Hlitner

MSC operates almost like a ferry line, when cruising in most of Europe. Unlike other cruise lines, MSC will generally embark/disembark passengers at every port (when allowed by law). While you certainly should notify MSC in advance (with their lousy customer service you are likely to get no response) but you should expect no problem. MSC will not charge you any extra fees (some of the US based lines no charge an extra fee) but do not expect a discount. Hank

WOW! Talk to 20 expats here and you would likely get 20 different suggestions. We love living in the Romantic Zone/Old Town because there is so much within walking distance and we are right next to the beach where we spend many of our days. For short term, many love the Hotel Zone where there are multiple hotels (and some all-inclusives) with beach and pools. Other folks like to go about 45 min from PV to Nuevo Vallarta where there are many upscale resort/hotels and a nice beach. While we think of Nuevo as something akin to Miami Beach (as opposed to real Mexico) it is a beautiful area. In our part of town (Old Town) there really are not any hotels, close to the beach, that I would recommend. There are some hotels, but none of them would get my "stamp of approval." If you move away from the beach there are some excellent places (often a bit up in the hills) some of which are quite pricy. This part of Vallarta is also very gay-friendly and some of the short term places tend to attract a majority of gay men who do like to party pretty late in the night (i.e. Blue Chairs, etc). Our part of town is not what many would consider quiet :). Not an issue in our condo (where we get the constant sound of the crashing waves) but more than a few folks have been known to complain that its too noisy late at night. I know I am not giving you a good answer other then to take some time researching the place that would best fit your own wants. The largest hotel, not too far out of town is the Sheraton which is about 1 1/2 miles north of our location. Some say that is a good compromise to get away from the noise of town, and still be within easy distance of the city. Hank

We will often just stroll around town, check out menus (especially the daily specials) and eventually sit down for a long lunch. That is a nasty habit we have in many ports, especially those we have previously visited a few times. Hank

Food is so darn subjective and here we have cuisine in all price ranges. Many of my favorite places (we eat out over 60 times during the winter months) are not open for lunch. For relatively inexpensive basic Mexican food, the Sea Monkey (owned by the same person who owned the well known Cheeky Monkey) is popular with cruisers and they have tables right on the sand (Los Muertos Beach). If you keep walking south along the beach you will find lots of restaurants (all safe) at many price points. Further down the beach Cuates y Cuetes (well known for its live webcam) also has inexpensive basic Mexican. For high end (and pricier) food there is La Palapa. You can always look at menus before you sit. Just beware that quite a few places only accept cash (Pesos or US Dollars) so, if you want to use a credit card make sure it is OK before you start ordering. Hank

The boules game (outside St Paul de Vence) always catches my interest. If the local men (I have never seen a lady playing) seem to be having fun, DW and I will often stop at the adjacent cafe for a beverage while we watch. Many of the older guys have a magnet on the end of a string they use to pick-up the boules (these are heavy metal balls) so they do not need to bend down :). Very smart. Hank

You ask about Puerto Vallarta restaurants, and I believe we have far more then 600 eating venues in this city :). You can eat everything from inexpensive tacos to very pricy French, Austrian, Italian, etc. Many cruisers like to come into town (often referred to as "Centro") and head to the southside of town into what is called by several different names (Old Town, Viejo Vallarta, Zona Romantica, Southside, etc). If you walk along the beach (Los Muertos Beach) there are many restaurants where you can eat with an ocean view. The food and drinks here are safe so it comes down to your price point and type of food. The Sea Monkey (we live above it) is popular with cruisers for inexpensive basic Mexican food. Further south you find more expensive places like the Blue Shrimp, La Palapa, etc. You can look at menus before you sit down. Keep in mind that some restaurants only accept cash (pesos or US dollars) and if you pay in dollars you may not get the best exchange rate :). Hank

