jbond

Welcome back. I like you new avatar. The white jacket looks great.

I wouldn't even consider going by cab. It's a long way out and you would have to get the cab in Puntarenas, not a good idea, it's not a very attractive town and I'm being very nice. One of our guides pointed out some horses in a field. He called them Costa Rican BMW's. :rolleyes: Besides you miss out on the guides, they are amongst the best we have had, all three trips. Besides visiting Sarchi we also visited a beautiful small town that had a very unusual church . It was all metal and was "imported" from Belgium. It was featured in the last "Amazing Race". As the others have said, Sarchi is very interesting, it's the furniture capital of Costa Rica. 99% of the stores in town are "mueblarias", furniture stores. You can have an ox cart sent to your home. The prices, including shipping were quite reasonable. The also had some beautiful carved coffee tables, and the coffee was good. cherole, I can't say about Manuel Antonio National Park, but I did a quick search on the net and it sounds fabulous. If we visit Puntarenas again, a possibility next spring, it will be on my wish list.

With the complete lack of efficiency and customer service that I have experienced at LAX, I just see it as another way to lose your luggage. No thanks, not for me.

Are you disembarking on the Caribbean side or the Pacific side? We have visited the Pacific side three times. As the Skipper said, almost everything is about a two hour drive away, but it's worth it. We did a tour through the rain forest the first time. Second time we did the aerial tram through the rain forest and last time we went out to Sarchi. The countryside is absolutely beautiful. We docked in Puntarenas. Almost nothing there and it's very untidy. Away from the port, everything changes. The people are very friendly and very patriotic. They truly love Costa Rica.

We always buy insurance. I'm not a gambler and I wouldn't think of leaving home without it. We have used it once. Last year we were stranded in Barcelona and missed our flights. We were stuck there for two days and had to purchase new one way tickets. Insurance paid out without a problem.

That and the Windstar. That's the reason we haven't gone back to Paradise. :sad:

Just read the review of the ship. A pretty fair assessment, mainly in agreement with our feelings. However, we didn't like the ship itself. It is our least favourite ship. We thought that it was very poorly laid out. The bar space was minimal, in fact it was almost impossible to get a drink before dinner unless you got to the bar very early. We suggested they change the library into a bar. The library was enormous and not very well used on the two sea days we had. There were several disabled people on the cruise, in wheel chairs. I asked one of them how handicap friendly did she find the ship. She replied very unfriendly, especially the elevators. However, she added, the ship's limitations were no problem because the staff were so great and helpful. We would like to cruise FP again, but on a different ship.

We thought that the TP was the worst sailing ship that we have been on. We have been on small ships before, but felt that they were smoother than TP. We had pretty smooth seas, but the sail from Huahine to Rarotonga was "uncomfortable". The same sailing from Rarotonga to Raiatea.

I don't feel bad at all. In Harwich this past June, the regular embarkation lines had coffee in paper cups and cookies available. The Platinum/Diamond line had coffee in china cups and chocolate covered strawberries. Didn't feel bad at all. It just gets better when we go to the Concierge Lounge for the hors d'oeuvres and cocktails. The priority tendering is great also. Loyalty has it's perks.

Thanks for the review. Your opinions of FP watch mine exactly. It really is beautiful.

I think in order to swim with mantas you need to be scuba diving. Mantas are much larger than stingrays and have no stinger. They feed on plankton and can grow up to 22' wingspan. The ecologists discourage touching mantas because they have a delicate skin that can be easily damaged, unlike other stingrays that almost appear to enjoy being stroked. We've "swam" with rays in the Caribbean and in French Polynesia. If you haven't done it, I'd highly recommend it. It is an unusual experience. Even if the penguins did bite, you'd be safe in the Arctic, penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere. :grin: I think I'd draw the line at swimming with the polar bears. :huh:

It won't stop me swimming with the rays, or even the sharks. :rolleyes: teacp, I had problems resizing with phootobucket, now I resize using Adobe before I post in photobucket.

I hate sea days. On our Hawaii cruise we had five in a row sailing out and back. One at a time is enough for me. I get bored very easily. I don't read too much and I can only sunbathe for about 30 minutes. Our last cruise, British Isles/Norwegian Fjords was a 12 day cruise with only 2 sea days. Perfect.

Welcome back GG. Missed you. Cozumel has the Fury Cats. The best party boat we have sailed on. We enjoyed it so much we've sailed with them three times. In Grand Cayman we've done Stringray City, Rum Point Beach, Seven Mile Beach multiple times and just walked the town. If you haven't done Stingray City, it's worth doing. It's quite a unique experience.

