Want something to do in Tenerife.. take the Porta la Cruz on your own tour

 The ships’on your own shore excursion to porta la Cruz was 28 cdn on sale. It is 45 minutes away from the cruise port. You will be totally on your own. The guide doesn’t even say hello. When you get to the destination she told us the time to be back on the bus. That was the only information imparted. You are given approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Tips…

Do your research before taking this tour, print off a map or directions to the cathedral, city hall etc.

Go into the hotel where it seem all buses park, and use their toilet and ask the front desk for a map, and ask them to circle the hotel’s location, and any thing else you want to see. 

This town is a shopping Mecca, with excellent prices for all types of souvenirs, linens and beach wear. It’s much better than the cruise port.

Where they drop you off you are 5 minutes to the beach promenade. You can’t get lost as just ask the locals for directions back to the hotel you have marked on the map or in my case, it was also the surfer’s beach.

The beach is lava and very rocky, so not a swimmer beach. It’s nice to take pictures of

When we were on the way back, the bus driver played rap music and no one thanked us so no tipping required

Hope this helps 

Marcia

Gran Canaria been there done that 3 times and went to the beach near the port

 Having been here twice before, after getting off the ship l headed to the beach. A quick 15 minute walk with great signage along the way so you won’t get lost.

The beach has a long, clean promenade with lots of benches to sit. The beach is very long. It has areas safe with a lifeguard and you can rent loungers. However much the beach is rocky so look for the sandy part. It’s the dark volcanic sand so it looks dirty. 

It’s kept clean. Worth a look see and a visit.

Hope this helps

Marcia

Lanzarote on your own from the cruise port… easy circular route for walking

 I loved this Lanzarote cruise port.  It’s pretty in a plain and quaint way. It’s an easy walk to the marina, with shops and crafts.  After the marina Head towards the small castle first, and stop to look at their small cathedral on the way. The bridge to the castle has broken pavement so caution is recommended.

You will need to wait in a short line to get in. It’s free. 

After the castle you will see the main shopping street. It’s pedestrian only, and white light decorations are above the entrance. If you follow it to the end. It’s about a 10 minute walk you end back at the inner harbour and you can follow the path to the marina and ship.

There is a man painting small boats made out of virgin olive oil cans. They are cute and start at 3 euros for the small ones. 

Shopping was limited, but prices were reasonable. It’s a cute little town worth a couple of hours of your time.

Hope this helps

Marcia

Cadiz on your own - just walk

 From the cruise port, you walk outside of the port and you are in Cadiz. You won’t get lost if you turn 

Right and go thru the park til you reach the sea promenade then just keep walking away from the cruise port and you will see a lovely park with fountains and statues. At the end of the park if you now enter the old city you will pass three old theatre. Keep walking ( here’s where the tourist map from the cruise port comes in handy. Follow the streets til just before you reach the Mercado, and go into the old hospital museum. It’s 5 euros and small, but it has one of the best El Greco paintings and a very ornate church and courtyard . From here you are a minute away from the mercado. Not great on a weekday as very few vendors.

Then take the shopping street to the cathedral square. The cathedral is falling apart inside so not worth the entry fee. 

The take another shopping street to the city hall square. From here if you go towards the water, turn left at the waterfront you will get back to the ship in less than 5 minutes. 

I loved how walkable it was and the shopping prices were reasonable.

If you are strolling, taking pictures and shopping along the way to sit on benches and people watch, plan on a couple of hours, of an easy picturesque walk.

Hope this helps 

Marcia

Explorer of the Seas - lipstick on a pig after September 2025 drydock

 I am on a 13 day transatlantic cruise from Lisbon to Cape Canaveral. I abided by the check I time at 11:30 am but no other passengers did so the crowds were huge. It took 40 minutes to wind my way to Rcl check in. Never once did the check my sea pass til the check in desk. Shame on RCL…don’t give a check in time and then don’t enforce it. 

The ship is 25 years old and looks, feels and smells like it. My first cabin on the 7th floor groaned at night. Do not book an inside promenade view cabin. They are small, noisy and have plumbing issues.

 It has just come out of dry dock where the only visible signs are a painted hull, but the upper decks still have paint peeling and rust showing. You can tell they have painted over so many times.. just lipstick on a pig.

Inside the have replaced carpets everywhere including cabins, and new taps in the sinks and shower. However the entire ship had no hot water on day one as they were replacing pipes. I didn’t get it my cabin til mid morning on day 2.  After several calls, maintenance agreed to come and realized there was an issue for my cabin. No apologies…

Now I have a choice..hot water or water pressure in the shower. It seems it’s either or. After day 5 with the shower only having scalding hot water, I gave up and went to customer service. They gave me a new ocean view cabin and 10% of this cruises cost as a future cruise credit. To be used anytime in the next 2 years. The new cabin is on the 3rd floor and has a working shower. You definitely feel more movement, and hear the engine at night, but a 100% better.  Definitely book an ocean view on 3, as they seem to be quiet, no plumbing issues and have extra large windows.

The furnishings, pool decks and especially the promenade outside are clean but the rust and age show thru everywhere. You can  only paint over so many times. The deck floors are just very old and the cabins are much smaller than the new ships. The walls of the cabins are that old light pink prefab. 

But the worst is the musty smell in many areas of ship. There is the smell of rotted cabbage on the promenade deck. 

The vibe of this ship is 70’s rockers and aged disco queens. Staff are unhappy with management and speak openly about it. Given this could get them dismissed, it must be really bad for them. 

The internet is inconsistent in speed and strength, but they will not credit passengers who bought the package. On Quantum they gave all passengers a 2 day credit, but on this ship don’t hold your breath. The person who is supposed to help knows less than me, and is rude to guests. 

The food in the dining room has been good, but the windjammer buffet has limited selection, and tastes like an old cafeteria from the 60’s. The breakfast and lunch and salad choices are the same every day at lunch. You won’t go hungry but it’s not gourmet. On sea days the buffet is a zoo.

Staff  for the most part are pleasant and very laid back. Don’t be in a hurry on this ship. Service levels are haphazard, especially in the dining room at breakfast and lunch.  Management needs a refresher in customer service and staff management.

Entertainment is also from the 70s with  magicians, aged musical and comedy acts and old fashion production shows that breakdown for 15/minutes every show due to technical issues.  The only act that was worth watching were the aerialists.

The passenger mix lends older, but not infirm as very few wheel chairs and even less families with children. 90% of the passengers are Americans, and 5% Canadians , with the rest from all over. Lots of solos. 

This is a ship that needs to be retired or overhauled completely. I do not recommend this ship. Avoid, avoid.

My interior promenade cabin iswas clean and except for the shower, in good condition. I would say you need earplugs as the promenade below is very loud with music til midnight. I would not recommend this cabin.

I will avoid this class of ship in the future unless it has been Rcl amplified. Too small and when you put lipstick on a pig it still smells, looks and acts like a pig.

I hope this helps

Marcia

What I recommend to do in Lisbon old town if you’re going to walk everywhere

 I had 4 full days in Lisbon and wanted to walk versus trams, metro and buses. This was possible because I stayed in Alfama walking distance to everything in Old town. Be prepared for hills, lots of traffic and broken roads and sidewalks. Here’s what I recommend to do

- the castle for best views 

- the church Victor and pantheon museum - best church and museum . It’s only 6 euros so best value museum

- the national tile museum. Best Portuguese art museum and walk is flat pavement from the cruise port. It takes about 30 minutes along the harbour if strolling 

- walk along the riverfront to the time out market. About a ten minute walk from the plaza commercial. Free

- walk thru the streets of Alfama district for the best views and shopping for unique souvenirs . Free

- for a cheap lunch have a chicken donair sandwich. Delicious and it was 5 euros with a soda. The shops are everywhere in Alfama

- for dinner I picked family run places.. quiche salad and a tart with a soda was less than 10 euros. The cod with fries about 12 euros 

Wear comfortable shoes as the streets are slippery and broken up, but its still worth it to walk 

The locals are friendly and helpful. I accidentally left sunglasses at a shop and went back 2 days later and they still had them

On a previous trip I had been to Bethlehem monument and the monestary which are not walkable to from Alfama 

Hope this helps 

Marcia

Why not to go to Sintra on your own from Lisbon

 I just went to Sinatra on my own from Lisbon Rossio station. It cost 5.50 euros return. The trains run every 40 minutes and are slow and packed. Go about 15 minutes before departure to get a seat. 

Here’s why I don’t recommend going to Sintra

1: the crowds, and the very slow traffic.

2: the 435 cheap buses don’t run regularly so you have to pay the 14.30 euros for the 434 hop on hop off bus for a 24 hour period. The buses are packed and you have to look carefully as they don’t make all of the stops on their map on every bus. It’s a ripoff if you just want to go to the royal palace. You have to walk up a steep hill and treacherous steps to make it to the entrance to the palace. It’s a 15 minute walk straight up on broken pavement and stones

3: i pre purchased the entrance ticket and was a half hour late but due to the crowds it turns out I was just on time. They run late every day and expect a long line of 275 people per half hour. They push you through the inside of the castle with little time to take photos.  Plus the palace outside is in really bad shape so not picturesque photos

4. Nothing downtown near the station and walking is up and down hills

Don’t waist your time and patience.  tours with tickets to two palaces run about 150 to 200 cdn. So it’s very expensive and you will still wait in lines.

Hope this helps

Marcia

My favourite hotel in Lisbon is Dalma old town suites in alfama

 After a horrible flight on TAP,  and an hour late for my MSGlobe transfer, my name was posted on a board and a rep called the driver who came quickly and took me to the hotel. It was only 1:30 pm and check-in time is 3 pm. But the staff at the hotel let me check in early at no extra cost. The room was a superior river view studio. It was large, with a fully equipped kitchenette. The view from my window was picturesque with a glimpse of the river. My rate was about 160 cdn per night average with taxes and a good breakfast included. The bed was very comfortable and the air conditioning worked well. It was not noisy when the windows are closed. 

Here’s the best things

- shower was hotel and powerful 

- breakfast was European style with scrambled eggs, pasties, bread, and a selection of fruits and yogurt. 

- staff are very helpful and friendly. They speak English fluently 

- room and hotel were clean

- a bottle of water daily

For improvement 

- a need to change towels more often

If I come back to Lisbon I will stay here again as it walking distance to all the key sites,as long as you don’t mind hills and broken cobblestone (which is everywhere in Lisbon)

Hope this helps

Marcia

Why not to Take TAP airlines from North America to Lisbon

 I recently took TAP from Toronto to Lisbon for the first time. Never again. The good part was rhe pr airline communication, the check in process, and boarding. After that it was a disaster. They fly the airbus 321 which is too small of a plane to cross the Atlantic in high winds. The pilot had the seat belt sign on for the entire flight. It was like being on a steep roller coaster for the whole flight. The flight attendants were rude when serving telling passengers to walk to the back if you need more water. We never saw them again til the sandwiches at the end of the flight.  The food made me ill.

Getting off the flight you have to take the shuttle which adds a half hour to the already delayed flight. Then we had to walk up stairs as the escalators are broken. Worse the lineup to customs was another half hour. Don’t take

 TAP if you have a connection as unless it’s over 2 hours you will not make your flight.

Hope this helps 

Marcia

Royal Caribbean Dynamic Pricing approach - how to get a better price

 I recently learned that Royal Caribbean uses dynamic pricing for all its charge types. This means that when demand is lower for their cruise/cabin type, shore excursions, the key, internet etc, the price will be lower and when the demand is higher for these things the prices rise.  It can be quite annoying if your timing for booking any of these is off.  It requires you to do the following

- book earlier for a cruise (i.e. now for some cruises its a year in advance to get a better price). This is especially noticeable of the longer cruises.  The seven day Caribbean seem to stay steadier in the prices. 

- check almost daily for internet and other services. It's especially hard for Canadians as we also have to watch our CDN/US exchange rates which also change daily. 

- Shore excursions are just way too high even with the 10% offer. Long gone are the 30% off shore excursions.  I have found they give a 20% discount on all Spanish speaking tours but only 10 percent for the English ones.  But worst of all if you take public transit to the same sites, you will save greatly.  An example are both trips to Mijas and or Murcia in Spain.  Both will cost less than $10 Euros return by Public transit , yet RCL wants $95 and $72 respectively for "on your own" tours with their discounts.  

- I have had first hand experience - the price of my upcoming spring cruise was $300 less for the cabin I wanted if I have of booked a year out and at 10 months it had risen due to increase demand.  I carefully booked the KEY as it was only $1.50  per day more than the internet price and now the KEY is up by over $15 more a day than the internet. 

I am sure this benefits RCL, but makes it hard for cruisers to get the best price.  I much prefer Cunard, Holland America and Princess whose prices remain steady throughout unless they have a sale. 

Hope this helps

Marcia