jsn55

"Sure makes bank for Pfizer" ... and of course that's the whole point.

I read an anecdote the other day about a first-time cruiser who emailed his TA to report that his Carnival cruise was "full of WalMart people". Nothing against WalMart, but the comparison portrays the lowest-priced everything and the quality to match. I think that an extensive reading of CC reviews on each of the ships will give you all the info you need to make the choice.

"Facilities" ... restrooms, restaurant, showers, bar, 'beach shack food', lounge chair rental ... no interest in a pool.

Thanks for all the great info and advice. If anyone has spent the day at a resort with some shade on the beach edges, I'd love to hear which one.

One of the Points Guy's people just posted a first-person account of being forced into quarantine from some symptoms and a positive test on the last day of the cruise. The uncertainty of it all was nearly overwhelming, but she's a seasoned traveller and managed everything quite gracefully ... or at least she didn't tell us about any meltdowns trying and failing to get information.

I suspect the 'formalities' of disembarking will not allow you to leave any earlier than the ship advises. It wouldn't hurt to ask during the cruise, but I'd not count on booking an early flight. If you are able to get to the airport early, you might be able to shift your tix to that earlier flight. Many variables involved for me, but you might enjoy the challenge.

I would advise finding a travel agent who is a cruise expert. I have always booked travel independently, but got to know a TA specializing in cruises. So 4 or 5 years ago had her book a cruise for us. She just knows 'everything' about cruising, absolutely loves it all, and puts together some really good perks. I'm in San Francisco, she's in Charleston, so distance is no issue in these days of electronic communication. I still do tons of research by choice ... she is a terrific source of opinions and details when it comes to making a decision.

The only issue with booking directly with the airline for the new return date would be the airline catching a 'double booking' and cancelling everything ... but since they are different dates, I would think that is unlikely. I would call air desk at cruise line directly to see if they'll cancel the return but they might cancel the whole air booking "by mistake". So I'd just book the new tix directly with airline and let the cruise line air return be a no show. Cruise lines are not to be trusted to make air res, they always pick cheapest without regard to the traveller. And the airlines love to be even more uncooperative these days, continually blaming everything on the 'virus'.

You remind me of the days when we'd dash up and literally hop on a San Francisco cable car almost anywhere we wanted, Doris. The Hop/Stops have regular stops and they indeed let everyone get on and off safely. Has anyone used the Hop/Stop bus in Hilo? We need some 'low activity' outings on the islands as well.

I'd head up to the North Shore to Turtle Bay Resort, maybe for lunch, find some walks/trails and noodle along the coast. We saw some great surfing and kite stuff to the west of the resort and had lunch on a picnic table at one of those shrimp trucks. Be very careful of traffic ... we spent far too much time in traffic jams through ignorance, and that was ten years ago.

We will be on the Royal Princess at Christmas time. Booked this cruise just to get away and relax and enjoy the holidays, been to the islands several times. I'd love to have some time for a short 'beach day' on Maui ... my husband cannot stay in the sun ten minutes without burning. Is it possible to find a place with shade, restaurant and a beach not too far from the ship? I just want to walk along the beach or an hour or so. We used to do this in the Caribbean, a bunch of us would just head out to a resort for the day with all the facilities. We bought lots of drinks and food, so they were always happy to have us. But I never arranged it, so I dunno how this is done. Any advice much appreciated.

I grew up in a tiny town in northern Minnesota. Today I consider myself a fairly sophisticated businesswoman. Late seventies, we were on our first cruise, forget the ship, around the Caribbean. It was a wonderful, magical experience. But our room steward always had a scowl on his face. I was scared to death of him! I didn't dare ask him for anything. His was probably the last non-smiling steward I've ever encountered.

Thanks so much for all this great information! We'll be in Hawaii over Christmas and I'm concerned about having things to do ... we're not beach people and we've been to all the islands several times, so just 'wandering around' in port like we usually do will probably not work.

