Harters

9 minutes ago, mauibabes said:

Gaudi is a creative genius.

As is Joan Miro. The museum of his work on Montjuic is absolutely worth a visit. In fact, it was the main focus of our day in the city prior to a cruise. 

On 10/10/2024 at 9:11 PM, maxamize said:

I have exactly the same with Ember but apparently there are people who like the concept.

I like both the Bakery and Ember. Both do a really good job, IMO. 

6 hours ago, mjdurso80 said:

late May, June or September.

So late spring, early summer or early autumn. As anywhere in the northern hemisphere, the summer weather is likely to be better than spring or autumn. June is also the month when we usually have a UK holiday. But, bear in mind this is Northern Europe so there's no guarantee of good weather - expect hot & dry and cold & wet, often on the same day. 

I remember being in southern Ireland one June. One day we went out to visit this place that I needed to take photos of for a project. It was fine when we left. And, when we got there, raining so heavily I was literally soaked to the skin within minutes

15 hours ago, Hlitner said:

As more ships are moving towards "overnights" the opportunity for dinner, ashore, has also increased.

We overnight in Bordeaux next year on an Oceania cruise. We've tried to do this itinerary before and had done research for a dinner reservation at what seemed a nice place. However, it's changed its menu and is no longer "French bistro" but seems more "international tourist". I've already started the planning process again to find somewhere else. Other ports will, as usual, provide opportunities for lunch. 

Suggest also Googling for "port guide" for each place. Often a good source of information about what to do and, in particular, what's nearby. And check out the forum roll call to see what others might be planning

FWIW, Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona will be very easy to do yourself without an excursion. Palma is a very walkable small city with the port area within easy walking distance of the city centre. Barcelona is, of course, a very large city and pre-planning will be essential to get the best out of the day - it may well be worth considering the hop on-hop off bus

You're welcome, Cathy. 

Just a thought to bear in mind - the tapas places in the actual market are really only open at lunch time, the more restauranty places on the perimeter will have longer hours. 

1 hour ago, CathyK2 said:

so wasn't sure that they really had any eateries in there.  

Yes, there are definitely eateries in the market and others on its perimeter. Some are tapas bars and others more restauranty. I can't guarantee that a place will have papas but it'd be pretty surprising if they didnt - they really are ubiquitous, even in tapas bars. Don't waste time looking for "the best" - it's a comparatively easy preparation so all offerings are pretty much the same 

18 minutes ago, maxamize said:

real French pastries exactly like in Franc

I agree. Good quality pastry work, IMO. We tended to go there for an afternoon snack, rather than afternoon tea in Horizons. 

Which ports? And then, what interests you?

My initial advice would be to look at Oceania's excursions for the various ports. See which have things/places that interest you and take it from there. FWIW, that's what we've done for our Vista cruise next year (as we've  done for our two previous cruises). For most ports, we will simply stay in the port city and organise our own walking tour of things that interest us. For a couple of ports, we're going to take a ship's excursion. 

52 minutes ago, Vallesan said:

They now seem to have English mustard

Good to hear you're enjoying yourself, V.

And good news about the mustard. Always seemed to have been more trouble than it was worth to get some to have with a steak. 

1 hour ago, pinotlover said:

On sea days could provide a nice Brunch by combining breakfast and lunch.

Particularly if they do savoury, as well as sweet, pancakes (like a gallette)

Marc - just a suggestion for a tweak on the Palma de Mallorca one (and possibly others). You are not consistent in the currency you mention for attractions - sometimes in Euros, sometime in dollars. Suggest that you check things over and have everything priced in local currency, as that's what folk will actually be paying (it's also irrelevant to cruisers like me, who not American, what the dollar equivalent is). 

6 hours ago, DanOnboard said:

The Crêperie, located next to Baristas

I wonder if that's going to replace the space occupied on Vista by The Bakery. If so, I'm not convinced replacing the pastries and quiche, with pancakes is progress (much as I like pancakes). 

Not the best I've ever eaten, but the "copa" I enjoyed on Christmas Day in Tenerife last year was special. That lunch had been a bucket list meal for a long time. It had to be eaten in sight of the ocean and there had to be a steak for the main course. Absolutely no "turkey and tinsel" about this. The "sight of the ocean" requirement meant it was always going to be a touristy restaurant rather than a gourmet place. So, the copa was fruits of the forest ice cream, topped with a lot of squirty cream and finished off with thin slices of apple. One ticked off the list. 

