Hlitner

Good point about back to backs being a little disruptive. But that is only an issue with turn-arounds in a USA port (perhaps also in the UK). In most of the world, a back to back is handled as just another port day for those continuing the cruise. The problem in the USA, is a CBP requirement to "zero out" the ship. Not a biggie for back to backers who plan on going ashore for a few hours, but a real hassle for those of us who might want to spend the turn-around day on the ship. My problem with shorter cruisers is that the onboard atmosphere is somewhat different than we find on longer cruises. For those of us who enjoy socialization with other passengers, short cruises can be a minor annoyance since some new-found friends may quickly disappear at the end of segment. I should also mention that one cruise line's "back to back" is another cruise line's segment. Most longer cruises are simply made up of multiple segments. If one takes a 110 day World Cruise, it will likely consist of more than half a dozen "segments" where some cruisers disembark and some others embark. World cruisers would not generally think of their cruise as a back to back to back to back, etc :). Another issue with back to backs (or segments) can be the repeating of entertainment (especially production shows). We recently completed a 35 day Oceania cruise that consisted of 3 segments (no repeated itineraries). Most of the Production Shows were repeated on each segment. On a cruise line like O, where the Production Show is generally the only live entertainment (from 9:30 to 10:15) it does create the dilemma of either seeing the same show, 3 times, or perhaps spending more time in a near-empty bar (with no entertainment). Of course, there are also those cruisers who simply go to their cabins at 9:30. Hank

Now you are being "judgmental" (using your words), bless your heart 🙂 Hank

I think most places have some decent local/regional products. But cruisers are notorious for throwing their money around on tourist-oriented goods that are overpriced (for the tourist market) and often made in Asia (i.e. China, Vietnam, India, etc). We live in Mexico (Puerto Vallarta) for part of the year and DW seldom buys anything to bring home (i.e. we do not need more junk). However, when we do buy it will generally be local/regional art/crafts. For those coming to PV (or some other Mexican ports) you might want to look at Mexican works of art such as the interesting, beaded works made by the Huichol Indians. There also are quite a few art galleries that feature works of art created by Mexican (some are well known). However, if you are going to buy "junk" at a flea market such as pottery then so be it! And for those who insist on going to Walmart (in Mexico) for their shopping...we have little sympathy. As one who loves living in Mexico (and the Mexicans) we urge folks to support the local/regional artisans. Hank

Frequent world travelers have generally learned about the different "tipping cultures" found around the world. North Americans have generally embraced a tipping culture (which much of the world finds ridiculous) which has been enhanced by "tipping guilt." The result is that tour industry workers, around the world, will often have their "hands out" for tips when they are dealing with North Americans and do not waste their time with folks from other cultures where tipping is kept to a minimum. So getting back to the OP's question, nobody is obligated to tip guides on excursions or tours. In fact, given the recent pricing of cruise ship excursions, and the quality of many excursions, one might make a case that guides should tip the participants :). We just returned from a 5 week cruise (mostly in various Med countries) and did notice that some folks, on excursions, did tip while many others tipped nothing. If folks are "hung up" with their own "tipping guilt" than they get what they deserve, which is less money left in their pockets. We are now in an era where even automated vending machines are starting to have tip options :). Just 3 days ago, we were in a decent burger place (Innsbruck, Austria) where one ordered by computer terminal (like many fast food places in the USA) and,sure enough, on the final screen there was an option to tip (the machine) with the default being 5%. Few Europeans would tip a kiosk, but that tipping option certainly generates revenue from North American tourists. We wondered, at the time, whether any of that tipping money actually went to the workers! By the way, we could not help but notice the recent post about tipping in Puerto Vallarta (where we live 10 weeks a year). Many Mexicans, in the tourist industry, are underpaid and do depend on tips to make a living. When we are in that country, we are generous with the staff who give us good service and only tip them directly (with Pesos) so we are sure they get the money. If the Mexican is rude (unusual) or tries to rip us off (it happens too often) they will not get any tip! For instance, a taxi that quotes us the correct price (after 18 years in that country we know the correct prices) we will usually give him/her a generous tip. The driver that quotes the wrong price may get his price but will not get any tip (and end up with less than if he/she had been honest). We sometimes will play the "bargaining game" and get a price down to a proper price, and then give the vendor an extra "bonus." They do get the game and it usually results in smiles (and a new friend). Hank

