Hlitner

I do not think there is anyway to be sure (tender or dock) prior to your cruise. I can tell you that getting there first does not always tell the tale as we recently experienced this on an Oceania cruise. We were first to Mykonos, and tendered (which is actually an advantage for those of us who simply want to get into town). We looked over to the new port docking area and saw an empty pier. Several hours later, a Celestyal ship arrived and got the docking spot. As to Santorini, unless your excursion is one of the few exceptions, nearly all the excursions will drop you in Fira where you must make your own way to the upper cable car station and wait your turn. Of course there is always the option of walking down the donkey trail or being one of the few brave souls that actually rides a donkey down the trail (on our last visit in April, we saw a cruiser take a very bad fall from a donkey as his foot caught in the stirrup when dismounting). As to Dubrovnik and Split, our own norm is to simply do those ports on our own...but we do understand that many folks want excursions/tours everywhere! For us, we might book one tour for every 15 ports, as we simply prefer to do our own thing (especially in Europe). Hank

I guess we are weird because we see pros/cons to the various types of bags. I have seen quite a few of the newer lightweight hard sided luggage that was split open (like a cracked nut) as it came out of the luggage conveyer systems. The soft sided stuff holds up well, but it problamatic if it gets caught in a rain storm (this has happened to us at the Port of Miami). Regarding the wheels, the 2 wheel system, where the wheels are partially recessed, do seem to hold-up better than the 2 or 4 wheeled bags where the wheels are simply mounted on the bottom of the bags. Our own preference is the very lightweight 2 wheeled (you can also get 4 wheeled spinners) made by Travel Pro. They are relatively inexpensive, do seem to hold-up quite well, and we really appreciate their lightweight. A large bag will weigh about 7 pounds. DW and I are heavy packers, and do a lot of traveling. Our personal priority is the weight of the bag, since a 7 pound large bag will hold more than an 11-12 pound bag. Multiply those 3-4 pounds (saved with a lightweight design) and that means carrying 6-8 pounds more of "stuff" and still being under the 50 pound limit for non-business class. Hank

Which brings up a question. Why do you bother to go to those events? Hank

There are many different sites around Kyoto, and the answer to your question would depend on where you want to go and the actual itinerary. Last year we spent a pre-cruise week in Kyoto and managed to see just about all the well-known (and some lesser known) sites by using local buses. Having a local guide would certainly make your task somewhat easier in that you would not need to do pre-cruise homework. Kyoto also has plenty of taxis and Uber (which are actually supplied by a local taxi company). DW and I are avid walkers, so we were able to do quite a lot by simply using our feet. But some of the sites are far-flung and do require some kind of transport, be it bus or taxi. There is also a subway/metro system which can be used for some transport, but we found the bus lines were generally better for getting closer to our target destinations. Hank

The "Old Port" is the same as Skala. Most folks have no clue to the name of that tiny port. You cannot actually choose to go to Athinios as that is only used for the cruise line's own excursions. If you don't take one of O's excursions that use Athinios. you either go to Skala (Old Port) or stay on the ship. If you book a small private tour (on your own such as what you might find on the CC Roll Call board) you will need to take the tender into Skalos (Old Port) and would likely be told to meet your guide/tour at the upper station of the cable car or somewhere within easy walking distance of the upper cable car station. There is a fee, to use the cable car, and depending on how many cruise ships are tendering there could be a queue. The cable car only moves about 600 persons (each way) per hour. On our many visits, the lines to go up on the cable car have never been very long. The real bottleneck on Santorini is when lots of cruisers try to get down, on the cable car and it seems like everyone is heading down at the same time (mid to late afternoon). Hank Hank

Do agree with JB, that Istanbul is really made for those of us who like independent exploration. Being stuck on a large group tour, in Istanbul, is not my idea of fun. On our first visit (about 30 years ago) we took a Princess excursion and really regretted that decision. Been back several times since (and heading back next year) and we simply use the trams, our feet, and an occasional taxi to do our own thing. DW and I do really enjoy eating out in Istanbul, but certainly would not want to do it as part of a large group. The city is full of restaurants, cafes, outdoor stands, etc. It is all so much fun and we are never hungry. By the way, for walkers, just walking between the port and Golden Horn can be quite an experience. There is a lower level on the Galacta Bridge that is lines with restaurants and shops. Those that take the large ship excursions (where you spend a good part of the time sitting in traffic inside your bus) will not even see this lower level of the bridge. We also suggest that folks might want to check out the Bascilica Cistern. This is often skipped on group excursions, but it is an amazing place not to be missed. If curious, just google the place and look at some of the online photos. If you do go there, make sure to wear comfy shoes that have some tread (like sneakers) since the floor can be wet and slippery (in places). Hank

One of our favorite vaporetto rides is to go all the way out to Burano! It is a long trip (more than 30 minutes) across the lagoon and its nice to escape the crowds of Venice, especially on a hot day. Since that long vaporetto trip is included in the various day passes, it is a bargain kind of adventure. While everything in the area would probably qualify as a tourist trap, Burano and Torcello are the least offensive :). Hank