Well ... I wouldn't embark on a Carnival ship if they paid me. So that settles that! RCCL is a fine, mid-level cruise line that I've always enjoyed. I'm equally at home on Cunard as well; they handle formality really well. As long as the cabin is comfortable with enough room to turn around in, and the crew is friendly and professional, I'm happy. The Symphony's itinerary sounds just right for first-time cruisers. It's all very user-friendly and you'll be comfortable anywhere. You can buy a piece of jewelry in St Thomas that you'll treasure for the rest of your life like I did. But I was just reading about Virgin Voyages ... not what I want at all, but for your age and late-night active lifestyle you might love it. How I envy you ... such fond memories of dancing 'all night' when the ship was rolling and experiencing the realistic luxury of a good cruise. All those crew members who seem to live to please the pax ... heaven!

We have chosen medical professionals all affiliated with the same large hospital about 30 minutes from our home. Having everything available electronically is a great theory ... but MyChart is only as good as the input. For all the basic stuff it's fine, but start getting into some serious health challenges and MyChart cannot be relied on. The oddest things appear on MyChart ... my husband's RN in his oncology office is listed as one of my doctors. As life gets more complicated medically, it's vital to keep your own records ... in a configuration that makes sense and is easily accessed.

I so agree about having tolerance with people who are not quick and nimble like we all were in our 40s. People who think it's awful to endure five minutes in a rocking tender to board someone using a wheelchair are just ignorant of the needs of someone with a disability. The rest of us need to go out of our way to assist anyone doing anything; being kind is always good and very much appreciated.

My husband was a napper all his adult life ... every day. He had a comfy chair in the corner of his office and he'd take a 20-30min nap daily. He maintained that the daily nap was what allowed him to cheerfully work 10-12 hours most days; while still being 'alive' in the evenings. And for him it worked great. I was jealous because I wear hard contact lenses so I could never take a nap without a big production.

I love Florida ... in the winter. I think your major criteria should be living near a port served by cruise lines that sail where you want to cruise. For us, the Caribbean is great the first ten cruises, then it's 'all the same'. Southampton UK is a great idea for summer cruises to get you out of the Florida summer weather. I'd also look at anything under a 3-hour drive from NYC. Keep an open mind on location when it comes to a long drive or a short flight ... either might be just fine for you. And, yes, do think about the ease of making friends and being happy in a new area when you're not cruising.

I didn't leave it on purpose, I forgot about it. My post was unclear.

Unless they travel with a complete medical history, anyone who would take a serious drug given out on a cruise ship should have their head examined. My doc and I were just discussing the plethora of drug advertising and how patients are coming in demanding a certain drug for their problem ... because they saw it on TV. Today's drugs are powerful with a laundry list of side affects. Absolutely nuts to not take them seriously.

We did Felicity last, pretty sure the walls were metal, I remember leaving all my 'paper stuff' on the wall when we disembarked and feeling bad that the steward had that extra cleanup to do.

There were two long-established travel catalogues ... TravelSmith and Magellan's. I don't know if they've survived the virus disaster but they'll have just what you want, albeit at a price. I wear a lot of men's pants because they're long enough ... I have a navy blue pair that are probably 20 years old; they're indestructible and they still look great. I'm surprised that a search on Amazon hasn't turned up all kinds of pants suitable for the Amazon.

Oh my, YES! I'll bet it took me 6 years to reply "Yes, thank you" when someone offered me help. Over twelve years I had a hip and both knees replaced ... and my shoulders took the brunt of all the rehab. It's tough to realize that you're 'getting old', but the sooner you admit it to yourself, the better your travel life will be.

Hank's advice is soooo true! I'm sometimes astonished at the questions people will ask on CC when they should be going directly to the source ... a government office, the cruise line Terms & Conditions, that kind of thing. His advice as never been so true as these days after 2 years of the virus disaster. Get your questions answered here but be sure to verify the info at the source.

I was about 35 when I realized that many people are just plain self-absorbed, don't pay attention to anything other than what pertains positively to themselves, and expect everyone else to take care of them. I used to think that people are stupid, but they're the opposite ... they get what they want because they have no sense of anything outside themselves. They don't feel ashamed, they don't feel like they're imposing on others, they don't give a rip other than to "see Karnak". (What a great phrase to think about next time I see this behaviour!) Doesn't matter what the details are, they want it and they will have it. Obese people booking coach seats on an airplane ... they know they're not going to fit in the seat, they're the only ones who know that until they get to the airport. They couldn't care less about the unfortunate pax in their row, they board, lift up the armrest(s) and squeeze in. Their only goal is to travel from Point A to B while spending the least. They know that the airline is not going to 'violate their rights', so they win the game.