Italy officially bans cruise ships from Venice effective August 1st

[rkacruiser]

58 minutes ago, kazu said:

I basically stopped using guides and just research.  I’ve been disappointed by both Rick Steve’s and other guide books.  I read, learn and then research.

 

I use some of the guides as part of my research.  Depend on them solely?  No.

 

59 minutes ago, kazu said:

It’s more work, I guess but planning is half the fun 😉

 

Ah, part of the old Cunard advertising slogan of "Getting their is half the fun"!  The other half for me--maybe you as well--is the planning.  Or, maybe, one-third of each:  planning, getting there, and experiencing the journey?  

[cruisemom42]

4 hours ago, kazu said:

 

I basically stopped using guides and just research.  I’ve been disappointed by both Rick Steve’s and other guide books.  I read, learn and then research.  I’ve been very happy with our hotel choices since I started doing that along with our guides (turns out Rick Steve’s hired a couple of them a year or two later LOL).

 

It’s more work, I guess but planning is half the fun 😉 

 

Guide books (and other sources of information) can be very useful, though, if one is the type to do things on one's own rather than with a guide. 

 

Rick Steves has provided excellent do-it-yourself directions from time to time. His quick reference chart on what is open when in Florence is almost worth the cost of the book alone. And thanks to his tip on climbing to the top of the bell tower at Notre Dame I had one of the most memorable experiences of my life looking down on the city spread before me while the bells of the cathedral rang at noon. 

 

Now, is he (or any guidebook) infallible? Of course not. Which is why I always try to verify through several different sources. 

 

Frommer's has also given me many priceless self-guided city walks for various European cities -- they used to be available free on their website.

 

And I would not travel to many areas in Europe (particularly Italy) without the requisite Blue Guide. I would not have discovered half the wonders of Rome if not for them, mainly because so many works of art in Rome are located in a large number of outwardly nondescript churches.

 

(The other half I credit to Filippo Coarelli's guide on ancient Rome -- the city, not the Empire -- and the Oxford Rome guide.

 

I bring all of these with me on my Kindle, and it is my joy to take a seat in many a church or museum and read in detail about what I'm seeing.

 

[kazu]

8 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Guide books (and other sources of information) can be very useful, though, if one is the type to do things on one's own rather than with a guide. 

 

Rick Steves has provided excellent do-it-yourself directions from time to time. His quick reference chart on what is open when in Florence is almost worth the cost of the book alone. And thanks to his tip on climbing to the top of the bell tower at Notre Dame I had one of the most memorable experiences of my life looking down on the city spread before me while the bells of the cathedral rang at noon. 

 

Now, is he (or any guidebook) infallible? Of course not. Which is why I always try to verify through several different sources. 

 

Frommer's has also given me many priceless self-guided city walks for various European cities -- they used to be available free on their website.

 

And I would not travel to many areas in Europe (particularly Italy) without the requisite Blue Guide. I would not have discovered half the wonders of Rome if not for them, mainly because so many works of art in Rome are located in a large number of outwardly nondescript churches.

 

(The other half I credit to Filippo Coarelli's guide on ancient Rome -- the city, not the Empire -- and the Oxford Rome guide.

 

I bring all of these with me on my Kindle, and it is my joy to take a seat in many a church or museum and read in detail about what I'm seeing.

 

 

I don’t disagree with you.  I probably wasn’t clear enough when I responded to bennybear.  I don’t use guides to the extent you do but I certainly read them for research purposes but I don’t use them for recommendations for hotels, restaurants, guides, etc.  

[bennybear]

I still use the guides but multiple ones with an emphasis on Michelin and Frommer.   I think the problem is people just want to visit what they’ve heard about  without doing much research.  So if everyone is visiting the Same places they can become overrun.  

Edited September 7, 2021 by bennybear

[cruisemom42]

25 minutes ago, bennybear said:

I still use the guides but multiple ones with an emphasis on Michelin and Frommer.   I think the problem is people just want to visit what they’ve heard about  without doing much research.  So if everyone is visiting the Same places they can become overrun.  

 

Not only that, but things seem to come and go almost like "travel fads".  The Cinque Terre is a good example of that, IMO.

 

It can also happen with specific sightseeing venues. I was very amused one time when, shortly after opening to the public, the very mediocre Roman house located underneath Palazzo Valentini was rated the #1 attraction in Rome. Above the Colosseum, Vatican, Forum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, etc.  I had to just laugh at that one....  I'm sure it was because it was "something new".

 

[Hlitner]

7 hours ago, kazu said:

 

I don’t disagree with you.  I probably wasn’t clear enough when I responded to bennybear.  I don’t use guides to the extent you do but I certainly read them for research purposes but I don’t use them for recommendations for hotels, restaurants, guides, etc.  