Chair/Umbrella rentals are very common on beaches throughout the island. That is what Mykonos is all about during the daytime,,going to the beach. In many cases the beach lounge rental operations are owned by adjacent restaurants. Everything is negotiable, although you ability to get a good deal is going to depend on supply/demand. Since we have never gone to Ornos or Elia we do not know the situation on those two beaches. Our favorite beaches are Paradise and Platus Gialos, with Super Paradise another place we consider when everything is really crowded. Chair rentals can be an issue at some beaches since the vendors will often set-aside the best locations for nearby hotels/motels with which they have agreements. At an expansive beach like Gialos, we simply walk along the beachfront walkway and talk to various vendors until we find what seems right at the time :). I also suggest that before renting, folks ask to see the drink/food menu (including prices) for that particular vendor. The island does have some rip-off places (such as DK Oyster) that have been known to fleece tourists out of hundreds of Euros for a few drinks. Hank

This does beg the question (I have asked for decades) why on earth anyone would book directly with a cruise line. In a sense, they are paying as much as 10% more...for that action. I have sometimes compared it to a person paying the sticker price for a car...simply because they like the salesperson.

Lets try to clarify the situation. No cruise ship docks in Santorini, they all use shore-based tenders. The tenders can get folks ashore in two different places: 1. Athinios - which is where there is a small ferry port and access for vehicles which include tour buses. and 2. Skala - which is a small tender port that lies below the main city of Fira. Skala can only be accessed by small boat/tender, donkey, cable car, or foot. Tendering to the port of Athinos is limited to only those who have booked cruise line excursions that are scheduled to use buses boarded at that small port. All other folks (including all independent crusiers) will be tendered into Skala. If you go off on your own, you must tender to Skala from where you use the cable car, donkeys, a small boat tour or you could walk up to Fira via the donkey trail. That walk includes over 600 steps (all uphill) and tends to have more than its share of donkey poo. Finally, I should mention that although Santorini is a relatively small island, it does have several towns (including Fira and Oia), some ancient ruins, wineries, an airport, and a few beaches. One can get around the island by using taxis, local buses, or various types of rental vehicles. Hank Hank

We routinely rent a car, when on Rhodes. Parking at Lindos is a real pain as the place is often packed with full parking lots (once parked about 1 mile distant along the road). A taxi is going to be expensive since you are talking about 30 miles (one way). Finding a taxi, in Rhodes Town, should not be too difficult and then you would need to negotiate a price (measured in hundreds of Euros). We have seen taxis waiting at Lindos (near the parking lots) and assume many folks hire a taxi for all or part of the day and have them wait. I have no clue whether you can get a taxi, at Lindos, that is just sitting around and waiting for a fare, is questionable. There are public buses, although that ride can take more than 1 1/2 hours (one way). IMHO, if you do not want to rent a car, consider joining a small group tour that you might be able to find by looking on the CC Roll Call board for your cruise. When we have driven from Rhodes Town to Lindos. we usually make a few stops along the route (the eastern coast) to check-out various beaches and find a place for lunch. There are quite a few smaller beach areas (on the route) that are not packed with tourists as is Lindos. Hank

Living in Idaho does limit your air options and unfortunately, it is what it is. Certainly check Southwest (which does not show in some search engines) as they do have some flights out of Idaho. Otherwise, we do not have any good solution other than to drive to a distant city (such as Salt Lake City) that offers more air options (and more competitive pricing). The reality is that air prices are up, up, up, in many markets. Cruising out of New Orleans really does limit your cruise options (RCL, NCL and Carnival) and the itineraries might be less desirable than what you can get from the Florida ports. Galveston (you would fly to Houston) would add Princess to the mix. That time of the year you also have the possibility of doing some cruises out of California ports that would take you down to Mexico and ever further (if you have the time and money). Hank

One big issue is that the OP's post shows they live in New York. This happens to be one of the very few States (Maryland is another) that is very restrictive on the companies that are permitted to write policies for its residents. For example, residents of NY cannot buy Geoblue or Atlas travel med policies. My advice to the OP is that they give Steve a call at the Trip Insurance Store and make sure to mention that they live in New York. Steve and his staff will be able to advise who underwrites travel medical policies for residents of New York State. Hank

Agree, that using a couple of search engines (ITA Matrix, Kayak, etc) to search and price-out options. Also remember that some of the low cost airlines may not be included in these search engines. For example: Southwest does not show-up in every search engine. But once we find our desired flights and pricing, we usually prefer to book direct with the airline on their own web site. Why? If things go wrong (i.e. long delays, missed connections, cancelled flights, etc) you will often get much better service from the airline than if you had booked through a 3rd party site. In fact, there are times that an airline will simply do nothing and tell you to contact whoever you used to book (such as Expedia, the cruise line, etc). Hank

