Hlitner

Lets be very honest. On mass market cruise ships you are crowding a lot of folks into a confined space. Folks can use common sense, wash their hands (a lot), avoid touching their face, wear a mask, etc. But the reality is that there is only a limited number of things that can be done in such an environment, especially with diseases spread through the air. If folks want to spend their lives concerned about all the nasty things that can happen, they might want to just barricade themselves inside their home, have everything delivered (and left outside), etc. Otherwise. one might want to just live their life, use some common sense, and accept that life is full of many risks. Hank

Could not help but notice the recent announcement that RCI is eliminating twice a day cabin service (only once a day with new policy) without cutting any of the associated fees. Agree with the choice of the Enchanted Princess, especially since the OP has already been to the Holy Land. Kotor is, indeed, a wonderful cruise port where you will want to be outside (for about 2 hours) both before arrival and after departure. Hank

Here is Verizon's published policy: How will I be charged for using my device when I travel abroad? How you're charged depends on whether or not you add an international plan to your account for your trip. Our international plans let you use your phone in more than 210 countries and destinations outside the US: TravelPass: For $5/day in Canada and Mexico* and $10/day in other countries, you can use your domestic plan's talk, text and data allowances just like you do at home. And you're only charged for days that you use your phone. Learn more by visiting our TravelPass FAQs. $100 International Monthly Plan: Ideal for trips of 10 days or more. Get unlimited data* and texts and 250 minutes for international use; *20 GB of high speed data and unlimited data at 3G speeds thereafter. You can choose to have the allowance expire after 1 month or have the plan renew every month until you remove it from your account. $20 International Monthly Plan: This plan for international cruise ship and airplane travel gives you 50 MB of data for use while on board select ships and airplanes. For coverage and pricing details, visit our International Travel page. Important: If you don't choose an international plan you'll pay per minute, per text and per MB of data used (called Pay as You Go) when you're abroad. Learn more on our International Travel page. Some of our domestic plans* already include talk, text and data while in Canada and Mexico.** (Calls from the US to Canada and Mexico are also included for no extra cost). These include: 5G Get More Unlimited, 5G Play More Unlimited, 5G Do More Unlimited, 5G Start Unlimited and Welcome Unlimited TravelPass and our Monthly International Plan can't be used in non-covered countries, on cruise ships or airplanes. *High-speed data applies for the first 2 GB/day with 3G reduced speeds thereafter. The daily charge only applies on days you use your service outside of the US, Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. **If more than 50% of your talk, text or data usage in a 60-day period is in Canada or Mexico, use of those services in those countries.

Quite aware of HAL's cancellation rules (we have 3 HAL cruises in March-April. But HAL ALSO offers lower fares with a non-refundable deposit...at least for those that use decent cruise/travel agents. If you read the "Cancellation Policy Exception" (above) it speaks to non-refundable fares. Quite a few cruise lines offer optional non-refundable fares which come with a substantial discount off the regular fares. In the case of HAL we are talking about potentially saving over a thousand dollars. The downside is only if you cancel. And if you would have to cancel for a covered reason, the non-refundable deposit may well be covered by any trip insurance you might purchase or have through a credit card.

Most cruise lines suggest not scheduling flights before 11am (a few suggest noon), although we have made 10am flights by using private transfers. It should be possible to fly home on debarkation day. Hank

We live in Puerto Vallarta (for part of the year) we get excellent cell service (T-Mobile) as part of our regular cell plan (no extra fees). Some other cell providers also have free service in Mexico and others (likely Verizon) charge extra fees. Mexico generally has two excellent cell providers (Telmex and Movistar). When on ships you should get shore-based cell service when your ship gets to within a few miles of a port. Hank

Just make sure to keep the kids on the ship when you get to most ports. Nudity, and overhearing bad language, is relatively common in many ports. There are even some popular Caribbean beaches where complete nudity is acceptable. And topless sunbathing is quite common throughout many ports in the Med. Speaking of language, my 3 year old grandson can teach me words I have never heard! Ever heard of school? Hank

Ahhh, but if you order a room service snack (to enjoy with your wine) on Celebrity you will now pay $9.95 + 18%. All Celebrity room service (even the delivery of a pot of coffee) now involves this new fee.

