Hoonah

Yesterday, I visited Hoonah, Alaska. Hoonah is the home to 1,000 Tlingit indians. Hoonah is the primary town on the island though there is a location known as Icy Strait Point. Ice Strait Point features gifts shops, restaurants and desks where visitors can book excursions on the island. The excursions vary from tram tours of the temperate rain forest to whale watching to riding the world's longest and highest zipline. The zipline starts at 1,300 feet (higher than the Empire State Building and runs 5,330 feet.

Not being a daredevil, I did a tour of rainforest, watched a performance of Tlingit songs and dance and did a tour of Hoonah. I found all 3 excursions interesting. My guide for the rainforest was Kerry who was very knowledgeable about the plants, wildlife and life of the Tlingit. She is a Tlingit herself. The island has an abundance of plants that can be eaten for food and used for medicinal purposes. Kerry mentioned a plant called the Devil's Club which can be used in an ointment that helps with joint pain. For a long time, the Tlingit ran the risk of scurvy due to a lack of vitamin c. To fight scurvy, the Tlingit would harvet a fern in the spring time that is rich in vitamin c, cook it and eat it. Other sources of food included salmon, halibut and deer. It is also rife with brown bears which outnumber the native population 3 to 1.

The song and dance show told of the Tlingit and their history. For centuries, the way Tlingit history was passed was by stories, song, dance and totem poles. The show also explained how the Tlingit were organized starting with 2 basic clans and further subdividing into various houses. During the show, the performers show the back of the cloaks which have an animal symbol on them that identifies their clan. They also stated their Tlingit names which tell their ancestry and where they came from. I found the show very interesting.

My final excursion was a tour of Hoonah. The majority of the 1,000 Tlingit living on Chichagof Island live in Hoonah (population:697 as of 2009 per www.city-data.com). The town has one commercial chain store (an Ace Hardware) with 1 gas pump which they use to fuel their various vehicles. Also, they have a small post office, marina and airfield. There are 2 ways the Tlingit use to travel to the mainland - ferry to Juneau which costs $33 each way and airplane which costs $80 each way. The Tlingit have 1 school which teaches grades kindergarten to 12th grade. According to my tour guide, the last graduating class had 4 students. The school teaches the Tlingit language as well as English. This is critical in helping preserve the Tlingit culture. Incredibly, Tlingit didn't have a written form until the 1970's. Before then, all knowledge was passed down orally. According to my guide who's name I sadly can't remember, there are just 10,000 Tlingit in the entire world. This seemed a small number to me.

Overall, I found my visit to Hoonah and the island really interesting. It was something to learn of the Tlingit culture and way of life. For the overwhelming majority of travellers, the primary way to visit Hoonah is via cruise ship. I visited via the Radiance of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean Cruises cruise ship. Royal Caribbean, Princess, Holland America, Seven Seas, Oceania and Celebrity ships all stop in Icy Strait Point/Hoonah. If you're interested in learning about the Tlingit or want to see some pristine Alaskan wilderness, a port call to Icy Strait Point/Hoonah may be for you. Cheers all!

My 2011 Visit to Vancover, Canada

I made it to Vancouver, Canada. It was a long day getting here. I managed to get just 4 hours sleep after driving back from Michigan. The Big Blue Van airport shuttle folks picked me up at 3:15 in the morning and got me to Reagan National Airport in good time. From there, I had a nearly 3 hour flight to Houston, a 1 hour layover and a 5 hour flight to Vancouver. My travel agent arranged for a driver to pick me up at the airport and, he was waiting once I finished customs and immigration. The drive into Vancouver was just 30 minutes.

The Listel Hotel has lived up to its reputation for being artsy. It is filled with art. The hotel staff are nice and helpful. The location ISN'T the best if you're going to do a cruise out of Vancouver. My friend Harvey and I walked to to the cruise ship terminal and, we realized real quick we weren't going to do that lugging our suitcases. The taxi fare supposedly won't be more than $15 Canadian. We'll find out for sure when we take the taxi this morning.

The Vancouver cruise ship terminal is impressive. It can reportedly handle 4 cruise ships at 1 time. I think the most I've seen here was 3. I spoke with a person named Brett who told Harvey and I what we had to do upon arrival at the terminal. I'll post that procedure after I've gone through it myself so other travellers will know what to do and what to expect.

Yesterday, I used the Big Bus Hop On Hop Off service to sightsee Vancouver. It worked out well. I rode the bus through its entire route so I could hear all the narrative then, I decided what particular sights I wanted to see. I decided on Stanley Park and the Sun Yat Sen Chinese gardens. Stanley Park was really neat. It has a collection of 7 totem poles representing the various Indian nations. It also has dense forest and stunning trees. Lastly, it gives some great views of the Vancouver skyline at certain points. I was really glad I checked out this park. The Chinese garden was a nice quiet oasis in the city. There are 2 Chinese gardens you can visit. The larger classical garden has an admission charge but includes a guided tour of the garden while the smaller garden is free.

During my stay in Vancouver, I've eaten at 3 places - The Irish Heather, The Top of Vancouver and O'Doul's. The Irish Heather is a fantastic Irish pub with an astounding choice of single malt whiskies (over 100 I believe). I particularly enjoyed the steak and Guinness pot pie I had there. The Top of Vancouver restaurant is located at the top of a tower that rotates and looks over Vancouver. It offers great views of the city. The restaurant rotates completely around once every 60 minutes. Service was outstanding at this restaurant. The restaurant isn't cheap but, the food is very good. I had some excellent calimari and escargot for starters. My seafood melody main entree was very good. I was very pleased to dine at this restaurant as it made a nice finish to my day of sightseeing in Vancouver. O'Doul's is the restaurant attached to the Listel Hotel. This makes it very easy to get to for those staying there. I had breakfast at this restaurant as well as a couple nightcaps. The breakfast was very good though pricey. Service was excellent. The bartender at the bar where I had my nightcaps was really nice. They do have some affordable brews. Surprisingly, they don't offer Molson Canadian lager on draft there. Molson has a large brewery in the city which I passed by during my tour of the city.

Overall, I've enjoyed my stay at Vancouver though it isn't a place I would've visited for just itself. It isn't that interesting to me. If you are going to do an Alaskan cruise out of here, it is worth spending an extra day checking the place out. The city has a number of the big cruise lines stop here including Royal Caribbean, Holland America, Princess Lines and Silversea (I saw their Silver Shadow ship at the cruise ship terminal yesterday). A tour guide on the hop on hop off bus I rode told me the city receives over 1 million visitors a year during the cruise season. I can understand why. The cruise ship terminal itself is located in the center of the city making it an ideal base to see the city from and, it looks like it's easy to board the ships there (I'll know for certain on that later today).

That's all for this installment. Stay tuned for blogs on the renovated Radiance of the Seas and how my Alaska cruise goes. Happy travels all.

Greenfield Village

The Henry Ford is a number of different attractions. It includes the museum, Greenfield Village, and IMAX theater and a tour of one of Ford's auto plants. This Monday, I decided to drive to Dearborn, Michigan so I could see Greenfield Village for the first time. The village is an outdoor museum of sorts. It contains historic buildings from the 1700's, 1800's and early 1900's. The buildings include Thomas Alva Edison's laboratory complex from Menlo Park, New Jersey, the Wright Brothers home and bicycle shop and the courthouse where Abraham Lincoln practiced law. The inside of the buildings look just as they would've when their occupants lived in them. In the Wright Brothers bicycle shop, you see bicycles and accessories for sale in the front of the shop. Further back, you bicycle parts and tool or machines for making those parts. In the farthest back shop, you see an airplane wing being built presumably for a glider or one of their airplanes. A guide in the shop explains how things were in the shop and answers any questions.

The village also offers different rides though not of the kind we normally associate with tourist attraction rides. How many tourist attractions do you know that give you the chance to ride in a vintage Model T car or in a horse pulled Omnibus? There is also a steam locomotive with cars to ride in that goes around the perimeter of the village and supposedly a vintage bus that runs through the village. I didn't see or ride on the bus. The last ride is a vintage carousel with painted animals including a giant frog and giant rooster. Personally, I enjoyed all the rides. I thought it was something to get to ride in a Model T car for the first time. The one I rode in was built in 1925. A village guide told me they use one that was built in 1913, just 6 years after Henry Ford came out with the car.

Lastly, the village has craft shops covering glass blowing, printing, pottery making, weaving and milling. The glass blowing shop was particularly interesting as you got to see the master glass blower got through all the stages of making an item while a narrator explains the various steps. Later, at the gift shop, you can buy items that actually made in the various craft shops. The glass blowers at the village make some very beautiful glass ware but, I will warn would be shoppers that the items aren't cheap. A very nice light blue glass pitcher sold for $56. Do keep in mind these items are hand made by master craftsmen.

Price wise for Greenfield Village was $22 for an adult and $21 for a Senior. I don't remember what the admission price for a child was. On the rides, you can buy individual tickets for the rides (average cost $4) or you can buy an unlimited ride pass for $10. If you want to ride either the open or inclosed horse drawn omnibuses, you must buy an unlimited ride pass. They don't sell tickets for those rides as the carriage drivers can't check or collect tickets. They do sell multi-attraction tickets example buying a ticket for the village and the museum. You will save money buying these but, I don't believe you can do justice to either attraction if you don't spend less than a day seeing each. From date of purchase, your ticket is good for 1 year though it can only be used 1 time. There are memberships you can buy starting at $54 a year that will allow free multiple visits throughout the year to the museum and village. Active duty military members may visit the museum and village for free any time. There is a $5 charge for parking which is automatically included in your ticket purchase. You don't have to put anything in your vehicle to show you've paid the parking fee. The complex website http://www.thehenryford.org/index.aspx offers directions to the complex.

