grmmybtty

Sounds like a good idea. Maybe if we all get drunk enough 🤣

4 hours ago, Senior Citizen said:

How did they use the bottled snakes?

In China and Vietnam (and probably all over Asia). the snakes are soaked in alcohol for a long period of time and the infused liqueur is served as a health tonic. Rafael and Armando can try it during our cruise next year!

Welcome home Frances. Thank you for the great info on Tokyo port. Now that you are home, we will have to get in touch to plan SIN-SF for 2020!

Cynthia,

I just looked at the overland tours since you mentioned the overlapping times. Oceania has added a few new ones in Africa, and a couple of them begin upon disembarkation from Cape Town so that it entirely overlaps the dinner event that night. I wonder if the planners even look at the schedule of events when land tours are being planned? The Himalayan land tour looks wonderful.

41 minutes ago, cbb said:

 

My big bucket items are: Fushimi Inari and the Sagano Bamboo Forest.  (we were here ATW16 so I've seen the northern parts.)

 

we have an O EVENT in Kobe " Arima Onsen Gekkoen" from 5-9pm so we'll have to make our way back from Kyoto to Kobe for that.  We really want to go but it does make it difficult to fit in everything we want to see.  We are there overnight so that helps but leave at 3pm the next day.  (I know, I know.....1st World Problems)

 Cynthia, we are on the ATW 2020 and have the same concern about fitting something in on our Kobe stop since the event is smack in the middle of our overnight. Would love to visit Fushimi Inari and the Bamboo Forest too. Maybe we can plan something together (bettytabora at yahoo dot com)

13 hours ago, Senior Citizen said:

The ship docked at Harumi Port.  However, I was told the port will be moved.  Currently, there is lots of construction outside the port as it will become the 2020 Olympic Village.

Thank you Frances. Glad you made it into Kyoto from Kobe. Hope you got on less crowded trains than we did last year. Looking forward to sailing with you and Raphael next year.

11 hours ago, See_More said:

Mar.30.2019 Tokyo,  Rikugien Gardens. Cherry blossom night illuminated!  Gathered 6 friends and took the Oceania shuttle (near train station).

 Did the ship dock in Yokohama or Tokyo Bay? We will be overnighting in Tokyo on the ATW 2020. Did you know ahead of time where you would be docking?

35 minutes ago, Izzy'sMoms said:

Our Med cruise ends in Venice. Are there sufficient taxis/ shuttles available on the day of disembarkation, or is it best to book transportation in advance? Our flight is at noon.

There are not usually shuttles on disembarkation day. Depending on where the ship actually docks the taxis may not be allowed to get close to the area where you actually get off the ship. We booked a car to pick us up (can't remember the name of the company, but they were mentioned in a Venice ports of call thread). Apparently private booked cars are allow through to pick up passengers.  We got to the airport in about 30 minutes. Our other option would have been a very expensive private water taxi. 

2 hours ago, decafnights said:

 

2) We disembark in Rome and due to our travel arrangements, we will be spending one night in the airport hotel. The hotel has a free shuttle to the city. We have been to Rome several times, most recently in December. Does anyone have any suggestions for something different do (we've seen the major sights) or interesting places to eat or shop? Pretty sure we will be toured out.

 

Thanks,

Gail

We stayed at the Rome Hilton Airport after leaving our ship about 2 years ago. We didn’t want to go into Rome because Trump was in town for the G10 (or something) and there were demonstrations. We took the local bus from the airport to the town of Fiumicimo. It’s a nice fishing village with some cute shops and restaurants. We walked around a bit, then had an early dinner before taking the bus back to the airport. No major sights to see, just a pleasant afternoon by the sea.

4 hours ago, bob brown said:

How did your price’s compare?

Prices were about the same and ours was only a 7 day cruise! The major difference is that we got jackets for only 50 points. That’s probably why they went so fast.

5 minutes ago, bob brown said:

The stategy is to save on longer segments, and spend on shorter segments.  But then there  is the risk of them running out of certain items that you might have wanted...

Very true. The stocks will run out the farther you travel from Miami and you don’t know when or if the same item is restocked. The jackets went really fast on our Cuba cruise a few weeks ago, especially the larger sizes.

