paluni

Thanks for the quick reply.

 

I looked at the Hertz on State St., but it said....

"PLEASE NOTE: There is not a vehicle rental office at this location. This vehicle may need to be coordinated for pick-up and/or drop-off."

 

So I wasn't sure if it was a 'real' agency???

 

Good to note about the San Marcos Pass (I presume this is hwy 154?) over the mountains...we were going to drive that way up and HWY 101 on the way back. Why is it so dangerous? I see it is not a divided highway..used to those. Curvy? Bad weather? Insane drivers? Animals? We have divided highways here that have accidents monthly, if not weekly...doesn't stop us from driving on them...Now...if it because of gang violance and we'll end up driving through a shooting..then we may have to rethink our plans! (Just joking)....

 

Kind of makes the difference on our decision.

 

Thanks.

I have driven it and it is just scary because it can be steep, has drop-offs, is narrow and curvy. It is quite a climb to get over that pass. It is rather rural and unpopulated, being a mountain. You do pass the gate of what used to be Ronald Reagan's vacation retreat, which they sold. Inconspicuous, but where he went all the time as president. There are some nice views. The weather is just typical southern California weather, usually not a problem. No gang shootings (no gangs up there!) and I didn't notice any insane drivers. But Highway 101 is more convenient and not scary. Also has nice views. And I think Highway 101 is faster, if I remember right.

I drove it with a friend about 35 years ago. It was ok, but I would never want to do it again. Like, hours and hours of being on a narrow, windy, dangerous road, though there are nice things to see. I would rather explore Lahaina leisurely. The sugar cane train is nice. The Hyatt at Kaanapali I remember as really nice. Go to a luau at night - a really fun and delicious experience. The Hawaiians know how to have fun. Take a little boat trip on the water. Luckily I have been to Hawaii enough that I can leisurely do things. Don't have to cram it all in anymore. Renting a car to do just what you want, if you want to see a lot, is a good idea. Eat a shave ice.

We stayed in Vernazza at a little pensione not far from the station. Vernaza was the least steep of the villages (not counting Corniglia on the cliff, which we didn't see). I didn't think it was particularly steep. That would be my choice. Or Monterosso, which also wasn't so steep. I loved the whole area and would be happy to go back.

I haven't been to Sicily, but I recently spent 10 days in Bologna and really liked it. There is a lot to see there, and a huge amount of famous sites are just a short train ride away for a day trip, like Pisa and Venice. I took the Italian Days Food Experience tour, which is one of the best day tours ever. Outstanding. The Italians themselves caution against the gypsies. But I didn't have trouble. Bologna itself has some beautiful sites to see. A great restaurant is Pino, off one of the main drags, Via Independencia. Look up on Trip Advisor some of the recommended sights. I enjoy seeing churches so that was good for me.

We liked Herculaneum better, but glad we saw Pompeii first. You kind of need to see both; they are similar but different. Herculaneum seems to be in better shape. It seemed about 1/20th the size of Pompeii and it was easy to see just about all of it. If your mother is older and might tire, probably Herculaneum is better. The sad thing about both sites is, so many of the frescoes on the walls seem to have been removed and sent to museums. And most of the artifacts are gone to museums. The body casts are not left in place where found. I guess it has to be that way because of theft, weathering and vandalism. You don't get a sense of something frozen in time on a tragic day. A lot of it is like an empty stage. But still really great to see. Make sure you get off at the right train stop for Herculaneum. Two stops together have similar names, and we and others! got off at the wrong stop. So we lost time there.

If anything we definitely learned (and are still learning) to avoid Air Berlin at all costs! (will be posting separately about the nightmare we are enduring with them and why to avoid).

 

We leave on an Airberlin flight in two weeks. I am very interested in the problems you experienced.

