JJK2008

Hey there, we are similarly situated as you. We recently returned a few weeks ago from our first Christmas Cruise abord RCCL Adeventure of the Seas. It was an 8-night cruise from Port Canaveral with port calls in St. Thomas, Laberdee, Puorto Plata, St. Martin. The ports were all ablaze in Christmas theme as well. My DW's stepson is in the military and deployed. So, my DW decided to take her daughter and grandson on a cruise for Christmas as something special. It was a GREAT idea. Yes, there were 1000+ kids on the ship as expected, but overall, they were well behaved except for the last night when the parents seemed to unleash them. If the behavior was like that every night, then YES, I would have a different opinion. The ship was decorated to the max and the Christmas theme was awash in decorated trees, garland and lights. The ship also had Christmas themed shows and menus in the dining room. They also did a midnight mass on Christmas eve and Christmas day. Many, many cabin doors were decorated with lights and stockings. Santa and his helpers also spent every night of the week dropping trinkets in all the stockings hung on the cabin doors. The "gift giving" was organized by different groups mostly on the sight with the face and the book. People would signup who was on the cruise along with children's age and gender. The organizers would then divide up the list and assign cabins to the folks participating. My DW got involved and she had a spreadsheet with her assigned cabins. We spent a few nights walking the cabin decks putting gifts in stockings. It was a kick as you'd pass others doing the same thing. Everyone was having a really good time doing it. It really was a magical experience. I consider myself more of a Grinch/Scrooge, but I will admit it truly was a good experience that I thoroughly enjoyed. It sort of brought the kid in me out again. That's a good thing. So glad I went. It certainly was a different way to spend Christmas and I would say worth doing. Not sure I'd do it every year (although we met several families that have made it a tradition) I'd do it again. Best of luck. Hope 2024 is off to a good start for you. Stay Safe & Healthy.

Didn't know about this. Good to know. Thanks.

The cages or screen rooms as they are called are very common throughout Florida and many of the warmer weather states in the USA. In some neighborhoods in Florida, they are almost always included with the building of the home. So, practically every home has one. With endless summer weather, it makes for expansive outdoor living. Many of the more elaborate ones will have a combined undercover area with the open screened area, complete with outdoor kitchen and living area with tv, bar, fridge, entertainment area etc. It allows the residents to "live" outside most of the year without the nasty critters. We live in Florida, but we don't have one😔.

Totally agree Geoff. I think Disney "missed the boat" on this one. They could make a fortune on this. "The Duck family is a fictional family of cartoon ducks related to Disney character Donald Duck. The family is also related to the Coot, Goose, and Gander families, as well as the Scottish Clan McDuck. Besides Donald, the best-known members of the Duck family are Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Donald's three triplet nephews. Wikipedia" When Walt Disney passed away, I think the "magic" of Disney also passed with him. Many from outside the USA/Florida, I'm guessing, don't know that Disney over the last few years has become VERY political. Coming out publicly in favor or against certain social issues. There has been tremendous backlash here in the USA against Disney. Whether you agree or disagree with the "duck phenomena" it is here. How you deal with it is a choice. We'll see where this goes.

Just a month ago completed a trip to Oz and cruise to New Zealand. No vaccines required.

Glad to see I was not the only one who was unaware of this whole duck thing. Apparently, this has been going on for some time. A quick Google search on Cruise Duck will yield a number of sites explaining the practice and where to buy ducks. I will admit my DW learned of this practice before our cruise, and we had ducks to hide or give away. Giving a duck to a crewmember was like giving them a $50 bill. I was taken back by the reaction. This duck thing is bigger than I imagined and seems to be growing. Get involved if you choose.🦆

