Hlitner

I will not go into a lot of detail as there is tons of info on the Internet. But of those 3 ports, Rhodes is the one easiest handled on your own, by simply walking. You dock in Rhodes Town, and the popular Old Town is a stone's throw from the port. Unless you plan on going elsewhere on the island (they do have some excellent beaches) one can handle Rhodes Town with a little pre-trip homework. As to Cyprus, we have only been there one time and it is an island where one should either book a private tour or a cruise line excursion. The alternative would be to rent a car, but most cruisers do not do this on first time visits. Crete is a huge island (over 3000 square miles) and any recommended itinerary would depend on which port you visit. From Iraklion, most first timers will go to Knossos which can be done on an excursion, private tour, rental car, regional bus, etc. Lots of options depending on your preference. Iraklion also has an excellent archeological museum (with a good number of artifacts coming from Knossos. As to Chania, we actually enjoy going into the city. But one can also get to Knossos, although it is a longer drive. Hank

This stuff can drive anyone nutz. We came off the Sky, last December, with a refundable balance of $436. A few days ago it occurred to me that we never saw the check so I called Princess. They quickly found the check number in their computer and told me it was for $400. When I asked what happened to the other $36 (we actually have a post cruise statement from Princess that shows that amount) they had no answer and said, the check was cut for $400. What happened to that check? Who knows? We are in the process of trying to get it reissued. Not going to fight about the lost $36 for which the phone folks have no clue. Hank

Nope, although we will be on Silversea in December, For Japan is on the Seabourn Quest. Hank

We have a few suggestions, but much would depend on how important you value a few hours in Athens. There are Luggage Storage places in town (we know of places in Monstiraki and Syntagma) so, you could take a taxi into town (from the port), put your luggage into storage, and enjoy a few hours before retreiving you luggage and getting a taxi out to ATH. If you have already seen enough of Athens, we agree with the idea of staying aboard as long as possible before heading to the airport. Having lounge access at the airport is a nice plus. With a 5pm flight, if it is to a place outside the Schengen countries, you would probably want to be at the airport by 2 (2:30 at the latest). Another possibility is to contact the ATH Sofitel (within easy walking distance of the airport terminal) to see if they will rent you a day room. Hank

100 fine? Too much Ouzo ::)

I would not have an issue visiting Lithuania, which is very far from both of the current wars. At the moment, the Baltic is OK (although nobody is visiting Russia). Without getting into politics, Lithuania has some degree of protection since they are in NATO. At least for the moment, even Putin has not seen fit to test Nato's Article 5. The closest we have been to Lithuania is when we visited Estonia. Speaking of eastern Europe, we found Poland a really nice country to visit. We were shocked to find that most of their roads were in better shape than our roads here in Pennsylvania :). The eastern European countries (including the Baltic nations) might be one of the answers to the over tourism problem that is found throughout much of western Europe. To us, it is fun to go to places before they are discovered by tourism and eastern Europe is one of those areas yet to be discovered :). Hank

Greece certainly gets more than its share of awful heat waves and it can happen in June, July, August, etc. One never knows! The odds of less hear are much better if you travel in April, May, October, etc. We will be back in late August/early September and are keeping our fingers crossed. We have been in Athens when it was soooo hot (over 115 f) that most folks stayed indoor (with A/C) until the sun went down (when it was still hot). We were last in Athens in early May, and the weather was beautiful. But there are no guarantees. Hank

