sugarbird

Jewels Forever

14 Main Street 

St. Thomas

Owned by very nice Indian Family

Thanks for the reply---but my problem is not getting to Miami. It is getting from the Port Tunnel to the RCCL terminal (Terminal A) and its luggage drop/garage.

My wife and I have November cruise on RCCL Oasis of the Seas. We live in Northern Palm Beach County  --so we took a drive to see the setup at the Port of Miami. Traffic from the tunnel to RCCL luggage drop off at 11AM was a disaster--took over 45 minutes. Lots of construction trucks and cruise traffic.

How long will this continue? Can you go driectly to parking garage and bring your luggage from garage?

Thanks

We have 2 grand suites booked on Allure of the Seas (Oct. 23-30, 2022). The cruise is Barcelona to Barcelona. 

We were 1st notified that the cruise is cancelled --since, as I understand it, Wonder of the Seas is replacing Allure of the Seas in Europe in 2022.

Instead of being switched to the new ship, we are now ( based on the website) in the Western Caribbean on a 6 night cruise.

We were also booked to follow this 1st cruise with a Transatlantic to Galveston, Texas. We booked an owners suite and a 2 bedroom grand suite. We have not heard anything on this cruise except it shows cancelled.

We wait to see how this mess gets corrected or if we have to cancel!!!

Crystal is without a doubt a luxury cruise line---They have 4 ocean ships:

Crystal Serenity -1040 passengers

Crystal Symphony -960 passengers

Crystal Espirit (Yacht) -62 passengers

Crystal Endevour (expedition ship  --under construction in Germany) -200 passengers

Most experienced luxury line passengers would rank them 1st  --with Silversea and Seabourn a very close 2nd.

Of course thsi is a forum where everthing is debatable. My wife and I have taken 45 cruises--mostly on these lines.

When with grandchildren we take RCCl, Norweigian, Celebrity.

We have also cruisedf on Windstar and Seadream.

We used Seabourn --and were delighted

I would not call Petropavlovsk a small town  --its population is 180.000.

Obviously its not for everone --in spite of the nearby spectacular scenery.

I would go again in a heartbeat.

The night spectacular sound and light show is outstanding--I believe it is by 1 of the gates to the old city

Hanoi is a long way, but a great stop---Ho Chi Min's house, the French Quarter, the old Central City, Hanoi Hilton ( where  McCain was held prisoner)--lunch in Mocha Cafe--if still there.--and many others.

I would recommend the ship's trip due to the distance and getting back on time.

I should have mentioned that Halong Bay is very interesting also--but Hanoi is special.

Hanoi is a long way, but a great stop---Ho Chi Min's house, the French Quarter, the old Central City, Hanoi Hilton ( where  McCain was held prisoner)--lunch in Mocha Cafe--if still there.--and many others.

I would recommend the ship's trip due to the distance and getting back on time.

My wife and I usually stay near the Spanish Steps--and find it  easy to get to most sights.

There are not any really good hotels in Naples--so we usually only stay overnight. The train to Pompeii runs on to Sorrento--which has many excellent hotels--I would stay there and take to short train ride to Pompeii.

Nagasaki is a nice setting --surrounded by mountains. The peace park memorial can be reached by streetcar

My wife and I were in Petropavlovsk 7 or 8 years ago off a Silversea cruise..

We loved the stop--multiple snow covered volcanoes that you can go to by off road vehicle--good fish market, friendly people,etc

We very much enjoyed the stop--I would highly recommend a tour

I should have mentiones that it is a cable car not a tram. The tram is used for visits to Corcovado--Statue of Christ.

The tram is not near the cruise port--it is a taxi ride away. It is ,however, a special place worth visiting--great view.

Sorrento has many hotels--if you check Trip Advisor you can book almost any of them for any number of nights. Depending on your budget there are some "great" hotels like the Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria. My recommendation would be to stay in the center near the old city--which is great to walk arround. You are also close to ferry, bus and train stations. A train for example runs to Pompei and Naples.Ferries run to Capri and other local places--Amalfi, Positano, etc.

Sorrento is a favorite place --enjoy!!!

I do not think the reponse is rude either--Trip Advisor lists 1280 hotels in Rome. Budget and location are important issues,

We usually prefer the area near the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps.

As mentioned a car or van transfer --shared or private--is very easy.There are websites where you can arrange this--or your hotel conceirge can do this. The train make several stops in Rome --so it depends on the area you are staying in--A brief taxi ride is required from train station to port.The train schedules are available online.

Some cruise lines will arrange transfers from Rome to the cruise ship for a price.They usually have a specific hotel pick up point. In my experience these transfer are usually by bus.

Dubai is part of the UAE!!! The Louvre Museum is in the cultural area of Abu Dhabi--also part of the UAE--there are many tours that can take you to Abu Dhabi from Dubai. You could also just arrange a car and driver to take you there. There is much more to see in Abu Dhabi than just the Louvre--its very easy to spend a day there.

I owned a home on St. John, USVI for 38 years--sold it in summer of 2017. There has never in my 38 years been a requirement or need for a USA passport to visit St. John from St. Thomas by any type of transportation--including ferries.

Those of you who mention St. John"s, Antigua are correct in that it confuses a lot of people. I once had a large shipment  delivered there instead of St. John, USVI. I took a while to have the shipper correct this error.

We lived since 1995 in Boatman Point on Rendezvous Bay !! Great spot!! Before that we had a place on Reef Bay but lost that in Hurricane Marilyn in 1995. That house was wood--our last one was cinder block and concrete--it has been through 4 category 5's. So you know "Skinny Legs" and and "Sloop Jones".

My wife and I did the September crossing London(Tilbury) to New York on the Spirit. We have been on 6 or 7 Silversea cruises before. We found the lack of menu changes to be a major diappointment.  The entire restaurant experience  --ability to join tables, menu changes, etc. caused us to think this will be our last Silversea cruise unless they rethink this. We will stick with Seabourn, Crystal, Oceania and Seadream.

We have been on Tauck and AMA river cruises in Europe--both were excellent!! Ama is noted for their food--also in Bertlz guide to river cruises--the top ten river cruise ships --all are AMA ships.

I have been to Japan over 50 times starting in the 1980's--and including recent years. I have never had much dificulty using credit cards or finding ATM machines that work with "international" debit cards. I always have enough "cash" to pay a restaurant bill or taxi.My wife and I have traveled all over Japan. Many younger people now know some English and are delighted to try to be helpful.

With the right attitude this is a delightful country to visit--low crime, clean cities, great trains, interesting cities, etc.

Most expats that are in Asia prefer Japan to live--because it is easy to adapt and offers excellent food of all types--Italian, french, chinese, etc.

I never buy local currency before leaving home--almost all airports have ATM machines that work for major international ATRM networks.

Also the trains and subways work very very well--normal care should get you to the correct train of either,

Buses like subways are always numbered.

Thanks but we booked a day room at Lindberg Beach Hotel--and will catch a flight just after 4PM