Steirisch

We'll be in port on Sunday, May 10 from 7-3. We would like to see Victor Hugo's House, the Little Chapel, Castle Cornet and the Underground Hospital. Do you think this is possible with the little time allotted? What would be the best means of transportation? Is it possible to reach all these points of interest on the city bus? Thank you in advance for your help.

If you have a reservation, it's very possible. Our ship anchors at 8:00 a.m. and so we made reservations for the Hugo House at 11:20 a.m. Not looking forward to the walk up the hill, but we have allowed enough time to do it leisurely. If you don't already have reservations, you can send an email to this address:

hugohouse@cwgsy.net

You pay when you get there, not before.

The flyaway bus looks convenient, but the the original poster, you'll have to go from Terminal 7 over to Terminal 1, which isn't so bad because there are shuttle buses that take you around, or you can walk straight across. Here's a map:

http://www.lawa.org/uploadedFiles/LAX/pdf/LAX%20Airline%20Location%20Map.pdf

But when you get to Santa Monica, the stop is near the Civic Auditorium, a bit out of the way, but not that far from Santa Monica Place (shopping center) and close to the Pier and Palisades Park. Across from Santa Monica Place is Third Street Promenade, which is a pedestrian zone. Great if you want to shop or eat or go to a movie.

You could take the SuperShuttle for about $32 for the two of you. Tell them you're going to the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel (which is where the first Academy Awards were held in 1929). You'll be right on Hollywood Blvd. Find out from the driver when he can pick you up from that same spot. I believe it's a tad cheaper if you do a round trip.

Right, if you can't get anything else, you may still be able to negotiate with a taxi on the pier. Many people do that, although, if you can it's better to do it beforehand.

If you enjoy the food, who cares if it's a tourist trap? I certainly don't. There's a tourist trap in our town and I don't care to go there, but my brother loves the place. We went there a few weeks ago and I must say that my meal was delicious.

As for the tapas places on La Rambla, I noticed them, but didn't want to eat there with all the warnings about pickpockets. Didn't want to just put my purse on the table or the ground. The nice thing about the tapas place we went to by the Aquarium was that it was on a deck and no problem with having to watch your purse if it was by your feet.

Our taxi driver dropped us up on the opposite side of the church, so we had to walk all the way around. You enter on the side closest to the park called "Placa de Sagrada Familia", on Carrer de Sardenya. Here is a google map of that:

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.4031663,2.1741982,236m/data=!3m1!1e3

There are some places to eat around there, but haven't eaten there. We went to a Starbucks just across the street from the side of the Placa, on Carrer de Mallorca. There are some cafes on that street.

We were in Barcelona last year and ate at Tapa Tapa twice -- two different locations (although I think they have five or so in Barcelona). The menu is straightforward printe d on your placemat, so you can see what you're ordering.

We wanted to try some paella and were not disappointed. You can order two different sizes, so we ordered the smaller one.

The next day we ventured across the footbridge toward the Aquarium and ate outside on the deck at the Tapa Tapa there. It was even better than the first place. We'd order a couple of items and a beer and when those were cleared, we'd order another couple of items and another beer. The service was great and it was very relaxing and yummy.

Here is their website if you want to have a look: http://www.tapataparestaurant.com/

We'll be in Bordeaux in September and can't wait. We were there last year on a cruise and docked near the Borse. Since we walked and walked and walked that time, this time we decided to do some cheese tasting at several shops, hopefully they will have wine to pair with the cheese. We want to taste cheese that you can't get here. If we want further wine tasting we will to go Bar a Vin as it's close by where we dock. We've been to maybe 50 winery tours in the US and France, so those don't interest us anymore.

Will have lunch in Bordeaux, but we love to have dinner on the ship. Due to the tides, we sail at midnight.

I think Pompeii is good to see once. I've been to Herculaneum. If I had to visit either one of these again, it would be Herculaneum. Since we visited Pompeii about 7 years ago, they have moved a lot of the statuary to the Archeological Museum in Naples. Does your husband really want to climb Vesuvius? You can see it from Pompeii.

There is a Viator tour from Naples:

http://www.viator.com/Italy-attractions/Pompeii-tours-tickets/d508-a41?pref=02&aid=g2336

And it's nice to have a guide tell you about life in Pompeii, if that guide is a good one, it makes all the difference.

Have a fun and safe trip.

Just looked this up on Motoscafivenetia.it and found that they charge 110 Euros. So the $68 doesn't sound so bad. I just chose a random date, and you can put in a date...perhaps it will show up as a different price.

http://www.motoscafivenezia.it/eng/biglietto_1.php?gclid=CKyw_MPz778CFehj7AodDlgAeg

But then, here is a more reasonable option: http://www.partner.viator.com/en/4557/tours/Venice/Venice-Airport-Private-Departure-Transfer/d522-2495VCEHTLAPT_P

The first time we tried to go to Ostia Antica, we were staying at FCO airport Hilton and got in a taxi and said Ostia. Well, he dropped us right smack dab in the center of Ostia, the town. We wandered around until we found the train station and took a taxi back to the hotel (turns out it was closed that day, anyway).

Last year we finally made it. We were in Rome for 4 days prior to our cruise and took the train from Piramide station and got off at Ostia Antica station. It took less than 20 minutes and the train ride was pleasant. You have about a five minute walk to the entrance. We were there at least 5 hours and didn't see it all. Our feet were tired. When you walk back to the train station, there is a little bar on the right side before you get to the station. Stop and have a beer or a soft drink.

