Hlitner

A tough question because each has their pros/cons. In terms of service and amenities I would rank MSCs Yacht Club #1. But the downside of MSC is that their cuisine, in the YCs restaurant, is somewhat uneven. Why do we like MSC? Both MSC and NCL house the suites in a separate (protected by electronic entry) part of the ship. They truly define a ship within a ship. RCI is kind of a hybrid product because many of the amenities are scattered around the ship (depending on the vessel). I will also tell you that we cruise on some of the best luxury cruise lines (Seabourn, Silversea, Explora Journey, etc) and the service/amenities within the MSC YC is on par. I cannot comment on RCI since we stopped cruising that line many years ago. Hank

Just wanted to add my support and agreement to your post. My only issue with those MSC Caribbean cruises is that we are not fans of their itinerary (except for Ocean Cay). On the other hand. DW and I have been known to simply stay on the ship when its in ports :). Their Yacht Club is a fabulous product for the price. Hank

I am not surprised about the Grand Voyage comment. We have taken segments of several Grand Voyages and done two complete Grands. They were among our favorite HAL voyages. But, on our "Grands" it was ship full of well traveled, and well aged, HAL cruisers a large majority of which were 4-5* Mariners. At the risk of being flamed (what else is new) we found the passenger demographics on those Grand voyages as strongly skewed towards the seniors and their parents :). On pne of our Grand Med cruises we recall that the youngest person on the cruise (Jennifer) was 23 and cruising as her Grandmother's companion. I do not think there was a single other passenger under 60. Nothing wrong with that (I am also in that senior category) but on HAL it usually means the crowd are not big drinkers, tend to dine early, and go to bed early. I have previously posted about our wonderful Grand Med cruises on the Prinsendam. On many evenings, I would settle into my seat at the Crows Nest bar, about 10pm. The normal crowd in that bar consisted of approximally 8 others (all male), the popular beverage manager (Peter), the piano bar player/singer, and usually by 11 pm we were joined by Captain "Halle" who enjoyed sitting at the bar, chatting with the "guys" and often buying us rounds of drinks. Of the approximate 600 passengers on those voyages there was approximately fewer than 20 passengers populating the two main bars...after 10pm. it has been similar on the Voyage of the Vikings cruise, when DW and I, along with 2 or 3 other couples, were the only folks in the piano bar by 10. "Barry from Boston" who was in residence on our two VOV cruises would sometimes have fun doing a Sesame Street number song, based on the number in the venue. He never had to worry about double digits! How do I know this? I guess I qualify as a "night owl" and it is not unusual for me to among the last passengers standing....on most of our voyages. By the way, I find it a bit sad that Barry Rocklin (Barry from Boston) is now working for Celebrity. Hank

Getting to Eze Village is never "easy." There are regional buses (from either Nice or Monte Carlo with some going past Villefranche) but the frequency of the bus service is not good. Once can take the train to the Eze sur mer train stop, but then still must wait for a bus (which does not run often enough) or hope to find a taxi. We tend to stop at Eze Village, when we have our own rental car, but renting a car in Villefranche is difficult to impossible which usually means going into Nice to just pick-up a rental car. So what to do? A private tour (i.e. car driver) is a great option if one has a big budget. The next best option is to join with a few others on a small group tour (you can try to arrange this on your CC Roll Call board) and include Eze Village on the tour. Otherwise, this might be one of those cases where we will admit that a cruise line excursion might be a good option. I must add my own feelings about Eze Village. The hilltop town has an interesting vibe, some wonderful views, and a few places where one can get a decent lunch. When we first went to Eze, back in the 80s, we thought it a quaint "arty" community. It was fun to walk through the narrow streets and browse some of the decent art galleries and shops. Today, many of the galleries are gone (rents are too high) having been replaced with touristy shops that are mostly "only open for the season." While DW and I used to spend hours in Eze, we now see it as more of a "whistle stop" if we happen to be driving between Monte Carlo and Nice. For my money, I still prefer St Paul de Vence, which is somewhat larger and still has its share of decent galleries/shops. Just one person's point of view and I am sure plenty will disagree. Hank