Overall, I really enjoyed my visit to the village. It was neat to ride a 1925 Model T and the train. The people who work at the village were very knowledgeable and helpful. The village was very clean and safe. I was at the village for over 5 hours and, I could've easily spent more time there. There is LOTS to see and do there. If you are in the Dearborn area, this is one attraction worth seeing. Good travels all.

Son of Neptune

Rick Riordan released some more information on his upcoming Son of Neptune novel. On May 15, 2011 Riordan tweeted on Twitter that the novel was finished and all that remain was publishing and formatting. http://twitter.com/#!/camphalfblood On May 26, 2011, Riordan revealed the Heroes of Olympus webpage http://disney.go.com/disneybooks/heroes-of-olympus/ the cover for the book as well as a link where readers can read the 1st chapter of the book. The book's release date is still set for October 4 according to Riordan's website http://www.rickriordan.com/home.aspx.

The 1st chapter was good and, I can't wait to read the book. I am curious as to what happened to Percy. Also, it'll be interesting to learn about Roman demigod camp. I'll post anymore information if I find out anymore. Cheers all!

Michigan

My various travels began Friday. I packed a small bag and loaded up my laptop backpack. At 5 a.m., I hit the road. It ended taking me over 9 hours to get to Michigan. I was surprised all the road work that was going on. At times, it brought traffic to a standstill. I wasn't thrilled with the tolls on the Pennsylvania and Ohio Turnpikes. Pennsylvania hit me for $11.35 and Ohio hit me for $10.50. Michigan caught me by surprise with its summer fuel mix. That mix caused fuel prices to jump. By the time I nearly reached my destination, I was nearly out of gas. I looked desperately for a gas station but about gagged when I saw they wanted $4.23 a gallon for regular. I bit my lip and paid it.

It was something to see the state again. I recognized some of the town and city names. I don't see a lot of the state because of my other travels. I was determined to make it to Michigan this time to see my Dad. It was really nice to get to see him again. Yesterday, my favorite Aunt Aunt Marge came up from Indiana. She is such a super nice woman and, she has been through so much. We caught up on news and talked about travels and motorbikes. Her husband Dave and her have done a lot of travelling through the Western United States on a touring Yamaha motorcycle they own. It was neat to hear of their travels.

Lastly, I got to enjoy some White Castle hamburgers. To my annoyance, they're not any White Castle restaurants in Maryland. I've enjoyed their hamburgers since I was a kid. They may not be the tastiest hamburgers but, they're neat with their small size and, you can buy a case of the things. Also, they bring back memories of when my parents would load up the family car and, we'd drive to Indiana to see my Grandparents. To keep my sister and I under control, my folks would promise to stop at the Cleveland White Castles for some of their hamburgers if we were good. That usually worked and, we always looked forward to enjoying some of their hamburgers.

That's it for this travel installment. Stay tuned. More travels are coming. Tomorrow, I'll visit Greenfield Village for the first time. Cheers all!

Serenade of the Seas

In November, I'll get to sail on Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas for the first time. The cruise will visit 4 islands I've never been to - Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua and St. Croix. The cruise will also stop at Philipsburg, St. Maarten. Philipsburg is where I went on my notorious deep sea fishing trip during my first cruise. The fishing trip was a fiasco as between the 6 of us on the boat, we caught just 1 fish and, the captain of the boat left us stranded at the pier. We had to make our own way back to our ship the Adventure of the Seas. I told my travel friend Harvey we won't try that again when we make port in Philipsburg though I would like to go deep sea fishing again on the cruise. We'll see what the other ports offer in that way.

Internet wise, I found out from surfing the web that the Serenade offers the same kind of WiFi that Navigator of the Seas offered i.e. various hotspots throughout the ship as pay as you go or pre-pay. Depending on much you think you'll use the Internet, the pre-pay plans could save you some money. I know I'll use it a lot so I'll be buying their maximum plan which is 500 minutes for $150. Hopefully, my Crown and Anchor coupon booklet will have a discount coupon for the Internet so I'll be able to save some money like I did on the Navigator of the Seas.

The Serenade of the Seas is a Radiance class ship. I'll get to find out what those are like in less than 2 weeks when I do my previously mentioned Alaska cruise on the Radiance of the Seas. The class is smaller than the Voyager class that I've cruised on before. I'm curious to see what their like. The cruise on the Radiance will give me an idea of what it'll be like on the Serenade. One unique item the Radiance class has that no other ship has is automatically self leveling pool tables! They must have built in gyroscopes which is kind of wild for a pool table to have. I can't wait to try them out and see how well they work.

That's all for this post. Stay tuned for upcoming travel posts. The time is almost here where I'll get to play the world traveller again. I can't wait. It seems like ages since I took Globus's Legacy of the Incas tour. Cheers all!

Cruise Ship Article

Recently, I bought the 15th Anniversary issue of Porthole, a magazine the covers cruising. The magazine has an interesting article on why cruise ships are getting so big. The article is written by Robert McGarvey. It makes some valid points like one reason being "economy of scale." The more passengers you have, the cheaper it is per passenger for docking fees and for staff on board the ship. Another valid reason they give is that passengers are wanting more features on the ships. They want there to be more to do on the ship vice just eating, seeing a show and exercising. Lastly, Jenny Reed, a cruise specialist mentions in the article that the ship is itself becoming the main draw and not the ports.

This is where I differ with the article. While I suspect Miss Reed is right on some cruises, on a number of others, I think the ports very much matter. For example, I don't believe anyone is going on an Alaska cruise to spend time on the cruise ship. People go on the Alaska cruise to see the stunning scenery and visit some of the ports in Alaska where they can experience some of the things that are unique to that state. For example, seeing a logging show where you see lumberjacks practice skills they use in their trade. Another example would be attending a native dance performance where you can learn about some of the indian groups in the area. Lastly, you can learn and even try your luck at finding gold in the areas where it was found in Alaska at one time.

Another item the article doesn't mention but which I think influences the size of the ships is increased profit potential. A bigger ship can hold more shops and restaurants where people on the cruise can spend their money. An example would be the refit that is being done right now on Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas. When the refit is done, the ship will have a new Brazilian steakhouse, a Mexican restaurant and a new Italian restaurant. All these restaurants should increase the ship's profit from its cruises. Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines are allegedly the most profitable and, I suspect part of the reason is because they have such large ships and thereby, their ships have greater profit potential as they can offer more shops, restaurants and other services such as massages and body wraps.

For me personally, the ports will be the deciding factor on what cruise I do. I want the ship to be clean, modern and comfortable but, I don't go on a cruise to spend time on the boat. I go on a cruise because it is the best way to see certain areas like the Caribbean islands or the Greek islands. It would be a major hassle to island hop between those islands using ferries or airplanes. A cruise makes it considerably easier to visit those islands. You only have to unpack once and, your food, lodging and transportation are pretty much taken care of. Stay tuned for future posts on my upcoming Alaska cruise. Good travels to you all.

Royal Caribbean Alaska Cruise

As any readers I have can see, I'm playing catch up on my blogging today. I've been meaning to post some stuff but, I just didn't give off my procrastinating butt and post. This post concerns my upcoming 7 day Alaska cruise with Royal Caribbean.

I think it was last winter that I started trying to figure out what I wanted to do travel wise for this summer. I wanted to return to Iceland and finish all the sightseeing I'd like to do there but, it turned out I didn't see any reasonably affordable package deals I liked. My friend Harvey was interested in doing an Alaska cruise. My travel agent Joel raved about it saying the sights were stunning. I decided to look into it and to my surprise, I found a nice deal with Royal Caribbean for a cruise in late May. I subsequently booked it then, Royal Caribbean decided to put the ship in dry dock for some renovations during the month of May. They offered me a deal where they would give me a $400 ship board credit, a more expensive date in June 2011 and pay the fee to change my airplane tickets. I readily agreed to the offer. So, next month, I'll fly out to Vancouver, Canada and board the Radiance of the Seas for a 7 day Alaska cruise.

The cruise will stop in Ketchikan, Icy Strait Point, Juneau and Skagway. I should get to do a number of Alaska type things like salmon fishing, see a glacier and hopefully see some whales. The ship itself will be a new one to me as I've never cruised on a Radiance class ship before. The ship is smaller than the Adventure or Navigator of the Seas. It holds a max of 2,500 passengers. Still, it should be a nice ship and, I look forward to exploring it when I board for my cruise. This will be my third cruise with Royal Caribbean. This time, I should definitely know all the ropes with them. I've already got my boarding paperwork done and my cruise luggage tags are en-route to my home. They should arrive in plenty of time so I'll be able to attach them to my 1 bag. Also, I've booked in advance all my shore excursions and prepaid for their unlimited soda refills. I know I have to drink a lot of soda to make that worth-whiled but, I prefer that to Royal Caribbean charging $2 to my ship account for every soda I drink. Another nice thing about prepaying on the sodas is that the icon they put on your ship pass is made into the pass vice them attaching a sticker to it. Stickers can come off and, I prefer the icon being part of my ship pass.