Greetings all. I truly hope everyone had a wonderful and blessed Christmas and good start to 2024. We recently returned from our first Christmas Cruise abord RCCL Adeventure of the Seas. My DW's stepson is in the military and deployed. So, my DW decided to take her daughter and grandson on a cruise for Christmas as something special. It was a GREAT idea. Yes, there were 1000+ kids on the ship as expected, but overall, they were well behaved except for the last night when the parents seemed to unleash them. The ship was decorated to the max and the Christmas theme was blazing. Many, many cabin doors were decorated with lights and such. Santa and his helpers also spent every night of the week dropping trinkets in all the stockings hung on the cabin doors. It really was a magical experience. I consider myself more of a Grinch, but I will admit it truly was a good experience even I enjoyed. So glad I went. Cruise Ducks!!!! I admit I am NOT a "trendy" person. I generally have no idea who the latest singers, actors, actresses are, etc, etc. But I learned something on this cruise I never heard about - Cruise Ducks!!! My DW learned about this trend from the site with the face and the book. We knew NOTHING about this. But we quickly tried to catch-up and YES, we participated. If you are already familiar with these items, PLEASE bear with me as I try to explain this with my very limited knowledge. There are websites that will explain it all in detail. We've probably all seen the little, rubber ducks that some folks have on the dash of their vehicles (I've learned this is where this all started). Well, this trend has spilled over to cruising. People (of ALL ages) hide these little ducks about the ship. Most (but not all) ducks have a tag attached to them with the name of the person who left it, where they are from and assorted other tidbit info. The finder of the duck can keep it, hide it again even on a different ship or give it as a gift. There is also a website where finders of ducks can post pictures of the ducks they found and when/where it was found. We met one gentleman who claimed he had 300 ducks with him to hide on the ship. Even the crew knew about this and was very involved. From what we learned this activity has been happening on cruises around the world for several years. Who knew????????? This was our first experience with Cruise Ducks, but it won't be the last. Between being on a Christmas Cruise and finding/hiding rubber ducks I almost felt like a kid again. That's a good thing. Stay Safe & Healthy all. John

I love the story. It is truly amazing what you can learn from people if you just ask. Couldn't agree more. The National Parks in the US are spectacular. I think everyone who visits here AND lives here should visit them. Yellowstone in particular is in a class by itself. Now if you want a chuckle at some people's expense, do a google search on "tourons of national parks" and watch some of the videos. The word "tourons" was created by someone who crossed the words tourists and morons. The videos are of people doing some pretty incredibly STUPID things in the National Parks, like trying to get a selfie with a grizzly bear and her cubs. Nature seems to have a way of dealing with human stupidity. Nancy and I have witnessed some of these types of actions personally. Not all involve animals. We've seen people at the Grand Canyon sitting with their legs dangling over the side. The Grand Canyon averages more than a mile deep straight down. That's over 1600 meters. We ALL do stupid things. I have certainly done more than my share, but some actions defy even the slightest bit of common sense. I don't think I ever fell into that category. I liked the cop story about you getting pulled over. It all worked out. Yes, you have to watch the cops in the USA, they don't have the same sense of humor the cops in Oz have.😉

Thank You Leigh. For us it truly was a trip of a lifetime. Nancy and I are trying really hard to live life to the fullest as best as we're able. I mentioned in another post that this is what Nancy and I like to do. It's our vice. We live very modestly and love to travel, experience new things and I (this drives Nancy nuts) like to engage people. I'll spend 45 minutes chatting with someone we just met. I've met a number of really good people that way and then some others that I hope I don't see again😆. Some of the Aussies here on CC have remarked that on this trip we have seen and done more than they have in their own country. But that is always the case. We ALL do it. A few years back we took time a couple of years in a row to visit some of the National Parks in the US. In doing so we were surprised and disappointed that 90% of the people we encountered visiting the National Parks in the USA were foreigners NOT Americans. I can't explain it but we all just seem to take for granted what is right in front of us. Often times unless this is actually pointed out to all of us that we're overlooking our own backyard, we remain oblivious to it. Human nature, I guess. OK, so next time we're passing through your way we'll give you a heads-up beforehand and stop and say hello. Or meet in Hahndorf for schnitzel. Have a Great Christmas and New Years.🎅🎄🥳🎉 J

We stayed on the Great Ocean Road. We stopped in Mt. Gambier, Port Campbell and Cape Jervis. From Cape Jervis we went to Kangaroo Island. From there we continued to Adelaide for several days. Also did a side trip from Adelaide to Hahndorf. An Aussie we met on our cruise told us about it. It's a small German settlement only about 40 minutes from Adelaide. Quaint little town. Very nice. Had Lunch at the Hahndorf Inn. One of the oldest buildings in the Town. (hope I got the spelling right on this post)😋

I'm 0 for 2. In baseball I get one more and I'm out. Not my first time, I've struck out before.

