Hlitner

Hmmm. A failed UK Air Traffic Control system has a bloke taking it out on Mykonos? Strange indeed. Sure, Mykonos is an overpriced resort/tourist island just like many overpriced or over touristed places (have you been to Stonehenge or Lands End lately?). For us, Mykonos generally means a nice beach day (at any of the many decent beaches) and some strolling around town, browsing some shops and perhaps stopping for a drink. Now, if we want to talk about travel torture just try getting from Terminal 5 to Terminal 3 at LHR for a tight flight change. Hank

I have a simple question for posters and the EJ "suits." Why should we believe that any future Explora itinerary is going to happen? It seems like this line is willing to make major itinerary changes, on a whim, for some secret reason. We have booked over 120 cruises in our cruise life, and with 1 exception (due to COVID) there were never any major changes. EJ has already revamped more itineraries than we have seen on any cruise line in 50 years! Why should any customer trust you? Hank

The major topic of complaint, on just about any cruise, are the excursions. Hang around the shore excursion desk or Guest Relations and you can hear all the whining. And yet, many folks keep booking the overpriced excursions. It gets back to the definition of insanity which is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. If you want to control your time ashore, either book a private tour or simply DIY. About 40 years ago we booked a Princess excursion from Izmir to Ephesus. The tour guide rushed us through Ephesus so she could take us to a "jewelry factory" and literally lock our bus load in the building (we were the only customers). It completely soured me on cruise line excursions, and we have traveled mostly DIY for the past 40 years! As others have said, the cruise lines do not have much control over their own excursions. They are purchased from shore-based companies, marked-up by the cruise lines, and what happens....happens. In fact, many cruise lines now outsource their entire shore excursion program to a third party (outside) contractor. Even the shore excursion folks onboard, work for a third-party vendor...and not the cruise line. Hank

On this we completely agree. On the other hand, we have so many issues with HAL that this one is deminimus. The solution is quite simple. Cruise on other lines :). And by the way, why would HAL want to assist with your planning. What they want to do is scare you into booking overpriced ship excursions. Telling you, in advance, about a free or low-cost shuttle might dissuade you from doing your own thing. Waiting until after the excursion cancelation deadline, to divulge other options, serves their own purpose which is to boost the bottom line. Hank

Unlike many, we cruise on lots of different cruise lines in both the mass market and luxury market. Within the mass market class (which includes lines like Princess, RCI, Celebrity, HAL, etc) all the lines have implemented changes intended to boost their revenue and bottom line. On every line, there are issues regarding the changes and Princess is among the pack. It seems to be like rolling the dice as to whether what you booked is what your get? In our case, we booked a Princess cruise where we paid for the Plus Package, but got upgraded to Premier because there was a short-term limited promotion for veterans. From the e-mails we have received from Princess, our package continues as booked with the addition of a few things (such as unlimited at the casual restaurants). Why? I imagine the "suits" at LA have had lots of meetings on how to deal with all the various types of bookings. Another bummer, for Princess, is that those of us who are "Elite" have watched the benefits be consistently watered down to a point where there are hardly any benefits. I get it! Princess made it relatively easy to become Elite, and then had to deal with a problem. One solution is cruise on the luxury (or call it the ultra luxury) lines such as Seabourn. Silverseas, etc. These lines are essentially all-inclusive and do not play all these games with packages. On Seabourn, we recently cruised for 32 days and did not spend a penny onboard until we realized that our $250 shareholder credit would be lost. At that point we booked 1 excursion (1 more excursion than we would prefer) and bought an expensive bottle of wine which used all our remaining credit. At the end of 32 days our On Board Account was zero! I mention this because luxury lines are a good option for those that are sick of the nickel and diming. Imagine a cruise with only 400 other passengers, no tipping, no add-on fees (even for caviar), no photographers, no art auctions, etc. In the end, the luxury line can often be a much better value than a mass market line with all the added packages, add-ons, etc. I do agree that "it sucks" that folks who thought they were getting certain package benefits are later told, "pay more or suffer the consequences." But not much anyone can do other than take your business elsewhere. Hank

