jsn55

Thank you for this reality reminder. My nephew has never been to Europe, so I want him to see 'everything', especially in Roma. And my legs won't do more than a couple of hours walking in a day. But there seem to be lots of golf cart tours in Roma ... much more money but it might be worth it. I will continue my quest and appreciate the advice.

I'd get a hotel close to Ostia Antica and spend most of a day there, then taxi to the port. I found it utterly fascinating.

The time you actually set foot on the dock is influenced by many things. whether you dock on time, whether the 'authorities' are there to clear you, whether there's a security issue, the size of the ship etc. Ship's shore ex pax usually get off first, Post again with your details and others who have done your cruise will have some good advice.

Several mentions of Flixbus ... we're transferring from Trieste to Venice. Website looks great so I'll be checking out the reviews. I like seeing the countryside from high up in a bus.

I go for an open-top double-decker HOHO bus to see the sights no matter where I am. In Rome, the Big Bus has Stop #1 at the Termini RR station, so that will do me just fine. I do a great deal of reading before a trip, so have some frame of reference to what I'm seeing ... and for some reason it's just "fun" to be up so high looking at everything.

I'm looking for the same info for an October Rome visit. My cruiseline wants $140 to dump us in Rome and bring us back to the ship 8 hours later.

I think Stolly Bolly has the best summation of 'good service' at any level. "We had some real blips on our first Regent cruise. They were addressed and could not have done more to ensure our cruise experience was worth the money" Mistakes are made often in life. It's how they're dealt with that makes for good service. I'm assuming that major cruiselines are concerned about their financial future. They spent billions during the virus disaster with no revenue stream, and their war chests are probably almost empty. I'm a businesswoman, I understand how business runs. It's simply good business to cut expenses when revenue is lower. But it's the way the 'lesser service' is handled ... if the water is shut off in an entire section of the ship for 7 hours, those pax should not be ignored, but should receive a gesture of good will for having to put up with it. If a ship can't afford to put on a decent production show, they should announce that in the morning ... well before I sit down in the theatre to be entertained by a woman playing a violin. Being treated like I'm of no importance does not generate any loyalty in me, nor does it for many people.

This makes so much sense. Instead of chasing every ship and every cabin and every fare, set up your budget first. Decide what you want to spend. List your criteria and narrow your choices. Much easier than flying all over the place looking for 'a bargain'. You'll find what you want and can jump right on it, because you already have your parameters set up.

Only one way to find out. "Honey, I'm thinking about taking a cruise to Timbuktu in October. I know you probably don't want to take a cruise, but how do you feel about me going solo?".

In certain cases, I might be inclined to jump off my balcony rather than deal with hundreds of dithering people accompanied by lots of screaming. I could order room service and a bottle of champagne for my last meal. Seriously, on our last cruise SF-HNL, I was so distracted by my husband's trouble walking that I realized a week in that I didn't even know where our muster station was. Kind of an eye-opener.

I so agree about over-doing it on your first big adventure. No matter how energetic you are, pace yourself with activities. There's little evening entertainment on a river cruise, so you 'should' get enough sleep ... but your mind also might need downtime with a book, a journal or a game. Racing around all day every day will tend to blur the edges of your experiences. I also believe that being tired leads to other physical issues and you end up not 'feeling very good' at the last part of your trip ... then catching a cold or having a nasty digestive upset. Falling asleep on a tour bus is not very pleasant, unless you plan for it. I often bring my neck pillow on an excursion and catch a lovely nap on the way back to the ship. Unless a tour guide insists on talking the whole way, of course ... I think I'll add earplugs to my bus kit. And you definitely want to enjoy your post-cruise time ... both cities are just magic. An Avalon river cruise is almost a guaranteed great trip.

I got this thing from Amazon, thought I'd roll it. But the little plastic 'holders' for earrings and stuff ... they're open at the top. I'm concerned things would fall out until I hung the thing up. Necklaces go on the other side, so if you roll it they might get all tangled. Gotta ponder this one. It's is big enough to hold all the jewelry for 6 women! I might cut off a few rows off the bottom.

I'll just share this for other women who may be tempted to wear shoes that aren't very good for their feet, just to satisfy vanity. I've been super-healthy all my life, didn't even have a doctor until I was about 50. In my late 50s, I discovered that the chronic pain in my right hip was from swinging myself up into my truck for 17 years, ignoring the running board. By the time I had my hip replaced, I had screwed up my right knee by 'walking funny'. After a few years of pain, I had that knee replaced. There was a little glitch; it was an excruciating recovery period. Soon the left knee was giving me trouble, but I put that replacement off far too long. Now I have one natural hip. After extensive PT, hours in a warm-water therapy pool, and paying close attention to my shoes, I walk mostly pain-free. I can wear a 2" wedge sandal on special occasions. Makes me very happy and I am grateful. So my message is: PAY ATTENTION!!! I went through 15 years of pain to satisfy my vanity. Ain't worth it.

Too bad the reporter didn't differentiate between river and ocean cruises. In most aspects of life, I prefer to pay a base price, then add on the features that I want. Running the numbers to compare the two kinds of cruises takes some effort ... and many decisions about what is important to YOU. For a two-week cruise from Provence to Normandy in a 'Royal Suite' on Avalon, $14K would be a real bargain.

