terry&mike

3 hours ago, uktog said:

Ephesus first time take a guide to the historic sites (try and find one that doesn’t go to a carpet shop!). Everywhere else you are stopping I would walk myself. 

Agree.

18 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

We flew into Marco Polo Intl. and spent Oct 27-28-29, 2023 in Venice for our Triest to Athens cruise on Riviera. We bought a 3-day Venice Pass for the Vaporetto (Water Bus) and our BnB was right off the Riva di Biasio station/stop. The Pass also got us entrance into some museums. We paid an add on to it for some public toilets (e.g., we used the one by the Illy Coffee Shop over by St. Mark's Square/Cathedral). We took the Vaporetto everywhere! The train station was just the next stop west of ours, so we just hopped on the water bus, took it to the train station, and then boarded our train from Venice to Trieste. We took a cab at the Trieste train station to the embarkation.

Like you, I also appreciate the water buses, and have given them information on how to utilize them during their stay. 

2 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

I hope you realize that this "walking" also involves dragging your suitcase, often over uneven to rough pavements. Not to mention the steps that have to be negotiated for the several bridges they will be crossing. 

 

Have you asked them about their luggage and its suitability for these treks?

 

And I'm not even going to go into the question of how well these "not well traveled" folks will do navigating through the streets and walkways.

 

 

 

 

Yes, I realize this walking involves navigating stones and steps, all with suitcases, as I've done these routes myself. And yes, we've discussed their luggage which will be one carryon size each. 

They were able to follow my instructions and utilize public transportation and walking easily in England last year, and enjoyed it, so they have expectations that they can handle this as well. 

If they are not feeling up to it, they can always switch gears. In every instance, their itinerary from me gives them options, for example, here is what I wrote for Trieste Centrale to the hotel: 

Make your way from Trieste train station to hotel by taxi, bus or walk. Taxis outside station, approx 6 euros. Bus details here https://collezione.starhotels.com/en/our-hotels/savoia-excelsior-palace-trieste/contacts.html or Walk appr. 14 minutes. 

As to navigating streets and walkways, while they are not well traveled they are not daft or uneducated, and are capable and functioning citizens of the modern world and residents of Washington, DC. I have no doubts in their ability to use a maps app. 

But your concern is appreciated, as I imagine for some, this would not be a suitable way of travel. 

We use WhatsApp often when traveling (even used it this morning to communicate with a tour guide/driver in Zanzibar). In many countries, its the preferred method of communication. WhatsApp is free, and we use it in conjunction with our US cell phones and our international service. 

I have not been to Maputo, but we are scheduled to dock there in May. Below are the notes I have put together for our day in port. Keep in mind we are big walkers, usually covering 6-12 miles per day on foot, we add in taxis to cover larger/more commercial distances. 

Docked: varies, but can walk to town. Free shuttle from pier to city center (Feima Market).

Temps: 82/63

Currency: Mozambique Metical, but USD and Euros accepted.

Tipping: 10% restaurants, small amount to taxi, $5-$10 per day for guide

Note: bring whatsinport map along, pick pocketing, keep safety in mind

Tour ideas: DIY

**Take myself on a walking tour of highlights, Fort, Maputo Central Market & FEIMA Market, 2M beer, Iron House, Botanical Garden, train station.

*Maputo Natural History Museum

Polana Serena Hotel, day pass, great lunch – maybe go for drink?

Café’ Continental for custard tart

Stroll along Avenida Julius Nyerere – boutiques, restaurants, vendors. 

We have done several barge cruises, and really enjoy them. We generally book through boatbiketours.com or tripsite.com, both have barge sailings in several countries. We prefer the ones that have the biking component with them. We have done the Burgundy region and loved it. We'll be doing the Netherlands Tulip Time sailing this April for the second time, this time bringing along a group of friends (there are 19 of us). 

