cruisemom42

2 minutes ago, Cruise4usnow1 said:

Did you find tours in English at the Domus?  I only saw Italian tours for June

There are usually English tours mixed in with the Italian ones. Not as many but I seem to remember there were a fair number of them on each day it is open. I haven't checked the site recently though. Perhaps the English ones are sold out?

2 hours ago, martyap said:

Anyone ever use this company for transfers to FCO from the port

thanks

Never heard of them or seen them mentioned on this board before.

I missed three ports just on my most recent cruise (Panama Canal on Oceania).

😡

I think this is one area where getting input from frequent cruisers, especially ones who recently used the services is important. Not sure I'd trust a TA -- unless that TA fits the criteria above. Things can change rapidly in ports. One service I used to use reliably changed after Covid and is now more expensive and restrictive. Fortunately I was able to locate a new/better option.

10 hours ago, erby2283 said:

 

 

As a side note, this past weekend I was watching a History Channel special on The Dormus Area and thought that would be neat to tour too....except it seems tickets are only available Fri, Sat and Sun when we are not available.  Well, maybe we could do Friday morning before we head to the port assuming we could find a place to hold our luggage. 🙂 

 

The Domus Aurea is fabulous but be warned that it's a work in progress. Lots of scaffolding and some areas are off limits. They are currently doing a lot of work to restore and stabilize it. 

I've been three times, most recently last November and I really saw a lot of progress. Some of the frescoes that have been newly cleaned and revealed are wonderful.

13 hours ago, slidergirl said:

Bordeaux - I really liked that town!   Is this a late booking?  I can't remember you mentioning this cruise.  Eat a canale for me!!!

This is the one I originally booked in the early days post-Covid. Back then they allowed you to cancel and rebook at a later date if you were concerned about Covid, and it's been on the books a long time....

I think I asked you about your hotel in Bordeaux, but I ended up booking one that's a bit closer to the area I want to be in. I'm taking 2 daytrips from Bordeaux but will also have about 2.5 days to explore the city.

I wouldn't be surprised if they haven't loaded the May tickets yet.

The link you included is for the Scavi (excavations) under St. Peter's, not the Pantheon.

You can reach Erice by cable car or bus (very twisty road, hairpin curves, not good if you get motion sick or fear of heights).

Once in Erice, the town is hilly. Not a lot of stairs but the roads are steep in places. If you arrive by bus you'll have to walk maybe a quarter of a mile from the bus dropoff place to the heart of the town (with a lovely church enroute).

It's worth it IMO but it's not an "easy" trip. Strenuous? Depends on your level of fitness and ability to walk.

Hi everyone -- sorry I haven't posted in a while. Not much new for me. I've just been vegging at home, watching the condo project proceed and doing lots of reading. All of a sudden I realized it's time to get ready for my Bordeaux and river cruise trip. (I leave in 8 days!). I've started watching the weather so I can decide what to pack. Hoping for nice weather and not the horrible early heat wave they had last year.

Today I'm going to a retirement lunch for one of my team who had decided to take the plunge like me. It will be fun to see her and I'm hoping a number of other former colleagues. 

Melody, the prom pics are cute. You guys are such a photogenic family. You could be in a commercial. For Chicos!  😄

Lois, hope your health is improving!

5 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

“Wealthy” is something of a subjective term.   It has generally been possible for selective average income people to afford some higher cost activities by allocating resources and doing without some things a lot of other people might take for granted. (Just think how many $ a person  could set aside for a cruise if he/she opted not to grab a Starbucks Vente while on the way to work every morning).

 

In the 1970’s a couple or weeks on the Jersey Shore was a big vacation - while cruising was simply out of the picture for most.

My father was a mid-level govt employee and my mom was an elementary teacher. We traveled to Europe and we cruised annually. Travel was just important to us.

1 minute ago, navybankerteacher said:

True - they are in the higher price range — but then just a quarter century ago cruising itself was a high price vacation option.

