Panhandle Couple

I 57 bypassing St. Louis traffic is a good choice. Not the greatest scenery, but better time wise. Remember Illinois is called the Prairie State when driving across it. If I recall, the rest areas in Missouri bootheel have some info on the 1811 New Madrid earthquakes.

Lambert's Cafe. Sikeston Missouri. Home of the Throwed Rolls. Arrive hungry.

Do you need to suddenly stop?

Could you get off the ship? Oahu isn't Maui, but maybe go to Diamond Head or Arizona memorial? Since this is the only itinerary for POA, I'm sure the captain has made the correct call.

A must stop and see is Buc-ees. There is one in North Alabama, maybe 20 miles south of the Tennessee line. Huntsville-Browns Ferry Road exit. Gas is cheap, and food choices are...large. Really good brisket barbeque, which you don't get much outside of Texas. The chain started in Texas. Don't forget the beaver nuggets for snacking.

We are going on POA in a few weeks. We booked within 120 days, so made final payment at booking. A few questions. Are you going to provide your own air fare, or use NCL? I suggest you look at airline prices first to make this decision prior to booking a cruise. If you make your own airline reservations, you can look at extra days before or after the cruise. For us staying after for 2 days worked out best. Travel is generally cheaper on Tuesday or Wednesdays. (in this case, we cashed in airline miles for the flights. We have stockpiled lots of miles through the years) There are a lot of hotels in Waikiki. Bundling your air fare with a hotel can save some $$, but may also give you extra airline miles or hotel points. Or booking on your own, you can use some points if you have them. (in this case we cashed in hotel points for the room. Again, we have stockpiled lots of points) Rental cars are available at some of the major hotel lobbies at Waikiki. We haven't made any reservations there yet, simply going to wait and see how tired we are from the cruise. Excursions. Keep in mind most everything is more expensive in Hawaii. Oddly, rental cars are not priced too bad, about the same (or less) than major cities. We found NCL excursion prices to be very high for POA. We have opted for rental car in every port. We have been to the islands twice before, but not since 2008. Outside of Honolulu, Hawaii is mainly small towns, farms and lots of state and national parks, and great scenery. Staying longer in a spot you like, or shorter in one that is too crowded or just not appealing is great vs the canned tours. Stopping at out of the way places for a snack or ice or a drink can't be done on a tour. Recommend viewing U-tube videos on POA and each island in general to see what other people have done, and what is there to see. And the Hawaii board here on CC.

And we did the same cruise in early December, and had no issues with the food at all. I even tried the MDR NY Strip steak for the first time, and it tasted good, and was cooked per my order, and not cold or luke warm. The only semi-warm food we had was in the Q. It was tasty, just not as warm as good barbeque should be, but we understand the challenges with making it in a cruise ship.

80% of the time I don't read past page 5 of a thread, because after that page, 70% of the posts are repetitive, and the other 50% just don't make sense.

Or South Korea.

Keep in mind specialty reservations are for either 2,4,6 or 8. If you have an odd number, just book the higher even number, and they will work it out when you check in for the dinner. Your cabin level doesn't affect the reservation priority, or even seating when you arrive. We are both Platinum members, and have gotten some bad seats in the specialties and MDR.

Miss Leading was my 3rd grade teacher, if my memory is correct.

Sounds great! We were on Breakaway from NOLA this last Christmas for a cruise (crazy crowded with kids of all ages) and mid-January 2023. If you want some specifics on them, let me know. For your drive, I assume you are using I-65 south to Birmingham AL, then heading west (I-20/I-59) through Mississippi and then south on I-59. We are seasoned travelers along I-65, and have taken the rest of the route a few times. If you like Bourbon or Whisky, this is a great route. South of Louisville KY, is the Bourbon Trail. Look it up, and plan some time for stopping for tastings. There are also several places in Tennessee as well close to the highway. Jack Daniels is probably too far off the highway for your trip. Don't let the signs fool you. Once you are south of Nashville, you will find the southern delicacy of boiled peanuts at nearly every truck stop or food stand. You need to try them, you will get hooked. I can recommend barbeque places along the route thru Alabama. Let me know where you might be stopping. It is always best to avoid large cities in rush hour, but be extra careful on your time when driving through Nashville. Traffic there can be a real nightmare in rush hour. If you haven't gotten a hotel in NOLA yet, the Holiday Inn Superdome has a stay and park option that we used both times. The parking is in their secure garage. It is an easy walk to Bourbon street, yet away from the craziness of that area. You will have to Uber to/from the cruise terminal, but that is not too expensive.

