Mameypeak

Any comments on this cabin?  Noise?

I've been back to St John twice after the hurricanes (I own a home there). The beaches are beautiful. As noted the snack bar at Trunk is closed but they are renting chairs there. I agree with the previous posters about getting sandwiches from the deli grotto in Mongoose junction to bring to the beach (and don't forget drinks too!). But if you want to eat in Cruz Bay, many restaurants are open.

Hotel CA,

my husband asked- "do you think they'll have Pappy?".

Following everyone's advice I booked a car (didn't pay yet so we can change our minds) from Europcar. As noted, Hertz is further away from the port. Avis doesn't open until 9:30 or 10 (not clear from website). We dock at 8 am and leave at 6 pm.

Camillus 112,

I live in Manlius and bicycle sometimes on Tuesday nights in Camillus (with the Onondaga Cycling club). This past Tuesday I was almost out of gas when I arrived at the Costco gas station (15 cents/gallon less than in Manlius)

Hi Camillus,

We're doing a Spirit cruise too-not the same as yours (but ends in Barcelona).

I was at the Camillus Costco on tuesday.

Thanks everyone-I booked La Perouse. After a long haul from NY, I will welcome a nice hotel.

I've narrowed it down to La Perouse or Hotel Suisse. Prices are similar.

Sounds nice. What area of Nice should I look for a hotel?

Any suggestions on private transfer to Monaco?

In October we'll be flying from NY to Nice arriving 8:45 am on a Sunday. Although the cruise begins monday in Monaco the first night the ship is docked in Monaco.

so, my question is, should we spend the first night in Nice? Or 2 nights in Monaco (one in a hotel, the second on the ship)

Thank you Hedy for your review. I will be on that cruise in another week and I'm worried about the swells. I plan on taking meclizine daily (aka, Bonine) and hope all will be well.

I spend quite a bit of time each year on St John.

Cinnamon Bay is the site of the campgrounds-so there is a bathroom, a small store, and a restaurant (not near the water). It is windier there than on other St John beaches. You can rent windsurf, hobies, paddle boats there. There is a small archeological museum right on the beach-check it out if it's open.

I would suggest picking up sandwiches in either red hook or cruz bay (there's a deli in mongoose junction). No bottles are allowed on the National Park beaches.

Taxi prices are set in the USVI. They are open air safari taxis. Cinnamon Bay is further than Trunk Bay.

I'll be on that Barbados cruise soon. Do you think 128 will be too noisy? Beside the stairs, what is that between 121 and 125?

I'm worried also about the seasickness, but that's on another thread!

We just received our documents from Windstar (January 31-Barbados) yesterday

As soon as you get off the ferry you will see the open air "safari" taxis. I think it's $7 or $8 pp each way to trunk.

There's a discrepancy in the above 2 posts. Is the gangway on port or starboard side?

Thanks for your help.

I also prefer midship (get queasy sometimes) and a quiet cabin. On larger ships, I prefer a deck with cabins above (no chairs scraping at 4 am ), but does that apply on this ship? Are the lower deck ones the less expensive ones (by $400) due to the extra stairs (no problem for us) and water sloshing on the portholes?

Thank you for your input. We are still deciding, but the Windstar is about $1000 less per person. They are the same dates. I very slightly prefer the Seabourn itinerary, but not $1000pp more. Does Seabourn every have good sales?

We are looking at two January 2015 Caribbean cruises-both with nice itineraries: the Windstar vs the Seabourn Spirit (soon to be a Windstar ship).

Third on the list, is Explorer of the seas (a 9 days, not 7 days). Afer just sailing on Silversea, I am not thrilled to go back on such a big boat.

So between Seabourn and Windstar, The Windstar is less expensive (I realize that alcoholic drinks are not included). I read that the cabins have been renovated on Windstar and are smaller-that's ok.

Any input would be helpful.

Silversea Spirit 2013 (Venice to Athens)

Carnival Pride

Celebrity -bermuda

Celebrity-Eastern Caribbean

QE 2 (2001)-New England/Canada

What I liked best about Silversea is the space. 490 passengers, 50% were European, 25% American and 25% Australian. There was just so much space, no lines for anything.

