Hlitner

Fly! Doing the cruise thing will depend on the air schedule on the day you debark. Some of the no frills airlines (Ryanair, Sky Express, etc) have non-stops (about 2 hours). But this is not an inexpensive transfer. Hank

Just tried it, your way, on an iPhone and it cannot work, Don't know about the Android, but on an iPhone the hotspot will not function (totally grayed out) unless Cellular Data is turned on. Hank

I think you probably reflect the majority of cruisers (especially younger folks) who have never cruised on a true small ship 🙂 DW and I still smile about our first time on Seabourn when we cruised on the 450 passenger Sojourn. We boarded that ship, dropped our stuff in our suite, and headed to their Lido (Colonnade) for lunch. It is a relatively small venue with a single entrance. At the entrance, the hostess greeted us by name! Later in the voyage, when we had become friendly with that hostess, I asked her, "how did you know our names when we first boarded." She laughed and said that down in the crew area they had posted the pictures of all the passengers and she memorized most of the names! That is quite a feat, but it has been duplicated on some of our other small ship cruises. Also imagine going to the pool deck and being able to find a comfy lounger (there are enough on most small ships). And later in the cruise I was woken from a nap when a deck waitress was standing over me with my favorite drink (I had not even ordered that drink) saying, "I thought you might want a drink." The other thing about small ships on luxury lines is that there are seldom any lines....anywhere! This is not the market of Princess Cruises. They are about the "masses" with a business plan of cramming the maximum number of folks into the smallest space. Hank

This issue is above my pay grade :(. My understanding is that many cell phones use Cellular Data (mode) as part of their hotspot mode since hotspot mode is not a pure WiFi function. So, with Cellular Data off, hotspot does not function. Why? Darned if I know. But if you turn on Cellular Data you do run the risk that your phone may use Cellular at Sea (or other services) in the background and get you a big bill. It is no different on my iPhone, where just turning off Cellular Data does automatically inactivate the Hotspot function. For us, it is no biggie since we are as old as dirt and actually remember cruising before there was any Internet (folks would head for pay phones at each port). We are perfectly fine with a single device (at least at one time) on a ship so we can d/l our e-mails on a daily basis. In fact, DW and I used to turn off our phones and lock them in the cabin safe as soon as we had access to our cabin :). But these days, even we carry our phones (on cruises) since the onboard apps have become a necessity on many lines. Consider that on our most recent HAL cruise, we were overcharged (primarily for drinks) 11 or 12 times...would spot this by pulling up our account on the app, and quickly resolve the issue by sending a message to Guest Relations using the app :). Other friends would cool their heels waiting in line at Guest Relations (sometimes on a daily basis) to get them to correct overcharges. So, at least on HAL, we found the most valuable function of a phone was as an alternative to long Guest Relations queues. Hank

The actual steps do depend on your brand of phone. But, you must go into Settings and make sure that your WiFi is turned on and your Cellular Data is turned off. In basic terms, you do not want your phone to be able to connect to the ship's cell system (often connected to Cellular at Sea). If you are really concerned and do not have the tech skills to understand your phone, you might want to pay a visit to your own cell phone provider's stores and ask them to show you how to do this through your phone settings. The problem with just turning on "airplane mode" is that with many phones this will also turn off your WiFi...which much than be manually turned back on. Hank

I spent a little time looking into the current rental situation and did notice that rentacar.fr has a location that is a little bit closer to the port. I have long had mixed emotions about using rentacar.fr (we have previously rented from them in Villefranche where I do not think they currently rent) because they generally price-out with only 100 Kilometers. One needs to carefully consider this in conjuction with your driving plans, and the pricing from the usual majors who include unlimited kilometers. Hank

Thanks for this post. We had not even considered driving over to that part of Croatia...until we read your post :). So now, I need to consider adding a few more days and making some route changes :). We were thinking of going as far south as Split, so we could work our way up in that direction before heading into Slovenia. Now we need to look at the eastern side of the Peninsula.

