RBPatt

Thanks Phil, We have 5 sea days out of 15 and it won't hurt to be unplugged for a while. I'll just stick with the mobile data in port. I used the ship Internet on a Cuba cruise recently and it wasn't too bad. But that's a different part of the world. Bob

You're right, that Mac comment is rubbish. We're booked on Journey March 9. I have an international SIM for the days we're in port. From the discussion here it sounds like we should skip the Internet package. Does anyone think otherwise? Bob

Thanks Grandma, That's very helpful. I'll check Trip Advisor before I make a decision. Bob

If your cruise includes stops in Rome, Florence or Naples I highly recommend Share a Shore Excursion. They take between 6-8 people in Mercedes Sprinter vans and are usually very flexible about the itinerary. We booked with them in each port a few years ago and enjoyed every one of them. I know this has nothing to do with the cruise line tours, but thought I'd mention it anyway. Bob

PirateWife, Thanks for the quick reply and your advice. We booked through Costco of all places. They have several private events and tours for their customers but we have no OBC. I don't mind paying extra for the tours as long as they're not cattle calls. And we like small ones because everyone gets to know each other (20 is a nice size). I saw the Azamara videos that say their tours are small, but I had to check. Bob

Shore excursion question for Azamara veterans. Until now we’ve only taken cruises on larger mass market ships, NCL, RCCL etc. We learned quickly to avoid shore excursions through the cruise line because they were usually in big crowded buses which made us feel like cattle. Instead we either explored on our own, hired private guides or booked small local tours. Azamara claims to be different. Is that true? We’re seriously considering a couple ship sponsored excursions including the Kangaroo and Koala tour in Melbourne. How many people do they typically t