(218,124,'1/20/07','Entertainment: Very Good<br />Service: Excellent<br />Cabin: Excellent<br />Food: Very Good<br />Overall: Excellent','Review: January 19, 2007 through January 27, 2007 Star Princess, Western Caribbean<br /><br /><br />Woke up at a reasonable 4 am...and caught our shuttle to Logan airport. Fast, Convenient and quick. The Wyndham in Chelsea was really very nice.<br /><br />Curbside check in was fast and convenient...and we were at our gate within minutes. Our flight was full and left within a few minutes of scheduled time.<br />We arrived in Miami airport after having an uneventful flight. One couple within our group had luggage that didn&#39;t arrive...so they filled out a claim form and we grabbed our shuttle to Budget...We waited for almost 2 hours for our van...which is totally unacceptable. After our van ride to Ft. Lauderdale, we went by our hotel, which of course wasn&#39;t ready...so we roamed around, hit some stores and went to lunch. We purchased Vodka and Rum...for the ship...and we transferred it to water bottles and filled the alcohol bottles with water to act as the decoy, lol. We went back to the Best Western, which was adequate and the pool area was really nice, as there was a bar and we got a free drink coupon. We went out to dinner at Umberto&#39;s and had a pretty good Italian dinner.<br /><br />Saturday January 20, 2007<br /><br />We were up around 6:30 ish am...and went down to breakfast...a few of us ventured out and drove by the pier to get an idea of where we were going. The first group was dropped off around 10:30 ish...the second group of us went to Budget to return the van...and took the shuttle to the port. We arrived around 12 noonish...we went into the embarkation area...we had no lines...and didn&#39;t even need the priority embarkation we have, lol. It took all of 5 minutes to check in...very fast...we had our picture taken and were onboard in a few more minutes. We dropped our carry ons in our room and were eating in just a few more minutes. This was the fasted embarkation I have had.<br />We met up in the Horizons court, buffet lunch&#33; The options were excellent. There was food for every taste. Drinks at the buffet were disappointing though. They only offered, water, coffee, tea and iced tea. I would have liked to have seen fruit punch and lemonade, especially for kids. The food was very good, and was the best buffet on the cruises I have been on. We walked around the ship...and began getting acquainted with the layout...there were many &quot;you can&#39;t get there from this deck&quot; spots. I did master the trick though...get me to deck 7, and I was fine&#33; We went to our room and our luggage was there by 2:30 and we started the unpacking process. Also in the room, on the phone was a clock, and caller id...which was good for two reasons...1. You could see whom you were calling, and could hang up quick if you dialed wrong, and 2. You could see who was calling you. The closet was spacious, and there were plenty of hangers. Our requested robes were already there. Our mini bar set up, complimentary, was set up as well. We had upgraded toiletries in the bathroom. We met Gregg, our room steward, and he was all too happy to fill our requests. With the triple rooms they don&#39;t typically set the beds up in queen formation...and he did warn us of possible hazards, etc. The bathroom was not huge but not tiny for us either. The bedding, well, that is another story. They really need to invest in the Carnival Comfort System, lol...but I slept well every night anyway. Muster was at 4:15, and was actually interesting, and the best one I ever attended. After muster...we went back to the room to drop off our life jackets. We met up with our group on deck for sailaway...this is when we discovered our home for the week...deck 14 aft&#33; The Outrigger bar was open, and there were plenty of chairs, table and lounge chairs. There was never trouble getting a place to sit (except the shows...more on this later). We went to our rooms to get ready for dinner, and requested the table for 12 in the Capri dining room. The wait staff was okay...and service was quite slow. I blamed this on the anytime dining, as I don&#39;t think there is the incentive for them. We did request the headwaiter to allow us to sit together everynight, a standing reservation. He was great, but did have to check with the maitre d&#39;, who was a tad on the pompous side. Our request was granted. Dinner was good...tasty and there were plenty of choices. The best thing they offered was a &quot;set&quot; list that could be ordered every night, in case the special choices weren&#39;t for you. These included, Steak, Salmon, a pasta and a chicken dish. They also offered a Caesar salad, shrimp cocktail and 3 standard desserts. On the special menu, they offered a different souffl? every night too...and they were hot and yummy.<br /><br />Day 2<br /><br />This was our First Sea day and our first formal night. We woke up early, as we normally do anyway. We ate at the buffet every morning for breakfast and were pleasantly surprised with the offering of foods. There was smoked salmon every day, and another fish. There was fresh fruit every morning, which was excellent, sweet and very fresh. Assorted pastries, oatmeal, cream of wheat, fried egg, omelets, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, baked apples or pears, pancakes, french toast, potatoes, rice, soup, and more. The juice, apple and cranberry were prepoured into small plastic cups, and could have been colder. We took a bunch extra and saved them for later in our refrigerator. We met up with our group aft deck 14, lol...they had breakfast with us...today was a day to explore the ship, play trivia, chill out. We also did the scavenger hunt and we each won a water bottle...this would be used for the rest of the ship to save our juices from breakfast. Dinner was formal and was again very good. Filet Mignon was the entr?e of my choice and was cooked perfectly. Every night they also offered 3 different soups, always one was cold. We located Shooters, the bar for the football game and watch the games with a nice crowd...this would be one of the few times I actually walked through the casino...this is the first time I didn&#39;t gamble in a ships casino. I had written a letter to the captain requesting a bridge tour...the staff at the purser&#39;s desk was always courteous and friendly. Oh and as far as the odor reports...there was a faint odor in the back of Horizons Court, but it wasn&#39;t constant, it was there and then gone again. There was no noticeable odor in any other part of the ship either. Today, Ally spent the time in the kids room, and had a blast...she kept saying it was her favorite of the ships she has been on (Carnival and Disney...RCI she wasn&#39;t old enough then)<br /><br />Day 3 Ocho Rios, Jamaica....<br /><br />Breakfast on aft 14, lol...met with our group as we were all doing a tour with Peat Taylor, to go to the Falls, Fern Gully, Preschool and an island tour. It was humid, and overcast...which was fine. Disembarking from the ship was fast and easy...not like a heard of cattle like other ships. There were two areas for this, which is probably what helped too. Peat was waiting for us and was as great as ever. He dropped us off at Dunn&#39;s River Falls...everyone in our group did this, except my dad...We had a blast...this was my 3rd time there, 2nd doing the falls. We were soaked of course, and laughed the whole time. The walk through the straw market area was terrible, worse than I ever remember. Maybe due to the fact we were the first or second ones through it. The bus tour through Ferngully was nice, and we saw great countryside and views. This time we went to a preschool and the kids were adorable. They were age 3 through 5 and the boys were quite taken with my daughter, as she is 4. She has blonde hair and blue eyes and they kept touching her. They sang us songs as well. So totally cute&#33; WE also went to a pottery place, where we watched how they make the terra cotta type pottery from scratch...it was really awesome. We had our choice to be dropped off at a local restaurant or shopping...a few from our group went to the restaurant and later reported that is was fantastic&#33; We went shopping...whatever you do, avoid the hard Rock in the Taj Mahal shopping area, if you go to Ocho Rios. I would like to see Montego Bay area if I go back to Jamaica. Peat was there to pick us up as requested and brought us right back to the ship. It was a tiring day but it was really fun&#33;<br /><br /><br />We went to our cabins to shower up and prepare for dinner...I don&#39;t remember what I ate, but it could have been the braised lamb, as I do recall having that and it was awesome. Tonight we were going to go to a show...but we arrived rather close to start time and there was not a seat to be had, lol...all we saw were what we referred to as &quot;white heads&quot; There was a large amount of people over the age of 60. Don&#39;t get me wrong, as there were also newlywed young couples and families too. I never saw a rowdy drunk causing commotion which was a nice change. We listened to Wavelength...a rock band from Canada...they were good, but the guy insisted on singing an Alice in Chains song and just could not reach the notes. We checked out the Skywalker nightclub and it was not crowded at all. We mainly people watched and had drinks...hit the hot tubs and went to bed.<br /><br />Day 4<br /><br />Grand Cayman was a tender island. There were no really crazy lines, as their tendering process was great. I had priority tender tickets and could go whenever I had wanted, but we had a catamaran reserved so I stayed with the group. The process was to go to the Explorers lounge, get a ticket and relax til they called the number. This took all of 5 minutes and we were escorted to the tendering area. We walked to Captain Bryan&#39;s and because we were a little early, had to wait a bit. There was only about 24 people for the Stingray City tour and snorkel. The crew of the boat was great&#33; The Stingrays were awesome and I didn&#39;t scream, as I did know what to expect. We left that area and went to the reefs for the snorkeling. This was the best snorkeling spot. I saw many new fish and some good sized ones too. Unfortunately, I didn&#39;t get to see the nurse shark that frequents there or the moray eel. They then brought us to a second snorkel spot and although there were less reef areas here, the snorkel was quite nice, as the water this day was crystal. After the excursion, we did a little shopping. We could not get any alcohol, as we were late getting to shopping and it had to be purchased by 1:30 pm...oh well, not a big deal really. Back to the ship...met again on aft 14 and had drinks for sail away&#33; By this day we had made a few trips to the purser&#39;s desk for our &quot;free decks of cards&quot;...woohoo.<br />We got ready for dinner and met at the Capri dining room and enjoyed a lovely dinner again. After dinner, it was Fiesta night, so we went to the party on deck 14 aft, but 15 and 16 were also included. I was taken by the hand and escorted to perform on stage...OMG, I thought I was going to die. For the rest of the week, I was known as Chiquita or banana girl&#33; They also played a cute game of musical men...this was fun to watch. One thing about this ship I absolutely loved...you never ever felt crowded. The layout is such that, there are many different spots to hang out, so there was never a hugely crowded area.<br /><br />Day 5<br /><br />Cozumel, 6 of us had booked the dune buggies through Princess. The reasoning for this was...the independent companies would not guarantee you your own buggy and we wanted to sit with each other, lol. We met up with the excursion at the end of the pier, yes PIER&#33; It was such a treat&#33; We met Martin and our other guide Luis. The buggies were adorable and reminded me of Speedy, a cartoon from when I was a kid. The ride was so much fun and we got to see quite a bit of the island. There is much evidence of the hurricane and so much building and rebuilding. We snorkeled too, but it was not as nice as in Grand Cayman. Lunch was on the beach and a traditional Mexican array. It was yummy&#33; On our way back we stopped at the &quot;Pee Pee Station&quot; where I purchased a beautiful blanket. They had many for only &#036;4 but those were machine made. I got a handmade one, that is very heavy...and so nice my son took it when we got home, lol. We went back to the shopping area where we picked up our Dune buggies, and dropped them off. We had stickers for a free drink of our choice at Carlos and Charlie&#39;s...awesome frozen Margaritas, and I also got a shot...which Brian left the camera lens on and missed taking pictures...we shopped a bit. I had been looking for tanzanite earrings and had one place trying to pass of Amethyst as a Tanzanite...LOL...We went back on the ship and met on the aft deck 14 again&#33; We had reservations this night for Sterling Steakhouse at 8:30...We did however, have a snack at the buffet, lol...fed Allison and brought her to the kids room around 7:30. She had made a T-shirt, necklaces and was having a blast, and kept asking what time it was, as she wanted to go back as soon as they opened&#33; We met our group at Sterling&#39;s and sat for dinner. They had a spinach artichoke dip that was the best I ever had. The steaks were absolutely fabulous...and this meal was definitely worth the &#036;15 pp cover charge. It was late after dinner, so we changed for the hot tubs and hung out there. Then to bed.<br /><br />Day 6<br /><br />Sea day...we were planning on sleeping in, which we did if you consider up and having breakfast by 7:15 am. This was the day the Captain invited us to the Bridge, which was at 2:00 pm. In the morning we did nothing but shop, hang out and play trivia. We were determined to win. Well, the same young couple kept winning and there was no way they knew all this stuff. Brian and I met my dad for the bridge tour. We were escorted to the bridge and met by Jonathan, third officer. He was British and quite funny. He reviewed all the equipment and made the information interesting. The bridge was pretty active today, as it was raining and seeing was difficult. They were watching a ship in the distance, off to the port side, about 3 miles away. Jonathan showed us how they can click on any ship in the radar and learn everything about them. The windshield wipers were on, which was neat. It was really scary to look straight down and realize you were high up and right over the water. We were given maps of our route, and I got a few extra for the people in my group. We met up with everyone after the tour, yes, you guessed it, deck 14 aft&#33; Tonight was our last formal night which meant lobster tails&#33; We changed and got cleaned up for dinner and made our way to the dining room. We told the waiter to keep the tails coming. They were cold water lobster, but not Maine, so they were smaller. After the 2nd night the waiter knew who drank which soda, and my daughter had chocolate milk and always had it waiting for us. The lobster was very tasty. I actually ate 4 myself...the total for the table was only 32 lobster tails&#33; Wow, it sounds like a lot when I add them all up, esp. considering only 5 of us were eating them. After dinner we changed and hit the Skywalker&#39; after listening to the Wavelength band again. Hot tubs came later too.<br /><br />Day 7<br /><br />Princess Cays...the private island portion of Eleuthera, Bahamas. We had rented bungalows so we had priority tendering and we were the first tender off the ship, after the crew. It was cloudy and windy and we sat on top and got sprayed with seawater quite a bit on the ride over...it was fun though. The temps were only in the mid 70&#39;s, but it was nice. I have to say...Half Moon Cay was much nicer for the beach. Our private bungalow came with our own waitress for our drinks and food, which was nice. The drinks were awesome...as they were the whole trip. They were definitely stronger than the ones we had on Carnival last April. The last tender was supposed to leave at 3...the line was long so we sat in comfy chairs and were on the 2nd last tender back, which was actually 3:30. We went to our rooms and began the sad task of packing to disembark the next day. We packed pretty quickly and had our luggage out before dinner. Dinner again was very good...they had some of the best seafood choices&#33; This was the last night for trivia...and we lost by 1 point, yes, to the young couple...there is just no way they knew this stuff&#33; Oh well. We had to get Ally from the kids room at 10, as there was no late night babysitting this night. We went to bed early...no big deal, as we really were tired.<br /><br />Day 8<br /><br />Time to leave. We met everyone for breakfast at deck 14 aft around 7:30. We had orange disembark tags as we were transferring to Miami for our flight. They called our color and we slowly made our way off the ship. It was orderly and not overcrowded and definitely did not feel like a cattle call&#33; We showed our passports and were quickly in the luggage area, which took all of 5 minutes to find our luggage. We grabbed a porter and were then on the bus within another 5 minutes&#33; Our trip to Miami airport was uneventful and we arrived within about 45 minutes. We were very early, 12 noon, as our flight was not until 4:20 pm, but we were able to check in our luggage, and did so curbside&#33; We went to our gate to drop our carry on luggage and took turns going for food. Our flight left on time and we actually arrived at our gate in Logan airport 20 minutes early&#33; All of our luggage made it, and we were off and heading home.<br /><br />Some observations of the ship:<br /><br />The staff was fabulous all around the ship. They appeared older and &quot;seasoned&quot; over all. Karl in the jewelry store was a total riot. The drinks were strong and we never had a problem with our bar services. The ship was very, very clean in all public areas. The public bathrooms were equally as clean. There were a few of the bar staff that were a little on the slow side, but that was not the norm.',1171842299,0,'Select a Destination','[-review]princess.gif',2717,'PrincessOne',1,101,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,NULL),(219,32,'1/13/07','Entertainment: Excellent<br />Service: Excellent<br />Cabin: Excellent<br />Food: Good<br />Overall: Excellent','We arrived in Miaim on Friday afternoon and there was shuttle waiting there to take us to the Embassy Suites where we spent the night. Great hotel and a full breakfast. Saturday morning as plannned the Liccia transportation company picked us up and drove us to the port;..........uneventful<br /><br />Embarkation<br /><br />The shuttle dropped us off at the porters bins and we proceeded to go inside to start the process. That was at 11:30. I don&#39;t want to bore you so I will just say we were eating lunch at 12;05 pm the Lido.<br /><br /><br />Cabin<br /><br />As usual we had a balcony but this time we had an aft balcony...Now we are really spoiled as the sunsets and the views from the balcony are awesome.<br /><br /><br />The cabin itself was the usual, plenty of room for all our clothes, toiletries and etc. I always pack a ten pack of cheap plastic hangers and then just leave them or throw them out when I leave. They take up much less room in the closet then asking for more wooden ones.<br /><br />The ship<br /><br /><br />The Triumph is a great ship...I didn&#39;t see much wear or stains on the carpet so maybe they were recently cleaned or changed. The ship is spotless<br /><br />Dining<br /><br /><br />We had two great waiters well, actually four as the two we started with were leaving the same day as us for vacation and they said something about their time so they couldn&#39;t work for the last three days? Anyway the ones that replaced them were great also and the assistant waiter had been in Ohio so we had lots to talk about. The food was good not great..........but we enjoyed it.<br /><br /><br />The Lido food was great and we enjoyed everything on the Lido, The grill, asian, the breakfast omelets, different buffets and of course the pizza anytime you wanted it.<br /><br /><br />Shore excursions<br /><br />Old San Juan<br /><br /><br />We got off the ship and walked around a little but I could have stayed on the ship and been equally as happy. No big deal<br /><br />We always book through Carnival and we were not dissappointed this time again.<br />Our first was parasailing in St. Thomas We had five of us that were going but only four went up I was the chicken and my ticket had a picture of a chicken on it. The rest of them said it was awesome.<br /><br /><br />Second stop in St. Maarten was great. We took a catamaran from the pier along the coast of ST. Maarten which was awesome as we have never been on one before.<br /><br /><br />When we got on the boat the captain said whoever would like to drive go ahead. When I took the wheel I saw it said auto pilot so no big deal. But then he came over and said do you really want to drive. He took it off auto and told me to drive it just like a car which I did. The steering wheel was huge but I enjoyed every minute of it. We got off the catamaran and got into a swiss army jeep that took us on a tour of St. Maarten (the views were awesome) before taking us to Orient beach (clothing optional) I wished some people would have opted to leave their clothes on&gt; We had a beautiful afternnon at the beach and he took us back to the ship around 3:00<br /><br /><br />Entertainment<br /><br /><br />The entertainment was good as usual. The same kind of Las vegas style shows. There was a magician on the lines of David Copperfield with all the bells and whistles so that was outstanding.<br /><br /><br />Debarkation<br /><br />Again uneventful...We were the first color called so that was fine. We were off the ship in about 3/4 of an hour with no problems. We took a cab to the airport and had a few hours to relax, read and get some lunch before our flight home.<br /><br />I am sure I missed something but all in all it was a great cruise.',1171842464,0,'Select a Destination','[-review]carnival.gif',754,'teacp',1,385,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,NULL),(220,26,'02-12-07','A wonderful time with my wife &#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;','Hello all,<br /><br /><br />A wonderful vacation with my wife&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;<br /><br />Since we live in the Orlando area we drove to Port Evergaldes for our trip. Took about 3 hours and 20 minutes door to door and we traveled through 2 rainstorms. Made it safe and sound. we stopped by Dunkin Donuts for a Dunkincinno and a croissant breakfast sandwich. Nice safe trip. we took toll road 429 to the Turnpike to I-95 at Jupiter and then down to I-595. Construction in the West Palm area.<br /><br />Upon entering Port Everglades, you get to a booth, have ID ready. Straight ahead to the piers. Our ship was at Pier 21 and a RCCL ship was at 25. Easy access and the parking garage was about 100 yards away. To park you get a ticket upon entering and pay as you go out. &#036;12 a day for our total of &#036;96.<br /><br />Since my wife was a VIP, we got to get on early and actually were the 5th and 6th people on, our earliest ever. Cabins were not ready until 13:30, why i do not know, but in the meantime we ate at the Unicorn cafe. Very relaxing with a few drinks of the day&#33;<br /><br />We had a 7A obstructed view. Couldn&#39;t look down, but the horizon was in clear view. I had the cagin decorated and a bottle of wine. She was surprised.<br /><br />I hate Carnival dinners again&#33; Waiter rino was great and attentive. N.Y. strip the first night was not cooked to order and i didn&#39;t care to wait for another,,,no big deal, just my preference. Also, what distubed me most was the chairs were not level, croken or even lopsided. We mentioned it to the waiter Matr&#39;d and Pursers desk. 2nd night, even worse. Never went back to the dining room. we actually had a great table for 2 overlooking the 1st floor dining room. After going back to the dining room several nights later to give the waiter a tip i was chased down by the asst matr&#39;d to ask why we weren&#39;t coming. I told her i thought it was pathetic, that i had mentioned it to several people and they couldn&#39;t find a level chair to support my wife who is having some back pain and psyiatic nerve problem. Not that i was asking for the world or anything special but at least a level, supportive chair. She offered a different table and i asked if they couldn&#39;t get the seats right what made us think a table would be anything better? CLUELESS &#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; Another table would solve the problem.....yea right................Buffetts were good enough for us.<br /><br />More to follow',1172509750,0,'Select a Destination','[-review]carnival.gif',558,'gogetter',1,250,0,0,0,558,1172509750,0,0,NULL),(221,119,')7/15/2006','This is our review starting from Bangkok Tahiland and ending with a week long land tour in China.  This was easily one of the most eye opening and breathingly beautiful cruises we have ever been on.  don&#39;t miss you chance to explore a whole new world.','Day 1 ? En Route  San Francisco to Bangkok<br /><br />The trip started out on a high note by there being barely any traffic over the Altamont, putting us into BART well before 10.  We caught the 9:55 train, which dropped us at the International terminal at 11:15.  We walked just a few feet to the United desk ? the very first one in line and got checked in.  Didn?t have enough points to upgrade, but that was okay.  We had some lunch, then walked over to MOMA.  After that, we decided it was time to go to our gate, which was the first one and we boarded easily.  We were seated the a small business class section (the larger one was behind us) and we met the people behind us ? come to find out, they are from Stockton (Walt and  Jenny Yourchek) and he?s a dermatologist ? he immediately picked up on the mole on Chris?s forehead and called his office, so that Chris could make an appointment to meet with him upon our return (I?m so glad ? I?ve wanted him to have that thing looked at for ever).  They are exceptionally nice people and we had a great time visiting with them.  They were also headed to Bangkok ? we had hoped on a Princess cruise, but they were going on to Bali.  We made plans to meet after the vacations to trade pictures and stories<br /><br />The plane trip was smooth and the food very good ? I had a Bento box and Chris had Fillet.  We also were served Breakfast ? a fruit platter for me and an omelet for Chris.  We were both surprised and delighted with the Narita Airport ? the lounge was huge and beautifully done.  Jenny and I headed off to shop while the guys talked.  We had just sat down when it was time to climb onto the next plane.  Thankfully, this second leg was all in the dark and both of us slept most of the way.  We did, of course, stay awake for the meal ? Chris had lamb shank and I had a great (but spicy) chicken curry.<br /><br />The Bangkok airport was all the Narita was not.  We had to go down a stairway and were bussed past two miles worth of cargo storage to the airport.  We went through passport and customs with no problems, bid our new friends goodbye and went looking for Princess.  After a wrong turn, we found them and got to the hotel at about 1 a.m.  We both went right to sleep, only to be awoken at 5:50 by a wrong phone number (grrr).  <br /><br />Day 2 - Bangkok<br /><br />We decided to get up and I had a lovely bath (brown water, yucka) and we went up to the Executive room for a yummy breakfast.  We started with mark melon/orange/banana juice, followed by papaya and dragon fruit (it?s red and green on the outside, you peel it like and apple and it?s white with black seeds (like a kiwi).  It had the same texture as a kiwi, but little favor.  I tried the Bircher muesli (slimy, but yummy) and then we explored more new tastes.  There was a roast Roma tomato topped with fresh garlic and herbs, chicken sausage, thyme saut?ed mushrooms, muffins with lychee and pear (these were like popovers in that the fruit was in the middle and the muffin puffed up over the top of them).  Chris also had some bitter orange marmalade.  <br /><br />We called John and Irene to say hello and then Chris headed out to take photos, while I stayed around to start on this.  After a little while, we went down to the Princess desk and asked about the gem shop.  We ended up and S &amp; J Gems, a locally owned operation.  They had an incredible display of all gems, but we were met and asked about sapphires.  To make a long story short, we picked three stones, a loose one for about &#036;350, a small one (&#036;60) to replace the darker sapphire in my engagement ring and then, a knuckle buster at  (gulp) &#036;4,000.  It really is a beautiful ring and I can?t believe that I actually own something like this.  After that, we headed back to the room.  I was feeling a little motion sick because of the crazed ride back, so we rested for a while.  After a couple of hours, Chris decided that we had to ride the sky train, which wasn?t much of anything, but it did show us some of the city.  After that, we came back to the room and relaxed until it was dinnertime.  We went to the Madison and had obscene amounts of beef.  Chris had a brand of Kobe beef (they shipped several head to Australia, so they are called something else, but it?s still Kobe beef).  I had prime rib that could have fed a small army.  I felt so badly that I couldn?t eat more, but I just wasn?t feeling up to par.  I decided to head back to the room and get some rest.  Chris sat by the pool for a while and then followed me.  I never even heard him come in.<br /><br />Day 3 - Bangkok<br /><br />We had a nice breakfast, nothing really wild today ? some cereal and toast.  Chris had sweet rolls, sausage and fruit.  We then headed down stairs for our first tour.  We met all sort of folk, including a couple from New York (George and Marion), a younger couple named Michael and () and some others.  Today we headed for Nong Nooch gardens and elephant show.  The cultural part of the show was okay, but they really needed a choreographer.  The elephant show was too fun.  They danced, played football, basketball and bowled.  The young ones were especially sweet.  I got my picture taken with a leopard.  It was great to be that close to a big cat, but I was aghast to see that her teeth had been filed off.  She was purring like mad, so she must have been okay overall.  The gardens were beautiful, but we didn?t stay for very long.  Then we went to a hotel in Pataya for lunch (it was okay) and then went to another gem store. It was HUGE, bigger than HUGE, but we got out of there without buying anything.  After a very long bus ride back, we decided to stay in and have room service.  Chris built his own sandwich and had a great mushroom soup and a lime soda ? it came with its own simple syrup and he mixed it as he went.  I had a club and some minestrone.  Both were very good.  I was still exhausted, so I went to bed, but Chris went to the pool.  We got packed and sent the bags off.  It was a tiring day, but fun.<br /><br />Day 4  - Bangkok<br /><br />Today it the Highlights of Bangkok, with a visit to the Golden Buddha, the Royal palace and a boat ride to lunch.  Again, very hot and humid and worse, we had to be fully dressed because of the temples.  The Golden Buddha was originally encased in case to save it from being melted down by foreign invaders and everyone forgot about it.  When it fell in an accident in 1953, people were amazed that it was solid gold underneath.  We saw several kitties at the temple and Christ got a picture of a monk holding a kitten.   The Royal Palace is still used for some ceremonies and it was really incredible.  The inlay of mosaic tile and jewels and gold leaf was just unbelievable.  The temples were ornate and beautiful, but it was so hot, it was hard to enjoy them.  <br /><br />After a walk through a bazaar, in which the smell of food just about made me crazy, we got to the river.  It was really rough and hard to get on the boat, but we managed.  All I can say is thank goodness that the Meclazine is working as well as it is.  I didn?t have any trouble, although Chris got a little rocky at first.  We had lunch at another hotel, it was better than the day before, but I was disturbed at how much food people took and left.  We chatted with Darlene and Julie, her daughter.  They are very funny and have a fun sense of humor.  We also met Burr and his wife.  It was so nice to just chat with people and get to know them better.<br /><br />Then it was off to the ship&#33;  The ride to the ship was long, but not because it was so long, but because we were in a hurry to see her.  We arrived and were ushered in with no wait at all.  Our luggage (sans one bag) was at the room when we arrived and we were a little dismayed that the room wasn?t as clean as we?d hoped, including a dirty towel left hanging on the bathroom door.  The assistant room manager came down and was very apologetic.  We then met Michael; our steward who had just come on board, between the two, the room was ship shape before muster.  Chris?s suitcase arrived and we had time to unpack before heading to the dining room.  We sat with Burr and his wife, and then stopped off at the bar for a drink to wait out the crowd, only to have Marion and George join us.  I came back to the room to work on this and Chris went up to help the captain get the ship out.  He came back and we were standing on the balcony when we looked up and saw more people we knew.  This is what I like about the smaller ships.  So far, this trip has been all I?d hoped for.  I would like to come back to Bangkok ? I feel we only scratched the surface of a very old and diverse city.<br /><br />Our tablemates are very nice:  Jim and Edie are from Atlanta, Roy is from Queensland and SJ and Sherri are from Canada.  I thought to start off right with some spring rolls, beef broth and Fettuccini Alfredo.  Chris has the Shrimp cocktail, mushroom soup and Beef tenderloin. Long day, early night.  We had a good chat and went to see the show with Roy.  <br /><br /> Day 5 ? At Sea<br /><br />We intended to spend a very quiet day and we did.  Walked around a little and got to know the ship.  We went to a ports talk by Sammy and got to hear the in?s and out?s of each port.  We napped and just generally kicked back.  Chris offered to get lunch and when he returned, he sat in the other deck chair and it collapse beneath him.  This resulted in a bottle of wine, two hors d&#39;oeuvre platters and boutonnieres for us.  We started to get ready for our first formal night and that?s when disaster struck.  Chris had not remembered a dress shirt&#33;  Thankfully, the purser was able to help and, although we missed the captain cocktail party, we were to dinner on time.  It was very good.  I had a salad and Rock Cornish game hen.  Chris had a seafood turnover.  We were both pleased with our choices, but Edie, suffering from a cold, was not been as complimentary.  Every night she has gotten something that she hasn?t liked, wasn?t what she wanted, etc.  Oh well, no pleasing everyone It was supposed to be a production show, but one of the singers got sick, so we had an Aussie singer.   It was okay, just not what we were expecting.<br /><br />Day 6 -  Kuantan, Malaysia <br /><br />We had been warned that this port was small, dirty, isolated, etc.  We were delighted to discover while it was indeed small, it was clean and very well run.  I was startled by how many jellyfish were in the water and visible from the ship ? should tell you how clean the water was.  <br /><br />We had been warned that our tour would be awful and we found it delightful.   We went on a boat ride up to some mangrove swamps and wandered around the mangroves for a while.  The birds and cicadas were deafening.  Then we went to a Hindu temple and a Mosque.  I stayed on the bus because my back wasn?t happy about the mangrove walk.  A couple pills and some quiet time and it was ready to go again, just in time for the batik factory.  I got a great shirt, a tablecloth, two scarves and a wall hanging.  Chris got two shirts, one of which will have to be altered when we get back home ? he didn?t realize it was long sleeve.  We got back around 1:30 and had a bit of a lay down.  I did go off the ship to buy some earrings for Ginny and came back to find that my card didn?t work.  It was fixed in no time, but it was an annoyance.  We rested up and then went to dinner.  It was Thai night and the food was yummy&#33;  I had a cucumber salad with peanuts and chili peppers, chicken and galangal soup, and ?Khai Yang? ? bbq chicken garnished with vegetables and fries.  It was very good and Rocky Road for dessert.  Chris had seafood cakes, chilled yogurt and tamarind soup and saut?ed prawns.  For dessert he had a meringue tiered chocolate filled tower.  It looked deadly.  I went to back to the cabin and just relaxed (watched part of Memoirs of a Geisha).  Chris walked about the ship and then came back to watch some TV himself.  It was a good day and I loved this port.<br /><br />Day 7 ? Singapore<br /><br />Okay, early start this morning for some reason.  We both woke up about 6 or so to watch the ship pull into the dock.  We have been in a holding pattern for about half an hour now as we wait for something.  It?s unclear if it?s for a berth or to turn the ship.  It isn?t quite certain what the hold up was.  We had to clear customs today, but our tour isn?t until this afternoon, so it was a big deal.  We went ashore just to check things out and to go through Customs before the mad rush.  We walked around a little and changed some money and I bought some postcards.  Nothing much else was opened.  Heading back to the ship, we could see all the masses of people going off for tours.  It felt good to be heading in the opposite direction.  I wasn?t feeling really great due to my period, so we just hung around the cabin until it was time for lunch.  I wrote my postcards and Chris read a little.  We had a fast lunch at the buffet and then headed down to meet our tour.  <br /><br />Alas, everyone we knew was on Bus 2 and we were on Bus 1.  We were doing the Chinatown, Pewter demo, Raffles trip.  We headed first for the pewter demo, which was very brief.  We saw one person pouring and another person shaping pewter and then it was time for us to try our hand at making a bowl.  We each got a sheet of pewter, a couple of hammers and some punches to put whatever we wanted on the bottom of it.  Chris put Bangkok to Beijing and I put Pacific Princess ? got my initials messed up though, but that?s okay.  It was fun and we had a couple of bowls to take home.  We also bought a vase and a wine corker. <br /><br />Then it was on to Chinatown.  Our guide gave us some insight into what it was like to grow up in Chinatown during the Japanese occupation.  It was not pretty and the Chinese felt the Japanese deserved the bombs we dropped on them, calling them payback.  The museum was tiny and very hard for Chris to maneuver around in, but it was very informative and a little scary to think of people living like that as recently as the 1960?s.  We also had a little time to shop at the bazaar in Mosque St.  I got two beautiful cashmere scarves.  Then it was on to Raffles for some liquid refreshment.  <br /><br />The hotel was very elegant and looked wonderfully decadent.  We walked past people having high tea, all dressed to the nines, and served by waiters wearing white gloves.  The Long Bar, where we were bound, was far more casual.  We had our drink, Chris had two, in fact, with the younger couple we had met from New Jersey.  Then it was on to the shops to try and get rid of the rest of our Singapore money.  We bought a poster, a polo shirt and a silver Raffles ornament.  Our bus was waiting for us, except it wasn?t our bus and we almost ended up at the airport but Fifi (our tour guide) stopped us before we ever got on the bus.  We were with a Princess crew person and we thought she knew where she was going.  It led to some good laughs.  Also discovered that one of the women we were traveling with was from Pleasanton.   The world seems to get smaller and smaller the more you travel.<br /><br />We got back to the port with less than an hour to spare. After walking around a little, we decided to just cash the money in and get back on board.  I took all the packages and headed form the ship, worried that Chris might get side tracked by all the electronic shops. He didn?t and was there just behind me.  We had just enough time to change and head for dinner, stopping to chat with Burr and his wife, Amy, as we went.  <br /><br />Dinner was very good tonight.  I had onion soup, complete with the cheese crust and some duck, which was very good.  Chris had a potato/pumpkin soup, followed by a salad followed by the pork loin.  For dessert, it was a raspberry cr?me Brule and I had a sundae.<br /><br />There was a debate about whether or not to go to the production show ? Rock and Roll ? I decided that it was time for me to go to bed and Chris followed suit, even though I assured him that we was free to attend with Roy, SJ and his wife.<br /><br />Day 8 ? At Sea<br /><br />We decided to stay the day by having breakfast in the cabin.  It was the same for me, cereal, fruit and a bagel, but Chris had a good Denver omelet.  The coffee was better than at the buffet, so that was okay by me.   After sitting around for a while, we went down to the future cruise desk and signed up for our next cruise ? to the British Isles.  It was exactly the same trip as the one we were looking at ? this one goes to Normandy, but the cruise director said it was because it was a new season and the lists I?d been looking at was for this year.  As long we hit Edinburgh and Inverness, that?s okay by me.  Then we?ll be able to say we?ve been to France.  We also talked about Tahiti in 2008, but it was really too far to book anything. We even booked the suite we wanted, so that will be nice.  It will be nicer if John and Irene go with us, but it?s a big decision to make the first time.<br /><br />After that I headed back to the cabin to hang out while Chris prowled the ship. He went to the culinary demo and then came back to collect me for lunch.  The afternoon was spent quietly, reading and resting.  <br /><br />When we returned from dinner this evening, a lovely meal awaited us.  I had Quiche Lorraine, capon broth and Breast of Duckling.  Chris has shrimp cocktail, chilled papaya soup and New York Steak.  I can?t even remember dessert.  We returned to our cabin to discover the acknowledgement for our 2007 cruise.  We didn?t get the cabin we wanted, but it?s a long way out and we?re on the waiting list for it, so here?s hoping.  It was another quiet evening.  I don?t know what we?re doing to make us so tired, but again sleep came early.  We did hear that the Crown has an Asopod failure and developed a pronounced list, resulting in a shortened trip.  People were whining and complaining about it on Cruise Critic, but Princess offered money back and discounts, so I don?t really understand what is wrong.  There was a message from Tony complaining about the large number of children and Mexicans on board.  I?m afraid I wasn?t very polite in my response to him.  Gee, and he didn?t want to get together with us for a drink ? what a surprise.  The more I read about him, the bigger jerk he seems to be.  Before I thought he was just pompous, now I know him to be a bigot.  <br /><br />Day 9 ? Vietnam (Phu My)<br /><br />Today was an early beginning, we had a 7:30 start, and so we got up around six and had some breakfast while we sailed into Phu My harbor.  We had gotten out visas the night before, so it was a simple matter of having them stamped as we headed out for our highlights and shopping tour.  Amy and Burr were on this one, as was Jim and Edie.  We started with a two-hour bus ride into Ho Chi Ming City (still called Saigon by most of the people).  Our tour guide, Van, was very articulate and personable.  He spoke English well and had an extensive knowledge of his country?s history.  This was a hard stop for many of our passengers because of course of the Vietnam War.  Van spoke dispassionately about the war saying that most of the population doesn?t remember it (over 60% of the population is under 30).  He says that their feeling is that it happened and now it?s over, so let?s move on.  <br /><br />Okay, first impression of Vietnam ? this is where all the motorcycles of the world come when they?ve finished elsewhere (80 million people and 30 million motorcycles share the roads).  It was frightening to wait them weave in and out of traffic.  Crossing the streets was also an adventure, but more later.<br /><br />Our fist stop was the Natural History Museum, which gave us about 4000 years of history in 30 minutes.  First though were the water puppets.  Chris didn?t know about this, but it was one of the reasons that I picked this tour.  They told three stories, one about two fighting dragons, complete with fire, the next one was about a husband and wife raising ducks and trying to protect them from a fox, who looked an awful lot like a cat to both of us, including climbing a tree, which I didn?t think a fox can do.  The last was about the four creatures of Vietnam, a dragon, unicorn, phoenix and a snake.  It was spirited to say the least.  The museum was okay, it gave a little background and displayed some interesting artifacts, the most interesting of which we couldn?t take photos of.  Then we headed to the post office, where we found some lovely cards.  Next it was off to the site of the American Embassy, where we could look, but not take photos, even from the bus.  Next was a visit to a lacquer factory, where the 17-step process was explained.  I didn?t know there were three different styles to this type of lacquer ? the painting, egg shell and mother of pearl (or abalone).  We bought a long tray, a small saucer and a pair of chopsticks.  Then it was on to the museum for lunch.<br /><br />Lunch was an extravagant meal, lots of local dishes, including a very tasty lotus root salad and some deep fried pineapple ? they used canned pineapple, which made it even tastier.  There was also a display of local song and dance, very interesting and the best buffet lunch so far&#33;  After that, it was on to the Rex hotel and Dong St. for some shopping.  Okay, this was a real eye opener.  There was a fleet of peddlers who follow the bus from stop to stop, but when we hit the street here, it was an all out melee.  It was amazing that we purchased as little as we did and Chris bartered like a native.  I got a silk scarf for two dollars, my big purchase.  It matches my dress for formal night.  After that, we headed back to the hotel to rest and get a drink at the bar on the fifth floor.  Chris had an Alice; I had an orange soda (again juice with soda water).  Then it was back to the bus for another two-hour ride to the ship.  We were all beat when we got back just in time to dress for dinner.  Crossing the street was a wild adventure or making sure you didn?t get flattened.  Someone said over 7000 people are killed by motorcycles a year here ? ouch&#33;<br /><br />Chris had prime rib, with a scallop Pate and cream of artichoke soup.  I had polenta with marinara, duck broth and a pasta dish in a brown sauce.  It was tasty, but hard to describe.  For dinner we each had tutti fruitti ice cream.  Jim fell asleep at the table and we all struggled to stay awake long enough to make it back to our cabins.  We are a real party table I?ll say that&#33;<br /><br />Day 10 ? Vietnam (Nhan Trang)<br /><br />We sailed into port today a bit later than the other cities.  This is a lovely port with brightly colored houses and boats.  Chris said it reminded him of some of the Mexican town we saw on our cruise with Barb and Rod.  We didn?t have a tour here, so we grabbed the shuttle into the market.  Okay, again, wow with the attention.  People just descend upon you.  We picked up one gentleman who finally gave up.  Chris had a running battle with this one old lady who wanted &#036;2 for a spoon and he only wanted to pay &#036;1.  He won, but she wasn?t happy about it.  I bought some glass bracelets, five for &#036;3 and a tee shirt for &#036;3.  We also got some fabric for my quilting, hard but successful bargaining and another ?helper?.  This time it was a young girl, about 10 or 12, and she would not let us out of her sight.  We wandered out of the market and down some streets, got yelled at by a cop for walking in the street (honestly, it?s hard to tell) and just looked around.  We decided it was time to head back to the bus, but not before being hounded by men offering to take us on tours.  We declined, got back on our shuttle and headed back.  There were several stands open on the dock and I got a necklace and some earrings for Ginny. <br /><br />We headed back to our cabin to discover they were fixing our patio door ? it had rusted through its tracks ? and replacing a missing light.  One thing about maintenance on this ship, they are fast and thorough.  We ate again at the buffet and had a nice lay down.  There is still talk about what is going to happen with the typhoon and whether or not we will make it to Hong Kong.  I am content to leave it in the Captain?s capable hands.  He will pick what is best for the ship and its cargo.  Some people are fussing about it, but there?s really not much to be done.  Weather is the weather.  For dinner, I had a leek and potato turnover, roasted duckling broth and Risotto.  Chris had cold poached scallop ceviche, chilled pea pod soup and lamb chops.<br /><br />Day 11 - At Sea<br /><br />Finally today was a day to rest up from all the sightseeing.  With that in mind, we did very little today besides eat and sleep.  We did take in a talk on Pirates ? Yesterday and Today.  This was pretty interesting.  We also watched a bit of ?Pirates? and watched a talk on Hong Kong.  That night we got to meet the Captain at the Captain?s Circle party and we got to see the infamous Tony.  He looked smug, pompous and exactly as I pictured him, except a bit younger.   I wondered how someone so young could have all this time and money just to sail aimlessly back and forth on the same route.  It would see boring to me&#33;<br /><br />After that he headed down to the floorshow, which was the one we missed the fist night - ?Give My Regards.?  They managed to hit every musical I hated, even JCS ? long tribute to that?sigh I can run, but I can?t hide.<br /><br />Day 12 ? Hong Kong<br /><br />Today came the best news possible ? because of Kimai, we will have two days in Hong Kong&#33;  What an incredible city to sail into, some buildings are so full of color and yet some are so pastel colored.  We sailed into the Bay of Hong Kong ? we docked on the Kowloon side and had a few minutes ashore before it was time for the tour ? not even time to eat lunch today.  We had highlights of Honk Kong, which started with a trip under the bay via one of the three tunnels.  Traffic was a bear and our guide, Stella, assured us that this wasn?t bad at all.  She says that she rides Bus 11, i.e. she walks or takes public transit.  First we headed to Aberdeen, where the water people live.  The government is trying to get these people out of the water and into low cost housing, but they aren?t budging.  The younger people are willing, but the old people won?t leave their sampans.  <br /><br />After the water taxi ride, which was a hoot and a little rough, we went to a jewelry store, where I purchased a jade and gold pendent for probably a lot more than it was worth, but I like it and it will go perfectly upon the gold chain that came with the plumeria pendent.<br /><br />After that, we took a hair-raising ride to Stanley Market.  I got a little frog, a humming bird and post cards, but the best purchase were the ice creams bars&#33;  Anyhow, it was beastly hot and very humid because of the typhoon.  We walked the entire market and got back just in time to wait for the bus ? we beat the tour guide, who was delighted that we were all together.  Next we drove to the top of Victoria Peak ?eek&#33;  I had to take more mecclazine, just for the trip, plus my back was just killing me.    We got to a shopping center and I got to use the Happy Room (toilet) and we walked around a bit before climbing on board the tram ? it went down backwards.  There was a massive thunderstorm coming into Hong Kong and we got to watch the lightening for several minutes before the storm hit.  What a trip it was down the hill.  We reassembled and headed back to ship.  Boy, was I glad to see that ship.  We had just time to throw our clothes on and head to the dining room.   I had a beef Bresaola with arugula and parmesan, corn chowder and veal parmigiama and Chris had a scallop mousse, albondigas soup and Gamberi Saltati alla? Aglio (shrimp) Too tired for the floor show, we both went to bed after making plans to meet with S.K. and Shirley to meet the next morning for breakfast and our own tour of Kow Loon.<br /><br />Day 13 ? Hong Kong<br /><br />We met and decided to head out about 9 a.m. ? it was too early, but that?s okay.  We took a public bus, which was a hoot and got off downtown.  Nothing opened until 10:30 or 11, and it was only 9:30.  We did a mess of walking and looking around and then Jim decided it was time to go back to Nathan Road for lunch.  He and Edie really didn?t like the walking at all.  We went to a five-story department store and had a tea demo.  That was fun and we bought three tea pots/strainers.  I also got a puzzle and some cut outs for Julie.  Then it was time for some serious lunch.  We went to Shamrock Seafood Restaurant and S.K. ordered for us.  I thought it was a shame that Jim would only eat the fried rice, but that was his choice.  We had some fabulous Char Sui buns, fried rice, chow mien, Shrimp bow, deep fried won tons, egg rolls, chicken soup, it just went on and on.  Then, for some reason, both Jim and Edie got a bee in their bonnet about having to get back to the ship as it was going to leave without us ? it was 1:30 and we sailed at 6 p.m. but that was okay.  We went back to the ship, except Roy, who walked back.  The guys and Shirley grabbed a cab to go over to get an English warranty for Jim ? he didn?t pick one up when we purchased his new camera.  I was only back on the ship about ? an hour before Chris returned, unimpressed, from his visit to Ho Hum.  Dinner was pretty good Italian tonight.  I had a very good proscuitto and melon with minestrone and a veal chop.  Chris had the eggplant parm, with a bean soup and beef stew.  The gelato was really good and then, after the captain warned us of high waves that night and for the next day, we all retired to our cabins.  I was pooped&#33;<br /><br />Day 14 ? At Sea<br />It was great to have a quiet day at sea today.  I slept 12 hours before reluctantly dragging myself out of bed to face the day.  I had taken enough mecclazine to offset any wave motion and was pretty comfortable.  By 3 p.m. most of the waves had quieted down and we were back to the regular motions.  Chris went to a computer class on safety and I went to a talk on Titanic ? it was about the filming, which really wasn?t that hot.  I haven?t seen the movie and didn?t want to see it any more after the talk.  Chris spent the afternoon working on a project for people at the table (e mail addresses) and I had a great bath, plus read a bit.  Tomorrow is another sea day, so we should be really rested up for Shanghai.  We had our second formal dinner tonight and it was the Italian dinner.  I had the prosciutto (again), the rustic vegetable minestrone soup and the Pappardelle al Sugo d Lepre (pasta with rabbit) and Chris had baked eggplant, Venetian soup of beans and pasta and the Veal Chop.<br /><br />Day 15 ? At Sea<br /><br />We are still bouncing around a little because of the typhoon, but not as badly as I thought we would.  We had already decided that we weren?t going to do much of anything today and we really didn?t.  I went to a lecture on sea myths and also painted a tee shirt. I couldn?t get it finished in time, so I brought it down to the cabin to finish up.  It was a pre-punched design, but that was okay.  It was still fun.   We hung around with S.K., Roy, and Shirley quite a bit today, just chatting and enjoying ourselves.   Mostly today was just a day of eating and sleeping.  Jim seems like he?s getting a cold, which is not what you want to happen going into China.  Roy is concerned because he only has a single entrance visa and can?t come ashore.  Dinner was good again, but we are beginning to see a pattern here.  I had an asparagus puree, <br /><br />Day 16 ? Shanghai<br /><br />What a beautiful city this is&#33;  So many skyscrapers and they are so unique ? not just simple straight lines, but circles, cut-aways and the like.  It really is quite incredible.  Our tour today was all day long and, boy, was it long.  Lots of walking and seeing of things.  First we went to the Children?s Museum, a fine arts school, and we got to see young boys (5 ? 12) working at Peking Opera movements and young girls, all younger than seven, dancing to ?Jingle Bells?.  The school was three stories and we went up and down a couple of times. We bought two student paintings of kitties.  Then it was off to the Jade Buddha Temple, which was lovely, but a lot more standing and standing as our guide explained all about Buddha.  We bought a great little kitten cut out.  Then it was time for lunch.  What a spread Shanghai set out for us.  Favorites for us were the sweet fish lemon pickles and in fact all the pickles were good, and the soup, chicken egg drop with corn.  We had such a large number of dishes and they just kept coming.  Everything was very good, although it did give me indigestion later that afternoon.  I took a pain pill and soldiered on to the next sight, the Yu Gardens.  On the way there, we saw a little kitten crying for mom.  I would have taken him back to the ship if I could have.  The gardens were really crowded and I wasn?t feeling well at all ? a combination of the sun, indigestion and back pain.  After we finished the garden, which would have been nicer if it wasn?t so crowded, we wandered around the market for a little bit, but I just didn?t have my heart into shopping, so we went into DQ, got something cold to drink and just sat until it was time for the bus.  More walking, five blocks, back to the bus, among all the professional beggars, vendors and people just out enjoying the blue sky.    We got to the Shanghai Museum and it really was great, there was a costume and mask display on the top floor that was very nice and I really enjoyed the paintings, but my pain pill had worn off and I was not very happy.  Then we headed to a silk factory, but I stayed on the bus along with a couple of other passengers.  We got back to the ship too late for dinner, so we went up to the bistro and had some pizza.  Chris went down to see our tablemates and I went right to bed.  What a long day&#33;<br /><br />Day 17 ? At Sea.<br /><br />Thank goodness we have a day to sleep in and relax a little.   When I met the tablemates for breakfast, they presented us with a beautiful embroidered kitten picture. Roy, Shirley and S.K. had had a great day just walking a bit and shopping.  Wished we gone with them in hindsight.  I did go and paint a ceramic tile for Julie and take a long hot bath.  The back isn?t happy, but it?s okay.  Chris went to a computer class and I watched a couple of movies.  It was just a day to not do much of anything.  This was also our last formal night.  I had roasted grouse, Chris had fish ? for some reason, there is not a menu for this dinner - and it was met with the obligatory march of the Baked Alaskas.  Dinner was good, but not spectacular.  We are seeing a lot of repeats during this cruise.<br /><br />Day 18 ? Nagasaki<br /><br />I can only say that I wish we had more time in this port.  We took a brief tour of the city and even that was too long to allow us any time to get back out into the city.  This was the cleanest and most demur of cities, as I would expect from Japan.  The memorial at ground zero was nice and well cared for.  We found a little gift shop and the rest rooms and that was about it.  We got back on the bus and that was it, our grand tour.  The bell ringers from one of the local schools came on board and played for us.  That was pretty and the Tai Koh Drummers sent us off.  The captain is really having to put his foot down to get us back to Beijing on time.  Had a rattlely cabin all night because of this.  Again, it was a quiet afternoon of sleeping and reading ? actually I have been working to finish the appliqu? on Amy?s baby blanket.    Again, we seem to be missing the menu for this evening and the food completely escapes me except to note that nearly every item on the menu had been served before.  Hmm, this is a little odd.  <br /><br />Day 19 ? Last Day at Sea<br /><br />We spent today packing and getting ready for the disembarkation in Beijing.  There are a total of 11 people on our land tour.  I hope they are nice and fun to be with.  We decided to bring down the bottle of wine we got to the table for dinner, which is down home food ? turkey and dressing, prime rib, that sort of thing.  It?s hard to believe that 16 days have gone by on this cruise.  They really went like a snap of the fingers.  We spent so much time with our tablemates and they were really a lot of fun.  Mostly, it?s hard to believe all the stuff we bought&#33;  I don?t remember buying some of it, so it?s okay.  Today I picked up a chain for my locket and some tee shirts.  This afternoon, we sailed through a huge fog bank ? it was very eerie, then suddenly we popped out to great weather and the coast of China.  Now we just have to get up to Beijing.  It?s has really been a great cruise and the trip of a lifetime.  We did so much that we both remark much of it seems like a dream.  We exchanged addresses all the way around and left the table a little misty eyed.  It?s hard to think we will never see these people again.  Guess that?s a little how life is though.  I?m just glad we were able to do it.  I don?t know if I will have time to actually do anything once we get on the land tour, but I will try.  Dinner was an odd assortment of items.  I had an asparagus soup with tapioca and Prime rib.  Chris had Oranges with mint and grand Marnier, a chilled pumpkin soup and turkey.  There was an incredible series of storms at sea this evening.  Chris called to tell me about the first one and then I woke up for the next two ? or it could have just been one really long shower.  With no clock in the room, it?s hard to tell the passage of time.<br /><br />Day 20 ? Beijing	<br /><br />We made plans to have breakfast together and it was a teary event.  These people had grown very close to me during the trip and I will miss them.  The only thing I didn?t get was my tile.  I am going to contact Princess when I get home to see if they will ship it to me.  I really wanted it for Julie, but at least I got photos of it.<br /><br />Our disembarkation went smoothly enough until we got to Customs, and then we got hung up when they put a large group through just before us.  Thankfully the bus waited for us.  Our guide is Jackie and he?s from Beijing.  He reminds a lot of Kenichi when he talks.  <br /><br />We have a small group of people, just 11, and I will try to do a recap of them.  There is Fran and Jim Yost, whom we met at Bangkok.  There is Charlie and Connie from Montreal, Jim and Sandy Carpenter from Washington DC, (I think),   Then there are Doris and Wally and Doris sister, Janice, from Michigan.  It is a diverse group and we get along pretty well.  I?m glad it?s an older group, as I would have problems keeping up with younger people.  Jim has had lots of surgeries and walks with a pronounced limp.  Connie uses a crutch, so I felt right at home with them.  I admire them both for trying this trip<br /><br /><br />We had a two-hour ride into the city from the port area and that was pretty.  China has done a lot of beautification, I think mostly because of the Olympics in 2008.  Beijing is interesting in that the streets are very wide and they don?t permit left turns ? go figure&#33;  Jackie had suggested that we skip Tiananmen Square until later in the trip and at night so that it would be cooler, but we discovered we had lunch there.  