My best suggestion would be to walk up to the main market - the Mercado Nuestra Senora de Africa. It is a lively market selling fruit, vegetables, seafood and meat. And several of the stalls also have a casual "eaterie" attached to them, mainly selling seafood (and you are not going to get fresher seafood on the island than here). Also quite a number of stalls selling craft work - jewellery and the like. For me, it's the most interesting single place in the city. 

Pretty much everywhere will have papas, with the red and green mojo sauces. We visit the island for three weeks each winter and, to be frank, they are so commonplace that you get completely sick of the sight of them on almost every plate.  

41 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

if they were posted in the correct forums:

And maybe see if the moderators would create a "sticky" for them in each of the relevant forums, so they don't disappear down the list? 

49 minutes ago, PhD-iva said:

what the witty acronym “SLAVE” stands for

Simply Less And Very Expensive?

10 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

So glad it is all now included

Pulling this  back to changes with Simply Less, I certainly regarded it as progress when O incorporated gratuities into the cruise price last year for European customers (as had been the case for Australian & New Zealanders for a while).

Knowing just how deeply ingrained the process of tipping is in the culture, it'll be interesting to see how North Americans will view things now it's included for them as well. 

21 hours ago, Hlitner said:

The unknown is how long it takes to get a taxi

It will not be long. When we disembarked last year, there was a queue of taxis waiting, so there was no wait at all. Which is what logic suggests would be the case. Taxi drivers know that there will be plenty of customers when a ship disembarks, so will be there to pick up the ready business. 

6 hours ago, SophieM said:

Maybe I misread what you were saying

No, you didnt misread.

4 hours ago, iowananny said:

I really wonder if those who give big tips really do get that much better service or if it just makes them feel important.

I used to play on a now defunct food/restaurant forum where most contributors were American. Tipping cropped up regularly, as it does on CC, and I have a very definite view that for many of those who are "big tippers" it makes them feel good about themselves. That their largesse is able to help less well off folk. I'm definitely not against folk doing things that make them feel better about themselves. 

3 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

in the UK they are even more devious about hiding the charges

I think that's absolutely right. They've probably learned from the restaurant industry that few people ask for "discretionary" service charges to be removed, whereas many people may simply not tip (old fashioned cash tipping or by card). 

2 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

Resort fees are not mandatory in the US

That's sort of my point. If I'm looking for a hotel and Hotel A appears to be charging X, which is less than another hotel charging Y. I decide to book Hotel A  then realise the resort fee makes it dearer than the other. So, I have to go back to look at Y to see if they charge a resort fee also. And if you've maybe looked at a few possible hotels, it becomes a pain. If the hotel room rate was simply transparent and inclusive, as it is in many American hotels, it would be for the better. 

16 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

looks like places have found a way around the rule.

 

I note it says "especially in London" so, presumably, some hotels have copied the disreputable American dodge to con tourists. I see the article notes its "discretionary" unlike American resort fees which seem to be mandatory.  Havent seen it myself, so expect it's few and far between. 

It's a con, like the restaurant at the Sofitel hotel at Heathrow which levies a service charge, yet leaves the tip line open, so effectively hoping unsuspecting tourists will tip twice. I bet it catches many foreigners out, who may not fully appreciate that the service charge is the tip. Hopefully others will pay a wee bit of attention. 😀

An interesting article here mentioning that resort fees are controversial in the States. I read there was legislation going through Congress to regulate them, supported by Biden?

https://www.thetimes.com/article/uk-hotels-are-quietly-starting-to-levy-service-charges-i-dont-like-it-one-bit-x6w9pfvws

19 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

trip to Australia earlier this year where all menu prices for meals included taxes and gratuities in the pricing as did hotel rooms. 

As I mentioned, I've never seen other than this here in Europe. 

Resort fees are a marketing dodge to make the price appear cheaper than it actually is. For example, the hotel I stayed at in Miami Beach before our last cruise advertises a room price of $119.20 per night. That's their own advertising and the price that appears on the likes of booking.com. So, you might pick that hotel, over others, because of the price. It's only when you get to the final booking page that you find there's also a $51.30 resort fee, per day, to add. Of course, they could have simply stated their price was $170.50, plus tax - but, of course, that wouldnt be a good marketing dodge. Because I know things are different in America to many other parts of the world I know, I always pay more than a wee bit of attention to terms and conditions, so it was no surprise it was there ,as we've come across this dodge before.