WisRiver

Try posting on Trip Advisor or join Yolisto. They might have some cigar smokers who can help you. I visit the market fairly frequently. Cigars are a luxury item, and I seldom see Mexican people smoking them.

I am not the captain. I do not remember what we paid, but it was not cheap. Cliff McGaa is the captain. You should contact him directly at the e-mail or phone number I listed.

Look at my posting on Sept. 8, 2016 about a charter captain. I am not aware of a panga that takes out cruisers.

The AP buses run every 15 or 20 minutes during the day. There may be a schedule, but I just walk up, buy a ticket and wait for the next bus. AP offers a self guided excursion to Merida. Look on their web site for information about the excursion.

In order to see the Merida market you can take the AutoProgreso bus to Merida and walk to the market. We take the bus since we do not have to worry about our cruise ship leaving without us. Your could make arrangements with a Progreso cab driver. However, I think the best way would be to contact William Lawson Tours. They can customize a tour for you. They have excellent guides and drivers.

Food vendors change at the market so it is hard to recommend any one place. I usually stand back and watch the cooks. I like vendors that cook food on order and is served hot. A line of locals waiting for food is a good sign. I think the best way to avoid travelers stomach problems is to keep your hands clean when you eat. Carry and use hand sanitizer whether on shore or on the ship.

In Progreso there is the Mercado Municipal. It is across the street from the lighthouse on Calle 78 a block from the AutoProgreso Terminal. The market has a fresh meat and fish section. It is not a large market, but there are usually five or six fish vendors selling local catch depending on the season. There is also a fresh fruit and vegetable section as well as numerous food stands selling local fresh foods.

If you want a large fresh food market, you have to go to Merida to the Mercado Lucas de Galvez. It is huge and can take several hours to explore.

One way airfares is a much discussed topic. We have flown Icelandair from MSP to Europe and return. Icelandair offers good one way fares, but does not serve many cities in Europe or the US. This spring we are doing a west to east TA to Copenhagen. We will be traveling on our own in Europe for a month or so. We have been looking at one way fares home. From Vienna the fare was over $2400 US. From Prague the fare was $700 US on LOT. These cities are less that 300 miles apart. My advice is shop around.

I suggest you contact William Lawson's Tours. http://www.lawsonsyucatanexcursions.com They are probably the most expensive option, but friends and Cruise Critic posters give Lawson high marks. It would not hurt to e-mail them for a quote.

Kirk, could you email me at wisriver2322 at gmail dot com. We are on the Zuiderdam transatlantic in April, 2017 which makes a stop in Horta. We are looking at doing something in Horta, but do not want to do a tour. Getting a taxi at the dock sounds interesting. Thanks.

Since we winter near Progreso we can take full day trips out fishing. Last year we used Clifford McCaa. He is an American who is licensed in Mexico. We went out in a 30' Dorado. Since we had our grandkids, we were not trophy fishing. We went out about 8 miles, but the Gulf is still fairly shallow, between 50 and 100 feet.. He told us he takes out cruisers. The e-mail on his card is captainyucatan@hotmail.com and the cellphone we used to contact him was +52 999 949-1342.

We will be on the HAL Zuiderdam transatlantic in April 2017. Our first stop after leaving Fort Lauderdale is Horta, Azores and then the next day we stop in Ponta Delgada. I can find a few posting on Ponta Delgada, but nothing recent on Horta.

I find it interesting that the thread for the Azores is in "other Mediterranean ports" which covers everything from the Black Sea to the mid Atlantic.

Horta is a tender port and I understand that weather conditions make it impossible to stop. Nevertheless is there any recent experiences on Horta that people would like to share?

