Darthdaddy

Basically, folks are in agreement on 3 options:

1.power scooter---probably not best choice for a rookie.

2. wheelchair--good choice, particularly for uneven surfaces.

3. transport chair---also good choice, if weight of the chair is an issue.

We took my mom on two cruses. Like many others, she could walk short distances, but tired quickly. A chair of some type was really a necessity. Our first plan was an actual wheelchair (big rear wheels). Someone at the medical supply store recommended the transporter, as an alternative. It worked so well that we bought one after her first cruise. My mom was a huge Red Sox fan. My wife customized the chair with Red Sox logo and decoration...to my mother's delight.

That chair made it to the top of Mayan pyramids and scores of other sites.

It was very light (15lb?) and extremely compact. I would not presume to know what is "best" for your family, but the transport chair was a great option for us.

Have a wonderful time.

We sailed to Bermuda on the Dawn, when she was still home ported in NYC. Sailing out of Manhattan, past the Statue of Liberty and under the Verazanno Bridge is tough to beat. The ship may lack a few amenities, but is still quite nice. Our cruise was shortly before her last major overhaul. The entertainment was second to none, although this may no longer be the case. The Breakaway is an intriguing design and I look forward to sailing on her in 2015, but would not hesitate to sail on the Dawn again.

On past Dawn cruise to Bermuda the musical entertainment was exceptional...multiple wonderful ads.

Josie & Patti were a husband/wife act that drew huge crowds night after night. Are they currently on the Dawn?

Thanks.

Vibration in aft cabins is not unique to any particular cruise line. It is inherent in the beast...engines and "propellers"are at the stern. Lower decks get more noise and vibration (from this source). Higher decks may get more problems from other sources.

Aft cabin on CCL Fascination DID seem smaller than balcony cabins on sides of ship.

Will the noise and vibration bother you? Only you can answer ( and only after sailing). We were always intrigued by the aft cabins. Will we do it again? Maybe, maybe not. Either way we'll have a great cruise.

I will venture to say that you will find the aft view wonderful.

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Notion that NCL is alone in removing self-serve laundry is nonsense. Never had such facility on any Carnival or RCCL ship I've sailed on. Disney had it a decade ago, but can't speak to 2014. Experience on DCL was terrible. I still recall the scene one woman made because she HAD to jump ahead of others, because her precious darling needed his clean clothes for dinner. Well, guess what? Everyone else had concerns for their families, too. The *#^<€> was lucky that she didn't get punched. 10 yrs later and my BP still rises, when I think of her...hardly the memory one wants of a cruise. Never thought much about the fire hazard, but I can understand the concern. Sorry, can't fault any cruise line for removing this headache.

The laundry bags are expensive, but better than the alternatives.

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I accept the comment that a crib would block bathroom access on Breakaway/ Getaway. However, it will not block on Epic. I agree that the lower bed could not be pulled out to "full" size, it's possible the upper bunk could still be used, but getting past the crib will be tight. I can speak only about Epic.

Could you walk it? Yes.

Does it make sense? Not to me.

We just stayed at the HIE--Blount Island and did the park & cruise pkg.

1/2 mi may be accurate...if you're a bird. From hotel to the actual terminal is probably double that. More important, you will have to cross a large and busy road before walking along a smaller road with no sidewalks. You will likely get a few strange looks, as you walk up to the security point at the entrance to the port area.

The shuttle was quick, timely efficient and convenient.

Assuming you will have a car, where do you plan to park? By the time you pay for a room somewhere and park your car somewhere else, the savings may not be worth the hassle. That was my analysis, anyway.

The OP is no fool. Of course, 12:30p would give more cushion than 11:10a. Of course a meteor could strike off shore and cause a tsunami. Of course an Ebola virus outbreak could result in a quarantine. The issue is whether it is reasonable to get from POM to FLL within the OP's stated parameters. The answer is, "yes."

My guess is that there is a significant price difference between the flight OP is considering and other possibilities in the early afternoon. The real question is whether the $$$ outweigh the worry. This calculation is different for each of us. I would book the 11:10a, but clearly some would not. If I were to book late afternoon flight, I would look for something to do other than sit around FLL for hours.

We've cruised Dsney, NCL, Carnival and RCCL We have Carnival booked for Jan '14.

We've had inside, outside, balcony and suite accommodations. We've been to Bermuda, Bahamas , E Carib, W. Carib, Hawaii, Canada and Baltic.

Each cruise and each ship has been quite distinct, yet we have enjoyed them all.

Edge in total quality goes to Disney, but the price premium in waaaay too much. Entertainment on NCL has been the best by far. RCCL entertainment was actually just plain bad. Overall, RCCL was weakest, yet the. Baltic itinerary was great.

Compare a Ford to a Chevy and they are pretty similar. Compare either to a Ferrari and there will be a world of difference. Same thing with cruises...mass market lines will be more alike than not. Find a time, place and price and enjoy!

We bought Canon D10 several years ago and have been extremely satisfied. I have to figure the successor model (D20) continues is even better.

Not only has our D10 been reliable underwater, it is actually our point-and-shoot of choice on land. We like the fact that it is dust/dirt/sand resistant.

It's on the pricey side, but we are happy.

Considering first aft cabin on Breeze.

Choices are decks 6, 8, or 9.

Gut is to go with deck 9, but here's my question...

Is deck 9 more exposed to (a) sun and/or (b) viewers from upper decks?

Assumption is that decks 6 and 8 will be covered, but I cannot figure out how open 9 will be.

Guidance from others who have been on Breeze---particularly in aft cabin--- will be appreciated

I have some specific questions relating to our upcoming Reykjavik visit. We arrive at KEF @ 1600hr on a Wednesday. We have all day Thursday; leave from KEF @ 1630 on Friday.