 

Only in this century did cruising become a mass market activity - so today’s new mega-ships  serve that purpose;  while refitted and new build smaller ships will continue to serve the upscale market they always did.

Not so sure about that. My parents weren't wealthy but we started cruising (as a family) in the 1970s. 

I like cruising but as a solo every cruise costs me about twice as much per dium as for a couple. I'm not willing to give up the amount of time I spend traveling in order to pay more per trip. It's not that I don't see the value, it's just that my priorities are different.

42 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Are you aware that there will be at least seven new cruise ships coming on line in 2024 - which carry fewer than 1,000 passengers? 
 

 

I'm guessing most are in either the luxury or the exploration categories. Not an option for some of us.

I know Viking keeps churning out ships that are just under 1,000 passengers, but very few of their itineraries appeal to me.

Even Oceania's new ships are more than 1,000 passengers.

5 hours ago, Jayhoaps said:

So just to clarify,

 

If My ship tenders to the new port, I just take a Sea Bus/Water taxi and it will take us directly to the Old Port which is where Mykonos Town is? Thanks in advance.

Yes. It's really not far. Sounds like you're overthinking it a bit. 

I wouldn't really call the "old port" a port -- it's more like a tender or dinghy drop-off point right at the middle of Mykonos Town.

As I said, you can take a short sea bus/water taxi or a shuttle bus (land) along the road that skirts the water. You can also walk it but the walk can be hot and unpleasant (no real sidewalk), so for the small cost I'd take transportation.

10 minutes ago, Vertygo said:

Thanks! We have a day cruise planned & our hotel, DeCamondo Galata House, has a rooftop restaurant with river views.

What evening cruise did you do?

The Galata location won't give you the great views of Sultanahmet. I prefer the latter location. At least for a dinner.

The evening cruise was a while ago. It was on a smaller vessel (no dinner) and had commentary. For me, I enjoyed the sunset views around departure but it was dark too soon and as you sail farther away from the city, it gets dark and isn't that well lit except in a few spots.

What I enjoyed about the daylight cruise was being able to see some of the old-style wooden Ottoman mansions, though more and more of them are being torn down and/or rebuilt as modern luxury dwellings.

10 minutes ago, Vertygo said:

@cruisemom42 Do you have a suggestion for night Bosporus cruise? I don’t want cheesy dinner party boat, but something more relaxing to see the buildings lit up.

Not sure if a ferry would be the “ticket” & I’ve read about a private company with similar routes, but looks like schedule is too early.

Do the sunset cruises I’ve seen end after dark?

Appreciate any advice you have.

I've done the Bosporus cruise in the evening and during the day and I much preferred it during the day. At night the best views of the lights would be from a nice rooftop restaurant in Sultanahmet area, where you can get great views of Haghia Sofya, Blue Mosque, etc. all lit up. (IMHO).

8 hours ago, Redtravel said:

When I stopped in Ravenna, the port had a free shuttle bus into the city. It was very close to the cathedral and old part of town. We enjoyed the cathedral. The mosaic designs are beautiful.  We also walked in old town. Shopping was good.  Enjoyed Ravenna.

When was your experience? 

In October 2022 there was no port shuttle.

Small ships for me. Itinerary is about equally important but I would never choose a great itinerary on a huge ship, whereas I might choose a less-than-stellar itinerary on a small ship.

When I say small, I mean small. The smaller Oceania and the Azamara ships (all same size) are ideal for me. Around 700 passengers. I will cruise on ships up to about 2,000 (give or take) but have decided anything larger is not for me.

On 4/8/2024 at 8:10 PM, Snaefell3 said:

The 'R'-class ships are late 1980s design.  They are comparatively expensive to run on a per-pax basis, have really-out-of-environmental-vogue propulsion, and ...have you ever showered in a non-suite cabin?  😉

 

O would have disposed of them long ago except O didn't want to be a 2-ship cruise line.