I would certainly cruise Silversea again, but I'm not sure it's worth the premium price.

Caving to Modric Cave, Zadar, Croatia

This excursion is rarely done because they need 12 participants. Luckily there was one group with 8 people (plus 4 additional). This is a cave about 45 minutes from the port. We shared the bus with the hiking excursion (the cave is the first stop). We had some problems. The cave is in its natural state-no cement floors, no lights. One of the women was wearing flat shoes. Luckily the female guide had an extra pair of hiking boots. We had to wear overalls and helmets with lights (either flashlight or gaslight). Silversea did not make it clear how correct footwear was absolutely necessary. In addition, you had to be somewhat physically fit-or at least agile. We had to fit through some really tight spots. A great day for a contortionist. Here is a link to a review of the cave on tripadvisor. Check out the pictures (this is from trip advisor, not my excursion):

<a href="http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/LocationPhotos-g1190819-d1549389-Modric_Cave_Modric_Spilja-Zadar_County_Dalmatia.html"><img alt="Photos of Modric Cave (Modric Spilja), Zadar County" src="http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/02/db/9c/f9/modric-cave-modric-spilja.jpg"/></a><br/>This photo of <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g1190819-d1549389-Reviews-Modric_Cave_Modric_Spilja-Zadar_County_Dalmatia.html">Modric Cave (Modric Spilja)</a> is courtesy of TripAdvisor

The cave was amazing! We did have some other issues. I was told by Silversea that lunch was included. After the cave, we had to wait for an hour at the restaurant (where we had been dropped off) for the hikers to come pick us up. Silversea refunded 15% of the cost.

2) Dubrovnik walking tour

Dubrovnik was lovely-very very crowded. The guide was only fair-neither pleasant nor particularly informative. I would hire my own guide next time (if at all). In the afternoon (the boat doesn't leave till 11 pm), we went bar hopping and ended up at a bar on the rocks (Busa)-wonderful.

Back to the food:

I didn't like having to make reservations for the restaurants.

Seishin-we only had the first course since I became ill (not from the food). I wasn't impressed

Hot rocks-despite all the previous good reviews, I was sorry that we spent an evening there. We had chicken, fish and steak and vegetable skewer. I'm sorry, but sitting in the fading light and having to cook your own food didn't cut it. The wait staff was less experienced than in the restaurant.

The Restaurant-excellent service, good food

La Terrazza-we couldn't get a reservation there one night. We didn't try again

Back to the food:

I didn't like having to make reservations for the restaurants.

Seishin-we only had the first course since I became ill (not from the food). I wasn't impressed

Hot rocks-despite all the previous good reviews, I was sorry that we spent an evening there. We had chicken, fish and steak and vegetable skewer. I'm sorry, but sitting in the fading light and having to cook your own food didn't cut it. The wait staff was less experienced than in the restaurant.

The Restaurant-excellent service, good food

La Terrazza-we couldn't get a reservation there one night. We didn't try again

Arrived in Athens yesterday after my first Silversea cruise.

Check in was easy.

Stateroom: veranda suite on deck 5 was nice-very spacious. The curtains were really good at blocking out sunlight. There are 2 sets of curtains-one at the veranda and one diving the sleeping area from the living room. Cabin was well designed except for the outlet situation and the sink. There were 2 outlets only and they were positioned close to a shelf so my surge protector/multi outlet didn't fit. But it was not a problem.

As previously mentioned, the faucet for the sink tends to splash if you are not careful and the sink was wider than necessary.

The beds were really comfortable, as were the pillows (9 choices, I think). As is common in hotels, the comforter was too warm. So we had to set the thermostat very cool.

Butler. Our butler Udit was very good.

Food. The food was very good. My husband prefers a vegan diet and we informed the staff, but there was no effort made by staff. On the first night, the waiter told my husband he would bring him a big salad every night, but it never materialized. On the last night, for the vegetarian dinner option, there were 3 tiny appetizer sized items own the plate. Not enough for a dinner.

I will write more later