Hlitner

Your post got our attention as we will soon be back on Ocean Cay (our third visit). We only recall one beach set-up for the YC folks (it is to the right of the restaurant) and we had to be on that beach if we wanted the usual YC service. But the YC is actually on a separate island (from the main island) and there are two other beaches, The one on the internal lagoon side is called Great Lagoon Beach and I recall that it was pretty sandy with the benefit of a sheltered lagoon for swimming. The other beach is Ocean Beach which is open to the sea (we never walked out to that beach). Our visits were all soon after Ocean Cay opened and if we had gone anywhere but to the YC Beach (which is certainly not the best beach) there would have been no YC service/waiters. Hank

Istanbul (one of our favorite cities to visit) is fine for DIY, but you really should have a game plan. It is also helpful if you are good walkers since one can cover a lot of ground by walking. You also need to consider that many of the most popular sites will take more time than one might expect. Topkaki is an expansive site that can take hours to explore. In fact, one could make a case to go to Topkapi, than walk over the Blue Mosque, and if you still have time you might want to head towards the Covered (Grand) Bazaar area for some fun. And this is just scratching the surface of what this city has to offer :). For those who have previously been to Istanbul and the usual sites we also like the Underground Bascilica Cistern. DW and I had been in Istanbul 3 or 4 times (including some multi-day stays) before we finally ventured down into the Underground Cistern and we could not believe that we had somehow ignored this interesting place on all of our previous visits. Hank

I doubt if the cruise line (any cruise line) can do much to clean up the issues at that terminal. You are talking about the New York Port Authority, Longshoreman Union (ILA) and cruise lines must keep hands off anything on shore. We have also been involved in a ILA fiasco at the Manhattan cruise terminal when union members warned folks not to even think about entering the terminal with their luggage during the ILA member's lunch hour. The bottom line is that if cruise lines want to use the NY ports they have to put up with this stuff and the cruisers pay the price. I will add that we do like driving to the Red Hook port since parking is very convenient to the ship. Hank

Whip me with a noodle :). My bad and should have mentioned the Cathedral (a very easy deviation as one walks along the Malecon). Hank

Yep, completely sums up as more me, me, me. Tis the modern way. No way would anyone want to show some respect for others. And books do often get judged by their cover because first impressions are lasting and important. It is why publishers pay a lot of money for cover design. Hank

If you have never been to PV, than we have a very basic suggestion which assumes you are physically able to stroll (no hurry) a little more than a mile. Take a taxi (you can use a taxi from within the port or walk outside and get a local taxi) into town (about 3 miles) and ask the driver to drop you by the Rosita Hotel (everyone knows this place). You than start walking along the water on the Malecon. You can admire the various sculptures you encounter, browse shops, stop for a drink/food, etc. The area is very safe (just take normal precautions against pick pockets) and there will be plenty of other folks around (both gringos and Mexicans). As you get near the small river (Rio Cujale) you can explore the small island, the nearby flea market, etc. Cross the pedestrian bridge (over the Rio Cujale) and you will enter the Romantic Zone (Old Town) where you can continue walking, exploring, eating, drinking, shopping. There are lots of eating venue (on and off the beach) where you can enjoy some lunch before heading back to the port for your excursion. You would want to grab a taxi (back to the port) by 2pm (at the latest) which will get you back to the port in time to meet your excursion. This particular self walking tour does also give you an opportunity if you want to stop along the beach (in the Romantic Zone). There are bars/restaurants that have chairs, loungers, etc. on the beach where you can relax with a drink or lunch. If you want to dip your feet in the sea, bring along a towel and you can just grab a spot on the beach and take a dip (the best swimming area is on the south side of the Romantic Zone past the pier. Hank

You will need to walk through a good part of town to get to the taxi parking area (located near the bus station). Taxis to Oia are a fixed rate and used to be 25€ (one way). But I would not be surprised if that price has increased in recent months. The slightly bigger problem is getting a return taxi as there are many times when taxis are not sitting around Oia.

