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Mercruiser

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    Spokane, Washington, USA
  • Favorite Cruise Line(s)
    Azamara, Celebrity, Princess
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  1. I ran into the pristine bills issue just a couple of times in a 6 week visit. I am surprised that they care about this. US bills are worth their full face value as long as you have >50% of the bill. Read it here: https://www.bep.gov/services/mutilated-currency-redemption I've lived in the USA all my life and never had anyone refuse bill that had an ink spot, until I was in Argentina, which is especially ironic given that their own currency devalues at great speed.
  2. Note that all three of you can simultaneously share a single internet connection using the Hotspot feature on your Android or iPhone. We do this all the time on cruise ships. The only significant limitation is that you have to be near the phone that has the hotspot feature turned on. You cannot be spread out over the ship when doing this. Your son could share his high-speed connection with you using this method. The iPhone instructions are here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/111785 Android here: https://support.google.com/android/answer/9059108?hl=en This also works for sharing an Airalo Esim internet connection, or a in-flight Internet package.
  3. You will be surrounded by King Penguins at Volunteer Point in the Falklands. There are so many penguins on the move that you have to step out of their way as they waddle between the shore and the rookery. See photos here.
  4. We found a wonderful restaurant in Cusco on the main square: Mistura Grill Cusco. It was so good, we went twice. The prices are about 1/2 to 1/3 what I would expect to pay for a restaurant of this caliber. Our dinner for two was $35! https://maps.app.goo.gl/2wTa6tC9MnsCwKuz7 We got a window table overlooking the square. I've redacted our friends, who are in the Witness Protection Program. (Actually, I have not taken the time to ask if they mind being posted on social media.) We had trout, stuffed chicken, and alpaca pepper steak. All were wonderful. This place is so good, I'd skip a Princess tour meal to go here.
  5. Here was our first view of MP. This was after walking uphill, from the bus stop, for about 20 minutes. It started raining about 20 minutes later and did not stop. We returned the next morning and it was mostly sunny. I wonder how a cruise-line tour does MP, given that many folks on cruise line tours are physically unfit for this kind of walking. This isn't a drive-by bus tour kind of place.
  6. We recently completed a 1-week DIY trip to Cusco and Machu Picchu. I don't know anything specifically about Princess's tour. But here are a couple of things learned about MP and Cusco. MP is NOT a dress-up kind of place. Most people are dressed for hiking and heavy walks. You will not need to dress up at all, anywhere, anytime. Wear practical clothes for walking outdoor in cool and rainy weather. Then the sun comes out and you are warm. Have a backpack where you can keep a rain-jacket and other layers you take off during the sunny times. The weather in Cusco and MP will be very cool. MP is in a cloud forest, which means it can rain at any time. Be prepared for rain which means bring a good rain jacket or buy one of those disposable rain ponchos that are sold by every street vendor. Bring shoes that can get wet and have good traction. Don't be discouraged if it rains - it can be sunny 30 minutes later. The weather changes real fast. Beware of the altitude. Cusco (11,000 to 12,000 feet) is about the same elevation as Leadville, CO. Being from Colorado, you'll be better off than someone who lives near sea-level. We had zero issues with bugs at MP (Iguazu falls is another story!!!).
  7. I had to ask Edson (my guide from Tours by Locals) to write me a letter to submit for the Brasil visa showing that he was driving me in/out of Brasil. The day after I applied for the visa, Brasil pushed back the visa requirement date. So I didn't need the visa after all. We were approved for the visa on the first try. I now have a ten year Brasil tourist visa. We hope to go on an Amazon river cruise in the future, so the visa will eventually be useful to us. The flight updates in Spanish were not really a problem. They came by email, and I use Gmail, which has a Translate button right in the app. Easy-peasy. YMMV if you use a different email app.
  8. Here is another anecdote from our Argentina travels. We went to a seafood restaurant for king crab in Ushuaia. While I'm eating, I have this view of the cashier counter at the restaurant. The man behind the manager is paying with a big stack of Argentina peso notes (probably 1000 peso notes worth $1 USD each.) The lady behind the counter counts all the notes. She recounts them several more times. Then she summons a manager to recount the notes. Finally, she puts the stack of notes in one of those currency counting machines, lower right, that you see at banks and casinos. The whole process took about 8 minutes. While the manager is counting and recounting, another man (not in the picture) gets the attention of the lady behind the counter. He pays with USD (I can see the green notes). He was done in less than a minute. Meanwhile the guy in the picture is still watching the repeated recounts. I paid with a credit card. I was done in a couple of minutes.
  9. We never used cabs. We used Uber. It was cheap and easy. I don't speak Spanish, so Uber is much better for me than cabs.
  10. The short answer, don't exchange USD for Argentina currency. Everyone happily takes credit cards and USD. See more here:
  11. We just completed a tour to Volunteer Point with Estancia Excursions. The cost was $200 USD, in cash, on arrival. They do not require a deposit, and you don't lose any money if the port call is canceled. http://estancia-excursions.com/tour/volunteer-point/ When we arrived in Stanley on the very first tender, we were immediately whisked away with one other couple to Volunteer point. They use Toyota Land Cruisers and Range Rovers. So it's only two couples. We didn't have to wait for other people on later tenders. The later folks went on later vehicles. It was very time efficient.
  12. I used flights.google.com to track pricing. When I clicked on the cheapest non-stop flight, it took me to https://www.aerolineas.com.ar/ The fare was priced in Aregentina pesos and was $55 when converted by my credit cards company to USD. I then tried booking booking on the USA site, so that I could use English, and the price was higher. So I went back and booked on the Aregentina (Spanish) site. The only disadvantage of this is that all subsequent emails and texts were in Spanish. It's not a big problem with Google Chrome (and probably other browsers), because they can translate automatically.
  13. If you want seat assignments on LATAM, then call LATAM. Similar to you, I booked LATAM flights using Alaska miles. I had to call LATAM to get seat assignments. LATAM business class in 787s is very nice and spacious
  14. We booked all of these about about 4 months in advance. Prices may have gone up since 1) RT non-stop air from Buenos Aeries to IGR airport in Argentina We booked on Aerolineas Argentinas. It was about $55 per person one-way. We booked in the Argentina web site in Spanish. It will cost more if you book on the USA site. The seat pitch was the smallest I'd experienced since domestic India flights. If I had to do it all over, I'd pay the upgrade for a roomier seat up front. 2) 2 or 3 nights hotel in Iguazu Falls Argentina - ”Secret Garden Iguazu”. I booked on booking.com Check your dates for prices 3) We hired a private guide to take us to both the Aregentina and Brazil side. Brazil side was a day trip. We booked the guide through Tours by Locals. Click the link in post 5 and get a price. I paid about $550 with cancel for any reason option. I really liked having a private tour guide for both days. It really made the trip low-stress, enjoyable, and easy. You can get group tours cheaper of course. But I really liked the private tour. We never had to wait for anyone else, and the tour guide customized the stops according to our wishes. In addition you will have to pay admission fees to both parks. I'm remembering it's around $20 pp x 2 parks. You can check on their web sites.
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