Here is the "How to get here" page from Ostia Antica's website:

http://www.ostiaantica.beniculturali.it/en/come-arrivare.php

If you really want a treat, they have behind the scenes tours which last two hours. They're not cheap, but it's the tour of a lifetime. Here is a link:

http://sdzsafaripark.org/safaritickets/caravan_safari.html

We took my husband's Mom on this tour about four years ago. You get to feed the giraffes and rhinos. You stay safe in the back of the open truck.

I haven't used them, but here is some information from a thread earlier in 2014:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1997969

We'll be in Belfast on our cruise. We plan to see the Nomadic, which was the tender for the Titanic and other White Star Line ships. She was mostly in Cherbourg, but got abandoned. The City of Belfast bought her and they now give tours. Since we're there anyway, we booked tickets online. Their webite is: nomadicbelfast.com

And, beware of train strikes. I once took the train to Florence from Livorno. No problem. I walked around and had lunch and saw an internet cafe across the road. Went in there and saw a few fellow passengers, who asked how I got to Florence. When I said by train, they said there was supposed to be a train strike that afternoon, announced in advance on the trenitalia.com website. Sure enough, there it was. So I quickly found a taxi and rushed back to the station and the train left for Livorno within a few minutes. I had enough time for a couple more hours in Florence, so the moral of the story is, check the train strike info for trenitalia. BTW, the passengers I met in the cafe said if I'm stuck and not able to get on a train, to meet them in front of the Duomo in an hour and they'd squeeze me into their taxi that they had for the day.

We stayed at the Westin Excelsior a couple of years ago in Rome and used the hotel's car service to Civitavecchia. (can't remember the name of the company) Glad we did because they told us that they are one of the few limo services to be able to drive into the port and drop you off in front of the ship. It was sprinkling when we left Rome, then raining cats and dogs at Civi. If you're dropped off at the port entrance, you have to wait for a bus. We were dropped off at the front door to the departure hall. Glad we took the car service...made the cost well worth it in our eyes.

In Naples, if there is a shore excursion to Herculaneum, I would take that. But generally ships tours are just not that good due to all the reasons mentioned above. We enjoyed Herculaneum much more than we did Pompeii, and we were in Pompeii about 12 years ago before they removed a lot of the statuary and murals with the "naughty bits" exposed (those are now in the Archeological Museum in Naples, which I hear is worth a visit). The day we did the Herculaneum tour, we got back to the ship by Noon, then took a cab to the Museum, which was closed due to a one-day strike by the workers there.

When I was in Edinburgh a few years ago I went into a store called Kinloch Anderson. They have a website here:

http://www.kinlochanderson.com/

Yes, it is well worth the time. We enjoyed it far more than we had anticipated. Bought our tickets online. The taxi driver dropped us off in front of the church, but the entrance for tickets is at the back (?)...on the Carrer de Sardenya side. We got the audio guides and paid extra for the tower visit. It was well worth it to have the audio guide because it points out things you might miss otherwise. The tower (we went up Nativity) was great except for the walk down. Our legs hurt for two days afterwards, but we're glad we did it.

If you come out the same side as you entered, you can go to the left and down Carrer de Mallorca and a block or two further is a Starbucks where you can refresh yourself and gaze at the lovely towers.

Speaking of Kinsale, I was doing some research for our cruise in August and found that it's National Heritage Week while we're in Ireland. This walking tour by Don & Barry sounds fun:

http://www.heritageweek.ie/whats-on/event-details?EventID=76

Never heard of Charming Charlies until this thread. Thanks for mentioning it...just place an order. Love their stuff and the prices are decent.

We'll be in Bordeaux in August, too. We were thinking of doing a wine and tasting tour, but honestly, why? We've probably been to 50 different wineries and they're pretty much the same tour...they show how they make the wine, take you to where the cold vats are, then they show you the room with the barrels and finally they do a tasting. So we decided not to do any tours of that sort. Much more interesting to us is going to a cheese shop in Bordeaux and do a tasting of cheese and wine there. If you just want to taste different wines, you can taste lots more at Bar a Vin than it would cost for a wine tour. You like chocolate? There are so many chocolatiers in Bordeaux you'd have no trouble making your sweet tooth happy.

For example: Cheese tasting

http://www.jeandalos.net/spip.php?page=sommaire2&lang=en

and this place:

http://holeinthedonut.com/2013/03/23/gourmet-cheese-shop-bordeaux-france/

Chocolate:

http://www.cadiot-badie.com/

http://www.alienorchocolat.com/atelier.html

etc. etc.

A few years back I did a shore excursion with one of the Crystal ships from Cannes to Grasse. We visited the Galimard factory and then had time to purchase perfumes from them, then we went to another place and had a perfume workshop where we created our own perfumes.

I know Galimard offers this ability to create your scent, as well. Here is a link to their website:

http://www.galimard.com/index.php/en/visit-to-grasse/individuals-a-group-details.html

Yes, thank you. Hadn't heard about this before and it will make a big difference in our choice of gateway cities.

I'm not surprised that the cruise is sold out. The ship looks beautiful and I hope we can sail on one of the Viking ocean ships in 2016.

Those were the names of the first three Royal Viking Line ships...the Sea, the Sky and the Star. Those were the days.