DDaley

Amazing, I think Alcatraz is so interesting, plus a great Golden Gate view from there as well. And who doesn’t like a boat ride? Sausalito isn’t much but the city view should still be beautiful!

I've done the full transit twice but was recently on a 9 night round trip from Tampa where the ship didn't go into the canal.  We did stop at Colon though so I booked the ship excursion that includes a small boat through some of the locks.  Basically this skipped the lake Gatun portion and had us board the boat at the beginning of the Culebra cut and head towards and into the Pacific.  
It was really nice to see the locks up close, like touch the walls up close.  On the ship when going through the canal is great, but I really appreciated see it from a smaller boat in a lock with a big RoRo ship that was squeezed in with us.  
The excursion is called "Wonders of Engineering: Panama Canal Locks and Culebra Cut Cruise" and I highly recommend it.
Not to hijack this thread with my photos, but here are a few from that excursion in March:










My excursion had 5 motor coaches that split between two boats.  Here is the other boat with ship guests from another coach.  Our boat was bigger and a better experience as they tied up to us while we were against the lock walls.  We got to touch the walls while they didn't.  

This excursion often sells out for good reasons.  I booked it then it went on sale at some point later so I cancelled and booked it at the lower price.

I’m still trying to find the VIP White Pass Railway excursion if anyone has any ideas.  None of the White Pass excursions being offered seem to indicate that they offer the VIP option.  Is there somewhere else I should be looking ?
We’re doing a whale watcher in Juneau and the Best of Sitka…but still need something for Skagway.
Haven't even thought about what to do on the Panama Canal leg yet…that one scares me every time I open it up in the Cruise Planner. 😁
Taking @DDaley’s advice and doing Alcatraz and Sausalito excursion.  The one and only time I was ever in SF (as an adult) I went to Sausalito and looked back across the Bay to SF and thought it was the most beautiful place I had ever seen.  I wonder if it still will be….

Trip planning
I am the planner in the family.  I thought there would be much to do to plan this.  Boy was I wrong.  Once we figured out the sailing (no brainer based on cost) and airfare options from ATL then we were pretty much set.  Everything is done for you!  One thing to note is Time Zone.  Quito is Central Time always, no DST.  Also Balta is an hour different, but they stay on Quito time.
Flights
There is one flight from ATL to Quito non stop on Delta  (yeah I'm in Atlanta are there other airlines?) which gets us into Quito at 8 pm.  Then off to the hotel a 45 minute ride.
Coming back there is a 1120pm non stop red eye that seems to be popular.  That means you spend the whole day in Quito on an optional paid tour to the Rainforest and then head out to the airport.  You do not have facilities to freshen up before the flight.   We decided on a 9 am flight with a stop over in Miami getting in about 6 pm.  It was a little more expensive but worth it!  The first flight is operated by LATAM a Delta partner so you have to go to their website to select seats after booking.  We book economy for anything under 6 hours since we can snag exit row seating due to status.  During the seat selection we upgraded for 62.00 pp to Premium Economy which gets us off the plan fast and on to customs to catch our next flight.  This also allows for lounge access in Miami during the layover.  For early morning flights they put you at a hotel closer to the airport to avoid the long drive.
Excursions
 
BALTRA (GALAPAGOS) 
GARDNER BAY (ESPAÑOLA) 
SUAREZ POINT, (ESPAÑOLA) 
CORMORANT POINT (FLOREANA) 
BAHIA POST OFFICE (FLOREANA) 
 ESPINOZA POINT, (FERNANDINA) 
VICENTE ROCA POINT (ISABELA) 
SOUTH PLAZA (SANTA CRUZ) 
DAPHNE ISLAND 
DRAGON HILL (SANTA CRUZ) 
 MORENO POINT (ISABELA) 
URVINA BAY (ISABELA)
 PUERTO AYORA (SANTA CRUZ)
These are the islands we are visiting.  Basically, we go to 2 places each day with a morning and afternoon excursion.  They are not on the website but are given each night on the ship and then you pick which ones you want.  I gather there are hiking, kayaking, snorkeling and zodiac tours and a few others available.  This is nice as you dont have to plan anything ahead of time.
Vaccines
They recommend certain vaccines but they are not required.  I ended up getting a MMR because I never had the Mumps vaccine or the Mumps and a Hepatitis A/B shot.  Some people if going to Machu Pichu get yellow fever and typhoid.  
 
That is all the planning I have done at this point.  It was very simple, no scouring for flights,  hotels, Ubers, taxis, restaurants, excursions, drink packages, show planning, embarkation times.  
 