I plan to use Royal Caribbean's WiFi again. I was impressed with it last time. One nice difference Internet wise on this cruise is I should be able to post stuff while at the various ports in Alaska. My Sprint USB modem should work in those towns. We'll see on that.

That's all for now. Stay tune for some interesting travel posts coming in the future. Soon, I'll get to play the world traveler again. I can't wait. It seems like ages since I traveled to Peru. Good travels to you all.

Coke Rewards

In my opinion, one of the smartest promotions Coca Cola has come out with is Coke rewards. The promotion rewards people who drink the various Coca Cola products such as Coke, Sprite, Fanta and Barq's root beer. The rewards range from impressive drawings such as a trip to Hawaii to t-shirts, gift cards and small appliances. The reward points you get depends on what package of the sodas you buy. For example, you get more points if you buy a 12 pack vice buying a 10 ounce bottle of their soda. One thing that is strange is that you get the same amount of points for buying a 12 ounce bottle of their soda as you do for buying a 2 LITER bottle. Figure that one out. Overall, it's a pretty smart program and, Coke makes it very easy to participate in the promotion. I think it definitely succeeds in encouraging people to drink their products. I know it's had that effect with me. I specifically look for their products at the store whereas before, I looked for whatever was cheapest. If you drink Coke products, you should check out their MyCoke rewards website at http://www.mycokerewards.com/home.do. Cheers all!

Latest Riordan Book Out

Rick Riordan's latest book came out May 3rd in hardbound. It's the second book in the Kane Chronicles. It's called Throne of Fire and tells of the adventures of the Kane kids as they try to find the Egyptian sun god Ra. I haven't read the book yet so I can't tell if you if I think it's any good. Still, I can't imagine it being a poor read. I confess that the book is more a tide me over till Son of Neptune comes out in October. That's the one I'm really interested in. I'm very curious to find out what has happened to Percy Jackson from the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series. I'll post another entry on what I think of the latest Kane book once I've read it. Good reading all.

New Riordan Book

To get some bonus MyPoints, I had to do 104 searches before the end of the month. One of the things I thought to search for was the Son of Neptune book by Rick Riordan. As I previously blogged about, the book is the second in the Heroes of Olympus series. The Heroes of Olympus series incorporates characters from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians 5 book series while introducing new Roman demigods who are the children of the Greek gods except in their Roman persona. The first book in the series "The Lost Hero" was very good. My only complaint would be it leaves you hungering for the 2nd book "The Son of Neptune." Sadly, that book isn't due out till October of this year. Thanks to the search I did, I found out Riordan has a website called The On-line World of Rick Riordan. The website has lots of information on the various books Riordan has written such as the Percy Jackson series as well as news of books he will be writing.

It was through this site that I found out that Riordan will be coming out in May 2011 with a second book in the Kane Chronicles. The book is called "The Throne of Fire." It continues in the 2 person narrative and tells of the further adventures of Carter and Sadie Kane, the brother and sister magicians who must work together to defeat the chaos serpent Apophos. The book should be another good read. Plus, it'll tide over those of us who are waiting for the 2nd book of the Heroes of Olympus series.

Another nice feature of the website is it has a link to Riordan's blog where he posts various comments and observations. Also, he gives updates on various books such as his March 12th entry where he reveals that revisions for the Son of Neptune book (he had a complete manuscript according to his February 13th entry) are coming along and, he should make the October release date.

Riordan is going to be a very BUSY writer as he'll be putting out 2 books next year. The 2 books will be a 3rd book in The Kane Chronicles and the 3rd in the Heroes of Olympus series. Riordan's website hasn't revealed yet if the Kane Chronicles will go to 5 books like his Percy series did and his Heroes of Olympus will. However, I suspect it's likely. That should please his readers as Riordan does produce consistently good stories. His books have won him a number of awards and made him a best selling author on the New York Times booklist. Cheers all!

Five Winners

As I reported in my last blog entry, I was keeping my fingers crossed for the super jackpot in the MegaMillions game. I knew the odds were extremely long but, I was having some luck with it. My luck was better than the odds. I ended up with five winners. I had 4 $2 winners and 1 $3 winner which breaks out to 1 in 20 winners. Your chances of winning something in the game are 1 in 40 according to the Megamillions website. Plus, $11 is better than nothing. I'm sure there are plenty who won zilch. Now, the jackpot goes back to $12 million which still isn't that bad. That would break out to just under half a million bucks per year. I could live on that. So, I'm going to be a schmuck and keep on trying. If nothing else, it allows me to dream. Also, you can't win if you don't play. Good luck to the other players out there. Cheers all!

Mega-Millions Game

I'm not much of a gambler. I don't have the nerves for it or a poker face as they call it. I remember watching as a kid the adults play cards when my family clan would gather at my Grandma Wilkes's home. It looked pretty fascinating watching but, I wasn't allowed to play as I wasn't old enough. When I finally turned 18 years old, Grandma Wilkes gave me a $10 roll of quarters for a present. She won that back and $10 more before she left. It did wonders for curing me of any desire to gamble.

On occasion, I would play the state's lottery. I think my biggest win was $120 which didn't come close to what I've spent on lottery tickets. Big jackpots can tempt me to play and the last 2 jackpots in the MegaMillions game have been up there. Last Friday's jackpot was $204 million, this past Tuesday it was $244 million and today's jackpot will hit $312 million. The thought of winning that much money and what it would mean (Johnny Paycheck's famous song comes to mind) has caused me to play. So far, I've had 3 winners last Friday for a total of $13 in winnings and 1 Tuesday for $3.

I know the odds of winning in MegaMillions are very remote to say the least. According to their website (http://www.megamillions.com/), the odds of winning are 1 in 175,711,536. Also, incredibly, you are playing against other lottery players in 41 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands (source: MegaMillions game website). I had no idea the game was THAT big. The game is renowned for colossal jackpots. According to the MegaMillions trivia on the website, they've had 5 that went over $300 million including the largest jackpot ever offered in North America. In March 2007, the jackpot hit a mindboggling $390 million. I think I remember that one. I don't remember if I played or not though I probably did. The temptation would've been too great not to play.

So, we'll see if I become terribly rich tonight or joins millions of Americans who will throw their losing tickets away and continue to dream of hitting it rich some day. Odds are I'll be among those Americans though it has been nice dreaming of what I could do if lady luck royally favored me. Cheers all!

Oasis Class Ships

Royal Caribbean International seems to repeatedly outdo its competition when it comes to cruise ships. How many ships do you know where you can go ice skating, rock climbing, roller blading, miniature golfing and play basketball (all the ships I know of have a full length court)? The latest and greatest by Royal Caribbean is the Oasis class ships. They are the largest cruise ships in the world coming in at over 220,000 tons. They have 18 decks and incredibly draw only 30 feet of water. The 30 feet thing boggles when you see how much ship is above water. As I mentioned previously on this blog, I got to see the Oasis from a distance and, I was in Ft. Lauderdale when the Allure (the second of this class) arrived from its maiden voyage from Finland. Reviews of the 2 ships have been unanimously positive. Because of that, you would think I'd really like to cruise on one of these marvels but, I confess I don't care to right now. My only complaint with the class is their itineraries. I don't go cruising to spend time on the boat. I go cruising because it is the most convenient way to see the particular destinations I'm visiting i.e. the Caribbean islands or in June - Alaska. Looking at the itineraries of the Oasis class, I see you spend half your time at sea. I don't care for that at all. I've heard the reason for that is because a number of the ports can't handle the massive ships. Royal Caribbean according to cruisecritic.com (I couldn't find the article I saw on this) is working on that. When Royal Caribbean improves the class's itineraries, I'll be lining up to go cruising on one of these extraordinary ships.

Peru Tour

I promised to post blog entries on here about my Globus tour of Peru but, I nevere got around to it. Part of it was time, I didn't have time to post long blog entries on here. Any readers I have who want to read about my Peru tour should check Globus's Facebook page. I posted daily short entries there. After I got back, I posted 5 pictures I took from the tour.

In regards to the tour itself, it was fantastic. Machu Picchu was incredible. The Incas didn't have metal pipes. They used carved stone instead and, the stones were placed so tightly together the water didn't leak out. Four centuries after Machu Picchu was built, the stone plumbing the Incas built is still working. The Nazca plain drawings were fascinating as well. Lines and trapezoids that stretched for miles. There incredibly drawn creatures you could only see from the sky. Lake Titicaca was stunning. It is the world's highest navigable lake and, the largest in South America. It sits at an altitude of 12,500 feet! While there, our group got to learn of the Uros indians who live on man made islands. The islands were fascinating. They are composed of reeds. Three feet of the reeds are compost while another 4 feet of reeds are in the process of composting. The indians continually add to the reeds. I visited one such island. All totalled, it had over 7 feet of compost and reeds and was floating over 45 feet of water. Every step you took, your foot sank a little. Incredibly, over 1,200 Uros indians live on 50 of these man-made islands. The indians have lived on these islands since the 1950's. Before that, they lived on house boats for over 4 centuries.

Lima was interesting city. It had stunning hotels and appalling shanty towns. It had modern shopping malls and pre-Incan adobe pyramids. It had a yacht club not far from where local fishermen sold their catch on the beach. It had an indian market where you could buy stunning hand made crafts and, McDonalds, Burger King and Pizza Hut. It seem quixotic in my opinion.