We have been fortunate to have embarked on cruises from 5 continents it many different ports. Some have decent cruise terminal facilities, and other ports have little (sometimes just a tent). Cruise Terminals are expensive to build (and maintain) and somebody must pay the big bucks for that type of facility. In the very busy ports around the world, facilities have been improving. Other ports, lack the money or do not have the volume that would justify the cost. In some cases, the major cruise lines (primarily owned by CCL, RCI and MSC) will help finance cruise terminals. But again, this usually happens in ports where the volume does justify the cost. My question to the OP is "are you prepared to pay more for your cruise if it gets you a nicer terminal? The reality is that while we all appreciate nicer facilities, many are not willing to pay the extra money to subsidize the construction of new ports and facilities. I should mention that over the past thirty years, we have seen lots of improvements of port facilities around the world. Places like Tokyo, Barcelona, and Istanbul, have spent millions to improve their cruise terminals. Others like Civitavecchia have been slow to spend the money, but even that port now has one very nice terminal (unfortunately it is not nearly enough to handle their volume). Other ports, such as Venice, spent money to improve things only to later ban most cruise ships due to environmental concerns. Hank

There are already some lines (Oceania, Explora Journeys, Seabourn, MSC Yacht Club, etc) that include Internet (sometimes unlimited and other times with some restrictions) as part of their regular cruise fare. The reality about the so-called mass market lines is that most have adopted a business model which has basic fares with various add-ons/packages. Many find this kind of pricing beneficial since it lets them buy the options that best meet their own needs. Look at this through the eyes of the cruise line business model. Internet (mostly provided through Starlink) has certainly improved, but involves an extra expense for the cruise line. Like any Internet service, the more folks who use the Internet (at the same time) the more bandwidth must be provided by the cruise line. More bandwidth means more cost. Not everyone on a cruise, chooses to spend their time on the Internet while some folks are completely addicted to their devices and Internet connection. Asking the big-time users to pay more helps keep the cost down for other cruisers. I think the issue for the OP is that they are looking for luxury amenities at a mass market price and this is not going to happen until it is forced by competition. Hank

Plan "B" can simply be to grab a taxi (there are usually some available at the port) to the airport at your chosen time. When it comes to Sunday mornings/afternoons in Athens, our goto place is the huge Sunday flea market located in Monstiraki. If you wanted to do this, DIY, you could arrange, online, to hire a car/driver and pay to have that driver wait for you while you explore the expansive outdoor market area (this covers an entire neighborhood). As to Sounion, it is a pleasant drive (we have done it with rental cars) although, IMHO, there is not a lot to offer other than the decent views from Sounion. While the Temple of Poseidon is OK, it pales by comparison to the ruins that are within the city of Athens. Hank

Thanks for the review. Ever since the Covid restart, we noticed that SB had hired quite a few new staff (on our various cruises), some of whom had yet to adjust to the SB way of doing things. When asked about SB, we used to say that the staff/crew does not have the word "no" in their vocabulary. Unfortunately, for the OP, this did not seem to be the case with the server they first encountered in Solis. Tis a real shame and we sure hope that the management team quickly imposes some attitude changes where necessary. While we have seldom had any complaints on our SB cruises, if a server told DW that she could not order two starters (in place of a starter and main) I think the issue would quickly get elevated to the restaurant manager. That is just not acceptable on SB (or other lines). On SB we expect to hear, "no problem" or "we will do our best." I will add that we have also been cruising on other lines (in the past two years) including Explora Journeys, Oceania, HAL and Princess. Every line seems to be having some "issues" with new hires. One senior manager on O told us that, one result of the Covid shutdown, has been that too many experienced staff/crew moved on to other careers. We also found it interesting that the new Explora Journeys line (a higher end luxury product) hired about 80% of staff (for their first ship) that had never worked on any cruise line. It was explained that the new line sought very experienced staff from top hotels,restuarants, and resorts generally located in the middle east (often from Dubai). The reason was they wanted staff that understood how to deliver quality and thought that more important than previous cruise ship experience. To some degree they have suceeded, but there are also some rough edges that we think was due to the inexperience of staff working on ships. Hank

