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bbwex

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Everything posted by bbwex

  1. I tried to send you an email as well, but orv7 at reallywarmmail dot com bounces everytime, and GoDaddy says that reallywarmmail.com is available for sale, so something is wrong.
  2. We are getting on MARINA in Santiago (San Antonio) when you disembark, and I, for one, have been looking forward to the duck and watermelon salad for a few years. I am really glad that they still have it on the menu. ORV: thanks for the info about the plug.
  3. Can you describe this "European" plug a bit more so I know what type of adapter to bring
  4. I am in the midst of rehabbing from a shoulder replacement, and need to use some small weights daily. Are there really small -- 1, 2 and 3 pounds -- weights in the Fitness Center??
  5. As for the powerboard, it seems as if the plug you already have will be sufficient for the limited number of items that you have. Jumping to the question about storing liquor, you are going to have to ask your cruise line about that one. They generally don't allow you to bring liquor on board, but they might allow it under these circumstances. What one lines does or doesn't do is too specific a question to not ask them, unless you posted that question on the section for your cruise line.
  6. I pretty much agree with Charles 4515. Holland America and Princess have been the experts in Alaska for a long time. We did a cruisetour with HA, and loved it. We did about five or six days of the tour, and then caught up with the ship in Seward. The tour started in Fairbanks, then on to Denali and Anchorage. BTW the two highlights of our trip were the bus tour in Denali and the Kenai Fjord Tour in Seward before we boarded our ship. Not that the rest of the trip wasn't truly amazing.
  7. It doesn't matter too much. First of all, there will be some people who come aboard to explain the entire process. You will likely be up on deck watching, so you can see all around, and there is stuff to see all around, particularly as you approach the canal, there will be ships all over the horizon waiting their turn. There is even a semi-sunken ship off to the right before you go into the locks, unless they have finally removed that old hulk. We watched the initial part from far forward, way up on the top deck, and it is fascinating. There is a road on the first set of chamber doors that take the highway from one side of the canal to the other, and there is a significant amount of traffic that goes across when the chamber doors are closed. Then you will work your way through the first set of locks, and there are "mules," actually electric locomotives, on both sides holding the ship in the center of the lock, and they travel alongside as you go through. You might want to go do to a lower deck and watch that almost at eye-level at some point. The explanation of how the whole system works is also fascinating, and you should make sure you attend that.
  8. High twenties going from Sydney to San Francisco, but like several others, that was on a Navy ship. Entertainment and food were sort of lacking, and even the officers' staterooms were not all that comfortable. Yet I did learn to love days at sea. I hate sunrise, but I enjoy days at sea.
  9. I cannot give you any specific help, but I would tend to re-post this question more generally. All of the cruise lines use essentially the same buses and vans, so limiting yourself to P&O just limits your answers. Plus you can post this sort of question on the Ports of Call section for the ports you are going to visit to see if you can get help that way. Good luck.
  10. We have, for the most part, used private tours on all of our cruises. The private companies depend on being certain to get their groups back in time. I have read a lot of these boards, and have never heard of a private tour company being late. Yes people who go off on their own have missed the ship, but that has always been passengers who did not go on any tour at all, but went off by themselves. Tour companies generally guarantee that they will get you to the next port if need be, but, as I said, I have never heard that that was ever necessary. A private company that missed getting their people back would be out of business the next day. I do go on the Ports of Call section and spend some time going through the notes to get a feel for which companies are the better ones. I don't go by a single posting, as that can be unreliable, but if you read a bunch of postings, you will get the drift. Private tours, particularly in busy ports, can be much more efficient. Ships' tours are generally on large buses and you wait for the slowest person to get back on the bus before you can go on. Private tours generally keep together better, and use smaller vehicles that can navigate the roads more easily. Plus you can ask to add something that you found out was worth doing.
  11. The best place for the Carnival specific into is still their section of the cruise line section on CC. People will answer eventually.