I have a theory (unproven). A few years ago, HAL began to include "free" alternative restaurant meals in some of their booking packages (such as HIA). In addition, HAL gives big discounts to 4* Mariners and free meals to 5*. It seems like as they kept extending "free meals" to more folks, they simply increased the prices (to account for the discounts) and reduced the quality. I still remember the days when one could get a wonderful tableside Ceaser Salad in the Pinnacle, and the steaks were excellent quality. The Pinnacle steaks we got on our last HAL cruise, would not even come close to what we eat in our own home. And that was also when HAL had a policy where we had to pay extra (in the Pinnacle) if we wanted to order both a starter and salad! Hank

That is a real bummer. We, recently, had a similar situation with Avis when we booked a May 1 reservation to pick-up a car in Trieste. The Avis web site accepted our reservation and even generated a series of confirmation and reminder e-mails! But I was very suspicious of the reservation because it was on a major holiday. When I called Avis, they eventurally confirmed that the location would be closed and had no explanation why we had a confrimed reservation. Ultimately, we had to Uber about 20 miles to the nearest airport where there was an open rental car location. We have also had issues with Europcar, in Greece, where we had a confirmed reservation at a Naxos office that had been closed for nearly a year! I would not blame Expedia, as we have started to understand that the problem is with the rental car companies, themsevles! We often warn folks, here on CC, to be wary of getting rental cars (in Italy and France) on a Sunday or holiday. Hank

I know this is not the Princess blog, but will agree that the Dover Sole was delicious. I also had some excellent Oysters. Perhaps, things being cheaper on HAL, the quality reflects the lower price. We have previously posted (and got flamed by quite a few) that we now see HAL as one of the "budget" mass market lines in terms of onboard cuisine. It is one reason, among many, that we currently choose to avoid HAL cruises in favor of other higher quality lines. When DW and I dined at the Catch by Rudi (Sky Princess) we also thought it was among the two best meals we have ever had on any mass market line (the other was at Murano's on Celebrity). For whatever reason, we have always found the alternative venues on HAL adequte, but nothing special. In fact, the only reason we go to the Pinnacle is because we get some free meals. We have also previously posted that we thought the best alternative restaurant option, on HAL, was lunch at the Pinnacle. Hank

If you can handle 15k steps a day, you will be fine :). The villages are actually quite small and so darn crowded that a group can move fast. Riomaggiore and Monterrosso are connected by the most popular hiking trail (within the region) which has been closed for many years due to mud/rock slides. It is reopening this summer and, your tour might include a short walk on this trail (likely on the Riomaggiore side) although it is very doubtful a HAL excursion would include the entire hike (all the way to Manarola. Both Riomaggiore and Monterrosso (the villages at either end of Cinque Terre) have parking/drop off areas that are best suited (among the 5 villages) to larger buses. Of those 3 villages, my favorite is Manarola (love some of the views fro that village). Although all the villages are always too crowded, the most crowded are Riomaggiore and Monterosso (because they both have parking lots/garage). If you take that excursion make sure to wear comfy footwear and a decent hat. Hank

Many here may not be aware that Rudi Sodaman is also functioning as the top chef for Princess. Like HAL, Princess has refitted many of its existing ships to include a "Rudi's" venue. The difference, on Princess, is that Rudi's is usually packed (sold-out most nights) and is an excellent restaurant. This person wonders why that venue is so popular on Princess, and apparently not very popular on HAL. I should add that on our last Princess Cruise (Sky Princess) DW and I liked Rudi's so much, that we tried to get a 2nd reservation (on a 2 week cruise). There was no availability on the app so we had a conversation with the restaurant manager who sqeezed us in at 9pm. When we finished dinner (about 10:30) the restaurant was still nearly full! What is nice on the Sky Princess, is that Rudi's is located just off the main Atrium, where there is live music entertainment until about 11:30pm. When one dines in Rudi's, you can hear (in the background) the music coming from the nearby Atrium which just seems to add to the ambiance. Hank

Ouch!

i love your post because it highlights an issue with trains, not always mentioned here on CC. Assuming they are running (i.e. there is no strike) it is not unusual for them to run late. For cruisers planning on using trains in Italy, it is wise to build-in a substantial time margin to allow for such issues. Hank

We have picked-up and dropped at that Budget location and it is quite convenient to the shuttle bus (as per Euro Cruiser). I also recall our experience at that Budget location which is that paperwork issues can move at a snails pace. Pray for no queues and have a fantastic trip. We do love having a car in italy :). Hank

