Hlitner

Amazing that you find this stuff :). When we recently met Cruisemom I told her we always found you an amazing fountain of DIY knowledge...and of course she agreed 🙂 Hank

Taxis are not always a good option (there might not be any available). But, there is a local/regional bus line (I call them Orange Buses) which are inexpensive and run routes along the Amalfi Drive and down into Positano. One can get the bus from Praiano and not have to deal with driving/parking in Positano. It has been a few years, but DW and I preferred to drive over to Positano late afternoon/early evening after most of the day trippers were gone. At that time, it was usually possible to find a parking spot in town (parking on the Amalfi Drive is also possible but leaves you with a big hike). There may (or may not) be some kind of boat service from Praiano to Positano...but I am not sure of the current situation. We once did take a boat where we just walked from our hotel to a nearby pier, took a short boat ride from Praiano to Positano, and than transferred to a day-trip boat that took us all the way to Capri. I am hedging on the various day trip options, because we have not been to this area post COVID and in much of the world, Covid has changed many things. While most of Europe seems to have returned to normal, just like in our own country there seems to be a "new normal." Folks really need to look for recent reviews (and posts) and do their internet homework. Be careful of those who insist on relying on what existed 5 or 10 years ago in terms of tours/transportation. There are also many restaurants and hotels that have changed hands in the past 5 years, which can also lead to some issues. Hank

Our favorite is the Hotel Onde Verde. Hank

Just an observation (based on over 50 years of extensive travel), but some folks do not travel without being a part of tours or excursions. We have met cruisers that will not even get off a ship (anywhere) unless they are part of an excursion. Sometimes I think that those of us who will do our own thing, just about anywhere in the world, are considered the strange folks by fellow Americans and Canadians. We once helped a couple (on a cruise) plan several European ports. This took several hours of talking, writing, etc. Later in the cruise they told us they had "chickened out" and finally booked the expensive cruise line excursions. The lady was actually in tears when she said they were simply afraid to do anything on their own. To us, the thought of taking some cruise line excursions would make us cry! No way do we enjoy being on a bus with 60 other souls being led around like cattle. But this is simply another case of "different strokes." Ask yourself why many here on CC will book cruise line hotel packages, which generally cost about double of doing the same thing on their own, because they feel more comfortable with a cruise line package. or those in a place like Port Everglades that pay 2 to 3 times the price of a taxi for the right to cool their heels waiting for a transfer bus to fill-up...and than drop them at a common location that might be a half mile from their terminal/gate. Just the way it is. Hank Hank

We are fans of the MSC's Yacht Club, but have yet to cruise in the Haven. However, when in the YC, the topic has often been discussed and most we have met preferred the YC. If we happen to stumble on a Haven deal that comes close to the YC price we would be tempted to give the Haven a try. As to the Celebrity Retreat cabins, we think the big negative is that unlike the YC (or the Haven) it is not a self-contained part of the ship. Another issue we have with the retreat suites are the pricing. Retreat pricing is often even more than we pay on luxury lines, such as Seabourn, and in its best day X is no luxury line. Consider we are about to book a 32 day Seabourn cruise and the cost is under $500 per person day (which is all-inclusive of Internet, tips, all drinks, and everything else except for shore excursions). Compare that to the lowest price retreat suites with tips, drinks and internet. And consider that on lines like Seabourn items like Caviar and French Champagne do flow at no extra charge. Hank

We would expect HAL's medical staff to have information on shore physicians or contact the ship's Agent to arrange a medical appointment. My goodness, that is not asking a lot of a cruise line. Last Fall, while on a MSC cruise in the Caribbean, DW slipped on a wet deck and fractured her ankle. At the time, we were docked in Cozumel. The staff got a wheelchair and took her to the medical center where a quick X-ray confirmed the fracture. The ship's physician immediately said she was going to arrange for DW to see an Orthopedic Surgeon at the local Amerimed Hospital. A quickly call to the Agent and the appointment was arranged. 15 minutes later we were off the ship, in a taxi, and on our way to the hospital where the surgeon saw DW after a very short wait. He took new X rays, put her in a cast, sent us back to the ship, and followed-up with a call to the ship's physician who was waiting for our return. This is how it is supposed to work! Cruise lines have local "Agents" in all ports and the onboard physicians have the ability to contact those agents (and sometimes local medical facilities'). I will add that a few years ago we had another medical situation while on a Princess cruise in Asia. Again, the ship's physician recommended that DW see a specialist in Osaka and the medical center made the arrangements (and we were treated like royalty). Shame on HAL for not helping the passenger get onshore treatment. We wish the OP the best of health and hope the problem is soon resolved. Hank