One thing I will warn travellers who are going to go to Peru is the thin air at the higher altitudes. It isn't a joke. It will affect you. Any kind of serious exertion will leave you sucking for air until you get adjusted to it which may take a month. A number of hotels we stayed at offered free oxygen because of this problem. Also, travellers could buy bottles of oxygen for themselves. I know at least 1 member of tour did that. Also, you could expect some serious climbs to see some of the sights in the mountains. There were 249 steps alone to get to the top of the Incan site at Ollaytaytambo. Ollaytaytambo was a warm up in regards to Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu was fascinating in another way in that you took at local bus to get to it. The bus zigzagged its way up a mountain climbin 1,950 feet in about 20 minutes. It got interesting when a descending bus met an ascending bus and, they had to try to pass each other on the narrow road.

Another highlight was the train ride from Ollaytaytambo to Machu Picchu. We were in observatory type cars with wide windows. Soaring mountains were every where and, the railroad tracks followed the Urabamba River. As you descended from Ollaytaytambo to Machu Picchu, you could see the vegetation change. Where initially the mountains were covered with grass and weeds and had few frees, when you reached Machu Picchu, they were covered with trees. I would heartily recommend this train ride to anyone. As far as I know, it's the only way into Machu Picchu. Last year, when heavy rains washed out parts of the track, Machu Picchu was cut off and, people had to be helicoptered out. Our tour director was one of them. He showed us pictures.

As I said, the tour was awesome. The Incas did some incredible things. The scenery was breathtaking. The Peruvian people were very nice. The hotels we stayed at were top notch. The food was very good too. I tried alpaca (it tasted like beef) and roasted guinea pig (hard to describe that one). I would definitely encourage other travellers to go there. It will really amaze you.

Immunizations for Peru

Today, I visited the travel clinic on the military base I use for routine medical care. It's one of the big rewards I get for staying in the Air Force 26 years. The base travel clinic are the folks responsible for determining what immunizations a person needs for whatever country they are going to travel to be it for official or unofficial travel. One advantage I have is that the Air Force has innoculated me for just about every disease I could reasonably catch. So, it turned out I only needed 2 immunizations - one for yellow fever and one for the flu. The Peruvian government recommends travellers be innoculated against yellow fever. I guess there is a danger from the local water and, the travel clinic told me to drink only bottled water in Peru and to avoid foods such as salad that may have been washed with it. One nice thing about the yellow fever immunization is that it is good for 10 years. Another shot that is recommended is typhoid. As luck would have it, my typhoid shot is good till the day I fly back from Peru. Prior to going on my November Southern Caribbean cruise, I'll have to see about getting a typhoid booster. Annoyingly, this immunization is only good for 2 years. Also, I've found the arm I get it in gets sore for a day afterwards. Lastly, the clinic prescribed me some antibiotics and immodium for diarrhea just in case I do catch something like I did on the Egypt tour I did. I plan to be more careful than I was in Egypt. Now, I need to see about getting some liquid hand disinfectant and some good bug repellant. Those were 2 more recommendations from the clinic. I plan on getting those when I arrive in Peru. Stay tuned for more travel updates on my upcoming trip to Peru.

Richmond Trip

This past weekend, I drove down to Richmond and saw a couple friends of mine. The main purpose of the trip was to see my friend Mark Morton. Mark is a friend I knew in the Air Force. Last month, he retired from the Air Force and was visiting Richmond to see his daughter Janae who lives there. Since Richmond is only about 2 hours driving from where I live, I asked if he'd like to meet while there and, he said yes.

The other friend I arranged to meet is my travel friend Harvey. Harvey and I have done a number of Globus tours together as well as 2 cruises. That's why I call him my travel friend. We get along well and have some similar interests. I always enjoy getting together with him during the tours and cruises we've done. This trip would be no different from those.

After I checked into the hotel I was staying at, I rang Harvey to let him know I was on my way over to his apartment. We met there and caught up on the news. Also, he gave me back my cruise port book I loaned him. I wanted to get this back as it tells what optional excursions may be available at various cruise ports. I don't have any idea what I'm going to do at some of the Alaskan ports I'm going to visit in June and, I'm hoping the book will give me some ideas.

All caught up on the latest goings on, we drove over to an Outback Steakhouse that was close by. The restaurant is apparently very popular in Richmond as there was a bit of a line when we arrived. We were told we would have to wait 30 minutes or more for a table. We said no problem and started looking at the menu. Apparently, we got lucky because I don't think we waited more than 10 minutes before we were told a table was available. After giving the menu a good look, we settled on the bloomin onion for an appetizer and, we both had the largest steaks they offered - the 20 ounce Porterhouse. The bloomin onion appetizer was fantastic. It was fun breaking off the onion leaves from flower shaped onion (why they call it bloomin I guess) and dipping them in some awesome sauce. My steak came with 2 sides and, I chose a salad and a sweet potato. The salad was good though I thought they were a little skimpy with the salad dressing. The sweet potato was great with butter and brown sugar in it. I had the steak prepared in their classic style and, it was outstanding. I savored every bite. Service by our waitress was pretty good. Overall, we had an outstanding meal there and, I would recommend the place heartily to anyone. After the meal, we drive back to Harvey's apartment complex where we said our good byes. We'll meet again in less than 2 weeks for the Peru tour.

I drove back to my hotel and crashed. The next morning, I got up, checked my emails (I'd taken my laptop with me with its USB modem that enables me to connect to the Internet any where in the U.S.) and got ready to meet my friend Mark. The hotel I was staying at has a very nice breakfast buffet. It's reasonably priced and, I offered to treat Mark and his daughter to breakfast there. The two of them showed up on time and, we made our way to the restaurant. Mark's daughter Janae turned out to be a very nice young lady. Mark himself looked to be doing well barring fighting a case of walking pneumonia! We had a nice time talking before they had to head on to do other things. After they left, I quickly packed the few things I'd taken on the trip and checked out. The drive back was uneventful. Overall, it ended up being a really nice trip to Richmond. I very much enjoyed meeting my friends Harvey and Mark and, I hope to see them again in the future (I'll see Harvey again on the Peru trip and, Mark plans to stay in West Virginia for at least a little while.).

An Update

I haven't posted in a couple weeks so I thought I'd post an update on what has been happening at my end of the woods. However, first let me wish any readers I have a very Merry Christmas. Hopefully, you were good this year and, Santa gave you lots of wonderful presents.

Concerning myself, my last 3 weeks has been work, work and still more work. The holiday season is the busiest time of the year for the U.S. Postal Service and, this one was equally busy. We were swamped with 3 or 4 times the normal number of packages we get. I think mail volume was down somewhat due to the poor economy but, there was still plenty to do. Work wise, things will gradually start to lighten all the way till the fall when things will start to pick back up again.

Travel wise, my trip to Peru is slowly but surely getting here. I have approximately 3 weeks till my trip. I can't wait to go. I found out the tour date I signed up for is sold out. That means there'll be a large group (40 plus) on this tour. I suspect the tour director will have their hands full. Also, I discovered that Peru has a special passport stamp you can get at Machu Picchu. It looks seriously cool and, I'm going to get it put in my passport when I visit there. I found out all the hotels I'll be staying at in Peru have free WiFi so, I'll be taking my laptop. Any readers I have can expect to see updates on here during the tour.

Riding wise, I continue to ride my TMAX weather permitting. It is cold riding the bike but, I don't care to have it sit in the garage. It does seem like it's windier during the winter vice the summer. I don't know why that is.

Lord of the Rings stuff, I bought some items from Weta Workshop including an signed copy of Alan Lee's Lord of the Rings sketchbook. I believe I previously reviewed that book. It continues to impress me with its fantastic artwork. Weta has reported that it's working on a Rivendell miniature. Supposedly, it'll be one of the largest its made. Because of its size, it promises to be very expensive. However, I plan to buy it if I can. I think it'll be very beautiful.

Concerning the Hobbit, Peter Jackson continues to fill various roles in the 2 future movies. One actor let slip that he'll be flying to New Zealand in January to being swordfighting and horseback riding training. I wouldn't think it'll be too long after that when they'll begin shooting the movies. I can't wait to see them and experience the magic of Middle-earth again. The 2 movies should be outstanding.

That's all to report for now. Again, to all my readers, may you have a joyous Christmas and an even happier and prosperous New Year.

New BMW Scooter

Along with making outstanding cars, BMW is known for making great quality motorcycles. In the town where I live, there is a BMW Motorcycle dealership. As any readers I have out there know, I'm pretty keen on scooters. I find them easier to ride than a motorcycle and, they have more storage space. When I found out there was a BMW Motorcycle dealership where I live, I checked into whether BMW built any scooters. In my opinion, the scooter market is growing because they are a very affordable form of transportation and, they get great gas milage. A scooter isn't a far stretch from a motorcycle. The primary difference is in the transmission. A motorcycle has a standard i.e. clutch transmission while a scooter has an automatic transmission. Since it isn't that much of a stretch, I thought BWM might make a high quality scooter. I was wrong at that time. However, BMW just recently announced its Concept C (the C stands for commuter) scooter.

BMW's new scooter promises to bring even more competition in the high end scooter market. While BMW hasn't released the engine size for the new bike, they have stated that it "will be in the top range of the large scooter segment." In my book, that translates to between 500 and 650cc's. That big an engine should enable it to hold its own on any roads on there. With its BMW handling, it should give the motorcycle like Yamaha TMAX a run for its money.