After a buffet lunch, (Connie went t back to the hotel because there were no wheelchair access to the Forbidden City we walked out to the square for about 15 minutes and then hit the Forbidden City.  Big, enormous, huge, gigantic, none of these words come close to describing the size of it.  We walked over three miles in it and didn?t even scratch the surface.  Jackie said that if you were to sleep in a different room every night, it would take you 27 years to do it.  It was a very long day and the hardest part of the whole trip was when we had to wait and wait for the bus.  The Crown Plaza is a beautiful hotel and we had a great room, even though we only had time for a quick shower and change before going out to dinner to a banquet.  The food was great and we ended up sitting with a family we knew from the ship.  They were very funny and the youngest girl was quite the hoot.  She and I had a great chat.  <br /><br />After dinner, the children put on a show for us, three dances and then they came out to the audience to meet us ? they were so cute and the dances were very long and difficult for such young children, but they did a great job.  We got back to the hotel at about 9:30 and fell asleep almost instantly.<br /><br />Day 21 ? Xi?an<br /><br />This was a day of mishaps, such as Wally losing his backpack and Charlie having a tiny pocketknife in his pouch.  He?d flown all the way here with it, but was never stopped.  Beijing Airport is huge, but much like any airport once you get use to the mass of people.<br />We got on our plane with no trouble, only to hold for a passenger ? for an hour&#33;  We were not happy campers.  I was afraid this would cut into our time with the warriors, but Jackie assured us it would not.  <br /><br />Our guide here is Tony and he has a bedroom voice.  I loved listening to him. He was very knowledgeable and was a fountain of information about the area and the various dynasties around Xi?an.  We had a lovely cloudy and cool day to do the figures and it was perfect.<br /><br />The terra cotta warriors were awe-inspiring.  What a sight Building One was with its rows and rows of figures&#33;  China had a lot of foresight in constructing the area and making sure that it could hold massive amounts of people before they started digging.  It was quite well thought out and we had a wonderful time at the site.  We got a book signed by one of the farmers who discovered the figures, and I got some tee shirts, figures and a magnet for George.<br /><br />We headed in to Xi?an, which is a lovely city and went to the hotel ? the name eludes me at the moment.  It is new and still working the kinks out.  Jim and Sandy?s shower leaked, our toilet plugged up at a very bad time and Janice was given a room with someone in it.  That all being said, the bed sure felt good that night.  We had dinner at a theater and saw a show.  Most people went ohh and ahh, but I wasn?t as impressed.  I think theater has been forever ruined for me.  The costumes were great and the food very good.<br /><br />Day 22 ? Xi?an to Chongquin<br /><br />Another early morning of 6:30 a.m. to catch all that we needed to see in Xi?an before flying out.  We saw the bell tower and went to the city wall.  They have four gates, but 11 entrances.  The city fathers are thinking about tearing it down for more room, but we told Tony that we thought it should stay.  He agreed with us.  Xi?an has been the home of many dynasties and has seen a great many battles, but no one has ever gotten over the moat or through the wall.  Then we went to a jade factory and I got jade for every one back home, Chris got a pendant for Elaine and we nearly bought a beautiful needle work cat ? looked just like Nosh ? but the asking price of &#036;5,000 was a bit steep.  We did get them down to &#036;2600, but Jackie told us to pay no more than &#036;2500 for it.  We left it there.  Then we headed for the City museum, which was very lovely.  We took it on our own and had a great time of it, even visiting a side building that had nothing but Chinese signs.  It had lovely scrollwork and landscapes, as well as some recent finds.<br /><br />We were now seriously ahead of schedule, so Tony urged us to take our time at lunch.  We didn?t, but kill some extra time by shopping.  I got a shirt (surprise) and some bottle covers.  We headed to the airport and again had to wait for passengers ? six this time.  However, they came right along and we even took off early.  <br /><br />The flight to Chongquin was pretty short and we had no trouble with our luggage or getting to our bus.  The ride wasn?t too bad, but we were tired and just wanted to be there.  The boat, the Victoria Star, is very nice and we had to the chance to upgrade to a suite.  It?s very lovely and has a huge balcony facing front.  Chris really enjoyed it and spent lots of time out there.  Because we were so tired, the ship actually served us dinner and we set sail at about 9:15.  Aside from nearly falling out of bed once (the ship occasionally leans side to side), we slept fine.<br /><br />Day 22 ? Feng Du<br /><br />I have wanted to visit this city for a long time and was very excited to get the chance. It was another early morning of 6:30, but it was good that we took the excursion early to keep as cool as possible.  We took the chair lift up and I had no problems negotiating the steps.  Again, Connie couldn?t go because this place definitely wasn?t ADA compliant&#33;  Still it was fascinating and we learned a lot about Hell.  We had to pass three tests on our way in, walk over the center of three bridges in three steps, cross over the threshold to hell and balance on a rock.  The last one about did my back in, but that was okay.  The pantheon of ghosts and demons were very different from ours ? there was the Good Ghost, who looked after all the animals, the ghost that killed bad babies, the ghost who punished people for reading too much ? figure that one out ? and just a host more, the far and neared sighted ghosts, the horny ghost, etc.  The tour was great because we would walk a bit, then Summer would talk, then we?d walk a bit.  There were a total of about 250 steps throughout the temple, but I did okay.  I was tired though.<br /><br />We spent a quiet and restful afternoon and then went to the Captain?s reception.  It was better than Princess?s do.  The champagne poured freely and the apps were great.  Dinner times vary depending upon where we are in the river.  Tonight it was at 7; yesterday it was at 7:30.  My poor body is so messed up now.  Chris went to the fashion show, but I went to bed.  Chris came back and sat on the deck only to discover that they chain the door shut after 10.  Thankfully, we are just under the bridge and he was able to attract attention to get the doors unlocked.<br /><br />Day 23 ? The Three Gorges<br /><br />It was yet another early morning as we hit the first and most dramatic of the Gorges at 6 a.m.  We watched it and then went to breakfast before boarding a smaller ship for the four-hour trip to the lesser gorges.  The ride in was just breath taking and it?s impossible to describe just how beautiful it is.  We saw the hanging coffins and lots of monkeys ? I liked the yellow birds that flew around everywhere.  Then we got into small sampans and went up yet another river ? this one was called Ma Tu, Horse?s Knees, because it was so shallow.  Now it is 20 feet deep and the water level is due to rise again on the first of September.  It was very pretty and quite a trip for my birthday.<br /><br />That night at dinner, there was a surprise in that everyone with birthdays on the cruise were given a lovely painting of the Three Gorges and, similar to the big ships, the dining room staff paraded with cakes to each table.  It was nice and a very special way to remember this day.  There was a talent show for this evening, but we opted to watch the locks instead.  Of course, it was nearly 9:30 before we got to one.  I?d been have intestinal problems mostly due to my pain medication and it really cut loose today, no pun intended, so much so that I had a pretty rocky night, but Chris slept well.<br /><br />Day 24 ? Yichang to Wuhan.<br /><br />And guess what time we got up today?   Yup, 6:30 again.  Chris has gone on a tour of the dam, but I stayed behind due to the aforementioned intestinal reasons.  It?s better, but I didn?t want to chance a squat toilet today.  Chris came back to report western toilets a plenty, but I just didn?t want to take the risk.  He said I would have been bored with the tour and I had had a feeling that it would e the case.  Anyhow, he had fun and that was all that counted.  We spent a quiet morning and sailed through the last lock at lunchtime.  It was a very bizarre sight to watch the ship going down while we were eating.  It started to rain as we left the ship, but we hadn?t brought anything except hats ? it was okay, we didn?t melt.  Then we left for the four-hour ride to Wuhan.  No matter how you slice it, it was long.  We stopped at another road-side happy room.  Again, this was a sensory adventure.  Our guide, Sammy, was interesting and talked a lot about what made Wuhan different from other cities ? mostly it?s their aggressiveness.   It looked much like all the other cities we?d been to, but armed to the teeth with Citrons.  Apparently, Wuhan is the manufacturing capital for this type of car and nearly even one you see in the city is a Citron.  We had dinner at the hotel and got to know Jackie a little more as he opened up about his childhood and school days.  He was the classic example of bad boy making good.  It was interesting to see how very little difference there really is between us.<br /><br />Day 25 ?  Beijing<br /><br />We flew back to Beijing today and it was an okay trip.  At least we didn?t have to wait for anyone and the trip went quickly.  Charlie got to pick his knife back up at the airport and we quickly left for a tour of the Temple of Heaven.   It was where the farmers went to pray for a good harvest.  It was big, laid out much like the Forbidden City.  It was okay, but had to confess to being really tired of temples at this point.  We headed back to the hotel to pick up our checked luggage and a night to ourselves.  We waited for the luggage to arrive and then headed out to shop.  There was a huge street that was blocked form traffic.  We checked out two bookstores, but found nothing that would work for John.  For dinner, while many of our other traveling companions ate at the hotel, we ate at the Outback.  It tastes just like home and, boy, was that good    many of them complained that we didn?t tell them, but we were ready for some ?us? time.  <br /><br />Day 26 ? Beijing.<br /><br />Today was the Day for the Great Wall.   We stopped at a pearl factory on the way out and I got a nice necklace, as well as some earrings for Ginny.  The Great Wall was something else and we bucked the norm and headed left, for the more difficult climb.  There were fewer people and I made it to the first tower.  I then waited for Chris to walk up two more before he caught sight of a tourist in a thong hiking in front of him and he called it quits.  One of our members, the highest maintenance one, didn?t make the trip, as she was sick with a pre-existing condition.  Now why she didn?t bring medicine along was anyone?s guess.  Her husband and sister seemed to get along fine without her, so we weren?t worry, since they weren?t.  <br /><br />We had lunch at the Friendship store, which was okay.  It certainly wasn?t the best, but also not the worse.  The bathrooms were a challenge, but that?s okay too.  It?s our last day here, so I can cope.  Bought a bunch of stuff for people back home and then we headed for Ming?s tomb.  This was an okay stop, certainly much smaller than the Summer Palace and I hit the jackpot by finding not only a four-star bathroom, but also four squished penny machines for Julie.  It was a major coup.  Back at the hotel, Marion was no better and Chris and Jackie went out to look for Gatorade.  They found a powder that did the same thing and left it with her.  She never even said thank you to them.  Made me more than a little mad.  We left a little late for our Peking Duck dinner.  It was clear across town and I couldn?t help but think we could have chosen one closer to the hotel.  The dinner was okay, but I thought the hullabaloo about the duck wasn?t worth the end result.  It was okay, but nothing great.  The skin was okay, but greasy.  We both tried duck feet, which were okay too.  Mostly I was ready to get back to the room and sleep a little.<br /><br />Day 27/28 Homeward bound.<br /><br />It?s time to say goodbye to China and while we had a great time here, I was ready for home.  We had a bit of trouble with Security trying to take my little scissors, but I prevailed.  We waited in the business lounge and Chris went off to spend the rest of the Yuen he had.  Got a bunch of chocolate-cookie things.  The flight was pretty smooth, despite the incoming storms.  I spelt nearly all the way back, waking just for a midnight snack and then breakfast.  It didn?t help the jet lag much, but you do what you can.   It was worth every minute of travel and effort to do this.  I certainly came away with a better understanding of the people and the country.',1172775953,0,'Select a Destination','[-review]princess.gif',3017,'Spikesgirl',1,82,0,0,0,3017,1172775953,0,0,NULL),(222,115,'06/22/2007','Please-please I bet there are a lot of us who would love to see a review as soon as this new ship sails.','New to ship',1172968463,0,'Select a Destination','[-review]princess.gif',3042,'mickip13',1,236,0,0,0,3042,1172968463,0,0,NULL),(223,117,'Feb 24 - Mar 3 2007','The Grand Princess was a very clean ship with great food, good entertainment and quality in the furniture.  It offered many varieties of entertainment.  The value on price was also there.  The ports we traveled to were also very nice and had plenty to off','Grand Princess ? February 24 ? March 3, 2004<br /><br />Foreword:<br />As I have read reviews, I have often wondered about the people writing them and how they relate to my taste, generation or cruising experience.  That said, I would like to tell you a little about my wife and I and who we are so you may categorize us a little while you read what I have to say.<br /><br />Present address: Lindon, Utah (35 miles south of Salt Lake City)<br />Ages: Byron ? 37 Valeri ? 40<br />Both raised in Utah<br />Previous Cruises ? 3 ? (all Royal Caribbean)<br />Places visited on cruises ? Western Caribbean<br />Hobbies outside cruising ? Harley Davidson Motorcycles, Cooking, Reading, Investing, Scouting, NASCAR<br />Occupation: Byron ? Computer Engineer, Mortgage Broker, Investor. <br />Valeri ? Marketing, Mortgage Broker, Real Estate Investor.<br />Children: 8 (Byron 5 ? Valeri ? 3)<br />Grandchildren: 2 (One due in August 2007)<br />Favorite TV shows: 24, Alias, Lost, Prisonbreak.<br />Valeri and I have been married for 2 years now.<br /><br />Travel:<br />To start this trip, we flew out of Salt Lake City international airport on Saturday, February 24.  We left a snowy cold (26 Degrees F) and icy morning at 6:00 am to arrive just before 7:00.  The airport was crowded and under construction.  We arrived to Houston Intercontinental airport about 12:30 and met our transportation which got us to the port of Galveston by about 2:00.  The transportation was on time and comfortable.  It cost 4 of us &#036;175 after tips to get to the port from texascruiseshipshuttles.com.  They are always on time and have adequate equipment.  <br /><br />Embarking:<br />The port of Galveston is most known for transporting oil.  There are lots of oil tankers and some fishing boats.  We arrived about 2:30 (After a stop at Wal-Mart for candies for our room) and waited in line about 30 minutes before we were through security and checked in.  Princess was very comparable to our past experiences with Royal Caribbean in the check in process which was easy and professional.<br /><br />A short walk up the gangplank and we were on deck 6 right outside the casino.  The crew was very friendly and more than excited to help us find our stateroom.  Our cabin steward was a young man from Thailand and he was also very friendly and had a great smile.<br /><br /><br />Stateroom:<br />I found the stateroom to be larger than the previous cruises I have been on.  The beds were more comfortable, the sheets had a very high thread count and pillows much better.  They provided a down duvet that was not too hot and I found it to be very comfortable.  Needless to say, Valeri and I slept very well the entire cruise.  Other things that I noticed are refrigerators in the room and an option to have fresh fruit delivered daily by filling out a card and hanging it on your door.  The showers were plenty big enough for me (6 feet tall, 175 lbs) and the lighting was very adequate with switches next to your bed so you don?t have to get up to turn off the lights.  The 19 television was mounted high and out of the way, but easy to see.  The closet space was enough for all my wife?s things and I even managed to convince her that there was room for all my shirts and even my Tux.  There were plenty of drawers for socks, bathing suits and everything else in our 4 suitcases&#33;  The suitcases stored nicely under the beds.<br /><br />Ship:<br />The Grand Princess is a 109,000 ton vessel and was the largest cruise ship in the world when introduced in 1998.  My first impression of the ship was a year ago when I saw it in port at Galveston and seeing how large it was compared to the Splendour of the Seas I sailed on at that time.  I said then that I would go on the Grand Princess one day because it just looked fun.  (Here I am).<br /><br />I would say that the ship is named well.  Grand is a very appropriate description for this ship.  There are 16 decks on the ship.  (There is no deck 13 in order to elude superstitious passengers)  The other ships I have been on were 76,000 tons, ? the size of the Grand Princess.  I thought that bigger might possibly be better.  In many ways it is, there is plenty of room for all the passengers.  I did find that we had to walk a lot further on this ship than what I was use to, and that was not always better ? just bigger.<br /><br />All four swimming pools have plenty of chairs for everyone.  All the lounge chairs have very comfortable mattresses on them that are clean and made of quality material. This was a pleasant upgrade that I did not expect.  There are plenty of bars and food available at all hours.  They hot dogs, pizza, hamburgers of all sorts available at all hours of the day and night that people might be roaming the ship.  I never saw them closed.  The Casino was plenty big enough for all who wanted to gamble.  They had a nice variety of games to play with many variations of blackjack.  They also had a craps table and 2 roulette tables.  <br /><br />I got up before 6:00 am one morning and found that the crew was already up (sleepy, but up) and they were putting out chairs, cleaning the deck, stairs, windows, pools, hot tubs, carpets, railing, corners, bathrooms, and other places that I have never considered as a man who doesn?t notice many things in that arena.  You might be able to find something that had dirt or dust somewhere on this ship, but I would not be able to tell you where it is.  This is the cleanest well kept ship it could be.  The ship is 10 years old now and has made 709 voyages, but I could not tell that it is not more than a couple years old.  This crew really impressed me in this area.  <br /><br />The d?cor is very nice.  All the material on the chairs is very high quality, the carpet is nice, the woodwork is impressive, the decks are well maintained and clean, there are plants everywhere, there is very nice lighting (I never saw a light bulb that was out) The stonework is beautiful, there are plenty of tables in the veranda for all the people watchers to lounge in, and plenty of places to hide if you are not a people watcher.<br /><br />There are also laundry facilities on every other floor.  They provide washing machines, dryers and several irons and ironing boards to take care of your own clothes.  I was very impressed with this amenity.  They also offer all dry cleaning and laundry services if you wish to pay to have it done for you.<br /><br />There are three sets of elevators on the ship for passenger use (2 additional sets at the very front and rear for crew use).  4 in the front and aft of the ship and I think 6 in the middle.  I did not find that I had to wait long periods of time when I chose to take the elevator over the stairs.  They also seemed to move very fast.<br /><br />Crew: The crew has a mission statement that is hanging up in the middle of the ship.  I was standing in a line for pictures when I read it.  It talked about being kind and recognizing that we the passengers are the reason they have a job, and without us, they would not even be here.  It essentially says that if they don?t take care of us, then somebody else will.  After cruising with them, I see that they want to take care of us and there is no need to look elsewhere.<br /><br />They were always dressed well, and wore their name tags at all times, even when off duty.  90 % of the time I was greeted with a smile and hello when passing a crew member.<br /><br />Food:  The buffet for this ship was in the aft as well as the dining rooms that are included in the price of the ships fare.  They had a couple of dining rooms for a cover charge, but I did not find it necessary to try them as the food everywhere I went was well above average.  The buffet had a lot of tables and a lot of food.  There was not very much change in the menu at breakfast from day to day, but there was plenty to choose from and I always found something different that sounded good every day and enjoyed a favorite pastry every day as well.  They had options for traditional or anytime dining.  This means you can eat at the same table at the same time with the same waiter every night, or go to a different dining room that you can just go and get whatever table is available at anytime between like 6-9 at night.<br /><br />The hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken burgers, kraut dogs, brauts, pizza, and many other varieties of food near the pool were always tasty and always hot.  They were prepared fast and tasted like what I cook at home on my barbecue.  This was a nice touch.  <br /><br />There was an ice cream stop where they would make you any kind of shake, banana split with strawberries or whatever else you could think of for about &#036;3.  I only went there once, but was very satisfied with what they made and really enjoyed the ice cream.  I did not see free ice cream you serve yourself in cones like other lines have.<br /><br />Entertainment: The entertainment itself was actually good.  They had a comedian that performed a couple times who was very funny.  I found myself needing to take a break from listening to him at times just so I could rest my mouth from smiling and my gut from laughing.  Everyone had a great time listening to him.  The cruise dancers and singers were as good as I have seen on a cruise ship.  (I am not one to judge them very well, as I personally don?t care for that type of entertainment)  They also brought in a hypnotist who was also on the okay list for me.  He was funny, but I have seen better in Vegas.  I think he was more interested in selling us his special quit smoking/lose weight class coming up on Friday.  I did volunteer to be one of the people who was hypnotized, and found a lot of people staring at me for a couple days after.  I guess I must have done something funny.<br /><br />This ship also offers things to do from playing board games, puzzles, ceramics (the kind you paint and put in a kiln), video arcade, golf simulator, movies in the theatre, smash ball tennis, and many other things that seem too many to mention.<br /><br />I was not as impressed with the cruise director or his staff as I have been on my past cruises.  The cruise director was a bit older and it seemed to me that he has been doing this for so many years that he has just lost what it takes to really convince myself that he still enjoyed what he was doing and really cared that we should be having a good time.  I am not sure that is a great description, but he was not very believable to me.  His staff seemed to have about the same amount of enthusiasm as he did.  In fact, I remember the names of 6 of the cruise director?s staff from my last cruise and can tell you where they are from.  I don?t remember anything about this cruise director?s staff at all.  This is one area that could use a little improvement.  <br /><br /><br />Shore Excursions:<br /><br />Costa Maya Mexico:<br />I have been here before and would recommend seeing the Mayan Ruins with David and Ivan at thenativechoice.com.  They were as much fun as I have had at a Mayan Ruin.<br /><br />We ended up laying on the beach right outside the dock all day and swimming in the pool they had at the dock.  I would have liked to go into town and sit on the beach there which I think is much prettier.  <br /><br />Rhoton Honduras:<br />We ended up hiring a taxi to take us around the island for about &#036;15 per person who drove us around the entire day.  We had him take us to the Pirates of the Caribbean zip lines that had about 8 platforms.  The staff was very helpful and fun.  The views were very nice and although we were up in the trees I felt safe strapped to the cables.  You did have to do some type-rope walking while you hung onto a different cable and also had to cross a couple monkey bridges.  I found it fun and would recommend this to most people to do at least once.  The cost for the zip lines was &#036;45 per person.<br /><br />We went to a beach on the other side of the island and it was beautiful, but I think average.  We were talked into going there and looking back, I would have just gone to a place called Fantasy Island that was right by the zip lines.  I have read good reviews on that place and it would have taken 45 minutes of traveling off our agenda that day and turned it into laying on the beach.<br /> <br />Belize City Belize ? Cave Tubing:<br />I booked this cruise specifically because it went to Belize.  I have read several reviews about cave tubing and wanted to give it a try.  I read about the ship excursions and then came across a review about cave-tubing.com.  They seemed to have their act together and their price was half of what the cruise ships charged.  Their busses were adequate, and they were on time.  The best part about them was the staff.  They were some kids in their 20s who worked to earn your money.  They were very entertaining and very serious about earning a tip, and they proved themselves well.  <br /><br />We started out by getting our tubes and head lamps and meeting for our walk to the caves.  They have a place you can use the restroom as the drive to get there is about an hour.  I found it interesting that there is no door on the restrooms, just an entrance and you can look right in to see all the men?s urinals.  No hiding your business in this country, just a place to hang out and take care of business.<br /><br />The walk to the place you put your tubes in is about 30 minutes.  This place is in the rain forest, and is one of the most beautiful walks I have had.  <br /><br />Cozumel Mexico:<br />We docked at 8:00am next to the Voyager of the Seas.  We scheduled an excursion to go snorkeling off a boat that was canceled because of high winds and waves.  We ended up renting a jeep and driving around the island.  We ended up stopping at a nice shack and beach at the south end of the island and eating some food and getting some drinks.  The waves were very large and very beautiful.  We drove a bit further and saw some people para-surfing.  I have never seen anyone do this before, but they have a large kite that looks like a small parasail and a small surf board that I would say looks more like a snowboard and wakeboard that attaches to their feet.  These guys would zip up and down the ocean and jump waves that allowed them to get about 10 or 15 feet up in the air and the sail-kite thing they hang on to just pulls them further into the air.  It looked like a lot of work, but those guys were having fun and it was fun to watch them.<br /><br />Cozumel is recovering well from Hurricane Wilma 16 months ago.  The foliage is green and thick.  There are a lot of things to do on this island that I have not done.  I would have liked a little better weather because I hear snorkeling and scuba can be amazing.<br /><br />Disembarking:<br />The next day was spent at sea and we arrived at Galveston on time and ate one last meal before disembarking.  The process of going through customs moved pretty fast and we were on our way home.<br /><br />Conclusion:<br />I would recommend Princess to anyone who also likes the Royal Caribbean line.  I found the staff to be similar and a few things to be a little better in quality. Staterooms, lounge chairs with mattresses, movies under the stars, more options for dining, hamburger/hotdog stand always open and custom ice cream for a small price all topped Royal Caribbean in my past experience.  I will sail with Princess again, but I will also sail with Royal Caribbean again.  There are other lines I would like to consider so I can broaden my horizons.<br /><br />The Grand Princess was a very clean ship with great food, good entertainment and quality in the furniture.  It offered many varieties of entertainment.  The value on price was also there.  The ports we traveled to were also very nice and had plenty to offer.',1173074286,0,'Select a Destination','[-review]princess.gif',2436,'btate',1,429,0,0,0,2436,1173074286,0,0,NULL),(224,111,'02-24-2007','This was our first cruise ever and it was the best first experience.  My husband and I thorougly enjoyed ourselves.  We want to go again.','Our travel agent got us into San Juan, Puerto Rico 2 days before the ship was to leave.  I am so glad as it gave us a chance to rest from our very long flight from the west coast of Canada.  We flew all day and got in after 11 p.m. San Juan time.  The next day we checked out the beach in the Condado area as we were booked into the Radisson Ambassador Hotel.  This hotel was about a two block walk to the beach.  The beach was absolutely beautiful with huge waves.  We also had time to stroll and shop the streets of Old San Juan.  I did find the heat hard to take so I drank a lot of water and looked for air conditioned stores or shade.  We took the ferry over to the Bacardi Rum Factory.  The tour was interesting and a little flashy but we got two free drinks and a chance to send a video mail home.<br /><br />The next day we arrived to board the ship.  I could not believe how big the ship was.  The lines moved fairly quick until we got inside to get checked in,etc.  I would recommend showing up at 2 p.m. as there was no lineup.  Once we passed the duty free shop that was giving free samples of liquor to sample, we got on board.  It was nice to have people directing us to our rooms.  Our room was on the port side and we were on the Baja deck, room 604.  We met Rey our cabin steward and he was very nice and helpful.  Our room was great as we had a balcony on it. <br /><br />We ended up taking a tour of the ship and it sure was great as Patrick, one of the 9 cruise directors showed us around.  I am glad as he showed us some places I would never have found.  The tour took about an hour.  Then we took a tour of the Lotus Spa and gym.   That was a nice facility and we ended up booking the Thermal Suite for the rest of the week.  I highly recommend this.  The Thermal Suite had 5 stone beds that were contoured for your body and heated.  This is a nice way to soothe your tired body after a hard day of shopping/walking around.  We also got the use of the steam room and sauna and two different kind of showers.  My husband and I used it practically everyday and we must have fallen asleep a couple of times on the stone beds.  This was worth the money.<br /><br />We had anytime dining and it suited us as we went when we were ready.  Most of the time we had a table for two and ended up chatting with the couples on either side of our table.  We had all our dinners in either the Da Vinci or Michaelangelo dining room.  We had great service in both.  The food was delicious and there was alot of seafood to choose from daily.  I had swordfish, crayfish, king crab legs and lobster tails and if it was served with melted butter--the tastier it was.  My favourite dessert was the Love Boat Princess Dream which is a heart shaped chocolate mousse with a little chocolate that had the princess emblem on it.  I pretty well ate that every night.  For breakfast we also ate in the dining room and sat with great people we met from England.  Everyone is so friendly.  We did not eat too often in the Horizon Court buffet as I liked the food in the dining rooms better.  We ate quite a few of our lunches in the International Cafe down in the Piazza.  They had a wonderful selections of salads and sandwiches.  I ate alot of the greek, spinach mushroom, shrimp and chicken salads.  The desserts were good as well.  I had a yummy blueberry pie one day and wanted more but was told that they only made it that one day.  They had a great fresh fruit tart as well and good cookies as well.  We tried the pizza once and it was good and finally on the last day discovered the Trident Grill that was serving hamburgers, etc.  The burger was good.  I know there were a couple of other places to eat but we ran out of time to check it out.  I also took advantage of purchasing the soda card for &#036;27 plus tip and it was worth it.<br /><br />For entertainment, we saw a couple of shows in the Princess Theatre.  I really enjoyed the Motor City show.  It was Motown music. Tim Donovan was the cruise director and he was good and funny.  The guy dancers were awesome as well.   We also took in one movie under the stars. That was great as we got comfy deck lounges to sit in, popcorn, a blanket and a beautiful starry night.  A couple of times we caught bits and pieces of the shows at the Explorer&#39;s Lounge.  That seemed to be the favourite place as it seemed to be standing room only.  They also had entertainment in the piazza which was great, I saw a lot of piano players.  One day they had a food demonstration where talented staff made animals out of fruit.  They also had a drink demonstration where they had people from the audience make drinks--that was funny.  We attended a shopping seminar which was great.  I bought the Savvy Traveller book for &#036;25 and picked up nice freebies at each and every port we went to.  Needless to say my daughter got a lot of nice stud earrings and necklaces.<br /><br />Most of the time, we were out on our balcony.  It was great being out there as we pulled into port every morning.  I heard the roosters waking up when we pulled into Antigua.  It was the strangest thing.  We ended up chatting to Bill and Betty from Wisconsin almost every afternoon as they were out on their balcony to watch the ship pull away from port.  And then of course while the ship sailed to the next port my husband watched the good movies on tv and I sat out and enjoyed the wonderful warm air and stars.  This was so relaxing for me.<br /><br />I enjoyed the ports we stopped at. We went to Barbados and we did the Malibu Beach excursion.  A beautiful beach with strong waves.  I got knocked down quite a few times.  St. Lucia had a great shopping area with all the stalls with local crafts.  I got quite a few souvenirs from here. We took the four wheel drive tour and that was fun. Got to sample local bananas and drink from a coconut.  Antigua was the most fun for us as we had friends take us all over the island.  It certainly is a beautiful island and we were able to swim with the stingrays.  St. Maarten was strictly reserved for shopping the good jewellery and we got what we came for.  We did play at the Great Bay Beach which was next to the cruise terminal and lastly we went to Trunk Bay for snorkeling when we went to St. Thomas.  I definitely recommend to shop in the morning and then do an excursion in the afternoon as I found when I did the excursion in the morning, I was too tired to really shop and walk around in the pm.<br /><br />Getting off the ship was very smooth. We had a 12 noon flight so we were one of the first few groups to get off.  I could not believe the sea of suitcases when we went to collect them.  I would highly recommend that you put coloured tape on both sides of your suitcase as my husband had a hard time finding our 3rd suitcase as it was flipped with the backside showing.  He said, if it weren&#39;t for the green tape he had on the bottom of the suitcase--it would have taken him forever to locate it.<br /><br />We had such a great time that we would like to go on another one with Princess.  I definitely want a room with a balcony and anytime dining, I have been spoiled.  So I will start saving now.',1173251633,0,'Select a Destination','[-review]princess.gif',2975,'Bathfizzy',1,359,0,0,0,2975,1173251633,0,0,NULL),(225,23,'02-25-07','A great itinerary on one of the first Carnival larger ships.','My wife and I just got back from a week on the Carnival Destiny on her new itinerary that she began in January:  San Juan, St Thomas, Dominica, Barbados, St Lucia, and Antigua.  There is only one at sea day, the last one.  <br /><br />This 10 year old ship is in good shape.  The food was outstanding starting with rack of lamb and creme brulee the first night&#33;  The formal nights were Tuesday, lobster night, and Friday, which was my wfe&#39;s birthday, and she was very happy it was that night.  A very attentive Asst Maitre De&#39; was by our table every night, and led the singing on her birthday.  I was overall very pleased with the service on the ship.<br /><br />Sun and Sea, the Lido buffet area, does not have all the options the later ships have.  They do have the oriental window and sandwich window, and by the pool area there was a daily ethnic buffet, as well as the usual all day burgers and fries.  The omelette line is not in the buffet area, but is only at the two grill areas near the pool, and the normal buffet areas were unremarkable.  I miss the seafood grill on the newer ships on the upper deck of the Lido buffet area.  <br /><br />The layout is still confusing since the galley area separates teh two dining rooms and does not permit easy access from the front to the back on decks 3 or 4.   The had improved the design by the introduction of the follow-on Spirit class.  <br /><br />I had an 8D on Lido deck, 9209, because I thought it would be convenient to the pool and buffet areas.  However, because people continually left the door the passageway into our cabins open, the noise during the day was irritating.  Further forward would have been better.  They also devoted 2 days to maintenance of balconies, making them not available for significant parts of two port days.<br /><br />There were only 2 production shows in the entire week, and the rest was filled with a variety of comedians, singers, and a magician/illusionist.  Service in the Palladium was poor, during the repeater&#39;s reception as well as during shows.  There was only 1 hour of ballroom dancing all week and it was during dinner.  We were among a very few who dressed for formal nights.  Generally a much more casual crowd than on other Carnival cruises we have been on.  <br /><br />We were on our 10th Carnival cruise, of our 30 cruises, and were pleased to find we were identified as Platinum members for this cruise.  It included a private reception area, two nice bags, personalized stationery, one night of hors douvers and one night of petit for&#39;s  .....both delivered to the room after we had left for dinner.  The Platinum status does have a Concierge desk at the Purser&#39;s with head of the line privileges, and they provide special Platinum debarkation luggage tags if you want to leave at 7:45am on the last day. <br />They did serve breakfast till 10 on the last day, and just asked that people vacate their cabins by 9. They were still disembarking people at 11am.  Very organized, with no lines in stairwells.  Everyone had to report to the theater by color and wait to be called to disembark.  Worked well.<br /><br />My only comment on the itinerary was that we repeated a private excursion in St Thomas on a sailboat with 5 passengers that we have enjoyed.  I did ship an empty wine shipping carton to the ship as luggage and was able to put 10 bottles of liquor purchased at Al Cohen&#39;s across from the dock area in it and ship it back with no problems.  In St Lucia we did do a new Carnival excursion that was a land and sea combo that provided a good narrated tour of the island from Castries to the Twin Pitons, and a catamaran lunch ride back with a snorkel stop.  A good value.  We are beach people, and Dominica was less interesting, and the town is about like the port in St Kitts...unremarkable.  Barbados we visited Folkestone Park again where I snorkled, and in Antigua we went to Darkwood Beach, a sparsely populated gem between St John and English Harbor.  In both locations we just hired a taxi to take us and pick us up at a specific time.  Works for us.',1173458939,0,'Select a Destination','[-review]carnival.gif',131,'JohnG',1,200,0,0,0,131,1173458939,0,0,NULL),(226,155,'02/08/2007','it was a great ship and cruise','everything about this cruise was great <br />check-in and out was easy<br />the room was great the service was the best<br />and food was out of this world<br />the ports we went to  were good but we<br />did not stay at them very long thats the only <br />bad thing about this cruise i have <br />go on it you will love it <br />great weekend getaway.',1173679080,0,'Select a Destination','[-review]rccl.gif',2516,'frostyboy64',1,196,0,0,0,2516,1173679080,0,0,NULL),(227,26,'08-16-06','Carnival Legend is a stuningly beautiful ship that offers all of the amenities and fun that Carnival is known for.','The Carnival Legend sails from New York City so it was very convenient for a relative to drive us to the pier since we live in New York. She was able to drive right to the entrance where we were met by the porters who took our luggage. From the West Side Highway the New York pier looks pretty dilapidated but inside is fairly decent. The embarkation process was pretty simple because of membership in the Carnival Vacation Club (CVC) which offers priority embarkation. We went to the VIP desk and received Sail and Sign Card. We then proceeded to the boarding photograph section and the gangway to board the ship. One of the landside representatives did not know how to read the Carnival Documents so she told us we would have to go on a very long line. I told her that we were Carnival Vacation Club members and we should have priority parking. She directed us to another representative who escorted us to the gangway because she recognized our documents were from the CVC. The original landside said that they (Carnival) didn?t tell her about CVC. We were finally able to board the ship where our photos were taken for the Sail and Sign Card.<br /><br />The Ship<br /><br />Since we boarded after 1:00 PM were able to go immediately to our cabin. The cabin was very spacious, had lots of closet space, and ample room under the bed for large luggage. We got the steward to open the refrigerator and moved the pre-packed items aside so we could keep our water cold.   We washed our hands and proceeded to the Lido Deck for a light lunch. Everything that we had was very delicious. After the meal we explored the ship to familiarize ourselves with how to get around. We noticed that the Carnival Legend was smaller than the Destiny Class and Conquest Class ships that we had sailed and the Legend was much easier to get around. There is only one dining room, Truffles, at the aft of the ship. Our cabin was at the bow of the ship but the walk was not as long as it was on some of the larger ships. Also the route to the dining room is very direct from the Promenade Deck or the Atlantic Deck. It?s not necessary to go up or down one flight because of a galley mid-ship. Yes, the legend was extremely easy to maneuver.<br /><br />We returned to our cabin and found that our luggage had arrived. We proceeded to unpack and hand and drawer our belongings. The great advantage of cruising is we only have to unpack once until the end of the cruise.<br /><br />Day two and three were two very relaxing sea days. We enjoyed people watching on the Promenade and Lido Decks, participated in various ship activities, searched for photographs of us in the photo shop, and prepared for the captain?s reception formal evening. <br /><br />Food<br /><br />We had requested a table for two but ended up with a table for four. There were two other people at the table that turned out to be very nice so we kept the table. Our waiter was Malcolm from India and the assistant waiter was Alphonso from Peru. They were great and did everything to please the table. We only had to ask for cappuccino with cream one time. After that Alphonso brought it to the table automatically.<br /><br />The dining experience on the Legend was an extremely enjoyable one. I would rate the food good to very good. (I must judge everything based on the vegetarian dishes since I?m a vegetarian). Most items were very good. I don?t understand the polenta. It is very tasteless and does not have enough seasoning for my taste. Some of the cream soups did not have enough cream but were still moderately delicious. Some people complained about their steaks not being cooked as ordered but the waiter was very accommodating and got another steak for anyone who wanted it. Many people loved the seafood, but the escargot was prepared in that strange polenta recipe with lots of butter. My traveling companion is very fond of escargot but does not like it with polenta. <br /><br />Ports<br /><br />On day three we docked in Puerto Rico. Since we have a friend who lives in Ocean Park we took the A-5 bus right from the bus terminal immediately outside the pier directly to his house. We spent the day with our friend and went to Old San Juan for dinner in a little restaurant on one of the side streets. The food was very good. I only wish I could remember its name. I will post it later.<br /><br />In St. Thomas we did some shopping and bought our supply of St. Thomas flavored rums from A.H. Riis to give away as gifts. <br /><br />On Tortola, British Virgin Islands, we walked along the main road to a little crafts village where they had hand made items and souvenirs. It also offered spectacular views of the ship, great for taking photographs.<br /><br />Entertainment<br /><br />The entertainment was very good and the shows were ones I had not seen before, thank goodness. There were several comedians and a magician. The Carnival the dancers and singers were very good. The highlight for me is always the passenger talent. There are always surprises when an amateur performer sings rings around the hired acts.<br /><br />The final days at sea were relaxing and I made my usual contribution to the casino.<br /><br />Disembarkation was surprisingly easy for New York. We were out on the street in minutes and made our way home by taxi.<br /><br />',1175196085,0,'Eastern Caribbean','[-review]th_CarnivalLegendinTortolaBVI.jpg',172,'Mebert',1,124,0,0,0,0,0,12262,0,NULL),(228,1,'March 24, 2007','Lots of minor problems.  Rate this cruise a 6.5 on a scale of 1 to 10.','Cruise Review<br />Carnival Glory<br />March 24, 2007 ? March 31, 2007<br /><br />Ports of Call: <br />Port Canavaral, Fl; Cozumel; Belize, Costa Maya; and Nassau. <br /><br />Cruise Experiences:<br />This was our 9th cruise with Carnival and our 48th cruise overall.<br /><br />This was our first time aboard the Carnival Glory, which for this trip had Captain Salvatore Rassello in command.  <br /><br />Embarking/Disembarking:<br />Check in gets mixed reviews.  They were testing a new process called Express Check-In.  They no longer wanted the ?Fun Pass? which we printed from their website.  Spent about five minutes at the first desk and received our room keys.  Next to the obligatory boarding photo station and then we boarded the ship.  Once on board we were directed to the Golden Dining Room on Deck 3 where we were trooped around the entire dining room and then did the ?Sign and Sail? card thing with a one of several representatives stationed there.  We arrived at the cruise terminal in Cape Canaveral about 11:30 AM and had finished the check in process in less than 15 minutes.  But, there was a feeling of being ?herded? around, thus the mixed review.  Staterooms areas were locked off until 1:00 PM, so like everyone else we dragged our carry-on bags with us to the Red Sail buffet area for lunch.<br /><br />Disembarking was the worst we have experienced in all of our cruises.  We disembarkation color was not called until after 11 AM and we worked our way through line after line for over an hour to reach Immigration and our luggage.  It was after noon when we finally got out of the building.<br /> <br />Stateroom:<br />We had a ocean view stateroom, #1216  on the Rivera Deck.  The room was a very nice size and well equipped.  Quite large as cruise ship staterooms go.  I really enjoyed the little detailing that was evident in the room.  I enjoyed some of the extra touches including indirect lighting.  I would rate the stateroom as excellent to outstanding.  We used the queen bed configuration and there was ample room on both sides of the bed to navigate.  Stateroom did include a refrigerator which served as a cash bar. Bathroom was typical of cruise ships.  Shower was the small but very functional    I experienced no change in water temp.  Supplied amenities were excellent.  The bath towels were very large and thick, much better than on most cruise ships. <br /><br />Restaurants and Food:<br />There are two dining rooms aboard the Coral: The Platinum and The Golden both on Deck #3.  The Golden is located amidships while the Platinum is at the aft end of the ship and cannot be reached directly.  You must transit the ship on Deck #5 and then go down two decks to reach this dining room.<br /><br />Open seating breakfast and lunch were served in the Platinum Dining Room and in the Red Sail Buffet (Deck #9 aft).  The quality and variety of the food was excellent throughout the cruise.  We ate most all of our dinners in the Platinum with the exception of Monday evening following a long shore excursion in Cozumel, when we ate in the Red Sail.  Our breakfasts and lunches were split between the Red Sail and the Platinum.  Selections were all great; we particularly enjoyed the ?cooked to order? egg station, at the buffet.  <br /><br />Entertainment:<br />There were the usual mix of musical revues and guest entertainers spread throughout the week ship in the theater.  Nothing truly outstanding and only one that caused the four in our group to leave early. They also had the usual audience participation show (newly wed game, etc.).  I felt the Glory Singers and Dancers did an outstanding job.  This troupe was somewhat larger (in number) than we have seen on other ships.  The Amber Theater was a disappointment overall.  Although ?glitzy? it does not function well.  Lots of pole obstruction on the upper levels and the very highest level has seats with almost no leg room.  All of the seats we used were uncomfortable.  I very much disliked the bar service continuing throughout the performances.  I understand the cruise line wants to make every buck possible, but this was just too much. <br /><br />Cruise Director Ralph ?Wee Jimmy? Valente did a barely adequate job, I would rate him as one of the worst we have seen.  The Glory Orchestra was very good.<br /><br />Other:<br />The pool areas were great, typical of Carnival ships.  Since this was a ?Spring Break? week they were full of kids. <br /><br />The mandatory Life Boat Drill was by far the worst organized drill we have ever attended in all 47 previous cruises.  Seemed like they had never done this before and it took almost an hour for them to get everything figured out.<br /><br />The gift shops were well stocked and stayed open most nights past 10 PM.  The photographers were around the ship constantly.  Formal photos were staged in many areas every night.  Overkill in my opinion.  Announcements over the ships intercom were constant and on a couple of evenings continued past 10 PM.<br /><br />Ports of Call:<br /><br />Cozumel<br />We booked on-line for a one day pass to the Reef Club Resort: <a href=\"http://reefclubcozumel-px.rtrk.com/specials_packages/day_pass/index.html\" target=\"_blank\">http://reefclubcozumel-px.rtrk.com/special...pass/index.html</a>.  A fee of &#036;40 per person covered the use of all their excellent facilities and all of our food and drinks for the entire day.  We had both breakfast and lunch there.<br /> <br /><br />Belize<br />We did Cave Tubing booked independent of the ship through CaveTubing.com and has one of the most memorable shore excursions of our lives.  Highly recommend this activity.<br />Costa Maya<br />Just walked around the port area and shopped.  A very enjoyable stop.  This was our second time in Costa Maya.<br />Nassau<br />You have all been to Nassau.  We just wandered around town for a couple of hours window shopping and then returned to the ship.<br /><br />Overall:<br />I would rate the Carnival Glory a 6.5 on a scale of 1 to 10.  The overall experience was acceptable, but not outstanding.  I have deducted for the show room, disorganized life boat drill, extremely cold public areas, the constant announcements, and the horrible disembarkation.<br /><br />In the future, I will check my sailing dates a little closer and avoid Spring Break. However, I did not make any deductions from my cruise rating because booking these dates was my fault and should not reflect on the ship or cruise line.<br /><br />',1175531318,0,'Western Caribbean','',920,'The Skipper',1,91,0,0,0,0,0,12315,0,NULL),(229,155,'04-05-07','Excellent overall','Enchantment of the Seas - April 5-9, 2007<br /><br />I was very excited about this cruise since it was our first one out of Fort Lauderdale and our second cruise with RC. It took us about 20 minutes to drive to the port. Wayne dropped us off at the terminal with the luggage and drove to the parking garage. He said it was pretty full, considering it was only 11:30 but did manage to find a spot. We checked in and we were on the ship very quickly, no line at all.<br /><br />Of course, we went right up to the Windjammer . The Windjammer is a gorgeous room , in the round, with floor to ceiling windows. The buffet was set up in a circle with different stations, a carving station, grill, deli, desserts and on and on. There was a separate area for the salad bar and drinks so that there was never a line for anything.The service here was amazing. Even though you got your own food, the staff was amazing, offering to get the drinks , extra desserts , etc. The food was so appetizing and there was so many choices . We loved this room with the view so much that we and our friends that we were with, ate all our meals here. The staff was extremely friendly and did an excellent job of clearing the dishes. <br /><br />I absolutely loved the pool deck. It was so very different than any other cruise ship that we have been on. On this ship, you could wade in the pool, just getting a bit wet. There were benches all around the pool areas where you could just sit. The pools were divided into separate areas, one with fountains for the kids. Another area had steps and you could get into shallow water if you wanted. On the last day ,in addition to the Windjammer,  there was a barbecue at the pool with ribs, chicken , pasta , etc. The ribs were excellent. <br /><br />The weather was perfect. It was cool and a little windy but sunny so it was great for shopping in the ports and for the pool.  The night of the deck party, though, was too windy for us, although many did not mind and the deck was very busy. <br /><br />The public areas were immaculate. In fact, I was impressed that the bathrooms had a button on the outside and inside to press when entering or exiting, so that you didn&#39;t have to touch the handle. There were hand sanitizers at the entrance to the Windjammer and staff standing there to make sure that everyone used it. <br /><br />We had an inside cabin and I was impressed with that too. The way it was arranged was great. I loved the two drawer nighttables . There was so much storage , it was unbelievable. There was even a dresser in the closet . The sides of the mirror opened for more storage.. I loved the curtain that you could close , separating the sleep area from the area with the loveseat and desk. This way, if you were getting dressed and Wayne or DD came in , nobody could see you. <br /><br />There were just three things that we weren&#39;t thrilled about. The shows were a far cry from the Carnival shows that we are used to. They weren&#39;t half as glitzy and glamorous. Although the singers were talented, the costumes were nothing special, there were only 8 dancers and barely any props. So, that was a bit disappointing, although the comedian, Tony Darrow, was the best comedian we&#39;ve seen. Also, we were disappointed that there was no lounge with dancing music . We ended up in the disco but had to put our earplugs in and the crowd there was very young compared to us. Boleros had only Latin music , which was nice but we didn&#39;t know how to dance to it.. <br /><br />Another thing that disappointed us was that there was a place to get a late night snack but it was in the Solarium, the indoor pool area so it reeked of chlorine so it was not very appetizing. <br /><br />All in all, I must say that I loved this ship. I would definitely sail her again, hopefully soon. The positives very much outweighed the very few negatives .If you have any questions for me about this ship, please post them under Cruise Discussion and I&#39;ll be glad to answer them.',1176255643,0,'Select a Destination','[-review]rccl.gif',2,'GottaCruz',1,165,0,0,0,0,0,12419,0,NULL),(232,63,'04-15-07','The Costa Magica is a fairly new and great ship. After my one week cruise to Nassau and Bermuda, I would not hesitate to sail on her again. It was a wonderful experience.','The plan:   Costa Magica departing Fort Lauderdale and going to Bermuda for two and a half days and Nassau for one day,  departing on tax day April 15, 2007<br /><br />From:  CruiseCrazie member &quot;CruiseDuo&quot;<br /><br />The reality:<br /><br />Great deal &quot;free bus ride from &#39;selected Florida cities&#39;.  Who could refuse such an opportunity?  We sailed on thTe MSC Lirica in December 2006 and drove to Ft. Lauderdale. Since I drove the entire round trip a free bus was a great deal. <br /><br />WRONG&#33;<br />We arrived at the McDonald&#39;s in Daytona Beach, Florida at 7:00am. Plenty of time for the 7:30 Cruise Connections bus. In fact, the bus was there at when we arrived so we boarded it as soon as we arrived. <br /><br />It left Daytona Beach at 7:30 with our drivers anticipated ETA at Port Everglades of 1:00 PM.  Great News&#33; We can get on board, have lunch, relax and get ready to depart for our cruise to Bermuda and Nassau. <br /><br />WRONG&#33;<br />We arrive at Port Everglades at 3:30pm&#33;  This was the eight-hour bus ride from HELL&#33; We went everywhere. Picked up passengers who were going  to Miami. <br /><br />We then had to rendevous with another bus to release the Miami passengers. This, of course, was after driving up to the Port Everglades gate and making a U-TURN to then spend another hour trying to find the bus for the Miami customers. <br /><br />4 o&#39;clock pm:<br />OK we got on board not in time for lunch, but in time for the &quot;LifeBoat Drill&quot;.  Great planning  . . . . starving since 7:30am and now we have to wait until the drill is over&#33;<br /><br /><br /><br />On our way:<br />We are on our way at 6pm. Heading to Bermuda for a two-and-a-half day stay in Bermuda and then sail to Nassau for a one-day visit there. Life is good. <br /><br />The Captain Speaks:<br />Oh No&#33;  The &quot;nor&#39; easter&quot; in the US has caused extreme conditions at sea so we are reversing our itinerary. We will go to Nassau first and then to Bermuda later in the week. <br /><br />We think:  Good deal. One day in Nassau now and two+ days in Bermuda when the storm passes. Great Captian.<br /><br />The Reality:<br />We spend on day in Nassau and buy &quot;stuff&quot;. Then start our trek to Bermuda. On Wednesday night we arrive off the coast of Bermuda. We&#39;re ready to see Bermuda the next day (Thursday).  However, fifteen foot waves and &#39;gail-force&#39; winds cause us to spend the entire day looking at the island of Bermuda. Good thing the bars are open&#33; <br /><br />We finally dock at the Royal Dockyards on Friday morning and get to spend one day in Bermuda. It&#39;s OK we see as much as we can visiting Hamilton and the sights at the Royal Dockyards. However, we miss the opportunity to see St. Georges. <br /><br />As experienced cruisers, this is what happens and we accept the situation. No one can control the weather.<br /><br />At 6am Friday we leave Bermuda and start our journey to Ft. Lauderdale, arriving at about 7am on Sunday. <br /><br />The Final Analysis:<br />I can?t wait to sail on the Costa Magica again. The personnal were courteous and professional;  the food was great; the on-board activities were fun; and in spite of all of the weather problems, it was a great trip.  <br /><br />I have had a sign on my desk for the 30 years I worked. It stated, <br />&quot;LIFE IS 10% WHAT HAPPENS AND 90% HOW YOU REACT TO IT&quot;<br />The Costa Magica team reacted in a very positive and customer friendly way. I&#39;m ready to book a cruise with them again. Weather is something that you cannot predict. Costa Magica did what was right and gave us a great cruise. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />',1177472617,0,'Bermuda','',2597,'cruiseduo',1,91,0,0,0,0,0,12622,0,NULL),(231,164,'2/25/07','First solo cruise of 66th taken .Love the ship sad to see her go .','Hi  just a short review of my cruise on the Empress of the seas .<br /><br />I cruised solo for the frist time on the Empress of the seas 2/26/07<br />had a great table and had a great time.  It was an11 day S.Caribbean<br />cruise out of San Juan .First off i thought i would have to pick up<br />the ship in St Maarten the next day .almost being snowed in &#33;&#33; I Got<br />to the airport at 4am on the 26th and my flight was at 6:25 am .It<br />took an hour to deice the plane ,and we left at 7:30 an .I was on the<br />ship at 1 pm .The ports on the cruise were St Maarten, St Kitts,<br />Antigua ,st Lucia, Bardados ,Margarita island, Curacao,Aruba ,and 2<br />day at sea .Great ports .Have not done a S.Caribbean cruise in in some<br />time .So i was realy looking forward to this cruise .That and it being<br />an 11 day cruise .