1 hour ago, palakika said:

cbb..That's a clever one!  Do you have any experience with a stateroom with an adjoining door to the next door room?  I know there has been discussion about this in the  past, but can't remember if this was  a noise problem.  We've heard noise before in a non-connecting room , but it didn't bother us.

We have been in connecting rooms several times and the amount of noise depends entirely on your neighbors. Often we hear nothing, sometimes we hear the tv if it is on loudly, but it just sounds like a far off radio. Once we had a neighbor who had problems hearing her very loud alarm clock which would go on for minutes. That was probably the most bothersome.

We’re one day ahead of you on the Sirena. Had a nice warm day in Miami and just finished touring Havana. Nice day, not too hot or humid. We took a walking tour of Old Havana followed with an old car tour of the rest of Havana and a nice lunch at a paladar with Blexie. Enjoy.

1 hour ago, wally_bushy said:

We have always used magnets to avoid clutter.

Never seen the hook ones before but they look like being added to our list👍

We got both 25 and 30 lb hooked ones from Amazon. They will hold about a 10 lb backpack on the wall. More weight if from the ceiling.

We were on the Nautica this summer for a 3 day, 2 night visit to SPB. We booked a 3 day tour with TJ Tours and were very happy with them. We were in a nice van with10 other people and were able to visit all the sites that all of the Ocean tours together offered, but for a longer period of time at each site at less than half of the price. As with all the larger companies, the tours are intensive and fast paced. The tours are planned ahead of time and vary only to account for traffic. If you want deviations or time for rest, it would be better to book a private tour, which each company happily will arrange. We also booked TJ’s night tour, The Russian Experience, which gave us an opportunity to go into the city at night. We were the only ones on that tour, so we had a wonderful 4 hour guided tour and dinner with our charming guide, Sasha. She talked freely and took us to some shops to buy souvenirs and gifts when we requested it.

Have a great trip Bill and everyone else on this exciting journey. Thanks for taking us along

Thank you for starting this thread.  We will be on the 2020 RTW and will enjoy following your journey which will whet our appetites for our trip next year. Safe travels, enjoy new discoveries and make new friends.

3 hours ago, babysteps said:

Both interior and exterior bathroom walls are slightly magnetic. Bath door (both sides) and bath ceiling are strongly magnetic. 

Thank you Babysteps.  You are probably wondering about all these questions about the magnetic walls and ceilings.  We will be going on the 2020 RTW and I am looking at all the storage possibilities on the newly redecorated Insignia. Amazing how much can be hung up with magnets.

On 12/27/2018 at 2:18 PM, babysteps said:

Currently on Insignia in 4041 (deluxe ocean view). In this cabin only the cabin walls around the bath are slightly magnetic. The cabin door and bath door are highly magnetic. The other cabin walls are not magnetic. 

 

 

Thank you Babysteps for taking the time to post. When you said that the walls around the bath are slightly magnetic, do you mean the exterior wall on the side of the bathroom next to the bed or the interior walls of the bathroom? The interior walls of the bathroom use to be highly magnetic and I could use small magnetic hooks to hang little things.

Thanks EricJ for the information on Uber. We have used Uber all over the world and found that it is an excellent alternative to taxis. Glad to know they are in Coquimbo. I had been looking at  DIY trip to La Serena when we visit next year.

You also get the included flights, but you cannot decline them and get credit.  However we were able to use the free deviations to get the flights we wanted.

Glad things worked out for you, especially with Uber. The traffic all the way across town can get pretty bad.

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We are in Cabo right now. Just as the previous poster said, kayaks and SUP can be rented right between Mango Deck and the Office. There is also Baja Watersports between the Hacienda and Cabo Villas for jet skis and boat rides.

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I live in Los Angeles and can tell you that is no where in the Farmers Market to buy fancy clothing. There may be something at the Grove, however if you are looking for a good mall, go to the newly remodeled Century City Mall instead. Lots of good shops and restaurants and much nicer than the Beverly Center. Enough shops to keep you busy for hours. Uber will probably cost you around $60 each way. Taxis will cost more than twice as much.

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We were in Montevideo 4 years ago on the Oceania Marina. We docked a short walk from downtown/old town. We just wandered on our own with another couple, no guide needed. There is a large memorial to the fight for independence, an opera house and some other interesting buildings. We had a fabulous grilled steak lunch before returning to the ship.

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