Cienfuegos

Placing a FREEZE on your credit files with the major players (Experian, TransUnion, and one other) will prevent the bad guys from checking your credit prior to getting a new credit card. It's not perfect, but it's a start. And it cuts down on the junk mail offering new credit cards... My wife and I have a freeze on our files. We lift it when we need something, like a new card.

At Miami Airport, you leave the rental car center on a train or on public roads. If you choose to take the Don Shula Expressway instead of local roads, you will need some kind of Sun Pass or the rental car company's transponder. At Orlando airport, I don't think you can get very far without getting on one of the toll roads. They are hard to avoid.

Good info on Luggage Lounge in Miami Beach https://www.luggageloungemiami.com/

Yes on E-ZPass working in Florida, and newer SunPass Pro units working in the northeast. Older SunPass, LeeWay etc transponders do not work on E-ZPass locations in the northeast. Your SunPass etc website accounts will tell you what model you have. (Basically, the Pro model has additional circuitry which makes it compatible with the northeastern and midwestern systems. I used my SunPass Pro in NY just fine last week. Worked like a charm)

Agreed. But research often precedes reliability

There's a lot of research activity these days in hydrogen fuel cell technology. It ties in very well with the electrification of everything theme

CharTrav, thanks for your amazing work keeping track of all this data. And the many changes

Individuals will have their own preferences, but driving on I-95 and Florida's Turnpike may not be for the faint of heart in Broward and Miami-Dade counties. It's not Mad Max bad, but it can be white knuckling as people pass you on both sides doing 100+ mph. I usually take the I-95 express lanes where things are a little more disciplined.

The BrightLine premium lounge in Miami station is quite nice. There are sandwiches, salads, beer, wine, etc available for guests. I believe BrightLine has plans to introduce a "cafe car" to its trains in late 2024. This additional rail car will provide hot food and cold beverages to all customers, for a fee.

Ticketing is indeed key. There's also a lot of float, with money collected from customers but not yet applied to ticketing from the airlines.

Many "beach towns" in south Florida have placed rules on short term rentals to limit the weekend party house experience. Neighbors are often displeased by rowdy, drunken, late night activity, partying, parking etc. That may show up as fewer homes available on the various home share services.

The Dania Beach (county) beach is very nice. Large, clean beach on the ocean. On a barrier island a few miles from downtown. There's a public bus which ends there, and many hotels offer shuttles to the beach on a schedule or will call basis. Definitely worth looking at the area. It doesn't get anywhere near as many Spring break crowds as Fort Lauderdale or Hollywood.

The suggestion of city tours is a good one. The younger women are undoubtedly familiar with South Beach (of Miami Beach). Some tours will drop you at one end of the area, and guide you to the other end. Gianni Versace's house, the beach, the clubs, the 1930s art deco buildings, etc.

The British TV Series The Durrells of Corfu has many wonderful scenes of life on the island. It is widely available

Both routes have their pluses. Old 41 has more speed traps, and more of "old Florida", I-75 has much faster travel. The airboat rides in the Everglades have their fans, and there are a number of places to pull over and watch gators on 41. Either way, being in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area a day ahead is a prudent idea.

The Customs and Border Protection stations in Florida are often reported to be very understaffed. And sometimes the staff can be grumpy, as one might expect. It doesn't take much to create a lot of havoc at airports or ports. A few people calling in sick can shut down a lane, for example

How about a dress or kilt made of denim?

The concept of describing tours as "Moderate" etc is a good one, but it would be far more useful to say something like MODERATE, this tour includes several sets of stone stairs, about 15 minutes of walking on 18th century cobblestone streets, etc. But, they wouldn't sell as many tours...

scrapple would be a contender as well

In my experience, BrightLine's advance purchase discounts tend to be significant. And, different times of day departures have different prices.

My wife and I did the Trade Routes cruise, and liked it very much. But, there is a lot of walking. Cartagena in Spain was a delight, but it is a walking tour. The streets are cobblestone, so some folks might have problems with that. The Roman amphitheater and museum was amazing, but it also has steps, lots of steps. My recollection is the bus drops you / picks you up a few blocks from the theater, but over a good sized hill and rampart. Agree on Porto, no "there" there. But the ship docks miles from the city, so you need the bus or arranged car unless you want to arrange a semi-private tour like something from Secret Food Tours or the sherry folks.

I've stayed in Tru hotels in Orangeburg SC, Manassses VA, and elsewhere. Agree with minimalistic (one employee did check in, sales of candy, soda pop, etc), but the rooms were clean, though small. Showers only, no tub. Nice enough for an overnight, will certainly use them again

The Thon Opera hotel in Oslo is one location mentioned earlier. It is a hundred meters (at most) from the train station entrance. On the subject of train cars, union craft rules may require adding an additional conductor for an additional car. He or she would be paid for the empty return trip back to base. And there may be an issue of the cost to add a car to a scheduled train. Cleaning, switching in an additional car, adding another cafe car attendant, etc. So, chartering an extra car may not be as easy as it first seems.

On our Viking transfer between Oslo and Bergen, the luggage went by truck with a during the night pickup at the hotel. The Viking passengers were in a reserved last train car with assigned by Viking seating, and the last few rows of a regularly assigned car ahead. That may be a function of how many people have taken the extension. The train was very comfortable, the guide made occasional comments about looking to the left or right for various scenes. We didn't see a conductor.

I saw a ramp on wheels rolled up to the train at Myrdal to help a person with a wheelchair assist leave the train. I don't know if advance notice is required, or if the train staff notify the station staff. This site says there is also a wheelchair ramp at the Flam end of the line. https://www.nomadbytrade.com/flamsbana-flam-railway/