<br /><br />First a little history of me with this ship .We did the 10th sailing<br />on this ship when it was brand new back in 1990 .Then again in 1999 to<br />Bermuda from NYC .Both of the cruises were when she was the Nordic<br />Empress .The new places on the ship are the rock clinbing wall, the<br />Schooner bar, Boleros ,Potofino&#39;s ,witch you pay &#036;20 and is great .And<br />Ben &amp; Jerry&quot;s ice cream . The cabins on this ship are very small .I<br />could not take my family back on here in the same cabin again .I would<br />need 2 cabin  now &#33; This ship holds 2050 people on her when full ,and<br />on sea days up at the pool it gets very crowed when full .On my cruise<br />there was only 1500 or so on board . So it wasn&quot;t so bad at the<br />pool.Also i think this ship has the best wrap around promenade<br />deck ,it&quot;s wide .I did my 10 mile power walking there every morning at<br />6:30 am to 8:30 am .It was great watching the sun coming up ,it just<br />dosen&quot;t get any better  i lost 5 lbs&#39;s on this cruise&#33;&#33;<br /><br />Now the good news this ship and cruise was the first to get the new<br />menu&quot;s .That will be going feet wide soon .It was the best food i ever<br />had on RCCI .This being the 9 time with RCCI .and 3rd time on this<br />ship .Now i still would not call it the best cruise food i ever<br />had .But it was very good at lest better then the other RCCI cruises<br />we have been on .Also there were 2 top guy&quot;s from the head office on<br />board to check it out .The Carmen dinning room the food tested better<br />not as blend as before .In the Windjammer cafe it&#39;s so much better<br />then i ever remember before .Another great thing at the Windjammer is<br />there is food there all day long &#33; Unlike alot of other cruise<br />lines ,and you could get Ice tea and Lemon aid all day long HINT<br />Princess &#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;<br /><br />The show&#39;s were very good i went to most of them .Being an 11 day<br />cruise the night life after 11 pm is not like on a 7 day cruise .And<br />another funny thing .On a 7 day cruise most people go for the 2nd<br />seating dinning not on this cruise &#33;&#33; yes it was an olded crowed .But<br />not to old as i thought would be .One thing RCCI is offering now is<br />ghost booking.That&quot;s where you do an open booking for &#036;100 and they<br />fax it over to your TA  it&#39;s good for 3 years .And when you book your<br />next cruise with RCCI that&#39;s the only depoist need for the new<br />booking ,and you get a &#036;200 ship board credit . You can&#39;t go wrong&#33;<br /><br />Ports i only did 3 tours one in St lucia a train ride around the<br />island it was great .A tour of Margarita island was good .and a tour<br />of the rain forest in San Juan the last day it was a great way to<br />spend the day before my flight home &#33; Took my time and went to the<br />great beachs of the islands .Then went back to the ship to have some<br />lunch .then in the afternoon went  to town to shop and walk around<br />town .I had a great time no rush here &#33;<br /><br /><br />In clossing i had a great time on this cruise i love doing an 11 day<br />S.Caribbean cruise love the ports of call. The great people i met like<br />always The service in the cabin and dinning room was great The front<br />desk was very helpful .Would i do this cruise again in a hart beat &#33;&#33;<br />But  there was talk on baord that she may be going to Island cruises<br />or Pullmenta cruises .Not sure when .This was my 66th cruise and<br />another great one .We will be on the New Liberty of the seas  august<br />25th 07 of this year .Also doing an 2 day cruise to Nassau on the<br />Regal Empress with friends in august .And the Explorer of the seas<br />doing an 12 day S Caribbean cruise from NJ  Feb 24th 08 No flying this<br />time &#33;&#33;  Enjoy<br />Ken G...........&gt;',1177101592,0,'Select a Destination','[-review]rccl.gif',3204,'Mr Veendam',1,124,0,0,0,0,0,12565,0,NULL),(233,63,'04-15-07','The Costa Magica is a fairly new and great ship. After my one week cruise to Nassau and Bermuda, I would not hesitate to sail on her again. It was a wonderful experience.','The plan:   Costa Magica departing Fort Lauderdale and going to Bermuda for two and a half days and Nassau for one day,  departing on tax day April 15, 2007<br /><br />From:  CruiseCrazie member &quot;CruiseDuo&quot;<br /><br />The reality:<br /><br />Great deal &quot;free bus ride from &#39;selected Florida cities&#39;.  Who could refuse such an opportunity?  We sailed on thTe MSC Lirica in December 2006 and drove to Ft. Lauderdale. Since I drove the entire round trip a free bus was a great deal. <br /><br />WRONG&#33;<br />We arrived at the McDonald&#39;s in Daytona Beach, Florida at 7:00am. Plenty of time for the 7:30 Cruise Connections bus. In fact, the bus was there at when we arrived so we boarded it as soon as we arrived. <br /><br />It left Daytona Beach at 7:30 with our drivers anticipated ETA at Port Everglades of 1:00 PM.  Great News&#33; We can get on board, have lunch, relax and get ready to depart for our cruise to Bermuda and Nassau. <br /><br />WRONG&#33;<br />We arrive at Port Everglades at 3:30pm&#33;  This was the eight-hour bus ride from HELL&#33; We went everywhere. Picked up passengers who were going  to Miami. <br /><br />We then had to rendevous with another bus to release the Miami passengers. This, of course, was after driving up to the Port Everglades gate and making a U-TURN to then spend another hour trying to find the bus for the Miami customers. <br /><br />4 o&#39;clock pm:<br />OK we got on board not in time for lunch, but in time for the &quot;LifeBoat Drill&quot;.  Great planning  . . . . starving since 7:30am and now we have to wait until the drill is over&#33;<br /><br /><br /><br />On our way:<br />We are on our way at 6pm. Heading to Bermuda for a two-and-a-half day stay in Bermuda and then sail to Nassau for a one-day visit there. Life is good. <br /><br />The Captain Speaks:<br />Oh No&#33;  The &quot;nor&#39; easter&quot; in the US has caused extreme conditions at sea so we are reversing our itinerary. We will go to Nassau first and then to Bermuda later in the week. <br /><br />We think:  Good deal. One day in Nassau now and two+ days in Bermuda when the storm passes. Great Captian.<br /><br />The Reality:<br />We spend on day in Nassau and buy &quot;stuff&quot;. Then start our trek to Bermuda. On Wednesday night we arrive off the coast of Bermuda. We&#39;re ready to see Bermuda the next day (Thursday).  However, fifteen foot waves and &#39;gail-force&#39; winds cause us to spend the entire day looking at the island of Bermuda. Good thing the bars are open&#33; <br /><br />We finally dock at the Royal Dockyards on Friday morning and get to spend one day in Bermuda. It&#39;s OK we see as much as we can visiting Hamilton and the sights at the Royal Dockyards. However, we miss the opportunity to see St. Georges. <br /><br />As experienced cruisers, this is what happens and we accept the situation. No one can control the weather.<br /><br />At 6am Friday we leave Bermuda and start our journey to Ft. Lauderdale, arriving at about 7am on Sunday. <br /><br />The Final Analysis:<br />I can?t wait to sail on the Costa Magica again. The personnal were courteous and professional;  the food was great; the on-board activities were fun; and in spite of all of the weather problems, it was a great trip.  <br /><br />I have had a sign on my desk for the 30 years I worked. It stated, <br />&quot;LIFE IS 10% WHAT HAPPENS AND 90% HOW YOU REACT TO IT&quot;<br />The Costa Magica team reacted in a very positive and customer friendly way. I&#39;m ready to book a cruise with them again. Weather is something that you cannot predict. Costa Magica did what was right and gave us a great cruise. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />',1177472618,0,'Bermuda','',2597,'cruiseduo',1,163,0,0,0,0,0,12623,0,NULL),(234,175,'04-15-07','A once in a lifetime experience, Very different from an ocean cruise (land always in sight, only one suitcase allowed, food only at meal times), but quite wonderful.','Avalon Poetry Review By Joanandjoe (first person references are by Joan)<br /><br />Date: 4/15/07, 7 days<br />Itinerary: The Netherlands and Belgium ? Tulip Time River Cruise<br /><br />Ratings (scale of 1 to 5+):<br /><br />Overall			4<br />Dining			4<br />Public rooms		3<br />Cabins			4<br />Entertainment		3<br />Spa and Fitness:	Not rated (there are some machines and a whirlpool, but the main exercise is walking)<br />Family &amp; children	Not rated<br />Shore excursions	5<br />Embarkation		5<br />Service			3+ (dining room 3, other 4+)<br />Rates			5 (expensive)<br />Value			4 (expensive, but you get a lot)<br /><br /><br />PACKING:  WHAT DO YOU MEAN, ONLY ONE SUITCASE???  It took me five times longer to pack one suitcase than two or three.  I found instant-dry underwear, solid color interlock knits, and black and white blouses and tops.  Every thing HAD to match EVERYTHING else, two long dresses and a shiny shawl were my complete ?dressy? wardrobe, and that was more than adequate. I fell in love with the  concept of traveling lightly:  When I returned home,  I bought more interlock knits in solid colors, and donated some ?travel? clothes I packed but never wore. I resolved to travel with ONE suitcase for the rest of my life.  <br /><br />CHECK-IN: Instead of having a check-in at the ship, we met the Tour Director, Mr. Hendrik Jan Dadema, at a hotel in Central Amsterdam. That was extremely convenient. Although the meeting time was at 3:30, we walked over to the hotel, which was three blocks from our hotel, around 10 a.m.  Our bags were left with the cruise line, so we didn?t have to worry about them. We immediately joined up for a big bargain: a bus tour of Amsterdam, with admission to the Van Gogh Museum included, for &#036;29. Since the museum admission was 10 Euros (about &#036;14), that meant that an informative tour was only &#036;15 in excess of the cost of the museum admission. More on this excursion under excursions.<br /><br />We got back to the meeting place at around 12:30 p.m. to find that no lunch was being provided. Bummer. We went back to touring Amsterdam on our own, based on the highlights of the bus tour, and had only a light lunch because we assumed there would be abundant food when we got to the ship. BIG MISTAKE: the ship does NOT feed you when you come onboard. At 3:35 we were bussed to the ship, and were handed our room key when we arrived at around 4. There was no other paper work: we could give our credit card whenever it was convenient. Great check-in, and our luggage was waiting in our room. However, there was no food to be had, other than peanuts in the bar, until dinner at 7:30. We were very, very hungry by the time dinner was served; possibly the first time we?ve ever been hungry on a ship.  <br /><br />THE SHIP:  A river cruiser must be able to fit through the locks on the rivers and canals on which it cruises. Therefore, the Poetry was the same size and shape as all other river cruisers and all freighters on the Rhine, Main, and Danube Rivers: 426 feet long, perhaps 42 feet wide. Sort of pencil shaped.  It has four decks: a sky deck where people sit in the sum (and where there?s almost no shade), and three decks with cabins. The upper two cabin decks, including our stateroom on the top passenger deck (Royal Deck) have ?French balconies?: large openable windows with about 6 inches of balcony space. Just enough to air out your room or take in the view. There is one bar (which also serves as the community room), one restaurant, two small sitting areas where they put out fruit and water, and a small indoor fitness room with a whirlpool. In short, not the large number of special areas that you find on an ocean ship, but adequate for 176 passengers. Our cruise had 135 passengers.<br /><br />Everything is clean and bright, and there actually is some attempt at d?cor (which, we?re told, is unusual for a river ship). Quite a comfortable place for this type of cruise.  The crew seems to be constantly cleaning and we enjoyed two turn-downs a day.  <br /><br />DRESS CODE: Very casual. Jackets and long dresses were never required, and only on the Captain?s night were those items suggested. Since the ship restricts luggage to one suitcase (&#33;) and a small carryon, leave your fancy duds at home.  In fact,  pack and re-pack with less each time.  <br /><br />THE STATEROOM: At 170 square feet, smaller than we?re used to, but very large for a European river cruiser. It?s also laid out much better than our similar size room on the Zenith, and the French balcony with openable window adds to the feeling of spaciousness. It still felt tiny compared to our Noordam suite, but that?s not a fair comparison.  The rooms are compact, but well-laid out.  Even the suites have only a shower, although the whirlpool is NOT scalding hot and could soothe your tired feet.<br /><br />The bed was very comfortable, but the pillows were way too soft. There was adequate storage room for two people for a week. The triangular shower was OK for medium size people, but might be difficult for a large person. <br /><br />Laundry was outrageously priced (around &#036;7 for a pair of pants) but properly and nicely done. There is no dry cleaning.  A pair of socks cost 1.50 euros to clean, so pack instant-dry items when possible.  My wife did a few loads of wash in the sink, a messy and time-consuming process.  <br /><br />STAFF: Mostly Eastern European (about 75 percent from two countries, Slovakia and Hungary), and very friendly. Service other than in dining room was efficient and so well done as to be invisible. B plus or A minus. Dining room service was spotty: sometimes prompt, but sometimes we felt we were being ignored. C plus or B minus. To be fair, half of the passengers were from one group (55 women and 9 men from Tennessee), and the staff seemed to attend to the group first.   The staff preferred to serve each course all at once, so service was pretty even for everyone.  We didn?t feel pampered in the dining room, in spite of the unlimited wine (HIC&#33;) offered at dinner.<br /><br /><br />Suggested tips are about double the suggested amount for ocean ships: 3 Euros per person per day for the cruise director, 12 Euros per person per day for everyone else. That?s about &#036;21 per person per day, compared to &#036;10.50 on HAL or Celebrity. You can charge tips on your shipboard account. Note, however, that the cruise director has a separate account (in dollars) from the shipboard account (in Euros), so you?ll probably end up giving his tip in cash.<br /><br />CRUISE DIRECTOR:  The cruise director, Hendrik Dadema (aka Heinje? on the ?critical? board), was knowledgeable and quite a live wire. His function was a bit different that that of a large cruise ship cruise director, since he didn?t organize games or act as MC for large scale entertainment. Instead, he made sure that people knew what was in store for the next day, led PAX toward the tour buses (often crossing through another ship), and was available to give information when needed. That may not sound like much; but actually he was quite effective.  We found him intelligent and personable, as well as informative.  <br /><br />He really ?blossomed? during the tulip talk.  (You had to be there&#33;).  An intelligent extrovert who led most of our talks, and a wealth of information.   He helped us with our luggage, consoled me about the lack of bargains and was right about the difficulty of finding Batik.  On the rare occasions you found him with just a few people, he  revealed a  knowledge of world affairs almost as accurate as Joe?s.  Everyone brightened up when he walked into the room.  <br /><br />MONEY EXCHANGE:  We didn?t exchange any dollars for Euros, but the rates seem to be fair: a bank rate, plus a clearly stated surcharge.. The ship will cash dollar travelers checks at no charge.<br /><br />PORT TALKS: On some days, the cruise director gave us information about the places we?d visit and the options available.  One was expected to know a little about the areas we visited.  The Avalon?s own choice of tours were included in the price of the cruise, and were well attended.  <br /><br />WEATHER: The weather couldn?t have been nicer. For our nine days in Europe (with the middle seven days on the ship), the first three days had a high of about 75 and a low of about 60. The rest of the time we had highs around 65, lows 45 to 50. Sunny or partly cloudy all the time, with no rain (while the folks back home had 8 to 10 inches of rain due to a Nor?easter).<br /><br />THE ITINERARY AND EXCURSIONS: Since most excursions were including in the price, we?ll cover itinerary and excursions in one section of this review.<br /><br />General comments on excursions: The excursions were conducted by knowledgeable, energetic guides  in excellent English. Each guide was an individual, and all but the Arnheim guide charmed us. In some places, the ship was docked close enough to the city for the walking tour to start at the dock; in other cases, we were bused to the tour. Arnhem and Keukenhof involved buses to one or two locations; every other tour involved substantial walking.<br /><br />In most areas,  the tours did give you time to explore options on your own.  MOBILITY is a MUST for Avalon travelers.  If you can?t climb stairs, walk for 90 minutes, or travel for two hours without using the bathroom, you?re going to have trouble on the Avalon.  My heart went out to some of the people with canes, who exhausted themselves keeping up with our guides.  The ship does not have any elevators.<br /><br />In most areas,  the tours did give you time to explore options on your own.  MOBILITY is a MUST for Avalon travelers.  If you can?t climb stairs, walk for 90 minutes, or travel for two hours without using the bathroom, you?re going to have trouble on the Avalon.  My heart went out to some of the people with canes, who exhausted themselves keeping up with our guides.  The ship does not have any elevators or handicap rooms.<br /><br />Sunday: Amsterdam. This was embarkation day. We did take the optional Amsterdam city tour, with museum, as described above. It was also possible to take an afternoon tour to a folkloric city, with transportation directly to the ship.<br /><br />Monday: Arnhem, Dordrecht, and Kinderdijk. Avalon should rethink the trip to Arnhem.  Visiting a WW II museum and cemetery is not everyone?s first choice. I was moved by the simple dignity of the cemetery, but the rest of the tour left me cold.   Arnhem boasts an open-air museum and a folk museum, which we would have preferred. We would have been better off skipping the tour.<br /><br />The ship sailed to Dordrecht during lunch. We took a bus tour to Kinderdijk, a scenic windmill town. Touristy and pretty, Kinderdijk gave us an appreciation of what the Netherlands would have been without dikes and windmills:  under water. ?G-d made the world, but the Dutch made the Netherlands.? Fascinating. When we got back, there was still about an hour to walk around Dordrecht, a very pretty town.<br /><br />Tuesday. Antwerp. I felt a bit bushed after 90 minutes of power-walking through Antwerp; but it was a lovely walking tour, and we went back to the city in the afternoon .  Most people took the extra cost side trip to Brussels, and came back exhausted. It is NOT worth going to a major city such as Brussels for just two or three hours. We came back to the ship around 4 p.m., exhilarated from our trip to the Rubens House and an art museum, and had the ship virtually to ourselves.<br /><br />Wednesday. Ghent. Another terrific, but exhausting, power walk, this time a substantial bus ride from the ship. Terrific. In the afternoon, we were two of the four people on the ship not taking the optional ()extra cost) excursion to Bruges, which we had visited before. We opted to relax around the ship and do some shopping, and I picked up some bargains in (of all things) a household goods store. Based on the comments we heard, the other PAX enjoyed Bruges much more than Brussels.<br /><br />Thursday. A fascinating day. In the morning we had a walking tour around small, but pretty, Middleburg, then went to the Delta works, This was the massive project to close some of the outlets to the North Sea, while having flood gates, which are normally open, for one environmentally sensitive arm of the sea. Absolutely fascinating.<br /><br />We then sailed to a small, but pretty, town, Veere. There was no excursion here, but we were two blocks from the town. I stayed on board to rest, while Joe walked around, bought some ice cream, and almost bought some jewelry. All in all, a lovely day.<br /><br />Friday. We docked at Rotterdam, and had another interesting power walk. This city is worth a whole day or more, not just a half day. In the afternoon, it was time for:<br /><br />THE TULIPS:  YES&#33;  They are JUST that beautiful, and deservedly crowded.  They were almost worth the two-hour bus trip to the Keukenhof gardens each way in heavy traffic.  We were frequently reminded that  this is a COMMERCIAL enterprise.  Each grower had their own ?patch?, where they displayed their best blooms.  Lovely, but lacking the themed areas one would find at, say, Longwood Gardens.  Maps cost three euros, but some tours gave a simpler version of the official map for free.  I took a picture of two map-sellers in costume, and it is one of the best I?ve ever taken.  The Avalon offered an option of an all-day stay at Keukenhof, and it was sold out.  <br /><br />Saturday. Winding down, but still active. In the morning, we docked at Volendam. I walked around the city, and got some of the bargains described under shopping. Joe took the tour to Edam, another walking tour with some free time (but not enough). He was about to buy some cheese, but the line was too long, so her ran back to the bus.<br /><br />We arrived back in Amsterdam in the afternoon, and took the included canal boat tour, which was given by the guide we had on day one for our Amsterdam tour. Relaxing and nice, and our final excursion. After 5 p.m., we had free time. After dinner, about half the people on the cruise took the walking tour of the Amsterdam red light district. No thanks&#33;<br /><br />On Sunday, we disembarked the ship, and went to a hotel in Amsterdam. We flew home on Monday.<br /><br />SHOPPING:   PRICY:  The best bargains for the quality were the sale items at the Van Gogh Museum store. The high quality and ?get rid of it? sale prices meant you could find some unique gifts at normal prices.  Elsewhere,  I managed to find t-shirts at 4 for 10 euros, but when the euro buys 1.4 dollars, you?re going to feel the pinch.  Joe bought a tulip tie for 11 Euros, and it was much admired when he got home. <br /><br />I confess ? I made cheese sandwiches at the unlimited breakfast to supplement lunch.  We ate two Rijstafels in Amsterdam because we didn?t want to pay 8 euros for a hamburger.  <br /><br />FOOD AND WINE:   Each dinner had choice of three entrees: meat (4 nights pork, 1 night each for beef, veal, and chicken), fish, and vegetarian. Dinners leaned heavily to fish and pork, and we don?t eat pork.  The chef could work wonders with fish, and I?ll remember his Veal with Spaetzel for a long time. The final night, the fish looked awful (A RARE EXCEPTION&#33;) and the captain graciously substituted chicken.  You could always substitute chicken or salmon for a main dish.  Breakfast and Lunch were buffet-style, often excellent. However, for sandwich lovers, there were sandwich ingredients (meat and fish) and breakfast but not at lunch. Odd. The free wine was mostly German and Austrian, and very high quality. There was a ?Happy Hour? with reduced-price drinks an hour before dinner.  We ate my cheese sandwiches during the long gap between lunch (served at noon) and dinner served mostly at 7:30, twice at 7).  <br /><br />ENTERTAINMENT:  Make your own.  Sascha played the keyboard in the lounge, a trio came in briefly one night, and other talks related to the excursions.  There was a lovely trio one night, briefly.<br /><br />RIVER CRUISING COMPARED WITH OCEAN CRUISING:  River cruises don?t involve seasickness, dressing up, paying for wine with dinner, or elaborate on-board shopping or art auctions.  We found ourselves busy with excursions for most of the day, and the scenery was lovely.  Ocean cruising offered more food, more often, cost less, offered internet access,  and had more elaborate entertainment.  <br /><br />AMSTERDAM: An open-minded city with great history and museums.  We found it expensive, entertaining, and Jewish.  We quickly learned to supplement lunch with cheese sandwiches from the breakfast buffet, to travel by tram, and ask for Senior Citizens? Discounts.  <br /><br />OVERALL:  A once-in-lifetime vacation?<br />',1177852255,0,'Northern Europe','',2167,'Joanandjoe',1,206,0,0,0,0,0,12672,0,NULL),(235,33,'01/21/07','Awesome Ship','Carnival Valor Jan. 21 2007 <br /><br />--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />Pre ? Cruise Review<br />An early morning departure to JFK from Buffalo was uneventful after the evening before. Delta called to let me know they cancelled my flights and then re-scheduled them. Upon departing to FLL from JFK delta was looking for passengers to give up their seats? <br />Pick me, pick me &#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; LOL ? They gave us lunch vouchers and a round trip ticket each valid for one year for doing so? But there was one catch the flight to FLL was much later or we could go to West Palm Beach? So we chose PBI and arrived around 4pm and took the Tri- Rail to FLL to pick up our car and luggage. The Tri-Rail was a great experience and without luggage would do it again in a heartbeat, the cost was only &#036;12.50 for the 3 of us?<br /><br /><br />We picked up our convertible PT Cruiser only to realize the luggage would in no way fit, lol?? back to the airport for a MINI VAN?. We headed to the Best Western Oceanside Hotel for the night. Cute hotel with a wonderful breakfast and a great pool, only downfall was the pool closed at dusk and the poolside bar closed at 9 pm?.<br /><br />Next morning we went back to the airport to pick up some of the calypso cruisers ( Karyn &amp; Rick and Carrie &amp; Peiro ) and off to Miami, We met up with Chuck and his group for an awesome evening poolside / riverside?. <br /><br /><br />Saturday we were met with more of the group and some who lucky for us found their way to the hotel despite our efforts to pick them up? Sorry Margie? <br />Again we enjoyed the day poolside and then most of the Calypso group headed to Paesano?s for some Italian food and bad service via a stretch limo.. Check out the pics in the gallery?<br /><br /><br />Valor Review <br /><br />Sunday Morning we enjoyed a fabulous breakfast at a Cuban caf? on Bayfront about 3 miles form the cruise terminal. Then we headed to the port via Rusty?s shuttle service? <br /><br />My family was on the ship at about 12 noon and despite the weird way of embarking onto the Valor all went very smooth. We met up with everyone on the lido deck and had a great afternoon. While heading to the buffet for lunch I recognized Coconut Willie and his wife, so I stopped and introduced myself. <br /><br />The muster drill was effortless, and had a wonderful sail-a-way with almost everyone ?<br />This is about where Chuck?s group went MIA?..lol <br /><br />Dinner was 8pm in the Washington Dining room were we were serviced by Ida and his assistant Busakorn ( sp) Awesome team? &#33; Two thumbs up?<br />Dinner each evening was met with Anticipation from our resident Chef Piero aka.. Mr. critique? <br /><br /><br /><br />Monday ~ Day at Sea..<br />Awesome start to the day, waking up to coffee on my balcony and a beautiful sunrise? <br />Basically spent the day poolside being Karyn?s pool B***H ( although she wouldn?t even let me buy her a drink or rub her feet ) until 2pm when we all gathered for the Calypso Cruiser party in the Lindy Hop piano bar. It was a fantastic gathering of great people with lots of laughter, and many pairs of false teeth?.<br />This evening was formal night and I must say we had a lot of daper looking men and women at our table?<br /><br /><br />Tuesday ~ Belize.. <br />This was nearly a life altering trip for me?. LOL.. ? My dear acquaintance Dixie arranged a fabulous group tour to Goff?s Caye.. The tender ride into the pier was great, took about 12 or so minutes We met up with our host and she immediately directed us to a small aluminum row boat? <br />Ok so it wasn?t exactly aluminum or a row boat but it was pretty darn close.. <br />It barely fit the 8 guests and 2 Captains, but at least it had fuel and life jackets? <br />We ventured approximately 15 miles out into the ocean to this prestine beautiful paradise of a beach known as Goff?s Caye? <br />( I have never been so happy to see land, even if it was in the middle of the ocean) <br />The people were friendly and the beer was cold? I watched while the others snorkled and then waited patiently as my daughter got her hair braided? &#036; 15.00 very cheap compared to other islands..<br />We headed back to the pier where we enjoyed a few Belkin beers and nachos?<br /><br />Wednesday ~ Roatan <br /><br />Paradise is what first comes to my mind once you leave the pier area. The island is truly beautiful and untouched? Karyn arranged for a fantastic private van and driver named Larry. We started out at Las Palmas? I could have spent the entire day here? It was quiet and very tranquil? Next we were off to the Iguana farm, wasnt really worth the<br />&#036; 5.00 per person admission, but we did it and took lots of pictures?<br />Next stop? Gas Station for BEER? Some liked the light and some liked the dark?<br /><br />I on the other hand loved the soda crackers we bought?. LoL ? I was getting excited now as we were about to stop and see the Monkey? Couldn?t wait for the kids to see the monkey, and me too? The Monkey?s true love was Karyn, he sat on her lap like she was his new best friend?<br /><br />Last stop was West End beach, it was a pretty cool, happening place.. The water was crystal clear and despite warnings of sand fleas, none of us were bitten.. ( using OFF obviously helped ) <br />We headed back to the pier area where most bought souvenirs and cigars? <br />That evening most of us met up in the Bronx bar for a drink or two and then bar hopped for a few more. Visiting the karaoke bar, the piano bar the Paris hop bar?etc <br /><br />Thursday ~ Grand Cayman?<br /><br />Thanks to Margie and her thinking cap, we were able to tender off with the Carnival excursions groups even though we were on a privately booked charter to Stingray City.<br /><br />Our group of 14 met up with a few others and off we went by a beautiful boat to Stingray Sandbar?Those creatures are very beautiful to me from a far? I am not fond of creatures swimming along side of me, so I made my way back to the boat and became the official photographer?But not before planting my butt it a large quantity of squid juice? <br />Can you say YUK ? <br /><br />Once everyone petted them and fed them we were off to do some snorkeling, this was by far my daughter?s favourite part of the whole cruise. She snorkels like a pro?<br /><br />Back on the ship we met up with Karyn and Rick where we shared Karyn?s bucket of beer and took some quality photos of the sunset? Before we cleaned up for yet another formal evening?<br />Later that nite we met in the Bronx bar again and you?ll never guess who joined us ? <br />Chuck.. Yup he was MIA for most of the week and he decided to join us for a drink or 3 of goombay smash.. I later heard that drink is a morning drink, like mamossas?lol <br /><br /><br />I knew it was a sissy drink?LMAO..<br /><br />We then went looking for a bar that was open and to no avail, we ended up at the aft bar where you could hear a pin drop or at least the cook yell that your pizza was ready? <br />Somehow with Karyn sitting there with her husband she managed to get a guy to buy her a kiss on the lips, On the girls cruise we couldn?t get a guy to pass the nuts?Let alone buy us a drink?lol <br /><br /><br />What gives ?<br /><br />Off to the casino we went to watch Chuck loose his &#036; 5 bucks or something like that?<br /><br />Friday ~ Cozumel..<br />Once we docked in Cozumel we took our time getting off the ship and headed to the downtown area to do a bit of shopping and beer drinking on the streets? It felt so cool to walk with a can of beer in your hand and a paper bag over it?. Lol<br /><br />We hit a few bars along the way and had a bite to eat at Fat Tueday?s then headed back to the ship for some un-crowded swimming?<br />Dinnner was spent trying to keep a straight face as I have Margie &amp; Gary?s Anniversary gift at my feet and a cake was being delivered for dessert?.When Margie opened her gift from Karyn I nearly died when she held up her vibrating ring?.<br /><br />Really cant remember if we got together Friday nite after dinner or not?how sad is that..?<br /><br />Saturday was our last day at Sea, Rick had arranged the time and place for our yankee swap at the aft pool, what a hoot that was?Totally enjoyed by everyone? <br /><br />Then we basically spent the day poolside trying to catch some last minute rays before having to do the nasty job of re-packing? <br />Our last night in the dining room was fabulous once again and would have been better if Rick and Trevor could have joined us? <br />After dinner we met outside the casino to say our farewells to each other,Less chuck?s group who was still MIA?.<br /><br />I had a fabulous time and there really wasn?t one moment of regret for joining people I had only met on the internet? My friends and family have spoken very highly of this trip and this wonderful group and look forward to a reunion?<br /><br />Many thanks to Chuck for eventually sticking with us, and not kicking us totally to the curb. Karyn for seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and for being right from the get go.. To Rick for keeping Karyn grounded and Margie for always forgetting something on the ship and for a lot of laughter, and to Dixie for endangering my life?. LOL..<br />To CoConut Willie and Sevenhearths it truly was a pleasure to have met you and your families and really wish we could have spent more time together...The time we did spend together was filled with lots of laughts and great memories.<br />',1178206071,0,'Western Caribbean','',3219,'Canadian Cruiser',1,187,0,0,0,0,0,12741,0,NULL),(236,24,'04-19-07','This was a real dream cruise of the Greek Isles and Turkey and Carnival did a great job.','Carnival Freedom Cruise April 19, 2007<br /><br />Took KLM from JFK to Amsterdam, then to Rome<br /><br />KLM service was inconsistent. The flight crew was excellent, extremely professional, and very helpful. The ground crew, on the other hand was very efficient at ignoring waiting passengers. I know this is not the norm for KLM ground crew but it was the flavor of the day. The waiting passengers were astounded by their poor treatment. <br /><br />We arrived in Rome at approximately 1:10 PM. We took care of some personal business before we headed to the Carnival representative. Unfortunately, no Carnival representative was in the area where we exited after picking up our luggage and taking care of our business. We had to track them down at the next terminal. The Carnival representative that we finally met made up for the petty annoyance by being apologetic and courteous.<br /><br />We boarded the shuttle at the Rome airport at 2:45 and departed at 3:00 PM, after acquiring a full load of passengers. We arrived in the port town of Civitavecchia at 4:00 PM. We entered the terminal at about 4:15 PM and we on board by 4:30 PM after the souvenir pictures were taken. We went immediately to our cabin and showered and proceeded to the Lido deck for a meal.<br /><br />We then went to the maitre d&#39;, Ken, for a table change which proved to be no problem. Then it was time to take a nap and get ready for the &quot;Boat Drill.&quot; <br /><br /><br />The Ship<br /><br />The design of the interior of the Freedom was very somber compared to some of the other ships. It had lots of brown and beiges throughout. Sailing was very smooth without any excessive vibration. There were times we didn&#39;t know we were moving. It was a very enjoyable experience to sail the Carnival Freedom. Disembarkation was the smoothest that I have ever experienced. Because we had sailed on the Conquest class ships before, it was very easy to get around. The secret is to know which levels go straight across the ship without interruption. That is level 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. The other decks are blocked by the Chic Restaurant.  Carnival was aware of everyone&#39;s departure time so numbers were called as the transportation for the airport for ones particular departure arrived. We literally walked right off the ship, picked up our luggage, gave it to the shore crew to place on the bus, boarded the bus and were on our way to the airport. We got to the airport at about 11:00 AM for a 2:05 flight.<br /><br />Stateroom<br /><br />The cabin had its ample Conquest class spaciousness with three closets, two of them for hanging clothes and one with shelving. There was ample room under the bed for the luggage. The designer of the ship figured out a way to install a shower for bigger people to shower without having the shower curtain attach to the body. Additionally, our cabin, 1253, a connecting cabin with a door to the next cabin, was on the Riviera Deck. I could occasionally hear heavy coughing through the door. Other than that there were no disturbances.  <br /><br />Just when I thought we were not going to see any crew members from past cruises, in pops Ida of Bali, a former assistant steward who is now a cabin steward.  Her able assistants were Ronald from the Philippines and Somchit from Thailand.<br /><br />Dining<br /><br />The Carnival Freedom has five dining venues, two main dining rooms, the Chic dining room and the Posh dining room, which was our dining room, the Sun King Restaurant, which is the specialty restaurant that charges &#036;30 per person, the casual Freedom Restaurant on the Lido Deck, and the Fish and Chips Restaurant hidden on Deck 10. On the Lido Deck there are also the Oriental and Deli concessions as well as the 24 hour Pizzeria and ice cream machines.<br /><br />Our maitre d&#39;, Ken, turned out to be quite an entertaining maitre d&#39;. He had a legitimate voice and serenaded the diners every evening. The waiters and assistant waiters also did their thing on the entertainment side as well as the service side. <br /><br />My travel mate said that the Tilapia was very good. I would say the vegetarian Indian dish was good. The highlight of the meal was the dessert. The hot melted chocolate mousse cake and the vanilla cr?me brule were absolutely decadently scrumptious.<br /><br />Our waiter was Ketut of Bali, Indonesia and the assistant waiter, Chawang of Thailand. The two of them were very efficient and kept us entertained with conversation while we waited for our meals. Our bar waitress was Melina of the Czech Republic who was absolutely delightful. We even made friends with a young assistant waitress, Ausanee, who worked on both the Lido Deck and the Posh Dining Room. The Posh Restaurant&#39;s hostess Anna Lucia was extremely gracious and came over to greet us several times. It turns out that she was the restaurant waitress on my very first cruise on the Carnival Destiny. <br /><br />Entertainment<br /><br />The Cruise Director was the legendary John Heald who was the C.D. on our Carnival Liberty cruise. He was in his usual wonderful form.<br /><br />0n formal night the show in the main lounge was a spectacular presentation of Beatles songs with singing, dancing and sensational costumes. The two Carnival vocalists were phenomenal.<br /><br />The next night there was an extremely funny Scottish juggler/comedian by the name of Goronwy Thom who utilized members of the audience as assistants for his act. A special treat was having Bob Dickenson, President and CE0 of Carnival, sit right behind us in the Victoriana Lounge.<br /><br />Monday night we had Penny Mathisen, a very fine singer with a legitimate voice who really thrilled the audience while performing show tunes and operatic warhorses.<br /><br />On Tuesday we were entertained by Russ Stevens, a pure and entertaining magician.<br /><br />The singers and dancers returned on Wednesday night and the late seating dinner guests got to go to the show before dinner. That change helped late seating guests enjoy the show without feeling sleepy after a long day.<br /><br />The program for that evening was with singers Louise Eddens, Lawrence Neals and the Carnival Dancers performing in &quot;Jump, Jive and Wail.&quot; New Yorker Lawrence Neals was a real treat because we are neighbors. He did an outstanding job and represented New York well.<br /><br />That same night there was a Carnival Legends Competition but not enough participants in all of the categories to put on the show. About three people, including me, sang &quot;My Way.&quot; I am proud to say that I won the solid gold plastic Carnival ship on a stick.<br /><br />&quot;The Amazing Fingers of Chris Watkins&quot; with the Freedom Orchestra performed on Thursday. Chrls Watkins is a very gifted violinist who played popular and classical pieces to the delight of the audience.<br /><br />One of the entertainment highlights was the guest talent night with John Heald as host. Four very talented passenger singers performed and a hilarious skit was put on by four other passenger volunteers with the audience creating the sound effects for the skit. I won&#39;t describe it because I would ruin the surprise for future cruisers.<br /><br />Saturday night, the second formal night, had singers Louise Eddens and Lawrence Neal back with the Carnival dancers performing in my favorite performance of the cruise in &quot;The Big Easy.&quot; It was a huge productions number dedicated to the people of New Orleans affected by the flood. The production utilized the musical genres that New Orleans was and is known for. The Freedom pulled out all the stops when it came to costumes. There finally was a huge colorful Mardi Gras parade.<br /><br /><br />Ports of Call:<br /><br />Naples:<br /><br />Took Jet Foil to the Isle of Capri @ &#036;30 per person round trip and then took the funicular to Ana Capri for 2.60 Euro round trip. The ship&#39;s excursion fare was &#036;149 per person. The ticket counter and terminal for the jet foil is right outside the cruise ship terminal to the first main street and to the left, before crossing the street. <br /><br />In the Isle of Capri one can take the tram or funicular to Ana Capri, the main town at the top of a hill. Look for souvenir bottles of a wonderful lemon liqueur. You&#39;re not able to take some huge lemons the size of grapefruits, grown on the Isle of Capri. There&#39;s also a shoppers heaven in Ana Capri, albeit the exchange rate for Euros is very high. Things can get a little pricey, but if you search hard enough you can pick up some reasonably priced souvenirs. There are several restaurants if you like to eat ashore, but expect to pay dearly.<br /><br />The next port of call was Rhodes, Greece. In Rhodes one has the opportunity to visit Old Rhodes Town on your own or buy a shore excursion that provides a very informative guide. Old Rhodes Town is right outside the pier and a short walk to the right. One can find a number of reasonably priced souvenirs as well as the more expensive items like silk rugs and throws. They also have a variety of olive soap.<br /><br />We chose to visit the Palace of the Knights which only cost &#036;6 per person. The palace houses a museum that contains a number of ancient artifacts and an opportunity to tour the Palace of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem.<br /><br />Other guests chose to go to Lindos which offers views of the harbor where the statue of Colossus of Rhodes is believed to have stood towering over the harbor and a view of the acropolis at Lindos.<br /><br />The next day we docked in Izmir, Turkey. There were several tours that included Ancient Ephesus; however, there is also a tour of Izmir. There&#39;s even a Family Fun tour that includes the Train Museum.<br /><br />We chose the House of the Virgin Mary and Ancient Ephesus. It was one of the most impressive shore excursions I have ever taken. It seemed hundreds of the passengers chose to do the same because the line for the house was short for me but long for the groups that came after. The experience at the House of the Virgin Mary turned out to be a personal pilgrimage. Visitors are also permitted to drink spring water that flows under the house. For me it was a spiritual experience. <br /><br />Ancient Ephesus was one of the best ruins excavations that I have ever seen even though it was very crowded. It seemed that every single person on the ship ended up in Ephesus. It was difficult to get a photo op or clean photo because of the crowds. Despite that, the ancient ruins are quite impressive. There is even a massive theater where St. Paul attempted to preach to the Ephesians. I climbed the steps of the theater as far as the public was allowed to go. 0f course I also stood on the lower stage area. The ancient city of Ephesus was a huge bustling city with massive temples, arenas, libraries, and shops. <br /><br />The tour guide, Yusef, was very informative and offered great insight into the history of the area.<br /><br />On Tuesday we docked in Istanbul, Turkey. Istanbul turned out to be a very beautiful city although it gets very busy and has traffic jams during rush hour. If you venture on your own make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get back to the ship. We chose to do the Panoramic Istanbul, Europe and Asia. Panoramic means you get driven to the Asian side of Istanbul and have Turkish tea,  coffee or a soft drink before crossing back over the Phosphorous River to head for the old section and European side of Istanbul. There you will pass the Blue Mosque and the Hagila Sophia, an ancient cathedral turned into a Mosque. Even though you cannot get out and enter either structure on the panoramic tour, it is an easy walk from where you are left by the tour bus near the Grand Bazaar.<br /><br />Turkey is a very beautiful, clean and safe country. It is 98% Muslim but definitely has a separation of church and state. The people are	friendly but can be very aggressive when trying to make sales. Don&#39;t be afraid. Some passengers complained about the hard sales tactics of the Turkish merchants. I was not phased one bit having been properly trained to counter attack in the Caribbean .with low offer of my own. If you&#39;re not interested just say no thanks and move on, keep walking. <br /><br />Do your research before buying big ticket items like handmade silk or wool rugs.<br /><br />It?s a great surprise to me that I loved being in Turkey so much.<br /><br />0n Thursday we were back in Greece and docked in Piraeus for points in Athens. We decided to explore Athens on our own and took a moderate walk to the Metro station and took an .80 Euro ride on the No. 1 train to the Monia Station and transferred to the No. 2 train to the Acropolis Station. The entrance to the Acropolis is a short block and a half from the station. The admission for several attractions, including the Acropolis that contains the Parthenon is only &#036;12 per person. Don&#39;t be intimidated by how high up The Acropolis looks. It&#39;s actually an easy walk with only a few feet of a steep climb. The rest is a slow steady climb with a slight incline. Wear shoes with gripping bottoms because the marble walkway is very slippery. The plateau can be very dusty so you&#39;ll definitely have to clean your shoes afterwards. You&#39;ll also have some wonderful views of Athens. We also visited the ancient Olympic Stadium and a shopping and restaurant area called the Plaka. We made our way back to the ship at about 3:00 PM for a boarding call at 4:30 PM.<br /><br />Traffic in Athens gets really congested during the afternoon. Watch out for motorcycles. We saw three auto accidents in one day in Athens, one involved a motorcycle.<br /><br />Friday we chose to stay near the port in Katakolon, Greece. Katakolon offered some beautiful photo ops of the ship and excursions to Ancient Olympia and Village or Museum or Traditional Folkloric Dance.<br /><br />Saturday we were at sea once again and relaxed on the ship.<br /><br />We docked in Livorno on Sunday and chose to travel to Florence on our own. The ship provided a courtesy shuttle to the city center where we boarded the No. 1 bus that took us on a 15 minute ride to the train station. We paid 12.20 euros per person for the train ticket to Florence. The ride was about 1 hour and 20 minutes.  In Florence there are a variety of things to do, such as museum visits, a trip to the historic and beautiful Duomo, crossing the famous Ponte Vecchio, a bridge with shops that occupy the entire span of the old bridge, and of course shopping. Because of limited time, we chose to do a panoramic tour of the city. The lines to the museums were too long for the time that we arrived. We wanted to make our way to the Ponte Vecchio since we had never crossed it before. As luck would have it, our route had us pass the Duomo, where we took some photo ops and also passed some of the art museums that contained finished and unfinished works by Michelangelo. The lines for the museums were extremely long and we decided to plan a visit on a return trip when we had more time. We made our way to the Ponte Vecchio and passed a number of interesting shops and street artists drawing the scenes of the river and the Ponte Vecchio. We crossed the Ponte Vecchio to the other side while window shopping the shops that occupied the old bridge. At one time meat was sold on the bridge and the affluent residents changed that because of the stench that came from the bridge. Gold and silver shops took the place of the meat markets. We made our back to the railroad and back to the ship.<br /><br />On Monday we docked in Civitavecchia for an overnight stay on the ship and chose to travel to Rome on our own. The ship provided a courtesy shuttle to the port entrance and then there was a 10 minute walk to the train. There seemed to be plenty of taxis at the entrance as well as taxis at the train station. Civitavecchia seemed to be a lot bigger then I remember, perhaps because the ship was docked closer to the city this time. We paid 9 euros per person for the train ticket to Rome. On the way to Rome we noticed that there is a train stop for St. Peter&#39;s Basilica. We proceeded to go to the city center where we could catch the Metro to the Colosseo station which leaves you right in front of the Coliseum. The old adage states that Rome was not built in a day and doing everything in Rome will take many more days than one. We decided to do some things in Rome that we had not done before. We decided to go to the Coliseum and go in this time. The Coliseum was an impressive structure, inside and out with a very interesting history. After the Coliseum we took the Metro to the Spanish Steps, the Spagna station which leaves you right next to the Spanish steps. There is an elevator at the Metro station for those who prefer to start their journey from the top of the Spanish Steps. We climbed up. To the right of the Spanish steps looking up is a house that Keats stayed in. From the same station and directly across the Spanish Steps is the Via Condotti, a famous street with exclusive name brand shops. We did some window shopping and made our way to the Metro to go to the Vatican. We took the A line to the B line and got off at the Ottaviano station. We arrived too late to go into the sanctuary, however we made it in time to join the line to view the crypt underneath the sanctuary. Therefore if you want to go inside the Basilica itself, you should do it in the morning. If you&#39;re on a cruise and are interested in St. Peter&#39;s Basilica, do that first and then work your way to the sites in Rome that stay open later. After the St. Peter&#39;s visit we went back to the metro and took it to the train station for our ride back to Civitavecchia. <br /><br />It was such a great idea for the ship to dock in Civitavecchia over night because it gave passengers the opportunity to explore Rome or Civitavecchia. <br /><br /><br />Extra Bonus<br /><br />Fr. Wayne Campbell of Oakland, CA and Fr. Walter Andrew of Bridgeport, CT celebrated Mass on Sunday morning in the Victoriana Lounge. It was the first time that l I was able to attend Sunday Mass on a Carnival ship. It was fortunate because the first mass in Rhodes started when we were arriving and the last mass started when we were leaving Rhodes. The next week there was a Saturday vigil at 5:00 PM. Keep in mind that the Mass is not regularly scheduled.<br /><br />',1178212669,0,'Eastern Mediterranean','',172,'Mebert',1,379,0,0,0,0,0,12752,0,NULL),(237,36,'4/30/2007','We had a wonderful time.','Carnival&#39;s Ecstasy 5 day from Galveston to Progreso and Cozumel;<br /><br />Embarkation went smoothly as we had all paperwork filled out and we were on board by 12:15 or so.<br /><br />We had originally booked a guaranteed inside cabin and received an upgrade to an ocean view although it had only two port holes at the forward part of the ship on the starboard side. The room was a fair size and I really enjoyed it as the seas were calm and there was no rolling of the ship.<br /><br />This cruise was a relaxation cruise so we really didn&#39;t plan a lot of excursions or planned on doing a lot on board. I was able to read a novel during the cruise and the wife did her fair amount of shopping (relaxation??? I guess).<br /><br />We sailed from Galveston On Monday. That evening when it was getting time for dinner (which was early seating 5:45) I still had not received my luggage. (The wife had hers by 2:30.) I had boarded in shorts and a polo and made up my mind that we were going to dinner in the main dinning room or not, made no difference. We approached the main dinning room and I asked the Maitre&#39;De if my state of dress was OK, if not we would go else where. He said OK and enjoy., so I wore shorts to the main dinning room.<br /><br />Tuesday was a sea day and we did very little. We had breakfast and lunch in the Panorama Bar and Grill as we did all week long. The buffet style food was, in comparison with RCCL&#39;s Rhapsody, equal quality but was lacking in variety. The Main dinning room, on the other hand, was equal or exceeded and the food was excellent in both taste, tenderness and presentation.<br /><br />Wednesday we were at Progreso. I decided on a shore excursion to Dzibilchaltun (tzee-BEEL-chahl-toon) and was not disappointed. I had a ship&#39;s sponsored tour through Total Gusto tours and had two well informed tour guides and a very component bus driver. The tour lasted about 4 1/2 hours for &#036;55 per person.<br /><br />Thursday was on to Cozumel....This is where my wife likes to go shopping. We docked at the Puerto Langusto pier and there is a very nice shopping area at the end of the pier. We almost bought more than we could carry. We were back on board in time for lunch and then relaxed and watched the late comers rushing to re board.<br /><br />Friday was another sea day and the last full day for the on board shops to be open (you guessed right, more shopping, ouch).<br /><br />Debarkation on Saturday went as smooth as possible. We were up early and went to breakfast and watched docking at 7am. We went to the Blue Sapphire Room to wait on our color tag to be called and we were through customs and on the curb by 10:15.<br /><br />We met some very nice people on this cruise and had some of the best table mates we have ever had on our four cruises. We did not attend any shows on this cruise, but it was by our choice and not by their quality. Overall, I would sail Ecstasy any time. Their crew was great, the sailing couldn&#39;t have been smoother, and the food was as good if not better than any of our previous cruises.',1178483615,0,'Western Caribbean','',2278,'Peddler',1,143,0,0,0,0,0,12789,0,NULL),(238,111,'04-28-07','Well worth the time and effort....great cruise but it could have been better','To start with I had read many many reviews of the Crown Princess and was still totally surprised&#33; First to give you some background My wife(50&#39;s) and I (almost 50) are experienced cruisers (11 and 7 respectively) as a matter of fact we took the original Crown Princess to Alaska for our Honeymoon....Completely different. My wife and I are from Atlanta; we booked our own air, first to Orlando then to San Juan (we booked through Spirit air both times, which was great) We spent our night before the cruise in Orlando at the amerisuites....don&#39;t do it, we shouldn&#39;t have done it but hindsite is 20/20. Then on the 28th we flew to San Juan, I was in a w/c so we boarded quickly without incident. The Ship is Gorgeous&#33; I don&#39;t think there are enough adjectives to describe this vessel...the pictures floating (yes pun intended) around the web don&#39;t do it justice as you were walking around the ship it felt as though you were walking into several different  resorts&#33; The ship is massive...we never saw the whole ship during the week, unless you count the outside..which seemed to go on for blocks. Our cabin was an inside cabin, it looked larger than it was, the bathroom was a disappointment for a ship this large you think they might have sprung for a bigger shower&#33; The shower was small and hard to navigate, I guess the extra space went to the closet which was large and easily navigable.The bed was another disappointment I felt that goldilocks never would have slept there (too Hard&#33;) but I&#39;m sure Washington did; the mattress felt  as though it was made in 1776&#33;<br />We had anytime dining; we didn&#39;t request this but due to a mistake by my travel agent...that&#39;s what we got and we  were pleseantly surprised&#33; We had had the freestyle dining thru NCL when we cruised with them and it was a nightmare.....Princess seems to have the know how to make things work the way they are designed to work&#33; Service in both anytime dining areas was superb&#33; We ate in whichever one was closest at the time we decided we were hungry and nevr missed out on superb service....the food I must say was also a surprise. The best way to put it is the ship and food are mismatched..... A ship of this magnitude and grandeur should have service and food that one would find in only the finest retaurants, the service not only lived up to this standard but on occasions surpassed it&#33; Sadly the food fell short the majority of times with the exceptions being the Lamb, veal and pumpkin soup. My wife doesn&#39;t like Lamb or Veal so...... you can fill in the blanks.<br />As dfar as the entertainment goes we saw one show in the princess theater (motown show) and that was pretty good. The other entertainment in the lounges tended to be not that good(my wife commented that perhaps the lounge acts weere discovered during amateur kareoke night)<br />The Ports were fantastic&#33; We did only two tours provided by the ship the atlantis submarine in St Thomas and the Mangrove by skiff in Bonaire...both were great not only did they highlight some of the beauty located on these islands they were also educational (about the environment) The other Islands we arranged our own tours. One word about Grenada...most of the reviews I had read about this Island were negative...We found just the opposite...sure some of the locals are aggressive when it comes to selling stuff but from the reviews I had read I was led to believe these people were worse than the merchants in Jamaica this is not the case as a matter of fact when you said No the first time (a decisive NO) then they left you alone until you walked by them again but at least they take NO for an answer. Disembarkation was a breeze once again I was in a w/c (a little clarification here; I was not in a w/c until right before the cruise and I was because I was unable to walk far or stand for long periods..a condition I hope will be a memory soon a painful one at that)<br />Would I go on Princess again.....YES     Would I sail on the Crown again.....YES    Would I have anytime dining again.....NO Princess does it well but my wife and I Prefer traditional dining As far as the entertainment I would check out more of it instead of the small sampling we did. Food: I would hope that Princess expands their menus.',1178567935,0,'Southern Caribbean','',2739,'ANJAN',1,223,0,0,0,0,0,12798,0,NULL),(239,36,'April 30, 2007','Carnival Ecstasy<br />Posted by Carole &amp; Johnny Bensley - April 30, 2007<br />Western Caribbean<br /> <br />Galveston, Progresso, Cozumel<br /><br />Monday ? April 30<br />This is a group of 12. We are Military Moms and their spouses. We met at one of','Galveston, Progresso, Cozumel<br /><br />Monday ? April 30<br />This is a group of 12. We are Military Moms and their spouses. We met at one of the moms houses and we used a limo service to take all of us to the pier. They needed a van and it was pulling a u-haul for our luggage.<br /><br />BOARDING:<br />We arrived about 11:30 and proceeded to the terminal. One person was checking tickets and I.D. I think they needed at least three to make this process run smoother and the line wouldn?t be so long.<br /><br />We went up the escalator and went to the VIP lines for the scanners. We were told that there was some problems with the VIP check in so we were sent to the regular line. Although there were 50 or more people in front of us, it was less than 15 minutes to get to the desk. We had all our stuff in hand so everything was very quick. The lady even thanked us for having everything filled out and ready when we got there. It took about 2 minutes and we went to the seating area in the VIP section.<br /><br />We boarded by noon. We went to the room and dropped off our stuff (our steward let us put it in the cabin even though it wasn?t ready). We headed for the Panorama Bar &amp; Grill and had lunch while we waited. At 1:30 they allowed you in your cabin. We got there and unpacked our carry on and about 15 minutes later, our luggage was there. We unpacked everything and looked around the ship. I had already memorized the places on the ships deck plan that I needed to know (i.e. dining room, buffet, shops, photo gallery, purser?s desk, etc). I always do this before a cruise so I am not lost the first day. We looked around and prepared for the muster drill. This drill really should take place around 3 instead of 4 o?clock. You miss sail-a-way because you are in the drill. Disappointing. By the time it is over, you are still leaving port but miss out the part where you actually leave that dock and are on your way. We were halfway out of port by the time you drop off your vest and get back on deck.<br /><br />We enjoyed the deck music for sail-a-way and then went to our cabin to clean up for dinner. Dinner was wonderful. We met our waiters, Robert and Eric. They were very attentive and everything went smoothly. After dinner, we went to the Welcome Aboard Show in the Blue Sapphire Theater. <br /><br />After dinner, our group wanted to go to Karaoke. Although this have never been something we were interested in, we gave it a try. Horrible. I guess being a musician lets you hear every off key note. Not one person was good that night although many people cheered. They were flat or sharp or just plain awful. I can?t understand why someone wouldn?t try this at home, record it, play it back and see how they sound before they get on stage. We decided to try it the next night to see if it improved. I don?t like to judge something with just one try. <br /><br />May 1st. Fun Day at Sea<br />I love sea days&#33; You get to relax and just enjoy the ship. We went to a lot of the shops, photo gallery and even played about 5 dollars in the casino. I went to Trivia Challenge, Ice Carving Demo and Name that Tune. Got a trophy in the Name that Tune game. We had breakfast and lunch in the Panorama Bar &amp; Grill.<br /><br />There was a men?s hairy chest contest. Some of the men had barely any hair but entered the contest. It was ok. They enjoyed themselves and the crowd enjoyed it. <br /><br />Dinner ? Captain?s Cocktail Party. Formal Night<br />We dress to the nines for formal night. It is sad to see how many just dress as though they were going to Red Lobster. Cruising has lost the luster for formal night. Very sad. I really wish those that don?t want to ?dress? would just got eat at alternate places. The dining room loses that ?fancy? feeling. We don?t have places to dress up here so it is so fun to cruise and see all the great dresses and all the men in their tuxes. Carnival loses on this one. It is too casual for formal night.<br /><br />The captain?s party was more of a sit down and welcome aboard that a party. Everyone was seated in the Blue Sapphire Lounge. Other ships have a standup gathering with snacks, etc. in the Atrium area. It was nice though. We went to dinner and our waiters remembered all our drink preferences from the previous night.<br /><br />We went to the evening show ?Dream Voyage? and then Karaoke again. Two good singers, and the rest left so much to be desired. John and I won?t go to more of these shows.<br /><br />We went to the midnight buffet and took pictures and came back later to take a bite or two to the cabin. Yummy&#33;<br /><br />I will highlight more on the dinner shows at the end of my review.