Peggy's Cove Photos

During an excursion in Nova Scotia while on my Maine/Canada cruise this past September on Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas, I got to visit Peggy's Cove. It's a touristy small scenic cove with a pretty lighthouse which can be seen in the first photo. For me, the real highlight of this visit is what you can get in the combination gift shop/restaurant you see in the second photo. On the second floor of the building, you can get a free special passport stamp that shows the lighthouse and the location Peggy's Cove. In my opinion, it's a neat souvenir of the trip that reminds me of the equally cool passport stamp I got at Machu Picchu, Peru.

Town Centre at Laurel (Maryland) Photos

I decided to try out my latest newest toy, a Sony DSC-RX100M2 point and shoot camera. The main advantage of the camera is that you can carry it in your pocket. This made it great for taking these photos as I was riding around on my TMAX motorbike.

My photos show the new Town Centre at Laurel shopping place. It has different parts scattered around, some of which aren't finished or haven't been let out yet. It is a huge improvement over the demolished Laurel Mall that used to occupy the site. The 2nd photo shows the new 12 screen Regal theater. I haven't seen a movie there but, that isn't any big surprise since I'm not a big movie goer. Most of the shops seem to be occupied by restaurants with others such at Sports Authority having moved from other locations in Laurel. The centre features other stores like Harris Teeter and Burlington Coat Factory (an original occupant). It's a nice development and may help bring more people into Laurel. Happy Holidays everyone!

Portland Horse Drawn Trolley Tour

During my Maine/Canada cruise back in September, I did a horse drawn trolley tour of Portland. The tour ended being really nice. The trolley took us around the historic parts of the city where the tour guide told us about the buildings as we passed them. I think the tour was 90 minutes long. I felt it was a very good tour and would recommend it to anyone visiting Portland.

New York City Skyline and Verrazano-Narrows Bridge Photos

One of the beginning highlights of my Maine/Canada cruise on Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas was the view of New York City from Port Liberty, Bayonne, New Jersey. As you see in the photo, the views were awesome!

In the 2nd photo, you can see the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge that links Staten Island with Brooklyn. At one time, this bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world till the Humber bridge in the United Kingdom surpassed it in 1981. My ship would pass under this bridge on its way out to the Atlantic Ocean.

Personal Eulogy For My Friend May Jackson

Today, I got a nasty shock. I got a call from my friend May Jackson's son-in-law Mike (last name unknown) letting me know May had passed away last night. I had no idea she was doing that badly. I learned just maybe less than a month ago that she'd been put in a nursing home because she was having such a rough time with needless worry and other things. I hoped when I got word of that she would pull out of it and, we could resume our chats as well as continuing to exchange letters. It was not to be.

I first met May when I moved into an apartment complex in San Angelo, Texas. I was a Tech Sergeant in the Air Force at the time and had just been stationed at the air base close by. I forget how we first met but, I remember her and her apartment well. May would serve cheap champagne and was a delight to be around. We had similar interests. Both of us liked culture, travel and art. I remember well the artistic rug she had hanging on one of her apartment walls. It consisted of bright solid swathes of color one after another. May asked me how much I thought it cost. I guess I didn't know art prices that well because I didn't come close to guessing the actual price. The RUG cost over $4,500 to my total shock!

Later, I got assigned to other air bases and kept in touch by phone and letter. One time while home for Christmas, I called her and reminded her that I was going to come down there and see her again (a promise I later kept). She asked me what I was doing in April. I said nothing. She told me about a special graduation trip that she, her daughter Jan and her grand-daughter Dallas (who was graduating from college - Georgetown possibly) were doing to Egypt. May particularly liked the country. I'd never visited it. She said lets meet there. Since I was stationed in Bahrain at the time, it wouldn't have been a huge hassle to fly over there. I told her I'd do my best to make it happen. I managed to get an Egyptian visa at the Egyptian embassy in Bahrain, made hotel reservations at the MENA House Oberoi Hotel (where her tour group was staying), arranged to have a driver pick me up at the airport and take me to the hotel (and later back to the airport) and in April I flew to Cairo.

I arrived first and waited for her to show up which she did I think an hour or 2 later. May some how talked the tour group leader into letting me join her tour for the next 2 days. It ended up being a lot of fun. Sadly, it was the only time we got to travel together. Because of May, I found out I liked Egypt and later, I did an Avalon Waterways tour where I saw the rest that I didn't get to do with her tour. I won't ever forget that trip with her, her daughter and grand-daughter.

I kept in touch with May and, I hoped to make it down to San Angelo again some time to see her. Sadly, it won't happen. I can't make it to her funeral with my future travel plans which are already set. Plus, I suspect it'll be a very sad family affair. I know they'll miss her dearly. May was a wonderful lady with a lot of character and a lot of spunk. May she know peace.

The Original IQ Tester Game Product Review

Recently, my friend Harvey and I had lunch at Aunt Sarah's Pancake House at 4205 Broad Street in Richmond, Virginia. While there, my friend Harvey reached over and started playing a game they had at our table (it was a demo model). The game is called The Original IQ Tester. It's made by Venture Manufacturing in Dalton, Georgia. The game is simple and yet challenging. It consists of 15 holes placed in a series of triangle patterns forming a greater triangle on a wooden board. You put 14 white plastic pegs in 14 of the 15 holes on the board. Then, you try to eliminate the pegs through jumping to where you have 1 peg left on the board. You can jump sideways or diagonally. You decide which hole to leave open at the beginning of the game. You earn points depending on how many pegs you have left at the end of the game (3 pegs left - 10 points, 2 pegs left - 25 points and 1 peg left - 50 points), or for advanced players if you can have the last peg end up in the hole you left open at the beginning (100 points) or more challenging still, you leave 8 pegs remaining on the board with no further jumps possible (200 points).

Venture Manufacturing sells the game for $7.99 at their website: venturemfgproducts.com. Should you lose too many of the white plastic pegs, you can order a replacement pack of 21 of them for $1.99. You may also be able to find the game as I did at Aunt Sarah's restaurants. They have 2 locations in Virginia.

Overall, I was really pleased with this game. I've found it challenging and, I like that there aren't any batteries. The game is small, light and easily packable. It's a game you can easily take with you on trips. Also, it is nice that it is made in the United States. I would definitely recommend it. Happy playing all!

Update December 14, 2014:  I placed an order for this game on the mentioned website. I got a shock when I found they'll charge you $10 for shipping. That's more than the cost of the game! So, I think Venture's shipping charges are high. You have been warned.

Yamaha TMAX Front Tire Life

Recently, I had to take my 2009 Yamaha TMAX into Heyser Cycle for a routine oil and filter change. Oil and filter changes have to be done every 3,125 miles or 5,000 kilometers. While there, it was discovered I needed to get a new front tire for my TMAX due to normal wear. I found out front tires apparently last approximately 8,000 miles on the bike. The bike uses either Dunlop GPR-100F or Bridgestone BT011F tires for the front tire. I ended up buying a Bridgestone tire as it was the cheaper of the two. It cost me $125 not including the labor to get it installed. I suspect the front tire on the bike is going to wear out faster than the back tire because that is where the majority of the braking is done on the bike. I'll post another post when I have to replace the back tire so TMAX users can have some idea how long the back tire will last. Happy safe riding all!

