CPT Trips

The DDay sites definitely deserve much more time than one has on even the longest day tour available with a river cruise.

The military did teach a lot of us geography. The US had a significant military presence in the Horn of Africa (Eritrea/Ethiopia) at least since the end of WWII and until the late ‘70s. Many of us in the Signal Corps hoped not to be assigned to the ASA unit at Camp Kagnew.

@notamermaid The existence of these “camps” was, to me, a totally unknown part of history until we visited the Peace Museum on a diy side trip to Remagen during a port stop in Bonn. @Canal archive There is something special about visiting the American Cemetery with a veteran! Something that will soon be impossible. We had a man on our cruise that we all referred to as a DDay veteran. He regularly corrected us saying he was not a DDay veteran as he didn’t hit the beach until DDay+2!

The million plus “disarmed enemy forces” kept by the US in the Rheinweisenlager didn’t have it nearly as well as those that spent part of the war in POW camps. That designation was a way to avoid the requirements of the Geneva Convention.

Grand Circle Travel visits Omaha Beach on their Seine river cruise. We toured several sites (WN60, the DDay Memorial, Sainte-Mère-Église, and Arromanches-les-Bains) in addition to Pointe du Hoc and the American Cemetery. It was a long day, but we’ll worth it. ETA: Our visit was six or so years ago. The current itinerary can be viewed at https://www.gct.com/trips/river-cruises/europe/the-seine-paris-to-normandy/2021/itineraries?icid=global:itineraries:europe-by-river-cruise:river-cruises:sen

Clever! 👏 👏 👍👍

@Canal archive Help. I’m confused by the reference to Idi Amin, Baghdad, and Boer War.

Trivia time. Aldi and Lidl are not related in any other than each originated in Germany. Aldi was started by two brothers, the Albrechts. They had a business disagreement, not as serious as that of the Dassler brothers, and agreed to split and operate cooperatively in different areas of Germany. One corporation is Aldi Süd; the other is Aldi Nord. Aldi Süd expanded into the US as the Aldi we know. They operate similarly to the way they do in Germany. Aldi Nord later decided to operate in the US. Rather than split the country and also operate under the Aldi name as they did in Germany, they acquired and operate as Trader Joe’s.

You might want to look at Overseas Adventure Travel. Their clientele trends older and they are paced for that. https://www.oattravel.com/destinations/country/galapagos?ds=true&icid=glbsbx%3Asugclk%3Ar_c_t%3Ac%3Agalpagos Their itineraries are longer, 2 plus weeks, as they include either Machu Picchu or the Ecuador’s Amazon.

^^^ Ayup ^^^

That’s true, but realize that the park itself has taken steps limit access and limit deterioration of its natural environment. A reservation is now required to drive up Cadillac Mt. In all likelihood motor vehicle access to some popular sites in the park will be similarly restricted. I wouldn’t be surprised to see that only buses or vehicles with campground reservations will permitted on additional roads in the park.

I recall really enjoying a Princess shorex that took in the amazing nature in Costa Rico.

If you opt for an ocean cruise, there are ports close to city center. Lisbon and Barcelona come to mind.

Oops, I was focused on 2.5 weeks and overnights forgetting the other, important aspects of your trip.

Sure, more than happy to assist you. The ‘23 C8 Corvette Z06 fits the bill nicely at less than half the price of the least expensive Ferrari and a third the price of a Ferrari that might beat it on a track day.

^^^ This!

Try an Obama coffee blend, Kenyan and Kona. 😉

My experience is that you collect your “ship card” when you leave the ship and return it when you board; the cabin key card unlocks the door after hours.

In my experience that description is a overly dire and pessimistic unless you are talking an independent full day group tour that has an early morning departure. Numerous posters have reported rather extensive DIY tours using a driver or mass transit. And DIY independent city touring is a breeze. Granted, arrival times are an estimate but the Captain knows whether the ship will move mooring location and when it will depart.

Grand Circle Travel does longer river cruises, many of them with overnight stops. These stops are convenient, by foot or public transportation to the city centers. This company only does direct sales, they do not commission TAs. We are in a minority on this board that has cruised with GCT multiple times and have not cruised with any of the other companies frequently mentioned here. Overnights in Antwerp and Strasbourg - https://www.gct.com/trips/river-cruises/europe/romance-of-the-rhine-and-mosel/2021/itineraries?anchor=itinerarylisting&icid=prnavsb_itinerary Overnights in Amsterdam and Vienna - https://www.gct.com/trips/river-cruises/europe/the-great-rivers-of-europe/2021/itineraries?icid=global:itineraries:europe-by-river-cruise:river-cruises:sge Overnights Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, and Linz as well as Prague (in a hotel). https://www.gct.com/trips/river-cruises/europe/romantic-blue-danube-budapest-to-prague/2021/itineraries?icid=global:itineraries:europe-by-river-cruise:river-cruises:edr Overnights Paris, Vernon, Rouen, and Honfleur. https://www.gct.com/trips/river-cruises/europe/the-seine-paris-to-normandy/2021/itineraries?icid=global:itineraries:europe-by-river-cruise:river-cruises:sen We took each of these cruises as well as almost all the cruises listed on the website. They each are about 2 weeks duration.

Thanks for looking at CLIA and reporting it. I went to their website and wasn’t successful in searching it for the data that other poster referenced.

Cruising, of whatever type, can be less enjoyable when there is an affinity group that makes up a significant proportion of the passengers. Folks that have political views and/or religious in common have a tendency to be considerably more vocal about their beliefs than a group which is, for the most part, just meeting each other for the first time.

Then you really want to read this . . . http://www.ottosrambles.co.uk/berlin.php . . . Really.

@loriva If you haven’t been back to Berlin since the wall came down, you are in for a big surprise. I was stationed there in the early ‘70s and then visited several years ago albeit not at Christmas time. I understand from a niece that lived in Berlin recently that there are a number of Christmas Markets to visit. Dresden also has a large market. Some things remained the same such as the Hollow Tooth, Lipstick and Powder Box as well as the Pregnant Oyster; others were masterfully reconstructed and modernized like the Reichstag. Don’t miss touring the Reichstag, try for a timed entry that will let you enjoy sunset or sunrise; do this online in advance. We really enjoyed visiting Museum Island to see the interior of buildings not accessible to us when we lived there. Walking through the Brandenburg Gate, looking straight up at The Pope’s Revenge, and visiting the museum at the former Outpost Theater and our former apartment in the “US housing area” also brought back memories and emotions.

Yes! Where do you think all that glacial melt and waterfalls go?😉 BTW they still hold a grudge about the 1939 and onward occupations and Cod Wars.