sippin-time

On 1/27/2024 at 4:01 PM, NothingBeatsBaseball said:

We went to Mendenhall Glacier, ate lunch, and then headed to the National Shrine of St. Thérèse. As we drove back to the main part of the city we stopped on the side of the road a few times. We pulled into Lena Beach but didn't stay long. Then we headed over the bridge to Douglas Island. There are lots of trails there. Our kids had a good time running around Sandy Beach. We took some of our favorite photos there. We spent more time there than I expected. There is a trail in the Treadwill Mine there, but we didn't get to it.

 

There are other trails on Douglas Island. We tried the Outer Point Loop Trail.... but it was flooded halfway or so. We saw some beavers which was neat. On Douglas Island, there were multiple places we pulled off on the side of the road to just take photos and enjoy the view. 

 

We had perfect weather so it was one of our best days of the trip.

Hiya -  sounds like you had a great time🤩 We will look into some of the places you visited.  Did you have the Turo rental delivered to you at the port? My husband is a wheelchair user, so, am considering the option of delivery to the port, if that's even an option.  Thanks again for your help on this!

On 1/20/2024 at 5:42 PM, NothingBeatsBaseball said:

https://turo.com/us/en/suv-rental/united-states/juneau-ak/jeep/cherokee/1376008?endDate=01%2F25%2F2024&endTime=10%3A00&startDate=01%2F22%2F2024&startTime=10%3A00 

 

This was the car we rented. 

Hiya - thank you for sharing!  We'll be in Juneau in June.  We've been there many times but never rented a car.  We're considering it for this time.  Where did you visit during your travel in Juneau? Are there must go places that you recommend?  Thanks so much!

On 8/5/2021 at 1:16 PM, sanger727 said:

 

While it would be convenient from the standpoint of arranging a test, this brings it's own set of challenges. 

 

Option 1: Planned flight to Florida on Friday with cruise Saturday. Get antigen test Thursday and test positive. Call airlines and get a voucher. Call Carnival and get FCC. stuck at home for 10 days but that is what it is.

 

Option 2: Take flight to Florida on Friday and arrive at cruise terminal Saturday. Get rapid test at pier and positive. Already taken the flight so can't get a voucher on that. Cruise line should give you a voucher but now you are either stuck in Florida in a hotel room for 10 days or taking an expensive medical flight home. 

 

between those two I pick option 1

I would pick Option 1 as well, however, why not take the test on Weds., if test is positive (which could very well be a false positive), then schedule another one for Thursday early morning (if possible) and keep fingers crossed for a negative result?  If positive, then we have the rest of the day on Thursday and/or Friday to contact the airlines and Carnival. 

My DH & I use mobility scooters and we were able to take our scooters onto the tender with no issues. If you can take a few steps up/down the tender and walk to your seat, then you can definitely visit Cabo.  We don't mind Cabo, it's a fun place to visit with lots of oceanview restaurants and shopping places, if you've never been to Cabo, it's a pretty enjoyable port. 

Either way, enjoy your cruise!!

18 hours ago, NWACruiser said:

Sailing the Chagres River NW toward Lake Gatun.

 

Holland America's Zaandam approaching us in the river.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BW Messina tanker passing us.

 

 

 

Looking back as we enter the lake.

 

 

C relaxing in a clamshell.

 

Lake Gatun, and its tributaries, are the sole supply of water for the canal.  Fortunately, the area is a rain forest.  The annual rain more than adequately supplies enough water for the canal to operate. 

 

It takes about eight to ten hours to pass through the canal. To make the transit around South America, you would sail approximately 24 days.  The canal was a great time saver.  The cost of shipping through the canal is expensive.  If you consider the cost of shipping 24 more days, its really cheap. 

 

The cost for the Legend is based upon the number of berths at $138/berth if the ratio of gross tonnage/berth is less than 33.  The Legend carries 2124 passengers and 961 crew members.  The ship's volume is 88,000 tons.  The ratio is 28.5 ton/passenger.  The fare was $425,730 to pass through. 

 

The canal travels Southeast from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean.  Lake Gatun is 85 feet above sea level.  The canal is 51 miles long.  The locks are 110 foot wide. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Approaching Gatun Locks.  These three locks will drop us to the level of the Caribbean Sea.

 

Puente Atlántico bridge in the background.

 

Our buddy ship approaching the locks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many of the passengers kept their spots the entire day.

 

 

 

 

 

The lock is almost closed.

 

Dropping down to the sea.

 

 

Heading out of the Panama Canal

 

Just hanging around

 

Welcome to the Caribbean Sea!

