duellapaul

We did a lovely ships tour in from Muscat. We went to watch fish being auctioned at a seaside fish market, then to a fort, had lunch at a beautiful resort hotel on the countryside, then went to a little stream that had fish in that nibbled your feet, like the fish on fish spas.

 

 

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We, my sister and I, will be there in November. I have a question, please. Did you do this on a tour, or by yourself. We are not on a tour yet and are looking. If we could do it by ourselves, it would be a plus, even though we don't speak the language. Thanks.

Here is something I have not read in the forums and need to know. We will be on a cruise, going to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and need to know if we need permission to take my DH's medication into the country. We will be in Singapore, and Hong Kong for before and after stays and have read/heard for certain medications you need permission given before arrival. IE: sleeping pills in particular. Does anyone have any information on if this is true or not? Any info is appreciated.

We just got off a quick 5 dayer to relax and gather our thoughts and plans for the NEXT one, leaving 2/19/16 for Buenos Aires for 5 days then the 14 day around the horn trip to Valpariso, Chili. That has been a year in the planning! We board on 2/29/16. Yeah!

Since your cruise in in 2017 you should have time to contact tour companies directly on those islands and ask what they have for disabled. My DIL used a scooter while in the Caribbean. We found tours from vendors right at the dock that made room for her scooter and took us all over. She can walk short distances. One tour took us to a resort that had paths for her to move about, then walk to the water to swim-with that my DH helped her. I find most of the dockside tour promoters are accomodating.

I have thought and thought about this B2B, cost of RT air fair to Barcelona and how much my DH likes this ship. He loves playing pool and they have 2 tables. When we were on her in September for a west bound TA he could be found there all the time, making more and more new friends. So, I think I will add another B and a 2 to take us home. Just a one-way flight now!

I am a naughty girl. I con't to think and plan with this cruise, crunched the numbers. times, ports, etc. My final decision is to make this a B2B2B!!! We will do the Brilliance-Greek, Brilliance-Venice, and the TA home. It debarks in Tampa which is a days drive from where we live in Texas-easy-peazy for a die-hard driver like me. I bought the one-way tickets to Barcelona last night for under $500. Now, just the planning to do!!!!

Not always just for one-ways, I got a great deal on a roundtrip, just have to do your homework.

I just bought my one way tickets through RCCL ChoiceAir, Tampa to Barcelona for Sept 19, 2016. I first went to the web site, found great tickets for under $550. on British Airways with one stop. I then went to my bank website to see if my check had been deposited and when I went back to ChoiceAir, the published prices had DOUBLED!!! I called, they gave me the doubled price and when I said what happened, she said prices do change, and I said, In 5 minutes?. We are on a B2B2B, so I went back to ChoiceAir, put in the reservation number for the second B and got the tickets for less then $500. Go figure. So...if you find the ticket you want, don't wait to buy it.

I could not make the decision so we will be doing a B2B on Brilliance in Sept/Oct this year. That way we will be able to go to Rome twice, Venice overnight, and 2 different ports that gives us time to visit Pisa and Livarno; my DH use to live there as a child and has a sister born there. I just want to see it all. :):):)

I have thought and thought about this B2B, cost of RT air fair to Barcelona and how much my DH likes this ship. He loves playing pool and they have 2 tables. When we were on her in September for a west bound TA he could be found there all the time, making more and more new friends. So, I think I will add another B and a 2 to take us home. Just a one-way flight now!

I could not make the decision so we will be doing a B2B on Brilliance in Sept/Oct this year. That way we will be able to go to Rome twice, Venice overnight, and 2 different ports that gives us time to visit Pisa and Livarno; my DH use to live there as a child and has a sister born there. I just want to see it all. :):):)

Thank you! I should be in Cozumel (and also Costa Maya, FWIW) the second week of December.

 

Yeah, I went from being able to get 12 maxalt a month (which was usually a bit more than I needed) to only four imitrex, and the imitrex doesn't work as consistently as the maxalt did. The maxalt is twelve dollars per pill without insurance. I still have a valid scrip on file at the drugstore and there have been months I've been just about willing to pay that much.

