Milhouse

I found this even worse for our cruise on Celebrity. There was only one vendor rep at each sides of the station wearing a vest and lanyard. I was lucky (based on CC info) that I should be looking for someone. Other cruisers were curiously/randomly going up to a rep after seeing other people going up to her.

@aggiemom11 We sailed return out of Ravenna on Connie this past June and also went to Bologna for a visit post cruise. Yes, taxis seemed limited. (The local bus stop is also within reasonable walking distance too but don't think it's a great option with a lot of luggage.) We ended up doing the Celebrity shuttle for $14.95 to Ravenna station. See below pamplet for the post cruise transfer options. There were a few time slots but we took the latest at 9am because we weren't sure when our hotel in Bologna would let us in our room. After you collect your luggage, the coach bus is fairly close to the embarkation/disembarkation building/tent. The trip is about 10-15mins and was about half full. Note that the shuttle takes you to a parking lot behind the train station and you will need to walk a block to get to the pedestrian underpass that leads you to the platforms and the actual station itself. The commuter trains to Bologna cost about 7-8E and runs hourly IIRC. Shoud be no problem getting a seat but there didn't seem to be a lot of great options for the luggage. We ended up monopolizing a four seater and placing our luggage in the leg area. I saw a couple near us put their luggage in the aisle. It kind of blocked the aisle a bit but also rolled away a few times because they were falling asleep on the ride. Side note: I'm a bit miffed that they bumped up the transfer from $9.95 (as stated in the daily) to $14.95 midcruise per the pamphlet. I don't know if they purposely increase the price mid-cruise or they just forgot to make the change in the daily. You book at guest relations, not the shore excursion desk who didn't know what we were talking about (contrary to the info in the pamphlet). When we originally asked about it, guest relations said it was $9.95. When the pamphlet came out, they said that was an error, the correct price is $14.95 but that they would credit us $5 (and of course credit didn't show up in our folio 🙄).

I've only used google translate. I think its good enough to get by but it's not perfect. When trying to communicate something from English to Japanese, if you can limit it to a few words, I find it fairly accurate at least to get the idea across. However, it seems to struggle with longer phrases or sentences. Going from Japanese to English I've used the real time image/camera translation. Again, pretty good, not perfect but I think enough to get a general understanding.

Priority Pass is one of many airport lounge membership programs that provides access to specific airport lounges/lounge networks they have partnerships with for you and possibly a guest. However, there are varying membership levels with the lowest requiring an additional fee for each lounge entry to the highest providing unlimited "free" entries. To get a Priority Pass card, you can apply for one directly with Priority Pass. Alternatively, some higher tier/travel credit cards provide free membership to Priority Pass such as the AMEX Platinum card (though you still have to go through the process to register with Priority Pass but not pay the fee). Points to note: There are other airport lounge membership programs eg. Dragon Pass. Some higher end/travel cards provide their own lounge memberships programs (eg. Mastercard Lounge Key, Visa Airport Companion, etc) with their own rules (eg. Certain number of free entrances vs having to pay for each entrance and guest) and what airport lounges/lounge networks they provide you access to (ie. Your lounge membership program won't get you into any lounge; only the ones they partner with). You can also sometimes buy entrance directly with the some lounges (eg. Plaza Premium lounges). You may have to wait to enter the lounge if it is full. Priority (for airline specific lounges) typically goes to those having airline status or flying biz class and above. Hmm, IDK then. During our recent trip in June, when we used our AMEX Platinum at the domestic Plaza Premium lounge in YVR, the person checking us in was verbally going through her checks and confirmed if our flight was leaving within two (or three?) hours. Also, IIRC, they also checked our connecting time at the Westjet lounge in YYC and didn't want to let us in if it was longer than two hours. Maybe I should have challenged that because I thought there was no limit for connections. But, the Westjet lounge was extremely busy and we had to wait to get in. They didn't kick us out though when our connection was extremely delayed.

Just to throw another option in the mix... Earl's has a limited weekend brunch menu but includes a typical bacon & egg plate, chorizo hash dish, benedicts, and omlettes. We've gone a few times as I think the dishes are made well (but they aren't massive if that's a criteria). A couple of bonuses: Their brunch happy happy hour runs until noon which includes both discounted food (~$3-5 off) and beverages. They also take reservations. Their Yaletown location is about a 10min walk from the Y. Their test kitchen is about a 15min walk but apparently currently has apple dutch baby pancakes as a test item. FWIW, if you have access to a phone, Medina will call you when your table is close to ready so you don't have to stay physically in line (at least that's my most recent experience a few weeks ago, though on a weekday).

