Things to see and do in cruise destinations

Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 2/25/17 Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 2/25/17

Aquabus Tour - Panama

The Aquabus can't seem to decide if it is a bus, or a boat! We roll and sail around Panama City.

Many Panama Canal cruises have started making a port call in Fuerte Amador, the port for Panama City. Since we are always looking for new and different experiences, we pre-booked an Aquabus tour through Panama Marine Adventures using the company's website.

Our tour was scheduled to depart Flamenco Marina at 10:30. Flamenco Marina is where most cruise ships' tenders drop guests who are going ashore on tour. We boarded our tender about 9:30am for the 10-minute ride over to Flamenco Marina.

*Tender drops guests off at Flamenco Marina*

At Flamenco Marina, you will find a small, modern mall with lots of little souvenir shops and a huge Duty Free store that sells liquor, fragrances, candy, tobacco and even some electronics.

If you wander around the marina, you will likely be approached by several local taxi drivers who will offer to take you on a private tour of the area. One driver, Roberto, was persistent, but polite. He offered to show us all of the sights for $20 per hour. A good deal, I suppose, but we already have other plans. As soon as we arrived at the marina, we searched for, and quickly found, the Panama Marine Adventures kiosk located in front of the Duty Free shop.

*Panama Marine Offices at Flamenco Marina*

We approached the window and were greeted by Liliana, the PMA representative. She was gracious and welcoming, and told us where to meet the bus for the tour.

*Liliana, with Panama Marine Adventures*

Our Aquabus tour departed at 10:30 as scheduled and within a few minutes we were driving into the ocean! In addition to our driver/Captain, there was a tour guide on board who kept us informed of the local sights and points of interest in both Spanish and English.

*Local guide from Panama Marine Adventures*

The most exciting part of the experience is when the bus plunges into the water. It makes quite a splash and everyone on board squeals in excitement (or was it terror?!)

*The Aquabus is now in the water, following the ship's tender out to sea!*

For a bus, the Aquabus is actually a pretty capable, and stable boat. We initially enter the water using a boat ramp at Flamenco Marina, following one of the Azamara Quest tenders. We followed the tender all the way to Azamara Quest, which was anchored off the coast. We circled Quest, allowing everyone to get some good photos of the ship.

*Rickee takes a photo out of the window*

The Aquabus is air conditioned, but the cold air cannot keep up with the heat when people begin to take photos through the open windows. The ability to slide open the windows for photo/video is a great feature, but guests pay a price in comfort. Nevertheless, it was morning, so it was not hot enough to become uncomfortable.

When the bus was back on land, we drove from Fuerte Amador to Panama City, a trip of about 15 minutes. We passed a few significant monuments along the way, which our guide described. As the incredible skyline of Panama City got closer, we were taken in by the architecture and scale of the place. We had no idea Panama City was this big.

For two hours, we "sailed" and drove around Fuerte Amador and Panama City. The tour ended back at Flamenco Marina. If you are looking for a quick and easy way to see Panama City, Aquabus is a good, affordable option ($49 adult/$39 Child). Be aware that there is a somewhat steep ladder with maybe four or five steps that you must climb to enter and exit the Aquabus. Check Panama Marine Adventures website for more information, or to make a reservation www.pmatours.net.

Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 1/30/17 Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 1/30/17

Segway Cartagena

We spend two hours exploring Cartagena's Old City on these two-wheeled marvels.

In case you don't know by now, we love Segway tours. It's not just because the Segways happen to be a blast to ride, they are a great way to see some of the world's most historic and interesting places. Cartagena, Colombia, is one such place where a Segway is an excellent choice to explore the historic Old City. We discovered Segway Cartegena through their website and wasted no time in booking a 90-minute tour.

If you have ever avoided a Segway tour because you feared that they are difficult to ride, let me put your mind at easy. If you can stand up, you can learn to ride a Segway in about 10 minutes or less. They are super-intuitive, and a lot of fun. In fact, the hardest part of our tour was finding Segway Cartegena's location! Our cruise ship offered a shuttle service from the pier to the gates of the Old City, so we figured we could walk around and find Segway Cartagena on our own. A map was emailed to us from Segway Cartagena, but the streets in the Old City are not very well marked. We asked several people for directions, showing them the map, but it seemed we kept going in circles. We did finally find the place (obviously), even though there is little or no signage outside. The Segways parked out front sort of gave it away!

Segway Cartagena offers a transfer from the ship for $15 per couple (each way), which we highly recommend unless you are adventurous like us and want to try to find the location on your own. Once we arrived, we met Cesar, our guide for the tour. A few other folks from our cruise ship (Azamara Quest) also showed up for the tour. We were all fitted with helmets and those who had no experience with riding a Segway were given a brief 10-minute training session.

*Tour guests line up for Segway training*

We informed Cesar that we were very familiar with riding Segways and were allowed to skip the training session. While everyone else was getting trained, I used the time to rig up my GoPro to the handlebar of the Segway I would be riding.

