Spree75

Hello,

Has anyone been here and can recommend tours. Should we book ahead or are there tours available at the port on the day? We are mid/late 20's so not really bothered with wineries or tours of factories and would rather tour than hire a car. Cradle Mountain looks interesting and was wondering if that was an option.

I did a quick map check and it seems that Burnie is a 1.5 hour drive to Cradle Mountain. You could rent a car and drive down and walk the Dove Lake track and maybe one of the additional side hikes like the climb up to Marion's Lookout. That would be a full 8 hour day though...

You also asked about a guide and one recommendation I can give is to check out Judy from Eye See Tasmania, She guides all over Tasmania although she is based out of Hobart. We had her guide us around Hobart for a leisurely day at Mt. Field but in our conversations it's common for her to guide guests in Cradle Mountain too. Bonus here being that you wouldn't have to drive the mountain roads yourself. Judy was great and personalized the day we had with her and changing things on the fly as we got to know each other.

Have fun in Tasmania.

Looking for some perspective on Gaudi architecture for our visit to Barcelona in July.

We have booked a private tour of Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, and an outside walking tour of Passeig de Gracia.

My question is which other Gaudi buildings are your favorites to explore? From my research I've narrowed down the additional choices to Casa Mila, Casa Ballto, and Palau Guell. Both Casa Mila and Casa Ballto have either day and night tours which seemed interesting. Are these three buildings unique enough to visit all three?

El Cellar de Can Roca is also located in Girona. The restaurant is currently #2 on the San Pelligrino list. We managed to make reservations at this restaurant and are making a special full day trip to the city from Barcelona after our cruise. If only the high speed train ran later into the night...

I haven't been to Ferrara or Ravenna but we spent a half day in the old city of Bologna. The architecture is beautiful with interesting features such as the massive Basillica di San Petrino (and the feud in the Roman Catholic church surrounding it) and the two towers (leaning precariously like many buildings in Italy). The food is also fantastic.

Another thought would be to go even farther into Reggio Emilia and head to Modena and checking out Parmesan Regiano manufacturing, true Balsamic vinegar distillary, and Ferrari, Maserati, and Pagani manufacturing sites. The food in Modena was amazing too. Some of the best restaurants in the world are there focusing on the local produce.

Hi Barb,

I'll second Carolyn's recommendation for Judy from EyeSeeTasmania. We booked her for a day in Hobart and were impressed with her hospitality, knowledge, and flexibility with the tour. She really tries to get to know you quickly and can modify itineraries on the fly. Also, she works all across Tasmania so you could see if she would be available for excursions from Burnie or Port Arthur.

Another company we used while in Tasmania was Pennicott Wilderness Journeys. We took the Tasman Island cruise in Port Arthur which had a mix of sea life and unique views of the rock formations. We also took the Seafood Seduction cruise from Hobart which had beautiful scenery and fresh fish, oysters, abalone, lobster, and sea urchin. I would highly recommend both but I'm not sure the departure times would work with your cruise schedule.

Enjoy your cruise!

Jeff

Hi,

 

We will be in Sydney for 2 days March 1 2017 post cruise. We are foodies and looking for a great dinner place to celebrate a birthday. Any suggestions for both days?

 

Thanks

If price isn't part of the equation then I'd recommend Quay which by some restaurant guides may be the best in Australia (Attica in Melbourne is the other that gets a lot of votes). It also has this separate dining area in a kind of a globe where you get views of both the Opera House and Bridge. We were there in March and had a great time.

For the other night we were in Sydney we dined at Rockpool. I thought the food here was actually better than Quay with more of what I think of Australian flavors (hints of Asian with local proteins). My partner had the opposite opinion. No views at this restaurant though...

It's kind of a crap shoot no matter how you do it. From the EWR side you can get horribly stuck on the turnpike or Lincoln Tunnel. I know I've been in traffic for over 2 hours just to get into the tunnel. From LGA you have can have issues with traffic on the Grand Central Parkway (scratch that... you will have traffic on the Grand Central) and whatever bridge/tunnel you use to get over to Manhattan. All things being equal it should be faster for most Midtown locations to fly into LGA. However, I'd personally go through EWR as things usually aren't equal and you're less likely to get in caught in traffic from the NJ side.