I have no clue what that person was talking about, but it is simply not true. If you tender ashore, independently, you will be let off the tender at the small port below Fira. The only ways out of that port are: 1. The cable car, 2. Taking a donkey up to Fira, 3. Walking up to Fira or 4. Taking a boat somewhere. That is it. End of story. Once you are up at Fira you can walk to the road, the bus station, the big taxi parking area (near the bus station) or to various rental car agencies. Hank

We think your thinking is sound :). Some of the decent high volume cruise agencies also handle some land tours which are also part of the business done via the large so-called consortiums. Hence,we do suggest looking at reputable high volume cruise agencies that are also part of these constoriums (this is sometimes disclosed on their web sites). One of my favorite cruise agents has over thirty years in the business and goes back to the days when TAs did routinely handle air reservations. But these days, most agencies (and agents) prefer not to deal with air (they generally do not get any commissions for such sales) for various reasons. Air has become complex with many different kinds of fares and, literally, thousands of airlines (worldwide). Some of the cruise lines will happily package air with their cruise sales, but many informed cruisers (including me) do not want to deal with the situation where we simply accept whatever is arranged by the cruise line. They may not choose the best flights, airlines, schedules, etc. There are some excellent web sites that will show multiple options (places like the ITA Matric and Kayak) which can help the traveler find the best options. We prefer to ultimately book direct with the airline (unless we are dealing with cruise lines that do offer better options). When you book direct with an airline, they tend to be more helpful if things go wrong. Some cruise lines do have decent air booking engines (online sites). Many in the CCL group (i.e. HAL, Princess, Seabourn) use a pretty decent online airline booking engine (you generally need to book the cruise before you get access). RCI (RCI, Celebrity, etc) also has an air booking engine (which we have not recently used). Some other cruise lines do not have good (or any) air deals. When we book a cruise with a line that does have a decent air booking system, we will look at the cruise line's offerings and compare it to what we can get elsewhere (such as directly with the airline). Folks should go into this world (of air bookings) with an open mind, some patience, and an understanding of what is important to the cruiser. For example, DW and I will often drive several hours to further airports if it will get us a non-stop international flight on a desired airline. The more stops, the greater the chance of missed connections, lost luggage, etc. We also subscribe to the basic philosophy of never flying-in the day of a cruise. Hank

Was afraid you would say that :). We were hoping for a secret trail along the coast. Hank

A question. We are planning on walking from Villefranche to the Villa Eprussi. Are there any good short cuts or is it just follow the usual roads? And we do remember the 400 which we would take from the Gare Routiere. Hank

I get it. We were staying at the Hyatt and had to use the team to getti the transfer place to catch the bus to St Paul de Vence. It took us nearly 1 1/2 hours…one way. That is called progress?

Friends have asked us, in the past, to compare St Paul de Vence with Eze Village. While they are both very old walled towns, there are many differences. For starters, St Paul de Vence is inland (while Eze is within view of the Med coast) and much larger than Eze. We also think that St Paul de Vence has more to offer art lovers as the town still has quite a few decent art stores/galleries. Although both towns are major tourist destinations, St Paul de Vence is also quite popular with the French (both tourists and some locals). Just outside the main entrance to St Paul de Vence there sits a relatively large cafe/restaurant. In front of that place there is a dirt field used, by locals, to play boules. On Sunday mornings it is quite common to see a few local men having a spirited boules match, and I have always found that a delightful diversion and somewhat special since it shows how this popular tourist destination still has an active local cutlure. Eze Village, on the other hand, becomes almost a ghost town in the winter/off season. Some might disagree, but we just find St Paul de Vence more "genuine" (for the lack of a better word). That being said, for cruisers who are ported in Monte Carlo for a normal port day, going to Eze Village is a terrific option. I would honestly prefer to spend a few hours in Eze rather than in MC, although we do find some charm around the Palace in MC. Going up to that area for the daily Changing of the Guard which happens every day at 11:55am. It is a majestic ceremony and on many first-time visitors "do not miss" list. The one time we did go up to see that ceremony we got an extra event when the Prince passed by (in his lovely car) on his way home (he had been out of the country for a tennis tournament. Hank Hank

