Senga

We are cruising Norway and Iceland out of Southampton at the end of May. I am interested in spending 3 days in Bruges after the cruise. I'd appreciate some advice before we book our airfare from Toronto. Would we be best to fly Toronto-London then fly London-Paris then train to Bruges, take the train from London to Paris then train to Bruges. This would mean flights Toronto-London, Paris-Toronto. We are in our mid-late 70's and want to make this as easy and stress-free as possible.

LOVED the picture of the lighthouse with the flowers in the foreground.

You must live in a more "up scale" neighbourhood than we do!

This subject has been totally covered and it's right at the very top!

We were recently on a 777-300 and it had lovely large overhead bins. I've been reading about a company that retrofits the overhead bins in 2 days but haven't heard any feedback.

The dog fountain is one of our favourites in Toronto.

We were unable to get reservations at Dancing Man in May and ended up at Duke of Wellington. My husband enjoyed his fish and chips, I was very disappointed in my beef stew and dumplings with MASHED potatoes. The dumplings were hard and dry, the MASHED potatoes were closer to boiled. I think we suffered hearing loss from the noise and the number of people hacking up lungs without covering their mouths was distressing especially with the tables crammed together. We're returning next May and will try at least a month in advance to get reservations at Dancing Man.

When at expanded depth, our carryon doesn't fit in the metal cage. When we flew to London it was checked, refused and, after some rearranging it zipped to the original, not expanded, depth and we were good to go. On our recent flight from Rome, the PILOT loaded TWO full size suitcases in the overhead bins!!!!!

If you're a Bills fan.....😢😢😢

Genoa was wonderful and easy to do on your own. The Tourist Information booth right outside the lovely Stazione Marittima was an excellent source of information and maps. The metro station opposite the port is named 'Principe'. Exit the cruise terminal building and walk under the autostrada flyover, cross the road and walk northwards up the road opposite in the direction of the bus stops/bus station. The metro station is directly behind the bus station (hopefully you will see the 'M' sign). This is about a 2 or 3 minutes walk from the cruise terminal building. Take the escalator or steps down to the metro station and the line heading towards 'De Farrari', which is 4 stops. De Ferrari station is right in the centre of the city from where you can walk round at leisure. The metro in Genova is free between the hours of 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM, and from 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM. According to the official website, this is an "experiment", so don't assume it will still be in effect when you are there, check to be sure. On our return to Principe we stopped at San Giorgio Metro station and had a walk around this lovely area. When we were there in September the escalators at this Metro station were out of order.

We did the ÅLESUND CITY TRAIN SIGHTSEEING – close to pier – 290kr – 70 minutes and it was perfect for us. We came across people who were walking to the lookout but there is absolutely no way we would be capable or interested. It was a national holiday the day we were there with only one souvenir shop open.

We booked our 3 Iceland tours with IET (Iceland Everywhere Tours) for June and our ship was unable to visit the ports due to 30 foot North Atlantic waves. We had actually ARRIVED in Akureyri but the pilot said it wasn't safe to proceed. IET was already there waiting for us yet they fully refunded all passengers who had prebooked. Excellent company to deal with and their terms and conditions specifiy no charge if the ship can't dock.

I don’t consider the MDR menu “limited”; SO many choices. I order orange segments (on the menu) and pineapple (not shown on the menu) every morning so that won’t be an issue. Just ask the manager on your first morning to arrange it and the IC muesli will be waiting every day. This way you both get what you want in a nice, relaxed setting.

Just wondering what everyone NORMALLY eats for breakfast! Even "basic" in the MDR is more than we have at home so I'll never complain. 😂

No, the names are totally visible at all times to anyone walking by. Not sure if you can request they be removed.

Sorry, my comment was specific to Princess cruises where your names are displayed on the entry plate.

Mostly flip flops! 😂

Both your names will already be on the entrance door.

Just off Enchanted Princess Mediterranean cruise and, even on formal nights, shorts were allowed.

We have had some incredible dining experiences from restaurants we have found on TripAdvisor.

We aren't sailing until May 2024 but, so far, the ONLY dining room we can reserve is Palm. I'm more interested in Coral since I read that the noise from the Piazza carrys into the Island dining room.