The new bike promises some other features that will put it in a class of its own. The biggest being the doing away of rear view mirrors. Instead, the bike uses small television cameras that transmit their images to screens built into the instrument panel. The bike also has very stylish BLUE tires and LCD headlights.

All of these high tech features as well as the solid German engineering mean that this will be a very expensive scooter. As far as I know, BMW hasn't released any price information yet. I'm curious to see what one of these sleek high tech bikes will cost. Also, will BMW offer them in the U.S.? The biggest market for scooters is in scooter mad Europe. The new Concept C scooter will be built in Berlin, Germany. However, in my opinion, scooters are appearing more and more in the U.S. Yamaha felt there was enough of a market to bring their TMAX over from Europe. So, maybe if the Concept C proves a success in Europe, we may see it in the U.S. in time.

New Game at Dave & Buster's

I stopped by the Arundel Mills Dave & Buster's today. They'd sent a coupon that gave me $10 worth of free play with the purchase of $10 worth of play. It seemed like a good enough deal so I went in and used the coupon though I didn't play any games. While there, I wanted to check Dave & Buster's new game Wheel of Fortune. I'd seen them advertise it in their emails they sent me.

The game is very much like the game you see on tv barring that it is a single player game vice having 3 contestants on tv. At the beginning, the player has 2 options as far as how many tickets they want to win. If they pay twice as i.e. 9.9 coins vice 4.9, the ticket totals on the wheel are doubled. In theory, a person could win over 2,000 tickets if they doubled AND hit the 300 ticket slot on the wheel AND got 2 or more letters to light up on the words they're trying to figure out. Personally, I don't think the odds are good a person will win that many tickets in this game.

The player gets 3 spins at the wheel during which time after each spin, they are shown various letters that in the word or words they are trying to solve. If they pick a letter that is in the word or words, they get the number of tickets they spun for that letter. After they pick their third letter, the player has to figure out what the word or words are. If they get it right, they get a bonus for solving the puzzle. I don't know the bonus is determined.

Overall, I wasn't wiped out with this game. I think it's pricey and the chance of winning lots of tickets aren't that good. It is some what challenging but, my purpose for playing the games at the arcade in Dave & Buster's is to win tickets to claim a prize. With that objective in mind, I'd rather stick with Spin & Win. You may not get as much as action i.e. it doesn't take as long to play the game as it does to play Wheel of Fortune BUT, the chances of winning lots of tickets are greater in my opinion with Spin & Win. You just have to have good eye and hand coordination as well as timing to win at Spin & Win whereas with Wheel of Fortune you have to show some brains (figuring out the puzzle) and have some luck too i.e. hitting the 200 or 300 ticket slots.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Wi-Fi

I thought I'd post a blog entry on how the Wifi works on Royal Caribbean ships. I used the service during my recent cruise on Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas ship. I really enjoyed it and, I was impressed with how fast the connection was. Also, I found it fascinating because I'm certain the connection had to go via satellite at times when the ship was in the middle of the Caribbean Sea. Anyway, here is how it works.

All Royal Caribbean ships have hot spots where you can connect to the ship's Wifi network. The only exception to this is Royal Caribbean's Freedom class ships which offer connectivity thoroughout the entire ship including all cabins. For the Navigator of the Seas, the hot spots were located at the following places:

Conference Center - Deck 2

Schooner Bar - Deck 4

Two Poets Pub and Cafe Promenade - Deck 5

Solarium - Deck 11

19th Hole Sports & Golf Bar/Cosmopolitan Club - Deck 14

In order to connect to the Internet at one of these hot spots, you must create a login and password. This is done at a Royal Caribbean Online workstation. These were located on the 8th deck to the rear of the ship on the Navigator of the Seas. The workstation asks you to create a login and password. Also, you'll need your SeaPass card so it can charge you for the service once you start using it. Royal Caribbean doesn't charge you for the service at this point. Once you've created a login and password, you take your laptop to one of the hotspots. You should see the RC wireless signal on your Wifi list. You press connect. Then, you call up an Internet browser. A page should come up on the browser that asks you how you want to pay for using the Internet. You have 2 options: you can pay the standard rate which is 65 cents a minute or you can buy a prepaid plan. Royal Caribbean offers 5 prepaid plans. They are:

60 minutes for $35 which breaks out to 58 cents a minute

90 minutes for $55 which breaks out to 55 cents a minute

150 minutes for $75 which breaks out to 50 cents a minute

250 minutes for $100 which breaks out to 40 cents a minute

500 minutes for $150 which breaks out to 30 cents a minute

Once you choose which option you want and press enter, you will be billed for the service and, you will be connected to the Internet. The webpage that offered you the prepaid plans will show you how many minutes you've used and at what cost. That page is helpful as it enables you to have some idea how many minutes you have left or how much you will be billed if you used the standard rate. It also enables you to disconnect from the Internet though you still have to break the Wifi connection on your laptop i.e. disconnect a second time. Also, at the end of the cruise, you will lose any minutes you don't use on your prepaid plan i.e. you can't carry them over to your next cruise. If you go over your prepaid minutes, you will be billed the standard rate per minute for the overage.

If you belong to Royal Caribbean's Crown and Anchor Society, you may find a coupon in the coupon booklet that will be left in your cabin. This was the case during my cruise. The coupon will save you either $5 or 10% of your Internet bill. In my case, I opted for the prepaid 500 minute plan so it save me $15. That isn't tons but, it is something.

Also, from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m., the Wifi network will go down. I was told by another cruiser that they took the system down during that time for maintenance. I don't know if that's true but, they system definitely goes down during those times. I can personally vouch for that.

Lastly, if you want to change your password on the system, you have to go to one of the Royal Caribbean Online workstations. You enter your login and whatever you want your new password to be. You'll have to swipe your SeaPass during this process. You won't lose any prepaid minutes you have left on your account. I can personally vouch for that. I changed my password during my recent cruise after I thought I'd lost the piece of paper I'd written my login and password on. I later found it in my wallet. Oops!

I hope this entry answers most questions about Royal Caribbean's Wifi service on its ships. I really liked the service and, I'll be using it again when I go my Alaska cruise next year. I would definitely recommend it.

Update: September 11, 2013

Since so many people have read this post, I thought I'd post some more information on it about Royal Caribbean's Wi-Fi.

First, Royal Caribbean plans to upgrade all its ships to where you'll be able to access the ship's Wi-Fi network any where on the ship. This upgrade is performed when the ship goes into dock for other improvements like adding a number of their popular pay restaurants. The unofficial Royal Caribbean blog has a schedule list of when the ships will go into dry dock to get the upgrades including ship wide Wi-Fi. Here's the link:  http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/ship-upgrade-list-and-schedule. However, I don't know how current this list is.

Second, Royal Caribbean's Chief Information Office (CIO) Bill Martin did an interview with InformationWeek on September 9th, 2013 (http://www.informationweek.com/global-cio/interviews/royal-caribbean-broadens-bandwidth-horiz/240160918) where he tells of what Royal Caribbean is doing to improve Wi-Fi on their ships such as add more antennas to pick up satellites and plans to introduce an e-commerce portal (as far as I know it isn't available yet) where customers will be able to buy daily ($49) (my opinion: no thanks!) and weekly ($179) (my opinion: maybe, if this means I have unlimited minutes during that week) packages. He mentions that Royal Caribbean has increased its band width 7 fold which enabled it to give customers who were sailing with them when they celebrated their 50 millionth customer a free hour of Internet and, they encouraged them to post pictures. Something he says they couldn't have done a year ago.

My experience on trying to post pictures on their Wi-Fi has been hit and miss due to the slowness of the connection at times. I plan to test their Majesty of the Seas Wi-Fi this month when I sail on her and, I'll report back on how things went on trying to post pictures. You may even get to see one of this blog. Stay tuned.

Update March 16, 2014: First, Navigator of the Seas has ship-wide Wi-Fi now. Second, it and the Allure of the Seas (these are the only 2 ships that offer this) offer 2 unlimited Wi-Fi packages. For 1 person, it costs $189.95. For 2 people, it costs $229.95. In my opinion, for a long cruise, it would be worth buying one of these packages. For a short cruise like the ones Majesty of the Seas does, it wouldn't be worth it. Also, you can use your Crown & Anchor discount coupons on these packages. If you want to know how good the current Wi-Fi is on Navigator of the Seas. Here is a link to a daily blog a contributor on the unofficial Royal Caribbean blog posted on February 15, 2014 about how the Wi-Fi was on ship.

Lastly, here are links to 2 other blog entries I've posted on Wi-Fi with Royal Caribbean. The one on Majesty of the Seas gives the Wi-Fi rates for that ship which are different from the rates on other ships. I don't know why they're so different. Next month, I sail on Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas and, I'll find out if the rates have changed as well as how well the Wi-Fi works on that ship. I'll post something on here about my experiences with it. I'll definitely be using it for this cruise where I'll be visiting Mexico, Guatemala (for the first time), Costa Rica (for the first time), Panama (for the first time) and Colombia (for the first time). Stay tuned.

