WisRiver

We submitted our request for Scavi tickets on November 8 for tours the week of April 9 . On November 14 (two days ago) I received confirmation of a tour on Friday April 13 at 11:00 AM. We plan to the Scavi tour, try to eat some lunch inside the security area, and do the free English language tour of St. Peters at 2:15 PM. Some questions.

1. We know there is a security line on the right side of St. Peters Square as you face the Basilica under the colonnades. Our experience is that this is a long line, often stretching across St. Peter's Square. Is there a security line on the left side where you enter for the Scavi Tour and the TI office for the Basilica tour?

2. We will have about an hour between the tours. Is there somewhere we can eat lunch without having to do security again?

I am not sure what sign you are referring to. We winter near Progreso and drove into Progreso in early 2017. I saw a large Progreso sign on the far east end of malecon (the street on the beach). The malecon is about mile long, so it may be a bit of walk from the pier. I do not know if it was a permanent sign since it was getting dark and we were headed towards Eladios on the beach.

We have done 3 west to east springtime transatlantics in the past five years including Fort Lauderdale to Copenhagen in April, 2017 on the Zuiderdam. Each time we left Fort Lauderdale in warm sunshine and pleasant weather. This continued for several days until we passed Bermuda. Then the weather became cooler, more cloudy and strong winds. In 2017 we had to skip the stop in Horta, Azores because of high winds. As we approached Europe, the weather was very cool and rainy. In two crossing we were going to Rome, and the weather became warm and pleasant once we were past Cadiz. This year the weather was cool and rainy for our stops in Cherbourg, Zeebruge, Amsterdam and Copenhagen. I think any time you travel in the Northern Hemisphere in the spring you have to be prepared for cool rainy weather.

We are doing a Bucharest-Amsterdam trip in early May, 2017. We will be in the middle of a two month European trip. We pack enough clothes for an 8 day rotation, which means we have to do laundry on the road. We are not big fans of hand laundry in the bathroom sink, so we probably be using the ship laundry. We have to change ships in Budapest which means we will spend two nights in a hotel. Any thoughts, warnings or ideas about using the Viking ship laundry. We have learned not to send anything to a cruise ship laundry that is delicate or irreplaceable. Any idea as to cost?

Clueless:

Thank you for the picture showing that docking at Horta can be done. On our April, 2017 transatlantic on the Zuiderdam, we could not dock at Horta because of the high winds. Hopefully we will be able to stop in Horta on our transatlantic on the K'Dam in April, 2018.

Could you tell us about your day in Horta?

Thanks for any information.

We were on the Zuiderdam in April, 2017 in a Neptune Suite (aft wraparound). There were no wi-fi perks. We had to pay the normal wi-fi fees. We had good wi-fi reception in our cabin. There is a public use computer in the Neptune lounge. The concierge can help with with purchasing wi-fi minutes and logging in.

WWS-Unless Crabster has improved dramatically in the last six months, my recommendation is Eladios on the malecon. Our last visit to Crabster was in March, 2017. The food was barely adequate, overpriced and with mediocre service. Our previous visit three weeks earlier was the same. Eladios can be noisy and crowded when the cruise ships are in port, but it is popular with locals (ex-pats and Mexicans).

Too bad the library will not be in place until November, 2018. It will not help us on our March, 2018 transatlantic crossing. We are 4* who tried the Celebrity Constellation for a transatlantic several years ago. The elimination of the library was only part of our disappointment with Celebrity. We know there will be no library on the K'Dam so we will bring our loaded Kindle and iPad Mini (we are a mixed household). We have always enjoyed HAL's library, but we could see the lack of commitment to a library on our April, 2017 transatlantic on the Zuiderdam.

Are you thinking of the ruins at Dzibilchaltun? They are about 10 miles south of Progreso. The ruins at Mayapan are south of Merida about two hours away. While the Mayapan ruins are extraordinary you would have to arrange for a custom tour to see them. You can take an excursion from the cruise ship, take a taxi or arrange for a custom tour.

We were on the Zuiderdam transatlantic crossing in April, 2017 from Fort Lauderdale to Copenhagen. There was no organized bridge either duplicate or social. Passengers organized their own bridge, and the cruise director found cards, boards and bid boxes. It took a couple of days to get organized. We played in a section of the upper level main dining room. The meeting rooms were being used by a mountain music tour group. The mahjong players had to find their own space, but there were several mahjong sets on board. The bridge players in the main dining room had to finish by about 3 PM so staff could set up for 1st dinner service.

Several years ago we did a HAL cruise from Buenos Aires to Valpariaso and then on to Fort Lauderdale via the Panama Canal. A 33 day repositioning cruise. There was an overnight stop in Callao/Lima and there was a possibility of doing a two or three night excursion to see Manchu Pichu. It was very pricey. We chose to fly to Lima on our way to Buenos Aires, and do a 5 day tour which included Cuzco, the Sacred Valley and Manchu Pichu. We had a great time for about the cost of the the excursions from the boat. We had the chance to talk to fellow cruisers who did the excursion from the ship. I think our experience was better, plus we had the chance to spend two days in Lima. We used a tour company Adios Adventures. I hope they have been able to maintain their high level of service.

The Verizon rep who suggested AT&T should consider T-Mobile. We have been using T-Mobile internationally for the past ten years, especially in Mexico and Europe. There is no additional cost and texts are free. Voice calls are $.20 a minute. There is also free data, but speeds can be slow (2G). You need a quad band GSM phone (iPhone SE works perfect). T-Mobile's domestic coverage is not as extensive at AT&T's.

