jpalbny

Mysty! When did you get to Madagascar? Did you stop there on a prior WC? We have Brazil (we visited both sides of the falls), Greenland, Svalbard, and Ukraine where you've not gone yet. Some of Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Hungary, and the Balkans) too. And Venezuela if you count Isla Margarita... I was disappointed that Antarctica isn't an option! At least we could mark South Georgia. I didn't mark Poland or Serbia, though we've been to their airports, as we never went outside of the terminal. Chris thinks it's cheating to say that we "visited" there. You've got us beat in the Far East and Southeast Asia though, by a long shot. We'll never visit Russia, and I don't know when China will let us in. We will pick up Indonesia and Singapore soon though! And Sweden in June. You've got a few more countries than we do in Africa as well - Kenya, Namibia, Ghana, Senegal... Thanks for the link!

Send lots of pictures! I think that's the only way I'll get Chris to go back to India. Don't get me wrong - she liked it too, but she doesn't feel strongly about going back. However she was bummed that we didn't get to visit tigers.

Yes Stumblefoot, we do! Back in the day, we used to overpack. And we do still own a larger suitcase that isn't carry-on size. Just in case!

Here's a shot of part of our travel room. The map is a single 5x10 foot mural with an adhesive back so we carefully attached it to the wall after drawing a level guideline. Once it was attached and adjusted I used prefinished molding to make a faux frame. Just cut the pieces to size and nailed them to the wall and voila, it looks like a real frame. On the left wall we hung some prints of our favorite wildlife shots from past trips. On the right side we have some bookshelves with old photo albums from the print days, travel books, etc. Behind me, there's a closet stuffed full of suitcases, backpacks, and other assorted travel necessities. It's fun to come up here and look for new places to go, and dream up itineraries. One-stop shopping!

National Geographic: https://www.natgeomaps.com/wall-maps/reference-maps/world Or this site: https://www.worldmapsonline.com/ That's where I bought my 5' x 10' wall map that we put on the wall of our travel room. We add stars every time we visit a new country.

Google "speed test" and run one of the tests that come up.

Can't imagine that they wouldn't - we have had flights earlier than that on prior Uniworld cruises and they arranged the transfer at an appropriate time. If it's a 2h drive and you want to be there 3h before your flight, that would be a 6:30 departure which isn't very early at all.

For our March cruise boarding in Bali, they say 4-5PM as well. And no Covid testing required. We'll see when we get there!

Krill Bill? Sound local to the Antarctic. Can't vouch for the taste...

Many places can ship but we always bring ours home with us in our checked luggage. Amazon sells blow-up wine sleeves which are flat when deflated but blow up with a bicycle pump and provide excellent protection. You can fit 3 to 4 bottles per checked bag mixed in with your clothing, depending on the size of your suitcase and how full it already is (and how close to the weight limit you are). The bags cost about a dollar each for a pack of 20. We also have two "wine checks" which are a nylon case with styrofoam inserts that hold 6 bottes each. We bought them in South Africa for about $8 each back in 2016 and brought a case of wine back from that trip. They go along with your other checked luggage and we have used them at least a half a dozen more times to bring wine back (when we want more than a few bottles). They have been to Australia, Oregon, Croatia, Spain, Portugal, etc. Of course these methods only work if you travel light and have room in your luggage for extra stuff, or if you have a large luggage allowance and can check more bags without paying extra. And if you don't mind lugging around the extra weight. But it adds almost no cost, and is cheaper than paying shipping fees from Europe (or even further away).

Good to know; those destinations look very interesting!

Most if not all TAs will be able to book airline tickets directly with the airlines, should you want that. Some TAs might have access to discounted fares that you may not be able to get. Some might not. Or you might be able to score discounted flights on your own (for example, through the AMEX Platinum program). As above, it all depends on how much help you want vs how comfortable you are doing things on your own. Sometimes the cruise company air is a better deal. Sometimes their airfare is cheap, but it's a lousy itinerary. There is no one-size-fits-all answer. I do all of our own air, but I'm comfortable with that and I like to have control of which airline, which connection(s), and the exact time that we're flying. Even then, I can't always get exactly what I want, but I know exactly what I'm getting (until the airlines change their schedule...). Cruise air may be limited in terms of what airport you can depart from, what airlines they can use in certain markets, and when you can fly. You will likely pay a deviation fee if your schedule varies too much from the dates of the cruise. The only way to answer your question is for you to ask to see what flights and prices the cruise line proposes, and to see if those are OK with you. If not, look at other options either yourself, or have your TA look for you.

Glad that you had a nice cruise, Lois. Hope you're leaving everything in good shape for Randyk47! I watched the condensed version (highlights) of the Jags-Chargers game yesterday online. Unreal! You must have been on the edge of your seat.

Found it and had a laugh over my morning coffee. Thanks Lola!