Not so much on mass market lines, although there is some socialization on Celebrity. But on Seabourn, it is a way of life with lots of daily interaction including routine "hosted tables" in the Restaurant where passengers, who make the request, can dine with senior officers and staff. On one of our Seabourn cruises over the course of a few weeks we dined with the Captain (along with only 1 other couple), Staff Captain, Chief Engineer, Several entertainers, Assistant Hotel Manager (who was also an accomplished opera singer), and a couple of other officers. Seabourn, as a matter of course, encourages its staff to dine with passengers at least twice a week. On that line it was also common to have senior officers/staff mingle with passengers in the lounges (especially pre-dinner). They also have a "block party" (it was stopped for a while due to Covid) where the passengers have a pre-dinner get-together in the corridor (outside their suites) with all the Senior Officers and staff making the rounds. In fact, on our last Seabourn cruise a fellow passenger celebrated her 80th birthday and decided to host her own party. They loaned her a large conference room, brought in plenty of snacks, drinks, a bar tender, and the party was visited by many senior officers including the Captain. This is what we have come to expect on that line. Hank

We generally use one of two favored high volume cruise agencies. Since we book a lot of cruises, we have developed a pretty good relationship with these agencies/agents. Our favorite agent, who has all kinds of continuing ed certifications (for land,sea and air) does not like to get involved in air, and we agree! The problem is that I always look at many different air options in terms of flights, airlines, airports, schedules, etc. My message to the OP may not be what they want to hear. We are now in an era when most travel is Do It Yourself (DIY) on the Internet! Even when we book our cruises (always done through agencies that give us decent on board credits and other amenities you do not get when booking direct with a cruise line) we often do it through the online booking engine of our favored cruise agencies. For those not willing to do the "work" and/or homework, there are options, You can book directly with some cruise lines who will arrange your air, hotels, and cruises. And you will generally pay dearly for this service (when compared to doing it on your own). Most cruise lines charge about twice the price for hotels than booking the same hotel on your own. And even with transfers, a private transfer (or even a taxi) is often less expensive (and faster) that cruise line transfers. So to answer the OP's final question, YES, things have changed in the travel/cruise world. We are now in a world of smartphones (almost a necessity for international travel), apps, social media, etc. As an example, we are in the process of putting together a lengthy cruise/land trip for next year. We already booked the associated 35 day cruise (using our favorite cruise agent) which will debark us in Trieste, Italy! I am now looking at options for a few week self-driving trip that will likely involve Italy, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria! But that may change as DW and I look at maps, roads, and land options. Once we decide when and where we want to end our trip, I will look at the various air options. All my "work" will be done online without the help of any travel agent. It is all so much fun :). Hank

It should be mentioned that the Port of Civitavecchia can easily handle 6 cruise ships. Getting back to the ship is not overly difficult with trains (at least every hour) and using shuttle buses. As to private tour companies, we agree with the suggestions to check out both Rome Cabs (Stefano's Rome Cabs) and Romeinlimo. Hank

We will leave the class warfare to others. For us it is simply a matter of having spent most of our lives working (hard) and making some good choices so that we have the ability to pursue our love of travel. Perhaps that is why we have enjoyed all of our cruises, whether they were in the lowest category cabin on a budget line (once did this on the old Regent Spirit) or in a suite on a luxury ship. Do we take cruise vacations for granted? You better believe it! Why not? The very idea that one can work hard to achieve some of their goals makes me smile and I have always felt grateful for having been born into a society/country where one has the chance to achieve. . Hank

Ahhhh, but the real issue is that the Carnival of today is not the same as the Carnival of 1986. That is why I like to post about "value" rather than price. I have no idea what "spoiled" means as we simply look for the best "value" for our money. In our experience, most folks who accuse others of being "spoiled" are simply envious/jealous or trying to rationalize their own decision. So, for example, a person who pays for a HAL Neptune Suite today, may not want to "hear it" when told that HAL has the worst suite amenity package in the cruise industry. So anyone who books a suite on a competitor where they get a lot more for their money might be accused as being spoiled? Really? I would call that person (who books the other line) "wise." Hank

A very bad idea that might get you more than you expect. A nice postal worker might just put a stamp in your Passport and than you might have some real problems: https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-tips/souvenir-passport-stamps Keep in mind that Passports are expensive documents and have a real purpose. Hank