<br /><br />May 2nd - Progresso<br />This is a very small place unless your take a shuttle into town. We just did the shopping area, which is one street and about 10 shops. We bought a few things and got back on the ship and enjoyed how quiet it is without all the guests on board. There were about 20 people who don?t how to get back on the ship when they are told. They were still coming on board 2 minutes before the gangway was pulled up.<br /><br />We saw the belly flop contest. That was fun watching all these men doing belly flops and getting to vote for the best splash. We went to Trivia again and then Battle of the Sexes. It was fun. A couple of ladies from our group joined in and one of the guys too. You had to build a towel animal. The guys made a stingray (wow, that was hard) and the women made a swan, but a guy was pulled from the crowd and said the men?s was better so they won that round. There was a hoola hop contest and ball toss and few other things, It was a lot of laughs.<br /><br />We went to dinner, which was perfect and then our group went to the dinner show. There was a guest Talent Show for the dinner show and it was all singing. No one did any other act. It wasn?t bad?.something to do anyway. There was also a comedian. The comedian was Tony Stone. He was funny.<br /><br />The group went to karaoke, but John and I went out on deck and enjoyed the salt air and sounds of the ocean hitting the sides of the ship. We dropped about 10 dollars in the casino and looked around the photo gallery.<br /><br />Carnival takes LOTS of photos. Too many to buy. The main complaint would be that they take too many during dinner. Once or twice during the cruise is fine but not every night.<br /><br />May 3rd ? Cozumel<br />On this cruise, we are not doing any excursions. We have done several in the past and we just wanted to relax. We went shopping and went around the town enjoying the sites. We got a beautiful hammock, some island clothes and my prescription meds that are over the counter in Mexico.<br /><br />After several hours, we got back on the ship and had a late lunch. It was a beautiful day. Part of our group went on a snorkeling tour and the rest of us were the shoppers.<br /><br />We went to dinner and then the dinner show, ?X-treme Country?, and then browsed through the shops a bit before walking around on deck and enjoying the stars and beauty of the open ocean. <br /><br />Our group asked us to join them for the evening comedy show. We were there 5 minutes and the ?adult? humor was vulgar. We left. I don?t see why comedians think we need detailed sexual humor in order to entertain. Gross.<br /><br />May 4th ? Fun day at Sea<br />We got up, had breakfast, went to a ship trivia game, sat out on deck, bar trivia and name that tune. Sat out on deck some more and enjoy the sea breezes and a cocktail.<br /><br />We went to the towel folding demo, trivia and then lunch at the Panorama.<br /><br />We went to dinner and saw the comedy of Kenny Miller and Tommy Drake. They were really good. They put on a good show. Tommy Drake was hard to understand at times, because he tries to talk like he is stoned or something, but he is good. We did NOT go see the adult version of their shows.<br /><br />We went to the photo gallery to buy the last of what pictures we wanted, then went back to the room and organized stuff and packed the last of our stuff. We normally pack stuff as we wear it or don?t need it so there is little to do that last night.<br /><br />OVERALL NOTES:<br /><br />FOOD: No complaints on taste but only on selection.<br /><br />Panorama Bar &amp; Grill:<br />It was good food and always plenty to eat. There was not much variety of fruit unless you wanted to mixed fruit. I would like to see more grapes, oranges, bananas, watermelon and cantaloupe that are separated so you can pick and choose what you want. The hamburgers were ok and the fries were YUMMY.<br /><br />Dinner Meals: We ate in the The Windstar Dining Room. It was very pretty and our waiters were fabulous.  Always good. It was prepared as we liked it and was hot. We aren?t food critics so you won?t see us complain much on that.<br /><br />SHOWS:<br /><br />I was disappointed that all the shows were geared toward the country theme?..Texas theme. Sorry, but if I wanted that I would stay home. Cruises for me should be tropical themes. I will say this is more of a personal thing. Neither my husband or myself like country and we both would be out of Texas in a heartbeat if we had the money. Even without that consideration, I don?t take cruises so I can see shows that make me feel like I never left home. They need more tropical themes. I know we left from a Texas port, but if I leave from California, I don?t want every show based on California. The same goes for Florida or any other place.<br /><br />The adult shows are vulgar. Very sexually explicit. We only went to one because our group wanted us to so stuff together, but after five minutes of hearing nothing but filth, we left and didn?t join them for another adult show. They say no one under 18. I say they aren?t fit for anyone.<br /><br />Evening entertainment was repetitive. Comedians and Karaoke every night. Not much variety.<br /><br />GAMES/FUN:<br />They had plenty of these. Many choices and people were participating and having fun. They did well on this. Lots of fun&#33;<br /><br />STAFF/CREW:<br />Exceptional. They were polite?.always helpful and always smiling.<br />Goose was our CD. He was always around and always seemed to be having fun. He was great. Other entertainment staff, such as Matt, were outstanding and had fun with the guests.<br /><br />PORTS:<br />John and I don?t care about ports. We will stay on the ship if we don?t like one. Progresso is a waste of a port though. I am not sure why this is still a call for ships. There is a small shopping area but in order to do anything you have to shuttle into town.<br /><br />Cozumel was nice and beautiful. Extremely pushy natives though. They don?t like NO. We still had a good time and we love Cozumel.<br /><br />SHIP:<br />Overall, the ship was clean and maintained by crew. Areas were kept clear and although the ship was old and does show in certain places, it was still in great shape and looked fine. I don?t look for worn carpets, drapes, etc because it just doesn?t matter to me, but I would notice obvious problems. The ship was beautiful. Bright colors and very festive. I don?t know that I would go on another small ship like this but I will give Carnival another try. There just wasn?t anything bad enough to turn me off this line. I would prefer to go out of Ft. Lauderdale since it does seem to stay on the tropical theme on its ships.<br /><br />Carnival?s fun pass is a great way to make sure that you go through the lines quickly, but you really need to have your paperwork ready and print those fun passes&#33; This is what holds up the lines, when people don?t do this in advance. It also takes YOU longer. Why make it take longer to get on your way. Fill out the forms before you ever leave home.<br /><br />DISEMBARKATION:<br />Well, on other cruises, there was less crowding and more organization. People were standing in the halls packed in like sardines till their color was called. We waiting in the grill until the color was called but after that you are in the halls stuffed in and then you proceed to the baggage claim and stand in line for a porter, then stand in line again to go through customs. Not the smoothest transition but not the worst I have seen either.<br /><br />OTHER:<br />We enjoyed the liquor tasting. It gave us a chance to taste certain things before we bought them and realized we didn?t like it. We got tickets for drawings on jewelry, alcohol, etc. I didn?t win any but it was fun&#33;<br /><br />They made lots of announcements during the day. I like this because I may have forgotten something I wanted to do, but I wish that when you are in the cabin, it could come through the speaker phone or something (with an option to turn it off if you don?t want to hear it). You have to open your door to hear announcements. Not good if you are trying to get dressed or just came out of the shower, etc.<br /><br />I recommend Carnival and I think they did a good job keeping people occupied and happy.<br /><br />Pros: Very happy staff/crew and always ready to please.<br />Waiters entertained you with dancing and singing ? it was great&#33;<br /><br />Cons: Way too many pictures during dinner time. Need to get off the Texas/Country theme. This is a Mexico/Caribbean cruise?..it needs a Caribbean theme.',1179096040,0,'Western Caribbean','',44,'Carole B',1,107,0,0,0,0,0,12888,0,NULL),(240,36,'April 30, 2007','I recommend Carnival and I think they did a good job keeping people occupied and happy.<br /><br />Pros: Very happy staff/crew and always ready to please.<br />Waiters entertained you with dancing and singing ? it was great&#33;<br /><br />Cons: Way too m','Galveston, Progresso, Cozumel<br /><br />Monday ? April 30<br />This is a group of 12. We are Military Moms and their spouses. We met at one of the moms houses and we used a limo service to take all of us to the pier. They needed a van and it was pulling a u-haul for our luggage.<br /><br />BOARDING:<br />We arrived about 11:30 and proceeded to the terminal. One person was checking tickets and I.D. I think they needed at least three to make this process run smoother and the line wouldn?t be so long.<br /><br />We went up the escalator and went to the VIP lines for the scanners. We were told that there was some problems with the VIP check in so we were sent to the regular line. Although there were 50 or more people in front of us, it was less than 15 minutes to get to the desk. We had all our stuff in hand so everything was very quick. The lady even thanked us for having everything filled out and ready when we got there. It took about 2 minutes and we went to the seating area in the VIP section.<br /><br />We boarded by noon. We went to the room and dropped off our stuff (our steward let us put it in the cabin even though it wasn?t ready). We headed for the Panorama Bar &amp; Grill and had lunch while we waited. At 1:30 they allowed you in your cabin. We got there and unpacked our carry on and about 15 minutes later, our luggage was there. We unpacked everything and looked around the ship. I had already memorized the places on the ships deck plan that I needed to know (i.e. dining room, buffet, shops, photo gallery, purser?s desk, etc). I always do this before a cruise so I am not lost the first day. We looked around and prepared for the muster drill. This drill really should take place around 3 instead of 4 o?clock. You miss sail-a-way because you are in the drill. Disappointing. By the time it is over, you are still leaving port but miss out the part where you actually leave that dock and are on your way. We were halfway out of port by the time you drop off your vest and get back on deck.<br /><br />We enjoyed the deck music for sail-a-way and then went to our cabin to clean up for dinner. Dinner was wonderful. We met our waiters, Robert and Eric. They were very attentive and everything went smoothly. After dinner, we went to the Welcome Aboard Show in the Blue Sapphire Theater. <br /><br />After dinner, our group wanted to go to Karaoke. Although this have never been something we were interested in, we gave it a try. Horrible. I guess being a musician lets you hear every off key note. Not one person was good that night although many people cheered. They were flat or sharp or just plain awful. I can?t understand why someone wouldn?t try this at home, record it, play it back and see how they sound before they get on stage. We decided to try it the next night to see if it improved. I don?t like to judge something with just one try. <br /><br />May 1st. Fun Day at Sea<br />I love sea days&#33; You get to relax and just enjoy the ship. We went to a lot of the shops, photo gallery and even played about 5 dollars in the casino. I went to Trivia Challenge, Ice Carving Demo and Name that Tune. Got a trophy in the Name that Tune game. We had breakfast and lunch in the Panorama Bar &amp; Grill.<br /><br />There was a men?s hairy chest contest. Some of the men had barely any hair but entered the contest. It was ok. They enjoyed themselves and the crowd enjoyed it. <br /><br />Dinner ? Captain?s Cocktail Party. Formal Night<br />We dress to the nines for formal night. It is sad to see how many just dress as though they were going to Red Lobster. Cruising has lost the luster for formal night. Very sad. I really wish those that don?t want to ?dress? would just got eat at alternate places. The dining room loses that ?fancy? feeling. We don?t have places to dress up here so it is so fun to cruise and see all the great dresses and all the men in their tuxes. Carnival loses on this one. It is too casual for formal night.<br /><br />The captain?s party was more of a sit down and welcome aboard that a party. Everyone was seated in the Blue Sapphire Lounge. Other ships have a standup gathering with snacks, etc. in the Atrium area. It was nice though. We went to dinner and our waiters remembered all our drink preferences from the previous night.<br /><br />We went to the evening show ?Dream Voyage? and then Karaoke again. Two good singers, and the rest left so much to be desired. John and I won?t go to more of these shows.<br /><br />We went to the midnight buffet and took pictures and came back later to take a bite or two to the cabin. Yummy&#33;<br /><br />I will highlight more on the dinner shows at the end of my review.<br /><br />May 2nd - Progresso<br />This is a very small place unless your take a shuttle into town. We just did the shopping area, which is one street and about 10 shops. We bought a few things and got back on the ship and enjoyed how quiet it is without all the guests on board. There were about 20 people who don?t how to get back on the ship when they are told. They were still coming on board 2 minutes before the gangway was pulled up.<br /><br />We saw the belly flop contest. That was fun watching all these men doing belly flops and getting to vote for the best splash. We went to Trivia again and then Battle of the Sexes. It was fun. A couple of ladies from our group joined in and one of the guys too. You had to build a towel animal. The guys made a stingray (wow, that was hard) and the women made a swan, but a guy was pulled from the crowd and said the men?s was better so they won that round. There was a hoola hop contest and ball toss and few other things, It was a lot of laughs.<br /><br />We went to dinner, which was perfect and then our group went to the dinner show. There was a guest Talent Show for the dinner show and it was all singing. No one did any other act. It wasn?t bad?.something to do anyway. There was also a comedian. The comedian was Tony Stone. He was funny.<br /><br />The group went to karaoke, but John and I went out on deck and enjoyed the salt air and sounds of the ocean hitting the sides of the ship. We dropped about 10 dollars in the casino and looked around the photo gallery.<br /><br />Carnival takes LOTS of photos. Too many to buy. The main complaint would be that they take too many during dinner. Once or twice during the cruise is fine but not every night.<br /><br />May 3rd ? Cozumel<br />On this cruise, we are not doing any excursions. We have done several in the past and we just wanted to relax. We went shopping and went around the town enjoying the sites. We got a beautiful hammock, some island clothes and my prescription meds that are over the counter in Mexico.<br /><br />After several hours, we got back on the ship and had a late lunch. It was a beautiful day. Part of our group went on a snorkeling tour and the rest of us were the shoppers.<br /><br />We went to dinner and then the dinner show, ?X-treme Country?, and then browsed through the shops a bit before walking around on deck and enjoying the stars and beauty of the open ocean. <br /><br />Our group asked us to join them for the evening comedy show. We were there 5 minutes and the ?adult? humor was vulgar. We left. I don?t see why comedians think we need detailed sexual humor in order to entertain. Gross.<br /><br />May 4th ? Fun day at Sea<br />We got up, had breakfast, went to a ship trivia game, sat out on deck, bar trivia and name that tune. Sat out on deck some more and enjoy the sea breezes and a cocktail.<br /><br />We went to the towel folding demo, trivia and then lunch at the Panorama.<br /><br />We went to dinner and saw the comedy of Kenny Miller and Tommy Drake. They were really good. They put on a good show. Tommy Drake was hard to understand at times, because he tries to talk like he is stoned or something, but he is good. We did NOT go see the adult version of their shows.<br /><br />We went to the photo gallery to buy the last of what pictures we wanted, then went back to the room and organized stuff and packed the last of our stuff. We normally pack stuff as we wear it or don?t need it so there is little to do that last night.<br /><br />OVERALL NOTES:<br /><br />FOOD: No complaints on taste but only on selection.<br /><br />Panorama Bar &amp; Grill:<br />It was good food and always plenty to eat. There was not much variety of fruit unless you wanted to mixed fruit. I would like to see more grapes, oranges, bananas, watermelon and cantaloupe that are separated so you can pick and choose what you want. The hamburgers were ok and the fries were YUMMY.<br /><br />Dinner Meals: We ate in the The Windstar Dining Room. It was very pretty and our waiters were fabulous.  Always good. It was prepared as we liked it and was hot. We aren?t food critics so you won?t see us complain much on that.<br /><br />SHOWS:<br /><br />I was disappointed that all the shows were geared toward the country theme?..Texas theme. Sorry, but if I wanted that I would stay home. Cruises for me should be tropical themes. I will say this is more of a personal thing. Neither my husband or myself like country and we both would be out of Texas in a heartbeat if we had the money. Even without that consideration, I don?t take cruises so I can see shows that make me feel like I never left home. They need more tropical themes. I know we left from a Texas port, but if I leave from California, I don?t want every show based on California. The same goes for Florida or any other place.<br /><br />The adult shows are vulgar. Very sexually explicit. We only went to one because our group wanted us to so stuff together, but after five minutes of hearing nothing but filth, we left and didn?t join them for another adult show. They say no one under 18. I say they aren?t fit for anyone.<br /><br />Evening entertainment was repetitive. Comedians and Karaoke every night. Not much variety.<br /><br />GAMES/FUN:<br />They had plenty of these. Many choices and people were participating and having fun. They did well on this. Lots of fun&#33;<br /><br />STAFF/CREW:<br />Exceptional. They were polite?.always helpful and always smiling.<br />Goose was our CD. He was always around and always seemed to be having fun. He was great. Other entertainment staff, such as Matt, were outstanding and had fun with the guests.<br /><br />PORTS:<br />John and I don?t care about ports. We will stay on the ship if we don?t like one. Progresso is a waste of a port though. I am not sure why this is still a call for ships. There is a small shopping area but in order to do anything you have to shuttle into town.<br /><br />Cozumel was nice and beautiful. Extremely pushy natives though. They don?t like NO. We still had a good time and we love Cozumel.<br /><br />SHIP:<br />Overall, the ship was clean and maintained by crew. Areas were kept clear and although the ship was old and does show in certain places, it was still in great shape and looked fine. I don?t look for worn carpets, drapes, etc because it just doesn?t matter to me, but I would notice obvious problems. The ship was beautiful. Bright colors and very festive. I don?t know that I would go on another small ship like this but I will give Carnival another try. There just wasn?t anything bad enough to turn me off this line. I would prefer to go out of Ft. Lauderdale since it does seem to stay on the tropical theme on its ships.<br /><br />Carnival?s fun pass is a great way to make sure that you go through the lines quickly, but you really need to have your paperwork ready and print those fun passes&#33; This is what holds up the lines, when people don?t do this in advance. It also takes YOU longer. Why make it take longer to get on your way. Fill out the forms before you ever leave home.<br /><br />DISEMBARKATION:<br />Well, on other cruises, there was less crowding and more organization. People were standing in the halls packed in like sardines till their color was called. We waiting in the grill until the color was called but after that you are in the halls stuffed in and then you proceed to the baggage claim and stand in line for a porter, then stand in line again to go through customs. Not the smoothest transition but not the worst I have seen either.<br /><br />OTHER:<br />We enjoyed the liquor tasting. It gave us a chance to taste certain things before we bought them and realized we didn?t like it. We got tickets for drawings on jewelry, alcohol, etc. I didn?t win any but it was fun&#33;<br /><br />They made lots of announcements during the day. I like this because I may have forgotten something I wanted to do, but I wish that when you are in the cabin, it could come through the speaker phone or something (with an option to turn it off if you don?t want to hear it). You have to open your door to hear announcements. Not good if you are trying to get dressed or just came out of the shower, etc.<br /><br />I recommend Carnival and I think they did a good job keeping people occupied and happy.<br /><br />Pros: Very happy staff/crew and always ready to please.<br />Waiters entertained you with dancing and singing ? it was great&#33;<br /><br />Cons: Way too many pictures during dinner time. Need to get off the Texas/Country theme. This is a Mexico/Caribbean cruise?..it needs a Caribbean theme.',1179096114,0,'Western Caribbean','',44,'Carole B',1,118,0,0,0,0,0,12889,0,NULL),(241,99,'03/05','Our first cruise.  Vsn&#39;t wait until our next&#33;&#33;&#33;','We went to Grand Cayman, Key West and another I can&#39;t think of right now (sorry).<br /><br />The crew was excellent.  The food good.<br /><br /> Some of the shore excursions were not.  If you go to the Key West port, I would not recommend the &quot;Ghost tour&quot;. It was run by a man named Spike.  It was a waste of time and money as far as I was concerned.  You&#39;d probably just checking out the local shops and/or the aquarium',1179808118,0,'Eastern Caribbean','',2458,'Cathie',1,204,0,0,0,0,0,13165,0,NULL),(242,76,'05-12-07','Our cruise to Alaska was very good, but there were some problems.','We flew into Seattle on Thursday with one of our sons. We got in late, and flying from the East Coast can take a lot out of you. We stayed at the Days Inn Seattle Center. The place was clean and the staff very friendly and helpful. The next day, we toured the city on our own.. That was a great day. We had lunch at the top of the Space Needle. The food was good, but a bit pricey. We went down to the Pike&#39;s Market and walked around there for a while. Later, we went to the Underground Tour which was a nice experience. One nice thing about Seattle is that the busses in the center city area are free. We did take the Monorail a couple of times(&#036;2.00/person), but walking isn&#39;t too bad. The city is pretty hilly. Saturday, we took the hotel shuttle  (free) to pier 30 to get our ship.<br /><br />Embarkation: The best we ever had. We got to the terminal about noon. Took about 10 minutes from the time we entered the terminal till we were on the ship. Our Cabin was ready about 15 minutes after we got on board. Then lunch and a tour of the ship.<br /><br />Cabin: This was one of the problems we had. Tha cabin was clean and would have been spacious enough for 2 people, but we had 3 staying in it. There was enough storage, but the third bed for our son was a sofa bed. We had 3 in a cabin on both Carnival and RCCL and both had pull down beds. These took up much less space than a sofa bed. When the bed was open, there was no way to get to the balcony or the fridge. We like to go out on the balcony when we wake up, but this was impossible. we couldn&#39;t even open the drapes to see what the weather was like.We may as well had an ocean-view cabin and pay a little less. Our steward was one of the best that we ever had, so there are always some positives.<br /><br />Food: Nothing special. Some nights there wasn&#39;t a great amount of choice on the menu for dinner. The food was tasty though. We ate in the Lido for dinner a couple of times, but not great for dinner. The Oosterdam is one of the HAL ships trying something new for dinner. The dining room still has set tables, but you have an hour period that you can be seated. For instance, we could have been seated any time between 8PM and 9PM. It was convenient, and you kept the same wait staff, but if you came later, the service seemed to be much slower. We found that if we came in at 8PM, the service was exactly what we&#39;re used to on a cruise. We had breakfast and lunch in the Lido everyday. Very good pizza, but I didn&#39;t think much of the burgers. The deli had very good sandwiches. Breakfast was the normal Lido food. Again, we found that the dinin g staff was excellent. The staff up in the Lido even try to learn your name (and usually succeed).<br /><br />Ship: The Oosterdam is a beautiful ship. Very easy to learn and navigate. There was one indoor pool, but it usually felt a little too cool to swim. That never stopped some people. The shops were nothing special. The clubs in the evening were usually pretty dead. The entertainment was good, but we only went to the theater 3 times on this cruise. The major problem that we found on this cruise was that there was 2 large groups that HAL really catered to. We cruised around Hubbard Glacier one day, and the prime viewing sight would have been the Crow&#39;s nest which is a large lounge on the top deck with a 180 degee view out  the front of the ship. Unfortunately, one of the groups (GM) had the room reserved. This isn&#39;t quite fair considering that all of the other passengers on the ship payed to have access to the whole ship. This happened again the last sea day on the cruise when the other large group (VW of Mexico) took over the indoor pool (this is only usuable pool on the ship). <br /><br />Passengers: Very few kids on this cruise. Being in the beginning of May, that isn&#39;t surprising. The average age was probably in the eir 50&#39;s, so we didn&#39;t feel out of place at all.<br /><br />Ports: <br />Juneau: We&#39;ve been there before so we tried a different itinerary. We went with a Photo Safari with a professional photographer. She was very knowledgable, but never did see much more than oa couple of whales. Later had plenty of time to walk around Juneau. Weather was in the fifties. The day started off cloudy, but later the  sun came out and it was great. <br /><br />Sitka: This was a new town for us. It&#39;s very small, but has lots of shopping. The Russian Orthodox Cathedral is beautiful. We did a Sea Otter Quest there. Were saw some otters and another couple of whales. We could have passed on this excursion. Weather was in the low 50&#39;s and cloudy most of the day. After we got on board, the skies opened up for about an hour.<br /><br />Ketchikan: We&#39;ve been here before also. We took a tour to Totem Bight Park. Our tour guide was great, and this turned out to be one of our best excursions. We we&#39;re in Ketchikan too long, so when we got back to the ship, we boarded and left. Weather in the low 50&#39;s and cloudy. No rain.<br /><br />Victoria: We have never been in Victoria before, so we did a bus tour. Victoria is a beautiful  city. The tour guide for this excursion was also very good. We we&#39;re there for the evening, and after getting back from the excursion, we walked around a bit. The weather was great that day with the temp in the 60&#39;s and partly cloudy. It stayed pretty warm into the evening.<br /><br />Debarkation: We stayed in our cabin until our color was called. When we got off we had no trouble finding our luggage. We took a tour and lake cruise in Seattle (nothing special) and the flight home was uneventful.<br /><br />Overall: We enjoyed the cruise despite the problems. We found the crew to be one of the best we ever encountered. The ship is nice, but the food was so-so. We may take HAL again, but it will not be our first choice.',1180320872,0,'Alaska','',1210,'rogue',1,190,0,0,0,0,0,13226,0,NULL),(243,157,'May 31, 2007','I would rate the Legend of the Seas a 8.5 on a scale of 1 to 10.  The overall experience was very nice, but not outstanding.  I have deducted for the food. <br />','Cruise Review<br />Legend of the Seas<br />May 31, 2007 ? April 12, 2007<br /><br />Ports of Call: <br />Rome; Italy, Genoa, Lovorno, Split, Croatia, Venice, Dubrovnik, Croatia, Naples, Messina, Sicily. <br /><br />Cruise Experiences:<br />This was our 14th cruise with Royal Caribbean and our 49th cruise overall.<br /><br />This was our second time aboard the Legend of the Seas. <br /><br />Embarking/Disembarking:<br />We flew into Rome a day before our cruise and spent a night in a hotel recommended by travel advisor Rick Steves.  Great hotel in an excellent location. We had arranged for a car to pick us up at the hotel at 10 AM and he was right on the dot.  We arrived at the port at 11:15 and enjoyed the fastest, most pleasant check in that we have ever experienced on any of our cruises. We were on the ship in no time flat; however, the water-tight doors to the stateroom areas were closed and we were not permitted to go to our room until 1:00 PM.  No problem really, grabbed some lunch and then found a comfortable place to sit on Deck 6 and waited until the appointed time. <br />Disembarkation was one of the best we have experienced in all of our cruises.  Our disembarkation color was called as scheduled at 7:45 AM and we were on our bus to the Rome airport shortly thereafter.<br />Stateroom:<br />We had an ocean view stateroom, #6026 on Deck 6.  The room was a very nice size and well equipped.  We had the queen bed configuration upon arrival, but had it switched to twin beds after the first night to give us more floor space.  Bathroom was small.  Shower was the small but very functional    I experienced no change in water temp.  Supplied amenities for Diamond Members were excellent.  <br />Restaurants and Food:<br />There is a single dining room aboard the Legend: The Romeo and Juliet is made up of two levels on Decks 4 and 5.  <br /><br />Open seating breakfast and lunch were served in the Romeo and Juliet Dining Room and in the  Buffet (Deck #9 forward).  The quality and variety of the food was no more than average throughout the cruise.  We ate most all of our dinners in the Romeo and Juliet. Our breakfasts and lunches were split between the buffet and the dining room.  The food was our only disappointment of this cruise.  I would rate the selections, presentation, and taste only cruise line average.  On recent cruises we have found that Carnival and Princess food better than the food aboard the Legend.<br /> <br /><br />Entertainment:<br />There were the usual mix of musical revues and guest entertainers spread throughout this 12 day cruise.  Only the production shows were truly outstanding.. I felt the Legend Singers and Dancers did an outstanding job.  The Theater had excellent sight lines with no obstructions and it functioned well.  <br />Cruise Director ?Javier? did a good job, although his heavy accent was sometimes a little tough to understand.  The Legend Orchestra was very good.<br /><br />Shore Excursions:<br />This was a very port intensive cruise with only two days at sea.  Will not go into details of the various excursions except to say they were well run and went off like clockwork.  They are however, quite expensive.  The dollar is very weak against the Euro, so an all day tour costing &#036;124 per person was pretty much the norm.<br /><br />Other:<br /><br />The gift shops were well stocked and stayed open most nights past 10 PM.  The photographers were around the ship constantly.  <br /><br />Speakers in staterooms have been disconnected even though they are equipped with volume controls, so you hear no announcements in your stateroom.<br /><br /><br />Overall:<br />I would rate the Legend of the Seas a 8.5 on a scale of 1 to 10.  The overall experience was very nice, but not outstanding.  I have deducted for the food. <br /><br />As mentioned earlier this was a very ?port intensive? trip with new ports almost every day.  So, it was quite tiring which caused us to miss a couple of the shows through sheer exhaustion. <br />',1182049505,0,'Eastern Mediterranean','',920,'The Skipper',1,105,0,0,0,0,0,13516,0,NULL),(244,124,'06/11/07','Overall this was a very good cruise.','Hi guys: <br />   Lets begin with a review of the ship, then the ports. First of all we chose to cab it from the airport in Copenhagen to pier one, where the Star was.  Princess charges 40.00 pp or &#036;120.00 for the three of us. The cab was about &#036;55.00 so do the math. Easy choice.  The embarkation process was pretty easy really. We got to the ship by around 1300 and were in our cabin by 1325 at the latest. Our luggage arrived in a timely manner as well. <br />    I must say my previous experience with Princess was on the gorgeous sapphire Princess and the Tahatian. Both, especially the latter usually get higher marks. The Star is a very nice ship but it is a notch below the Sapphire and Tahatian to be sure, both in terms of service and food. Not to say its bad. Its not&#33; but the other two are better.  <br />     The ship overall is very clean and well appointed. I give high marks for hygiene. Hand sanitizers are everywhere along with employees to dispense B4 you go into any restaurant. In many cases there are employees in the buffet area to actually dispense the food for you. Bravo&#33;  The lounges and public areas are neat and clean. We in particular liked the Skywalker lounge on the 17th deck aft. There was a great view of the wake and at night, being in the land of the midnight sun you could almost see day ending and night beginning.  Also it was never crowded when we were there so you had that view pratically all to yourself.<br />     The service was very good though I must say the Tahitian was better. I had one encounter with an unbelievably rude person from the casino staff and reported her. Princess assured me the matter would be addressed and I believe them They take this sort of issue very seriously. Our cabin attendant Jirasak from Thailand was a sheer delight. He always smiled and our cabin was spotless. Overall the service was very good, not great. <br />     The food was very good too. I must say yet again I was spoiled by the Tahatian last yr. but that does not demean the Star in any way. Also I must give top praise to the Star for meeting our groups special requests. There were 5 in our group and three of them requested Indian food every night. The chef far exceeded our expectations. The food was expertly prepared and plentiful.  In addition the Maitre de Franco made sure to facilitate this request.  However unlike the Sapphire there were no anytime dining restaurants. You could go to the Horizon for buffet. We did use Sabatinis once and for those of you who are familiar with it its a treat to be sure, easily worth the &#036;20.00 pp surcharge. <br />     The shows overall were very good as well. There was some fellow, Mac Frampton who played piano so well I could not believe it. Also they timed the shows very well. That is after the show finished other shows were scheduled to begin in the louges so it was pretty easy to go from one to another. <br />      We were invited to the Capt. Circle party and found out Princess is building a new ship, the Ruby and its a sister ship of the new Emerald. In addition they purchased another ship form the defunct Renaissance line ala the Tahatian and are in process of fitting for service.  <br />     Disembarkation  was  breeze but for a good reason. we were the second group off the boat at 0530 (right on time as promised). We had an 0825 flight and I was a bit concerened about getting a cab that early but there was one right there at the pier and we got to the airport with plenty of time to spare.   <br />      Our first stop was Stockholm. except for St. Petersburg we did the town on our own so to speak. Prior to leaving we determined what  we wanted to see in each port. In Stockholm it was the Vasa museum, Gamla Stan and the famous ice bar. well two out of three aint bad, at least according to Meat Loaf. LOL&#33; That is the ice bar, which is a bar set at around 30F and has glasses made of what else, ice did not open till 1550. Too late for us. we did go see the Vasa which is a ship bulit to be the pride of the Swedish navy that sunk minutes into maiden voyage in the harbor and stayed there until it was lifted up in the 1960&#39;s. Overall in was under water for 333 yrs&#33;  It capsized due to a poor design. It was top heavy with too little ballast in the keel, sort of like Dolly Parton. LOL&#33;  It took about 2 yrs. to  actually raise her and though she is now on display it is not yet finished. They paln to repaint her to the original colors once research is completed to discover the paint scheme. The Vasa is truely a wonder to see not for its sea worthiness but for its splendour and for the amazing engineering it took to lift her off the sea bottom and the still in process restoration.<br />     From the Vasa we strolled to a water ferry nearby and went to Gamla Stan, the old town.  This is what I luv about Europe, i.e. old towns with winding cobblestone roads full of shops, side walk cafes and people. We meandered about and found an Indian fabric store. The sales lady was Indian and my wife and our Indian friends had a delightful time chatting with her.  we also bought some souvenirs, had the best apple strudel in my life with good, rich European style coffee to accompany it then decided it was time to return to the ship. Cabs were easy to get, they all take CC&#39;s and in Stockholm English is readily spoken. <br />     The next day we were in Helsinki. Unfortunately out time was limited due to the weather. It was quite chilly and rained all day. We did manage to see the church carved from granite, did some shopping at Stockmanns, the largest dept. store in Europe (prices are very high but its just that way everywhere in Europe)  and did some limited shopping at the market in Town Square. We did get some fruit but the weather got the best of us so we headed back. Dollars are not accepted in the market so if you want to shop there you will have to exchange for Euros.<br />     The next day was the highlight stop, St Petersburg, Russia. Oh my God&#33; What a place. we decided to book the grand tour. two full days, with Princess. Day one began early, at 0715. Well there was a Russian band on the pier and they began playing, of all things New York, New York. Kinda weird but thats what makes traveling so interesting. Later that day we were in a park. There was a band there too and when they saw us getting off the bus you won&#39;t believe what they played. It was &quot;Anchors away&quot; the US navy song. Go figure. <br />St. petersburg is simply amazing. we saw in those two days spledour beyond belief.  Our stops included Peterhoff palace, the Yusupov Palace, St. Isaacs Cathedral, the Church of the spilled blood which was built around the spot where Czar Alexander was murdered, the unbelievable hermitage art museum, a canal ride and the Peter and Paul cathedral when Russian royality including the murdered last czar Nicholas II and his family, also murdered are interred. Its a very moving place to say the least. One thing you see it russia and throughout the Baltic are nesting dolls. You know, those wooden carved dolls, usually of a girl in her native costume that has several others, about 6 in all just like it inside but smaller of course.  Well in St. Petes there were nesting dolls of Derek Jeter, Donovan McNabb and Rex Grossman just to name a few. Need I say more.   For the two days we had a superb tour guide, Anna who was a virtual encyclopedia of Russian and St. Petes history. Amazing amt. of knowledge to be sure. Lunch was included each day. Day one was at the Academy. a Russian place and day two was at the Radisson.   The food was good but in both cases we felt the service was rushed. Also people there seem sort of serious, if not grim. Not too many smiles but the sights are to be seen to be believed.<br />     The next day we went to Tallinn. Its was a Sunday and we were in port from 0700 to 1300 so we had to be back by 1230. My criticism here is that this arrival is too early, esp. for a Sunday. It was a bit rainy too but not cold. If you get off here be aware that just beyond the gated area are cabs. They are not allowed in any further so you are set up to take the shittle into town. The shuttle is &#036;5.00 one way. That &#036;25.00 for 5. Cabbing it back was &#036;10.00 for 5. again, do the math. We found some local shops selling sweaters and  linen goods and found them to be reasonalbly priced. Tallinn is a neat old town with lots of shops and restaurants. its just a shame the time in port was inappropriate to seeing it all. 0900-1500 wouold be much better<br />     The next day we visited Gdansk. What a city&#33; Amzingly beautiful, clean and green.  we met a great cab driver, Stanley who greeted us as soon as we got off the ship. For &#036;200.00 we had him for the whole day. he not only took us places but also got out with us for and escorted tour. we saw the resort town of Sopot, which is gorgeous and has the longest pier in europe which seem to extend way out into the sea. Along the way are vendors, food stand and street performers. We stopped at a rather famous church. the Olia and saw the show. That is at 1100every day the huge organ comsto life and the ornately carved angels all around it become animated to the music. Amazing show. we had lunch and strolled in the old town, saw Lech walesas home and offices and saw the Solidarity monuments which are truely moving.  Gdansk was a surprise and a delight. it is very beautiful and by contrast to russia the people seem to enjoy life more.<br />       Our last stop was Oslo. This too is a beautuful city bit the ship gets in at 0700 and we have to be onboard by 1330. I don&#39;t think there is enough time to see this great city. There is a hop-on, hop-off bus right at the pier as well as a souvenir shop so its conviently laid out and you can exchange money there. we did see the famous Viking museum with three ships discovered and dated to circa 800AD. We did want to see the famous Vigelanf sclupture aprk but found out too late that its about a mile walk form the bust stop in the park to the actual sculptures so we ran out of time for this. All in all Oslo is really neat but I think you need timings of say 0900-1800 to better see.<br />    Any questions please ask. Thank for reading. Larry',1182798396,0,'Northern Europe','',0,'Guest',1,82,0,0,0,0,0,13605,0,NULL),(245,124,'06/11/07','Overall it ws a very good cruise.','Hi guys: <br />Lets begin with a review of the ship, then the ports. First of all we chose to cab it from the airport in Copenhagen to pier one, where the Star was. Princess charges 40.00 pp or &#036;120.00 for the three of us. The cab was about &#036;55.00 so do the math. Easy choice. The embarkation process was pretty easy really. We got to the ship by around 1300 and were in our cabin by 1325 at the latest. Our luggage arrived in a timely manner as well. <br />I must say my previous experience with Princess was on the gorgeous sapphire Princess and the Tahatian. Both, especially the latter usually get higher marks. The Star is a very nice ship but it is a notch below the Sapphire and Tahatian to be sure, both in terms of service and food. Not to say its bad. Its not&#33; but the other two are better. <br />The ship overall is very clean and well appointed. I give high marks for hygiene. Hand sanitizers are everywhere along with employees to dispense B4 you go into any restaurant. In many cases there are employees in the buffet area to actually dispense the food for you. Bravo&#33; The lounges and public areas are neat and clean. We in particular liked the Skywalker lounge on the 17th deck aft. There was a great view of the wake and at night, being in the land of the midnight sun you could almost see day ending and night beginning. Also it was never crowded when we were there so you had that view pratically all to yourself.<br />The service was very good though I must say the Tahitian was better. I had one encounter with an unbelievably rude person from the casino staff and reported her. Princess assured me the matter would be addressed and I believe them They take this sort of issue very seriously. Our cabin attendant Jirasak from Thailand was a sheer delight. He always smiled and our cabin was spotless. Overall the service was very good, not great. <br />The food was very good too. I must say yet again I was spoiled by the Tahatian last yr. but that does not demean the Star in any way. Also I must give top praise to the Star for meeting our groups special requests. There were 5 in our group and three of them requested Indian food every night. The chef far exceeded our expectations. The food was expertly prepared and plentiful. In addition the Maitre de Franco made sure to facilitate this request. However unlike the Sapphire there were no anytime dining restaurants. You could go to the Horizon for buffet. We did use Sabatinis once and for those of you who are familiar with it its a treat to be sure, easily worth the &#036;20.00 pp surcharge. <br />The shows overall were very good as well. There was some fellow, Mac Frampton who played piano so well I could not believe it. Also they timed the shows very well. That is after the show finished other shows were scheduled to begin in the louges so it was pretty easy to go from one to another. <br />We were invited to the Capt. Circle party and found out Princess is building a new ship, the Ruby and its a sister ship of the new Emerald. In addition they purchased another ship form the defunct Renaissance line ala the Tahatian and are in process of fitting for service. <br />Disembarkation was breeze but for a good reason. we were the second group off the boat at 0530 (right on time as promised). We had an 0825 flight and I was a bit concerened about getting a cab that early but there was one right there at the pier and we got to the airport with plenty of time to spare. <br />Our first stop was Stockholm. except for St. Petersburg we did the town on our own so to speak. Prior to leaving we determined what we wanted to see in each port. In Stockholm it was the Vasa museum, Gamla Stan and the famous ice bar. well two out of three aint bad, at least according to Meat Loaf. LOL&#33; That is the ice bar, which is a bar set at around 30F and has glasses made of what else, ice did not open till 1550. Too late for us. we did go see the Vasa which is a ship bulit to be the pride of the Swedish navy that sunk minutes into maiden voyage in the harbor and stayed there until it was lifted up in the 1960&#39;s. Overall in was under water for 333 yrs&#33; It capsized due to a poor design. It was top heavy with too little ballast in the keel, sort of like Dolly Parton. LOL&#33; It took about 2 yrs. to actually raise her and though she is now on display it is not yet finished. They paln to repaint her to the original colors once research is completed to discover the paint scheme. The Vasa is truely a wonder to see not for its sea worthiness but for its splendour and for the amazing engineering it took to lift her off the sea bottom and the still in process restoration.<br />From the Vasa we strolled to a water ferry nearby and went to Gamla Stan, the old town. This is what I luv about Europe, i.e. old towns with winding cobblestone roads full of shops, side walk cafes and people. We meandered about and found an Indian fabric store. The sales lady was Indian and my wife and our Indian friends had a delightful time chatting with her. we also bought some souvenirs, had the best apple strudel in my life with good, rich European style coffee to accompany it then decided it was time to return to the ship. Cabs were easy to get, they all take CC&#39;s and in Stockholm English is readily spoken. <br />The next day we were in Helsinki. Unfortunately out time was limited due to the weather. It was quite chilly and rained all day. We did manage to see the church carved from granite, did some shopping at Stockmanns, the largest dept. store in Europe (prices are very high but its just that way everywhere in Europe) and did some limited shopping at the market in Town Square. We did get some fruit but the weather got the best of us so we headed back. Dollars are not accepted in the market so if you want to shop there you will have to exchange for Euros.<br />The next day was the highlight stop, St Petersburg, Russia. Oh my God&#33; What a place. we decided to book the grand tour. two full days, with Princess. Day one began early, at 0715. Well there was a Russian band on the pier and they began playing, of all things New York, New York. Kinda weird but thats what makes traveling so interesting. Later that day we were in a park. There was a band there too and when they saw us getting off the bus you won&#39;t believe what they played. It was &quot;Anchors away&quot; the US navy song. Go figure. <br />St. petersburg is simply amazing. we saw in those two days spledour beyond belief. Our stops included Peterhoff palace, the Yusupov Palace, St. Isaacs Cathedral, the Church of the spilled blood which was built around the spot where Czar Alexander was murdered, the unbelievable hermitage art museum, a canal ride and the Peter and Paul cathedral when Russian royality including the murdered last czar Nicholas II and his family, also murdered are interred. Its a very moving place to say the least. One thing you see it russia and throughout the Baltic are nesting dolls. You know, those wooden carved dolls, usually of a girl in her native costume that has several others, about 6 in all just like it inside but smaller of course. Well in St. Petes there were nesting dolls of Derek Jeter, Donovan McNabb and Rex Grossman just to name a few. Need I say more. For the two days we had a superb tour guide, Anna who was a virtual encyclopedia of Russian and St. Petes history. Amazing amt. of knowledge to be sure. Lunch was included each day. Day one was at the Academy. a Russian place and day two was at the Radisson. The food was good but in both cases we felt the service was rushed. Also people there seem sort of serious, if not grim. Not too many smiles but the sights are to be seen to be believed.<br />The next day we went to Tallinn. Its was a Sunday and we were in port from 0700 to 1300 so we had to be back by 1230. My criticism here is that this arrival is too early, esp. for a Sunday. It was a bit rainy too but not cold. If you get off here be aware that just beyond the gated area are cabs. They are not allowed in any further so you are set up to take the shittle into town. The shuttle is &#036;5.00 one way. That &#036;25.00 for 5. Cabbing it back was &#036;10.00 for 5. again, do the math. We found some local shops selling sweaters and linen goods and found them to be reasonalbly priced. Tallinn is a neat old town with lots of shops and restaurants. its just a shame the time in port was inappropriate to seeing it all. 0900-1500 wouold be much better<br />The next day we visited Gdansk. What a city&#33; Amzingly beautiful, clean and green. We met a great cab driver, Stanley who greeted us as soon as we got off the ship. For &#036;200.00 we had him for the whole day. he not only took us places but also got out with us for and escorted tour. we saw the resort town of Sopot, which is gorgeous and has the longest pier in europe which seem to extend way out into the sea. Along the way are vendors, food stand and street performers. We stopped at a rather famous church. the Oliva and saw the show. That is at 1100 every day the huge organ comes to life and the ornately carved angels all around it become animated to the music. Amazing show. We had lunch and strolled in the old town, saw Lech Walesas home and offices and saw the Solidarity monuments which are truely moving. Gdansk was a surprise and a delight. It is very beautiful and by contrast to Russia the people seem to enjoy life more.<br />Our last stop was Oslo. This too is a beautuful city bit the ship gets in at 0700 and we have to be onboard by 1330. I don&#39;t think there is enough time to see this great city. There is a hop-on, hop-off bus right at the pier as well as a souvenir shop so its conviently laid out and you can exchange money there. We did see the famous Viking museum with three ships discovered and dated to circa 800AD. We did want to see the famous Vigeland sclupture park but found out too late that its about a mile walk form the bus stop in the park to the actual sculptures so we ran out of time for this. All in all Oslo is really neat but I think you need timings of say 0900-1800 to better see.<br />Any questions please ask. Thank for reading. Larry<br /><br />[<br />',1182803136,0,'Northern Europe','',1468,'jacketwatch',1,96,0,0,0,0,0,13607,0,NULL),(246,124,'6/11/07','Overall it was very good.','Hi guys: <br />Lets begin with a review of the ship, then the ports. First of all we chose to cab it from the airport in Copenhagen to pier one, where the Star was. Princess charges 40.00 pp or &#036;120.00 for the three of us. The cab was about &#036;55.00 so do the math. Easy choice. The embarkation process was pretty easy really. We got to the ship by around 1300 and were in our cabin by 1325 at the latest. Our luggage arrived in a timely manner as well. <br />I must say my previous experience with Princess was on the gorgeous sapphire Princess and the Tahatian. Both, especially the latter usually get higher marks. The Star is a very nice ship but it is a notch below the Sapphire and Tahatian to be sure, both in terms of service and food. Not to say its bad. Its not&#33; but the other two are better. <br />The ship overall is very clean and well appointed. I give high marks for hygiene. Hand sanitizers are everywhere along with employees to dispense B4 you go into any restaurant. In many cases there are employees in the buffet area to actually dispense the food for you. Bravo&#33; The lounges and public areas are neat and clean. We in particular liked the Skywalker lounge on the 17th deck aft. There was a great view of the wake and at night, being in the land of the midnight sun you could almost see day ending and night beginning. Also it was never crowded when we were there so you had that view pratically all to yourself.<br />The service was very good though I must say the Tahitian was better. I had one encounter with an unbelievably rude person from the casino staff and reported her. Princess assured me the matter would be addressed and I believe them They take this sort of issue very seriously. Our cabin attendant Jirasak from Thailand was a sheer delight. He always smiled and our cabin was spotless. Overall the service was very good, not great. <br />The food was very good too. I must say yet again I was spoiled by the Tahatian last yr. but that does not demean the Star in any way. Also I must give top praise to the Star for meeting our groups special requests. There were 5 in our group and three of them requested Indian food every night. The chef far exceeded our expectations. The food was expertly prepared and plentiful. In addition the Maitre de Franco made sure to facilitate this request. However unlike the Sapphire there were no anytime dining restaurants. You could go to the Horizon for buffet. We did use Sabatinis once and for those of you who are familiar with it its a treat to be sure, easily worth the &#036;20.00 pp surcharge. <br />The shows overall were very good as well. There was some fellow, Mac Frampton who played piano so well I could not believe it. Also they timed the shows very well. That is after the show finished other shows were scheduled to begin in the louges so it was pretty easy to go from one to another. <br />We were invited to the Capt. Circle party and found out Princess is building a new ship, the Ruby and its a sister ship of the new Emerald. In addition they purchased another ship form the defunct Renaissance line ala the Tahatian and are in process of fitting for service. <br />Disembarkation was breeze but for a good reason. we were the second group off the boat at 0530 (right on time as promised). We had an 0825 flight and I was a bit concerened about getting a cab that early but there was one right there at the pier and we got to the airport with plenty of time to spare. <br />Our first stop was Stockholm. except for St. Petersburg we did the town on our own so to speak. Prior to leaving we determined what we wanted to see in each port. In Stockholm it was the Vasa museum, Gamla Stan and the famous ice bar. well two out of three aint bad, at least according to Meat Loaf. LOL&#33; That is the ice bar, which is a bar set at around 30F and has glasses made of what else, ice did not open till 1550. Too late for us. we did go see the Vasa which is a ship bulit to be the pride of the Swedish navy that sunk minutes into maiden voyage in the harbor and stayed there until it was lifted up in the 1960&#39;s. Overall in was under water for 333 yrs&#33; It capsized due to a poor design. It was top heavy with too little ballast in the keel, sort of like Dolly Parton. LOL&#33; It took about 2 yrs. to actually raise her and though she is now on display it is not yet finished. They paln to repaint her to the original colors once research is completed to discover the paint scheme. The Vasa is truely a wonder to see not for its sea worthiness but for its splendour and for the amazing engineering it took to lift her off the sea bottom and the still in process restoration.<br />From the Vasa we strolled to a water ferry nearby and went to Gamla Stan, the old town. This is what I luv about Europe, i.e. old towns with winding cobblestone roads full of shops, side walk cafes and people. We meandered about and found an Indian fabric store. The sales lady was Indian and my wife and our Indian friends had a delightful time chatting with her. we also bought some souvenirs, had the best apple strudel in my life with good, rich European style coffee to accompany it then decided it was time to return to the ship. Cabs were easy to get, they all take CC&#39;s and in Stockholm English is readily spoken. <br />The next day we were in Helsinki. Unfortunately out time was limited due to the weather. It was quite chilly and rained all day. We did manage to see the church carved from granite, did some shopping at Stockmanns, the largest dept. store in Europe (prices are very high but its just that way everywhere in Europe) and did some limited shopping at the market in Town Square. We did get some fruit but the weather got the best of us so we headed back. Dollars are not accepted in the market so if you want to shop there you will have to exchange for Euros.<br />The next day was the highlight stop, St Petersburg, Russia. Oh my God&#33; What a place. we decided to book the grand tour. two full days, with Princess. Day one began early, at 0715. Well there was a Russian band on the pier and they began playing, of all things New York, New York. Kinda weird but thats what makes traveling so interesting. Later that day we were in a park. There was a band there too and when they saw us getting off the bus you won&#39;t believe what they played. It was &quot;Anchors away&quot; the US navy song. Go figure. <br />St. petersburg is simply amazing. we saw in those two days spledour beyond belief. Our stops included Peterhoff palace, the Yusupov Palace, St. Isaacs Cathedral, the Church of the spilled blood which was built around the spot where Czar Alexander was murdered, the unbelievable hermitage art museum, a canal ride and the Peter and Paul cathedral when Russian royality including the murdered last czar Nicholas II and his family, also murdered are interred. Its a very moving place to say the least. One thing you see it russia and throughout the Baltic are nesting dolls. You know, those wooden carved dolls, usually of a girl in her native costume that has several others, about 6 in all just like it inside but smaller of course. Well in St. Petes there were nesting dolls of Derek Jeter, Donovan McNabb and Rex Grossman just to name a few. Need I say more. For the two days we had a superb tour guide, Anna who was a virtual encyclopedia of Russian and St. Petes history. Amazing amt. of knowledge to be sure. Lunch was included each day. Day one was at the Academy. a Russian place and day two was at the Radisson. The food was good but in both cases we felt the service was rushed. Also people there seem sort of serious, if not grim. Not too many smiles but the sights are to be seen to be believed.<br />The next day we went to Tallinn. Its was a Sunday and we were in port from 0700 to 1300 so we had to be back by 1230. My criticism here is that this arrival is too early, esp. for a Sunday. It was a bit rainy too but not cold. If you get off here be aware that just beyond the gated area are cabs. They are not allowed in any further so you are set up to take the shittle into town. The shuttle is &#036;5.00 one way. That &#036;25.00 for 5. Cabbing it back was &#036;10.00 for 5. again, do the math. We found some local shops selling sweaters and linen goods and found them to be reasonalbly priced. Tallinn is a neat old town with lots of shops and restaurants. its just a shame the time in port was inappropriate to seeing it all. 0900-1500 wouold be much better<br />The next day we visited Gdansk. What a city&#33; Amzingly beautiful, clean and green. We met a great cab driver, Stanley who greeted us as soon as we got off the ship. For &#036;200.00 we had him for the whole day. he not only took us places but also got out with us for and escorted tour. we saw the resort town of Sopot, which is gorgeous and has the longest pier in europe which seem to extend way out into the sea. Along the way are vendors, food stand and street performers. We stopped at a rather famous church. the Oliva and saw the show. That is at 1100 every day the huge organ comes to life and the ornately carved angels all around it become animated to the music. Amazing show. We had lunch and strolled in the old town, saw Lech Walesas home and offices and saw the Solidarity monuments which are truely moving. Gdansk was a surprise and a delight. It is very beautiful and by contrast to Russia the people seem to enjoy life more.<br />Our last stop was Oslo. This too is a beautuful city bit the ship gets in at 0700 and we have to be onboard by 1330. I don&#39;t think there is enough time to see this great city. There is a hop-on, hop-off bus right at the pier as well as a souvenir shop so its conviently laid out and you can exchange money there. We did see the famous Viking museum with three ships discovered and dated to circa 800AD. We did want to see the famous Vigeland sclupture park but found out too late that its about a mile walk form the bus stop in the park to the actual sculptures so we ran out of time for this. All in all Oslo is really neat but I think you need timings of say 0900-1800 to better see.<br />Any questions please ask. Thank for reading. Larry<br /><br />[<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />',1182853418,0,'Northern Europe','',1468,'jacketwatch',1,55,0,0,0,0,0,13614,0,NULL),(247,29,'01-07-07','We loved the Pride and the Spirit Class ships.  Service and Accommodations were very nice.','Who:  Greg (44),  Kim (44),  Samantha (daughter,  21),  Kyle (son,  18),  Lindsay (son&#39;s girlfriend,  18 - first cruise)<br /><br />What:  Cruise on Carnival&#39;s Pride to the Mexican Riviera<br /><br />When:  January 7,  2007<br /><br /><br />We all had a wonderful time on The Pride while sailing to the Mexican Riviera.  We splurged on an aft wrap-around balcony suite and the &quot;kids&quot; had an inside cabin just down the hall and it was great.  Here is our trip...in a nutshell...<br /><br />Embarkation:  We only live about an hour and a half from Long Beach,  give or take a half hour,  so we knew that early check-in wasn&#39;t necessary.  