Marazul,

We are flying in the day before the cruise leaves and as it turns out the plane lands at 6:45 AM. We are the type of people that like to pack in as much as possible so we decided on a full day on Sunday and then a half day on Monday before boarding the ship.

From my research I had wanted to do Ostia Antica and since it's so near by the airport I thought to stay at the Airport Hilton for the night and visit on day two and a quick scoot up the coast to the port. However that wasn't possible because Ostia Antica is closed on Mondays. I didn't want to leave half a day on Day one empty if we did Ostia Antica on Sunday so we ended up changing plans completely.

Instead we are staying in central Rome for the night. Day one we will be visiting Tivoli to the east of Rome. Day two we will head north to visit the Bomarzo Garden and then turn west to get to Civitavecchia. There may be stops in Viterbo if time permits. We have a hired driver so getting to these locations isn't a problem.

Bagnoregio is a place I'd love to visit but it's fair ways away from Rome and there's the half mile hike uphill to get into the city... Orvieto is even further away. Casperia and Cortona are out of the way too. Tarquinia is close by Civitavecchia while Tivoli, Anzio, and Roman Castles are better to do from Rome. Viterbo, Bomarzo, and Lake Bracciano are somewhat between Rome and Civitavecchia. Mind you this is all with private transportation. I have no idea how difficult these places are to get to using public transportation.

This will be the third to Rome for us. The first time was the major highlights. The second time we revisited some of the highlights and then ranged further afield (the keyhole, EUR, Coppode, etc). This third time I asked what about in the Rome area and these were the suggestions.

1) Tivoli - Villa d'Este and Villa Adriana

2) Ostia Antica

3) Palazzo Farnese and Villa Lante in the Viterbo area

4) Roman castles around Lake Albano and Lake Nemi - Frascati, Nemi, and Marino

5) Tarquinia for Etruscan history

6) Lake Bracciano

7) Bomarzo Garden (also called the Park of Monsters)

8) Casperia and Cortona - medieval towns

9) Bagnoregio and Orvieto - Bagnoregio is a well preserved medieval town that is basically deserted. It was one of the stops on the Amazing Race one year.

10) Anzio and Nettuno for WWII history

You may run into problems that we did in that a lot of these sites are closed on Mondays...

Depending on your budget and what you like to eat.

Sushi of Gari on 46th is top notch but expensive

Orso also on 46th is good Tuscan food

Lattanzi also on 46th is also Italian which I've enjoyed

46th between 8th and 9th avenue is called Restaurant Row for good reason and has many good restaurants. Becco is also on this street but I didn't really like it the one time I ate there.

If you don't mind walking a bit farther:

The Marshall on 10th Ave between 44th and 45th is a reasonably priced farm to table

Aureole on 42nd between Broadway and 6th is New American, fancy, and expensive

Received written confirmation from our TA that our final payment due in December has dropped by $11,000. A very nice Christmas present!

Wow. That is an amazing present! My TA confirmed the second price drop and we've now saved a total of $5,000. The TA is a bit confused on what is causing this because she is seeing strong sales for Med cruises next year. Who am I to complain though...

I've benefited greatly from Seabourn's seemingly random upgrade strategy but it does make sense. If you get a nice upgrade you are more likely inclined to the line. Also, those that are new to the line may not recognize all the benefits that accompany the upgrade.

I know when my partner and I first sailed with Seabourn we had booked 746 after reading reviews about the location and recommendation from our TA. 2 weeks prior to sailing our TA came back from Seabourn with a free upgrade to the Wintergarden Suite. Having a bubble bath facing the ocean on top of the usual service on the ship definitely predisposed us to come back as a repeat customer. I also know that since this was our first time on the line, we had no idea what we could have done with the suite. After a couple of cruises under our belt we would have hosted a few cocktail parties and overall better used the space (movie night, game night, dinner party, etc). Instead it was probably a very quiet week for the stewardess since there really wasn't much to tidy up...

shyla100 - the laundry bags are 50 US dollars; you can squash a fair amount of tightly rolled clothes into one, put it on your doorknob before 10 a.m., and it will come back probably the next day, could be 2 days, with everything beautifully washed and ironed, on hangers and put in your walkin wardrobe; any nightwear or undies packed in tissue in a basket. Cruise enough times with SB and you will get free laundry!!