Sorry I did not take a photo of the bar menus. Since we purchased the drink package, we paid little attention to the pricing. But most drinks were in the $12-$15 range. For us, the simple equations was that if we had 3 or more drinks per day, the drink upgrade package made sense. For only 1 or 2 drinks, just order what you want and pay the price. As to the Founders Bar, we befriended one of the bar tenders that worked a few hours, per day, in that venue. I tried a couple of their unique cocktails, and disliked every sip! Nothing wrong with the concoctions, but I am primarily a whiskey (straight or on the rocks) or a simple martini kind of guy. If a drink has more than two items, it is likely not for me. DW loves her Cosmos (and they make good Cosmos on the Vista) and also likes various adjustments (like a Mango Cosmo or a Guava Cosmo). But, even she could not get excited by the Founders Bar. During our pre-dinner cocktail time Martinis was packed. If the quartet was playing in the Grand Lounge, it also had a good crowd. Walk through the Founders Bar, and there were usually no more than 6-8 patrons and many of the chairs are along the walkway. We do understand that some folks really enjoy the "different" kind of cocktails, which are often designed so that you do not taste the booze. Me, I want to taste the booze...good booze. My father used to say, "why ruin a decent scotch with mixers" and that is my philosophy when it comes to scotch, bourbon cognac, etc. Hank

Visit where? Europe is a pretty big place and most parts are not directly impacted by the ongoing war. Your comment reminds me of a European who told me they did not want to come to the USA because they keep reading about all the shootings in Chicago! DW and I have been traveling, internationally, for a very long time. If we let our trips be defined by conflicts, fear of conflicts, politics, climate disasters, etc. we would never leave our home. When we went to Egypt (for a several week independent trip) several friends told us we were crazy. The terrorist attack at Luxor, was still in many minds, and the world political situation was keeping many folks away from Egypt. For us, this meant it was the time to go since we thought the situation quite stable (Mubarak was still in power), prices were very good, and overtourism was not a problem. It was one of our best trips, in over 50 years of extensive travel. The Egyptians were not only friendly and helpful. but more than a few thanked us for coming to their country. I do get that many folks have lots of anxiety and fears about world travel. But there are also plenty of us who simply work with the situation that exists and continue our traveling ways. Even during COVID, we managed to travel (to the Keys and Mexico). If folks want to find a reason to stay home, there will always be good reasons. For those of us with the travel/cruise bug, staying home is not an acceptable solution. Hank

Perhaps true, but not really an issue for cruise line operators. Whether a ship is full on constant 7 day voyages, or full on a 30 day voyage, they are still full :). We have done several long transpacific cruises, and the ships were always sold-out. In fact, some cruise lines will get more money, per passenger day, for that kind of cruise. But longer, more adventurous cruises are apparently not in MSC's DNA. For DW and me, that severely limits the cruises we will even consider, on MSC. I have no desire to cruise on MSC, in Europe, because they operate like ferry boats on shorter itineraries. MSC will embark/disembark folks at numerous ports along their routes, and we think that destroys the "cruise experience." We do a lot of European cruising (heading back in a few weeks for our 2nd cruise/trip of this year) but there is nothing done by MSC that has ever caught our interest. Ironically, MSC has a huge presence in Europe, but they are focused on very short itineraries. Hank

We certainly would not want to be cruising to Ukraine (been there twice). Odessa and Yalta were very interesting cruise ports. We have had two cruises, this year, that changed their itineraries to avoid calling at Turkey, which is a country that DW and I really enjoy visiting. In fact, we needed to book air to Tokyo, for next spring, and decided to use Turkish Air so we could stopover in Istanbul for a few days. We have also driven into and through parts of Poland, during the war, and other than seeing lots of Ukrainian flags and some small nightly pro Ukraine demonstrations in Krakov, life was very normal. I think the much bigger problem for the cruise industry is losing the use of the Red Sea and Suez Canal. This has disrupted many cruises and caused all kinds of difficulties for cruise lines that have struggled to repurpose/relocate ships. The Black Sea issue will likely end as soon as the war ends. But what is happening in the Red Sea seems like a problem that may be difficult to solve. Even when the war in Gaza ends, those Houthis may be difficult to control. I fear that the Red Sea/Suez Canal will remain closed, to cruise ships, for many years. Hank