Thank You. I've since learned that Gippsland (I was spelling it wrong😌) is a region and not a city. So, YES, we would have driven through Gippsland on the way to Phillips Island. I don't recall seeing anything that identified the area as Gippsland. Another posting on here helped me out a bit (I can use all the help I can get).

We did a similar thing to what you are planning. Covid cancelled our original trip to Oz. And like you we replanned and went this year. It's great to have friends in your travel locations. We also met up with friends in Oz that gave the local tours - Priceless. We found the New Zealand cruise is an excellent way to get an overview of New Zealand given time allotted. We did a Princess cruise that left and returned to Sydney. We were also very fortunate that our weather for the 2-week cruise was fine. The only thing that caught us off-guard a bit was that the temps were much cooler than we expected. We did not plan accordingly for that. In fact, when we were in Fiordland National Park it was actually cold. The sun was shining but it was cold. This was early November, so early spring for New Zealand. But the cruise and the whole trip far exceeded what we had hoped for. As we did all the planning ourselves, if you desire, I can certainly pass along to you any tidbits that might be helpful in planning yours. Just let me know. To you and yours, have a Great Christmas and Healthy and Safe New Year upcoming. John

OK I had it spelled wrong🤪. I'm old, I get confused, it happens😆. Thank You for the correction. So, Gippsland is a region of Victoria that Phillips Island is located in. Got it. We would have driven through Gippsland going to Phillips Island. Don't recall seeing anything that distinguished the area as Gippsland. Another posting on here said the Giant Earthworm exhibit has been closed for years. That explains why we didn't see any ads for it.

Hmmm, that could explain why we didn't see any ads for the attraction.

Not a fan of snakes of any kind. We have more than our share here in Florida as well. We always have to be careful when opening a door to outside as there could be one on the porch. We've had it happen a few times when you open the door and SURPRISE - there will be a snake right there. Even around the house, we have to be careful where you reach. NEVER just stick your hand near a bush to pick something up. Until living in Florida I never knew snakes were such good climbers. They will climb the trees in search of bird's chicks/eggs. Something I learned from living here.

OK, now you got me looking again. We stayed in Melbourne for 5 days and drove to Phillips Island from Melbourne not on a cruise. I looked at the map again and don't see Gibbsland at all between Melbourne and Phillips Island, which is south, southeast of Melbourne. The only mention I see of Gibbsland is Gibbsland Lakes Coastal Park, which is very far east of Melbourne. We didn't go anywhere near that area. So where is the Gibbsland near Melbourne???

We have them in Florida as well......

Thank You for the kind words, but Please don't look upon our trip with shame. Look at it as inspiration to do more. There is plenty in the USA we have not done or seen. That constantly gives us something to look forward to. We and hopefully you as well are very blessed and living a charmed life. There are many people that we know personally, and I'll speculate people you know personally as well, that will never be able to what we are doing every day for a variety of reasons, health, financial, family and more. Enjoy each day, we don't get a do over. We did not see the earthworms. Didn't remember seeing anything about them. I checked the map and see that Gibbsland was east of Melbourne. We flew to Melbourne and then travelled west eventually ending in Adelaide. So, we never passed Gibbsland. Nancy is pretty good at checking out every nook and cranny of a trip. So, it would have been unusual for her to have missed something like that. Oh well, another reason to come back to Oz😄. The reasons to return seem to keep piling up!!! All Good. All of us on here love to cruise, so who knows, perhaps some of us will end up on a cruise at the same time. It could happen. Stay Safe. John

