Be warned, guys: the "single supplement" is THE FULL COST, except for insurance and expenses, of another person (even though you're obviously not going to eat for two (we hope)!)
WOW I just can't recall the last time I felt excited about anything! I am already planning my excursions :) And hmmm I don't know, I might just eat for two! LOL
yeaaaaa, Nikki. Yeaaaaaa Briegull. I've wanted to meet you both..and now we will. How neat is that?? I told my sweet daughter in law Karen that she had permission to leave us anytime and find some other young 40 somethings... or go to the spa. She laughed and said "Awwww, I wouldn't want to miss all the FUN!"
Also check into flights to Ft. Lauderdale, 40minutes from the port. They have shuttle services to hotels and the port in MIAMI, - buy one way, get return transportation free.
Some airline rates are a little less going into Ft. Lauderdale.. I've traveled through airports all over the world and the Miami airport is the worst I have ever been through. We used to own a condo in St. Thomas and twice (out of six trips) my luggage didn't arrive on time.
That being said, the bar in the Miami airport makes great Mojitos. You'll definitely need one.
We'll have a nice get-together after we get on board and unpack! Just cool it by the pool and raise a glass to those who couldn't join us! Then, we start relaxing! And I'm looking forward during our 5 days to a massage, the Jacuzzi, and a lot of conversation about US - not AD, but US!! It is going to be a blast!
Ft. Lauderdale to Miami - 30-40 minute drive. (Mapquest Info)
Ft. Lauderdale's airport HAS to be easier to get through than the Miami Airport..which is horrible - and it is necessary to walk and walk in the Miami Airport.
I was despairing over the cost of the airline tickets - about $500 from RI, whereas going to L.A. was around $300 - go figure. My daughter said, don't you have some frequent flyer miles? And I remembered that I had a LOT on Northwest - and that Northwest and Delta had merged. So I checked and I have almost precisely the right amount for the whole trip! I'd forgotten them completely!
There's something called Price Protector. This gives you a prediction of whether air fares are likely to rise, fall, or remain constant. Right now it's showing the RI-MIA flight as likely to fall... you might google it (it came up on bing.com) and see what it says about your area..
Thanks for the shuttle information! I will look into and see if it is cheaper to fly into Ft. Lauderdale.
Briegull I did check price protector when you sent me the link and it does say my flight from NH is expected to go down, so I will wait a bit and see. Awesome news about your flyer miles!!!! WHOOT :)
Nancy, I am just not a versed traveler.... So are you saying, I could fly into Ft. Lauderdale and look for a hotel in Miami that would pick me up there?
Oy, its the dates of travel that are making it so expensive. Feb vacation time. The week before and the week after are HALF the price as the week of the cruise. grrrrrrrrr
Janet, I hope you get a roommate! Come on, who else can come with us????
Nikki, I know the rates are ridiculous, and the hotel rates for going two days early eat up the savings for the flight! Some of the hotels do provide shuttle service. You can check with Patrick. He flies into Ft. Lauderdale and he took a taxi from the port to Ft. Lauderdale, so he could tell you how much that costs too. Maybe you and Susan could share a cab!
I can get a flight from central Illinois to either Ft. Lauderdale or Miami for about $200 on Air Tran. Their rates are usually pretty good, but they don't fly everywhere.
That "single supplement" insurance is a great idea. Patrick told me in an email last week that there are fewer cancellations on his 'scrapbooking', 'cooking' and other cruises, but the cancellation rate on Caregiver Cruises is about 50-75%.. due to LO's issue. Janet, don't lose hope. Call him,... he'll probably tell you the same thing. I hope none of US have to cancel....
OH... sorry, what happens with air fare IF we have to cancel. Usually, they will give you up to a year to use the ticket... I wonder if there is insurance to cover the air fare as well. Patrick would know best, he owns the travel agency.
There is insurance. You can get it through the airline. Mine's a little tricky because of paying for it with FFmiles, so if I have to cancel I would lose some. The insurance I got would have reimbursed for air fare if I were paying money, but since I'm not, it's not. Do call Travelguard and talk to someone, don't try to do it all on the 'net.
Nikki----Are you flying out of NH? I'm in Vermont and we only have 3 airlines. As silly as it sounds, I'm nervous about flying alone.........(I know I won't be the ONLY passenger)...I still don't know if I can go or not, but maybe we could fly together? Just a thought..... Ann (the nervous long-trip flyer)
Ann, if you go, would you share a cabin with me? I'm going to call Patrick tomorrow. I'm also going to get insurance in case I have to back out. I really hope I can go.