The laundry bags are a great deal. An even better deal if you have passed the silver status and can get a free one for the trip! I remember a while back one thread devolved into how much one could stuff into the bag. It was quite impressive. I know the last time I managed to stuff at least 3-4 days worth of clothes into the bag...

I was browsing the Seabourn site today and noticed that all of the Med cruises dropped in price dramatically. It seems some of the others areas may have too but I haven't been paying attention to the prices closely so I'm not really sure.

There's a 14 day Monte Carlo to Athens cruise for $4000 for an OB. At that price you almost can't afford not to sail...

Call your TA and see what they can do (or call Seabourn directly). My TA just let us know that our balance dropped $2k per person for a cruise next June. Now that's a nice surprise!

These are very interesting (and rare) combination options. Roquebrune and Biot are not normally places visited by cruisers (or most folks on day trips). We would normally suggest pairing a visit to Nice (or Monte Carlo for those that have a desire to spend time here) with Eze. Roquebrune is a bit further afield (towards Menton) and, if using public transit, would be a bit more of a challenge (but doable). As to "Glass Blowing in Biot" we honestly have no clue (despite having spent weeks in the area). But looking at a map that does fit (geographically) with a visit to St Paul de Vence (one of our favorite places in the region).

 

The issue is how you get to these places. If you hire a private driver/guide you are going to probably pay 350-500€ and you might be able to go to even more places :). A rental car should cost you no more then 90€ (depending on whether you can drive a stick) and would also give you a chance to see more then just two places.

 

Public transit is a whole different ball game. Both St Paul de Vence and Eze Village can only be accessed by regional buses (although it is possible to do the long uphill hike from the train to Eze Village). Regional bus schedules (and stops) are somewhat limited so you would need to review bus schedules and actually plan your day around the bus schedules. This is your cheapest option...but also the most complex/structured.

 

Hank

Thanks Hank. Transportation isn't going to be issue as we will have a guide/driver with us. It sounds like you give a huge thumbs up to St. Paul de Vence. I saw that the Maeght Foundation is located there and might be fascinating for a visit. The glass blowing is at La Verriere de Biot which has an extensive tableware collection as well as art pieces (from what I've been told).

Thought I'd jump into this thread since I have a similar question. Our TA suggested two different options for our stop in Monte Carlo. We have a soft spot for architecture (modern and ancient) and glass.

Option 1: Morning at E-1027 in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin east of the city followed by the afternoon in Eze.

Option 2: Morning glass blowing in Biot followed by the afternoon in Saint Paul de Vence

Can we really go wrong with either option? This is the first time to the area for either of us. Anything in Monte Carlo that we shouldn't miss?

I'm thinking of taking a cruise that does the same thing (Xlendi the first day and then 6 PM into Valletta with an overnight) and was wondering if it was possible to get off the ship in Gozo/Xlendi and make my own way over to Valletta and meet up with the ship (of course letting the ships crew know of my plans)?

My thinking was spend the morning on Gozo and then taking the Mgarr ferry over to Cirkewwa and then tour the northern part of the island, stop for dinner in Mdina, and then meet the ship in Valletta at night. Just seems a better use of time...

We will be in Venice on a Sat in early July. We'd like to see a few churches and tour the square. Do we need a guide to get into the churches? Is there a long que? We've never been and I'm curious if it's like Rome where a guide is very helpful

Thanks!

As others have mentioned it all depends on what you want from your guide. From what you wrote above I would say you don't need a guide.

Logistically Venice is easy to get around. You can get to probably most of the major sites with moderate amounts of walking and the water bus service is pretty easy to figure out.

Are you just here to take pictures and get some surface history of the major attractions? Once again, no need for a guide.

Are you time constrained? A guide is helpful for packing the most in a day.

Did you want more in-depth knowledge of the major sites or off the beaten track attractions? Unless you enjoy spending a lot of time prior to your visit doing research then a guide would be extremely useful in these situations.

Did you want access to private museums or go to workshops of the artisans of Murano and Burano? I guess it's possible to do this yourself but it's much easier with a good guide who has connections in the area.

I've done Venice on my own and loved it. Wandering around the Square and riding up and down the Grand Canal, soaking up the atmosphere. But this last time we hired a guide for two half days. The first was a tour of the Jewish Ghetto and it was fascinating all the little things that Christina pointed out. The second day was a trip out to Murano and Burano to look at glass and lace. Once again Christina managed to get us into closed shops/workshops and back to meet our train within a couple of hours. Well worth the cost.