We flew Rome to Dusseldorf. I forget exactly what it was, but after standing in a long slow line, we learned we couldn't check more than one bag, or something strange like that. I forget the exact problem, which came as a big surprise. Maybe we were supposed to do it online first, couldn't do things right at the airport. I remember transferring stuff out of a bag to my carry-on on the airport floor. We didn't have a warning about some strange luggage rule. We barely made our luggage work. It was a bad experience. Really research their luggage rules if you can. We weren't made aware.

I think you could become "designer" and add some transparent-y type fabric that looks good - get something that covers the bare top and maybe upper arms. Ask some friends or someone with design talent to give ideas on making the bare top area a little covered, but with something transparent and glamorous? I think it's possible. Vera Wang would know what to do! (Just kidding)

Do you find 7 days more of a younger crowd, we're looking at 2017 as we have a cruise booked for next year. Is it better to go from England to NY or vice versa? Does the inside/OV have enough space?

For me, going east to west is *very* important. Going east to west, you get more time in the day. Going west to east, you lose time each day. So you can't sleep as much. I am very sensitive to it, and it's a big factor to me to go east to west. Like, being extra relaxed versus getting a slow-motion jet lag. So I would vote, go England to New York.

[quote name='Newby58']What is a Key Lime Pie? Similar to a lemon meringue pie in Oz?[/quote]
It is pastel green, creamy, has a sweet tart lime flavor (some are sweeter than others). Usually doesn't have a topping. It is quite good. It was probably invented in the Florida keys using a "key lime", a type of lime, but is usually made with any standard lime. And it does have a graham cracker crust. If you like lemon meringue pie, you would probably like this, though as stated in another answer, there is no meringue.

That's when I found my style, more when I started cruising and was forced to take more interest in clothes. And I found my personal stylist: my daughter. She is great. She picks things I would never think of, nixes things I thought were ok, and I feel good about the results. She loves to buy clothes, where I have never been into it. My husband has some help too, though he gets stuck on baby pastel pink. Anything in that he is happy. I feel no confidence in my native style, whatever it is. I get compliments on what my daughter picks, and sometimes my husband's choices. I feel I have no talent in the field of clothes, so I defer to others!

Totally agree! Yank Sing is our go-to spot for lunch in San Francisco.

 

Marilyn

I second that. If you're not familiar with dim sum, do some research and how to do it. They come around with carts and you pick, and you are charged at the end by the plates on the table. It's really good.

A few years ago, flying San Francisco to Helsinki, Finland. Flight delayed, missed connection in New York. Airline put me up in hotel overnight, arrived in Helsinki a day late.

July 2015: flying out of Rome. On tarmac, fuel pump problem discovered. Airline put me up in hotel overnight near Rome airport, arrived home a day late.

Fortunately neither flight involved catching a cruise.

We got an all-day ferry pass in July 2015. We saw all four towns, starting in Vernazza. Just didn't see Corniglia which is up on the hill and not on the water. The ferry was really fun, great views, very relaxing, good schedule. We had plenty of time to sample all four towns. I really loved that Cinque Terre. I would like to go back. It had elements of California beach town (think Santa Cruz), Disneyland, and deep traditional little Italian town. It was charming to me.

I have read other stories for a long time, where, if anything goes wrong, the Viking company leaves people twisting in the wind. They are being so stingy after this disaster, I have concluded they are short of money and just don't have the money to make it right. This confirms in my mind to avoid this company like the plague. It will never go right if there is a problem, and their operation runs into lots of problems, particularly with transportation.

Just find a likely chair, with a "vibe" of not being used by a chair hogger who is gone for hours, and occupy it. A big clue is when there are two together like that. Put the towel on the ground by the chair. If they come back, just say, with total innocence, "Oh, I didn't know this was being used." You could even sweetly say the towel was just lying on the ground (true, after you put it there). Sweetly hasten to get up. Should be no problem. Then find another chairhog-abandoned chair and repeat. Why accord these people the respect of not using their chairs when they're gone for hours. You're rewarding and enabling their hogginess.