In April, 2017 we did the west to east transatlantic on Holland America. Our first stop in Horta was cancelled because of high winds. We had arranged for a full day tour starting in Ponta Delgado with Pedro Ferreira ar Azores Tours. http://www.azores-tours.com/en/tours/. We were a group of four so we paid for entire van. We specifically asked to do bathing in the hot springs and the meal cooked in the hot springs. We had a great day. You have to pay in cash at the end of the tour. Our driver helped us find an ATM in Ponta Delgada for euros. If you have questions you can contact me at wisriver2322 at gmail dot com.

TW6:

We start a Viking River cruise from Bucharest to Budapest on May 3 on the Aegir continuing on to Amsterdam on the Baldur. We will arrive late in the evening on May 2 which will give us an extra day in Bucharest. We will stay at the same hotel (Sheraton) where we will start the tour. On May 4 we will have the Viking tours of Budapest before getting on the boat.

Thank you for helping to fill in the day for the Viking tours of Bucharest. As you went upstream were there any tours that you could have skipped? Our schedule says we will stop at following ports;

Russe, Bulgaria

Vidin, Bulgaria

Scenic Cruising: The Iron Gate

Belgrade, Serbia

Osijek, Croatia

Kalocsa, Hungary

Thank you for your help.

In the daily newspapers distributed on board, the English language ones, NY Times, Britain Today or Canada Today, will usually publish the "tourist exchange rates" in the financial section. Cannot speak to the other language editions. When we have free data access we use xe.com.

We enjoy cheese, and we like to buy local cheeses while on shore. We have had no problem bringing them back on board in Europe. On our transatlantic cruise in April, 2017 we brought local cheeses, fruit and sausage in the Azores, Cherbourg, Bruge and Amsterdam. Had no problem bringing them back on board. They were all consumed by the time we disembarked. We have had no problems in South America or other European stops. There are other rules for US ports and Australia. The HAL cheese selections have become less varied over the last five years.

We have made several long driving trips in Italy; a two week trip to the boot heel and another from Venice to Florence and into Tuscany. Driving is no better or no worse than in the urban US. Roads were well maintained and clearly marked. There is a problem with breakins just as it is in US cities, but we never had a problem. We never left anything in the car we could not afford to lose.

The big difference between Italy and the US is the "congestion zone" tax in major city centers. To avoid the tax we would park outside the congestion zone, leave our luggage in the trunk and put our valuables in carry on size bags. I would recommend paying for the collision damage waiver. We managed to put several scrapes on the bumpers and the side of a car navigating some narrow streets. In Florence we parked the car at long term parking at the airport and took a cab to our apartment. The Florence airport is close to the city center. In Venice we parked at the Maestre train station and took a 15 minute train ride into Venice.

Several years ago we rented the Boccaccio apartment through Sleep In Italy. http://www.sleepinitaly.com/rome/fontana-di-trevi-apartments/apartment-boccaccio. The apartment is small, basically two rooms, on a quiet street. There are two excellent restaurants within 100 meters (Hostaria Romano and Colline Emiliane). The seafood restaurant up the street is not worth the cost. We have had no issues with Sleep in Italy. Enjoy you time in Rome. We will be in Rome for a week in early April, 2018 after a transatlantic cruise and are starting to look for accommodations.

Since we stay in apartments in Rome, I never have the advantage of using a hotel concierge. I use e-mail. If the restaurant has a web site, see if they accept reservations by e-mail. Otherwise you may have have to call them directly. The staff usually speaks English. One of our favorite Rome restaurants, Hostaria Romano, web site that says "Non si accettano prenotazioni effettuate via email"

On the cumulative team trivia on the Zuiderdam transatlantic in April, 2017 I think the first prize included travel mugs. The winners in the daily trivia received a round of drinks for the team. I have never been on a HAL Caribbean cruise and I have no recollection of trivia prizes on an Alaskan cruise.

There is an open air market close to the pedestrian mall in the city center. It has been under renovation in the last several years. I like markets, and this is a good place to spend an hour or so in the morning. There are coffee shops in the area for an early morning expresso.

http://civitavecchia.portmobility.it/en/civitavecchia-market

We use the old style ATM card from Capitol One with a 4 digit PIN. It is not a debit card and can only be used in an ATM machine to withdraw cash. It is linked to a money market account. If the card is compromised, the bad person has access only to the Cap One account. This account is used for no other purposes except travel. We have used it all over the world without a problem. In May and June, 2017 we used it in France, Finland and Russia.

We will on a transatlantic that will make a stop in early April, 2018. Earlier this year we were on the Zuiderdam TA in April and were scheduled to stop in Horta. The stop in Horta was cancelled because of high winds. We were planning to find a cab at dock side and do a driving tour of the Island including a stop at the volcano observatory.

We will try again for a Horta stop. Any other suggestions or recommendations for a tour company. We will be a group of four.

Thanks

When we embarked on a HAL cruise in Venice several years ago, we rented an apartment for a week before we left. This was our second week long stay in Venice and we were never bored. Once the day trippers and cruisers leave in the afternoon Venice becomes a fairly quiet town.You take your time and wander. We had a seven day vaparetto pass which also allowed us to ride the bus on the Lido. For example, the Accademia is open until 7:15 PM. After 4 PM the crowds are small.

Private tours that you organize yourself are usually for groups of four to eight. The ship sponsored tours usually have a 40 person bus. A large group moves at the rate of the slowest person. In Greece we had a six person private tour that left before the bus tours. We were always ahead of the bus tours, sites, restaurant, toilets, etc. As mentioned before, you can eliminate any shopping stops. In April, 2017 using a private tour for six persons, in Ponta Delgado, Azores we were able to see everything on the bus tour schedule plus and hour and half in hot springs. Unless we have no alternative, we use the private tour for shore excursions. In many cities we will skip the private tour or ship excursions and rely on taxis and public transportation.