I may get some hate for this 😀 but I find Costco has a very solid, basic poutine. Pretty standard tasting though and didn't notice any difference between the one we had in QC versus the one we regularly get in Vancouver. Also didn't find any in QC that really stood out for us (but we did in Montreal). During a trip in Feb 2020, my friends took me to La Buche for the onion soup. What made it extra special was that it came with bone marrow. However, when I went to QC again in Dec 2021, I wanted to take the missus to La Buche to try it but unfortunately, it didn't come with the bone marrow any more. The onion soup was still good but just not as special without it. 😕 We really enjoyed our stay at the Frontenac. It's a really nice property and you don't need to stay there to explore it. Pretty central location. But our room was really nice too. We were able to use a corporate rate from my workplace and Fairmont occasionally (semi-annual? Mother's Day and Black Friday) has a sale on gift cards where you get a bonus (eg 20%) gift card on your initial gift card purchase. Combined, it made for a pretty reasonably priced stay.

Vancouver is generally very nice with the last bits of summer extending into the first few weeks of September and some festivals and events still taking advantage of the weather. However, it gets more variable into mid-late September and October which is a transition period to the colder & rainy season in November onwards. Sometimes a few days of rain starts earlier in mid-September; sometimes later, holding off until late October. No guarantees but overall, I think you should be ok in early September. Here's a link where you can browse historical Environment Canada data for Vancouver (sorry temperature in Celcius instead of Fahrenheit: https://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_data/daily_data_e.html?StationID=51442&timeframe=2&StartYear=1840&EndYear=2023&Day=14&Year=2022&Month=9#

Not apples to apples but I was debating buying ship wifi for our X Constellation cruise from Italy to Greece. I ended up buying a data only esim instead. Was able to get a cell signal on the bed (and top decks of course) but occasionally struggled by the cabin door and in the hallways. Yes, you probably can keep your pocket wifi on a table near the balcony doors and should be good to go in your cabin.

Just to toss out a general tip: If you work for a megacorp or government, maybe check to see if your employers has corporate hotel rates that can be used for personal travel.

Open to being corrected but a pocket wifi is just a mobile device with a sim card or esim that creates a wifi hotspot for you or your group to connect to. I can't see why it wouldn't normally work on the ship when it's in port or close to land. One exception that comes to mind I suppose is if you are deeper within the ship and the cell signals can't reach the pocket wifi but you would likely be stuck in the same situation with your phone using a Japanese esim. With the pocket wifi, everyone using it has to obviously be within range of the device versus everyone having an esim and being able to separate.

Beyond many of the ideas and attractions near the old town, we thought a trip out to the New Grand Market was worthwhile. Lots of interesting and affordable food places to sample/snack or pick up some souvenirs/gifts.

Overall, I would say hiking books are not necessary. However, I wore my urban hikers more as a matter of preference while the missus wore her runners. Where the hikers came in most handy for me were: Athens: We didn't go into the Acropolis this time but we went up and walked around the Areopagus Hill beside it which was a bit slippery and craggy. It also poured for a few hours in the morning so my socks were dry whereas the missus were a bit soaked. Ephesus: Some slippery step particularly at the Celsus Library. Oia: There's a bit of a viewpoint by the Oia Castle where you need to take a short trail. It's a bit craggy. The missus just took her time and was fine. (And Fira donkey trail.)

I think we paid 25e for the museum pass for the two of us combined (??). Personally, I'm glad we allocated time pre-cruise to do this. It's a pretty easy walking circuit within the town itself (once you get there from the port) and we were seeing the same people/groups along each of the stops.

Summer in Vancouver is pretty festive and there's generally more events happening as the weather gets predictably nicer. There are events around town Canada Day weekend but I feel all the Canada Day festivities draw a lot of the focus/efforts that weekend as communities put on their own fairly large local events: Steveston Salmon Festival, Granville Island Canada Day, North Vancouver/Shipyards Canada Day, etc. This also somewhat helps limit the crowds around Canada Place though it's still obviously very busy. We still took a few laps around the area to check out the festivities this year because love the lively atmosphere of downtown Vancouver that day. [Crazy story: One year, we went to four Canada Day parades around the region and all the events were really fun. But unfortunately, a number of the parades (and fireworks displays including at Canada Place) have been cancelled due to funding issues.] Many other events and festivals are spread over different weekends during the summer to limit the overlap and competition to draw crowds. However, some other regular and special events around town Canada Day weekend include: Friday night Shipyards night market on the North Shore, Richmond Night Market on the evenings, the Jazz Festival with some of the free events on Granville Island, Golden Spike Days in Rocky Point/Port Moody, various farmers markets around town, etc. Some of these are events are further out with the furthest still reachable by public transit with about 60mins of travel. Best bang for your effort tho will likely be stuff around Granville Island or North Vancouver.

Yes, it's pretty central and downtown overall is very walkable. The most lively pedestrian area nearby is kind of Robson Street. Granville Street is also lively but it has some sketchy parts and it's somewhat chaotic during weekend evenings when the bar/lounge/club scene takes over.