Starbucks Refresher Drink Product Review

One product I've tried a number of times at Starbucks coffee shops when I haven't felt like have a glass of their tea is their Refresher drink product. The drink comes in 3 flavors in their stores: Valencia Orange, Cool Lime and Very Berry Hibiscus. A 16 ounce glass of the drink will cost you approximately $3.00 at one of their stores.

Starbucks also makes available the drink in 2 other forms - cans and powder. The 8.4 fluid ounce cans come in 3 flavors: Strawberry Lemonade, Blueberry Acai and Raspberry Pomegranate. You can purchase the cans at either the Starbucks stores where they will cost you approximately $2.45 each or in stores where you can buy a 4 pack of the cans for at least $4.55. Calories for the cans depend on the flavor. Their lemonade has 60 calories per can while the blueberry flavor has 90.

The powdered drink come in 3 flavors: Raspberry Lemonade, Very Berry Hibiscus and Cool Lime. The powdered drink comes in a small box with five .7 ounce packets. Each packet makes two 8 ounce glasses of the drink. The boxes of the drink sell for $5.95. Calorie wise, each 8 ounce glass has 35 calories. One plus of buying the powdered drink box flavors is you receive 1 bonus crown point in Starbucks reward program for every box you buy.

One of the noteworthy aspects of Starbucks refresher drink is their use of green coffee extract. Starbucks draws the caffeine out of green coffee beans and inserts it in the refresher drinks. As the green coffee beans haven't been roasted yet, the extract doesn't have the coffee taste so many know while giving the drink a natural caffeine boost. I can vouch that none of the refresher drinks have any kind of coffee taste (I'm not a fan of coffee).

Overall, I've been very pleased with this product and would recommend it. I don't think you get a big caffeine fix from it as I haven't been pinging off the walls after drinking a glass of this drink. I believe the powdered form offers the best value for money. If nothing else, it does give you an alternative drink at Starbucks if you're not in a coffee or tea mood one day when you're visiting one of their stores. Happy drinking all!

Laurel Maryland Pennsylvania Dutch Market Thanksgiving Hours

I thought I'd post the Thanksgiving week hours for the Pennsylvania Dutch Market in Laurel, Maryland. I've shopped at the market for a number of years and, I highly recommend it. A number of the shops have very high quality goods. Beiler's Meats have excellent luncheon meats as well as steaks, sausages and some poultry products. Stoltzfus Salads has some really good salads including their butter beans which are large lima beans in a very good bar-b-que sauce. JR's Candies and Bulk Foods have some outstanding Jake & Amos pickled products like pickled asparagus and pickled spice dilly beans which are pickled green beans (I've had these and they are really good). Dutch Country Corner has some great ice cream which you can buy in half gallons or in a waffle cone if you wish. There are only 2 things I can complain about with this market: 1) they're not open enough during the week (their normal days of operation are Thursday, Friday and Saturday) and 2) they need more parking (the market is sooooo popular it can be hard to find a parking spot at times). Anyway, enough raving about this market. Here are the Thanksgiving week hours:

Tuesday, November 25th, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Wednesday, November 26th, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Closed Thanksgiving Day November 27th
Friday, November 28th, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, November 29th, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Their website is: www.burtonsvilledutchmarket.com. This market is worth checking out if you're in the Laurel, Maryland area. Happy shopping all!

Starbucks Portland Commercial Street Restaurant Wi-Fi

While in port during my recent cruise on Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas, I got to visit the Starbucks on 145 Commercial Street, Portland, Maine and try out their Wi-Fi. Due to expensive rates on the ship, I was looking for alternative Wi-Fi locations and, this Starbucks fit the bill superbly. Also, another nice thing about this Starbucks is that it isn't that far from the Portland cruise ship terminal. I think it was about 4 or 5 blocks from the terminal. As the terminal doesn't have Wi-Fi as far as I know, this is maybe one of the closer places to the terminal that offers it.

Also, the Commercial Street Starbucks has convenient hours. They are:

Monday to Thursday and Sunday: 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Friday and Saturday: 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. (current at the time of this post)

Overall, I was very pleased with the Wi-Fi connectivity at this Starbucks as well as the service. Prices were the same as at other Starbucks and, they do accept Starbucks giftcards as well as participate in their reward program. I'd definitely recommend this Starbucks and plan to use it again when I make port again in Portland some time in the far future. Happy web surfing all!

Bar Harbor Maine Cruise Ship Pier

Last month, I got to visit Bar Harbor, Maine for the first time while doing a Maine/Canada cruise on Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas. Bar Harbor was the only port on this cruise where the ship had to tender us in i.e. take up to port in smaller boats (this is standard for cruise ships as Norwegian Cruise Line's Dawn had to do the same thing while I was there). The reason for this is I believe is because the water is too shallow by the pier.

Concerning the pier, there isn't a cruise ship terminal there like at other places. The town did have 1 policeman nearby but, there weren't any dedicated cruise buildings. Royal Caribbean set up it's own security to check people before they were allowed on a tender which took them to the ship.

The pier does have restaurants which seemed useless to me since the free food on board the ship was fine. One plus in my opinion was the free Wi-Fi at Agamont Park which is right next to the pier. I tested this Wi-Fi and, it worked fine.

The Blood of Olympus Book Review

Yesterday, Rick Riordan's Blood of Olympus was released. It's the final book in the Heroes of Olympus series. The book picks up from the 4th book of House of Hades. In the 5th book, our heroes go through many more trials on their way to 2 climactic battles. Riordan shows his usual crazy humor such as the minor sea goddess whom Jason Grace promises to create an action figure for while at the same time keeping the story moving along. I won't spoil the ending but, I don't think there will be any devastated Riordan fans at the end of the story i.e. it has a happy ending.

Overall, I found the story ok. I thought it weak in some parts like the blood certain demigods shed to waken Gaea. I mean we're led to believe there is going to be some terrible sacrifice and, the sacrifice ends up being lame.

Still, the book will be a must read for Riordan fans. Price wise, the Costco near which I live is selling it for $10.99 in hardbound. Also, Barnes & Noble is selling the electronic version for the same price.

Lastly, Riordan fans will be very delighted at the far end of the book where Riordan announces the new series he'll be coming out with next October called Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard. And yes, it's not a coincidence that the Chase in the title has the same last name as Annabeth Chase. We'll find out next October what the connection is. Happy reading all.

Maryland Penalties for Missed Emissions Test

Recently, I learned the hard way you don't want to fail to get your emissions test done in Maryland. I don't know how much time the state gives you to get the test done but, I managed to miss it. This is what happened to me because of that.

First, the state will suspend your car registration and not tell you. I got a serious scare when a Howard County policeman pulled me over last month. I wasn't speeding (I was doing 7 miles under the speed limit according to my Global Positioning System (GPS)), My tags were current, Nothing was broken on the car. The policeman came up and asked for proof of registration. I managed to find it and also gave him my driver's license which was current. He did some checking and found out my car registration was suspended because I didn't get the emissions test done. I was stunned. I had no idea it had been suspended. Thankfully, the policeman gave me just a warning though I had 30 days to fix the matter. He could've given me a ticket.

