cruisemom42

A tough quandary. I'm not a big fan of Sorrento, so keep that in mind. Ravello is a beautiful little town with views along the Bay in several directions (assuming you are there on a day that's not misty, which can negate the views) but you can see most of what's there in a couple of hours including the Villa Rufolo (a must for the views) and the main piazza and cathedral. If I were going to Capri, doing a boat ride around it and the Blue Grotto wouldn't be how I'd choose to spend the day either. I would want to visit both Capri Town and Anacapri. But these can be very crowded in peak season. If you like Roman ruins, there is a wonderful villa (once owned by Roman emperors) at the top of the cliffs called Villa Jovis. It also has spectacular views. As you can see, it's hard to give advice to others whose tastes may be different. Only you can really choose which one sounds best.

There are also the wonderful Roman ruins at Ostia Antica, which is near FCO airport and accessible by train from Civitavecchia pretty easily.

I am back -- got in late Sunday night. Dealing with jet lag and a (minor) cold since then. Everyone on the ship was coughing by the end. But today I woke up feeling great and rested, so yay. The river cruise was nice. Perhaps I expected more from it as I've heard so many raves over the years. Not that I wouldn't do one again, but for a solo most of them are pretty pricey. I will say that the food on Viking was very good, and nice wine choices -- I suppose that is mandatory for this wine-intensive cruise. We had a lot of rain. Several days were basically a washout. I heard the cruise before ours was even wetter. And here I thought France in April would be ideal, lol. 🤷‍♀️. The temps were nice though, daily highs in the low 70s or even a bit lower. And a lot cooler at night. I'll take that over the 87 degree daily highs that ATL has had....ughhhhh I enjoyed Bordeaux for several days, feel I got to know it fairly well as I had 4 full days pre-cruise (not counting arrival day) plus 2 days at the end, while staying onboard ship. It's a lovely, lovely place, looks a bit like a mini-Paris. The "mirror" had no water due to some recent event; that was a bit of a disappointment! But on the plus side, the yearly outdoor antiques fair, the "Brocante" was going on... Of the day trips I'd planned, I loved the visit to Lascaux prehistoric caves, the ones with the 20,000 year old wall paintings. The whole site is very well done. Definitely need tickets in advance as there are many fewer English tours available than French ones. I also liked visiting some of the Dordogne towns that are regularly used as locations in a detective book series I've loved featuring a character called Bruno, who is the chief of police in a small fictional town. Author is Martin Walker. It's not just about the crime being solved, it's like an immersion into life in the area... I'll post some photos later on when I get them downloaded. On the cruise, I loved visiting the beautiful town of St. Emilion, and also a wine-tasting and dinner in a well-ranked vineyard in the Margaux area. I didn't buy any wine or have any shipped back. I also visited Arcachon, an area near Bordeaux known for its oysters. (Anthony Bourdain enthused about it in one of his first books as being the place that opened his eyes to the world of culinary delights...) Those are the highlights in a nutshell. Now I am going to relax for the rest of this week before I start finalizing plans for my late June trip, Azamara cruise doing Northern Britain.

There are usually English tours mixed in with the Italian ones. Not as many but I seem to remember there were a fair number of them on each day it is open. I haven't checked the site recently though. Perhaps the English ones are sold out?

Never heard of them or seen them mentioned on this board before.

I missed three ports just on my most recent cruise (Panama Canal on Oceania). 😡

I think this is one area where getting input from frequent cruisers, especially ones who recently used the services is important. Not sure I'd trust a TA -- unless that TA fits the criteria above. Things can change rapidly in ports. One service I used to use reliably changed after Covid and is now more expensive and restrictive. Fortunately I was able to locate a new/better option.

The Domus Aurea is fabulous but be warned that it's a work in progress. Lots of scaffolding and some areas are off limits. They are currently doing a lot of work to restore and stabilize it. I've been three times, most recently last November and I really saw a lot of progress. Some of the frescoes that have been newly cleaned and revealed are wonderful.

This is the one I originally booked in the early days post-Covid. Back then they allowed you to cancel and rebook at a later date if you were concerned about Covid, and it's been on the books a long time.... I think I asked you about your hotel in Bordeaux, but I ended up booking one that's a bit closer to the area I want to be in. I'm taking 2 daytrips from Bordeaux but will also have about 2.5 days to explore the city.

I wouldn't be surprised if they haven't loaded the May tickets yet. The link you included is for the Scavi (excavations) under St. Peter's, not the Pantheon.

You can reach Erice by cable car or bus (very twisty road, hairpin curves, not good if you get motion sick or fear of heights). Once in Erice, the town is hilly. Not a lot of stairs but the roads are steep in places. If you arrive by bus you'll have to walk maybe a quarter of a mile from the bus dropoff place to the heart of the town (with a lovely church enroute). It's worth it IMO but it's not an "easy" trip. Strenuous? Depends on your level of fitness and ability to walk.

Hi everyone -- sorry I haven't posted in a while. Not much new for me. I've just been vegging at home, watching the condo project proceed and doing lots of reading. All of a sudden I realized it's time to get ready for my Bordeaux and river cruise trip. (I leave in 8 days!). I've started watching the weather so I can decide what to pack. Hoping for nice weather and not the horrible early heat wave they had last year. Today I'm going to a retirement lunch for one of my team who had decided to take the plunge like me. It will be fun to see her and I'm hoping a number of other former colleagues. Melody, the prom pics are cute. You guys are such a photogenic family. You could be in a commercial. For Chicos! 😄 Lois, hope your health is improving!

My father was a mid-level govt employee and my mom was an elementary teacher. We traveled to Europe and we cruised annually. Travel was just important to us.

Not so sure about that. My parents weren't wealthy but we started cruising (as a family) in the 1970s. I like cruising but as a solo every cruise costs me about twice as much per dium as for a couple. I'm not willing to give up the amount of time I spend traveling in order to pay more per trip. It's not that I don't see the value, it's just that my priorities are different.

I'm guessing most are in either the luxury or the exploration categories. Not an option for some of us. I know Viking keeps churning out ships that are just under 1,000 passengers, but very few of their itineraries appeal to me. Even Oceania's new ships are more than 1,000 passengers.