shorefolks

Careful what you wish for. The last time Brazil required visas we with another couple took a train to the consulate in NYC to apply. Waited outside in a line in the rain for an hour. When we finally got in, the applications photos of my wife and myself were rejected while our friends were accepted. Same camera, same wall we stood in front of but different self-important, American-hating agent. Had to walk to a CVS a block away to get new photos. The visas are still valid (10 years from issuance), but now we don't need them for our cruise.

Does anybody have a lead on birding guides for the Amazon, especially in Manaus?

March 26.

Thanks to all for the information!

Thank you. Could you share a link for bus information?

I am trying to arrange an early-morning ride from the ship to the MUSA park for a guided birding walk. What are the local options? Taxi, Uber, etc.? How reliable are these? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

We have sailed HAL before and will again this fall. We liked our previous cruises with them, although they were several years ago. We sailed with Princess this past November, our 10th cruise with them and the first time that we did NOT buy Future Cruise Credits. From our first meals, it was obvious that there was rampant cost-cutting going on. The steaks, even in the steak house, were just poor- very tough. Plus, the number of entree options was reduced in the MDR. To make things worse, the chef (not one of the Italian chefs that Princess likes to tout) assembled dishes using an odd and inappropriate collection of flavors and accompaniments, none of which seemed to add much flavor, interesting or otherwise. The International Cafe, by contrast, did its usual bang-up job, even better than ever. The service on board Princess was very good, as has usually been the case. All of the staff seemed very eager to please. Entertainment was of meager quality, and there was no staff show. Whether the problem with food on our Princess cruise was due to the individual chef or overall cost-cutting, I can't say, but it was sufficient to make us look elsewhere. A much better experience, food-wise, was the cruise we took in January with Oceania. (Yes, I know Oceania is a premium-priced line, above mass-market lines like Princess and HAL but below luxury lines like Seabourn.) As opposed to Princess where we had to try to pick a meal choice that we would dislike least, on Oceania we had a tough choice picking the dish we would like the most. Generally great food all around. This cruise, by the way, was to Antarctica and South America. I must say that the enrichment team (4 in all) were above and beyond, with numerous lectures regarding Antarctica. General staff were also excellent, with top-notch cabin stewards.

You may not see clam strips on menus because "fried clams" has come to mean "fried clam strips" in recent years. In order to get whole fried clams, you often have to look for "Ipswich clams." Those of us born at the Jersey Shore are called "clam diggers," an activity I frequently enjoyed before pollution regulations closed most waters. I would search for clams with my toes and then shuck and eat them on the spot, now no longer possible. All of the preceding is further evidence of the fall of Western civilization.

I would agree with BklynBoy8's choices. In Corner Brook, the Highlights will give a good overall view of what you like. In Sydney, it's a tough call between the Bell Museum and Fortress Louisbourg. We loved both when we took a driving tour of Nova Scotia. Both are historic, of course. The Bell Museum is fascinating and the area provides real context for Bell's work. The Fortress, with its docents and setting really puts you into the scene of what those colonists' life was like. Halifax is a nice little city with a lot of history. The park is very nice. Don't specifically take a tour to Peggy's Cove. Look at the pictures and enjoy the scenery and quaintness. Spare yourself the disappointment of seeing the rocks covered with tour groups and of smelling the overflow from the septic system. (By now, the septic may have been fixed, but you can't fix overcrowding.)

We just got off a trans-Atlantic on Emerald Princess. It was our 10th Princess cruise, 31st overall, and the first Princess cruise where we emphatically did NOT buy a future cruise credit. Our biggest complaint by far was the food. Cutbacks were immediately noticeable. Cheaper cuts of meat were pervasive. Overall, the food was tasteless and lacking in variety. Some examples: (1) the onion soup was indeed of the cheapest commercial grade, so loaded with salt as to be inedible (and I use a lot of salt myself); (2) a prime rib required a steak knife to be cut; (3) one night's dinner selections included "vegetarian" cassoulet (there is no such thing, unless you count canned baked beans), chicken drumsticks, and make-your-own empanadas; (4) the shrimp cocktail contained 4 miniature shrimp. Dinner in the past would involve choosing the best of several good entrees; it is now down to picking the dish you will dislike least. The best food on the ship is from the pizzeria or the International Cafe, but you can't eat there all day, every day. Entertainment was mediocre. There was no staff show. Enrichment lectures were almost non-existent and almost always irrelevant. Six straight days at sea became a chore. On the plus side, the service was excellent from the usual charming group of Filipinos. However, the ship had only 1800 passengers. What would it have been with a full 3000-plus? In sum, this was a very disappointing return to cruising after 3 years. We have an Oceania cruise in January to Antarctica. We were already looking forward to it very much, now probably more so. The contrast should be interesting.