Korimako

2 hours ago, SoloAlaska said:

Limits yes but rarely enforced unfortunately from my experience in the US. I am Canadian and the carry on weight limit is that you have to be able to put it in the overhead bin unassisted which applies to the two largest airlines. The dimension limit is 53x38x23cm including handles and wheels but is not enforced consistently.

You're lucky - ours is checked at check-in. If it's over the limit - weight or size, it has to be paid for and travel as checked baggage. And it costs much more if it has to go as checked baggage at that point, so we all know to stick to the limits. Which is what I meant by concentrating one's mind!!!

Are there no limits on size and weight of cabin baggage in the US?
Our national carrier's weight limit is 7kg and size limited to 118cm (H+W+D) including wheels.

That concentrates the mind wonderfully when packing one's carry-on!!

Yes, thanks, I should have thought of that! I have identified a few online, but it's always helpful to get a personal opinion. Have now posted there too.

I am taking a river cruise from Lyon and intend spending a couple of nights in Lyon before it. Any recommendations for mid-price hotel near the old part of Lyon?

I would also be interested in any tours/guided walks, particularly any that feature the traboules.

TIA 

7 hours ago, The_Big_M said:

A week on a ship, you've been to all the major cities in NZ, typically with 5 or even 6 stops. 

I have yet to hear of anyone who comes to New Zealand and raves about the spectacular beauty of our cities!😂

Very little of our magnificent scenery and landscapes are within a day's coach trip from any of our ports. On a cruise, you will barely scratch the surface.

Which is why most people recommend a land trip for NZ.

Hi all

On these boards somewhere it was said that Princess provided transport ( not necessarily free of charge) from Southampton Cruise Terminal to LHR. However, I asked my UK based TA if she could add this to my booking and her reply was that there were no official Princess transfers and that I would have to arrange that myself. I am now totally confused (not difficult!)

Any advice gratefully received.

And is that supposed to be an amusing conversation starter???

It’s what I might expect from a nine-year-old.

5 hours ago, d9704011 said:

See post #214.

I have, but I am still none the wiser. Is this a North American thing?

1 hour ago, JRG said:

 

"Breaking the Ice" is a figure of speech meaning that somebody has to get the conversation started and it might as well be with humor, as opposed to a starting a political debate.

 

 

I am fully aware of what 'breaking the ice' means.

This is what I found to be totally incomprehensible. 

"What Did Mr. Spock find in Captain Kirks restroom?"

23 hours ago, JRG said:

 

I sometimes break the ice with a good Star Trek joke,....

 

....What Did Mr. Spock find in Captain Kirks restroom?

 

 

What on earth does this mean???

Thanks all. I wasn't  really clear in my 'easier' comment. Flying from LHR is a direct flight to my destination, whereas I have a connection if I go from Southampton and the onward flight is on Sunday as there are no Saturday flights, which would mean an airport hotel. Prepared to put up with LHR for that reason!!

Thank you, but I am now thinking it might be easier to take the Princess shuttle (if there is one) to LHR and book my onward flight to Scotland from there rather than from Southampton. How long would I need to allow for travel to LHR terminal 5 on a Saturday? I'd rather go in a lounge at LHR than risk missing my flight.

Do Princess have a shuttle to Southampton Airport?

Do Princess have a shuttle to Southampton Airport? I'll ask on Princess board also.

6 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

I don’t think it matters if one reads print books or electronic books. It is the same thing. The important thing is reading books. 

Yes!

I read both - print books at home and e-books when travelling. I don't want to have to pay the excess baggage on the extra suitcase(s) of books, even paperbacks,  nor have to struggle with a heavy suitcase - when flying internationally. I can easily read a book a day.

On 1/31/2024 at 3:29 AM, edinburgher said:

 available in many bars or could you simply walk to whichever bars have the best reviews on eg Tripadvisor.  or google "chichetti in Venice" 

 If we were 40 years younger, then we probably would just just head for a recommended bar. But given we are 2 ladies with a combined age not far short of 160, I think we'd be more comfortable with something more organised!

But thanks anyway 🙂

We’d like to do food tour tasting cichetti in Venice. Has anyone any recommendations?

9 hours ago, Crystaltipps67 said:

Greetings from a fellow Brit. Please don't panic - we pay the auto gratuity but rarely anything more. I certainly wouldn't ever be carrying round a stack $ bills to dole out to people as we go. It's not our culture and I'd feel really uncomfortable about doing it. Room stewards do their job. I've never felt that they were doing anything above and beyond to deserve anything more. The only additional tip we've ever given was to a MDR waiter who saved us a table in his section every night, got the chef to cook us Phillipino food because we mentioned a Phillipino dish that we like, always spotted when the wine glass was getting low and appeared with a fresh one, and was the funniest man we've ever met. He got £20 in cash (cruising out of Southampton) on the last evening and a mention in the post cruise survey. Hope that helps.

7 hours ago, edinburgher said:

found this 5 minutes ago and was about to give you this link to a past thread, but have been beaten to it. Read post #9.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2984055-venice-hotel-recommendations/#comment-66747779

 

Korimako, unless you "quote" a member in a post, that member has no way of knowing you are adding a post with a question for him/her specifically and it would only be happenchance that the member revisited your thread and saw it there.

 

As an example,"quoting " you at the start of this post means you will be alerted to it.

 

Thank you 🙂

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Not edinburgher but allow me to share the link to this very helpful resource:  https://europeforvisitors.com/venice/

Thank you so much. I've seen many of your posts on the Italy forum and know that anything you recommend is bound to be worth investigating..

Grazie mille

(I'm trying to learn some Italian before I go!)

K

Hello Edinburgher,

I'm back again!

I have googled 'Venice for Visitors' but nothing matching that came up. There were various sponsored, similar sounding sites, but it would be a great help to me if you could tell me which is the official one. I would also like to buy tickets for the Vivaldi concert at the Chiesa Santa Maria della Pietà but I also get conflicting results there too.

Thank you from a fellow countrywoman!

Thanks - I'll have a look at these

Thank you! DIY it is!!
I'm also not too keen on being one of those tourists following a flag or umbrella like a Lorenz gosling!!
 

I've been wading through all the usual booking and hotel websites trying to find a suitable hotel for 3 nights in June. I just wondered if there was any sort of list/ personal recommendation topic on here to stop my eyes and brain from freezing!!

TIA

Has anyone done this? I'm in Venice for 3 nights in June and not sure whether I need an organised tour or if it would be better to just wander on my own.

Any advice gratefully received!
TIA