As soon as Mama Mia round 2 finished, Lydia and I ran up to the solarium to meet @TheBoss518 and Johnny. We had dinner scheduled at Samba Grill. We have a Brazilian Steakhouse near home that we occasionally go to, which we like, so we thought we would give this a try. I also do not recall it being discussed on the boards often, so we thought why not give it a try, if it wasn’t good, than it’s not like we wouldn’t be able to find other food on the ship🤣
We started with a caipirnha, which is a well known drink from Brazil very similar to a mojito, but I think better.
The first part of your meal, is the salad buffet. We skipped most of this because we didn’t want to fill up on this and not be able to eat all of the meats. 

You are also brought additional “snacks” to the table. The little Brazilian cheese breads are so good, I could eat baskets of those. You are also brought a plate with fried bananas, chicken empanadas, fried yucca and some polenta.

Now it was time for some meats. So like any other restaurant of similar style, everything is brought on skewers and slid onto your plate. 
They will keep going until you flip your token from green to red. 
We started with bacon wrapped chicken and sausage links. We skipped the sausage because even at home it’s not our favorite. 
Next up was filet mignon and lamb chops. Pork loin and picanha. Finally flank steak and short ribs. The only thing we universally didn’t like was the short ribs. They were still very tough. They also bring you a plate of sweet potatoes and grilled vegetables, mushrooms, peppers, zucchini and broccoli.


Very quickly we reached capacity and the token got flipped to red. 
We did save room for some dessert though. These are also on the buffet. We had the flan and the mango and passion fruit mousse. Both of these were really good. The star of the show though was they brought over a plate of grilled pineapple that was sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. We ended up eating three plates of this.

Lydia kept us entertained by singing along to Mama Mia…

The biggest highlight of the meal was that our waiter Vulroon was a CK waiter of ours on a previous sailing. We both played the “I think I know that guy/family” game  and when I brought it up we confirmed it true and we had a great time reconnecting. It really was great seeing someone we had known previously. I’m pretty sure this was the first time we had a repeat crew member. I read about it all the time here in the blogs and now I get to be a member of the club 🤣

Ending off the night with some sail away pics we took earlier. 

After dinner we went to see Blue Planet. It was…shall we say “interesting”, and leave it at that lol. This more than made up for it. 

Also, for the first time ever, someone took our seats. We have heard of this happening to others through the years, but we literally arrived 15 mins before the show, Haffnar met us at the entrance, and we chatted for a few minutes. By the time we got to our seats, 3 of them were occupied. When Haffnar politely asked them to move, they tried to show him their seapass cards. Haffnar told them again that they had to go, and they left asking where they were supposed to go now. Being the nice Canadian Hubby is, he sat down and said he felt bad. @GregD and @TheBoss518, Hubby also cannot work at The Rise of the Resistance 😉
We also saw Blades tonight. Both D16 and I thought it seemed familiar. @GregD what other ship was this ice show on? 

But.... how?? Don’t you bring 5 suitcases? Plus J’s 2? How in the world are you rolling those off unassisted? Do you roll a few, leave them and go back for the others, then drag the rest to meet up with the first couple bags, staggered style? Do you chain them all together like a train? 🤯

What a long day. 
Today was spent at Hollywood Studios. @Ampurp85 I too prefer universal, but this is where @TheBoss518 as well as Ang and her kids wanted to go, so that's where we are going. Sadly Hollywood Studios does not have the dole whip. We are going to Animal Kingdom on Sunday which does, so we will check it out then. We did though, get Mickey shaped pretzels.

The park is still decorated for Christmas so that added a nice touch. It was pretty chilly and cloudy when we got there at 8 this morning, but by noon, the sky had cleared and it was pleasantly warm, which made the long day in the park less miserable than it already was. Both freeloaders spent a considerable amount of time complaining. Johnny couldn't decide what he wanted for lunch, and Lydia in her infinite wisdom decided to wear a brand new pair of shoes today, and they are more for fashion than comfort. 
As we were walking back to the car though, Johnny pipes up with "We all have to admit, today was a fun day!"
We managed to hit all the rides that we wanted to. @Lovetocruise2002 you can report to hubby that we managed to get all the Star Wars rides in by the end of the day! He almost caused a scene when he stared down this guy.

Relations were much more jovial when we met this guy though

 
He also went on his first roller coaster that had inversions, with classic Johnny results....We have a similar picture with a set of even wider eyes when we did a ride at Universal a few years back.

The night time ambiance with the Christmas decorations was nice 


The park was definitely crowded, as expected, but I think with the lower temperature it made it easier to deal with. I overheard some frequent fliers talking about if it's this packed here, imagine Magic Kingdom.....no thanks, I would rather sail Carnival....