Second, later that week, I went to the nearest emissions testing center to get the test done. The price for the test is $14 which isn't bad. Also, I got there right when it opened so, there wasn't any line. I pull out a $20 to pay for the test and, the guy tells me it's going to be $149! The reason it was so high? The late fee for not getting the emissions test done in time. The fee is a whopping $135! Serious OUCH!

So, the lesson of this story dear readers is if you live in Maryland, make damn sure you get your emissions test done in time. It will be very expensive if you don't. Take it from someone who learned the hard way. Happy travels all!

P.S.
Concerning the car registration suspension, I found out from Maryland Motor Vehicles Administration (MVA) that the suspension will be removed within 24 hours of you getting the emissions test done. I visited their Glen Burnie office to make sure it had been and, that's how I found this out.

Hemingway Home, Key West, Florida

Due to the fact I wrote a review on Tripadvisor.com on the Hemingway House in Key West, Florida; I'm posting pictures I haven't posted before. To my surprise, the only pictures I took in Key West were of the Hemingway House. I'll rectify that when I go back this coming January with my totally awesome Aunt Marge, Uncle Dave and possibly my travel friend Harvey.

Concerning the pictures, the first is of 6 photos taken of Ernest Hemingway at different ages in his life starting when he was a baby and progressing to when he was an old man. The second is of the dining room in the house. The third is of a bedroom. On the bed, you can see 1 of the 40 cats that roam the house. I believe this one is one of the famous 6 toed cats. According to the guide who showed my group around the house, Hemingway opposed having cats because he knew once you get one cat, you'll get more. One of Hemingway's fishing buddies however changed his mind when he told him that 6 toed cats were good luck.

Concerning Key West, I really enjoyed it. It's small but, there is a lot to see there including the Hemingway House, mini White House and the Mel Fisher museum. I'm really looking forward to going back.

In regards to my last September cruises, after the Majesty of the Seas left Key West, we sailed back to Miami where sadly it was time to leave. Thanks to being members of Royal Caribbean's Crown & Anchor program (their frequent cruiser program), I was one of the first ones off the boat. When a cruise is over, I don't like hanging around. I want to get moving even if it means I hang around at the airport. I was glad to get off the ship and on my way. I got my suitcase and processed through customs and immigration. As I had a pre-paid transfer to the airport, I took my suitcase to the airport bus, handed it to the driver and boarded the bus. At Miami International, my travel friend Harvey and I would fly to Atlanta where we would go our separate ways.

Atlantis Resort Photos, Paradise Island, Bahamas

Finished in 1998 by South African hotel magnate Sol Kerzner, Atlantis is probably the most famous resort in the Bahamas. It has a water park, the largest outdoor aquarium in the Caribbean and a lot of impressive artwork specially created for the resort some of which you can see in the photos above.

My travel friend Harvey and I signed up for the Atlantis tour excursion through Royal Caribbean. It cost $39 and, I thought it was worth the money. The resort provided the guide for the tour who was very knowledgeable and funny. The tour included transportation to and from the resort. I think the tour took 3 hours. Next up - Key West, Florida

Miami Hop Hop Off and City Photos

Between cruises, my travel friend Harvey and I decided to see some of Miami. One of the easiest ways to do that is do a hop on hop off tour. You get on the bus which stops at various landmarks and when one really grabs your attention, you hop off and check it out. When you're done seeing that particular place, you hop back on the bus and continue on the tour. It's a really easy way to see the city.

The company our travel agent Joel Mills recommended was Big Bus. They offer 2 different routes. One takes in Little Havana and other historic landmarks while the 2nd route does Miami Beach and South Beach. We chose do the first one.

Big Bus was convenient for us because all we had to do was walk across the bridge that connects Miami to its port, cross the street to Bayside Marketplace and walk around to the Big Bus stop. The first picture is of one of their buses. The 2nd is of some of the fine folks that work there. I don't remember their names but, I remember them being very nice. They represented their company well.

The 3rd picture of a courthouse interestingly. The 4th is of a 50's type store. The last photo is of the historic Biltmore Hotel. In its heyday, it was the place to stay when visiting Miami.

The Big Bus tour was very nice though neither Harvey or I felt like getting off the bus during the tour. We returned to Bayside Marketplace where we walked over to the Miami Hard Rock Cafe so, I could get my t-shirt. I collect them from all the Hard Rock Cafes I visit. After that, we stopped in the Starbucks where I treated Harvey to a coffee so, he wouldn't mind me getting on the Internet for a little while. I don't like coffee but, I love Starbucks's free WiFi.

Then, we hoofed it back to the Majesty of the Seas where we used our 2nd cruise SeaPasses to get on-board. The SeaPasses were delivered to our cabins the night before we pulled back into Miami. Thankfully, Royal Caribbean has those who do back-to-back cruises in-process once. So, we got to skip it on the 2nd cruise though we did have to do the emergency drill again before the ship left the pier.

The next pictures I'll post will be of the very impressive Atlantis Resort on Paradise Islands, Bahamas. Stay tuned.

Miami Skyline and Port Pictures

While Royal Caribbean was founded in Norway by 3 Norwegian shipping companies, Miami was the first port the new cruise company decided to sail from. Royal Caribbean has been here since 1970 I believe. The first picture show the cosmopolitan city's skyline from the cruise ship piers. The 2nd picture shows the cruise ship piers (you can see another cruise ship further up) as well as the way the cruise ships sail out of the port and into the Caribbean Sea. The 3rd picture shows the cruise ship piers as well as the other side of Miami's port. You can see containers and the cranes that lift them and put them on container carrying ships. The final picture show Royal Caribbean International's Headquarters. This is the headquarters for the cruise line though they are just 1 of 5 cruise lines owned by their parent company Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

These pictures were taken at the beginning of the first of 2 cruises I did on Royal Caribbean's Majesty of the Seas in September 2013. Next up will be a couple pictures I took during a hop on hop off tour I did of Miami between cruises.

Oasis of the Seas Photos, Nassau, Bahamas

For those who wants lots of photos of this impressive ship, my apologies. I wasn't able to take lots of them from the pier at Nassau, Bahamas. I haven't sailed on the Oasis so, I haven't been able to get photos from on the ship. These photos are primarily to show my Aunt Marge just how BIG this Oasis is. It is HUMONGOUS!

The 2nd photo is a poor attempt to show the Aquatheater on the ship. This theater is noteworthy as it's largest swimming pool on a commercial vessel. It holds 1 million gallons of water and is 16 feet deep. It has to be deep because they have professional divers (not scuba divers) who dive into the pool during the shows they put on.

I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that the Oasis or its sister ship the Allure will make port in Nassau during one of the two port calls my Aunt, my Uncle and myself will make to Nassau this coming January. Then, she can be Royally WOWED as Royal Caribbean says.

Next up: photos of the Miami skyline, cruise ship terminal and Royal Caribbean International Headquarters.

Cloister Photos, Paradise Island, Bahamas

Here are 2 photos I took of The Cloisters on Paradise Island. I took 3 others but, I used those in a review that I wrote for Tripadvisor.com. As I don't want to use those again and possibly have some trouble with those folks, I'm using my remaining 2 photos.