Update May 22, 2014: I'm including links to 2 more blog entries I did on Wi-Fi for Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas and Independence of the Seas. Interestingly, Independence of the Seas offers 2 unlimited Wi-Fi packages making it the 3rd Royal Caribbean ship to offer this. The unlimited Wi-Fi packages are lot better deal than what was offered on Legend of the Seas or Majesty of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean Wi-Fi Update
Majesty of the Seas Wi-Fi
Legend of the Seas Wi-Fi
Independence of the Seas Wi-Fi
Serenade of the Seas WiFi

Update May 30, 2014: My apologies on the link to my blog entry for Independence of the Seas Wi-Fi. I apparently didn't set it up right and so, it didn't work. It should work now. Also, I made a correction concerning the Oasis and Allure of the Seas. These 2 ships had ship wide Wi-Fi from the beginning. Lastly, if Royal Caribbean has stayed to schedule (see schedule link further up in this blog entry), there should be just 3 ships that DON'T have ship wide Wi-Fi. They're Explorer of the Seas, Jewel of the Seas and Majesty of the Seas. I suspect Majesty of the Seas will never get it as I think they're going to transfer that ship to one of their other cruise lines in time like they did with its sister ship Sovereign of the Seas.

Update October 18, 2014: I found out to my great annoyance the links to blog entries on Majesty of the Seas, Legend of the Seas and Independence of the Seas didn't work. After much experimenting, I believe they're working now. Also, on the Legend of the Seas Wi-Fi, I did another cruise on that ship last month and, its rates haven't changed i.e. they're still pretty expensive. I would definitely look for cheaper or free Wi-Fi hotspots when in port vice using the ship's Wi-Fi. Lastly, the end of January 2015, I'll be on Majesty of the Seas again (I'll be treating my favorite aunt to her first 2 cruises). I'll let you know if there has been any changes in the rates as well as how much free (really) Wi-Fi a Diamond member gets on that ship. Stay tuned.

Update December 7, 2014:  Royal Caribbean Blog has a new article that tells of the Wi-Fi rates on Royal Caribbean's new Quantum of the Seas. The ship offers 3 tiers of packages: Basic, Premium and Premium Plus. Basic is the slowest and cheapest while Premium Plus is the fastest and most expensive. There are 4 levels of plans of for each tier: hourly rate, daily rate, unlimited rate for 1 device and unlimited rate for 2 devices. Prices start at $20 for Basic 1 hour rate and go up to $400 for Premium Plus for unlimited rate for 2 devices. Royal Caribbean promises to deliver the same high speed rates on the ship that you can find on land. They aim to provide this through a partnership with O3B which supplies low orbiting satellites that target specifically the ship vice a region. The article can be found at: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2014/12/04/royal-caribbean-reveals-prices-new-fast-quantum-of-the-seas-wi-fi

Update September 20, 2015: I added a new link to my blog entry on Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas and what I thought of its WiFi (I sailed on it July 26 to August 8, 2015) as well as what plans they offer on the ship. The ship does offer something different in that you get unlimited minutes and pay a flat rate per day. Also, you can have a second device with unlimited minutes at half the price of the first device. See my blog entry to see what I'm talking about. Lastly, the ship's WiFi is available throughout the ship vice the old system where it was available only in certain locations. Next year, I'll be sailing on Independence of the Seas for the second time. I'm hoping it'll have the new VOOM system Royal Caribbean is coming out with so, I can see how well it works and, if it lives up to all the hype Royal Caribbean is saying about it. We'll see. Stay tuned.

Update April 30, 2016: Ref a April 29, 2016 article on www.royalcaribbeanblog.com: Royal Caribbean Chief Executive Officer Michael Bayley states that by May 1st (as far as I can tell of this year) EVERY ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet will have the new VOOM WiFi system. Also, they've unveiled a 2 tier set of plans. One is just for emails and checking various websites while the more expensive plan allows for video and streaming. I haven't had the chance to use VOOM yet but, if what Bayley says is true, I'll get to try it on my November cruise on Independence of the Seas. I'll definitely post some where on my blog after I get back from that cruise what I think of it and whether it does it live up to all its hype. We'll see. Happy web surfing all!

Globus Legacy of the Incas Tour

With the conclusion of my recent cruise on the Navigator of the Seas, I've started preparing for my future Globus tour of Peru. The tour is called Legacy of the Incas and lasts 10 days in Peru. We cover a lot of territory. We start in Lima, drive to Ica where we board a flight to see the Nazca Plain drawings from the air, take a boat ride to the Ballestas Islands, drive back to Lima, fly to Cuzco, drive to the Sacred Valley, take a train to and from Machu Picchu, drive back to Cuzco where we fly to Juliaca and drive to Lake Titicaca, visit Taquile Island and the Uros Islands, drive back to Juliaca, fly back to Lima and finish with a farewell dinner. That is a brief summary of travel and some of the things I'll get to do during the tour.

One item I was very interested in was the Internet access at the various hotels I'll be staying at. I'd like to be able to post current updates on the trip like I did on my recent cruise. To my delight, I found out every hotel I'll be staying offers free Wifi access. Because of that, I plan to take my laptop on the trip so I can post updates. For any readers I have, you'll get to read of my adventures in Peru shortly after they happen and possibly see some pictures I'll take during the tour. So, stay tuned for future adventures. In approximately 60 days or so, I'll be departing again for my first trip to South America.

Grand Cayman/Cozumel Hard Rock Cafes

To my delight, I got to visit and buy t-shirts from both of these Hard Rock Cafes. The easiest to get to was the Grand Cayman cafe as it was 2 blocks from the downtown Georgetown pier. Another thing I liked about the Grand Cayman cafe was they had a deal going where if you bought 3 t-shirts, you got a free cap or sun visor ($20 value). Lastly, I thought the Grand Cayman had some nice designs on their t-shirts.

On the other hand, Cozumel wouldn't be easy to get to for someone arriving at the international cruise ship pier. After I bought my t-shirt from the cafe, I took a taxi back to the pier for $7 and, I thought it was money well spent. In my opinion, it would've been a serious i.e. long walk to get back to the cruise ship pier from the cafe. Another thing that didn't wipe me out with the cafe was the designs of their t-shirts. I would've thought they could've come with up with something better. The one I bought had the colors of the Mexican flag. One interesting note about the Cozumel cafe is that it's supposedly the smallest Hard Rock Cafe in the world. That's possible. I didn't bother to look in to see how big their restaurant was. Still, I pleased to get one of their shirts. I suspect the cafe does a good bit of business with all the cruise ships that call at Cozumel. When I visited, there was the one I was on and 2 Celebrity ships.

Tulum

The excursion I looked forward to most on this cruise was the one to the Mayan city of Tulum. I'd never seen anything like that before. Plus, it would be a nice preparation for my tour to Peru in January. Tulum turned out to be awesome. Most of the main temple complex was intact and, there were other fascinating buildings. Our tour guide Mario did a great job explaining in limited time some of the history of the city including how it was discovered in the 1840's and later excavated. Another plus is that the city is walled. It was something to make my way through one of the narrow entrances. Lastly, there were awesome views of the Caribbean. Overall, I was thoroughly delighted with this excursion and would recommend it to anyone. When I get home, I plan to post some pictures of the city so any viewers I have can see just how stunning it is.

Cruise Update

Due to poor diving conditions, I didn't get to go scuba diving in Grand Cayman. Because the person running the dive shop the cruise ship uses waited till this morning to see what the conditions were before cancelling a number of dives, I was notified kind of late and had to scramble to book another excursion.

The excursion I went on was a combination tour. First, I got to ride in a semi-submersible that enabled me to see a number of Grand Cayman's best reefs as well as 2 wrecks they have. I enjoyed this plus, it was my first time in such a craft. After that, the tour driver and guide took the group I was with to a turtle farm. According to our guide, it is the only one of its kind in the world. They keep over 300 breeder turtles at the farm. When the turtles lay their eggs in a section of sand they have for them, the farm digs up the eggs and puts them in incubators so there is a greater chance the eggs will hatch. Once the eggs hatch, the baby turtles are transferred to other tanks where they are fed and grow. Some are released into the wild while others are slaughtered for their meat. Visitors can hold and touch the young turtles. The farm is also trying to raise Kemp Ridley turtles which are an endangered species.

After visiting the turtle farm, we drive to Hell, Grand Cayman. Supposedly a British governor of the island gave the area its name. The area features limestone formations that are very jagged and sharp. Others have put statues of devils around the formations. The town has a post office where you can mail letters and cards with the postmark of Hell, Grand Cayman. Visitors to the area can jokingly say they've been to Hell and back. I thought the place a bit touristy but, it was neat to say I'd been there.

The last stop was at the Tortuga Rum Cake Factory. Visitors at the factory could try free samples of the various cakes as well as some Tortuga rum. I found the cakes really good. I plan to buy at a couple before the cruise ends. Also, I enjoyed trying some of the rums.

Our tour guide and driver returned us to the pier where we could catch a shuttle boat back to the Navigator of the Seas or do more sightseeing. I made my mandatory trip to the Cayman Island Hard Rock Cafe where I ended up buying 3 t-shirts. They have some pretty cool ones which I'll comment more on in another post.

Overall, I ended up having a nice visit to Grand Cayman. I thought it interesting and, the weather was pretty nice with the sun out and the temps in the high 70's. According to the tour guide, Grand Cayman never gets below the 60's temperature wise and has many days when it's in the 80's. It sounds like it is a typical Caribbean island where you can enjoy lots of sun and sand. Stay tuned for my cruise updates. Tomorrow, I get to visit Cozumel, Mexico.