This is not true. HAL generally offers non-refundable deposits for which you get a lower cruise price. If you select the non-refundable deal it is truly non-refundable and you are not even permitted to take advantage of lower priced promotions without losing that deposit. Hank

There is sometimes space at the end of a car where you can leave luggage. When we are planning on using European trains we always carry a cable luggage lock (similar to a small bicycle lock) which we use to secure all of our luggage to the train. Otherwise, a smart thief might snatch the bags as a train stops at any station. Hank

Check out Sifracar.com. SIFRACAR | concessionaria a Livorno noleggio auto - rent a car We have used them, multiple times, over many years with decent results (although you should not expect a new vehicle). They used to be the local Hertz franchisee, but now seem to be independent. They also used to be able to deliver cars right to the ships and it was OK to drive back into the port and drop near the ship. How much has changed since COVID I do not know, but you can e-mail these folks and ask about their "Cruiseship Special/" One warning about renting cars in Italy (and Europe). The norm is to get a car with a stick shift (manual transmission). If you cannot drive a stick you will need to specifically request an automatic and expect to pay significantly more money for the rental. Hank

That is not quite the way it seems to work. Some of the waiters in that restaurant look more like mob muscle than waiters. Over the years there have been numerous social media posts where folks said they were too intimidated not to pay. And it is very unlikely that you will ever see the police around the time you are presented with a check. Hank

We agree! I have pointed out in other posts that we are cruise addicts (for over 50 years) but also love our independent land travel. We often use TA/Repositioning cruises as a fun way to get to and from Europe, but we also tend to spend weeks (or longer) in Europe, usually with a rental/leased car. For folks that want to see Europe, Asia, South America, etc. a land trip is the best option. Cruises are very limiting in terms of ports and the time in ports. And there are many fine places that are nowhere near any kind of cruise port. But this thread was aimed at the first time Med cruiser. Hank

Oh my! You mean non-refundable really means non-refundable. Horrors! We have plenty of issues with X (which is why we have no future cruises booked with this line) but agree with the concept of non-refundable deposits. In most cases (with many line) this will get you a lower price or more amenities as an incentive to make a non-refundable booking. If folks do not like that option they can generally pay a higher rate and get a fully refundable deposit. Low refundable deposits simply encourage folks to "hold" desirable cabins with the likelyhood that they will later cancel. It pulls the most popular cabins out of inventory and prevents others, who have every intention of taking the cruise, of getting those cabins. It also means the cruise lines will often find themselves with a large group of available cabins at the final payment date. And they sometimes need to sell those cabins at a much lower price (call it a fire sale). We actually have some friends who will book multiple cabins (with several different cruise lines) for the same time frames. They later (around final payment time) decide which cruise they will take and then cancel the other bookings. This is not uncommon and many cruise lines are now moving towards various disincentives for those false bookings.

It is a long time problem (we have posted several times in the past). The good news is that apparently the authorities finally got tired of all the complaints and slapped that restaurant with a big fine said to be over 30,000 Euros. I assume they will quickly try to recoup that fine by ripping off even more tourists. We do like the adjacent beach and there are plenty of decent (and honest) restaurants/cafes at Playa Gialas. Here is a link to a related story: DK Oyster Of Mykonos Fined Over €30,000 After Ripping Off American Tourists (greekcitytimes.com) Hank