The Cloisters were the last thing I got to see on my first excursion in Nassau. I think they're the prettiest too though the Queen's Staircase was pretty neat. The Cloisters have an interesting story. William Randolph Hearst, the great newspaper magnate, bought the ruins of a French monastery and had them shipped either to the U.S. or the Bahamas (that point wasn't clear in my researches). Apparently, no one thought to note how the various pieces went together. When they tried to put the pieces together, they realized they had a BIG problem. Hearst never put the ruins back together. Later, his heirs I believe sold them to the A&P heir (I forget his name) who was building a super posh hotel on what was then known as Pig Island (I believe that was the name then, he later petitioned the Bahamian Parliament to have the name changed to Paradise Island, a lot more appealing to people staying there you know). He bought the ruins and hired an artist who then spent 2 years trying all kinds of combinations till he finally came up with what you see today.

The ruins are stilled owned by the hotel the heir built. I forget it's name though I do remember it's part of the One and Only Chain of hotel. The hotel allows anyone to visit the ruins and, there isn't any charge. They're open 24 hours a day. They are very popular for weddings according to the guide I had. It would sense as they would be a great setting for a wedding.

After visiting these ruins, my tour group returned to the cruise ship terminal where I would take some photos of the Oasis of the Seas. Stay tuned for those photos tomorrow. Happy travels all!

Naked Juice Blue Machine Product Review

Due to a promotion by MyPoints where you can earn 1,000 points by buying $5 or more of Naked Juice products (offer expires June 26th, 2014 so you best hurry if you want to take advantage of it), I decided to try a 2 quart bottle of their Blue Machine juice product. Here's what I found out about it and what I thought of it.

First, Naked Juice states on the bottle that they put 114 blueberries, 12 blackberries, 4 apples and 4 and 3/4 bananas in my 2 quart bottle. That is a LOT of fruit in my opinion. Also, for those who care about such things, they state that the fruit was sustain-ably grown and the bananas were certified by the Rainforest Alliance. It doesn't have any added sugar, no GMO, no preservatives, gluten free and it's vegan. The bottle the juice is in is produced from other plastic bottles helping to reduce waste in landfills.

Second, price wise the 2 quart bottle cost me $6.98 at the Laurel, Maryland Sam's Club. I thought this was a reasonable price. Juice doesn't come cheap.

Taste wise, I thought the product tasted pretty good. Naked Juice calls it a blue smoothie. Plus, it appears to be good for you. It's loaded with B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E and fiber (one 8 ounce glass will give you 3 grams of fiber which is 10% of your daily requirement for fiber).

Overall, I think Naked Juice is a fine product that is good for you. It's definitely better to drink this than soda. It's a product you might want to try. Happy drinking all!

Nassau, Bahamas Harbor Pictures

Time to post some more Bahamas cruises pictures for my totally awesome Aunt Marge. The first picture here is of the entrance to the harbor at Nassau, Bahamas. This is noteworthy because the Bahamian government had to widen the channel entrance to the harbor so the Oasis and its sister ships could visit Nassau without running the risk of running aground. It would've been a tight fit for the ship otherwise. Two pictures of the Oasis will appear in future posts as I was able to get up close to the ship in Nassau.

The second picture is to the left of the harbor entrance. You can see some kind of factory out that way as well as a nice beach. As I remember, there were food stands by the beach too.

The third picture is of the 4 ships that were in port the first time I made port in Nassau on Majesty of the Seas. From left to right, you have the Oasis, a Norwegian Cruise Line ship (name unremembered), a Carnival ship (name unremembered but always easy to identify due to their unique smokestack) and Majesty of the Seas.

The fourth picture is another picture of Majesty of the Seas that I didn't know I had. This shows the ship from the pier close to the building where you pass through security to enter Nassau.

Next up will be the Cloisters which you won't want to miss. They are really pretty, have an interesting story and are very popular for weddings in Nassau. Stay tuned.

Fort Fincastle and Queen's Staircase Pictures

Fort Fincastle was built in 1793 by Lord Dunmore, the governor of the Bahamas at the time. It was named Fincastle after his 2nd title Viscount Fincastle. The fort was 1 of the 3 forts that protected Nassau. The other 2 forts were Fort Charlotte and Fort Nassau which no longer exists. The fort had 2 12 pound, 2 24 pound and 2 32 pound cannons as well as 1 howitzer. Oddly, the fort is shaped like a paddle steamer. You can see what looks like the front of a ship in the 2nd picture.

The Queen's Staircase was built so soldiers could easily get to Fort Fincastle. According to my guide, it took slaves 16 years to hack out of stone the steps that led to the fort. Later, as far as I know, they beautified the staircase and, there is now a pretty waterfall as seen in the 4th picture as well as plants along the staircase. The guide for the tour I did was kind enough to give those who wanted to see the staircase the option of walking down it and joining the tour bus at the base of the staircase. My travel friend Harvey and I took him up on the offer and enjoyed checking it out barring the hustler who tried to get a tip off us for some information on the staircase we didn't ask for.

Coco Cay, Bahamas Photos

Here are the best photos I took of Coco Cay, Bahamas. The first photo shows the small cove that the tender boats would take folks to. There were 2 docks for the boats to tie up and unload their passengers.

The 2nd photo shows one of the beaches on the island. Another beach had cabanas for rent.

The 3rd photo shows the guide for the nature walk tour my travel friend Harvey and I did. The tour showed some of the plants on the island that Bahamians used for bush medicine. The tour was very interesting. Sadly, I don't remember the guide's name.

The 4th photo shows some of the iguanas that live on the island. Surprisingly, these lizards are very agile climbers and, they'll actually climb up into trees by their little inlet. My travel friend Harvey was so taken by the iguanas that he bought a t-shirt from one of the souvenir stalls on the islands that showed iguanas with sunglasses on relaxing and enjoying the sun.

The 5th and final photo shows one of the trees the guide showed us. This tree produces such large leaves that Bahamians will break them off and use them for make shift plates.

Here's a little more info about the island though I can't state that it is 100% accurate. First, the island is owned by an unidentified marine biologist who has a home on the island on the other end of it. The biologist supposedly leased the island to Royal Caribbean for 99 years. The biologist and their family can apparently still stay at their home when they feel like and, they can visit Royal Caribbean's facilities on it. Second, some Royal Caribbean staff actually live on the island. The guide I mentioned pointed out the housing facilities for those staff during my tour. I suspect the staff stay busy as Royal Caribbean has various ships come here. The Majesty of the Seas comes here twice every week alone. Third, Royal Caribbean offers a number of activities on the island. You can snorkel, scuba dive, jet ski, parasail and go on a glass bottom boat ride. Keep in mind there is a charge for a number of these activities like the glass bottom boat ride, scuba diving, jet ski and the snorkle treasure hunt (I plan to do that one during one of my visits there with my Aunt). Fifth, Coco Cay is one of two private resorts Royal Caribbean has. The other is their resort at Labadee, Haiti which I've been to and is very nice. Sixth, there are some souvenir stalls on the island though not tons by any means. I believe some of them are run by Bahamians. I don't think there were more than 15 of them.