Thanks for the excellent review :). We will add Ritz to our personal "watch list" for some future bookings. That being said, a quick glance has given me the impression that SB can be a lot less expensive (sometimes only about half the price of Ritz) which we factor-in to our cruise decisions. It is less about being cheap but more our philosophy of looking for good value, be it a higher-end luxury line or mass market product. I am curious to see if Ritz starts offering some longer itineraries and promotions on voyages, once they add the new ship....oops, meant "yacht." Hank

We like to give complements when it is deserved. In our case, the GDR on the Vista ticked most of the boxes including excellent service from our wait team and the sommelier. Our norm was to go to dinner around 7:15 (to miss the initial rush) and always request our favorite waiter (Kadeck) who always treated us like VIPs. Not only was the service top notch, but Kadeck also guided us through the various menus with suggestions on what to order and what to ignore. While we also enjoyed most of our time in the alternative restaurants (3 times in each venue) our favorite place was the GDR. As to "slow," we normally prefer to dine and not rush. For the few evenings when we did want to speed it up (to get to a show) we would simply mention it to our waiter. On most evenings we would say "take your time" since we were generally not in a hurry. As an observation, when we shared a table with others, dinner always took somewhat longer, since the staff must adjust to the slowest diner at the table. Hank

Just off 5 weeks on the Vista, where we had an excellent Filipino band. Hank

A lot of O malarkey. Onboard we met some real long time O fans who lost several deposits because of cancelled bookings due to COVId. They still love O and view that as “it happens.” I prefer systems where refunds do not depend on the customers needing to be assertive. Like Os ridiculous air fee policy, this needs to be fixed. Small stuff, but still an issue for those of us who cruise many lines. Hank

Am I missing something here? You mean if a cruiser does not act within an arbitrary time (1 year) they will lose the deposit? With most if not all, other lines, any deposit is automatically returned (with no hassle) after a specific time.

Sometimes :). The key to alcohol on land is when we are actually spending a few days in a city where I do not need to drive. But we have wondered if that is a contributing factor. We do have cruising friends, who do not drink any alcohol, who also have the ankle thing. Speaking of my wife, her ankle swelling was not nearly as bad as mine on the Vista. And to be clear, we still love to cruise and would not allow swollen ankles/feet to dissuade us from that form of travel :). Perhaps we need to spend more time on cruises to further investigate the issue. Hank

We have long thought that salt was the culprit. DW does minimize adding salt when cooking at home. But since we left the Vista, all of our meals have been in restaurants and most professional chefs routinely use plenty of salt (like on most cruise ships). And yet, the ankle swelling quickly dissipated once off the Vista. And this is not just about the Vista, because we cruise on many different lines (within the last year Princess, HAL, Seabourn, Explora Journeys) and the ankle swelling is common on all of those lines. Can it be that cruise line galleys simply add a lot more salt than land-based restaurants? At home I never pay much attention to salt and will routinely add it to many of the usual things and yet, do not have any ankle swelling. Some of us used to think that the culprit is the water used on ships. Most ships now make their own water, from sea water, by using flash evaporation and/or reverse osmosis. But a few CC contributors, several of whom were chief engineers, have assured us that the systems used on modern cruise ships do not result in excessive salt/sodium. We also have some cruising friends that avoid ship water (they only drink bottled water with limited sodium) and they still have the ankle swelling issue.