NHProud Posted April 30 #120376 Share Posted April 30 17 minutes ago, Jimbo said: I looked, but not easy finding a tour that covers as many places as the 21 day tour Rick Steves offers. Granted , I agree with you. I’ve been to all of the places mentioned except the three between Rome and Paris. We lived for 13 months 10 miles from Dachau . You’ve been warned , you’ll have to transport your luggage in some places, no A/c , no elevators and in one hotel a shared bathroom. Steves is known for his no frills travel . It is not for me but you and your wife are younger and more fit than me . I would definitely check out his hotels . We’ve been waiting since 7:30 am for the geek squad guy . We were to be his first stop today . Best Buy has no number for him and still looking. Bad service for $250 to install a TV. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dani negreanu Posted April 30 Author #120377 Share Posted April 30 @Jimbo JMHO, after travelling extensively through Europe, and began cruising in 2010, at the ripe age of 59 😕 I'll give the first part of this itinerary a miss. I'll take a cruise which starts in Rome (and arrive 3-4 days before the cruise), which ends in Venice (Ravenna) and add 2-3 days there (or vice versa -- Venice to Rome). Paris deserves much more than 2 days. I'll make a dedicated trip for Paris and London, travelling between the two with the Eurostar. Amazing. Florence I could do with a full long day. Much of our travel in Europe has been driving from one place to another. I absolutely hated having to "live from our [car] boot" and having to pack/unpack every 2-3 days... So glad we discovered cruising, albeit late, even at the "price" of not doing "in-depth" travelling. My "philosophy" is that anyhow I'll not see everything in the world thoroughly... budget and time are big constraints. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ozark_Kid Posted April 30 #120378 Share Posted April 30 We all seem to enjoy sharing food pics. Kenzie wanted to share one with Sharon today! I like how she arranged the cucumber slices! 32 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arzeena Posted April 30 #120379 Share Posted April 30 11 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said: We all seem to enjoy sharing food pics. Kenzie wanted to share one with Sharon today! I like how she arranged the cucumber slices! 🥰Doll! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaniDanielle Posted April 30 #120380 Share Posted April 30 So cute, does she eat all those veggies and is that a peanut butter and jelly sandwich??? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo Posted April 30 #120381 Share Posted April 30 43 minutes ago, NHProud said: Granted , I agree with you. I’ve been to all of the places mentioned except the three between Rome and Paris. We lived for 13 months 10 miles from Dachau . You’ve been warned , you’ll have to transport your luggage in some places, no A/c , no elevators and in one hotel a shared bathroom. Steves is known for his no frills travel . It is not for me but you and your wife are younger and more fit than me . I would definitely check out his hotels . We’ve been waiting since 7:30 am for the geek squad guy . We were to be his first stop today . Best Buy has no number for him and still looking. Bad service for $250 to install a TV. Going to pack light though, fine with me just shorts and t-shirts and a pair of sneakers. Not having to pack dress clothes like for a cruise sounds like a dream vacation for us. We can handle our own luggage when packing like no problem. Having to share a bathroom for a night or 2 not a big deal. Yes, all the hotels are probably going to be nothing like 5 star hotels but no big deal we will be traveling with our boots on the ground getting the real experience of what these countries are all about. Good Luck on your geek squad arrival, usually those guys know their stuff when they do finally arrive. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHProud Posted April 30 #120382 Share Posted April 30 47 minutes ago, Jimbo said: Going to pack light though, fine with me just shorts and t-shirts and a pair of sneakers. Not having to pack dress clothes like for a cruise sounds like a dream vacation for us. We can handle our own luggage when packing like no problem. Having to share a bathroom for a night or 2 not a big deal. Yes, all the hotels are probably going to be nothing like 5 star hotels but no big deal we will be traveling with our boots on the ground getting the real experience of what these countries are all about. Good Luck on your geek squad arrival, usually those guys know their stuff when they do finally arrive. It looks like a wonderful itinerary. I especially like the visits to the museums . It covers a lot of territory but if you’re able and don’t mind then go for it. We are too old now and glad we did our independent travel when we did . No show , yet , for the geek guy. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare bobmacliberty Posted April 30 #120383 Share Posted April 30 46 minutes ago, Jimbo said: Going to pack light though, fine with me just shorts and t-shirts and a pair of sneakers. Not having to pack dress clothes like for a cruise sounds like a dream vacation for us. We can handle our own luggage when packing like no problem. Having to share a bathroom for a night or 2 not a big deal. Yes, all the hotels are probably going to be nothing like 5 star hotels but no big deal we will be traveling with our boots on the ground getting the real experience of what these countries are all about. Good Luck on your geek squad arrival, usually those guys know their stuff when they do finally arrive. I enjoy Rick Steves' shows and like his walking audio tours. We used his audio tours in Rome and they were very informative. As you know, he's about value travel. The hotels that he uses look to be clean but basic. I'd rather spend a little more on hotels and get A/C and working elevators. Have you looked at Tauck tours? They are more of a luxury offering and may be too expensive, but they are supposed to be excellent. They won't cover as much area as the Rick Steves tour you're looking at, but I'd rather spend more time in fewer areas to get a feel for each place. I love cruising but my biggest gripe is that you basically do a "drive by" for each port stop. For land tours, I'd rather spend 4 or more nights at each stop. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ozark_Kid Posted April 30 #120384 Share Posted April 30 1 hour ago, DaniDanielle said: So cute, does she eat all those veggies and is that a peanut butter and jelly sandwich??? It looks like a pb&j. Her family are big into eating plenty of fruit and veggies. I think it is funny when they are here and one of the kids ask if they can have a snack. When we say yes, they go grab a cup of apple sauce or peaches! They are being raised to be healthy eaters! 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mets07 Posted April 30 #120385 Share Posted April 30 @Jimbo We are doing a back to back this summer in Europe similar to what you had planned. We will spend a few days in London pre-cruise. We have already done multiple trips to Europe right after we were married (40 years ago 😉). People told us to travel before we had kids and we took their advice. Those were trips we did on our own and went all over by car or train. My husband also returned to England & France with my older son and also visited Japan when same son was studying abroad. We have long since become huge cruising fans and are fine with the combination of relaxing sea days and intense port days. We are doing a Norway cruise followed by a cruise to Spain/Italy/Portugal/France. We know it will be hot weather but we are ok with that. I hope you have a great time whatever you decide. @bobmacliberty mentioned Tauck tours .... those were very popular with my husband's family. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo Posted April 30 #120386 Share Posted April 30 1 hour ago, bobmacliberty said: I enjoy Rick Steves' shows and like his walking audio tours. We used his audio tours in Rome and they were very informative. As you know, he's about value travel. The hotels that he uses look to be clean but basic. I'd rather spend a little more on hotels and get A/C and working elevators. Have you looked at Tauck tours? They are more of a luxury offering and may be too expensive, but they are supposed to be excellent. They won't cover as much area as the Rick Steves tour you're looking at, but I'd rather spend more time in fewer areas to get a feel for each place. I love cruising but my biggest gripe is that you basically do a "drive by" for each port stop. For land tours, I'd rather spend 4 or more nights at each stop. 6 minutes ago, mets07 said: @Jimbo We are doing a back to back this summer in Europe similar to what you had planned. We will spend a few days in London pre-cruise. We have already done multiple trips to Europe right after we were married (40 years ago 😉). People told us to travel before we had kids and we took their advice. Those were trips we did on our own and went all over by car or train. My husband also returned to England & France with my older son and also visited Japan when same son was studying abroad. We have long since become huge cruising fans and are fine with the combination of relaxing sea days and intense port days. We are doing a Norway cruise followed by a cruise to Spain/Italy/Portugal/France. We know it will be hot weather but we are ok with that. I hope you have a great time whatever you decide. @bobmacliberty mentioned Tauck tours .... those were very popular with my husband's family. My parents went on Tauck Tour, many, many years ago to Hawaii and they could not keep from telling everyone how nice it was and that they took care of EVERYTHING on the tour. They really enjoyed it a lot. Even back then though it was very expensive and even now even more expensive. Probably more then we want to spend. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocean Boy Posted April 30 #120387 Share Posted April 30 2 hours ago, Jimbo said: Going to pack light though, fine with me just shorts and t-shirts and a pair of sneakers. Not having to pack dress clothes like for a cruise sounds like a dream vacation for us. I haven't packed dress clothes for a cruise in a very long time. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo Posted April 30 #120388 Share Posted April 30 2 hours ago, dani negreanu said: @Jimbo JMHO, after travelling extensively through Europe, and began cruising in 2010, at the ripe age of 59 😕 I'll give the first part of this itinerary a miss. I'll take a cruise which starts in Rome (and arrive 3-4 days before the cruise), which ends in Venice (Ravenna) and add 2-3 days there (or vice versa -- Venice to Rome). Paris deserves much more than 2 days. I'll make a dedicated trip for Paris and London, travelling between the two with the Eurostar. Amazing. Florence I could do with a full long day. Much of our travel in Europe has been driving from one place to another. I absolutely hated having to "live from our [car] boot" and having to pack/unpack every 2-3 days... So glad we discovered cruising, albeit late, even at the "price" of not doing "in-depth" travelling. My "philosophy" is that anyhow I'll not see everything in the world thoroughly... budget and time are big constraints. After taking 2 to 3 cruises a year for many , many years just don't have the interest in cruising that much anymore. So I guess we are going the opposite way as far as cruising a lot first and now want to do more land vacations. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George C Posted April 30 #120389 Share Posted April 30 1 minute ago, Ocean Boy said: I haven't packed dress clothes for a cruise in a very long time. Cruises are really casual compared to a decade ago, I used to pack a tux now I don’t even bring a sports jacket for most cruises. As Bob said the times they are a changing 😁. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHProud Posted April 30 #120390 Share Posted April 30 (edited) 17 minutes ago, Jimbo said: My parents went on Tauck Tour, many, many years ago to Hawaii and they could not keep from telling everyone how nice it was and that they took care of EVERYTHING on the tour. They really enjoyed it a lot. Even back then though it was very expensive and even now even more expensive. Probably more then we want to spend. We toured Germany on a 3 week bus tour courtesy of a German foundation. The hotels were basic . It was fine . The highlight was a formal reception in Bonn. You won’t know unless you go . Edited April 30 by NHProud 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATG Posted April 30 #120391 Share Posted April 30 17 minutes ago, mets07 said: @Jimbo We are doing a back to back this summer in Europe similar to what you had planned. We will spend a few days in London pre-cruise. We have already done multiple trips to Europe right after we were married (40 years ago 😉). People told us to travel before we had kids and we took their advice. Those were trips we did on our own and went all over by car or train. My husband also returned to England & France with my older son and also visited Japan when same son was studying abroad. We have long since become huge cruising fans and are fine with the combination of relaxing sea days and intense port days. We are doing a Norway cruise followed by a cruise to Spain/Italy/Portugal/France. We know it will be hot weather but we are ok with that. I hope you have a great time whatever you decide. @bobmacliberty mentioned Tauck tours .... those were very popular with my husband's family. We’re also doing the b2b Norway and the Med on Anthem this July. Yes, it will be hot, but it’s hot in SC then too. We’re spending a couple of days in Portsmouth before since Dave is a big naval history buff. He was excited to learn we would be close to where the battle of Trafalgar was fought while we’re in the Med. We did an eastern Mediterranean cruise in 2013 and spent several days in Rome before. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckynana Posted April 30 #120392 Share Posted April 30 6 hours ago, aussielozzie18 said: The lift in our hotel in Paris was tiny. Only had room for myself and my suitcase and it was so old. Decided it was safer to join DD carrying the suitcase up the stairs. Our hotel in Rome also had a very small elevator. Just the two of us and our two pieces of luggage fit inside. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare aussielozzie18 Posted April 30 #120393 Share Posted April 30 Good afternoon from Canada Place. 3 ships departing so it took 1.5hrs to board. Just thankful I didn’t book radiance (which I was seriously considering) Beautiful day for our sailaway 23 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmh2006 Posted April 30 #120394 Share Posted April 30 27 minutes ago, aussielozzie18 said: Good afternoon from Canada Place. 3 ships departing so it took 1.5hrs to board. Just thankful I didn’t book radiance (which I was seriously considering) Beautiful day for our sailaway Bon Voyage @aussilozzie! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reallyitsmema Posted April 30 #120395 Share Posted April 30 Just read on another site that Harmony had to make an emergency medical stop in Cozumel to drop off Captain James. The cruise is continuing on to Roatan with the staff captains in charge. Hopefully he is okay. 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckynana Posted May 1 #120396 Share Posted May 1 1 hour ago, aussielozzie18 said: Good afternoon from Canada Place. 3 ships departing so it took 1.5hrs to board. Just thankful I didn’t book radiance (which I was seriously considering) Beautiful day for our sailaway Bon Voyage! Have a great cruise!!🛳️ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckynana Posted May 1 #120397 Share Posted May 1 40 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said: Just read on another site that Harmony had to make an emergency medical stop in Cozumel to drop off Captain James. The cruise is continuing on to Roatan with the staff captains in charge. Hopefully he is okay. How awful! I do hope that he will be okay. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine3601 Posted May 1 #120398 Share Posted May 1 On 4/29/2024 at 4:13 PM, jmh2006 said: Hi CC friends! It has been a rough 10 days. As some already know from that other site that shall remain nameless, I lost my dear father very unexpectedly on April 18th. He was in good health up to the very end and would have been 88 this August. I returned home today after a week down in North Carolina, where he lived, to help my sister take care of all the "things". My sister moved down there from NJ last summer. While I am still a little bit in shock that he is gone (my mother died in 2014), I am so thankful he was living life to the fullest up to the very end and we were all together the first weekend of April for a fun filled time. My father had moved into a lovely independent living community in the fall of 2022 so he had downsized quite a bit which was very helpful this past week as were emptying his apartment. I also urge everyone to have all their important papers organized in a file for your loved ones, should anything happen unexpectedly as did for us. Even though we knew where all the "stuff" was he still had little post it notes all over his desk of passwords for his computer. 😃 We will be having a Celebration of Life in the summer down in NC for him. I am so very sorry to hear about your Dad passing away. May he RIP🙏 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare RobInMN Posted May 1 #120399 Share Posted May 1 1 hour ago, Jimbo said: After taking 2 to 3 cruises a year for many , many years just don't have the interest in cruising that much anymore. So I guess we are going the opposite way as far as cruising a lot first and now want to do more land vacations. Have you done river cruises? We've done a few now and enjoy them. They have the advantage that oceans cruises do in the sense that your hotel travels with you, and obviously river cruises go places you can't get to from ocean ports. We don't like doing the same Caribbean ports over & over, and do some of the other itineraries more, but occasionally will sail for the ship just to see/experience a new one. Anyway, we've done Nuremburg to Luxemburg, Nuremburg to Vienna, Vilshofen to Budapest to Bucharest, and next Spring will be doing Basel to Amsterdam. At that point, we'll have gone all the way from Amsterdam to the Black Sea. 🙂 The River Cruises sub forum is active enough. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATG Posted May 1 #120400 Share Posted May 1 49 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said: Just read on another site that Harmony had to make an emergency medical stop in Cozumel to drop off Captain James. The cruise is continuing on to Roatan with the staff captains in charge. Hopefully he is okay. We’re on Mariner, Captain announced we were docking at a different location so that another ship could use our spot. We saw Harmony leaving, I don’t remember when but thought it was a strange time to be leaving. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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