markpghpa

Roger, thanks for the response regarding August 15th holiday. Mark

Thanks Roger and Marazul for the responses.

Hello everyone, 

(I also posted this in the main forum group but this Topic has been very active and Roger has been very helpful with responses.)

We are on the RCCL Jewel of the Seas that is stopping in Palma de Mallorca on August 15, 2019 which happens to be national holiday in Spain. According to a website; " When is Assumption of Mary? The holiday is celebrated annually on August 15th....The Feast of the Assumption of Mary is a very important day in the Catholic religion. It is the principal feast of the Blessed Virgin, the mother of Jesus Christ." 

Does anyone know what will be open on this holiday in Palma de Mallorca? Also, will be there other events in Palma on this day to celebrate this holiday. We were planning on visiting Palma and also Soller on the 15th.

Thanks in advance,

Mark

Hello everyone,

We are on the RCCL Jewel of the Seas that is stopping in Palma de Mallorca on August 15, 2019 which happens to be national holiday in Spain. According to a website; " When is Assumption of Mary? The holiday is celebrated annually on August 15th....The Feast of the Assumption of Mary is a very important day in the Catholic religion. It is the principal feast of the Blessed Virgin, the mother of Jesus Christ." 

Does anyone know what will be open on this holiday in Palma de Mallorca? Also, will be there other events in Palma on this day to celebrate this holiday. We were planning on visiting Palma and also Soller on the 15th.

Thanks in advance,

Mark

My wife and I were just on the MSC Seaside last week for a Western Caribbean cruise in a regular cabin and not the yacht club. We have also been the RCCL Oasis of the Seas and the Norwegian Epic. The biggest issue that we noticed was that the MSC Seaside had few free dining options with over 5,000 guests. For example, at dinner time, you could have the sit down option (anytime if you were in the category or scheduled) or the 8th floor buffet was open which was very busy most of the time. The 16th floor buffet was only open for breakfast and lunch. It would be great if MSC could convert a couple of the bars to food places where light lunches or dinners could be served. On the Oasis of the Seas, you could find pizza from a separate restaurant. Also, I believe the Oasis had breakfast and lunch in the Solarium. The Seaside is a beautiful ship but the food service needs to improve.

My wife and I were just on the MSC Seaside last week for a Western Caribbean cruise. We have also been the RCCL Oasis of the Seas and the Norwegian Epic. The biggest issue that we noticed was that the MSC Seaside had few free dining options with over 5,000 guests. For example, at dinner time, you could have the sit down option (anytime or scheduled) or 1 buffet was open. On the Oasis of the Seas, you could find pizza from a separate restaurant and other food.

We live in Sarasota and rent a car to drive each way to Miami. We pick up at the SRQ airport and then drop off at the Miami airport. Then, on the way back, we pick up at Miami airport and drop off at SRQ. No parking fees by doing two separate rentals. Some rental car companies have a free shuttle from Miami airport to the cruise port.

I would "second" Disney Springs; the parking is free, there are some areas to play and walk around, the restaurants, and shops... We sometimes go there just for Ghiradelli chocolate and ice cream. There are also two good outlet malls in Orlando. My last suggestion is a little town called Winter Park which is near downtown Orlando and has independent stores, cool restaurants, etc... https://winterpark.org/park-avenue

The Amazing Race Cozumel is fun and gives you a little tour of the city during this activity.

https://amazingcozumelrace.com/

For anyone visiting London, you may want to get tickets for the new musical based upon Tina Turner's music. It just premiered in London and has good reviews. We are on a cruise from England in a few weeks and purchased tickets for this show.

Following are the links to the show and also the reviews.:

https://tinathemusical.com/

https://britishtheatre.com/review-tina-the-musical-aldwych-theatre/

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/19/theater/tina-turner-musical.html

I agree with Wheezedr about theater events. We are on a cruise that leaves England in a few weeks and purchased tickets for "Tina: The Musical" which is a brand-new show that has received very good reviews. The links follow:

https://tinathemusical.com/

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/19/theater/tina-turner-musical.html

Also check on pollstar's website at http://www.pollstar.com for concerts that may be in England.

Hope this helps,

Mark

We are also on the same cruise on May 26th from the UK. If you are looking for paper book, please look up "Rick Steves Northern European Cruise Ports" book. This book covers all of the ports except for Helsingborg, Sweden. We found some links on the Internet but not too much to do in that port.

Hello everyone,

I am not sure if should post this in the Holland America section, but I will ask this group first. We are on the HAL Veendam from May 27 - June 3 going from Boston to Montreal.

We are wondering if we should use the HAL Internet for internet access or if anyone has had good coverage with Verizon Wireless for Voice and Data.

Thanks in advance for your feedback,

Mark

Hello everyone,

I am not sure if should post this in the Canada/New England Ports of Call, but I will ask this group first. We are on the Veendam from May 27 - June 3 going from Boston to Montreal.

We are wondering if we should use the HAL Internet for internet access or if anyone has had good coverage with Verizon Wireless for Voice and Data.

Thanks in advance for your feedback,

Mark

We were on the Oasis of the Seas last week and the permitted to carry your own luggage off between 6:00 AM and 8:00 AM. There were a lot of people that chose that option.

