Gwendy

When we went through that area we had armed guards on board.

Same thing happened to us in Tokyo, all adults but one hopped off to check destination and oops door closed. Thankfully as frequent travellers who have had interesting times, we had agreed if anything happened those on the train would get off at next station and the one who missed the train would meet us there. Thankfully it was not the express train to Yokohama, lol. on an excursion in India which involved a local train trip our guide was very specific on what to do if you got off at wrong station, apparently it happens quite frequently.

Bit hard to share when you are travelling solo

Many years ago in the Swiss Alps a man on our tour was determined to get to the top of the mountain but he was terrified of heights. He sat on the floor of the gondola with his head in his hands the whole way, but he did enjoy the view when he got to the top and alighted. You never know how different things affect people.

Very disappointed with Kiriwana. Have been there before and it was lovely. Now so many stalls all selling same stuff. Last month they had two large turtles on their backs on the sand, if you paid them 50 Kina they would take them to deeper water and release them. ‘The line up to go back to the ship, Pacific Encounter was 2 hours, tenders were leaving with empty seats while the line just got longer. At one stage two of the clans on the island got into a fight with machetes quite close to the line waiting to get on the tenders. Rabaul, there was a long walk to the markets with no option of transport back to ship, eg taxi etc. If you didn’t do a shore tour, no other option. Again very commercialised from when I was last there.

Mine is a package, 4 cruises, flights to and from Australia , internal flights between cruises and hotel,stays.

My pet peeve, I have existing medical conditions but they are well managed with medications and have not caused any issues in the last 15 years but I still have to pay the exorbitant premium. That’s my whinge for the day lol.

It’s the ruins of the ancient palace, there is a lot of walking on sometimes uneven ground. The painting of the Minotaur bull was the highlight for me.

The hoho bus runs from near the port in Crete to Konossos. We found it very reliable, ie bus there and waiting when we wanted to go back. If you have time, the city/town centre is quite appealing. Lots of small shops We had a lovely lunch at a small restaurant near the square.

Yes he did. If this can happen to an experienced wild life expert with a large team around him, enough said.

On our last Cunard cruise I was doing laundry on first night. A woman iron her husband’s ship asked me if I had brought my dirty laundry from home. Let me see, 14 hour flight to Dubai, nights there 6 hour flight to London, 3 nights there, and down to Southampton. Yep I had a fair bit of washing. Obviously she thought everyone just lived England..

Last cruise was August, going again in October. Not sure there’s much interest in maintaining standards with the change to Carnival next year. Daughter is going just after changeover so will be interested to see if there is a difference.

Don’t get me wrong I cruise frequently on Encounter. Close to home and generally good prices. I stay clear of the Encounter hotel or “drunk bar”, after about 8 pm. lol Last few cruises I have found the food quality has fallen. Even Angelo’s which has always been my favourite.

Generally only Australians looking for cheap cruises leaving from close to home. Think Carnival cruise line and then go down a few rungs.

Most countries, Australia included, have stopped stamping passports. I do miss seeing all those stamps. I have a new passport this year and it is totally devoid of stamps despite me leaving the country a couple of times.

Saw a lot of 30/40 ish people buying the string bags. Couldn’t pay me to buy one.

Sorry to hear you have been ill. I have also succumbed to a nasty chest infection, started on Saturday morning when we disembarked/. Lots of coughing in the last few days around the ship. Get well soon.

Most cruises in the Mediterranean are quite port intensive high can be very tiring, maybe not what you want for a silver anniversary. Comes down to research, research, research. What are your interests, what do you want to see. Good luck with planning.

That’s a sensible response.

No one wants room steward sacked, just reminded to be more aware. This unfortunately is not a sexist issue, it is a fact of life. Check statistics for assaults on both sexes. Women come in much higher than men.

Last year we stayed at a hotel next to Plaka in Athens. Yep we had a little bin to put toilet paper in. Very old building which had been converted to a hotel. This is common in Asia, especially India.

Please escalate to housekeeping. This is concerning. I would not want to find someone wandering around my cabin, befuddled or not. As a woman, this is scary when you come back late at night, there are some strange people out there, even on Cunard.

We stayed at AD Athens hotel last year. Excellent location, walk to most sights. Just off Plaka and over the road from Acropolis museum. Subway station very close. Rooftop area with amazing views of Acropolis especially at night. Owners very helpful and courteous. AD Athens Luxury Rooms & Suites ΑΘ. ΔΙΑΚΟΥ 4 A. DIAKOU 4 ΜΑΚΡΥΓΙΑΝΝΗ MAKRIGIANNI Τ.Κ. : 11742 Post: 11742 ΤΗΛ:2110129765 Pho. No. : 2110129765

Don’t think i would consider doing all that leg work. Much easier to have it all done for you. Only thing not included is transfers, from airport to hotel and then to port. I have been to all ports previously, Seattle, New York, London and Rome and Venice so happy to sort that ourselves.

Ours is a package deal with flights to various ports included and also hotel stays pre cruise.