The point is that no one is getting off the ship in either location. From the water, both will look the same. I chose those locations because the mileage difference is similar to this situation. And actually, in the analogy, it would be the Tampa lovers protesting, not the Key West ones. Other cruise and tour companies (large and small) advertise the Shetlands as "sailing to Antarctica". The scenery and wildlife is similar in each place. Plus it appears that Elephant Island is added to the changed itinerary, so that is plus.

For the record. Antarctic Circle at -66 degrees, 30 minutes. This encompasses 95% of the continent, but not all of the peninsula. Antarctic Treaty Zone at -60 degrees. This covers all of the peninsula plus nearly all islands located in the southern sea. Elephant Island at -61 degrees, 8 minutes. Sometimes called the most desolate place on earth. Admiralty Bay at -62 degrees, 10 minutes. Part of King George Island shoreline, which is part of the Shetland Islands, which run to the northwest of the Antarctic peninsula. Paradise Bay at -64 degrees, 54 minutes. Called the most scenic bay in Antarctica.

Old newspaper editor: "Never let facts get in the way of a good story" Modernized version: "Get as many clicks as you can from your headline to get the $0.0001 from advertisers per click."

Yes, technically they were never "going to" Antarctica, they were sailing by it. But it is similar to sailing by North America by going to, say Tampa, vs sailing by Key West. The real impact is the total potential time for viewing other islands on the way to-from Paradise Bay. But that is always subject to ice flows and wind, and sun vs rain. They could get several great views, or very few. But we don't know the route planned through the Shetland Islands, which could also have great views.

Recommend looking both locations up on google maps before making such statements.

Thanks. Nice to see a review that doesn't "sweat" the little things, and enjoys the overall cruise experience.

PV is the one port I would choose to use for medical help along the MX west coast. With the large influx of US and Canadians every winter, they are used to treating injuries to foreigners. I hope your Mom and the rest of you preserver and keep enjoying your cruise.

Well, I have looked at internet photos from both, and honestly, it appears there is not a huge difference. (obviously, that is just a few photos) Rocky hills, ice, snow and penguins, with a chance of seals. Neither are technically inside the Antarctic Circle, while both are inside the internationally recognized Antarctic protection zone. Both are recognized as research areas, with different countries having small stations off the bays. Paradise Bay is a view of the "mainland", which is really part of the long peninsula, while Admiralty Bay is an island to the north by about 250 miles. Since it is summer there, there is a chance of large ice flows between the two, which could be the case, but looks like we will never know. Note: There are no harbor pilots in this part of the world. The crew is on their own for decisions made regarding the safety of the route taken. There are no local coast guards for rescue. There are no on-shore weather stations to warn you of storms. There are no local weather radars to access. The ocean area to get to either place from the tip of South America is the worst in the world for storms, with stories of large rouge waves. I believe a cruise ship was hit by one a few months ago.

We will be sailing on POA next month, and we have opted for rental cars at each port. You might look at excursions on Trip Advisor (similar to the NCL offerings) and see their ratings, to see which ones might be better. Tour descriptions make everything sound wonderful, but can often be a letdown once there. I think to convince them, simply point out a tour will only stop at the 3 or 4 places listed. You may pass other things that are interesting to you, but they won't stop. Also any food provided on a tour can be prepackaged and bland. Not being able to stop at shaved ice stands, coffee shops, and banana bread stores is missing part of the Hawaii experience. Tours, at best will only stop at the ones of their choosing, if at all. There are many U-tube videos on POA and the ports. Most of them (surprise) feature the travelers using rental cars vs tours. One lady (TA on a comp cruise) who did the NCL tours was a little disappointed, but she did get them either for free or a reduced price. Also, Ubers are expensive there, a simple Uber side trip from port could be the cost of the rental car for the day.

There is no general population vaccine for this.

By looking at the CDC world list, you have probably already traveled to many places listed as "Frequent/Continuous". https://www.cdc.gov/dengue/areaswithrisk/around-the-world.html the estimate is that only 1 in 4 will show any symptoms once you have it, or will show very mild symptoms that are never reported. Will your airline also contact about this risk? The hotel you will be staying in? Any rental car agencies you have reservations with? Any credit card companies that may have prepayments made in that area? Maybe you should call all of the above to confirm your risk for traveling there.

The Bliss and Breakaway, both in December. As I stated, you had to request them, they weren't just sitting out in plain sight.

You can ask for cookies at the scoop ice cream station in the buffet. You will get 2 or 3 per request. Hashbrowns are stubbornly holding out for more pay, and better health benefits.