Hlitner

The reality is that nightmare scenarios do happen, are rare, and are truly horrifying when you are the folks involved. There is no insurance that can take the place of a calm, cool, and collected brain and some luck! We have been there, done that, and survived. When we had our own medical emergency (which started in Vietnam) I later thought that we had "trained" with over 50+ years of extensive travel to think ourselves through a crisis. In our case, the insurance company (GeoBlue) was helpful, but we still needed to rely on ourselves and our ability to reason and find solutions. And, in our case, a simple thing like a working Smartphone was a critical piece in working out a solution. I am still amazed at how many folks (especially on the HAL blog) do not understand how important a working smartphone has become to international travel. While decent insurance can be a real lifeline, in the final analysis there needs to be somebody who is able to think clearly and find solutions. That is just the reality of travel and life. While it is nice if you have somebody, local, who can help, in the final analysis much may depend on the traveler (or their partner) to find and implement solutions. Decent insurance sure helps with piece of mind, but is generally not a replacement for a cool head at the scene. Hank

LOL. Usually when we first arrive in PV (early afternoon) we get all of our stuff into our condo and then head downstairs to the Sea Monkey for some beer and nachos. The longtime manager, Rafael, has always done a good job and we like seeing him and knowing that PV is best defined by the wonderful Mexicans that take good care of us during our too short winters. A decent snack at the Sea Monkey gets us through until dinner time :). DW has this weird hobby of sitting on our balcony, looking down at the Malecon, and picking out the cruise ship passengers by how they dress, their fanny packs. bottles of water (ridiculous in PV), etc. It is tongue in cheek since we are also avid cruisers, but the truth is that many cruisers stand out like a dark insect on white paper! It is a lesson we try to remember when we are cruising. Hank

The MSC website has never accepted any of our cards (Amex, Visa or MC) during the pre-cruise online check-in process. Not sure if it works for anyone. But it is no problem once onboard since it is easy to register a card in the onboard kiosks. Hank

To be honest, we have not been wowed by the steak in the YC or Butchers Cut. But our last MSC cruise was pre-covid. Will be on the Seashore in a few weeks and will see if things have changed. We do really enjoy MSC''s Yacht Club, but think the cuisine on MSC (and in the YC) is simply mediocre. The one exception was on our last Divina cruise when the YC's Maitre'd made some amazing pasta dishes including a world class Cacio e Pepe. Hank

Tough for me since several of my favorite restaurants, on the beach, have gone out of business in the past 2 years! The Blue Shrimp (not our hang out) has a pretty expansive menu so one does not need to eat shrimp to enjoy that place. Daquiri Dicks (close to the Blue Shrimp) has recently reopened with a new owner and chef. This used to be a decent place for lunch but with new ownership we cannot vouch for the place. Online indications are pretty good. If you walk further down the beach (to near the pier) La Palapa has a decent reputation but, like many of the beach front restaurants is somewhat expensive. As to the Sea Monkey (we live above that place) it is what it is...which is a lower priced beachfront alternative. The Sea Monkey has decent drink prices and OK (not great) food. It is owned by the same guy who founded the well known Cheeky Monkey (now out of business) and he believes in providing good value and fun. Fine for nachos, tacos, etc....but not gourmet. A reasonably priced beach front place with very typical Mexican cuisine is Cuates y Cuates. Not known for gourmet food, but it would fall between the Sea Monkey and more expensive places (like the Blue Shrimp and Daiquiri Dicks) in terms of price and quality. I would emphasize that PV is a real "foodie paradise" with terrific cuisine in every price category. When you limit yourself to beachfront and lunch, the number of options quickly diminish. Hank

But alas, if you were to somehow test positive in Canada (even if 10 feet inside the border) you would need to quarantine in Canado for at least 10 days (at your own expense). Heading back across the border (into the USA) would be illegal (under Canadian rules) even if your home was right across the border. We recently ran into this Canadian rule while planning a driving trip into Canada with some friends. Today, we all cancelled our plans, called the Canadian B&B, whose owner was not even aware of this rule, and cancelled several thousand dollars of reservations. No big deal for us (we will simply do an alternative trip into New England). But we do feel sorry for the Canadian B&B and restaurants that have lost a lot of business because of this type of silly rule. I only post this because there is nothing "simple" about ArriveCan or the related rules! What is simple is going to Mexico of just about anywhere in Europe. Canada......"forget about it!" Hank

