Hlitner

The thing with Montenegro is I have no clue whether an agency would rent a car (despite the law). As far as I can determine, they are the only European country with a maximum driving age. Apparently, it applies to everyone, so I guess once folks reach that age they must stop driving. I have looked around the Internet and can find no exceptions. We have enjoyed renting a car at Kotor and exploring the region (and having lunch in Budva). We were planning to do it again (this April) until I stumbled on this rule/law. We have never been to Dolceacque so perhaps we need to rethink our day :). But you are probably aware that renting a car in MC means a trek from the port to get to an agency. DW is, as I write this, looking at online info on Dolceacque and the site says "not much to do or see." Sounds like our kind of place :). With a rental car I guess we could do that an also toss in some time in Menton. Who knows? On the other hand, those folks in Montenegro tell me I am too darn old to drive! Hank

The OPs question is a good one. My first thought is that the distance is too short to hire a water taxi, which would likely charge around 100 Euros to take you 10 feet. From the train station we would just use the vaporetto (#1 or #2) for the very short ride to Rialto Bridge. That being said, the vaporetto stop is not the same as getting a water taxi to a hotel dock. It comes down to whether the OP is able to handle their own luggage for relatively short journeys. There is a hard reality to staying in Venice. One can spend their children's inheritance or find more reasonable options. Water taxis are always expensive and a real luxury. And they are not always easy to find without a reservation. Hank

I think you know renting cars is something we like to do, but the last time we looked this was a real problem at Villefranche. At one time we could rent from rentacar.fr and they would have a car right at the tender pier. That ended a few years ago and than we found that the Avis location in Nice would also deliver cars to Villefranche. But that ended before the COVID shutdown. Now, I am not aware of anyone renting cars in Villefranche and its a royal pain to go into Nice or to the airport just to get a car. Speaking of renting cars, here is a tidbit we learned a few months ago. We have also rented cars at Kotor (another port on our cruise) a few times We could arrange for a local rental car company to deliver a car to the port (we would meet them on the road right outside the gates). But a few months ago I noticed that it is illegal for anyone 75+ to drive in Montenegro. This is not a rental car issue but an issue with the country's own law. It is rumored that this will change since they plan to enter the EU, but only time will tell. If I were only 29 (like you) this would not be an issue. Hank

Been there, done that :). You are right that its a charming town (we actually spent a night in a local hotel). But definitely worth a thought. We often decide what we want to do at the last minute and have been known to walk off a ship without a clue what will happen in the next 15 min :). Sometimes it turns out to be a fun day, and other times no so good. Hank

LOL, our hiking days do have limits :). But I do love your suggestions and we will just hope that the weather cooperates. If not, Plan B might be a very good/long lunch in Villefranche or we will trek into Nice where we there are many decent places for lunch. What is different about this particular cruise is that not only does it do a port day in Villefranche, but also has a different port day in Monte Carlo. I do not recall ever being on a cruise that stopped in those two relatively close places. MC is always a challenge (for us) since we are not fans of the town and have often been tempted to just stay on the ship. Because we also get the port day, nearby, it makes little sense for us to grab the bus from MC over to Nice. I guess Eze is a possible solution, but it seems like every time we go to that delightful village the shops have become tackier. Hank

So here is an idea for the OP. Book a cruise that has Le Havre as its last port before heading to the UK for disembarkation. Request approval, from the cruise line, to debark a day early in Le Havre (we have done this a couple of times). Then take the train to Paris and spend a few days or even weeks :). DW considers Paris her favorite city (we have been to far more then 100 countries and many more cities) and yes, it is worth it! But doing Paris on a one day port day (from Le Havre) is a long day (with 5-6 hours of travel) and does not leave nearly enough time to explore Paris. Hank

This thread got me thinking since we will be in Villefranche for another port day this April. What to do? If the weather cooperates, we are thinking about walking (more like a hike) to the Villa Ephrussi de Rothchild. Not our usual day (we would normally head to Nice and spend the morning in old town, perhaps rent a car, etc But the idea of just walking a few miles and not having to deal with the usual buses, trains, rental cars, etc. sounds attractive :). Hank

That might happen :). Then again, it might not happen :(. Hank

Regarding reservations for Solis, the policy is apparently the same as it was for the TK Grill. Once aboard, you can talk to any of the dining folks (found at the entrance to the Restaurant or Colonnade) or you can speak directly to the host/hostess of Solis (when it is open) about getting additional reservations. They will give you additional reservations if they have any available slots. It is helpful to be flexible with your dining time. Obviously, it is easier to get more reservations on the longer voyages. Hank