You have framed the issues well, so it becomes one of those family decisions without a perfect option. When our DD was 9, we took her to Europe for a 3 week trip (using a Eurorail Pass) that included Germany, Holland, France and Switzerland. Now, over thirty years later, she still remembers most of those few days in Paris (her favorite part of the trip). While we are fine with MSM (we once stayed at a motel within sight of that town) you must understand that MSM is no Paris. With 9-10 year olds we would have a "family meeting" and explain all the issues (perhaps with some photos). I will also admit that we have a family bias as DW considers Paris her favorite city in the world (and we have visited over 130 countries). Hank

Easy with a taxi :). Bordeaux is a pretty big town and the Renaissance would not be my choice if location was a primary issue. We would prefer something closer to the Old Town/Saint Pierre area. But, if you like the hotel and have no issues with grabbing a taxi than you can dine anywhere you please. Hank

Internet service on any ship (and line) is never dependable. We have been on some long cruises where we had decent Internet nearly everyday. And we have been on cruises where e-mail was really slow, video (i.e. Zoom, Facetime) never worked, and the system was down for 2-3 days at a time. If good Internet is vital, than you should consider something other than an ocean cruise. If you are counting on full bandwidth I think you will be very disappointed. If your itinerary is port intensive than do as we do and primarily rely on land-based cell connections (when in or near ports).

Going through Customs at VCE is generally a big nothing. Most of the time you will simply pick-up your luggage and quickly be out the door. Delays are more likely to happen because of very slow luggage unloading. We once flew into VCE, got our luggage, and than the luggage handlers went on a one-day strike. Aircraft landing after ours were diverted to other airports (such as Milan). You have to love Italy! ); Hank

Agree, that onboard you should have a WiFi package, set your phone to airplane mode, turn on the phone's WiFi, and than you should be able to use WiFi calling (VOIP) assuming that its part of your phone plan and you have it activated before your trip. An easy way to test this is to try making a WiFi call at home (make sure to turn off cellular service. Cruise ships (including HAL) do have onboard cell phone (not Wifi) capability, but this is very expensive (many dollars per minute). That is why knowledgeable cruisers always keep their phones in Airplane Mode when at sea. When you near a port (within about 10 miles) it is usually possible to connect to shore-based Cell systems...if your phone plan includes coverage in that particular country Frequent cruisers (we fit into that category) will generally warn folks that WiFi and Internet are not very reliable when at sea. If being in touch is vital, then being on a cruise ship may not be for you. We have been on cruises where the WiFi and Internet systems have been down for multiple days. This happens because of technical failures, atmospheric conditions, or a ship's location not being ideal for a decent satellite condition (this is rare in the Caribbean). Hank

I am a bit confused by the last few posts. I should mention that we live in Puerto Vallarta for part of the year (am there now) and are very familiar with the street food (which we can get right outside our Condo). In this part of Mexico it is not about intestines, trippa, etc. What you will generally find with the street vendors are tacos al pastor (this town is well known for that item), tacos with various sausage such as the very popular chorizo. Shrimp and fish tacos are also legitimate street food, although those vendors are not as common as meat based tacos (at least around here). I should add that we have lots of great shrimp and fish dishes found in many area restaurants. Seafood is wildly popular here in Puerto Vallarta. In terms of fish the most common is Mahi Mahi with Red Snapper in 2nd place :). We also see "Sea Bass" on quite a few menus (in better restaurants) although one person's sea bass is another's Patagonia toothfish :). Hank