That will depend on the country. If you are in northern Europe/Baltic, everyone takes plastic and, in some countries, such as Finland and Sweden, it is actually unusual to use cash. But in other countries, such as Italy, there are still some places that do not accept plastic. It is always wise to check, when going into a restaurant, unless you are carrying enough currency. And we have had times when the credit card system is down, and one needs to find some cash. It once happened to us in Bruge and I had to run out of the restaurant and find an ATM (while DW relaxed at our table). This led us to recommend that folks should generally have enough currency to cover a tab...just in case. Hank

I do not think there is a right or wrong answer to the OP's question. How you handle ports are simply personal preference. DW and I do a lot of travel and cruising and probably average one cruise line excursion for about every 100 ports :). As experienced travelers, with a spirit of adventure, we generally prefer to do our own thing whether in the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, etc! About the only time we book a cruise line excursion is if they do something we want that we cannot reasonably accomplish on our own. We know other cruisers who will not get off a ship in any port unless they are part of a cruise line excursion. I have sometimes joked that some of those folks need an excursion to go to their Supermarket when they are home. Hank

It sure is taking a long time for this technology to be normalized here. But in the past couple of years we have noticed that more restaurants are using the portable credit card machines at the tables. When it comes to credit card technology, I think the USA lags most of the world (including many third world countries). Hank

I would never rent a car within Rome. Much of the central area is within a ZTL which means nasty fines for unauthorized cars. And traffic in Rome often makes it faster to walk or just use public transportation :). But would be very happy to have an Alfa rental :). Hank

The norm on nearly all cruise ships is to turn off their onboard cell service (usually Cellular at Sea) when they get within about 10 miles of land. At that point you can connect to the land-based cell system. In Mexico, the two big cell providers are Movistar and Telcel. These Mexican providers both will work with most US Cell plans, but whether you are charged any fees depends on your own cell provider. If you have T-Mobil, it will work with either system (usually defaults to Telcel) and most of their plans include free coverage in Mexico. Other plans have their own rules so it is best to look at your own US Provider. Hank

I think the topic "above Barcelona" is mis leading. Monserrat is about 35 miles distant from Barcelona. We have driven it (rental car) and also gone there via train. My advice to a cruiser doing this on a port day is take an excursion! DIY is best left to folks who are actually staying in Barcelona. Hank

I want to correct a misconception. Contactless credit card use has been somewhat common in Europe for a few years prior to COVID! Americans (not familiar with Europe) should also be aware that, in Europe, it is almost unheard of to allow a credit card out of your sight. Unlike here in the USA where merchants and waiters might take your credit card out of your sight to run the card, in Europe the norm is to bring the credit card user to your location or put it in a terminal within your view. In Europe we would not normally allow anyone to take our credit cards out of our view. Hank

Lots of unknowns here. The tender operation is somewhat dependent on the cruise line, but all the ships do use large shore-based tender services. How fast one gets off any ship is dependent on the policy of that specific ship (it helps to have some kind of priority). The tenders for ship excursions go to a different port than the tenders for the independents. As to the lower cable car line, that will depend not only on the OP's ship but also on any other ship that might also be off loading at the same time. As to the OP's plans, keep in mind that when you talk about Fira, Oia and Akritori you are moving all over the island (it is quite a distance out to Akritori. Moving around the island takes time. The idea of finding your own private transportation from Oia is very risky. Taxis do not generally hand out at Oia so you would need to get lucky and grab a taxi that might have brought some other folks to Oia and is looking for another fare. On the other hand, you might find yourself stuck in Oia for some time (there is a regularly scheduled public bus back to Fira). In terms of meeting private tour guides and private transportation (be it a taxi, rental car, etc), Fira is the center of just about everything. You can certainly get some photos from the deck of your ship. In fact, the best sunset I have ever experienced at Santorini (we have been there about 2 dozen times) was from the deck of a cruise ship. As the sun was setting the light that reflected off the cliffs/hills of Santorini took on an eerie almost golden glow. It was truly a spectacular moment (we were actually in a hot tub at the time). As to taking photos from the island, you will get lots of amazing shots (which look the same as everyone else's spectacular shots. Oia has some of the best locations for photos as you look back towards Fira. Hank