 

I love the R-class, and I've showered in a non-suite cabin. I hope O holds on to at least a couple of them. Perhaps for longer, more interesting itineraries.

18 hours ago, frantic36 said:

When we did this in 2019 it was a guided tour. They want to make sure that people get in and out at the same time as they only allow so many down in the caves at one time.

This was also true when I went. You could not go at your own speed. There were certain "stop points" and you had to remain with the group.

1 hour ago, TRLD said:

Oceania does many thing well. It fits what some are looking for. For others not so much.  

All ships and all lines have pluses and minuses. The key is finding what appeals.

I have never felt the need to limit myself to one line. But two things I like above all else are good itineraries and small ships. HAL no longer has what I consider to be small ships. But they still have some very good itineraries.

I will sail on Azamara happily for some of their good itineraries. They don't tend to have the long cruises that HAL offers (although you can often string together several shorter cruises). But HAL's longer itineraries can sometimes have a lot of sea days and HAL doesn't offer enough to make those sea days enticing.

I will also sail on Oceania's small ships for a good itinerary. Their entertainment isn't great, I know. But the classical music means a lot to me and at least I know there is one new show after dinner every night that's generally entertaining enough for someone that's not ready to go to sleep at 9:30 at night. For me, their food is also better than HAL's (or any other line I've been on -- and that does not include any of the luxury lines).

1 hour ago, foodsvcmgr said:

So in the current scheme of things, would Rotterdam 12 nights Panama and 13 nights Westerdam transpacific to Tokyo be considered worthy of upgraded food or entertainment offerings?

Or not of sufficient duration to get anything beyond the 7 day base level described here?

My experience (and that of many others who've posted) is that until you get to 15+ days, you don't seem to get anything much beyond what's on a shorter cruise. The possible exception being a lecturer on the trans-ocean cruises with lot of sea days.

Important to know what the itineraries/ships are for each.

One word of warning, in small ports (e.g., if you're going to Greenland) tendering can take a long time on the bigger ships.

52 minutes ago, Vertygo said:

We’ll be in Istanbul for 3 days prior to 8/2  cruise. Has anyone used the Museum Pass for Istanbul and/or Ephesus? We have a private guide, but looks like we could save time standing in line to purchase admission.

Thanks, Linda

I think these are relatively new offerings. The best I can suggest is to decide which museums you would actually plan to visit, then add up the admission costs and see how that compares with the cost of the card.

You also should add in something for the convenience of not having to stand in line to buy tickets, BUT keep in mind that the most crowded site in Istanbul is usually Haghia Sofya, which is NOT included. (Nor is the Blue Mosque). I've not seen long lines at Ephesus in the past either, and most private tours (or ship tours) include the cost of admission anyway.

Topkapi Palace can have long lines, but of the other included sites, I would say lines are not usually a factor.

By the way, I would also like to make a plug for the Archaeology Museum in Istanbul. It has some really fine pieces that should be better known than they are, including several sculpture busts of Alexander the Great, a wonderful carved sarcophagus also portraying Alexander and some of his generals, and more (including the world's first recorded peace treaty, a copy of which is displayed at the U.N. headquarters).

I also really enjoyed the Islamic Arts museum (across from the Hippodrome). I feel it's not visited as much as it should be. Some of the pieces are exquisite. 

You should be fine. Are you going to arrange to have a taxi waiting for you to get you back to the ship? The Hypogeum is in a sort of residential area and it won't be easy to find a taxi unless you happen to poach one that's dropping someone off for the next tour.

26 minutes ago, marazul said:

ou do realize that to get to Mycenae you have to drive through Corinth.  Consider going to Corinth, Mycenae and Epidaurus and skipping Nafplio.

Exactly what I was going to suggest!

I'm not sure I'd go to Delphi as your 'out of Athens' option. It's very worthwhile but it's an extremely long daytrip.