Thats's all for this post. The next one will be on the history tour I took of Nassau and will have pictures of Fort Fincastle, Fort Charlotte and Nassau harbor. Stay tuned.

Photos of Royal Caribbean's Majesty of the Seas

Photos of Royal Caribbean's Majesty of the Seas

In January/February 2015, I'll be treating my totally awesome Aunt Marge and her husband Uncle Dave to their first 2 cruises. I decided that an easy introduction to cruising would be to take them on back-to-back cruises on Royal Caribbean's Majesty of the Seas. The ship isn't overwhelming though ironically at one time, it was the largest cruise ship in the world which shows you how much cruising has changed. Also, the itinerary for both cruises are light and easy. The first cruise in 3 nights and takes in Coco Cay (Royal Caribbean's private island resort), Bahamas and Nassau, Bahamas. The second cruise is 4 nights, includes both Coco Cay and Nassau and makes port at Key West, Florida.

As I'd like to show my Aunt Marge what to expect, I'll be posting pictures I took during these same 2 cruises which I did last September. For those that are interested, I did blog a report on what I saw on those cruises. It's located here: ronw.blogspot.com/2013/09/majesty-of-seas-cruises-review.html

For this blog entry, I've posted 2 photos I took of the ship we'll be sailing on. The first is a shot from the beach at Coco Cay of the ship at anchor. At Coco Cay, all visitors have be tendered i.e. taken to the island in smaller boats as the ship is way too big for the island's small bay. The second photo is a closer shot taken at Key West, Florida from the U.S. Coast Guard station there. It's not very good in my opinion but, it was the best I could do from the location while trying to get the WHOLE ship in the photo.

Princess Juliana International Airport WiFi Report

With my out-processing done on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas this past May, I took a taxi to St. Maarten's Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM). There, I'd catch my flight to New York JFK International Airport with a connecting flight to Washington's Reagan National. I would've dreaded my wait time at this airport but thankfully, they have free and excellent WiFi at this airport. I didn't have any problems using it with my Nook e-reader which is what I prefer to use Internet wise when I'm traveling (easier to carry than a laptop). It was really nice. It definitely helped the time go by as I waited for my flight.

The airport itself is surprisingly busy for such a small island. My taxi driver told me during high season, they'd get 17 flights a day from the U.S. and Canada and 5 from Europe! The airport has 4 jet bridges and 12 gates. Also, it has at least 3 or 4 eateries and a gift shop on the upper level.

Overall, I was really pleased with this airport. The WiFi works great here and, the people who work here are nice. I suspect I'll get to use this airport again some time in the future as I plan to do another transatlantic cruise with Royal Caribbean where I'll either leave the ship at St. Maarten or join it there on it's way to Florida. Happy travels all!

Beginning of My Panama Canal Cruise on Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas

Cabo San Lucas Marina

Time to start posting some travel photos. This one was taken at the beginning of my Royal Caribbean Panama Canal cruise on April 3rd, 2014. The cruise would be an adventure from the beginning. It was the first ever cruise I would join late. What do I mean by late? I mean that the cruise had already started on April 1st. The cruise began in San Diego, California. However, to keep the folks where I work happy, I'd agreed to cut 2 days off the cruise by joining it in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. You can join Royal Caribbean cruises late or leave early as I've found out the last 2 months. However, there are conditions. In the case of joining a cruise late, the cruise must be open ended i.e. it starts in one port and finishes in another. Also, you must notify Royal Caribbean in advance if you plan to do this and get approval from their security. My travel agent Joel Mills did that though it was still a little scary as I did wonder if the ship would know I was coming. I'd never been to Cabo San Lucas before and, I didn't want a screw up and have to try to get back home from there.

The airport that serves Cabo San Lucas is at Los Cabos. From there, I took a shuttle that was supposed to drove me off at the Wyndham but, I got it to drop me off close to the pier. Then, I walked to the pier with my suitcase and introduced myself to the Mexican security there. To my relief, they had my name in one of their books. They checked my passport, verified that I was who I said I was and let me through. Then, I got to go through the routine again with Royal Caribbean.

Once they confirmed I was who I claimed to be, they gave me my SeaPass which I would use to get on board the ship with. As the port/marina is very small at Cabo San Lucas, you have to tender out to your cruise ship. Once on board my ship Legend of the Seas, I'd finish my in-processing with the ship and my cruise would begin. It was the beginning of a very fun 2 week adventure. Stay tuned for more posts.

Lucky and Led Mystery Series Review

During my May cruise on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas, I got to attend mass repeatedly. This isn't normal as Royal Caribbean doesn't always offers the services of a priest on its cruises as I've seen from personal experience. I didn't know they did it at all until I did my April Panama Canal cruise on their Legend of the Seas ship. During the May cruise, the Roman Catholic priest was a retired U.S. Navy chaplain named David P. Remy. As he is a vet like myself (although I served in the Air Force), this made him points with me right off the bat. He was a great priest and, I really enjoyed his masses. They gave a nice start to each of my days on board the ship.

Shortly, before I left the ship, Father Remy remarked that he was an author. He has written and published 6 e-novels. 5 of those are the Lucky and Led cruise ship mystery series (Cruise to Mayhem, Cruise to Hell, Cruise to Pandora, Cruise to Yuletide and Cruise to Critique). As I really liked the priest, I decided to buy 1 of his novels (I later bought the other 4) and see what I thought of the series.

The series has to be kind of unique in that one of the primary characters - Father Lucky, is a retired Navy chaplain who works as a priest on various cruises. This character gives an interesting insight into how things work on cruise ships as far as chaplains and for the ships in general. Father Remy has extensive experience in that way as he's done over 45 cruises over the years and will do 7 cruises this year alone (he told me that during the May cruise). People who have cruised on cruise ships will definitely be able to connect with some of the things he tells about in his novels. The stories are very nice and move along well. Nor are they overly long so, I found them easy reads. The novels are cheap cost wise. The first 2 cost me $1.99 each and the last 3 cost me $2.99 each from Kobobooks.com.

Concerning e-readers, the e-novels are meant for Kindle e-readers which created a problem for me with my Nook e-reader. Barnes & Noble doesn't sell them because of that. Luckily, Kobobooks with their app can work with Nook e-readers. I haven't any problems reading the novels through their app.

Overall, I've very much enjoyed the 2 e-novels I've read so far and, I look forward to reading the other three. Plus, it was very cool getting to meet their author during my May cruise. If you like cruising or mystery novels, you might enjoy these easy and neat reads. Happy reading all!

Cariloha Product Review

During my May cruise on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas, I saw some information on Cariloha's bamboo products. I thought it sounded interesting having clothing made out of bamboo so, I decided to buy something and see how well it worked. I bought 2 Men's t-shirts and 4 pairs of white socks at their Crown Bay, St. Thomas store. The t-shirts felt very soft. Cariloha claims their bamboo merchandise is softer than cotton and, from my experience, their claim is valid. It really is. Also, they claim it will keep you cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. I say maybe on that. Lastly, they claim the product is very "Green." Bamboo grows very quickly (one variety can grow as much as 3 feet in 1 day according to them), requires little or no pesticides and can grow in a number of places. I know from personal experience it can grow in Maryland.