"Better" is just what you think is better ... for you personally. If you're inexperienced at booking hotels and air, sometimes working with the cruiseline is a good idea. I don't want a 'middleman' between me and my travel arrangements ... if there's an issue, I want to deal directly with the hotel or airline. If flying to a country where I think communication might be an issue, I arrange for a driver to meet our flight. And I only book chain hotels that I'm familiar with ... I don't want to deal with the hotel if I can't communicate. I remember checking in the Beijing JWMarriott a couple of years ago. The sweet ladies at the front desk spoke just enough English to cause problems; it took us forever to check in ... after a 15-hour flight and a two-hour ride in from the airport. I'm always willing to let people try to do their jobs, I don't want to insult them; I'm not one of those dunderheads who thinks everyone should speak English. After about half an hour, I finally was able to catch someone's eye and he came right over to get us all settled. The hotel was definitely worth it, we loved the place.

Oh yeah! I forgot to mention the hundred(s) of pairs I went through to find shoes I could wear without pain. Goodwill throws out the red carpet when I drive up.

I prefer cool weather. So I always research the averages before booking a trip. You can pick several towns in the Dolomites and research the temps, wind and precipitation for April, May and June. That will give you a pretty good idea of what to expect. As regards Venice, know that large ships no longer are allowed, so your final port may be Trieste or Ravenna. The cruiselines can be a little cagey about this important fact, as many people are discovering.

The recovery from the accident must have been excruciating, glad you're up and going again. If you can't wear heels now ... and you shouldn't push that or you'll pay big time when you're 'older' ... you're left with flats, right? Seems to me that I see all kinds of really cute shoes in catalogues and on Zappos. But I have huge feet ... I'm 6' tall and wear size 11 shoes, 12 with fat socks ... so I have to be careful what styles I wear. Probably the best approach would be to order shoes you like the looks of from a source with free returns. I can tell you one thing for sure ... I got a pair of custom-made 'orthopedic' shoes from Germany after I had a hip replacement. I had serious arthritis pain for several years and was game to try anything. They're enormous, ugly, heavy and seriously comfortable. I can walk forever in them; first pair lasted ten years and I'm now on the second pair. When I first saw them, I couldn't imagine wearing them out in public. But the comfort was amazing. So I decided to forget I was wearing these monsters and pretend that they were nice black loafers. I wear them anytime there's lots of walking ... I'm not sure I'd be walking at all today without them.

I absolutely love walking the ship out on deck. It's amazingly annoying to have to detour through the interior to keep moving. I hadn't considered this aspect of a ship before experiencing Royal Princess. We're on NCL's Epic in October and I gather that there's little or no promenade deck at all.

(I realize that I am violating a rule posted by some who object to answers which go beyond a simple “yes/no” response to the original post.) I hadn't heard about this 'rule'. What nonsense. We're on these boards to pick each others' brains and be educated by our members. I'm sure that I'm not alone is preferring 'first-person' stories and advice. Gives me a solid base on which to do my research for a trip. People who want a 'yes or no' answer can just go ask a neighbor. That's about as much help as you'll get.

When I comply with an e-muster call, I think about the vast majority of pax who will instantly panic in an emergency. With the old-style real musters, pax gained some cognizance of what to do in an emergency; awareness of their muster stations if nothing else. An e-muster is about as useful as looking at your phone for ten seconds, then moving on.

One thing to consider ... brief letters written in a businesslike tone, polite but clear, generally get the best results. It's justifiably understandable that NCL's stance can trigger anger, but the person reading your letter didn't cause your problem and you want them to want to help you. Make no mention of 'taking further action', that will get your letter sent on to Legal or set aside. It's helpful to have someone unaware of your problem read your letter to be sure you've explained it clearly. I was on a advocacy forum for years, and this method is what's been proven to get the best results. I'd call to see if you can get the name of someone in charge of customer service, and start there. If you start at the top and your request is denied, you have nowhere to go. Be polite, patient and persistent.

I would see these ports as utterly fascinating. I've travelled independently and cruised ... I find the cost of shore excursions a minor point compared to what I can see and learn with an organized tour. Planning travel is my favorite hobby of all. I'm working on shore adventures right now for an NCL Epic Med cruise in October. I copy the SEs that look good on the website and paste them into a WORD document. On the doc, I delete anything that I don't want, then print it. Study the rest, make notes in the margins, read about the port ... and the choice of SEs comes pretty naturally. THEN I'll go looking at independent tours. It's important to 'know yourself' so you plan things that you really enjoy. I can't bear standing around a tour guide who just goes on and on and on, so I don't book private tours. Our private guide in Kusadasi never took a breath; after a couple of hours we just wanted her to shut up. I like to be totally present during a tour, and have a strong aversion to worry, so prefer an independent tour for half or three-quarters of a day; I want no chances of missing the ship's sailing. I won't roll out 3 days in a row for 8am departures. Once I get the schedule all laid out, I go looking for things we might do in each port on our own. Read Rick Steves first, love his opinionated advice. Sometimes it's enjoyable to just walk off the ship to wander and absorb it all.

Just put a white noise app on your phone.

I think that your best bet is to get a future flight credit from the airline. If the airline won't provide a credit, or requires a change/cancel fee, then your insurance should cover. The cruiseline has failed to provide a cruise, but your airline is still ready to provide your flights. What a mess.