ollienbertsmum

I would certainly think that staying overnight in Rome or Athens is a treat and would make a lovely change to Barcelona.

On 10/21/2023 at 11:56 AM, John Bull said:

In your limited time, definitely head straight for Barcelona

 

JB 🙂

Lovely as Malaga is, +1
 

You may have to change trains in Madrid.  It is not a big issue.  

2 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

 

 

 

@grapau27  @Coralc  @h20skibum

 

Graham, Patti & Mark,

 

Thank you. We're OK for now, and I'm glad that our grands are not in Israel anymore....

 

Woke up at 6.30AM to the "tune" of sirens alerting missile attack. DH, who doesn't wear his hearing aids when sleeping, was blissfully unaware. Woke him up and we rushed to our shelter room.

 

Having a "deja vu" -- 50 years and one day ago, a Saturday, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar....

 

The Yom Kippur war started. DH, as a reservist, was drafted for 6 months !!! We were married less than 9 months. I moved back to my parents.

 

The worst scenario all over again, but 50 years ago we had the "buffer" of the Sinai Peninsula, and the first victims were soldiers.

 

Now "they" crossed the frontier straight into civilian cities and settlements....

I saw Graham’s post and turned on my tv.  Oh how scary it all looks.  Horrible and chaotic scenes.  Stay safe Dani, praying for peace in the region  

On 10/1/2023 at 4:03 PM, h20skibum said:

Now, for part two of our day with our granddaughter.  
 

When she knew she would be coming to spend the weekend, she said. “I want to make a wedding cake!”   I don’t know if it was because she knew her mom and dad were going away to a wedding, but like good grandparents perfecting the art of spoiling, we said “Sure, you can do that.”

By the way, the wedding my daughter was at was over the top.  Several TV personalities there, and they even had indoor pyrotechnics similar to these. 
 

Now, back to our cake project.  Susan bought some cake pans to make a three tier cake. 
 

 

Here is a pro tip.  Place the bowl in the sink when kids are running the mixer.  It keeps the flying batter contained. 
 

 

How much batter should go in the pans?  I thought this looked good, but the one in the little pan was a little too much. 
 

 

Of course, you have to make them level to stack them, so cut the tops off.  She chose confetti cake. 
 

 

This is where we took our break and went to Iron Mills.  They had to cool before icing.  
 

After returning, she started to ice the cakes.  Our little 8 year old did this all herself, and I only had to help with two minor items.  Icing the base layer in progress. 
 

 

Of course, she wanted a strawberry filling, so I had to devise a way to cut the cake in half. So I dug out a couple old triangular engineering scales to use as a knife guide to cut the cake layers in half. 
 

 

Spreading the filling on the cut half. 
 

 

The other part of my job was to lift each layer and place on top of the one below.  
 

Susan had bought a few decorations and a topper for the cake, so our granddaughter went to work at finishing icing and decorating.  This was her finished cake.  
 

 

She had a lot of fun, and the cake tasted pretty good.  If anyone wants a piece, stop by.  There is some left. 

 

 

Using the mixer in the sink.  Brilliant.  I have cooked with so many kids and never thought of that.  

41 minutes ago, Momof3gurlz said:

Good morning from the Edge docked in Ajaccio, Corsica, FR.  The ship is beautiful.  I love the Infinite View Veranda, it makes the room feel so much bigger.  Andy’s not crazy about it.  
We’re impressed with Celebrity so far in almost every aspect.  The only negative is I cannot access these boards using ship WiFi.  All other websites are fine and I can get to any other area of CC, but if I click on ‘Boards’, it completely freezes.  I’m on now because we’re in port using our 5G.  I’ll visit the internet desk later because this happened last year on Voyager and they changed a setting in my phone which took care of it.  
Photos later today, we are off to explore Ajaccio.

 

@dani negreanu I’m so sorry your DH was in the hospital and hope he’s on the mend.  I was getting worried that we hadn’t heard from you but now understand why.  