Cruise Update

The Navigator of the Seas arrived just off of Georgetown, Grand Cayman this morning. The town apparently doesn't have a pier that is big enough and deep enough to accomodate the ship. Because of that, I'll have to take a tender/shuttle boat to the town's pier to do my scheduled scuba diving trip. Plan to go early so I can visit the Hard Rock Cafe and get my prized new t-shirt.

Last night, the ship had a formal evening where everyone got to dress up if they felt like. There were lots of guys in tuxedos and suits and lots of ladies in gowns. The ship served free champagne which was decent. I doubt it was the really good stuff.

Afterwards, I dined in the formal dining room. The ship's chefs did themselves proud as I got to enjoy some excellent Escargot Bourguignon, lobster bisque and shrimp ravioli. The escargot reminded me of the Globus tour I took of France. I really enjoyed the dinner.

That's all for this update. Still tuned for more posts on my cruise. Cheers all!

Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas

I'm on my 2nd cruise. I flew down to Ft. Lauderdale for the first time yesterday. There, I boarded Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas. It can hold over 3,800 passengers and is the same class of ship  (Voyager class) as the Adventure of the Seas. The ship has lots to do including a full length basketball court, miniature golf course, inline skating track, 3 or 4 pools, bi-level theater, ice skating rink, rock climbing wall, casino and a number of shops for those who love to shop.

I've found the food good and plentiful. My cabin with balcony is very nice. And, the staff very helpful and efficient. You won't see any dirty plates for long in the restaurants. I've tried the miniature golf, trivia games and bingo. They've been fun. Tomorrow, I'll get to go scuba diving in Grand Cayman which should be a lot of fun. I haven't scuba dived in over 2 and 1/2 years.

That's all for this blog entry. I'm able to use the ship's Wifi network for a fee so there will be updates during the cruise. Stay tuned for more blogs about my on-going cruise. Cheers all!

Update: The scuba diving was cancelled due to low visibility. The waters around Grand Cayman had gotten stirred up lowering the visibility to where they decided to cancel the scuba diving excursion.

The Red Pyramid

In a departure from Rick Riordan's Olympian books, Riordan created a storyline incorporating the ancient Egyptian gods. The new series is called The Kane Chronicles. Like Riordan's Olympian books, the series is aimed at teenagers though readers of other ages may enjoy the books. The book's hero and heroine are Carter and Sadie Kane. Though they don't know it, they are descendents of the Egyptian pharoahs. This gives this a special connection to the Egyptian gods and when the gods are freed by their father in the British Museum in London, England, they become hosts for the god Horus and goddess Isis respectively. This will lead to a number of dangers and ultimately a battle with the evil god Set who intends to kill their father and which they try to prevent.

During their perils and battles, they will meet various Egyptian gods and goddesses including Anubis, Bast and Thoth. They will learn they are two of the most powerful children descended form the pharoahs in centuries. Later, they will also discover that the chaos serpent Apophos is rising again and the fate of the world will be decided by them in their battle with Set.

Like the Olympian books, Riordan causes our hero and heroine to have a mere 5 days to defeat the evil doer and save the world. Also, like the Olympian books, Riordan throws in a number of surprises and some romance. Because of the limited time they have, the two Kane children have to move quickly and the action comes fast and furious. At then end, all things end well and yet, there can be little doubt there are future trials and battles ahead. As Riordan has a release date of fall 2011 for his Son of Neptune book in the Heroes of Olympus series, any fans of the Kane series will have to wait a while for the next Kane Chronicles book.

Overall, I thought the story was nice though I thought the Egyptian gods were a bit lame at times in the story. At one point in the book, our heroes are being chased by a killer monster and, it's Horus's birthday. The god apparently wants Carter to stop fighting the killer monster and wish him happy birthday. Then, the god asks Carter if he bought him a present. Surely, a god could show more sense.

As far as I know, The Red Pyramid is only available in hardbound and the list price $17.99. Various discount bookstores may sell it for less. Those who like the Percy Jackson series will probably like the Kane Chronicles series. As for me, I look forward to Riordan's Son of Neptune book.

The Lost Hero

To my delight, Rick Riordan recently came out with the first book in a new series called The Heroes of Olympus. The book is called The Lost Hero. It picks up from the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series. As readers of the last series will know, the Jackson series ended with a new great prophecy that foretold of 7 demigods who would fight at death's door. In the new series, we will discover who those 7 demigods are and what part they will play in a battle that could decide the fate of the entire world.

From the Jackson series, I assumed that Riordan would introduce us to some new demigods from the lesser gods that were introduced in the series. I was wrong. Riordan introduces a new twist with a second group of demigods who are the children of the Roman version of the Greek gods i.e. Jupiter instead of Zeus, Neptune instead of Posidon and so on. In the series, we find out that a great battle broke out between the 2 groups of demigods that caused so much loss of life among them that the Gods separated the 2 groups and hid them from each other. Now, with the threat from the earth goddess Gaea and her giant minions, these 2 groups will some how have to reconcile their differences and join together so they can help the gods defeat the giants and save the world. The gods apparently can't do it on their own for unknown reasons.

The story has plenty of twists and turns as well as humor. It does showcase 2 gods that didn't take as big a part in the Jackson series i.e. Haephaestus - the god of smiths and all kinds of devices and Aphrodite - the goddess of love. Two of their demigods along with a previously unknown son of Jupiter i.e. Zeus must race against the clock to save the Queen Goddess Hera, a goddess they don't trust who is scheming behind her husband Zeus's back in a plan she hopes will save the world and the Olympian/Roman gods.

In regards to the previous hero Percy, all we learn in the first book is he went missing at the same time Jupiter's son Jason suddenly appeared. We learn that Hera did a swap and wiped Percy's memories like she did Jason's. At the end of the book, Jason suspects Percy is in huge trouble as he suspects the Roman demigods will be a lot less kind to him than the Greek demigods were to Jason. We are left hanging wondering what has happened to Percy. Frustratingly, we won't be abel to find out till fall of next year when the second book in the series - The Son of Neptune will be released.

As "The Lost Hero" has just been released, I believe it's only available in hardbound. The list price for the hardbound edition is $18.99 in the U.S. and, it states the price will be higher in Canada.

Overall, the book is another fun and fast moving book that is easy to read and enjoy. Teenagers in particular should enjoy the book as all the heroes and heroines are teenagers who show typical teenage problems as well as having to deal with some very un-teenage problems i.e. god/goddess parents, unknown powers and lots of nasty monsters that want to kill them. Older readers should enjoy the new book as well as it has plenty of action and humor. I very much enjoyed this book as I did the Percy Jackson series and, I look forward to Riordan's next book in the series. If you liked his Percy Jackson and the Olympian series, you'll enjoy this book too.

Research

In preparation for my upcoming cruises, I've been buying various books on ports of call and what there is to do at them. For example, The island of Cozumel apparently offers some very good scuba diving and an excursion to the Mayan city of Tulum which is on the mainland. The island of Grand Cayman doesn't apparently have a lot of history but, it does have excursions where you can feed stingrays and learn about sea turtles. A friend of mine wants to visit Jamaica during a cruise and, I found out Royal Caribbean has been working with the Jamaican government to create another cruise ship port at Falmouth. This port will be able to accomodate Royal Caribbean's largest cruise ships the Oasis of the Seas and the soon to be launched Allure of the Seas. Jamaica is on my list of Caribbean islands I'd like to visit and, it would be great if I could do a cruise on either the Oasis or Allure of the Seas ships. As far as I know, they are the largest cruise ships in the world. They are literally floating cities as they can accomodate 5,400 passengers and 2,000 crew. I haven't seen the Oasis yet but, it must be HUGE. Concerning Alaska, I've heard those cruises are incredibly scenic. However, I have no idea what you do sightseeing wise at the ports of call during the cruise. I've been reading up on Vancouver. I found out they a nice museum that tells of some of the history of the Pacific Northwest indian tribes. They even have some totem poles carved by them. Vancouver also has a space needle like tower that soars over 440 feet up and gives good views of the city. I confess after doing the CN Tower (1,800 feet) in Toronto, the tower in Vancouver isn't going to be as impressive. Lastly, I've been checking into Internet access. I'd like to be able to post updates on here during my trips but, I don't care to break the bank doing it. I found out Royal Caribbean has somewhat cheaper pre-paid WiFi rates. The cheapest gets down to 30 cents a minute which is better than their flat rate of a whopping 65 cents a minute. However, I would like to know what happens with any unused minutes with the pre-paid charge. Can I carry them over to my next cruise? I'll have to wait on an answer for that one till I do my November cruise. Overall, the next year promises to be pretty exciting travel wise with 2 trips to the Caribbean, 1 to Alaska and 1 to Peru. Stay tuned for some interesting future travel blog entries. Cheers all!