 

It was time for dinner and we headed to the MDR.  After dinner, there was a hypnotist show in the theater.  We declined.  I headed to the Red Frog Pub to listen to music for a while before retiring.  Tomorrow was going to be an early morning as we were going to arrive in Cartagena, Colombia.

We were on the same cruise as you but did not take as many detailed photos as you did!!  We don't typically do all of the activities that you and your wife do, so it is really neat to see what other passengers do on the ship😍 Really enjoying your review about each ports/each activities and each day!! Thanks so much for sharing!👍

On 9/5/2019 at 10:25 AM, bnbeyer said:

I just got a Carnival Players Club Elite Cruise offer in email!  It includes:

 

• Free balcony room for 2
• Free drink packages for 2 (everywhere on ship, not just casino)
• $500 casino money
• Free parking or airport pick-up/drop-off
• Platinum status during cruise with priority boarding, debarkation, luggage, etc
• Invitations to welcome aboard and sailaway cocktail parties
• Early room access with our preferred alcohol and non-alcohol bottles waiting
• Complimentary shore excursion for 2
• Treats and gifts delivered to room
• Free social wi-fi plan
• Waived room-service fees

 

It doesn't include gratuities and port fees/taxes.  

 

What a fantastic deal!

 

I booked the April cruise to Eastern Caribbean on the Carnival Breeze, and my sister is coming with me. 

 

Hi there - so, we're going on an Elite cruise on Oct. 12 for 15 days to Pan. Canal.  I did not know that the room service fees are waived and we get free social wi-fi plan(?) Is this confirmed w/CCL? These freebies were not mentioned by our "Executive Casino Host"....hmm....I will have to confirm this w/him.  Thanks for the info!!😀👍

On 7/16/2019 at 5:05 AM, Essiesmom said:

Are you sure you don't mean a Luggie scooter?  That's all that comes up when I google Luigi.  EM

Am pretty sure the OP meant Luggie scooter.  My husband and I both have our own and we simply LOVE them!! It's the best investment we ever made, for the sake of our freedom and awesome quality of life! It's not cheap but it's worth it. We go almost everywhere (that's requires long distance walking) with them. 

It's easy to fold and unfold within seconds, it's extremely maneuverable, it's slim and unobtrusive and it works terrific in crowded areas. We wouldn't go anywhere without them! 

We stayed at the Pullman Miami last week (12/23/18) and it worked out just great!! Our flight wasn't until 9pm that evening. We got to the hotel about 9 a.m. and they already had a room ready for us even though check-in was 10 a.m.  The front desk staff was friendly (enough to extend our stay until 6pm) 🙂   

Unfortunately, it was too cold to use the pool (a very decent one I might add) so we "chilled" out on the lounge chairs for most of the sunny morning, there's not much to do at this hotel as it's small but very nice...we got lunch at their lounge/bar (cheese burger and Cuban sandwich were okay, a cocktail and a diet coke came out to be about $55 with tips), then we took a nice long nap, a shower and then we were ready to take off to the airport.  I would recommend this facility if you just want a nice, easy-going, relaxing stay like us...we had a blast on our cruise so this place was perfect!!

Happy sailing and happy New Year!!

2 minutes ago, gaylemh said:

Yes, you need to report your winning to IRS.  You can request a win/loss statement from Casino Royale after the first of the year, so you can deduct your losses.

You only need to win over $1200 to get a W9.

 

Thanks so much for your quick response! So the pit boss was not accurate?  He said they weren't going to do anything w/the W9 form and would only provide it "upon request" (not even sure what that means).  

Hello there -  am not sure if this question has already been asked so please forgive me if it has, but I do hope someone  here can help me with this question.  We were on a cruise last week and my husband won a lot, enough for the casino boss to insist on getting a W9 form from him.  Does anyone know what the casino staff does with his W9?  Will they submit or report to IRS?  We asked and was informed by the pit boss that they don't anything w/it but only to provide it upon demand if need be...is this true?  Has anyone won so much that you have to provide SSN and W9?

Thanks so much for your help.

I see you suggested water taxi to get to HH, but my DH and I scoot around on our compact people-mover aka scooter :) can we take a land taxi and would it be similar rate? Also, is the facility easy to get around on our people-mover?

 

Thanks for your help.

Anyway, enjoy this beautiful island, they've recovered from hurricane Irma quite nicely.