Bonjour.  I loved Ajaccio.  We have been twice.  So lovely to go to those ports where you just walk off the ships and you are ‘there’.  

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

I'm not afraid to catch it but I could do without the nuisance and inconvenience 

I have given up worrying.  I have a friend who travels a lot.  She has had Covid 5 times.  Apparently none of these bouts have been more than a nuisance for her.    She shares her house with her family, they including her Pilot husband have not caught it. 
 

no rhyme or reason 

On 9/26/2023 at 10:34 PM, Ozark_Kid said:

Thanks Mimi!  We cruise the 2nd.  I am actually renting an electronic wheelchair called Whills.  It is one that @brillohead Debbi recommended.   I am looking forward to using it.

 

Speaking of electronic wheelchairs, my new electronic wheelchair was delivered to the house today!  I love it! It can do a 360⁰ tight turn.  It is narrow and gets around the house easy!  I was able to ride it down to the garden.  I took it out front to the street and it was so fast my hair blew back some.  They say the battery last for about 14 miles.  It also let's you raise the chair up to 12 inches, an option called iLevel.  I felt like it was higher.  I will be able to talk eye to eye with people. 

The chair looks great.  I love the idea of ilevel.  So important.  Keep doing those 360 degree twirls. 

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

People are camped out on the beach waiting for the storm to do something. It is what we do in New England. So far it is just breezy and it seems to be flattening out the ocean. A little disappointing so far though the surf is starting to get a bit rough.

 

Can you explain what the people are waiting for.  In Gibraltar when storms are predicted we  usually cancel appointments and take in the washing.  

18 hours ago, MargaretK54 said:

We are also cruising the Med in March. I'm with you. I'd rather have to layer up then to be all sweaty.

As someone who lives in the Med area I agree.  If you intend to visit towns and cities avoid the summer months.  However you do need to take a waterproof jacket and waterproof shoes - much better than an umbrella when you are trying to walk around.  

I agree with Princeton about needing to know about your hotel.  If it is not yet booked, then you are probably best to select the hotel with accessibility in mind.    Also I might be harsh, but you might also pack with mobility in mind.

We used the train to get to Trieste (from Bologna) and the Flixbus to get to VCE airport.   We costed the return journey in an ordinary taxi - it would have been around 250 euro for the two of us (we were debating what would happen if we missed the bus).  For a  group of 6  a pre booked private car would be  a reasonable rate pp.  

However….  to get from taxi to the hotel,  I recall when in Venice in September 2019 that there were porters with big trolleys that passed us when going over the bridges.    I don’t recall where you accessed these.  

9 hours ago, sgmn said:

A good friend who is amazingly artistic made the cake

 Here is a wedding cake she made and a cake for my other grandsons 1st birthday 

Front of cake 

Back of same cake

Grandson's 1st birthday 

 

That front and back is amazing.  I never had a cake at my wedding.  Next year it will be 35 years.  I think I need cake. 

On 9/2/2023 at 11:28 AM, grapau27 said:

Good morning.

It is sunny and 63°F here.

I hope everyone is safe and well and looking forward to a nice weekend.

I thought of you and Pauline at church this morning.  I am staying with my aged parents and was trying out my father’s car for the first time.  I was out in their village at 9:30 this morning to do the bottle recycling run.  I chose a time when there would be few people - but some were clearly on their way to church.   My father’s car is very old, dodgy clutch and me having to drive on the wrong side of the road.  I managed - and I thought about Grapau and Pauline.  The rest of the day at about 27 C was great for me for gardening.  Every time I come to England the weather is great.  

Sorry I usually type with a keyboard.  Today I am stuck with my finger.

So tourists do use the number 1  - but are still charged £18 to go in the nature reserve.  It would then be a long and strenuous walk uphill to see the other sites.  Actually I used to do this weekly with DH before we married.  I lost about 25 pounds in the first year I lived here.  
 