On our recent cruise around Japan, shuttles were not normally mentioned until the evening before arriving at a port (sometimes they were mentioned at earlier port lectures). Keep in mind that most of the shuttles were usually priced at $20-$25 (usually included all day's use). Hank

I cheated and looked-up your itinerary. As a long time (over 50 years) international traveler/cruiser I will say that the itinerary is fantastic and will require some homework on your part. Although we are not excursion people (we tend to do most ports on our own) I will put that aside to think in terms of tours. For Ashdod you should book an excursion to Jerusalem and would certainly want to see the stations of the cross and the Wailing (Western) Wall. We also recommend visiting Bethlehem, although that will be very dependent on the, then, political situation vis-a-vis the West Bank. Limassol. Not my favorite port although we did enjoy a bus tour that included a winery. Best to stick to a ship excursion and give a lot of consideration to visiting some of the historic sites in the region. Rhodes - Your late arrival does limit some options. Since excursions can add-up to a lot of money, this is a port you might want to simply do on your own. You can explore the Old Town area on foot (from the pier) and there are quite a few things to do and see. Look at the ship's exursions to Rhodes Town (Old Town) keeping in mind that you can duplicate most of the tour on your own for a fraction of the cost. Kusadasi - A tour is a must and we strongly suggest a private tour instead of a cruise line excursion. You limited time in port (a darn shame) actually makes this a simple recommendation. You want a tour that will take you to Ephesus (specifically including the Terrace Houses). We have previously had good results with Ekol Travel, but there are quite a few decent local tour companies. You can join with a few others, via the CC Roll Call Board for your cruise,, or even consider booking a private tour for just 2 (we did this and loved the experience). If you decide to take a cruise line excursion (we do not enjoy the big group) make sure it does include visiting the Terrace Houses. Istanbul - One of our favorite ports in the world. Unfortunately, your visit is too short and on a Sunday. The Grand (Covered) Bazaar is closed as are quite a few stores (plenty of others will be open). You can look at both the ship excursions and private tours (Ekol also has tours in this port) and would want to include the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, and Topkai.... at a minimum. As to Greece (a country we really enjoy) I suggest looking at the CC Ports of Call Board for Greece for some ideas. There are many options and differing opinions on how to best do the islands. Athens can be done an excursion, on your own (you can even use the popular Hop On Hop Off Bus) or find a private tour (try the Roll Call). First time visitors usually go to the Acropolis, Acropolis Museum, Syntagma Square, Plaka, etc. It is a terrific port for those of us who like Do It Yourself days since there are multiple options (X80 bus, train (Green Line), taxi, HoHo Bus, etc) to get between the port at Pireaus and Athens. Naples - Another favorite port because of the many options. Read all the excursions, look at the Port of Call Board, and make your choice. You cannot do it all (or even come close) so you will need to pick and choose. Some popular ideas include Pompeii, Amalfi Coast, Capri, etc. Livorno - Some will disagree but we suggest going to Florence for the day. Whether you want to be part of a large excursion, or simply do it on your own (you can use the cruise line's bus or read about taking the train on the Ports of Call Board). In Florence there is more than enough to keep anyone busy (we have spent about 2 weeks in this city). As to when to book there are those who will say ASAP, especially if you want to take the most popular cruise lines excursions. Private tours (such as using Ekol in Turkey) should be booked a few months in advance. Hank

