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Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated. We probably could do with a way to better highlight stickies and attract more attention. I've also tried to create topics by collecting or aggregating similar topics (threads), but there's no quick way to collect them, but probably the pinning situation made an aggregate of other similar posts, but then the same type of questions would appear. We aren't able to delete a topic because it's a regular subject, but we're beyond grateful for the stalwart members of the community that routinely reply to the questions. 🏆🏆 It's always wonderful and appreciated to see replies that direct users towards the search function to find recent posts for transfers to/from port, hotels, excursions, sightseeing, etc. (Hopeful that folks implement time saving techniques like copy/paste when sharing this info!) We could try using the search feature ourselves when we see FAQs, and when replying to a request, include a link to a recently posted topic. Things may remain the same, or, things might come around... slowly 😉 Again, very grateful for the thoughts, and always, for the wonderful contributions, to FAQs and everything in between, above and beyond. 👏👏🙂🙂 Colleen

Hi and happy Autumn (almost) everyone, So lovely to see the board buzzing again, hoping everyone that has sailed has had one (or more!) pleasant return to the sea, or on land–being out is being out! Stay safe and careful out there, but it sure is better. 🙂 Just wondering whether, or if, it made sense to add a sticky for any new hot topic or port, now that everyone is making plans and sailing the seas. It can help save time searching/scrolling or starting a new topic and waiting for replies, in case you're looking to get away soon! Barcelona (transportation or hotels?) is always popping, and seeing a lot of Seville questions, but also Canary Islands, and some other destinations posted lately. Everything is always super-efficient and I know the board legends among us can handle anything that comes along, at any volume 😉 so just figured it might be a good time to check-in. And it can always be temporary... we're in this sort of breaking out era. Yeah or nay, either way is all good. Cheers and Keep Well, Colleen PS: There is a great food and wine topic running on the Italy board, would that be fun to try here? Totally up to you!

Hi and happy Autumn (almost) everyone, So lovely to see the board buzzing again, hoping everyone that has sailed has had one (or more!) pleasant return to the sea, or on land–being out is being out! Stay safe and careful out there, but it sure is better. 🙂 Just wondering whether, or if, it made sense to add a sticky for any new hot topic or port, now that everyone is making plans and sailing the seas. It can help save time searching/scrolling or starting a new topic and waiting for replies, in case you're looking to get away soon! Amsterdam is always popping, (Schipol?) and seeing a lot of Dublin questions, but also Irish ports (or Scotland), and some other new things posted lately. Everything is always super-efficient and I know the board legends among us can handle anything that comes along, at any volume 😉 so just figured it might be a good time to check-in. And it can always be temporary... we're in this sort of breaking out era. Yeah or nay, either way is all good. Cheers and Keep Well, Colleen

👏👏👏👏 Lotttttssssss of ports to call at in Italy. 🇮🇹 ✅ Only one Venice. We need to save Venice.🚨 Nothing to see if Venice is uninhabitable or waterlogged. There are other ways to travel to Venice. Trains, roads, and planes, smaller boats go to Venice. ✅ Bummer? Sure. Inconvenient? Maybe. Disappointing? Probably. Venice forever? PRICELESS. 💯♥️ (The train ride across the lagoon is epic, another amazing way into Venice, just saying...) Might miss the big sail in, but won't miss seeing Venice. It's a win. 🏆🇮🇹 (getting off my soap box now...thanks for reading my TED Talk 😂)

Do we want this theme to be sticky topic? Point me to an existing topic to pin, start another, or is there another convo anyone is interested in having? Just curious.... 🤔

To be fair, it's the same in the U.S. for the National Parks. Unless you have a yearly pass, there are fees to enter, and camp etc. Otherwise, upkeep would be impossible, and sending out rescues for the folks who go off on hikes that they hadn't thought out prior to getting underway. We're all for thoughts and opinions around here, because everyone is into all kinds of different things. Travel can bring all kinds of surprises, some great, others less so. I'm not sure any of it is useless... if anything, we learn something. Might be a yeah (!) more of that please, or a nay: been there, done that, no thank you. What's next? I would recommend skipping Cliff Walk if you're ever in Newport, R.I., which I'm not comparing to Giant's Causeway by any means, but it's more rocks by the sea. (And some cottages 😂) What's wonderful is the world has something for everyone 😎 (and oh to be at Wembley today... kind of jelly)

It sure is pretty and has the look of something unbelievably refreshing! (Maybe it has a low alcohol content?) I wanted to like it, just on how it looked on all the tables. Also, FOMO. But alas.... Anyway, in my neighborhood (and everywhere!) there are Aperol orange umbrellas covering all the cafe tables so... it's beyond popular. 😉 Which I think has brought a resurgence of the Negroni and Campari cocktails though I've noticed them appearing in some film in tv, always cool. I like them better too... go figure. But I liked the orancello better than the limoncello, then again, THAT depends entirely on who makes it. Wouldn't touch any bottled stuff. Nice to dunk the cantuccini in there with it, too.