Even though using the bus gets you to the Upper Rock faster, it does not avoid steps and inclines.  
 

if have missed any info please ask.  

On 9/1/2023 at 8:07 PM, John Bull said:

 

 

We too were  underwhelmed - whereas others on CC found it very interesting and worthwhile.

Our guide was a lad who was working during his college recess, very pleasant but he knew very little.

Their guide was a veteran who brought the place to life with background and stories.

That surely demonstrates the value of a good guide.

Thanks for up-dating on the switch to self-guided - that's not good news.

 

JB 🙂

I get annoyed when guides do not inspire tourists.  The stories around the WWII tunnels should keep visitors engaged.  I am too old to eretrain as a tour guide.  
 

so I went to the tourist office.  I got information about the IZI travel app that has ‘old town heritage trail’. I am not at home so cannot try it. Looks interesting though.

I talked with the tourist guide about the cost of the Nature reserve. It does not really relate to cruise visitors, but I feel it s hard to market Gibraltar as a weekend destination and Charge per day for the upper rock.  If you visit for a couple of days I think it makes sense for the se cond day to be much cheaper so then y might visit the Med Steps or the old town coupled with the Tower of Homage. 
 

the cost of the Nature Reserve is £18 whether you walk, go in a taxi or ride the cable car.  
 

The taxi tour is recommended as £40 person.  The taxi drivers can charge more if they don’t have a full taxi.  If they are charging you more you don’t have to tip.  As long as you get off the ship promptly there will be taxi availability - the drivers will fill up the cars.  
 

The longer (7hr ) tours will cost moreCarl Mesilio’s Inside Out tour is always popular.  I was told about John Lopez and Rocky Monkey Tours.  I’m not sure about costs but longer tours cost more.  
 

As to the number 1 bus 

I’m away from home but promise to get back to this thread.  I went into the tourist office on Thursday and got some helpful info. I need to share.

4 hours ago, ethan1171 said:

 

Thank you so much for the answer!! we do not mind sharing a tour with others. Any guidance you can offer regarding where exactly we need to go to queue up at the port for the taxis?

 

Finally I got an answer from the Gibraltar tax association:

 

> Standard Tour - 2 hours 
>£330.00 for up to 6 people per car (tickets included) 
>Sites: Pillars Of Hercules, St Michaels Cave, Apes & Views, Great Siege Tunnels, Sky Walk 

 

Does this mean - if we were to queue up as you mention above - we will share a car with 6 other random people at £55pp?

 

Thank you much!

Not sure where in the port you need to go.  It must be reasonably obvious.  You cannot wander around the port so I cannot recce it for you.  

The taxi drivers sort out filling up the cars with the random people.  I always thought it was 8 per taxi - and it might be more than 2 hours if you are off a ship when there is a lot of traffic up the rock.  The taxi drivers act as your guide along the route.  They can be quite interesting.   

The route the taxis have misses out the WWII tunnels and the Tower of Homage, I always think that is a shame).  I think that if you have plenty of time and energy left you could ask to be dropped off at the Tunnels (I think that they are now open again) and then walk down to the Tower of Homage.  It is a further walk down through the old town (there are steps and signs but as long as you are going down you are going in the right direction) and back to Main Street.    From the North end of Main Street it is a flat 1 km walk to where the ship is docked.  

On 8/29/2023 at 8:02 PM, DUTRAVEL said:

Thanks cannot do steps, that's why I'm looking to go on the bus. I have to be more creative than those who can walk everywhere.

I am still not quite sure where you are aiming for.  If it is the Upper Rock, even if you get the number one up to Willis’s Road it is still steep uphill to the Tower of Homage,  WWII Tunnels and Princess Caroline’s Battery.  I am pretty sure that you would still have to pay for the Nature Reserve entrance and are still a trek away from St Michael’s Cave and the Apes Den.    Unless you take a taxi tour it is difficult to avoid the fact that visiting the Upper Rock is a good workout.    

