jpalbny

M, I never had anything like that and I was definitely that age in the (early) 70s. In fact my favorite place to ride was in my grandparent's station wagon. The front seat was a bench seat which had an armrest in the middle so I'd sit on that, between them, so I could see where we were going! Seatbelt? What was that? And don't get me started about riding in the back of the pickup truck...

Hope your recovery is uneventful and rapid, Que. M, maybe they put ex-lax in that cake?

That's pretty! We saw some similar trees in Northern Finland and were impressed with the beauty of all that snow.

Don't you mean last millennium?

My sister and nephew were just in Perth maybe 2-3 days ago for the World Marathon challenge. They waited until afternoon to start the race so the temperatures were more favorable.

Have fun! We're on wind in June of this year. We are a little more sentimental about Cloud over Wind but we do love them both. Like your trip, ours has some ports where there are a choice of structured excursions that you book ahead of time, and some where it's just zodiacs or hikes that they arrange when you get there. I will second Port Power's advice; these won't be limited capacity and they will make sure that everyone has a chance to do what they choose in these spots. At most, if there's a choice between either a hike or a zodiac ride for example, they might ask you to sign up for what you want to do the night before. That's so they know how they need to split up the naturalists and zodiac drivers, how many they need, etc. But if you can't sign up in advance it's a pretty sure bet that you don't need to.

Davey is a professional. I could only hope to grow up and cook as well as that! I did make sous vide halibut over wilted spinach with confit garlic last night though. I even shared some with Chris!

M, at minus 40 it doesn't matter... As you know, -40 F and C are the same! Reminds me of a February trip to Québec a few years ago. We were outside touring the fort in those temps!

Sounds like one quote is advertising and the other is the slightly less misleading "fine print"

Stumble, it's very fortunate that our wives don't participate in CC!

Strange? No, but different and not tailored to classic American tastes. I posted a week's worth of menus from the September 2021 sailing on my blog. I was perfectly happy with the food. Things may be different on a charter such as Smithsonian or Tauck.

Thinking about Ponant? We have our second cruise coming up with them in March and we will have free laundry. I assume it's send out but I'm sure someone who knows will answer.

I'll reserve your loungers while you're out.

Use this link. CC must have changed the naming conventions for its web pages; probably in the 2018 upgrade. So Terry has the "old" URL in his link above. When you try to go there, the CC site automatically reroutes you to the correct page. However that automatic "redirect" makes security software freak out. I just ignored the warning and followed that link anyway, which led me to the correct URL. Linked above, and copied here for comparison: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2076101-live-amazon-river-caribbean-many-pix’s-terryohio/

We found a 2-dozen carton of brown eggs for $6.99 at our local warehouse store last weekend. Decent brand too. We were excited! Even Aldi's price was over $5 for a dozen plain white eggs. Yikes!

Bugs are similar to lobster. No worries, QSS, they go well with wine! @Lirio, so glad that you are home safely but what an ordeal! Sorry you were caught up in it.

Good point! What time is your handoff scheduled for?

Thought it was spilling wine, Stumblefoot.

bubbulz - if you can only go once, then hands down I'd choose the longer itinerary with South Georgia. The wildlife there is spectacular, and different from what you'll see in Antarctica proper. Seeing both is even better than just seeing Antarctica. We too have done separate cruises to Antarctica alone (2009) and Antarctica w/ South Georgia (2020). I did a trip report on the more recent cruise with pix and details from each stop. They are different enough that they complement each other nicely. We have not been to the Falklands. Our South Georgia itinerary was fairly unique in that regard. Also, I'd have some trepidation about the Antarctica Bridge itinerary. I don't know if you're aware, but just last week (on 1/24) there was a pretty significant issue w/ the flights. Apparently only 1 of the 3 planes made it to Antarctica to drop off pax. The other 2 had to turn back as the landing site was fogged in and not safe. So, 2/3 of the pax on last week's sailing didn't get to go at all. And the ones who stayed behind got a bonus week on board, since the next landing window is apparently tomorrow! I'd take my chances with the Drake.

Thanks for remembering the name, sea bright. It's not an "app" per se but a web-based system where you can access restaurant menus and make reservations. It ONLY works when you are onboard and connected to their wifi. Furthermore if you have a VPN set up on your mobile phone you'll have to disable that, otherwise it won't work.

He must have forgotten his pre-travel angst.

We did the Rhone on Uniworld in 2015. Very nice ship and itinerary. I did a trip report on these boards: We liked the region very much and will go back some day to fill in the gaps that we missed. We've visited Bordeaux as an overnight cruise ship stop once. The city and countryside were very scenic as well. We rented a car and drove around the area so our perspective was different from that of a river cruise. Still, a beautiful area and one that's worth an in-depth visit. Not sure you'll go wrong with either location. Or just plan to do both - one now and one later.

In 2011 before Svalbard, it was the Radisson Blu at Holberg's Gate. It was pretty standard. Best part was that it was a stop on the airport bus line, so easy to get there on our own.

Tahiti is there as French Polynesia. Easter Island is not separate; as you point out, it's included in Chile.

Not according to the rules of the century club. As long as you get off the plane, it counts! https://travelerscenturyclub.org/countries-and-territories But - we have not put stars there on our travel map so according to our "house rules" she is, of course, 100% correct. As it should be!