One down side to their products is you will pay a little premium for them. The Men's t-shirts cost $34 a piece and their white socks were $12 a pair though they have a deal where if you buy 3 pairs, you get a 4th pair free.

The chain is proving popular and, franchises are opening in a number of places in the U.S. I saw a thing where they recently opened a store in Washington D.C. which I plan on visiting some time soon. Also, I plan on visiting their store in Key West, Florida when I visit there again next year during a cruise with Royal Caribbean. I think they have a number of stores in the Caribbean too.

One thing about their Men's t-shirts. Some of them have the name of the town the shop is located in and some of them don't. According to the folks I spoke with at their Annapolis, Maryland store, some folks don't like the town name on the shirts so, Cariloha puts out some shirts sans town name to keep them happy. Personally, I like having the town name on them. That makes them something of a collectible to me and gives me a way to show folks some of the places I've traveled to.

Overall, I've been pretty pleased with Cariloha's stuff. I think it's pretty cool that it's made out of bamboo. I don't like that it is a little pricey. They do have sales which can help with that. Plus, I really do like the stuff. I'd definitely recommend it. If there is store near where you live, check it out. They do make very good stuff.

Update June 28, 2014: I did visit their Washington D.C. store which is located at the National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland. I really liked this store. I got to chat with the owner who is super nice. Plus, they had some nice deals. I wasn't wiped out with the National Harbor.

Market House Annapolis Maryland WiFi Review

Today, I got to visit the old part of Annapolis, Maryland. I wanted to post something on the Internet from my Nook e-reader so, I looked for a place with free WiFi. I walked into Market House at 25 Market Place and saw a sign claiming they have free WiFi. Awesome! I bought 3 scoops of gelato from their Firenzes Gelateria, sat down and tried to connect to the Internet. No go. It turned out the sign was total bs. The place doesn't offer free WiFi. A worker at one of the shops I spoke with said the local government was supposed to do something about it but, they apparently haven't. :-( Thankfully, there are a couple places in the dock area that do offer free WiFi like the Starbucks at 124 Dock Street. So, if you want to surf the web, skip the Market House. Happy Internet surfing all!

The Staff of Serapis Book Review

Like Rick Riordan did previously with Son of Sobek and the paperback release of The Serpent's Shadow, Riordan and Disney have released The Staff of Serapis with the paperback release of The Mark of Athena. Like with Son of Sobek where it also included the first chapter of  the then upcoming The House of Hades book, The Staff of Serapis has the first chapter of Blood of Olympus, the final and climactic book in the Heroes of Olympus series. The paperback version of Mark of Athena came out April 8th. As I didn't care to buy that book a second time, I waited for the e-book version to come out which was released May 20th. The e-book version comes in 2 versions. One is the short story with the 1st chapter of Blood of Olympus and sells for $1.99. In the 2nd version, Rick Riordan tells the story via audio and, it too has the 1st chapter of Blood of Olympus. The 2nd version costs $2.99. I bought the 2nd version as I thought it would be cool to listen to Riordan tell the story. Plus, it's only cost an extra $1. The Riordan audio version comes in 3 parts. The first 2 parts last 34:45 roughly each and the 3rd part lasts 32:15 roughly. Riordan does a great job of leaving you hanging at the end of the first 2 parts to where you can't wait to hear the next part.

The short story itself is a good one and leaves a fascinating opening for Riordan to continue the Olympus stories with a new tangent (I leave it to you the reader to find out what that is). However, if Riordan decides to go that way, he won't be able to do it for a while as he is supposed to start work on a new series that features the Norse mythology. It'll be interesting to see what he does with that. The story also has a possible spoiler in it which I won't reveal. Again, you'll have to find out what it is yourself. I don't think it'll sadden any of Riordan's readers. Whereas the Son of Sobek featured Carter Kane and Percy Jackson, The Staff of Serapis features Annabeth Chase and Sadie Kane.

Concerning the first chapter in the Blood of Olympus novel, it doesn't excite any but, it does make you wish they would come out with the book sooner. It's not supposed to be released until October 7th, 2014 (groan, grumble, grumble, grumble). For those who don't want to buy The Staff of Serapis short story, the 1st chapter will be released later this summer according to Riordan's website.

Overall, I liked The Staff of Serapis. I'd recommend to any fans of Riordan's books. I confess, I'm waiting big time for Blood of Olympus to come out in October. I want to find out how things end. Do the Roman and Greek demigods make peace instead of war? Do the 7 demigods on the quest some how defeat the giants? Will 1 of the 7 demigods die in the final book? There have been a number of references to a big sacrifice being necessary. We'll see. For now, I'll content myself with The Staff of Serapis and the first chapter of Blood of Olympus. Happy reading all!

Hard Rock Rewards Program Assessment

I've been a member of the Hard Rock Rewards program for over a year and a half now. I thought it time to write an assessment of the program and why I don't like it as much as I liked their previous rewards program called All Access.

The current Hard Rock Rewards program has 2 levels. There is the free level which doesn't cost you anything and, there's the VIP level which costs you $24.95 per year. The advantage of the VIP level is you get greater benefits than the free level. The most noteworthy in my opinion is the 10 additional reward points per dollar spent at each cafe you visit. Those 10 points per dollar can make a big difference on when you earn your next $15 reward. With the free membership, you'll have to spend $250 for each $15 reward certificate. With the VIP level, you'll spend $166.66. So, with the VIP level, you'll save $83.34 for each reward certificate. In this way, you'll get back the price of the VIP membership with your first rewards certificate.

Update October 27, 2015: This is no longer true. Hard Rock International has done away with the VIP level for reasons unknown to me.

Concerning the program itself, your reward points are good for 12 months after which you lose those points. Each reward certificate you earn is good for 6 months before they expire. If you don't have any activity with your VIP membership for 12 months and your VIP membership has expired, Hard Rock can delete your membership though they will notify you 30 days before they do so. (See Update)

Between the 2 levels of membership, the VIP membership is the better one though you have to renew it every year i.e. pony up another $24.95 each year. (See Update)

In comparison the previous All Access program, the Rewards program isn't as good. With All Access, your points NEVER expired as I remember whereas they do with the Reward program. You could keep amassing your rewards to where you can could amass a serious reward (I got up to $140 worth of rewards before sadly Hard Rock got rid of the All Access program) vice getting the $15 rewards certificate which you must use within 6 months. You can't carry over your rewards like you could with the All Access program. The All Access was totally free. There wasn't a VIP level where you had to pay $24.95 a year as I remember. For all these reasons, I'm not thrilled with the Hard Rock Rewards program BUT, it is better than nothing. (See Update)

I plan to stay a member and keep trying to visit Hard Rock Cafe's I haven't been to before. Last month, I got to visit their cafe in Cartagena, Colombia for the first time which was pretty neat. Next year, I hope to visit their cafe in Helsinki, Finland for the first time as well as visit their cafe's again in Stockholm, Sweden and Copenhagen, Denmark. I very much like getting their t-shirts and showing the world some of the Hard Rock cafes I've been to. Cheers all!

Addition October 27, 2015: Not all cafes participate in the rewards program. I found this out thankfully before trying to visit the Hard Rock Cafe in Stockholm, Sweden. If you're planning a visit to a Hard Rock Cafe, you might want to check their website and see if they participate in the program before you visit the cafe.