Perth and western Australia are certainly on list for our next trip to Oz. Not surprising, most of the Aussies we met had never been to Perth or western Australia. Like in the USA, Australia is a BIG country. Many people we know who grew up on the east coast of the USA have never been to California. Even myself, I was probably in my 30's before I had travelled to the west coast of the US. On the cruise we did to New Zealand we met a number of folks from Perth. Would also like to get to Darwin area and Tasmania. Hope we can make all of this a reality. Thank You for the link. A+++++++

We did not see any Cassowaries, just the scrub turkeys that we assumed were Cassowaries🙃. Brolgas??? Had to look that up. Those are Australian Cranes. We may have seen some of those. We did see LOTS of wildlife during our trip. Plenty of Kangaroos, Wallabies, Emus, Koalas, Flying Foxes (Giant Bats) and even a slithering snake that my DW nearly stepped on. Was it a venomous one??? Don't know. Along the Great Ocean Road there was a nature preserve that we stopped at. Loads of Koalas, Emus and a whole bunch of different birds. The Flying Foxes were a kick. I knew about them before took the trip. First night we were in Port Douglas walking back from dinner it was early evening and I saw a couple of the Bats flying. Now mind you the bats we have in Florida are small and fly VERY erratically. The Flying Foxes are HUGE and fly more like an osprey. I'm guessing many who are not familiar with them, see them and don't pay close attention to the wings, so don't realize what they are. I had pointed one out to my DW and remarked that those were the Giant Bats I had told her about. She glanced up but her reaction was almost non-existent. I think she believed it was total BS on my part. It only took a few minutes when one flew right over her head, wings spread and the very distinct BAT WINGS visible. Her reaction was "Holy ***** Batman"!!!!!! Seriously, she REALLY said that. Then her camera came out and she was on a quest to get pictures. Across the street from our hotel was a large grove of trees. There was a dozen, perhaps more of these Bats flying around and landing in the trees. They were very noisy which surprised me. We also saw the assortment of seals along the Great Ocean Road. The blue penguins on Phillips Island. THAT was an excellent stop. Would highly recommend that to other tourists. There are a couple of ticket options for the penguin parade. The penguin plus ticket is more expensive, but you get right up close. We bought these tickets and arrived VERY early. They start letting people into the viewing stands about 5:00. We were first in the line and as such, we were able to get front row seats. The penguins didn't show up until about 8:15. So yes, other than trips to the restrooms, we sat in the stands. But we had researched this beforehand, so we were prepared. Brought water and snacks and dressed accordingly. You are right on the beach at the Southern Ocean. The wind is on the brisk side coming right off the water and it's cold, at least in November. We brought a blanket to sit on and an extra blanket to wrap around us (we bought the blankets at a thrift store for a few dollars - just left them in the hotel when we left). There is so much more to this trip. It truly for us was an experience of a lifetime. The trip far exceeded what we had hoped for. Hope to get back to Oz and see more. Hopefully others can do something similar and experience what we have. Like us, I think many on here are older in years and NOT getting any younger. As long as our health holds out, we're trying to experience as much as we are able. So far, we've been able to do just that. Travelling is sort of our "vice" it is what we like to do. God willing we'll be able to continue. We've had GREAT experiences and met some wonderful people from all over the world, many who have become good friends. For us, that that experience is priceless. Wishing all on CC a Merry Christmas and a healthy and Happy New Year upcoming. Cheers all, John & Nancy