This is one of those very tough questions. Trains are worthless for the Amalfi Coast other than getting you to a few towns like Sorrento (not really on the Amalfi Coast) or Sorrento. There is both bus service (SITA) and some ferry service (Amalfi, Positano, Amalfi, Sorrento) although there are far fewer ferries than one would expect. The other option is a rental car, which can be challenging for folks not used to driving in Italy and especially on crowded roads such as the Amalfi Drive. We have often had a car, but will sometimes leave it at our hotel in Praiano and simply use the orange local bus to get ourselves to Positano. On the other hand, a car does make it easier to visit some far flung areas such as Positano (no place to park), Amalfi and Ravello (our favorite 3 towns in the area. Some folks prefer to base themselves in Sorrento (a town with plenty of hotels) and arrange for private day tours (or use the SITA buses). Hank

Getting a taxi or Uber at St Paul de Vence is a reall crap shoot as it is a somewhat rural area. If there happens to be a taxi or Uber in the area you might be in luck...otherwise you may find yourself just standing around. Keep in mind there is a public bus that operates between Nice and St Paul de Vence that also stops at Cagnes sur Mer where one can get a train over to Cannes. The down side is that all this does take time which is what many folks do not have on a port day. You might also consider just renting a car in Cannes and driving to St Paul de Vence (there is a large indoor parking garage adjacent to the city entrance). A car will likely cost you less than dealing with taxis and you will gain the flexibility to do some other things such as driving over the Maeght Fondation, perhaps making a short visit to Antibes, etc. Hank

Would love to hear more about the Viking Mississippi and why the OP is unhappy (we have thought about a future Mississippi River cruise). As to Le Havre and Normandy, over the years we have been to all 5 of the D-Day beaches with Omaha being our favorite (by far) for a visit. Whether you do that on a tour or with a rental car (it is easy to drive in rural France) Omaha is a fascinating place to visit along with the nearby American Cemetery (used for some amazing shots in Saving Private Ryan). We also really enjoyed our visit to Sainte Mere Eglise (where the paratrooper landed on a church steeple) but this town is truly at its best during the annual D-Day commemorative celebrations. Around June 6, there are lots of events gong on in the region. The Memorial Museum in Caen is also worthy of a few hours, but is not usually on most port day tours. Hank

We have done several dozen crossings (in both directions at times ranging from March - November) and honestly do not think the gradual changing of the clock is a big deal. On East bound crossings, quite a few ships will push the clock ahead in the afternoon (usually at noon or 1) rather than night. It does make those lazy sea days (which we love) a little shorter, but we seldom miss the lost hour. We think both the spring and fall are terrific times to do crossings and we have sometimes done both in a single year (and can use one round trip air fare to cover both cruises). On our many crossings the weather has varied from gorgeous to awful with no way to predict more than a few days in advance. Hank

Traveling on land offers many advantages to any cruise, including the ability to go where you want without the constraints of a port day and getting back to the ship. DW and I have long enjoyed just flying (or taking a cruise) to Europe where we might spend some time in a favorite city and than simply rent/lease a car for a few weeks. A car allows us to go where we want, when we want, stay as long as we want, and not have to deal with the what we consider the horrors of bus travel. Trains are also a good option for getting from Point A to Point B, but also are very limiting when moving around outside major cities. I might add that a car allows folks to go many places not even accessible to cruisers. Just a year ago we were in Europe, flew to Prague, rented a car, drove through parts of the Czech Republic and Poland. It was a fantastic trip, we ate better than on nearly any cruise, and our cost was less than a premium or luxury cruise line. And consider that none of the areas we visited are even accessible by cruise ship (and mostly not readily visited by river cruise). We are now thinking about a driving trip, next year, that would start in Trieste (where we debark from an O cruise) and take us south to Split, through some parts of Croatia and Slovenia, up into the Austrian Alps, and back into Italy (to drop the car and fly home). Many of the places we want to drive are not accessible to any kind of cruise. While we still love cruises, we have found that for us the perfect trip combines some cruising with a land trip. The best of both worlds :). Hank

My goodness, when I was a kid we loved to eat hotdogs stuffed with cheese and wrapped with bacon. Caviar is fine, but there are times when comfort food is nice. As to the Gluten Free, there are recipe's and commercially sold gf free brioche buns. Hank

Thanks for pointing out my error. We have not looked at SS since the COVID shutdown and noticed (as a result of your post) that they do now include some excursions. I am not sure how their air currently works and whether their "air credit" for those not using their air is reasonable. One popular discussion topic, whenever we have cruised on Seabourn, has been folks comparing SB to SS...but nobody has ever mentioned the relatively new shore excursion inclusion. Hank

