lynncarol

Bring carry-ons only. You probably will never see these people again so what difference does it make if you wear the same outfit several times Always do the early self-disembarkations when returning to home port. You will be on your way to the airport while others are still waiting for their luggage to be off-loaded Try to get to the departure port a day early. This relieves a lot of stress for my husband especially If you have a delicate GI track, bring your over-the-counter meds. They do not sell this stuff onboard as they really want folks to be seen and cleared by the ship's doctor. {An expensive proposition} Of course, if you are really sick, you owe it to your fellow passengers to get checked out. Leave all expensive jewelry at home. Can't tell you the number of horror stories we have heard over the years about loss/theft of these items. Usually in the ports. Finally, as others have said, don't let the unexpected bumps throw you. Usually they make very good stories once you get home.

My husband and I love to snorkel but on this cruise, we need to bring carry-on luggage only. Is there anyplace in Bonaire that we could rent snorkel equipment if we don't utilize a tour? Thank you.

Spent two days in Lisbon and one in Sintra this past April. If you only have one day, definitely chose Lisbon.

I'm probably biased as I hate crowds but we were in Portugal this past April on a tour for 12 days and Obidos was my least favorite of all the places we saw. The narrow streets were mobbed with tourists and as it is a tiny place, there was no way to escape the crowds We didn't even get to try their famous cherry liquor as there were such long lines we gave up. At least it wasn't hot when we were there or it would have truly been unbearable.

Check out the River cruises. Ones that leave out of Paris usually include the Normandy battlefields and cemeteries

Four of us will be in Santiago in November (not part of a cruise) but I was looking for day trips from the city as we won't be renting a car. Tripadvisor.com comments about Mauricio Escobar Fernandez as a tour guide/driver have been very positive. We have corresponded with him and were very impressed so booked a day tour.

Purchase online timed admission, if you will be visiting during a weekday, to coincide with the one hour a day they light up the golden mosaics on the ceiling of St. Mark's. Been to Venice several times but only to St. Mark's once and seeing the ceiling lit up made it extra special. And yes, you can include the up-close visit to the alter as well as the museum and outdoor balcony upstairs which we really liked as because of the extra charge we found them to have fewer visitors.

Even though we have diamond status on Royal Caribbean, my husband and I chose Princess as the latter has access to Glacier National Park and RCCL doesn't. To us that was worth giving up our free booze.

Happened to me five years back when I had a cruise scheduled. Called the number on the summons, told them I had an upcoming cruise on that date and that was the end of it. This was in Pennsylvania.

My husband and I spent a week in Antigua back in 2010. We loved the city...lots to see and lots of attractions nearby. We even flew into Tikal for the day. The second week in Guatemala, we hired a local guide/driver to take us around the country and also into Honduras to overnight near the Copan ruins. Towards the end of the week, I told our guide I wanted to see the attractions of Guatemala city. He, a native citizen, tried to discourage me, saying it was 'too dangerous'. Eventually he gave in but remained very nervous throughout our time there. Now I admit this was a long time ago, but if a local man is nervous in Guatemala city, I would not recommend it to others.

My husband and I stayed at the Melia Madrid this past April. It is a nice hotel. Just a few blocks away is a metro station which is what we used to see the sights. (The hotel supplied us with metro cards although we needed to put money on them at the kiosk, sort of confusing but locals helped us out). Highly recommend visiting Retiro Park which is right across the street from a metro stop. We also wanted to visit the palace, but learned to our dismay that timed entrance .tickets must be purchased in advance

I have been on many cruises in my time. The best for me, are the ones that visit the most interesting ports. Years ago, my mother (then in her late seventies) took me with her on a Marco Polo Africa/Indian Ocean cruise which included a 5 day safari in Kenya and Tanzania, as well as cruising to the Seychelles (pre-casino and crowds), Zanzibar, Madagascar and other islands. Quite an experience. Years later my mother, two days before she died at age 98, asked me to bring to her bed my scrapbook of that cruise, and we shared those wonderful memories together again.

Another vote for keep the cabin. If there is a lifeboat beneath you, the view directly below is obstructed. On our Alaskan cruise, that would have meant missing the sea otters that were traveling along on their backs near the ship when we were at a stand-still to allow viewing a glacier.

Your 'stiff the guide' implication is unkind. We are always generous tippers but nobody likes to be ripped off. And with a group of over twenty people, an expectation of such a big tip from each person for a two hour walking tour, was definitely a rip off.

I stand corrected. Thank you. It was 20 pounds that he wanted. We had been in the UK but were heading next to Poland and Hungary so utilized several currencies during the month-long trip. Anyway, at my age I should have realized that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't.