Not normally a problem. Over the years we have posted (many times) that we feel very comfortable with flights as early as 11, and a little less comfy with flights as early as 10. Having a private transfer (we recommend Romecabs.com) makes it quite easy. Hank

One we adjusted to the new tram system, we found it quite useful although DW and I much prefer to walk (even miles) within Nice. Hank

When we cruised on the Westerdam, in Japan and over to Seattle, last Spring, we were pleasantly surprised to find a decent selection of both local (Japanese and San Miguel) as well as international selections. Unfortunately, as our cruise continued (we were on for 42 days) the inventory of the Japanese beers (i.e. Kirin, Sapporo, etc) soon disappeared. Then one day, all the San Miguel was also gone (reliable info was that it was pulled from the bars to save the remaining inventory for the crew bar). Eventually it got down to the usual Heinekens, Buds, etc. To quote one of our favorite bar tenders, "inventory replenishment is not one of HAL's strong suits." Hank

I think the OP has done their "homework" and does a very good job framing the issues. Yes, Eze is somewhat of a pain in terms of getting there and back from MC. The public buses do run on an infrequent schedule (even more so on Sundays) and using the bus means planning your entire day's schedule around the public bus. Taxis are not a problem (relatively easy to find in MC) other than the cost. Taxis in MC (and France) are expensive. There may or may not be some empty taxis waiting at Eze (there is a parking lot right at the main entrance where taxis pick-up/drop and the bus stop is also in that area. You can certainly ask your taxi to come back for a pick-up or leave you a card so you can call. Another option, which might make sense, is to take a taxi to Eze, check the bus schedule when you arrive (it is at the bus stop) and time your visit so you can take the public bus back to MC. As to Eze Village, we have long had mixed emotions. It is an interesting town (in terms of architecture) and offers stunning views (from the side overlooking the sea). At one time the shops were very "arty" with quite a few decent galleries. Unfortunately, the mix of shops has gradually shifted to tourist-oriented shops (i.e, refrigerator magnets, junk, etc). There are a few places where one can enjoy lunch although one can debate the "value" of the cafes/restaurants within Eze. Also keep in mind there are slopes, steps, and some uneven surfaces so folks who are mobility challenged will need to take their time moving about. The first time we went to this part of France was on the old (and very small) Regent Spirit (about 13,000 tons) cruise ship which was owned by Regency Cruise Lines. That line later went bankrupt (and stranded many passengers). Two of our entertainers were from Nice and we asked them, "what should we do in Nice on a Sunday." Without missing a beat they both answered, "go to St Paul de Vence." Neither of them suggested Eze. Go figure. And to this day we still adore St Paul de Vence (even though it has also become too touristy) and think of Eze as a place we will stop (as an afterthought) when on driving trips in the area. And getting to St Paul de Vence from MC is even more difficult than going to Eze, unless one has a rental car. Hank

Rent a car. Hank

Hard to help folks that only want to consider cruise line excursions. To be very blunt (and obvious) you are limited to only what the cruise line offers. Once you decide to consider private tours or simply doing your own thing, then your world really does expand. My only advice to the OP is, based on your desire to do cruise line excursions, just choose from among those you have yet to try. Otherwise, I guess you could just stay on the ship (not a bad thing). Hank

I do not get it! with O and its itinerary along with port time changes. We have been cruising (extensively) for 50 years (17 cruise lines) and it is only recently with a few lines that we see this trend of changing itineraries on a whim. It makes little sense. For the first 45 years (with far more then 1000 cruise days all over the world) there were hardly any port changes unless there was a nasty weather related problem. Now, lines like O simply suck in folks with their decent itineraries, and once they have the bookings, think it is fine to make all kinds of changes. What is even more interesting, to us is that fans of the lines that are always changing things (such as O) defend their favorite cruise line and insist it is normal (it is not). Consider that NCL (part of the same folks who own O) seem to have had no problem selling an "Antarctica Cruise" and once folks made their final payments, simply doing away with all of the Antarctica part of the cruise. Folks paid top dollar for their Antartica only to later learn they were not going to do that part of their itinerary. Why? Nobody seems to want to explain. After all, why should the folks who booked those cruises be told anything? Really? I love to cruise and generally will defend the cruise industry. But what is happening now is simply not defensible! But fans of the affected cruise lines seem to be like the person who gets slapped, turns their head and gets slapped again, and keeps turning the other cheek and begging the cruise line to "hit me again." Strange. Hank