On the Quest, we did see and chat with the very friendly Captain, but none of the senior officers routinely interacted with passengers at Seabourn Square or by hosting tables (a change from our previous SB cruises). We did enjoy the cruise and even booked a similar future cruise while onboard. As to the NYC situation, my concern is that the poster who is currently on E1 cannot get an answer about where they are docking. For folks not familiar with the two ports, the Manhattan Cruise Terminal is right in the city (12th Ave near 52nd Street) and allows easy access to Manhattan via taxis, Uber, city buses, or even walking. Bayonne is in New Jersey, and trekking to NYC can take an hour (especially in rush hours) each way! The Bayonne port is essentially in the middle of nowhere. The two ports could not be more different. Also keep in mind that the Sept 25 - Oct 13 Canada/NE cruise includes two overnights (which are supposed to be in Manhattan). A move to Bayonne would create lots of logistical problems (i.e. would EJ provide constant bus service to/from NYC?). If there are issues with the Port Authority of NY/NJ than EJ should, at a minimum, update passengers on the situation. Hank Hank

We also have no problem with the lack of "Welcome Aboard" or Captains receptions. To partially quote and old tale about a British "Lady" on a Cunard cruise, when she was invited to dine with the captain she quickly responded, "sir, I do not dine with the hired help." If the officers want to maintain an aloof attitude, then we shall happily settle for socializing with our fellow passengers :). A week ago, we came off a month-long Seabourn cruise where they had the usual receptions. We ignored all but one (for that we had a specific invite). The reality is that on mass market lines folks often go to these receptions because they get a free drink or perhaps a snack. This is not an issue on luxury all-inclusive lines. On Seabourn, the senior officers used to be very visible and would often host tables in the MDR. But this seems to have changed, post COVID, and we are not privy to the reasoning. Regarding the NYC port issue, we do find the situation appalling and completely out of character for any cruise line. While we have adapted by making two sets of plans (depending on whether the ship ports in NYC or Bayonne) this is a ridiculous situation. If this represents the attitude of EJ towards its customers, we do not forecast a good future for the line. Hank

The problem with the plan (Amsterdam to Paris) is that most rental car companies either do not want to deal with cross border one-way issues or will charge an outrageous extra fee for such a trip. It used to be easy to do this kind of rental with Sixt, Europcar, etc. but that is no longer the case. For example, I just looked at Sixt (we once did an Amsterdam to Paris rental with that company) and they now add a nearly $500 one-way fee. Europcar rolls the one-way fees into their price, but you are looking at rates of $200+ per day. As one who often rents cars in Europe, I have grown to accept that cross border one-ways are not financially practical. Our solution has often been to plan circle itineraries that let us drop a car within the same country where we rented. My other solution is to lease a car rather than rent. This requires that you keep the car for AT LEAST 21 days. Consolidators such as Autoeurope can arrange a lease (they use Peugeot or Citroen) and there is an extra fee (reasonable) for many cross border deals. The upside of this deal is that you actually get a new car (you choose the model when you reserve) with zero deductible insurance. These lease deals are pretty attractive for longer rentals. Hank

I think your post is the one that should be categorized as eloquent. Yes, I am one of those "old timers" who has been blessed to have done an awful lot of cruising and traveling over the past 50 years. My age and experience have taught me to demand excellence (in many ways) or I will simply move on to a product that does a better job. For the time being, we have changed how we choose our cruises, and the expectation of quality and value (not price) has caused us to move away from a few lines (i.e. HAL, Celebrity, RCI, etc). On CC, I will simply call it the way I see it (this has always been our way) and see no reason to compromise on the standards we expect on cruises. Over our cruising life we have been on 16 different cruise lines (3 additions coming in the next year) and quite a few of those 16 are no longer with us (Orient, Sitmar, Regency, Renaissance, etc.). I mention this because the nature of this industry is that cruise lines do fail, and I would not be surprised to see some lines fail in the next 5 years, unless they get their act together. And by the way, the new line we are trying next month (Explora Journeys) does have lobster on a daily basis. That being said, at that level of cruising I suspect that most folks see lobster as just one offering our of many and not anything really special. DW and I have long been amazed at the impact, a few rubbery somewhat tasteless warm water lobster tails, can have on the psyche of some cruisers. On our recent Seabourn cruise, it was the perfectly prepared Beef Wellington and the excellent tableside prepared/fileted Dover Sole, that made me smile. The lobster was good (expecially the Thermidor) but was nothing I ordered more than once. Hank

Yeah, saw that :). It all depends on where you look as to the port schedules. I think part of the problem is that some sites show "Explora 1" at Bayonne while some sites (including the Port Authority of NYC show "MSC Explorer" at NYC cruise port. Since we are embarking on 9/25 and disembarking on 10/13, we have made rental car reservations that cover both Manhattan and Bayonne. Once we know for sure we will cancel the unnecessary reservations :). With MSC we learned to cover all the bases and hoped that EJ would be a completely different product.

