Captain Canuck

only hope for NBC is hiring Megyn Kelly

I thought we were talking news...NBC quit reporting news years ago

I took a summer school course in Rome while I was in university and spent 5 weeks there. It was a classics course and basically involved touring all the main sites with a Professor as our guide. Saw a lot but still did not see it all. Have been back a few times but never with more than a few days. My 2 cents is to do it on your own. Planning is the key. If you want to tour the Vatican museum or the Colosseum just be aware that these eat up a lot of time. So if you want to cover a lot I would keep that in mind. If the Sistine Chapel is on your bucket list then try and plan this to take the least amount of time. You can find out the best times to go and prebuy tickets. Hope you have fun

its only the #1 network so why would cruise lines pay attention to what their customers WANT

what is the difference between a Canadian and a canoe

a canoe might tip

ok we tip in Canada for restaurants etc..but not to the level that they do in the US.

my worst tipping experience was in Thailand...met at the airport by an older guy who took us to our tour company vehicle...was not sure of protocol so slipped him a few bucks...turns out he was the owner of the company

so great you are checking what protocol is

bar across the street from my law school was called the Library..much smarter than calling it the Library Bar....guys could tell their wife or girlfriend they were going to the Library and not technically lie...part of the training in loose adherence to the truth

just checked your itinerary...looks like you spend a lot of days in port. this is time you will not be using your balcony. I would stick with the outside cabin. you can always go on an upper deck to enjoy outside.

when we started cruising we always booked inside guarantee. pay for ijnside cabin but get moved up when that level of cabin sells out. being in western Canada our airfare normally costs the same or more than the cruise. we got upgraded to at least an outside cabin and often a balcony doing this most of the time. we only stayed in an inside cabin once. we saved a lot of money. then got used to having a balcony so mostly do that now.

you can also save a ton of $ by booking your own excursions and not taking the ships offerings. they mostly use the local tour operators and tack on their cut. we use the ship tours in places like the Amalfi coast where you can expect to be late getting back to the ship. they wait for their tours but not independents. one of the best features of cruise critic is getting together with other passengers to share excursions. find your roll call and see what is being organized.

have fun

nice to see you cruising again

we stayed on the Lido. got there by using the water bus..much cheaper than the water taxi. hotel a lot cheaper than in Venice proper. we lucked out and got a room overlooking the canal. about a 10 minute water bus ride to St Marks. you can get passes for 24 or 72 hours (at least you could check website)

from cruise critic lots of suggestions to stay near port by train station. you can get there by land taxi or airport bus. there is a people mover from the square to the port.

recommend the secret tour of the Doge's palace. Includes secret floor in the palace and the cell where they kept Cassanova.

never had to pay a drop off in Florida..but have not rented in awhile..posting so I can find this and see answers.

that info on the tracks was good advice

trains to Civi are on the far right side of the terminal...kind of cannot even see them from the main part of the station

and 2 gypsy girls tried to help me with out luggage

I am 6 foot 4 and 230...I was bigger than them both put together...but one of them grabbed a bag and demanded money...Italy has to do something about this or it will kill tourism

-for Rome

second searching the boards...somebody put up a full desciption with photos of how to use the trains to Rome..remember to validate your train ticket..yellow boxes on pillars in the station..just insert your ticket and it time stamps it....if you don't its like you tried to ride free as the ticket is still usable on another day

in Rome watch out for pickpockets...tend to work tourist zones..there is a circle bus that hits all the major spots (think its #62 ) . just be aware

with a day in Rome you will not have time to go inside much..you could spend your whole day at the Vatican or the Coliseum ..with a day you can do an overview and pick 1 or 2 things. I spend 5 weeks there as a student in University and did not see everything. so plan what you want to see. hop on hop off bus works well for an overview.

we did Pisa and Florence on our own. took the train to Florence. again if you want to see the Ufizi and David it will take your entire day. if doing that likely best to pre buy tickets. we were mostly into taking pictures of Florence so simply walked around. but again I had been there before.

in Pisa the Tower is further from the train station than we thought. had to run to catch the train back to the ship.

in planning train travel I would also aim for the second to last train so you have a plan b.

