Team Mason RVing Travel Adventures

We had been looking at this cruise for a while.  We have been East and West Caribbean that left a Southern trip.  This one left out of Ft. Lauderdale with stops at Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, Aruba, then Curacao.  Aruba and Curacao are as near to the equator as we have ever been, just off the coast of Venezuela.  Eight days total with 3 days at sea.   This time we took a rental car from Lexington to Atlanta because Spirit has such a cheap flight.  $56.00 per person one way.  The catch, we found out, is the checked baggage is $40.00 each. Still a bargain compared to flying out of Lexington but there are a lot of hidden fees with discount airlines, just be sure to read the fine print. Boarding a cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale is not as organized as Miami.  A trick we learned was to do "Airport Checkin" before you leave the Ft. Lauderdale Airport.  You are then placed in the priority line at the port because you have already be processed for boarding.  The regular li

We finally found affordable lodging that will allow you to stay within 2 blocks of Times Square in New York City.  The St. James Hotel located 109 W. 45TH ST ., New York, NY, 10036.  We stayed 6 nights for  $85.00 a night.  It was not a hotel with a lot of bells and whistles but  the room was quiet, clean and had a huge bathroom with free Wi-Fi.  We had stayed in NY before but always had to stay outside Manhattan and ride the subway in and out.  Being that close made daily wandering around the city a lot easier. There is so much to do if you are there when the weather is cooperating.  We had mostly sunny weather and high in the 40's daily.  Dress warm and get some good walking shoes.   We were there during Veteran's Day and got to watch the NYC Veteran's Day parade.  So much patriotism on display made for a great day. Some of the must sees are: Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty.  We got tickets online prior to arriving for the Statue of Liberty pe