What we have done, several times with various cruise lines including HAL, is to e-mail (for the ship) our two favorite cruise agencies/agents; given them the details of the potential onboard booking deal, and ask "how will they enhance the booking if we have it assigned to that agency." Our favored agencies do get back to us within hours. On one HAL cruise, I actually called my favorite cruise agent and asked her how much OBC she could add to an onboard reservation (we were considering) and her answer (several thousand dollars and go ahead and take the onboard deal). If your TA "does nothing" you should be doing nothing with that TA! I am often amazed at how many cruisers tell me about their awful TAs, but then continue to use those TAs because of some silly loyalty thing. I sometimes tease (but it is serious) our favorite TAs that our loyalty is only as good as the current booking. With HAL bookings, we generally expect to get at least 7% (of the cruise price) back in OBC...and often can negotiate 10%. Our best deal, ever, was when we booked a Grand Cruise on the Prinsendam and got over $2500 in OBC plus pre-paid gratuities. The deals are out there (with good agencies) for those that seek them out. Hank

We had originally thought about getting a taxi at disembarkation. But, we had a bunch of unused On Board Credit, and the Seabourn Square folks offered to arrange for a private car/driver (I think it was about $120). We thought it a great way to use our OBC. We walked off the ship onto the pier (it was just after the COVID restart and the port terminal building was closed) and our car was waiting for us right on the pier. I would not even consider the train, if traveling with any luggage. The Monte Carlo train station is on the other side of town from the port so you would need a taxi to get you to the train station. The trains are essentially commuter trains and take you to the main station in Nice, which is probably not going to be close to your hotel, so you would need another taxi to get from train to hotel. And all this while dragging your luggage through two train stations, on an off the train, in and out of taxis. Not my idea of fun. There are lots of decent hotels in Nice. We tend to like the Hyatt, Meridian, or Negresco, but there are many other options. For us, we like to be within walking distance of Old Town, but this is not overly important if you are relatively close to one of the tram lines. Nice has all kinds of restaurants in every price/quality category. If you want to go to one of the better restaurants, you might think about booking a reservation a few days in advance (even further out for the top places). Hank

Seabourn and Silversea are both smaller ship luxury lines. Both are all-inclusive (shore excursions are not included on Seabourn). These lines are also all suite which is a difference when compared to O and Azamara. Consider that the largest ship in Seabourn's fleet carries 600 passengers (they also have 450 passenger ships). Silversea has several different sizes, but our next SS cruise is on a ship with fewer than 400 passengers. Yes, both O and Azamara have their smaller "R" ships, but those vessels come with mostly normal size cabins and very small cabin bathrooms. Consider that on the Seabourn ships, the suite bathrooms come with a separate shower and full size tub, double sink, plenty of storage, etc. Their suites also have walk-in closets, which is nice on longer cruises. There are many other differences. For example, I could be sitting at a bar on Seabourn, sipping French Champagne and ask the bar tender to please get me a double order of caviar. No extra charge for this kind of thing.

We did it about 20 years ago, and it was the best of all excursions. Got lucky to have a gorgeous, warm day, with blue skies and crystal clear horizon. Our helicopter pilot gave us a a nice air tour of the glacier and landed us at the summer dog sled camp. We took turns riding in the sled and driving (the most fun). The best part was meeting the dogs, who are world-class athletes (in the dog world). Several of the dogs on our sled were Iditarod dogs who spend their summer in the camp to keep in shape. These dogs love people, but their true calling is to run. No problem getting them to run, but they do not want to stop :). Hank

We agree with Heidi 13. We have cruised on 17 cruise lines, including budget, mass market, and luxury lines. The most snobbism we have encountered has been on the various mass market lines. On the luxury (or some might say ultra luxury) lines we have found folks to be more sociable and down to earth. At first, we thought it was just a matter of luck. We now think that when you cruise on a luxury line, just being on the ship makes you a "member of the club" and nobody has anything to prove by acting superior. Although we still enjoy some of the mass market lines (especially Princess) we also feel right at home when we get on a Seabourn, Explora journeys, etc. ship. And by the way, Viking is not the only line to NOT have a loyalty program. Explora Journeys as yet to have any kind of loyalty program. But I will admit that we do like the loyalty program on Seabourn because it gets us free laundry :). If that makes us snobs, so be it! Hank

There are a few factors that would impact our answer (based on personal experience). 1. What country/countries. and 2. Which cruise line. Without that info, it is impossible to give any decent advice. Hank

Over the years we have stayed in multiple hotels in Athens (and also the Sofitel at ATH) and never had an issue flushing toilet paper down the commode, Hank

Agree that NIce is a very good choice. In fact, 2 years ago when we disembarked at Monte Carlo (from a Seabourn cruise) we had a car/driver take us directly to the Hyatt Regency in Nice. Nice is a perfect place to use as a base to explore various parts of the region. Hank

Noticed that yesterday, but forgot to post. We also noticed that SB had added additonal flight options for one of our future cruises. Nothing great on pricing.

It depends on how you booked the voyage. If you did it as a single 14 day cruise, with a single booking number, you will be limited to 2 for the entire voyage. If you booked two separate 7 day cruises, with two different booking numbers, then you would get 4. Hank

Doubtful. The only SB ship being phased out are older 450 passenger 32,000 ton vessels. Those are too small to be economically viable for the HAL business model. At the moment, the only SB ship leaving the fleet is the Odyssey, which has already been sold to a Japanese cruise company. There has been nothing said about selling or transferring out, the other two ships in that class. Hank