This should get a chuckle out of the Aussies here. My DW and I just returned from our first trip to Oz. We were gone for 8 weeks in total with 6 of those in Oz and 2 weeks on a New Zealand cruise. Anyway, early on in our trip we were in Kuranda doing the tourist thing and having a wonderful day. On a little back road through the forest, we saw a sign for wildlife crossing. The sign had a picture of a bird that to us looked like an ostrich. The sign said Cassowary crossing. OK as Americans we had never heard of a Cassowary or what they were. So, a little while later were driving still on this back road and up ahead we see an animal in the road that looks like and is about the size of a chicken. So, we figure that must be a Cassowary. We stopped the car, got out and my DW started snapping pictures. The bird immediately comes toward us and literally came right up to us. Obviously not afraid of humans, probably been fed many times. So, we finish taking pictures and go on our way. A bit later we had stopped an info center. My DW is chatting with the lady there and pulls out her phone, shows the lady the picture of the bird we saw and asks if this is a Cassowary. The lady smiles, sheepishly laughs and says, "No that's a scrub turkey." "Turn around...THAT'S a Cassowary." There in the info center was a life-size statue of a Cassowary. We were then informed that Cassowaries can be very aggressive and NOT to get out of car if we encounter one. Who knew a Cassowary was a big, blue bird that looks NOTHING like a scrub turkey??? Just another funny experience in Oz. Hope this gives you a laugh for the day....................

We get asked that a lot who we use to plan our trips. Actually, we planned the whole trip ourselves. We've done similar trips to Europe, Canada and in the USA a few times. Yes, it's a lot or work but NOT difficult work. With the internet and numerous sites including CC, plenty of info available. Just have to look for it and be willing to ask questions. The CC forums are a wealth of info. Loads of folk willing to help with advice and info. But like all things on the internet you must Verify, Verify, Verify any info yourself. There are many well-meaning folks who put stuff out on the internet (some here on CC) that isn't always the most accurate information. When I post something on here, I always try to leave it with the caveat to Verify the information yourself. Don't just take my word for it. I may have read something wrong or missed something or misinterpreted something. So, Verify for yourself. We enjoy doing the planning ourselves and it is amazing how much you learn before you even go on the trip. Now back home, were going through the process of downloading our photos and videos. Great memories for a lifetime. Looking forward to what is next, whatever it is. Have a Great Christmas upcoming and a Healthy and happy New Year

We had planned to take this trip pre-covid. But of course, that went down the drain. So, we resurrected it this year. This is a recap. LOTS of details in-between. Started in Sydney for 5 days. Did Manley and Bondi. Open house tour at the Opera House. Saw Wicked at the Lyric Theater. Day tour to Hunter Valley - 3 wineries and a distillery (Great Day). HoHo bus tour of Sydney. Chinese Gardens. Tower Eye. Flew to Gold Coast. Stayed in Surfers Paradise (we have friends there). Friends gave us the tour. Home of the Arts Gallery. Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. Gold Coast 500 (our friend was very involved in the racing circuit...got up close and personal). Tamborine Mountain (Great little town). Drove to Sunshine Coast. Stayed in Mooloolaba (we have friends here too - friends from Gold Coast came along as well - as we all know each other from the European river cruise). Fantastic lunch at the Boat Shed in Cotton Tree. Wonderful beach day. Great dinner and drinks at the Surf Club. Grand tour of the coast and area (our friends were Great tour guides). Drove to Brisbane. Spent time walking to see as much as we could. Next day flew to Cairns. Touring the city. Did Kuranda railway, town. Drove to Port Douglas with stops along the way. Great Ocean Reef tour. Drove to Daintree National Park. Yes, we took the car ferry across the river. Made our way back to Cairns and flew to Sydney. Boarded our ship for 2-week cruise around New Zealand (north and south islands). Back to Sydney after the cruise. Flew to Melbourne. Spent 5 days here. City tours. Started drive to Adelaide. Great Ocean Road (many stops). Phillips Island penguins. Port Jervis. Kangaroo Island. Adelaide. Hahndorf. Finally, back to Sydney and flights home. The trip of a lifetime for us. Don't know if we'll ever repeat it, but we're inclined to give it a try as long as our health holds out. Of course, the whole trip went off like clockwork. We had NO ISSUES. Even the weather was near perfect the entire time. THAT makes a big difference. If we had bad weather or other more serious issues, the trip would not have been as enjoyable. But all of those are unpredictable and uncontrollable. We were fortunate. We only scratched the surface on this trip. Would really like to get to see Perth. On the cruise, we met a number of Aussies from Perth. Looking forward to our return - God willing. Stay Safe & Health. Cheers, John

I stand corrected. Kind of like the same thing only different😆.