The pace of change/development in HCMC/Vietnam has been rapid. I think its younger age demographic has really helped it keep pace with change and evolution. The missus first went in 2006 and when she took me in 2014, she remarked how much it changed in just eight years and how the tourist infrastructure was developing (which was both a good and bad thing). I loved it so much (other than the humidity), I went again with friends in 2016. So many great little street food stands and holes in the wall place to try. But it's definitely a modern Asian city too, complete with contemporary malls, rooftop bars, and the like. I have to admit though that the motorbikes on the sidewalks annoy me; either parked & forcing you onto the road or driving on it because the street is one way. 🙄

My preference would be to take the train. We were going to take the train from QC to Montreal in Feb 2020 but an issue with the route forced us to rent a car to make the trip instead. The trip most of the way was pretty straightforward but I felt it was a bit of a grind at about 3.5hrs (including a short break in the burbs). Fortunately, my friend who grew up on Montreal was driving but I thought the streets in Montreal itself were somewhat confusing and I think I would have struggled a bit. We took the train in the other direction from Montreal to QC in Dec 2021 and we enjoyed the carefree ride. +1 on the Fairmont QE. I've stayed there a few times in the past for work and I really enjoyed it. Very central and convenient if taking the train as @princeton123211 describes.

FWIW, we drove down to San Diego from LA for a visit pre-pandemic (so things may have changed). We ended up staying in the Little Italy district and found it pretty walkable to the waterfront and to the Gaslamp district as areas of interest. We made a stop at Kansas City Barbeque where they filmed the Top Gun restaurant scene. Really enjoyed eating at The Crack Shack (fried chicken in LI district).

Quick Shuttle bus from Seattle to Vancouver? Fairmont Hotel Vancouver (vs Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel and Fairmont Waterfront Hotel)?

There area is kind mixed residential, commercial, and light industrial so the immediate area is not super pedestrian orientated. However, I would not consider it an unsafe area. I think the walk along Great Canadian Way to the Bridgeport Skytrain station is reasonable versus shimmying along the side streets. We occasionally visit that Costco (pure mayhem) along Great Canadian Way and feel the area is fine, at least during the day.

It's not completely flat but the further west you go, it gets slightly steeper, especially along Bute which is along the western edge of Paradox. It's more gradual along Burrard. We regularly park our car along Georgia (free after 7pm) and Bute when we go for an evening walk. We'll usually walk up Bute or Thurlow though because they are quieter streets than Burrard. It's not super steep but there's one block along Bute that there are mini stairs parallel the the sidewalk to keep the entranceways to the businesses level.

The 72 hour subway pass gets spend per day down to a very reasonable level for break even IMO. Combining it with a Suica (specifically discussing transport) can be handy in Tokyo depending on one's plans because of the JR train usage and the extended range. Ie. Trips to the "burbs" or common daytrip destinations. Also, there's a potentially handy JR Yamanote Line (can also be used with the JR pass) which is a circle line around Tokyo that, depending on your journey, could be quicker and/or have more convenient station locations. (Eg. We usually take a walk down Takeshita Street and Harajuku JR Station is more convenient than the closest metro station.) And it's kind of nice travelling above ground.

Paradox used to be a Trump branded hotel in the mid 2010's. After Trump hotel closed down during the pandemic, it was shuttered for a while and eventually rebranded as Paradox. Being a local, I haven't stayed there but it's a higher end property. Generally speaking, it's just a rebranding and hotel management change so it should still be a nice hotel. FWIW, there occasionally seems to be a bit of a party atmosphere though as we see a lot of revellers milling about and catching rides along the laneway entrance when we pass by during a walk in the evenings. Location-wise, it's pretty central.

We had similar wants and issues when trying to book our trip from Fiumicino Airport to Ravenna this spring. Our main problem in searching for a complete journey was the Bologna Centrale to Ravenna leg on the regional commuter train which didn't publish its schedule far enough in advance. We just ended up booking our high speed train to Bologna Centrale first (which has reserved seating) on the trenitalia site. We then bought the tickets for the Bologna to Ravenna when in Italy. No cost savings (8e) for the second leg for booking in advance and it ran hourly. YMMV but we thought there was plenty of seating on the regional train in both directions we rode it. However, there's limited space to store luggage and there's an upper level which could be a pain to navigate with luggage so I wouldn't dilly dally getting onto the train and finding a seat. I would however suggest booking the high speed trains sooner than later. We didn't prebook tickets far in advance (only a day and day of) on our return legs from Bologna to Florence and then Florence to Rome to give ourselves some flexibility. Unfortunately, we found options more limited and pricing more expensive.

Yes it is reasonably walkable (if it's not raining). You can take your time. I do the walk a couple of times a week but with my Starbucks, not luggage. I've timed myself: It's just over a 20min walk along the seawall from the far side of the Westin Bayshore and just over a 15 minute walk from the near side/main entrance of the hotel. The seawall path is fairly wide and fairly smooth/nicely paved. Careful to stay on the pedestrian side as the path is split in half with bicycles/wheeled transport. Mixed sunny and shady parts. Safe, nice views. It's fairly level except for two uphill portions: one by the float planes/Jack Poole Plaza and one on the east side of the Convention Centre. I've regularly come across others pulling their luggage walking along this route and NOT looking miserable. 😉