On Sat, 10 Feb 2018 06:23:42 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote:

wrote:
On Fri, 09 Feb 2018 15:54:23 -0500, John H.
wrote:

On Fri, 09 Feb 2018 15:30:45 -0500, wrote:

On Fri, 09 Feb 2018 14:47:26 -0500,
wrote:

On Fri, 09 Feb 2018 14:11:54 -0500, wrote:

On Fri, 09 Feb 2018 11:30:45 -0500, John H.
wrote:

On Thu, 08 Feb 2018 22:58:51 -0500, wrote:

On Thu, 08 Feb 2018 19:44:58 -0500, John H.
wrote:

On Thu, 08 Feb 2018 13:08:54 -0500, wrote:

On Thu, 08 Feb 2018 10:40:52 -0500, John H
wrote:

Hope your trip was spectacular. Understand you went to Antigua, St. Lucie,
Bonaire, and Aruba on the
Disney Wonder! Great time, I'm sure. Probably gained a few pounds with the
fantastic fare.

Glad you're back!


===

Sounds like an interesting itinerary. What were your favorite stops
and activities?

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Antigua was the least favorite. The place made me imagine what
Haiti must be like. Maybe we just
didn't see enough of the place. We got off the ship, walked around
about an hour and got right back
on the ship.

St. Lucie was enjoyable. Took a bus tour around the island and had
a great guide. He was very
knowledgeable of the island's flora and fauna, stopping at several
trees along the way to point out
peculiarities.

Bonaire and Aruba were very nice. Very clean and well maintained.
We took a couple hour Segway tour
in Bonaire, looking at the beaches and the salt production area.
Very interesting. Lots of scuba
diving about 50 yards off shore. No sand on the beaches there
because the sand blows into the sea
and kills the coral. Local government prohibits putting sand on
the beaches. If folks who live on
the coast want sand, they must import it and wall it in so it
cannot blow into the sea.

Aruba also has lots of scuba diving. The island is very sparse
when it comes to vegetation, as is
Bonaire.

The trip was very enjoyable!

===

Too bad you didn't get to see more of Antigua. You were no doubt on
the north end at St Johns which I think is the only port big enough
for a cruise ship. The more interesting harbors where the big yachts
hang out are at the south end, Falmouth and English Harbour. You'd
have to rent a car or go on a tour to get there. Hawksbill Resort, a
bit west of St Johns, is also a very nice place to hang out.

Trust me, even the worst parts of Antigua are nothing like Hati except
for the little fake village called Labadee where the Royal Caribbean
cruise ships take people. We were there once and it seems very serene
until you realize that you're surrounded by barbed wire fences
patroled by heavily armed guards. We were even escorted by armed
guards when kayaking.

I'm sure we'd have been better impressed if we'd signed up for an
excursion tour. I'd do more and
different excursions if we did that trip again.

We always try to avoid those excursions. They are expensive and a
little too "canned" for us. I think the one that finished it for us
was the plant hike in St Croix. We signed up not being sure what to
expect and were met at the dock by "Ooh Alooloo" a black guy (not
unusual in the islands) but we just started walking from there up
through residential neighborhoods looking at the weeds in people's
yards. It was the same crap that grows behind my house and he didn't
even know the real names for anything. It was just stuff he made up.
After talking to him a while, it turned out he was Lou from Detroit
and he was just a formerly homeless guy in St Croix who got this gig
from Carnival.
We paid them something like $50 a head. He wouldn't say what his cut
was but I assume taking 8-10 people for a 2 hour walk every time a
ship landed would pay for an apartment there..

===

I agree that some of the excursion opportunities are pricey, but if
you're on a tight schedule, and/or not likely to get back any time
soon (if ever), the excursions offer a chance to see and do things
that you'd otherwise miss out on. We took advantage of all the
excursion opportunities when we did our Alaska cruise and never
regretted any of them - a sightseeing flight around the summit of
Denali (Mt McKinley) in a twin engine turbo prop; a helicopter flight
to the top of the Mendenhall glacier with plenty of walking around
time; a float plane flight into Misty Fjords with a landing and
dockage in the back country; and a jet boat trip up the Chilkat River
into the eagle preserve. Every one of them was memorable.

I can't even imagine Alaska on a cruise. We were there 3 weeks and we
still felt like we were rushed. We did do a lot of things you don't
get on a cruise tho, mostly on foot.

Next time we'll fly up, spend some time there, and take a ship back. The
cruise we took from
Seattle, five nights, didn't really allow for much time to see anything at all.

===

We flew into Fairbanks which is way north, and then spent a week
working our way south to the coast via bus and train. The second week
was working our way south along the coast on the cruise ship. The
whole deal was a Princess Tours package and we thought it was very
well done, albeit a little pricey.

https://www.princess.com/learn/cruise-destinations/alaska-cruises/cruisetour-options/?cid=bm_paidsearch_BKWS_google_PrincessAlaskaCruis eTour_princesstouralaska_Exact_isl&_vsrefdom=mca&m chxkw=c:708533188,krincess%20tour%20alaska,m:e,p :1t1,d:c,ai:33823368621,ad:213749837748,s:g&d=c&gc lid=EAIaIQobChMI597owqSa2QIVVgaGCh3ukA6REAAYASAAEg Iq4fD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds




Other than anchorage on business, the other trip was a driving trip with 3
other couples. My truck camper, them different types of trailers. Truck
camper was the best way. Would not do it again. Would fly to anchorage
and rent a 4x4 camper. Did not have to worry about a room in remote
areas. Lots of boring driving through Canada. Miles of dead trees, and
pretty flat terrain. Beetle infestation. And lots of the Alcan is crap
road. Interesting some area as they left the military construction
equipment abandoned. We took 7weeks and 8800 miles. We entered Alaska
at Poker Flat. Most northern road entrance to the country. Dirt /
gravel road and rain to Tok. Interesting is the motels have pressure
washers with free use to remove the hundreds of pounds of dirt you
accumulate on the Top of The World Highway.

Now there's an idea. Wonder how much that would be. Will have to check it out.