FireFishII

Looking out over the water just relaxes me. Plus visiting new ports. I look at cruising as window shopping at new countries. If I like what I see during a cruise, I try to go back for a land tour to see more of the country.

Barnes and Noble have both an on-line and store present in New England. $50 is inexpensive. I had a friend who forgot his Kindle and purchased a new one at the airport. Take about expensive. But he really had to have his Kindle for trip.

I experienced the same last summer - the smoothies are free but the protein power would cost you extra. I was on the Refreshment package.

I have been nursing my nook for several years now. It will occasionally (ok, often) get hung up. Sometimes plugging it into the charger will help. Sometimes I just need to just wait for the S/W to timeout. I had a Sony e-reader prior to that and was disappointed when they shut down. I lost all my books. Does the Kindle work with Android and Windows? If it does, that may be my next e-reader.

I would not switch to a higher floor due to motion sickness. But I also think it does not hurt to ask politely. You may find a couple or family that does not mind the swap. Good luck!

I got my first one when I was 15 years old. Why, because it was 1976 - and they used special paper that year. My father thought it would be a good memento of the bicentennial. I still have it.

Or at least another room, even if an inside room, where your little one can take a nap.

I too got queasy until my son reconfigured how my controller worked.

Just swap Nook with Kindle and I am your table mate.

Congrats on losing that weight!! I always think it is fun when you can suddenly pull off your clothes without first unbuttoning or unzipping the article of clothing.

WOW! I took French in grade school and Latin in HS. I did a quick French refresher when I went to France on a business trip. I knew enough to read signs and be sort-a understand a French speaker even though I really could not speak the language myself. I thought it was funny that I was translating for my husband with what little knowledge I had. Italy is brand new for me. I like the Duolingo feature that you can slow down the speaker. Unfortunately, that feature is not available on all screens.

Love your daughter's hair braiding. And those snorkeling masks are the best!

May your troubles be behind you and you have a great rest of the trip. I have never done a live blog before so at the end, let me know if you enjoyed it or was it just a headache to do. Following.

Now don't overdo it and wreck your cruising glow.

Great pics and great blog so far. I look forward to the rest of your trip!

Both of those places look cool!

You could try reaching out to your US congressional representative and/or senator. They can submit an urgent inquiry on your behalf. Have you checked the status of your passport by going here: https://passportstatus.state.gov/ Finally, I read that it is taking ~7 weeks for expedited requests. It sounds like to me that your passports were submitted 7 weeks ago. You should be fine with the documents you listed above.

Thank you to everyone who provided their inputs and feedback. I always wanted to play a little bit (yes, I will have a set amount of money I am willing to pay) but did not want to blow thru the amount in 5 minutes. I feel that on my next cruise I may be able to last longer than 5 minutes and have a good time. I enjoy playing the slots. I am not interested in casino status or free cruises. The biggest takeaway from this discussion is the denomination vs the amount bet. I was one of those people who had it backwards. I also thought the branded machines would be better. WOOH! 2 lessons learned.

The BIG difference between electric wheelchairs and the rest is the amount of testing that needs to go into any medical device. I don't know the testing requirements for a scooter since most scooter users can get up and walk away from a scooter while most wheelchair users can not. But I agree that an electric bike is closer to a scooter than a 'sport gear'.

They did not do Florence. Instead they did Cinque Terre. I did not like the idea of being stuck on a bus for 1.5 hours to reach Florence. So instead I plan on staying in Livorno and do my own walking tour.

What my family used to do is to get a balcony for the adults and an inside room for the kids. We were a family of 7. I think 1 kid slept in the parents room. Of course this goes back many, many years ago.

That is the same with my husband and I. I have learned not to ask to keep peace in our relationship. I am a tell all girl while he won't say boo about anything personal to a stranger much less a room full of strangers.

Go for the embarkation day lunch at Giovanni. You will not regret it! I love those garlic knots.