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I don't know if Royal stops there on the regular but they are allowed to. NCL as well . Carnival gets to keep 75% of port taxes collected. There is a list in this link. https://www.visittci.com/getting-here/cruises Didn't Royal build the pier at Falmouth, Jamaica? Or was part of a joint venture. But they'll let other lines use it. I guess there is a reciprocal agreement among competing cruise lines when it comes to non-private islands?

Happy Birthday @dani negreanu

Yes, you are correct. It's call Harbor Town @Sea Dog I was in Hilton Head only once, in Jan 2023. Actually, I stayed in Bluffton which is on the mainland across from Hilton Head Island. My BIL was staying there for the winter & I visited for 5 days. However, most our time was spent at his rental house playing games & eating fabulous dinners as he's a fantastic cook. During the days, we walked on the beach or at several nearby parks. Pickney Island National Wildlife Refuge and Sea Pines Forest Preserve. Not sure how your mobility issues will be but the walks were interesting, thru the swampy, Low Country. Didn't see any alligators as it was too cool for them to be active but did see a bald eagle or two. including their nest which are the size of a small condo. Most of the walking was flat ground like the pic below or boardwalk-type sidewalk over the swampy parts. As noted above, we did go to Harbour Town for a happy hour drink and watched the dolphin excursion boats return followed by a pod of dolphins looking for food. For the next hour, the dolphins frolicked in the marina and put of such a show, we didn't feel the need to actually pay to go on the actual excursion boat! Thank you Flipper and friends! Other than that, we did hit a few local breweries and I did treat my BIL and his wife to a nice dinner. I have to check my CC receipt to find the name of the restaurant. I would have loved to visit on of the plantations or spend a day or two in Savannah but time did not allow. Next time.

I am SO glad you posted this because I thought I was the only one the kept Closed-Caption on. I pretty much can identify with everything in this video ,especially the mumbling actors with an accent while loud "background" music plays & people whisper. For the longest time, I'd be turning the volume up and down or pausing, turn on CC, rewind, watch the segment I couldn't understand, pause, turn off CC and then repeat the process 2 dozen more time during the movie. I am the worst. I would never watch TV with me. Now I leave CC on most of the time, except during comedy specials where you can see the punch line before the comedian delivers it, thus ruining the joke. I do find myself reading the CC rather than watching the action on the screen. And of the streaming platforms - either Peacock or Paramount - the CC can be a few seconds behind which is disconcerting. However, I do like the creative description of music!👍

You did mention it & I forgot so I'm glad you reminded me. This is probably the best benefit to the Uber disruption of the ride-hailing business. One of the best benefits to knowing the cost up front, is that the Uber & Lyft apps - and I assume the Cub app - show your route. When I was still dating my future DW and her daughter was a mere child of 5 or 8 or somewhere in that range, we took a trip to California & flew into San Fran. This was back in 1990 give or take a year. During the taxi ride from the airport to the hotel, my future step daughter must have mentioned a half-a-dozen times that we've never been to this city, it's nice to see a new, different city and stuff along those lines. My jaded, distrustful NY personality kicked in & I had visions of the 30 minute ride turning into a 90 minute ride as the taxi driver took the longest, most congested "scenic" route to the hotel in order to drive up the fare. I was sure I was going to argue that it was not necessary to drive us across the Golden Gate Bridge 3 times! None of that actually happened but it was a long 30 minute drive & no google maps to reassure me. So hopefully taxi drivers taking the long way to drive up fares is a thing of the past.

I like the convenience of Uber. A few taps on the phone, I know the price & pick-up time right away. I can follow the car on the little map on the phone so I'll know if I have time for an after-dinner shot and then step outside once my ride is a minute away, which is nice on a cold or stormy night. You can also schedule an Uber up to 30 days in advance if you have an upcoming trip. Once in awhile, my credit card will offer a 5% cash back bonus. I'm pretty sure I've seen the Uber App notify me when Surge Pricing "may be" in effect, in which case I may or may not try to seek out a taxi. Lyft in generally a little cheaper than Uber which is generally cheaper than taxis, the key word is generally. Exceptions include the aforementioned "Surge Pricing" and in instances where Taxi rates are a flat rate regardless of time and distance. Example: In NYC, taxis from JFK airport to Manhattan is a flat $70 rate while Uber rates will fluctuate between $50 - $150 based on demand. So take the sure price (Taxi) or gamble (Uber) and welcome to JFK Vegas 😉 Other airports in other cities many have similar flat taxi rates & perhaps why @bobmacliberty taxi from LGA to Manhattan was cheaper than Uber. Also, I think with the popularity of Uber/Lyft their base price has increased over the years so the price savings may not be as great as it used to be. Just a WAG on my part. Uber seems to work best in populated area & I've had mixed results in less populated areas. Last year when I was in South Carolina, I ordered an Uber to Savannah airport. The closest Uber driver that accepted was 35 minutes away. After 20 minutes, HE cancelled and I had to order another one that was even further away, 45 minutes I think. From what the 2nd driver told me, that's it can happen if they have to drive a long distance and there is no return customer coming back to their "home territory", in my case Bluffton, right outside Hilton Head. I understand why the 1st guy did - he wants a fare in both directions - but it's not fun when trying to catch a flight.