We have also done river cruises with Scenic, AMA, Viking, Uniworld, and barge cruising is an entirely different animal. We enjoy them both, but they are very different. 

I'm putting together a trip for my brother and his wife, as they are not well traveled, for their first time in the Med. Their Riviera sailing is Trieste to Athens.

I have them flying in to Venice a few days before, as they've not been there, and staying at the Hotel Moresco. When it's time to move on to Trieste, I have them walking 11 minutes to the Santa Lucia train station, and taking the train (direct, 2 hours 5 minutes) to Trieste Centrale. Then it's just a 14 minute walk from Trieste Centrale to the Savoia Excelsior Palace Hotel Trieste. On boarding day, it's a short walk to the ship.  Like me, they enjoy walking, but if not, it can easily be done with public/private transportation as well. 

18 hours ago, CountessP said:

Does anyone know anything about the venue?  I  hear it's a great show but I also hear that unless you are in the 1st few rows, it's hard to see.

I am under 5 ft tall.  I cannot compete with the average European/American with regard to height. I don't want to pay $150 for a ticket and then not be able to see the show.  Hoping someone has info.  Thanks!

I'm not sure if you are sailing on Azamara or not, but if you are, you may want to skip purchasing the ticket to the Boi Bomba show, as we had elements of this show in our Azamazing Evening in Manaus. 

We are on an Oceania cruise porting in those ports in April 2025, and we will need to get our own Visa. It's a different cruise line, but that is our information for comparison. 

This past Sunday, my brother, who is not well traveled, wanted me to help him find a Med cruise for his first visit to that area, any cruise line. I found him a wonderful sailing on Riviera, 10 nights, June 27-July 7, 2024, Trieste to Athens, in an A3 Concierge Verandah for $2749 pp. He is booked, and I'm working on port tips for him now. 

We took a taxi to the main beach area, took a nice walk, had a great seafood lunch, and got massages. Then hailed a taxi to return to the ship. Very nice day. 

We disembarked the Azamara Quest in mid-December on a sailing that included the Amazon, it was an Amazon and Brazil intensive itinerary. The sailing started in Barbados, sailed the Amazon with stops, then down the coast of Brazil with stops, then a day in Montevideo, Uruguay, and ended in Buenos Aires. 22 nights. 

Scenic and Emerald often run promotions along these lines. 

5 hours ago, Roz said:

@Coral and @Host Jazzbeau, thanks for sharing your experience.  Lots of good information here for all cruisers. Isn't CC great? 

Yes, it is. To me, this is when CC is at it's best, travelers helping travelers - providing information, answering questions, offering suggestions or advice. Over the years I have learned a mountain of information from the posters on these boards, and am grateful. 

Definately don't buy Argentine pesos in advance. If you do, you will get about half the exchange rate. For Argentina you can rely on your credit card for most everything, even a bottle of water in the park. This will get you the very best exchange rate. Most vendors we found preferred US dollars when it came to cash. If you really want some Argentine pesos, there are lots of cambios/money exchange offices around. Further, if you walk down the pedestrian shopping street in front of Galerias Pacifo Mall there are 1-3 people per block calling out "cambio", this is a risky prospect but I am aware that lots of folks use them. In this area there are tons of official money exchange shops as well. 

Montevideo is easy to do on your own. You will come right into the old town area, near the port. Walk up through this area, turn left on the main pedestrian street. Walk through the historic area. If you are fit, continue to walk on through the commercial area on the same street. At some point along here you can decide to turn right and head over to the sea on the other side. Have a nice lunch at a steakhouse, such as El Fogon. We were there 2 weeks ago, and found the city to be clean, safe, and very simple to navigate. We were able to pick up a print out of a city map on the ship (Azamara Quest), but if Princess doesn't have those you can probably download one. My husband and I enjoyed the city so much we are planning to return to rent an apartment for a few weeks. 