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Just got back from Adventure last week and they no longer use stickers. The word Prime was printed in my card. After the first night, the bartenders at the Casino pretty much remembered me and never had to check my card again. They also offered both me and my wife free drinks together even though only I'm Prime. Also racked up enough play to get another free cruise (balcony) certificate. Shockingly the list is much better than before, prior to this one, ive only seen 3 to 6 night western carribean sailings offered on these certificates. But this time the list includes all kinds of sailings, including up to 9 nights and 10 nights sailings. Even multiple Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania itineraries. Also saw multiple dates for 9 night Granduer out of Baltimore on the list. My wife and I immediately booked the 10 night New Zealand as this one was on our bucket list. Was pretty salty to lose about $800+ at first, but its worth it to get this cruise + Prime again for next cycle year. Now just crossing fingers my Visa application dont hit any snags since I'm not a US Passport holder, just applied this morning.

ok, then I am convinced that it all depends on individual ships/casino manager! Nice job on picking the 10 night NZ cruise, that's on our bucket list too, enjoy!

We just got off the Oasis yesterday and only my DH got a "prime" sticker put on his seapass but that's only after he asked for it (go figure)....he did request one for me but it was no go, I don't play enough to qualify a special sticker....although, I must say on other cruise lines, they were very generous...they have both drink cards ready for us in our cabin, we were impressed, of course, that was my incentive to go and play even more....maybe RCI should try that tactic:confused:....just sayin'....

Danger! Danger!! A few cruises ago we got a free upgrade at the pier to a CLS and they must have known what they were doing, as it's been the standard going forward! :D

 

Have a great trip!

Thanks for the warning!!;p I would not doubt that we will love our CLS! The perks alone are pretty awesome!

Happy cruising!!

Suite perks: http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Suites/16049781_RSC_Trade_Flyer.pdf

Thank you for this, we will be in a crown loft for the first time. We are D+ but rarely reserve a suite, just balconies. So, this experience will most definitely spoil us and will probably change our minds about future cruises, lol....

Happy sailing...

I have read that it is walkable about 15 minutes or so but the water taxi was easier for us. $7pp r/t with about a 2 minute walk after you get off.

 

I see you suggested water taxi to get to HH, but my DH and I scoot around on our compact people-mover aka scooter :) can we take a land taxi and would it be similar rate? Also, is the facility easy to get around on our people-mover?

Thanks for your help.

We don’t fly out until 9:30 p.m. next cruise. Hyatt regency right in Orlando Airport rents day rooms. We’re going to rent one' date=' have a swim n the pool, maybe take a shower and have a nap, have some lunch / supper, shop around the airport and then board our flight with no worries [emoji1']

 

 

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Hi there - our flight is at 7pm out of Orlando Airport. I wondering what the heck are we going to do after getting off the ship...until I saw your post. Did you just called the Hyatt directly and reserved a day room? I like this idea...thank you for your help.

....Then maybe a hip replacement...

I get your humor...LMAO!! ;p;p

That will be something to see![emoji23] No music and a bunch of people twitching around. 🤣🤣

 

 

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My heartburn with the Go Carts and Laser Tag is it will take away time from eating, drinking and gambling. I think I will have to pass.

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Oh this is just great - my DH just informed me his plan to pay for the go karts is to win money in the casino.

 

My cruise just got more expensive...

 

 

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Hello there, DH & I have been traveling/cruising with our scooters for the last 5 years. We are so grateful of our freedom with these scooters!! We both have a "Luggie" scooter, it's extremely light weight and folds up like a small luggage, hence, the name "Luggie". We both use canes to walk short distances but cannot walk long distances or stand for very long. The TSA at all the airports we've been to have been extremely accommodating. We usually don't have to remove our battery from the scooter when we fly but it wouldn't be a problem if we had to. Onboard ships, it is excellent for long hallways and around the decks. We have finally found our freedom of traveling and will never travel without our little scooters again!

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This is an outstanding report, thanks so much!!

Your video was so much fun to watch! Good job. I especially liked your St. Thomas snorkeling adventure....awesome that you can use your camera underwater, that's really cool!!! You obviously thoroughly enjoyed your cruise! Oh, and the Escape looks beautiful, we'll be sailing on her this May, cannot wait!!

Cheers :)

....Newly boarded people mass like lemmings and forget how to use stairs....the heap of idle flesh in the lobby to evaporate.

 

Other than that first day hassle, cruising can be the very best form of holiday for someone with a disability. Do as much or as little as you feel you can manage. I sincerely hope it's the first of many.

 

 

.

I luv how you describe the passengers as "lemmings" and "heap of idle flesh" cause it's so true!!!

Cruising IS THE BEST way to vacay for disabled peeps!!