If you want an interesting lower cost activity in Gibraltar on the bus you could take the number 3 or 9 to Rosia and see the 100 ton gun (I need to find out from the Tourist Office if you can see that separately from the Upper Rock ticket cost).  You can then walk past the bay that Nelson was brought into.  Then you can walk through the tunnel to Rosia bay, great seafood and coffee bar there for a snack, some nice interpretative panels along the route.  

If you want to carry on through the big tunnel (it is mostly flat and takes me about 15  minutes walking) you get to the lighthouse which is an area worth exploring, again with some nice interpretative panels talking about bird migration, Gorham’s Cave and other history.  The number 2 takes you back into town.  You could also get to the lighthouse  directly on the number 2 bus which is less walking.  

The Alameda Gardens is worth an hour plus visiting the conservation zoo.  A bit hilly but you can avoid the steps, you can get there using the number 2,  3, 4 or 9 bus - or the 5-10 bus from the frontier.   

Catalan Bay on the Eastside which can be reached using the 4 or 8 buses used to be a nice destination.  It has got a bit overwhelmed by all of the building work.  We are so short of housing stock that the balance between protecting the old Gibraltar and building affordable (it still is not for many people) housing is at crisis point.  It is still a steep slope or steps to get down to the beach and the couple of bars that are on the beach front.  I will admit that I have not been there for years to check it out because I live near to Rosia Bay.  If I want to swim I would go to the Europa Pool and don’t have to pay because I am a pensioner.  

If you are looking at using the bus system make sure you work out if you are going north or south.  The number 4 goes from Rosia to the East side beaches.  Number 9  goes from Morrison’s to Rosia so you have to ask the helpful drivers.  You need to have the correct money - they do not have a lot of change because few people actually pay (with a local id card you use the buses for free - an initiative that is intended to cut down on traffic in town).  

So I will go to the Tourist Office later.  

17 hours ago, DUTRAVEL said:

Does anyone know if Bus Route One is running in Gibraltar? Google maps only show Bus Routes 5 and 10.

Where exactly do you want to go from and to?  It might be an ‘interesting trip’ for a tourist in the same way that the Yangon Circular train was for DD and me when we were on a backpacking trip.  It is a very small bus.  I would think that it is easier to walk although there are a few steps on the way.  

On 8/25/2023 at 1:25 AM, Mrsfrz said:

We will be doing the Best of Italy and Croatia on the Constellation next April 23. We only have one sea day, which is great, but I'm overwhelmed trying to figure out how to plan our excursions at each port.  We usually don't do the ship excursions, and we try to book small tours which are cheaper and usually better for our needs. I'm afraid we will break the bank at each port, but I don't want to miss anything. I wonder how much we can do on our own and which ones we need to book a tour on. I'm excited but already in a panic! Is it best to take this question to another board or can someone here guide me how to begin? There are only a couple people in our roll call so it's not a good source of info yet. Thank you in advance. 

I just want to add my two cents to “I don’t want to miss anything”.  You will!  You cannot see all that these wonderful ports have to offer in one day. You have to choose what you will enjoy most.  For me and DH it is usually DIY walking tours of the port town, the first few Med cruises took more planning.    I have passed too many cruisers on walking tours that look so bored to make me want to change my mind.  

I have taken cruise tours when that has been the only way to get to see somewhere that is on my wishlist - and is further from the port than I am willing to risk.  

It takes work to get the best trip you can.  You might find You Tube will help in your planning.  You can see what others have done.  I have used Rick Steves audio tours to listen to during the trip or even to help me plan.  The best have been St Peter’s Square, the canal cruise of Venice and St Mark’s Square.  

Happy travels. 

3 hours ago, scotlady said:

Thanks.  Yes, mostly answers my questions.  I AM concerned about not being on a ship's excursion at a destination so far from the port.

I have booked Celebrity's excursion for now. 