That's an amazing camera, you don't need anything new now! You'll be able to work with it for a long time. Again, the camera companies will be supporting the models, too many out there for them to abandon without creating a lot of furor, just not developing new ones in the line. Nothing to worry about, you'll be able to use it for a long time. Also, important to keep in mind that many, many photographers still shoot on film and use older equipment (old medium and large format cameras, polaroid!) and processes for any number of reasons. We see it all the time in exhibitions and it's wonderful. Wet process collodion, silver gelatin, pinhole cameras, tin type, and more. We even had a project which included images shot on a toy/hobby camera. (I had to look up what that was!) Last Friday for World Photography Day I went to a free Fujifilm event in the city and held a medium format camera of theirs... surprisingly light, and not crazy expensive (compared to a Hasselblad) but still not so much in budget, though maybe a used one at some point. Quite nice and an unexpected surprise. Anyway, look for these events if you live near a city, or know of a cool camera shop! There were events in LA, Austin, and NYC. There are lots of photography centers and orgs around the country, and globally, that host exhibitions and events, with workshops and talks that are free and interesting. Always remember, google is your friend 😉

Have you been using the long lens? What do you usually like to shoot? On a river cruise you'll probably be a lot closer to things but then again, not always. If you're comfortable enough with the camera, you may enjoy some of the features it has to give you some interesting shooting options (shooting multiple frames that you can stitch together for a wide shot) which are pretty amazing these days. If you don't mind packing/carrying the long lens, definitely bring it. It's not like you need to worry about carrying the kit bag everywhere you go. I hope it works out that you'll be on the Danube, it should be heavenly 🙂

Good advice. In Italy, table wines (aka house wines) tend to be palatable (it's Italy!) so it's definitely safer to stick to that rather than go with a wine that might have a very definitive style that wouldn't be to everyone's liking: too sweet/dry/fruity/wrong fruits/tobacco-y/chocolate-y/mossy, oak-y etc. And... just curious, am I one of the few odd balls (wouldn't be the first time..) who can't stand the spritz? I was so curious when I first saw that beautiful orange colored, refreshing looking drink on everyone's table in Verona years ago, so I asked what it was and tried one. Ugh... did not like. It hadn't yet gotten so big in the US, now it's everywhere. Love seeing all the food photos, and especially the wild boar, it doesn't sound delicious but it really, really is. The raspberry dolce does sound soooo refreshing and looks perfect 😍 thanks for sharing!!

😱😱😱 Do we even live in a world where it's worth risking not getting timed tickets for admission? I don't think either the Accadmia or the Uffizi were ever, other than maybe off-season, possible to enter in high season, without reserving in advance, though I guess I'm remembering wrong. Or was it just to see the David? This summer, with the vast number of folks returning (actually numbers are even exceeding pre-covid levels) to travel, well, I guess not everyone thinks of it because they may not have experienced museums that ever got so full and busy. Timed tickets weren't a thing at museums here where I live (they should have been, try getting near Starry Night on a random Friday at MoMA, pre-covid) but as of now, generally still are. Same goes for train seats in Italy (or pretty much anywhere in summer), especially on inter-city trips. Looks like Venice! Not sure I've seen images of Florence looking that crowded. But.... happy to hear that you've been in Italy and enjoying the posts. Thanks for sharing updates! 🙂 (Really can't wait to hear about the food experiences!!)