I think you accurately reflect our own thought process, when it comes to cruises. What makes us somewhat different, from many cruisers, is that we have no loyalty to any specific line (we will soon cruise on our 18th line) but do look at itinerary, amenities, value, quality, etc. The MSC YC ticks a lot of our boxes but does lack in terms of itineraries. In the YC, we have only booked the regular YC outside suites. On our last to MSC voyages, we had the opportunity to upgrade to Royal Suites, but we could not see the cost/benefit for us. We spend very little waking time in our suite (we love to be out and about, socializing, on the sundeck, etc). The Royal Suite would get us the same food, same booze, same entertainment, etc. All that extra space is nice, but for us, would be mostly unused. But that is why there are different categories of cabins, different ships, and different itineraries. Lots of variety make it all fun. In a few weeks we will be back cruising the waters of Croatia and Greece. Next spring we will be back in Japan and eventually cruise around Japan and over to Alaska. These are the kind of voyages we cannot get with MSC or even Explora Journeys. We would love to see MSC expand beyond their current offerings but will not hold our breath. We would love to do a long transpacific cruise (a southern route) on MSC! Perhaps someday. Hank

Cruise lines actually pay decent commissions, overrides, and even bonuses. Many cruise/travel agencies are also part of major "consortiums" such as Signature, which represent hundreds/thousands of agencies, have lots of clout, and also get their members some additional perks. As to Certifications, there are quite a few different options within the travel/cruise industry. The Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) has several continuing ed deignations including CCC, ACC, MCC, and ECC. Of these, those with MCC and ECC have an awful lot of knowledge and training. You also have other travel certifications including the coveted CTA (Certified Travel Associate) issued by the Travel Institute. None of these are run by the various cruise lines. Some cruise lines do have internal designations for agencies (Oceania is a good example) but whether this is real continuing ed or more of a marketing scheme is open to debate. The reality is that the cruise lines really do their best to entice cruise/travel agencies to handle bookings. Two major mass market lines have told me (I talked to their reps) that approximately 80% of their bookings came from outside agencies. Although the cruise lines must pay generous commissions to these agencies, they benefit by not having to handle the additional volume in-house...which is very expensive. I might mention that once upon a time, one cruise line (Renaissance Cruises) thought they could operate their company without the help of outside agencies. They did all their bookings in-house (mostly via the phone and some Internet). That company only lasted about 12 years (during which they had one major change of ownership) and went bankrupt shortly after the downturn caused by the Gulf War. Despite having 8 fine (and identical) ships (R1 - R8) they never did well, financially. Certainly, trying to go it on their own, without using outside agencies, did contribute to their demise. The legacy of Renaissance is that their 8 ships are alive and well and with lines like Oceania and Azamara. Hank

I guess we need to pack our own coasters, before we cruise on the Shadow :).

We have been using cruise/travel agents for our 50+ years of travel. The agencies/agents we use pay us...we do not pay them. When we book a cruise, we generally get 7-10% back in the form of On-Board Credit or even a cash rebate! Since we do a lot of cruising, we save thousands of dollars a year by simply shopping for the best deal among our favored group of reputable cruise agencies. As to how to find decent agents/agencies, the best way is to simply socialize and talk to other cruisers (usually on cruises). Over the decades we have learned a lot about the industry, travel agents, airlines, and travel, by simply socializing at cruise ship bars, sharing dinner tables with other cruisers, etc. Some of our best trips (all over the world) have happened because of ideas we got from chatting with other cruisers. My favorite cruise agents (one has been in the business over 30 years and the other about 10 years) are happy to help folks, but time is money, and they prefer customers who really book cruises and do not take-up too much of their time. I am talking about high volume agents who may handle dozens of booking a day! These agents have professional designations such as Master Cruise Counselor (MCC) that come from lots of experience and continuing ed from various professional organizations (such as CLIA). Hank

Lots of hotel options. Our own favorite is an older European-style hotel called the Hotel Colon. It is in the heart of the Gothic Quarter (across the street from the Cathedral) within easy walking distance of the Ramblas, metro, etc. Hank

If staying for more than a couple of days we would suggest going to some of the other islands. Murano is an easy trip and a nice place to walk around, browse shops, etc. Our favorite island is Burano, which is a much longer ride (still covered by a vaporetto pass) and a bit more residential than the other islands. Burano does have a main street and its share of restaurants. Hank