I think you are putting O into a category that does not fit. When we think of luxury cruise lines we think of lines where there is no tipping, just about everything is included (all drinks, internet, caviar, etc), the space ratios (tons per passenger) are in the 70 range, and all cabins are suites with decent sized bathrooms (most with shower, tub, double sink). Compare that to an O R-ship. While we will not quibble with the "premium label" some apply to O, the "luxury" term does not apply. As to Celebrity, we also moved away from that line (after attaining Elite Plus) for multiple reasons. However, I think you would get a big argument from the folks who book their "retreat" suites when you think of X as a Honda. As to paying for things you may not use, even most luxury lines (Seabourn, Silverseas, Sea Dream, Scenic, etc) do not force folks to pay for cruise line excursions! The one big exception is Regent...and what a shocker...it happens to be part of the same NCLH family that is now playing the same game with O. In fact, it is one reason we have avoided booking cruises on Regent. Hank

I will admit to not liking either Viking or O's new model. Why? DW and I are very independent travelers and strongly dislike most large group cruise line (or private) excursions. In most ports around the world we simply do our own thing and will sometimes join with a very few others to book a private tour (usually when we cannot reasonably do it on our own). When forced to pay for shore excursions as part of a fare, we will look at the options and try to find the least offensive (to us) shore excursion or just eat the cost. But since we routinely compare many cruise lines (and look for the best itinerary/value) the new O model will generally drive us towards other cruise lines that do not include the cost of excursions (i.e. Seabourn, Silverseas, Princess, Azamara, etc). We have never booked O until our recent booking because we never thought that O offered a reasonably value when compared to some of the competition. Consider that we have previously booked several Seabourn cruises for under $400 per person day (which includes a suite, tips, all drinks, unlimited internet) which also got us a luxury line with space ratios above 70 (tons per person). O, on the other hand, usually cost over $300 per person day for a basic veranda cabin and did not include booze, tips, Internet for 2 persons, caviar, etc. While Flatbush Flyer disagrees, we have long argued that the major negative of "O" (in terms of value) is their awful air program for anyone that wants Business Class and customized perks. Most other cruise lines do not have extra charges for custom air and many lines have online booking engines which let folks choose their flights, airports, dates, airlines, etc. We once were able to pay for a Princess European cruise with the savings we got from booking our Biz Class Air through their air booking engine vs the normal business class fare. No way would we ever trust a cruise (or river cruise) line to simply book our air without letting us choose the flights. Hank

We have never cruised on Windstar, but the folks we know who have cruised that line we pleased. Our problem with Windstar is that most of their cruises are quite short (often 7 days) and we tend to book cruises that are much longer (often over a month). Hank

Not sure but I do know it would not be an online option. That is one of those things you would have to call the cruise line (and maybe get transferred to their air folks). But keep in mind there are no custom air fees for those kind of calls )

Am away from home a few days and will look to see if we still have his card...when we get home, It was actually booked by the other couple and I think they used Viator (no favorite of mine) but the guide was actually quite good. Hank

Only time will tell, but we sure hope you are correct. The problems in France (not just in Paris) are a long-time clash of cultures brought on by lots of immigration (legal and illegal), a history of anger/hate brought on by French colonialism, and the long-time French policy of of what I think is an exclusionary culture/lack of assimilation. It is complicated and will not be easily rectified. About 15 years ago, DW and I were driving in Provence and decided to head over to Arles to enjoy their weekly market (we love the French outdoor markets). We were somewhat surprised (and shocked) to discover that the market in Arles was mostly North African in nature with very little evidence of traditional French culture (in terms of food products, merchandise, etc). On the other hand, you can go to the fantastic weekly Sunday market in L'Isle sur la Sorgue (our favorite market in all of France) and see the traditional French Culture without a hint of the african culture found in Arles (both places are in Provence). It is like being in two different countries with no solution on the horizon. Hank

Great minds think alike "). While we do prefer smaller ships. we have also enjoyed many cruises on larger vessels. And than there are the "ship within a ship" concepts which arguably offer the best of both worlds (we have found this on some Caribbean cruises with MSC). My vote, on O, is still out since we have yet to cruise on "O." But we are jumping in with a 35 day Vista cruise and truly look forward to making O our 18th cruise line (Explora Journeys will be #17). We can honestly say that every cruise line (and ship) has their pros/cons and the closest we found to perfection (for us) in terms of value is now gone (HAL's Prinsendam). And the current HAL product is but a mere shadow of what they line used to be. Hank