We figured we would just get on the ship when we get on the ship.  We also knew we had VIP check-in because of our suite and,  even though we weren&#39;t sure how that worked, we just figured we would let the chips fall where they may.  We pulled up to the porter&#39;s location,  in Long Beach,  at 1:30 pm and unloaded the luggage onto the curb while Greg<br />parked our vehicle.  The crowd there was thinning out,  so it wasn&#39;t too bad.  Most everyone had checked in their luggage and had headed over to the line for check-in.<br />We waited for about 5 minutes and a porter came over and offered to put the luggage on one of his carts.  <br />  By the time Greg returned from parking (about 10 minutes),  we were ready to get in line for check-in ourselves.  We walked along the VERY long line waiting to get into the dome that used to house the Spruce Goose and is now Carnival&#39;s terminal.   Before we got to the end of the line,  a Carnival employee was holding up a sign and shouting out for any VIP&#39;s.  I approached him and he asked to see our documents.  He said,  &quot;Yes,  you are VIP,  follow me&quot;.  I have to admit we felt pretty special walking along that long line (which we never did see the end of) and going straight into another door that had no line.  It was pretty hot too and I was glad we didn&#39;t have to wait in the sun. The Carnival employee kept hold of the documents and took us straight to a counter where we showed our passports and did the usual check-in.   The ship was late getting in that day,  so we were told to go to another area and wait for our room keys.  We didn&#39;t wait long and soon an employee was calling our name and giving us our keys and off we went to have our embarkation picture taken and board the ship.  All in all,  it took about a half hour.<br /><br />Sail Away:  We got onto the ship and just LOVED the decor.  I like the rich color tones and the art throughout the ship is very tasteful.  The &quot;theme&quot; is Rennaisance Art.  <br />We were excited to see our suite,  so we went ahead and decided to check it out.  We figured if they were were still cleaning it,  we would find something else to do.  Our stateroom was at the end of the hall on Panorama deck,  8268.  It was beautiful.  Hardwood floor entry with a glass/mirror &quot;Bar&quot;,  a nice little living space with a TV and VCR and Refrigerator.  A dressing area with a granite counter top and make up lights,  a bathroom,  also with granite countertops and a jacuzzi tub.  A separate bedroom with a TV and then that HUGE wrap around balcony.  It exceeded our expectations.  <br />  We were hosting a little sail away party in our suite with some message board buddies from our roll call thread.  I got ready for that.  I put up a net with name tags on it and put out my battery operated candles.  We met Paul,  our steward,  and he was concerned about the &quot;candles&quot;.  I picked one up and said...&quot;they are battery operated&quot; and he laughed and said,  &quot;Very cool&quot;.   I knew better than to bring real candles onto the ship.  We are very concientious about safety.  Paul was very friendly and helpful throughout the week.  I mentioned wanting fresh ice in our ice bucket that first night and,  from that time on,  there was fresh ice in there twice a day...once for the regular cleaning visit during the day and once at turn down.  <br />  Soon after settling in and unpacking,  the muster drill was called.  We went to our station and it was so much quicker than the last time we cruised.  I guess everyone was co-operative and showed up on time,  because we were through with the drill in 10 minutes time.  We were back to our rooms by 4 pm and guests began arriving for the sail away party.  Paul had put our champagne on ice,  the canapes had arrived (&#036;28 for 4 dozen) and Greg began pouring the bubbly.  Eleven people were at the sail away altogether.  We all fit comfortably on the balcony and toasted as we sailed from Long Beach.  The dome got smaller and smaller as the sun set. Night fell and I was surprised that it wasn&#39;t so cold out there in the pacific ocean in January.  The sail away was so much better than our last cruise because,  last time,  they began sailing away during the muster drill and it was raining so bad we weren&#39;t on deck for it.  We thought it was a bit ironic that our previous cruise&#39;s sail away (out of Tampa, FLA) was rainy and gloomy in summer and this cruise&#39;s sail away was sunny and warm in January.  <br />  I loved spending some time with our cruise buddies and the party turned out great.<br /><br />That Night:  We went to dinner right after sail away because we had the &quot;Main Seating&quot; at 5:45 pm.  The last time we cruised we took the late seating,  so we decided to try the early this time.<br />My daughter and I were skeptical and even tried to change my husband&#39;s mind about the time,  but after a couple nights,  both her and I were convinced we liked the early seating better.  We just loved all the time we had afterward to &quot;play&quot;.  <br />  The Normandie Dining room is beautiful and I like the set-up with one large dining room on the ship. It is located aft on the ship.  The dining room is upstairs and downstairs,  with the upstairs open to look down upon the lower level.  It is all laid out very nice and there were beautiful hanging &quot;crystal-like&quot; light fixtures and sea life murals on the ceiling.  Our table was aft and there were large windows looking out onto the sea.  We did get a little vibration but it was only noteworthy on our last night coming back into long beach when the waters were a bit rougher.<br />  Our waitstaff was good.  I wouldn&#39;t say they were much beyond that.  We had a much better waitstaff on our last cruise,  The Inspiration. Perhaps that staff spoiled us and our expectations were higher.  The bar server was great and always remembered what we had been drinking...even the little special requests like extra olives.  Food was, once again,<br />fantastic.  The choices were many and I noticed,  this time,  they gave more alternative choices.  For instance,  the New York steak was available every night,  if you so desired.  Some of the menu items throughout the week:  Prime Rib,  Chicken Fettucini,  Filet Mignon,  Lobster,  Chateaubriand,  assortment of pasta dishes and many more.  Those were just entrees.  Appetizers included:  Shrimp Cocktail, escargot,  pumpkin soup (awesome),  assortment of cold soups like raspberry and marachino cherry and gizpacho,  navy bean soup and more.  You had a choice of ceasar salad or mixed greens.  Desserts were very yummy.  Those to take note of are the warm chocolate melting cake (my personal favorite),  the grand marnier soufle, the creme brulee and the cheesecake.  Our dining experience throughout the week was very pleasant and we always enjoyed the waiters&#39; dancing and singing...although on this night they did not.  I guess they get the first night off.<br />  After dinner we headed back to our room to enjoy the balcony with cocktails.  We hung out there for a bit and then headed to Karaoke at the Starry Night Lounge and found a table and met the KJ,  Emmie.  She was fun and we had a great time here.  We visited almost every night and Greg and Samantha auditioned for the  &quot;Carnival Legends&quot; show that was to be held at the end of week.  Auditions for Madonna (what Samantha wanted to try) were on Monday night and auditions for Garth Brooks (what Greg wanted to try) were on Tuesday.  I wanted to be in the show but I just don&#39;t fit into the other female artists they were offering (Gloria Estefan,  Aretha Franklin and Britney Spears).   We met alot of friends at karaoke and soon we were seeing them throughout the ship.  We noticed that Karaoke gets busy after the late dinner seating lets out.  If you are a karaoke fan,  then you might want to choose early dinner seating to get your karaoke table.  <br />  Kyle and Lindsay joined us later at Karaoke and Kyle was itching to try some slot machines.  He is 18 now and was not able to gamble on our last cruise.  Greg gave him 20 dollars and off he went.  He returned soon after and we thought he had lost it all.  However,  to our surprise,  he had hit a 100 dollar jackpot and a couple of small ones.  He came back to the table with 150 dollars.  Needless to say,  he was thrilled.  He paid Greg back and off he went with his winnings.<br />  After Karaoke was over,  Greg,  Sami and Myself headed to the casino and played some blackjack.  We broke even and called it a night as Sami,  Kyle and Lindsay stayed up to dance the night away at Beauties,  the night club. <br /><br />First Fun Day at Sea:  Woke up just before room service brought what would be our first breakfast.  I had used the order card the night before and set it out on the door.  If you choose what you want for breakfast and have it out on your door by 5am,  they will deliver your &quot;continental&quot; breakfast between the hours you choose.  Ours arrived on time every morning and only once was it wrong (it omitted our bagels one day).  Our usual fare was Coffee (for which they brought a pot),  Tea (they brought a pot of hot water and tea bags),  Citrus wedges,  Melon slices,  Bagels and cream cheese and a couple of danishes and/or croissants and orange juice.  Other choices were:  An assortment of cold cereals,  assortment of juices,  yogurt,  different breads and salmon.  They also included cups for the coffee and tea.  It was sooo enjoyable to have our breakfast on the balcony or in our room.  It was a hazy sunny morning and warmer than we thought it would be and we just took it all in.  We had no where to be so we took our time getting ready and the kids came and joined us for a bit on the balcony.  <br />After breakfast,   we were ready to leave the cabin...which was late morning.  Greg and I went exploring.  The kids were off doing their own thing and Greg and I checked out the lobby and David&#39;s Supper Club.  The funnel casts a warm pink glow into the lobby that is decorated in rich colors and large comfortable furniture.  Three glass elevators carry passengers up and down the open atrium.  Greg and I hopped on one and took a trip up to Deck 10,  where David&#39;s is located.  We made reservations for Thursday at 6:30 and then took the &quot;glass&quot; staircase down.  The staircase winds out over the open atrium.  The stairs are see-through and you can see down 9 decks.  It is a very eerie feeling walking on them.  It is fun to watch people walk there...they take &quot;easy&quot; steps,  as if they are going to fall.  Greg met up with Kyle and they went to formalities to rent their tuxedos for the week (&#036;85 for each).  I enjoyed hanging out around Florentines (Deck 2 aft) and I met back up with Greg and we headed to the casino.  <br />Greg and I played some blackjack and slots and Greg won a 100 dollar jackpot.  Unfortunately,  Kyle and Greg&#39;s Jackpot would be the only winnings from the casino the whole week.  Let&#39;s just say,  we spent some time and money there,  but we had fun.<br />We left the casino and did some more exploring and went back to the room.  We just loved the suite and spending time there.  We ordered room service for a late lunch.  Bacon,  lettuce and tomato sandwich which came with potato chips.  A chicken fajita wrap (which was great) and came with potato salad and two caesar salads and iced teas.  We enjoyed watching Cruise Director Jeff Brrrronson&#39;s welcome aboard talk on the TV and soon it was time to get ready for formal night.<br />At this point,  I want to mention the shower.  The water pressure and hot water were fantastic&#33;  Not once did the hot water run out and not once was the water pressure low.  They were very enjoyable showers and hubby took a jacuzzi bath and loved that too.<br />Sami came over and joined us so I could do her hair and soon we were all off to the Captains Formal Cocktail party.  We stopped off at the many picture stations along the way and we especially liked the setting with the grand piano.  These pictures ended up turning out great and I spent some money and several shots.  The photographer used a &quot;soft&quot; lense and it made the shots look really cool.  I don&#39;t have a scanner,  but I tried to take a picture of one of the photographs I bought of Sami,  so you can get the idea.  After running the picture gauntlet,  we enjoyed our dinner at Normandies.  Filet Mignon and Lobster Tail were the stars of the menu.  The lobster tail was large and the filet was very tasty.  The waiters don&#39;t blink if you ask for another.  My son wanted another Lobster tail and they were happy to oblige.<br />After dinner,  we headed back to our suite and changed back into more comfortable clothes.  The kids joined us and again we enjoyed spending some time out on the balcony.  Soon it was time to head to the Starry Night lounge to join Emmie for karaoke fun.  Sami put in her bid to be Madonna at the end of the week in the Legends show.  Emmie just fell in love with Sami and called her &quot;her favorite&quot;.  Sami is a very gregarious girl and always got the room going.  It wasn&#39;t long before we couldn&#39;t go anywhere without people knowing who Sami was.  Needless to say,  Sami got Madonna and Emmie gave her all the paperwork,  a personal MP3 player to learn the song (you must have it memorized for the show,  there is no monitor),  a special flashy pin to wear so people knew you were in the legends show and instructions for the Saturday rehearsal.  <br />A note to karaoke lovers:  Emmie let us know this was not her prime system.  The main one is broken and this system has no reverb or cannot change pitch.  If you can&#39;t sing the songs in the same key as the original artist,  then you may have some trouble.  The microphones give you &quot;no help&quot; smoothing out your voice,  so it was a pretty &quot;raw&quot; system.  Of course,  that didn&#39;t keep us from having fun,  but I just wanted any karaokers out there to know what to expect. <br />After Karaoke,  Greg,  Sami and I met back up with Kyle and Lindsay and we all went to the midnight show to see comedian &quot;Jerome&quot;.  We found him funny,  but be forewarned that the midnight show is rated R...and I would say a hard R at that.  I was not pleased to see some people took no heed to this rating and brought young children.  What are they thinking?  I wouldn&#39;t say Jerome had me laughing in the aisles,  but it was enjoyable...even though I think he went on a little bit too much on promoting his own CD.  <br />It was back to the casinos for a bit after the Jerome show let out.  We gambled a little as the kids headed to Beauties.  Then,  it was back to our cabin,  a refreshing rest on our balcony and then off to bed.<br />At this point,  I would like to make mention that the seas were not that rough and it was fairly warm out on our balcony...even at night.  I had heard the first day going down can be rough and chilly,  but this was not the case for us.  Also,  the bungee cord came in very handy in keeping the door open.  We only used it while we were awake though.  We opted to just shut the door at night.  We noticed with the humming of the engines,  you really could not hear the water anyway.  Perhaps this was only the case because we had a &quot;bedroom&quot; inside the suite.  In a regular balcony room,  your bed would probably be closer to the door and you could hear the water better.  <br /><br />Second Fun Day at Sea:  Woke up to our usual breakfast and our wonderful balcony.  This morning was a bit sunnier and warmer than the previous day.  Both were pleasant.  We took our time getting ready and really enjoyed our suite.  I have heard alot of people say they book inside cabins because,  &quot;you are hardly ever in your room&quot;.  I have to say that I think it would depend on the room you have booked to determine the amount of time you spend in it.  I think if I booked an inside cabin,  I would choose to &quot;hardly ever be in it&quot; also.  The kids had an inside cabin down the hall from us and they did not care for it.  They said it made them sleep later than they wanted because they had no sense of time in there.  Of course,  it didn&#39;t help that they had no clock,  but they said it gave them an awkward feeling of not knowing if it was day or night or if the ship was docked or anchored or not.  They had to have wake up calls to get them going in the mornings.  Our last cruise we had an ocean view cabin,  so this was different for them.<br />Sami took advantage of the spa and used the shower on this day and had an incident.  This was probably the only negative thing that happened on our cruise.  She went into the shower and saw an empty open locker.  She set her things in there just to use as a &quot;shelf&quot; while she was in the shower.   Luckily,  she did not set her Sail and Sign card or her money in there.  She only set her shirt and workout pants in the locker.  When she came out of the shower,  the locker was locked.  She went to the spa desk,  wrapped only in a towel,  and they told her that the locker had been rented out,  so someone must have locked her things in there.  She was perplexed because there was nothing else in the locker,  so the owner had to have seen her things and locked it purposely?  The spa staff was not that helpful and gave her a last name and that was it.  They didn&#39;t even try to help her and all she had on was a towel.  They told her she could go to the purser&#39;s desk and see if they could help her.  She told them,  &quot;I am in a towel&quot;.  They shrugged and just really didn&#39;t seem to care.  Our cabins were all the way to the aft of the ship and she was at the bow,  in the spa.  She had to choose if she should walk all the way back to her cabin in her towel or go to the purser&#39;s desk in her towel.  After weighing it,  she decided to go back to her cabin.  She had to walk all the way back in just a towel.  I think it is reprehensible that the spa staff didn&#39;t even offer her a bathrobe.  True,  she should not have put her things in a locker,  empty or not,   but I still think that they could have been more accomodating to her situation.  She never did visit the purser&#39;s desk.  She wrote off the shirt and sweat pants and just wanted to forget the whole incident.  I would like to believe that if she had gone to the purser&#39;s desk,  they would have been more helpful than the spa staff.  She didn&#39;t tell us any of this until dinnertime,  otherwise,  even though she is 21,  I think I might have stepped in and had a talk with the spa staff.  I think Sami didn&#39;t want me to and that is why she chose to not tell us until later.<br />Greg went off to the casino and I went to look at our pictures in the photo gallery (deck 3 midship) and I bought WAY too many.  Then I went to play some trivia hosted by assistant Cruise Director,  Karl with a K, at Florentines on deck 2.  Karl is from England and a very personable social host.  He and Jeff worked very well together and I enjoyed their morning shows on the closed circuit TV in the rooms.  Trivia was a choice of playing as a group or on your own.  Needless to say,  my one brain didn&#39;t match up to 6 in a group,  but I did pretty darn well.  It was fun,  nonetheless.  It was during Trivia,  around noon,  that we first saw dolphins.  We were passing Cabo San Lucas and they were jumping right outside our windows of Deck 2 at Florentines.  It was a beautiful sight and unfortunately,  I didn&#39;t have my camera to capture it.  <br />Greg and I met up to have lunch at the open seating in the dining room after trivia was over.  I enjoyed a build your own burger and he had the baby back ribs.  We had a very funny waiter.  I wish I could remember his name.  He had quite a sense of humor...switching plates around and teasing people.  <br />After lunch,  I went back to the room for a bit and enjoyed the balcony.  We were passing Cabo and I took some footage and pictures.  I was hoping to catch glimpses of more dolphins or maybe even a whale,  but I had no luck.  I met up with Greg and we went and played bingo in the Taj Mahal and then stayed and watched the Newlywed not so Newlywed game.<br />For the Newlywed game they picked the couple most recently married and then the couple who had been married the longest.  Then they would go to exactly the middle of that and try and find a couple who had been married that many years.  For our cruise...the most recent married was 2 days,  the most married was 54 years...so that made the middle couple at 27 years.  They found all three couples and what a hoot it was to watch.  The couple that had been married for 54 years were hilarious.  I laughed myself to tears.  So did Greg.  It was really really funny.  Jeff Bronson did a great job as the MC too.  Good stuff.<br />After the Newlywed game,  you guessed it,  we went back to our cabin,  hung out,  got ready for dinner and the kids joined us.<br />One of the main dinner selections on this night was prime rib.  The waiters did a mexican inspired dance...I assume since we were headed into Puerto Vallarta the next day.<br />After dinner,  it was cocktails back in our room and then off to Karaoke.  Greg put his bid in to be Garth Brooks in the Legends show and he got it.  He was issued the same packet that Sami got the night before.  Both he and Sami were proud to wear their flashing &quot;Legends&quot; pins.  They also had the Britney Spears auditions and we watched 4 Britneys perform and then chose the winner by applause.  By this time,  we had quite a few friends and we really enjoyed hanging out at the Starry Night.<br />After Karaoke,  it was up to the deck for the mexican buffet and deck party.  There were alot of people and we had a good time.  The food was good too&#33;  They would like you to wear your team colors,  so if you want to be in the spirit,  be sure you pack a red, white and blue shirt...so you are prepared for any team you might be on.  We were on the white team and I didn&#39;t come prepared with anything white to wear.  As I remember it...Red team were all the tables upstairs in the Dining room,  Blue team were all the odd numbered tables downstairs and the White team were all the even numbered tables downstairs.  The whole team thing is only for fun and the winning team at the end of the week just gets a big &quot;kudos&quot; from everyone.  The Blue team won on our cruise.<br />We took a &quot;spin&quot; around the deck after the party,  took a look over the rail on the lido deck down onto our balcony,  and then called it a night.<br />Note:  We realized our balcony is not seen that much from the lido deck.  Only if you come out to the rail can you be seen on our balcony.  Most of the aft balconies are that way as they graduate up the back of the ship in a stair-step manner.  I believe deck 4 is completely covered,  however.<br /><br />Puerto Vallarta:  I awoke very thirsty and I went out to the living room to get some water that I drank like a fish.  It was there,  since the curtains were open in that room,  that I saw a bustling city right outside my window.  I wasn&#39;t fully awake,  and it took me by surprise.  The ship backs into the port here and is docked very close to land...so the cars and buildings were a hop,  skip and a jump away from our aft location.  This was it...Puerto Vallarta.  Greg woke up shortly after and soon our breakfast had arrived.  We got dressed and went out on the balcony to check out the sight of the city.  To our ship&#39;s port side there were two more ships anchored in the distance.  We found out later one was HAL and one was Princess.  Their passengers were tendering in right below us,  between the aft of the Pride and the port.  We looked down and watched them a bit.  It was sure nice that we got the prime spot and didn&#39;t have to tender.  I had heard this is because The Pride sails all year to this port.  What a nice perk.<br />We had to meet at Los Veranos for a Canopy tour at 11:30 am.  Something to take note of is that on the first night you move your clocks ahead one hour,  but Puerto Vallarta is still one hour ahead of that.  When you reach PV,  make sure you realize that PV is one hour ahead of ship&#39;s time. <br /> It was nearing 9:00 am ships time,  which was 10:00 am PV time,  so we thought we should head out.  The white vans at the port charge 5 dollars US per person to get to the main part of town,  we walked to the sidewalk outside the port and got a city taxi for 3 dollars US pp.  Not a huge savings,  but with 5 of us,  that was 10 bucks saved.  We lucked out that our driver knew exactly where Los Veranos meets.  Apparently other people didn&#39;t have the same luck...we found out later.<br />The taxi ride was an adventure in itself.  We got to ride all through the main part of town,  along the Malecon (the famous beach walk) and to our destination,  the Los Veranos offices,  which sat at the foothills of the mountains.<br />We arrived at Los Veranos an hour ahead of our time.  I checked in and the agent told us we could sit and wait or go out exploring and come back.  We choose to check out the surroundings so off we went.  Be sure you have walking shoes.  Some of the walkways and most streets in this older area of town are cobblestone and very uneven.  Look down and watch where you walk.  Also the curbs can be very high,  so just be careful and consientious.  A fellow passenger hurt his back after misjudging one of the high curbs.  <br />We walked down into an older part of PV and looked around at the shops and passed quaint courtyards of apartments.  The sun was pretty hot and we were getting thirsty.  Yeah,  it was only 10:45 am,  but we were on vacation and it&#39;s 5&#39; O Clock somewhere,  right?  Where is the Cerveza&#33;?  We turned down a small street and found &quot;Steve&#39;s Sports Bar&quot;.  In we went and we met &quot;Steve&quot; himself...whose name was Gary.  haha.  Steve was long gone apparently and Gary,  a chatty canadian,  had taken over.  We had a great talk with Gary and he sure LOVED to talk.  It was great to pass the time with him and learn about the city a bit from someone who had lived there for quite awhile.  We only had one beer each because they knew they were going on the zip lines.  By the time we got back to the office and in the truck for the 45 min. ride and then going through the spiel,  that beer would be out of their system.  We said our goodbyes to Gary and thanked him for the hospitality and we headed back to the Los Veranos Offices.  <br />We got back just in time to be loaded into an open air truck for the ride along the coast and then on to the rain forest.  The ride was beautiful.  It showed off many gorgeous homes and beaches before we turned inland to the heavy vegetation of the rain forest.  We traveled along a river and the truck navigated a narrow dirt road at the end as we arrived at our destination.  I was just going along as an observer but Greg and the kids headed up further and got the pre-lesson and off they went.<br />Los Veranos has a complete Restaurant/Bar,  animal menagerie and river swimming at their location.  I sat at a beautiful table by the river and had some chips and salsa and some margaritas,  while they took their excursion. The servers were very attentive without being bothersome.  There are monkeys to see,  pythons,  tarantulas and birds.  They really have a nice set up.  <br />After Greg,  Sami,  Kyle and Lindsay were done with their zip line adventure (about 90 minutes),  they joined me and we all had lunch.  They raved about their experience and absolutely loved it.  They have a DVD and pictures available of your excursion for purchase.  I can&#39;t recall how much the pictures are..but the video was 40 dollars US.  I think that is a little steep,  but it is a nice log of your experience.  Upon seeing it,  they do a good job of editing it and putting it to some music.  They do it pretty fast as it was available in about 15 minutes.  I think you are probably paying for that service.  We enjoyed the meal (about the same cost as any mexican restaurant in the states).  The beer was a little cheaper.  It was &#036;2.50 for Corona,  but if you got 4 Coronas in a bucket it was only 8 dollars..so only &#036;2 for each Corona. <br />After eating,  Greg and Kyle went down the waterslide and took a dip in the river.  The sun was hot,  but the water was cold.  They enjoyed it though and came out refreshed.<br />It was time to head back to town.  Los Veranos has their shuttle leaving every 20 minutes after the hour and we had great timing as it was almost 3:20 pm.  We arrived back at their offices around 4:00 and got a cab back down to the Malecon.  We walked along the beach and enjoyed the statues for a bit and then grabbed a cab back to the port.  We wanted to visit the Walmart right across the street.  We were needing a few things.  We got a city cab to Walmart for 8 dollars US,  did our shopping,  and walked back to the ship.  It was just about sunset.<br />We knew we were in port until 10:00 pm and had every intention of going back out into PV for dinner.  That didn&#39;t happen.  We all ended up taking naps and then getting our showers later.  <br />Kyle,  Lindsay and Greg went to the buffet and Sami and I got a later start and decided to have dinner at the buffet also (our regular dinner time had passed for the dining room).  That is when I could not find my S &amp; S card.  Both Sami and I looked all over the room and could not find it.  Sami was so hungry,  she went to the buffet without me.  We got signals crossed as I thought she was going to Greg,  so I could see if he had my S &amp; S card.  I waited and waited for him to come back until I finally realized that Sami must not have gone to get him.  I went to find him and when I did,  he told me he locked my sail and sign card in the safe.  I have no idea why he did that.  He said he wasn&#39;t thinking.  So,  for about an hour and half of that night,  I wasted my time in the cabin looking for something I would never find.  We retrieved my card and then went off to karaoke.  <br />Toward the end of my time waiting in the cabin for Greg,  we sailed away from PV.  I guess my time wasn&#39;t a complete waste because I was out on the balcony and got to witness a couple of cool things.  First of all,  before we sailed away,  I got to watch the HAL ship leave.  It moved toward us then did a turn on a dime very slowly and headed the other direction.  It was pretty cool.  Shortly after,  we started up engines and began to leave.  One of the pilot boats rode very close along side of us and as he moved away,  the little boat sounded three horns...then the Pride &quot;answered&quot; her with three long horns that went up into a higher melodic tone.  It was very cool and the little boat then signaled a very short beep and took off.  It was as if the boats were talking to each other.  I don&#39;t know if they do this every time they leave PV (they didn&#39;t do it in the other ports),   but if you have the chance to be outside for this,  do it. <br />After Karaoke,  we all headed down to Butterflies to watch the showing of &quot;The Rocky Horror Picture Show&quot;.  If you can&#39;t remember all the things to yell at the screen,  brush up on that before you go.  I was racking my brain and,  even though the hostess of the movie was yelling out things,  there were other things that I couldn&#39;t remember.  It was the kids&#39; first time seeing the movie and I think they were a little perplexed since they were not getting the full interactive effect.  Be sure you don&#39;t bring young kids to this.  Not only is the movie an R,  but the things the hostess yells out over the microphone are a hard R.  I think the experience would be more fun if they offered up some props like newspapers,  rice,  squirt guns etc.  The capers billed it as &quot;interactive&quot;,  but the only thing that was interactive about it was if you could remember things to yell out...otherwise the hostess did all the talking.  Oh yeah,  we were all encouraged to get up and do the time warp at the appropriate time in the movie.  I guess it was interactive enough.  <br />After the movie,  I realized I hadn&#39;t had any dinner,  so I was pretty hungry.  The kids and I headed up to the pizza and hubby went off to the slots.  The pizza and caesar salad were very enjoyable.  I sure love that 24 hour pizzeria.  Afterward,  Sami,  Kyle and Lindsay went off to Beauties and I retired for the night only to find Greg already sound asleep back at the cabin.<br /><br />Note:  The dollar &#036; sign and peso &#036; sign are the same.  Don&#39;t panic if you see that a bucket of beer costs &#036;80.00.  Just think 10 percent of the price and voila...&#036;8.00.  To avoid confusion make sure you ask if the price you are looking at is in pesos or US dollars,  if you aren&#39;t completely sure.  You want to make sure that the iron sculpture you are about to buy is &#036;120.00 US and not &#036;1200.00 US.  Something like an art piece or iron sculpture can be a little less obvious on price than a bucket of beer.<br /><br /><br />Mazatlan Day:  Woke up in port at Mazatlan to an overcast day.  It was still warm,  just not any sun.  The Port at Mazatlan is very industrial,  so if you want to see anything other than that,  book an excursion or,  at least,  take a taxi into the main part of town.  We did the latter because we had no excursion booked.  <br />After breakfast (in our suite,  once again),  we met up with the kids and off we went.  You get on a tram from the ship to take you to the main port area where they have several kiosks to purchase things and even an area to make international calls or go on the internet.  We walked passed all that to a van and went into town for 5 dollars US pp.  We loved our driver and he was quick to share alot about Mazatlan.  He had been doing this for 23 years,  so he was very experienced,  needless to say.  While on our way we stopped at a light and right in the intersection a guy was juggling fire sticks.  We are from LA and laughed at how exciting it would be if you could watch that while in traffic every day.  haha.  Our driver recommended a few places to eat and he set us on our way in the heart of shopping and restaurants.<br />We walked along the street,  looking at all the wares and watched an older gentleman carve wood sculptures.  Sami speaks a little spanish and she was able to find out that he had been doing it for 50 years.  She bought a wooden turtle from him and it was only 5 dollars US.  <br />We headed toward other shops and then to a mercado area just outside &quot;Panchos&quot; restaurant (one that the driver recommended).  There were several jewelry stores and leather stores.  I ended up getting a silver ring with fire opals and Lindsay got a beautiful silver sun pendant.  We put our names in at &quot;Panchos&quot; and got a table on the beach.  <br />The food was fabulous&#33;  Our driver was absolutely correct&#33;  We really enjoyed the meal.  Greg and Kyle got this amazing fish platter that had everything from lobster to shrimp,  from frog legs to octopus to perch.  Unfortunately,  I didn&#39;t think to take a picture of it until after it was half eaten.<br />After a very enjoyable lunch and quite a few pacificos,  we took a little walk on the beach just right there where the restaurant was.  I bought a sarapi that was hand sewn from a woman on the beach.  Well,  the sarapi wasn&#39;t hand sewn,  but you could see the sequins had been.  We took a few pictures and then went back to the street area to see if we could find a van to take us back to the port.  Lo and behold,  there was our driver...so we hopped in his van.<br />Kyle had been battling a cancor sore so we asked the driver if he could recommend something.  He was so nice and took us right to a &quot;Farmacia&quot;.  Greg and Kyle ran in and came out with some stuff called &quot;Kanka&quot;.  It seemed to do the trick.  Samantha asked the driver about musical instruments.  She has been looking for a new ukelele.  The driver then took us to an instrument shop in town but they had no ukeleles.  It just isn&#39;t a native spanish type instrument.  It was great getting the little detours of the city though and we were really enjoying his company.<br />When we got back to port we compensated the driver with more money because of his extra stops and also the fact he was just a great guy.  We went through the stores at the port,  watched some interesting painters that used flames to dry their works and then headed back onto the ship.  We know we did not see much of Mazatlan...especially the beautiful beaches we had been told about,  but maybe another time.  It was an overcast day anyway (although the sun peeked out briefly while we ate lunch at &quot;Panchos&quot;),  so we just hadn&#39;t been in a &quot;beachy&quot; mood.<br />When we got back to the ship we laid down for a bit and then had to get ready for our 6:30 pm reservation at David&#39;s Supper Club.  By the way,  when you book a reservation at David&#39;s,  they send you a nice confirmation/invitation card.  Nice little souvenir,  if you are into that sort of thing.<br />Before getting ready for dinner, we enjoyed the sail away on our balcony. The port at Mazatlan is between an island and the mainland. The ship must pass between two jutties to get out of the port. It was enjoyable to watch how it was done since we had been curious after we noticed the narrow, shallow channel in which we docked that morning.<br />The kids were going to eat at dinner time in the dining room and then they wanted to come back to our suite and enjoy the balcony.  I left them my sign and sail card so they could get into the room and off Greg and I went to David&#39;s.<br />David&#39;s is very elegant and on this night the dresscode was &quot;Smart Elegant&quot;.  A jacket was not required,  but Greg wished he had worn one.  There were other gentlemen that were not wearing a jacket,  but Greg just felt he should have.  <br />This must not be a very busy night for David&#39;s,  as there were not alot of people and one whole section was closed  and not even used.  Greg and I had a table upstairs right next to the rail.  It was nice to look down on the piano player and singer.  They were very enjoyable (two of a kind).  They played light dinner/dance music that never impeded on conversation.  <br />I can&#39;t say enough about the food and presentation at David&#39;s.  Everything was soooo elegantly presented and the flavors were fantastic.  The filet mignon was tender and tasty,  I loved the pumpkin ravioli,  the lobster was sweet and moist..an asparagus mousse in the most flakiest crust I have ever tasted was deeelish.  It was all so great.  Then....the desserts came&#33;  Oh boy,  amazing.  You really have to try David&#39;s at least once.  It is nice long leisurly dinner in beautiful surroundings with outstanding food.  The &#036;30 pp charge is WELL worth it.  You could never find a meal or an experience like this,  for 30 dollars,  anywhere here at home.<br />After our great dining experience we went back to the room and found the kids enjoying a talk on the balcony.  They said they had a great meal and had been enjoying the room.  <br />Greg and I decided to head down to Karaoke and,  on our way,  we bumped into Alma and Mike and they had two tickets to a Catamaran excursion the next morning in Cabo that they had decided to not use.  We didn&#39;t know if we would use them because there were five of us,  but we told them that we could probably find someone who could.  We asked how much the tickets were and they generously said they were not charging for them.  Greg and I graciously took the tickets. <br />We enjoyed another night of singing and visiting with friends and voting on the &quot;Frank Sinatra&quot; for the legends show.  We ended up giving the tickets to the person who got Frank Sinatra.  We had met him earlier in the week and had hung out with him a few times and he was a great guy that was cruising with his mother..a real firecracker that was staying up all night long.  He took her on the cruise to get her mind off of the recent passing of her husband..for which she would have been married to for 50 years the next day.  We thought what a great way to turn her attention somewhere else on what would have been their anniversary.  We closed out karaoke and met up with the kids again and decided to head to the casino.   We sat at a table and played blackjack.  My son is just learning and he really loved it.  It was great,  just the 5 of us all playing together.  We walked away up some money and Greg went to play some slots while the kids and I went to get pizza.  <br />After Pizza,  the kids headed to Beauties and I decided to check it out too.  I stayed upstairs in the club..looking down on the dance floor.  I spent time talking with the &quot;Frank Sinatra&quot; and his mom and I enjoyed watching the kids dance.  I think I stayed there for about 45 minutes and then decided to call it a night.  I got back to the cabin and fell into bed and I didn&#39;t even hear Greg come in.<br /><br />Cabo San Lucas Day:  We woke up to a bright,  sunny and warm day.  This was going to be a scorcher and we dressed accordingly.  We had breakfast on the balcony and enjoyed the view of the Rocks where the arch is.  We were port side on the ship,  so if you want this view while anchored in Cabo,  take note.  <br />The kids joined us and off we went to the tenders.  Cabo is a tender port and it was a pleasant and short ride into the marina.  After arriving it is quite a long walk out of the port area into the town.  You walk a gauntlet of vendors and restaurants.  If we hadn&#39;t been so set on getting to Cabo Wabo for lunch,  we probably would have just stopped and enjoyed one of the many restaurants right there at the Marina.  <br />After a long walk,  we got to the main road of the town and it wasn&#39;t too far to walk to Cabo Wabo (you take a left as you come out of the Marina area).  <br />We arrived at Cabo Wabo and enjoyed a look around.  In front of the Cantina are vendors and other places to eat,  so be sure you walk through that to get into the Cantina.  We had a look around Cabo Wabo and put our names in for the restaurant,  then went to the bar for some famous Waboritas.  There was a huge concert area and then an outdoor area of the bar that had a live band playing.  We chose to sit there and listen and order our drinks.  Fair warning on a couple of things:  First,  prices at Cabo Wabo are the same,  if not a bit more,  than you would spend at a similar place in the US...except in the US most places will give you chips and salsa for free.  They charge &#036;3 US for chips and Salsa in the bar and...get this...&#036;10 US for chips and salsa in the Restaurant.  Even our waiter seemed embarrassed by that,  as he gave us the warning because he knew we had just come from the bar.  Second,  a Waborita packs a powerful punch...especially the ones on the rocks or straight up.  For a little less of a punch order the frozen kind.  <br />After enjoying our drinks and listening to the band,  we checked on our reservation at the restaurant and it was time for us to head back up there.  We got a nice table overlooking the little mercado set up in front the Cantina and had a very nice lunch.  The coconut shrimp is the best I have ever had.  All the food was very good,  but again,  it is not a bargain...just to let you know.  <br />We spent some time shopping in the little area below and then headed back to the tender because we knew we had a long walk and we wanted to get back to the ship because it was the second formal night and we had first seating for dinner.  <br />I bought a bottle of Cabo Wabo Tequila near the tenders (they have kiosk set up and it is cheaper here than at the actual Cantina) and off we were to get in line for the tenders.  The line went fast and before we knew it,  we were back on the ship getting ready for formal night.<br />After relaxing a bit on our balcony and enjoying the sail away (we saw some dolphins),  we got ready for dinner.  We had a nice time at dinner that night and Kyle got chosen to participate in the waiters dance.  The waiters came and put a wig and hat on him and he did a great job following along.  We all had a good laugh.<br />We decided to stay all dressed up instead of changing after dinner because we thought it would be nice to enjoy that.  We went to the 8:30 show of &quot;Vrooom&quot; in the Taj Mahal.  The show was okay.  It was entertaining and I was impressed with the singers and how well they could dance and still bring a powerful voice to their vocals.  I am a singer,  so I can really relate to breath control and appreciate how one can move and still sing so well.  I was especially impressed by Janae Longo,  the female singer in the show.  The overall show itself was mediocre.  It was not as good as some Disney shows I have seen at Disneyland.  There were good dancers,  but not all were good.  So I guess I am trying to say,  it was spotty,  but I was still entertained...if that makes sense.<br />After the show,  we headed to karaoke and had another great night with all the friends we had met there.  I have to say that I enjoyed seeing Greg do the electric slide in a tuxedo.  Not something you see everyday.  hehe.<br />When Karaoke was done,  it was off to the Casino.  We played a little blackjack then headed to the slots.  Kyle and Lindsay went to the midnight buffet and took some pictures and came back and said they wanted to return there and eat.  Sami,  Kyle,  Lindsay and I decided to head on over for a midnight snack.  Of course,  it was beautiful.  They were paying homage to a ship from one of Carnival&#39;s older fleets,  the Festivale.  In fact,  the buffet was called &quot;The Fesitvale Grand Gala Buffet&quot;.  There were watermelon ships,  Ice Dragons,  Cheese sculptures and so many other artful culinary delights.  All very beautiful.  We made our choices and sat down and enjoyed our food.  <br />After the buffet,  the kids headed for beauties and I turned in for the night.  A swan-heart towel animal awaited me.  <br /><br />Final Fun Day at Sea:  I was awakened around 4 am to some very active motion of the ship.  Just as I expected,  we were getting into rougher seas as we approached Long Beach.  I got up and went to the restroom and didn&#39;t have much trouble getting back to sleep.  Both Greg and I awoke later that morning and enjoyed lying in bed with the curtains open and talking about our final day of the cruise.  It was sunny,  but clouds loomed as the ship rocked,  but it wasn&#39;t really bad.  Took a look at the caper from the night before and was pleasantly surprised to see Greg and Sami&#39;s names listed for the &quot;Legends&quot; show that night.  Be sure you look at your caper if anyone you know is participating in the show.  It is a nice touch that Carnival makes the guest performers feel so special.   Greg and I enjoyed some time on the balcony and then both of us got ready for the day.<br />Greg and Sami had a rehearsal at 11:30 am for the legends show and Lindsay and Kyle had been up late dancing the night away,  so I decided to explore the ship.  <br />I checked out the Sunset Garden area on Deck 3 forward.  What a beautiful getaway.  It was all set up like a garden and the huge portholes were framed in gold.  The Sunset Garden is on both sides of the ship and as you come out of it on the port side,  you are at the internet cafe.  Just beyond the internet cafe is the beautiful chapel.  I enjoyed sitting down at different spots that I would discover.  They really utilize every part of the ship.<br />I met back up with Sami and Greg after their Legends rehearsal and we all went to the Mermaid Grille for lunch.  Can you believe it?  This was my first time eating at the buffet and it was the last day.  I had some fried chicken,  mashed potatoes (yum) and some veggies.  We sat and talked at a window table and they told me all about the rehearsal.<br />Both of them got a dancer assigned to them as an escort.  This person would answer all questions for them and also make sure they &quot;hit their mark&quot; when going out onto the stage.  There is an orchestra pit and they want to be sure that the guest won&#39;t get hurt.  As we were feeling rougher seas,  I thought that was a good idea.  They were also told to not move around much on stage,  but to stay in one place.  Sami asked her dancer if she could roll on the floor (Like Madonna did in the video) and he told her,  &quot;yes&quot;,  he would work with her on that when she arrived before the show that night.  They said it was alot of fun at the rehearsal and meeting all the dancers and singers was very cool.  They also got fitted for their costumes and both of them really liked what they got to wear.  Sami wasn&#39;t too sure about the wig,  as she didn&#39;t feel it looked like Madonna,  but she was happy she didn&#39;t have to do her hair in any particular way.  As we were finishing up eating,  Sami and Greg saw &quot;their&quot; dancers (escorts) eating nearby and they said hi.  It was kinda cool as they had just told me about them and I got to see them.<br />After our late lunch,  we hit the casino and had a little fun and then went back to our room to hang out a bit,  taking full advantage of the balcony,  before it was time to get ready for dinner. I watched the Debarkation talk on the TV (I knew most of it,  but you always want to see if anything has changed) and then I did some packing.  We took advantage of the 15 dollar a bag laundry special the day before,  so it was nice to pack some freshly laundered clothes...less laundry to do when I get home.  YAY.    The kids came to our cabin a bit later and joined us and we all went to dinner together.  <br />It is always so sad on the last night of a cruise,  but we made the most of it and had a nice time.  The waiters did the traditional &quot;leaving on a fun ship&quot; song and it was melancholy.  I HATE this part of a cruise,  but all good things must come to an end...so you can get exicted for your next cruise&#33;   I made sure to have the warm chocolate melting cake for dessert,   since it was the last time I could.  Good stuff.<br />After dinner,  We went back to the room to finish packing so we could put our suitcases out before we headed to the Legends show at 9:30 pm.  The show wasn&#39;t until 10:30 pm,  but I had heard if you want a good seat to go early.  I figured if we got the suitcases out before then,  we wouldn&#39;t have to rush back to our cabins later. I noticed the movement of the ship getting a bit rougher and rougher.  I took some dramamine &quot;just in case&quot;.  I wasn&#39;t experiencing anything bad,  but just thought I would make sure I didn&#39;t get sick.   Sami joined us later and said she wasn&#39;t feeling too well so I gave her some dramamine also.  It seemed to help.  I didn&#39;t hear her mention it again.  I did Sami&#39;s make-up for the show.  I had a great time really painting her up.  haha.  <br />Greg and Sami had to meet Emmie (the KJ),  and all the other Legends performers down at Starry Nights at 9:20 pm.  I walked down with them and then left to go to the Taj Mahal to get a good seat.  I got a front row center seat with the husband of another performer in the legends show.  We had made friends with them during the week. Lindsay and Kyle joined us soon thereafter.  We played bingo,  got some scratch offs and even bought some chances at a free cruise.  We didn&#39;t win anything,  but we had fun playing.  <br />Before we knew it,  it was showtime.  We really enjoyed the show.  It was campy and kitschy,  but what fun.  It was alot of fun to see all the performers we had seen singing karaoke throughout the week.  We had become friends with some,  so it was especially cool.  The audience seemed to really have a great time too.   Emmie and Karl with a K did Sonny and Cher and what a hoot.  Karl came out on his knees with shoes on them,  so he was alot shorter than Emmie.  I have to say,  he did a great job imitating Sonny.  Jeff Bronson,  the CD,  did a hilarious take off of Dolly Parton as the dancers chased him around the stage.  It was a very fun and entertaining show and Greg and Sami got a great response from the audience.  After the show,  they invite the audience outside the Taj Mahal to meet the dancers and legends performers.  Greg and Sami got to get instant feedback and feel &quot;famous&quot; for the night.  All the dancers,  singers and guest performers gather for a group picture and the guest Legends performers get a voucher for a free DVD of the show and an 8x10 group photo,  to be picked up the next day.  It is a great souvenir&#33;  We really enjoyed watching the DVD and the photo is a nice keepsake to remind them of their &quot;Legends&quot; adventure.  <br />After the Legends reception,  Greg and Sami were taken backstage by their escort dancer to get out of their costumes.  We met up with them afterward and thought we would go to the piano bar.  The piano bar was winding down,  so we headed to the casino once again.  We met up with some friends we had made and played some blackjack for a bit.  After some blackjack,  we said goodnight to our friends and then played some slots.  I was sitting at a slot machine barely able to keep my eyes open.  I was actually getting mad at myself because I really wanted to make the most of our last night and stay up as late as possible.  I just couldn&#39;t keep my eyes open and I told Greg I had to go to bed.  <br />When I got back to the cabin I went out on the balcony to take a final night look at the beautiful wake that trailed behind us.  It seemed to glow from the lights of the ship and the moon.  I then went inside and got ready for bed.  I fell into bed and the ship gently rocked me to sleep.<br /><br />Debarkation and Final Thoughts:  Woke up and got ready.  We said goodbye to our suite and balcony and then met the kids and went to the dining room for breakfast.  We looked for Paul,  our steward,  outside our stateroom and found him so we could give him an extra tip.  He made a point to tell me that the pictures I drew for him on the dry erase board,  along with the little messages,  made him smile and he thanked me for that.  That really made me feel good.  I guess I forgot to mention it in my other installments that I would draw little pictures for Paul with &quot;Have a good day&quot; type messages,  on the dry erase board we kept in our suite.  Anyway...It was open seating in the dining room and we enjoyed a nice breakfast as we filled out our comment cards.  <br />After breakfast,  we dropped the comment cards in the recepticle outside the dining room and heard the call for self-debarkation.  We had just sat down at Florentine&#39;s on deck 2,  when general debarkation was called.  Being VIP,  we were the first group called.  We headed to deck 3 midship,  only to find the line wasn&#39;t moving at all.  We looked through the windows at the bridge heading into the terminal and that line wasn&#39;t moving either.  We decided to leave the line,  head up to the Mermaid Grille,  get some coffee and tea,  and wait for the last call of our group.  We did just that.  <br />The kids were exhausted from their late night at Beauties,  so they were laying on each other and taking a cat nap,  when there was a last call for our group.  We hustled up our things and headed back to midship.  The line was finally moving and off we went.  We headed into the terminal and through customs.  We had a little glitch at customs because Lindsay didn&#39;t fill out her own customs claim form.  She thought since she was with us,  she didn&#39;t have to.  We didn&#39;t know either,  so I didn&#39;t think to say anything to her.  If you have a different last name,  you must fill out your own claim form.  She had to get one from another agent,  fill it out,  and then meet us downstairs.  They didn&#39;t make her wait in the line again,  so it wasn&#39;t long and she met back up with us.  We were back at our Tundra and on our way home by 10:30 am.  <br /><br />Final Thoughts:  What a great time we had.  Our first cruise experience was very different and it is hard to choose which we liked better.  Suffice it to say,  we loved  them both.  They both had their strong and weak points.  We actually can&#39;t pick one over the other and I think that is a good thing.  It means that we LOVE cruising&#33; <br /><br />The Ship:  The Pride is beautiful and we absolutely loved our aft corner suite.  We did not find the art throughout the ship tasteless or overdone.  The decor was rich dark tones and there was just the right amount of whimsy where it should have been. <br />The Service:  It was good,  although,  as I mentioned,  we didn&#39;t feel the dining room service was as good as it was on the Inspiration a few years ago. Also,  we were not impressed with the spa staff because of what happened to Sami.  Service at the Supper Club was great.  Our Steward was great. <br />The Ports:  They were okay.  Cabo was our favorite.  I think we like the ports in the Caribbean a bit better,  but having to take a flight to take a Caribbean cruise kinda makes it even.<br />Food:  It was very good.  I would have to say it was on par with our first experience,  maybe slightly better.  David&#39;s Supper Club was fantastic&#33;<br />Caribbean vs. Mexican Riviera:  We thought that the Caribbean would win by far...before we took this cruise.  However,  we have to say that it only just edges out the Mex. Riviera,  in our opinion.  We were very surprised at how blue the water is..no,  not caribbean blue,  but a very pretty deep blue...especially in Cabo.  PV is just as exotic as the Caribbean ports we visited.  The weather was fantastic in January and we only experienced rougher seas and cooler temperatures on the last day...and it wasn&#39;t that bad.  We saw dolphins,  which was very cool and something we didn&#39;t see in the Caribbean.  Also,  you have the opportunity to go whale watching,  depending on the time of year you book.  We will definitely do the Mexican Riviera again..in fact,  we already have it booked for October.  Different ports.<br />Cruise Director:  Jeff Brrrrronson was very good and funny.  He was a good communicator and witty without being over the top.  He did a great job with having a lot of things planned.  Never a dull moment.<br />Other Social Hosts:  We really enjoyed Emmie,  the Karaoke Jockey and Karl with a K.  Both were personable and friendly.<br /><br />Tips<br /><br />We took &#036;1000 in cash,  which worked out perfect for 5 of us.  We had it broken down into 100&#39;s,  50&#39;s and then mostly 20&#39;s and 10&#39;s and 5&#39;s...we had &#036;50 of it in singles.  The small bills came in very handy in ports for taxi&#39;s,  tips and trinkets.  The one dollar bills also were great for tipping room service.  We used the larger bills for gambling and only had to visit the purser&#39;s desk once to change out 100 bucks.  We opted out of using traveler&#39;s checks this time.  Last time,  we were constantly going to the purser&#39;s desk to cash them out because alot of places in ports didn&#39;t take them.  It was just easier to use cash...however,  yes,  that comes with a risk.  We were very careful not to misplace the cash and always kept it where we knew it would be,  so there was no confusion.  It was always kept in our safe,  unless we were using it.<br /><br />Bungee Cord:  Yes,  it came in very handy for that balcony door.  We never kept the door open at night,  but it was sure handy to have it open when we were going in and out during the day. <br /><br />Power Strip:  A must-have if you have camera chargers,  phone chargers  (yes you can get service in some of the ports),  curling irons and blow dryers.<br /><br />Dry Erase Message Board:  We had one on our first cruise and put it on our door.  We loved it.  However,  even though the doors on the Pride were metal,  they must have a coating that doesn&#39;t allow magnets to hold very well.  At least,  not hold heavy things.  I did use the board inside the room to leave messages for Paul.  He left some message back too.  We did put up a little sign decoration on our door and the kids&#39; door.  As long as the magnets didn&#39;t have to hold anything heavy,  they worked.<br /><br />Towels and Robes:  We purchased two beach towels and Paul gave us a towel animal book free. I don&#39;t know if this was just his doing or if it was policy.  Also,  something to know about robes.  The robes in the suites are different from the robes in the other cabins.  They are bit more well made and &quot;luxurious&quot;.  My hubby wanted to purchase one.  He had no idea the suite robes were different from the others..as we didn&#39;t remember from our first cruise.  Although,  there was a night when he mentioned that he thought they changed the robes.  Anyway,  we left the order for the towels and robe for Paul to pick up.  The next time Paul saw me,  he told me about the Robes being different.  The &#036;39.00 robe is not the same robe in the suites.  The Suite robe cost &#036;64.00.  He asked what we would like to do.  Well,  I went ahead and told him to order the &#036;64.00 one because that is the one Greg had been using all week..and therefore,  the one he wanted.  Soo....I would imagine that even if you don&#39;t have a suite,  you can ask your steward about the &quot;suite&quot; robe and ask to purchase that one,  if you like.  I did check out the kids&#39; robes...and sure enough,  there was a difference.<br /><br />Early Dinner vs. Late Dinner:  We had late dinner with our first cruise and early seating this time.  We are night owls and we just thought that late dinner was the way to go.  I have to say,  I really really liked the early seating better.  I liked having alot of time after dinner.  I think you have been able to get an idea of the type of people we are by reading the review,  so if you think you are similar to us,  then give the early seating a try.  I know it isn&#39;t for everyone,  but we loved it.  The only time we wished we had a bit more time to get ready for dinner was the second formal night after being in Cabo.<br /><br />In Room Mini-Bar/Refrigerator:  If you ask your steward,  he will move the stuff out for you..or tell you where you can put the stuff,  so it can be put back on the last night.  It seems the fridge isn&#39;t that cold at first,  but actually it gets things very cold.<br /><br />Backpacks:  It is very handy to have a backpack for the ports. We just had one for all of us. You can take turns carrying it around.  It is nice to have for passports,  money,  towels,  purchases..etc.<br /><br />Passport Stamps:  They do not stamp your passport at the ports,  but if you would like your passport stamped upon returning when you debark,  just ask.  They won&#39;t do it automatically,   but were happy to oblige when we asked.  The stamps do not say where you have been,  but have &quot;Department of Homeland Security&quot;  and the date on them.<br /><br />iPod:  We really enjoyed the iPod with the little speaker dock we have for it.  I made a great cruise playlist and it was fun to listen to music during various times in our Cabin.  It was especially nice to have for the sail away party we had in our suite.  <br /><br />Room Bar Service:  Want cocktails brought to your room?  They will be happy to bring you cocktails right to your stateroom.  This service is not 24 hours,  like regular room service,  but it is offered until 3 am.  They charge the same as if you ordered anywhere on the ship and you sign for it when it arrives.<br /><br />All in all...we had a wonderful time.  The Pride has reason to be proud.<br /><br /><a href=\"http://community.webshots.com/user/NeptunesGoddess\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Pictures</b></a><br /><br /><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERTNqt3m_p8&amp;feature=PlayList&amp;p=18B9EAFB415D6076&amp;index=0&amp;playnext=1\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Mini-Movies</b></a><br /><br />Well,  that&#39;s it&#33;  If you have any questions,  feel free to ask.  You can also email me at KimmyKay62###### <br />I hope the review was enjoyable and helpful.',1183365073,0,'Mexican Riviera','[-review]PrideShipCabo.jpg',3454,'KimmyKat',1,143,0,0,0,0,0,13698,0,NULL),(248,29,'01-07-07','We loved the Pride and the Spirit Class ships.  Service and Accommodations were very nice.','Who:  Greg (44),  Kim (44),  Samantha (daughter,  21),  Kyle (son,  18),  Lindsay (son&#39;s girlfriend,  18 - first cruise)<br /><br />What:  Cruise on Carnival&#39;s Pride to the Mexican Riviera<br /><br />When:  January 7,  2007<br /><br />We all had a wonderful time on The Pride while sailing to the Mexican Riviera.  