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Hlitner

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  • Location
    New Cumberland,PA, USA
  • Interests
    International travel (77 countries at last count(
  • Favorite Cruise Line(s)
    Any
  • Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
    Europe

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  1. Keep in mind that even if the shuttle to Largo della Pace is still free, you would need to transfer to a paid bus (used to be 2 Euros) to get you to the station. If there is truly a 6 Euro shuttle from the port directly to the station, this is the best option for most folks (except those of us who like very long walks). We will again be at Civitavecchia in a few weeks and will admit to being curious as to the current situation. Being Italy, what existed today may well not exist tomorrow. Most long-time independent travelers have learned that in Italy, one needs to keep their sense of humor and flexibility. Hank
  2. With mobility issues, and a scooter, I would agree with the suggestion to arrange a private transfer (Romeinlimo or Romecabs are both good options). While it will be somewhat expensive, a private transfer means you will have the space for luggage and scooter (make sure to message the transfer folks about those items). Either of those companies can alslo handle your transfers from Rome to your ship. The unfortunate thing is that none of this is cheap. Europe is somewhat more expensive than in the past, and this is reflected in higher fees for transfers. Hank
  3. I think that some do not fully understand the airport situation. These days, it is wise to arrive about 2 hours pre flight for domestic flights and even longer for internaitonal. MIA is a large airport and it can be a very long walk from check-in to the gates (depending on your gate). It can take a good 30 minutes just to drive to the airport (from the port or downtown) and even worse when there are traffic problems. So even with a 3pm flight, one would need to be on their way to MIA around noon. If you can buy lounge access (or have an AMEX Platinum Card with Centurian Lounge access) that might make more sense. Most of the cruise line excursions (and later airport transfer) specify how the earliest flight and it is often later in the afternoon. Also keep in mind that a cruise line transfer may not drop you in the most convenient place for your particular airline. Hank
  4. We do quite a lot of travel in the UK (and cruising) and get all of our cash via ATMs. They are easy to find and get you the best exchange rates. Just make sure to notify your issuing bank of your itinerary in order to avoid any security issues. Hank
  5. She might appreciate the lido cuisine on Carnival and other lower priced lines. DW loves PB&J, but it is something she eats at home, not when paying money to be on a cruise. I happen to really like decent caviar and have sometimes mentioned that we probably eat $50-$100 a day of caviar when on Seabourn. That might sound like a lot of money, but consider that some mass market lines do charge around $100 for a single serving of those black/gray eggs. Hank
  6. I think the OP has no clue how it works at cruise lines. "Ring up" the cruise line and you simply get a reservations clerk, in their little cubicle, that has zero power to do anything but follow the various scripts that are on their terminal. In Florida, it used to be possible to work deals through local TAs that had connections at the cruise line. These days I doubt if that is even possible. There are ways to get some pretty decent "last minute" special (unadvertised) deals. But this will usually happen through various high volume cruise agencies (that are part of very high volume consortiums) that are permitted (by the cruise line) to sell some special deals. These are usually limited to their customers (folks on their e-mail list) and have nothing to do with living near the port. The so-called "last minute" deals are generally available just inside the final payment period. Hank
  7. Going to Rouen, Giverny or Paris can be done on the train (the station is about 1 1/2 miles from the port). While I agree with you about trying to do Paris during a port day (we love Paris) there are plenty of folks who will do the long trip to Paris (over 2 1/2 hours each way) since it may be their only change to see that city. We have spent weeks in Paris, and would still return for another few weeks :). Seeing Paris in 5 hours (which is about when you get on most one-day tours) is, IMHO, a bit sad. We have spent more than 5 hours in a single museum! We have long suggested that folks who have Le Havre as their last cruise stop (before ending in England) might want to consider an early debarkation and spending a few days in Paris. There is a good train connection between Le Havre and Paris. Hank
  8. If you are coming back to the port from town, there are a couple of different bus stops depending on the specific bus route of your bus. Both stops are relatively close to Walmart/Sams. Keep in mind that you will need to cross the busy road (to get to the port) and you should do it at the traffic light and be very alert (we often say that the biggest danger in PV is being hit by a bus or car). Hank
  9. We recently returned, from being out of the country, and found our O packet for the Vista cruise embarking next week. The luggage tags are convenient, but we were not overly impressed with the provided booklet. In the early pages are the 35 day itinerary for our cruise, but as one might expect it is wrong! Why? Because even O's own printers cannot keep up with the various itinerary changes. Sad. Since it is our first O cruise, we are hopeful that O will actually stick to their latest itinerary. Hank
  10. Me too LOL. Not sure my waistline will be happy, but the fun of exploring O food is the main reason we booked the Vista. Guess we better bring along some Tums :): Hank
  11. Tours are great for those who love tours. Of course there are differences between large group tour (such as what is sold by cruise lines) and small group tours booked privately. Our own preference, when it comes to the Golden Circle, has been to simply rent a car and drive it on our own. Why? It allows us to go where we want, stay as long or as short as we please, eat where want, etc. Since we also have driven to many of the same places flooded by large bus tours, we do often listen-in on the explanations rendered by the professional tour guides (who often have different things to say about the same sites). I will say that driving the Golden Circle is quite easy given the decent signage and use of GPS (on our phones). Like most DIY driving trips the biggest advantage is not having to wait on others to go to the rest facilities, finish their shopping, their meal, etc.
  12. While it will be interesting (at least to me) to compare O to EJ in terms of cuisine, we do need to consider that O and EJ are truly in different orbits. EJ considers itself a very high end luxury product that tried to replicate fine land based resorts. We are curious to see how O's cusine falls into somewhat of a continuum (for lack of a better term among lines such as Princess, EJ, Seabourn, HAL, etc. No question that the cuisine on Explora Journey 1 was in a class seldom to never seen on cruise ships (except in a few extra priced alternative venues). Some O fans have claimed, for years, that O has the best food at sea. My own quest is to either verify this claim (which would make me a very happy cruiser) or try to fit it among the various cruise lines (16 to date) on which we have cruised. Hank
  13. Ahhh but for those of us who live to eat, dining at various land restaurants is wonderful. Most cruise cuisine is not in the same category although some of what we enjoyed on EJ1 was world class/ Hank
  14. The man that owns that small restaurant is a dear amigo and would laugh if I asked him about serving a "gringo" dish. His tiny restaurant was once mentioned by a NY Times food writer for their amazing "garlic soup with an egg" which is a take on egg drop soup. Since that garlic soup was invented by his dad I guess that makes it Mexican cuisine. Many fellow Americans think of Taco Bell as a good example of Mexican food. Most of their offerings would be considered street food here (I do like that stuff) but things like grilled snapper, cactus salad, carnitas, etc. are not as well known in the USA. Hank
  15. I will confess to not being a big fan of most Mexican beef. Experts would probably say it is pretty healthy beef since it generally lacks the fat/marbling that many of us associate with the best more flavorful beef (think Wagyu). Arrechera (which is similar to skirt steak) is pretty popular here in Mexico and is often served with some delicious sauces. Hank
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