Torcello was magical to me. I never expected it. You could almost swim there from Burano. Beautiful and rural and peaceful. I would like to stay overnight there some day. The thousands that once lived there vanished, but left behind a beautiful church and there are a few things on the island. It is peaceful and not much there, but I loved it, as another poster said. I find it interesting someone else had the same reaction as I did. It was very special.

Don't want the "crack kills" look. :)

Well, I took a day tour to see the island and on the French side in the main town, when our van was leaving, a guy came up to sell cookies or baked goods from a tray. I had a little trepidation, but I felt like doing it and bought two large cookies. I forget which kind they were. They were among the best cookies I have ever had and I wish I had bought more. That was the French side so French specialty cooking! I assumed his wife back home baked them. They were really treats. If I went back and that humble man was around, I would buy 12 now.

Take the boat to Burano, and from Burano a boat to Torcello. You can see Torcello from Burano, and it is swimming distance for some. Anyway, I loved it there. A deserted almost, natural island, that thrived at one time. Like, it has a very huge church! It was quiet and peaceful. A wedding reception going on. There was something about it that was fabulous for me. Fields of vegetation. This was a back-in-time place. I would love to go back. You can eat there. Also, I have never been, but maybe the cemetery island would be interesting too. A whole island that is a cemetery.

I was on the Regal Princess on a Caribbean cruise. I noticed two lounges together spread with towels, on a nice spot on the upper deck facing the outdoor movie screen. They were in the shade, great! So I moved the towel from one to the other, and settled down. I fully intended to politely vacate if the people showed up. I watched the movie for over an hour and neither person came back. When I left, because of that, I did not replace the towel I had moved. I left the lounge I had used totally free for someone else.

I feel everything is OK if you just move as soon as a "saver" comes back. If you are very polite, they can't get mad. I have no qualms about taking a lounge nobody is using. But that was about the only time I did it.

People who aren't there have no rights over a lounge, unless they went in the pool or a quick restroom break or something. Get up your courage and occupy a "saved" lounge chair. Just give it up nicely when they return (if they ever do). Proceed a little cautiously at first in case their relative is right there. You might inquire from a nice-looking person nearby if they know if "this" lounge is occupied.

My understanding from reading various things over time, is that the port unions on the U.S. west coast are very difficult and even nasty. I have heard ship personnel find them awful. I think sometimes luggage getting dumped in the bay is not an accident, when a ship is loading. Things were really bad before the current contract was settled. Also, it is likely cheaper to start from Ensenada. There may be these behind-the-scene reasons for this.

The Island Princess was my favorite of the 6 Princess ships I have been on. I was worried what they might do to it. Well, taking away an all-the-way-around promenade deck is a huge loss to me! So sad. Glad I experienced her the way she was.

A hotel close to the pier is in a nice area - you can walk to the pier. Also lots of transportation to take you places. Rather than a taxi, try Uber? Or Lyft? I think the first time is even free on Uber. Not sure. People are very satisfied with the service and I believe it is cheaper. You might even look into Airbnb if you are adventurous. To get from the airport to downtown, do take BART from the airport. It is convenient and cheaper than a taxi, unless you have too much luggage for lugging on the train. I don't know if they allow Uber or Lyft to pick up at the airport (the taxi rules). Or you could take the Super Shuttle which I believe is also cheaper than a taxi. You might want to then get a ride from the BART station in S.F. that is closest to your hotel.

Staying near Fisherman's Wharf is nice, there is lots going on there. I live about an hour away and I've been in the City a lot (what people in the Bay Area call S.F.). My husband is from Pittsburgh by the way - been there many times!

Princess has them. Unlike the Sanctuary next door, they are free to use. :)

 

I don't know how quiet that pool is, but with no kids in the area, I can't imagine it would be noisy.

The adult pool on the Regal Princess still had music, though not real loud, thankfully. It was real disappointing to me because the walking track was loud and the ship everywhere was loud. I wanted a quiet space so bad.

A pool area, preferably for adults only, that really was quiet. No live or recorded music. If you heard a distant movie screen, ok, but the pool area itself was just plain quiet. Peace and quiet on the water.