictures but for some reason they won't upload. Rest assurred though - if you pick aft deck 11 you won't be disappointed.

Just got back today from the Celebrity Eclipse and did the Dzibanche / Kochunlich tour with Native Choice. Left at 8:30 am and got back to the port at 4:30pm. It is a long ride - but it's soooo worth it. Amazing ruins! Both sites ! So glad to have visited 2 sites as they are different and you learn so much. Just loved the tour. Worth so much more than they charge !!

I expected to see maybe 3 or 4 ruins at each site - but was blown away by seeing maybe 10 - 15. The grounds are extensive and really well done by the restoration people . Francisco was a super nice tour-guy and went out of his way to add information whenever he could.

Dzibanche had several tall pyramids and interesting residential ruins as well. Kochunilch was like a city where you walk between these buildings that must have been out of this world at the time they were occupied.

If you are at Costa Maya - do the Maya Tours! The port itself didn't look like it had much there - but the ruins make the stop well worth being on the list of ports to stop at.

Also - doing a tour with only 6 people vs a bus load is a lot more satisfying. When we got to Dzibanche - we were the only people there! About a half hour later a bus showed up and they herded around the site in a big heap. They also waste a lot of time at bathroom stops. We were in and out in a flash.

I'm glad I went with Native Choice - I'd do it again in a heartbeat.