The enormous increase in both the size and number or mega ships, has led to an anti-cruise ship attitude we have felt in many parts of the world. As one who has loved cruising for over 50 years, I find the situation very sad. Ports that DW and I used to love (such as Santorini) are how places we prefer to avoid. And even with our extensive land trips, we find ourselves avoiding major cruise ports. When we island hop in Greece, we do not go to places like Santorini and Mykonos, but rather choose islands (such as Naxos or Paxos) that do not host cruise ships. The reality is that spending $1000 a night for a decent boutique hotel in Oia, is not a great option if one tries to go out for breakfast and finds that its almost impossible to move through the narrow streets. Places like Santorini, Riomaggiore, and now Dubrovnik, are beginning to drown in overtourism! Consider Barcelona. They built an excellent cruise port that can handle 5 mega ships per day. The city is large enough to absorb quite a few cruisers. But we recall one day, when we were in Barcelona with 11 other ships! They had cruise ships docked all over the region, including at many piers intended for commercial shipping. We have been in ports where there are traffic jams of tenders! And than you have cruise lines, such as Princess, that sends a huge ship As an avid traveler, who still has some spirit of adventure, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find destinations not completely overrun by tourism. In some cases, one can go to a cruise port city, and simply avoid the few places that tend to attract cruisers and day trippers. While the walled old town of Dubrovnik is becoming like Oia, one can still say out in areas like Lapad which are not visited by cruise excursions (or most cruise passengers). But on Santorini, there is no longer anywhere to go to escape the crowds. Even places like Red Beach, can become too darn crowded. We think that Santorini is going the way of St Thomas, which forty years ago was a terrific island on which to vacation. Now, we wouldn't even consider that island. We still love the beauty of Santorini, but the crowds have really ruined the charm. And unlike many places, even if you wait to late afternoon there are likely to still be thousands of cruisers on the island. Hank I am nto sure I see a good solution to overtourism. There are places and ways to avoid the masses, but they are often very pricey or difficult to access.

You are preaching to the choir :). We have been fans of the YC ever since our first MSC YC cruise on the Divina. But, and this is the big but, we are also big fans of luxury cruise lines. There are very big differences. One might also consider that luxury lines can cost about the same as the YC, but also can cost 2 or even 3 times the YC cost (depending on the line, the itinerary, and the suite category). Sadly, we currently have no future MSC bookings because of the limited itineraries. One major advantage to most of the luxury lines are the smaller size of their ships. It allows them to go to ports not normally available to the large ships (such as with MSC). Consider our upcoming small ship luxury cruise in the Caribbean. It goes to places like Guadeloupe, Montserrat, and St Barts (along with 5 other ports), When we last did MSC in the Caribbean, we did not even bother getting off the ship in any of the ports except Ocean Cay. For us, the YC was a superior destination than most of ports. I guess one down side to being old is "been there, done that, too many times." In ports like St Thomas, Ocho Rios or San Juan, we would normally be happier on the ship. Nothing wrong with those ports, but after the first 30 or so visits staying on the ship is a great alternative. Hank

I agree that is a big plus.

You have two issues. 1. You need to put together or join a small group and 2. Somebody in your group needs to arrange for a private vehicle/driver/guide, A good starting place is the CC Roll Call board for your specific cruise. If nobody has already proposed a tour, you might want to post your idea and see if you can get some other folks to show an interest. At that point you can look for a tour provider. Many of us here on CC have had good results with Romeinlimo.com, but there are certainly other companies. Another option is to simply rent a car (we have often suggested using Sifracar.com) and simply driving yourself (or a small group) to Riomaggiore. At that town, there is free parking along the approach road (although you might have quite a hike into town) or paid parking at an indoor garage/parking lot located near where the road enters town. We have never seen a reason to have a guide at Cinque Terre. You are talking about 5 relatively small villages that are all overrun with tourists. They are connected by a train line (you can buy a day pass or individual tickets) and there are also some small ferry boats that can be used to get around between the villages. There are also some hiking trails (that connect the villages) although few cruisers are that ambitious. Trying to do all 5 villages on a port day is, in our opinion, madness, so we suggest you plan on going to 2 or 3 of the villages. Once in any of these villages, the only way to get around is walking! If you do hire a car/driver, they can drive you to several of the villages (so you do not need to use the train or a ferry). I have done this with our own rental car. But, there is a lot to say about just parking at Riomaggiore and using the train. There is also a lot of parking at the far end of the villages (Monterosso al Mare) but this is much further from Livorno. Parking at (or even near) the other villages can be quite difficult which is why we like to park at one of the end villages and use the train. I feel obligated to add a comment about overtourism. When we were last at Cinque Terre (this past April) even we were surprised at the large crowds in all the villages we visited. This was at the edge of the shoulder season, but the crowds rivaled what we used to see during the prime summer season. Although the settings are still beautiful, a lot of the charm (especially in Riomaggiore) has been lost to the big crowds, touristy shops/cafes, etc. We tried to "adjust" by going to Corniglia, which is the least visited village because of the difficulty in getting to the town (you need a shuttle bus from the train station or a long hike). But even Corniglia was pretty crowded! Argh! Hank