I don't think it sounds silly at all. My twin sis is petrified of flying. To answer your question I will be flying out of Manchester Airport. I am not sure how far away from you that is? I do hope you can come, you too Janet! :)
I so want to go, but I haven't figured out how in the world I can do it. Otherwise, I'd share a cabin, if you don't snore! LOL I just don't have a clue as to when I can make any decisions.
Nikki....Manchester the closest airport other than Burlington, Vt. It is about 3 to 3.5 hours from here. I've stayed at some of the near hotels Manchester and they are very convenient to the airport.----My husband's doctor is at Dartmouth----about halfway between here and Manchester. Do you ever go to concerts at the Verizon Center?
Actually, I like to fly and I don't mind doing things alone. I just am afraid that I'll start thinking of all of the reasons I shouldn't be going in mid-flight.
I'm so up in the air about this. So many things to do here, but would love to meet everyone too! Then, the small problem of who stays with my husband? Will he be in a NH by then?----Sorry......just talking to myself.
IF my son decides to come home for a couple of months, I may be closer to making the decision to go, but won't know what his plans are until Thanksgiving.
Thanks for listening to me everyone! I tend to talk to myself a lot!
AOL had an article today on their Travel Page about the Top Ten Ports to avoid while on a cruise. It said that with the other ships in port, up to 20,000 passengers disembark and stroll through the town and attractions on any given day in these tiny towns, Juneau, St. Thomas, etc. Of course, the businesses are delighted,...it's keeping them alive!!, but for me...mmmm, I may enjoy staying on board ship and enjoying the amenities offered there. I am not one for standing in lines waiting to get into a shop or restaurant.
When I was in Santorini a couple of years ago there were cruise ships in the harbor. Same thing in Barcelona. Same thing along the Nile, though they were somewhat smaller. We called them the Ships of Fools.
Around here there are certain times of year when starlings flock and fly up and back down again - enormous flocks. That's what a cruise ship looks like when it disembarks. People fly in and back out. The trick is to get yourself out of the harbor asap and as far away as possible.
Briegull, isn't 'watching humanity' interesting. Years ago, I was a delegate to the World's Fair in Osaka, Japan. I took pictures of the people. Waves of people shoulder to shoulder, squeezed together into a mass, like black water, walking along the long walkways toward the fairgrounds. All the same height, black hair cut almost the same way, white shirts, black pants. Moving like a giant river of humanity...yet each one was an individual --alike but separate. Hard to explain. I will avoid that type of environment at any cost.
Interesting, but not enjoyable. I don't like vast hordes of humanity either, whether it's on Fifth Avenue on a December Saturday, or the subways in Japan or Moscow (hint in Moscow: find a large lady - easy to find - and drift along in her wake). I see a host of people and walk the other way!
When I went to Angkor Wat there were hordes of Asians - Chinese as much as Japanese, and lots of Vietnamese. It really kinda ruined it for me. Machu Picchu which is reputed to be the same way, wasn't. Much more spread out.
I have a friend who has a friend who runs a tour agency in Georgetown. With luck I'll be able to get a private tour.
Briegull, I was amazed at how many Asians were in Rome when we were there. One could not move through the Sistine Chapel. It was a mob scene. The announcer AND the signs requested that no flash pictures be taken - as they could damage the frescos on the wall and ceiling, and they continued to flash flash flash their cameras. In the city, we had equal problems on the sidewalks. We'd have to step into the street or they would knock us down, walking 4-5 abreast. Rome was another city that was so overcrowded...but what can they do. "Build it and they will come"...right? If the ancient Romans could only see it now.........
Back in '85, my daughter and I were on our first and only adventure together - going around Greece on our own, her high school graduation present. We caught an overnight ferry to Crete, to see the Minoan digs, etc. In the dining room we ran into a Japanese woman and her daughter, approximately our ages, and befriended them. We went through the Minoan sites together (I'll never forget seeing them in the rain wearing giant plastic trash bags which were being sold as ponchos) and after, we kept in touch. The daughter's English was fairly good. The mother was better in Italian. Turns out she was an art historian and had brought Rina to see the western art of Greece and Rome. I thereafter became aware of the Japanese fascination with travelling and having one's picture taken wherever one is, many times.
It's very easy when travelling to make generalizations about different nationalities, but it's almost impossible not to admit that the general Japanese travellers are completely obsessed with documenting that they were THERE, wherever it is. (other total generalizations: the Spanish women in the cities are the best dressed; the French on a tour will completely take over the pool-side at any hotel, the young in almost any country are predominantly Aussie and Kiwi)
The Japanese mom and daughter have been contacts throughout the years. Rina visited us here, we took her to NYC.. I visited them in Kobe, Japan where I had one of the most marvelous meals of my life with them.. the mom, it turned out, is a well known professor, speciality Japanese ephemera like manga, etc.