Ciao tutti and thanks everyone for all the amazing contributions to the topic. I can't think of when we've seen a question about bussing to port, so it was cool to see all the info flow in, come sempre. And Cruisemom brought up the old days of CC, gosh do we remember, I was over on our sister boards, but sometimes it was all hands on deck (no pun intended) so hosts/team leaders would hop over from Independent Traveler team (or we back in AOL, it was just board or chat hosts) to assist the CC team with "clean up on Aisle 7" sort of situations. Fake passport and visa promotions, counterfeit luxury goods, and the occasional hot topic. The Italy community is probably one of my favorites (I know, we're not supposed to have favorites...😗 but combining the destination with our built-in community, it's kind of irresistible. Questi cosi sono bellissimi! You come with questions, concerns, thoughts on itineraries, alternative ideas for sightseeing, food and beverage or gelato recommendations and prego, it's there. You are free to share your experiences, positive or negative (without disparaging anyone, so long as you stick to facts, not emotions) but, again, unless specifically asked by someone, (why this service or restaurant or hotel is/is not ok) this isn't a debate forum. If you disagree, you can offer an alternative suggestion, or again, abstain. In the end, everyone comes here for information and then they must make their own decisions. We do what we can to share info and experiences, wish them well, hope to hear feedback when they're back, and that's it. The end. What's good for me might not be good for anyone else. If you ask me, I can give you about five ways to get from Manhattan to any airport. Doesn't mean it makes sense for everyone to use any/all of them. It doesn't always make sense to me. I'm making choices sometimes on the fly, sometimes for costs, sometimes for convenience, sometimes for weather, or in this area (hello traffic!) the time of day... etc etc. So I can't debate or judge anyone on what is the most sensible option, when given the options, if they chose something different than I would have. We probably have different travel circumstances, like being familiar with the area, so people are understandably worried something might go wrong and no amount of me assuring them will convince them. I appreciate being concerned when traveling, and I appreciate being away from home: that's legit. No one needs anything piled onto that. So again, thanks to everyone, board legends, regulars, newbies, always giving so kindly, generously, and I know, with the best intentions. It's awesome to see. (And honestly, there is a bus to LGA from the city that's pretty reliable if you're willing to go up to Harlem, which is also actually easy, but may also involve elevators, and that conversation doesn't go well anywhere, it seems 😳 the other bit is, I do all I possibly can at all times to avoid LGA, but I get that this isn't always easy....you can always hit me up for info.) Buona sera e mille grazie! If you want to take the bus, take the bus. We'll help you 🥰

Thanks for posting this CNN travel piece by Julia Buckley, Terry 🙂

I thought this YouTube video by TechRadar did a great job of demonstrating, particularly in regards to the shutter mechanism and components, what some of the key differences (and/or benefits, depending on how one comes out on the debate) between DSLR and Mirrorless. For me, there's simply no argument as to why a DSLR does make sense: almost every camera is too heavy and won't fit comfortably in my hand. In terms of the mechanism/reflex of the mirror/lens in a DSLR, I don't want all that happening (or the time it takes) when going for the image. Let's get it done direct/straight on through lens/sensor. That's only me. I think the larger cameras are incredible and know they work well for so many photographers for so many reasons. That Nikon won't be making them at a certain point must feel frustrating because it forces people who like working a certain way to either be stuck, or leave a brand they've been with for a long time. It's no knock on the company, everything evolves how it must. And there are old cameras around and in use from a long, long time ago. So we haven't seen the end of anything by a long shot. The only thing we know is everything changes, but there are a million ways to keep making things. That's the cool part, the workarounds 😉

Congrats on your new Olympus kit, it sounds wonderful. Olympus was one of my most favorite cameras (Ricoh was another) and so this is exciting news. Looking forward to seeing images from your new camera and lenses. I love to see some of the legacy brands being represented. Was talking to a colleague the other day, a younger person that shoots on film and uses a Yashica. She does beautiful work and I love that it's analog. Love the new ways too, just think there's something to preserving the use of shooting on film, especially knowing the intricacies of light, settings, etc. Lots of luck and enjoy working with the new equipment! 📸

Renting (and buying used) is an entire ecosystem because many of these lenses are beyond the reach of even the most steadily working photographers to buy and own. Gone are the days of being a full time staff reporter at newspapers and magazines (I know, what's a magazine) or websites. Most everything is freelance these days, so only someone who is actually on staff, on a masthead at say, NatGeo, Condé Nast, Sports Illustrated, or an illustrious pro, etc., would have the means to own the range of lenses they need. The rest rent what's needed for an assignment as it comes along. All the equipment (not just lenses) is rated for it's condition, and these companies (including the ones above) have been around for a long time with great reputations in the industry. What that means is it then becomes possible to buy an almost new lens (used for that one assignment) from a reputable dealer in used kit. Adorama, mpb, and B&H are just a few in my area that all the professionals and serious nonprofessionals turn to for their needs (photography, filmmakers) otherwise, we'd probably see way fewer pictures of what this world looks like. Who could afford it? Wanna rent a Hassleblad? You can. 🙂