Italy tends to have strikes (less so now I think) so you may want a plan C

hope you have fun

we took a cab...mistake as we had to hail on the street...car service will pick you up at your hotel

good thing we did was take a printout of instrucitons to the port...our cab driver had never been to port of Red Hook..to make it worse there was construction and there were detours ..signage for which was really poor....our having google map printed out helped our guy get us there

you can get a visa service to act on your behalf to get the visa. much cheaper than going in person. new visas are good for the life of your passport...go for a multiple entry so that you will be covered should you have another trip in that time period.

driving on an unfamiliar side of the road is one thing...LA is a thing in itself. I live in a city of just under a million people...bad traffic is half hour from edge of city to downtown. LA can be nuts.

you are right about $770 for transfers being a lot. Vegas has shuttles right outside the terminal at the airport. little booths where you buy your transfer to the hotel. for 4 of you a cab would be cheaper.

LA also has Uber.

since you have time in Long Beach you could visit the Queen Mary. My dad was an MP on it when it was a troop ship in WWII.

another option would be to book a bus tour that picks up at your hotel. we stayed at an airport hotel last time we cruised in LA. day tour did all the normal tourist stuff. view of Hollywood sign etc. more relaxing than driving.

if your TA put together a package deal I am suprised they did not book transfers to the hotel and the ship. We did a package like this from Vancouver one time and the transfers were included.

If you are not familiar with driving in LA especially since you drive on the wrong side of the road doing a rental car on you own might not be optimal.

How many people in your party. shuttles from LAX to Long Beach run from as low as $18 US per person.

Would be around the same from your hotel.

good luck. especially in Vegas

last poster brought up important point...2 cruise ports in LA....Long Beach and San Pedro. make sure you know which port you are leaving from.

was going to recommend this hotel...we stayed there post cruise...good location with decent room and a buffet breakfast for reasonable price

checked and realized this was in 2003...so went on internet and reviews still good

from what I have researched for previous cruises there are not rental car agencies that are located at the port. I would do a search on cruise critic for better info. you can likely do drop off in long beach but not right at the pier. good luck

did not notice the Orlando part.

never cruised out of Orlando

all depends..the hotel you are staying at may have a shuttle to the hotel..problem with those shuttles is a lot of people staying at your hotel will be going on the cruise so the shuttles book up fast...

one of the last times we did this in Fort Lauderdale a shuttle company was in the lobby when we checked in selling one way and return shuttle service to and from the ship

if your hotel does not have a shuttle there are lots of companies that do this...like super shuttle...most of these are online and you can google to find

I also suggest you find the roll call for your cruise on cruise critic..lots of info will be there on EVERYTHING related to your cruise..you the search function on the upper right tool bar

have fun

I used to be seriously into cameras. back in 35 mm film days.

now have a Sony DSC H400

has an amazing 63 times optical zoom and 20 megapixel

probably under $300 in the US.

got a couple of spare lithium batteries cheap online. all you really need for normal photography and no longer carry 50 pounds of gear

been on a few...go mostly in spring or fall

pros

1, cheaper cruises and airfare

2. less crowded in Europe at the tourist places

3. milder temps

4. kids in school

CONS

1. less choice on cruises and airfare

I would prebook show and dinner reservations online before your cruise. you can always attempt to change these should your plans change once aboard.but since the shows can fill up when you want them its better to have something booked

its been awhile but when we were on the Oasis they released booked show tickets just prior to the show for people who did not show up...you can gamble on getting in that way too but I would only do that for an earlier performance for a show you have booked..you can then release your booking.

ship is amazing and is destination on its own

google your ship and type of cabin and you will find deck plans

if you have an obstructed cabin this is normally due to a lifeboat hanging outside

we have had this where the lifeboat is hanging below the level of our balcony so you could not see directly down..did not obstruct view to the ocean so did not bother me..in fact as I have a fear of heights it was good

once you know your cabin # you can figure out better what kind of obstruction you may have