surfcitygirl

I would second that, go for the PG. The ship itself as far as decor is showing its age, a bit drab, but the experience they offer is wonderful. The day at the private motu is fantastic, and they also have access to a private beach in Bora Bora, which is worth going to have you have experienced the lagoon on an excursion.

Wanted to say how much I have enjoyed reading about your adventures the last few years. So when I stumbled upon the write up about Bill and Mary Ann in a travel agency brochure, I felt like I knew you.

We're also cruising this January and have booked the Native Choice Chaccohoben tour. We have also booked, through Shore Fox, a tour broker, a trip up the Rio Dulce river/canyon in Guatamala. Oceania does not offer this trip. We chose the broker's tour since it was a bit shorter than a tour from Happy Feet and did not include lunch, so even though it was a bit more, was just what we were looking for. Hoping to take a local Grand Cayman bus to the Botanical Gardens. Snorkeling tour in Roatan and cave tubing in Belize.

Have enjoyed reading your posts in the past and be be following you too.

We are doing the Mayan Mystique in January and looked at Happy Fish in Santo Tomas but booked with Shore Fox instead, since it was a bit shorter and no lunch. We have also booked cavetubing.bz in Belize, which seems to be generally very well reviewed.

Never knew the Coco Palms was destroyed. Went there in the eighties and it was a gorgeous resort. Sad that it wasn't rebuilt. It was located in what had been a royal palm grove.

Choice air also came through for us when we arrived back in Rome and the airport was closed because one of the terminals had a major fire. They rescheduled our flights and put us up on a hotel in the city and paid for the taxi both ways. Could not have been happier with their service.

We have been on all three lines and have current bookings for both Oceania and Azamara and we have loved each of them for different reasons. The long port stays on Azamara were great, no rushing to get back to the ship and the crew makes you part of the family. Oceania Riviera's highlight was the food, best ever on sea, the itineraries are great and the ship gorgeous. Windstar's food was great and so was the crew interaction and the watersports deck. I would think that given the right itinerary for you, Windstar on one of the sail ships, preferably the Wind Surf, might be the best fit for a graduation cruise. I know our sons would have loved it.

We were in Istanbul towards the end of April during their tulip festival. The weather was great and the tulips were amazing. I'm Dutch and Istanbul's tulip displays surpassed anything I've ever seen anywhere else. This was our first time and now I know why so many people list Istanbul as one of their favorites. It's now one of mine too and would love to go back, even without the tulips.

Would be interested to know if you did any interesting excursions in Santorini?

We usually do our own thing. We took the first tender to shore and hopped on the Boatmen's "speedboat" to Oia, which includes a bus transfer back to Fira. Wandered around the town, which is beautiful, great views of the buildings cascading down the hill. There were only two ships in port most of the day, so it wasn't crowded.

I have read a lot of forum posts comparing Azamara and Oceania, and now that I have been on both lines, I know what the Azamara fans are talking about. The interaction with the crew on the Journey was something I had never experienced before, and I have been cruising for many years on many lines (except what are considered the "luxury" lines). I really enjoyed getting to know the officers and crew and fist bumping with Captain Sindre and others. It really made you feel like part of the family. That spirit exhibited by the officers was also seen in much of the crew. Every day getting on the tender, there was Tony, the Cruise Director, to see you off. If you ever are blessed to have Tony, give him a hug for me. Some days the Captain was there too, or even on the dock to greet you when you stepped off the tender. Have never had a Captain of a ship wish me a Happy Birthday. Silly for me to mention, maybe, but memorable none the less. So Azamara really wins on this aspect. We also had a wonderful cabin upgrade, so kudos to Azamara on that also. The only part of the experience that fell short of Oceania was the food. Oceania is truly the foodie cruise line for us and there wasn't a lunch or dinner we didn't enjoy immensely. We did have some lovely meals on Azamara, particularly in Aqualina. Azamara's entertainment was also very good and we did not miss an evening show.

Another feature on Azamara that really stands out is the longer stays in ports. It was wonderful not to have to rush back to the ship. We choose this cruise also for the wonderful collection of ports: Istanbul, Mykonos, Santorini, Catania (for Taormina), Amalfi, and two days in Sorrento, where we also enjoyed Capri and Pompei. Both were very easy to get to. Also loved the Azamazing evening under the orange and lemon trees and the White Night Party. Both events added special memories to this cruise.

We choose our cruises based on value and itinerary and do not always stick to one line.

We will certainly choose Azamara again when the itinerary tickles our fancy.

It was nice to see everyhing on the water level on the ride over and also to see a different view of the island on the bus ride back.

There was a ticket machine to buy Hagia Sophia only ticket just inside the gate. Go to the left of the long ticket purchase line and the machine is right there, don't know why more people didn't use it.

Was in Santorini last week. The Boatmen's boat was running, but it was only once a day leaving at 9 AM. There is a shop right when you get off that sells the tickets. For now they are only 8 euro, but all I have read in the past is $25, but maybe that's in the summer. We saw the boat sitting there at 8:30 when we got off the tender, bought our tickets, and hopped on. There was only one bus back to Fira/Thira, at 11 AM, so we had about an hour and a half in Oia. I assume the schedule will change soon as visitors increase to the two boats and more bus return opportunities that I have seen in previous posts.

Glad to see that I'm not the only one who has those white envelopes!

Our experience in French Polynesia gave me some of the best days of my life: ATV ride through the interior of Moorea: unforgettable; Lagoon snorkeling tour in Bora Bora with Patrick's Maohi Nui company with the stingrays, blue tipped sharks, coral gardens, fish, lunch sitting at picnic tables in the water: indescribable; staying in an over water bungalow: bucket list item and worth every penny!

After having been there and savoring every minute, we will probably not go again. It's very expensive and there is so much of the world yet to see. It is, though, a trip of a lifetime.

We booked a day room after our cruise on the PG in September. The day room is not available until after noon, so we took a two hour bus tour first and then went to the IC. It may be possible by calling the hotel directly to book "day use of the facilities" where you can use a transit room to shower and change. We used one of these on our way in to our cruise before our room was available. It was very nice.

fyi we were just on the PG and they no longer include pre or post cruise day room when you book the normal fare - it is extra.

We did two overnights before the cruise and got our bungalow by 10 AM, did transit room after arrival and headed for the infinity pool to relax.

I believe the Windstar ship going to Tahiti will be the Seabourn ship they just acquired, so it won't have sails.

If you walk down the lane towards the atlantic side of pigeon island you can exit the fenced in area and go to the right and walk the Sandals beach. We walked the length of it and also wandered through the resort a little to take a peak. The place you exit the fenced in area is the entrance/exit to the park and you just need to show your windstar id to get back in.

So enjoyed your review, made me feel like I was back again! Great pictures, thanks for the patience and time it took to post everything. Judging from the comments, everyone else agrees too. Hope to do the Yachtsman's itinerary some day, the Baths look awesome, and now I know what not to do. We would have done the exact same thing. Will be looking forward to you reviews in the future.

I would second that about breakfast on the Veranda. I thought the breakfast pastries were better than I have had on any other cruise, including Oceania Riviera (of course their bagette can't be beat). Sure could go for a marzipan stuffed pastry right now.

Enjoying your thoughts and pics thus far. Had been looking forward to it. Wanted to say how much I enjoyed meeting you both and that I wish I had found you earlier. Will be looking forward to the rest. You never know, we might meet again on the high seas.:)