At least 2 hours of your day will be spent just getting to and from Alberobello. I guess the good news is that still leaves about 4 hours for other things :). Ironically, we will be back in Brindisi in September, with along port day. Still deciding what to do with our day, but will likely follow Cruisemom's advice and take the train to Lecce. We have previously been to Brindisi (caught a ferry over to Corfu) so want to get away from that port city. Hank

We do know you of your love of history and historic places, so no surprise with your post. Think of the cruise to the Fjords as a real vacation LOL. DW actually enjoys that kind of itinerary since it means easy days :). When we are in the places where there are historic sites, I have been known to drag her more than 10 miles (walking) in a port day. If you manage to get to Oslo, you will find some things of interest in that city. Hank

The activity level will depend on which villages (there are 5) are visited on the tour. Every village does involve walking (including some slopes) and the walking can become longer, depending on how close to the village you get via the transportation. I have never been a big fan of cruise ship excursions of their descriptions. Using terms like moderate and strenuous really does depend on one's point of view. Many cruisers have trouble walking the length of their ship, and few will use the steps to even go down a single deck. On the other hand, there are plenty of folks for which a few miles of walking is not a big deal. A friend put it properly when she said "my moderate is another's death march." If you have more info about the excursion, such as which villages it visits, some of us can probably be of more help. Hank

Villefranche is a very walkable town with most of the tourist oriented places within a couple of blocks of the water. One can spend a day just browsing some of the shops and enjoying a long lunch. If you want to actually do something else, then consider going to the Villa Ephrussi di Rothschild. If you are real walking/hikers, it is possible to walk from the tender pier all the way to the Villa. Otherwise using a local bus or taxi does make it easier for folks that do not like hikes. There is a lot of info, online, about the Villa and purchasing tickets. Hank

Something strange about the Encore sailings. Look for any of the November sailings. They all seem to have disappeared along with most of the December sailings. Wonder if it is just a software glitch. Hank

Yeah Edinburgher, St Paul de Vence and the Maeght are old friends. Just to reminisce, back in the 80s, DW and I cruised on the budget ship "Regent Spririt" (Regency Cruise Lines) which was a small vessel doing cruises from the old port of Nice. Our turn around day (docked in Nice) was on a Sunday, We asked one the ship's entertainers, who was from Nice, "what should we do in NIce on a Sunday.." He told us to go to St Paul de Vence. We really loved that first visit and have been back at least 10 times. It is also a place we recommend here on CC, although getting there does favor folks who have a rental car from either Nice or Cannes. Hank

Just a few words about my "take" on Club Orange If we were to cruise on a Pinnacle Class ship, we would likely book a lower category veranda and the Club Orange option. On Vista and smaller, we see little benefit to CO. As 5* Mariners, we already get our share of "priority" and the other normal perks. Dining on HAL is never a problem for us, because we simply practice what I call "queue avoidance." We normally go the MDR after 7:30, which is a time when there is no queue on HAL (many are already in bed), and DW has no use for priority breakfast (she is not a breakfast person). Celebrity has become a "no go" for us due to very high pricing on Retreat suites. If, and when, we spot a decent deal, we would return to Celebrity. For now, we still find a lot of value with Seabourn, Oceania (their new ships), and Silversea. In fact, we have an upcoming Silversea cruise (14 days) that cost us less than $350 per passenger day. On Silversea, for that price, we get a suite, included excursions at every port, and free everything onboard. The only thing close, on HAL, would be a suite with HIA and an upgrade to the higher drink package. Our upcoming Seabourn cruise cost us about $400 per person day, which is also all-inclusive (no excursions). On Seabourn, I tend to eat caviar every day (you can get it from Room Service, at bars, lounges, etc, for no charge) with French Champagne. On HAL, assuming one could get caviar, that alone would cost at least $100 a day. A fellow Seabourn cruiser insists that she eats enough caviar to cover the cost of her cruise :). And for those who have not cruised on a luxury line, it is normal to spend a month on a ship and have an onboard account balance of zero! No nickel and diming on those lines, no photographers, no art auctions, etc. There is still "value" to be found with some cruises and cruise lines, but those deals are certainly more difficult to find then in years past. For us, part of the fun of travel/cruising is looking for those "sweet spots." What brought me into this thread was looking at the price of HAL's Voyage of the Vikings cruise (for the future) and realizing that it was an awful value. I pointed out to DW that we could fly Business Class to Paris, and spend more than a month in France , for less money than the VOV. And, trust me, that in France we would be eating/drinking a lot better than on HAL :). Hank