I think the events of recent months have made any handholding something from a bygone era. Travel professionals have been overwhelmed by 10s of thousands of cancelled flights, airport bottlenecks, last minute itinerary changes (including within the cruise industry), etc. There are simply not enough skilled customer service folks to handle the needs of the masses that need help. Those of us who are well versed in independent travel generally have ideas on how to "think on the fly," cope with problems, find solutions, etc. One can just read some of the CC threads and understand that many folks are not up to the task of handling major travel problems. We have witnessed it on our own recent trips. Just looking at folks in airports who are crying hysterically (have seen this a few times), angry beyond reason, lashing out at innocent workers, etc. is very sad, Here on CC we have said, for the past 3 years, that having a working Smart Phone has become a necessity for travel, and yet we constantly see folks arguing to the contrary! Well trust me when I again say that a working Smart Phone is the key to resolving many problems that arise during travel. Without a phone (that works) you will often be out of luck and one more person sitting in an airport (or elsewhere) with tears in your eyes as you simply have no clue what comes next. As a senior who was late to the Smart Phone world, I am still discovering new apps, capabilities, etc. But our iPhones have bailed us out of multiple difficulties in the past few trips. My advice to the OP is "do your homework!" Do not depend on the cruise line to tell you options to get to the next port but do your own research and identify all the possible options. Whenever things have gone wrong for us (with travel) we usually find ourselves having to solve most of the issues. Those who wait around for others to solve issues may well find themselves waiting around for hours (or days) with nothing but frustration. I will give you an example. We have an upcoming cruise (in a few weeks) out of Miami Our original plans were to fly (from BWI) the afternoon before the cruise and spend a pre-cruise night in a Miami hotel. But with all the airline cancellations we felt very uncomfortable with those arrangements. So we changed our flight to 2 days before the cruise and changed our hotel to a Miami Beach resort hotel (2 nights). We also moved that flight to the earliest flight of the day which decreases the odds of a flight problem. This leaves us with a "Plan B" of a later flight and a "Plan C" of simply walking out of the airport, jumping in our car, and driving 18 hours to the port! The idea of sitting around and waiting for the airline or a cruise line to solve issues is just not our style. Hank Hank

I do not think the world or cruise industry works in a way that you would find satisfying. When things go wrong the options/solutions are on a case by case basis and often handled by third parties (such as a third party travel company that handles air arrangements for many cruise lines). In practice, solutions are often negotiated. When DW was injured in Asia and we had to get her medically evacuated to the USA, everything came down to a negotiation between me, the ship's physician, our insurance company, and a third party travel agent (provided by the insurance company). It all came down to a multi-party phone conversation between all those parties with decisions made on the spot. Nobody held us by the hand (which seems like what you want) and provided solid answers. What happened was we identified several options and I had to make a quick decision and I had to make a quick decision on what to do. If things go wrong with transportation to a cruise you get into a similar situation. There have been posts about folks who missed their cruise, called the cruise line emergency number, and were advised to work directly with the airline as it is faster than using a third party. In other cases, folks have not been able to catch-up to their ship and were simply flown back home. These days, there are often no good air options because of fewer flights and available seats. If folks cannot handle the uncertainly that comes with all travel, the solution would be for them to simply stay home. Just last March, while on our way home from Mexico, we missed an AA connection in Dallas because of a flight delay. That happened on a Saturday night and the earliest AA could get us home turned out to be Tuesday night! Why? It was Spring Break for many schools, and every flight to airports within a couple of hours from our home were fully booked for 3 days! In the end we managed to get home on Monday by flying to an airport 5 1/2 hours from our home and renting a car (at our own expense) for the long drive home! My point is that these are the issues faced by the cruise line (and their third-party air offices) when trying to deal with folks who miss a cruise embarkation. When things go wrong you are just one of thousands (or more) each with their own unique set of issues. Hank