We splurged on an aft wrap-around balcony suite and the &quot;kids&quot; had an inside cabin just down the hall and it was great.  Here is our trip...in a nutshell...<br /><br />Embarkation:  We only live about an hour and a half from Long Beach,  give or take a half hour,  so we knew that early check-in wasn&#39;t necessary.  We figured we would just get on the ship when we get on the ship.  We also knew we had VIP check-in because of our suite and,  even though we weren&#39;t sure how that worked, we just figured we would let the chips fall where they may.  We pulled up to the porter&#39;s location,  in Long Beach,  at 1:30 pm and unloaded the luggage onto the curb while Greg<br />parked our vehicle.  The crowd there was thinning out,  so it wasn&#39;t too bad.  Most everyone had checked in their luggage and had headed over to the line for check-in.<br />We waited for about 5 minutes and a porter came over and offered to put the luggage on one of his carts.  <br />  By the time Greg returned from parking (about 10 minutes),  we were ready to get in line for check-in ourselves.  We walked along the VERY long line waiting to get into the dome that used to house the Spruce Goose and is now Carnival&#39;s terminal.   Before we got to the end of the line,  a Carnival employee was holding up a sign and shouting out for any VIP&#39;s.  I approached him and he asked to see our documents.  He said,  &quot;Yes,  you are VIP,  follow me&quot;.  I have to admit we felt pretty special walking along that long line (which we never did see the end of) and going straight into another door that had no line.  It was pretty hot too and I was glad we didn&#39;t have to wait in the sun. The Carnival employee kept hold of the documents and took us straight to a counter where we showed our passports and did the usual check-in.   The ship was late getting in that day,  so we were told to go to another area and wait for our room keys.  We didn&#39;t wait long and soon an employee was calling our name and giving us our keys and off we went to have our embarkation picture taken and board the ship.  All in all,  it took about a half hour.<br /><br />Sail Away:  We got onto the ship and just LOVED the decor.  I like the rich color tones and the art throughout the ship is very tasteful.  The &quot;theme&quot; is Rennaisance Art.  <br />We were excited to see our suite,  so we went ahead and decided to check it out.  We figured if they were were still cleaning it,  we would find something else to do.  Our stateroom was at the end of the hall on Panorama deck,  8268.  It was beautiful.  Hardwood floor entry with a glass/mirror &quot;Bar&quot;,  a nice little living space with a TV and VCR and Refrigerator.  A dressing area with a granite counter top and make up lights,  a bathroom,  also with granite countertops and a jacuzzi tub.  A separate bedroom with a TV and then that HUGE wrap around balcony.  It exceeded our expectations.  <br />  We were hosting a little sail away party in our suite with some message board buddies from our roll call thread.  I got ready for that.  I put up a net with name tags on it and put out my battery operated candles.  We met Paul,  our steward,  and he was concerned about the &quot;candles&quot;.  I picked one up and said...&quot;they are battery operated&quot; and he laughed and said,  &quot;Very cool&quot;.   I knew better than to bring real candles onto the ship.  We are very concientious about safety.  Paul was very friendly and helpful throughout the week.  I mentioned wanting fresh ice in our ice bucket that first night and,  from that time on,  there was fresh ice in there twice a day...once for the regular cleaning visit during the day and once at turn down.  <br />  Soon after settling in and unpacking,  the muster drill was called.  We went to our station and it was so much quicker than the last time we cruised.  I guess everyone was co-operative and showed up on time,  because we were through with the drill in 10 minutes time.  We were back to our rooms by 4 pm and guests began arriving for the sail away party.  Paul had put our champagne on ice,  the canapes had arrived (&#036;28 for 4 dozen) and Greg began pouring the bubbly.  Eleven people were at the sail away altogether.  We all fit comfortably on the balcony and toasted as we sailed from Long Beach.  The dome got smaller and smaller as the sun set. Night fell and I was surprised that it wasn&#39;t so cold out there in the pacific ocean in January.  The sail away was so much better than our last cruise because,  last time,  they began sailing away during the muster drill and it was raining so bad we weren&#39;t on deck for it.  We thought it was a bit ironic that our previous cruise&#39;s sail away (out of Tampa, FLA) was rainy and gloomy in summer and this cruise&#39;s sail away was sunny and warm in January.  <br />  I loved spending some time with our cruise buddies and the party turned out great.<br /><br />That Night:  We went to dinner right after sail away because we had the &quot;Main Seating&quot; at 5:45 pm.  The last time we cruised we took the late seating,  so we decided to try the early this time.<br />My daughter and I were skeptical and even tried to change my husband&#39;s mind about the time,  but after a couple nights,  both her and I were convinced we liked the early seating better.  We just loved all the time we had afterward to &quot;play&quot;.  <br />  The Normandie Dining room is beautiful and I like the set-up with one large dining room on the ship. It is located aft on the ship.  The dining room is upstairs and downstairs,  with the upstairs open to look down upon the lower level.  It is all laid out very nice and there were beautiful hanging &quot;crystal-like&quot; light fixtures and sea life murals on the ceiling.  Our table was aft and there were large windows looking out onto the sea.  We did get a little vibration but it was only noteworthy on our last night coming back into long beach when the waters were a bit rougher.<br />  Our waitstaff was good.  I wouldn&#39;t say they were much beyond that.  We had a much better waitstaff on our last cruise,  The Inspiration. Perhaps that staff spoiled us and our expectations were higher.  The bar server was great and always remembered what we had been drinking...even the little special requests like extra olives.  Food was, once again,<br />fantastic.  The choices were many and I noticed,  this time,  they gave more alternative choices.  For instance,  the New York steak was available every night,  if you so desired.  Some of the menu items throughout the week:  Prime Rib,  Chicken Fettucini,  Filet Mignon,  Lobster,  Chateaubriand,  assortment of pasta dishes and many more.  Those were just entrees.  Appetizers included:  Shrimp Cocktail, escargot,  pumpkin soup (awesome),  assortment of cold soups like raspberry and marachino cherry and gizpacho,  navy bean soup and more.  You had a choice of ceasar salad or mixed greens.  Desserts were very yummy.  Those to take note of are the warm chocolate melting cake (my personal favorite),  the grand marnier soufle, the creme brulee and the cheesecake.  Our dining experience throughout the week was very pleasant and we always enjoyed the waiters&#39; dancing and singing...although on this night they did not.  I guess they get the first night off.<br />  After dinner we headed back to our room to enjoy the balcony with cocktails.  We hung out there for a bit and then headed to Karaoke at the Starry Night Lounge and found a table and met the KJ,  Emmie.  She was fun and we had a great time here.  We visited almost every night and Greg and Samantha auditioned for the  &quot;Carnival Legends&quot; show that was to be held at the end of week.  Auditions for Madonna (what Samantha wanted to try) were on Monday night and auditions for Garth Brooks (what Greg wanted to try) were on Tuesday.  I wanted to be in the show but I just don&#39;t fit into the other female artists they were offering (Gloria Estefan,  Aretha Franklin and Britney Spears).   We met alot of friends at karaoke and soon we were seeing them throughout the ship.  We noticed that Karaoke gets busy after the late dinner seating lets out.  If you are a karaoke fan,  then you might want to choose early dinner seating to get your karaoke table.  <br />  Kyle and Lindsay joined us later at Karaoke and Kyle was itching to try some slot machines.  He is 18 now and was not able to gamble on our last cruise.  Greg gave him 20 dollars and off he went.  He returned soon after and we thought he had lost it all.  However,  to our surprise,  he had hit a 100 dollar jackpot and a couple of small ones.  He came back to the table with 150 dollars.  Needless to say,  he was thrilled.  He paid Greg back and off he went with his winnings.<br />  After Karaoke was over,  Greg,  Sami and Myself headed to the casino and played some blackjack.  We broke even and called it a night as Sami,  Kyle and Lindsay stayed up to dance the night away at Beauties,  the night club. <br /><br />First Fun Day at Sea:  Woke up just before room service brought what would be our first breakfast.  I had used the order card the night before and set it out on the door.  If you choose what you want for breakfast and have it out on your door by 5am,  they will deliver your &quot;continental&quot; breakfast between the hours you choose.  Ours arrived on time every morning and only once was it wrong (it omitted our bagels one day).  Our usual fare was Coffee (for which they brought a pot),  Tea (they brought a pot of hot water and tea bags),  Citrus wedges,  Melon slices,  Bagels and cream cheese and a couple of danishes and/or croissants and orange juice.  Other choices were:  An assortment of cold cereals,  assortment of juices,  yogurt,  different breads and salmon.  They also included cups for the coffee and tea.  It was sooo enjoyable to have our breakfast on the balcony or in our room.  It was a hazy sunny morning and warmer than we thought it would be and we just took it all in.  We had no where to be so we took our time getting ready and the kids came and joined us for a bit on the balcony.  <br />After breakfast,   we were ready to leave the cabin...which was late morning.  Greg and I went exploring.  The kids were off doing their own thing and Greg and I checked out the lobby and David&#39;s Supper Club.  The funnel casts a warm pink glow into the lobby that is decorated in rich colors and large comfortable furniture.  Three glass elevators carry passengers up and down the open atrium.  Greg and I hopped on one and took a trip up to Deck 10,  where David&#39;s is located.  We made reservations for Thursday at 6:30 and then took the &quot;glass&quot; staircase down.  The staircase winds out over the open atrium.  The stairs are see-through and you can see down 9 decks.  It is a very eerie feeling walking on them.  It is fun to watch people walk there...they take &quot;easy&quot; steps,  as if they are going to fall.  Greg met up with Kyle and they went to formalities to rent their tuxedos for the week (&#036;85 for each).  I enjoyed hanging out around Florentines (Deck 2 aft) and I met back up with Greg and we headed to the casino.  <br />Greg and I played some blackjack and slots and Greg won a 100 dollar jackpot.  Unfortunately,  Kyle and Greg&#39;s Jackpot would be the only winnings from the casino the whole week.  Let&#39;s just say,  we spent some time and money there,  but we had fun.<br />We left the casino and did some more exploring and went back to the room.  We just loved the suite and spending time there.  We ordered room service for a late lunch.  Bacon,  lettuce and tomato sandwich which came with potato chips.  A chicken fajita wrap (which was great) and came with potato salad and two caesar salads and iced teas.  We enjoyed watching Cruise Director Jeff Brrrronson&#39;s welcome aboard talk on the TV and soon it was time to get ready for formal night.<br />At this point,  I want to mention the shower.  The water pressure and hot water were fantastic&#33;  Not once did the hot water run out and not once was the water pressure low.  They were very enjoyable showers and hubby took a jacuzzi bath and loved that too.<br />Sami came over and joined us so I could do her hair and soon we were all off to the Captains Formal Cocktail party.  We stopped off at the many picture stations along the way and we especially liked the setting with the grand piano.  These pictures ended up turning out great and I spent some money and several shots.  The photographer used a &quot;soft&quot; lense and it made the shots look really cool.  I don&#39;t have a scanner,  but I tried to take a picture of one of the photographs I bought of Sami,  so you can get the idea.  After running the picture gauntlet,  we enjoyed our dinner at Normandies.  Filet Mignon and Lobster Tail were the stars of the menu.  The lobster tail was large and the filet was very tasty.  The waiters don&#39;t blink if you ask for another.  My son wanted another Lobster tail and they were happy to oblige.<br />After dinner,  we headed back to our suite and changed back into more comfortable clothes.  The kids joined us and again we enjoyed spending some time out on the balcony.  Soon it was time to head to the Starry Night lounge to join Emmie for karaoke fun.  Sami put in her bid to be Madonna at the end of the week in the Legends show.  Emmie just fell in love with Sami and called her &quot;her favorite&quot;.  Sami is a very gregarious girl and always got the room going.  It wasn&#39;t long before we couldn&#39;t go anywhere without people knowing who Sami was.  Needless to say,  Sami got Madonna and Emmie gave her all the paperwork,  a personal MP3 player to learn the song (you must have it memorized for the show,  there is no monitor),  a special flashy pin to wear so people knew you were in the legends show and instructions for the Saturday rehearsal.  <br />A note to karaoke lovers:  Emmie let us know this was not her prime system.  The main one is broken and this system has no reverb or cannot change pitch.  If you can&#39;t sing the songs in the same key as the original artist,  then you may have some trouble.  The microphones give you &quot;no help&quot; smoothing out your voice,  so it was a pretty &quot;raw&quot; system.  Of course,  that didn&#39;t keep us from having fun,  but I just wanted any karaokers out there to know what to expect. <br />After Karaoke,  Greg,  Sami and I met back up with Kyle and Lindsay and we all went to the midnight show to see comedian &quot;Jerome&quot;.  We found him funny,  but be forewarned that the midnight show is rated R...and I would say a hard R at that.  I was not pleased to see some people took no heed to this rating and brought young children.  What are they thinking?  I wouldn&#39;t say Jerome had me laughing in the aisles,  but it was enjoyable...even though I think he went on a little bit too much on promoting his own CD.  <br />It was back to the casinos for a bit after the Jerome show let out.  We gambled a little as the kids headed to Beauties.  Then,  it was back to our cabin,  a refreshing rest on our balcony and then off to bed.<br />At this point,  I would like to make mention that the seas were not that rough and it was fairly warm out on our balcony...even at night.  I had heard the first day going down can be rough and chilly,  but this was not the case for us.  Also,  the bungee cord came in very handy in keeping the door open.  We only used it while we were awake though.  We opted to just shut the door at night.  We noticed with the humming of the engines,  you really could not hear the water anyway.  Perhaps this was only the case because we had a &quot;bedroom&quot; inside the suite.  In a regular balcony room,  your bed would probably be closer to the door and you could hear the water better.  <br /><br />Second Fun Day at Sea:  Woke up to our usual breakfast and our wonderful balcony.  This morning was a bit sunnier and warmer than the previous day.  Both were pleasant.  We took our time getting ready and really enjoyed our suite.  I have heard alot of people say they book inside cabins because,  &quot;you are hardly ever in your room&quot;.  I have to say that I think it would depend on the room you have booked to determine the amount of time you spend in it.  I think if I booked an inside cabin,  I would choose to &quot;hardly ever be in it&quot; also.  The kids had an inside cabin down the hall from us and they did not care for it.  They said it made them sleep later than they wanted because they had no sense of time in there.  Of course,  it didn&#39;t help that they had no clock,  but they said it gave them an awkward feeling of not knowing if it was day or night or if the ship was docked or anchored or not.  They had to have wake up calls to get them going in the mornings.  Our last cruise we had an ocean view cabin,  so this was different for them.<br />Sami took advantage of the spa and used the shower on this day and had an incident.  This was probably the only negative thing that happened on our cruise.  She went into the shower and saw an empty open locker.  She set her things in there just to use as a &quot;shelf&quot; while she was in the shower.   Luckily,  she did not set her Sail and Sign card or her money in there.  She only set her shirt and workout pants in the locker.  When she came out of the shower,  the locker was locked.  She went to the spa desk,  wrapped only in a towel,  and they told her that the locker had been rented out,  so someone must have locked her things in there.  She was perplexed because there was nothing else in the locker,  so the owner had to have seen her things and locked it purposely?  The spa staff was not that helpful and gave her a last name and that was it.  They didn&#39;t even try to help her and all she had on was a towel.  They told her she could go to the purser&#39;s desk and see if they could help her.  She told them,  &quot;I am in a towel&quot;.  They shrugged and just really didn&#39;t seem to care.  Our cabins were all the way to the aft of the ship and she was at the bow,  in the spa.  She had to choose if she should walk all the way back to her cabin in her towel or go to the purser&#39;s desk in her towel.  After weighing it,  she decided to go back to her cabin.  She had to walk all the way back in just a towel.  I think it is reprehensible that the spa staff didn&#39;t even offer her a bathrobe.  True,  she should not have put her things in a locker,  empty or not,   but I still think that they could have been more accomodating to her situation.  She never did visit the purser&#39;s desk.  She wrote off the shirt and sweat pants and just wanted to forget the whole incident.  I would like to believe that if she had gone to the purser&#39;s desk,  they would have been more helpful than the spa staff.  She didn&#39;t tell us any of this until dinnertime,  otherwise,  even though she is 21,  I think I might have stepped in and had a talk with the spa staff.  I think Sami didn&#39;t want me to and that is why she chose to not tell us until later.<br />Greg went off to the casino and I went to look at our pictures in the photo gallery (deck 3 midship) and I bought WAY too many.  Then I went to play some trivia hosted by assistant Cruise Director,  Karl with a K, at Florentines on deck 2.  Karl is from England and a very personable social host.  He and Jeff worked very well together and I enjoyed their morning shows on the closed circuit TV in the rooms.  Trivia was a choice of playing as a group or on your own.  Needless to say,  my one brain didn&#39;t match up to 6 in a group,  but I did pretty darn well.  It was fun,  nonetheless.  It was during Trivia,  around noon,  that we first saw dolphins.  We were passing Cabo San Lucas and they were jumping right outside our windows of Deck 2 at Florentines.  It was a beautiful sight and unfortunately,  I didn&#39;t have my camera to capture it.  <br />Greg and I met up to have lunch at the open seating in the dining room after trivia was over.  I enjoyed a build your own burger and he had the baby back ribs.  We had a very funny waiter.  I wish I could remember his name.  He had quite a sense of humor...switching plates around and teasing people.  <br />After lunch,  I went back to the room for a bit and enjoyed the balcony.  We were passing Cabo and I took some footage and pictures.  I was hoping to catch glimpses of more dolphins or maybe even a whale,  but I had no luck.  I met up with Greg and we went and played bingo in the Taj Mahal and then stayed and watched the Newlywed not so Newlywed game.<br />For the Newlywed game they picked the couple most recently married and then the couple who had been married the longest.  Then they would go to exactly the middle of that and try and find a couple who had been married that many years.  For our cruise...the most recent married was 2 days,  the most married was 54 years...so that made the middle couple at 27 years.  They found all three couples and what a hoot it was to watch.  The couple that had been married for 54 years were hilarious.  I laughed myself to tears.  So did Greg.  It was really really funny.  Jeff Bronson did a great job as the MC too.  Good stuff.<br />After the Newlywed game,  you guessed it,  we went back to our cabin,  hung out,  got ready for dinner and the kids joined us.<br />One of the main dinner selections on this night was prime rib.  The waiters did a mexican inspired dance...I assume since we were headed into Puerto Vallarta the next day.<br />After dinner,  it was cocktails back in our room and then off to Karaoke.  Greg put his bid in to be Garth Brooks in the Legends show and he got it.  He was issued the same packet that Sami got the night before.  Both he and Sami were proud to wear their flashing &quot;Legends&quot; pins.  They also had the Britney Spears auditions and we watched 4 Britneys perform and then chose the winner by applause.  By this time,  we had quite a few friends and we really enjoyed hanging out at the Starry Night.<br />After Karaoke,  it was up to the deck for the mexican buffet and deck party.  There were alot of people and we had a good time.  The food was good too&#33;  They would like you to wear your team colors,  so if you want to be in the spirit,  be sure you pack a red, white and blue shirt...so you are prepared for any team you might be on.  We were on the white team and I didn&#39;t come prepared with anything white to wear.  As I remember it...Red team were all the tables upstairs in the Dining room,  Blue team were all the odd numbered tables downstairs and the White team were all the even numbered tables downstairs.  The whole team thing is only for fun and the winning team at the end of the week just gets a big &quot;kudos&quot; from everyone.  The Blue team won on our cruise.<br />We took a &quot;spin&quot; around the deck after the party,  took a look over the rail on the lido deck down onto our balcony,  and then called it a night.<br />Note:  We realized our balcony is not seen that much from the lido deck.  Only if you come out to the rail can you be seen on our balcony.  Most of the aft balconies are that way as they graduate up the back of the ship in a stair-step manner.  I believe deck 4 is completely covered,  however.<br /><br />Puerto Vallarta:  I awoke very thirsty and I went out to the living room to get some water that I drank like a fish.  It was there,  since the curtains were open in that room,  that I saw a bustling city right outside my window.  I wasn&#39;t fully awake,  and it took me by surprise.  The ship backs into the port here and is docked very close to land...so the cars and buildings were a hop,  skip and a jump away from our aft location.  This was it...Puerto Vallarta.  Greg woke up shortly after and soon our breakfast had arrived.  We got dressed and went out on the balcony to check out the sight of the city.  To our ship&#39;s port side there were two more ships anchored in the distance.  We found out later one was HAL and one was Princess.  Their passengers were tendering in right below us,  between the aft of the Pride and the port.  We looked down and watched them a bit.  It was sure nice that we got the prime spot and didn&#39;t have to tender.  I had heard this is because The Pride sails all year to this port.  What a nice perk.<br />We had to meet at Los Veranos for a Canopy tour at 11:30 am.  Something to take note of is that on the first night you move your clocks ahead one hour,  but Puerto Vallarta is still one hour ahead of that.  When you reach PV,  make sure you realize that PV is one hour ahead of ship&#39;s time. <br /> It was nearing 9:00 am ships time,  which was 10:00 am PV time,  so we thought we should head out.  The white vans at the port charge 5 dollars US per person to get to the main part of town,  we walked to the sidewalk outside the port and got a city taxi for 3 dollars US pp.  Not a huge savings,  but with 5 of us,  that was 10 bucks saved.  We lucked out that our driver knew exactly where Los Veranos meets.  Apparently other people didn&#39;t have the same luck...we found out later.<br />The taxi ride was an adventure in itself.  We got to ride all through the main part of town,  along the Malecon (the famous beach walk) and to our destination,  the Los Veranos offices,  which sat at the foothills of the mountains.<br />We arrived at Los Veranos an hour ahead of our time.  I checked in and the agent told us we could sit and wait or go out exploring and come back.  We choose to check out the surroundings so off we went.  Be sure you have walking shoes.  Some of the walkways and most streets in this older area of town are cobblestone and very uneven.  Look down and watch where you walk.  Also the curbs can be very high,  so just be careful and consientious.  A fellow passenger hurt his back after misjudging one of the high curbs.  <br />We walked down into an older part of PV and looked around at the shops and passed quaint courtyards of apartments.  The sun was pretty hot and we were getting thirsty.  Yeah,  it was only 10:45 am,  but we were on vacation and it&#39;s 5&#39; O Clock somewhere,  right?  Where is the Cerveza&#33;?  We turned down a small street and found &quot;Steve&#39;s Sports Bar&quot;.  In we went and we met &quot;Steve&quot; himself...whose name was Gary.  haha.  Steve was long gone apparently and Gary,  a chatty canadian,  had taken over.  We had a great talk with Gary and he sure LOVED to talk.  It was great to pass the time with him and learn about the city a bit from someone who had lived there for quite awhile.  We only had one beer each because they knew they were going on the zip lines.  By the time we got back to the office and in the truck for the 45 min. ride and then going through the spiel,  that beer would be out of their system.  We said our goodbyes to Gary and thanked him for the hospitality and we headed back to the Los Veranos Offices.  <br />We got back just in time to be loaded into an open air truck for the ride along the coast and then on to the rain forest.  The ride was beautiful.  It showed off many gorgeous homes and beaches before we turned inland to the heavy vegetation of the rain forest.  We traveled along a river and the truck navigated a narrow dirt road at the end as we arrived at our destination.  I was just going along as an observer but Greg and the kids headed up further and got the pre-lesson and off they went.<br />Los Veranos has a complete Restaurant/Bar,  animal menagerie and river swimming at their location.  I sat at a beautiful table by the river and had some chips and salsa and some margaritas,  while they took their excursion. The servers were very attentive without being bothersome.  There are monkeys to see,  pythons,  tarantulas and birds.  They really have a nice set up.  <br />After Greg,  Sami,  Kyle and Lindsay were done with their zip line adventure (about 90 minutes),  they joined me and we all had lunch.  They raved about their experience and absolutely loved it.  They have a DVD and pictures available of your excursion for purchase.  I can&#39;t recall how much the pictures are..but the video was 40 dollars US.  I think that is a little steep,  but it is a nice log of your experience.  Upon seeing it,  they do a good job of editing it and putting it to some music.  They do it pretty fast as it was available in about 15 minutes.  I think you are probably paying for that service.  We enjoyed the meal (about the same cost as any mexican restaurant in the states).  The beer was a little cheaper.  It was &#036;2.50 for Corona,  but if you got 4 Coronas in a bucket it was only 8 dollars..so only &#036;2 for each Corona. <br />After eating,  Greg and Kyle went down the waterslide and took a dip in the river.  The sun was hot,  but the water was cold.  They enjoyed it though and came out refreshed.<br />It was time to head back to town.  Los Veranos has their shuttle leaving every 20 minutes after the hour and we had great timing as it was almost 3:20 pm.  We arrived back at their offices around 4:00 and got a cab back down to the Malecon.  We walked along the beach and enjoyed the statues for a bit and then grabbed a cab back to the port.  We wanted to visit the Walmart right across the street.  We were needing a few things.  We got a city cab to Walmart for 8 dollars US,  did our shopping,  and walked back to the ship.  It was just about sunset.<br />We knew we were in port until 10:00 pm and had every intention of going back out into PV for dinner.  That didn&#39;t happen.  We all ended up taking naps and then getting our showers later.  <br />Kyle,  Lindsay and Greg went to the buffet and Sami and I got a later start and decided to have dinner at the buffet also (our regular dinner time had passed for the dining room).  That is when I could not find my S &amp; S card.  Both Sami and I looked all over the room and could not find it.  Sami was so hungry,  she went to the buffet without me.  We got signals crossed as I thought she was going to Greg,  so I could see if he had my S &amp; S card.  I waited and waited for him to come back until I finally realized that Sami must not have gone to get him.  I went to find him and when I did,  he told me he locked my sail and sign card in the safe.  I have no idea why he did that.  He said he wasn&#39;t thinking.  So,  for about an hour and half of that night,  I wasted my time in the cabin looking for something I would never find.  We retrieved my card and then went off to karaoke.  <br />Toward the end of my time waiting in the cabin for Greg,  we sailed away from PV.  I guess my time wasn&#39;t a complete waste because I was out on the balcony and got to witness a couple of cool things.  First of all,  before we sailed away,  I got to watch the HAL ship leave.  It moved toward us then did a turn on a dime very slowly and headed the other direction.  It was pretty cool.  Shortly after,  we started up engines and began to leave.  One of the pilot boats rode very close along side of us and as he moved away,  the little boat sounded three horns...then the Pride &quot;answered&quot; her with three long horns that went up into a higher melodic tone.  It was very cool and the little boat then signaled a very short beep and took off.  It was as if the boats were talking to each other.  I don&#39;t know if they do this every time they leave PV (they didn&#39;t do it in the other ports),   but if you have the chance to be outside for this,  do it. <br />After Karaoke,  we all headed down to Butterflies to watch the showing of &quot;The Rocky Horror Picture Show&quot;.  If you can&#39;t remember all the things to yell at the screen,  brush up on that before you go.  I was racking my brain and,  even though the hostess of the movie was yelling out things,  there were other things that I couldn&#39;t remember.  It was the kids&#39; first time seeing the movie and I think they were a little perplexed since they were not getting the full interactive effect.  Be sure you don&#39;t bring young kids to this.  Not only is the movie an R,  but the things the hostess yells out over the microphone are a hard R.  I think the experience would be more fun if they offered up some props like newspapers,  rice,  squirt guns etc.  The capers billed it as &quot;interactive&quot;,  but the only thing that was interactive about it was if you could remember things to yell out...otherwise the hostess did all the talking.  Oh yeah,  we were all encouraged to get up and do the time warp at the appropriate time in the movie.  I guess it was interactive enough.  <br />After the movie,  I realized I hadn&#39;t had any dinner,  so I was pretty hungry.  The kids and I headed up to the pizza and hubby went off to the slots.  The pizza and caesar salad were very enjoyable.  I sure love that 24 hour pizzeria.  Afterward,  Sami,  Kyle and Lindsay went off to Beauties and I retired for the night only to find Greg already sound asleep back at the cabin.<br /><br />Note:  The dollar &#036; sign and peso &#036; sign are the same.  Don&#39;t panic if you see that a bucket of beer costs &#036;80.00.  Just think 10 percent of the price and voila...&#036;8.00.  To avoid confusion make sure you ask if the price you are looking at is in pesos or US dollars,  if you aren&#39;t completely sure.  You want to make sure that the iron sculpture you are about to buy is &#036;120.00 US and not &#036;1200.00 US.  Something like an art piece or iron sculpture can be a little less obvious on price than a bucket of beer.<br /><br /><br />Mazatlan Day:  Woke up in port at Mazatlan to an overcast day.  It was still warm,  just not any sun.  The Port at Mazatlan is very industrial,  so if you want to see anything other than that,  book an excursion or,  at least,  take a taxi into the main part of town.  We did the latter because we had no excursion booked.  <br />After breakfast (in our suite,  once again),  we met up with the kids and off we went.  You get on a tram from the ship to take you to the main port area where they have several kiosks to purchase things and even an area to make international calls or go on the internet.  We walked passed all that to a van and went into town for 5 dollars US pp.  We loved our driver and he was quick to share alot about Mazatlan.  He had been doing this for 23 years,  so he was very experienced,  needless to say.  While on our way we stopped at a light and right in the intersection a guy was juggling fire sticks.  We are from LA and laughed at how exciting it would be if you could watch that while in traffic every day.  haha.  Our driver recommended a few places to eat and he set us on our way in the heart of shopping and restaurants.<br />We walked along the street,  looking at all the wares and watched an older gentleman carve wood sculptures.  Sami speaks a little spanish and she was able to find out that he had been doing it for 50 years.  She bought a wooden turtle from him and it was only 5 dollars US.  <br />We headed toward other shops and then to a mercado area just outside &quot;Panchos&quot; restaurant (one that the driver recommended).  There were several jewelry stores and leather stores.  I ended up getting a silver ring with fire opals and Lindsay got a beautiful silver sun pendant.  We put our names in at &quot;Panchos&quot; and got a table on the beach.  <br />The food was fabulous&#33;  Our driver was absolutely correct&#33;  We really enjoyed the meal.  Greg and Kyle got this amazing fish platter that had everything from lobster to shrimp,  from frog legs to octopus to perch.  Unfortunately,  I didn&#39;t think to take a picture of it until after it was half eaten.<br />After a very enjoyable lunch and quite a few pacificos,  we took a little walk on the beach just right there where the restaurant was.  I bought a sarapi that was hand sewn from a woman on the beach.  Well,  the sarapi wasn&#39;t hand sewn,  but you could see the sequins had been.  We took a few pictures and then went back to the street area to see if we could find a van to take us back to the port.  Lo and behold,  there was our driver...so we hopped in his van.<br />Kyle had been battling a cancor sore so we asked the driver if he could recommend something.  He was so nice and took us right to a &quot;Farmacia&quot;.  Greg and Kyle ran in and came out with some stuff called &quot;Kanka&quot;.  It seemed to do the trick.  Samantha asked the driver about musical instruments.  She has been looking for a new ukelele.  The driver then took us to an instrument shop in town but they had no ukeleles.  It just isn&#39;t a native spanish type instrument.  It was great getting the little detours of the city though and we were really enjoying his company.<br />When we got back to port we compensated the driver with more money because of his extra stops and also the fact he was just a great guy.  We went through the stores at the port,  watched some interesting painters that used flames to dry their works and then headed back onto the ship.  We know we did not see much of Mazatlan...especially the beautiful beaches we had been told about,  but maybe another time.  It was an overcast day anyway (although the sun peeked out briefly while we ate lunch at &quot;Panchos&quot;),  so we just hadn&#39;t been in a &quot;beachy&quot; mood.<br />When we got back to the ship we laid down for a bit and then had to get ready for our 6:30 pm reservation at David&#39;s Supper Club.  By the way,  when you book a reservation at David&#39;s,  they send you a nice confirmation/invitation card.  Nice little souvenir,  if you are into that sort of thing.<br />Before getting ready for dinner, we enjoyed the sail away on our balcony. The port at Mazatlan is between an island and the mainland. The ship must pass between two jutties to get out of the port. It was enjoyable to watch how it was done since we had been curious after we noticed the narrow, shallow channel in which we docked that morning.<br />The kids were going to eat at dinner time in the dining room and then they wanted to come back to our suite and enjoy the balcony.  I left them my sign and sail card so they could get into the room and off Greg and I went to David&#39;s.<br />David&#39;s is very elegant and on this night the dresscode was &quot;Smart Elegant&quot;.  A jacket was not required,  but Greg wished he had worn one.  There were other gentlemen that were not wearing a jacket,  but Greg just felt he should have.  <br />This must not be a very busy night for David&#39;s,  as there were not alot of people and one whole section was closed  and not even used.  Greg and I had a table upstairs right next to the rail.  It was nice to look down on the piano player and singer.  They were very enjoyable (two of a kind).  They played light dinner/dance music that never impeded on conversation.  <br />I can&#39;t say enough about the food and presentation at David&#39;s.  Everything was soooo elegantly presented and the flavors were fantastic.  The filet mignon was tender and tasty,  I loved the pumpkin ravioli,  the lobster was sweet and moist..an asparagus mousse in the most flakiest crust I have ever tasted was deeelish.  It was all so great.  Then....the desserts came&#33;  Oh boy,  amazing.  You really have to try David&#39;s at least once.  It is nice long leisurly dinner in beautiful surroundings with outstanding food.  The &#036;30 pp charge is WELL worth it.  You could never find a meal or an experience like this,  for 30 dollars,  anywhere here at home.<br />After our great dining experience we went back to the room and found the kids enjoying a talk on the balcony.  They said they had a great meal and had been enjoying the room.  <br />Greg and I decided to head down to Karaoke and,  on our way,  we bumped into Alma and Mike and they had two tickets to a Catamaran excursion the next morning in Cabo that they had decided to not use.  We didn&#39;t know if we would use them because there were five of us,  but we told them that we could probably find someone who could.  We asked how much the tickets were and they generously said they were not charging for them.  Greg and I graciously took the tickets. <br />We enjoyed another night of singing and visiting with friends and voting on the &quot;Frank Sinatra&quot; for the legends show.  We ended up giving the tickets to the person who got Frank Sinatra.  We had met him earlier in the week and had hung out with him a few times and he was a great guy that was cruising with his mother..a real firecracker that was staying up all night long.  He took her on the cruise to get her mind off of the recent passing of her husband..for which she would have been married to for 50 years the next day.  We thought what a great way to turn her attention somewhere else on what would have been their anniversary.  We closed out karaoke and met up with the kids again and decided to head to the casino.   We sat at a table and played blackjack.  My son is just learning and he really loved it.  It was great,  just the 5 of us all playing together.  We walked away up some money and Greg went to play some slots while the kids and I went to get pizza.  <br />After Pizza,  the kids headed to Beauties and I decided to check it out too.  I stayed upstairs in the club..looking down on the dance floor.  I spent time talking with the &quot;Frank Sinatra&quot; and his mom and I enjoyed watching the kids dance.  I think I stayed there for about 45 minutes and then decided to call it a night.  I got back to the cabin and fell into bed and I didn&#39;t even hear Greg come in.<br /><br />Cabo San Lucas Day:  We woke up to a bright,  sunny and warm day.  This was going to be a scorcher and we dressed accordingly.  We had breakfast on the balcony and enjoyed the view of the Rocks where the arch is.  We were port side on the ship,  so if you want this view while anchored in Cabo,  take note.  <br />The kids joined us and off we went to the tenders.  Cabo is a tender port and it was a pleasant and short ride into the marina.  After arriving it is quite a long walk out of the port area into the town.  You walk a gauntlet of vendors and restaurants.  If we hadn&#39;t been so set on getting to Cabo Wabo for lunch,  we probably would have just stopped and enjoyed one of the many restaurants right there at the Marina.  <br />After a long walk,  we got to the main road of the town and it wasn&#39;t too far to walk to Cabo Wabo (you take a left as you come out of the Marina area).  <br />We arrived at Cabo Wabo and enjoyed a look around.  In front of the Cantina are vendors and other places to eat,  so be sure you walk through that to get into the Cantina.  We had a look around Cabo Wabo and put our names in for the restaurant,  then went to the bar for some famous Waboritas.  There was a huge concert area and then an outdoor area of the bar that had a live band playing.  We chose to sit there and listen and order our drinks.  Fair warning on a couple of things:  First,  prices at Cabo Wabo are the same,  if not a bit more,  than you would spend at a similar place in the US...except in the US most places will give you chips and salsa for free.  They charge &#036;3 US for chips and Salsa in the bar and...get this...&#036;10 US for chips and salsa in the Restaurant.  Even our waiter seemed embarrassed by that,  as he gave us the warning because he knew we had just come from the bar.  Second,  a Waborita packs a powerful punch...especially the ones on the rocks or straight up.  For a little less of a punch order the frozen kind.  <br />After enjoying our drinks and listening to the band,  we checked on our reservation at the restaurant and it was time for us to head back up there.  We got a nice table overlooking the little mercado set up in front the Cantina and had a very nice lunch.  The coconut shrimp is the best I have ever had.  All the food was very good,  but again,  it is not a bargain...just to let you know.  <br />We spent some time shopping in the little area below and then headed back to the tender because we knew we had a long walk and we wanted to get back to the ship because it was the second formal night and we had first seating for dinner.  <br />I bought a bottle of Cabo Wabo Tequila near the tenders (they have kiosk set up and it is cheaper here than at the actual Cantina) and off we were to get in line for the tenders.  The line went fast and before we knew it,  we were back on the ship getting ready for formal night.<br />After relaxing a bit on our balcony and enjoying the sail away (we saw some dolphins),  we got ready for dinner.  We had a nice time at dinner that night and Kyle got chosen to participate in the waiters dance.  The waiters came and put a wig and hat on him and he did a great job following along.  We all had a good laugh.<br />We decided to stay all dressed up instead of changing after dinner because we thought it would be nice to enjoy that.  We went to the 8:30 show of &quot;Vrooom&quot; in the Taj Mahal.  The show was okay.  It was entertaining and I was impressed with the singers and how well they could dance and still bring a powerful voice to their vocals.  I am a singer,  so I can really relate to breath control and appreciate how one can move and still sing so well.  I was especially impressed by Janae Longo,  the female singer in the show.  The overall show itself was mediocre.  It was not as good as some Disney shows I have seen at Disneyland.  There were good dancers,  but not all were good.  So I guess I am trying to say,  it was spotty,  but I was still entertained...if that makes sense.<br />After the show,  we headed to karaoke and had another great night with all the friends we had met there.  I have to say that I enjoyed seeing Greg do the electric slide in a tuxedo.  Not something you see everyday.  hehe.<br />When Karaoke was done,  it was off to the Casino.  We played a little blackjack then headed to the slots.  Kyle and Lindsay went to the midnight buffet and took some pictures and came back and said they wanted to return there and eat.  Sami,  Kyle,  Lindsay and I decided to head on over for a midnight snack.  Of course,  it was beautiful.  They were paying homage to a ship from one of Carnival&#39;s older fleets,  the Festivale.  In fact,  the buffet was called &quot;The Fesitvale Grand Gala Buffet&quot;.  There were watermelon ships,  Ice Dragons,  Cheese sculptures and so many other artful culinary delights.  All very beautiful.  We made our choices and sat down and enjoyed our food.  <br />After the buffet,  the kids headed for beauties and I turned in for the night.  A swan-heart towel animal awaited me.  <br /><br />Final Fun Day at Sea:  I was awakened around 4 am to some very active motion of the ship.  Just as I expected,  we were getting into rougher seas as we approached Long Beach.  I got up and went to the restroom and didn&#39;t have much trouble getting back to sleep.  Both Greg and I awoke later that morning and enjoyed lying in bed with the curtains open and talking about our final day of the cruise.  It was sunny,  but clouds loomed as the ship rocked,  but it wasn&#39;t really bad.  Took a look at the caper from the night before and was pleasantly surprised to see Greg and Sami&#39;s names listed for the &quot;Legends&quot; show that night.  Be sure you look at your caper if anyone you know is participating in the show.  It is a nice touch that Carnival makes the guest performers feel so special.   Greg and I enjoyed some time on the balcony and then both of us got ready for the day.<br />Greg and Sami had a rehearsal at 11:30 am for the legends show and Lindsay and Kyle had been up late dancing the night away,  so I decided to explore the ship.  <br />I checked out the Sunset Garden area on Deck 3 forward.  What a beautiful getaway.  It was all set up like a garden and the huge portholes were framed in gold.  The Sunset Garden is on both sides of the ship and as you come out of it on the port side,  you are at the internet cafe.  Just beyond the internet cafe is the beautiful chapel.  I enjoyed sitting down at different spots that I would discover.  They really utilize every part of the ship.<br />I met back up with Sami and Greg after their Legends rehearsal and we all went to the Mermaid Grille for lunch.  Can you believe it?  This was my first time eating at the buffet and it was the last day.  I had some fried chicken,  mashed potatoes (yum) and some veggies.  We sat and talked at a window table and they told me all about the rehearsal.<br />Both of them got a dancer assigned to them as an escort.  This person would answer all questions for them and also make sure they &quot;hit their mark&quot; when going out onto the stage.  There is an orchestra pit and they want to be sure that the guest won&#39;t get hurt.  As we were feeling rougher seas,  I thought that was a good idea.  They were also told to not move around much on stage,  but to stay in one place.  Sami asked her dancer if she could roll on the floor (Like Madonna did in the video) and he told her,  &quot;yes&quot;,  he would work with her on that when she arrived before the show that night.  They said it was alot of fun at the rehearsal and meeting all the dancers and singers was very cool.  They also got fitted for their costumes and both of them really liked what they got to wear.  Sami wasn&#39;t too sure about the wig,  as she didn&#39;t feel it looked like Madonna,  but she was happy she didn&#39;t have to do her hair in any particular way.  As we were finishing up eating,  Sami and Greg saw &quot;their&quot; dancers (escorts) eating nearby and they said hi.  It was kinda cool as they had just told me about them and I got to see them.<br />After our late lunch,  we hit the casino and had a little fun and then went back to our room to hang out a bit,  taking full advantage of the balcony,  before it was time to get ready for dinner. I watched the Debarkation talk on the TV (I knew most of it,  but you always want to see if anything has changed) and then I did some packing.  We took advantage of the 15 dollar a bag laundry special the day before,  so it was nice to pack some freshly laundered clothes...less laundry to do when I get home.  YAY.    The kids came to our cabin a bit later and joined us and we all went to dinner together.  <br />It is always so sad on the last night of a cruise,  but we made the most of it and had a nice time.  The waiters did the traditional &quot;leaving on a fun ship&quot; song and it was melancholy.  I HATE this part of a cruise,  but all good things must come to an end...so you can get exicted for your next cruise&#33;   I made sure to have the warm chocolate melting cake for dessert,   since it was the last time I could.  Good stuff.<br />After dinner,  We went back to the room to finish packing so we could put our suitcases out before we headed to the Legends show at 9:30 pm.  The show wasn&#39;t until 10:30 pm,  but I had heard if you want a good seat to go early.  I figured if we got the suitcases out before then,  we wouldn&#39;t have to rush back to our cabins later. I noticed the movement of the ship getting a bit rougher and rougher.  I took some dramamine &quot;just in case&quot;.  I wasn&#39;t experiencing anything bad,  but just thought I would make sure I didn&#39;t get sick.   Sami joined us later and said she wasn&#39;t feeling too well so I gave her some dramamine also.  It seemed to help.  I didn&#39;t hear her mention it again.  I did Sami&#39;s make-up for the show.  I had a great time really painting her up.  haha.  <br />Greg and Sami had to meet Emmie (the KJ),  and all the other Legends performers down at Starry Nights at 9:20 pm.  I walked down with them and then left to go to the Taj Mahal to get a good seat.  I got a front row center seat with the husband of another performer in the legends show.  We had made friends with them during the week. Lindsay and Kyle joined us soon thereafter.  We played bingo,  got some scratch offs and even bought some chances at a free cruise.  We didn&#39;t win anything,  but we had fun playing.  <br />Before we knew it,  it was showtime.  We really enjoyed the show.  It was campy and kitschy,  but what fun.  It was alot of fun to see all the performers we had seen singing karaoke throughout the week.  We had become friends with some,  so it was especially cool.  The audience seemed to really have a great time too.   Emmie and Karl with a K did Sonny and Cher and what a hoot.  Karl came out on his knees with shoes on them,  so he was alot shorter than Emmie.  I have to say,  he did a great job imitating Sonny.  Jeff Bronson,  the CD,  did a hilarious take off of Dolly Parton as the dancers chased him around the stage.  It was a very fun and entertaining show and Greg and Sami got a great response from the audience.  After the show,  they invite the audience outside the Taj Mahal to meet the dancers and legends performers.  Greg and Sami got to get instant feedback and feel &quot;famous&quot; for the night.  All the dancers,  singers and guest performers gather for a group picture and the guest Legends performers get a voucher for a free DVD of the show and an 8x10 group photo,  to be picked up the next day.  It is a great souvenir&#33;  We really enjoyed watching the DVD and the photo is a nice keepsake to remind them of their &quot;Legends&quot; adventure.  <br />After the Legends reception,  Greg and Sami were taken backstage by their escort dancer to get out of their costumes.  We met up with them afterward and thought we would go to the piano bar.  The piano bar was winding down,  so we headed to the casino once again.  We met up with some friends we had made and played some blackjack for a bit.  After some blackjack,  we said goodnight to our friends and then played some slots.  I was sitting at a slot machine barely able to keep my eyes open.  I was actually getting mad at myself because I really wanted to make the most of our last night and stay up as late as possible.  I just couldn&#39;t keep my eyes open and I told Greg I had to go to bed.  <br />When I got back to the cabin I went out on the balcony to take a final night look at the beautiful wake that trailed behind us.  It seemed to glow from the lights of the ship and the moon.  I then went inside and got ready for bed.  I fell into bed and the ship gently rocked me to sleep.<br /><br />Debarkation and Final Thoughts:  Woke up and got ready.  We said goodbye to our suite and balcony and then met the kids and went to the dining room for breakfast.  We looked for Paul,  our steward,  outside our stateroom and found him so we could give him an extra tip.  He made a point to tell me that the pictures I drew for him on the dry erase board,  along with the little messages,  made him smile and he thanked me for that.  That really made me feel good.  I guess I forgot to mention it in my other installments that I would draw little pictures for Paul with &quot;Have a good day&quot; type messages,  on the dry erase board we kept in our suite.  Anyway...It was open seating in the dining room and we enjoyed a nice breakfast as we filled out our comment cards.  <br />After breakfast,  we dropped the comment cards in the recepticle outside the dining room and heard the call for self-debarkation.  We had just sat down at Florentine&#39;s on deck 2,  when general debarkation was called.  Being VIP,  we were the first group called.  We headed to deck 3 midship,  only to find the line wasn&#39;t moving at all.  We looked through the windows at the bridge heading into the terminal and that line wasn&#39;t moving either.  We decided to leave the line,  head up to the Mermaid Grille,  get some coffee and tea,  and wait for the last call of our group.  We did just that.  <br />The kids were exhausted from their late night at Beauties,  so they were laying on each other and taking a cat nap,  when there was a last call for our group.  We hustled up our things and headed back to midship.  The line was finally moving and off we went.  We headed into the terminal and through customs.  We had a little glitch at customs because Lindsay didn&#39;t fill out her own customs claim form.  She thought since she was with us,  she didn&#39;t have to.  We didn&#39;t know either,  so I didn&#39;t think to say anything to her.  If you have a different last name,  you must fill out your own claim form.  She had to get one from another agent,  fill it out,  and then meet us downstairs.  They didn&#39;t make her wait in the line again,  so it wasn&#39;t long and she met back up with us.  We were back at our Tundra and on our way home by 10:30 am.  <br /><br />Final Thoughts:  What a great time we had.  Our first cruise experience was very different and it is hard to choose which we liked better.  Suffice it to say,  we loved  them both.  They both had their strong and weak points.  We actually can&#39;t pick one over the other and I think that is a good thing.  It means that we LOVE cruising&#33; <br /><br />The Ship:  The Pride is beautiful and we absolutely loved our aft corner suite.  We did not find the art throughout the ship tasteless or overdone.  The decor was rich dark tones and there was just the right amount of whimsy where it should have been. <br />The Service:  It was good,  although,  as I mentioned,  we didn&#39;t feel the dining room service was as good as it was on the Inspiration a few years ago. Also,  we were not impressed with the spa staff because of what happened to Sami.  Service at the Supper Club was great.  Our Steward was great. <br />The Ports:  They were okay.  Cabo was our favorite.  I think we like the ports in the Caribbean a bit better,  but having to take a flight to take a Caribbean cruise kinda makes it even.<br />Food:  It was very good.  I would have to say it was on par with our first experience,  maybe slightly better.  David&#39;s Supper Club was fantastic&#33;<br />Caribbean vs. Mexican Riviera:  We thought that the Caribbean would win by far...before we took this cruise.  However,  we have to say that it only just edges out the Mex. Riviera,  in our opinion.  We were very surprised at how blue the water is..no,  not caribbean blue,  but a very pretty deep blue...especially in Cabo.  PV is just as exotic as the Caribbean ports we visited.  The weather was fantastic in January and we only experienced rougher seas and cooler temperatures on the last day...and it wasn&#39;t that bad.  We saw dolphins,  which was very cool and something we didn&#39;t see in the Caribbean.  Also,  you have the opportunity to go whale watching,  depending on the time of year you book.  We will definitely do the Mexican Riviera again..in fact,  we already have it booked for October.  Different ports.<br />Cruise Director:  Jeff Brrrrronson was very good and funny.  He was a good communicator and witty without being over the top.  He did a great job with having a lot of things planned.  Never a dull moment.<br />Other Social Hosts:  We really enjoyed Emmie,  the Karaoke Jockey and Karl with a K.  Both were personable and friendly.<br /><br />Tips<br /><br />We took &#036;1000 in cash,  which worked out perfect for 5 of us.  We had it broken down into 100&#39;s,  50&#39;s and then mostly 20&#39;s and 10&#39;s and 5&#39;s...we had &#036;50 of it in singles.  The small bills came in very handy in ports for taxi&#39;s,  tips and trinkets.  The one dollar bills also were great for tipping room service.  We used the larger bills for gambling and only had to visit the purser&#39;s desk once to change out 100 bucks.  We opted out of using traveler&#39;s checks this time.  Last time,  we were constantly going to the purser&#39;s desk to cash them out because alot of places in ports didn&#39;t take them.  It was just easier to use cash...however,  yes,  that comes with a risk.  We were very careful not to misplace the cash and always kept it where we knew it would be,  so there was no confusion.  It was always kept in our safe,  unless we were using it.<br /><br />Bungee Cord:  Yes,  it came in very handy for that balcony door.  We never kept the door open at night,  but it was sure handy to have it open when we were going in and out during the day. <br /><br />Power Strip:  A must-have if you have camera chargers,  phone chargers  (yes you can get service in some of the ports),  curling irons and blow dryers.<br /><br />Dry Erase Message Board:  We had one on our first cruise and put it on our door.  We loved it.  However,  even though the doors on the Pride were metal,  they must have a coating that doesn&#39;t allow magnets to hold very well.  At least,  not hold heavy things.  I did use the board inside the room to leave messages for Paul.  He left some message back too.  We did put up a little sign decoration on our door and the kids&#39; door.  As long as the magnets didn&#39;t have to hold anything heavy,  they worked.<br /><br />Towels and Robes:  We purchased two beach towels and Paul gave us a towel animal book free. I don&#39;t know if this was just his doing or if it was policy.  Also,  something to know about robes.  The robes in the suites are different from the robes in the other cabins.  They are bit more well made and &quot;luxurious&quot;.  My hubby wanted to purchase one.  He had no idea the suite robes were different from the others..as we didn&#39;t remember from our first cruise.  Although,  there was a night when he mentioned that he thought they changed the robes.  Anyway,  we left the order for the towels and robe for Paul to pick up.  The next time Paul saw me,  he told me about the Robes being different.  The &#036;39.00 robe is not the same robe in the suites.  The Suite robe cost &#036;64.00.  He asked what we would like to do.  Well,  I went ahead and told him to order the &#036;64.00 one because that is the one Greg had been using all week..and therefore,  the one he wanted.  Soo....I would imagine that even if you don&#39;t have a suite,  you can ask your steward about the &quot;suite&quot; robe and ask to purchase that one,  if you like.  I did check out the kids&#39; robes...and sure enough,  there was a difference.<br /><br />Early Dinner vs. Late Dinner:  We had late dinner with our first cruise and early seating this time.  We are night owls and we just thought that late dinner was the way to go.  I have to say,  I really really liked the early seating better.  I liked having alot of time after dinner.  I think you have been able to get an idea of the type of people we are by reading the review,  so if you think you are similar to us,  then give the early seating a try.  I know it isn&#39;t for everyone,  but we loved it.  The only time we wished we had a bit more time to get ready for dinner was the second formal night after being in Cabo.<br /><br />In Room Mini-Bar/Refrigerator:  If you ask your steward,  he will move the stuff out for you..or tell you where you can put the stuff,  so it can be put back on the last night.  It seems the fridge isn&#39;t that cold at first,  but actually it gets things very cold.<br /><br />Backpacks:  It is very handy to have a backpack for the ports. We just had one for all of us. You can take turns carrying it around.  It is nice to have for passports,  money,  towels,  purchases..etc.<br /><br />Passport Stamps:  They do not stamp your passport at the ports,  but if you would like your passport stamped upon returning when you debark,  just ask.  They won&#39;t do it automatically,   but were happy to oblige when we asked.  The stamps do not say where you have been,  but have &quot;Department of Homeland Security&quot;  and the date on them.<br /><br />iPod:  We really enjoyed the iPod with the little speaker dock we have for it.  I made a great cruise playlist and it was fun to listen to music during various times in our Cabin.  It was especially nice to have for the sail away party we had in our suite.  <br /><br />Room Bar Service:  Want cocktails brought to your room?  They will be happy to bring you cocktails right to your stateroom.  This service is not 24 hours,  like regular room service,  but it is offered until 3 am.  They charge the same as if you ordered anywhere on the ship and you sign for it when it arrives.<br /><br />All in all...we had a wonderful time.  The Pride has reason to be proud.<br /><br /><a href=\"http://community.webshots.com/user/NeptunesGoddess\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Pictures</b></a><br /><br /><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERTNqt3m_p8&amp;feature=PlayList&amp;p=18B9EAFB415D6076&amp;index=0&amp;playnext=1\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Mini-Movies</b></a><br /><br />Well,  that&#39;s it&#33;  If you have any questions,  feel free to ask.  