mhoffrob

To us, the biggest difference is taking the Hiriam Bingham train (gold) vs. the vista train (silver) - HB arrives later in the day when the park is much last crowded, includes meals on the train, etc. I believe the hotels are different but that is of little consequence to us. Gold also costs more per person (about $500 more each)

so, an update: I made it to the top of the Silver Excursion waitlist. But I have 72 hours to book or lose the spot. If I book the spot, I will be removed from the Silver wait list. So I called, first Shore Excursion agent could not stop asking me how I wanted to pay for the Silver package and did not understand my questions, so I asked for a supervisor. He sent me into a transfer loop that 26 minutes later apparently had me on the general HLA phone system asking what I needed to do (so basically back to the beginnng of the phone tree). Called back, explained my predicament, was basically told no one knows anything. THere is no one in HLA who knows how long the waitlist is, where my place on it is, whether I go on to Silver b/c people dropped out or b'c they added a second grouping; No one knows my spot on the Gold list, how many people are on the excursion, whether a second grouping might be added. No manager, supervisors, or staff can answer these questions, but yes, if I book the Silver I lose all chance to get on the Gold. Don't mean to whine ~~ just that I'm just incredibly frustrated that there are no answers. This is a 3 day excursion, part of a once-in-a-lifetime cruise and experience, and whether or not we book it, or even stay on this cruise vs. travel only to Peru on our own hinges on answers no one seems to have. I'm not sure if we should settle for the Silver or cross our fingers and hope for Gold??????

here's my link: https://www.goodreads.com/mhoffrob

Goodreads is a cross between Facebook and INternet Movie Database. It's social media for readers. You create an account and search for books; you mark those books as "read" "currently reading" or "want to read", and then you can look at each list and sort them by when read, when added to your lists, when published, authors name, title, etc. You can also create your own tags (I have Non-Fiction, Mystery/Thriller, Romance, Literary, Classic, Audiobook, just to name a few). You also follow/ friend people to see their lists. I review books there and use their star rating system - mostly becausee the social media manager at my work copies those reviews to the library's goodreads account. I'm also required to post reviews for books I read before they are published (librarian perk from publishers, gets them free "press" so to speak), I've used it for about 15 years, I think,. I have almost 1000 read books, and almost 500 want-to-read books at any given time. Helps me keep track of where I am in a series, if I liked an author, etc. I love it for those and other reasons You can also get recommendations based on what is on your lists, genres you prefer, etc. That's where I would curate the "cruisers list" that we're referencing here. Be advised - Amazon bought it a couple years ago - it hasn't changed much but they do have access to the information. Some people aren't comfortable with that (I have one coworker with a "fake" account of sorts. I know her pseudonym, so accepted her 'friend' request. So that is an option if you're so inclined. Check it out at goodreads.com

Does anyone else here use GoodReads to keep track of books? I'd be happy to create a dupicate of this list there and share it within threads when people ask. It's a bit more searchable and you can then read through this list and save the ones you want to your own "to be read" file/list. Mary (one of those pesky librarians)

FYI, it didn't open for me, but I opend Instagram on another tab in Chrome (working on a chromebook) and signed in, then reloaded the link and it worked. Hope that helps somebody! Mary

Libby and OVerdrive are the same product - they've simply change the name and the look of the app. You'll still love it!

Jim, have you gotten a library card and installed Libby or Hoopla or CloudLIbrary in preparation for this trip?

First, we are currently waitlisted for the Machu Picchu excursion on our Inca/Panama Canal cruise in March 2023. This is a bucket list item for DH, so we are contemplating booking with a separate company to get there - but the HLA package (gold) is a bit more attractive to us. Does HLA add another "batch" if enough people sign up to the waitlist? Any odds on whether we might get in? It's impossible to tell WHERE we fall on the waitlist, from what I can see on the website. WOuld they possibly tell me if I call? Also, this is a 17 day cruise - what would be the cost of a thermal suite pass? Can't find that anywhere in packages, etc. Can I buy that for myself, but not for DH (meaning only one of the two people in cabin)? finally - we did the have-it-all package. Can anywone share thoughts on whether upgrading to the premium drinks is a good option / does anyone have a list of the (or a link to a list) of the items in premium vs. standard. I have been unable to find a 2022 list -just bar menus with prices. WOuld like to see a list of the gins, rums, etc, as well as the beers at each level. thanks so much!