Also, I did get to visit the Copenhagen, Denmark cafe this August and, I found out it's no longer right next to the Tivoli Gardens. I don't know when it moved. I did find it a fine cafe though I didn't eat there (that wouldn't have made any sense with all the fine FREE food on board the cruise ship I was sailing on). I bought some souvenirs and gifts but, I still found it nice. Staff there were very helpful.

Lastly, I visited the London, England Hard Rock Cafe while en-route to my July/August 2015 cruise. Their gift/souvenir shop is across the street from the cafe vice behind it. I did have dinner at this cafe and, I very much enjoyed it. I got very happily stuffed there. Visiting this cafe brought back lots of memories. This was the first Hard Rock Cafe I ever visited and was like a home away from home when I was stationed in the United Kingdom with the U.S. Air Force. It was great to get to visit it again.

Tech Tools PI-810 World Time Travel Alarm Clock With Flashlight Product Review

The main travel clock I use for my travels is the Tech Tools PI-810 world travel clock with flashlight. While it has some drawbacks, it is the easiest to change time zones on as far as I know (I'll give an example later in the review). The clock is sold on Amazon for between $11 and $12 which isn't vary expensive. The clock is small (guesstimate is it's 6 inches long and an inch and a half wide) so it doesn't take up a lot of space in your suitcase. It has a drawback in that the buttons on it are exposed and so they can be hit causing it to beep. I try to pack the clock around things that won't cause it to go off. Another drawback to the clock is it uses 2 different types of batteries. It uses 3 LR44 lithium cell batteries for the flashlight and 2 AAA for the clock functions. This is annoying. Also, you must have the directions that come with the clock in order to set the alarm functions or change the temperature from Fahrenheit to Celsius or vice versa (press the down arrow while in normal time mode). The temperature gauge as far as I know is accurate and handy.

The biggest plus of this clock is the ease you can change it between time zones. It has 18 time zones on it. Each time zone is covered by a particular city example: New York for the Eastern Standard time zone. In order to change between time zones, you simply twist the rotating knob at the end of the clock to the city that has the time zone you want. During my recent Panama Canal cruise on Royal Caribbean's Legend of  the Seas ship, I changed time zones 3 times. Thanks to this convenient clock, all I had to do was turn the knob one click to the next time zone.

Overall, I think Tech Tools PI-810 world travel clock is a decent travel clock. It is particularly handy if you're going to be travelling to different time zones. With it, you just turn the knob to the appropriate time zone vice having to reset the time on the clock like with my Brookstone Microbeam travel clock. Personally, I'd recommend it but, I know from reading reviews on Amazon that not every one likes the clock. So, you may want to order one and if you don't like it, you can return it like some have apparently done. Happy travels all!

Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas Wi-Fi

Recently, I got to sail on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas cruise ship. While on-board, I tried out the ship's Wi-Fi and found out what the prices were for its various Wi-Fi plans. The plans can vary from ship to ship and, that was the case in this instance.

Independence of the Seas offers 4 plans:

1 hour plan - $29.95
1 day plan - $59.95
Unlimited plan for 1 device - $189.95
Unlimited plan for 2 devices - $229.95

With the 1 hour plan, you get 60 minutes that you can use at various times. This is different from their 1 day plan which for some reason must be used continuously for 24 hours. I confess I didn't like that I had to use the 1 day plan all in 1 day and, I wouldn't recommend it. With the unlimited plans, the big thing there is how many devices you can have hooked up to the Wi-Fi at one time. With the unlimited plan for 2 devices, you can have 2 devices hooked up at the same time. This would be handy for families. If you're on a long cruise and surf the web a lot, the unlimited plans are definitely the way to go. I do wish Royal Caribbean offered the unlimited plans on more of their ships. Right now, it's only available on this ship, Allure of the Seas and Navigator of the Seas. I would've greatly preferred it over the 1,600 plan I got on their Legend of the Seas ship.

For Crown & Anchor members, the Diamond discount is $29.95. This will get you 1 hour of free Wi-Fi or $29.95 off one of the other plans. I'm Diamond and since I wasn't staying for the whole cruise, I took the 1 hour free Wi-Fi. I wasn't wiped out with this offer otherwise. $160 (after the discount) for unlimited Wi-Fi still isn't cheap in my book though it is way better than what Royal Caribbean has offered before.

One final difference I found between the Wi-Fi on Independence of the Seas and Legend of the Seas was you could hook up to the Wi-Fi using the Mozilla Firefox browser. The sheet with the information on the ship's Wi-Fi states that Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari version 3 or higher will work on their Wi-Fi. Internet Explorer as far as I know works on all of Royal Caribbean's ships and apparently is their preferred browser. On Legend of the Seas, I tried logging on Mozilla Firefox and, the page would lock up at the log-in point. On Independence of the Seas, the log-in page worked fine. As I don't have the Safari browser, I didn't test that one. It would be nice if they added the Chrome browser to the list of browsers you can use.

Lastly, the Wi-Fi is available throughout the ship. This is one of the upgrades Royal Caribbean is doing to its entire fleet and will encourage people to use the Wi-Fi. It's a real pain to have to search for a hotspot on the ship. Happy surfing on the Internet all!

Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas Wi-Fi

From April 3rd to April 16th, 2014, I sailed on Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas ship (the rates posted are current at the time of this sailing). I used the ship's Wi-Fi considerably (approximately 1,500 minutes) which is the most I think I've ever used the Wi-Fi on any of their ships I've been on. The ship's Wi-Fi worked really well. I never had a problem getting on though I think I did get bumped off a few times for unknown reasons. The Wi-Fi is available throughout the ship including all cabins. I primarily used it in my inner cabin and, it worked fine there. I can't tell you how fast the connection speed was though I had no problems holding a texting chat with a friend on Facebook.

The pay as you go rate is a very high 85 cents a minute. The pre-paid plans available are as follows:

38 minutes - $24.95 which breaks out to 66 cents a minute
90 minutes - $49.95 which breaks out to 56 cents a minute
208 minutes - $99.95 which breaks out to 48 cents a minute
555 minutes - $199.95 which breaks out to 36 cents a minute
1,599 minutes (the Wi-Fi sheet showed 1,666) - $399.95 which breaks out to 25 cents a minute

I bought the 1,599 minute package as I didn't want to have to worry about my Internet time. I was on a 2 week cruise and, I figured correctly I'd use most of the time up. I think this package would be better for families vice 1 person like myself.

I discovered that Royal Caribbean's Wi-Fi has connection problems with Google's Chrome browser and Mozilla's Firefox. I would try to log in at the connection page and, it would repeatedly hang up. I was never able to connect to their Wi-Fi going solely through those browsers. Apparently, you must use Internet Explorer though I did discover a workaround for my Nook e-reader which is an Android device which I'll blog about later. Microsoft doesn't make an Internet Explorer version for Android devices which creates real problems for those who want to use them on Royal Caribbean's Wi-Fi. I mentioned this to Royal Caribbean on my cruise feedback. I don't know if Royal Caribbean will do anything about this problem.