To the OPs question we would answer, maybe yes and maybe no :). It depends where, in the world, you go. For example, when we were just in Asia (Japan, Korea, and Taiwan), all those country stamp Passports every time you enter (in the case of Japan they also stamp when you depart). On a Caribbean cruise, it is rare to ever get a Passport stamped. In Europe, your Passport will be stamped when you enter a Schengen country. But you can move between Schengen countries without getting any additional stamps. If you enter the UK you will again have your Passport stamped. The funny thing is that sometimes countries do not bother to do anything. This happened to us in April 2022, when we cruised to Monte Carlo on the Seabourn Ovation. When we arrived in Monte Carlo, there were no formalities and we just walked off the ship onto the pier and were met by our car/driver. Nobody from Monaco was at the port to stamp anything. A few weeks later this caused us some problems when we entered Germany (from the Czech Republic). The Germans are one of the few Schegen countries that have everyone go through Passport control (even when on domestic flights). The Germans were very unhappy because we had no entry stamp for a Schengen country! Fortunately, we had plenty of backup documents including our cruise tickets, airline tickets, etc. to prove that our itinerary. Hank

We were just in Yokohama (March and April) when we cruised on the Westerdam. We also spent 12 days in Japan (including 1 night in Yokohama) on our own. I cannot speak to the Diamond Princess excursion issue, but can assure folks that if you do a little homework, there is plenty you can do on your own. For example, on one of our visits (turn around day) we took the metro into Tokyo and went to a couple of the neighborhoods (via Metro). On another port day in Yokohama we grabbed the metro over to the train station and took the train to Kamakura (where they have the most amazing outdoor Budhia). On a third day in Yokohama we simply walked from the port to Chinatown and later enjoyed the park that is along the water close to the port. I do hope that folks going to Japan enjoy the country as much as us. Do not fear doing some things on your own. It is a very tourist-friendly country, sparkling clean, and very safe. Hank

Since we have not rented a car in Cannes since the COVID mess, I am not sure if the one rental car place (it was a local company) that is near the tender pier is still in business. Otherwise, all the local rental car offices are a good 20 min walk from the tender pier. The rental car companies will rent with a US License, but it is always advisable to have an International Drivers Permit (sold by AAA) which can be helpful is you were to somehow get stopped by the police. Any search engine should give you multiple options (in terms of rental cars) and we have usually rented from one of the companies on the Rue d'Antibes. Using Google maps will give you a good idea of the walking distance. Do not count on being able to get a taxi for the short haul from the tender pier area. One caution about using a rental car on a port day is that you should get back to Cannes a couple of hours early, because traffic can sometimes cause delays.

And you do not think the criticism is appropriate? Hank

Just to add to the last post, the "R" ships accommodate about 700 passengers. They are still in service with lines like Oceania and Azamara.

On HAL, the changes will be simple. The Guest Relations staff will be replaced with robots who will carefully listen to the complaints and than responsd with "we will send an e-mail to the appropriate department." That will eliminate a dozen employees, and nothing will change from the current responses. The hotel/general manager will also be replaced with a robot who will sit in its office (24/7) and never answer the door, respond to a question, but will always have their picture on the TV..as a senior officer. And than there will be the new HAL robot entertainers. They will play pre-recorded music, read EXP scripts, give pre-recorded lectures on shore excursions, etc. Other robots will be called Step One Dancers, be programmed with 3 or 4 dance shows, and perform those same shows for at least a decade. And the bar tenders will be replaced with robot bartenders who will have a permanent smile, have a pre-recorded response "sorry, we do not have that aboard," and "we haven't had that for months because of a supply chain issue" and than will go on with their job. The good news is that the robot staff in the Lido will quicky clear away dirty dishes and sanitize the tables. And the robots will be trained to chase away anyone who occupies tables for more than an hour without eating/drinking. Hank P.S. Lighten up folks...the future is now

OMG No! Spoiled is just not the proper term. I prefer to think that most of us want what we pay for....not less. Why should we settle for lesser quality, at higher prices? Some might call it being spoiled, and yes, I plead guilty to being spoiled (for over 50 years) by the wonderful cruise industry. Should we lower our expectations? No way. Speaking of Holland America, we are 5* Mariners on that line (their highest category other than their somewhat secret "Presidents Club") and recently finished a 42 day cruise on their Westerdam. The overall product was not even close to their previous excellent standards (in terms of cuisine, service and entertainment. For us, it means our next 3 long cruises are on Explora Journeys (a new luxury line), Princess and Oceania. And if none of them meet my standards (in terms of value) we will look elsewhere. If we lower our standards, the product (cruise lines) will fulfill our expectations. As customers we need to demand the highest standards and not simply acquiesce to cut-backs along with the higher prices. Hank