My first Seabourn cruise was a 14 day from Seward to Vancouver on the Soujourn. Seabourn immediately became our favorite cruise line (been on over 100 days since that cruise). Plenty of folks have cruised on Seabourn in AK. So what is your question? Hank

Agree that it is not risky and actually fun. We once did a side by side in England which was even crazier. We disembarked from a HAL cruise in the port of Dover, and had a car/driver reserved to drive us directly to Southampton where we boarded the Queen Mary 2, for the crossing over to NYC. At the time we joked that we did not miss a meal since we had breakfast (and drinks) before leaving the HAL ship and were aboard the Queen in time for lunch :). I am a big fan of back to backs with two different cruise lines. You get the advantage of completely different menus, entertainment, atmosphere, etc. Tis all good. The only down side to this kind of thing is that we do not get to visit John Bull and watch him drink a pint of Guinness. Hank

On our recent Sky Princess cruise I was really surprised to realize that Remy XO (Cognac) was included in our beverage package! What a treat. But on the new EJ1 (Explora Journeys) they have a deal with the Moet folks. One could get unlimited Moet Champagne (the Rose is addicting) and that did get to be a habit. A morning mimosa made with Moet Brut and fresh squeezed OJ was a treat.

Our days of cruising on RCI are behind us. When we were much younger it was our favorite line, but this was before they got into their mega-ship era. These days lines like Seabourn are more to our taste. But even on the luxury lines, we have never been "wowed" by the ice cream. At one time we thought Celebrity had some of the better onboard ice cream (they made it on the ship) but times have changed. MSC does have some decent gelato but it is far from the really good stuff we have sampled in Italy and France. Princess also has a gelato place in their atriums, but we found the quality somewhat lacking. Hank

Puerto Vallarta is what I would call a "Foodie City." We have several hundred eating venues and a couple can have anything from terrific tacos which might cost about $30 a couple (including beer) to an elegant Frenc-Mexican fusion dinner at a gorgeous restaurant owned by a world-class chef (from France). We also have many Italian, Greek, and even an Austrian place. While an average dinner, at a decent restaurant, might cost about $100 (US) you could also spend $200+ (a lot more if you buy a decent bottle of wine) at one of the higher end restaurants. Keep in mind that we are in the prime season, so reservations (sometimes a few days in advance) is necessary at many of the decent places. I will mention three expensive restaurants for that special dinner when you are not on a budget. The Iguana is mostly contemporary Mexican food with a stunning view and live music If you are looking for French than Cafe des Artists is quite elegant (and pricey), especially if you are able to snag one of the tables in the Garden. One of our personal favorites is a very upscale Italian restaurant (with a view) called La Capella. That restaurant usually has strolling violin players to add to the ambiance. I could name 20 more :). We eat out here about 65 times during the winter. Hank

WOW a bit harsh even for this frequent critic of lousyory cruise line policies. DW and I love to travel and also love to cruise. Over a 50 year cruise history we have learned to move with the tides and search for the good stuff. We have also done a few all-inclusive resorts, enjoyed them, and had the usual issues of chair hogs and food that was never quite up to the advertised standards. We still do some AI resorts, but we can never get our love of being on a ship out of our system. There are many different cruise lines, many different ships (in all sizes). so do not give up on cruising because of the acts of one or two companies. Hank

Really? Perhaps we are naive, but we have cruised on 17 different lines including being Elite on Princess, Diamond Plus on Celebrity, and Diamond on MSC (only cruise in their Yacht Club). We are also 5* on HAL. Have never cruised on Costa so cannot comment on that comparison. Not boasting but just trying to deal with what you say from firsthand knowledge. And yes, we view the current version of HAL as a budget cruise line within the so-called mass market category. Granted that this is just the opinion of two folks (DW and me) and no question many will disagree. Bottom line is that when a cruise line acts like a budget line, we give them their due.