 

I'd also be interested in tramadol/ultram, but it sounds like you can't get pain meds there anymore. I have a current prescription for this and God knows it's cheap enough, I suppose it's just idle curiosity for when the government inevitably schedules them out of existence. (they're very nice for my premature arthritis.)

If you are also going to Roatan, I have found the meds to be cheaper there. I don't know about imitrex or the others mentione but I have gotten some that I need for less than Mexico.

If the cruise you are planning for is RCCL, then have you tried Cruise Air? We are taking a cruise on RCCL leaving from England in September. Every place I looked the cheapest fare was >$600. with the average $800. I was able to get a non-stop flight on Cruise Air for <$400.00. Give it a try.

I also have bought medications in Cozumel on many stops. I have never had a problem, except to misplace them in my luggage...long story. If your tour is also going to Honduras, it is the same, but the price of medications is less. We took tours in each place, asked the driver to take us to a pharmacy last thing, we bought, and he took us back to the ship.

I did go to the airline web sites, Expedia, Kayak, you name it and could not find anything less than $600.00 when I purchased from CruiseAir. I am flying United, flight time less than 10 hours. United web site had the same trip for much higher. I do think saving money on some items is well worth it so that money can be used other ways.

Just put in 'vacation rentals' then were you want to stay. I have always had alot of web sites pop up for me to look at. What I find is one price is quoted but when contacted, that unit is 'not available' but they 'have another one that is slightly higher'.

Have you tried CruiseAir? I don't know if they are available with that cruise line but you could investigate. I have always been leiry of CruiseAir, thinking the price would be jacked up. I bought one way tickets from Boston to LHR, traveling in September, for just under $400. The prices I saw on other web sites started at $600. Maybe that might help in your search. Good luck.

We have used Viator many times in many cities but all in the US. We have found it fulfilling what we needed. All of the tour operators were willing to accommodate anything that came up. And their prices were comparable to other operators, if not less.

Well, my DH and I will be able to decide which of the two we like after next month. We-to my shock and awe-received a free 7 day cruise from Carnival while on the Sunshine-the only good thing that came off that ship. So, we will be doing a western carribean in October. I'm hoping that it does have an orchestra, that the rooms are bigger, that the food is better and has more variety. Like I said, I found no variety on the Sunshine. Same ole-same ole, and ill prepared (and not safe by serving room temp dairy products) food almost every meal. We did try the steak house and it was good but I don't want to do that each night. So...looking forward to the Liberty.

We just came off an 8 day Southern cruise on the Sunshine and was very disapointed with it. The ship itself was fine, it was the food and service that was way below Carnivals level. The variety of food was non existant. Same thing every morning. HOt foods were cold to room temp and cold foods were the same, or too warm. I wonder on the freshness of dairy foods sitting out at room temp. My DH tried to talk to one of the hotel managers on Lido deck and the officer acted like no one was there. Entertainment was almost non existant also. The Punchline was SRO, after standing in line for 2 hours to get in. They put it in such a small area that only a small amount of people can get in. Entertainment on 3rd deck was a DJ, cranking out canned music! It was very hard to find staff to help. They looked like they were working as fast as they could but were understaffed. We did not even see our room steward the first night, and did not have turn down service. If all of the Carnival ships are being like this, I morn their demise.

Thanks to all of your for your excellent responses. As I posted a few minutes ago (I seem to have lost my original post) I tried a few of the suggested hotels and they are already full, so we will have to go further afield. I will look into transit for the scooter. I don't think it is possible to haul our own luggage as my DH uses large plastic storage boxes instead (yes, the cruise lines allow them) but are too cumbersome for taxis. Thanks for the reminder about the hills in Seattle. I use to live there, for a few months, going to junior high on Queen Anne and forgot how steep they can get. We will just have to plan carefully.

I just tried the Maxwell-no availabilities. Same with Silver Cloud on re-try. Thanks again for the suggestions.

