lynncarol

Ah...thanks for the clarification. It's been a number of years since we went to that museum, and even though I had obviously forgotten the correct identifying info, I have never forgotten the beauty of that room. Also, now I know what I want to include on our next visit to Italy...Livia's villa outside Rome

Been to Rome a number of times now and still haven't seen it all. One place that seems to be off the beaten track is Museo Nazionale. Here there are frescoes etc that were uncovered during various excavations in the city. One room features the walls of the garden room of the emperor's sister, Lydia (if I recall the name correctly) which was absolutely amazing.

Oh no! Your scenario was what I feared would happen to us.. Did you ever utilize the agent again?

For an island where regular cruise ships go, faves are Barbados, followed by St. Lucia (with excursion to the Pitons). For a small boat cruise, Virgin Gorda. I agree St. Thomas is no longer very appealing, but you can get a ferry from there to Water Island which we liked.

Been on many cruises over the years. Only once did I use a TA to book a cruise and that was because we had other couples going with us and they wanted a TA they could call if problems arose. However, before final payment, I just happened to notice on the web a 24 hour $1000 per cabin price drop on our cruise. I immediately phoned the cruise-line to learn that our TA alone could make those changes. So I frantically called our TA only to have it go to her voicemail. As she was an independent agent, anxious hours ensued before she finally got back to me and could get us all the new price since it was (barely) under the 24 hour deadline. Never again.

Hotel Intercontinental in Budapest.. When we were there, traveling independently, two different cruise lines (Viking and AMA) had desks set up in the lobby. Very conveniently located, best night-time view ever if you get a room overlooking the river, and wonderful breakfasts included.

The showers at the Nature Baths were indeed communal (although gender restricted) I was a bit shy about the 'exposure' but then a drop-dead gorgeous nude young woman entered and then I knew for sure that nobody would be looking at me .

check out the website tripadvisor Go to Peru forums in the South America section. The most current situation there is extensively discussed and local Peruvians are weighing in too.

The pressure is really off with Grandkids, unlike raising your children. After all, who ever said, "That child is a real brat. He/she must have terrible grandparents"

It's been a number of years but we missed a Celebrity ship's departure from England after our flight from Pittsburgh to Philly (then on to London) was cancelled due to weather. I had booked all air travel through Celebrity and naively thought they would take care of it as now we had to take three legs of flights to get to the next port in Oslo but Celebrity had only authorized 2 legs. Hah! Celebrity said as it was the airline's problem, the airline needed to fix it. Only through the grace of a real sweetheart at the air counter did we make it to Oslo a day late. Celebrity had given us the number of their port agent there, but he never answered his phone. Finally the Oslo airport tracked him down and finally, he picked us up. Then when we tried to board in Oslo, since we had no ship card, the port authorities wouldn't let us in (and the port agent was nowhere in sight). Fortunately, there were 4 other folks in the same situation at the port and after we all threatened a big riot, they contacted the ship and someone eventually came and let us onboard. Moral...try not to miss a ship departure under any circumstance.

I would imagine an ATM in Istanbul would suffice to get local currency. Our ATM card reimburses for fees of foreign banks and we have always found the best exchange rates using them. Out of an abundance of caution, however, we always use a bank's ATM machine and only during their business hours (not some random machine attached to a grocery store, for example). Bank fees in our area to get foreign currency are high with a poor exchange rate and a long wait time if seeking the less popular currencies.

Peggy's Cove is very scenic but it will be crowded with tourists. Given your interests, I would definitely spend my time in Halifax. Been there three times now but If you are really torn, once we took the ship tour to Peggy's Cove and the Titanic Graveyard. I think it was 4 1/2 hours total, so you could do that in the morning, then (assuming your ship has a later departure) see the Halifax attractions. Titanic Museum and waterfront area, the Citadel/fort and the Botanical Gardens are my personal favorites. Try to time your visit to the citadel when they fire the cannon. Very cool.

There is so much more to see on St Kitts than just the beach so highly suggest you take a tour. If you just want to lounge by the ocean, do so at one of the islands that offer little other natural or historical attractions than their beaches. (The private ones, perhaps or even Antiqua) I also recommend Leo's Tours. We have utilized his services several times and Leo will be glad to tailor the tour to whatever you chose.

We were there this past March. Maybe the tide was in, but there wasn't a lot of beach between the road and the water and that beach was packed with people in rented beach-chairs. The bar seemed mobbed, so we sat on the little curb/wall between the road and beach and watched 3 planes land right over top of us in less than an hour before we left. It was an unique experience, but would I do it again? NO!