The only thing that concerns me, though, is when I read the description of the tour it says "From the Albaicín, view the breathtaking Alhambra Palace", which almost makes it sound as if there isn't an actual tour of the palace, so I'll have to research that.  No way I would go all the way to Granada and not tour the Alhambra palace!

Does not sound like a tour of the palace to me either.  The view is lovely - the photo shows the old buildings between the viewing point and the palace.  You don’t really notice it in real life.  It is especially lovely when the mountains on Sierra Nevada are covered in snow in the winter or spring.  

If you are only going to get the outside view, you would be better off going to Ronda or even staying to explore Malaga.  

1 hour ago, ethan1171 said:

Any recent experiences with taking a taxi to the rock and sightseeing? Where is the best place to find one after getting off the ship? We are with Enchanted Princess at Gibraltar on September 11. I have sent a note to http://www.gibraltartaxiassociation.com but I have not heard back with a quote...

To be honest I am not surprised that you have not got a reply from the Taxi Association.  They are not renowned for being good at booking.  I think they would rather rely on who is available at the time. That does not excuse laziness in not replying to you.   The service for rock tours is good though as far as I know.  I think that what happens is that you can queue up at the port and they fill up the taxis.  As long as you leave the ship reasonably promptly (before the traffic builds up) I don’t think that you will have a problem.    If you want a private tour you would have to pay the going rate for 8 minus the cost of the entrance to the Nature Reserve for the empty seats.  You can also consider ‘Inside Out Tours’ they do a 7 hour tour that has 12 stops.  It is expensive compared to the 3 hour tour but covers much more.  If you have 8 people it could be a good alternative.  I have no personal experience getting any taxi tours to tell you about though.  

What I can report on is that the queues for the cable car are crazy long.  I have a walking route through the gardens beside and nearly daily the queues are out of the building.  Taxi drivers wait around for people to opt for a taxi tour instead.  With the brutal temperatures I often feel like telling the tourists to take a taxi instead.  I think I would probably come across as a scammer!!!  

Do you mean that with DIY you still get tickets included?  It is important that your timed tickets coordinate with your time of arrival.   Not sure if you want to DIY because you don’t want to have to hang around with a large group or because you want to see something of Granada.  
 

i have spent a couple of great weekends in Granada which have not included the Alhambra (visited about 40 yrs ago), there is plenty to see.  I go DIY wherever I can, but  On a ship tour so far away from the port I would be so anxious about getting back to the transport on time that I would be doing the guided tour.  
 

Does that answer your question? 

Your room safe will probably be as secure as anywhere.  You cannot guarantee though, so it is probably a good idea to think about security during the whole of your trip.  

The best thing you can do is to carry as little cash as possible - plastic with solid pin numbers - it is true that people use 0000 or 1234 as their pin number and your robber knows that.  The ability to freeze your card as soon as you realise you have been robbed (the ability to do this through an app is such a help compared with trying to call your bank when you are under stress).     Just to be sure take the number you need to call the bank in case of emergency.  

Split your cash and cards between you, and leave some in your room.  Take photos of your id and all of your travel info AND make sure that you keep these photos in cloud storage - your phone could get stolen and if you are like me you would be lost without this information.  

You  have not asked, but it is an easy stroll from where the ship is docked to the train and bus stations.   The photos show  the walk.  Probably 15minutes.  There are taxis to the station, but only necessary if you have luggage that you cannot manage.  

Lots you can do in Paris in that amount of time.  I think that staying close to the train station is a good idea.  

You need to do a bit of research to decide exactly what you want to do - and how much walking you are up to.    Because you still cannot visit Notre Dame you have one decision less about if it is worth standing in the queue!   You have to decide if you want to spend your time taking in the views, the architecture, having a good meal, visiting the famous shops or just having coffee on the left bank.  I would be sure to have views of the Eiffel tower at night with its twinkling.  

Only you can decide what you will enjoy the most.   You will likely have more touring time in Paris than those who are doing a ship tour to Paris.