Once upon a time there was a decent restaurant in Florence, Italy that, unfortunately, got mentioned in the Rick Steves guide.  The next time we stopped in that place it was full of Americans and you could see all the Rick Steves books sitting on various tables.  The restaurant had increased their prices, quality had declined, and the Italians/locals had fled to other venues.   I mention this because we often recommend the Rick Steves books we rarely visit a restaurant mentioned in the pages.  Even the very famous gelato place in Florence, Vivoli, has become a cliche of itself having been hyped by Rick Steves and other guide books.  It is actually pretty easy to find better gelato in Florence, but the lines (and high prices) at Vivoli are a testament to the popularity of guide books.  Interesting that they have now slipped to 7th place on Tripadvisor (a sister company of CC).

 

Hank 

[iancal]

25 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Once upon a time there was a decent restaurant in Florence, Italy that, unfortunately, got mentioned in the Rick Steves guide.  The next time we stopped in that place it was full of Americans and you could see all the Rick Steves books sitting on various tables.  The restaurant had increased their prices, quality had declined, and the Italians/locals had fled to other venues.   I mention this because we often recommend the Rick Steves books we rarely visit a restaurant mentioned in the pages.  Even the very famous gelato place in Florence, Vivoli, has become a cliche of itself having been hyped by Rick Steves and other guide books.  It is actually pretty easy to find better gelato in Florence, but the lines (and high prices) at Vivoli are a testament to the popularity of guide books.  Interesting that they have now slipped to 7th place on Tripadvisor (a sister company of CC).

 

Hank 

Reminds me of people whose first stop in Venice is Harry's Bar.  Very odd.  I was asked that by several people on our cruise, prior to docking in Venice, who were aware that we had spent time in Venice.

 

 They seemed surprised that I did not know where it was and had never been there.

Edited September 7, 2021 by iancal

[Cruising-along]

25 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

 I mention this because we often recommend the Rick Steves books we rarely visit a restaurant mentioned in the pages

Ditto.  We have all the Rick Steves books, but only use them for DIY excursions.  Never restaurants or hotels. 

(It's fun to go to his lectures here locally too)

[nocl]

30 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Once upon a time there was a decent restaurant in Florence, Italy that, unfortunately, got mentioned in the Rick Steves guide.  The next time we stopped in that place it was full of Americans and you could see all the Rick Steves books sitting on various tables.  The restaurant had increased their prices, quality had declined, and the Italians/locals had fled to other venues.   I mention this because we often recommend the Rick Steves books we rarely visit a restaurant mentioned in the pages.  Even the very famous gelato place in Florence, Vivoli, has become a cliche of itself having been hyped by Rick Steves and other guide books.  It is actually pretty easy to find better gelato in Florence, but the lines (and high prices) at Vivoli are a testament to the popularity of guide books.  Interesting that they have now slipped to 7th place on Tripadvisor (a sister company of CC).

 

Hank 

It is always entertaining in major European cities watching tourists with Rick Steve's guide books in hand going from place to place in the books acting as if there is nothing else of interest if it is not in the books.

[Vict0riann]

And as if closing down the Venice port to large cruise ships wasn't enough, our PCC emailed today that Alitalia is shutting down:

 

"Founded on 16^th September 1946 in Rome, Italy, Alitalia Airlines will be bidding farewell on 14^th October 2021 as it will be replaced by the newly created public company Italia Transporti Aereko(ITA)".

 

Now they have to be busy again re-booking all those passengers who were going to fly Alitalia!

 

[nocl]

1 hour ago, Vict0riann said:

And as if closing down the Venice port to large cruise ships wasn't enough, our PCC emailed today that Alitalia is shutting down:

 

"Founded on 16^th September 1946 in Rome, Italy, Alitalia Airlines will be bidding farewell on 14^th October 2021 as it will be replaced by the newly created public company Italia Transporti Aereko(ITA)".

 

Now they have to be busy again re-booking all those passengers who were going to fly Alitalia!

 

Yep Alitalia has declared BK and is shutting down.

 

The new Italian state airline will be ITA, Italia Trasporto Aereo.  No affiliations with other airlines yet,

[bennybear]

2 hours ago, nocl said:

It is always entertaining in major European cities watching tourists with Rick Steve's guide books in hand going from place to place in the books acting as if there is nothing else of interest if it is not in the books.

This!  I love the Michelin guides and often find excellent sites that aren’t even mentioned.  
not to mention the joy of finding interesting experiences by serendipity. 

[rkacruiser]

3 hours ago, iancal said:

Reminds me of people whose first stop in Venice is Harry's Bar. 

 

Or the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore.  I'll admit.  I did enjoy my Singapore Sling while cracking open and dropping the peanut shells in a city where littering might have earned me a "caning" ( or worse).  But, the Long Bar was not my first stop.  

[nocl]

13 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Or the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore.  I'll admit.  I did enjoy my Singapore Sling while cracking open and dropping the peanut shells in a city where littering might have earned me a "caning" ( or worse).  But, the Long Bar was not my first stop.  

We also stopped by the Long bar during a week long stay in Singapore as we wandered by the Raffles Hotel.  At that time it was not crowded because the Raffles Hotel itself was being remodeled.