I have no clue as we never spent any time researching that issue. DW and I really enjoy drinking Italian reds and both Montelpulicanos and many wines from the Chianti region are always in our small wine collection. Speaking of Italian reds, we are big fans of Costco's excellent Chianti Classico Reserva (sole under their own Kirkland brand). Costco has lots of decent wines, but we think this particular item is among their best values. Hank

Montepulciano has some tasting rooms right in town. Although we have visited many European wineries, we do not recall any wonderful wineries nearby the town. Keep in mind that many Italian wineries are relatively small and may only open for limited hours or require advance reservations. One shocker for us in Montepulciano was that many of the wines were more expensive than we expected. Here at home we normally buy relatively low cost Montepulciano's (under $15) but in the region you will find many wines prices well over 20 Euros. As to Orvieto, we have been to that picturesque village on a few trips, but do not recall any special wineries. Orvieto (the town) is a delightful hill town worth visiting, but be prepared to walk. Wineries are scattered all over the region (many are smallish) and you should research (close to your trip date) which are the most popular and actually open to the public. A sister site of CC, Tripadvisor, is a pretty good starting place to read about the more popular wineries. Hank

I will add my support to renting from either Autoeurope or Kemwel (sister companies). These companies are located in New England and are what is known (in the industry) as auto rental consolidators. They work with companies like Hertz and Europcar to provide discounted rates (rentals must be for at least 3 days). They will generally offer an all-inclusive rate which has a zero deductable (you need to look for this or give the a call) which I recommend for Italy. While some credit card coverage works in Italy, other cards (such as AMEX) will often exclude Italy from their coverage. When choosing your rental, keep in mind that many European rentals are standard shift (stick shift) which usually has the best rates. If you want/need an auto shift, make sure that you choose a car that has that option. You also should spend some time (online) learning about "ZTL"s which are Limited Driving Zones. They exist in many Italian cities (including some on Sicily) and if you drive into one of these ZTLs you will later get a nasty fine (usually about 100 Euros). It is also a good idea to do some online research into the various Parking rules in Italy. A few other tips. Europe loves speed cameras and they do exist on many major highways (autostrade) as well as in some small towns that have speed zones. If you speed, you will be later fined (usually billed to your credit card by your rental car company). Lastly, although we also have credit card coverage for the collision deductable, my usual preference (in Italy) is to seek out a zero deductable (mentioned in the first paragraph). This is based on a lot of experience (we have driven over 10,000 miles within Italy). My issue in Italy is with the parking situation and small scrapes, scratches that can happen (often when you are not even near your car) while parked. And be aware that under Italian Law you must have in your possession a valid International Drivers Permit (available from any AAA Office). If you get stopped by the Police (for any reason) they may ask to see the IDP and not having one can result in a nasty fine. I also like having a working GPS (it is easy to get lost in Italy) and generally just rely on my iPhone (T-Mobile works just about everywhere). Hank

We actually considered that option, but the best part of Lower Manhattan is not really within easy walking distance of that ferry stop. And we hesitate to recommend that tourists spend overnight on the lower east side of the city. As to my tourist comment, we were born and spent a lot of time in NYC (DD lived and worked in the city for years). Now that our DD (and grandkids) live in NYC no need for us to normally use a hotel. We know the Marriott because we have dropped some rental cars (Budget has a location in the hotel) at the hotel. Hank

We have parked at Red Hook (the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal) several times. There is an uncovered (and secure) parking lot just adjacent to the pier. In fact, I stood on my cabin balcony and was able to double check that I had locked my car since my FOB worked from that distance :). Just beware that driving into the Red Hook cruise port can be a little slow (like you might expect on an embarkation day). The way it works is that you pull up to a luggage drop area and can drop your luggage with a porter (this is NYC so be sure to tip). You then continue to the parking area (I recall we had to pay upon entry) and than find a parking spot from where you walk back to the terminal. Eazy peazy. DW now reminds me that the last time we parked (we have done this several times) they no longer collected the fee in advance. We got a ticket upon entrance and than had to pay upon return using a machine located at the parking lot. The machine accepted credit cards, but was a royal pain They had an attendant at the machine helping folks to manage the system. We had the feeling that Red Hook is still a place working out all the bugs (it takes the Port Authority years to get anything done) so anyone's guess how they handle payment these days. Hank