As long time (over 50 years) independent travelers we love this kind of question and will add that public transport is not complicated when you do your homework IMHO, getting back to Marseille would best be done on the train (quite cheap and fast). Keep in mind that once you are back in Marseille you will either need a taxi back to the port (or you can walk to the Vieux Port and probably catch a shuttle bus). Trains in France are reliable until they are NOT :). Things can happen, such as strikes, breakdown, etc. You can certainly check the strike schedule (most are announced in advance) right before your trip. If we were doing that trip, the 14:35 train would be about the latest we would consider (coming back for Cassis). That gets you into Marseille by 3pm which leaves a good margin of error if the train is late. That would leave you with less than 1 1/2 hours in Cassis (you do have to get to and from the train station) which is not much time to enjoy a city and have a nice lunch (DW and I can easily spend 1 1'2 hours just having lunch). Not my idea of a worthy day trip....but everyone has their own standards. Hank

I think the OP needs to be more specific as some folks consider 2500 passenger ships, small. For us, a small cruise ship means less than 1000 passengers and this is now a market exclusively for the so-called Premium and Luxury Lines. Mass market lines, like Princess, HAL, Carnvial, etc can no longer afford to operate those kind of ships within the price range normally accepted for this class of ship. We have cruised on boats as small as 20 passengers (truly wonderful) and like the smaller Seabourn ships (450 passenger). By the way, my first RCCL (now RCI) ship was the Sun Viking which carried about 850 passengers. In those days, it was considered a big ship :). Our first cruise was on NCLs Sunward II which carried about 700 passengers and was a little over 14,000 tons! All the mass market lines have moved to larger ships because they can take better advantage of the economies of scale. Consider that a 6000 passenger ship need to pay 1 Captain (Master) and 1 Chief Engineer. The 450 passenger Seabourn ships also must carry 1 Captain and 1 Chief Engineer. As long as a cruise line can sell most of the berths, those huge ships make economic sense. On the other hand, the vary size of the ships does limit their ports. A 600 passenger ship can cruise up the Garonne River and dock in downtown Bordeaux. The 4000 passenger ship would have to dock at Le Verdun sur Mer, which is a good 30 minute drive from town. It is like that with many ports around the world. Hank

The devil is in the details (fine print) right from the MJA site: "Medical Assessment – Medjet will require a Medical Assessment in order to determine membership benefits and stability for transport. The Medical Assessment requires a consultation between the Member’s treating physician, who will provide a final or interim diagnosis that will require continued inpatient hospitalization, and a Medjet physician, who will review and evaluate the treating physician’s diagnosis in order to determine the Member’s transport requirements. A Member must be medically stable for medical transport." The issue of "medical stability" becomes the key phrase. It also required hospital to hospital (inpatient). None of this has anything to to do with "political unrest." Just like any medical evac policy, there will be physicians involved which can be a good thing...or a real problem. Hank

I am trying to understand the OP's topic of tying political unrest to medical evac. All the medical evac policies (including MedJetAssist) have similar language in terms of medical evacuation only happening from an inpatient setting (almost always inpatient to inpatient) with both the attending physician and the insurance company agreeing that the evacuation is "medically necessary" and appropriate. The only way political unrest might enter into the fray would be if the patient is in a hospital in an area that is too dangerous (due to unrest) in which case there would still need to be agreement of the attending physician and the insurer. Also consider that if political unrest is of such a concern it may not be reasonable to evacuate anyone due to the inability or risk of bringing in some kind of aircraft. Some folks do not want to accept that "medical evacuations" are for medical reasons and that the ultimate decision making will be up to the involved physicians and insurer (with the cooperation of the patient). Hank

I guess one person's Lavender is another person's weed! Your question is very subjective and some will probably find a private tour wonderful while others will think it was over priced. The alternative is to simply rent a car in Marselle (there are several rental agencies near the train station) and drive yourself, using GPS and a downloaded itinerary as a guide. We have done a lot of driving in the Luberon, and once away from Marseille it is mostly rural 2 lane roads, lots of beautiful scenary, and many smaller villages (such as Lourmarin). Another easy DIY option from Marseille it to simply take the train or local bus up to Aix en Provence, which is a relatively large city with a nice old town, lots of eating venues, museums, etc. Hank