Serious Beer Trip

For a long time, I've wanted to buy some at least a 6-pack of James Boag Australian lager so I could give it a proper tasting. The lager is one of the beers the Outback Steakhouse chain offers. I got to try my first bottle during my first bike road trip to Richmond, Virginia. Unfortunately, James Boag lager isn't widely available in Maryland. I did find one liquor store that sold it and then, I forgot to bookmark the store. This morning, I finally located the store. It's called State Line Liquors in Elkton, Maryland. The name of the store is appropriate as the store is very close to the Maryland-Pennsylvania state line. The store isn't overly large but, it offers a surprising number of international beers. I saw beers from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, England, Germany, Guatemala, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Jamaica, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, Scotland and Spain. It was pretty impressive. Price wise, considering where some of these brews were coming from, I thought they were pretty reasonable. Service was excellent. Parking was adequate. The location was located just off of Interstate-95 so easy to get to. The only downside to my trip was I forgot how the state of Maryland likes to gouge people that travel on Interstate-95 going to Pennsylvania. They hit me up for $5. Thankfully, they didn't do that on the trip home. This is one liquor store I plan to visit again in the future once I've finished my now ample supply of brew. If you like to try various international beers and you're in the Maryland-Pennyslvania border area, you might want to give them a look. Their website is: http://statelineliquors.com/index.htm. Cheers all!

Final Bushnell Update

Sometime between this morning and this evening, Bushnell apparently successfully fixed their server problem. When I arrived home from work this evening, I logged on to the Internet and, the software for my Bushnell 7 day FXi weather forecaster promptly activated. I checked it and found out it was working fine. It was giving me the forecasts for the 5 different places I track weather wise. I'm glad they got the glitch fixed. That wraps up my series of blog entries on this. Cheers all!

Bushnell Update

I promised any readers out there that if I found out more on the server problem with Bushnell weather forecasters that I would pass on the additional information. Here is my first update on this.

I emailed Accuweather.com asking them if they knew when they would get their server problem fixed. They replied stating that is wasn't their problem. That it was Bushnell's problem and, they were aware of it. Then, I forwarded that email to Bushnell customer service letting them know what Accuweather said. To my surprise, Bushnell had a different story this time. They stated that they had "a technical issue" with their server that affected the information for my "local weather." Also, they stated that they are "doing everything possible to get the server back up and running" as soon as possible. That makes sense as people aren't going to want to buy their weather forecasting units if they don't work because of the server glitch.

That's all for this update. I'll post more updates if I get any more information on this problem.

News on Bushnell Weather Forecaster

I found out about 5 minutes ago that Accuweather.com is having problems sending weather updates over the Internet to those who have Bushnell weather forecaster units. My source for this is Bushnell's own technical support who I spoke with after being unable to get full weather forecasts for the past 3 or 4 days. According to the tech support person, Accuweather is aware of the problem but, they haven't given a specific date and time when the problem will be fixed. The problem is at their end and not with the Bushnell equipment. Hopefully, Accuweather will get the problem fixed as I've very much enjoyed getting regular forecasts over my Bushnell 7 day weather forecaster FXi. If I find out anything more on this, I'll post an update.

Alaskan Cruises

I've been debating what to do travel wise next summer. I don't want to go some place where it's hot. If I want heat, I can stay home. Also, I didn't want to run into the air conditioning problem (there wasn't any in some of the hotels) I ran into during my tour of Ireland. My friend Harvey had suggested doing an Alaskan cruise. My initial impression was negative as I felt that would be largely scenic. To me, after a while, lots of pretty scenery gets boring. However, my travel agent Joel Mills assured me there was more including history and culture. Then, I checked into prices. Initially, that shot that down. The Alaskan cruising season can be pricey. I suspect that's because it is a limited season due to the ice and cold. However, Royal Caribbean finally settled the matter for me when they had a cruise sale last week. To my surprise, I was able to get an Alaskan cruise for $1,115 for a balcony cabin (double that since I'm adamant about having my own cabin). I can handle that plus, the airfare wasn't disastrous - $750 round trip. So, I'll get to do my first Alaskan cruise after all next summer.

REMINDER: Later this year, I'll get to visit Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; Georgetown, Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico for the first time. Also, my Globus tour of Peru is still on for early next year. So, there will be lots of new travel posts and pictures on here in the upcoming months. Stay tuned.

Extended Warranty & Service Contract

The week before last, I decided to take Yamaha up on their offer of extending the warranty on my Yamaha TMAX. The original warranty is only good for 1 year. With the extended warranty, you have the option of extending the warranty 1, 2 or 3 years. I opted for the 3 year extension which cost me $600. Under the extended warranty, everything is covered except for items that would have to be replaced because of normal wear and tear such as tires. Interestingly, because the TMAX has an enclosed clutch, even parts of the clutch are covered under the warranty. Another nice feature of Yamaha's extended warranty is it's transferable. If you sell the bike to someone else, they can pick up what's left of the extended warranty contract.

Another way I found out I could protect myself from expensive motorbike bills was to buy a 3 year service contract with Heyser Cycle. The contract covers all classes of servicing (there are 3 classes - A, B, and C). Just a normal Class A service can set you back over $100. A Class C servicing can cost you $389 plus taxes, parts and waste disposal. Depending on how much you ride your bike, you could get all your money back on this during the life of the service contract. As I plan to ride my TMAX year round, I felt this would be worth doing.

My TMAX continues to impress me with its performance and handling. Last week, after checking for any cops, I took the bike up to 100 mph. The bike handled fine. I've heard the bike supposedly tops out at 110 mph though the speedometer shows 120 mph. Between its speed and handling, it can hold its own with most motorcycles out there. Thanks to the extended warranty and the 3 year service contract I bought, I won't have to worry about any problems with my TMAX for the next 3 years. I'll be able concentrate on riding my fun ride. Cheers all!

Update on My 2009 Yamaha TMAX

I thought it was time to post an update on my 2009 Yamaha TMAX as I've given their touring windshield and wind side deflecters a decent try out on the bike.

One of the things I noticed with my TMAX at higher speeds is considerable wind noise. It really roars when you ride 80 miles an hour plus. Yamaha claims that their touring windshield for the TMAX significantly reduces wind noise. After giving the windshield a good tryout, I can affirm that Yamaha wasn't lying. The windshield does make a big difference in that area and, it also cuts down on some of the buffeting you'll take at higher speeds. In my opinion, the touring windshield is worth the $224.95.

I can't say the same for the side wind deflectors. I haven't noticed that much improvement from them to make it worth the $199.95 Yamaha charges for them. Another thing those considering buying these 2 accessories should consider is the cost of installing them. I got a bit of a surprise when I got the labor bill from Heyser Cycle. It cost me $255 to get them both installed. Still, I think the touring windshield is worth it.

There are 2 things I wish Yamaha would do something about on the TMAX. First, I wish they would come out with a better seat for long rides. After about an hour of straight riding, I've found myself trying to find a softer spot on the seat and, there ISN'T one. Second, I wish they would come out with something to deflect the wind around the handlebars of the bike. This would help considerably when riding during the winter. I've looked with envy on the various Harley glide bikes as they offer good hand protection from the wind during the winter. The only solution I've come up with so far is wearing electrically powered heated gloves. These help some but, the batteries don't stay charged forever. I know there are gloves that will hook up to the bike's battery but, I'm very leery of doing that.

Another issue I thought I'd blog about is the 2011 TMAX. Yamaha finally released details on it sometime recently. I can't say exactly when as I wasn't checking their website every day for the info. Yesterday, I did find out they'd posted details on the 2011 bike. To my disappointment, I didn't notice any great improvements over the 2009 and 2010 models. The only differences I could see was a different color - the 2011 will come in what they call Raven which is another word for black and, the 2011 will cost an extra $100. Because of this, I was glad I pushed to buy my 2009 TMAX as that means I saved even more money buying one of those vice a 2010 or 2011 model.

Lastly, I noticed that Yamaha will be getting rid of its Majesty scooter in 2011. The Majesty is a scooter that is one step down from the TMAX. It has a 399cc engine vice the TMAX's 499cc. It advertised that it could hold its own on the highway just like the TMAX but, it doesn't have anything like the TMAX's sporty looks or presumably its handling. I suspect Yamaha decided that the Majesty was some what redundant and, I think they're right. With the TMAX, there really isn't any need for the Majesty bike.

Update January 26, 2014:

As I've been getting some hits on this post, I thought I'd post a little update to it. First, as any followers of Yamaha know, Yamaha came out with a new 400cc Majesty bike in 2013 at least. I don't know if they came out with it sooner than that. To me, the Majesty looks very much like a scooter. One thing that is nice about the TMAX is it doesn't. It looks like a sports motorbike. Ironically, the 2011 TMAX was the last TMAX to be offered in the United States (U.S.). I haven't found anything indicating Yamaha plans to issue the updated TMAX in the U.S. like they have in Europe and Canada. One reason may be they have a harder time selling the bigger engine scooters in the U.S. That was one reason a friend at Heyser Cycle mentioned and, it may be true. I read a nice article about the updated TMAX on Motorcyclist. Here's a link to the Motorcyclist TMAX article. I still wish Yamaha would issue a TMAX with a larger size engine. An extra 30 cc's isn't worth trading in my 2009 TMAX. Another upgrade I was able to have done to my TMAX which helps in the winter is heated hand grips. (These are standard on the new BMW maxi-scooters, a nice feature.) I forget who manufactures the kit. One downside to the upgrade is I have to make sure I turn the heater off before I turn the bike off. Otherwise, they'll continue to draw on the battery. The Shorai battery I had installed continues to be a good investment as I haven't had any dead battery problems since (knock on wood). I believe I have over 14,600 miles on my TMAX now and, I continue to be pleased with it. As soon as a bunch of the snow melts we received recently in Maryland, I'll be putting some more miles on my TMAX. Happy riding all!