SailorJack

Kiss the Fish! Jack and Jill

Thanks for the tip, we will be in Dravuni next April. Jack and Jill

Just came across your post. Glad you enjoyed the Dream review. My latest one is still on page one on the Azamara board. Hope you enjoy it. Jack

Glad you enjoyed it. I also agree that Muscat is a fun port, but I also think there is a lot more to do in Dubai. In any event, both places are great to visit. Jack

Thanks for the heads up on the hotel, but a little late for this trip. Our traveling companions, however, are staying in a hotel in Deira and I'll ask them about the area. Jack

If you have not been to Dubai, I really recommend that you put it on your bucket list. To us, it is sort of like Hong Kong - the city never sleeps! From a cultural perspective it really is where east meets west - where Arabic culture blends with Western culture without a Hick-up. .And it is constantly changing and growing. You know those huge cranes that are used to build skyscrapers? Twenty-five percent of the world's supply are in Dubai! . And there is so much to do there. Time and space does not permit a full list - but some of our favorites: Visiting Dubai Mall - the largest in the world with 1,200 retail stores. After shopping we go snow skiing inside the mall. (Younger enthusiasts go snowboarding. Even younger ones go tubing.). Also ice skating - $40 our last time there. While at the mall you can also visit the aquarium and underwater zoo. We usually have lunch there as well as there some great eateries at the mall. High tea at Burj Al Arab Hotel. A bit pricey at nearly $200 each (with champagne, of course.) It is an experience that cannot be matched (google it:) Visiting the Burj Khalifa - the tallest building in the world at 163 floors - slightly over a half mile high. From the observation deck on the 124th floor you can Iran 95 miles away. (Also a very nice place to stay!) Dinner cruise on a Dhow on Dubai creek. With all of the Dhows outlined in a kaleidoscope of colors it is more about the entertainment than the food -which is always good. Souks - soak up the culture of Arabia by visiting the many souks. You can take a HOHO bus that drops you off at each souk so you can shop and marvel and then catch the next HOHO to the next souk (or to the Burj Al Arab for high tea.😀) Did I mention how rich the country is? The police in Dubai drive Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and Bugattis. In fact the Bugatti police cars are rated at over 200mph. The joke is that people beg to be arrested so they can ride in one. As I mentioned, there is so much do there and each visit we find other things to experience. Which is why we are looking forward to being there in a couple of months. Jack

Just got back from a long absence and just saw your post. Glad you enjoyed the review. Thanks for posting. Upcoming cruises: Barcelona to Dubai on the Oceana Riviera and a 31 day roundtrip from LA to the South Pacific on The Sapphire Princess. Our first time on Oceana and looking forward to visiting Dubai again. Probably won't review the Oceania trip but should review the Princess one. So my next review should be on the Princess board. Again, thanks for your comments.

I don't know how much I can help with this as we didn't travel with kids on this trip. However, unless you plan on leaving the port towns I don't think you need private guides. We toured on the cheap. In one town we googled free walking tours. Our guide was a delightful lady who had lived in town her entire life and led our group of 8 on a three hour tour of the spots most tourists will miss - while also pointing out the best bakeries and gift shops where the locals shopped. The only cost of the tour was the tip we gave the guide. In another port we took a HOHO bus and enjoyed the sights of the town. The bus left from a stop next to a three story mall and we spent time in there while waiting for the bus. The mall and the bus stop were about a 10 minute walk from the ship. You can also look at the ship tours and see if anything is of interest to your teenagers. No matter what you do I think you will enjoy the islands. Jack

Thanks for your comments.😀 As I mentioned in the review, the west Africa ports are new to tourism and have not yet developed the infrastructure. Capetown, however, was a great port as were all the ones in the Canary Islands.

Glad you enjoyed it! Jack

Thanks all, any thoughts on Nice?

OMG... I had not thought of that! Then could Senor Frogs, Columbia Emeralds, and Carlos n Charlie be far behind!😄

How close is the cruise ship dock from town? Can you walk from the cruise port into town? Same question for Nice. Thanks Jack

Thank you. Jack

What are the current gratuities for Oceana -including for penthouse cabins. Thank you Jack

We didn't incur some of the problems that confronted you, but in our discussions aboard the ship we concluded that the major problem of that particular itinerary was that West Africa was just not tourist oriented. Now that could be a good thing or a bad on. On the positive side, we did not see a single t-shirt shop in any of the ports! Compare that to the Caribbean. Also prices were extremely low. In one port we rented a taxi for $20 an hour. On the other hand there was very little infrastructure to support tourism. In one port we could not find any taxis or tour groups. We finally went to a hotel and had the concierge call someone to drive us around. The resultant response was a 25 year old car with a driver who spoke very little English. But we had a good time with him! It will be interesting to see what happens in these ports in a few years.

LOL😄 Sorry about that! However, I think that the Journey song was one of the best to come out of the 80's. If you have to have an ear worm you do worse.😀 Jack

Glad you enjoyed it. Hope you like the one on Azamara - it was our first time for that cruise line and the itinerary was unique for us. AND... Lgdesign - thanks for your comment. I had a lot of fun with the Dream review.

Thanks! I wrote the Dream review back in 2007 and it is one of my favorites. I had a good time with it. Glad you enjoyed this one.🙂

Someone just tipped me off about your post - sorry I missed it when you first posted it.! Glad you enjoyed the review - I enjoyed writing it - but again, I had a lot of material to work with.😃 I case you may be interested, my latest review is over on the Azamara board Jack

Good to hear from you again. Enjoy your upcoming cruise next month - Vision of the Seas, I think? Jack

It was an interesting cruise because we had some great ports, but we will not be sailing on Azamara again. As I mentioned in my review, this was our first trip on Azamara and it will be our last - just not our type of cruise line. That said, I hope you enjoy the Onward. Jack

Glad you enjoyed it.

Good to hear from a fellow Canadian. Glad you enjoyed the review. If you enjoyed the humor you may be interested in my other reviews. Links are in my signature. Jack

Thank you for reading it!🙂 Jack