I cannot believe this cruise line. I had posted that just yesterday we received documents that said we were to board on 9/25 at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal (12th ave). But the Port of Bayonne's schedule does show that E1 will be at that port from 0700 on Sept 25 to 0600 on the 26th. The port schedule for Manhattan does not show E1! Draw your own conclusion. Hank

Tis a slippery slope to be satisfied as services are cut, food quantity/quality decline, and prices increase. When a business (in this case, cruise lines) has a priority to maximize profits and reduce debt, the quality of everything will suffer until the business meets some resistance. That resistance would be folks refusing to book the line under current pricing and circumstances. From my perspective, we have noticed the gradual decline of most mass market lines, and we have simply adjusted by taking most of our business to the luxury and near luxury lines. After a recent 6 week HAL cruise, my DW said "no more HAL." Consider that we have more than 500 days on that line and yet will not book any future cruises (with HAL) until they clean up their act and restore the quality that we have grown to expect from that company. If they do not reverse their overall decline we will never see the deck of another HAL ship. Not a problem as there are plenty of other cruise lines or land trips in our future. Those of you who simply accept the decline, such as moving to once a day cabin servicing, are just giving the cruise lines an incentive to cut other services (or charge a fee for what used to be included in the cruise price). Hank

That is a terrific question, and you might get 5 different answers from 5 folks :). While it is difficult to choose one, for us it would be Manarola. Unfortunately, all the villages are now suffering from the over tourism problem which the Italian government made a lot worse by encouraging large ships to port in La Spezia. Even the government realizes their mistake, but as is too typical of the Italians they can quickly create problems and then take forever to actually implement a solution. A great example is the Venice Maritima (cruise port) on which the government spent hundreds of millions to develop, spent many more millions building the "People Mover train" and then closed the facility in the interests of the environment! Go figure. One restaurant owner, in Riomaggiore, told me that his solution was that the government should charge some kind of outrageous daily admission fee to Cinque Terre and give the income to the residents :). Hank

In the interests of full disclosure what HAL did was increase the price of the PG by $7 (to $46) and eliminate the $7 "add on" charge. So instead of having a choice to pay extra for 2 starters, everyone will pay extra! I do think that makes sense (add-ons are bush league) but we are now talking about $46 per person (over what you pay to be on the cruise). I have never had a meal in the PG that we think is worth $46 per person (which becomes $54.28 with the added 18%) given folks have already paid for food (in the cruise fare) and also paid tips (crew appreciation???) on a daily basis. Hank

In the MDR you will have no problem ordering multiple starters. There are also times when we might order a main as a starter (we usually ask the waiter if he/she can get a smaller portion). We sometimes do this if there is an interesting main pasta dish and we also want to have a different main as our real main course. Which makes no sense is the rule that has existed in the Pinnacle Grill (which is being changed) where you will be charged an extra $7 + 18%, if you order two starters (such as soup and a salad). IMHO, the extra charges in the PG rank among the most bone headed policies we have ever seen on any cruise line. Apparently, HAL did finally get the message and is soon eliminating that ridiculous nickel/diming fee. Hank