We will be staying in an apartment in central Reykjavik.

1. Any advice or comments regarding Perlan? What is easiest / cheapest way to get there?

2. We are interested in the Geothermal Energy Exhibition. Again, what is best way to get there? What's a reasonable amount of time to see this exhibit?

3. Any recommendations for bike rentals in Reykjavik?

4. We are considering Blue Lagoon on Fri AM before heading to KEF for flight home. What's the travel time from Blue Lagoon to KEF?

5. Any suggestions concerning 2-day car rental?

Thanks.

We received one video for our family. I suppose I could have insisted on two, since we were actually booked on two flights. Honestly, I never even thought about it.

By "generic" I mean that the video is not taken on the same flight that you are on. Rather, it is a video of the same flight path, i.e., clockwise around the island over all the same sites and physical features. This is a very reasonable way for the companies to handle it. You don't want the pilot unleasing his inner Demille while simultaneously flying the plane. Sending someone to record each flight would be a LOT of lost revenue.

You may be overthinking the choice between Wings over Kauai (WOK) and Air Ventures (AV). My family recently flew with Air Ventures. I cannot tell you that it is "better," because I did not fly with WOK. I seriously doubt that many have.

Both vendors will pick you up at a shopping area near the pier in Nawilliwilli. The check in counters for each vendor are literally adjacent to each other. Given that the planes are flying over the same sites for pretty much the same length of time, I suspect the tours are far more alike than different.

Why did we choose AV ove WOK ? Very simple...I needed 7 seats. Since the planes cannot handle 7 pax plus pilot, this meant 2 flights. AV was able to accommodate my needs on back-to-back flights that would get everyone back in time for departure on POA. Had WOK been able to accommodate me, I would have been fine with them.

Yes, we received the DVD of a flight. It is a perfectly fine recording of a generic flight. This will be true of either vendor.

I will note that we received excellent and considerate service from the folks at AV. I have no reason to believe that WOK would be any different.

Pick the tour that fits your schedule. You will enjoy either one.

Any opinion / info about Mallardrottigen yacht as place to stay for a night or two before a cruise departing from Stockholm?

Thanks.

This is directed to Computerworks and all others who have cruised Baltic itinerary on the Sun.

This itinerary is very interesting to me. Talinn looks surprisingly cool. St. Petersburg offers an incredible blend of history, art, music. Copenhagen should be neat, too.

What trips/excursions did folks enjoy? The St. P'burgh tours are of particular interest. I understand that Russian visa rules are very restrictive. Did anyone arrange tours w/o going through NCL?

We are considering flying into Paris a couple days early and then traveling to Copenhagen to catch the ship. After debarkation, we might go to Berlin for another 2 days before flying back to JFK. Any experience with traveling between Paris-Copenhagen and then Copenhagen-Berlin would be appreciated.

This is waaaay different from the Caribbean cruises we have taken in the past...should be great.

Thanks to all in advance.

Very clever video rejoinder.

This probably won't make a lot of sense to folks who have not cruised with Jose & Patti, but here it goes. J&P are not the raison d'etre for our cruises, but we do consider them when deciding on which cruise to take.

Just this past weekend, we discussed what plans to make with friends with whom we cruised to Bermuda last year. Yes, we are thinking about Epic. Yes, we must consider various schedule demands. All things being equal, we would choose a cruise with J&P. They really are THAT good. If you have the chance, pick one of their cruises. You will be glad you did.

Sorry, no pix.

I thought about pix, when I started to write my comments.

Of the 3 cabins (8550, 8552, 8554) there is no question that 8554 is the least obstructed. The same would be true of the mirror image on starboard.

1. Do not worry about lights outside being on all night. This was NOT a problem.

2. Do not book these cabins, if a full ocean view is important to you.

3. Book these cabins, if a bit of natural light during the day is important to you. My wife really liked this, I didn't care.

4. How much is the natural light worth? That's for each of us to determine.

We were in staterooms 8552 & 8554.

These are obstructed view cabins. 8052 & 8054 are indentical, but starboard, rather than port. My observations about 8552 & 8554 should be just as applicable to the cabins on the other side of the ship.

Quite simply, I was too clever by half when I booked these cabins. The OV cabins on deck 8 are obstructed by the lifeboats hanging above deck 7. From the Pearl's deckplan it appears that there are no lifeboats in front of 8550, 8552, or 8554. I booked our cabins thinking that I had scored a mostly-clear ocean view at a significantly reduced fare. When I posted a request for info on these boards, someone responded that there was a little boat that was not shown on the deckplan, but that would, in fact, block our view. That post was accurate. There is a funny little life boat (looks like a child's bath toy) that essentially blocks the full view from 8552. 8554 has a much less bstructed view, but it is not fully clear. So much for my shrewd and canny research.

Since a catwalk allowing crew to access the lifeboats for maintenance runs along the outside wall, you may glance out to see someone outside your window. This happened a couple of times during our cruise, but was not a big deal. Since deck 7 is a promenade deck, there are exterior lights on all night. This is not really a problem either, because the blackout curtains do their job.

Other staterooms listed as obstructed seem to be true to the deckplan, i.e., the lifeboats seem to match up pretty well. One caveat, 8550 (and 8050) show nothing blocking them on the deckplan. In reality they have NO view. They get some diffuse natural light, but have NO view of the water.

We had verandah staterooms on Disney and an inside on our prior NCl cruise. Sure I love having the verandah. At the same time I didn't have any problem with the inside cabin. Was it worth it to have the daylight? That's one of those things I can't answer for you. The rest of my family preferred having the natural light, even though there was little actual view. I would have been ok with the inside. There was very little difference in price, so I guess it was worth it. If the cost differential was even $100/pp, I would opt for the inside or bite the bullet and jump to a balconey.

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