lynncarol

Five of us sailed on Celebrity Constellation out of Tampa last March for 10 days. My husband and I chose the sail only package while the other 3 did the AI option. All of us went to the bar before dinner and had a drink, then carried a second drink in for dinner. (early dining). Those two drinks were more than enough for my husband and myself. Rarely did the other three folks order a drink during the day and for sure we didn't want one then. Our status gave us enough internet time and there was that bag of free laundry. We all had balcony cabins and even after paying tips the cruise ended up costing us over $500 less than theirs did. So Sail Only status for us!

Unfortunately, Royal Caribbean was banned in 2002 from sailing in Glacier Bay NP because of illegal dumping. Once its penalty time was up, there were no more permits available.

It was very uncomfortable at meal times, for sure. That was the second of 4 river cruises we have taken and the only one where we didn't feel welcome and make many new friends. Ps....I have some Dutch blood in me too, so I know this type of behavior is not the norm. But this particular group all belonged to a Dutch heritage club in their state and obviously shared similar political opinions.

Unless things have changed, RC does not go to Glacier Bay National Park. So even though we have diamond status on RC, we chose Princess for our Alaskan cruise as it DOES go there. Glacier Bay NP was one of the highlights on our trip.

Sometimes that is not so.. In 2010 we were on a Netherlands river cruise out of Amsterdam. On this particular cruise, there were over eighty folks of Dutch heritage from one state and they were not happy with the current president at the time. Dinner conversations focused on their vitriolic opinions until I announced that I thought he was a great president. There followed a shocked silence by the other guests and after that, my husband and I found that most of them didn't want us to sit with them anymore. Had we been on a larger ship, we could have found others who shared our views, or at least weren't so vocal about theirs.

I'm not sure I would enjoy visiting the cemetery without a guide. What makes the site so interesting is hearing the stories of those who are buried there. Our ship tour to Peggy's Cove included a stop at the cemetery. If your ship tour only does Peggy's Cove, I would visit the excursion desk once onboard and ask if you could swap your current one for a tour that includes the cemetery. Who knows? They may agree particularly if it would cost more.

I have never bought anything in the shops onboard despite cruising for many years.

We (a group of five) used Bernards Tours this past March. Our driver was 'Action Jackson' and he was excellent. We told him we wanted a tour tailored to our interests, and nothing stumped him. One of us wanted to see iguanas, so he took us to a place by a small pond with trees filled with them. A local man was throwing out food and they rushed down from the trees and scurried beneath our feet. Another member was a Star Wars fanatic, so he took us to the Star War special effects museum in town. I wanted to revisit a beach where a local man had let me hold sea urchins and Jackson knew exactly where that was. Of course everyone wanted to see the planes land, and even though the place was mobbed, he found a parking spot and waited until we were ready to go.

Have been to St Kitts twice, most recently this past March. Both times we have utilized the services of Leo Christopher (christopherom95@gmail.com) He is a local man, probably in his early sixties with extensive knowledge of the island and a very safe driver with a nice airconditioned van. What I particularly like about Leo is his expertise in native flora and fauna and herbal meds. Apparently his grandmother was the local expert and taught him everything. His rates are really reasonable also.

We toured it last November through a RC ship excursion. My husband insisted on a ship tour after learning the ruins were over an hour from the port. They did a nice job and all four of us enjoyed the place.

Thanks for your support of the site. Obviously you share our love for all things historical. I do feel Albania gets a "bum rap" sometimes. When we were at the Rome airport ready to depart for Tirana, a fellow passenger asked if we had relatives or business interests in Albania. When I said we were just going as tourists, she replied, "Why on earth would you do that?" We had a local guide for a week and really enjoyed our visit. On a number of occasions local teenagers/young adults asked if we would be in their group photo and could they practice their English with us. Albanians seem to really like Americans.

Loved those mosaics! You can easily walk to all of the sites once in town. You will probably need advance admission tickets however since lines can be long to purchase them. We bought ours online and spent a lovely day (and night) in Ravenna.

I admit I am kind of prejudiced since my husband and I once spent an entire week in Albania and loved it. Sarande isn't the prettiest of beach towns, I agree. However, nearby Butrinte, the site of Roman ruins, we found fascinating. If you compare it to other Roman ruins outside of Italy like Jerash in Jordan or Ephesus in Turkey, it doesn't have that "wow" factor. But Albanian site has lots of shade, consists of Byzantine built over Roman, built upon Greek ruins, and best of all (at least when we went) none of the crowds that the other Roman sites have.

@krooznut....I have to take issue with your statement. Why would the port employee make up such a story? Or do you mean to imply that I made up that story? If so, that is a mean comment and I can assure you that is not the case.

in 2019 we took our adult grandaughter on a Vantage Seine cruise from Oct 17 to 29th. I recall it was pretty chilly and looking back on our photos, in everyone of them we are wearing a coat. It also rained several times...once for the entire day in Paris. However, that day was notable as, on our own, we had evening reservations at the Eiffel Tower. Because of the intermittent drizzle, the crowds were absent, and when we got to the observation tour at the top, the change of altitude turned the raindrops into snowflakes. All three of us remember that as one of the most magical moments of the trip....seeing those snowflakes illuminated by the tower lights. Also, a big plus for our grandaughter...early on the cruise my husband and I realized the light jacket she had brought would be inadequate, so decided to buy her a warm coat in one of the towns we visited. She still loves that very stylish coat and we probably wouldn't have coughed up the money for it, if not for the cold weather. Moral of the story: weather shouldn't impact the enjoyment of travel as long as you have adequate clothing.

