hbrote

Most things quiet down in Venice during the evening hours and a bonus the temps recede. Try getting out in the evening and by all means wander around, you can not get to lost on an island. Enjoy your trip.....

I don't know if this will help but this is what we do. Credit cards I carry have no foreign transaction fees and I do have a pin associated with it. We use a "Debit Card" for cash withdrawals but this is not our primary account. This separate account is where we deposit the amount of monies we think we will use during the trip, no more and this works out perfect for us.

On our last trip my wife used an ATM on the street in Sorrento Italy and was not in a bank. The card was skimmed at this ATM and shut down almost immediately by the bank but not before they got $800 from the account. This left us without a debit card and used the Credit Card for cash from then on. I am glad that I had a PIN attached to the card that we could get cash advances. The bank with that held the debit card made good on all funds that were stolen. Anyway the moral of the story is, use only "Bank ATM's" and have that credit card as a backup.

Roll Call participation is slim to say the least. We used to be able to find tour sharing on all our prior cruises but there seems to be a lack of this now. FB has taken a bunch of traffic from RC's but they do not seem to do much at all except say they are going to be aboard the ship. Prior to FB these boards where the place to be, especially when planning tours via RC's. My opinion ..............

We are interested also as we will be onboard in May. Following

I would look into a tour, as they will show you all of Rome's big sites and provide tickets for the Vatican . Try visiting the "roll Call" section and find your cruise as I am sure there will be others sharing an excursion. We have used "Rome in Limo" many times and have always been happy with their excellent service.

Make sure to give VRBO a look. We have rented an apartment in Trastevere for three couples for this May and it is much cheaper than a Hotel. Great locations through out Rome are avasilable

Having been to Naples before I would suggest for your first trip Pompeii and Amalfi Coast. We have used Rome in Limo many times and very pleased with their service. The drive down the coast is wonderful and will something to remember the rest of you life.

We have been to Greece on a prior trip but are going on the 12 day Greek Odyssey this year. We chose this cruise for the number of ports we have not been to but also for Rome and Venice. We love Italy and will spend time in both of these cities before and after the cruise. I also liked the addition of Kotor, Montenegro even though we really like Dubrovnik, Croatia. I'll post a full review of out trip on CC and we will be aboard the Oosterdam.

There is a general consensus that there are much better options for insurance coverage and value outside of that which is offered from the cruiselines. They are third party sellers and the profit goes to the insurance company, the cruiseline, and frequently the TA. That being said, it doesn't mean that they can't or don't provide good service, just that you can do better elsewhere.

I agree but this also varies by demographics and at times the cruise line is the less expensive option. Everyone should check, as I have also used Insure my Trip at times.

Aon does not underwrite the Celebrity Cruise Care insurance anymore. And medical is ONLY covered up to $10K. https://www.celebritycruises.com/cruise-insurance

I guess I am a lair. Of course I didn't add what other expenses where covered like flying home after the accident or some medical covered by our insurance here in the states. AON paid us $16k pure and simple.

Why do some many people jump at the chance to correct something they no nothing about. jkgourmet, should I post our settlement statement for you...............

We had to use the cruise protection plan that Celebrity offered through AON. They emailed a link to the forms that had to be filled out, including a two page form for the doctor. They were simple to fill out and we had our refund within 30 days, although they have 60 days to respond.

We also had Celebrity Insurance when my wife broke her ankle in Rhodes Greece. When we finally arrived home she developed blood clots in her legs and was in the hospital for five days. We had bills from Turkey for a Doctor visit, the ship charges and the Hospital, over $16,000. AON had a check in our hands in less than three weeks without a hassle. Great service from AON and Celebrity. The ships crew was wonderfully accommodating and went an extra mile to insure her comfort (even at the Martini Bar)

This is only my opinion, so from that starting point here goes. We are Platinum on Carnival, Platinum on Princess, have cruised three time on Celebrity with another booked. This will be our first time on HAL in May. We are hoping for a cruise something like Celebrity and Princess offer. Not boring but not a "Hugh Party" either. Our last cruise on Carnival was aboard the Vista in a Havana Cabana Suite. The cruise was enjoyable while in the Havana section but the rest of the ship was crowded and extremely noisy. Since the start of the American Table the food has gotten poor in my opinion especially compared to both Princess and Celebrity. Entertainment has been going downhill since the advent of Playlist Productions on Carnival, not to say the other cruise lines are getting better. If you like "Hairy Chest" contests and alike, stick with Carnival but give some other cruise lines a try, as you might find yourself pleasantly surprised.

We have used them twice and will be using them again this year. Great Company

We took that exact tour when we in Athens in 2015. The drive to Poseidon's Temple was pretty long but it gave you and idea of the country side around Athens. We are also going back this year with friends but are skipping Poseidon's Temple that we may spend some additional time in Athens.

I agree with euro cruiser and Keith1010 as the only line through security is for everyone. I also have never seen so many folks going through that security line. Even here in Atlanta, there is no way near the crowds.

As we have used this company twice, I would recommend "PK Travel" they will get you to the Acropolis before the ships tour buses. Great guide and a wonderful tour at very reasonable prices. Here is the link to their site and I am not a representative of the company, just a very satisfied customer. https://www.pktravelgreece.com/

Thanks to all who have replied

Thanks Skipper's Mom. I have not had a problem with CC working fine for me.

Thanks for the reply and his TA assistant said it didn't make a difference. I had a problem with this on another line and have been paranoid about names matching on boarding passes and passport.

Funny, when I first put in the site (from a bookmark) it threw me to the site I posted. Clear my history and tried http://www.hollandamerica.com and logged in with no problems....... Must be internet magic at play Thanks 3rdGenCunarder

It is definitely a new start page ( https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US.html ). I also can not log on to the site.

Is anyone else having trouble with the HA web site? They seem to have changed the start page

Santorini is such a beautiful place but can be tough when a number of ships are in port. What we have done on prior trips is to take a tour offered from the ship (we have one booked on HAL this year) which will get you off of the ship in a tender for your tour. Tenders can be a bit trying when so many people want to get off. Have you checked your date for Santorini to see how many ships will be in port? I would start with that first.

Perhaps someone can tell me if Holland America would prevent some one from boarding if their passport had a suffix (IE. Jr or III) but their boarding pass did not have the suffix. I know this seems like a strange question but I would hate to see my friend prevented from boarding in Europe this Spring.

Give clearing your stored "Cookies" and "History". This may help