Let me toss out a thought. If you are in the largest, most amazing suite, of a Holiday Inn, you have a lot of exclusivity, but you are still in a Holiday Inn! On the other hand, if you are staying at a Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton, things are not so bad :). Think about it. Hank

Just noticed your old post and apologize for never having responded. DW and I spend weeks on the beach near those guys who clean and sell the oysters. They haul in big bags of Oysters, every morning, clean/shuck them and serve them on the beach. They have a couple of roving vendors who carry them all along the beach (they are on plastic plates with bags of ice to keep them semi-cool). As much as I love fresh oysters, I have avoided buying from that operation because I am cautious about oysters being handled outdoors on a hot beach. Several of our friends love and eat those oysters. We do have one friend, who ate them for years, before she got quite sick about 2 years ago. She assumed her illness was due to bad oysters, but one can never be certain of what might have caused her situation. I cannot know if those are "old oysters" since I do see them arrive, every day, in large burlap bags. I have no clue from where they come. their age, or whether they have been kept consistently cold. While I do sometimes eat oysters in PV, I only get them at restaurants that I have trusted for many years. Some of the best I have eaten were at El Brujo, although their oysters are cooked (their version of a kind of oysters Rockefeller). I have been told that the Blue Shrimp also has decent oysters, but DW and I have avoided that nearby restaurant because we always thought it was overpriced. Hank

Keep in mind that Japan has a fantastic rail system. Being in the "same spot" does not necessarily mean you must do the same things. Consider that when we spent a week in Kyoto, we decided to go to Hiroshima on a day trip. Since we had a JR Rail Pass, making that trip cost us nothing but time. It is over 200 miles between those two cities, but with the fast Japanese trains it does become a relatively easy day trip! Have an extra day in Yokohama? Perhaps take the train to Kamakura! Knowing that Japan has this wonderful rail system means you can be looking a bit further afar...for ways to fill days. As to Tokyo, it is a huge sprawling city with many different neighborhoods. They are all connected by an excellent Metro (subway) system and a circle train line (Yamanote Line) The stations do have plenty of English signs, and a working smartphone can really help deal with directions. In many ways, Japan was built for tourism. Good public transit, wonderful trains, helpful folks, and all in a very safe country. Hank

Always good to have some hard copy proof such as the credit card bill. Guest Services folks are usually very friendly but will often serve as a conduit to send e-mails to other onboard staff who actually deal with the issue. Always check your account (which you can do on the Princess app) or you can also stop near Guest Services where they have an automatic machine that will spit out your detailed account. When we need to see Guest Relations, I usually go early in the morning (I am an early riser) or late at night, when there is no queue. Those folks are there 24/7 so no need to go during the day when there can be a long queue. Princess has both refundable and non-refundable items on the onboard accounts. Non-refundable are a use it or lose it proposition and you need to use it before the end of your cruise. The refundable On Board Credit (OBC) will be refunded to you although any larger amounts are sent to you, via check, a few weeks after the cruise. If you get a pre-paid meal refunded, it should be refundable. Hank