Always makes sense and practical. Plus, for a long time, most of what you mentioned about software, rate of adoption, and yes the costs (most of which is inflated, somewhat by design, which stinks) were enough to keep all but the die-hards away. But, now the software is made for everything in mac, apple has introduced more price-friendly products (relatively) and perhaps in part thanks to the iPhone and iPad or Apple Watch, people are realizing it makes sense to sync everything up (it's easier!). Yes, there are some viruses that can get through, but it's not common and they generally do less damage. Apple firewall and security settings are a great front line before any 3rd party protection is added. Most websites have SSL and users accessing websites with sensitive info can set up extra levels of security when signing in to prevent unauthorized access. Plus, an Apple now will easily convert windows files into Mac files, so if someone were to switch (one did) it's effortless and smooth. One also did end up partitioning the Mac hard drive to become a "windows" drive because a particular software was not (baffling for this brand of software, which is mostly available in mac) available Mac. Easiest thing to do and toggle back and forth between the "two" Apple and Windows hard drives on one MacBook Pro. I'm not sure why a lot of businesses still use PC... costs I think? If you have to buy a lot of machines and servers, it probably saves a lot of money. Apple just isn't cheap. There are costly PCs. Who knows. But when I have been switched over to Windows world on my hard drive, I have been gloomy. I don't miss having to go through all the extra steps, the way things are organized, it feels cluttered and reminds me of the days in the computer lab in college and migraines. My father was an electrical engineer and tech geek, who back then said Macs were wayyyy better. The computer lab only had two or three, but the programs I needed weren't loaded on them and I think only Computer Science majors were using them anyway. I'm not sure how my father knew, but since he was doing cool research in the 60s and telling me about barcodes, sonic waves and fiberoptics way before any of that made a lot of sense, and we had the first big microwave oven before anyone else, well, he was wrong on pretty much most of life, but not this stuff. Yet again, I come back to the beginning and say, if a system is working for someone and there's a flow, an ease, a familiarity, then it's all you need. Just read up on security and invest in great protection. And watch Mr Robot. (It's all I'm saying, ok it's fiction–sort of, but even so...). They all lug around MacBooks. Keep us posted Dave, happy building 🙂

Which web browser do you use? If you use Chrome, when you load the website a box will appear at the end of the web address window (URL line, ie where it says www.cruisecritic.com etc) offering to translate the page for you. These days, most pages in most languages should be readable. How good the translation is (done by Artificial Intelligence) well, it's good enough, generally, to know what the page is about, see what's on offer. You may notice little things that seem off, but the technology has made progress. Not always easy to see, you need to look up to that part of the page to see the pop-up and click to get the translations. Other websites will translate automatically if the site owner has set up the page to enable the function, but this is dependent on your own browser settings too. Canada is officially bi-lingual but Quebec definitely leans more French, and it is definitely a differently accented French than France French, but then there are difference accents all throughout France, though I haven't heard anything that sounds like Canadian French. You know it when you hear it. Always concur on using a few familiar phrases when visiting in a place where the predominant language is not English. It just seems friendly and a great way to get things going as a guest. I believe google translate will even pronounce the phrases if you wish, but there are apps that will tell you how if google translate cannot. I don't use it for French (I went to Alliance Française and was drilled into Parisian French by my teacher 😂 but it was fun). À la prochaine.

A designer colleague builds her own and even though the office got her a new Mac Studio which is impressive, she still defaults back to her own personal built set up. With all the graphics & photo intensive work being done (especially exporting big packaged files for print) she says her own set up is still the best. Definitely likes the Mac Studio though, which improves the speed of the workflow considerably, however. I'm all Apple too, won't ever go back to the PC system again. The cost for Apple (and inability to customize/open up and tinker, for the most part) is problematic, but the intuitiveness (UI/UX) and design cannot be beat. PC has made strides, but can't come close. That's why I went with a MacBook that had an i7, and like, whatever the number of cores were, plus ram specs alongside a similar machine with an i9, for me, I wasn't making the jump. No gaming or intensive videos so it seemed to meet the mark and spending for the i9 didn't seem worthwhile for the needs. Good luck and have fun with your build Dave!

Yes! This I watch over and over, Katharine Hepburn is just... well, one of those actors rightly playing a queen. Also watch for a very young Anthony Hopkins in a role revealing signs of great things to come. Unbelievable to watch them bring these characters and story to life. Not a fan of Branagh so I skipped, though I know it's worth watching (I'll get there!), but plenty of incredible films on the Troubles, including some terrific documentaries though some aren't easy to watch, 66 Days about Bobby Sands' hunger strike, but Michael Fassbender did a film called Hunger, dramatizing the Bobby Sands story, and it was incredible. I read a full on biography when I got home from Edinburgh, I was captivated and had to know more. I think it was Antonia Fraser's, but I'm not sure because I also read a Queen Victoria bio (Her Little Majesty) and Queen Elizabeth I. Also, if you're visiting Wales too, this goes way back and is in black and white, but How Green Was My Valley is amazing, also there are some great Welsh (Keeping Faith, Hinterland) crime dramas–giving Nordic noir a run for its money. You can also check out the episode of The Crown when Prince Charles goes to Wales to learn Welsh prior to becoming the Prince of Wales when he turned 21. The Crown episode about Aberfan, also in Wales, is brilliant but so sad. Immersion is one of the best and most fun ways to prepare for travel. It's also a great way to revel in it once you're back home 🙂 Colleen