I debated whether to respond to this interesting thread, but finally decided there are lessons to be learned. Sometimes DW and I will refer to ourselves as "world travelers" which may or may not be an appropriate label for folks who have visited over 140 countries. We travel on both cruise ships and land (and love both). If we were to look for a moral or other reason, I suspect we could easily find reasons to not visit a majority of those places. Having spent significant time in France, DW and I sometimes joke that even the French do not like Parisians (and vice versa). I suppose that statement could also apply to New Yorkers (my birth town) and some other large cities around the world. We have spent many months in Paris, and could easily point to various incidents that might politely be called rude. However, Paris remains one of our favorite places, on earth, and there is much to like and enjoy in that city. One thing about D&N's comments regarding pickpockets. Yes, Paris has its share, but so does nearly every other tourist city in Europe and the USA. Travelers are well advised to develop an anti-pickpocket strategy and follow it wherever they go in the world (Japan might be the one major exception). I have a good friend who had her wallet lifted out of her purse, while she was at the top level of the Eiffel Tower. Bottom line is always to be aware of your surroundings (and the people in your area) and never make yourself an easy "mark" for the professional thieves. Hank

We will often buy the cheapest room (which is a suite) on the luxury cruise lines (Seabourn, Silversea, Explora Journeys). We find those lines a lot better overall "value" than HAL. On HAL, we seldom book a suite (we have done some Signature and Vista suites) and have routinely turned down some great upsell deals to a Neptune. Since we spend such little waking time in our cabin/suite, we don't see Neptune's as worth the cost. On the other hand, if on some other lines (MSC, Celebrity, etc) we do see the suites as a better value because of the perks associated with suites (such as the Retreat on Celebrity, Yacht Club on MSC, etc). I do think that HAL has the worst suite amenity program of all the cruise lines upon which we cruise. This is even more true on the Vista and smaller classes, which is generally what we seek out with HAL. Hank

You are preaching to the choir. We have collected over $24,000 in claims through e-claims and that card. Hank

Absolutely. We have one cruising friend that puts in a standing order for caviar to be delivered in late afternoon, so they can enjoy during shower time, Seabourn has a long-time reputation for their caviar (which is very good domestic). Their "Caviar in the Surf" is one of the most memorable events we have experienced in the cruise world. When we were in the Carribean, they rented the entire Carambola Beach Club on St Kitts. The passengers were all tendered ashore to a full day beach party (including BBQ lunch with items like grilled lobster, steak, etc). We were laying on the beach around noon, when we heard a loud siren. In came a speed boat (from our ship) with the Captain, Hotel Manager, and a few other officers, When the boat stopped off-shore, the Hotel Manager, in his dress whites, jumped into the water (about chest high) and waded over to a nearby surf board. He carried, over his head, a large container (about a kilo) of Caviar, Passengers were invited to wade out to the surf board where they were served champagne and caviar. Was truly a fun moment. This only happens when they have the right port (such as with St Kitts or a small island in Greece). Is Seabourn perfect? No, they have their negatives just like every line. But they often do get things right. Hank

If you like caviar, that is one reason to cruise on Seabourn. On that line you can order decent Caviar (at no additional cost) from Room Service, whenever (and as often) as you please. I will often order a double portion (which comes with a large round tray of fixens) when I am enjoying a cocktail before dinner. The bar tender puts in the order, and in a few minutes a large portion of caviar appears :). That line also has "Caviar in the Surf" when cruising in the appropriate warm waters, and other times will have the senior officers serve caviar in the ship's pool (off a surfboard). Lots of fun for caviar lovers. Hank

Regarding the TA Vacation question, TA simply means Trans Atlantic. In the cruise world, many transatlantic cruises are also so-called "repositioning cruises" because the cruise line uses them to relocate their ships (such as from North America to Europe). Consider that we love TA cruises, because we find it a more pleasant option than flying across the ocean. We have actually done many TA cruises that cost us less than it would have cost to fly Business Class. And many cruisers (including me) love all those lazy sea days. Hank