I lived in Japan for two years (60's) and just recently returned on a 42 day HAL cruise. We did spend a few week in Japan (pre-cruise) where we did our own thing (primarily Tokyo and Kyoto) and loved very moment (despite too much rain). We understand that cruisers tend to be fans of one or two favorite lines. However, we suggest that cruising in Japan should be based on the itinerary more then the cruise line. Most cruises are pretty port intensive, and you want to longest port days and perhaps an overnight in a few ports (such as Osaka). Since we tend to do our own thing in most ports, the cruise ship excursions hold little interest. On O, we do accept that Simplymore means we should book excursions to use up our credit. So be it. In Japan. on HAL where we went to many ports, we seldom took any cruise line excursion except to use up a shore excursion credit (somewhat like O). One big problem we have with O is that they seem to feel that itineraries are simply "advisory" and its fine to make any changes they see fit, at any time, for no particular reason. This would bother me if booking O in Japan (i.e. will they really go to that port, will they really stay those hours, etc)? Hank

So true. We are not fans of the R ships because of the regular cabin bathrooms. The Prinsendam, truly one of a kind was built as the Royal Viking Sun, and at the time, was one of the more luxurious ships at sea. By the time she reached HAL (as the Prinsendam) some things had changed to accommodate more passengers, but she remained a great ship and one of our all-time favorite vessels. Hank

We agree with your last statement :).

Some airlines, do quietly make exceptions to their rules. When we felt compelled to cancel our O Marina cruise (because O's last minute change of debarkation from Lima to Santiago was very problamatic) we were sitting on Delta Business Class tickets paid for with lots of miles and some fees/taxes. When we explained the situation to Delta, they not only refunded all of our miles (they would have likely done this in any case) but also decided to refund all the fees/taxes to our credit card (they had no obligation to do this). But you need to realize that Delta has a pretty good reputation of doing this kind of thing, but they are the exception. Other US airlines and most foreign operators are not as nice. There are over 5000 airlines (around the world) and they each have their own rules, rules enforced by their own governments, international rules, and issues with their own alliances (i.e. code shares) which also complicate things. Expecting them to take a hit because of various cruise lines is a nice thought, but not reasonable. The airline can simply say, "you had to right to buy fully refundable tickets and made the choice not to do so." Most folks do not even look at the cost of fully refundable airline tickets, but the cost can really be shocking when compared to non-refundable tickets (which is now the norm). Hank

The problem many of us have with cancelled/changed cruises is that we are often stuck with expensive air that is not eligible for any refund. While many (not all) airlines will be willing to issue a voucher, they are airline-specific and generally good for only one year (often from the date of purchase of the original ticket). As part of our own push for some consumer protection for cruisers, we think that cruise lines that cancel (or make major changes) to cruises within 330 days of the cruise should make customers "financially whole" unless the cancellation is clearly for reasons beyond the control of the cruise line (such as a war). Crusiers that purchase air are acting in good faith based on a cruise reservation! That reservation is actually a valid contract, but the cruise lines have contractual language that gives them nearly unlimited rights to do as they please! When a cruise line cancels/changes a cruise inside the 330 day (airline ticketing period) for the simple reason that they can, they are not acting in good faith. A good example would be any cruise line that decides to charter a cruise and does not make that decision until inside the 330 day period. The line does this because it enhances its own finanical position, but they do not give a darn how much financial harm they do to their loyal customers who booked a cruise far in advance. Hank

While we agree that the menu needed a major update, we do think that Chef Keller could have easily assisted in such a venture. I do hope that the change to Solis is not an excuse to lower quality. Hank