It's possible that an older hotel with a "letto matrimoniale or "camera matrimoniale" (double bed, or room with double bed) might well be two twin beds pushed together, as this sometimes is the case in Italy, not entirely sure why, except it kind of preserves each person's own space. So theoretically, you'd be able to stay in a hotel with this kind of setup, if you found one that was in your price range, closer to where you'd like to be. And you know what? There's usually someplace. It might not have everything, but there's usually one that's clean, safe and convenient to most of where you want to be. At least I've always found one when I was on a shoestring budget, even in some of the most expensive cities. A two star in France or Italy is tolerable, it's not like here. They rate on amenities. Port Royal made the point: the destination is what matters most, you need a decent place to sleep, bathe, change clothes, but otherwise if you're well situated, it's the best close to everything in Rome. And definitely also concur with the passeggiata, in the evening or before sunset... with or without gelato (depends on when you take your meal) but do have lots of gelato. Stopping to take in scenery mid-passeggiata also recommended 😉

Maybe a thing we should start talking about here is checking out tour pages that are only in Italian? It might be one way to help folks get away from the tipping trap and possibly keep from furthering the trend of expecting travelers to tip just because. Google will translate pages into English and definitely does a good enough job to understand what's on offer. Likewise to compose an email inquiry, though if a tour operator is working in a major Italian city, you better believe they can speak English. It would be nice, however, to use some cursory Italian simply to be friendly and polite in the email, which is available on any travel guide or any of us can assist with any time. (You can also reverse translate an Italian email by copy/pasting the text into Google translate app, which is free. Since it's not literature, no need to worry about contextual translations.) I'm not against people getting their due, but we generally know that they are in that it is required by law. I am against predatory business practices. As consumers, we have options, and opportunities. First and foremost though, we have responsibilities as guests, so it always matters to go about it in the right way.

That was my initial reaction too, especially in light of the news of the PM's resignation. It's just Italy and the bureaucratic machinations doing their thing, but also I suppose, and trying to minimize my own cynicism, help boost tourism to bounce back from the losses during lockdown. But you could always intercity expresses, although not necessarily the frecce. Assuming no shut-down, weekend, holiday schedule etc. etc. but airport jaunts, not always I guess. I remain somewhat skeptical until it's been around a while, but maybe there's hope?

The images aren't in the same order as you originally posted them, but I was able to correct the orientation so they're no longer upside down. There isn't a way to fix them in our tools on the board, but it's relatively easy to do on the iPhone. Were these horizontal/landscape images? That could be why they posted upside down, not so sure. The way to rotate an image on your phone is by opening that image in your photos app, click on the three dots in the edit button in the upper right corner, then in the bottom menu, click on the box with two arrows moving counterclockwise. Then go to the upper left corner, find the square with one arrow pointing counterclockwise, and click until the image is positioned to where you would like it to be. Yes, they could probably make it simpler, but there are a number of other directional adjustments available and so that's why there's all the options. (And, we do have a Digital Photography Discussion topic, including phones, for anyone interested!) And, the food looks amaaaaazing! I don't love the look of tripe (grazie), but it occurs to me that not everyone might know what it is, or looks like, and so it could be interesting for some to see. When it's cooked, it doesn't look as uninviting as it does in the salumeria, pork store, supermarket. 😉

Hello Cruise Photographers 📸 🚢 At 71 pages loaded with enough ships to probably circle the equator a few times, it seemed like we were overdue to start compiling another volume of stunning images of ships in port. It can be the one you're sailing on, others in port or if you live in or near a port, show us what you saw. (Great view of RCL on the West Side Highway Sunday but it was super hot and I was running late for an event I was coordinating! 🤪 err... well the ship was in the berth, I was in the car 🙃) Here is a link to the original Ships in Port Photo topic for anyone interested in browsing the history, or if you've previously posted in the topic and would like access to your content. The topic is closed to new posts, but still lives here on the board and won't go anywhere. Really looking forward to the new collection! Thanks to everyone for taking the time to create and share these wonderful images. Keep well and smile 🙂