You can also email me at KimmyKay62###### <br />I hope the review was enjoyable and helpful.',1183365493,0,'Mexican Riviera','[-review]PrideShipCabo.jpg',3454,'KimmyKat',1,83,0,0,0,0,0,13699,0,NULL),(249,152,'06-06-07','This was a great cruise on a great ship','<br />JEWEL OF THE SEAS<br />6 JUNE ? 18 JUNE 2007<br />STATE ROOM 4018<br />RADIANCE CLASS<br />GROSS TONNAGE : 90,090 tons<br />Length 293m Beam 32m Draft 8m<br />Passengers Capacity 2501 (we had 2165) <br />Crew 859<br />Captain Thore Thorolvsen<br />We went a day early and stayed at the TOWER HOTEL in Harwich and we could see the Jewell of the Seas from our room in the morning. And we left our car in their car park for the  cruise.<br />Day  1  June 6<br />We left the Hotel about 10:30 for the mile to the ship and checked in and on ship 11:10 and had lunch.<br />We sailed at 17:00<br />SHOW<br />Cruise Director Bobby Brown Presents<br />THE WELCOME SHOW<br />Starring the Amazing  FLASH AND FEVER<br /><br />Day  2 June 7<br />Crusing<br />06/07/2007 12:15:00 PM, <br />Hollywood Odyssey Room <br />DECK 13 <br />SHOW<br />The Royal Caribbran Singers and Dancers in<br />CITY OF DREAMS<br /><br />Day  3 June 8<br />Oslo, Norway<br /> OSLO<br />8 JUNE 7 ? 4<br />WALKING<br />Begin with a walk along the pier, passing the statue of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who overlooks the<br />harbor of Oslo. First stop will be made at City Hall, a modern landmark containing the works of<br />some of Norway?s most distinguished artists including such items as frescoes, woodcarvings,<br />sculptures, and murals representing many aspects of Norwegian life. You will see a monumental<br />painting by Henrik Sorensen. The visit will acquaint you with the history of this more than 900-year<br />old city. Leaving City Hall, a short walk will take you to the front of the National Theatre. Passing<br />statues of famous Norwegians and the apartment of Henrik Ibsen, you will reach the Royal Palace<br />with its surrounding garden. From there, you will proceed to the main street Karl Johan, passing the<br />University of Oslo and learning more about the author Henrik Ibsen who passed by there every day.<br />You will follow in his footsteps to the Grand Caf?, the meeting point of the ?Bohemians? in the<br />1890s. On you return to the ship, you will cross in front of the Parliament Building founded 1866<br />and walk through the Akershus Fortress, once a medieval castle and Royal Residence. The site<br />offers photo opportunities over the harbor.<br />There is a rumor that many tourists that come to Oslo do nothing but walk up and down the Karl<br />Johans gata several times, and that is all they see of the city. Pity for them&#33; This partly pedestrian only<br />street stretches from the Railway station on the east to the Royal castle on the west and here<br />you&#39;ll find numerous shops, tourist agencies, banks and offices all mixed with street performers<br />and important buildings like the National parliament, the National theater and the University.<br />While all of these buildings deserve to be visited, if you limit yourself only to Karl Johans gata<br />you&#39;ll be quite disappointed.<br /><br />SHOW<br />Starring  JONATHAN KANE<br />The only tribute act endorsed by Elton John World<br /><br /><br />Day  4 June 9<br />Copenhagen, Denmark<br />COPENHAGEN<br />SAT 9 JUNE 8 ? 7 pm<br />WALKING<br />Following the harbor front and passing the LANGELINIE YACHT HARBOUR, stop at the<br />LITTLE MERMAID and along the park and harbor to WARER FOUNTAIN OF GEFION -<br />Gefion Fountain<br />Just past the Resistance Museum is the incongruous British St Alban&#39;s Church, beside which is the dramatic Gefion<br />Fountain. The fountain is based on the story of the goddess Gefion who, according to legend, was promised as<br />much land as she could plough in a single night. She promptly turned her four sons into oxen and ploughed out a<br />chunk of Sweden (creating Lake V?nern), then picked it up and tossed it into the sea ? where it became the Danish<br />island of Zealand. Created in 1908 by Anders Bundgaard, the fountain is one of the largest public monuments in<br />Copenhagen, depicting an enormous bronze Gefion engaging in her work, with water cascading down a series of<br />steps from which huge snakes coil out of the bubbling water. Sadly the fountain has been leaking for a number of<br />years and is now awaiting repairs.<br />Continue to the modern, but elegant Amaliehaven Square, with the Queen&#39;s<br />Palace, Amalienborg right behind the square<br />Amalienborg, the queen?s official residence, comprises four almost identical baroque palaces<br />encasing a large octagon square. From Saly?s famous horseman at the square?s centre you have<br />a free view of Amaliehaven and the waterfront at one end. and Frederikskirken (Marmorchurch)<br />at the other.<br />Marble Church-Frederiks Kirkr-opposite Amalienburg Slot<br />Amaliehaven, situated beside Amalienborg Palace and a few minutes walk from Nyhavn, is<br />Copenhagen?s newest park, constructed by A.P. M?ller in 1983.<br /><br />SHOW<br />Dominique Ava<br /><br />Day  5 June 10<br />Crusing<br /> SHOW<br />The Comedy of Duggie Brown<br /><br />Day  6 June 11<br />Stockholm, Sweden<br />STOCKHOLM<br />MON 11 JUNE 9 ? 5<br />Become acquainted with Stockholm?s oldest and coziest quarter, the Old Town, and the historic<br />elegance of the interior of the Royal Palace. Stockholm began where the Royal Palace stands,<br />though the present edifice of this stately monument of grace and symmetry dates only from the<br />18th century. A massive testament to the Baroque, a huge compound of rock-solid buildings on a<br />hill in the Old Town, the Royal Palace comprises no fewer than 608 rooms. Today, the Stockholm<br />Palace serves as the King?s work place while Drottningholm Palace is the permanent residence of<br />the Royal Family. Visit the State Apartments displaying magnificent baroque and rococo interiors.<br />On this island of antiquity in the heart of the city, experience the medieval intimacy of what is<br />today a living historical monument of international renown. With your guide, you will savor the<br />Bohemian atmosphere and the sense of age in houses dating from the 16th and 17th centuries with<br />Baroque doorways and rusting coats of arms. See the exterior of the Cathedral (Coronation<br />Church), Stortorget (Great Square) - the hub of the Old Town and the Stock Exchange, now the<br />home of the Swedish Academy. Some time is allowed for independent activities and the<br />opportunity to browse in the antique shops, art galleries, and boutiques featuring handicrafts,<br />clothes, jewelry, and souvenirs.<br />First, make your way to the Royal Palace either by walking, or by taxi. From the entrance to the palace (on<br />top of the hill) the pedestrian streets of Old Town (to the west and south downhill) are lined with hundreds of<br />shops that cater to tourists offering everything under the sun. You could easily spend the entire day in Old<br />Town and never exhaust the potential to find something new. Its little cubbies, archways, nooks and<br />crannies just add to its unique shopping experience.<br />GAMLA STAN (OLD TOWN)<br />Gamla Stan, literally &quot;old town,&quot; is a small island in the middle of Stockholm. With narrow stone<br />streets and old buildings, this is a charming area to walk about. You can get there on the T, or just<br />by walking across one of the four short bridges that separates the island from the rest of Stockholm.<br />Things you shouldn&#39;t miss include the Royal Castle and Storkyrkan (&quot;the big church&quot;). Tyska<br />Kyrkan (&quot;the German church&quot;) is also worth seeing. You can hang out in Stor Torget (&quot;the big<br />square&quot;), sit on a bench, go to a restaurant or cafe.<br />Gamla Stan is full of good restaurants and shops.<br />ROYAL PALACE<br />With 608 rooms, the Stockholm Royal Palace is the biggest palace in the world still used by a head<br />of state - King Carl XVI Gustav. The palace houses several of the greatest and most interesting<br />sights in Stockholm - the Royal Apartments, the Hall of State, the Apartments of the Orders of<br />Chivalry, the Treasury, the Tre Kronor Palace Museum, the Armoury and the Museum of<br />Antiquities of Gustav III. The Changing of the Guards ceremony takes place Wednesdays and<br />Saturdays at 12.00 and on Sundays and public holidays at 13.00.<br /><br />SHOW<br />Jacqui Scott<br />The Leading Lady of West End Shows  - Evita, Cats, Miss Saigon<br /><br />Day  7 June 12<br />Helsinki, Finland<br />HELSINKI<br />TUE 12 JUNE 9 ? 6<br />HELSINKI, FOUNDED ON JUNE 12, 1550<br />WALKING ?WHITE CITY OF THE NORTH?<br />Helsinki is also called &quot;The Daughter of the Baltic&quot; or &quot;The White City of the North.&quot; Start your<br />tour by passing the shipyard along the coastal road past Embassy Park and the colorful open-air<br />market; continue for a photo stop at the Senate Square with the elegant Lutheran Cathedral.<br />En route you will pass Uspenski Cathedral and the Icebreakers docked for the summer season.<br />Proceed on to Mannerheim Street, which is the main street through the city, where you can see<br />Parliament House, the National Museum, and Finlandia Hall, which is the concert and convention<br />center designed by the famous architect Alvar Aalto. You&#39;ll also pass the new Contemporary Art<br />museum, Kiasma, designed by the American architect Steve Holl. Continuing on, you will pass the<br />new Opera house completed in 1933 and the Olympic Stadium venue for the Olympic Games in<br />Helsinki in 1952. The tour then arrives at Sibelius Park where you will make a photo stop of the<br />monument of 527 steel pipes, which honor the great Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. Conclude<br />your tour by passing the unique Temppeliaukio Rock Church blasted into solid rock<br />There was not much sightseeing interests at Helsinki which has its activities concentrated<br />around Senate Square with the Government<br /><br /> SHOW<br />Mario and Daniel&#39;s Tango Buenos Aires<br />also 4:30 Helsinki Folkloric Show<br /><br />Day  8 June 13<br />St. Petersburg, Russia  The 2 day Tour arranged by <a href=\"http://www.alla-tour.com/\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.alla-tour.com/</a><br /> Meet at the ship as soon as the ship is cleared by the Russian authorities.<br />Travel to and tour St Nicholas Church, Farmers market and visit subway station/s<br />8:30 -11:00 am - Travel to Tsars Village. Excursion in Catherine&#39;s palace (early entrance)<br />11:00 -12:00 pm - Drive to Peterhof. Lunch (to be purchased or brought from ship) on the way.<br />12:15 - 2:00 pm - Tour of the Fountain Park<br />2:00 - 2:30 pm - Hydrofoil ride to the city<br />3:00 - 4:00 pm - Travel to and excursion in St Peter and Paul<br />4:30 - 5:30 pm - Boat ride along rivers and canals of the city<br />5:30 - 6:45 pm - Shopping<br /><br /><br /><br />SHOW<br />St Petersburg Folkloric Show<br /><br />Day  9 June 14<br />St Petersburg, Russia<br />8:30 am - Meet at the ship<br />9:30 - 12:00 am - Excursion in the Hermitage museum (early entrance)<br />12:30 - 1:15 pm - Lunch<br />1:30 - 4:00 pm - City sightseeing tour including inside visits to Excursion in St. Isaac Cathedral and colonnade and Church on the Blood<br />4:00 - 4:30 pm - Shopping if time permits<br />5:00 pm - Onboard<br />Tour for Russia &#036;265 each<br />SHOW<br />Piano Showman Chris Hamilton<br /><br />Day 10 June 15 (my Birthday)<br />Tallinn, Estonia   Tour arranged by <a href=\"http://www.hot.ee/tours/ind_eng.html\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.hot.ee/tours/ind_eng.html</a><br />8:30 - 9:00 am - ship to clear customs and we meet on pier.<br />9:00 - 11:00 am - transfer to van for city tour ending in lower town<br />11:00 - 12:30 pm - walk about lower town<br />12:30 - 2:00 pm - lunch and free time<br />2:00 - 3.00 pm - transfer to the Upper Town (the Toompea Hill), walk in the Upper Town<br />3:00 - 3:15 pm - transfer by van back to ship.<br /><br />The tour is 30 euros per person <br /><br />Show<br />The Balancing Artistry of Ilia Valeric<br />Comedy of Kelly Monteith<br />Day 11 June 16<br />Crusing<br /> SHOW<br />West End to Broadway by the RC Singers and Dancers<br />Day 12 June 17<br />Crusing<br /> SHOW<br />The Zany Comedy of Neal Austin<br />Day 13 June 18<br />arrive Harwich, England<br />3573 N/Miles <br />As for the ship, staff and check-in it was one of the best cruses I have been on.<br /><br />The big surprise to me was that Jewel of the Seas  not only meet my expectations,  itexceeded them. So many elements of the trip were truly exceptional that I found myself comparing the cruise to those taken  and charge significantly higher tariffs.<br />The ship was beautiful. I have never been a fan of  art collections, and  there were some pieces that were so gorgeous .<br />And as said before Service was consistently top-notch in all areas.<br />The Tides Dining Room is a gorgeously decorated, two-level main restaurant. It is open daily for open-seating breakfast, on sea days for open-seating lunch, and each night for two seatings with assigned tables  and we were on the lower  section and next to the Captains table.<br /><br /> Behind the Windjammer, toward the aft of the ship, is a covered, outdoor area  and beyond that is a much nicer outdoor seating area.. The Windjammer offered casual dinners, generally featuring menu items also being served in the dining room.<br /><br />Don&#39;t miss the fabulous Seaview Cafe. It&#39;s tucked up toward the back and top of the ship and easy to miss but it&#39;s a great spot for fish and chips, burgers. The Solarium Cafe offered pizza.<br /><br />The jewels airy nd light nine deck high atrium, called a Centrum  is wow&#33; It was definitely a passenger magnet; areas around the Centrum, whether on its ground-floor level or five decks above, were constantly in use (during the day there were cooking demos and art auctions, at night dancing to a live trio), with passengers hanging over banisters to watch the scene down below.<br /><br />Other features include a very  selection of shops selling logo wear, a lot of cheap jewelry and duty-free perfumes. The two-deck Coral Theater -- the main show venue.<br />The real action, though, takes place in the ship&#39;s many bars. In fact there are so many that even on a six-night cruise we didn&#39;t manage to hit them all. On top of the ship is the Vortex Disco, the funky bar revolves. It&#39;s primarily the ship&#39;s spot for late night revelry, too, for a pre-dinner cocktail at sunset. Also up top is the Hollywood Odyssey. One of our favorite spaces, it is romantic and cozy -- and a great spot for lovers of torch songs. One gripe: Though we know that cigar smokers have rights, but the jazz was good,  Champagne Bar and the Lobby Bar.  Standing room-only crowds were drawn by the sound.<br />Off the main path a bit was Royal Caribbean&#39;s trademark Schooner Bar -- it&#39;s in the space between Chops Grille and Portofinos. And the Safari Club was the secondary showroom.<br />One bar we never quite cottoned to was the Pit Stop bar; ostensibly the ship&#39;s sports bar, its location was right off the casino and it was hard to hear any of the coverage on the 20+ televisions because of the slot machines.<br />There&#39;s a small library with a desultory collection of books. The ship also has a small cinema. <br />Standard, in all  cabins, are  two twin  beds that converts to a queen,  a mini-fridge  with a few drinks ,television with an assortment of channels , a desk/vanity area and a safe. Ours was 4018.<br />Evenings were very good shows or acts at the Coral Theater -- shows specializing in Broadway-style  singing and dancing . <br />Adventure Ocean, Jewel&#39;s family program, is housed in a sprawling facility that extends outside to a pool with slide. <br />Teens have &quot;Fuel&quot; -- their own facility -- which consists of an area called &quot;The Living Room,&quot; a disco, a juice bar and its own Internet-connected computers at half the price of the terminals in the cyber-centers.  <br />So get booked up and go---------its a great ship.',1183452669,0,'Northern Europe','',1415,'TimeSpliters',1,93,0,0,0,0,0,13720,0,NULL),(250,152,'06-06-07','This was a great cruise on a great ship','<br />JEWEL OF THE SEAS<br />6 JUNE ? 18 JUNE 2007<br />STATE ROOM 4018<br />RADIANCE CLASS<br />GROSS TONNAGE : 90,090 tons<br />Length 293m Beam 32m Draft 8m<br />Passengers Capacity 2501 (we had 2165) <br />Crew 859<br />Captain Thore Thorolvsen<br />We went a day early and stayed at the TOWER HOTEL in Harwich and we could see the Jewell of the Seas from our room in the morning. And we left our car in their car park for the  cruise.<br />Day  1  June 6<br />We left the Hotel about 10:30 for the mile to the ship and checked in and on ship 11:10 and had lunch.<br />We sailed at 17:00<br />SHOW<br />Cruise Director Bobby Brown Presents<br />THE WELCOME SHOW<br />Starring the Amazing  FLASH AND FEVER<br /><br />Day  2 June 7<br />Crusing<br />06/07/2007 12:15:00 PM, <br />Hollywood Odyssey Room <br />DECK 13 <br />SHOW<br />The Royal Caribbran Singers and Dancers in<br />CITY OF DREAMS<br /><br />Day  3 June 8<br />Oslo, Norway<br /> OSLO<br />8 JUNE 7 ? 4<br />WALKING<br />Begin with a walk along the pier, passing the statue of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who overlooks the<br />harbor of Oslo. First stop will be made at City Hall, a modern landmark containing the works of<br />some of Norway?s most distinguished artists including such items as frescoes, woodcarvings,<br />sculptures, and murals representing many aspects of Norwegian life. You will see a monumental<br />painting by Henrik Sorensen. The visit will acquaint you with the history of this more than 900-year<br />old city. Leaving City Hall, a short walk will take you to the front of the National Theatre. Passing<br />statues of famous Norwegians and the apartment of Henrik Ibsen, you will reach the Royal Palace<br />with its surrounding garden. From there, you will proceed to the main street Karl Johan, passing the<br />University of Oslo and learning more about the author Henrik Ibsen who passed by there every day.<br />You will follow in his footsteps to the Grand Caf?, the meeting point of the ?Bohemians? in the<br />1890s. On you return to the ship, you will cross in front of the Parliament Building founded 1866<br />and walk through the Akershus Fortress, once a medieval castle and Royal Residence. The site<br />offers photo opportunities over the harbor.<br />There is a rumor that many tourists that come to Oslo do nothing but walk up and down the Karl<br />Johans gata several times, and that is all they see of the city. Pity for them&#33; This partly pedestrian only<br />street stretches from the Railway station on the east to the Royal castle on the west and here<br />you&#39;ll find numerous shops, tourist agencies, banks and offices all mixed with street performers<br />and important buildings like the National parliament, the National theater and the University.<br />While all of these buildings deserve to be visited, if you limit yourself only to Karl Johans gata<br />you&#39;ll be quite disappointed.<br /><br />SHOW<br />Starring  JONATHAN KANE<br />The only tribute act endorsed by Elton John World<br /><br /><br />Day  4 June 9<br />Copenhagen, Denmark<br />COPENHAGEN<br />SAT 9 JUNE 8 ? 7 pm<br />WALKING<br />Following the harbor front and passing the LANGELINIE YACHT HARBOUR, stop at the<br />LITTLE MERMAID and along the park and harbor to WARER FOUNTAIN OF GEFION -<br />Gefion Fountain<br />Just past the Resistance Museum is the incongruous British St Alban&#39;s Church, beside which is the dramatic Gefion<br />Fountain. The fountain is based on the story of the goddess Gefion who, according to legend, was promised as<br />much land as she could plough in a single night. She promptly turned her four sons into oxen and ploughed out a<br />chunk of Sweden (creating Lake V?nern), then picked it up and tossed it into the sea ? where it became the Danish<br />island of Zealand. Created in 1908 by Anders Bundgaard, the fountain is one of the largest public monuments in<br />Copenhagen, depicting an enormous bronze Gefion engaging in her work, with water cascading down a series of<br />steps from which huge snakes coil out of the bubbling water. Sadly the fountain has been leaking for a number of<br />years and is now awaiting repairs.<br />Continue to the modern, but elegant Amaliehaven Square, with the Queen&#39;s<br />Palace, Amalienborg right behind the square<br />Amalienborg, the queen?s official residence, comprises four almost identical baroque palaces<br />encasing a large octagon square. From Saly?s famous horseman at the square?s centre you have<br />a free view of Amaliehaven and the waterfront at one end. and Frederikskirken (Marmorchurch)<br />at the other.<br />Marble Church-Frederiks Kirkr-opposite Amalienburg Slot<br />Amaliehaven, situated beside Amalienborg Palace and a few minutes walk from Nyhavn, is<br />Copenhagen?s newest park, constructed by A.P. M?ller in 1983.<br /><br />SHOW<br />Dominique Ava<br /><br />Day  5 June 10<br />Crusing<br /> SHOW<br />The Comedy of Duggie Brown<br /><br />Day  6 June 11<br />Stockholm, Sweden<br />STOCKHOLM<br />MON 11 JUNE 9 ? 5<br />Become acquainted with Stockholm?s oldest and coziest quarter, the Old Town, and the historic<br />elegance of the interior of the Royal Palace. Stockholm began where the Royal Palace stands,<br />though the present edifice of this stately monument of grace and symmetry dates only from the<br />18th century. A massive testament to the Baroque, a huge compound of rock-solid buildings on a<br />hill in the Old Town, the Royal Palace comprises no fewer than 608 rooms. Today, the Stockholm<br />Palace serves as the King?s work place while Drottningholm Palace is the permanent residence of<br />the Royal Family. Visit the State Apartments displaying magnificent baroque and rococo interiors.<br />On this island of antiquity in the heart of the city, experience the medieval intimacy of what is<br />today a living historical monument of international renown. With your guide, you will savor the<br />Bohemian atmosphere and the sense of age in houses dating from the 16th and 17th centuries with<br />Baroque doorways and rusting coats of arms. See the exterior of the Cathedral (Coronation<br />Church), Stortorget (Great Square) - the hub of the Old Town and the Stock Exchange, now the<br />home of the Swedish Academy. Some time is allowed for independent activities and the<br />opportunity to browse in the antique shops, art galleries, and boutiques featuring handicrafts,<br />clothes, jewelry, and souvenirs.<br />First, make your way to the Royal Palace either by walking, or by taxi. From the entrance to the palace (on<br />top of the hill) the pedestrian streets of Old Town (to the west and south downhill) are lined with hundreds of<br />shops that cater to tourists offering everything under the sun. You could easily spend the entire day in Old<br />Town and never exhaust the potential to find something new. Its little cubbies, archways, nooks and<br />crannies just add to its unique shopping experience.<br />GAMLA STAN (OLD TOWN)<br />Gamla Stan, literally &quot;old town,&quot; is a small island in the middle of Stockholm. With narrow stone<br />streets and old buildings, this is a charming area to walk about. You can get there on the T, or just<br />by walking across one of the four short bridges that separates the island from the rest of Stockholm.<br />Things you shouldn&#39;t miss include the Royal Castle and Storkyrkan (&quot;the big church&quot;). Tyska<br />Kyrkan (&quot;the German church&quot;) is also worth seeing. You can hang out in Stor Torget (&quot;the big<br />square&quot;), sit on a bench, go to a restaurant or cafe.<br />Gamla Stan is full of good restaurants and shops.<br />ROYAL PALACE<br />With 608 rooms, the Stockholm Royal Palace is the biggest palace in the world still used by a head<br />of state - King Carl XVI Gustav. The palace houses several of the greatest and most interesting<br />sights in Stockholm - the Royal Apartments, the Hall of State, the Apartments of the Orders of<br />Chivalry, the Treasury, the Tre Kronor Palace Museum, the Armoury and the Museum of<br />Antiquities of Gustav III. The Changing of the Guards ceremony takes place Wednesdays and<br />Saturdays at 12.00 and on Sundays and public holidays at 13.00.<br /><br />SHOW<br />Jacqui Scott<br />The Leading Lady of West End Shows  - Evita, Cats, Miss Saigon<br /><br />Day  7 June 12<br />Helsinki, Finland<br />HELSINKI<br />TUE 12 JUNE 9 ? 6<br />HELSINKI, FOUNDED ON JUNE 12, 1550<br />WALKING ?WHITE CITY OF THE NORTH?<br />Helsinki is also called &quot;The Daughter of the Baltic&quot; or &quot;The White City of the North.&quot; Start your<br />tour by passing the shipyard along the coastal road past Embassy Park and the colorful open-air<br />market; continue for a photo stop at the Senate Square with the elegant Lutheran Cathedral.<br />En route you will pass Uspenski Cathedral and the Icebreakers docked for the summer season.<br />Proceed on to Mannerheim Street, which is the main street through the city, where you can see<br />Parliament House, the National Museum, and Finlandia Hall, which is the concert and convention<br />center designed by the famous architect Alvar Aalto. You&#39;ll also pass the new Contemporary Art<br />museum, Kiasma, designed by the American architect Steve Holl. Continuing on, you will pass the<br />new Opera house completed in 1933 and the Olympic Stadium venue for the Olympic Games in<br />Helsinki in 1952. The tour then arrives at Sibelius Park where you will make a photo stop of the<br />monument of 527 steel pipes, which honor the great Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. Conclude<br />your tour by passing the unique Temppeliaukio Rock Church blasted into solid rock<br />There was not much sightseeing interests at Helsinki which has its activities concentrated<br />around Senate Square with the Government<br /><br /> SHOW<br />Mario and Daniel&#39;s Tango Buenos Aires<br />also 4:30 Helsinki Folkloric Show<br /><br />Day  8 June 13<br />St. Petersburg, Russia  The 2 day Tour arranged by <a href=\"http://www.alla-tour.com/\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.alla-tour.com/</a><br /> Meet at the ship as soon as the ship is cleared by the Russian authorities.<br />Travel to and tour St Nicholas Church, Farmers market and visit subway station/s<br />8:30 -11:00 am - Travel to Tsars Village. Excursion in Catherine&#39;s palace (early entrance)<br />11:00 -12:00 pm - Drive to Peterhof. Lunch (to be purchased or brought from ship) on the way.<br />12:15 - 2:00 pm - Tour of the Fountain Park<br />2:00 - 2:30 pm - Hydrofoil ride to the city<br />3:00 - 4:00 pm - Travel to and excursion in St Peter and Paul<br />4:30 - 5:30 pm - Boat ride along rivers and canals of the city<br />5:30 - 6:45 pm - Shopping<br /><br /><br /><br />SHOW<br />St Petersburg Folkloric Show<br /><br />Day  9 June 14<br />St Petersburg, Russia<br />8:30 am - Meet at the ship<br />9:30 - 12:00 am - Excursion in the Hermitage museum (early entrance)<br />12:30 - 1:15 pm - Lunch<br />1:30 - 4:00 pm - City sightseeing tour including inside visits to Excursion in St. Isaac Cathedral and colonnade and Church on the Blood<br />4:00 - 4:30 pm - Shopping if time permits<br />5:00 pm - Onboard<br />Tour for Russia &#036;265 each<br />SHOW<br />Piano Showman Chris Hamilton<br /><br />Day 10 June 15 (my Birthday)<br />Tallinn, Estonia   Tour arranged by <a href=\"http://www.hot.ee/tours/ind_eng.html\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.hot.ee/tours/ind_eng.html</a><br />8:30 - 9:00 am - ship to clear customs and we meet on pier.<br />9:00 - 11:00 am - transfer to van for city tour ending in lower town<br />11:00 - 12:30 pm - walk about lower town<br />12:30 - 2:00 pm - lunch and free time<br />2:00 - 3.00 pm - transfer to the Upper Town (the Toompea Hill), walk in the Upper Town<br />3:00 - 3:15 pm - transfer by van back to ship.<br /><br />The tour is 30 euros per person <br /><br />Show<br />The Balancing Artistry of Ilia Valeric<br />Comedy of Kelly Monteith<br />Day 11 June 16<br />Crusing<br /> SHOW<br />West End to Broadway by the RC Singers and Dancers<br />Day 12 June 17<br />Crusing<br /> SHOW<br />The Zany Comedy of Neal Austin<br />Day 13 June 18<br />arrive Harwich, England<br />3573 N/Miles <br />As for the ship, staff and check-in it was one of the best cruses I have been on.<br /><br />The big surprise to me was that Jewel of the Seas  not only meet my expectations,  itexceeded them. So many elements of the trip were truly exceptional that I found myself comparing the cruise to those taken  and charge significantly higher tariffs.<br />The ship was beautiful. I have never been a fan of  art collections, and  there were some pieces that were so gorgeous .<br />And as said before Service was consistently top-notch in all areas.<br />The Tides Dining Room is a gorgeously decorated, two-level main restaurant. It is open daily for open-seating breakfast, on sea days for open-seating lunch, and each night for two seatings with assigned tables  and we were on the lower  section and next to the Captains table.<br /><br /> Behind the Windjammer, toward the aft of the ship, is a covered, outdoor area  and beyond that is a much nicer outdoor seating area.. The Windjammer offered casual dinners, generally featuring menu items also being served in the dining room.<br /><br />Don&#39;t miss the fabulous Seaview Cafe. It&#39;s tucked up toward the back and top of the ship and easy to miss but it&#39;s a great spot for fish and chips, burgers. The Solarium Cafe offered pizza.<br /><br />The jewels airy nd light nine deck high atrium, called a Centrum  is wow&#33; It was definitely a passenger magnet; areas around the Centrum, whether on its ground-floor level or five decks above, were constantly in use (during the day there were cooking demos and art auctions, at night dancing to a live trio), with passengers hanging over banisters to watch the scene down below.<br /><br />Other features include a very  selection of shops selling logo wear, a lot of cheap jewelry and duty-free perfumes. The two-deck Coral Theater -- the main show venue.<br />The real action, though, takes place in the ship&#39;s many bars. In fact there are so many that even on a six-night cruise we didn&#39;t manage to hit them all. On top of the ship is the Vortex Disco, the funky bar revolves. It&#39;s primarily the ship&#39;s spot for late night revelry, too, for a pre-dinner cocktail at sunset. Also up top is the Hollywood Odyssey. One of our favorite spaces, it is romantic and cozy -- and a great spot for lovers of torch songs. One gripe: Though we know that cigar smokers have rights, but the jazz was good,  Champagne Bar and the Lobby Bar.  Standing room-only crowds were drawn by the sound.<br />Off the main path a bit was Royal Caribbean&#39;s trademark Schooner Bar -- it&#39;s in the space between Chops Grille and Portofinos. And the Safari Club was the secondary showroom.<br />One bar we never quite cottoned to was the Pit Stop bar; ostensibly the ship&#39;s sports bar, its location was right off the casino and it was hard to hear any of the coverage on the 20+ televisions because of the slot machines.<br />There&#39;s a small library with a desultory collection of books. The ship also has a small cinema. <br />Standard, in all  cabins, are  two twin  beds that converts to a queen,  a mini-fridge  with a few drinks ,television with an assortment of channels , a desk/vanity area and a safe. Ours was 4018.<br />Evenings were very good shows or acts at the Coral Theater -- shows specializing in Broadway-style  singing and dancing . <br />Adventure Ocean, Jewel&#39;s family program, is housed in a sprawling facility that extends outside to a pool with slide. <br />Teens have &quot;Fuel&quot; -- their own facility -- which consists of an area called &quot;The Living Room,&quot; a disco, a juice bar and its own Internet-connected computers at half the price of the terminals in the cyber-centers.  <br />So get booked up and go---------its a great ship.',1183452809,0,'Northern Europe','',1415,'TimeSpliters',1,84,0,0,0,0,0,13721,0,NULL),(251,54,'June 1. 2007','Great experience. I would highly recommend this ship and the Alaska itinerary for couples 45 and older. I would not recommend this itinereary for families with children or those interested in a high energy party experience.','Celebrity Summit June 1, 2007<br />Alaska (Anchorage to Vancouver)<br /><br />I am a 43 year old who took the cruise with my parents for two reasons.  First, I wanted to introduce them to cruising and secondly, I wanted to see Alaska.  My purpose in writing this review is to help others through my experience cruising.  I have had the opportunity to cruise all the major lines to destinations around the world and have found most cruises are what you make of them.<br /><br />The ship?s market focus:  Each ship and its itinerary appeal to a certain market.  The market focus of this particular ship/itinerary was the 50-70 year old age group.  Everything from the entertainment to the level of service catered to that group.  If you do not enjoy the entertainment that 50-70 year-olds enjoy, then you will not enjoy the entertainment on this ship.  The Broadway-style shows were average but the acrobatics featuring Alex and Sally were great.  Most of the entertainment in the bars and lounges also catered to the 50-70 year old age group.  If this ship sailed with a Caribbean itinerary, I think it would cater more to the 35-50 year old market.  <br /><br />Staterooms were what I would expect, being efficient with space but certainly adequate.  The ship provided bathrobes, hairdryer, Q-tips, cotton balls, shampoo, soap, and conditioner.  There were also plenty of towels and the cabin service was outstanding.  One could call between rooms by dialing the number of the cabin you wished to contact.  Room service could be ordered through interactive TV or by phone and was excellent to average depending on how busy they were.  There were no laundry facilities or irons on board; however, the ship offered dry cleaning and laundry service at a reasonable price.<br /><br />Dining: I thought the food was outstanding.  We chose not to dine in the Normandie cover-charge restaurant because we did not think the food or service could be &#036;30 per person better than what we had in the main formal dining room.  The waiters in the main dining room really do attempt to make your experience excellent in every way.  The Waterfall Caf? is the buffet with basically the same food every day but with the food changing during different times of the day.  For example, the homemade pasta and salad bar were open 12-5 in the Waterfall.  Sushi could be found there from 5:00-10:00. There were other food stations open and there were set breakfast and lunch buffet times.  There was also healthy choice dining most of the day in the Aqua Spa Caf?. A hamburger/hotdog station was available 12:00-6:00 and an ice cream station 12:00-10:00.  The create-your-own pizza station was available 12:00-5:00.  During the breakfast and lunch buffet hours, options were plentiful, but the options were basically the same each day.  Anyone who complains about the food and service on this ship makes me envious of the quality of food and service they obviously get at home.<br /><br />Health Club: The Celebrity Summit was no better or worse than most cruise lines in this area.  They did make you pay for some services and access areas standard on other ships.  A dedicated workout and/or health nut would not suffer on this boat.  <br /><br />Alcohol: Celebrity Summit had the absolute most expensive drinks of any ship I have ever been on. But in their defense, they have drink prices very much in line with what is charged in Alaska.  When a draft beer costs &#036;5+ with tip then you know Dorothy is not in Kansas anymore.  After reading most of the reviews and the Celebrity policy on bringing alcohol on board, my advice would be to bring as much as you want on board at the departure port.  The ports are in charge of security that day and port security does not care the amount of alcohol you bring to the ship.  You merely carry the alcohol on in a bag.  My recommendation is to have each bottle in a brown paper bag and put the paper bag bottles in another bag so it is not absolutely obvious what you are doing. Celebrity scans your items after the embarkment day so there is the possibility you could get caught after the first day.  For those following Celebrity?s alcohol policy, you can only bring two bottles of wine on board per stateroom the day of departure and none after that.  <br /><br />The ship?s layout was fine once you got accustomed to what was where.  I did find the ship in excellent shape for its age and very clean.  The hand sanitizer entering all dining rooms was certainly a nice touch.  It is easier to utilize the elevators in the area where your room is located so you have a home base elevator.  There are three main elevator systems: one in front of the ship, one in the rear, and one at mid-ship.  I used the elevator closest to my room to navigate the ship.<br /><br />Shore Excursions: I book most excursions myself, finding I save 20-40% over excursions booked through the ship.  I have done this across the globe but found Alaska the easiest because the ports are American ports and practically anyone can book independently with little worry.  This does take some advance planning and I hope to make this planning easier for readers of this review with the following suggestions in each port.  A bonus to independent travel is you are not on the ship?s tour schedule, allowing you to see more for less with flexibility. <br /><br />Pre-Cruise: We stayed five days in Anchorage using Anchorage as a home base to see Alaska?s interior.  We visited Denali National Park with a flight-seeing tour.  We also took the park service six-hour bus ride into the park.  The one thing I encourage each person to do is to purchase the Great Alaskan Tour Saver coupon book.  It is valuable if you are going to do a pre- or post- cruise independent tour in or around Anchorage/Denali/Seward.  The coupons are good all over Alaska, but most are helpful in and around Anchorage, Denali, and Inside Passage.  The coupons are buy-one-get-one-free featuring BOGOF tours and hotel reservations.  Purchase the toursaver at www.toursaver.com or call (907) 278-7600.  We stayed at two different hotels in Anchorage where we paid for one night and received the second night free.  We also rented a car from the Avis downtown location getting one day rental free while saving the airport car rental fees. Our flight-seeing tour in Denali was buy-one-get-one-free.  <br /><br />Seward, Alaska: We rode the train from Anchorage to Seward.  It was an absolutely beautiful trip.  We spent the night in Seward before boarding the ship at 11:30am the next morning.  If you choose to do this, book your hotel and train trip early as many cruise ship passengers go this route.  Seward is around three hours from Anchorage.  A rental car is not necessary in Seward.  A cab or shuttle can get you to most places of interest.  My suggestions for excursions while in Seward include the resurrection bay tour from Renown Tours and the Sealife Center.  Both have BOGO coupons in The Great Alaskan Toursaver book.  We also took the shuttle to exit glacier.  We boarded the ship early to become familiar with the ship?s layout while few people were on board.  Embarkment was well organized.<br /><br />Hubbard Glacier Cruising: My best advice while cruising the Hubbard Glacier and the surrounding icy water is as follows:<br />1.	View approaching the glacier in ?The Night Club? at the front of the ship Deck 11.  Enjoy the majesty of the glacier while taking no pictures.  Arrive in ?The Night Club? an hour before your closest point to the glacier for best seating.<br />2.	View the departure from the glacier at the Waterfall Caf? Bar on Deck 10 at the back of the ship.  This is where you can take the best pictures without fighting the crowds.  The ship?s initial approach to the glacier is characterized by passengers fighting to get the best position to photograph the glacier.  The departure from the glacier is characterized by very few people taking pictures on Decks 10 and 11 where the best photo opportunities exist.<br /><br />Juneau, Alaska: We rented a car in Juneau and my advice is to book early.  Car rental companies sell out when cruise ships are in port.  We chose Rent-a-Wreck [(907) 789-4111] because they were the only company that would pick up and drop off at the dock.  This is a good choice if you do not mind older cars.  The ladies at the agency were also very helpful in pointing out places of interest.  We visited the Mendenhall Glacier, the Alaskan Brewing Company, Glacier Gardens Rainforest, and the Shrine of St. Therese, all outside the city of Juneau.  The price just for the Mendenhall Glacier and Glacier Gardens  tour  through the cruise ship was &#036;61 per person.  That would have cost us &#036;183.  Our total for the rental car was &#036;57.50 Admission to the Glacier Gardens Rainforest was &#036;22 each, but we had BOGO coupons from the Great Alaskan Toursaver.  We did much more for our money by renting a car and using the toursaver. The area around the cruise dock is completely touristy featuring a tram, shops, and bars.  I recommend the Red Dog Saloon for its entertainment value and you can order a Coke if you prefer not to drink.<br /><br />Skagway: This was another car rental port for us.  We went with Avis and booked directly with the Skagway office at (907) 983-2247.  Sourdough rentals is another option if you do not mind older vehicles. Both companies are in the tourist district near the cruise ship docks.  Skagway is all about the Gold Rush of 1896.  The two major tours are the scenic White Pass Railway and the Skagway Street Car Tour.  The ship charges &#036;112 per person for the 3.5 hour rail tour and &#036;42 per person for the two hour street car tour.  A couple would shell out &#036;308 for the two excursions through the cruise ship.  My advice would be to rent a car and take Klondike Highway 2 into Canada.  (You will need a passport/proof of citizenship.)  The Klondike Hwy follows the same route as the railroad but at a substantially cheaper price.  The bonus for car rental tours is that one can stop to take pictures at their leisure.  We took the road all the way to Whitehorse. Most tourist turn around returning to Skagway in either Carcross or the Emerald Lake.  The Red Onion Saloon is a good place to visit a brothel museum although the entertainment is not as lively as the Red Dog Saloon in Juneau. The Red Onion is near the cruise ship dock.  I also heard good things about the Days of ?98 show that plays at 10:30am, 12:30pm, 2:30pm, and 7:00pm.  The show plays at the Fraternal Order of The Eagle Hall located at 6th avenue and Broadway near the cruise ship dock. One could take the two hour Skagway Street Car Tour at the end of the day depending on when your ship departs.<br /><br />Icy Strait Point: There is not much at Icy Strait Point but the visitor center and the Zip Rider Zip Line experience.  We toured the visitor center (about an hour) and then caught the shuttle to the town of Hoonah. Hoonah was what I believe to be a very authentic Alaskan fishing village. The town is walking distance from the cruise ship dock. There is a path that follows the road into the village. Sample the halibut pizza at the grocery store.  Hoonah had very friendly people and the highest concentration of bald eagles of any place we visited. The shuttle was around &#036;5 dollars per person for the round trip into Hoonah.<br /><br />Ketchikan:  No rental car is needed in this port because most attractions are located within walking distance.  My recommendations are as follows: Visit the Totem Heritage Center and Deer Mountain Tribal Hatchery/Eagle Center. They are located next to each other at the top end of town less than one mile from the cruise ship dock.  The last part is up hill so I suggest a cab/shuttle going up.  Walk and follow the creek back down through the Creek Street Boardwalk. It is a beautiful walk and there is history, restaurants, and shops throughout Creek Street. Both the Tribal Hatchery and Totem Heritage center open at 8:00am in the summer.  The Hatchery is informative and an extra special experience if the salmon are in town.  The Hatchery offers the most up-close bald eagle experience you will get in Alaska.  The Totem Pole Heritage Center is all about history and heritage.  You can buy a combination ticket to both and each offers a guided tour.  My other suggestion for Ketchikan is a Misty Fjords floatplane tour with a lake landing in the fjords.  You can save between &#036;30-&#036;70 by booking yourself online instead of through the cruise ship.  We went with Southeast Aviation (www.southeastaviation.com), booking a month in advance.  Other highly recommended floatplane companies include www.promechair.com and www.islandwings.com .  Book early for best prices.<br /><br />Disembarkment:  Very easy in Vancouver.  The airport shuttle was &#036;12 per person and I left immediately for my flight back to the East Coast.  Vancouver is a beautiful city if you have time to visit. I wish I could have stayed two nights but needed to return home to earn money for my next cruise.  I hope this helps. Happy Travels&#33; <br />',1183998738,0,'Alaska','',3482,'mstarnes',1,141,0,0,0,0,0,13815,0,NULL),(252,28,'06/20/2007','First cruise...lovely and enjoyable and now I am hooked&#33;&#33;','Went with another couple that has cruised before.  This was the first cruise for my husband and me.  We thought everything was wonderful.  We had a balcony room and used it everyday and especially when coming into ports of call.  The only downfall is that it seemed like there was ALOT of kids on the ship.  This would not have been an issue, however they were ramming around on the elevators and spilling stuff in the elevators with no parents in sight or care for the ship.  I am a parent, and I felt the need to say something to security.  They basically said that &quot;we can&#39;t be everywhere on the ship, so pick up a phone and call if u see this again&quot;.  Just had the air about them, that they really did not want to be bothered.  This didn&#39;t ruin the cruise at all....but everyone wants to know if there were any negatives and this is the only thing I can find&#33;&#33;&#33;  So I guess that is a good thing, lol.  We were not home 24 hours and I was online looking for our next cruise....I am officially hooked&#33;&#33;.....Lynn',1184951561,0,'Eastern Caribbean','',3480,'LynnS13',1,244,0,0,0,0,0,13988,0,NULL),(253,110,'07-15-07','We love sailing on the Caribbean Princess&#33;  Already booked our next cruise for next year&#33;  Great crew, everything is clean, sometimes they are too anxious with their upkeep.','On Sunday, July 15, we woke up at about 3:00am to catch a 6:00am flight at O&#39;Hare Airport.  Our flight was wonderful with no problems, and we really enjoyed the MD-80 we flew on.  We arrived at Fort Lauderdale right on time, and met with the Princess airport transfer person.  While waiting just a short time to get on the bus for Port Everglades, we overheard a couple talking to the Princess transfer person.  All 3 of their checked bags were lost by the airlines&#33;  We felt so bad for them&#33;  Unfortunately, we don&#39;t know what happened to them or their bags.  That is always a terrible fear for all of us&#33;<br /><br />We arrived at Port Everglades around noon.  Waited in a quick line, and embarked the ship within an hour.  We walked passed the first photo opportunity on the gangway.  I didn&#39;t feel like it because I was hot and had been through it before.  (That wouldn&#39;t be a pic I would want to purchase.  By then, all makeup was worn off anyway.)  <img src=\"style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blush.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\":blush:\" border=\"0\" alt=\"blush.gif\" /> <br /><br />We dropped off our carry-on luggage in our room on the Dolphin Deck.  Our room number was D218.  It was nice, just as we expected.  We had the same room last year.  We were greeted by our room steward, Restituto, or Rusty, as he liked to be called.  I don&#39;t think he ever slept.  He was great and welcomed us back on board after checking our cruise card and noticing it was gold.  (I felt so special&#33;)  He gave us our champagne and we checked out the room.  I noticed that our itinerary had COMPLETELY changed.  It really was not a big deal, but I was only expecting one port change.  Had to make some adjustments to my own schedule that I brought with.  Like to write down the ports, places to shop, things to see, etc.  I am an organizational freak.  Mike, my hubby, has learned to ignore my OCD.  After a few changes to the schedule, we went off to eat lunch.  We had our lunch at the buffet.  Not totally impressive, but I love their soups&#33; <br /><br />After lunch, we stopped back at the room, to check our luggage.  It was all there&#33;  We unpacked some items, and got ready for the muster drill.  Our muster station was in the Caribbean Princess Theatre.  It was a lot of fun watching the entire theatre turn orange while trying on our lifejackets.  <br /><br />After the drill, we partied on the deck and enjoyed the sail away party.  We went to dinner at our traditional dining time, 6:00pm in the Palm dining room.  If you have never been on the ship before, you could have been confused about how to get to this dining room.  You have to walk to the end of the ship and take ONLY the far left or right elevator.  After this navigation, the dining room is right off of the elevator.  <br /><br />Dinner was great.  Our waiter was Alex.  He was very professional, and we hoped to loosen him up by the end of the week.  We sat next to a great couple the whole cruise&#33;  Nate and Angie were on their honeymoon and booked the 14 day itinerary.  This was their 8th day on the ship, and we really enjoyed their company.  Coincidentally, they are from Illinois as well&#33;  But it gets better&#33;  We hung out together every night.  They ended up taking the same flight home with us&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;  We couldn&#39;t have planned better coincidences.  <br /><br />Anyway, we went back to our room after dinner, and went to bed.  We were beat&#33;<br /><br />Monday, July 16th.  We woke up early for a 7am breakfast.   One of our only breakfasts in the dining room during the whole cruise.  We couldn&#39;t wake up in time and had to eat at the morning buffet.  I had an 8:00am pedicure appointment at the Lotus Spa.  I love how I am treated there.  I felt like a queen after my foot massage, and bought some oil for my feet.  I guess I got sucked into it, but it was the only thing I bought at the Spa.  We took care of odds and ends this day.  We booked our next cruise through the future cruise booking center.  We will sail July 19, 2008 on the Caribbean Princess out of New York, and enjoy the caribbean.  It is a 9 day cruise, and we would like to stay a few days to enjoy New York.  We are so excited, and can&#39;t wait to spend our shipboard credits&#33;  We also visited the Captain&#39;s Circle Membership desk, and didn&#39;t find the woman to be that friendly.  There was a long line behind us and she seemed preoccupied by it.  I took my new Caribbean stamp to put in my Princess Passport book, and we were off.  Sorry to have bothered her during a busy time.   <img src=\"style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/unsure.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\":unsure:\" border=\"0\" alt=\"unsure.gif\" /> <br /><br />We visited Princess Cays today, and enjoyed one of our only sunny days.  I layed in the sun, and Mike played a ton of beach volleyball.  If you have never visited Princess Cays there are many tips I could give:<br />If you plan on swimming, bring water shoes.  The rocks/coral could cut up your feet in a second.  <br /><br />You can NOT use your Coke card on the island.  You must pay for all drinks.  Except water and iced tea.  <br /><br />If you rented a beach cabana, DO NOT wait in the rental line.  you could wait up to 20 minutes and they will just tell you what I&#39;m about to say:  Walk around the beach, and simply choose a cabana that hasn&#39;t been put together yet.   Find a staff member to assemble it for you.  They wear Princess Cays shirts.  I believe they are yellow.  You simply hand him your beach cabana ticket, and they are off to help others.<br /><br />If you are interested in playing basketball on the island, you will be disappointed.  When we visited the island last year, the basketball and the net were stolen by the locals.  This year, they had a net&#33;  My husband got really excited.  However, the ball was deflated and no one had a pump.   <img src=\"style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\":sad2:\" border=\"0\" alt=\"sad.gif\" />   He was stuck playing sand volleyball.<br /><br />By the end of the day, there&#39;s no more water in the coolers around the island.  Solution:  Flip the top of the cooler open, and take a cup full of ice.  It melts in no time, and is just as refreshing.  <br /><br />If you want to be a cheap skate, take this advice:  Bring your camera on the island.  You will not be sorry you did.  When you pass over the bridge for the rental station, stop and have someone take a picture with you and the ship in the background.  You are being a cheap skate, because early in the day, Princess photographers offer to take the same picture that you would pay big bucks for on the ship.  Take this picture at the end of the day when the Princess photographer is gone.  This way, you will not be wasting their time.  This picture is one of my favorites from our trip&#33;<br /><br />Tuesday, July 17  Today begins our first few days of rain, rain, and more rain.  Today was not a good day for me.  The storms, 8 foot waves, and choppiness contributed to my terrible bout of sea sickness.  I visited the doctor today to get medicine.  I didn&#39;t eat all day, and slept almost all day and night.  I was dead to the world.   <img src=\"style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sick.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\":sick:\" border=\"0\" alt=\"sick.gif\" /> <br /><br />Wednesday, July 18  St. Thomas, USVI  I was so excited today because I felt much better when I woke up.  After going through customs, and watching someone get grilled about their credentials, we decided to check out St. Thomas.  I thought I would enjoy this island more, but I didn&#39;t.  The shopping deals were not as great as everyone boasted about.  I tossed around buying either a Coach purse, a Tiffany bracelet, or a Cache dress.  I picked the Coach purse and did not regret it.  After pushy salespersons, and observing poverty stricken people and buildings, I was ready to get back on the ship.  However, all I was looking forward to was Magens Bay Beach.  We really enjoyed the softness of the sand.  This beach is now on National Registry.  I thought it was gorgeous and will return to it when our ship stops in St. Thomas next year.  However, I have many cons about this beach.  These are:  <br />You pay for admission into the beach.  Where does this money go towards?  The bathrooms are atrocious.  I was disgusted, but when you have to go.......<br /><br />Also, the line for food was approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes long.  I am not exaggerating&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;  We waited in line for about 15 minutes when a family in front of us started talking to us.  We laughed and discussed what we would change if we worked there.   <img src=\"style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\":laugh:\" border=\"0\" alt=\"laugh.gif\" />   They were so nice.  You won&#39;t believe what they did&#33;  They gave us their food&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;  They told us that a couple who had to catch a bus to their cruise ship, didn&#39;t have time to eat their food, so they gave their gyros to this family.  The kids had never eaten gyros before, and would rather wait in the long line then eat food they&#39;d never tried before.  Walaaa&#33;  FREE FOOD&#33;   We were so thankful&#33;  On the way back to the ship, we took some really great pictures.     <br /><br />Thursday, July 19  St. Maarten  Rain, rain, and more rain&#33;  It rained, so we slept in late hoping it would pass.  It didn&#39;t, so we ventured out.  We loved this island.  The people were friendly, and it was beautiful.  Wish it wasn&#39;t raining.  We were hoping to go to the beach.  We went back to the ship for a late lunch.  We were nervous about eating out and after our food experience yesterday, we didn&#39;t want to take any chances.  After dinner and shows, we ventured up to Skywalkers Nightclub.  This is the place that gets me through hard days at work.  I think about the entrance to the club.  This includes a moving walkway with  amazing views of the ocean and ship on each side.  Once you are up there, the dance floor is always hopping, and the views of the ocean are amazing.  While sitting at a table, you look straight down into the wake the ship is leaving behind.  Truly amazing.  Anyway, we met a lot of great friends that we saw and partied with each night.  <br /><br />Friday, July 20  At sea More and more and more RAIN&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;   UGGGGGGGGGHHHHH&#33;  We made the best of these rain days, but it did not bode well for my fading, beautiful tan.  Mike played in the basketball shootout, but did not place for a medal.  He had fun anyway.  It was nerve racking up there, though.  The court is at the very top of the ship.  It was getting more and more windy as the shootout was still going on.  I thought I was going to get blown off the ship by the gusty winds and occassional rain.  By the end of the shootout, I was ready to go back to the room to hold onto something sturdy.  Tonight was formal night, and we enjoyed the Princess Circle Captain&#39;s cocktail party.  We really enjoyed ourselves.  They announced the most traveled person on Princess Cruise lines.  The winner actually surpassed the captain by 8 days at sea.  He didn&#39;t want to admit it because of his pride.  However, we knew we were in good hands with Captain Giuseppe Romano.  We made our 6:00 dinner seating with our favorite couple and saw some great shows together.  We saw Carl Strong, a funny comedian who made up some of his acts as he went along.  But, you couldn&#39;t tell.  He had us rolling on the floor&#33;  We also enjoyed the hypnotist act.  It definitely didn&#39;t look like it was staged.  We really laughed our butts off with him.  We also saw Bert Stratton.  He&#39;s entertaining, but I can only sit through one full show.  The Elvis impersonation is annoying, since I&#39;m not a huge fan.  Mike took a picture of me in front of our cabin door with the Cruise Crazies sign this night.  We partied the night away at the nightclub this night as well.<br /><br />Saturday, July 21  At sea  A partly sunny day?????  We were feeling pretty excited when we woke up this day.  Finally, good weather&#33;  We got up mid morning to search for deck loungers.  After a terrible argument with an entire family, we finally settled into our stolen deck chairs.  Oh, come on&#33;  Their family told us they were eating lunch.  How dare we steal their chairs?  Oh well, we were just at the buffet, and it took us 45 minutes to get through the line and sit down to eat.  Did I do the wrong thing?  Who knows.  Saving a deck lounger for someone who doesn&#39;t come back is a little weird.  After making this family mad for 1 hour, we got up and left.  They were glad to see us go.  Today was also the final Survivor challenge.  Mike seemed to have made his way into this competition.  I was hoping for some awesome prizes in the end.  After beating out a bunch of people, he finished number 5 out of six final people.  He won a Princess reversible bag, a bracelet, a hat, a lanyard, and a bottle of champagne&#33;  I love my husband&#33;  He knows how to make me happy.  Free stuff&#33;  We split the bottle of champagne with Angie and Nate at dinner that night.  We saw the final show in the Princess Theatre.  The juggler was a disappointment, and Ms. Fox, the singer, seemed a little too full of herself to perform to an audience.  The ending act was Carl Strong, and he was worth waiting for.  He was a knee slapper all night.  He went out in the audience and made jokes about/with the people.  It was great&#33;Our awesome cruise was coming to an end, but we were looking forward to spending time with Angie and Nate at the airport.  I really dislike packing my luggage before dinner the last night of the cruise.  How sad.   <img src=\"style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif\" style=\"vertical-align:middle\" emoid=\":sad2:\" border=\"0\" alt=\"sad.gif\" />   <br /><br />Sunday, July 22 Disembarkation at Port Everglades, Florida Disembarkation was a breeze and we were at the airport around 11:30.  Our flight was at 5:25pm.  We sat at the airport all day, and had lunch with Angie and Nate at Chili&#39;s.  If they weren&#39;t there, I think Mike and I would have been so bored&#33;  Could you believe while we were waiting for our flight, a terrible thunder/lightning storm came through and delayed some flights?  This weather was following us&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;  Our flight was only 20 minutes late even after the storm.  <br /><br />We really love the Caribbean Princess and will be taking our 3rd cruise on this same ship next year.  We are counting down the days until the next cruise.  There are some changes that could be done on the ship.  A few things I would like to see change on the Caribbean Princess:<br /><br />The bathroom tiles in our room show a lot of wear.  I think the clothesline above the tub causes this to happen.  Perhaps they could move this line directly over the shower.<br /><br />Offer other free drinks besides water and iced tea.  Perhaps lemonade, or even pop.  I don&#39;t think they would go bankrupt if they gave away soda at meal times.  They made a pretty penny off our bar bill, and it didn&#39;t even include soda. <br /><br />Extend the buffet time on Princess Cays Island.  I know they bring everything off the ship, but they should extend this time.  Also, they should refill the water containers on the island as well.  The bars close at an early time, so you can&#39;t even get a water if you wanted.  <br /><br />Perhaps they could fix the basketball situation on Princess Cays as well.  <br /><br />They were doing some work 2 decks below us at 8:00 one morning.  They were hammering and drilling, and no one warned us of this situation.  The front desk was VERY apologetic.  They were pretty embarassed by the maintenance crew and assured us it wouldn&#39;t happen again.  I told them a simple warning would have been just fine with me.  If I was expecting the ruckus, I would have been more accepting of the situation.  I do like seeing the upkeep of the ship.  They were constantly fixing and cleaning things.  I like seeing that.<br /><br />All in all, we had an absolutely wonderful time.<br /><br />',1185736782,0,'Eastern Caribbean','',3331,'MrsAmanda7',1,213,0,0,0,0,0,14098,0,NULL),(254,110,'July 8, 2007-July 22, 2007','This cruise was our honeymoon and our very first cruise ever and it was amazing&#33;  We loved 15 days in the Eastern and Western Caribbean&#33;','My husband Nate and I left at midnight directly after our reception and we were dead on our feet.  When we arrived on the boat we pretty much passed out the first evening since we had gotten married, gone through the reception, packed, flown, borded the ship, and had been up for 38 hours.  Once we got a chance to look around we were in awe.  This boat is huge and absolutley wonderful&#33;  <br /><br />Our trip began with Princess Cays.  That was a great day of winding down from all the excitement and stress of the wedding.  