ROFL. Remind me not to travel on your cruises :). But seriously, we also one interesting train moment when simply taking the Circumvesuviana Line train from Naples to Sorrento (where we planned to take the SITA bus over to Positano. About half way on the route our train stopped and there was an announcement. Another passenger, who spoke English, explained that there was a factory fire along the tracks and the line had been shut down. DW and decided not to wait around for a promised bus and walked to a hotel we saw about 1/2 mile from the train. We had the hotel call us a taxi and we negotiated a price for him to drive us directly to Positano. We later returned to Naples via a fast ferry. More of the joys of independent travel when one needs to make "adjustments." And like you, we also love Italy. Looking forward to returning in April. Hank

There will be taxis at the port that will take you to Honfleur. The drivers normally try to organize groups (to fill their cabs) and the price used to be 25 Euros (one-way) per person. These taxis are happy to arrange a time to pick you up for the return drive or you can take your chances on finding a taxi at Honfleur for a fair price. Hank

If you catch a normal taxi (not the ones you get inside the port area) you can ask the taxi to drop you just about anywhere. So for example, you could take a taxi directly to the church rather then getting dropped at the beginning of the Malecon (i.e. Rosita Hotel). In theory, taxi prices are set by zone and the entire area of Centro is the same zone...hence the fare should be the same being dropped at the Rosita or at the church. Just keep in mind that too many taxis try to take advantage of cruisers, so you want some idea of the fare (which should be agreed to before you even get in a taxi). These days, the regular taxis will want at least $150 (Pesos) from outside of the port (the street that faces Walmart) and drivers may well try to get $200. Taxis generally will hold up to 4 people, so they are pretty reasonable if you have two couples. Also keep in mind that the so-called "Federal taxis" that operate inside the port operate with different fare rules. Those cabs charge a price "per person" and not per taxi (the norm outside the port area). In other words, a group of 4 can generally save about $10 (US) (to Centro) by walking out of the port and making a deal with a normal taxi. Hank

ChengKP75 raises the issue about how to craft a law that can truly impact an international market with ships registered in other lands. He and I went around the block, a few times, back when cruises needed to bypass Canada (due to Canadian COVID rules) on some Alaskan cruises. We disagreed when I said it would be a simple matter to alter the enforcement of the PVSA to handle that situation. Eventually an easy solution was found and the US did allow cruises that clearly violated the PVSA statute. Having spent much of my working life in government (I do not like to admit this) I understand that there are always ways to craft laws and regulations to deal with issues. In this case, I do believe that the industry should simply clean their own house, be more transparent, and give passengers real rights (not just a CLIA document that is more of a joke than real). In the USA it would be very easy for the Federal government to force the issue with a simple change to one of several Financial acts that control major credit cards and "charge backs." Through these rules (and it could be handled by law or regulations) the cruise lines would be forced to deal with compensation (or full refunds) for changes or the same thing could be accomplished by consumers availing themselves of the charge-back rules. For those who do not understand these provisions, this is where a consumer files a request with their credit card company who effectively enforces the law/regulations with a credit back to one's credit card. The credit card company ultimately gets their money back from the merchant (in this case the cruise lines). Charge backs should generally be used as a last resort, but it is certainly the easiest way to give consumers some real options rather than a CLIA statement which is generally meaningless. The EU and UK already have a lot of consumer-friendly laws and I wonder how issues such as the Norwegian Star situation (which I find completely outrageous) would be handled under their rules. I imagine there are Europeans on that cruise, and they will be seeking some kind of compensation or refund! There are a lot of recent itinerary changes related to the Middle East situation. No question, cruise ships have no business going into the Red Sea. However, it does also seem like some cruise lines have taken advantage of the situation to cancel many other ports not really in the impacted area. We do not think any organization or law should force cruise lines to go places they do not want to go, but we do think that the cruiser/consumer should have the right to cancel (and be made fully whole) for substantial changes. We have a current booking, with Seabourn, that was supposed to be from Istanbul to Dubrovnik. Seabourn changed (substantially) the itinerary making it a round trip cruise from Dubrovnik and eliminated Istanbul and two other Turkey ports. To Seabourn's credit they disclosed the change and offered booked cruisers a full refund of their deposits (this all happened prior to final payment) and assistance with any lost airfare expenses. That is a reasonable way to handle an itinerary change! The decision whether to continue with the booking rests with the customer! Hank