Funny thing about breakfast buffets vs sit down. On Seabourn, they generally have both with the very popular Colonnade (a buffet combined with some table service) and sit down in "The Restaurant." As is typical on many ships, the buffet has a much larger selection of items. On our recent cruise we never saw more than a few folks (usually less than 10) having sit down breakfast. On our first Seabourn Cruise (a few years ago), DW and I tried the sit down venue (for breakfast) and have never returned :). We really enjoy the Colonnade breakfast where we can order any kind of eggs, pancakes, etc. and also enhance our breakfast from the nearby buffet which has various fruits, bacon, sausages, donuts, a variety of breads, etc. In a sense, it is the best of both worlds. Seabourn will also get me a "French Press" of coffee (much better than machine-made coffee) and I wonder if that will be an option on E1. Hank

DW and I really enjoy Cinque Terre and you should pray for a rare day when the villages are not overrun with cruisers and land tourists. For the 2nd day I would be thinking either Porto Venere or Lucca (about an hour's drive). As to CQ, we have previously enjoyed walking between Riomaggiore and Manarolo on the "Via Dell'Amore" or Lovers Lane. It has been closed for a few years due to mud/land slides, but might be opened by the time of your visit. We have also done some of the much longer hikes between other villages, but this is probably best left to those on self-driving land tours where time is not a big issue. Hank

Many will disagree, but there is another major reason I avoid cruise ship transfers. Many airports have multiple terminals and all have various doors. A shuttle bus will normally drop folks at one common area and than it is up to the folks to make their way (often with luggage) to the proper terminal or the part of a terminal that has their airline. Consider that JFK Airport has 8 different terminal buildings separated by a long distance. To move around the airport one uses the Airtran and/or some internal buses (such as now needed to get to Terminal 1). When you get a taxi, Uber, or private car/driver, they will drop you at the proper terminal and door for your airline. Also consider that large transfer buses will sit at the cruise port until they are full and all the luggage is loaded. It is the same when using a transfer from airport to hotel or cruise port. Many times you will cool your heels at the airport while they wait for more passengers. On one Celebrity cruise that departed from Buenos Aires, are transfer folks told us to relax in the coffee shop for over an hour since they were waiting for another flight to fill our bus (we told them where to go...and grabbed a taxi). Hank

On our recent visit to Japan (including about 4 weeks cruising in Japanese waters) we had to clear Japanese immigration everytime we returned from a foreign port (i.e. Korea, Taiwan, etc). Their immigration folks always insisted on a face-to-face every time we re-entered or departed Japanese waters. The procedure on our cruise (with about 2000 passengers) usually took about 2-3 hours (both on entering and leaving). Procedures varied from Japanese officials coming aboard and working in the theater to having us go ashore and clear immigration in a port building. At one port (when we reentered from Korea) it was almost comical when DW and I had our Passports checked 5 times (within a few minutes) by 5 different officials. When we got to the 5th official (who was on the pier as we left the ship) I quietly said, "Five!." He smiled and asked me if we had really had our Passports checked 5 times, and after my response apologized (which got a small bow from me). The Japanese officials (and we met plenty) were always polite/respectful but are somewhat obsessive about following "procedure." Hank

If all else fails than "Tours by Locals" is always an option. Many have praised their tours/guides, but we keep an open mind since guides do vary. Hank

There are usually some taxis at each of the terminal, but they are first come first serve. You might find yourself waiting in a taxi queue until a few taxis return to the port and there is no way to know how long you will wait. There is also a public bus line that stops at the port (along the sea wall) and most ships operate some kind of shuttle service. My advice is that if you are going to depend on getting a taxi, also have a "Plan B" in case the taxi situation is bad. DW and I have often walked into town and likely beat those waiting in taxi or shuttle bus queues. We only recommend that walk for "walkers" who enjoy a long stroll :). Hank

While I agree that going to Florence (about 95 miles one-way) is a long trip, another option is to go to Florence on your own and spend the night in Florence before returning to La Spezia the following afternoon. Lots of decent restaurants, strolling along the Arno in the evening is romantic, and you get some quality time in a fabulous city. Hank

For us it was the Prinsendam where we spent exactly 200 days on a few cruises. HAL finally got rid of that ship (which is still operating with a German cruise line).