It was a 10-minute walk to exit the pier area, as usual there was lots of security and one would need you ship's ID card and a photo ID to return to the ship. Some ports are stricter than others on this. This was a clean and well-organized harbor area and we had no problem with making the trek, for those with some walking difficulties, there was a free shuttle. Gran Canaria is less than 100 miles from the coast of Africa and the weather is temperate. Although it was coolish in the morning, the sun was shining and it was beautiful. It warmed in the afternoon and it was absolutely wonderful! The Hop-On, Hop-Off bus program is in most cities that we visited on this cruise. In Las Palmas, there were 9 stops around the city, including one at the end of the pier. Your ticket would allow you to get on at any stop. Ear buds were provided so that you could hear the on-going recorded narrative. Again, do some research before you leave home and you can decide how you want to spend your day.

I haven't been on that cruise, Carole, but I've been to Hawaii and also on a Caribbean cruise. In retrospect, I'd prefer staying at a resort in Hawaii over a cruise there. Why? I loved the relaxed atmosphere of our resort (the Hyatt Regency Kauai) over the party hearty atmosphere on our cruise ship. DH & I loved strolling through our resorts tropical gardens at night before turning in. And walking along the beach at sunrise. We ate when we wanted to. Toured when and where we wanted to. Snorkeled when and where we wanted to. Etc. When I go on vacation , I like to choose if and when I want to do something and I want to come back relaxed and refreshed. Although I loved our week-long Caribbean cruise, I enjoyed our week at a Hawaiian resort more. BTW, a few years after we did the cruise, we flew back to St.Thomas and rented a private villa for a week. THAT was even better than the Hawaiian resort for us. Relaxing, fun, romantic and peaceful . . . ahhhhhh! If you live on or near the East Coast or the South, you might want to check out those possibilities. I have to admit that the 12 hour flying & connection time from Albuquerque to St. Thomas made for quite a long day, although I'd go back again in a heartbeat! Lynn

We did a 14 day Panama Canal cruise last month. Didn't buy a package as the cost was about the same amount as one person's passage on the ship, a little over $800! Two couples we met who were traveling together and had the stateroom across from ours both bought the $800+ package which included, I believe two bottles of wine, per stateroom per day. They shared with us often, as they brought wines from home as well. We brought our own bottled water and two bottles of wine (the max allowed per stateroom) but we opened them in our room. It cost $25 corkage fee if you bring your own bottle to the dinner table. So we poured a glass before the evening show and then took whatever we had in the glass into the restaurant for dinner. Water was usually plenty to drink at dinner for me. DH had a glass of wine most nights at about $10 a glass. It does add up, that's for sure. On last year's AK cruise, we had cocktails every evening with a couple we met the first day. Our bill at the end of the trip was significant. Jodi-

" Except for Santa Barbara, there is no 'wine country' along the coast." I think it depends what someone considers as "along the coast". Our coasts are cool (delightfully so) and vineyards need to be a bit away from the immediate coast, typically just a range of hills away in valleys. It's less than an hour from Santa Barbara to the Santa Ynez Valley, the local wine area, and just a shade over an hour from San Francisco to Napa or Sonoma. Same is true for vineyards and wineries near Monterey, San Diego, etc., I think these areas are considered coastal because they're near the ocean and have weather influenced by it. Real "inland" means the Central Valley - good for growing table grapes but too hot otherwise and the site of only non-premium bulk wines like Two Buck Chuck, Franzia, Gallo's historical ops, etc.