We are a party of 5-2 adults, 2 seniors, 1-15 year old. One uses uses a mobility scooter. We are driving to the cruise port in Seattle and need 1: have an inexpensive place to park the car for the duration

2: find a hotel close to Pike Place Market, maybe downtown, for some walking site seeing.

I fear that if we stay at an airport hotel we won't get transportation for the scooter to get downtown, then the cost of transporting all our luggage and us to the port. With needing 2 rooms, I am looking for something as less as possible in price.

Any suggestions?

The young one wants to walk around Seattle, see Pikes Place, Seattle Center, down town. It is a big thing for her-never been to a big city!!!:)

Batteries, batteries, batteries. If you use anything that uses batteries stock up before getting on the ship. $5.00 for 4 and they did not work very long. Also remember there is only one outlet in the cabin (at least that is the way it is on Carnival, RCL, and HAL. If you have to charge things, keep in mind the time it takes and how many you need to charge. My DH brings camera, Kendal, Phone (but doesn't use it on board), etc so we always have something being charged!

Also, I totally agree with others who mentioned OTC medicines. I keep a bag of them my husband uses freq and just bring it along in the suitcase. It never fails, if I forget something, he is sure to need it first thing on the boat!!

I have been on ships were the steward said they did not have hangers, so I bring my own. They are the plastic ones that new clothes are left on when purchased. They don't weight anything, and I have learned to pack them in a very little space. And if I bought too much on the cruise I can leave them there.:)

I cruised on The Emerald Princess for 16 days in September. IMO the ship was pretty much in ship shape. There were many "comfort things" I really noticed. The bed was really good, there was a newish View Sonic TV at a good angle (I DID NOT see the usual ghost images as I am very short) I had no issues with temperature in my cabin as it was maintained pretty well. The public areas were well kept up looking. One thing I really appreciated was that it was not a Freezing cold ship. I hardly had to wear my jacket around the ship. I felt Emerald Princess was a comfortable ship to cruise on.

I hope I read this right. On all of the cruise ships we have been on I have froze my tuckus off. When in a tropical clim I had to wear sweaters, long pants, and jackets when in doors. I hope when we are on the Emerald for our 30th anniversary I can wear something other than cold weather clothes!!!

Great job on the weight loss Dual

 

We are taking our first cruise in February celebrating our 35 years of marriage and are "attempting" to lose weight as well. I do great during the week but on the weekends it seems like I am always falling back. This weekend was bad, think more stress related eating. Not that I ate tons but just the wrong kind of things, fried shrimp and apple pie!! Does anyone have any strategies for weekend eating? The weather has turned much colder and now with daylight savings time, the evening walks are not as easy. I am bummed. Any tips?

 

Also, did you plan anything with the ship for vow renewal?

 

Thanks

Yes, we do plan to renew our vows. I have never worn a white gown (this is my 2nd marriage), but I will this time. I have been pouring over websites with gowns. I am also going to buy an evening gown-flaming red!!!-to wear on our anniversary night, or at least one of the formal nights. I'm still working on my husband wearing a suit. He says he will, but I still have to get him in one. We are both waiting to see how much we lose-or possibly regain!!-before the deadline of buying them. I'm making more plans than I did for either wedding!!

And how do we know the crew gets all these gratuities? and that the cruise lines don't nickle and dime the money away from them? On our last cruise my DH talked with a tour guide-granted, he did not work for the cruise line-but he informed my husband that 60% of his tip goes back to his company. I am one of those who do not have the tip placed on my bill, I put it in an envelope and give it to the ones who have served me. I do not drink alcohol-why should I leave a tip for the wine steward? I do not go the the gym-should I tip them? The meaning of TIP has always been-TO INSURE PROMPTNESS-but society has changed it to being a duty. When I go to a restaurant and they ask for the tip before I get served, that is not a tip, but a bribe. The wages the crew makes is high end in the country they come from. Call me cheap if you want; I will wear it as a badge.