Funny story about that Brooklyn Bridge Marriott. You might be familiar with NYC's last Mayor DeBlasio. When he left office, he was essentially homeless and need a place to live (for months) while renovations were being made to his Park Slope Home, He moved into that Marriott (where he apparently had a large suite) and it is rumored he got a very "special deal." The fact that the owner of that Marriott obtained some very profitable city contracts under the DeBlasio administration. All politics as usual, but even DeBlasio was comfortable staying at that Marriott :). Hank

LOL, there is that! To be honest, we have never had customer service issues with MSC because we use an excellent high volume cruise agency for all of our bookings (with any cruise line) and depend on a very good Cruise Agent to take care of most issues. In a case like yours, it would normally be viewed as an "upsell" which, in practice, means you should just pay the extra money with everything else (such as your booking number) staying the same. The best description, we have heard, of MSC's off the ship customer service is that it is "luck of the draw" which means it depends on the person who is on the other end of the phone. I guess the only way to find out is to call them and make a determination if the person you get seems to be pretty sharp. If so, take your chances and if you are uncomfy just thank the person and say you will think about it for a few days. You could later call back, get a different person, and play the game all over again. If the MSC agent talks about doing a cancellation and rebooking (to get the Deluxe Suite) I might have 2nd thoughts about the transaction. With a cancellation they might want to refund your paid fare and do a new transaction and that would suck! You would possibly need to pay for the new booking and wait, heaven knows how long, to get your refund for the current booking. Argh! Hank Hank

I suspect you are talking about the Deluxe YC Suites which are essentially outside cabins (one can argue whether they are true suites) with a small veranda. The answer to your question would depend on the importance of $300 in your life. If you can spare the dollars than you would likely find the outdoor cabin a very nice upgrade. If you have never had a balcony cabin than the downside is that they do become addicting. Many decades ago, DW and I (in our poor days) would book the lowest priced inside cabins on many cruise lines with an occasional outside cabin (no balcony). In 1998, when we cruised on the, then new, Grand Princess we booked our first balcony cabin! Since that time, we only book balcony cabins and/or suites. The addiction to balconies has cost us a lot of money (we have take far more than 100 cruises...some of them months in length) but we have never regretted the decision :). Hank

So many different opinions and ideas about luggage. Our own criteria stress one thing, which is weight. We buy the lightest luggage we can find that is reasonably priced and has decent quality. We do not buy expensive luggage (which can actually be of the highest quality) because we think that expensive luggage makes it more likely to be the target of luggage thieves. At the moment, our brand of choice are the lightweight lines of TravelPro. One other thing about lightweight luggage. One can buy a 26 inch (large) piece of luggage that weighs over 12 pounds or one can buy a TravelPro lightweight piece that weighs about 8 pounds. That 4 -5 pound difference means one can pack an extra 4 pounds (per piece) and still stay within the 50 pound limit imposed by most airlines. On long trips we will carry two of these large cases so this means just over 8 more pounds of "stuff." While the lighter weight luggage is not as heavy duty as its heavier cousins, the luggage does seem to hold-up rather well (and we give the a lot of use on cruises, flying, and land trips). Hank

I will assume that the OP plans to fly back to Newark (EWR) after their cruise to pick up their car. I would use one of the Parksleepfly web sites and book a pre-cruise hotel near EWR. Hotels like Embassy Suites would charge you about $300 which includes hotel and parking and they have shuttle service from the airport and to the port (I imagine for a price). Hank

We would also suggest the Marriott. Plenty of eating options in that neighborhood and relatively easy to get over to Manhattan if you desire. Enjoyed GTJs post although there is no way I would want to spend a night in the Red Hook area :). Hank