We had a nice peaceful day at the beach.  Anyone who loves a good beach would love it here.<br /><br />We then had a day at sea where we proceeding to learn as much as we could about the boat and found the greatest (in our opinion) spot to hang out and relax on the deck.  The back of the ship on decks 16-17 had an awsome view and had this peaceful air about it.  This is where we spent alot of time when we were at sea.<br /><br />Wed July 11th was a funfilled trip to Ocho Rios where we got our first experiences with the tours.  We got to explore the caves where escaped slaves hid and climbed the beautiful Dunn&#39;s River Falls which was one of my personal favorites.  On the downside of Jamaica it was a bit startling to have people walk up and grab you to get your attention or your wallet not sure which.  They kinda freaked me out a bit having never really experienced such pushy vendors.<br /><br />Thursday July 12th we got to see Grand Cayman.  My husband and I went to Hell and the turtle farm.  He keeps telling people we got married and within a week we had gone to Hell and back.  I find this highly amusing&#33;  The semi-sub was also a wonderful first time experience.  <br /><br />From there we immediatly arrived at Cozumel on Friday.  We never did see the island because we went inland to see Tulum which was an all day excursion but worth it.  The Mayan ruins were amazing and the tour guide we had seemed to know his history very well (that or he was a really good storyteller).  Either way it was all so interesting if you like historical tours.<br /><br />On the 14th we had a restful day at sea where we enjoyed wonderful shows which we did every night.  Joshua Seth the hypnotist and the comedian Philadelphia were amazing and I highly recommend them.  We also met wonderful people that first week.  A couple named Ray and Sue sat next to us every evening for our set meal time in the Palm dining room.  Unfortunately they only had the week cruise and we had to say goodbye.<br /><br />The second week was just as amazing as the first week if not better due to the fact we met a couple who helped make the week so much better&#33;  We ported in Ft. Luaderdale on Sunday and arrived Saturday at the Princess Cays again for another relaxing beach day.<br /><br />One nice thing about the cruise was that we got to keep the same room, room stewards, and the waiters for our nightly dining.  There we met Amanda and Mike who also had the same dining options for the week.  We began talking and discovered that they were from IL also.  We began to hang out every night and see the shows that were available together.  Nate and I also went to watch Mike in the survivor series that went on onboard which was really enjoyable to watch.  <br /><br />On Tuesday July 17th we enjoyed yet another day relaxing at sea.   July 18th was St. Thomas which was awsome.  We did a helmet dive which was so much fun.  There were so many tours to choose from but this one was enjoyable and a new experience.  We also got to explore Coral World while we were there which was very enjoyable.  <br /><br />July 18 was St. Maarten. Nate and I attempted a beginner class of scuba diving which he passed and I did not.  It was worth a try but with the rough waves due to not so great weather I struggled a bit more.  I have not given up though. We are going to get certified here at home and try again next year.  <br /><br />We then had two days at sea which was nice to give us time to wind down from all the excitement before returning home.  The weather was not great this second week compared to the first one, but the second week was more special because we made friends who we will be able to keep in contact with.  We enjoyed hanging out with Mike and Amanda and were grateful they had the same flight as us.  The wait for our flight was so incredibly long and we would have gone stir crazy if it wasn&#39;t for them.  I do think the people sitting inbetween us on the plane thought we were all crazy.  Oh well thats what makes life fun though&#33;  Overall this is one of the best vactaions Nate and I have ever been on and we hope to make a tradition of cruising from now on.<br /><br />There is SO much more that could have been added, but time and space make including everything impossible.  Needless to say we had no desire to get off the boat and return to the &quot;real&quot; world.  (Can we do this ride again?)',1185775261,0,'Western Caribbean','',3544,'AngieAnn',1,110,0,0,0,0,0,14111,0,NULL),(255,115,'07/28/07','Overall experience was absolutely wonderful..&#33; A great ship, wonderful crew.','We&#39;ve booked a cruise from Venice to Barcelona, 12 day meditterean cruise with my father, brother and boyfriend. We got in Venice a day early because our flight from Amsterdam was way cheaper that day<br /><br />Embarkation:<br /><br />Since we couldn&#39;t wait to see the newest ship in the princess fleet we decided to go early. We got there by 12.30 and there was no line at all..&#33;&#33; Once we got checked in and got our cruise cards (which was 10 minutes after we dropped off our bagage) we took our welcome onboard picture and got to the ship by bus. The ship was faboulous&#33; We&#39;ve been onboard the Star and Carribbean and they are pretty much similar but these small things make a huge difference. Since it was my boyfriends first cruise we just started to check out the ship while it was still queit.<br /><br /><br />The ship:<br /><br />We all just loved the Emerald Princess.. Everything was so modern(autosoap, automatic doors everywhere and all those little things)  One thing different from the Grand class is the backship. I personally liked this better&#33; It?s so open and nicely decorated. Not the big skywalker above you which only gives shade&#33; Also different is the atrium. They call it the Piazza and I think it?s really,really beautiful&#33; They added the Vines and Seafood bar and the Internatiol cafe both had little charges on their food and ofcourse the drinks. <br /><br />Dinner:<br /><br />We had Anytime Dining.. We didn&#39;t chose it ourselves but we absolutely LOVED it&#33; We always had dinner in the Michelangelo diningroom located on deck 5,midships. Our first waiters were okay but suddenly they were very stressed so we chose to get another table. Second day we got Ramona and Milo. They were absolutely amazing&#33; Very nice, very proffesional they were just awesome at what they did. So we stucked with them all of our cruise. That what was so nice about anytime dining. We got the same table every night but we could just show up at any time..wonderful&#33; The food was also really nice.. even though one day I asked for a medium filet mignon and it was overdone.. For dessert I asked for vanilla ice cream with fresh strawberries even though it wasn&#39;t on the menu I ofcourse got it. <br /><br />Stateroom:<br /><br />My boyfriend and I were in C203 (deck 10, front ship) and my dad and brother were in C221 just a few staterooms down the hall. We had an inside stateroom just as always because we&#39;re just never there. The room was nice and comfortable not too big ofcourse, but certainly not too small. The sheets we&#39;re soooo comfortable&#33; Our stateroom steward was Laurence.. A really nice guy from the Phillipines who did a great job&#33; The tv had the news channels, Eurosport, Princess Channels and a few movie channels with different movies over the 2 weeks. <br /><br />I could talk hours and hours over the Ports of Call but the medditerean is just as wonderful. We had: Venice, Athens, Kusadasi, Istanbul, Mykonos(which we skipped because of bad winds) Naples, Rome(WONDERFUL&#33;) Livorno, Marseille and Barcelona.<br /><br />Disembarkation:<br /><br />Went just as smooth as our embarkation. We had Yellow 3 which supposed to disembark between 8.10/8.30. We had breakfast at the Horizon Court and got called right at 8.15. We got in to the terminal found our luggage within 5 minutes where the cabs we&#39;re waiting in line and everybody was escorted in one by police. <br /><br />Pictures are coming soon since when I&#39;m typing this I&#39;m still in a hotel at barcelona<br /><br />Chiara still Princesslover',1186765643,0,'Western Mediterranean','',3340,'Princesslover',1,159,0,0,0,0,0,14234,0,NULL),(256,106,'08-11-07','We had a fantastic time on our first Freestyle cruise...one glitch with the dinner reservations, but not enough to ruin the cruise. I&#39;d recommend this to all. <br />','NCL Pride of America Aug 11-18 2007:<br /><br />This was a family vacation for us, which included my hubby and myself, my two sons and their wives and one set of in-laws; 8 of us in all.  Four of us flew in from Los Angeles, and four flew in from Las Vegas.  The Vegas group spent a few days on Maui before the cruise.  Our group flew in on the day of the cruise.<br /><br />We arrived at the airport in Honolulu approximately 11:30am.  After gathering our luggage, we headed to the front of the airport and immediately found a shuttle to get us to the port.  We had heard different costs for getting to the port, but in the end, it cost us a total of &#036;9.00/person because we bought the roundtrip ticket.  If we hadn&#39;t, it would have cost us &#036;15.00/person.  The Vegas group took a limo ride to the port, and it cost them a total of &#036;27.  (when we got off the ship later in the week, after the cruise, there was no line at all for the shuttle, while there was a very long line for people waiting for taxis). <br /><br />When we arrived at the port, there was a very long line to check in, even though we were told we wouldn&#39;t be able to get on the ship until 1:00pm.  We stood on the line for a total of about 2 minutes until I looked around and realized there was a separate line for Latitudes members.  We had sailed on NCL one time before, about 13 years ago, and we are Latitudes members.  I did have my number with me, but not the numbers of any of the other members of our group.  The lines for Latitudes members had about 5 people on it.  They never asked for my membership number, and we were onboard within about 15 minutes.<br /><br />The staff leads you first to Deck 6 to make reservations for the first night&#39;s dinner.  I had done a lot of research in advance of this trip of which restaurants were onboard, what type of food they had, whether there was a cover charge, etc., and tried to coordinate with our group about which restaurants we wanted to eat in each day.  Since we were a group of 8 people, with everyone doing different excursions each day, it was somewhat difficult to decide what time, and where to eat.  We knew we wouldn&#39;t be spending a lot of time during the days together, so we really wanted to meet for dinner as often as possible.  I had a list of which reservations I wanted to make in advance.  <br /><br />There were about 6 people sitting at a table, taking reservations for dinner for the first night, and &#39;requests&#39; for the second night.  We were not allowed to actually &#39;book&#39; our reservations for dinners until the day before.  This turned out to be the only glitch in the entire vacation.  We were able to put in &#39;requests&#39; for every night, however, the ladies at the computers taking these requests cannot figure out how to put them in, nor can they figure out how to change them if there is an error.  i.e.: one of our cabin numbers was 8708.  The girl mistakenly put in #8608, and couldn&#39;t figure out how to change it.  Thus, #8608 had a reservation for the French restaurant one night, but they didn&#39;t want that...and we didn&#39;t know them&#33;  We were told the restaurants would just take our names anyway, not our cabin number, but that wasn&#39;t the case.  Turns out we had three different people calling us in the cabin each day, telling us what our restaurants reservations were...and at one point, none of them were correct.  I spent much more time at the dinner reservations desk than was necessary.  If they had just BOOKED the reservations from the begiining, when you first get onboard, instead of just taking &#39;requests&#39;, they could have avoided every problem.  We even had to deal with the restaurant manager, who put our entire week&#39;s reservations in (not supposed to be able to do that), but the girl who inserted it into the computer did it wrong.  This part of the cruise was a nightmare.  <br /><br />After making our dinner requests, we first headed to our cabin.  My hubby and I gave this trip to our children and their wives for a holiday gift, and we bought inside cabins for all of us. We have dealt with the same cruise travel agent for almost all of our 15 cruises, and he&#39;s been extremely good to us.  For this trip, he was able to upgrade all four cabins to balcony cabins, so that was a special treat for us...especially in Hawaii.  The cabin was very nice, a small balcony, but just right for us.  One of our sons had a cabin in the very back of the ship, so while his cabin was exactly the same as ours, his balcony was at least twice the size of ours.  <br /><br />After leaving our carry-on bags in the cabin, we headed for the Aloha Cafe on deck 11 to start our week of pigging out.  The food onboard was plentiful and very good in every restaurant. <br /><br />At 4:30pm we had Muster, which was very quick and easy.  We were free after that to look around the ship until sailing at 8:00pm.  My daughter-in-law had mentioned that she wanted to buy a large beach bag.  I was walking around the ship and came upon a desk where two ladies were asking for people to sign up to do a survey towards the end of the trip to critique the cruise and they&#39;d give a free beach bag for our time.  I brought my dil down to the desk and they gave her the bag.  I signed up to do the interview for later in the trip.  <br /><br />We had dinner scheduled in the Lazy J&#39;s Steakhouse the first night.  The food was very good, however, the timing seemed to be a bit off.  They brought all our side dishes about 15 minutes before the meats, so the sides were almost cold by the time we were ready to eat.  My daughter-in-law ordered a full lobster, and it looked great...she said it was delicious.  The food was very good, just not quite timed right.  The restaurant was extremely cold...so cold that my hubby had to go back to the cabin to get his jacket.  This is someone who never gets cold.  <br /><br />My husband and I had rented a car through the cruise ship for Hilo, and had our youngest son and his wife with us.  It was &#036;39 for a compact, and we always take Lost Waiver Damage insurance (our son works for a car rental place and tells us always take ONLY this insurance).  The insurance cost us &#036;19.99.  When we got to the airport (there is a shuttle that picks you up at the port), there were no cars available for any of the car rental places.  There were people waiting for all cars.  Not...there are no compact cars available, not there are no cars available to upgrade to, just, there are no cars available...period.  The car rental places definitely need to stock up on cars in the city of Hilo.  It was 45 minutes before we were able to get a car.  <br /><br />We drove to Kilauea Crater, and spent most of the day driving around, enjoying the scenery, taking lots of pictures.  <br /><br />That night we ate in Teppanyaki, the Hibachi Japanese restaurant.  This had a &#036;20 cover charge, and in my opinion, was worth much more.  The food was delicious and it was fun to have a show, seeing it prepared right in front of us.  The restaurant, East meets West, is divided into three different restaurants, so you need to request which one you want (this was not explained when we first got on board, and I only realized it after we had explored the ship on our own).  <br /><br />The next day was Maui (Kahului), and hubby and I rented a car again, drove around on our own.  This time there were plenty of cars available.  Went into Lahaina, had lunch there, took pics of the Banyan tree, shopped a little, etc. <br /><br />We stayed overnight in Maui, and the following day, we headed out to do a Zipline at Haleakala Ranch.  This is not &#39;my&#39; kind of excursion, however, I was the one who chose it.  It is listed as &#39;moderate activity&#39; in the brochure of excursions, and I thought our family would enjoy it.  Let&#39;s just say that if &#39;I&#39; can do this, ANYONE can do this.  They start you off by giving you a lot of equipment including a harness and helmet.  There is a short hike to the first zipline (there are 5 ziplines), ranging from &#39;bunny slope&#39; to &#39;expert&#39;.  By the time the excursion was over, we were all experts...we had to be, because there&#39;s no way to get back to the lodge except do the zipline&#33;  I will say I wasn&#39;t too nervous until we got to the last zipline.  It was long, long, looooong.  We also had to hold on a little differently than with the other ziplines.  We weren&#39;t just stepping off, we were running to get a start, which made us even faster.  It&#39;s the sort of excursion I&#39;m glad I did, once in a lifetime, and at the time think I&#39;ll never do it again.  But, I&#39;m pretty sure I will do it again some time.  It was the highlight of the trip. <br /><br />For Kona the following day we had a Pinnzgauer excursion scheduled, however, during the day before the captain came on the intercom and told us we would not be able to stop at Kona because of a possible hurricane.  We spent the day at sea instead and they had plenty of activities scheduled for us.  I wasn&#39;t all that disappointed about missing out on the Pinnzgauer...after the zipline, I needed a relaxing day at sea.  (the ship did not have any problems w/ the hurricane...never felt it)<br /><br />In Kauai hubby and I rented a car again, and we watched a woman ahead of us take the last compact car.  The staff at the car rental place apologized and said he could only give us a full size car or a convertible.  Awwww....a convertible in Hawaii?  What a sacrifice.  So, off we went and drove north to see the wet and dry caves.  Made a number of stops along the way and took pictures.  The following day our oldest son had a convertible and we hopped in the car with he and his wife and we headed south to Waimea Canyon.  Beautiful scenery, and we enjoyed the day.  <br /><br />That evening we did the Luau Kalamaku.  I&#39;ve only been to one other luau, and that was years ago in Oahu.  This one had people selling beautiful crafts, dancers, games to play, then a ceremony for the pig, and then the feast and show.  The food was good, not exceptional, but the show was very good, and entertaining.  <br /><br />After we sailed on Friday, my hubby and I went up to the conference room to do the interview I had signed up for earlier in the week.  The interview was run by Synovate, and they told me they have been travelling around with NCL on different itineraries, getting the opinions of people who are cruising with them.  The interview took about an hour, and I unloaded on them.  I told them I felt they were discouraging large groups from travelling with them because of their policies for making reservations for the different restaurants.  There is no problem when it&#39;s just two of you, but for a large group, it&#39;s impossible.  That was our main complaint about the cruise.  I really think they can even have people sign up for restaurants online in advance just like they do for the excursions.  For my time, they offered me a &#036;20 onboard credit and a bottle of wine.  We don&#39;t drink wine, so they gave me a blanket instead, and this was in addition to the beach bag my daughter-in-law received. <br /><br />The last night we all ate in Little Italy, a specialty restaurant, but no cover charge.  The antipasto was wonderful.  I had chicken parmegian, which was delicious, and then for dessert the &#39;chocolate salami&#39;.  Sort of like a fudge, but it really looked like salami.  <br /><br />In general, the cruise was wonderful, and like I said, the only glitch was the dinner reservations.   The ship is beautiful, easy to navigate.  The food was delicious, and the service on board ship was excellent.  We really enjoyed having an American crew.  Our cabin steward, Arnold, was never around, but somehow he anticipated our every need.  We just left him a note if we needed something, and when we got back to the cabin, the item was there.  <br /><br /> We had heard bad things about this cruise before we even left home, and none of it came through.  We&#39;re already looking into our next Freestyle cruise (this was our first one)...we loved it, and we&#39;ll certainly do it again.',1187638864,0,'Hawaii','',1823,'Suzila',1,149,0,0,0,0,0,14364,0,NULL),(257,147,'8/17/07 - 8/26-07','This was one of our best cruises, expecially viewing it through the eyes of our first time cruisers with us.','Keeping a promise we made many years ago to take Heather &amp; Caitlin on a cruise to celebrate their graduation we chose this 9 day Bermuda/Caribbean cruise on the Explorer of the Seas.  <br /><br /> Friday We arrived at Cape Liberty NJ at 11:15, waited in a car line for about 10 minutes then dropped off our luggage and passengers and proceeded to the parking area.  Plenty of parking was available.  Upon entering the terminal and showing our tickets we were directed to the Priority Lounge where we were checkin in, had our sea pass photo taken, our embarkation photo taken and were on the bus to the ship in less than 5 minutes. (Boy did this special treatment impress Heather &amp; Caitlin ) During the 2 minute ride to the ship the girls were stunned by the size of the Explorer.  <br /><br />Since cabins would not be ready til 1PM we went to the Windjammer for lunch.  The food was standard buffet food - some very good - some not.   We did eat some of our breakfasts and most of our lunches here though as there was always something  for us here.  We had room service breakfast on Port days and it always arrived on time and warm if not hot.  <br /><br />Once the rooms were ready we checked them out - we were in 8302 - a balcony cabin and the girls were right across the hall in 8301 - a Promonade cabin.  Their room was all ready with the Bon Voyage  Decorations we had ordered and they were off to Explore the Ship until 4:30 when it was time for Muster Drill.  Before Muster drill our luggage arrived so by 4:30 we were all unpacked and ready to enjoy our cruise.  RC has recently put new bedding on all their ships and what a difference it makes&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;  Wonderful pillow topped mattresses and new soft bedding.  <br /><br />We sailed at 5PM and it was overcase, windy and not really great deck weather but we stayed on deck til we passed under the Verrazanno Bridge - a sight not to be missed on any NY sail-away.  <br /><br />We found our dining room table - 456  - a table for 6 all the way tucked away in the corner - but our wait staff was so great that first night we decided to stay where we were rather than requesting a table change.   We had another couple at our table but I had hoped to have some teens for the girls to meet.  Dinners were very good - the new menus are a bit small but we never left there hungry.  <br /><br />After dinner we explored the ship some more - went to the Welcome aboard show (it was OK - nothing great)  and introduced the girls to the Casino.  Shortly after entering the casino the seas got quite rough (later reported by the Captain as 15&#39;) and we were treated to a lightening show like I have never seen before.   Even the crew were by the windows watching.   It was truly amazing.  There seemed to be no breaks at all between the strikes.  After later being gently rocked to sleep I awoke the next morning to the smoothest seas we have seen in a long time which fortunately would stay with us for the next 8 days.<br /><br />Saturday was a sea day - wonderfully calm seas and lots to see and explore on the Explorer and the girls did it all.  They went Ice Skating, played shuffle board, ping pong and explored some more.  They were amazed at the Promonade and all the shops.<br /><br />Sunday we arrived in Bermuda - our all time favorite port.  Being there from 8 - 5 is a real teaser but we still managed to take the girls to Horseshoe Beach, do some shopping and take them to the Dolphin swim which they just loved. <br /><br />Monday was a sea day again - more hot weather and smooth seas.  Finding a lounge chair by the pool was a problem but we did swim and just realax.    After dinner we went to the Ice Show - it was terrific.  The best one yet in our opinion.<br /><br />Tuesday - Arrived in St. Maarten - where we took a semi-submersible sub tour of the coral reefs.  Not much to say about that - very few fish, very little coral - a waste of money in our opinion.  We are docked next to the Liberty and our huge Explorer is dwarfed by it.  It is enormous - much bigger and especially wider than I expected - too big for our tastes though.  I think we will skip that one.  <br /><br />Wednesday - St. Thomas today where we took a great private tour of the Islands and did some shopping.  The girls bought new i pods which they claimed were a great deal.  Went to Sapphire Beach after the tour - they are continually amazed by the crystal clear water.  Great tour - great day.We are docked right in front of the Mariner and Sailingrose is on that ship.  Unfortunately we would not coordinate our schedules  to meet which was a disappointment since when we left the ship that morning we were told we would be there til 8PM instead of the previously posted 6PM.  We maybe next time, Rose.<br /><br />Thursday - San Juan - a wasted stop for us.  I love Old San Juan but docking from 7 to 2 hardly gives you enough time to do anything.  We did some last minute shopping and went back and enjoyed the quietness of the ship.   About an hour after we left, we returned to port with a Medical Emergency - never heard anything about the lady but certainly hope all was OK after we left.  Heather said she can now tell all her friends she sailed out of Puerto Rico twice during the summer.  <br /><br />Friday &amp; Saturday - more beautiful but hot days at sea.   There is always so much going on during the day you can&#39;t do it all but boy did the girls sure try.  They are completely hooked on cruising and before we left the ship made us promised to take them again in four years when they get their college degrees.   We happily make that deal with them.<br /><br />Sunday - despite our delay in leaving San Juan we were only 20 minutes late arriving in Cape Liberty.  We were docked by 7:30 and our color was the first one called at 9AM.   We were off the ship and dropping the girls off before 10AM - the earliest debarkation ever.  However, I have heard that after we left the ship, things slowed down and some people were still on the ship at Noon.  <br /><br />All in all this was a wonderful cruise and we loved every minute of it.  We did not go to any of the production shows - they are all repeats from last year - but they are working on new ones.  They had 3 different comedians on board - 2 very good one not and also a magic act which we skipped.  Even with missing some of the shows were were never bored and would take this cruise again in a second.  Once again, Royal Caribbean did not disappoint.',1188557480,0,'Eastern Caribbean','',488,'cruisetarp',1,180,0,0,0,0,0,14484,0,NULL),(258,144,'8-19-07','I was pretty happy with this cruise, though I think I expected more from the &quot; biggest cruise ship in the world&quot;.','Embarkation was great. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Miami and checkout was 11:00 am. We just went to the port and were going to wait there, but as soon as we got there we were rushed through check-in and were on board within 30 min.                                                                                     The ship was beautiful, but didn&#39;t seem that much differant than Voyager of the Seas, which we sailed twice.                                                                                   We had infants with us so we didn&#39;t see any shows but they had a lot of entertainment in the promenade, and it was pretty good.                                                                                   The steward service was good, but the dining room service was awful. Some nights we were getting our starters while the table next to us were getting their deserts. I wasn&#39;t happy.                                                                                Overall I&#39;d say 7 out of 10. It is a nice ship with plenty to do, but I guess I was expecting more. I will probably do this cruise again as I can no longer get a 9 night weastern out of N. J.',1188822459,0,'Western Caribbean','',1819,'boba',1,177,0,0,0,0,0,14511,0,NULL),(259,126,'08-22-07','A dream trip to French Polynesia on a classy small ship.  Great food, international group of passengers, and absolutely beautiful islands.  Moderate temperatures and usually a strong breeze.  But a long flight there and back from the east coast of the US.','After much anticipation we flew on Aug 20 from Norfolk, VA at 6am to Papeete, via Los Angeles.  Unfortunately, the Air Tahiti Nui flight from Los Angeles was delayed 5 hour for mechanical reasons, making our travel day about 28 hours long.  They did provide meals &#036;20 per person meal credit in the airport by showing our boarding passes.  The 8 hour flight provides two meals, and the seats, with 34 inch pitch and foot rests, include individual video screens with a selection of movies and games, as well as audio programs.  Service by the Tahitian crew is gracious.<br /><br />Upon arrival in Papeete at 11:15pm local time there is a long line for immigration/passport control that took about 1 hour.  After clearing immigration we claimed our bags and moved them to the waiting bus area outside, where porters took the bags and loaded them in a truck.  The bus ride is only about 10 minutes to the pier in Papeete.  The check-in at the pier provides no expedited check-in for past passengers, so the lines were long again.  When we arrived on the ship and proceeded to our balcony cabin, 6057, the bags arrived within 30 minutes.  While we were 5 hours late arriving and missed the evening meal on the ship, we had been fed on the plane, and the buffet area did have finger sandwiches and fruit available even at 2am due to the late arrivals.  The cabin has a small refrigerator and plenty of storage, with spacious storage in the desk as well as end tables, and closets.  There are cabinets below the TV, one with a safe and some space, and another large cabinet.  The beds were very comfortable, with duvets, and two extra pillows I had requested online before sailing.  A sofa and coffee table are provided, and there are two chairs, not recliners, and a small table on the balcony.<br /><br />We had cruised on Oceania Nautica last year.  Tahitian Princess, a sister ship, one of the former Renaissance ships was identically designed.  The two specialty restaurants, normally called Sabatini?s and Sterling Steakhouse on the other Princess ships, are simply termed The Grill and The Italian Restaurant on this ship, and they are not both open on the same nights, alternating service each night.  The ship carries 673 passengers and nearly 400 staff, has a small casino with blackjack and poker tables, roulette, and slot machines, and two lounges.  The Tahitian Lounge on deck 10 forward is the site of evening dancing and DJ, Captain?s Circle reception, and dance classes.  The Cabaret Lounge on deck 5 forward is the site of the Captain?s reception, movies, and the evening entertainment, which included three excellent production shows, a singer, and a comedian and a magician.  As there is no slope down toward the stage, the views become slightly obstructed by rows in front, but the lounge was never very crowded.  The house band is a 4 piece group, and the featured 2 person group, Spice, was excellent, playing both at the pool and in the Tahitian Lounge in the evening for dancing.<br /><br />Dining in the Club Restaurant is traditional early and late seating.  The design is similar to the other R-ships, but with somewhat less tables for 2, which we had requested and received.  It is also open every day for breakfast and lunch.  The menu featured all the usual, prime rib, beef Wellington, lamb..twice, pork, chicken and turkey, a different variety of fish every night (to my wife?s delight), prawns, snails, cr?me Brule, baked Alaska, and much more.  Only the salads were somewhat monotonous, but a premixed Caesar salad is available every day.  The Buffet on deck 9 aft has both indoor and aft outdoor seating.  Fruits and desserts are plentiful, and a varied selection of items was available.  The BBQ grill by the pool offers omelet?s and eggs to order in the morning,  They offer pizza during lunch and the afternoon until the evening meal.  Room service is very punctual, even arriving a few minutes early in the morning.  Other than the standard continental breakfast, the room service menu is quite limited.  We did arrange, before the cruise, for a Princess Champagne Balcony breakfast the morning we weren?t scheduled to arrive in Bora Bora until noon.  We have done it before and it is a great value, four courses plus a half bottle of Moet &amp; Chandon champagne.  Dining room service was excellent. <br /><br />There were two formal nights, the 1st sea day enroute Raratonga on the 4th day of the cruise, and the 2nd was the night we left Bora Bora.  This is the night they had the Captain?s Circle reception at 5:30pm, quite early for us scheduled for second seating dinner at 8:15pm<br /><br />The ship shows some wear and tear.  On our balcony the wooden railing had no varnish/shellac remaining on it and some rust was evident.  In fact, the balcony needed painting.  There are some cracks in the fresco?s on the ceiling of the Club Dining Room and the Club Bar outside.  But overall it is in nice condition.<br /><br />The photographers were personable and accommodating and the lines were short.  Prices continue to rise&#33;  The purser?s desk was able to exchange USD for CPF (Central Pacific Francs).  The bank exchange rate in Tahiti was a bit over 83 CPF to the dollar.  While many places will take USD, the rate is lower.<br /><br />The ship arrives back in Papeete the evening before debarkation day, and they asked that baggage be packed and outside the cabin door by 10pm.  The last day they ask that we vacate the cabin by 10am, and they will store carry-on luggage in the Grill from 8am ? 8pm.  After the day touring Tahiti Nui, we returned to the ship, claimed our carry-on?s and changed in the bathroom nearby.  We went to the buffet for dinner and they called the first airport transfer bus, which we were on, at 5:55pm.  The flight back was scheduled for 10pm.  We claimed our luggage at the airport, and waited in line for the ticket counter to open, which it did about 6:45pm.  There was a long line at the immigration and a longer line at security, where there was only one screening machine.  There was still about 90 minutes to wait in an un-air-conditioned terminal.  There are no water fountains, but the duty free shop sells bottled water.  Being tired from a full day, after a meal on the plane we slept till awakened for breakfast and arrival in Los Angeles shortly after 9am.  After clearing customs and immigration in the International Terminal, there is no baggage conveyor operating for connecting flights, even though our baggage was already tagged for the connecting flights.  We used a cart to move several blocks to the Delta terminal for the flights home, arriving about 9:40pm EDT, the day after leaving Tahiti.<br /><br />The passengers were an international mix.  Only 320 US passengers were aboard.  There were large numbers from Argentina, Chili, and some from Spain, Mexico, and Italy, and smaller numbers of Canadians, Australians, and New Zealanders.  The couple sharing our table at both wine tastings was from Tasmania.  Announcements were in English, and Spanish or French, but they were limited to twice a day.<br /><br />Notes on the itinerary:  Papeete overnight, Huahine, Raritea, Cook Islands (Raratonga), Bora Bora overnight, Moorea, and Papeete overnight.<br /><br />The day after arrival on the ship we had the full day to explore Papeete before the ship sails in the late afternoon. There is a tourism office across from the pier which provides maps.  We exchanged some additional USD for CPF at the Bank of Polynesia, but found that the exchange rate on the ship was better.  We walked the streets, visited the local church, looked in some shops, and enjoyed the Marche, the open market where the local products were on display.  I had no idea that there was so much tuna in those waters.  I sampled the local beer, Huahine, the first of several over the next 10 days in each of the islands, in restaurant in the Marche where several local Tahitian musicians were jamming.  In fact, throughout the islands we encountered individuals strumming guitars and ukulele?s and singing?in parks, on sidewalks, at the beach.  We purchased a beautiful tropical flower display in the Marche for 1500 CPF, about 17 dollars which we carried back to the ship and enjoyed in the cabin all cruise.  There was a welcome aboard show after dinner.<br /><br />The next day we arrived in Huahine and the first real site of unspoiled French Polynesia.  It was breathtaking&#33;  We even saw a whale spouting.  Practically no buildings in sight.  Just what I hoped it would be like.  We took a tender ashore but purchased shuttle bus tickets first at the purser?s desk, &#036;5 pp one way/&#036;20 for two roundtrips to the town, Fare.  We walked a few blocks to the Europcar rental agency that we had reserved online.  We paid &#036;74.59 by credit card for 6 hours, plus 1000 CPF for gas and drove around the entire island.  We had purchased the Moon Tahiti Guide book from Amazon.com and used it to guide us around each island.  With it we found a beach by a closed hotel and I snorkeled.  This was a spot where snorkel excursion boats showed up.  The excursion cost for 1 person was more than the cost of the car rental and we had it all day to tour the island.   We found hotel/pension on the south end of the island where we enjoyed salad with grilled tuna, a huge grilled tuna sub sandwich and fries, a Huahine beer and a rum punch for 4000 CPF, about &#036;45.  It would have been a good place to snorkel, too.  When we returned the car, there was still time to walk to the beach just north of town for a swim and then the shuttle back to the tender at 3:30pm.  That night there was a magician show at 7:30pm before the 8:15 dinner.<br /><br />The next day was our first at sea day, enroute the Cook Islands.  The weather was windy and there was some ?motion of the ocean?, but not bad.  It did complicate trying to learn the tango in the dance class, though&#33;  There was a superb Italian lunch at the buffet, and a Matre? D Wine Tasting with some special wines for &#036;25 per person.  That evening they held the Captain?s Reception, followed by the first formal night, which included crab legs as an option on the menu.  After each seating they presented a production show in the Cabaret Lounge.  Just 7 dancers and 2 lead vocalists, but with an occasional miss by the female lead singer, the show was excellent.  The ?throws? and moves were more remarkable in view of the fact the at the ship was moving about considerably.<br /><br />The following day we arrived at Raratonga in the Cook Islands.  It was too rough to tender and the ship turned around and spent the next two days returning to the Society Islands.  In fact I knew from other travelers in the past, and verified with the crew, that 3 out of 5 times they can?t tender and passengers don?t get to go ashore.  We were scheduled for a Sunday there, and most excursions weren?t operating on Sunday anyway.  The chances are better, I believe, if you choose the Polynesia and Marquesas itinerary instead, but it is not offered as often.  Three consecutive days at sea in a 10 day island cruise was too much, in my opinion, but the weather was fine and it was relaxing.  That evening there was no show, only a movie in the Cabaret Lounge after dinner.<br /><br />The next day was a sea day and they featured a culinary demonstration in the Cabaret Lounge with samples for the audience, and ice carving on deck.  This was followed by a galley tour, but their was not vocal guide as we paraded through.  In the afternoon they presented another, only &#036;10, wine tasting.  Dinner was Italian night, with such entrees as swordfish and shrimp Diablo.<br />The second production show was presented after both dinner seatings.<br /><br />On the following day we arrived in Raritea in the morning, and were berthed at a pier.  We had reserved a car from Europcar online in advance.  They met us at their booth and drove us to the agency where they couldn?t find the reservation but they had a car for us.  We drove counter-clockwise around the island.  There are few sandy beaches, but we did find one near an old temple site where I snorkeled for about 1 hour.  We continued around the island, stopping at Hotel Atiapita for lunch on the south coast.  They had a pier, beach, but no coral for snorkeling.  Lunch was a curried shrimp dish with rice, rum punch and Huahine beer.  They also offered fish and shellfish/crabs.  Lunch was 3,350 CPF, about &#036;39.  By the way, while American Express card logos are seen throughout the islands, VISA and M/C are not.  I was able to use M/C for the car rentals with no problem.  We drove back to town and turned in the car in the late afternoon, and they shuttled us back to the pier.  The price was &#036;110.27 for 6 hours.  There are some shops, a market, and several restaurants/bars there, and some ladies selling flower leis, which we purchased, since there was an island party scheduled for the evening.  I developed an eye infection and had to stop at a French speaking pharmacy where the pharmacist looked at my eyes, said ?infection? and got me a bottle of antibiotics for conjunctivitis for 1,200 CPF, just under &#036;14.  After dinner the island party started at 10:15pm on the pool deck with local a local Tahitian dance troupe, dancing, conga line, and a fruit dessert buffet.  The ship doesn?t sail till the following morning.<br /><br />The next morning we sailed at 6am around Tahaa headed to Bora Bora.  The sights are marvelous, with many over the water bungalows on the islands, called motu?s, and beautiful green volcanic mountains.  We anchored and took a tender to the pier, where the Europcar booth was across the street.  They had our reservation but were charging, with posted rates, 150% of the quoted internet rate.  Haggling didn?t work, and they have limited English in negotiations like this&#33;  The price was 12,700 CPF, or about &#036;146 for 24 hours, plus 1000 CPF for gas.  We drove around the island, and it only took about 1 hour.  We then drove to Mateira Beach, south of the public beach where there is a shuttle bus to, and we parked and found a spot on the beach in front of the Mateira Restaurant, which doesn?t open until the evening.  It had lounge chairs and sandy beach, but no coral to snorkel.  The best snorkeling is just south of there, from the Bora Dive Shop on Mateira Bay along the beach to the Bora Bora Hotel property.  After beach time we drove the Bloody Mary?s Restaurant and Bar, an institution there since 1979, and visited by many celebrities.  We met one of the owners and enjoyed a ?Bloody Mary and a vanilla rum punch.  The entire place has sand for a floor.  For the evening dinner they have a fish display of all the day?s local catch, such as wahoo, tuna, mahi mah, and much more.  You pick your fish from the display and the chef takes it to the kitchen.   However, we chose to return to the ship for the evening, parking the car near the pier.  <br /><br />The following morning we drove to the Bora Dive Shop parked and I entered the water there to snorkel, drifting among the coral along the private hotel beach.  Water was clear and I even saw what appeared to be a grouper.  Great location.  We had lunch at Bloody Mary?s with Huahine and a glass of wine for 3000 CPF, about &#036;34 USD.  After returning the car we tendered back to the ship.  This was the second formal night, with Captain?s Circle reception at 5:30 pm.  Dinner included 2 lobster tails as a selection, and was followed by the third production show, which was even a bit better than the others.  We really enjoyed them.  <br /><br />Our final island day was to Moorea.  This is where some scenes from South Pacific were filmed.  Since Regent?s Paul Gaugin was anchored in Cook?s Bay, we anchored in the next bay, just east of Cook?s Bay.  The scenery here is absolutely breathtaking.  Jagged green peaks, multicolored water, palm trees.  It was easily the most beautiful of the islands, and Huahine was the other, and least developed.  We had opted to take a ship sponsored excursion and after a tender ride to the pier, we boarded an excursion boat that took us through the coral lagoon, past shark and sting ray feedings sites, which we observed, and on to an island (motu).  They had tables set up under the palm trees and started with sting ray feeding right off the beach.  The snorkeling and coral were excellent with lots of coral and clear water, and a wide variety of fish.  They provided a BBQ lunch with grilled mahi-mah, chicken and sausage, salad, pasta, and fresh pineapple, and lemonade, followed by a demonstration on how to husk, and crack a coconut, remove the meat, and squeeze it for juice.  They also showed the women how Tahitians tied parea?s.  The cost was &#036;84 per person.  After the boat ride back to the pier, we tendered back to the ship, which sailed at 4pm for the 3 hour sail back to Papeete, on Tahiti.  After dinner, we packed and placed the baggage outside the cabin.<br /><br />The last morning, in Papeete, after breakfast we vacated the room, checked the carry-on?s, and walked into Papeete to the AVIS office, just about 4 blocks from the pier.  I had reserved online before leaving home.  We drove clockwise around the entire island of Tahiti Nui in a little over 5 hours, including stopping for photos, and at black sand beaches to watch the surfing, and a visit to a Lagoonarium on the was back to Papeete.  We returned the car (&#036;84.83 plus 1000 CPF for gas (&#036;11+)) and returned to the ship just before 5pm.<br /><br />Final thoughts:  I left home knowing this would likely be our once in a lifetime trip to French Polynesia.  We loved the islands, especially once out of the hustle and bustle of busy Papeete.  The beauty of the foliage and the colors of the water even inside the lagoons were striking.  Prices are high, as almost everything is shipped in except fish, beer and many fruits.  It is a scuba diver?s paradise, and the snorkeling was very good even when not on excursions.  We saw a lot more of the islands by renting the cars (they drive on the same side of the road as we do in the US) than by going on excursions.  <br /><br />We enjoyed the ship and staff. Princess had a 5 year contract in Tahiti and did not renew it.  The Tahitian Princess will leave the islands in May 2008 to sail in Alaska, returning from September to December.  It will then leave permanently to make a 100+ day world cruise, ending in Europe in the spring of 2009.  The only ships still sailing from Tahiti would be the Regent?s Paul Gaugin, and Star Clipper?s Star Flyer which will be home ported there beginning in January 2008.  Princess has a 5 year contract in Tahiti and it has not been renewed.<br /><br />Never say ?never?&#33;  We enjoyed it so much in the islands we might even consider a land stay there, but not in Papeete.  Perhaps Moorea or Huahine.  Accommodations are limited unless you are prepared for very expensive lodging, with over-water bungalows running &#036;800 per night.  Breakfast and lunch for &#036;100 per person.  But there are other options.  The only drawback is the LONG time to travel from the east coast.  Breaking the trip with a stop in Los Angeles on the way there would help.  Half of the cost of the cruise was the airfare.<br />',1189114902,0,'South Pacific','',131,'JohnG',1,91,0,0,0,0,0,14564,0,NULL),(260,110,'10-7-2006','First cruise was an unbelievable experience on a beautiful ship with very friendly crew&#33;','Since this was my first cruise, I was very skeptical of the whole &quot;cruise vacation&quot;.  I thought that a boat couldn&#39;t be too much fun and the food couldn&#39;t be that good - but WAS I WRONG&#33;  <br /><br />I had so much fun on this cruise that I will probably not go on another vacation that is not a cruise.  The ship was beautiful.  The boarding process was extremely easy, although it took a little while.  After walking into the ship, my husband and I were overwhelmed at how amazing and HUGE this ship was.  <br /><br />We had an oceanview room with partially obstructed view, which really wasn&#39;t that bad since we could still see out, and didn&#39;t spend all that much time in the room.  Our room was much larger then I expected, and very nice&#33;  The bed was comfortable, there was tons of closet room, and it was spotless every day.  Our room stewart was so friendly and always greeted us by name&#33;<br /><br />We went to the shows every night and ate at all the venues.  There was so much to do everyday.<br /><br />The ports were also a lot of fun, especially the canopy tour in Jamaica.  I HIGHLY recommend this excursion.  We also did the semi-sub in Grand Cayman and the Ruins in Cozumel (also a very good tour).  Lots of good shopping in Grand Cayman&#33;  Could have spent all day doing that&#33;  Princess Cays was a good relaxing stop.  I basically sunbathed and snorkeled all day.  It was great&#33;<br /><br />The food on the ship was so much better then I thought it would be, as well as the drinks.  We had anytime dining which was great because we could go eat whenever we wanted.  The food was great every day that we went here.  We also ate at the buffet which had so much variety that we tended to overeat everytime we ate there&#33;<br /><br />All of the crew members were so nice and if we had any problems, they were right there to help.  One of the members would even come over to us every night at the theatre and knew exactly what drinks we wanted to order&#33;  What amazing personal service&#33;<br /><br />We will definetly cruise with Princess from now on&#33;  The serivce, food, entertainment, rooms, and everything else were far beyond what we expected&#33;',1189535782,0,'Western Caribbean','',3666,'musicjas3985',1,155,0,0,0,0,0,14632,0,NULL),(261,30,'09/12/07','This was our best cruise ever.  I have never felt so relaxed before.  Not a single glitch&#33;','As we sailed out of Vancouver it took us about 40 minutes to get to the CruisePark location, another 20 minutes to get out bags and DH&#39;s old Bag (me) on the shuttle.  Another 10 minutes and we were in our first line.<br /><br />It took about another half hour to clear customs, get our &quot;sign and sink&quot; card and set foot on the beautiful Spirit.<br /><br />It was a little after 1 p.m. and we went straight to our cabin, dropped off our carry ons and did the ever so important toilet flush&#33;  That&#39;s hw I know I&#39;m on a cruise - when I hear that might toilet burp&#33;<br /><br />Off to the Lido for our first &quot;grazing&quot; of the buffet.  We were a party of ten and amazingly we bumped right into one of our couples.  We had arranged a meet in the Casino because there would be no one there.  Once everyone was on baord we checked our dining room seating and found we actually were all seated together - they pushed two tables together into a corner of our own - the maitre &#39;d must have had his &quot;rowdy&quot; sensors on :o)<br /><br />Off to muster drill, then unpacking, then on deck. Sail away was beautiful - under the Lions Gate Bridge.  <br /><br />Jaime and Jose - our dining team - were super.  I can&#39;t figure out how they remember our names and preferences so quickly.  We all took different seats at our table every night - so eveyone could get to know one another as our friends brought two friends and they brought friends ..... but before long it was as if we had all know each other for years.<br /><br />The food - just the usual - fabulous.  I ordered two appies evey night and dh ordered two main courses - I have developed a very distinctive butt wobble&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;<br /><br />We played trivia and I won a bottle of champagne - we all shared that one.  There was a really sweet bar waitress who came by our table evey night - Ivana.  We don&#39;t drink on the ship as I wear the patch and dh doesn&#39;t imbibe much anyway.<br /><br />But Ivana just cottoned onto Hugh.  She called him grandpa - which - in her country is a sign of great respect.  He reminded her of her family back home and every night she came and gave him a big hug.  So, of course, he teased her every time he saw her.  We tipped her at the end of the cruise - even though we didn&#39;t drink. <br /><br />Our room  steward was Wayan - we only saw him in passing but he did a great job.  We were late leaving the room one day and he called to see if we were ok.  We told him just to forget about making up the room but he must have been watching us - because we slipped up to the buffet to bring back and afternoon snack - and in that 15 minute period he came, he saw, he cleaned lol.<br /><br />Juneau - we did the photo safari, and what photos.  Dh took the stills and I took the video camera.  At one point the whales were so closewe could almost touch them.  Then there was an island of sea lions and one came over to check us out.<br />We also spotted an eagle flying right into the water and picling up a huge fish.<br /><br />Then off to Mendenhall Glacier.  There were ten of us on this tour and were quite noisy on the bus - ok so maybe it was just two who were noisy - want to guess who lol.  But once we were off the bus and at the foot of that Glacier we were stunned silent&#33; Awesome, almost a religious experience.<br /><br />We also spotted a hugh bear pulling out jack salmon from the creek.  I swear it posed for the cameras - looking right at us as he caught his fish and ambled into the trees.<br /><br />Glacier Bay - there are no words to describe it - just suffice to say it was truly awesome.  We saw calving a couple of times - the noise was like a gunshot.<br /><br />Skagway - as it was a really wet and cloudy day we decided not to take the train - we just wandered through town.  Not much there but the shopping was great&#33;  The cheapest of all three ports.  Bought the usual - shot glass, charms, sweat shirt and souvenirs for my &quot;little sisters&quot;. <br /><br />Ketchikan - here we hit a bad spot.  One of the &quot;Ducks&quot; amphimbious vehicles had hit a woman walking across the dock - fatally. There were police and ambulances all around.  Once we saw the blue tarp on the ground we knew it was bad.  As we were booked on a duck tour we got back on ship.  The pursers desk hadn&#39;t heard anything but they checked right away and advised us that the tours were cancelled - an rightly so.  A 59 year old woman off the Holland ship had died almost instantly.  I felt so sad for her family and could not imagine what her travelling companions we going through.<br /><br />We rebooked on the Totem Bite tour, interesting but nothing exciting.  We were all very subdued - thinking it could have been any one of us. <br /><br />But I did managed to get a faux fur&quot; jacket,  Dark grey with a hugh eagle on it - for only &#036;68.  I had spotted on not quite as nice in town for &#036;139 - SCORE&#33;<br /><br />The on board naturalist kept us informed as we went.  We spotted a few dals but no whales en route.<br /><br />The scenery on this cruise was absolutley stunning.  We live in a beautiful province, but we don&#39;t ever see 90% of it.  Most everyone lives in the south end - and while I have been to Prince George - that is only about 1/2 way up.<br /><br />The entertainment was very good - I can&#39;t figure out how they make those costume changes so fast.  Unfortunately for the late-night comedians we were an older crowd so attendance was sparse, but they played along with it.<br /><br />We managed to get some great shots of our group.  Hugh set up his camera on a tripod and set the timer so we were all in a couple for them.<br /><br />This was the most relaxing vacation I have ever been on - possibly because we didn&#39;t have to fly and I&#39;m not fussy on flying.  Of course we paid the standard tips - and then some. The crew is what make the cruise and we lucked out.  On the last night I bawled when they sang &quot;Leaving on a fun ship&quot; - but I wasn&#39;t the only one :o(<br /><br />Embarkation was a breeze ..... we were in our car and on the road by 9:30.  And the &quot;girls&quot; were very happy to see us - a lot of tail wagging going on :o)<br /><br /><br />All in all a super sail&#33;  I will try to get the photos posted later today.  There is one you have to see - dh and I clearly love &quot;pushing the envelope&quot; - as you will likely notice.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />',1190309969,0,'Alaska','',573,'hazelson',1,106,0,0,0,0,0,14743,0,NULL),(262,30,'09/12/07','This was our best cruise ever.  I have never felt so relaxed before.  Not a single glitch&#33;','As we sailed out of Vancouver it took us about 40 minutes to get to the CruisePark location, another 20 minutes to get out bags and DH&#39;s old Bag (me) on the shuttle.  Another 10 minutes and we were in our first line.<br /><br />It took about another half hour to clear customs, get our &quot;sign and sink&quot; card and set foot on the beautiful Spirit.<br /><br />It was a little after 1 p.m. and we went straight to our cabin, dropped off our carry ons and did the ever so important toilet flush&#33;  That&#39;s hw I know I&#39;m on a cruise - when I hear that might toilet burp&#33;<br /><br />Off to the Lido for our first &quot;grazing&quot; of the buffet.  We were a party of ten and amazingly we bumped right into one of our couples.  We had arranged a meet in the Casino because there would be no one there.  Once everyone was on baord we checked our dining room seating and found we actually were all seated together - they pushed two tables together into a corner of our own - the maitre &#39;d must have had his &quot;rowdy&quot; sensors on :o)<br /><br />Off to muster drill, then unpacking, then on deck. Sail away was beautiful - under the Lions Gate Bridge.  <br /><br />Jaime and Jose - our dining team - were super.  I can&#39;t figure out how they remember our names and preferences so quickly.  We all took different seats at our table every night - so eveyone could get to know one another as our friends brought two friends and they brought friends ..... but before long it was as if we had all know each other for years.<br /><br />The food - just the usual - fabulous.  I ordered two appies evey night and dh ordered two main courses - I have developed a very distinctive butt wobble&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;<br /><br />We played trivia and I won a bottle of champagne - we all shared that one.  There was a really sweet bar waitress who came by our table evey night - Ivana.  We don&#39;t drink on the ship as I wear the patch and dh doesn&#39;t imbibe much anyway.<br /><br />But Ivana just cottoned onto Hugh.  She called him grandpa - which - in her country is a sign of great respect.  He reminded her of her family back home and every night she came and gave him a big hug.  So, of course, he teased her every time he saw her.  We tipped her at the end of the cruise - even though we didn&#39;t drink. <br /><br />Our room  steward was Wayan - we only saw him in passing but he did a great job.  We were late leaving the room one day and he called to see if we were ok.  We told him just to forget about making up the room but he must have been watching us - because we slipped up to the buffet to bring back and afternoon snack - and in that 15 minute period he came, he saw, he cleaned lol.<br /><br />Juneau - we did the photo safari, and what photos.  Dh took the stills and I took the video camera.  At one point the whales were so closewe could almost touch them.  Then there was an island of sea lions and one came over to check us out.<br />We also spotted an eagle flying right into the water and picling up a huge fish.<br /><br />Then off to Mendenhall Glacier.  There were ten of us on this tour and were quite noisy on the bus - ok so maybe it was just two who were noisy - want to guess who lol.  But once we were off the bus and at the foot of that Glacier we were stunned silent&#33; Awesome, almost a religious experience.<br /><br />We also spotted a hugh bear pulling out jack salmon from the creek.  I swear it posed for the cameras - looking right at us as he caught his fish and ambled into the trees.<br /><br />Glacier Bay - there are no words to describe it - just suffice to say it was truly awesome.  We saw calving a couple of times - the noise was like a gunshot.<br /><br />Skagway - as it was a really wet and cloudy day we decided not to take the train - we just wandered through town.  Not much there but the shopping was great&#33;  The cheapest of all three ports.  Bought the usual - shot glass, charms, sweat shirt and souvenirs for my &quot;little sisters&quot;. <br /><br />Ketchikan - here we hit a bad spot.  One of the &quot;Ducks&quot; amphimbious vehicles had hit a woman walking across the dock - fatally. There were police and ambulances all around.  Once we saw the blue tarp on the ground we knew it was bad.  As we were booked on a duck tour we got back on ship.  The pursers desk hadn&#39;t heard anything but they checked right away and advised us that the tours were cancelled - an rightly so.  A 59 year old woman off the Holland ship had died almost instantly.  I felt so sad for her family and could not imagine what her travelling companions we going through.<br /><br />We rebooked on the Totem Bite tour, interesting but nothing exciting.  We were all very subdued - thinking it could have been any one of us. <br /><br />But I did managed to get a faux fur&quot; jacket,  Dark grey with a hugh eagle on it - for only &#036;68.  I had spotted on not quite as nice in town for &#036;139 - SCORE&#33;<br /><br />The on board naturalist kept us informed as we went.  We spotted a few dals but no whales en route.<br /><br />The scenery on this cruise was absolutley stunning.  We live in a beautiful province, but we don&#39;t ever see 90% of it.  Most everyone lives in the south end - and while I have been to Prince George - that is only about 1/2 way up.<br /><br />The entertainment was very good - I can&#39;t figure out how they make those costume changes so fast.  Unfortunately for the late-night comedians we were an older crowd so attendance was sparse, but they played along with it.<br /><br />We managed to get some great shots of our group.  Hugh set up his camera on a tripod and set the timer so we were all in a couple for them.<br /><br />This was the most relaxing vacation I have ever been on - possibly because we didn&#39;t have to fly and I&#39;m not fussy on flying.  Of course we paid the standard tips - and then some. The crew is what make the cruise and we lucked out.  On the last night I bawled when they sang &quot;Leaving on a fun ship&quot; - but I wasn&#39;t the only one :o(<br /><br />Embarkation was a breeze ..... we were in our car and on the road by 9:30.  And the &quot;girls&quot; were very happy to see us - a lot of tail wagging going on :o)<br /><br /><br />All in all a super sail&#33;  I will try to get the photos posted later today.  There is one you have to see - dh and I clearly love &quot;pushing the envelope&quot; - as you will likely notice.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />',1190310085,0,'Alaska','',573,'hazelson',1,107,0,0,0,0,0,14744,0,NULL),(263,148,'09/23/2007','THIS WAS THE BEST CRUISE I HAVE EVER BEEN ON','I HAVE NEVER HAD SO MUCH FUN ON A CRUISE<br />THE MARINER OF THE SEAS IS A GREAT SHIP WITH <br />THE BEST CREW ON THE SEAS. I DID NOT HAVE ONE BAD DAY OR ANY BAD SERVICE. IT WAS JUST THE BEST CRUISE EVER. THE WEATHER WAS GREAT THE ISLANDS WERE SO NICE. I DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO SAY BUT WOW<br />THE BEST WEEK EVER.',1191300756,0,'Western Caribbean','',2516,'frostyboy64',1,188,0,0,0,0,0,14873,0,NULL),