You can use your Crown & Anchor Wi-Fi discounts on the pre-paid plans. I used my Emerald discount which was 15% and saved $60!

Overall, Legend of the Seas's Wi-Fi worked really well but, it was expensive. I wish Royal Caribbean would introduce an unlimited plan like they have on their Allure of the Seas and Navigator of the Seas. If you want to save money, you would do well to look for places in the various ports that offer cheaper Wi-Fi. I found them in Guatemala and Costa Rica. Happy web surfing all!

Update October 18, 2014: I did a Maine/Canada cruise Legend of the Seas last month. I was able to re-check the ship's Wi-Fi rates. They haven't changed. Because of its expensive rates, I searched for and was able to find places during the cruise that had free Wi-Fi such as Starbucks on Commercial Street in Portland, Maine.

FYI, for Diamond Members, I found out they got 30 minutes of free Wi-Fi. I don't know why you get less time on this ship than I got on Independence of the Seas.

Overall, I wasn't pleased with the ship's expensive Wi-Fi rates. Unless you really need to get on the Internet, I'd avoid using this ship's Wi-Fi. You will really pay a lot for the privilege.

Brookstone Flip Calculator with World Clock Product Review

I bought Brookstone's Flip Calculator with World Clock because I lost the operating instructions for my Journey's Edge Robotic Calculator with World Time Clock. The 2 calculator/clocks are basically the same though slightly different. The instructions I received with my Brookstone device worked for my Journey's Edge device. The slight differences are with the front of the case that opens up and, how you access the compartment that holds the batteries. The front of the case has a different appearance i.e. one is smooth while the other has a button you can use to close the clock. The battery compartment is different in that with the Brookstone device, you can slide the cover with your fingers to open it while with the Journey's Edge, you have to use a small philips head screwdriver to unscrew a small screw to open the compartment - a small hassle. Both devices use AG13/LR44/357 batteries. Ironically, it may cost you almost as much to replace the batteries on the device as what it cost you to buy it. I bought a 3 pack of 357 batteries for $5.67 at Wal-Mart.

In terms of price, both are priced closed to each other. I bought the Brookstone model on sale for $6.99. Supposedly, it regularly sells for $9.99. Ebay lists the Journey's Edge model for $7.99. You shouldn't pay more than $10 for one of these calculator/clocks and, you may be able to pay less depending on the deal you might be able to find on Ebay.

Both devices can display the time and date for 16 different time zones. The device will be set for a base time example: New York and, you press one of the other 15 buttons to see the time and date for the other time zones which are listed by a single city example: Tokyo or Moscow. If you don't know what time zone your particular city is in or the one you'll be traveling to, you'll have to look up what time zone it shares with what city. One minor annoyance is that you can't keep the clock set on the time zone you're traveling in like you can with Tech Tools PI-810 Traveling World Time Clock (I'll be reviewing this another time).

As for the calculator function, it works fine but, I question how much you need a calculator barring figuring to determine what something costs in your local currency.

Both devices come with an alarm and a countdown timer though the alarm isn't super loud. Another plus of the device is its light weight. Also, it takes up very little space when folded up.

Overall, it's an ok travel clock but, I think the TI clock I mentioned is better and is only a little bit more expensive than this device. Brookstone has a Microbeam Travel Clock which comes with a built in flashlight which can be handy traveling but, it doesn't have the different times zones this calculator/clock has and, it costs over 4 times more than this device ($29.99 for the Microbeam clock). This device has 2 pluses over the TI clock in that the buttons for it are protected when it's closed and, it uses just 1 type of battery i.e. AG13's where as the TI clock uses 3 AG13's and 2 AAA batteries (I'll explain why in my review of this travel clock). Happy travels all!

Porthole Cruise Magazine Review

Here is the promised review on Porthole cruise magazine. As I said in my review on Cruise Travel magazine, I think the Porthole magazine has a more professional/higher quality look and feel to it though it also contains more advertising in it. The magazine like Cruise Travel offers useful information on ports and as well as telling about various cruises on offer. For example: the February 2014 issue had an insider's look at Marseille, France as well as what it's like to cruise on the Tere Moana and the Aranui 3. I thought the Aranui 3 was particularly interesting as it goes to places you'd never get to visit other wise like the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. Also, it had an article on tips for socializing at sea. One downside to cruising vice group land tours is you are very much on your own on a cruise unless a spouse/significant other, relation or friend comes along. For those curious what the future holds for cruising, it had an article on what might await future cruisers.

Price wise, the magazine is nearly half the price of Cruise Travel for a 1 year/6 issue subscription ($19.99 vice $38.95) and is less than half the price for a 2 year ($29.99 vice $68.90) with no extra charge for getting the digital version as well. If you want to buy just the digital version (an option not offered with Cruise Travel though it may be offered with the app (I plan to check on this)), it costs $15.99 for a 1 year subscription and $19.99 for a 2 year subscription (a real bargain).

Overall, this is a fine cruise magazine. It differs from Cruise Travel in that it doesn't technical details on some ships as well as offering a listing of what lines sail into what ports but, it does offer excellent (and potentially useful) articles with very good pictures. I'd say it's a more upscale cruise magazine compared to Cruise Travel. If you're into cruising, I think it's worth subscribing to especially with the cheaper subscription prices. Happy travels all!

Disclaimer: All views expressed here are my own. I didn't receive any compensation for writing this review and, I paid out of my own pocket for the February issue of Porthole magazine which I based my opinions of it on.

2014 Daylight Savings Time Begins March 9, 2014 In United States

A reminder to any readers I have in the United States (U.S.) that Daylight Savings Time goes into effect tomorrow morning at 2 a.m. except for areas in Arizona and Hawaii. The best thing to do for those affected is to set your clocks ahead 1 hour tonight before you go to sleep so, you'll have the right time tomorrow. That way you won't miss anything tomorrow that you have to do at a certain hour. Cheers all!

Cruise Travel Magazine Review

I know of 2 magazines that cover specifically travel on cruise ships. They are Cruise Travel and Porthole (will be reviewed by me later). I think Porthole is the more professional looking of the two magazines BUT, Cruise Travel magazine has its advantages in my opinion. One of them is some great and potentially useful articles. Example: the January/February 2014 issue tells readers what kind of wedding at sea packages are available on cruises as well as the rules on having the ship's captain marry would be newlyweds. The November/December 2013 issue has a cruise calendar that shows all the itineraries for different cruise lines for the winter/spring period. This can be handy in that it allows you to compare itineraries helping you find the one that best fulfills your travel desires.

Cost wise, the magazine sells for $5.99 (U.S. dollars). 1 year subscriptions sell for $38.95 and 2 year for $68.90. The magazine comes out bi-monthly (every other month).

The only down sides I've seen with the magazine is I wish there were more articles and, I think some of their reviews of various ships were a bit gushy. One reviewer of a Silversea cruise I think was a bit over the top on their praise of the ship and the things it had on board. Still, the magazine does give good information on what various ships and cruise lines have to offer.

Overall, I think the magazine is worth subscribing to if you like to go on cruises or are interested in doing it. It provides good information on different cruises, ports, ships and things to do in various ports. I was impressed enough with the magazine that I plan to subscribe to the magazine myself. Happy cruising all!