*My GoPro clamped to the Segway handlebar*

Each Segway was equipped with a small bag (see photo above) that could be used to hold sunglasses, keys, a small water bottle, etc. However, we were not offered any bottled water, so make sure to bring your own. Of course, you can also wear your backpack during the tour for larger items. Even though it is not required, it is a good idea to wear sneakers or closed-toe shoes (not flip-flops).

*Cartagena is the perfect place for a Segway tour*

Once the tour started, Cesar took the lead and we all followed through the crowded, narrow streets of the Old City. There were two other Segway Cartagena employees accompanying the tour. One would go ahead and stop traffic for us at intersections while the other remained behind the group. Whenever we dismounted the Segways, one of the guides would stay with the machines to guard them, so I never had to worry about my GoPro disappearing.

*Segways are watched over while we are off exploring on foot*

Cesar would frequently stop and have us park the machines so we could explore on foot and gather around as he explained the history of a building or an area. We have been on some Segway tours where you never dismount the machine until the end of the tour, and that can get a little tiring on the feet, so it is nice to get off frequently and walk around.

*Cesar takes time to explain the history of Cartagena*

Cesar and his associates were also good about offering to take photos of us along the way, something a lot of tour guides fail to do.

*Cesar takes a photo of us on the Segways*

Most Americans don't realize how much history and interesting architecture there is in Cartagena. I think there may still be a stigma about Colombia as a dangerous place, but today, Cartagena is probably as safe as any other international destination. In the Old City, you will find a lot of street vendors selling all sorts of items like hats, sunglasses, etc. But, none of the ones we came across were overly agressive.

*Street vendors are commonplace in the Old City*

Also, most of the places we visited, we found locals who could speak at least some English. Of course, our tour was entirely in English. Our Segway tour lasted 90 minutes and is a good value at $70pp. Segway Cartagena is a local company, so when you go on one of their tours, you are supporting a local business. We like that.

When your cruise ship visits Cartagena, you can book a tour through the ship, or you can do your own thing and book a Segway tour with Segway Cartagena. I think you know which option we preferCheck their website for details at www.segwaycartagena.com

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Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 1/23/17 Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 1/23/17

Horseback Riding in Golfito, Costa Rica

We go for a horseback ride through a rain forest in Golfito, Costa Rica.

Jan 23, 2017 - This morning, Azamara Quest is still docked in Golfito, Costa Rica. While most guests book tours through the Land Discoveries desk on board, we have gone rogue and booked our own excursion directly with a local tour company: Golfito Tours.

After a quick lunch in The Patio, we disembarked Quest around 1:45pm, in time to meet up with our guide at 2pm as instructed. Our guide for the day, Hariel, was waiting for us just outside the gates to the port, as was the owner of Golfito Tours, Adriana, and another GMT guide.

*Our guide, Hariel, waiting for us at the pier*

We all piled into a minivan, with Adriana driving, and headed off to the nearby rain forest. The drive to the horseback tour location took about 30 minutes. When we arrived, we were given helmets and soon mounted up for the ride.

Another local guide, probably the gentlemen who owns the horses, was the lead guide on the tour. He did not speak English, so having Hariel along to translate really helped. Along the way, he would point out flora and fauna as we passed them.

After about 30 minutes of riding, we soon learned why this is referred to as a "rain forest". It began raining, then it began pouring rain. This is something we had not prepared for. Rickee and I were soaked by the end of the ride! So, it is a good idea to pack a portable, disposable poncho just to be safe. Lesson learned. Adriana also pointed out later that most people do the tour in the morning when rain is less likely. The ride ended with a short hike to a beautiful waterfall. Our initial plan was to swim under the waterfall, but we were already so soaked from the rain, we decided to forego the experience. As my primary camera was not waterproof, we had to use the GoPro to take photos at the waterfall, and the quality is not that good.

If you are visiting Golfito, Costa Rica we can highly recommend that you book an excursion through Graffito Tours. They offer a wide variety of excursion options and we always prefer to support local businesses rather than booking excursions through the cruise lines. You can get more information at https://costarica-trip.com/golfito/golfito-tours/

Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 11/25/16 Chris Dikmen & Rickee Richardson 11/25/16

Segway Tour of Florence, Italy

Florence is a city that is uniquely well-suited for a Segway tour.

When your Mediterranean cruise docks in Livorno, Italy, you will have a lot of shore excursion choices. But,here is something they probably won't offer: a Segway tour of Florence. Livorno is the port city for Florence and Pisa, and since there is virtually nothing of interest to tourists in Livorno, a transfer to either Pisa or Florence is required. Of the two, we have always found Florence to be much more interesting. On our most recent visit, we decided to book a tour with Italy by Segway online a few weeks before our cruise on Crystal Serenity. We booked a round-trip motor coach transfer from Livorno to Florence with the cruise line (about $139 pp) which got us into Florence at about 9:45am. We scheduled our tour for 10:30am, so we had plenty of time to walk from the bus drop-off location to Italy by Segway offices.