We had 5 bags of laundry included in our Indulgence Package on our recent Quest sailing, but we only used 2 of them during the 22 nights. We were able to get 21 items and 18 items into the bag using uktog’s method, and could have gotten a bit more in them. 

Photo of trail/wake behind Quest during engine issues. 

3 hours ago, FengShui@Sea said:

  I would be very tempted to do this itinerary again on a different ship.  
 

I

If you decide to do Antarctica again, I encourage you to consider one of the Ponant ships. We did the sailing "Beyond the Polar Circle", 22 nights on Ponant's Le Soleal ship, which visited the Falklands, South Georgia, and Antarctica. I was magical, with zodiac landings, and walking among much wildlife and flora. Ponant is a French line, and their food was wonderful, and they did many nice touches like a champagne party on an iceberg. We loved it. 

We departed the Quest in Buenos Aires, just before this sailing, and the repair had not been made at that time. If you want to check if it has been completed, the most telling way to do so is to go to the back of the ship and look at the trail left behind. When facing the back, the trail/wake is strong on the left side, but very light on the right side from the lack of propulsion. 

18 hours ago, Yehootu said:

His name come up on a lot of favorable reviews. Which of his tours did you do?

The first time we went to Vietnam, was January 2020 (just before Covid), we were a group of 19 friends traveling together. On this trip, we used Xuan a couple of times. In Ho Chi Minh City to give us a full day city tour that visited temples, markets, trishaw ride, museums, etc. Then again in DaNang/HoiAn for a tour that visited the beach area, ancient town of HoiAn, the countryside for a basket boat ride, and other places.  We also visited the Nha Trang area on this trip, but did it independently, without any guide. 

DH and I went back to Vietnam in January 2023, just the 2 of us. This time we went for a longer trip of 5 weeks that included Thailand, Vietnam (Hanoi, HaLong Bay, Hoi An, HCMC), and Cambodia. We also did a Mekong River cruise with Scenic during this trip. Xuan helped me with some of the planning, to ensure we got a great 3 night itinerary on a wonderful boat for HaLong Bay. Hoi An had been our favorite on our last trip, so we rented an apartment and stayed for several days on this trip, had some nice clothes made, enjoyed the area. On this trip we used Xuan for a type of "evening in Saigon" tour. We went to a lovely rooftop bar for cocktails and to watch the sunset, and visit and catch up with him and his life during the pandemic. Then we went to dinner at a nice local restaurant, where we ordered several Vietnamese dishes from starters to dessert, to enjoy lots of foods the locals like. It was a nice evening of walking around the city, eating and drinking, and spending time with a local. It was also very comfortable for us, as at this point I feel that Xuan is not just a tour guide we know, but one of our friends. He is a great guy, an absolute joy. 

For travel and/or tours in Vietnam, I highly recommend Xuan Le, we have used him on multiple tours. I can honestly say that he is one of the best guides we have ever experienced - personable, knowledgeable, responsible. We visited Vietnam in 2020 and again this year, and it remains one of our favorite countries, which speaks a lot given we have been to more than 100 countries. 

https://www.tourwithxuan.com/

We flew home from Buenos Aires yesterday, and I can attest that charges we made on our US credit cards came through at astonishingly low prices. We had pre-paid our hotel room, but when we checked out the city tax was due, which the front desk quoted us as $2 USD or 695 Argentine Pesos - we put it on our cc and it came through as .81 cents USD. Our Uber to the airport was pre-ride quoted around 16,800 pesos and came through our cc at $18.05 USD. A purchase at a shop that was 6895 pesos came through cc at $7.38 USD. And so on.... Very nice. 

We have used Grab in several countries in Asia, including Vietnam. It is a very good service, and does not need to be associated with a local phone number. We have the app downloaded onto our USA iPhones, and use it in much the same manner as Uber. 

From November 18-December 10, 2023 sailing, Quest.

11 hours ago, anniegb said:

Surely not the coil issue ? 😉

DH said the sign is already down, so Patio should be back open.