Yes please! Pray for us lol. I feel anxious already. Not about flying, but about not flying.

But.... how?? Don’t you bring 5 suitcases? Plus J’s 2? How in the world are you rolling those off unassisted? Do you roll a few, leave them and go back for the others, then drag the rest to meet up with the first couple bags, staggered style? Do you chain them all together like a train? 🤯

No words.
My mind is further blown b/c my impression from your blogs is that you chill by the pool all day (making ELF runs), then get dressed for dinner, then go to bed early. This isn't too dissimilar from our routine... yet we pack pretty light.
As always, no judgment, but my casual-dressing, un-stylish man-brain cannot fathom what the heck is in all that luggage (besides the weighted blanket). 🤯🤷‍♂️🤣
Please tell me no one was injured in the runaway train incident.

Hahaha, I alllllways have knee bruises after guiding my SINGLE carryon on travel days. You are a luggage haulin' champ! 🏆

But.... how?? Don’t you bring 5 suitcases? Plus J’s 2? How in the world are you rolling those off unassisted? Do you roll a few, leave them and go back for the others, then drag the rest to meet up with the first couple bags, staggered style? Do you chain them all together like a train? 🤯

18 days to go
MERRY CHRISTMAS 🥳😍
I hope everyone has a wonderful day of delicious food and wonderful company.
Some moderately good news is they have removed all the infection, and of course 5 little toes, and my mother's husband was transferred to a rehab facility on Christmas eve. This is great news because he was originally scheduled to stay in the hospital 2 months. Now he will rehab for 3 weeks and then be allowed to go home because he is doing good so far. The only downside is the facility is almost 2hrs away and my mother hasn't learned to drive the Florida highways. So instead of being able to drive 15min and visit him every day, she has to wait until her friend can drive and teach her the route. Also, his visitation has changed, she will only be able to see him today this week and twice a week after that. So, she is catching an expensive Uber to see him for Christmas. Since her friend is spending the day with her children and grandchildren.
All of the rest of my Bezo's purchases came yesterday and after the holidays I will be able to begin some packing. I ordered a new charging adapter as my original one added two outlets and I know those types recently became banned.

i am dYING 😆
the trunk and medium go back to back in one hand, then the carryon roller with the carryon shoulder bag on top in the other. 
requires more than the usual amount of coordination…. and i’m usually sore the next day 🤣 but it’s worth it in the end 💚
 
there is a fabled tale of once when i lost control of a suitcase walking off the cruise pier and it went down the ramp like a runaway train………..

But.... how?? Don’t you bring 5 suitcases? Plus J’s 2? How in the world are you rolling those off unassisted? Do you roll a few, leave them and go back for the others, then drag the rest to meet up with the first couple bags, staggered style? Do you chain them all together like a train? 🤯

But.... how?? Don’t you bring 5 suitcases? Plus J’s 2? How in the world are you rolling those off unassisted? Do you roll a few, leave them and go back for the others, then drag the rest to meet up with the first couple bags, staggered style? Do you chain them all together like a train? 🤯

But.... how?? Don’t you bring 5 suitcases? Plus J’s 2? How in the world are you rolling those off unassisted? Do you roll a few, leave them and go back for the others, then drag the rest to meet up with the first couple bags, staggered style? Do you chain them all together like a train? 🤯

But.... how?? Don’t you bring 5 suitcases? Plus J’s 2? How in the world are you rolling those off unassisted? Do you roll a few, leave them and go back for the others, then drag the rest to meet up with the first couple bags, staggered style? Do you chain them all together like a train? 🤯

But.... how?? Don’t you bring 5 suitcases? Plus J’s 2? How in the world are you rolling those off unassisted? Do you roll a few, leave them and go back for the others, then drag the rest to meet up with the first couple bags, staggered style? Do you chain them all together like a train? 🤯

We are all checked in for our flight and just need smooth travels now! 

Wha-what? You?! And your four 50- pound bags with weighted blankets?

Over here just hoping it’s cold enough on Christmas Day that I don’t have to swap my flannel pjs for shorts! It’s happened the last 4 years in a row. Luckily the forecast only calls for a high of 68ºF so I’m thinking I can scrape by!! 
Without checking a deck plan, are you guys neighbours on the same side of the ship? Or will your ATSes be across the aqua theater from each other? 

Over here just hoping it’s cold enough on Christmas Day that I don’t have to swap my flannel pjs for shorts! It’s happened the last 4 years in a row. Luckily the forecast only calls for a high of 68ºF so I’m thinking I can scrape by!! 
Without checking a deck plan, are you guys neighbours on the same side of the ship? Or will your ATSes be across the aqua theater from each other?