This topic will likely cause some controversy but we think it is quite important. In recent years, cruise lines have increasingly modified itineraries, after folks have made their final payments, or after they have boarded their cruise, with very little explanation. There are times when this is because of wars, mechanical issues, and weather...all of which are generally beyond the control of the cruise lines. But lately, there have been so many last minute changes without any viable explanation (cruise lines like to cite "operational reasons"). The cruise lines all have passenger contracts (few ever read the fine print) which essentially give the cruise line something close to unlimited rights while giving their customers few rights. One could get on a cruise that is supposed to go to Alaska, find themselves cruising in circles near San Francisco, and the cruise line might say "too bad," Recently, folks who had booked an Antartica Cruise (these are expensive) on the Norwegian Star learned that there itinerary had been modified with Antarticia eliminated! Many were not aware of the change until after they had boarded the ship! The only explanation from NCL has been "operational reasons" I could list numerous other examples (Oceania, Seabourn, etc) from our own cruises. Cruise lines have also been routinely decreasing port times without much explanation. Keep in mind that by eliminating and/or shortening port times the cruise lines can often save on fuel costs (this is never cited by the cruise lines as a reason for a change). Not only do the cruise contracts give cruisers very few rights, but they are also written in a way that makes it very difficult to file a civil action (i.e. lawsuit) against any cruise line. There are a few specialty law firms that handle cruise civil actions, but their success is limited, and it is a very convoluted/complex process. So now we get to the reason for my post. Has the time come when cruisers need some kind of protection from cruise lines simply modifying their cruises without leaving the customer/cruiser any reasonable recourse? Should cruisers be able to cancel (even within penalty periods) and get a complete refund if their itinerary is changed? Should cruise lines be required to pay any extra expenses incurred by cruisers due to the cruise line making major changes? Another related issue is about crime committed on ships. There has been some progress with this issue, but cruise lines apparently will stil do their best to cover-up or minimize onboard crime. In the USA there has been some progress with the FBI getting involved, but that assistance is quite limited in its scope. My personal opinion (which we have expressed for over 25 years) is that there should be a voluntary "Cruise Passenger Bill of Rights" that is developed and accepted by all the major cruise lines. We always think that an industry regulating itself is a better option than activist groups and governments getting involved. However, if the cruise industry refuses to increase the rights of their customers, perhaps it is time for the various government regulators here in the USA and the EU to implement tougher consumer protection laws! Am looking forward to hearing the opinions of many cruisers, some of the well-informed CC Mods, etc. Hank

Some here on the O board might be interested in what is happening over on the NCL Board. Apparently the NCL Star was supposed to be going on a South America/Antarctica cruise, but after they boarded found out that NCL had quietly eliminated Antarctica from the itinerary. Or course these folks paid a lot of extra money for an Antarctic cruise only to be shafted at the last minute. Makes you wonder what is going on at NCLH. Major itinerary changes, after final payment, with no explanation seem to an increasing common occurrence. Friends of ours on a recently completed O cruise were not pleased when they had all kinds of changes (during their cruise) in the Middle East/South Asia, although one could easily attribute that to the war which is certianly not the fault of any cruise line. Hank

Yeah, Italy can be a challenge. A few years ago we were staying in a Condo near San Gimignano and decided to go to Florence for dinner. We drove over to the small train station at Certaldo and waited for the frequent train to Florence (that comes from Siena). When the time for the train came and went, there were about 20 of us (mostly local Italians) that just shrugged and waited a half hour for the next train that also did not come So, DW and I got in our car and drove over to San Gimigano where we went to a place for dinner. A few days later, we drove to FCO (to fly home). We had plenty of time, so I stopped at the airport's train station. We actually managed to get the station master, who was fluent in English, and asked him about those trains (from Certaldo to Florence) and how we could get our money back for the tickets we had purchased from the vending machine. He just laughed and said there had been a 1/2 day unscheduled strike on the line from Siena to Florence! If we were Italian citizens, he could have refunded our money (less than $20) but foreigners had to fill out a long form to request a refund that would be mailed. It would have been an Italian check in Euros, which was worthless back in the States. Go figure. Hank

Yep, and we are aware it is closed. However, Avis still shows are confirmed reservation. So what would happen is we would go to that location (with our confirmed reservation) to find it closed :). Now, you would think that Avis would notify us of the closure (and that their nearest open location is 18 miles away at the airport) but they do not give us that courtesy. This is why independent travelers always need to double check all the little details and than check again :). When we made the reservation a few months ago, I was surprised to see that Avis listed that location being open on May 1. I even called Avis in the USA who checked and said they also showed the location open on May 1. We booked it hoping they would be open, but knowing that being Italy it would likely close on a holiday. The funny thing is if I were to make a new reservation today, it rejects the reservation because the location is closed. However, there is no attempt (on their part) to update folks from which they have already accepted reservations. Kind of like getting to the airport for you flight only to find it was cancelled months ago, but nobody bothered to tell the customers. Hank

There are few limits to how an itinerary can be altered due to a major storm. Ports can change, times in ports can change, ports can be cancelled, etc. Wise passengers simply roll with the waves (pun intended) as you generally have no choice. Another issue is that bad storms can cause a delay in embarkation or even the cancellation of an entire cruise. And a storm, that hits the USA will play havoc with airline schedules and folks may not even make it to their embarkation port (especially those who fly-in the day of a cruise. Hank