As noted, the museums are free. I did buy a one-day London Pass card when we were in London for 5 days this past fall. The pass also gives you free rides on the Uber boat on the Thames River. We took the underground to Tower of London where we skipped big admission lines with the pass, then hopped onto the Uber boat to go to the the Millenium Bridge, got off and walked across on the bridge to see St. Paul's Cathedral, got back on the boat and off to Westminster Cathedral stop. All Very convenient with the London Pass. Also, I agree with others: you do not need an Oyster Pass. The contactless credit card worked perfectly and we never felt that i was tempting theft while using it. However, my husband and I each used a different credit card as our Capital One card always gets suspicious if duplicate charges occur within a few minutes.

In 2016 our cruise-ship spent a full day at Akureyri. We booked ahead with Saga Tours who gave us a great eight-hour excursion from the port. Our van had only eight passengers plus a super guide. We stopped at Godafoss, the thermal vents at Namafjall Hverir, saw amazing volcanic rock formations at Jolasveinarnir i Dimmuborgum, a small continental rift area, visited Lake Myvatn, and capped it off with a swim at the Nature Baths. A wonderful day.

Been to Iceland twice now. First time in 2006 for a week with a rental car. The second time was in 2016 on a Transatlantic cruise where one of 3 stops in Iceland was Isafjorda. While we love Iceland, both of us were underwhelmed with Isafjordur. It seemed too small a village to accommodate the influx of so many tourists from the cruise-ship. Some folks took a ship excursion to a waterfall, but we just strolled around the harbor and visited the museum. Also, if you are spending 10 days in Iceland with a rental car, please consider visiting more than just the very crowded Golden Circle attractions. There is so much more to see in this gorgeous country.

I can only speak of our own experience in Cinque Terra September a year ago. We were not on a cruise and touring Italy on our own, allotting 2 full days (3 nights) in Cinque Terra. The train that runs between the 5 villages in Cinque Terra is not always that reliable. We were staying in Vernazza. Our son-in-law hiked between 3 villages, then planned to get the train back to Vernazza. It was delayed for almost an hour for reasons unknown even to him. So, I must agree with Cruisemom...it might be chancy returning to your ship before its departure.

My husband and I have done 3 cruises with Vantage (Black Sea, Holland, and the Seine River). I have to say, that on our first cruise with Vantage, a 36 cabin yacht on the Black Sea in 2014, occurred just 3 months after Russia annexed the Crimea. Vantage was the ONLY cruiseline that didn't cancel during that period of unrest and we were welcomed everywhere, including our time at Sochi Russia and 3 days in Odessa. One of the most interesting cruises ever. The only problem was the ship's air-conditioning was dependent on the water temp and as a heat spell was going on, our cabin was really warm until we got to the more northern parts of the Black Sea. Because of this, Vantage, UNASKED, sent us a $1000 credit for our next cruise. For that alone, they have our loyalty and we are now booked on a Duoro (sp?) River cruise with them this spring.

After our cruise, we spent a full week in Alaska ending up in Anchorage where we would fly out that final night. Having turned in our rental car, I can enthusiastically recommend seeing the Anchorage Museum on the corner of 7th street and A in downtown. It features several floors of Native Alaskan artifacts and clothing, recreated dwelling and whaling boats which were fascinating. In addition, one section features the 1964 earthquake, complete with old films and photos which totally engrossed my husband. We also walked to the flower-bedecked Alaskan Statehood Monument, supposedly a perfect spot to see Mt Denali if the weather is clear. (It was too cloudy when we were there, but fortunately we had just spent two days in Denali without a cloud in the sky, so no big loss).

it's been a few years but my husband and I took 3 adult grandkids with us on the NE/Canada cruise from Baltimore on Royal's Vision of the Seas. Got three ocean-view cabins. Baltimore is a good port to sail out of....fairly easy to access and plenty of parking. Also, you get that great view of sailing under the bridge when leaving the port. We all found the food to be delicious and the waitstaff were wonderful with all the different dietary requirements. Each grandchild was assigned responsibility for activities at a port of their choice. One took Halifax, another Boston and the third Bar Harbor (although I am not sure any big cruise ships go there now).

In September of 2021, my husband and I spent 2 weeks in Italy allotting two nights in Ravenna just to see the mosaics. Our hotel was near the train station and it was an easy walk to visit the 5 different sites with mosaics. I had considered a walking tour, but learned that you just walked by the buildings but no entrances occurred. So, online I got admission tickets and we did it all on our own. Well worth the time and effort: the mosaics are incredible and supposedly 95% original.

We really liked the Posat Restaurant (which our hotel recommended) and located just outside the Pile Gate. Certainly not cheap, but excellent service and has a lovely covered outdoor dining terrace with city view. The four of us split a whole fish, which was delicious. You will need reservations.