The cigarette smoke at Athens airport is overwhelming. The bus stop for X96 is easy to find outside exit 5 which is handy because there is a washroom at exit 5 and they are few and far between. You need to go to the booth to purchase your €5,50 ticket which you scan inside the bus. There are areas to put your luggage but, at our age and with me using a cane, it was a bit of a struggle to get the cases on and off. It took 1 1/2 hours to reach the stop we needed for our hotel. The stops are shown on a screen although the proper Greek name is different from what we recognize. Be sure to have the correct spelling and you’ll be fine: AHMOTIKO / DHMOTIKO In hindsight we thought it would be as easy at the National Express from LHR to Southampton. Definitely not. No driver to assist with loading/unloading the luggage. Unless you are fit and/or travelling light, bite the bullet and arrange private transport.

We booked Rock Tours with John Lopez and it was EXCELLENT. Our 3 hour tour headed out at 8:30 BEFORE all the larger tours so we didn't have a wait anywhere and no crowds. The cost was 90 euros per person (8 in our group) and it was well worth the money. Pillars of Hercules/Jews Gate St. Michael’s Cave - awesome Skywalk Great Siege Tunnel - gorgeous views over the border to Spain, across a live runway Apes Den 100 Ton Gun - bathroom break Europa Point Napolian community/eastern beach Since the shops were all closed there was no point staying in town then walking 25 minutes in the heat so we opted for a drop off right at the ship at noon instead of Casemates Square. We were so fortunate to have a PERFECT day with a lovely breeze off the Atlantic instead of a hot, humid breeze off the Mediterranean. Gibraltar is very clean and scenic and I, of course, LOVED the Barbary apes. There is a £1000 fine for not cleaning up after your dog which is STRICTLY enforced. Everyone we saw with a dog was carrying poop bags and a spray bottle! We saw tourists who opted to use the cable car but it is a LONG walk uphill to get to the sights. Do yourself a favour and book a small private tour. It's worth it.

We are in our mid 70's, I use a cane. This will give you an idea of how easy it is to DIY Genoa which we absolutely LOVED. Left the ship at 10. Easy access to city centre using Metro which is free 10-4 and is close to the port, easy to find/use. Information just outside Stazione Marittima is excellent. People with mobility issues might have a problem since escalator/elevators are under repair at San Giorgio stop. Principe Metro Stazione Marittima De Ferrari Metro - FREE W/C Piazza De Ferrari - fountain, statue, Teatro Carlo Felice Palazzo Ducale Church of Jesus Market - where we purchased 2 jars of pesto €10 Piazza Dante - Porto Soprana / Casa di Colombo San Lorenzo Cathedral Lunch at Caffe San Lorenzo - €17; Gnocchi al pesto, Penne al pesto, Aqua Dessert at GROM - €7,40; dark chocolate gelato,Fragola granita/gelato San Giorgio Metro Piazza Caricamento - Porto Antico Palazzo Emanuele Filiberto Di Negro Acquario Di Genova Returned to the ship at 2:30 after seeing everything we wanted.

To give you an idea of our DIY in Naples a week ago. Left ship at 9:20, returned at 1:50. Too hot, too many people. Made our way to Gesu Nuovo Square. Visited the church with its impressive interior then Chiostro Di Santa Chiara. We strictly stuck to the gardens, didn’t visit any of the museums. Nice but prefer what we saw in Seville. Walked down Via Toledo which was wall to wall people and shopping we weren’t interested in. Passed Galleria Umberto I on our way to Piazza Plebiscito to reach Gran Caffe Gambrinus which was almost a total, expensive waste. Interior was lovely but service was terrible as was the food with the exception of the Matilda pastry which was PERFECTION. The PIZZETTA MARGHERITA had too much sauce and no basil. It was lukewarm and since servers were scarce I went and found someone who heated it up in a microwave! NOT what I expected in Italy. The PARIGINA (Puff Pizza Filled with Ham and Cheese) was a big hunk of pizza dough topped with ham and cheese and a tiny layer of the puff pastry on top. Any Sfoglia we have had was without the thick crust. The ham and cheese layered between TWO layers of puff pastry, minus the “dough”. Very disappointing. The CANNOLO was okay; soggy part way through. The MATILDA was the only saving grace. Even the bottled water was served less than COLD and we had to find a server well after the food was served to get our beverages. The bill was €31 so I assume from the prices posted they added €2 for the terrible service. To add insult to injury you are required to pay €1 for the “privilege” of using a toilet that doesn’t flush! In Plebiscito square you find the Royal Pontifical Basilica of San Francesco di Paola and the Royal Palace which, unfortunately, is under construction. The palace gardens are free to visit but, a total waste. By no stretch of ANY imagination could you call this a “garden”. Had a relatively nice view of Maschio Angioino. Stopped for waters and a lemon granita-doesn’t compare to fragola. Glad to be back on board ship.