I agree with zebra. The Canal repositioning cruises are great value. We have done three and are planning on booking our fourth when we sail on Vision of the Seas in October. I am not a big fan of sea days, but the Panama transit has a great balance of ports and sea days. It's almost a day at sea, a day in port. Transiting the Canal is also very interesting. We have done it twice with Princess and once with RCI. They both give a great narration going through the Canal and actually going through the locks is a great experience. All the ships we have been on were 106' wide. The locks are 110' wide. It's amazing how well they are controlled entering and exiting the locks. In the Canal itself, it is very beautiful. I was really surprised the first time we did the cruise. If you do this cruise, you'll be hooked on cruising forever.

If Joey forgets our next cruise, that's OK, he'll be very busy packing. We sail on the same date, 10/29. :grin:

It's the 10th named storm of the season. The Pacific hurricane season starts May 1. They blow out long before they hit Ca, the water north of Cabo is quite cold and so they lose their strength. We were in Puerto Vallarta a few years ago, one week after Hurricane Kenna hit. It did a tremendous amount of damage. We will be revisiting PV in October, hope this one didn't do too much damage. It looks as if Cabo will be getting the worst hit. That's not good, it's desert and the massive amounts of rain could be devastating. We'll see for ourselves in October.

For us, I think that it would have to be Nordic Prince. It's a nostalgia thing. It was our first cruise with RCI back in 1980 and our first 14 day cruise. We were with our two daughters and we had great table companions. They came to both our daughter's weddings many years later. We also had great service and I do think that the food was better in the "old days". Our head waiter was the best. We have since sailed with him three more times, the most recent was last year on Brilliance, where he was the Food and Beverage Manager. Of the more recent cruises, I think Serenade of the Seas is probably our favourite. We like the Radiance class ships and Serenade had something special about it.

It's been a long time since we visited St kitts. We did a tour of the island in the morning. It's very tropical and has a great fortress, Fort Brimstone. In the afternoon we went to Frigate Bay, a really nice beach and enjoyed splashing around in the big waves that were rolling in.

Glad that you had a great time. My feeling was that every island we visited got Moorea and Moorea beautiful. Moorea was my favourite, followed by Bora Bora. I have strong feelings about Captain Bligh, I've read a lot about him, researched the internet and I truly believe that Fletcher Christian was not only the bad guy, but a true scoundrel and a coward. But I agree with you, why would those sailors want to go back to cold, damp, foggy England after seeing Paradise. Guess the Royal Navy had different standards. The great thing about cruising in FP is that you are not exposed to the horrendous cost of living there. I don't consider myself cheap, but I did gulp a few times at the cost of things. Looking forward to your review.

I can only suggest one thing. :cry: Barcelona The Gothic Cathedral. Go in the cloisters and see the magnificent works of art. Go inside and stand where Columbus celebrated mass after returning from the New World. Nice Visit the flower market and be amazed at the displays and the fantastic array of fresh foods. Florence Go to Piazzelle Michelangelo and see Florence in all it's splendour. Fantastic views of the city, the beautiful red domed Duomo, the Tuscany countryside and the Ponte Vecchio. Rome It has to be the Colosseum. To me, it's Rome in all it's Imperial Majesty. Naples You have to see Pompeii. It's absolutely mind boggling. We've been twice and I'd go again in a heart beat. Santorini Take the funicular up the mountain to Fira and then take a trip to Oia. It's picture postcard Greece. You'll see the blue roofed churches, Oia perched on the rim of the mountain and get incredible views of your ship in the caldera. Don't forget to eat in Oia at one of the restaurants perched on the edge of the mountain. Athens It has to be the Acropolis. Fabulous views of the city and three massive temples. The Parthenon was everything I had hoped and even more so. Dubrovnik Go into town and walk around the delightful city before going onto "restaurant row" and having a great seafood meal. Venice. Are you sure only one thing? OK Take a gondolo ride on the Grand Canal. It will take you down back waterways and under the Rialto Bridge and you'll get to see the Grand Canal in all it's glory. You can't really go wrong in each city, they all have so much to offer are so steeped in history.

Hi schatje, just noticed you wedding date. We were married on Dec 28th also. This year will be our 49th.

Have a great cruise. If you enjoy it just half as much as we did, I know you will want to go back. It's more than a cruise, it's a whole new outlook on the way people live. Enjoy it, it's awesome.

Can't advise you regarding the laptop, I've never taken one with us, but regards the camera, DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT. I hope that things have settled down by the time you leave, but if they haven't, pack your camera in you checked luggage. Wrap it in lots of clothes or bubble wrap and use TSA approved locks as well as string ties. What ever you do, don't leave it at home, or decide to buy disposables when you get on the ship. They take lousy photos. You are visiting Venice, Rome, Barcelona. You will never get another chance to record your first impressions of these awesome cities. Venice is one of the most beautiful cities we have ever visited. You'll kick yourself if you don't take your camera.

I don't know where you're traveling to, but if it's not to the UK, I'm sure that you can still take your camera in your carry on. Your rum and Pepsi is history. By the way, what's film? :grin: