Trip Review - Continental United States

Disney World, Florida

We had a great time. Old Key West is a lovely place to stay and we would go back there in a minute.

We rented a car but felt, after the fact, that it was not really necessary. The cabs are reasonable and would be a more cost-effective and relaxing alternative.

Disney World itself is beyond belief. My grandchildren thoroughly were filled with its magic as was the rest of the family. My grandson cried with the saddness of leaving on Thursday.

Our return flight was delayed so we got home at about 2am - ugh! Perhaps Westjet might consider earlier flight times since half of the passenger have an early bedtime.(Me too, for that matter.)
February 2010
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Monterey, California

It is hard not to have a great time in that part of the world....it is truly beautiful. The weather cooperated....no rain....and the flights all worked out. I highly recommend the resort we stayed at as many of us felt it was the best service we had ever experienced. We stayed at the Quail Lodge Resort in Carmel.
April 2009

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Alaska Cruise - Holland America

The cruise was great. I have decided that I would happily go again, either alone or with someone I don't have any connection to. I would love to spend more time just sitting on the deck and watching the water go by and reading.
October 2009
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Alaskan Cruise on the Volendam - Holland American Cruise Line

We were extremely pleased with the cruise, scenery was superb, accommodations very good, food – outstanding and service excellent. We especially enjoyed the presentations made by Jeanette Shanigan as well as the Park Rangers and Bertha the Native Interpreter as they certainly opened our eyes to the culture, history, fauna and geography of the area etc., we have a new appreciation of the area.

In fact my husband made a comment at the end of our cruise which really summed up his feelings “IF I WERE 30 YEARS YOUNGER I WOULDN’T BE GOING HOME !”, this coming from a retired aircraft mechanic who has travelled all through the Arctic.

We definitely are considering another cruise in the future, as well several of our friends now think that they will do a cruise as well.
September 2009
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Alaska cruise with Holland America

We had a great time- awesome sights, lots of whales, touched a glacier and only one day of rain(some days were even shorts weather). We went on 7 excursions but only 3 were really worth the money as they were already expensive. As we discovered, we would have been better off getting our excursions on the shore as there were booths set up all over the place and we could have saved at least 25% from what Holland charged (you would think they would give a better price than private booths because they should be able to get group rates- oh well). The cruise part and the ship amenities were fabulous though and we were happy with the overall experience. Would do it again- maybe Panama. We are looking to eventually tour South America somewhere and Australia- New Zealand when the prices are right- so we'll keep our eyes open. Once again, thanks for your help in setting this up for us and maybe we'll do business again.
July 2009
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Holland America Alaska Cruise

The cruise was terrific! The whole trip was amazing. We had only 2 days of rain, one in Anchorage and on the train from Denali to Anchorage. All the rest was blazing sunshine. Even the Captain said in all his years he had not seen such weather. It was about 80º every day - in Ketchiken it was 80º and no rain in sight. Even Vancouver was sunny.

The ship was so smooth I never even opened the gravol, and so still don't know if I would ever be sea sick!

The food was great, and the whole ship was just a nice size. (we had a fire on board - great excitement!).

The shore excursions were all fine: the Mount Robert tram rail in Juneau is a waste of time unless you intend to hike in the trails. There is an observation platform where you can "observe" the cables for the tramline! You had to hang out a window to get a picture of the ships below. The restaurant is just hamburgers etc, not one where you might feel like having a nice meal to add to the trip up. At $27 it is not worth the time and expense. So one to warn people about, and certainly do not buy it ahead as we did.

The transfers at both ends went very smoothly. We bought 2 transfers on board to save trying to find our own way to the airport, and it was just very simple. There were no taxis visible when we got off, but one shuttle bus person with a sign. It was $26 each for the transfer (the shuttle sign was$13) but less than they quoted you as they wanted to send it out.

I have never seen so many jewelry shops in my life! There was nothing else! Most were completely empty of customers, and some were giving things away to people from the ship. I got 2 "saphires"(?!) which I can turn into earrings, and we were the first from the ship to enter the store, and that was on our way back to the ship! I can see that people are not buying. 

Many were on the cheap tickets we had. There were people from Australia and Southern States who had booked before the October crisis and they paid quite a bit more than us, and were not happy, but that was like our having to pay fuel charges for our March flights because we booked them in November, and so got no refund of fuel surcharges.

The Historic Anchorage Hotel was lovely. A huge room with a sitting area, right next door to the Hilton. The breakfast was continental with a waffle bar - a little different.

At the airport on Sunday 24th there was a HA agent meeting our plane for other people. I showed her our voucher, explained we had come early to see more of Alaska, and told her we were on a transfer from the Hilton later in the week, so she took us and our bags to the Hilton, and we walked round to the other hotel! So it never hurts to plead ignorance!!
June 2009
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Alaska Cruise

Had an awesome time - the weather was hot hot hot!! We saw Mt Mckinley in all its glory - apparently 60 per cent of the time it is covered. And the glaciers were also great - we had a sunny clear day to see them as well - saw lots of them calfing. It was a good first-time experience on Holland America - food and staff were awesome.
June 2009

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Alaska Cruise

The vacation was awesome! I'm completely exhausted but it was worth it. Alaska is truly beautiful - wouldn't have missed it for the world. Enjoyed the cruise part as well - we were so lucky, we had fabulous weather - even managed to get a bit sun burnt! Not sure I like being with so many people but it was loads of fun.
June 2009

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Alaskan Cruise on the Norwegian Sun

We had a wonderful trip and returned home on July 17th.It seemed like we were away much longer as it was such a treat and so restful, on the ship and we enjoyed the visiting before and after the journey North.The weather was cold!..40F in Skagway and rain 6/7 days that week but we enjoyed the shopping, the excursion on the train, and could watch the beautiful scenery without going outside.Saw some whales and dolphins on the open sea.Once we got to Penticton, the weather quickly changed to hot & dry at 30C.We picked cherries on the tree at the orchard, tasted wine at the vineyard, and brought home lots of pictures,souvenirs, and memories.
July 2008

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Excalibur Las Vegas, Nevada

Vegas was awesome, we all had a blast! Excalibur was good, although we didn’t spend a lot of our time there. We wandered the casino and spent some time at the pool, pool area was nice, clean and had lots of chairs! All around, no complaints! The only thing that we would have found handy is a fridge in the room but no big deal at all.
March 2009
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The Rio Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada

It was my third time to Vegas and Shelley's second time.

Hotel (the RIO) was excellent although there were a few minor things that could have used attention in the room (burnt out lights, some finishing and the venting in the bathroom was not working). They gave us a two queen beds instead of a requested king bed (but made the best of it...). Quality of food at all the hotels we visited were excellent. The big buffets at the RIO certainly lived up to their billing!

Flight was right on time both ways.

Hotel transfers (free shuttles) and the bus service (the Deuce) were really good. We did so much walking, visted all the hotels on the strip and the weather was excellent about 17C and sunny each day! The architecture is incredible... Shopping was really good (discount malls had some incredible deals...). Of course the Vegas sky line keeps changing. We also took in Freemont Ave...

Night life was hopping to say the least. Went out to party all night on a Wednesday, Hard Rock Cafe Casino and Hotel... Clubs "Body English" - Dance club and "Wasted Space" - Rock bar, excellent! Payed a visit to the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay as well...

Decided to take in a time share (vacation club) sales pitch the first morning. We were there about 3 hours and received about $200 US in free food vouchers which we used so the trip came in very inexpensive. We were not impressed with the pressure tactics used by the time share folks although I was forewarned. I wanted to hear what it was about anyways.

Overall excellent time. I give it a 4.75 out of 5. We would certainly consider a return trip. I think next year we try a week in Cuba or Mexico and do Vegas every other year!
January 2009
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