rjac

Really good suggestion, will remember that on our next b2b. Thanks!

WE have done MANY b2bs but none in Europe. I imagine the process as embanking/debarking in the US. Very easy process. You will have to get off the ship to clear your names out of the ship passenger manifest. You will be given a new sea pass card and then you get right back on board the ship ahead of the new cruisers boarding. It might be a god idea to bring a little bag of essentials for the 6 yo. The pools and bars will be pretty empty and the Windjammer will fill up quickly. You will get a letter of instruction before the ship gets into port. We LOVE b2bs, especially the night before getting into port. It's really nice to see all of the luggage in the hallways for those disembarking the next day. And you won't be part of the group !! Enjoy!!

Michael, We did the same trip in July of last year, WRONG time to travel there, very hot. The fall should be good weather. We flew non-stop on Delta from Philidelphia to Venice and flew non stop back to Philly at the end of the trip. In Venice we stayed at the Crown Plaza Venice East in an area of Venice called Quarto D'Altino. Great hotel very clean, comfortable and safe. They offer free shuttle service to and from the airport (15 minutes away). Breakfast is included, they have a nice bar, air conditioning and elevators. I don't remember what the price was, but it was way less than staying on the island of Venice. Those hotels are very expensive and old with none of the amenities that the Crown has. Language was not a problem in Italy nor Greece. If you are sailing out of the port in Ravenna it is located about 3 hours south of Venice. You can get there by train or bus which is ok if you are travelling by yourself or your spouse. I had my wife, daughter and two grand kids (19 and 15) in our group which is like herding cats! I chose to hire a private driver and that worked out perfectly. He drove us to the port the day before we embarked, and we stayed at the Hotel Bisanzio in Ravenna and used the same driver service from the hotel to the port to the port embarkation day (no taxis in Ravenna). Here is the link for the driver service: [email protected]. Very nice new Mercedes V class van. Also, no problem with language. Hope this helps.

On the way home today, I bought a doughnut without any sprinkles. Wow, diets can be so hard! Did you know that every time you pour a cup of coffee 14 muscles are activated? Fitness has become my passion! Please pray for my wife. Nothing is wrong with her, she's married to me, and I am a lot.

Denali is a crap shoot. We did this two years ago and Denali was socked in with clouds. The guide told us that 70% of the time it has clouds and 30% it does not. We hit at the 70% time. Didn't see any wildlife either.

We were in Santorini this past July and we did a non RC catamaran trip. It was very HOT on the water. I can imagine what it would have been like on the island. Please take the heat into consideration for your excursion and bring plenty of water!

Why are golf balls like the years that have passed? You never know where they went.

What do you call a cup of sad coffee? Depresso.

Are the casitas located by/near a swimming pool? The cruise planner doesn't mention it. Thanks, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Sure is and he is BIG! Unfortunately, he is totally encased in a glass/plexiglass case so visitors can't poke a finger in one of his bodily orifices for a photo.

Oh yes there is Ryan. If you have to get onto one of the ship's boats, it's a requirement.

Always a god idea to prepay the gratuities. One less thing to have to deal with on disembarkation day.

Now I know I am old. I filled out an online survey to determine what is my animal personality. The results came back extinct. I may be old, but I am getting stronger with age. Just the other day I was able to lift a $100 bag of groceries with one arm. I picked up this pretty young lady in a bar and we went back to my place. I asked her what she likes to do and she said spank me. Why, I asked her and she said she likes to be disciplined. So, I made her stand in the corner. There's a new senior dating website on the internet. It's called carbon dating.

If you are Diamond or above, you can sign up at guest services for the after-midnight tour of the bridge while the night shift is on. It's a more relaxed atmosphere than during the day when the actual ship's captain is in the bridge. Be sure to sign up as soon as you get on board, it is very popular with a lot of folks. If you can express any use or knowledge of nautical terms, know how to use the 24 hr system instead of the 12 hr system and know which is port and starboard you have a pretty good chance of impressing the night staff captain who will actually let you steer the ship! That's why it is very important to know the difference between port and starboard. For example, if you are the lucky one steering the ship and the staff captain orders you to take the ship 10 degrees to the starboard and you go to the port, let's just say it could turn out pretty bad.

Bingo! Great airport also.

wow, NOTHING new since 11/16, what did all the wanna be comics go? I don't think we get smarter as we get older. We just run out of stupid things to do. What do you call a reluctant potato? A hesi tater. Well, I'll never be asked to go caroling at the psychiatric hospital again. I guess singing "do you hear what I hear" was not a great idea. They say "money talks" all mine ever said was "good bye". They also say "exercise makes you look better naked". So does alcohol!

Thanks folks, you guys are the bomb!

Thanks Tony, that sounds good. Can you recommend some of the outlying suburbs to me. I'm not familiar with Miami. Robert

We will be embarking on the Icon OTS out of Miami March 22, 2025 and we will be flying into Miami on March 21st. Looking for a good hotel for the 21st that has a shuttle to the port or does Royal offer a transfer from the hotel? Thanks!

Here's their link: Aldora Divers | Scuba Diving | San Miguel de Cozumel

I,m back. Researched my dive logs and found that dive operator for you. It was more than a few years ago, how about March 2012! Anyway, they are Aldora Divers. Two dives, both with 36% nitrox, 120 cf tanks. First dive ave depth was 50' and the second was 39'. Good vis and some current. Took a 2 hr off gas break between dives and went ashore for a great Mexican lunch (not included in the dive price, but very reasonable), killer fajitas! Distance between the ship at port and the dive shop was walkable. Shallow dives, but you don't need the briny depths to be blow away with what you will see! Good luck, hope they are still in business! rjac

Been a couple of years and I, too, tried to book a dive with Royal late and it was filed up. I did a google search and found a dive operator (don't remember the name, sorry) but they were very good and made sure I was back well before the back on board the ship time. Pretty good dive too!

Yeah, what she said.