We agree with your thinking about "value" as opposed to cost. So what is the best value in cruising? We think it varies from cruise to cruise. For example, from our point of view MSC" Yacht Club is, by far, the best value for those wanting to take a 1-3 week Caribbean cruise. For many other cruises we think that Seabourn offers the best "value"...especially when you can find a voyage priced at under $500 per person/day (keep in mind that SB is truly all-inclusive without any shore excursions). We can also find a lot of "value" in some Princess cruises, and an upcoming Explora Journeys cruise was a terrific value at under $500 per person day (assuming that this new luxury line lives up to most of the hype). We will continue to give "O" consideration but have yet to cost out the "value" with the new pricing. When we do "value" analysis we simply look at the price per person/day in terms of quality and inclusions. This does give an advantage to CCL products because of their decent Biz Class air pricing (which can be done on-line via their proprietary search engine). As an example, when we cruised Seabourn to Europe (last year) our cruise ended in Monte Carlo. But we were able to use SB's Air to purchase one-way Biz Class from Prague (where we had earlier flown from Nice) to EWR for about $1000. We recently flew to Tokyo from IAD on Biz Class (British Air to JAL) for $2100 (using HAL's online booking engine which is the same as Princess and SB). None of these lines charge any kind of custom air fee and they easily allow folks to choose their own airports (which do not have to be the same as the embarkation/debarkation places). Hank Hank

I think the problem with your analysis is doing a direct comparison to private vs cruise line excursions. They are two completely different things. A cruise line excursion is generally going to be a large group (the most common will be a bus-load of 50-60 per group). often with stops at touristy shops, restaurants, etc. A private tour can be as few as 1 person, and can often be customized to the group's own specifications. A great example is a recent private tour we took in Osaka, where we joined with 1 other couple, hired a private guide, and went off to do our pre-arranged itinerary. The cost of that tour was actually less than any near-comparable cruise line excursion and we had complete control over our itinerary. Hank

What you said! It is akin to one of my posts from a few weeks ago. We do understand that "O" has many loyal fans who tend to be "one line" cruisers. Many folks who are "one line" cruisers traditionally do not even look beyond their favorite line and often talk about making a big change to another line. For some reason, these folks cannot deal with the idea of cruising many lines (we have been on 16 lines to date). For the "one line" folks who liked the option of booking cruise-only with "O," they have indeed run out of cruise lines. Finding a premium or luxury line that has truly cruise-only pricing no longer exists. Even mass market lines have been moving to various inclusions (such as drink packages) although you can still find true cruise only pricing if you use a decent cruise agency. So, where do one-line "O" folks go to find what the previously loved about "O?" At the moment, I think they are generally out of luck (and options). And this sudden movement towards Azamara does not consider that they also have some inclusions and are actually a pretty small cruise line. Although we look forward to our upcoming Vista cruise (booked under the previous O-life rules), we simply consider "O" one option out of many. Our next 3 cruises are on Explora Journeys (Luxury), Princess (mass market) and O (premium). Beyond that we will likely soon book another cruise with Seabourn (our current favorite line). The variety of using many different lines always keeps our cruises "fresh" with completely different menus, entertainment, and atmosphere. The new "all in" does not impress us since we seldom take any cruise line excursion (we are long time DIY folks). And we see no reason to deal with "O" air since we prefer to fly Biz Class and "O" has that ridiculous custom air fee along with lousy Biz Class pricing. Hank

Been there, done that (twice) but did it with a rental car. When we went (a few years ago) there were no timed tickets and the place could be a real zoo in the busy summer time. Our 2nd visit was in early October, which was absolutely perfect with the Fall weather and small crowd. You might want to contact the tourist office if Rouen (https://en.visiterouen.com/practice/information/contact-us/the-tourist-office/). It looks like they are active on both Facebook and Twitter (links on their web page) to ask if there are any local tours that go to Giverny. By the way, at Giverny you not only have the garden (with the lilly pond) but there is also his house with its interesting art collection (he liked to collect Japanese art). Hank

I will give you some anecdotal info based on dozens of TAs and other air trips to and from Europe. While we agree with Heidi13 , we seldom concern ourselves with bringing our drugs on cruises to and around Europe. That being said, I will emphasize that we do not carry any kind of narcotic product...that being a big concern in many countries. We usually have all our prescription drugs in original bottles which do have the usual prescribing info that will satisfy most authorities. On probably 100+ trips to Europe (over many years) nobody has ever even asked about our prescription drugs. Since our European trips are generally about 2 months (give or take) we often carry a 3 month supply of prescription drugs and some OTC products. I would again stress that none of our script drugs contain narcotics. Taking any kind of narcotic on an international trip does require extra research and extreme caution. One other caution is about any drug that contains "Sudafed" (pseudoephedrine). This drug is prohibited or restricted in various countries around the world (although it is OTC in the USA) and is also contained in many other OTC products. As a simple example, it is illegal to bring any pseudoephedrine product into Mexico, Japan, etc. Hank