Markanddonna

I just don't get the hype of Paris and I was there before the Notre Dame fire.

If you think it might be too hot, the Panama Canal is always too hot.

Your guidelines for determining Easter are not always true. Easter USUALLY follow Passover, but not always. You have to check each year because Passover is based on the Hebrew calendar. Also, your cautions about yeshiva week are correct. Yeshiva parent groups often charter Kosherica cruises which are on NCL and RCL ships this year. Not only do the ships have many children on these weeks, almost always in January, some facilities are closed to those not in the charter group because they eat only Kosher foods and have special religious services. As others have noted, what is standard practice in your community doesn't always apply to others and other states and schools districts. It is tough!

We stayed at the Hotel Continental on La Rambas several years back. It is in your price range and we were happy with it.

We had no excursions listed for many ports on the Epic for quite a while on our easter Med cruise in November. I have heard that the tour companies are also struggling getting people back in the industry. That was wildly evident with a two day tour we took in Israel to the Golan Heights. Our driver/guide was a crusty, mean spirited, 80+ man who was the world's worst driver. It was obvious that the tour companies must be desperate if they keep him on. More ship excursions started to be added maybe 60-90 days before the cruise. I'm not sure there were any excursions at the port of Haifa which was our disembarkation port.

Email Leo from GTI to see if, in fact, you are part of a group. There were different two couples who signed up for our private tour who didn't go through me, but went directly through Leo. Interesting that they were the only ones who dropped out before the tour. If you are in a tour mostly from the ship, be sure to let Leo that it is okay to share your info with the coordinator. It can't hurt to talk to the crew onboard your ship to see if special accommodations can be made. Of course, ask professionally and in a pleasant voice. It is my understanding there was a man who discovered the ship's procedures in Ashdod where everyone else was to disembark by deck numbers. He went into a threatening tirade and told them he was going to do whatever he wanted and no one could boss him around... I wonder if security came.

I recently was on an NCL Eastern med cruise and decided against the ncl airfare deal. When you pay that much for a trip, consider that a few hundred dollars more to stay a few more days is worth it. I think the roll call consensus was that they ultimately regretted the decision to use the airfare. NCL "lost" the deviation request on one person, and not knowing the flights until 30 days prior was unacceptable. If you have the time, consider booking your own. Have you checked Google flights?

It's a toss up. Catholic schools often have break after Easter while public schools go before. Either week will have lots of kids on cruises seven days or less.

Something similar happened to us on a Med cruise. We also checked our table location once onboard. When we arrived at the restaurant for dinner, we noted the table numbers were changed and we now were seated by the kitchen door. The concierge explained that the entire dining room for that seating was given to a tour group from mainland China and their passengers were given our table. He found a very nice table at a different restaurant for us. This was pre pandemic.

We have been to the Alhambra, so wish to spend our time visiting the port city of Malaga. I hear there is a shuttle bus? We are on a Celebrity Ship in April. Any advice?

Some cruise lines don't do fire sales and I also agree that 2022 was an unusual year and likely the low cruise prices and low passenger counts won't be repeated. Expect pretty close to capacity unless the world changes somehow.

No, for his health, just let him drink the flavored drinks, milk, OJ, with an occasional splurge. We took our granddaughter who isn't permitted (parents' rule) to drink sodas. She was thrilled with the one kiddie cocktail we bought for her. Of course, if you are a grandpa with deep pockets, that is another story.

I disembarked there last month. The Port of Haifa certainly needs remodeling or a new building.

I've been on all the major cruise lines, including the Divina, Meraviglia, , Seasview, and the Grandiosa. MSC is more similar than different. Sailing on MSC in Europe is a very different experience- of course more Europeans, more formal, and you feel like eveyone is invisible to one another (quite unfriendly according to American behaviors, smiling, saying hello, etc). MSC's weak/poor customer service, especially their website and tecnology continue to be substandard and frustrating. The crew onboard is just fine and if you approach the front desk pleasantly, they are also just fine. Our last MSC cruise was in March and the ship seemed unprepared for that week's surge in passengers. Sort on staff, food shortages, etc. I hope they have their act together in January.

Several of my roll calls receive a petition from a mother of an autistic son who is just starting a business making custom t-shirts for roll calls. They show a mockup of the t-shirt with the cruise name and date. Is is also on FB? Has anyone else seen these? It appears to be some company in China or other part of Asia. The person also asks to join the roll call. To me, it smells of a scam.

I read on another website that the port of Haifa will be closed for renovations in 2023. Is this true? I know they have a new owner.

In the eastern Med, I discovered that many vendors/taxi drivers, etc PREFER American dollars. That is definitely true in places like Turkey. In Israel, a taxi driver wanted only AMERICAN dollars. In countries that use the Euro, this is not applicable.

How about if I play the game? "Why shouldn't I rent an apartment?"

I agree with all the benefits of an apartment. We research extensively and typically have few problems. This 23 day trip had quite a few challenges including this missing luggage problem. We spent a week post cruise in Israel and an apartment was helpful in dealing wth shabbat restrictions. One thing we will do in the future is to divide our clothing in our two suitcases. I'd love not checking luggage bur we often visit family in Europe and that means gifts.

I made an error. 8:30 AM to noon.

That seems to be what the offer says- $9.99 for the entire cruise!

We first learned about how wonderful it could be to stay in an apartment or B&B when we stayed at one for four days in Krakow. Great location, modern, clean, kitchen, washer/dryer, etc. Then we traveled to Rome on ITA and they lost our luggage. It was found on day three and they would have send a courier to bring it, but our apartment only staffed from 8:30-12:00 AM. We were given an access code to the apartment before we came, and there was no staff to help us outside of those hours. We decided to go to the airport to retrieve our luggage instead of wasting ANOTHER day in Rome. I think we will only book hotels with 24 desk service from now on.

While we are very aware of the importance of receiving or having appropriate medications, I hope anyone who is sick who be courteous enough to mask up. I gave the stinkeye to an unmasked "wet hacker" behind me in line and she claimed it was allergies. Flu, Covid, RSV, bronchitis maybe. Not allergies.

I don't understand the logic with people saying, "I've always felt safe on Celebrity, so I just hide my phone, etc. under my towel at the pool." Just because you have been fortunate, doesn't mean it won't happen. There are many challenges to travel, and we want to be as wise and as proactive as possible.

Just a fyi, many ships are not carrying ANY over the counter medications in the gift shop. That was true on last month's cruise. Only personal care items like toothpaste, sanitary products, diapers were onthe shelves. The ships want everyone to go to the medical center. We carry a sizable medical kit.