I just learned from Voldemort that one of our favorite naturalists, Robin Aiello, passed away on Friday. We cruised with her to Svalbard back in 2011. Her energy and enthusiasm for her work was contagious. And she was a great zodiac driver as well! I hope that some of you got to travel with her on expeditions in the past. Our favorite story from the Svalbard cruise. The ship was anchored off Kvitoya Island but we couldn't land because of a Polar Bear sighting. So Robin took us to the rocky shore and maneuvered the zodiac so that all of us could touch the rocks, and thus we could say that we had touched Kvitoya Island. Recap here: From her brother: Dear Friends of Robin I am Robin's brother. At Robin’s request I am posting a message from her to all of you. As many of you knew, Robin had extensive open heart surgery over 12 years ago. It was a miracle she survived it then, and afterwards she continued on with her most amazing life of which each of you was a part. She always knew that her heart might suddenly fail at any time, and yet lived each day to the fullest. Our dear Robin passed away suddenly and unexpectedly from her heart condition on January 13, 2023 while staying at our home. Robin specifically wrote that she does not want a funeral. She wanted each of us "to celebrate her life in their own special way." She left a message to be posted on her page in case this ever happened. I have posted it below. My family thanks each of you for sharing in Robin's life, bringing joy to her world and making it the incredibly special existence that it was. From Robin to all: "My dearest friends - I have loved you with all my heart, and will miss laughing and crying with you. But I will still be here for you when you need me - just look out to the ocean and know that I am close and that I am still loving you. Thank you for being such an amazing collection of souls, each with your own special spirits that have added so much to my life. It has been an amazing life, and I have loved every minute (well, almost every minute). Do not cry - but instead, find something really funny and have a massive belly laugh - I will hear you and laugh along with you. Be well, stay well and know that you still have a friend 'out there' who loves you very much!"

Are you closer to Québec than Montréal? We have loved QC every time, and might even prefer it over Montréal, but it's a much longer drive for us.

It's OK M. I'll rent my Schwab ATM card to you.

So yesterday afternoon we drove to Montréal for dinner and an overnight. Tuesday was Chris's birthday but I was on call this week so our celebration was low-key. The weather was fine until the border. The last part was on seemingly unplowed roads but the Audi handled it well. Checked into our favorite, Hotel Nelligan, in the Old Town just a block from Notre Dame. This is one of the reasons we like the hotel! They had treats for us. Just the thing after a 3h30 drive. We went out to see the sights before dinner. Some funky star-shaped lights in the Place d'Armes. With changing colors. Over to Place Jacques Cartier for another pretty view. Rue Saint-Paul was decorated in a festive way. Back to the hotel to change for dinner. Happy Birthday, better late than never! A French 75 to start this off. We ate dinner at Restaurant Bonaparte. Food was great. Mushroom ravioli in sage sauce. I had foie gras. Yum! They have a great wine list. We went for something unusual - a red Sancerre, but made from 100% Pinot Noir rather than Cab Franc. It was lighter bodied but flavorful. Mains were a veal chop for me, and duck breast for Chris. Fantastic and not too huge a portion. Dessert? Their apple pie looked like a tarte tatin. We shared. We had more dessert in the room then wandered again to burn a few calories. This morning we slept in until after 7:00 before having breakfast and one last stroll around town. Place Jacques Cartier looks pretty by day as well. We stopped by an Italian épicerie in town before we left. Much smaller than Eataly, but great prices. So we stocked up. An easy drive home on clear roads. There was a long line at the border but our Global Entry cards allow us to use the Nexus lane when returning to the US. So, no wait. Now home thinking about a run on the treadmill before dinner... Not as much fun as yesterday but very much needed!

Agree; the Charles Schwab card works well overseas and in 5+ years of using it all over the place, they have meticulously refunded every cent of ATM fees. BoA is getting better; in many locations they do provide totally free ATM withdrawals, but their international network doesn't have the blanket coverage that Schwab does. Jazz - Ouch! Feel better.

NH probably means "not helpful" 😉

Amazing, DW. Enjoying the pictures immensely. We saw a glimpse of this in our week there. Agree that you're getting a much more immersive experience!

Enjoyed reading about your adventure so far! Good luck crossing the Circle and hope for more landings. Glad you are enjoying our favorite ship!

@Host Jazzbeau, I think Lirio is on a self-guided land trip. We visited Chrishchurch in 2008 pre-earthquake, on Oceania. We docked in Lyttleton where it was easy to get a public bus to ChCh. We also visited the Antarctic Center on our own. When we visited, they had a shuttle bus that would pick you up from downtown and take you to the Center. It ran in a loop on a regular basis. I don't see any info on their website about this now, though. You might ask them if they still offer that service, if you have another way to get to ChCh. Or perhaps take a public bus to the airport and walk 5 minutes to the Center. Otherwise, Google says it's 1h28 from Akaroa by car. Sounds like a pain - hope you can work something out because it's a fun place to visit. It set the table nicely for our Antarctica cruise the following year.

Agree w Stumble. And w Fauxnom. When Chris got Covid in September she was immediately positive by antigen test. I had symptoms too but tested negative for 5 days in a row. Finally gave up and got a PCR. Positive. So get the virus and get your positive PCR ASAP. If you wait and get sick later, you're sunk.

Bumbles bounce!