BeatArmy2010

We gifted cruises to different family members one year. We left cards under their trees with a map of the itinerary, flight information, etc...

We did the Coast Starlight from LA to Seattle several years ago before a cruise. Both parts were great and I would do it again. We met people who said they do the train ride in every season because it changes so much. I also want to take the train between Seattle and Vancouver sometime. It is supposed to be a beautiful ride. one word of caution though. Make sure there is plenty of time built into your itinerary between the train ride and the cruise. Just as things can go wrong with flights so can they on train rides. On our trip, there was an onboard emergency. This delayed our train so the window for the track use had to be changed. I had built in 36 hours between the cruise and the end of the train ride and was glad I had. there are some trains I have been looking at in Africa and in Asia... so big a world, so little time!

We usually have scissors in the toiletry bag and have never had any issues. We have been called to the naughty room for a pocket knife.

We were in Dubai about a year and a half ago on I think the Splendor of the Seas on one of its last voyages as an Rc ship. We stayed in Dubai for an extra day thanks to bad weather in DC cancelling our flight. there were lots of people selling tourist services at the hotel we stayed at. We hired a driver to show us Dubai. I didn't want to see the malls. We went to historic fort. That was interesting. We saw the entrances of some over the top hotels. I want some of the full sized gold colored horses! we took the rail line out to Palm Island. I was a little slow in realizing that the houses and waterways seen from above were what we were gazing at from the train. we drove past the royal residences. You couldn't really see anything. we went past all the car dealerships... We drove around the business district with the Burj Calif at night. The photos don't do it justice. the bonus day in Dubai, we got instructions on using the light rail line. We went to both ends to see everything. We went to the mall that has the ski slope and the penguins. Walked around downtown. there were camel rides and dune buggy experiences for sale. If we had time, I would have done a sailing on one of the traditional vessels. have a great time.

I'm disappointed. A cruise I was looking at went up in price, along with airfare. My cutoff for a cheap cruise was exceeded along with more vacation days than I wanted to use...my boss hadn't approved my leave request.

We are trying an aft balcony in January on Jewel of the Seas. I had heard they were nice on this blog. I love reading a book and looking at the ocean.

It would be a hardship to have an extra day or two in Rome. Not. on a serious note, what about flying into Newark and taking a train to PHL?

I've been looking and comparing cruises. I want to see all the architecture in Old Havana. I really like going to Cartagena for the old walled city. I was close to booking and remembered October is part of hurricane season.

Jewel is doing two Panama Canal transits. i was wondering when May 2020 cruises will be posted. Thanks

My oldest is in the Marines. I see you are in New Bern. Are you active duty? I've made many trips to the Providence area, Annapolis, New River area, Monterey, DC.

Mudslide on deck by the pool, followed by peach daiquiris

Thanks for sharing. That was very interesting

Fewer people do the dressing up for formal nights, but we still do. When I see an evening gown on sale that I like, I've been known to buy it. It's also a lot of fun to get different ties and cummerbunds for the longer cruises....tropical fish when in the Carribean, a deep burgundy for Christmas....they don't take up that much space either in his suitcase. Have a great time

I forgot to add that wine was included at dinner, maybe at lunch also. But I am not sure about lunch. The excursions were mostly included.

Good morning, i have only only been on one river boat cruise, which was a Tulip Time cruise with AMA. it was wonderful. I took my Mom. We had one of the split balcony cabins on the level between the highest price cabins and the lower priced cabin. We hardly used the balcony. It was chilly. Additionally most of the time we were on tour oo tied up next to another ship or on an upper deck in one of the viewing areas. AMA did a great job. I really want to go on Duoro river cruise in Portugal or rent a boat to go on the small canals in England or France. there weren't any kids on the cruise we were on, but lots of mothers and daughters. have fun picking one.

Last spring when we were in San Juan for our cruise, we embarked at one port on the Jewel of Seas. A different port was used for the RCCL ship that came in for the day. I love old San Juan. It is worth an extra day or two before or after a cruise.

Depending on your itinerary, I would take a room on the side of the ship that has the view of the Pitons on St Lucia as you sail past. For us this has been the Starboard side. When we've sailed from Barbados to St. Lucia, it is worth getting up early to see the sunrise behind the Pitons. If you are going to going to Barbados after St Lucia, then I would recommend the port side. On one visit to st Maarten, at first we thought we had a great view of the harbour, until we saw another cruise ship pulling in. Then we had a great view of another RCCL ship. BUT, it turned out that ship had a Harley Davidson cruise... It was my favorite time to be parked next to another ship. There were pirate flags all over the balconies. You could hear a "wave" of aarghs, going up and down the ship. (At Maho Beach, another story for another time....) Which brings me to another point, if there are a lot of ships in port, you might only get a view of other balconies and lifeboats. Dorothy

I am not sure how many pocket knives have been confiscated. On the last trip where we took one, they had a tray of about 20 that people could get theirs back. I have always wondered about taking a corkscrew.

Good morning, One of my aunts who cruises ALOT, had been trying to go on the Empress to Cuba and had been on some kind of a waiting list. She was told, by either a rep from RC or her travel agent, that RC is waiting to see what happens with the situation in Venezuela since Cuba gets their fuel from there. Although I would think the Empress would be able to carry sufficient fuel for a cruise. I do want to travel on the Empress since I think the smaller boats have very attentive staff. The timing has not been working out though. We will hit Diamond on the Legend on the sailing from Singapore to Dubai. I just need more leave time to cruise more!