We were on the Prinsendam in 2014 with Jacqui. We did not do an organized tour. We walked off the ship and walked for an hour or so into town. There is a big ugly modern hotel near the cruise port, and we found and exchange booth inside the hotel. I exchanged $50 US for about 200 lari. We walked to a large public park along the waterfront. Since we were walking before noon, no restaurants were open. We were the only cruise ship in port. We shopped our way back. The women in our group bought textiles and knit goods. The vendors were willing to take Euros, but not US dollars. I walked through several grocery stores to try to get a feel for everyday Georgian life, and picked up snacks and candy in case we had food shortages on board. Few people spoke English, French or Spanish (the languages of our group), but we managed to communicate. We stopped for a late lunch at a restaurant in a courtyard near our ship. We had grilled pork skewers (Georgia not being a Muslim country), a cabbage soup, and dumplings filled with meat and vegetables. We had several bottles of local beer and a tasty white white. Total bill for four persons was about $60 US and they took our Visa card. We spent the remainder of our lari for little trinkets from the dock side vendor. We were back on the ship by 3 PM after a six hours on shore. I am glad to have spent time walking the city to see the vestiges of pre WWII construction, Soviet buildings of the post war era and the modern design.

We were on the Fram in March 2016. Internet was not available to passengers from 8 AM to 2 PM. The heaviest use was from 5 PM to 11 PM. During high use times, it could take minutes just to log on. I would use the internet from 6 AM to 8 AM and at best speeds were between 20 and 60 kbs, which is old dial up modem speed. It is almost impossible to upload load large files and down loading takes forever. Since it was a satellite connection, it was subject to weather conditions. Be prepared for slow, unreliable internet. I told my correspondents that I would not be available for the 18 days I was on the Fram.

On July 12, 2016 Maldenmusic posted a picture of the departure schedule for AutoProgreso. The photo showed the departure time for the Uxmal Excursion as 10:00 AM. In the winter I frequently walk through the AutoProgreso Terminal in Progreso and have noticed the schedule. The photo confirms my memory. I hope this link to the photo works.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2365965

We live in Progreso in the winter and visiting friends used Turibus last year. They enjoyed it. We took it six or seven years ago, and it was interesting. Here is a link in Spanish. http://turibusmerida.com The costs are in Mexican Pesos, so do not be put off by the $ sign. There is also a map and timetable. I do not know if they take credit cards or US dollars. We used the stop on the north side of the Cathedral.

We are booked in a veranda guarantee on the FLL to Copenhagen portion of the this cruise. This will be our fifth transatlantic, but the first to Copenhagen. My wife and I choose open dining because of the flexibility. If you find compatible table mates and dining time, it is easy to book with the same table mates.

Can't help you with Spa questions.

I have booked a seven person excursion from Cherbourg to the American D-Day beaches on May 1. We have six people signed up and I am looking for a single. You can e-mail me at WisRiver2322 at gmail dot com for more information of if you have other questions.

There is a roll call for this cruise. Only ten people have signed up so far, but they may be able to help.

See you on board, maybe.

On European cruises, people tend to dress better. My DW will wear a dress to dinner, and reminds me to wear a sport coat. European men might wear blue jeans with a coat and tie for dinner. I should look so good.

In looking at the pictures on the AP and ShoreExcursions websites, they seem to be the Technotel.

We did a B2B on HAL several years ago. We were docked at Terminal 28 which was to far to walk. We left the ship with the last groups. After we cleared immigration we found the crew shuttle, a shared van service to the 17th Street shopping area. You will find grocery stores, restaurants, liquor store and discount stores. I think the crew shuttle was less than $5 US per person. Anyone can use the the crew shuttle.

Personally I would want to get to FLL. Find a hotel along 17th Street in FLL, Embassy Suites, Hyatt, Holiday Inn, what ever suits your budget. The next day you can sleep late, eat breakfast, do lost minute shopping at the shopping mall, and take a taxi to your ship. If we are traveling with HAL we usually arrive at about 11:30 or 12 and drop our bags. Celebrity never seems to have rooms ready until after 1:30. If using Celebrity we usually arrive at about 1:30 or 2. Since we are usually doing a transatlantic we like to eat nice lunch in FLL.