@kellie in texas We were on Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas out of Ft. Lauderdale. It was a ship excursion, so they collected everyone right on the dock. The ship was at less than 1/2 passenger capacity and at that time, if you were not vaccinated, you had to go on a separate tour bus. We were all fully vaccinated, but don't know if that makes any difference now. All four of us really enjoyed the experience. It's a pretty place.

Sadly, there are some people who will sail even if sick. They feel they have paid their money and nobody will stop them. One of the women who check folks in at embarkation told us about a man who after filling out his boarding form stating all was well, had hardly stepped away from the counter when he slumped over and began to vomit. Employees rushed to his aid and found him to be feverish yet he still became outraged when denied boarding.

If you do decide to DIY it in Alaska, make your room reservations well in advance. Rental car rates (at least when we traveled) were much less expensive if pick-up in downtown Anchorage than at airport or at smaller towns.

We haven't been to Belize so can't comment on them but we have visited Chacchoben in Costa Maya. We love Mayan ruins and during land travels over the years have spent and overnight at Chitchen itza and a day at Tulum, plus a full day both at Tikal in Guatemala and Copan in Honduras. This past November, we took one of our daughters and grandchild on a Caribbean cruise which stopped in Costa Maya. They had never seen Mayan ruins so we took a ship tour to Chacchoben. I wasn't expecting much but we really enjoyed the place. It is nicely shaded, the excavated ruins are impressive and our tour guide was excellent. It was probably an hour drive each way from the port but as this was a ship tour, we had no worry about missing the boat. Highly recommend.

If you are worried about the ship leaving you behind in a port, why not tack the DIY portion on the end of your cruise? My husband and I, plus his cousin and spouse added a week at the end of our one-way cruise from Vancouver to Anchorage (well, actually Whittier but transportation was available to Anchorage). We rented a car in Anchorage and spent a fabulous week on our own, including 3 days in Denali with incredible weather and full view of the mountain. We were all in our late sixties/early seventies at the time, so we weren't 'spring chickens' then either.

I have to say my husband and I have never cruised on Holland America. However, my sister-in-law did to Alaska and she told me that she noticed while in the theater she and her husband were the only couple there who were neither bald or grey-haired. (My husband and I fit within those parameters, so no insult intended). Years ago, the two of us took the one-way Alaskan cruise with Princess and really enjoyed it. I haven't been following the Alaska boards for quite a while., so forgive if this is a stupid question but why don't either of these options mention Glacier Bay National Park?

Am a little confused. Do you intend to fly in and out of Italy from Bologna? If so, I would suggest a train from Bologna into Venice pre-cruise and spend 3 nights. Then, back to Bologna via train and on to Ravenna for your cruise ship. When the ship returns to Ravenna, you could store your luggage at a Ravenna hotel, and spend the day visiting the mosaics. Over-night in Ravenna and then back to Bologna for flight home. If you are taking the train, I would suggest overnighting at NH Ravenna (where my husband and I stayed last September). It is an easy 3 block walk from the train station, reasonably priced with comfortable quiet rooms and a nice breakfast. The mosaics of Ravenna are wonderful, but 3 days there is a bit long IMO especially when you compare it to all the splendors in Venice. Of course, if you are flying in and out of different cities, that opens up more possibilities.

My husband and I told our three grandkids in 2019 we would take them on a trip of their choice. Two of them chose South Africa while the oldest (age 23) wanted to see France. I asked her to come up with suggested sites to visit in France, but she was 'too busy'. So I suggested a river cruise along the Seine with Vantage which included 3 days in Paris. I told her she would be probably the only young one there but we would get her a single cabin. We all had a fabulous time. The other (and much older) passengers kind of adopted her. We would be walking along some street and in would come a text (with photos) to our grandaughter from other passengers about something they had seen in a local shop she was sure to love. They even took videos of her line dancing late one evening onboard to show us, since we were, of course, sleeping.

Re Kristiansand....my husband and I were there in 2016 as part of a transAtlantic cruise and loved the place. Where our ship docked, it was just a short walk to the Odderoya Peninsula. This former military base, is open to the public. The paved trail to the tip of the peninsula as one of primarily forests and rocky ledges with spectacular overlooks. Abandoned canons, ramparts and other armaments can be visited enroute and the edge of the trail had wild blackberry and blueberry bushes laden with fruit. At the top is a cleared area abuting some ruins, overlooking the fjord and a wonderful spot for a picnic. From there, we walked back into the vibrant, flower bedecked town for afternoon refreshments. Our original plan next was to walk from town to Ravnedelen Park, which we heard was very scenic. However, it is a fairly long walk and even though we eventually could see the park's entrance in the distance, we were out of steam and returned to the ship. If we had two days in that port, I would definitely return to see Ravnedalen Park.

Our cruise was in and out of the Tampa airport. Since we were carrying our own luggage, we got off the ship by 7:30. We had arranged roundtrip private transportation, so phoned the company when we disembarked, were picked up in 10 minutes and at the airport by 8:00. No problem at all. I should also mention the Tampa airport has a large enclosed open-to-the-sky space with tables and chairs where you can sit and await your departure which is nice if you are trying to avoid virus exposure in public places. (Can't recall if it was before or after security).