We are on the Oasis of the Seas this week and did the Trolley Tour that was suggested by others. You board inside the secure port area and have 2 stops through the town of Falmouth. It wasn't a hop-off hop-on Trolley like they have in othere cities. But, we enjoyed it. It showed us the city. The tour guide was great! The cost was $25 per person and worth it for the 1 hour tour.

After the tour, we walked one block into the city and returned to the secure area.

We are also on the oasis this week. It is a good ship and enjoying the cruise. The MDR food is good. We are not fans of windjammer buffet, but prefer the Solarium instead. I agree with the other cruiser, the staff has been way above average this week. We would recommend this ship.

I am also resident of the Tampa Bay area and offer the following suggestions. It just depends on your preferences:

Beaches - You can go to Clearwater, St. Pete Beach, etc... lots of good choices.

Shopping - If want to do shopping:

Chain and Department Stores: International Plaza Mall near the Tampa airport

Original Stores and Boutique shopping: Hyde Park in Tampa and Downtown St. Pete

Farmers Markets: If you are in Tampa on a Saturday or Sunday, there are plenty of good markets including the St. Pete Farmers Market on Saturdays and other farmer markets. You can do a Google or Yelp search.

Art & Craft Shows: the Tampa Bay area has at least 1 art show each weekend in January. Do a Google search for "Howard Alan Events & American Craft Endeavors" or Festival Net".

Museums:

Dali Museum in St. Pete

Tampa Museum of Art

Good luck and enjoy Tampa area,

Mark

I believe that I read on some message boards that RCCL does promotions for specialty restaurants on the 1st day of the cruise. We are on Oasis beginning on September 24, 2016? Thanks in advance...

We were in similar dilemma and didn't want to do a ship tour. Instead found a tour of a Hampden Tour Rum Factory which is 30 minutes from the port. We booked this tour with them directly for our cruise in late September.

Following is the information.

Hope this helps,

Mark

----Original Message-----

>> From: Hampden Tours Manager [mailto:tours@hampdenrumcompany.com]

>> Sent: Monday, July 11, 2016 10:25 AM

>> Subject: Re: Hampton Estate & Rum Tour on September 27, 2016

>>

>> Many thanks for contacting us.

>>

>> The Hampden Estate Rum Tour is located in the parish of Trelawny,

>> approximately 45 minutes away from the Montego Cruise Ship Pier, 25

>> minutes from the Falmouth Cruise Ship Pier.

>>

>>

>> Cost of Tour:Adult- US$50 per person (inclusive of government taxes)

>> Children- (13 to 17 years old) - US$25 per person

>> (inclusive of government taxes)

>>

>> We provide the following:

>> -Welcome Drink - Rum Punch or Special Hampden Iced Tea

>> -Introduction/Brief history of the Estate and owners -Walk along the

>> picturesque grounds -Tour of our Historical Working Distillery (over

>> 260 years of rum making) -Sampling of our two Multi Awards Winning

>> Rums -Sampling of freshly cut and squeeze sugar cane juice or coconut

>> water -Hampden Rum cake sample -Lunch of jerk chicken or jerk pork

>> serve with two festivals and purified water.

>>

>>

>>

>> Tour Times:RESERVATION PREFERRED

>> Mon-Fri - 10:00 am, 11:00 am &12:00pm (local time)

>>

>> Tour Duration: 2 Hours

>>

>> Requirements: Comfortable Clothing, Walking Sneakers or Hiking Sandals.

>>

>> What to Bring: Camera, Sunscreen, Cash/Credit Card for gift items.

>>

>>

>> We can also arrange transportation for an additional fee of US$20 per

>> person.

>>

>> Minimum per tour: 2

>> Maximum per tour: 20

>>

>> Wheelchair facilities are not available on the tour however; they are

>> available at the welcome centre

>>

>> You can visit our website @www.hampdenrumcompany.com and our Facebook

>> page @ Hampden Estate Rum Tours or call us @ 1-876-482-4632.

I had a similar question regarding Falmouth with ideas other than Dunn's River Falls and started looking at one of the 2 Rum factory tours; either Appleton or Hampden.

Has anyone been on any of the Rum factory tours?

FYI, we will be on the Oasis of the Seas in late September.

We were just on the Epic for 10 days earlier this month. One of the best parts of the cruise was was the entertainment including Priscilla and also Burn the Floor.

If I ran NCL, I would add matinee shows for Priscilla and Queen of the Desert for the Sea Days instead of only having the shows in the evening. Broadway shows in NYC and even touring productions have matinee shows on the weekends, but maybe cruise ships should offer them especially in the cooler months where not too many people are able to enjoy the outdoor areas.

Just my 2 cents,

Mark

We spent one night at Hotel 1898 near Gothic area; great hotel, great staff, and great location

We just left the Epic on a 10 day Mediterranean cruise with 4 sea days. We purchased the Thermal Spa Pass and it was nice to relax to use the indoor pool area, the heated chairs, and the saunas. Considering that the ship can hold 4,000 people, it was nice to be in an area with typically less than 20 people at any one time.

Hope this helps,

Mark

We also just left the Epic. If you want coffee from Atrium Cafe which is better than the free coffee and have UBP , you can go to Atrium Cafe and get the coffee with alcohol such as Baileys on the side.