Wendy The Wanderer

I'm confused. I assumed a G is a Grand Suite. But the table in posting #4 mentions RS, which I assume means Regent Suite.

I seem to remember some age restrictions on excursions. I'm 75 now, so wondering. The main impediments for me to snorkel are ease of getting in and out of the boat, and difficulty level of the snorkel itself. I like calm waters and the ability to stop from time to time, preferably to swim easily to where I can stand on bottom or hang onto a boat. So I didn't snorkel on my last cruise.

Twice in Santo Tomas we took a long excursion (a paid one, a "Choice" excursion). It was then called, "VISIT TO Q’EQCHI INDIGENOUS RIVER COMMUNITY". It included a fairly long speed boat ride up the bay to the mouth of their large river (Rio Dulce I believe). Along this large river, which visually seemed like something out of Jurassic Park, are indigenous communities, mostly Maya, mostly small groups of refugees originally from other parts of Guatemala. The stop was at a school where these children come to school. The river and the communities we saw were fascinating. We then went back down the river to the community of Livingston, which is a Garafuna town. The Garafuna are Afro-Indigenous people originally from St. Vincent. We were given lunch and a cultural performance at a small hotel, then took the speedboat back to the ship. I see they have the same excursion listed this year: VISIT TO Q’EQCHI INDIGENOUS RIVER COMMUNITY 6.0 Hours Strenuous Activity # STC-002: CA$138.00 Cruise the Tatin River to a rural community whose residents are of Mayan origin. Learn how a non-profit organization is helping the community prosper. Gain an understanding of the programs that offer the residents a brighter future. Observe daily life among the Q’eqchi villagers in the community. Watch a folkloric performance of music and dancing while enjoying lunch.

I don't remember our friend being told to stay in his cabin. I remember him coming back to the Observation Lounge and telling us the tale. The perp himself was in the highest-level cabin, and had a very entitled attitude, and seemed to be the abusive type to start with--I believe he was bullying his wife, for instance. He was confined to his cabin that night, which was packing night. The next morning awaiting disembarkation, he was walking around free again. Did not reflect well on Regent at the time, I thought.

Wow, that sounds great! Our travel days are pretty well over, but would have loved to utilize a train route like that. We spent a week once in Vilnius while at a conference, and loved that city. At the time, it was undergoing extensive renovations of the historic areas, not sure what it's like now but always wanted to be able to explore that country and the others further.

I suspect they can only do that for a charge that originated from that card? I'm just guessing. Most refundable credits originate from somewhere other than your onboard CC I think.

In cases like yours, I agree. Ours was just a few hundred dollars and since we were just going back to our home in Florida, didn't mind at all. Still can use cash locally so we did.

I think they use various hotels in Miami. We were put at the Biltmore last January--a fabulous hotel.

We were opposite one of those once, on Navigator (it was a large dumbwaiter for luggage delivery), and frankly it did not bother us in the slightest.

Yes, ours was 2004 as well, and that experiment was not in progress. This was June 2004.

And of course there was the Song. I met people who had sailed on her, and they all absolutely loved this ship passionately. Never had the pleasure. It seemed at the time impossibly expensive, more so than the Paul Gauguin, which ship remained our favourite until the pandemic.

Are you sure Richard? We were on the PG in 2000 and again in 2003. Both those cruises were all-inclusive for alcohol, unless you wanted to buy a cocktail, as I remember (free-flowing beer and wine, liquor bottles in the cabin.) We sailed the Diamond in 2004, to the Black Sea. It was a great experience, but it was truly a quirky ship. The first thing we realized was that we had to sign for a beer, on the pool deck at lunchtime. So, not as all-inclusive as the PG at that time. The Diamond had an open bridge, which was terrific, and the most beautiful dining room that you can imagine. Not much in the way of specialty restaurants, unless you counted Don Vito's, which we loathed. To each his own. They tried to re-create Don Vito's later on Navigator, and it was equally awful.

Figured as much, but it seemed weird.

Odd, I was just looking at a Mariner crossing this fall, and of course it says it includes Biz Air. But when I clicked through and attempted to make a booking, it said I would get "Roundtrip Economy Class airfare from YYZ". What gives? (I'm not planning on booking this, I was just what-iffing.)

Some kind of water-resistant footwear is useful if you intend to go on hikes or travel in open boats.

I've always seen cruising as a chance to detach myself from technology to some extent. Twenty years ago that meant "no contact" at all, only a ship's phone # in emergencies. That was partly because I was an IT professional and it was the only way I could get a real holiday. I admit to using my first real smartphone to post from the ship, it was fun and kind of a novelty. But I still have never used my phone to talk to someone while onboard ship, and just check my email and maybe surf to FB once or twice a day, or check on flights perhaps. About 10 years ago, text messaging took over from the ship's telephone # for emergency contact--SMS is cheap, wherever you are. I know on longer cruises there are reasons for doing online banking, for instance, and that would be an issue perhaps. And people who are still working for a living, perhaps they should think of that extra login as a business expense.

Isn't it one connection at a time? I.e., one of you can login, then logout and your partner can use it? (Sorry, I'm Gold and have more wifi as a benefit so I'm not sure how it works for new customers.)

Perhaps there's a business centre in one of the big hotels nearby that could rent a space to your husband for this call? Fairmont comes to mind? Or perhaps you could book a room the night before on the understanding that you wouldn't actually be checking in until early morning, and then very briefly? Does he have to be on a laptop, or would a phone be good enough? If the latter, you can just get a good roaming package, so all you need is to be in a room somewhere and use your cellular internet?

Yep!

We love sharing tables with fellow passengers who we've just met, but I personally like a table for six. Eight is too big and ten would be worse, to me. Impossible to have conversations across the table. And although I've participated in CC meet & greets and roll-call parties, most of the people I've met haven't been CC'ers.

Our TA used to give us a cash rebate, and now offers the alternative of a refundable onboard credit. The latter is perfect, so if you want to go crazy having massages in the spa, the money is there; otherwise you can cash it out on the last day of the cruise.

You can track the smoke on maps such as this: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/us/smoke-maps-canada-fires.html It looks like the Gulf of St Lawrence is clear right now. Who knows how long the Eastern Seaboard will be affected.

Yes. In Miami in January, we had our luggage take the trip without us, while we drove to the ship. Rest assured, you'll get the transfer.

We're in the north in the summers. We took a nice Seabourn fall round-trip Montreal before the pandemic. We took the train between Toronto and Montreal.

We also don't like flying coach. In fact don't like flying at all, which is why we like itineraries out of Miami in the winter.