I might have missed it but was there a special occasion? Or "Just because" you have an awesome genie that goes the extra mile?

One of the great things about Royal is that they have something for everyone. Labadee has always been one of my favorite stops specifically for the secluded Gilligan Island type vibe. Not sure if this is accurate, but in my mind, it's an old time Caribbean stop. I hope they keep it that way. But the food does need to seriously be improved. Right? 🙂

Some interesting pictures in that video. Thanks, I think? 😉 My first thought was of Buffets Fins when reading the post, Cuba to the right

I know he doesn't own a Jeep but he can pass the duck forward under the rules of "Jeep Ducking", slide #4 in the attached link. https://www.motortrend.com/features/duck-duck-jeep A movement that was started by a person named Allison in a small town in Ontario, Canada as an act of kindness, fellowship and healing of sorts. Seems kinda kismet.

That and probably to stop Customer Service from being overwhelmed by phone calls, emails, chats, etc. from concerned customers.

They certainly do seem to be making the most of it & as you said, can't blame them. Last total solar eclipse in NY for the next 130 years. Hopefully your hotel will have a viewing party or at least in close walking distance to someplace that does. Make sure to get your "Embrace The Dark" t-shirt. Although I think it would be better if the t-shirts said "I stared at the sun and survived" as stated in one of the flyers on that link. EDIT: And as for Belhurst Castle, beautiful grounds and building, great restaurant but I'm not a fan of their wine. Personal presence. I've never stayed there but have gone to view 4th of July fireworks over the lake.

In the Finger Lakes region, probably 20 minutes outside Geneva. That's what caught my attention in your post. Enjoy, Geneva is a cute little town as you probably know already since you booked a hotel there. In case you haven't seen this already https://www.eclipsegeneva.com/eclipseviewing Belhurst Castle would make for a great place to stay & view.

Because it's part of the conversation, we both quoted the same post and you seemed to be in agreement with the person we both quoted. But if I misunderstood, I'll edit my post and remove the quoted post, if time allows.

Who said Royal would never temporarily suspend Labadee as a Port-of-Call? The only posts I recall seeing is that a marauding gang of 4,000 escaped prisoners would never pillage and plunder Labadee. And so far, that hasn't happened. A little too early for the "I told you so" crowd to start crowing. You might want to wait until Royal announces that Labadee will be permanently shut down, should that ever happen.

Thanks, I was just talking to someone recently about eclipse. My brother-in-law lives in that area and as luck would have it, he's currently wintering in South Carolina thru the end of April. I wonder if I can use his house? 🙂

If you want, feel free to post a few pics with you and the artists. It sounds like an interesting and different kind of cruise.

I'm trying t figure out what he's holding in his hand. Umbrella? Grappling hook?

Did they give you an alternative port or is it a sea day? You can always give your OBC to Heidi. Also, another question.🙂 If you do get attacked by escaped prisoners on stolen jet skis, do you have to tip them 18% on the dollar amount of the valuables they take from you?

Happy belated birthday to your wife! Wishing her many more!

Ever since my step-daughter brought her cat Leonard home some 18 months ago, I've found 3 dead mice in my house. At first I was like "Great job Leonard, nice work earning your place in my house"! Then I started to wonder if I've had these mice living with me for all these years and never knew it. I've never seen any trace of droppings, chewed up things, nests, etc. 😱

I think Boston Rob is one of the reasons I stopped watching Survivor. Specifically because the producers kept bringing him back year after year under various formats (All-Stars! Hero vs Villains! Fan Favorites!) until he finally won one season. It seemed like the producers really wanted him to win, although he kinda won a few years earlier when he started dating and eventually married fellow contestant Amber who won that season. Since then he's been in several other reality shows including Amazing Race where he tried to manipulate his way to a win. It failed. I know reality show producers like a strong "love-them-or-hate-them" personalty as they are good for ratings but enough already. And as to why his fellow contestants don't eliminate him earlier, I wonder if the producers subtly suggest to the contestants (during the interviews) that it might be in their best interest to keep him around. Again, for the ratings. Or to do their "dirty" work of double-crossing other contestants.

Congratulations. Heidi is one of my more favorite slot machines. Unfortunately, I'm not one of her favorite customers. 😕 And for some strange reason, I seem to drink a lot of beer when playing her.....or being played by her as the case may be. 😁

Maybe I need to attend your daughter's 2nd grade class as I read the note 3 times & couldn't figure out why a Hairstylist delivering coffee would be a big deal.🤔😂 Took 4 tries before reading comprehension kicked in.

MySpace is still around?