So it all depends on what you want to do. This goes for most places. The more you want to pack into a day and go off the beaten track the more useful a guide becomes.

Regardless, have fun in Venice. One of my favorite cities in the world.

Foodwise it all depends on how much you want to spend. There's the usual top end (Per Se, Daniel, Bouley, Le Bernaden) although there have been reports that Per Se has dropped a notch and Daniel lost one of it's Michelin stars... One of my favorites is Annisa in the West Village. You can never go wrong with Momofuku Ko if you can get a reservation. If you want an interesting Japanese restaurant you could try Rosanjin. All the restaurants I've listed a pretty to really expensive... If you want something a little less expensive you could try Narcissa (farm to table) or Nomad (get the chicken for two).

As for museums, you have your standard Met, MoMa, and Natural History. The Whitney has a new building which is fantastic and afterwards you can walk along the High Line. If you go to the Whitney, Santina is a popular new restaurant right beside it.

Always something to do in NYC!

With your short amount of time in Venice I could see why you want a guide. It's nice to have someone lead you around that knows the history of the place and the various ins and outs so that you can avoid the hordes of tourists and maybe a hidden gem or two.

If you do want a tour guide I can recommend the one we had while in Venice for a day and a half. Her name is Cristina Gregorin and you can find her if you search for Slow Venice. Cristina customizes her tours to her customer's tastes and can include shopping as well as site seeing. For us, we asked for a half day touring the Jewish Ghetto and then on the second half day she took us to Murano and Burano. We had intended to site see on both islands but we ended up glass and lace shopping at shops that were closed to the public that day.

We spent a day with George Letsios from Taxi Katakolon and were pleased with the service. We combined Olympia with the Temple of Epicurious Apollo which all told took about six hours. George was great. He had a DVD player in the back and had videos for you to watch about both sites. At Olympia, he can't accompany you but he also had the various picture guide books that he let's you take with you. He also stopped in one of the small villages so that we could look across the olive/grape orchards in the valley. He also drove us on one of the nearby beaches as we were heading back to the ship as a taste of the sea in the area.

Send George an email and see what he can do for you. I have no idea what rate the cruise line was offering but if you want maximum flexibility you can't go wrong with a personal driver...

Edit: I just noticed a post that said George passed away which is sad. He did have a business partner Takis who may still be operating.

Here are some of the more popular suggestions. Pick anything that interests you and people on the board can give you advice on how to thread them together.

1. Intrepid Museum

2. National September 11 Memorial and Museum

3. Observation deck at 30 Rock/Empire State Building/WTC

4. Statue of Liberty (or a Staten Island Ferry cruise by)

5. Ellis Island

6. MoMA

7. Central Park + Met Museum or Natural History Museum

8. Times Square

9. Shopping

10. Whitney Museum and the Hi-Line

These are all start in Manhattan. If you want to go into one of the outer boroughs your options increase...

Do you know where you are docking? On Seabourn last year, we stopped at Sami on the Eastern side. I'm thinking you may be docking in the capital, Argostoli.

From Sami we wandered the town and took a cab out to the Melissani Cave and Drogarati Cave. Both were interesting though the Blue Grotto in Capri and Carlsberg Cavern in Kentucky are more impressive from what I was told by some of the other visitors. Haven't been to either so I was happy with the visit.

There are several monasteries to visit on the island and there are plenty of beaches if that's your thing. Fiskardo in the north tip of the island is supposed to be a charming little town.

We did a 2.5 day tour for 2 people with Lale Kosagen from KSG Tours and Travel Services a few years back. We had 1 day with a car and 1.5 days on foot. Lale was a fantastic guide tailoring the tour on the fly as she got to understand what we were really interested in. We did end up in a carpet store and iznik pottery store but only at our request. The stores she brought us to felt very high end and there was no pressure to buy.

I don't really like the names either. I don't mind the name Encore but it shouldn't be the first ship of it's kind... Encore suggests that this ship is named because we loved the first. Except there isn't one.

I just don't like the way the word Ovation roles off the tongue. Also the two names just aren't as grand as the previous names.

The names aren't going to stop me from sailing on these two ladies though.