  12. OK, well I am cruising the Oceania also, and have no recollection what the invite looks like. I will try to get one and post whatever I can get. Particularly on Oceania's smaller-sized ships (including the Marina and Vista classes), the number of passengers is small, and I am amazed at how often I run into people from the M&G, and have the chance to sit with them at dinner at one venue or another. We have always felt that we were with a large group of "friends" throughout the cruise.
  13. Some of the cruise lines issue the invitations. Check to see if you do it or they do it. The one I ran, they checked in and got a name tag, which I had pre-prepared.
  14. That was to keep the sun out of their eyes!!!
  15. You see what happens when Covid hits and you don't go on a cruise ship for several years. I stand corrected, and shall not cast aspersions on men wearing "nicer" jeans. Now I wonder who gets to determine what is "nicer?"
  16. Men are supposed to wear slacks and a collared shirt to fit into the "country club casual" description. Some men do wear sport jackets and ties. The only complaints you will hear is when some men seem to be incapable of reading and wear jeans to the MDR or one of the specialty dining rooms, though to my mind, there are not enough complaints when that happens. Sometimes the AC can be a bit chilly, and a sport jacket would be nice, though I admit that I do not pack one.
  17. And like chenkp75, I too have sailed from many ports, and I have been on two "cruises" to WestPac (Western Pacific), though I would not call those cruises anything like "cruises" on a cruise ship. Lots of terms get thrown around, many have multiple meanings, etc. Sometimes the ships are big, colorful and have things like water slides. Sometimes they are big, gray and on more serious business. Sometimes they are rusty and look like they could sink any minute, and sometimes they carry what seems like a zillion containers. Some boats are small and go out for a day's fishing, some boats are big and gray, go underwater, and have ICBMs on them. They all go for a cruise or go sailing. Even sailboats do that!!
  18. Terrace Cafe, is as already stated, more cafeteria style than buffet -- the staff will put food on your plate. It's really nice to sit outside on the actual terrace if you can find a table when you get there. We almost always eat breakfast there, but don't forget the main dining room for breakfast -- that's another option most passengers forget, and, at least through the last time we sailed with them, they had the small, lollipop lamb chops for breakfast!! If you are new to Oceania, you will also love the specialty restaurants. While you only get one reservation per specialty dining room -- depending on the length of your cruise -- you can almost always get extra slots if you go to the reservation table in the morning.
  19. Loved it!! I am the one that does all of the planning for our trips, and like Sthrngary, I get zero help but all kinds of why's and wherefores after I have done it. It is one of the ultimate thankless jobs. But I stick with it. I must be a masochist.
  20. In Port Canaveral my suggestion would be the tour of the Kennedy Space Center. It is always unforgettable. In Naples, we actually took a tour down to Positano which we really enjoyed. Some interesting sites to look at along the way as well.
  21. According to Merriam Webster, a ship is "a large seagoing vessel." The generally used saying, which has already been stated, is that a "ship carries a boat." According to Chapman's "Piloting, Seamanship and Small Boat Handing," in defining a "boat" says, "What is a boat? The term has no really precise definition. It is a water-borne vehicle smaller than a ship, which is usually thought of as being used for ocean travel. Indeed, one definition of a boat is a small craft carried aboard a ship, such as a lifeboat." There is no reason in the world to get too upset when someone uses the wrong term here, and I cannot imagine saying something to a stranger with whom I was not speaking. At the same time, it does show the person using the wrong term to perhaps be out of their depth!
  22. We have both done it, and enjoyed it a lot. We are signed up for two classes on our next cruise.
  23. I agree with what's been said. The majority do just comply with the "country club casual," but then there are those that dress up more, which is more than fine, and then there are those that come in in jeans, despite the rules, and most people do have a negative comment about that. Nobody has ever said a negative thing about dressing above the minimum required.
  24. As has been said by the last two answers. We have done just what you are suggesting: taken a ship's tour (usually we take private tours), and then go back and wander around town on our own. Our own guideline is to be back a full hour before the all aboard time. It's really not a big deal, and lots of people do ports entirely on their own. Just be aware of the time -- the local time, and the ship's time. Those are usually, BUT NOT ALWAYS, the same. The boarding time is on ship's time.
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