You raise a good point about the cruisers having more limited time, and in that case, they may be tempted to take a walking tour. However, the first day I signed the two of us up for one of the "free walking tours" being touted by vendors on the Royal Mile. I don't think we were more than 10 minutes into the tour when our guide stopped the group and announced that he was only working for tips and expected that to be 20 euros per person. I don't know how he ever enforced this request, as we left at that point giving him ten euros total. But, beware...those walking tours are anything but free..

My post didn't mention a "fast track' but said that you could skip the line with a pass. I apologize if a 'fast track' is what you interpreted my comments to mean. However, I was speaking from my experience there last September. Taking the Tube, we arrived at the Tower right after opening time to find a long line of folks waiting to buy tickets. However, with our pass, we went right in. I don't recall seeing anyone holding timed admissions tickets when we arrived (maybe it was too early for them) but at the entrance, the attendant only gave our passes a quick glance before immediately admitting us.

You can also purchase a London Pass for the day which allows you to skip the lines at the Tower. In addition it gives you free access to the Uber boat on the Thames which we used to get from the tower to the the Millennium Pedestrian bridge dock where we walked across to St Paul's Cathedral. Then back on the boat to the Westminster Abby complex. Probably the pass is cheaper than the taxi tour and will allow you to customize your visit.

My husband and I were in Edinburg this past September for three days. Unfortunately, the first day was the Queen's funeral and all public buildings were closed. The next day, no available tickets to the castle with all the re-schedulings. However, that forced us to explore more off-the-beaten track places in the city. I highly recommend the National Museum of Scotland, just a short walk off the main drag in the historic center. It's free as are all museums in the city. Next, back up to the main street and head down the Mound several blocks to the Princes Street Public Gardens (free) if you want to get great photo opts of the castle. Just across the street from the gardens is another nice museum, the Scottish National Gallery which was having a special exhibit on the Impressionists artists at the time. Another place we really enjoyed was the Royal Botanical Gardens, easily accessed by public bus. A gorgeous place, and even has a small waterfall feature. Having visited the Castle years ago, I can truly say that I enjoyed these experiences more.

Our host Jazzbeau mentioned awhile ago there is a huge Facebook group: Vantage Deluxe World Travel Complaints Page run by a consumer advocate that has been following this situation closely. If any of you are Facebook members, you could follow this sad saga and will learn that any chance of getting your money back from Vantage itself is impossible.

If booking a private tour, I will never again use Viator. Once, on our own in Italy, I booked a private tour of the Ravenna mosaics through Viator by mistake. I later learned from the Vendor himself that the tour would be in Italian and since I was well before the 48 hour deadline, I cancelled. The vendor then told me it had been booked through Viator and they would be refunding the money. Hah! I eventually disputed it with my credit card and Viator responded by sending my card company a 7 page statement of why it was my fault, not theirs. Obviously a pre-printed ready-made excuse which caused my appeal to the credit card to be denied. Avoid Viator!

Thanks for the update, although since we used the railroad pre=pandemic, i know fare were less than presently quoted. However, you are certainly correct that fees reflect what the public is willing to pay. This past Forth of July holiday my husband and I plus a grandchild were in Philadelphia visiting my sister. We thought our grandchild would enjoy taking Amtrak into New York city and back for the day. (Something we did several times in years past). To my horror, for the 3 of us the cost would be almost $400 dollars. And, as I am sure you know, that distance is under 100 miles. Obviously we nixed that idea but I just now rechecked the current fares and found them to be considerably less, now the holidays are over. Still, my philosophy is if I know I will never get the chance to do it again, go for it, regardless of cost and that is how I feel about the Alaskan railway.

Post cruise, we spent a week in Alaska and took the train trip to Seward, spent the night there and caught the evening train back the next day. Yes, leaving Anchorage that early in the morning isn't fun, but we thought the whole trip very worthwhile. We saw Beluga whales and a moose near the track on the way down and a spectacular sunset on the return trip. I don't recall the price but know we booked early, so pretty sure the cost wasn't that expensive

No need for a ship excursion. Our first stop in Tallinn was their Visitor center. At the time they had a bus tour that took you out to the folk-music stadium as well as a city tour with a guide. It seems they also have free walking tours from the center now. As for Kristiansand, right off the boat was the Odderaya Peninsula, a former military area that has been converted into a recreational park. There are still armaments and fortifications in place and great viewpoints. In August, blackberry bushes along the trails were laden with fruit which augmented our picnic lunch.

Boston's Museum of Fine Arts was a wonderful place to spend several hours if you like museums. It even has an onsite cafe and is easily reached by public transit