This post is a primer from first-time Med cruisers and should be read BEFORE you choose a cruise. Forget what you have learned in the Caribbean or Alaska. The Med is all about the ports, port times, and specific port days. The cruise line and cruise ship are secondary! Most go to the Med for the ports and the day of the week and port times are very important. As a basic rule, Sundays and Mondays are problem days in many places (especially Italy) because of closures. So check where you will be on those days (and holidays) against the opening days of places that are on your "to do list." Times in the ports are vital, in the med. In fact, they can be critical (especially to DIYers and Private Tours). 8am -5pm may be fine just about anywhere in the Caribbean, but in Europe these times can be truly awful for some ports...especially Civitavecchia (Rome), Livorno (Florence), Naples (Capri and the Amalfi Coast), Le Havre (Paris), and to a lesser degree Istanbul. Some cruise lines have been shortening their port times to save fuel and sometimes allow them to cram in an extra port (NCL and MSC have long had this issue with some itineraries). When you are going to Civitavecchia you want to be there Tuesday-Saturday and have at least 12 hours in port. It is the same for Livorno. That is because it takes over an hour (each way) to get from your port to the most popular destination. A crusie that is in Livorno from 8-5 is a real problem! Just consider wanting to take the train to Florence (from Livorno). If you do not arrive until 8, it will likely mean not being able to get a train much before 9:30 which gets you to Florence about 10:45. But you need to be back aboard by 4:30 (for a 5 departure) which means you would likely want to take a return train from Florence no later than 2pm! So your time in fabulous Florence is only about 4 hours! Civitavecchia (for Rome) is about the same. Naples (a fabulous port because there are dozens of great options) needs a long port day for some of the most popular destinations (Capri and the Amalfi Coast). Suppose you go to Istanbul on a Tuesday. Topkapi (arguably one of the 2 or 3 best tourist destinations) is closed! Go to Rome on a Sunday and you will generally find the Vatican Museums (i.e. Sistine Chapel) closed! Go to many Italian cities on a Monday morning and you will find lots of things closed! I was just helping somebody (yesterday) plan their days and noticed that their NCL cruise is in Istanbul from 4pm until 3 pm (the following day). This is truly awful planning and the folks at NCL should be fired for scheduling these port times. While it sounds like you have two days (plus an overnight) you really do not have any days. You have two partial days which is not a good thing. That 4pm arrival means you would not likely be able to get into the tourist part of town until at least 5pm. And the 3pm departure means you would have to head back to the port by1 or 1:30 (at the latest) the following day! Consider that Topkapi, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, and the Covered (Grand Bazaar) could all be done in a single long day. But with half days, that becomes impossible and splitting that (for two half days) becomes much more difficult. Hope this gets some folks thinking, and looking at Med cruise options from a different perspective. Hank

If you are truly docked at 7 you would likely be able to get off around 7:30. As to Uber, they are not allowed into the port (nor are the local taxis) since that area is restricted to a special group of "federal" taxis (who are not allowed to pick-up anyone outside of the port). So, if you want Uber you will need to walk outside the port and set-up a meeting spot with the Uber driver. I will not show you a map because, here in Puerto Vallarta, we have three cruise piers (all within the the same port) that have different exits. Your ship could be docked at any of the 3 piers depending on what else is in port and the decision of the Port Captain. Hank

We have never known of anyone who arranged for a private tour (to Paris) from Le Havre. The problem is that is about 2 1/2 hour (each way) which does not even account for the traffic once one gets into Paris. You might want to give some consideration to the cruise ship excursions (we are not fans of any excursion) or arrange to meet a guide in Paris and take the train from LeHavre.

Perhaps we can give you some idea about Mexican ports. We live in Puerto Vallarta (10 weeks a year) along with about 50,000 other Amercians/Canadians that also live and vacation in this region. There are also plenty of Americans/Canadians living in other ports such as Mazatlan and Cabo St Lucas. We do not take tours or excursions. We simply go out every day, sit on a beach, go to restaurants, shop, etc. We also watch cruise passengers (there are two ships here today) wander around town. Some are on guided tours/excursions and others are just doing their own thing. I tell you this so that you can understand that while you will be in a foreign country, there are plenty of your fellow countryfolks that are here for weeks/months and even years. English is widely understood, menus in most cafes/restaurants are in Spanish and English, and many places even accept US Dollars and the usual credit cards. If you want to save money and go off on your own you should simply do some pre-cruise homework and not hesitate to ask any specific questions here on CC. Under the Ports of Call Board there is a specific blog for the Mexican Riviera where you can find lots of informative posts (or ask you own questions). T Hank