We arrived at Italy by Segway's offices about 20 minutes ahead of our scheduled tour time. As soon as we arrived, we were greeted by Cristina who introduced us to the other three members of our tour group for the day. She helped us get fitted with helmets (a safety requirement) and utilized her iPad to show a brief introductory training video. Rickee and I are very comfortable on Segways, having ridden them in many cities around the world. However, the other three members of our group had never ridden before so Cristina spent time with each one to help them get comfortable with operating the self-balancing machines. The great thing about a Segway is that you can learn to ride one in about five to ten minutes. If you can stand up, you can ride a Segway!

*Cristina shows us a short training video*

After everyone was comfortably zipping around on their Segways, Cristina gave each of us an Audio Vox communication unit. These units allow us to hear Cristina's commentary through an earpiece, a real convenience in a crowded and often noisy city like Florence. It should be noted that Italy by Segway is the first company we have toured with that employed the Audio Vox units and we think they should be standard issue on all tours. Using the communication device, Cristina was able to let us know in advance which way we would be turning so we had ample time to position ourselves through the crowds.

*Rickee shows us her Audio Vox receiver*

With helmets in place and Audio units turned on and working, we began our tour with Cristina leading us to our first destination, the iconic Duomo. When we visited the Dumo in 1998, the crowds of tourists lining up to get inside was incredible. Apparently, the Duomo has not lost any of its appeal. The crowds are just as large, if not larger. Fortunately, the Segways are equipped with a small bell to alert pedestrians that we are coming up behind them so they can clear a path for us.

*Massive crowds of tourists surround the Duomo*

As we stop in front of the Duomo, Cristina informs us of the history of the structure and how construction was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style designed by Arnolfo di Cambio. She also reminds us that Italian name for "Florence" is actually "Firenze", which explains why all of the signs you see in Italy refer to Firenze and not Florence.

*Cristina explains the history of The Duomo*

The structure was completed in 1436 with the dome engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi. The massive dome is a masterpiece of engineering, even by today's standards. There is no way to capture the majesty of this building in photos. It is something you have to see in person.

From the Duomo, we rode the Segways just a couple of blocks to San Lorenzo Basilica. The crowds were much smaller here and we had an opportunity for Cristina to take some photos of us in front of the Basilica. In fact, anytime we wanted a photo, Cristina was more than happy to oblige.

Without going into detail on every single stop on the three-hour long tour (75€ per person), suffice it to say that the Segway tour of Florence (or 'Firenze') covers most of the top tourist sights. One of the highlights for us was a visit to Palazzo Vecchio where you can see a life-sized replica of the Statue of David (the original is on display in the Academy Gallery). And, of course, we visited the porcine "mascot" of Florence to rub its nose for good luck!

*Statue of David (replica) in Piazza Vecchio*

Another great historical site we had the opportunity to view, albeit from a distance, was Ponta Vecchio, a Medieval stone arch bridge over the Arno River, noted for still having shops built along it, as was once common. Butchers initially occupied the shops; the present tenants are gold and silver jewelers, art dealers and souvenir shops. Local laws prevent Segways from traversing the bridge, but we were able to view it from an excellent photo op spot.

Throughout the tour, we had many opportunities to dismount the Segways, walk around to get a closer look at the sights, or even enjoy a cup of Cappuccino or Gelato (Italian ice cream).

One of our final stops was at Piazza Santa Croce where we took photos of the Basilica of Santa Croce. This also happens to be the meeting place for our return transfer back to the cruise ship. The Piazza is only a 5-minute walk from Italy by Segway offices.

You can see the entire itinerary for this tour on Italy by Segway's website. As you will see, there are many more sights that what we talk about here. The three-hour tour is packed with local attractions and great information. Cristina did an admirable job of leading is through a crowded Florence and using every opportunity to give great information. On a Segway tour, you spend less time walking from one sight to another, which can be quite time-consuming if you are part of a large cruise ship walking tour. That means you get to spend more time at the actual points of interest, and you have time to visit more points of interest. The Segway really is the bestway to see Florence!

We were also able to rig up our GoPro to the handlebar of one of the Segways so we could shoot some video of the experience (see below). At the end of the tour, we returned the machines to Italy by Segway offices, said goodbye to Cristina and our new friends and departed for the walk back to the cruise ship transfer meeting point. We have done a lot of Segway tours in many European cities and the Florence Segway tour is one of the best we have done. Cristina is an excellent guide, the Audio Vox was a nice touch, and Florence has so much to see that it really lends itself to a Segway. We can highly recommend the Florence Segway Tour from Italy by Segway.

For more information, check out their website at http://www.italysegwaytours.com