We spend the winter in Progreso and our grandchild (13, 11,9) have spent time with us. From an adult point of view Uxmal is the best place to visit on a cruise ship tour. Most excursions take about 90 minutes to drive to Uxmal. The ruins are extraordinary and there are no vendors inside the ruins. There are vendors outside the entrance to the ruins. Again from an adults point of view Chichen Itza is extraordinary. If you have the time, it is a must see. The ruins are iconic and justly deserve their World Heritage Status. On the other hand a bus tour from Progreso is over 2 hours long, and you get there when all the tourists from Cancun and Progreso have arrived. There are vendors inside the grounds (a result of a long, complicated dispute over ownership of the ruins) which can be distracting. We try to get there by 8 AM (avoiding the crowds, vendors and heat of the day) and are out by 11 AM.

From a kids point of view, a trip to Dzibicheltun is the hands down winner. The ruins are smaller, they can climb on some of the ruins, they can take a swim in the fresh water cenote, they can visit the nice small museum and they will have time to swim in the ocean in Progreso. If your sister wants to see CI, let her go. She will have no problems on a ship excursion to CI.

We were on the Fram, a ship with a capacity of about 250. The 100 passenger rule meant that there was a constant shuttle of passengers to land in Antarctica. I would go with the smaller ship although it could be rough sailing regardless of the size of the ship. The South Georgia Islands were an unexpected highlight of our trip. While our landings in Antarctica were incredible, the landings in South Georgia were almost as great. I had wanted to see the Falklands, and they were also great. My recommendation is to try to find a tour that does all three, landings in Antarctica, South Georgia and Falklands.

Being on the Malecon will not suffice in an of itself for finding fresh fish. In walking the street behind the Malecon,I have noticed boxes in the trash labeled "Swai" an Asian farmed fish. I have also seen boxes labeled shrimp which had Thai origin. I am not condemning all restaurants on the Malecon. However, like restaurants all over the world, it can be hard to find fresh fish.

When are you going? Progreso is a fishing port, but often portions of the fishery will be closed to protect the stock. A common delicious fish is "mero", part of the grouper family. The mero fishery is usually closed in January, February and March. My personal favorite is Flamingos, about 4 blocks east of the pier on the Malecon. They offer beachside service. My experience is that the waiters are truthful in telling you what is fresh.

The Central Market, Mercado Central, across the street from the lighthouse, has a fresh fish section. You can see what is being sold as fresh that day. The vendors do not speak much English. The market is worth a visit to see what locals are buying. I think the food stalls in the market offer some of the best local food prepared in front of you.

We have cruised Alaska and the Chilean fjords on a Buenos Aires/Santiago cruise with HAL and the Norwegian fjords with Hurtigruten. Earlier this year we did an Antarctic expedition on Hurtigruten's Fram. We have never done a driveby on Antarctic. Having said that, the expedition cruise was the most incredible cruise I have ever done.

We were able to get off the ship in Antarctica and the Falklands (we were able to dock in Stanley). We made five landings in Antarctica and three in the Falklands plus walking off the ship in Stanley. However, almost as incredible as Antarctica was our stops in the South Georgia Islands.

South Georgia has the mountains, glaciers and fjords on a par with our Northern Hemisphere stops, plus the seals, whales, sea birds, land birds and penguins. The South Georgia Islands do not have the 100 person per landing limit, but you have the chance to some hiking. Many of the passengers did a three hour hike on a portion of the Shackleton Trail.

Our cruise had lots of sea days, since we went from the Falklands to Buenos Aires. Since we were on smaller ships, there is no multiple dining options, casino, piano bar, or entertainment other than crew shows. Antarctica is pricey. We paid more for the Antarctic cruise than we did for an 18 day Black Sea cruise in a Signature Suite, the previous record holder for price for us.